Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks Related to Our Financial Performance
We have not been historically profitable, which may recur in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below expectations in any particular fiscal quarter.
We were profitable in fiscal 2024, however, we have recorded net losses for the prior three fiscal years. We may not be profitable in fiscal 2025 or future years. While we achieved profitable results in fiscal 2024, we cannot be certain that we will sustain profitability in future years.
There remains uncertainty in our business, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and future prospects. In addition, our operating results historically have been difficult to predict and have at times fluctuated from quarter to quarter due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result of all of these factors, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and you should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. In addition, we have in the past provided, and may continue to, provide public guidance on our expected operating and financial results for future periods. Such guidance is comprised of forward-looking statements subject to the risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings and statements. Our actual results may not always be in line with or exceed the guidance we have provided. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of investors or any securities analysts that follow our company in any period or we do not meet our guidance, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline.
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Our operating expenses do not always vary directly with revenue and may be difficult to adjust in the short term. As a result, if revenue for a particular quarter is below our expectations, we may not be able to proportionately reduce operating expenses for that quarter, and therefore such a revenue shortfall would have a disproportionate effect on our operating results for that quarter.
While we generated positive operating cash flow in fiscal 2024 and the prior year, we have a history of negative operating cash flows, and we may require additional financing in the future, which may not be available to us.
At March 31, 2025, we had approximately $85.4 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, and during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, $28.3 million in cash was provided by our operating activities. In the current period, we experienced net income and positive operating cash flows. In prior years, we have experienced net losses and negative operating cash flows. We plan to continue to closely monitor our expenses and, if required, will further reduce operating costs and capital spending to enhance liquidity.
Our liquidity is highly dependent on our ability to profitably grow our revenues, control our operating costs, and secure additional financing, if required. We may require additional capital to conduct our business and adequately respond to future business challenges or opportunities, including, but not limited to, the need to develop new products or enhance existing products, maintain or expand research and development projects, collateralize performance bonds or letters of credit, acquire new businesses or assets, and the need to build inventory or to invest other cash to support business growth. In order to raise additional capital, we may offer shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of each of our existing stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders.
In the event that additional liquidity is required, there can be no assurance that such financing would be available or, if available, that such financing could be obtained upon terms acceptable to us, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.
In addition, the Company maintains the majority of its cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. and multi-national financial institutions, and our deposits at certain institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we will be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all.
Our technology and products could infringe intellectual property rights of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and disrupt our business.
In recent years, there has been significant litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in many technology-related industries. There may be patents or patent applications in the United States or other countries that are pertinent to our products or business of which we are not aware. The technology that we incorporate into and use to develop and manufacture our current and future products, including the technologies we license, may be subject to claims that they infringe the patents or proprietary rights of others. The success of our business will also depend on our ability to develop new technologies without infringing or misappropriating the proprietary rights of others. Third parties may allege that we infringe patents, trademarks or copyrights, or that we misappropriated trade secrets. These allegations could result in significant costs and diversion of the attention of management. If a successful claim were brought against us and we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to pay substantial damages, including treble damages if it is determined that we have willfully infringed such rights, or be enjoined from using the technology deemed to be infringing, or using, making or selling products deemed to be infringing. If we have supplied infringing products or technology to third parties, we may be obligated to indemnify these third parties for damages they may be required to pay to the patent holder and for any losses they may sustain as a result of the infringement. In addition, we may need to attempt to license the intellectual property right from such third party or spend time and money to design around or avoid the intellectual property. Any such license may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all. An adverse determination may subject us to significant liabilities and/or disrupt our business.
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Changes in exchange rates could adversely affect our results of operations.
Currency exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations, and we could experience losses with respect to hedging activities. In fiscal 2024, 31% of our revenues were recognized from sales outside of the United States. In addition, approximately 16% of our revenues in fiscal 2024 were derived under sales contracts where prices were denominated in the Euro. Unfavorable currency fluctuations could require us to increase prices to foreign customers, which could result in a lesser value of orders, and therefore lower revenues, from such customers. Alternatively, if we do not adjust the prices for our products in response to unfavorable currency fluctuations, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, most sales made by our foreign subsidiaries are denominated in the currency of the country in which these products are sold, and the currency they receive in payment for such sales could be less valuable at the time of receipt as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. However, we cannot be certain that our efforts will be adequate to protect us against significant currency fluctuations or that such efforts will not expose us to additional exchange rate risks.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial data.
Maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. If material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting are discovered or occur in the future, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements and we could be required to restate our financial results.
If we are unable to maintain effective internal controls, we may not have adequate, accurate or timely financial information, and we may be unable to meet our reporting obligations or comply with the requirements of the SEC or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which could result in the imposition of sanctions, including the inability of registered broker dealers to make a market in our common stock, or an investigation by regulatory authorities. Any such action or other negative results caused by our inability to meet our reporting requirements or to comply with legal and regulatory requirements or by our disclosure of an accounting, reporting or control issue could adversely affect the trading price of our securities and our business. Significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting could also reduce our ability to obtain financing or could increase the cost of any financing we obtain.
We may be required to issue performance bonds, which restricts our ability to access any cash used as collateral for the bonds.
While we have been required to provide performance bonds in the form of surety bonds or other forms of security and letters of credit in the past, the size of the bonds and letters of credit was not material. In recent years, we have entered into contracts that require us to post bonds and to deliver letters of credit of significant magnitude. Similarly, in many other instances, we have been required to deposit cash in escrow accounts as collateral for these instruments, which is unavailable to us for general use for significant periods of time. Should we be unable to obtain performance bonds or letters of credit in the future, significant future potential revenue could become unavailable to us. Further, should our working capital situation deteriorate, we would not be able to access the restricted cash to meet working capital requirements.
Risks Related to Our Operations
We may not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts.
We cannot assure you that we will realize the revenue we expect to generate from our backlog in the periods we expect to realize such revenue, or at all.
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In addition, the backlog of orders, if realized, may not result in profitable revenue. Backlog represents the value of contracts and purchase orders received for which delivery is expected in the next twelve months. Our customers have the right under some circumstances and with some penalties or consequences to terminate, reduce or defer firm orders that we have in backlog. In addition, our government contracts are subject to the risks described below. If our customers terminate, reduce or defer firm orders, we may be protected from certain costs and losses, but our sales will nevertheless be adversely affected, and we may not generate the revenue we expect.
Although we strive to maintain ongoing relationships with our customers, there is an ongoing risk that they may cancel orders or reschedule orders due to fluctuations in their business needs or purchasing budgets.
This has had, and may continue to have, an adverse effect on our ability to grow our revenues. In addition, current and future suppliers may be less likely to grant us credit, resulting in a negative impact on our working capital and cash flows.
If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our financial performance could be harmed.
Our future financial performance and success are dependent in large part upon our ability to implement our business strategy successfully. Our business strategy envisions several initiatives, including driving revenue growth and enhancing operating results by increasing customer adoption of our products by targeting high-growth segments with commercial and system-level products. We may not be able to implement our business strategy successfully or achieve the anticipated benefits of our business plan. If we are unable to do so, our long-term growth and profitability may be adversely affected. Even if we are able to implement some or all of the initiatives of our business plan successfully, our operating results may not improve to the extent we anticipate, or at all. In addition, to the extent we have misjudged the nature and extent of industry trends or our competition, we may have difficulty in achieving our strategic objectives. Any failure to implement our business strategy successfully may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may decide to alter or discontinue certain aspects of our business strategy at any time.
Our ability to implement our business strategy could also be affected by a number of factors beyond our control, such as increased competition, legal developments, government regulation, general economic conditions, including as a result of the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas and trade conflicts, or increased operating costs or expenses.
We rely upon third-party suppliers for the components and subassemblies of many of our Grid and Wind products, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations, which could harm our business.
Many of our components and subassemblies are currently manufactured for us by a limited number of qualified suppliers. Any interruption in the supply of components or subassemblies, or our inability to obtain substitute components or subassemblies from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner, could impair our ability to meet the demand of our customers, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operating results. Moreover, if the costs of acquiring components and subassemblies from these suppliers significantly increase, we may not be able to identify alternative suppliers, which could adversely impact our business and operating results.
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In order to minimize costs and time to market, we have and will continue to identify local suppliers that meet our quality standards to produce certain of our subassemblies and components. These efforts may not be successful including as quality standards evolve. For example, there are increasing expectations in various jurisdictions that companies monitor the environmental, social, and/or geographic provenance of their supply chain; complying with such expectations may cause us to incur additional costs, subject us to increased scrutiny, reduce the number of acceptable suppliers, or otherwise impact our business or operations. In addition, any event that negatively impacts our supply, including, among others, wars, terrorist activities, cyberattacks, natural disasters and outbreaks of infectious disease, could delay or suspend shipments of products or the release of new products or could result in the delivery of inferior products. Our revenues from the affected products would decline or we could incur losses until such time as we are able to restore our production processes or put in place alternative contract manufacturers or suppliers. Even though we carry business interruption insurance policies, we may suffer losses as a result of business interruptions that exceed the coverage available under our insurance policies.
Our contracts with the U.S. and Canadian governments are subject to audit, modification or termination by such governments and include certain other provisions in favor of the governments. The continued funding of such contracts may remain subject to annual legislative appropriation, which, if not approved, could reduce our revenue and lower or eliminate our profit.
As a company that contracts with the U.S. and Canadian governments, we are subject to financial audits and other reviews by such governments of our costs and performance, accounting, and general business practices relating to these contracts. Based on the results of these audits, such governments may adjust our contract-related costs and fees. We cannot be certain that adjustments arising from government audits and reviews would not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our government contracts customarily contain other provisions that give the government substantial rights and remedies, many of which are not typically found in commercial contracts, including provisions that allow the applicable government to:
All of our U.S. and Canadian government contracts, as well as certain of our contracts with third parties that are dependent on such government contracts, can be terminated by the applicable government for its convenience. Termination-for-convenience provisions typically provide only for our recovery of costs incurred or committed, and for settlement of expenses and profit on work completed prior to termination. In addition to the right of the government to terminate its contracts with us, these government contracts are conditioned upon the continuing approval by the applicable legislature of the necessary spending to honor such contracts. The U.S. Congress often appropriates funds for a program on a fiscal year basis even though contract performance may take more than one year. Consequently, at the beginning of many major governmental programs, contracts often may not be fully funded, and additional monies are then committed to the contract only if, as and when appropriations are made by the U.S. Congress or other applicable body for future fiscal years. In addition, government shutdowns could prevent or delay such contracts from being funded. Failure by the U.S. Congress to further suspend or increase the debt ceiling could delay or result in the loss of contracts for the procurement of our products and services, and we may be asked or required to continue to perform for some period of time on certain of our U.S. government contracts, even if the U.S. government is unable to make timely payments. Moreover, the U.S. executive branch has recently created the Department of Government Efficiency, which is identifying ways to cut federal spending. There can be no assurance that we will not be adversely affected by such cost-cutting measures.
We cannot be certain that our U.S. government contracts, or our contracts with third parties that relate to projects for the U.S. government will not be terminated or suspended in the future. The U.S. government’s termination of, or failure to fully fund, one or more of our contracts would have a negative impact on our operating results and financial condition. Further, in the event that any of our government contracts are terminated for cause, it could affect our ability to obtain future government contracts which could, in turn, seriously harm our ability to develop our technologies and products.
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Changes in U.S. government defense spending could negatively impact our financial position, results of operations, liquidity and overall business.
We have several contracts with the U.S. government, including defense-related programs with the U.S. Department of Defense. Changes in U.S. government defense spending for various reasons, including as a result of potential changes in policy positions or priorities that may result from the U.S. presidential and congressional elections, could negatively impact our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Our programs are subject to U.S. government policies, budget decisions and appropriation processes which are driven by numerous factors including: (1) geopolitical events; (2) macroeconomic conditions; (3) the ability of the U.S. government to enact relevant legislation, such as appropriations bills; and (4) the spending priorities of the U.S. Presidential Administration. In recent years, U.S. government appropriations have been affected by larger U.S. government budgetary issues and related legislation. In prior years, the U.S. government has been unable to timely complete its budget process before the end of its fiscal year, resulting in governmental shut-downs or providing only enough funds for U.S. government agencies to continue operating at prior-year levels. Significant changes in U.S. government defense spending or changes in U.S. government priorities, policies and requirements could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
Our business and operations may be materially adversely impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our or any critical third parties' IT Systems or Confidential Information.
We rely upon the capacity, reliability, and security of information technology hardware and software infrastructure and networks (collectively, "IT Systems"), and our ability to expand and update such IT Systems in response to our changing needs. We manage certain IT Systems but also rely on IT Systems and various products and services provided by critical third-party vendors and others in the supply chain. We also collect and store sensitive, personal and confidential information ("Confidential Information") in the ordinary course of our business. Any failure to manage, expand, or update our IT Systems or Confidential Information or any disruption to or failure in the operation of such IT Systems or Confidential Information could harm our business. In addition, the costs associated with updating and securing our IT Systems or Confidential Information are likely to increase as such security measures become more complex, which may harm our operating results and financial condition.
We face numerous and evolving cybersecurity risks that threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our IT Systems and Confidential Information. Our IT Systems, and those of the third-party vendors we rely on, as well as our Confidential Information, are vulnerable to disruption, compromise and damage from computer viruses (including malware and ransomware), bugs, misconfigurations or vulnerabilities, social engineering/phishing, natural disasters, human or technical error, intentional conduct, cyberattacks, unauthorized access and other similar disruptions. Because we rely on certain third party vendors that support our operations, successful cyberattacks that disrupt or result in unauthorized access to third party IT Systems can materially impact our operations and financial results. There can also be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, or the processes of third-party vendors we rely on, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our IT Systems and Confidential Information. Our business is also subject to break-ins, sabotage, and intentional acts of vandalism by third parties as well as employees. We cannot guarantee the security or protection of any IT Systems or Confidential Information. Cyberattacks are expected to accelerate on a global basis in frequency and magnitude, particularly as threat actors, such as ransomware groups, are becoming increasingly sophisticated in using techniques and tools including artificial intelligence that are designed to circumvent controls, evade detection and remove or obfuscate forensic evidence. As a result, we and our third-party providers may be unable to timely or effectively anticipate, detect, investigate, remediate or recover from cyberattacks in the future or avoid material impact to our IT Systems, Confidential Information, and our business. We also face increased cyber risk due to the number of our and others' employees who are (and may continue to be) working remotely due to the challenges associated with managing remote computing assets and security vulnerabilities that are present in many non-corporate and home networks.
We and certain of our third-party providers regularly experience cyberattacks and other incidents, and we expect such attacks and incidents to continue in varying degrees. While to date no incidents have had a material impact on our operations or financial results, we cannot guarantee that material incidents will not occur in the future. Any adverse impact to the availability, integrity or confidentiality of our IT Systems or those of third parties upon which we rely could result in disruptions to our operations, loss, damage or compromise to our data, or inappropriate disclosure of Confidential Information. Any or all of the foregoing could harm our reputation, result in substantial remediation, incident response, system restoration and compliance costs, lead to lost revenues and business opportunities, lead to regulatory investigations and enforcement and/or litigation (such as class actions), and related fines or penalties, increase our insurance premiums and have other materially adverse effects on our business and results. Our insurance policies may not cover, or may be insufficient to cover, any or all costs, losses and liability associated with any cyberattacks, security incidents or other disruptions and we cannot guarantee that applicable insurance will be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms or at all. Any or all of the foregoing could materially adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
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Failure to comply with evolving data privacy and data protection laws and regulations or to otherwise protect personal data, may adversely impact our business and financial results.
In connection with running our business, we receive, store, use and otherwise process information that relates to individuals and/or constitutes “personal data,” “personal information,” “personally identifiable information,” or similar terms under applicable data privacy laws (collectively, “Personal Data”).We are therefore subject to many rapidly evolving privacy and data protection laws and regulations in the United States, Europe and around the world. These laws require us to operate in a complex environment where there are significant constraints on how we can process Personal Data across our business. The scope of these laws are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among jurisdictions. For example, the European and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and the data protection and security laws of other jurisdictions impose onerous obligations — including around transparency, data subject rights, contractual requirements, data breach reporting, and international data transfers — with respect to our processing Personal Data. We are also subject to certain contractual obligations related to privacy, data protection and data security that may also impose onerous obligations. The legal and regulatory framework for privacy, data protection and data security worldwide is, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, uncertain and complex, and it is possible that these or other actual or alleged obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that we do not anticipate or that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another, and may conflict with our other legal obligations or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy, data protection and data security obligations may result in substantial fines, regulatory investigations or enforcement, reputational damage, orders to cease/change our use of data, as well as potential civil claims, including class action litigation, and could result in significant liability (including monetary penalties or requirements to alter our operations), any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Further, any significant change to applicable laws, regulations or industry practices regarding privacy, data protection, and data security could increase our costs and require us to modify our operations, possibly in a material
manner.
Our success is dependent upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so could significantly damage our business and prospects.
We have attracted a highly skilled management team and specialized workforce, including scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturing, personnel, and marketing and sales professionals. Hiring and retaining good personnel for our business is challenging, and highly qualified technical personnel are likely to remain a limited resource for the foreseeable future. We may not be able to hire the necessary personnel to implement our business strategy. In addition, we may need to provide higher compensation or more training to our personnel than we currently anticipate. Moreover, any officer or employee can terminate his or her relationship with us at any time. Losing the services of any of our executive officers or key employees could materially and adversely impact our business.
We may acquire additional complementary businesses or technologies, which may require us to incur substantial costs for which we may never realize the anticipated benefits.
Our recent acquisitions have required substantial integration and management efforts. As a result of any additional acquisition we pursue, management’s attention and resources may be further diverted from our other businesses. An acquisition may also involve the payment of a significant purchase price, which could reduce our cash position or dilute our stockholders and require significant transaction-related expenses.
Achieving the benefits of any acquisition involves additional risks, including:
• difficulty integrating acquired operations, technologies and personnel;
• unforeseen liabilities of the acquired business;
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• limitations on indemnification from the seller;
We cannot provide any assurance that we will realize any of the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, including our acquisition of Megatran Industries, Inc. including its subsidiaries, completed in August 2024, and if we fail to realize these anticipated benefits, our operating performance could suffer.
A significant portion of our Wind segment revenues are derived from a single customer. If this customer’s business is negatively affected, it could adversely impact our business.
A significant portion of our Wind segment revenues have historically been derived from Inox and a significant decrease in revenues from Inox could adversely impact our Wind segment. Revenues from Inox are supported by supply contracts to purchase wind turbine ECS, and licenses to make, use and supply, wind turbines based on our designs. Inox has been active in the new central and state government auction regime in India and has a cumulative order book of over 2.6 GW. However, we cannot predict if and how successful Inox will be in executing on these orders or in obtaining new orders under the new central and state auction regime. Any failure by Inox to succeed under this regime, or any delay in Inox’s ability to deliver its wind turbines, could result in fewer ECS shipments to Inox. Inox has historically failed to post letters of credit and take delivery of forecasted ECS quantities.
Our success in addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers that license our designs.
Because an important element of our strategy for addressing the wind energy market involves the license of our wind turbine designs to manufacturers of those systems, the financial benefits to us from our products for the wind energy market are dependent on the success of these manufacturers in selling wind turbines based on our designs. We may not be able to enter into marketing or distribution arrangements with third parties on financially acceptable terms, or at all, and third parties may not be successful in selling our products or applications incorporating our products.
Many of our revenue opportunities are dependent upon subcontractors and other business collaborators.
Many of the revenue opportunities for our business involve projects, such as the installation of our ship protection systems and electrical system hardware in wind turbines, in which we collaborate with other companies, including suppliers of cryogenic systems, manufacturers of electric power cables and manufacturers of wind turbines. As a result, many of our current and planned revenue-generating projects involve business collaborators on whose performance our revenue is dependent. If these business collaborators fail to deliver their products or perform their obligations on a timely basis or fail to generate sufficient demand for the systems they manufacture, our revenue from the project may be delayed or decreased, and we may not be successful in selling our products.
Problems with product quality or product performance may cause us to incur warranty expenses and may damage our market reputation and prevent us from achieving increased sales and market share.
Consistent with customary practice in our industry, we provide various warranties or guarantees relating to our products, such as that our products and/or services will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service. We generally provide a one- to three-year warranty on our products, commencing upon installation. A provision is recorded upon revenue recognition to cost of revenues for estimated warranty expense based on historical experience. The possibility of future product failures or issues related to services we provided could cause us to incur substantial expenses to repair or replace defective products or re-perform such services potentially in excess of our reserves. Furthermore, widespread product failures may damage our market reputation and reduce our market share and cause sales to decline.
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Many of our customers outside of the United States may be either directly or indirectly related to governmental entities, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws outside the United States.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Many of our customers outside of the United States are, either directly or indirectly, related to governmental entities and are therefore subject to such anti-bribery laws. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Our internal control policies and procedures may not always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have had limited success marketing and selling our superconductor products and system-level solutions, and our failure to more broadly market and sell our products and solutions could lower our revenue and cash flow.
To date, we have had limited success marketing and selling our superconductor products and system-level solutions. Once our products and solutions are ready for widespread commercial use, we will have to develop a marketing and sales organization that will effectively demonstrate the advantages of our products over more traditional products, competing superconductor products and other technologies. We may not be successful in our efforts to market this technology and we may not be able to establish an effective sales and distribution organization.
We may decide to enter into arrangements with third parties for the marketing or distribution of our products, including arrangements in which our products, such as Amperium wire, are included as a component of a larger product, such as a power cable system. By entering into marketing and sales alliances, the financial benefits to us of commercializing our products will be dependent on the efforts of others.
We or third parties on whom we depend may be adversely affected by natural disasters, including events resulting from climate change, and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us or our value chain from such events.
Natural disasters (including, but not limited to tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, storms, floods, droughts and extreme temperatures) and chronic changes in the physical environment, such as changes to meteorological or hydrological patterns, could severely disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. Climate change may increase the frequency or intensity of such events, as well as contribute to chronic changes (such as changes in meteorological or hydrological patterns) that may result in similar risk. If a natural disaster, power outage, or other event, including human acts such as terrorism, occurred that prevented us from fully utilizing our value chain or facilities, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as the manufacturing facilities on which we rely, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The disaster recovery and business continuity plans we have in place may prove inadequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses as a result of the limited nature of our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
In addition, changes in climate change-related laws or regulations, including laws relating to greenhouse gas emissions, could lead to new or additional compliance requirements and expenditures, and subject us to additional operational costs and restrictions, including increased energy and raw material costs and other compliance requirements which could negatively impact our reputation, business, capital expenditures, results of operations and financial position. For more information, please refer to our risk factor titled “The increasing focus on environmental sustainability and social initiatives could increase our costs, and inaction could harm our reputation and adversely impact our financial results."
Uncertainty surrounding our prospects and financial condition may have an adverse effect on our customer and supplier relationships.
Our relationships with our customers and suppliers are predicated on the belief that we will continue to operate. Our customers, particularly in the utility industry, are generally risk averse and may not enter into sales contracts with us if there is uncertainty regarding our ability to support working capital needs of large-scale projects.
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Pandemics, epidemics, or other public health crises may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The occurrence or reoccurrence of regional epidemics, a global pandemic or other public health crises, such as COVID-19, may adversely affect our operations, financial condition, and results of operations. The extent to which a public health crisis impacts our business going forward will depend on factors such as the duration and scope; governmental, business, and individuals' actions in response to the public health crisis; and the impact on economic activity, including the possibility of recession or financial market instability. Measures to contain a public health crisis may intensify other risks described in these Risk Factors.
Risks Related to Our Markets
Adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our operating results.
We have become increasingly subject to the risks arising from adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions, including as a result of governmental policies and actions in the United States. In recent years, financial markets have been volatile and the state of both the domestic and global economies has been uncertain. Governmental policies and actions in the United States, such as new tariffs, trade restrictions and resulting trade conflicts, cuts in government spending or the failure to increase the federal debt ceiling, could lead to further financial market volatility and harm the economy. Adverse credit conditions in the future could have a negative impact on our ability to execute on future strategic activities. In addition, if credit is difficult to obtain in the future, some customers may delay or reduce purchases. Similarly, inflationary pressures have increased and may increase our costs or force us to increase prices for our products. In particular, in fiscal 2023, we experienced substantial inflationary pressure in our supply chain. Sustained higher prices continued throughout fiscal 2024, although we believe inflationary pressures were more stable. These events have resulted or could in the future result in higher product costs, reductions in sales of our products, longer sales cycles, slower adoption of new technologies, increased accounts receivable and inventory write-offs and increased price competition. If recessionary conditions exist and continue for an extended period of time, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We also purchase large amounts of commodity-based raw materials. Prevailing prices for such commodities are subject to fluctuations due to changes in supply and demand, tariffs, and a variety of additional factors beyond our control, such as global political and economic conditions. Any of these events would likely harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our international operations are subject to risks that we do not face in the United States, which could have an adverse effect on our operating results.
In recent years, a substantial amount of our consolidated revenues were recognized from customers outside of the United States. For example, 31% of our revenues in fiscal 2024 and 37% of our revenues in fiscal 2023 were recognized from sales outside the United States. We also manufacture certain of our products and purchase a portion of our raw materials and components from suppliers in other foreign countries. The ongoing wars between Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Hamas have caused increased raw material costs and material shortages and, as a result, adversely impacted certain of our suppliers. Our international operations are subject to a variety of risks that we do not face in the United States, including:
• increased exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk;
• reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; and
• natural disasters, pandemics, political unrest, war or acts of terrorism.
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Trade tensions between the U.S. and China, the U.S. and Russia, as well as those between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico and other countries have been escalating in recent years. Increased tariffs, sanctions, and other trade restrictions, as well as the existing and potential further responses from countries subject to such tariffs, sanctions, and other trade restrictions, could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot predict with certainty the effect that new quotas, tariffs, taxes or other trade barriers upon the importation or exportation of our products or gauge the effect that new barriers would have on our financial position or results of operations. These new tariffs or any additional tariffs or other trade barriers may cause our costs to increase, our products to be less competitive, and our business, results of operations and financial position to be materially adversely affected.
Our overall success in international markets depends, in part, upon our ability to succeed in differing legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions. We may not be successful in developing and implementing policies and strategies that will be effective in managing these risks in each country where we do business or conduct operations. Our failure to manage these risks successfully could harm our international operations and reduce our international sales, thus lowering our total revenue and increasing losses.
Our products face competition, which could limit our ability to acquire or retain customers.
The markets for our products are competitive and many of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources and research and development, manufacturing and marketing capabilities than we do. In addition, as our target markets develop, other large industrial companies may enter these fields and compete with us.
We face competition from other companies offering FACTS systems similar to our D-VAR products. These include adaptive VAR compensators, Dynamic voltage restorers (“DVRs”), and STATCOMs produced by ABB, Hitachi, Ingeteam, Mitsubishi, RXHK, and Siemens, and battery-based uninterruptable power supply (“UPS”) systems offered by various companies around the world.
We face competition from other companies offering medium-voltage metal-enclosed power capacitor banks and harmonic filter banks for use on electric power systems similar to our NEPSI products. These include Southern States, Controllix, Powerside, Elgin Power Solutions (formally Gilbert), Scott Manufacturing Solutions, and QVARx.
We face competition from other companies offering DC power supply systems similar to our Neeltran products. These include SCR Controlled Rectifiers, IGBT-controlled choppers produced by ABB, Siemens, Friem, Dynapower, and Nidec offering systems around the world.
We face competition from other companies offering transformers and power supplies similar to our NWL products. These include industrial and military transformers produced by Espey Manufacturing & Electronics Corp., Hammond and Ocrev, and power supplies offered by Kraft Powercon, Andritz, Lonking Holdings, and Rico.
With our HTS-based REG product, we are offering a new approach that provides alternatives to utilities for power system design. Therefore, we believe that we compete with traditional approaches such as new full-sized substations, overhead and underground transmission, and urban power transformers.
We believe we are currently the only company that can offer HTS-based SPS products that have been fully qualified for use aboard U.S. Navy surface combatants. Therefore, the primary competition for our SPS products is currently coming from defense contractors that provide the copper-based systems that our lighter, more efficient HTS versions have been developed to replace. Companies such as Ultra Maritime, L3 Harris, and Raytheon have the bulk of the copper-based business today.
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As the HTS systems markets develop, other large industrial companies may enter those fields and compete with us. If we are unable to compete successfully, it may harm our business, which in turn may limit our ability to acquire or retain customers.
With respect to our Wind business, other companies that serve the wind turbine components industry include ABB and Hopewind. We also face indirect competition in the wind energy market from global manufacturers of wind turbines, such as Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, Envision and Suzlon. We face competition for the supply of wind turbine engineering design services from design engineering firms such as Aerovide and W2E.
The competition in these markets could adversely affect our operating results by reducing the volume of the products we sell or the prices we can charge. These competitors may be able to respond more rapidly than us to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. They may also devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we do. Our success depends significantly upon our ability to enhance our products and technologies and to develop and introduce, on a timely and cost-effective basis, new products and features that meet changing customer requirements and incorporate technological enhancements. If we are unable to develop new products and enhance functionalities or technologies to adapt to these changes, our business will suffer. We can provide no assurance that we will continue to effectively compete against our current competitors or additional companies that may enter our markets.
We have operations in, and depend on sales in, emerging markets, including India, and global conditions could negatively affect our operating results or limit our ability to expand our operations outside of these markets. Changes in India’s political, social, regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial performance.
We have operations in India. Our financial performance depends upon our ability to carry on our operations and sell our products in markets such as India, as well as other emerging markets around the world. We are, and will continue to be, subject to financial, political, economic and business risks in connection with our operations and sales in these emerging markets. In addition to the business risks inherent in developing and servicing these markets, economic conditions may be more volatile, legal and regulatory systems less developed and predictable, and the possibility of various types of adverse governmental action more pronounced in emerging markets. In addition, inflation, fluctuations in currency and interest rates, competitive factors, civil unrest, public health emergencies and labor problems could affect our revenues, expenses and results of operations. Our operations could also be adversely affected by acts of war, terrorism or the threat of any of these events as well as government actions such as controls on imports, exports and prices, tariffs, new forms of taxation, or changes in fiscal regimes and increased government regulation in the countries in which we operate or service customers. Unexpected or uncontrollable events or circumstances in any of these markets could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and cash flows.
Our financial performance could be affected by the political and social environment in India. In recent years, India has experienced civil unrest and terrorism and has been involved in conflicts with neighboring countries. The potential for hostilities between India and Pakistan has been high in light of tensions related to recent terrorist incidents in India and the unsettled nature of the regional geopolitical environment.
With respect to our activities in all emerging markets, we may be impacted by issues with managing foreign sales operations, including long payment cycles, potential difficulties in accounts receivable collection and, especially from significant customers, fluctuations in the timing and amount of orders. The adverse effect of any of these issues on our business could be increased due to the concentration of our business with a small number of customers. Operations in foreign countries also expose us to risks relating to difficulties in enforcing our proprietary rights, currency fluctuations and adverse or deteriorating economic conditions. For example, the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has caused increased raw material costs and material shortages for, and adversely impacted, certain of our suppliers. If we experience problems with obtaining registrations, compliance with foreign country or applicable U.S. laws, or if we experience difficulties in payments or intellectual property matters in foreign jurisdictions, or if significant political, economic or regulatory changes occur, our results of operations would be adversely affected.
Industry consolidation could result in more powerful competitors and fewer customers.
Competitors in the industries in which we operate are consolidating. If our competitors consolidate, they likely will increase their market share, gain economies of scale that enhance their ability to compete with us and/or acquire additional products and technologies that could displace our product offerings. Our customer base also is undergoing consolidation. Consolidation within our customers’ industries could affect our customers and their relationships with us. If one of our competitors’ customers acquires any of our customers, we may lose that business. Additionally, if our customers become larger and more concentrated, they could exert pricing pressure on all suppliers, including us. If we were to lose market share or customers or face pricing pressure due to consolidation of our customers, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
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Our success could depend upon the commercial adoption of the REG system, which is currently limited, and a widespread commercial market for our REG products may not develop.
To date, there has been no widespread commercial use of the REG system. It is uncertain whether a robust commercial market for those new and unproven products will ever develop.
In addition, we believe in-grid demonstrations of REG systems are necessary to convince utilities and power grid operators of the benefits of this technology. Even if a project is funded, completion of projects can be delayed as a result of other factors. It is possible that the market demands we currently anticipate for our REG system will not develop and that they will never achieve widespread commercial acceptance. In such event, we would not be able to implement our strategy, and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Even if a commercial market for our REG systems were to develop, commercial terms requested by utilities and power grid operators relating to bonding requirements, limitations of liability, warranty periods, or other contractual provisions, may not be acceptable to us, which could impede our ability to enter into contractual arrangements for the sale of our REG system.
Increasing focus and scrutiny on environmental sustainability and social initiatives could adversely impact our business and financial results.
There has been increasing public focus by investors, customers, environmental activists, the media and governmental and nongovernmental organizations on climate, human capital, and other environmental, social and similar sustainability matters. If we are not effective in addressing environmental, social and other sustainability matters affecting our business, including any relevant sustainability goals, our reputation and financial results may suffer. While we may at times engage in voluntary initiatives (such as voluntary disclosures, certifications, or goals, among others) to improve our environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") profile or respond to stakeholder expectations, such initiatives may be costly and may not have the desired effect. For example, methodologies and data relevant to many ESG matters are evolving, in some cases quite rapidly; as a result, actions or statements that we may take based on information or processes we currently believe to be reasonable may subsequently be determined to be erroneous or not in keeping with current or future best practice. Moreover, we may not be able to successfully complete such initiatives due to factors that are within or outside of our control. Even if this is not the case, we cannot guarantee that our approaches or results will align with the expectations of any particular stakeholder. Stakeholder expectations are not uniform, and both advocates and opponents to certain ESG matters are increasingly resorting to a range of activism forms, including media campaigns and litigation, to advance their perspectives. There are also increasing regulatory requirements related to various ESG matters. For example, various policymakers have adopted, or are considering adopting, requirements for the disclosure of climate- or other ESG-related information, or certain substantive considerations regarding ESG in operations, which may require significant additional costs to comply. As with other stakeholder expectations, such regulations are divergent and, at times, conflict, which may increase the costs and complexity of compliance and any associated risks. Any failure to successfully navigate regulatory developments and other stakeholder expectations may result in additional costs, difficulties in attracting or retaining customers or employees, reputational harm, regulatory or investor engagement, or other adverse impacts. Additionally, many of our customers and suppliers may be subject to similar expectations, which may augment or create additional risks, including risks that may not be known to us.
Growth of the wind energy market depends largely on the availability and size of government subsidies, economic incentives and legislative programs designed to support the growth of wind energy.
At present, the cost of wind energy exceeds the cost of conventional power generation in many locations around the world. Various governments have used different policy initiatives to encourage or accelerate the development and adoption of wind energy and other renewable energy sources. Renewable energy policies are in place in the European Union, certain countries in Asia, including India, China, Japan and South Korea, and many of the states in Australia and the United States. Examples of government sponsored financial incentives include capital cost rebates, feed-in tariffs, tax credits, net metering and other incentives to end-users, distributors, system integrators and manufacturers of wind energy products to promote the use of wind energy and to reduce dependency on other forms of energy. In the United States, various legislation and regulations designed to support the growth of wind energy have been implemented or proposed by the federal government, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy (“PTC”) and the Clean Power Plan. Governments, including the U.S. government, may decide to reduce or eliminate these economic incentives, or curtail legislative programs supportive of wind energy technologies for political, financial or other reasons. Any reductions in, or eliminations of, government subsidies, economic incentives or favorable legislative programs before the wind energy industry reaches a sufficient scale to be cost-effective in a non-subsidized marketplace could reduce demand for our products and adversely affect our business prospects and results of operations.
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Lower prices for other energy sources may reduce the demand for wind energy development, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow our Wind business.
The wind energy market is affected by the price and availability of other energy sources, including nuclear, coal, natural gas and oil, as well as other sources of renewable energy. To the extent renewable energy, particularly wind energy, becomes less cost-competitive due to reduced government targets, increases in the cost of wind energy, new regulations, incentives that favor alternative renewable energy, cheaper alternatives or otherwise, demand for wind energy and other forms of renewable energy could decrease. Slow growth or a long-term reduction in the demand for renewable energy could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow our Wind business.
Risks Related to Our Technologies
We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.
We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely, in part, on confidentiality agreements with our employees, contractors, consultants, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets or independently develop processes or products that are similar or identical to our trade secrets and courts outside the United States may be less willing to protect trade secrets. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.
Our patents may not provide meaningful or long-term protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some or all of our market position.
We own or have licensing rights under many patents and pending patent applications. However, the patents that we own or license may not provide us with meaningful or long-term protection of our technologies and may not prevent our competitors from using similar technologies for a variety of reasons, such as:
• our existing patents may expire;
• any patents issued may be challenged by third parties; and
In particular, if any material patents expire, we may not be able to prevent competitors from producing products similar to ours, possibly at lower prices, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Moreover we could incur substantial litigation costs in defending the validity of or enforcing our own patents. We also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how to protect our intellectual property. However, our confidentiality agreements and other safeguards may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and other proprietary information. If the patents that we own or license or our trade secrets and proprietary know-how fail to protect our technologies, our market position may be adversely affected.
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Third parties have or may acquire patents that cover the materials, processes and technologies we use or may use in the future to manufacture our Amperium products, and our success depends on our ability to license such patents or other proprietary rights.
We expect that some or all of the HTS materials, processes and technologies we use in designing and manufacturing our products are or will become covered by patents issued to other parties, including our competitors. The owners of these patents may refuse to grant licenses to us, or may be willing to do so only on terms that we find commercially unreasonable. If we are unable to obtain these licenses, we may have to contest the validity or scope of those patents or re-engineer our products to avoid infringement claims by the owners of these patents. It is possible that we will not be successful in contesting the validity or scope of a patent, or that we will not prevail in a patent infringement claim brought against us. Even if we are successful in such a proceeding, we could incur substantial costs and diversion of management resources in prosecuting or defending such a proceeding.
There are a number of technological challenges that must be successfully addressed before our superconductor products can gain widespread commercial acceptance, and our inability to address such technological challenges could adversely affect our ability to acquire customers for our products.
Many of our superconductor products are in the early stages of commercialization, while others are still under development. There are a number of technological challenges that we must successfully address to complete our development and commercialization efforts for superconductor products. We will also need to improve the performance and reduce the cost of our Amperium wire to expand the number of commercial applications for it. We may be unable to meet such technological challenges or to sufficiently improve the performance and reduce the costs of our Amperium wire. Delays in development, as a result of technological challenges or other factors, may result in the introduction or commercial acceptance of our superconductor products later than anticipated.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, market price and volume fluctuations, which may prevent our stockholders from selling our common stock at a profit and could lead to costly litigation against us that could divert our management’s attention.
The market price of our common stock has historically experienced volatility and may continue to experience such volatility in the future. Factors such as our financial performance, liquidity requirements, technological achievements by us and our competitors, the establishment of development or strategic relationships with other companies, strategic acquisitions, new customer orders and contracts, and our introduction of commercial products may have a significant effect on the market price of our common stock. The stock market in general, and the stock of high technology companies, in particular, have, in recent years, experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, which are often unrelated to the performance or condition of particular companies. Such broad market fluctuations have and could continue to adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Due to these factors, the price of our common stock may decline, and investors may be unable to resell their shares of our common stock for a profit. Following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. In the past, we have been subject to a number of class action lawsuits which were filed against us on behalf of certain purchasers of our common stock. If we become subject to additional litigation of this kind in the future, it could result in additional litigation costs, a damages award against us and the further diversion of our management’s attention.
General Risk Factors
Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
From time to time, we may become subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise in or outside the ordinary course of business. Results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. Our insurance coverage may be insufficient, our assets may be insufficient to cover any amounts that exceed our insurance coverage, and we may have to pay damage awards or otherwise may enter into settlement arrangements in connection with such claims. Any such payments or settlement arrangements in legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. Regardless of merit, legal proceedings could result in substantial costs and significantly and adversely impact our reputation and divert management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. In addition, such lawsuits may make it more difficult to finance our operations.
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Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
Item 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Overview
Our technologies, systems and networks may be subject to cybersecurity threats. Our business, like others within the energy technologies industry, is faced with growing cybersecurity threats as we increasingly rely on digital technologies across our business, some of which are managed by third-party service providers on whom we rely to help us collect, host or process information.
We recognize the significance of these threats, sometimes referred to as hacking, cybersecurity fraud, and cyberattacks, and maintains processes and procedures designed to protect our critical systems and sensitive information from unauthorized access. However, there can be no assurance that a cyber-attack would timely be detected or thwarted. To date, we are not aware of any material cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, and we have not incurred significant operating expenses related to cybersecurity incidents. For more information on risks related to cybersecurity, please see the section titled “Risk Factors” included under Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risk Management and Strategy
Our cybersecurity risk management program includes operational, technical and physical controls to protect against and respond timely to cybersecurity threats. To address evolving cybersecurity risks and corresponding regulations, our policies and procedures are benchmarked to industry, regulatory and cybersecurity frameworks (including the National Institute of Standards and Technology). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, only that we may use industry, regulatory, and cybersecurity frameworks as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall risk management program, and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.
Management has engaged third-party vendors to assist in monitoring our cybersecurity risk management programs and identifying and responding to any incidents. Additionally, third-party vendors are routinely engaged to evaluate how effectively management as a whole manages cybersecurity risk. This includes annual testing of our incident response plan through tabletop exercises and simulations to ensure readiness as well as penetration testing and security assessments. We also utilize third-party cybersecurity vendors to assess our protections against identified vulnerabilities, and we have implemented a third-party risk management process for key service providers, based on our assessment of their criticality to our operations.
We have developed cybersecurity training for employees concerning cybersecurity risk. This training provides information on security awareness and phishing simulations. All employees are required to attend periodic cybersecurity training. On a regular basis, our IT team shares news and articles related to cybersecurity awareness with all employees.
Our cybersecurity risk assessment is performed annually and includes external and internal penetration testing performed by third party vendors to test for vulnerabilities in the Company’s environment.
We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See "Risk Factors – Our business and operations may be materially adversely impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our or any critical third parties' IT Systems or Confidential Information."
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Governance
The Board of Directors has delegated the oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats to the Audit Committee, which has delegated authority to the Chief Financial Officer to oversee the Company’s day-to-day cybersecurity risk management, including prevention, detection and responding to any suspected cybersecurity incident.
The Audit Committee is updated at least annually by the CFO on the status of cybersecurity matters. Contemporaneous reporting is provided on an as needed basis to the Audit Committee and to the full Board of Directors on significant cyber events including response, legal obligations, and outreach and notification to regulators, and third parties when needed.
The Director, Global Information Technology and Financial Systems (the “IT Director”), leads an internal team who work directly with our third-party vendors to manage our cybersecurity risk management program and activities. The internal team monitors our information systems for cybersecurity threats, reviews cybersecurity incidents, analyzes emerging threats, and develops and implements risk mitigation strategies. Under our CFO’s authority, the IT Director periodically reports on the cybersecurity program to our executive leadership team, including by providing the team with updates on cybersecurity threats and incidents, the status of ongoing projects and initiatives, performance metrics, and additional cybersecurity topics. On an annual basis, the IT Director reviews the results of the current state of cybersecurity risk management, including the results of our cybersecurity risk assessment and any action plan to address any identified vulnerabilities.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
Our corporate headquarters and Grid manufacturing operations are located in a leased 88,000-square-foot facility in Ayer, Massachusetts. Additionally, we have Grid manufacturing operations located in a leased 77,500 square-foot facility in Westminster, Massachusetts, and a 43,000 square-foot facility in Silesian, Poland, as well as an owned 35,000 square-foot facility in Queensbury, New York, an owned 126,800 square-foot facility in Bordentown, New Jersey, an owned 85,000 square-foot facility in New Milford, Connecticut, and an owned 19,350 square-foot facility in Roebling, New Jersey.
We also occupy leased facilities located in Australia, Austria, India, Wisconsin, Washington, and the United Kingdom with a combined total of approximately 72,000 square feet of space. These leases have varying expiration dates through January 2029 which can generally be terminated at our request after a six-month advance notice. These locations focus primarily on research and development, sales and/or field service and do not have significant leases or physical presence. We believe all of these facilities are well-maintained and suitable for their intended uses.
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The following table summarizes information regarding our significant properties, as of March 31, 2025:
Location Supporting Square footage Owned/Leased
United States
Ayer, Massachusetts Corporate & Grid Segment 88,000 Leased
Bordentown, New Jersey Grid Segment 126,800 Owned
New Milford, Connecticut Grid Segment 85,000 Owned
Queensbury, New York Grid Segment 35,000 Owned
Roebling, New Jersey Grid Segment 19,350 Owned
Westminster, Massachusetts Grid Segment 77,500 Leased
Poland
Bielsko-Biala, Silesian Grid Segment 43,000 Leased
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are not party to any material legal proceedings.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not Applicable.
PART II
Market Information
Our common stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “AMSC” since 1991.
Holders
The number of holders of record of our common stock on May 16, 2025 was 179.
Dividend Policy
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Payment of future cash dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs and plans for expansion.
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Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock from March 31, 2020 to March 31, 2025 with the cumulative total return of (i) the Nasdaq Composite Index and (ii) the Nasdaq Electrical Components & Equipment Index.
This graph assumes the investment of $100.00 on March 31, 2020 in our common stock, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Electrical Components & Equipment Index, and assumes any dividends are reinvested. Measurement points are March 31, 2020; March 31, 2021; March 31, 2022; March 31, 2023; March 31, 2024; and March 31, 2025.
COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN
Among American Superconductor Corporation,
the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Electrical Components & Equipment Index
Fiscal year ended March 31,
Item 6. RESERVED
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Executive Overview
We are a leading system provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions that orchestrate the rhythm and harmony of power on the gridTM, and protect and expand the capability of our Navy's fleet. Our solutions enhance the performance of the power grid, protect our Navy’s fleet, and lower the cost of wind power. In the power grid market, we enable electric utilities, industrial facilities, and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute smarter, cleaner and better power through our transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based systems. In the wind power market, we enable manufacturers to field highly competitive wind turbines through our advanced power electronics and control system products, engineering, and support services. Our power grid and wind products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to our customers.
Our power system solutions help to improve energy efficiency, alleviate power grid capacity constraints, improve system resiliency, and increase the adoption of renewable energy generation. Demand for our solutions is driven by the growing needs for modernized smart grids that improve power reliability, security and quality, the U.S. Navy's effort to upgrade onboard power systems to support fleet electrification, and the needs for increased renewable sources of electricity, such as wind and solar energy. Concerns about these factors have led to increased spending by corporations and the military, as well as supportive government regulations and initiatives on local, state, and national levels, including renewable portfolio standards, tax incentives and international treaties.
We manufacture products using two proprietary core technologies: PowerModuleTM programmable power electronic converters and our Amperium® high temperature superconductor ("HTS") wires. These technologies and our system-level solutions are protected by a robust intellectual property portfolio consisting of patents and patent applications worldwide and rights through exclusive and non-exclusive licenses.
We operate our business under two market-facing business segments: Grid and Wind. We believe this market-centric structure enables us to more effectively anticipate and meet the needs of power generation project developers, the Navy's ship protection systems, electric utilities and wind turbine manufacturers.
Our fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. When we refer to a particular fiscal year, we are referring to the fiscal year that began on April 1 of that same year. For example, fiscal 2024 refers to the fiscal year that began on April 1, 2024. Other fiscal years follow similarly.
Changes in macroeconomic conditions arising from various reasons, such as the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas, tariffs, trade restrictions and resulting trade conflicts, labor force availability, sourcing, material delays and global supply chain disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
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On August 1, 2024, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with the selling stockholders named therein. Pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement and concurrently with entering into such agreement, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Megatran, Industries, Inc. ("Megatran"), for aggregate consideration in an amount equal to $61.4 million, as may be adjusted pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Price”), including a cash payment after closing of $5.0 million, as adjusted pursuant to Sections 5.6(c), (d), and (f) of the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Additional Cash Purchase Price”). At closing, we paid to Megatran's selling stockholders $25.0 million in cash on hand, and 1,297,600 restricted shares of our common stock. On September 23, 2024, we paid the Additional Cash Purchase Price to the selling stockholders, which was calculated based on the agreed upon formula set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement, in the amount of $8.3 million which includes the Additional Cash Purchase Price and the make whole payment. Megatran's wholly-owned subsidiary, NWL, Inc. ("NWL"), is a U.S.-based global provider of engineered power conversion solutions for demanding industrial and military applications. As a result of this transaction, Megatran became a wholly-owned subsidiary and is operated by our Grid business segment. We refer to this transaction as the "acquisition of NWL".
Results of Operations
Fiscal Years Ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024
Revenues
Total revenues increased by 53% to $222.8 million in fiscal 2024 from $145.6 million in fiscal 2023. Our revenues are summarized as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years Ended March 31,
Revenues:
Revenues in our Grid business segment are derived from our D-VAR product sales, Northeast Power Systems, Inc. ("NEPSI") product sales, Neeltran, Inc. ("Neeltran") product sales, NWL product sales, HTS wire sales, ship protection systems ("SPS"), government-sponsored electric utility projects and other prototype development contracts. We also engineer, install and commission our products on a turnkey-basis for some customers. The Grid business segment accounted for 84% of total revenues in both fiscal 2024 and 2023. Grid revenues increased 53% to $187.2 million in fiscal 2024 from $122.1 million in fiscal 2023. The increase in revenues was driven by higher D-VAR and NEPSI revenues than in the prior year period along with the NWL revenues earned after the acquisition of NWL.
Revenues in our Wind business segment are derived from wind turbine electrical control systems and core components, wind turbine license and development contracts, service contracts and consulting arrangements. Our Wind business segment accounted for 16% of total revenues in both fiscal 2024 and 2023. Revenues in the Wind business segment increased 51% to $35.6 million in fiscal 2024 from $23.6 million in fiscal 2023. The increase over the prior year period was driven by additional shipments of electrical control systems ("ECS") at increased prices.
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Cost of Revenues and Gross Margin
Cost of revenues increased by 46% to $161.0 million in fiscal 2024, compared to $110.4 million in fiscal 2023. Gross margin increased to 28% in fiscal 2024 from 24% in fiscal 2023. The increase in gross margin in fiscal 2024 was due to additional revenues, a favorable product mix, and a sharp improvement in Neeltran project margins.
Operating Expenses
Research and development
Research and development (“R&D”) expenses increased by 43% to $11.4 million, or 5% of revenue in fiscal 2024, compared to $8.0 million, or 5% of revenue, in fiscal 2023. The increase in R&D expenses is primarily a result of additional total compensation and stock compensation expense due in part to additional employees as a result of the acquisition of NWL.
Selling, general, and administrative
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased by 36% to $43.1 million, or 19% of revenue in fiscal 2024 from $31.6 million, or 22% of revenue, in fiscal 2023. The increase in SG&A expenses is primarily a result of higher total compensation expense, additional stock compensation expense and acquisition costs related to the acquisition of NWL.
Amortization of acquisition related intangibles
We recorded $1.7 million in fiscal 2024 and $2.2 million in fiscal 2023 in amortization expense related to our core technology and know-how, customer relationships, and other intangible assets. The decrease in amortization expense is primarily a result of using the economic consumption method as the basis to amortize the acquired customer relationship intangible assets related to NEPSI and Neeltran, partially offset by the increase related to amortization of NWL related intangibles.
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
The change in fair value of our contingent consideration for the earnout payment on the acquisition of NEPSI resulted in a loss of $3.4 million resulting from an increase in fair value in fiscal 2024, and $4.9 million during fiscal 2023. During fiscal 2024, we issued 300,000 shares of our common stock to the selling stockholders following certification of the achievement of specified earnout revenue objectives. We also recorded a $3.3 million payment relating to the acquisition of NWL, as a payment to settle the remaining obligations after the acquisition. The value of this contingent consideration was de minimis at the Acquisition Date and the resulting change in fair value was recorded in September 2024 when the payment was calculated and paid.
Operating income (loss)
Our operating income (loss) is summarized as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal Years Ended March 31,
Operating income (loss):
Unallocated corporate expenses (6,681 ) (4,908 )
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Our Grid business segment generated operating income of $1.8 million in fiscal 2024 and operating loss of $6.9 million in fiscal 2023. The improvement in the Grid business segment was due to higher revenues and gross margins in fiscal 2024, compared to fiscal 2023.
The Wind segment generated operating income of $3.8 million in fiscal 2024 and $0.4 million in fiscal 2023. The increase in the Wind business segment operating income was due to higher revenue and gross margins in fiscal 2024, compared to fiscal 2023.
Unallocated corporate expenses consisted of a loss on contingent consideration of $6.7 million in fiscal 2024, and a loss on contingent consideration of $4.9 million in fiscal 2023.
Interest income, net
Interest income, net was $3.7 million in fiscal 2024 compared to $1.3 million for fiscal 2023. The increase in interest income, net, was primarily due to higher cash balances in fiscal 2024.
Other expense, net
Other expense, net was $0.3 million in fiscal 2024, compared to $0.7 million in fiscal 2023. The decrease in other expense was driven by the impacts of more favorable fluctuations in foreign currencies in fiscal 2024, compared to fiscal 2023.
Income Taxes
We recorded an income tax benefit of $3.7 million in fiscal 2024, compared to income tax expense of $0.3 million in fiscal 2023. The net improvement in income tax is a result of the release of the valuation allowance due to the recording of the deferred tax liability from the acquisition of NWL.
Net income (loss)
Net income was $6.0 million in fiscal 2024, compared to net loss of $11.1 million in fiscal 2023. The improvement in net income was driven primarily by higher revenues and gross margins in fiscal 2024 and other factors described above.
Please refer to the “Risk Factors” section in Part I, Item 1A, for a discussion of certain factors that may affect our future results of operations and financial condition.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure - Non-GAAP Net Income
Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flow that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The non-GAAP measures included in this Form 10-K, however, should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to the comparable measure prepared in accordance with GAAP.
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We define non-GAAP net income as net income (loss) before stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, change in fair value of contingent consideration, acquisition costs, and other non-cash or unusual charges. We believe non-GAAP net income assists management and investors in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding these non-cash charges and other items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. In addition, we use non-GAAP net income as a factor to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies. A reconciliation of GAAP net income (loss) to non-GAAP net income is set forth in the table below (in thousands, except per share data):
Year ended March 31,
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 2,433 2,158
Change in fair value of contingent consideration 6,682 4,922
Acquisition costs 1,095 —
Non-GAAP net income per share - basic $ 0.65 $ 0.02
Non-GAAP net income per share - diluted $ 0.64 $ 0.02
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic 36,990 29,825
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 37,718 30,909
Non-GAAP net income was $24.0 million, or $0.65 per share, for fiscal 2024, compared to $0.6 million, or $0.02 per share, for fiscal 2023. The improvement in non-GAAP net income in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 was due to improved operating income driven by higher revenues and gross margins.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company’s primary sources of liquidity are internally generated cash provided by operating activities, our cash and cash equivalents on hand, along with access to capital markets. The Company believes that these sources of liquidity provide adequate liquidity to meet both its short-term and reasonably foreseeable long-term requirements and obligations. At March 31, 2025, we had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $85.4 million, compared to $92.3 million at March 31, 2024, a decrease of $6.9 million. As of March 31, 2025, we had approximately $4.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in foreign bank accounts. Our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash are summarized as follows (in thousands):
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 85,381 $ 92,280
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Net cash provided by operating activities was $28.3 million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $2.1 million in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in net cash provided by operations in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 was driven primarily by higher gross margins, favorable changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses, relief of deferred revenue, increased non-cash expenses like stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, and change in fair value of contingent consideration, offset by decreased cash collections, increased prepaid balances, and change in deferred income taxes.
Net cash used in investing activities was $35.2 million and $1.0 million in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in net cash used in investing activities in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023 was due primarily to cash paid for the acquisition of NWL.
Net cash provided by financing activities was less than $0.1 million compared to $65.4 million in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease in cash provided by financing activities was primarily related to net proceeds received from an equity offering in fiscal 2023, while the Company had no equity offerings in fiscal 2024.
At March 31, 2025, we had $4.3 million of restricted cash included in long-term assets and $1.6 million of restricted cash in current assets. At March 31, 2024, we had $1.3 million of restricted cash included in long-term assets and $0.5 million of restricted cash in current assets. These amounts included in restricted cash primarily represent collateral deposits to secure surety bonds and letters of credit for various customer contracts. These deposits are held in interest bearing accounts.
In January 2024, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will expire three years from the date on which it was declared effective, March 15, 2027 (the “Form S-3”). The Form S-3 allows us to offer and sell from time-to-time up to $250 million of common stock, debt securities, warrants or units comprised of any combination of these securities. The Form S-3 is intended to provide us flexibility to conduct registered sales of our securities, subject to market conditions, in order to fund our future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
On August 1, 2024, we entered into the Stock Purchase Agreement with the selling stockholders named therein. Pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement and concurrently with entering into such agreement, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Megatran, for the Purchase Price of $61.4 million, which consideration amount was subject to various adjustments set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement (including those described below) and consisted of: (a) (i) $25.0 million, minus (ii) the Indebtedness (as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement) outstanding as of immediately prior to the closing, minus (iii) Company Expenses (as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement); (b) a number of restricted shares (rounded up or down to the nearest whole share, as applicable) of our common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) $31.4 million by (y) the closing price per share of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the last trading day immediately preceding the Acquisition Date; and (c) an additional cash payment equal to $5.0 million, as adjusted pursuant to Sections 5.6(c), (d), and (f) of the Stock Purchase Agreement. Megatran is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and, together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries and affiliates, is operated and reported as a component of its Grid business segment. On September 23, 2024, the Company paid $3.3 million to the selling stockholders, which was calculated based on the agreed upon formula set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement. As of September 30, 2024, there are no remaining obligations to the selling stockholders of Megatran.
In August 2024, the Company filed an automatically-effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will expire no later than August 12, 2027 (the “Second Form S-3”). The Second Form S-3 allows the Company to offer and sell from time-to-time unspecified amounts of common stock, debt securities, warrants or units comprised of any combination of these securities and allows certain selling stockholders to offer and sell from time-to-time common stock. The Second Form S-3 assisted the Megatran selling stockholders in the resale of their common stock and is intended to provide the Company flexibility to conduct registered sales of its securities, subject to market conditions, in order to fund its future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Second Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
We are a party to many contractual obligations involving commitments to make payments to third parties. These obligations impact our short-term and long-term liquidity and capital resource needs. Certain contractual obligations are reflected on the consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2025, while others are considered future commitments. We have various contractual arrangements, under which we have committed to purchase certain minimum quantities of goods or services on an annual basis. For information regarding our other contractual obligations, refer to Note 13, "Contingent Consideration," Note 16, "Leases", and Note 18, "Commitments and Contingencies" to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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We believe we have sufficient available liquidity to fund our operations and capital expenditures for the next twelve months. We may seek to raise additional capital, which could be in the form of loans, convertible debt or equity, to fund our operating requirements and capital expenditures. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital on favorable terms or at all or execute on any other means of improving our liquidity as described above. Additionally. the impact of global sources of instability, including tariffs, trade restrictions and resulting trade conflicts, the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, instability of financial institutions and political instability in the United States, on the global financial markets may reduce our ability to raise additional capital, if necessary, which could negatively impact our liquidity.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we are involved in legal and administrative proceedings and claims of various types. We record a liability in our consolidated financial statements for these matters when a loss is known or considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. We review these estimates each accounting period as additional information is known and adjust the loss provision when appropriate. If a matter is both probable to result in liability and the amounts of loss can be reasonably estimated, we estimate and disclose the possible loss or range of loss to the extent necessary to make the consolidated financial statements not misleading. If the loss is not probable or cannot be reasonably estimated, a liability is not recorded in our consolidated financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2023-07 improve the disclosures about a public entity’s reportable segments and address requests from investors for additional, more detailed information about a reportable segment’s expenses. Following the release of ASU 2023-07 in November 2023, the effective date will be annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2024. As of March 31, 2025, we have adopted ASU 2023-07 and made the required disclosures, and noted no other material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2023-09 address investor requests for more transparency about income tax information through improvements to income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. Following the release of ASU 2023-09 in December 2023, the effective date will be annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2024. We are evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-02, Codification Improvements—Amendments to Remove References to the Concepts Statements. The amendments in ASU 2024-02 contain amendments to the Codification that remove references to various FASB Concepts Statements. Following the release of ASU 2024-02 in March 2024, the effective date will be annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2024. We are evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2024-03 address investor requests for more disclosure of disaggregated financial reporting information about expenses presented in the income statement. Following the release of ASU 2024-03 in November 2024, the effective date will be annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026. We are evaluating the impact on our consolidated financial statements.
We do not believe that, outside of those disclosed here, there are any other recently issued accounting pronouncements that will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires that we make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ under different assumptions or conditions. Our accounting policies that involve the most significant judgments and estimates are as follows:
Revenue recognition
For certain arrangements, such as contracts to perform research and development, prototype development contracts and certain customized product sales, we record revenues using the over-time method, measured by the relationship of costs incurred to total estimated contract costs. Over-time revenue recognition accounting is predominantly used on certain turnkey power systems installations for electric utilities and long-term prototype development contracts with the U.S. government.
Significant judgement is required to estimate the total expected costs for projects that typically have a timeline of 12-24 months. Any increase or decrease in estimated costs to complete a performance obligation without a corresponding change to the contract price could impact the calculation of cumulative revenue to date and gross profit on the project. Factors that may result in a change to our estimate include delays in manufacturing, unforeseen engineering problems, the performance of subcontractors and material suppliers, among others.
We have a long history of working with multiple types of projects and preparing cost estimates, and we rely on the expertise of key personnel to prepare what we believe are reasonable best estimates given available facts and circumstances. Due to the nature of the work involved, however, judgment is involved to estimate the total costs to complete, and the amounts estimated could have a material impact on the revenue we recognize in each accounting period. We cannot estimate unforeseen events and circumstances which may result in actual results being materially different from previous estimates.
See Note 4, “Revenue Recognition,” for additional information.
Business Acquisitions
We account for acquisitions using the purchase method of accounting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 805, Business Combinations. The purchase price for each acquisition is allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. The excess purchase price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. Intangible assets, if identified, are also recorded.
Determining the fair value of certain assets and liabilities assumed is judgmental in nature and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions as well as the use of specialists as needed. The Company utilizes management estimates and an independent third-party valuation firm to assist in determining the fair values of assets acquired, including intangible assets and liabilities assumed. The primary intangible assets acquired include customer relationship and trade names. Intangible assets are initially valued using a methodology commensurate with the intended use of the asset. The fair value of customer relationships is measured using the multi-period excess earnings method (“MPEEM”). The fair value of the trade names is measured using a relief-from-royalty (“RFR”) approach. The basis for future sales projections for both the MPEEM and RFR are based on internal revenue forecasts which the Company believes represents reasonable market participant assumptions. The future cash flows are discounted using an applicable discount rate. The key uncertainties in the calculations, as applicable, are the selection of an appropriate royalty rate, assumptions used in developing estimates of future cash flows, including revenue growth and expense forecasts, assumed customer attrition rates, as well as perceived risks associated with those forecasts in determining the discount rate. There is inherent uncertainty in forecasted cash flows and therefore, actual results may differ and could result in a subsequent impairment charge of acquired intangibles and/or goodwill.
The consideration for our acquisitions may include future payments that are contingent upon the occurrence of a particular event. We record a contingent consideration obligation for such contingent consideration payments at fair value on the acquisition date. We estimate the fair value of contingent consideration obligations through valuation models that incorporate probability adjusted assumptions related to the achievement of the milestones and the likelihood of making related payments. Significant judgment is employed in determining these assumptions as of the acquisition date and for each subsequent period. Accordingly, future business and economic conditions, as well as changes in any of the assumptions described above, can materially impact the fair value of contingent consideration recorded at each reporting period.
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Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of cost over net assets of acquired businesses that are consolidated. We perform our annual assessment of goodwill on February 28th of each fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances or a triggering event indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An entity is permitted to first assess qualitatively whether it is necessary to perform a goodwill impairment test. Significant judgment is required to determine if an indication of impairment has taken place. Factors to be considered include the following: adverse change in operating results, decline in strategic business plans, significantly lower future cash flows, and sustainable declines in market data such as market capitalization. The quantitative impairment test is required only if the entity concludes that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. We determine the fair value of a reporting unit, using a methodology which combines an income approach, using a discounted cash flow method, with a market approach. The income approach includes estimates and assumptions about revenue growth rates, operating margins and terminal growth rates, discounted by an estimated weighted-average cost of capital derived from other publicly-traded companies that are similar but not identical from an operational and economic standpoint. These estimates are based on historical experiences, our projects of future operating activity and our weighted-average cost of capital. A significant change in events, circumstances or any of these assumptions could adversely affect these estimates, which could result in an impairment.
We performed our annual assessment of goodwill on February 28, 2025 including a quantitative assessment of our goodwill balance acquired from our acquisition of Neeltran, and a qualitative assessment of all other reporting units goodwill, and determined that there was no impairment to goodwill. See Note 5, “Goodwill,” for further information regarding our goodwill valuation assumptions.
Income taxes
Our provision for income taxes is comprised of a current and a deferred portion. The current income tax provision is calculated as the estimated taxes payable or refundable on tax returns for the current fiscal year. The deferred income tax provision is calculated for the estimated future tax effects attributable to temporary differences and carryforwards using expected tax rates in effect in the years during which the differences are expected to reverse. All deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented as non-current in the consolidated balance sheets.
We regularly assess our ability to realize our deferred tax assets. Assessments of the realization of deferred tax assets require that management consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, and make significant judgments about many factors, including the amount and likelihood of future taxable income. Based on all the available evidence, we have recorded valuation allowances to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realizable due to the taxable losses that have been incurred since our inception and uncertainty around our future profitability.
Accounting for income taxes requires a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if, based on the technical merits, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We reevaluate these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on factors including, but not limited to, changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law, effectively settled issues under audit and new audit activity. Any changes in these factors could result in the recognition of a tax benefit or an additional charge to the tax provision. See Note 14, “Income Taxes,” of our consolidated financial statements for further information regarding our income tax assumptions and expenses.
Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
This Item is not required for smaller reporting companies and the Company is relying on such exemption from disclosure as a former smaller reporting company during the year ended March 31, 2025.
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Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of American Superconductor Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of American Superconductor Corporation and its subsidiaries (the Company) as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2025, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively, the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2025, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in 2013, and our report dated May 21, 2025 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical AuditMatters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
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Over-Time Revenue Recognition
As described in Notes 3 and 4 of the consolidated financial statements, for certain arrangements, such as contracts to perform research and development, prototype development contracts and certain customized product sales, the Company records revenues using the over-time method, measured by the relationship of costs incurred to total estimated contract costs. The ability to reliably estimate total estimated contract costs is challenging, especially on long-term prototype development contracts, and may require significant analysis and judgments by management, including evaluating customer change orders, to determine the appropriate amount of revenue to recognize.
We identified revenue recognition pertaining to customer contracts satisfied over-time as a critical audit matter as there are significant judgments exercised by management in determining total estimated contract costs used in determining revenue recognition. Given the high degree of management judgment involved in various cost estimates that are used in the revenue calculations, the audit effort required to evaluate management’s judgments in determining revenue recognition for the Company’s contracts was extensive and required a high degree of auditor judgment.
Our audit procedures related to revenue recognition included the following, among others:
Valuation of Certain Tangible and Intangible Assets in Business Combination
As described in Note 2 of the consolidated financial statements, the Company completed the acquisition of Megatran Industries, Inc. on August 1, 2024, for total consideration of $61.4 million. The Company accounted for this transaction under the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations. Accordingly, the total consideration paid was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values, including identified intangible assets and land. The Company estimated the fair value of the identified intangible assets using the multi-period excess earnings method, which required management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to revenue growth and expense forecasts, customer attrition rates, and the selection of discount rates. The Company also made significant judgments regarding the estimates used to determine the fair value of the acquired land.
We identified the valuation of the identified intangible assets and land as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management used in the fair value determination. Auditing management’s forecasted revenue growth and expenses, customer attrition rates, selection of the discount rates, and the fair value of acquired land required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures, including the use of our valuation specialists.
Our audit procedures related to the determination of the fair value of identified intangible assets and land, included the following, among others:
● With the assistance of our valuation specialists, we:
o Evaluated the reasonableness of the Company’s valuation methodologies
Neeltran Goodwill Valuation Impairment Assessment
As described in Notes 3 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements, management tests goodwill for impairment, at the reporting unit level, as of February 28 of each fiscal year, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the goodwill asset might be impaired. The Company first assesses qualitatively whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test. The quantitative impairment test is required only if the entity concludes that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. A quantitative assessment was performed as of February 28, 2025, for the Company’s goodwill balance resulting from its acquisition of Neeltran, Inc. To test goodwill quantitatively for impairment, management compares the estimated fair value of each reporting unit with the carrying amount of each reporting unit, including the recorded goodwill. In estimating the fair value of each reporting unit, management uses a methodology which combines an income approach, using a discounted cash flows method, with a market approach.
We identified the goodwill impairment assessment for the Company’s Neeltran reporting unit as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions used by management when estimating the fair value of this reporting unit, including management’s forecasts of revenue growth rates, operating margins and terminal growth rates as well as management’s selection of the discount rates. Auditing the reasonableness of management’s estimates and assumptions involved a high degree of auditor judgment and increased audit effort, including the use of our valuation specialists.
Our audit procedures related to the assessment of Neeltran goodwill impairment included the following, among others:
● With the assistance of our valuation specialists, we:
/s/ RSM US LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2013.
Boston, Massachusetts
May 21, 2025
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 8,055 7,295
Equity-method investments 1,113 —
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 32,282 $ 24,235
Lease liability, current portion 685 716
Debt, current portion — 25
Contingent consideration — 3,100
Deferred revenue, long term portion 9,336 7,097
Lease liability, long term portion 2,684 1,968
Other liabilities 28 27
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 18)
Stockholders' equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive income 1,565 1,582
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 310,521 $ 232,771
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
Operating expenses:
Amortization of acquisition related intangibles 1,733 2,152
Change in fair value of contingent consideration 6,682 4,922
Restructuring — (14 )
Other expense, net (265 ) (736 )
Income (loss) before income tax (benefit) expense 2,366 (10,802 )
Income tax (benefit) expense (3,667 ) 309
Net income (loss) per common share
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In thousands)
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
Other comprehensive gain (loss), net of tax:
Foreign currency translation gain (loss) (17 ) 11
Total other comprehensive (loss) gain, net of tax (17 ) 11
Comprehensive income (loss) $ 6,016 $ (11,100 )
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands)
Common Stock Accumulated Other Total
Issuance of common stock - ESPP 34 — 279 — — — 279
Stock-based compensation expense — — 4,652 — — — 4,652
Issuance of common stock for contingent consideration 400 4 3,088 — — — 3,092
Cumulative translation adjustment — — — — 11 — 11
Issuance of common stock - ESPP 18 — 307 — — — 307
Stock-based compensation expense — — 7,794 — — — 7,794
Repurchase of treasury stock — — — (126 ) — — (126 )
Cumulative translation adjustment — — — — (17 ) — (17 )
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operations:
Depreciation and amortization 5,560 4,494
Stock-based compensation expense 7,794 4,652
Provision for excess and obsolete inventory 1,532 1,970
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets 976 321
Deferred income taxes (4,304 ) 65
Earnings from equity method investments 132 —
Change in fair value of contingent consideration 6,682 4,922
Other non-cash items (587 ) 44
Unrealized foreign exchange gain on cash and cash equivalents (41 ) (2 )
Changes in operating asset and liability accounts:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 543 5,992
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 3,209 (13,498 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 28,285 2,138
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (2,415 ) (934 )
Cash paid to settle NWL contingent consideration liability (3,278 ) —
Cash paid for NWL Acquisition, net of cash acquired (29,577 ) —
Change in other assets 64 (27 )
Net cash used in investing activities (35,206 ) (961 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repurchase of treasury stock (126 ) —
Repayment of debt (25 ) (65 )
Cash paid related to registration of common stock shares (148 ) —
Proceeds from public equity offering, net — 65,227
Proceeds from exercise of employee stock options and ESPP 307 279
Net cash provided by financing activities 8 65,441
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year 92,280 25,675
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of year $ 85,381 $ 92,280
Supplemental schedule of cash flow information:
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds $ 312 $ 286
Non-cash investing and financing activities
Issuance of common stock in connection with the purchase of NWL $ 31,350 $ —
Issuance of common stock to settle contingent consideration $ 6,504 $ 3,092
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new lease obligations $ 2,247 $ 680
Issuance of common stock to settle 401(k) match liabilities $ 845 $ 624
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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1. Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity
Nature of the Business and Operations
American Superconductor Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “AMSC®” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9,1987. The Company is a leading system provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions that orchestrate the rhythm and harmony of power on the gridTM and protect and expand the capability of the Navy's fleet. The Company’s system level products leverage its proprietary “smart materials” and “smart software and controls” to provide enhanced resiliency and improved performance of megawatt-scale power flow.
These consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-K. Certain prior period amounts were reclassified to conform to the presentation in the current period. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Investments in entities in which we do not have a controlling interest are accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
Liquidity
The Company’s primary sources of liquidity are internally generated cash provided by operating activities, our cash and cash equivalents on hand, along with access to capital markets. The Company believes that these sources of liquidity are sufficient to meet both its short-term and reasonably foreseeable long-term requirements and obligations. At March 31, 2025, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $79.5 million. Cash provided by operations for the year ended March 31, 2025 was $28.3 million.
On August 1,2024 (the "Acquisition Date"), the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with the selling stockholders named therein. Pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement and concurrently with entering into such agreement, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Megatran Industries, Inc. ("Megatran") (the "Acquisition"), for aggregate consideration in an amount equal to $61.4 million (the “Purchase Price”), which consideration amount was subject to various adjustments set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement (including those described below) and consisted of: (a) (i) $25.0 million, minus (ii) the Indebtedness (as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement) outstanding as of immediately prior to the closing, minus (iii) Company Expenses (as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement) (collectively, the “Cash Purchase Price”); (b) a number of restricted shares (rounded up or down to the nearest whole share, as applicable) (the “Company Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $.01 par value per share equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) $31.4 million (the “Share Purchase Price”) by (y) the closing price per share of common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the last trading day immediately preceding the Acquisition Date; and (c) an additional cash payment equal to $5.0 million, as adjusted pursuant to Sections 5.6(c), (d), and (f) of the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Additional Cash Purchase Price”). Megatran is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and, together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries and affiliates, is operated and reported as a component of its Grid business segment. On the Acquisition Date, the Company paid to Megatran's selling stockholders $25.0 million in cash on hand, and 1,297,600 restricted shares of common stock. On September 23, 2024, the Company paid $3.3 million to the selling stockholders, which was calculated based on the agreed upon formula set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement. As of March 31, 2025, there are no remaining obligations to the selling stockholders of Megatran. Throughout the financial statements and related footnotes, this is referred to as the "acquisition of NWL".
In January 2024, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will expire three years from the date on which it was declared effective, March 15, 2027 (the “Form S-3”). The Form S-3 allows us to offer and sell from time-to-time up to $250 million of common stock, debt securities, warrants or units comprised of any combination of these securities. The Form S-3 is intended to provide us flexibility to conduct registered sales of our securities, subject to market conditions, in order to fund our future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
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In August 2024, the Company filed an automatically-effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will expire no later than August 12, 2027 (the “Second Form S-3”). The Second Form S-3 allows the Company to offer and sell from time-to-time unspecified amounts of common stock, debt securities, warrants or units comprised of any combination of these securities and allows certain selling stockholders to offer and sell from time-to-time common stock. The Second Form S-3 assisted the Megatran selling stockholders in the resale of their common stock and is intended to provide the Company flexibility to conduct registered sales of its securities, subject to market conditions, in order to fund its future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Second Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.
The Company believes that based on the information presented above and its annual management assessment, it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations and capital expenditures for the next
twelve months following the issuance of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended
March 31, 2025. The impact of global sources of instability on the global financing markets
may reduce the Company's ability to raise additional capital, if necessary, which could negatively impact the Company's liquidity. There can be
no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital, on favorable terms or at all, from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.
2. Acquisition
Acquisition of NWL
As described in Note 1, Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity, on the Acquisition Date, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of Megatran. Megatran's wholly-owned subsidiary, NWL, Inc. ("NWL"), is a U.S.-based global provider of engineered power conversion solutions for demanding industrial and military applications.
The Acquisition has been accounted for under the purchase method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805,Business Combinations. The Company allocated the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values as of the Acquisition Date. The excess of the purchase price paid by the Company over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired has been recorded as goodwill.
The total purchase price of approximately $61.4 million includes the fair value of shares of the Company’s common stock issued at closing, and cash paid, as follows (in millions):
Cash payments $30.0
Issuance of 1,297,600 shares of Company’s common stock $31.4
At the Acquisition Date, in addition to the $30.0 million cash, the Company valued the Company’s common stock, using $24.16 per share, which was the closing price on the day prior to the day that the Company acquired Megatran. Acquisition costs of $1.1 million were included in selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
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The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price based on the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed and related deferred income taxes in connection with the Acquisition as of the Acquisition Date and reflective of measurement period adjustments (in millions):
Cash and cash equivalents $ 0.4
Equity-method investments 1.2
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1.7
Accounts receivable 16.1
Property, plant, and equipment 28.4
Accounts payable and accrued expenses (5.6 )
Deferred revenue (5.0 )
Deferred tax liability (5.6 )
Net tangible assets/(liabilities) 54.7
Backlog 0.7
Customer relationships 1.3
Net identifiable intangible assets 2.0
Goodwill 4.7
Total purchase consideration $ 61.4
The fair value of the financial assets acquired includes receivables with a fair value of $16.1 million. The gross amount due is $16.9 million, of which $0.8 million is expected to be uncollectible.
Inventory includes a $0.7 million adjustment to step up the inventory balance to fair value consistent with the purchase price allocation. The fair value was determined based on the estimated selling price of the inventory, less the remaining manufacturing and selling cost and a normal profit margin on those manufacturing and selling efforts. The inventory step up adjustment increased cost of revenue $0.7 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 as the inventory was sold.
Backlog of $0.7 million was evaluated using the multi period excess earnings method under the income approach. The contracts with customers do not provide for any guarantees to source all future requirements from the Company. The amortization method being utilized is economic consumption estimated over an eight-month period with the expense being allocated to cost of revenues.
Customer relationships of $1.3 million relates to customers currently under contract and was determined based on a multi period excess earnings method under the income approach. The method of amortization being utilized is straight line over 10 years, as the results were not materially different from the economic consumption method, with the expense being allocated to SG&A.
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Goodwill represents the value associated with the acquired workforce and expected synergies related to the business combination of the two companies. Goodwill resulting from the Acquisition was assigned to the Company’s Grid business segment. Goodwill recognized in the Acquisition is not deductible for tax purposes. This purchase price allocation is preliminary and has not been finalized as the analysis on the assets and liabilities acquired, primarily the tax related liability, may require further adjustments to our purchase accounting that could result in a measurement period adjustment that would impact the Company's reported net assets and goodwill as of August 1, 2024. Material changes, if any, to the preliminary allocation summarized above will be reported once the related uncertainties are resolved, but no later than August 1, 2025. The deferred tax liability initially valued at $6.4 million is primarily related to basis difference of property, plant, and equipment. As of March 31, 2025 based on basis differences identified through the finalization of NWL’s pre-acquisition tax returns as well as a true up of state tax rates, a reduction in the deferred tax liability of $0.8 million was recorded in the three months ended March 31, 2025. This decreased the balance to $5.6 million, and the offsetting reduction was recorded to Goodwill, decreasing the balance to $4.7 million.
Pro forma Operating Results (Unaudited)
The pro forma consolidated statement of operations for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 presented as if the Acquisition had occurred on April 1, 2023, is unaudited and is as follows:
Fiscal year ended March 31,
Net income per common share
The pro forma amounts include the historical operating results of the Company and Megatran with appropriate adjustments that give effect to acquisition related costs, income taxes, intangible amortization resulting from the Acquisition and certain conforming accounting policies of the Company. The pro forma amounts are not necessarily indicative of the operating results that would have occurred if the Acquisition and related transactions had been completed at the beginning of the applicable periods presented. In addition, the pro forma amounts are not necessarily indicative of operating results in future periods.
In the consolidated results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, Megatran’s operations are included in the Company’s consolidated results from the Acquisition Date of August 1, 2024. Megatran contributed $50.5 million of revenue and $6.0 million in net income for the Company for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. Amortization expense of $0.8 million is included for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, as a result of the Megatran acquired intangible assets. In addition, $0.7 million for the step-up basis assigned to acquired inventory was charged to cost of revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
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3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other factors believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, goodwill and intangible assets, business combinations, tax reserves, and deferred tax assets. Provisions for depreciation are based on their estimated useful lives using the straight-line method. Some of these estimates can be subjective and complex and, consequently, actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. While for any given estimate or assumption made by the Company’s management there may be other estimates or assumptions that are reasonable, the Company believes that, given the current facts and circumstances, it is unlikely that applying any such other reasonable estimate or assumption would materially impact the financial statements.
Cash Equivalents
Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid instruments with maturities of three months or less that are regarded as high quality, low risk investments and are measured using such inputs as quoted prices, and are classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy. Cash equivalents consist principally of certificates of deposits and money market accounts.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable consist of amounts owed by commercial companies and government agencies. Accounts receivable are stated net of allowances for credit losses. The Company’s accounts receivable relate principally to a limited number of customers. As of March 31, 2025, Innomotics, LLC., accounted for approximately 22% of the Company's accounts receivable balance, with no other customers accounting for greater than 10% of the balance. As of March 31, 2024, Capital Power and INOX Wind Limited accounted for approximately 14% and 12% of the Company's accounts receivable balance, respectively, with no other customers accounting for greater than 10% of the balance. Changes in the financial condition or operations of the Company’s customers may result in delayed payments or non-payments which would adversely impact its cash flows from operating activities and/or its results of operations. As such, the Company may require collateral, advanced payment or other security based upon the customer history and/or creditworthiness. In determining the allowance for credit losses, the Company evaluates the collectability of accounts receivable based primarily on the probability of recoverability based on historical collection and write-off experience, the age of past due receivables, specific customer circumstances, and current economic trends. The Company has not recorded an allowance for credit losses as of each of the years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payment, additional allowances may be required. Failure to accurately estimate the losses for credit losses and ensure that payments are received on a timely basis could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Inventory
Inventories include material, direct labor and related manufacturing overhead, and are stated at the lower of cost, determined on a first-in, first-out basis, or net realizable value determined as the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. The Company records inventory when it takes delivery and title to the product according to the terms of each supply contract.
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Program costs may be deferred and recorded as inventory on contracts on which costs are incurred in excess of approved contractual amounts and/or funding, if future recovery of the costs is deemed probable.
At each balance sheet date, the Company evaluates its ending inventories for excess quantities and obsolescence. Inventories that management considers excess or obsolete are reserved. Management considers forecasted demand in relation to the inventory on hand, competitiveness of product offerings, market conditions and product life cycles when determining excess and obsolescence and net realizable value adjustments. Once inventory is written down and a new cost basis is established, it is not written back up if demand increases.
For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recorded inventory reserves of approximately $1.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively, based on evaluating its ending inventory on hand for excess quantities and obsolescence.
Leases
The Company determines whether a contract is or contains a lease at inception of a contract. The Company defines a lease as a contract, or part of a contract, that conveys the right to control the use of identified property or equipment (an identified asset) for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Control over the use of the identified asset means that the Company has both the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of the asset and the right to direct the use of the asset.
Leases include all agreements in which the Company obtains control of a physical asset. Leases are captured on the balance sheet as both a right of use asset and associated lease liability and are valued based on the commencement of the Company's control of the asset, after being discounted by its incremental borrowing rate. The Company's lease portfolio is made up primarily of real estate leases for its various offices, but also include items such as vehicles, IT equipment and other miscellaneous tools and equipment needed for manufacturing. The Company's incremental borrowing rate was determined through an analysis to identify what rates it could obtain if the Company were to secure external financing for similar transactions, and includes considerations of both the market and its current credit ratings. An analysis is performed annually, or upon execution of any individually material agreement, to ensure that the rates being applied to newly acquired leases are still accurate.
The majority of the Company's leases are classified as operating leases, and therefore the expense is captured in operating loss from operations each period.
The Company has elected to exclude all leases of less than twelve months from the balance sheet presentation. The Company has also elected a policy in which the Company will not segregate lease components from non-lease components, so in the event the Company executes an agreement which includes a non-lease component its asset and liability recorded to the balance sheet will include the value of that non-lease component as well. This policy will be applied to all classifications of leases.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. The Company accounts for depreciation and amortization using the straight-line method to allocate the cost of property, plant and equipment over their estimated useful lives as follows:
Asset Classification Estimated Useful Life in Years
Building 40
Equipment and software 3-10
Furniture and fixtures 3-5
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Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Upon retirement or other disposition of assets, the costs and related accumulated depreciation are eliminated from the accounts and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in operating expenses.
Valuation of Long-Lived Assets
The Company reviews the carrying value of its long-lived assets or asset group that is held and used, including intangible assets subject to amortization, for impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Under the held and used approach, the asset or asset group to be tested for impairment should represent the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets and liabilities. The Company evaluates its long-lived assets whenever events or circumstances suggest that the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets may not be recoverable from the estimated undiscounted future cash flows.
There was no impairment indicators during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of cost over net assets of acquired businesses that are consolidated. The Company performs its annual assessment of goodwill on February 28th of each fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances or a triggering event indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Determining whether a triggering event has occurred often involves significant judgment from management. An entity is permitted to first assess qualitatively whether it is necessary to perform a goodwill impairment test. The quantitative impairment test is required only if the entity concludes that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount. The Company determines the fair value of a reporting unit, using a methodology which combines an income approach, using a discounted cash flow method, with a market approach. In evaluating whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, an entity should consider the totality of all relevant events or circumstances that affect the fair value or carrying amount of a reporting unit. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, then an impairment charge is recognized reducing the goodwill by the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value, not to exceed the total amount of the goodwill allocated to the that reporting unit. See Note 5, "Goodwill" for further information and discussion.
The Company performed its annual assessment of goodwill on February 28, 2025, and determined that there was no impairment to goodwill.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue contracts are defined as an arrangement that creates enforceable rights and obligations of both parties where collection of the contract price is deemed probable. The Company records revenue based on a five-step model which includes confirmation of contract existence, identifying the performance obligations, determining the transaction price, allocating the contract transaction price to the performance obligations, and recognizing the revenue when (or as) control of goods or services is transferred to the customer. The transfer of control can occur at the time of delivery, installation or post-installation where applicable.
The Company's equipment and system product line includes certain contracts which do not meet the requirements of an exchange transaction and therefore do not fall within the scope of Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606.
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