UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
[X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2010
OR
[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from ________to _________
Commission file number 0-21221
Microvision, Inc.
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6222 185th Avenue NE
Redmond, Washington 98052
(425) 936-6847
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 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 ¨ 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 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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Large accelerated filer ¨ |
Accelerated filer x |
Non-accelerated filer ¨
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Smaller reporting company ¨ |
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). YES ¨ NO x
As of October 26, 2010, 95,262,000 shares of the Company's common stock, $0.001 par value, were outstanding.
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Part I: Financial Information |
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Item 1. Financial Statements: |
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Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009 (unaudited) |
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Consolidated Statements of Operations for three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 (unaudited) |
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Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 (unaudited) |
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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 (unaudited) |
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) |
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Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk |
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Item 4. Controls and Procedures |
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Part II: Other Information |
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Item 1A. Risk Factors |
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Item 6. Exhibits |
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Signatures |
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Exhibit Index |
29 |
Microvision, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
September 30, December 31,
2010 2009
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Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 18,658 $ 43,025
Investment securities, available-for-sale 2,612 2,710
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $138 and $67 1,801 913
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts 7 70
Inventory 7,713 926
Current restricted investments 305 --
Other current assets 973 751
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Total current assets 32,069 48,395
Property and equipment, net 4,624 3,904
Restricted investments 1,189 1,189
Other assets 47 48
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Total assets $ 37,929 $ 53,536
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Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable $ 7,693 $ 4,949
Accrued liabilities 3,823 4,190
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts 57 55
Liability associated with common stock warrants 11 840
Current portion of capital lease obligations 44 62
Current portion of long-term debt 83 78
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Total current liabilities 11,711 10,174
Capital lease obligations, net of current portion 124 157
Long-term debt, net of current portion 181 244
Deferred rent, net of current portion 792 1,070
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Total liabilities 12,808 11,645
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Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock, par value $.001; 25,000 shares authorized;
0 and 0 shares issued and outstanding -- --
Common stock, par value $.001; 200,000 shares authorized;
95,236 and 88,686 shares issued and outstanding 95 89
Additional paid-in capital 388,667 373,405
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (31) (33)
Accumulated deficit (363,610) (331,570)
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Total shareholders' equity 25,121 41,891
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Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 37,929 $ 53,536
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Microvision, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
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2010 2009 2010 2009
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Contract revenue $ 221 $ 817 $ 592 $ 2,342
Product revenue 1,080 107 3,465 520
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Total revenue 1,301 924 4,057 2,862
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Cost of contract revenue 53 379 202 1,289
Cost of product revenue 4,059 720 8,555 1,504
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Total cost of revenue 4,112 1,099 8,757 2,793
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Gross margin (2,811) (175) (4,700) 69
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Research and development expense 5,920 5,839 16,961 17,165
Sales, marketing, general and administrative expense 3,555 3,283 11,260 10,764
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Total operating expenses 9,475 9,122 28,221 27,929
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Loss from operations (12,286) (9,297) (32,921) (27,860)
Interest income 15 45 94 188
Interest expense (15) (19) (48) (50)
Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net 446 (2,246) 875 (3,048)
Other expense (10) (8) (40) (14)
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Net loss $ (11,850) $ (11,525) $ (32,040) $ (30,784)
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Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.13) $ (0.15) $ (0.36) $ (0.43)
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Weighted-average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 89,376 76,265 88,948 71,105
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Microvision, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
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2010 2009 2010 2009
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Net loss $ (11,850) $ (11,525) $ (32,040) $ (30,784)
Other comprehensive gain (loss)
Unrealized gain (loss) on investment securities, available-for-sale (1) 7 2 11
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Comprehensive loss $ (11,851) $ (11,518) $ (32,038) $ (30,773)
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Microvision, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
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2010 2009
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Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss $ (32,040) $ (30,784)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operations:
Depreciation 1,127 819
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense 2,806 2,689
Loss (gain) on derivative instruments, net (875) 3,048
Inventory write-downs 3,830 978
Non-cash deferred rent (207) (207)
Change in:
Accounts receivable, net (888) (8)
Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts 63 453
Inventory (10,617) (95)
Other current assets (178) 298
Other assets 1 (6)
Accounts payable 2,384 (286)
Accrued liabilities (436) (300)
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts 2 (15)
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Net cash used in operating activities (35,028) (23,416)
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Cash flows from investing activities
Sales of investment securities 100 --
Purchases of restricted investment securities (305) --
Purchases of property and equipment (1,659) (729)
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Net cash used in investing activities (1,864) (729)
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Cash flows from financing activities
Principal payments under capital leases (51) (43)
Principal payments under long-term debt (58) (53)
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock and warrants 12,634 16,467
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Net cash provided by financing activities 12,525 16,371
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Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (24,367) (7,774)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 43,025 25,533
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 18,658 $ 17,759
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Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest $ 48 $ 50
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Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities
Property and equipment acquired under capital leases $ -- $ 95
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Other non-cash additions to property and equipment $ 273 $ 388
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Microvision, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
September 30, 2010
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
1. MANAGEMENT'S STATEMENT AND PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION
Management's Statement
The Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2010, the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009, and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 have been prepared by Microvision, Inc. ("we" or "us") and have not been audited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary to state fairly the financial position at September 30, 2010 and the results of operations, comprehensive loss and cash flows for all periods presented have been made and consist of normal recurring adjustments. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). You should read these condensed financial statements in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. The results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results that may be attained for the entire fiscal year.
We have incurred significant losses since inception. We have funded operations to date primarily through the sale of common stock, convertible preferred stock, warrants, the issuance of convertible debt and, to a lesser extent, from development contract revenues and product sales. At September 30, 2010, Microvision had $21.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and investment securities available-for-sale, which included $2.6 million in auction rate securities (ARS). There is currently no established primary orderly market for these ARS. If we were required to sell them in a short period of time, we might receive less than their current estimated fair values. However, based on our current operating plan and ability to access our $18.7 million held in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2010, we do not expect to be required to sell these securities materially below their current estimated fair value.
Based on our current operating plan, we anticipate that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations through April 2011. We will require additional cash to fund our operating plan past that time. We are introducing new products into an emerging market which creates significant uncertainty about our ability to accurately project revenue, costs and cash flows. If the level of sales anticipated by our financial plan is not achieved or our working capital requirements are higher than planned, we will need to raise additional cash sooner or take actions to reduce operating expenses. We plan to obtain additional cash through the issuance of equity or debt securities. There can be no assurance that additional cash will be available or that, if available, it will be available on terms acceptable to us on a timely basis. If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis, we intend to consider limiting our operations substantially to extend our funds as we pursue other financing opportunities and business relationships. This limitation of operations could include reducing our planned investment in working capital to fund revenue growth and delaying development projects resulting in reductions in staff, operating costs, capital expenditures and investment in research and development.
In August 2010, we received a report from our independent public accounting firm regarding the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 that includes an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
In August 2010, we entered into a committed equity financing facility under which we may sell up to the lesser of $60.0 million or 17,771,901 shares of our common stock to Azimuth Opportunity, Ltd over a 24-month term. In September 2010, we raised $12.5 million through the sale of approximately 6.3 million shares of our common stock under this facility. As of September 30, 2010 we have the lesser of approximately $47.5 million or 11.4 million shares of common stock remaining available under the facility, though we may not be able to sell shares under the facility in the amounts desired or at all. See Note 10. Based on our current operating plan, we anticipate that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations through April 2011.
As a result of the late filing of a current report on Form 8-K reporting the results of our 2010 annual meeting of shareholders, we are not eligible to use Form S-3 for registering new securities for sale by us. We can use our currently filed registration statements on Form S-3 until we file our next annual report on Form 10-K. We would again be eligible to use Form S-3 on July 1, 2011 if we remain current in our filings as provided in Form S-3 until that time. We can also register sales of shares by us or investors on Form S-1.
2. NET LOSS PER SHARE
Basic net loss per share is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the reporting periods. Diluted net loss per share is calculated using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding and taking into account the dilutive effect of all potentially dilutive securities, including common stock equivalents and convertible securities outstanding. Potentially dilutive common stock equivalents primarily consist of warrants, employee stock options and nonvested equity shares. Diluted net loss per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009 is equal to basic net loss per share because the effect of all potential common stock outstanding during the periods, including options, warrants and nonvested equity shares is anti-dilutive. The components of basic and diluted net loss per share were as follows (in thousands, except loss per share data):
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
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2010 2009 2010 2009
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Numerator:
Net loss available for common shareholders - basic and diluted $ (11,850) $ (11,525) $ (32,040) $ (30,784)
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Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted 89,376 76,265 88,948 71,105
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Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.13) $ (0.15) $ (0.36) $ (0.43)
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On September 30, 2010 and 2009, we excluded the following convertible securities from diluted net loss per share, as the effect of including them would have been anti-dilutive: publicly traded warrants convertible into 6,025,000 and 6,703,000 shares of common stock, respectively, options and private warrants convertible into a total of 12,536,000 and 13,081,000 shares of common stock, respectively, and 485,000 and 410,000 shares of nonvested equity shares, respectively.
3. CASH EQUIVALENTS, INVESTMENT SECURITIES AVAILABLE-FOR-SALE AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between informed market participants. The authoritative guidance establishes a three level fair value inputs hierarchy, and requires us to use observable valuation inputs where possible. When estimating fair values, we use market data, assumptions and risks we believe market participants would use, and we consider the risks inherent in the assumptions and the valuation techniques.
Our investment securities are principally comprised of auction rate debt securities issued by student loan financial aid organizations to fund guaranteed student loans. These securities are fully collateralized by the associated funded student loans which, in turn, are guaranteed by the U.S. government.
The auction rate securities are investment grade variable interest rate long-term bonds with rate resets, purchases and sales determined via a Dutch auction process every 28 days. Beginning in February 2008, deteriorating global banking and economic conditions led to insufficient investor bids to clear the auctions and fund the secondary market. In compliance with the securities' terms, the issuers began, and continue, to pay interest at "maximum rates", instead of "auction rates". In March 2010, one of the issuers redeemed $100,000 of our auction rate securities at par value through its voluntary lottery redemption program.
In May 2010, we purchased foreign currency contracts granting us options to purchase an aggregate of 1.6 million Euro at $1.26 on expiration dates in August, October and November, 2010. The expiration dates are related to estimated product component purchase dates.
As of September 30, 2010, our assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are classified within the inputs hierarchy as follows:
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
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Assets
Corporate equity securities $ -- $ 12,000 $ -- $ 12,000
Auction rate debt securities -- -- 2,600,000 2,600,000
Other current assets -- 142,000 -- 142,000
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$ -- $ 154,000 $ 2,600,000 $ 2,754,000
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Liabilities
Liability associated with
common stock warrants $ 11,000 $ 11,000
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We valued the auction rate securities using significant unobservable assumptions and inputs and classified these securities at Level 3 in the inputs hierarchy. The corporate equity securities, other current assets and liability associated with common stock warrants are valued using inputs and common methods with sufficient levels of transparency and observability to be classified at Level 2.
We applied various valuation techniques to value the auction rate securities including discounted cash flow, with liquidity adjustments, market estimates, and other inputs. The primary inputs used for adjusted discounted cash flow analysis are as follows: benchmarked debt security yields from similarly rated U.S. Treasuries and Agencies, financial industry corporate bonds rated AA and A; maturity horizons varying from 9 months to 10 years; liquidity premiums on benchmark yields varying from 15% to 25%; and, coupon payments estimated assuming that the current 1.25% - 1.50% premiums to U.S. Treasury yields would continue for all time horizons. Due to ARS market liquidity issues, the limited number of market price indications were significantly down-weighted in the analysis.
The foreign currency contracts were valued using generally applied model-based methodologies with empirical and market-based inputs and some bank-specific estimates.
We used a Black-Scholes model with the following assumptions to value the liability associated with warrants issued from a 2005 financing transaction at $0.01 per warrant share: expected volatility of 80%, expected dividend yield of zero, risk free interest rate of 0.15%, and contractual lives of 0.2 years. The warrant shares are convertible into common stock at 1:1 and expire in December 2010.
The following table summarizes the activity of Level 3 assets for the nine months ended September 30, 2010:
Balance, December 31, 2009 $ 2,700,000
Par value of redeemed securities (100,000)
Recognized gain included in earnings --
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Balance, September 30, 2010 $ 2,600,000
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4. INVENTORY
Inventory consists of the following:
September 30, December 31,
2010 2009
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Raw materials $ 4,759,000 $ 626,000
Finished goods 2,954,000 300,000
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$ 7,713,000 $ 926,000
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The inventory at September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009 consisted of raw materials for our pico projector products, and finished goods for our accessory pico projector and for ROV, our hand-held barcode scanner. Because our cost is currently higher than our selling price for our accessory pico projector product, inventory for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 also included write downs of $2.0 million and $3.5 million, respectively. The write downs included lower of cost or market adjustments primarily comprised of adjustments to our inventory value to reflect our current estimated selling price for our inventory, as well as a reserve adjustment for materials which we expect will become obsolete as we introduce new products.
Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost determined on a standard cost basis. Management periodically assesses the need to provide for obsolescence of inventory and adjusts the carrying value of inventory to its net realizable value when required. In addition, we reduce the value of our inventory to our estimated scrap value when management determines that it is not probable that the inventory will be consumed through normal production during the next twelve months.
5. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
We use the straight-line attribution method to allocate the fair value of share-based compensation awards over the requisite service period for each award. The following table shows the amount of stock-based employee compensation expense included in the consolidated statements of operations:
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
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2010 2009 2010 2009
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Cost of contract revenue $ 5,000 $ 18,000 $ 12,000 $ 71,000
Cost of product revenue 7,000 2,000 37,000 16,000
Research and development expense 274,000 239,000 1,084,000 614,000
Sales, marketing, general and administrative expense 415,000 434,000 1,657,000 1,435,000
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Share-based employee compensation cost charged against income $ 701,000 $ 693,000 $ 2,790,000 $ 2,136,000
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Options Activity and Positions
The following table summarizes shares, weighted average exercise price, weighted average remaining contractual term and aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and options exercisable as of September 30, 2010:
Weighted
Average
Weighted Remaining
Average Contractual Aggregate
Exercise Term Intrinsic
Options Shares Price (years) Value
- ---------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ------------ ----------
Outstanding as of September 30, 2010 9,137,000 $ 3.40 6.4 $ 678,000
Exercisable as of September 30, 2010 6,142,000 $ 3.73 5.4 $ 360,000
As of September 30, 2010, our unamortized share-based compensation was $4.1 million which we plan to amortize over the next 2.5 years.
As of September 30, 2010, our unamortized nonvested equity share-based compensation was $444,000 which we plan to amortize over the next 1.4 years.
6. LONG-TERM NOTES
Tenant Improvement Loan Agreement
During 2006, we entered into a loan agreement with the lessor of our corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington to finance $536,000 in tenant improvements. The loan carries a fixed interest rate of 9% per annum, is repayable over the initial term of the lease, which expires in 2013, and is secured by a letter of credit. The balance of the loan was $264,000 at September 30, 2010.
7. RECEIVABLES FROM RELATED PARTIES
In January 2006, one officer left the company and his outstanding loans from the company became due in January 2007. In October 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement with the former officer. In addition to payments already received by us, the officer has committed to make additional payments of $30,000 over the next year.
Another officer with outstanding loans left the company in August 2007 and his loans from the company became due in August 2008. We are pursuing collection of the remaining outstanding balance from the former officer.
As of September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the total amount outstanding under the loans was $400,000 and the balances were fully reserved.
8. WARRANTS
In 2005 we issued warrants to purchase 2,302,000 shares of common stock in connection with certain notes, of which 1,089,000 remained outstanding as of September 30, 2010. The warrants meet the definition of derivative instruments that must be accounted for as liabilities because we cannot engage in certain corporate transactions affecting the common stock unless we make a cash payment to the holders of the warrants. We record changes in the fair values of the warrants in the statement of operations each period. We valued the remaining warrants at September 30, 2010 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: expected volatility of 80%; expected dividend yield of 0%; risk free interest rate of 0.15%; and contractual lives of 0.2 years. The changes in value of the warrants of $338,000 for the three months and $829,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were recorded as non-operating gains and are included in "Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net" in the consolidated statement of operations.
9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Litigation
We are subject to various claims and pending or threatened lawsuits in the normal course of business. We are not currently party to any legal proceedings that management believes would have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
10. COMMITTED EQUITY FINANCING FACILITY
In August 2010, we entered into a committed equity financing facility with Azimuth Opportunity, Ltd., ("Azimuth"), under which we may sell to Azimuth up to the lesser of $60.0 million or 17,771,901 of our shares of common stock over a 24-month term, which began on September 9, 2010. In September 2010, we raised $12.5 million through the sale of approximately 6.3 million shares of our common stock under this facility. As of September 30, 2010 we have the lesser of approximately $47.5 million or 11.4 million shares of common stock remaining available under the facility.
From time to time over the agreement term, and in our sole discretion, we may present Azimuth with draw-down notices requiring Azimuth to purchase shares of our common stock over 10 consecutive trading days, (the "Draw-Down Period"), at a pre-determined purchase price. The agreement allows us, in our sole discretion but subject to certain limitations, to require Azimuth to purchase the greater of the daily allocation amount specified in the draw-down notice or a percentage of the daily trading volume of our common stock for each trading day during the Draw-Down Period.
The purchase price for shares of our common stock equals the daily volume-weighted average price of our common stock on each trading day during the Draw-Down Period, less a discount ranging from 3.50% to 10.0%. The discount is determined by a minimum threshold price that we solely specify, which in no event can be less than $1.25. The total dollar amount of each draw down is subject to certain agreed-upon limitations based on the market price of our common stock at the time of the draw down. We will determine, in our sole discretion, the timing, the dollar amount and the price per share of each draw under this facility, subject to certain conditions. We are allowed to present Azimuth with up to 24 draw-down notices during the agreement term, with only one such draw-down notice allowed per Draw-Down Period and a minimum of five trading days required between each Draw-Down Period.
In consideration for Azimuth's execution and delivery of the purchase agreement, we paid Azimuth $150,000 in cash and 64,377 shares of our common stock. Reedland Capital Partners is acting as placement agent and receives a fee for its services equal to 1% of the aggregate dollar amount of common stock purchased by Azimuth upon settlement of any draw under the facility.
11. NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In October 2009, the FASB issued guidance which provides amendments to establish a selling price hierarchy for determining the selling price of a deliverable and expands the disclosures required for multiple-deliverable revenue arrangements. The guidance is effective for revenue arrangements that are entered into or are materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that implementation of this guidance will have on our financial statements.
In October 2009, the FASB issued guidance which allows exclusion of software from the scope of the software revenue recognition guidance if the software is included with tangible products and is essential to the tangible product's functionality. The guidance becomes effective for revenue arrangements that are entered into or are materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that implementation of this guidance will have on our financial statements.
12. SUBSEQUENT EVENT
On October 29, 2010, we entered into an agreement to purchase a patent portfolio containing 195 patents and patents pending from Motorola, Inc. to complement our current portfolio of pico projection and display patents. Under terms of the agreement we issued approximately 830,000 shares of Microvision common stock and are obligated to make cash payments of $220,000 in June 2011 and $330,000 in June 2012.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Forward-Looking Statements
The information set forth in this report in Item 2, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and Item 3, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk," includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is subject to the safe harbor created by that section. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, plans for product development and cooperative arrangements, future operations, financing needs or plans of Microvision, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "may," "plan," "project," "will," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in our forward-looking statements include the following: our ability to obtain financing; market acceptance of our technologies and products; our financial and technical resources relative to those of our competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological change; government regulation of our technologies; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain additional contract awards and to develop partnership opportunities; the timing of commercial product launches; the ability to achieve key technical milestones in key products; and other risk factors identified in this report under the caption "Item 1A - Risk Factors."
Overview
We are developing high-resolution miniature display and imaging engines based upon our proprietary PicoP® display engine platform. Our technology platform utilizes our expertise in two dimensional Micro-Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS), lasers, optics and electronics to create a high quality video or still image from a small form factor device with lower power needs than conventional display technologies.
Our strategy is to develop and supply a proprietary display engine called PicoP to potential OEM customers who will embed them into a variety of consumer and automotive products. The primary objective for consumer applications is to provide users of mobile devices with a large screen viewing experience produced by a small embedded projector. Mobile devices may include cell phones, PDAs, gaming consoles and other consumer electronics products. These potential products would allow users to watch movies, play videos, display images, and other data onto a variety of flat or curved surfaces.
In September 2009, we launched the sale of a small accessory projector that is the first commercial product based on the PicoP display engine. The accessory projector can display images from a variety of video sources including cell phones, portable media players, PDAs, gaming consoles, laptop computers, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics products. We have been selling the accessory projector in limited quantity through our Asian and European based distributors. In March 2010, we began selling the accessory projector through our online store to customers in the United States. We plan to add distribution channels as the production capacity for our manufacturing partner, green laser suppliers and other component suppliers increases.
With some modification, the PicoP could be embedded into a vehicle or integrated into a portable standalone aftermarket device to create a high-resolution head-up display (HUD) that could project point-by-point navigation, critical operational, safety and other information important to the driver or pilot. The PicoP could be further modified to be embedded into a pair of glasses to provide the mobile user with a see-through or occluded personal display to view movies, play games or access other content.
Results of Operations
Contract revenue.
% of % of
contract contract
2010 revenue 2009 revenue $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30
Government revenue $ -- -- $ 370 45.3 $ (370) (100.0)
Commercial revenue 221 100.0 447 54.7 (226) (50.6)
--------- --------- ---------
Total contract revenue $ 221 $ 817 $ (596) (72.9)
========= ========= =========
Nine months ended September 30
Government revenue $ 71 12.0 $ 1,412 60.3 $ (1,341) (95.0)
Commercial revenue 521 88.0 930 39.7 (409) (44.0)
--------- --------- ---------
Total contract revenue $ 592 $ 2,342 $ (1,750) (74.7)
========= ========= =========
We earn contract revenue from performance on development contracts with the U.S. government and commercial customers and from the sale of prototype units and evaluation kits based on our PicoP display engine. Our contract revenue from development contracts in a particular period is dependent upon when we enter into a contract, the value of the contracts we have entered into, and the availability of technical resources to perform work on the contracts. Our contract revenue from sales of prototype units and evaluation kits may vary substantially due to the timing of orders from customers and potential constraints on resources.
We recognize contract revenue as work progresses on long-term, cost plus fixed fee, and fixed price contracts using the percentage-of-completion method, which relies on estimates of total expected contract revenue and costs. We have developed processes that allow us to make reasonable estimates of the cost to complete a contract. When we begin work on the contract and at the end of each accounting period, we estimate the labor, material and other costs required to complete the statement of work using information provided by our technical team, project managers, vendors, outside consultants and others, and compare these estimates to cost incurred to date. Since our contracts generally require some level of technology development to complete, the actual cost required to complete a contract can vary from our estimates. Recognized revenues are subject to revisions as actual cost becomes certain. Revisions in revenue estimates are reflected in the period in which the facts that give rise to the revision become known. In the future, revisions in these estimates could significantly impact recognized revenue in any one reporting period. If the U.S. government cancels a contract, we would receive payment for work performed and costs committed to prior to the cancellation.
We recognize contract revenue on the sale of prototype units and evaluation kits, upon acceptance of the deliverables by the customer or expiration of the contractual acceptance period, after which there are no rights of return. While we anticipate future sales of these units, revenue may vary substantially due to the timing of orders from customers and potential constraints on resources.
Contract revenue was substantially lower during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 than the same periods in 2009, due to reduced contract activity and lower beginning backlog in 2010 compared to the prior year. We expect that we will enter into few new development contracts for engineering services as we continue to focus our resources on commercialization of our PicoP-based products.
Our backlog of development contracts, including orders for prototype units and evaluation kits, at September 30, 2010 was $1.1 million compared to $103,000 at September 30, 2009, all of which is scheduled for completion during the next twelve months.
Product revenue.
% of % of
product product
2010 revenue 2009 revenue $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30
Bar code revenue $ 95 8.8 $ 107 100.0 $ (12) (11.2)
Pico projector revenue 985 91.2 -- -- 985 n/a
--------- --------- ---------
Total product revenue $ 1,080 $ 107 $ 973 909.3
========= ========= =========
Nine months ended September 30
Bar code revenue $ 315 9.1 $ 520 100.0 $ (205) (39.4)
Pico projector revenue 3,150 90.9 -- -- 3,150 n/a
--------- --------- ---------
Total product revenue $ 3,465 $ 520 $ 2,945 566.3
========= ========= =========
Our product sales generally include acceptance provisions. We recognize product revenue upon acceptance of the product by the customer or expiration of the contractual acceptance period, after which there are no rights of return.
Our quarterly revenue may vary substantially due to the timing of product orders from customers, production constraints and availability of components and raw materials.
Bar code revenue was lower during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 than the same period in 2009, due to our decreased investment in our bar code product during 2009. We do not expect to increase our investment in the bar code product in the future and we are currently evaluating opportunities to sell our existing bar code inventory and sell or license our bar code production capability and technology.
Pico projector revenue includes the sales of our accessory pico projector product which was launched in September 2009.
In March 2010, we received an $8.5 million purchase order from an OEM customer for our PicoP based embedded engine. The customer plans to incorporate our PicoP engine into a high end media player scheduled for release in 2011. We expect to begin supplying this customer with embedded engines in the first half of 2011.
The backlog of product orders at September 30, 2010 was approximately $16.9 million, which is composed almost exclusively of PicoP based products, compared to $1.9 million at September 30, 2009, which is scheduled for delivery over the next fifteen months.
Cost of contract revenue.
% of % of
contract contract
2010 revenue 2009 revenue $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 53 24.0 $ 379 46.4 $ (326) (86.0)
Nine months ended September 30 202 34.1 1,289 55.0 (1,087) (84.3)
Cost of contract revenue includes both the direct and allocated indirect costs of performing on development contracts and producing prototype units and evaluation kits. Direct costs include labor, materials and other costs incurred directly in performing on a contract or producing prototype units and evaluation kits. Indirect costs include labor and other costs associated with operating our research and development department and building our technical capabilities and capacity. Cost of contract revenue is determined by the level of direct and indirect costs incurred, which can fluctuate substantially from period to period.
Cost of contract revenue was lower during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 than the same periods in 2009 as a result of the decreased activity on development contracts. The cost of contract revenue as a percentage of contract revenue was lower in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, than in the comparable periods in 2009 as a result of differences in the cost mix of the contracts, prototype units and evaluation kits produced during those periods.
The cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue can fluctuate significantly from period to period, depending on the contract cost mix and the levels of direct and indirect costs incurred. However, over longer periods of time we expect modest fluctuations in the cost of contract revenue, as a percentage of contract revenue.
Cost of product revenue.
% of % of
product product
2010 revenue 2009 revenue $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 4,059 375.8 $ 720 672.9 $ 3,339 463.8
Nine months ended September 30 8,555 246.9 1,504 289.2 7,051 468.8
Our costs to produce accessory pico projector units during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 were substantially higher than product revenue. Cost of product revenue includes the direct and allocated indirect cost of manufacturing products sold to customers. Direct costs include labor, materials and other costs incurred directly in the manufacture of these products. Indirect costs include labor and other costs associated with operating our manufacturing capabilities and capacity.
During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, cost of product revenue included a write down of $2.0 million and $3.5 million, respectively, for inventory in stock at the end of the quarter. The write down included lower of cost or market adjustments primarily comprised of adjustments to our inventory value to reflect our current estimated selling price for our inventory, as well as a reserve adjustment for materials which we expect will become obsolete as we introduce new products.
Our overhead, which includes the costs of procuring, inspecting and storing material, and facility and depreciation costs, is allocated to inventory, cost of product revenue, cost of contract revenue, and research and development expense based on the level of effort supporting production or research and development activities.
The cost of product revenue as a percentage of product revenue can fluctuate significantly from period to period, depending on the product mix and volume and the level of overhead expense. The decrease in the cost of product revenue as a percentage of product revenue in 2010, compared to the same periods in 2009, was primarily attributed to lower of cost or market adjustments comprising a smaller proportion of total cost of product revenue.
Research and development expense.
2010 2009 $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 5,920 $ 5,839 $ 81 1.4
Nine months ended September 30 16,961 17,165 (204) (1.2)
Research and development expense consists of:
In addition, we allocate our research and development resources based on the business opportunity of the available projects, the skill mix of the resources available and the contractual commitments we have made to customers. The increase in cost during the three months ended September 30, 2010, compared to the same period in 2009, is primarily attributable to lower contract revenue resulting in decreases in both overhead and direct material allocated to cost of contract revenue.
We believe that a substantial level of continuing research and development expense will be required to develop additional commercial products using the PicoP technology. Accordingly, we anticipate our level of research and development spending will continue to be substantial.
Sales, marketing, general and administrative expense.
2010 2009 $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 3,555 $ 3,283 $ 272 8.3
Nine months ended September 30 11,260 10,764 496 4.6
Sales, marketing, general and administrative expense includes compensation and support costs for marketing, sales, management and administrative staff, and for other general and administrative costs, including legal and accounting services, consultants and other operating expenses.
Interest income.
2010 2009 $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 15 $ 45 $ (30) (66.7)
Nine months ended September 30 94 188 (94) (50.0)
The decrease in interest income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 compared to the same periods in 2009 resulted primarily from lower average cash, investment securities balances, and interest rates.
Interest expense.
2010 2009 $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 15 $ 19 $ (4) (21.1)
Nine months ended September 30 48 50 (2) (4.0)
Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net.
2010 2009 $ change % change
(in thousands) --------- --------- --------- ---------
Three months ended September 30 $ 446 $ (2,246) $ 2,692 (119.9)
Nine months ended September 30 875 (3,048) 3,923 (128.7)
In 2005 we issued warrants to purchase 2,302,000 shares of common stock in connection with certain notes, of which 1,089,000 remain outstanding as of September 30, 2010. The warrants meet the definition of derivative instruments that must be accounted for as liabilities because we cannot engage in certain corporate transactions affecting the common stock unless we make a cash payment to the holders of the warrants We record changes in the fair values of the warrants in the statement of operations each period. We valued the remaining warrants at September 30, 2010 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: expected volatility of 80%; expected dividend yield of 0%; risk free interest rate of 0.15%; and contractual life of 0.2 years. The changes in value of the warrants of $338,000 for the three months and $829,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were recorded as non-operating gains and are included in "Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net" in the consolidated statement of operations. The changes in value of the warrants for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 was the result of changes in the value of our stock price and the decreasing contractual lives of the outstanding warrants.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have incurred significant losses since inception. We have funded our operations to date primarily through the sale of equity and debt securities and, to a lesser extent, from development contract revenues and product sales. At September 30, 2010, we had $21.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and investment securities, available-for-sale, which included $2.6 million in auction rate securities (ARS). There is currently no established primary orderly market for these ARS. If we were required to sell them in a short period of time we might receive less than their current estimated fair values. However, based on our current operating plan and ability to access our $18.7 million held in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2010, we do not expect to be required to sell these securities materially below their current estimated fair value.
Based on our current operating plan, we anticipate that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations through April 2011. We will require additional cash to fund our operating plan past that time. We are introducing new products into an emerging market which creates significant uncertainty about our ability to accurately project revenue, costs and cash flows. If the level of sales anticipated by our financial plan is not achieved or our working capital requirements are higher than planned, we will need to raise additional cash sooner or take actions to reduce operating expenses. We plan to obtain additional cash through the issuance of equity or debt securities. There can be no assurance that additional cash will be available or that, if available, it will be available on terms acceptable to us on a timely basis. If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis, we intend to consider limiting our operations substantially to extend our funds as we pursue other financing opportunities and business relationships. This limitation of operations could include reducing our planned investment in working capital to fund revenue growth and delaying development projects resulting in reductions in staff, operating costs, capital expenditures and investment in research and development.
In August 2010, we received a report from our independent public accounting firm regarding the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 that includes an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
In August 2010, we entered into a committed equity financing facility under which we may sell up to the lesser of $60.0 million or 17,771,901 shares of our common stock to Azimuth Opportunity, Ltd over a 24-month term. In September 2010, we raised $12.5 million through the sale of approximately 6.3 million shares of our common stock under this facility. As of September 30, 2010 we have the lesser of approximately $47.5 million or 11.4 million shares of common stock remaining available under the facility, though we may not be able to sell shares under the facility in the amounts desired or at all. Based on our current operating plan, we anticipate that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations through April 2011.
As a result of the late filing of a current report on Form 8-K reporting the results of our 2010 annual meeting of shareholders, we are not eligible to use Form S-3 for registering new securities for sale by us. We can use our currently filed registration statements on Form S-3 until we file our next annual report on Form 10-K. We would again be eligible to use Form S-3 on July 1, 2011 if we remain current in our filings as provided in Form S-3 until that time. We can also register sales of shares by us or investors on Form S-1.
Cash used in operating activities totaled $35.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2010, compared to $23.4 million during the same period in 2009. During the nine months ended September 30, 2010, the increase in cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by lower contract activity and higher inventory purchases for commercialization of PicoP-based products.
We had the following material gains and charges, and changes in assets and liabilities during the nine months ended September 30, 2010:
Cash used in investing activities totaled $1.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 compared to $729,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2009. During the nine months ended September 30, 2010, we used cash of $1.7 million for capital expenditures, compared to $729,000 during the same period in 2009. During the nine months ended September 30, 2010, the increase in cash used in investing activities was primarily a result of the costs associated with a new enterprise resource planning system and production equipment purchases.
Cash provided by financing activities totaled $12.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 compared to $16.4 million during the same period in 2009. In September 2010, we completed a draw down from our committed equity financing facility and raised $12.5 million, before placement agent and other issuance costs, from the sale of 6,277,275 shares of our common stock.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Interest Rate and Market Liquidity Risks
As of September 30, 2010, approximately 88% of our total cash, cash equivalents and investment securities available-for-sale have variable interest rates or are very short-term discount notes traded in active markets. Therefore, we believe our exposure to the market and interest rate risk is not material. The remainder is composed of $2.6 million par student loan auction-rate securities (SLARS). Our SLARS are investment grade variable interest rate long-term bonds with rate resets, with purchases and sales determined via a Dutch Auction process every 28 days. They were issued to fund U.S. government guaranteed student loans. Beginning in February 2008, deteriorating global banking conditions led to insufficient investor bids to clear the auctions and fund the secondary market. In compliance with the securities' terms, the issuers then began, and continue, to pay interest at "maximum rates", instead of "auction rates".
Given the adverse credit market conditions and SLARS short-term illiquidity, the fair value of the principal became more sensitive to changes in interest rates and the spread between short and long rates than it was in the pre-2008 ARS credit marketplace. As a result, we estimated the fair value of the SLARS to be approximately $2.7 million at December 31, 2008. There were no adjustments to the fair value of the SLARS during 2009 or through September 30, 2010. In March 2010, one of the issuers redeemed $100,000 of our auction rate securities at par value through its voluntary lottery redemption program. If market conditions worsen, we may have to further adjust the estimated fair value and record additional charges to earnings if we believe the adjustment is other-than-temporary. In the event we need immediate access to the funds invested in the SLARS, we could be required to sell them at an amount below our current carrying value. Any of these events could affect our consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. However, based on recent market stabilization and strengthening, we do not expect to be required to sell these securities materially below their current estimated fair values.
Our investment policy generally directs that the investment managers should select investments to achieve the following goals: principal preservation, adequate liquidity and return. As of September 30, 2010, our cash and cash equivalents and investments available-for-sale securities portfolio are comprised of short-term highly rated money market funds and the SLARS.
The values of cash equivalents and investment securities, available-for-sale by maturity date as of September 30, 2010, are as follows:
Amount Percent
--------- ---------
Cash and cash equivalents $ 18,658 87.72%
Less than one year 12 0.06%
One to two years -- --
Greater than five years 2,600 12.22%
--------- ---------
$ 21,270 100.00%
========= =========
Foreign Exchange Rate Risk
All of our development contract payments are made in U.S. dollars. However, in the future we may enter into additional development contracts in foreign currencies that may subject us to foreign exchange rate risk. We intend to enter into foreign currency hedges to offset material exposure to currency fluctuations when we can adequately determine the timing and amounts of the foreign currency exposure.
In May 2010, we purchased foreign currency contracts granting us options to purchase an aggregate of 1.6 million Euro at $1.26 on expiration dates in August, October and November, 2010. The expiration dates are related to estimated product component purchase dates.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this report and, based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures are effective. There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II
OTHER INFORMATION
Risk Factors Relating to the Microvision Business
We have a history of operating losses and expect to incur significant losses in the future.
We have had substantial losses since our inception. We cannot assure you that we will ever become or remain profitable.
The likelihood of our success must be considered in light of the expenses, difficulties and delays frequently encountered by companies formed to develop and market new technologies. In particular, our operations to date have focused primarily on research and development of our technology platform and development of demonstration units. We are unable to accurately estimate future revenues and operating expenses based upon historical performance.
We cannot be certain that we will succeed in obtaining additional development contracts or that we will be able to obtain substantial customer orders for our products. In light of these factors, we expect to continue to incur substantial losses and negative cash flow at least through 2010 and likely thereafter. We cannot be certain that we will achieve positive cash flow at any time in the future.
We will require additional capital to fund our operations and to implement our business plan. If we do not obtain additional capital, we may be required to curtail our operations substantially. Raising additional capital may dilute the value of current shareholders' shares.
Based on our current operating plan, we anticipate that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations through April 2011. We will require additional cash to fund our operating plan past that time. We are introducing new products into an emerging market which creates significant uncertainty about our ability to accurately project revenue, costs and cash flows. If the level of sales anticipated by our financial plan is not achieved or our working capital requirements are higher than planned, we will need to raise additional cash sooner or take actions to reduce operating expenses. We plan to obtain additional cash through the issuance of equity or debt securities.
Our capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, the rate at which we can, directly or through arrangements with original equipment manufacturers, introduce products incorporating the PicoP display engine and image capture technologies and the market acceptance and competitive position of such products. If revenues are less than we anticipate, if the mix of revenues varies from anticipated amounts or if expenses exceed the amounts budgeted, we may require additional capital earlier than expected to fund our operations. In addition, our operating plan provides for the development of strategic relationships with systems and equipment manufacturers that may require additional investments by us.
Additional capital may not be available to us, or if available, on terms acceptable to us or on a timely basis. Raising additional capital may involve issuing securities with rights and preferences that are senior to our common stock and may dilute the value of current shareholders' shares. If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis we intend to consider limiting our operations substantially to extend out funds as we pursue other financing opportunities and business relationships. This limitation of operations could include reducing our planned investment in working capital to fund revenue growth and delaying development projects resulting in reductions in staff and operating costs as well as reductions in capital expenditures and investment in research and development.
If we cannot manufacture products at competitive prices, our financial results will be adversely affected.
We are currently negotiating component pricing with suppliers for our current and future products. The cost per unit for PicoP-based accessory projectors currently exceeds the level at which we could expect to profitably sell these products. If we cannot lower our cost of production, we may face increased demands on our financial resources, possibly requiring additional equity and/or debt financing to sustain our business operations.
We cannot be certain that our technology platform or products incorporating our PicoP display engine will achieve market acceptance. If products incorporating the PicoP display engine do not achieve market acceptance, our revenues may not grow.
Our success will depend in part on customer acceptance of the PicoP display engine. The PicoP display engine may not be accepted by manufacturers who use display technologies in their products, by systems integrators who incorporate our products into their products or by end users of these products. To be accepted, the PicoP display engine must meet the expectations of our potential customers in the consumer, defense, industrial, and medical markets. If our technology fails to achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to continue to develop our technology platform.
Our planned future products are dependent on advances in technology by other companies.
We rely on and will continue to rely on technologies, such as light sources, MEMS and optical components that are developed and produced by other companies. The commercial success of certain of our planned future products will depend in part on advances in these and other technologies by other companies. We may, from time to time, contract with and support companies developing key technologies in order to accelerate the development of them for our specific uses. There are no guarantees that such activities will result in useful technologies or components for us.
We or our customers may fail to perform under open purchase orders, which could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows.
Our backlog of open purchase orders reported from time to time may be significant and totaled $16.9 million as of September 30, 2010. We may be unable to meet the performance requirements, including performance specifications or delivery dates, required by such purchase orders. Further, our customers may be unable or unwilling to perform their obligations there under on a timely basis or at all if, among other reasons, our products and technologies do not achieve market acceptance, our customers' products and technologies do not achieve market acceptance or our customers otherwise fail to achieve their operating goals. To the extent we are unable to perform under such purchase orders or to the extent customers are unable or unwilling to perform, our operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.
It may become more difficult to sell our stock in the public market.
Our common stock is listed for quotation on The NASDAQ Global Market. To keep our listing on this market, we must meet NASDAQ's listing maintenance standards. If we are unable to continue to meet NASDAQ's listing maintenance standards, our common stock could be delisted from The NASDAQ Global Market. If our common stock were delisted, we likely would seek to list the common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market, the American Stock Exchange or on a regional stock exchange. Listing on such other market or exchange could reduce the liquidity of our common stock. If our common stock were not listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market or an exchange, trading of our common stock would be conducted in the over-the-counter market on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities or directly through market makers in our common stock. If our common stock were to trade in the over-the-counter market, an investor would find it more difficult to dispose of, or to obtain accurate quotations for the price of, the common stock. A delisting from The NASDAQ Global Market and failure to obtain listing on such other market or exchange would subject our securities to so-called penny stock rules that impose additional sales practice and market- making requirements on broker-dealers who sell or make a market in such securities. Consequently, removal from The NASDAQ Global Market and failure to obtain listing on another market or exchange could affect the ability or willingness of broker-dealers to sell or make a market in our common stock and the ability of purchasers of our common stock to sell their securities in the secondary market. In addition, when the market price of our common stock is less than $5.00 per share, we become subject to penny stock rules even if our common stock is still listed on The NASDAQ Global Market. While the penny stock rules should not affect the quotation of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Market, these rules may further limit the market liquidity of our common stock and the ability of investors to sell our common stock in the secondary market. The market price of our stock has mostly traded below $5.00 per share during 2009, 2008, and 2007. On October 26, 2010, the closing price of our stock was $2.03.
Our lack of financial and technical resources relative to our competitors may limit our revenues, potential profits, overall market share or value.
Our current products and potential future products will compete with established manufacturers of existing products and companies developing new technologies. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources than we have. Because of their greater resources, our competitors may develop products or technologies that are superior to our own. The introduction of superior competing products or technologies could result in reduced revenues, lower margins or loss of market share, any of which could reduce the value of our business.
We may not be able to keep up with rapid technological change and our financial results may suffer.
The information display industry has been characterized by rapidly changing technology, accelerated product obsolescence and continuously evolving industry standards. Our success will depend upon our ability to further develop our technology platform and to cost effectively introduce new products and features in a timely manner to meet evolving customer requirements and compete with competitors' product advances.
We may not succeed in these efforts because of:
The occurrence of any of the above factors could result in decreased revenues, market share and value.
We could face lawsuits related to our use of the PicoP display engine or other technologies. Defending these suits would be costly and time consuming. An adverse outcome in any such matter could limit our ability to commercialize our technology and products, reduce our revenues and increase our operating expenses.
We are aware of several patents held by third parties that relate to certain aspects of light scanning displays and image capture products. These patents could be used as a basis to challenge the validity, limit the scope or limit our ability to obtain additional or broader patent rights of our patents or patents we have licensed. A successful challenge to the validity of our patents or patents we have licensed could limit our ability to commercialize our technology and the PicoP display engine and, consequently, materially reduce our revenues. Moreover, we cannot be certain that patent holders or other third parties will not claim infringement by us with respect to current and future technology. Because U.S. patent applications are held and examined in secrecy, it is also possible that presently pending U.S. applications will eventually be issued with claims that will be infringed by our products or our technology. The defense and prosecution of a patent suit would be costly and time consuming, even if the outcome were ultimately favorable to us. An adverse outcome in the defense of a patent suit could subject us to significant costs, to require others and us to cease selling products that incorporate the PicoP display engine, to cease licensing our technology or to require disputed rights to be licensed from third parties. Such licenses, if available, would increase our operating expenses. Moreover, if claims of infringement are asserted against our future co- development partners or customers, those partners or customers may seek indemnification from us for damages or expenses they incur.
Our products may be subject to future health and safety regulations that could increase our development and production costs.
Products incorporating the PicoP display engine could become subject to new health and safety regulations that would reduce our ability to commercialize the PicoP display engine. Compliance with any such new regulations would likely increase our cost to develop and produce products using the PicoP display engine and adversely affect our financial results.
Our dependence on sales to distributors increases the risks of managing our supply chain and may result in excess inventory or inventory shortages.
We expect the majority of our distributor relationships for our accessory pico projector and its accessories to involve the distributor taking inventory positions and reselling to multiple customers. With these distributor relationships, we would not recognize revenue until the distributors sell the product through to their end user customers. Our distributor relationships may reduce our ability to forecast sales and increases risks to our business. Since our distributors would act as intermediaries between us and the end user customers, we would be required to rely on our distributors to accurately report inventory levels and production forecasts. This may require us to manage a more complex supply chain and monitor the financial condition and credit worthiness of our distributors and the end user customers. Our failure to manage one or more of these risks could result in excess inventory or shortages that could adversely impact our operating results and financial condition.
Our future growth will suffer if we do not achieve sufficient market acceptance of our products to compete effectively.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to gain acceptance of our current and future products by a large number of customers. Achieving market acceptance for our products will require marketing efforts and the expenditure of financial and other resources to create product awareness and demand by potential customers. We may be unable to offer products consistently, or at all, that compete effectively with products of others on the basis of price or performance. Failure to achieve broad acceptance of our products by potential customers and to effectively compete would have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Our operating results may be adversely impacted by worldwide political and economic uncertainties and specific conditions in the markets we address.
In the recent past, general worldwide economic conditions have experienced a downturn due to slower economic activity, concerns about inflation, increased energy costs, decreased consumer confidence, reduced corporate profits and capital spending, and adverse business conditions. Any continuation or worsening of the current global economic and financial conditions could materially adversely affect (i) our ability to raise, or the cost of, needed capital, (ii) demand for our current and future products and (iii) our ability to commercialize products. We cannot predict the timing, strength, or duration of any economic slowdown or subsequent economic recovery, worldwide, or in the display industry.
Because we plan to continue using foreign contract manufacturers, our operating results could be harmed by economic, political, regulatory and other factors in foreign countries.
We currently use a contract manufacturer in Asia to manufacture our accessory pico projector product, and we plan to use foreign manufacturers to manufacture future products, where appropriate. These international operations are subject to inherent risks, which may adversely affect us, including:
If we have to qualify a new contract manufacturer or foundry for our products, we may experience delays that result in lost revenues and damaged customer relationships.
We rely on single suppliers to manufacture our PicoP display engine, our accessory pico projector product and our MEMS chips in wafer form. The lead time required to establish a relationship with a new contract manufacturer or foundry is long, and it takes time to adapt a product's design to a particular manufacturer's processes. Accordingly, there is no readily available alternative source of supply for these products and components in high volumes. This could cause significant delays in shipping products if we have to change our source of supply and manufacture quickly, which may result in lost revenues and damaged customer relationships.
If we experience delays or failures in developing commercially viable products, we may have lower revenues.
We have begun sales of units incorporating the PicoP display engine. However, we must undertake additional research, development and testing before we are able to develop additional products for commercial sale. Product development delays by us or our potential product development partners, or the inability to enter into relationships with these partners, may delay or prevent us from introducing products for commercial sale. We intend to rely on third-party developments or to contract with other companies to continue development of green laser devices we will need for our products.
Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to secure significant third-party manufacturing resources.
We are developing our capability to manufacture products in commercial quantities. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to provide our components and future products in commercial quantities at competitive prices. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain access, through business partners or contract manufacturers, to manufacturing capacity and processes for the commercial production of our expected future products. We cannot be certain that we will successfully obtain access to sufficient manufacturing resources. Future manufacturing limitations of our suppliers could result in a limitation on the number of products incorporating our technology that we are able to produce.
If our licensors and we are unable to obtain effective intellectual property protection for our products and technology, we may be unable to compete with other companies.
Intellectual property protection for our products is important and uncertain. If we do not obtain effective intellectual property protection for our products, processes and technology, we may be subject to increased competition. Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability and the ability of our licensors to maintain the proprietary nature of the PicoP display and other key technologies by securing valid and enforceable patents and effectively maintaining unpatented technology as trade secrets. We try to protect our proprietary technology by seeking to obtain United States and foreign patents in our name, or licenses to third-party patents, related to proprietary technology, inventions, and improvements that may be important to the development of our business. However, our patent position and the patent position of our licensors involve complex legal and factual questions. The standards that the United States Patent and Trademark Office and its foreign counterparts use to grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. Additionally, the scope of patents are subject to interpretation by courts and their validity can be subject to challenges and defenses, including challenges and defenses based on the existence of prior art. Consequently, we cannot be certain as to the extent to which we will be able to obtain patents for our new products and technology or the extent to which the patents that we already own or license from others protect our products and technology. Reduction in scope of protection or invalidation of our licensed or owned patents, or our inability to obtain new patents, may enable other companies to develop products that compete with ours on the basis of the same or similar technology.
We also rely on the law of trade secrets to protect unpatented know-how and technology to maintain our competitive position. We try to protect this know- how and technology by limiting access to the trade secrets to those of our employees, contractors and partners with a need to know such information and by entering into confidentiality agreements with parties that have access to it, such as our employees, consultants and business partners. Any of these parties could breach the agreements and disclose our trade secrets or confidential information, or our competitors might learn of the information in some other way. If any trade secret not protected by a patent were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be materially harmed.
We could be exposed to significant product liability claims that could be time-consuming and costly, divert management attention and adversely affect our ability to obtain and maintain insurance coverage.
We may be subject to product liability claims if any of our product applications are alleged to be defective or cause harmful effects. For example, because some of our PicoP displays are designed to scan a low power beam of colored light into the user's eye, the testing, manufacture, marketing and sale of these products involve an inherent risk that product liability claims will be asserted against us. Product liability claims or other claims related to our products, regardless of their outcome, could require us to spend significant time and money in litigation, divert management time and attention, require us to pay significant damages, harm our reputation or hinder acceptance of our products. Any successful product liability claim may prevent us from obtaining adequate product liability insurance in the future on commercially desirable or reasonable terms. An inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or otherwise to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of our products.
We rely heavily on a limited number of development contracts with the U.S. government, which are subject to immediate termination by the government for convenience at any time, and the termination of one or more of these contracts could have a material adverse impact on our operations.
During the first nine months of 2010 and the full year of 2009, 2% and 43%, respectively, of our revenue was derived from performance on a limited number of development contracts with the U.S. government. Therefore, any significant disruption or deterioration of our relationship with the U.S. government would significantly reduce our revenues. Our government programs must compete with programs managed by other contractors for limited amounts and uncertain levels of funding. The total amount and levels of funding are susceptible to significant fluctuations on a year-to-year basis. Our competitors continuously engage in efforts to expand their business relationships with the government and are likely to continue these efforts in the future. Our contracts with the government are subject to immediate termination by the government for convenience at any time. The government may choose to use contractors with competing display technologies or it may decide to discontinue any of our programs altogether. In addition, those development contracts that we do obtain require ongoing compliance with applicable government regulations. Termination of our development contracts, a shift in government spending to other programs in which we are not involved, a reduction in government spending generally, or our failure to meet applicable government regulations could have severe consequences for our results of operations.
Our development agreements have long sales cycles, which make it difficult to plan our expenses and forecast our revenues.
Our development agreements have lengthy sales cycles that involve numerous steps including determination of a product application, exploring the technical feasibility of a proposed product, evaluating the costs of manufacturing a product and manufacturing or contracting out the manufacturing of the product. Our long sales cycle, which can last several years, makes it difficult to predict the quarter in which contract signing and revenue recognition will occur. Delays in entering into development agreements could cause significant variability in our revenues and operating results for any particular quarterly period.
Our development contracts may not lead to products that will be profitable.
Our development contracts, including without limitation those discussed in this document, are exploratory in nature and are intended to develop new types of products for new applications. These efforts may prove unsuccessful and these relationships may not result in the development of products that will be profitable.
If we lose our rights under our third-party technology licenses, our operations could be adversely affected.
Our business depends in part on technology rights licensed from third parties. We could lose our exclusivity or other rights to use the technology under our licenses if we fail to comply with the terms and performance requirements of the licenses. In addition, certain licensors may terminate a license upon our breach and have the right to consent to sublicense arrangements. If we were to lose our rights under any of these licenses, or if we were unable to obtain required consents to future sublicenses, we could lose a competitive advantage in the market, and may even lose the ability to commercialize certain products completely. Either of these results could substantially decrease our revenues.
We are dependent on third parties in order to develop, manufacture, sell and market our products.
Our strategy for commercializing our technology and products incorporating the PicoP display engine includes entering into cooperative development, manufacturing, sales and marketing arrangements with corporate partners, original equipment manufacturers and other third parties. We cannot be certain that we will be able to negotiate arrangements on acceptable terms, if at all, or that these arrangements will be successful in yielding commercially viable products. If we cannot establish these arrangements, we would require additional capital to undertake such activities on our own and would require extensive manufacturing, sales and marketing expertise that we do not currently possess and that may be difficult to obtain. In addition, we could encounter significant delays in introducing the PicoP display engine or find that the development, manufacture or sale of products incorporating the PicoP display engine would not be feasible. To the extent that we enter into cooperative development, sales and marketing or other joint venture arrangements, our revenues will depend upon the performance of third parties. We cannot be certain that any such arrangements will be successful.
Loss of any of our key personnel could have a negative effect on the operation of our business.
Our success depends on our executive officers and other key personnel and on the ability to attract and retain qualified new personnel. Achievement of our business objectives will require substantial additional expertise in the areas of sales and marketing, research and product development and manufacturing. Competition for qualified personnel in these fields is intense, and the inability to attract and retain additional highly skilled personnel, or the loss of key personnel, could reduce our revenues and adversely affect our business.
We are dependent on a small number of customers for our revenue. Our quarterly performance may vary substantially and this variance, as well as general market conditions, may cause our stock price to fluctuate greatly and potentially expose us to litigation.
Our revenues to date have been generated primarily from a limited number of development contracts with U.S. government entities and commercial partners. Our quarterly operating results may vary significantly based on:
In one or more future quarters, our results of operations may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors and the trading price of our common stock may decline as a consequence. In addition, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, shareholders often have instituted securities class action litigation against that company. If we become involved in a class action suit, it could divert the attention of management, and, if adversely determined, could require us to pay substantial damages.
If we fail to manage expansion effectively, our revenue and expenses could be adversely affected.
Our ability to successfully offer products and implement our business plan in a rapidly evolving market requires an effective planning and management process. The growth in business and relationships with customers and other third parties has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our management systems and resources. We will need to continue to improve our financial and managerial controls, reporting systems and procedures and will need to continue to train and manage our work force.
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31.1 |
Chief Executive Officer Certification Pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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31.2 |
Chief Financial Officer Certification Pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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32.1 |
Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to Section 1350, Chapter 63 of Title 18, United States Code, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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32.2 |
Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to Section 1350, Chapter 63 of Title 18, United States Code, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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MICROVISION, INC. |
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Date: November 4, 2010 |
BY: |
/s/ Alexander Y. Tokman |
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Alexander Y. Tokman |
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Chief Executive Officer |
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Date: November 4, 2010 |
BY: |
/s/ Jeff Wilson |
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Jeff Wilson |
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Chief Financial Officer |
The following documents are filed herewith.
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Exhibit Number |
Description |
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31.1 |
Chief Executive Officer Certification Pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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31.2 |
Chief Financial Officer Certification Pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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32.1 |
Chief Executive Officer Certification pursuant to Section 1350, Chapter 63 of Title 18, United States Code, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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32.2 |
Chief Financial Officer Certification pursuant to Section 1350, Chapter 63 of Title 18, United States Code, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |