ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider, among other matters, the factors set forth below together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before making an investment decision. The Company’s risk factors set forth below are not the only risks facing the Company. If any of these risk factors should occur, moreover, the trading price of our securities could decline, and investors in our securities could lose all or part of their investment in our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to management or that management currently deems immaterial also may materially, adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or operating results. We may amend or supplement the risk factors set forth below from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC. These risk factors are not exhaustive and all investors are encouraged to perform their own investigation with respect to our business, financial condition and prospects.
Risks Related to our Business
The Company’s ability to achieve continued and sustained profitability is uncertain.
The Company’s profitability depends on, among other things, its ability to generate revenue in excess of its expenses. However, the Company has significant and continuing fixed costs and expenses, which it may not be able to reduce adequately to sustain such profitability if its revenue continues to decrease, or if revenue does not increase commensurately with an increase in costs. In addition, the Company may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown events that may cause its costs to exceed its expectations. In addition, the Company now incurs additional legal, accounting and other expenses that it did not incur when it operated as a subsidiary of ETI, as further described in the risk factor entitled “The Company will incur significant increased expenses and administrative burdens as a public company, which could have an adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations” below.
The Company’s revenues have declined over the last few years due to, among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic, a loss of clients, the completion of certain one-off projects, currency fluctuation exposure, the transition of the Company’s clients to lower revenue but higher margin systems and platforms, and changes of clients’ technology that has resulted in fewer transactions that fall under the contractual arrangements with the Company. Contracts with several other large clients are up for renewal. Although these contracts are expected to be renewed, there can be no assurances that they will be renewed on favorable terms or at all.
Further, the Company’s revenues may be adversely affected by many factors, including but not limited to a future pandemic; a potential recession in Europe; the inability to attract new clients to use its services; a failure by existing clients to renew their contracts or use additional services (or a decision by existing clients to cease or reduce using the Company’s services); the lengthening of its sales cycles and implementation periods; changes in its client mix; failure of clients to pay invoices on a timely basis or at all; a failure in the performance of the Company’s solutions or internal controls that adversely affects its reputation or results in loss of business; the loss of market share to existing or new competitors; the failure to enter or succeed in new markets; regional or global economic conditions or regulations affecting perceived need for or value of the Company’s services; or the Company’s inability to develop new offerings, expand its offerings or drive adoption of its new offerings on a timely basis and thus potentially not meeting evolving market needs.
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The Company’s future profitability also may be impacted by non-cash charges and potential impairment of goodwill, which will negatively affect its reported financial results. Even if it achieves profitability on an annual basis, the Company may not be able to achieve profitability on a quarterly basis. The Company may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including those described elsewhere herein. Any inability of the Company to achieve continued and sustained profitability may adversely impact its financial position and may require the Company to seek additional financing (which will be subject to the risks described in the risk factor below entitled “The Company may need to raise debt or equity financing, which it may be unable to do on favorable terms or at all”).
The Company may need to raise debt or equity financing, which it may be unable to do on favorable terms or at all.
The Company may be unable to generate continued and sustained profitability, or may incur significant losses in the future. As a result, the Company may need to raise additional capital through debt and/or equity financing at some point in the future. Any debt agreements the Company enters into at such time may include financial or operational covenants which may constrain its ability to operate its business, and any inability to satisfy covenants contained in any debt agreements may require prepayment and/or refinancing of such debt. The Company may also be unable to raise debt and/or equity financing at an attractive price or on attractive terms or at all.
The limited public float of the Company may also adversely affect its ability to raise debt and/or equity financing on attractive terms or at all. For more, see “The Company has a limited public float, which adversely affects trading volume and liquidity, and may adversely affect the price of the Common Stock and access to additional capital.”
The Company relies on ETI, which is a highly leveraged company that faces substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. An adverse event affecting ETI may affect the delivery and availability of the services the Company relies on ETI to provide.
The Company is majority-owned by ETI and depends on services that ETI has historically provided. ETI has agreed to continue providing certain services and fulfilling other obligations pursuant to the Tax Sharing Agreement, the Services Agreement, and the License Agreement. However, ETI's financial instability raises concerns about its ability to perform these obligations on a sustained basis.
As of September 30, 2024, ETI had approximately $1.1 billion in third-party debt outstanding (of which $51.2 million was classified as current debt) on a consolidated basis. ETI’s financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed in its Form 10-Q, expressed substantial doubt about ETI’s ability to continue as a going concern under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements — Going Concern.
On November 6, 2024, Nasdaq notified ETI that its securities would be delisted, and trading of ETI’s securities was suspended on November 8, 2024. On January 27, 2025, ETI filed Form 15 with the SEC to deregister its securities, effectively suspending its public reporting obligations.
On March 3, 2025, most of ETI's U.S. and three Canadian subsidiaries, excluding the Company, filed voluntary petitions for bankruptcy relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (such subsidiaries, the “ETI Debtor Subs”). These include entities that historically provided services and support to the Company. As a result, the Company’s reliance on these entities is at risk, and the following potential risks arise:
• Service Disruption: ETI Debtor Subs' ability to continue providing services under the Tax Sharing Agreement, the Services Agreement, and the License Agreement may be compromised, potentially impacting the Company’s operations, financial reporting, and compliance.
• Financial Exposure: ETI Debtor Subs' bankruptcy may limit their ability to satisfy financial or contractual obligations to the Company, potentially resulting in unexpected costs, liabilities, or disputes.
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• Reputational Risk: ETI's financial instability and bankruptcy may create negative market perceptions that could adversely affect the Company’s business relationships and investor confidence.
• Operational Uncertainty: The bankruptcy process may involve restructuring efforts, asset sales, or legal disputes that could result in changes to the organizational structure or business strategy of the ETI Debtor Subs, further disrupting the Company's reliance on their services.
• Potential Legal and Financial Impact: ETI Debtor Subs' bankruptcy proceedings may result in creditor actions or other claims that indirectly affect the Company, including those arising from the Company’s announced potential acquisition of the debtor subsidiaries upon their emergence from bankruptcy.
The Company has entered into a new related party agreement with HOV Services Ltd. to help mitigate the risk of service disruption from the ETI Debtor Subs; however, there can be no assurance that this mitigation effort will be successful, and the Company is continuing to monitor the situation closely.
There can be no assurance that the ETI Debtor Subs will successfully emerge from bankruptcy in a manner that allows them to meet their obligations to the Company or that the Company's reliance on the ETI Debtor Subs will not have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If the Company is unable to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, it may not be able to accurately report its financial results in a timely manner or there may be misstatements in its financial statements (which may include material misstatements), any of which may adversely affect investor confidence and materially and adversely affect business and operating results.
The Company’s financial statements were prepared in reliance on information provided by, and personnel of, ETI. There can be no assurance that its internal controls will be effective, which could adversely affect its ability to accurately report its financial statements in a timely manner or there may be misstatements in its financial statements (which may be material misstatements). The occurrence of any such events may adversely affect investor confidence and materially and adversely affect business and operating results.
There can be no assurances that ETI will continue to control the Company in the future. Any change in control of the Company may impact its strategy or business, including in a manner adverse to the Company’s stockholders.
For various strategic reasons, ETI may need to raise additional financing and may choose to engage in non-strategic divestitures and/or liquidations of assets including, potentially, dispositions of shares of Common Stock. In the event ETI disposes of shares of Common Stock, such dispositions may cause the market value of the Common Stock to decline or could result in a change of control of the Company. Any change in control of the Company may result in a change in the Company’s strategy or business, including in a manner adverse to the Company’s stockholders.
Historical or new adverse issues associated with ETI or its management, such as litigation and its recent Nasdaq delisting and deregistration of its securities, as well as issues associated with the Company, may adversely impact the Company’s reputation, business and financial position and share price.
Significant negative news, adverse legal or regulatory findings, material litigation, reputational damage and other adverse developments associated with ETI and/or members of its management team, whether historical or in the future, may adversely impact the Company’s reputation, business and financial position and share price.
ETI and its predecessor entities and management (including members of the Company’s management) have been subject to a variety of claims, including claims that resulted in certain adverse settlements and judgments against ETI, and may in the future be subject to claims. In addition, ETI’s securities are no longer listed on Nasdaq, and ETI filed a Form 15 on January 27, 2025 to deregister ETI’s Common Stock and Series B Cumulative Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, which filing immediately suspended ETI’s reporting obligations under Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
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Such historical claims, settlements or judgments, or any new claims, whether or not successful, by ETI or the Company, or the delisting of ETI’s securities by Nasdaq and deregistration of its securities under the Exchange Act and suspension of its reporting obligations, may adversely affect the reputation or perception of the Company and its management team, and ultimately, the Company’s business, financial position, and share price.
Certain of the Company’s contracts are subject to rights of termination, audit and/or investigation, which, if exercised, could negatively impact the Company’s reputation and reduce the Company’s ability to compete for new contracts and have an adverse effect on its business, results of operation and financial condition.
Many of the Company’s client contracts may be terminated by its clients without cause and without any fee or penalty, with only limited notice. Any failure to meet a client’s expectations, as well as factors beyond the Company’s control, including a client’s financial condition, strategic priorities, or mergers and acquisitions, could result in a cancellation or non-renewal of such a contract or a decrease in business provided to the Company and cause its actual results to differ from its forecasts. The Company may not be able to replace a client that elects to terminate or not renew its contract with it, which would reduce its revenues. As described in the risk factor entitled “The Company’s ability to achieve continued and sustained profitability is uncertain” above.
In addition, a portion of the Company’s revenues is derived from contracts with foreign governments and their agencies. Government entities typically finance projects through appropriated funds. While these projects are often planned and executed as multi-year projects, government entities usually reserve the right to change the scope of, or terminate, these projects for lack of approved funding and/or at their convenience. Changes in government or political developments, including budget deficits, shortfalls or uncertainties, government spending reductions (e.g., during a government transition) or other debt or funding constraints could result in lower governmental sales and in the Company’s projects being reduced in price or scope or terminated altogether, which also could limit its recovery of incurred costs, reimbursable expenses and profits on work completed prior to the termination. The public procurement environment is unpredictable and this could adversely affect the Company’s ability to perform work under new and existing contracts. These risks can potentially have an adverse effect on the Company’s revenue growth and profit margins.
Moreover, government contracts are generally subject to a right to conduct audits and investigations by government agencies. Additionally, if the government discovers improper or illegal activities or contractual non-compliance (including improper billing), the Company may be subject to various civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from doing business with the government. Any resulting penalties or sanctions could be substantial. Further, the negative publicity that could arise from any such penalties, sanctions or findings in such audits or investigations could have an adverse effect on the Company’s reputation in the industry and reduce its ability to compete for new contracts and could materially adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.
The Company may not be able to offset increased costs with increased fees under its contracts.
The pricing and other terms of the Company’s client contracts are based on estimates and assumptions the Company makes at the time it enters into these contracts. These estimates reflect the Company’s best judgments regarding the nature of the engagement and the Company’s expected costs to provide the contracted services and could differ from actual results. Not all of the Company’s larger long-term contracts allow for escalation of fees as the Company’s costs of operations increase and those that allow for such escalations do not always allow increases at rates comparable to increases that the Company experiences. In circumstances where the Company cannot negotiate long-term contract terms that provide for fee adjustments to reflect increases in the Company’s cost of service delivery, the Company’s business, financial conditions, and results of operation could be materially impacted. Any such increase in costs may require the Company to seek additional financing (which will be subject to the risks described in the risk factor above entitled “The Company may need to raise debt or equity financing, which it may be unable to do on favorable terms or at all”).
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The Company’s business process automation solutions often require long selling cycles and long implementation periods that may result in significant upfront expenses that may not be recovered.
The Company often faces long selling cycles to secure new contracts for its business process automation solutions. If the Company is successful in obtaining an engagement, the selling cycle may be followed by a long implementation period during which it plans its services in detail and demonstrates to the client its ability to successfully integrate its solutions with the client’s internal operations. The Company’s clients may experience delays in obtaining internal approvals or delays associated with technology or system implementations which can further lengthen the selling cycle or implementation period, and certain engagements may also require a ramping up period after implementation before the Company can commence providing its services. Even if the Company succeeds in developing a relationship with a potential client and begins to discuss the services in detail, the potential client may choose a competitor or decide to retain the work in-house prior to the time a contract is signed. In addition, once a contract is signed, the Company sometimes does not begin to receive revenue until completion of the implementation period and its solution is fully operational. The extended lengths of the Company’s selling cycles and implementation periods can result in the incurrence of significant upfront expenses that may never result in profits or may result in profits only after a significant period of time has elapsed, which may negatively impact its financial performance. For example, the Company generally hires new employees to provide services in connection with certain large engagements once a new contract is signed. Accordingly, the Company may incur significant costs associated with these hires before it collects corresponding revenues. The Company’s inability to obtain contractual commitments after a selling cycle, maintain contractual commitments after the implementation period or limit expenses prior to the receipt of corresponding revenue may have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Company faces significant competition, including from clients who may elect to perform their business processes in-house or invest in their own technologies in-house.
The Company’s industry is highly competitive, fragmented and subject to rapid change. The Company competes primarily against local, national, regional and large multi-national information and payment technology companies, including focused business process outsourcing (“BPO”) companies based in offshore locations, as well as other BPO and business process automation, consulting services and digital transformation solution providers that focus on the in-house capabilities of the Company’s clients and potential clients. These competitors may include entrants from adjacent industries or entrants in geographic locations with lower costs than those in which the Company operates.
Some of the Company’s competitors have greater financial, marketing, technological or other resources, larger client bases and more established reputations or brand awareness than it does. In addition, some of the Company’s competitors who do not have, or have limited, global delivery capabilities may expand their delivery centers to the countries in which it operates or increase their capacity in lower cost geographies, which could result in increased competition. Some of the Company’s competitors may also enter into strategic or commercial relationships among themselves or with larger, more established companies in order to benefit from increased scale and enhanced scope capabilities or enter into similar arrangements with potential clients. Further, the Company expects competition to intensify in the future as more companies enter its markets and clients consolidate the services they require among fewer vendors. Increased competition, the Company’s inability to compete successfully against competitors, pricing pressures or loss of market share could result in reduced operating margins, which could adversely affect its business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Company’s industry is characterized by rapid technological change, including the adoption of AI, and failure to compete successfully within the industry and address such changes could adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.
The process of developing new services and solutions is inherently complex and uncertain. It requires accurate anticipation of clients’ changing needs and emerging technological trends. The Company must make long-term investments and commit significant resources before knowing whether these investments will eventually result in services that achieve client acceptance and generate the revenues required to provide desired returns. If the Company fails to accurately anticipate and meet its clients’ needs through the development of new technologies and service
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offerings or if its new services are not widely accepted, it could lose market share and clients to its competitors and that could materially adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.
More specifically, the business process automation industry in which part of the Company’s business operates is characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards and changing client preferences. The success of the Company’s business depends, in part, upon its ability to develop technology and solutions that keep pace with changes in its industry and the industries of its clients. Although the Company has made, and will continue to make, significant investments in the research, design and development of new technology and platforms-driven solutions, it may not be successful in addressing these changes on a timely basis or in marketing the changes it implements. In addition, products or technologies developed by others may render the Company’s services uncompetitive or obsolete. Failure to address these developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, existing and potential clients are actively shifting their businesses away from paper-based environments to electronic environments with reduced needs for physical document management and processing. This shift may result in decreased demand for the physical document management services the Company provides. Though the Company has solutions for clients seeking to make these types of transitions, a significant shift by its clients away from physical documents to non-paper based technologies, whether now existing or developed in the future, could adversely affect its business, results of operation and financial condition.
Also, some of the large international companies in the industry have significant financial resources and compete with us to provide document processing services and/or business process services. The Company competes primarily on the basis of technology, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, distribution and client service and support. The Company’s success in future performance is largely dependent upon its ability to compete successfully, to promptly and effectively react to changing technologies and client expectations and to expand into additional market segments. To remain competitive, The Company must develop services and applications; periodically enhance its existing offerings; remain cost efficient; and attract and retain key personnel and management. If competitors innovate faster and better by utilizing AI, the Company may be adversely impacted. The heightened interest in AI may increase competition and disrupt the Company’s business model. Further, AI may lower barriers to entry in our industry and we may be unable to compete with products or services offered by new competitors. AI related changes may also affect our clients’ expectations and requirements in ways we cannot adequately anticipate or adapt to, causing our business to lose sales. If the Company is unable to compete successfully, the Company could lose market share and important clients to its competitors and that could materially adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.
The Company’s business could be materially and adversely affected if it does not protect its intellectual property or if its services are found to infringe on the intellectual property of others, or if the intellectual property ETI or its subsidiaries provides under the License Agreement is not protected or is found to infringe on the intellectual property of others.
The Company’s success depends in part on certain methodologies and practices it utilizes in developing and implementing applications and other proprietary intellectual property rights. In order to protect such rights, the Company relies upon a combination of nondisclosure, license and other contractual arrangements, as well as trade secret, copyright, trademark and patent laws but the Company has limited registered intellectual property and, as a result, could in the future be subject to infringement claims which could lead to substantial additional costs. The Company’s operations depend on its ability to independently manage its intellectual property portfolio. The Company also generally enters into confidentiality agreements with its employees, clients and potential clients, and limits access to and distribution of its proprietary information. There can be no assurance that the laws, rules, regulations and treaties in effect in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates and the contractual and other protective measures it takes are or will be adequate to protect it from misappropriation or unauthorized use of its intellectual property, or that such laws will not change. There can be no assurance that the resources invested by the Company to protect its intellectual property will be sufficient or that its intellectual property portfolio will adequately deter misappropriation or improper use of its technology, and its intellectual property rights may not prevent competitors from independently developing or selling products and services similar to or duplicative of the Company’s. The Company may not be able to detect unauthorized use and take appropriate steps to enforce its rights, and any such steps may be costly and unsuccessful. Infringement by
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others of the Company’s intellectual property, and the costs to the Company of enforcing its intellectual property rights, may have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations and financial condition. The Company could also face competition in some countries where it has not invested in an intellectual property portfolio. If the Company is not able to protect its intellectual property, the value of its brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and its business may be adversely affected. Further, although the Company believes that it is not infringing on the intellectual property rights of others, claims may nonetheless be successfully asserted against it in the future, and the Company may be the target of enforcement of patents or other intellectual property by third parties, including aggressive and opportunistic enforcement claims by non-practicing entities. Regardless of the merit of such claims, responding to infringement claims can be expensive and time-consuming. If the Company is found to infringe any third-party rights, the Company could be required to pay substantial damages or it could be enjoined from offering some of its products and services. The costs of defending any such claims could be significant, and any successful claim may require the Company to modify its services. The value of, or the Company’s ability to use, its intellectual property may also be negatively impacted by dependencies on third parties, such as its ability to obtain or renew on reasonable terms licenses that the Company needs in the future, or its ability to secure or retain ownership or rights to use data in certain software analytics or services offerings. Any such circumstances may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, as described above, the Company relies on ETI for certain services, including intellectual property of ETI and its subsidiaries, which are provided pursuant to the License Agreement. Such intellectual property is subject to many of the same risks described above. In particular, the Company relies on ETI and its subsidiaries to protect such intellectual property, and its business operations may be materially impacted if such intellectual property is determined to have infringed on the intellectual property rights of others. For more, see the risk factor above entitled “The Company relies on ETI, which is a highly leveraged public company and faces substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. An adverse event affecting ETI may affect the delivery and availability of the services the Company relies on ETI to provide.”
The Company’s revenues are highly dependent on the banking and finance industries, and any decrease in demand for business process solutions in these industries could reduce its revenues and adversely affect the results of operations.
A substantial portion of the Company’s revenues are derived from the banking and finance industries. Clients in banking and financial services accounted for 51% of the Company’s revenues in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Clients who provide commercial services accounted for 5% of the Company’s revenues in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Clients in the services, technology, and manufacturing industries accounted for 17% and 19% of the Company’s revenues in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company’s success largely depends on continued demand for its services from clients in these segments, and a downturn or reversal of the demand for business process solutions in any of these segments, or the introduction of regulations that restrict or discourage companies from engaging its services, could materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, consolidation in any of these industries or combinations or mergers, particularly involving the Company’s clients, may decrease the potential number of clients for its services. The Company has been affected by the worsening of economic conditions and significant consolidation in the financial services industry and the continuation of this trend may negatively affect its revenues and profitability. Europe’s persistently high inflation, caused in part by increasing energy prices, as a result of the conflict in the Ukraine, may not ease despite measures aimed at reducing inflation. A recession in Europe (including the EU and the UK) may lead to further consolidation in the financial services industry, a reduction in demand for the Company’s services or otherwise adversely affect the Company’s operations or financial performance.
The Company derives significant revenue and profit from contracts awarded through competitive bidding processes, including renewals, which can impose substantial costs on the Company, and the Company will not achieve revenue and profit objectives if it fails to accurately and effectively bid on (and win or renew) such projects. In addition, even if bids are won and a contract is awarded to the Company, revenue and profit objectives may not be achieved due to a number of factors outside its control, including cases where an applicable contract or framework arrangement does not guarantee transaction volume.
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Many of the contracts awarded to the Company through competitive bidding procedures are extremely complex and require the investment of significant resources in order to prepare accurate bids and proposals. Competitive bidding imposes substantial costs and presents a number of risks, including: (i) the substantial cost and managerial time and effort that the Company spends to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may or may not be awarded to it; (ii) the need to estimate accurately the resources and costs that will be required to implement and service any contracts the Company is awarded, sometimes in advance of the final determination of their full scope and design; (iii) the expense and delay that may arise if the Company’s competitors protest or challenge awards made to it pursuant to competitive bidding and the risk that such protests or challenges could result in the requirement to resubmit bids and in the termination, reduction or modification of the awarded contracts; and (iv) the opportunity cost of not bidding on and winning other contracts the Company might otherwise pursue. If the Company’s competitors protest or challenge an award made to it on a government contract, it could involve litigation that could take years to resolve.
The Company’s profitability is dependent upon its ability to obtain adequate pricing for its services and to improve its cost structure.
The Company’s success depends on its ability to obtain adequate pricing for its services. Depending on competitive market factors, future prices the Company obtains for its services may decline from previous levels. If the Company is unable to obtain adequate pricing for its services that could materially adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.
The Company regularly reviews its operations with a view towards reducing its cost structure, including, without limitation, reducing its employee base, exiting certain businesses, improving process and system efficiencies and outsourcing some internal functions. The Company, from time to time, engages in operational restructuring to reduce costs. If the Company is unable to continue to maintain its cost base at or below the current level and maintain process and systems changes resulting from prior restructuring actions or to realize the expected cost reductions in the ongoing strategic transformation program, it could materially adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. In addition, in order to meet the service requirements of the Company’s clients, which often includes 24/7 service, and to optimize its employee cost base, including its back-office support, the Company often relies on delivery service and back-office support centers in lower-cost locations, including several developing countries. Relying on centers in these locations presents a number of operational risks, many of which are beyond its control, including the risks of political instability, natural disasters, safety and security risks, labor disruptions, excessive employee turnover and rising labor rates. Additionally, a change in the political environment in Europe or the adoption and enforcement of legislation and regulations curbing the use of such centers outside of Europe could materially adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition. These risks could impair the Company’s ability to effectively provide services to its clients and keep its costs aligned to its associated revenues and market requirements.
The Company’s ability to sustain and improve profit margins is dependent on a number of factors, including its ability to continue to improve the cost efficiency of its operations through such programs as robotic process automation, to absorb the level of pricing pressures on its services through cost improvements and to successfully complete information technology initiatives. If any of these factors adversely materialize or if the Company is unable to achieve and maintain productivity improvements through restructuring actions or information technology initiatives, its ability to offset labor cost inflation and competitive price pressures would be impaired, each of which could materially adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition and could require the Company to seek additional financing (which will be subject to the risks described in the risk factor above entitled “The Company may need to raise debt or equity financing, which it may be unable to do on favorable terms or at all”). Furthermore, these restructurings may lead to negative implications or disruptions to client experience and therefore the Company could face unexpected consequences.
Fluctuations in the costs of labor, paper, ink, energy, by-products and other materials and resources may adversely impact the results of the Company’s operations.
Cost of labor, paper, ink, energy and other raw materials represent a material portion of the Company’s costs. Increases in the costs of these inputs, especially as a result of the current high-inflationary environment in the countries in which the Company operates, may not be able to be passed on to the Company’s clients through higher prices. The
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Company further expects that inflation may continue to increase or remain higher than in the recent past, resulting in growing costs. Increases in the cost of materials, postage and labor may adversely impact clients’ demand for the Company’s printing and printing-related services.
The Company relies, in some cases, on third-party hardware, software and services, which could cause errors or failures of the Company’s services and resulting in adverse effects for the Company’s business and reputation.
Although the Company developed many of its platform-driven solutions internally or with the help of ETI and its other affiliates, the Company relies, in some cases, on third-party hardware and software in connection with its service offerings which the Company either purchases or leases from third-party vendors. The Company is generally able to select from a number of competing hardware and software applications, but the complexity and unique specifications of the hardware or software makes design defects and software errors difficult to detect. Any errors or defects in third-party hardware or software that are incorporated into the Company’s service offerings may result in a delay or loss of revenue, diversion of resources, damage to its reputation, the loss of the affected client, loss of future business, increased service costs or potential litigation claims against the Company.
Further, this hardware and software may not continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any loss of the right to use any of this hardware or software could result in delays in the provisioning of the Company’s services, which could negatively affect its business until equivalent technology is either developed by it or, if available, is identified, obtained and integrated. In addition, it is possible that the Company’s hardware vendors or the licensors of third-party software could increase the prices they charge, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations. Further, changing hardware vendors or software licensors could detract from management’s ability to focus on the ongoing operations of the Company’s business or could cause delays in the operations of its business.
The Company is subject to regular client and third-party security reviews and failure to pass these reviews may have an adverse impact on the Company’s operations.
Many of the Company’s client contracts require that it maintain certain physical and/or information security standards, and, in certain cases, permit a client to audit the Company’s compliance with these contractual standards. Any failure to meet such standards or pass such audits can constitute a breach of contract which may result in damages or clients enforcing other remedies under the client contracts which may have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business. Further, clients from time to time may require stricter physical and/or information security than they negotiated in their contracts, and may condition continued volumes and business on the satisfaction of such additional requirements. Some of these requirements may be expensive to implement or maintain, and may not be factored into the Company’s contract pricing. Further, on an annual basis the Company obtains third-party audits of certain of its locations in accordance with third party attestation standards, and many of its clients expect that the Company will engage in such procedures, and report to them the results. Negative findings in such an audit and/or the failure to adequately remediate in a timely fashion such negative findings may cause clients to terminate their contracts or otherwise have a material adverse effect on the Company’s reputation, results of operation and financial condition.
Currency fluctuations among the Euro, British Pound, Polish Zloty, Norwegian Krona, Danish Krona, Swedish Krona and any other local currencies of any locations where the Company operates in the future, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations.
The functional currencies of the Company’s businesses are the local currencies in Europe including the Euro, British Pound, Polish Zloty, Norwegian Krona, Danish Krona, Swedish Krona, Swiss Franc and Serbian Dinar, as well as the Moroccan Dirham, U.S. Dollar and Indian Rupee. Changes in exchange rates between any of these currencies (other than the U.S. Dollar) and the U.S. Dollar will affect the recorded levels of the Company’s assets, liabilities, net sales, cost of goods sold and operating margins and could result in exchange gains or losses. Exchange rates between these currencies in recent years have fluctuated significantly and may do so in the future. The Company’s operating results and profitability may be affected by any volatility in currency exchange rates and its ability to manage effectively currency transaction and translation risks. In addition, to the extent the U.S. Dollar strengthens against the functional
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currencies of the Company’s business (other than the U.S. Dollar), revenues and profits will be reduced when converted into and reported in U.S. Dollars.
The Company’s results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions, creating complex risks, many of which are beyond the Company’s control.
The Company’s business depends on the continued demand for its services, and if current global economic conditions worsen, its business could be adversely affected by its clients’ financial condition and level of business activity. Along with its clients, the Company is subject to global political, economic and market conditions, including inflation, tariffs, interest rates, energy costs, the impact of natural disasters, disease, military action and the threat of terrorism. In particular, the Company currently derives, and is likely to continue to derive, almost all of its revenue from clients located in Europe. Any future decreases in the general level of economic activity in European markets, such as decreases in business and consumer spending and increases in unemployment rates as the Company experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in a decrease in demand for the Company’s services, thus reducing its revenue. For example, certain clients may decide to reduce or postpone their spending on the services the Company provides, and the Company may be forced to lower its prices. Other developments in response to economic events, such as consolidations, restructurings or reorganizations, particularly involving the Company’s clients, could also cause the demand for the Company’s services to decline, negatively affecting the amount of business that it is able to obtain or retain. The Company may not be able to predict the impact such conditions will have on the industries it serves and may be unable to plan effectively for or respond to such impact. In response to economic and market conditions, from time to time the Company has undertaken or may undertake initiatives to reduce its cost structure where appropriate, such as consolidation of resources to provide functional region-wide support to its international subsidiaries in a centralized fashion. These initiatives, as well as any future workforce and facilities reductions the Company may implement, may not be sufficient to meet current and future changes in economic and market conditions and allow us to continue to achieve the growth rates expected. Any future workforce and/or facility reductions that may be implemented will be subject to local employment laws which may impose expenses and logistical challenges in connection with any such workforce reductions. Costs actually incurred in connection with certain restructuring actions may also be higher than the Company’s estimates of such costs and/or may not lead to the anticipated cost savings.
In addition, any future disruptions or turbulence in the global capital markets may adversely affect the Company’s liquidity and financial condition, and the liquidity and financial condition of its clients. Such disruptions may limit the Company’s ability to access financing, increase the cost of financing needed to meet liquidity needs and affect the ability of its clients to use credit to purchase its services or to make timely payments to the Company, in each case adversely affecting its financial condition and results of operations.
If the Company is unable to attract, train and retain skilled professionals, including highly skilled technical personnel to satisfy client demand and senior management to lead its business, or its labor expenses increase or otherwise comprise a larger percentage of its revenue, its business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
The Company’s success is dependent, in large part, on its ability to keep its supply of skilled professionals, including project managers, software developers, IT engineers and senior technical personnel, in balance with client demand, and on its ability to attract and retain senior management with the knowledge and skills to lead its business. Each year, the Company must hire new professionals and retrain, retain, and motivate its workforce across Europe and its nearshore jurisdictions. Competition for skilled labor is intense and, in some jurisdictions in which the Company operates, there are more jobs for certain professionals than qualified persons to fill these jobs. Costs associated with recruiting and training professionals can be significant and shortages of key personnel in the regions of our operation could require us to pay more to hire and retain key personnel, thereby increasing our cost. If the Company is unable to hire or deploy employees with the needed skillsets or if it is unable to adequately train or equip its employees with the skills or tools needed, this could materially adversely affect its business. Additionally, if the Company is unable to maintain an employee environment that is competitive and contemporary, it could have an adverse effect on engagement and retention, which may materially adversely affect the Company’s business. Furthermore, our restructuring plans and any future reductions in force or other restructuring intended to improve operational efficiencies and operating costs, may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain employees. If more stringent labor laws become applicable to the
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Company or if a significant number of its employees unionize, the profitability of the Company may be adversely affected.
Increased labor costs due to competition, statutory wage increases or employee benefits costs, unionization activity or other factors would adversely impact the Company’s cost of sales and operating expenses. As a result, the Company anticipates that its labor costs will continue to increase. In addition, the Company may face increased costs related to other employee benefits, such as in respect of unfunded UK pension liabilities, which amounted to approximately $8.4 million as of December 31, 2024. Such UK pension liabilities are subject to a fixed payment plan and, pursuant to an agreement with the pension plan’s trustee, are expected to be fully funded by the Company by February 2030 (although there can be no assurance that it will be fully funded by such date). Any such increase, or any increase in labor costs as a percentage of the Company’s revenue could adversely affect the Company’s financial results, as further described in the risk factor entitled “The Company’s ability to achieve continued and sustained profitability is uncertain.”
The Company is also subject to applicable rules and regulations relating to its relationship with its employees, including minimum wage and break requirements, health benefits, unemployment taxes, overtime, and working conditions and immigration status. Legislated increases in the minimum wage and increases in additional labor cost components, such as employee benefit costs, workers’ compensation insurance rates, compliance costs and fines, as well as the cost of litigation in connection with these regulations, would increase the Company’s labor costs. Further, the Company’s employees may form labor unions or workers’ councils, and the Company may become subject to new labor-related requirements that may impose additional requirements or costs on our business. As is the case with any negotiation, the Company may not be able to negotiate or renew acceptable collective bargaining agreements in such cases, which could result in strikes or work stoppages by affected workers. Renewal of collective bargaining agreements could also result in higher wages or benefits paid to union members. In addition, negotiations with labor unions and/or workers’ councils could hinder the pace of innovation by diverting management’s attention away from discovering and implementing the type of innovative strategies that we believe are crucial to the success of our business. A disruption in operations, higher ongoing labor costs or a hindrance to the pace of innovation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
While the Company is already subject to oversight by workers’ councils in several European countries, if the Company becomes subject to oversight by any workers’ councils in additional jurisdictions, it may be required to consult with such workers’ councils with respect to certain decisions and to provide specific information and records upon request. Any failure to engage with or provide information to a workers’ council could result in actual or threatened legal challenges or proceedings. Additionally, consultation with and/or obtaining approvals from workers’ councils may involve additional expense and unanticipated delays, particularly if the Company is required to make changes to accommodate feedback and recommendations from such workers’ councils. If consultations with a workers’ council does not yield a desired result, or if a workers’ council withholds or delays its approvals, the Company may be unable to execute key transactions in a timely fashion or at all, which may impede the ability of the Company to execute its growth strategy and/or have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to comply with data privacy and data protection laws in processing and transferring personal data across jurisdictions may subject the Company to fines, and the enactment of more stringent data privacy and data protection laws may increase its compliance costs.
Any inability by the Company to adequately address privacy and security concerns could result in expenses and liabilities, and an adverse impact on the Company. Moreover, international privacy and data security regulations may become more complex and have greater consequences. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, governs the collection and use of personal data of data subjects in the European Economic Area and extraterritorially as well, and imposes several stringent requirements for controllers and processors of personal data, including, for example, higher standards for obtaining consent from individuals to process their personal data, more robust disclosures to individuals and a strengthened individual data rights regime, shortened timelines for data breach notifications, limitations on retention of information, increased requirements pertaining to health data, other special categories of personal data and pseudonymized (i.e., key-coded) data and additional obligations when the Company contracts third-party processors in connection with the processing of the personal data. The GDPR provides that European Union
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member states may make their own further laws and regulations limiting the processing of personal data, including genetic, biometric or health data, which could limit the Company’s ability to use and share personal data or could cause its costs to increase, and harm its business and financial condition. Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the applicable national data protection laws of the European Union member states may result in fines of up to €20,000,000 or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, and other administrative penalties.
In addition to the GDPR, the Company is also subject to data privacy and security laws in other jurisdictions in which it operates. Developing new regulations regarding artificial intelligence and data use more broadly continue to add to the complexity of the legal environment and managing the privacy elements of these new rules will be critical to our ability to serve our clients as well as to achieve operational efficiencies.
Any future failure by the Company to comply with the GDPR or other applicable data privacy and security laws could have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations or financial condition. Industry groups also impose self-regulatory standards that bind the Company by their incorporation into the contracts that the Company executed and failing to comply with such standards could have a binding impact on its business.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect the Company’s business, investments and results of operations.
The Company is subject to laws, regulations and rules enacted by national, regional and local governments and the listing requirements of Nasdaq. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws, regulations and rules may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws, regulations and rules and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations.
Any failure or perceived failure to comply with laws and/or regulations, which may change from time to time, in one or more of the jurisdictions in which it operates, could subject the Company to legal actions and materially adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.
The Company’s business is subject to laws, regulations and rules enacted by national, regional and local governments, which may change from time to time. The Company also provides support to clients in highly regulated sectors, including banking, healthcare, insurance and utilities, which in some cases will result in the clients placing contractual obligations on the Company to comply with certain rules and regulations applicable to those sectors in the performance of its services. Currently there are no sector specific licenses or authorizations required for the Company to provide such services.
Any failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations. Furthermore, if the Company’s business becomes subject to additional laws and/or regulations in one or more of the jurisdictions in which it operates, including as a result of changing laws or regulations, changing interpretations of previously enacted laws or regulations, or increased oversight, then a failure to comply with such laws and/or regulations could subject the Company to legal actions and/or otherwise adversely affect its ability to continue its operations as they are currently conducted or are expected to be conducted in the future.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the financial and economic sanctions and import and/or export controls imposed on Russia by the United Kingdom, the European Union, and others, has caused, and may continue to cause, significant economic and social disruption, and its impact on the Company’s business is uncertain.
The ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has created volatility in the global capital markets and is expected to have further global economic consequences. The economic sanctions and controls imposed by the United Kingdom, the European Union, and others on Russia have caused, and may continue to cause, significant economic and social disruption, and its impact on the Company’s business is uncertain.
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In addition to adverse effects on the Company’s operations and on the wider global economy and market conditions, a continuation or escalation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine could result in significant increases in energy prices in Europe and other parts of the world. This has already resulted, and may continue to result, in clients and potential clients (both direct and indirect) of the Company diverting a larger proportion of their available cash towards paying their energy bills and delaying capital investments, particularly for purchases of software solutions such as the Company’s, which may be seen as “luxury” purchases under such conditions. Any of these impacts or increases in these conditions could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, cash flows, and results of operations of the Company and could cause the market value of its securities to decline.
COVID-19 caused a global health crisis that caused significant economic and social disruption, and a similar public health event could impact the Company’s business adversely.
The Company’s results of operations could in the future be materially adversely impacted by public health events similar to COVID-19. The global spread of COVID-19 created significant volatility and uncertainty and economic disruption. The extent to which the coronavirus pandemic will, or a similar public health event could, continue to impact the Company’s business, operations and financial results will depend on numerous evolving factors that it may not be able to accurately predict, including: the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken; the impact on economic activity; the effect on the Company’s clients and client demand for its services and solutions; the Company’s ability to sell and provide its services and solutions, including as a result of travel restrictions and people working from home; the ability of its clients to pay for its services and solutions; and any closures of its and its clients’ offices and facilities. The spread of the coronavirus caused the Company to modify its business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences), and the Company may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that the Company determines are in the best interests of its employees, clients and business partners.
The Company may incur losses and liabilities resulting from an unfavorable outcome of pending or anticipated legal disputes.
From time to time, the Company and its subsidiaries may become involved in other legal proceedings, inquiries, claims and disputes in the ordinary course of its business. For example, a group of 71 former employees has brought a claim against a subsidiary of the Company related to their dismissals resulting from the closure of two production sites in France in 2020 (see Part I, Item 3, “Legal Proceedings” for further information). Although we believe we have adequately reserved for potential liabilities related to pending litigation, there can be no assurances that we have done so. In addition, litigation or potential claims can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources, cause the Company to incur significant expenses or liability or require it to change its’ business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, the Company may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where it believes that it has meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, the Company cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on its business.
The Company operates in a number of jurisdictions and, as a result, may incur additional expenses in order to comply with the laws of those jurisdictions.
The Company’s business operates throughout Europe, and therefore, is required to comply with the laws of multiple jurisdictions. These laws regulating the internet, payments, payments processing, privacy, taxation, terms of service, website accessibility, consumer protection, intellectual property ownership, services intermediaries, labor and employment, wages and hours, worker classification, background checks, and recruiting and staffing companies, among others, could be interpreted to apply to us, and could result in greater rights to competitors, users, and other third parties. Compliance with these laws and regulations may be costly, and at times, may require the Company to change its business practices or restrict its product offerings, and the imposition of any such laws or regulations on it, its clients, or third parties that the Company or its clients utilize to provide or use its services, may adversely impact its revenue and business. In addition, the Company may be subject to multiple overlapping legal or regulatory regimes that impose conflicting requirements and enhanced legal risks.
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Cybersecurity issues, vulnerabilities, and criminal activity resulting in a data or security breach could result in risks to the Company’s systems, networks, products, solutions and services resulting in liability or reputational damage.
The Company collects and retains large volumes of internal and client data, including personally identifiable information and other sensitive data both physically and electronically, for business purposes, and its various information technology systems enter, process, summarize and report such data. The Company also maintains personally identifiable information about its employees. Safeguarding client, employee and the Company’s own data is a key priority for the Company, and its clients and employees have come to rely on it for the protection of their personal information. Augmented vulnerabilities, threats and more sophisticated and targeted cyber-related attacks pose a risk to the Company’s security and the security of its clients, partners, suppliers and third-party service providers, and to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data owned by the Company or its clients. Despite the Company’s efforts to protect sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, it may be vulnerable to material security breaches, theft, misplaced or lost data, programming errors, employee errors and/or malfeasance that could potentially lead to the compromise of sensitive, confidential or personal data or information, improper use of its systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions. Despite protective measures, the Company may not be successful in preventing security breaches which compromise the confidentiality and integrity of this data. While the Company attempts to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee training, monitoring and testing, and maintenance of protective systems and contingency plans, the Company remains vulnerable to such threats.
The sensitive, confidential or personal data or information that the Company has access to is also subject to privacy and security laws, regulations or client imposed controls. The regulatory environment, as well as the requirements imposed on the Company by the industries it serves governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding. Maintaining compliance with applicable security and privacy regulations may increase the Company’s operating costs and/or adversely impact its ability to provide services to its clients. Furthermore, a compromised data system or the intentional, inadvertent or negligent release or disclosure of data could result in theft, loss, fraudulent or unlawful use of client, employee or the Company data which could harm the Company’s reputation or result in remedial and other costs, fines or lawsuits. In addition, a cyber-related attack could result in other negative consequences, including damage to the Company’s reputation or competitiveness, remediation or increased protection costs, litigation or regulatory action. Fraud, employee negligence, and unauthorized access, including, malfunctions, viruses and other events beyond the control of the Company, may lead to the misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential information the Company processes, stores and transmits, including personal information, for its clients. Such failure to prevent or mitigate data loss or other security breaches, including breaches of its vendors’ technology and systems, could expose the Company or its clients to a risk of loss or misuse of such information, adversely affect its operating results, result in litigation or potential liability for it and otherwise harm its business. As a result, among other things, the Company may be subject to monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions or fines under the GDPR in the European Union or the United Kingdom. In addition to any legal liability, data or security breaches may lead to negative publicity, reputational damage and otherwise adversely affect the results of operations of the Company.
Risks Related to Owning Our Common Stock
The Company has a limited public float, which adversely affects trading volume and liquidity, and may adversely affect the price of the Common Stock and access to additional capital.
As of March 18, 2025, ETI and Cantor own approximately 71.8% and 21.2% of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. Although all of ETI’s shares, and the majority of Cantor’s shares of Common Stock were subject to contractual restrictions on resale until November 29, 2024, such restrictions have lapsed and those entities may now resell their shares without regard to those restrictions. The sale of shares of those shares Common Stock could have a significant negative impact on the public trading price of our Common Stock. The aggregate number of shares of our Common Stock owned by Cantor and BTC International represent approximately 93.0% of our outstanding shares of Common Stock.
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Due to the limited public float, the trading price of Common Stock may fluctuate widely due to various factors, including the volume of purchase or sales of Common Stock relative to the public float. The limited public float could adversely affect the Company’s business and financing opportunities, and may make it difficult for you to sell your Common Stock at a price that is attractive to you.
The Company is an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act and it has taken advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies; this could make the Company’s securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare the Company’s performance with other public companies.
The Company is an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act and intends to elect to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a result, holders of our securities and potential investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important. There can be no assurances whether investors will find the Company’s securities less attractive because of such exemptions. If some investors find the securities less attractive as a result of reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of the Company’s securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for the Company’s securities and the trading prices of the securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of its financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period, difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Pursuant to the JOBS Act, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for so long as it is an “emerging growth company”.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting, and generally requires in the same report an attestation by a public company’s independent registered public accounting firm on the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting. Refer to Item 9A for more information.
However, under the JOBS Act, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act until it is no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Company could be an “emerging growth company” until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following March 16, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the IPO, (b) in which the Company has total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (c) the Company’s non-convertible debt issued within a three year period exceeds $1 billion, or (d) if the market value of the Company’s shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of its second fiscal quarter.
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Substantial future sales of shares of Common Stock could cause the market price of our shares of Common Stock to decline.
As of March 18, 2025 our Common Stock was beneficially owned by ETI, representing 21,802,364 shares (approximately 71.8% of our outstanding Common Stock at March 18, 2025) and by Cantor, representing 6,449,404 shares (approximately 21.2% of our outstanding Common Stock at March 18, 2025). The Lock-Up Agreement that had previously applied to these shares expired on November 29, 2024. Each of Cantor and ETI are permitted to resell all of their shares with resale registration statements we previously filed with the SEC. In addition, our board of directors could designate and sell a class of preferred stock with preferential rights over the Common Stock with respect to dividends or other distributions. We filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC that registers the sale of up to $250.0 million of any combination of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, rights or units from time to time and at prices and on terms that we may determine (although we are currently subject to the “baby shelf” registration limitations).The resale, or expected or potential resale, or any sales under our universal shelf registration statement, of a substantial number of shares of Common Stock in the public market (or the market perception that such sales could occur, including sales in connection with addressing the delisting matters discussed above) could adversely affect the market price for shares of Common Stock and make it more difficult for you to sell your shares of Common Stock at times and prices that you feel are appropriate. Furthermore, we expect that the selling security holders under the resale registration statements will continue to offer the securities for a significant period of time, the precise duration of which cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the adverse market and price pressures resulting from an offering may continue for an extended period of time.
The provision of the Company’s Charter that authorizes the Board to issue preferred stock from time to time based on terms approved by the Board may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that public stockholders might consider in their best interest.
The provision of the Company’s Charter that authorizes the Board to issue preferred stock from time to time based on terms approved by the Board may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that you might consider in your best interest. Authorized but unissued preferred stock may enable the Board to render it more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company and thereby protect continuity of or entrench its management, which may negatively impact the market price of the Common Stock. If, in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, for example, the Board was to determine that a takeover proposal was not in the best interests of the Company, such preferred stock could be issued by the Board without stockholder approval in one or more private placements or other transactions that might prevent or render more difficult or make more costly the completion of any attempted takeover transaction by diluting voting or other rights of the proposed acquirer or an insurgent stockholder group, by creating a substantial voting bloc in institutional or other hands that might support the position of the incumbent board of directors, by effecting an acquisition that might complicate or preclude the takeover, or otherwise.
The Company’s Charter contains forum limitations for certain disputes between the Company and its stockholders that could limit the ability of stockholders to bring claims against the Company or its directors, officers and employees in jurisdictions preferred by stockholders.
The Company’s Charter provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative lawsuit brought on the Company’s behalf, (ii) any lawsuit against the Company’s current or former directors, officers, employees or stockholders asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any such person to the Company or its stockholders, (iii) any lawsuit asserting a claim arising under any provision of the DGCL, the Company’s Charter or Bylaws (each, as in effect from time to time), or (iv) any lawsuit governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware. The foregoing forum provisions do not apply to claims arising under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal securities laws for which there is exclusive federal or concurrent federal and state jurisdiction. The Company’s Charter also provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The foregoing forum provisions may prevent or limit a stockholder’s ability to file a lawsuit in a judicial forum that it prefers for disputes with the Company or its directors, officers, employees or stockholders, which may discourage such lawsuits, make them more difficult or
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expensive to pursue, and result in outcomes that are less favorable to such stockholders than outcomes that may have been attainable in other jurisdictions, although stockholders will not be deemed to have waived the Company’s compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act because Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act claims.
In addition, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing forum provisions in the Company’s Charter, courts may find the foregoing forum provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable in certain cases that the foregoing forum provisions purport to address, including claims brought under the Securities Act. If this were to occur in any particular lawsuit, the Company may incur additional costs associated with resolving such lawsuit in other jurisdictions or resolving lawsuits involving similar claims in multiple jurisdictions, all of which could harm the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The Company does not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.
The Company does not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of its Common Stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their shares after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment.
Risks Related to Being a Public Company
The Company is a controlled company, and thus is eligible for exemptions from certain corporate governance rules of Nasdaq. You may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
The Company is considered a “controlled company” under the rules of Nasdaq. Controlled companies are exempt from the Nasdaq corporate governance rules requiring that listed companies have (i) a majority of the board of directors consist of “independent” directors under the listing standards of Nasdaq, (ii) a nominating/corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors and a written nominating/corporate governance committee charter meeting the Nasdaq requirements and (iii) a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors and a written compensation committee charter meeting the requirements of Nasdaq. The Company has not taken advantage of any of the exemptions described above. If the Company uses some or all of these exemptions, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq.
So long as ETI controls the Company, other holders of the Company’s Common Stock will have limited ability to influence matters requiring stockholder approval, and ETI’s interests may conflict with (or may be adverse to) the interests of the other holders of Common Stock. ETI, along with its directors and management team, may make decisions that adversely impact the Company’s other stockholders.
As of December 31, 2024, ETI beneficially owns approximately 72.3% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock. So long as this ownership and control continues, ETI, along with its directors and management team, including its Executive Chairman, Par Chadha, generally will have the ability to control the outcome of any matter submitted for the vote of Company’s stockholders, including the election and removal of directors, changes to the size of the Board, any amendment to the Company’s Charter and Bylaws, and the approval of any merger or other significant corporate transaction, including a sale of substantially all of the Company’s assets (other than in certain circumstances set forth in the Company’s Charter or Bylaws).
The interests of ETI may not coincide with (or may be adverse to) the interests of the other Company stockholders. ETI’s ability, subject to the limitations in the Company’s Charter and Bylaws, to control all matters submitted to the Company’s stockholders for approval will limit the ability of other stockholders to influence corporate matters and, as a result, the Company may take actions that its stockholders do not view as beneficial and/or that
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adversely affect the Company’s stockholders other than ETI. ETI may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to the Company’s business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to the Company. As a result of the foregoing, the market price of Common Stock could be adversely affected. In addition, the existence of a controlling stockholder of the Company may have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discouraging a third party from seeking to acquire, the Company. A third party would be required to negotiate any such transaction with ETI, and the interests of ETI with respect to such transaction may be different from the interests of Company’s stockholders other than ETI.
Considering the Company’s relationship with ETI and Par Chadha, stockholders are encouraged to review ETI’s public filings relating to the relationships between such parties and their respective affiliates.
The Company incurs significant increased expenses and administrative burdens as a public company, which could have an adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company faces a significantly increased costs for insurance, legal, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses as a public company that the Company did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the requirements of Section 404, as well as rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Act and the rules and regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the SEC and the securities exchanges, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with public company requirements will increase costs and make certain activities more time-consuming. A number of those requirements require the Company to carry out activities the Company had not been directly required to do (although ETI, as its parent and a public company, has been required to do so). For example, the Company created new board committees and adopted new internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. In addition, additional expenses associated with SEC reporting requirements are being incurred. Furthermore, if any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if the auditors identify a material weakness or significant deficiency in the internal control over financial reporting), the Company could incur additional costs to rectify those issues, and the existence of those issues could adversely affect the Company’s reputation or investor perceptions of it. As a public company, it could be more difficult or costly for the Company to obtain and retain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and the Company may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage with increased self-retention risk or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a public company, it could also be more difficult and expensive for the Company to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on the Board, or Board committees or as executive officers. Furthermore, if the Company is unable to satisfy its obligations as a public company, it could be subject to delisting of its Common Stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
The additional reporting and other obligations imposed by various rules and regulations applicable to public companies will increase legal and financial compliance costs and the costs of related legal, accounting and administrative activities. These increased costs will require the Company to divert a significant amount of money that could otherwise be used to expand the business and achieve strategic objectives. Advocacy efforts by shareholders and third-parties may also prompt additional changes in governance and reporting requirements, which could further increase costs.
If the Company is unable to maintain a listing on a national securities exchange, it could negatively impact the price and liquidity of its Common Stock and its ability to access the capital markets
The Company’s Common Stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market (the “NGM”). On September 4, 2024 the Company requested to transfer the listing of its securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “NCM”). That application is pending.
On April 24, 2024, the Company received a deficiency letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that the listing of its Common Stock was not in compliance with the minimum $15 million market value of publicly held shares requirement (the “NGM MVPHS Requirement”) for a period of 30 consecutive business days set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(C) for continued listing on the NGM. Because of the Company’s non-
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compliance with the NGM MVPHS Requirement for continued listing on that market, on September 4, 2024 the Company had requested to transfer the listing of its securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “NCM”).
The Company received written notice (the “Delisting Determination Letter”) from Nasdaq on October 18, 2024 stating that the Company had not regained compliance with the NGM MVPHS Requirement. The Company requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) pursuant to Listing Rule 5810(d), which automatically stayed the suspension and/or delisting of the Company’s securities pending completion of the hearing and the expiration of any additional extension period granted by the Panel following the hearing. At the Panel hearing on December 12, 2024, the Company restated its transfer request to the Panel and presented a plan to demonstrate compliance with Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) for the NCM by having a market value of listed securities of at least $35 million (the “NCM MVLS Requirement”) no later than April 4, 2025.
On January 13, 2025, Nasdaq notified the Company that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) had granted the Company’s request to continue its application with the Nasdaq staff to transfer its securities to the NCM, provided it demonstrated compliance the NCM MVLS Requirement on or before April 4, 2025. Although the Company believes it will be able to demonstrate compliance with all requirements for continued listing on NCM, including the NCM MVLS Requirement, on or before April 4, 2025, there can be no assurance that it will. If the Company fails to regain compliance or in the future fails to comply with the NCM MVLS Requirement or any other requirements for continued listing on the NCM, the Company’s securities could become subject to potential delisting.
The Company had also received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq August 30, 2024 notifying the Company that the Company’s market value of listed securities (“MVLS”) was below the $50 million minimum MVLS requirement for continued listing on the NGM under Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A) (the “NGM MVLS Deficiency Matter”). Nasdaq informed the Company on October 18, 2024 that because the Company satisfied the $50 million in total assets and total revenue requirement under Listing Rule 5450(b)(3)(A), an alternative method of compliance with the continued listing requirements set forth in Listing Rule 5450(b), the NGM MVLS Deficiency Matter was then resolved.
If Nasdaq does not approve the application to continue the listing of its Common Stock on the NCM and delists the Company’s shares because of the failure to demonstrate compliance with the listing standards of the NCM, or if the Company in the future fails to maintain such compliance and the Company is not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, the securities of the Company could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, the Company and its stockholders could face significant material adverse consequences including:
● a limited availability of market quotations for the Company’s securities;
● reduced liquidity for the Company’s securities;
● a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about the Company, its business, or its market, or if they change their recommendations regarding the Company’s securities adversely, the price and trading volume of the Company’s securities could decline.
The trading market for the Company’s securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about the Company, its business, market or competitors. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on the Company, except to the extent currently included or in the future covered in analysts’ reports on ETI. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of the Company, the Company’s share price and trading volume may likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who may cover the
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Company change their recommendation regarding the Company’s Common Stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about the Company’s competitors, the price of the Company’s shares of Common Stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover the Company were to cease coverage of the Company or fail to regularly publish reports on it, the Company could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause its share price or trading volume to decline.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
The Company has developed and maintained a comprehensive cybersecurity program which is integrated within the Company’s enterprise risk management program and encompasses the corporate and operational technology environments, as well as client-facing products and services. Our cybersecurity program has implemented a governance structure and process to identify, assess, manage, mitigate, respond to and report on cybersecurity incidents and risks within an ever-changing threat landscape. We utilize cybersecurity policies and frameworks based on industry and government standards, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cyber Security Framework (“NIST CSF”). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, but rather that we use NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
Our cybersecurity program includes an incident response plan, which establishes (1) a framework for classifying security incidents according to their severity level, taking into account the nature and scope of the incident; and (2) protocols for the escalation of incident. The Company operates a 24 x 7 security operations center (“SOC”) which monitors our global cybersecurity solutions and production environments, and serves as a central location for the reporting of cybersecurity matters. The roles and responsibilities of the SOC and our cybersecurity team in the incident response context are established by the incident response plan, as well as in associated playbooks and other procedural documentation.
We partner with third parties to support and evaluate our cybersecurity program. The Services provided by third-parties span areas including cybersecurity maturity assessments, incident response, penetration testing and consulting on best practices. Our processes also address cybersecurity threat risks associated with our use of third-party service providers, including those who have access to our data or our systems. Third-party risks are included within our risk assessment of vendors, as well as our cybersecurity-specific risk identification program. In addition, cybersecurity considerations affect the selection and oversight of third-party service providers. We perform diligence on third parties, particularly those that have access to our systems, data or facilities that house such systems or data, and continually monitor cybersecurity threat risks identified through such diligence.
We also implemented a cybersecurity awareness program which covers topics such as phishing, social networking safety, password security and mobile device usage. We communicate these and other pertinent security issues or compliance changes through our regular internal communications cadence. Additionally, the Company has mandatory security awareness training addressing cybersecurity, privacy and confidential information.
In 2024 and 2023, we did not identify any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. In June 2022, ETI experienced a previously disclosed network security incident which had material adverse impact and required ETI to, among other things, limit access to its applications and services by its employees and customers. In response, ETI incurred considerable costs to restore the security of its internal systems and networks and adopted various enhancements. If we were to experience a material cybersecurity incident in the future, such incident may have a material effect, including on our business strategy, operating results or financial condition. Please refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for further information about the material risks associated with various cybersecurity threats.
Governance
Our Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to its Audit Committee oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks. Our Audit Committee oversees management’s ongoing activities related to our cybersecurity risk management and compliance programs.
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Our cybersecurity program is led by our Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”), who has two decades of experience in various cybersecurity, software development, product management, and other technology-related roles. Our CTO oversees teams across the company supporting our security functions of identify, prevent, detect, respond, and recover. These teams are comprised of personnel with a broad range of experience across the private and public sectors, the technology industry, and different geographic regions.
Our Audit Committee receives periodic reports from our CTO and management on our cybersecurity risks and the current threat landscape trends. In addition, management will update the Board directly, as necessary, regarding cybersecurity incidents. The full Board also receives presentations on cybersecurity topics from our CTO and other security management staff as part of the Board’s continuing education on topics that impact the Company.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We lease and own numerous facilities across 14 European countries and Morocco. The size of our active property portfolio as of December 31, 2024 was in excess of 552,908 square feet (sq. ft.) and comprised of 29 leased properties and 2 owned properties including offices, sales offices, service locations, and production facilities. Many of our operating facilities are equipped with fiber connectivity and have access to other power sources.
Many of our operations facilities are leased under long term leases with varying expiration dates, except for the following owned locations: (i) an operating facility in Egham, United Kingdom with an approximately building area of 11,098 sq. ft., and (ii) an operating facility in Dublin, Ireland with an approximate building area of 24,563 sq. ft.We also maintain an operating presence at 8 client sites in France; 5 client sites in Belgium; and 1 client site in Germany and Switzerland respectively.
Our properties are suitable to deliver services to our clients for each of our business segments. Our management believes that all of our properties and facilities are well maintained.
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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Subsidiary Litigation
A group of 71 former employees brought a claim against a subsidiary of the Company related to their dismissal resulting from the closure of two production sites in France in 2020. The employees filed complaints with the Labor Court on June 9, 2022. Conciliation hearings at the Labor Court were held on September 27, 2022, December 13, 2022, March 7, 2023, September 5, 2023 November 14, 2023, December 5, 2023 and February 5, 2024.
In March 2023, 67 claimants (after the in principle settlement was agreed with the first 4 claimants) filed an application for summary proceedings in respect of part of the claim for a total claim of $1.1 million. The summary proceedings hearing was held on April 11, 2023 and the court issued its decision on May 9, 2023 upholding all of the plaintiffs’ claims for a total amount of $1.1 million. However, the court’s decision did not increase the Company’s anticipated exposure for the overall claim. The Company has appealed against the decision (and paid the amount of $1.1 million to 66 of the 67 claimants, as settlement agreement in principle was subsequently reached with one further claimant on November 10, 2023 pending the appeal). Since the majority of the claimants concluded settlement agreements with the Company, the appeal proceedings pertain only to 15 remaining claimants who have not settled.The next hearing, pertaining only to 15 remaining claimants who have not concluded settlement agreements with the Company, is scheduled for June 2, 2025.
In addition to the above, the substantive hearing for the foregoing claims was held on February 16, 2024 and a decision was made on June 28, 2024. The Company has appealed the decision from that substantive hearing.
The Company reached a number of settlements with 56 claimants prior to the June 2024 court decision and approximately $1.8 million was paid to such claimants in addition to the amounts paid as part of the summary proceedings. The court awarded $1.2 million to the claimants who had not settled before the court’s decision and, after the deduction of the amounts already paid to such claimants, $1.0 million remains to be paid by the Company. The Company will also be responsible for up to three months’ unemployment allowance paid to these claimants by the unemployment fund, which is not expected to significantly increase the Company’s total costs. The Company has appealed the decision. The Company accrued $1.0 million and $2.2 million in accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, based on the estimate of the range of possible losses.
Other
We are, from time to time, involved in other legal proceedings, inquiries, claims and disputes, which arise in the ordinary course of business. Although our management cannot predict the outcomes of these matters, our management believes these actions will not have a material, adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “XBP”. Our Warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “XBPEW”.
Stockholders
As of March 18, 2025 there were approximately 245 registered holders of record of our Common Stock. The number of holders of record does not include a substantially greater number of “street name” holders or beneficial holders, whose shares of record are held by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on shares of our Common Stock. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, capital requirements, general financial condition, and is within the discretion of our board of directors.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table provides information as of December 31, 2024, with respect to the shares of our Common Stock that may be issued under our existing equity compensation plans.
Number of Securities to Number of Securities
be Issued Upon Remaining Available
Exercise of Outstanding Weighted Average for Future Issuance
Options and Exercise Price of Under Equity
Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders — — —
(1) The Company currently maintains the 2024 Stock Incentive Plan, which was approved by our board of directors on June 13, 2024. There are 5,520,270 shares of our Common Stock reserved for issuance under our 2024 Stock Incentive Plan.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities During the Year Ended December 31, 2024
None.
ITEM 6. [Reserved]
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Unless otherwise noted, this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations relates solely to our continuing operations and does not include the operations of our certain on-demand printing operations. See “Pending Divestiture” below and Note 3 - Discontinued Operations of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information about the disposable group.
Forward Looking Statements
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with a review of the other Items included in this Annual Report and our December 31, 2024 Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this report. Certain statements contained in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
The Company is a pan-European integrator of bills, payments and related solutions and services seeking to enable digital transformation of our clients. The Company serves over 2,000 clients of varying sizes and across multiple industries and geographies. We believe our business ultimately advances digital transformation, improves market-wide liquidity, and encourages sustainable business practices.
The Company’s digital foundation was developed to deliver fully outsourced solutions to address current and evolving client needs. The Company hosts its products both on client premises and as a SaaS offering in the cloud. These offerings, along with several hybrid solutions are available to clients based on the client’s needs and preferences. When distributing its licenses, the Company offers a flexible model, whereby clients may choose among licenses covering a maximum number of transactions, multi-year term licenses with flexible renewal options, or perpetual licenses.
The Company’s primary source of revenue stems from transactions processed by its products, including bills and payments processing and constitutes the dominant part of revenue in our larger, Bills & Payments reporting segment. Other sources of revenue include the sale of recurring software licenses and professional services, perpetual software licenses, as well as hardware solutions and related maintenance and constitute our Technology reporting segment. The Company offers an industry-agnostic and cross-departmental suite of products, which center around finance and accounting (“F&A”) solutions and services comprised of the XBP Platform, Request to Pay, enterprise information management, Digital Mailroom, business process management and workflow automation, and integrated communication services. The Company also offers core industry solutions for the banking and financial services sector, and has, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, rolled out a suite of Work From Anywhere (“WFA”) applications with enterprise software for connectivity and productivity to enable remote work.
The continued success of the Company’s business is driven by its people. Its operation centers are located in areas where the value proposition the Company offers is attractive relative to other local opportunities, resulting in an engaged, educated multi-lingual workforce that is able to make a meaningful global contribution from their local marketplace. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had approximately 1,450 employees (of which 140 were part-time employees) across 16 countries (14 across Europe and in Morocco as well as the U.S., where our chief executive officer and chief financial officer are located).
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History
XBP Europe, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on September 28, 2022 to facilitate the Business Combination. On November 30, 2023, following the Closing, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “XBP Europe”) and its shares started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker “XBP” and its warrants started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “XBPEW”. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company constitutes a collection of entities, which have comprised the core European business of ETI since the 1995 merger between Texas-based BancTec, Inc. and Recognition International, Inc. The Company’s subsidiaries and predecessor entities have been serving clients in the European marketplace for over 45 years. In 2018, through the acquisitions of Asterion International and Drescher Full-Service Versand, ETI further expanded its geographic and client reach across Europe.
Merger Agreement
On October 9, 2022, XBP Europe, Inc. entered into the Merger Agreement with CF VIII, BTC International and Merger Sub. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub, a newly formed subsidiary of CF VIII, merged with and into XBP Europe, Inc., with XBP Europe, Inc. surviving the Merger.
The Merger was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, CF VIII was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the Merger was treated as the equivalent of the Company issuing stock for the net assets of CFVIII, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of CFVIII were stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Merger were those of the Company.
As a consequence of the Merger, XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. became the successor to CF VIII, which required the Company to hire additional personnel and implement procedures and processes to address public company regulatory requirements and customary practices.
Recent developments
Non-Binding Letter of Intent
On March 4, 2025, the Company announced that it had entered into an exclusive, non-binding letter of intent with ETI to acquire Exela Technologies BPA, LLC (“Exela BPA”), a leading provider of business process automation solutions and subsidiary of ETI. Under the terms of the letter of intent, the Company has been granted exclusivity while the parties work in good faith to negotiate definitive agreements, complete due diligence, undertake necessary regulatory approvals, and seek any necessary approvals, including from the Company’s shareholders.
The Company is continuing to work through the process; however, there can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed transaction will be consummated. Those portions of the letter of intent that describe the proposed transaction are non-binding. The Company only intends to announce additional details regarding the proposed transaction if and when a definitive agreement is executed.
Pending Divestiture
During the third quarter of 2024, certain on-demand printing operations of the Company met the criteria to be disclosed as discontinued operations in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. See Note 3 - Discontinued Operations of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information on discontinued operations.
Key Factors Affecting Company’s Business
The Company believes that its performance and future success depend upon several factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges including those discussed below and in the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors.”
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Investment in Technology
The Company’s revenue growth depends heavily upon its ability to ensure a timely flow of competitive products, services and technologies to the marketplace while also leveraging its domain expertise. Through regular and sustained investment, licensing of intellectual property and acquisition of third-party businesses and technology, the Company continues to develop new knowledge platforms, applications and supporting service bundles that enhance and expand its existing suite of services. These efforts will require the Company to invest significant financial and other resources.
Acquiring new clients
The Company plans to continue developing new long-term, strategic client relationships, particularly where there is an opportunity to deliver a wide range of capabilities that have a meaningful impact on clients’ business outcomes. As such, the Company plans to leverage the solutions it has already introduced in some European markets, like Confirmation of Payee or Request To Pay, that are part of its XBP platform, and offer them to clients in other European markets as well as solutions and products within its F&A offering such as the ERP data consolidation solution. With the launch of XBP Omnidirect and Reaktr.ai, we are looking to expand our client base. Additionally, the Company continues to evaluate becoming a registered payment service provider to supplement its existing solutions and services. The Company believes there is a long-term opportunity to expand in these markets to serve new clients.
The Company’s ability to attract new clients also depends on a number of factors, including the effectiveness and pricing of its products, its competitors’ offerings, and successfully executing its marketing efforts. Acquisition of new clients is expected to have a positive impact on the Company’s long-term profitability and operations.
Expanding the Company’s relationships with existing clients
In addition to acquiring new clients, the Company intends to continue retaining existing clients and pursue cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. With an existing base of over 2,000 clients, the Company believes there are meaningful opportunities to offer a bundled suite of services and to be a “one-stop-shop” for its clients’ bills and payments automation and broader digital transformation journeys.
The Company’s ability to influence clients to process more transactions and payments on its platforms has a direct impact on its revenue. As such, the Company offers a full suite of solutions by bundling integrated accounts payable and receivables, payment solutions, F&A services, master data management, reporting analytics along with integrated communication services for enterprise and small and medium businesses.
Our Segments
Our two reportable segments are Bills& Payments and Technology. These segments are comprised of significant strategic business units that align our products and services with how we manage our business, approach our key markets and interact with our clients based on their respective industries.
Bills and Payments: The Bills & Payments business unit primarily focuses on optimizing how bills and payments are processed by businesses of all sizes and industries. The Company offers automation of AP and AR processes and through an integrated platform, seeks to integrate buyers and suppliers across Europe. This business unit also includes our digital transformation revenue, which is both project based and recurring.
Technology: The Technology business unit primarily focuses on sales of recurring and perpetual software licenses and related maintenance, hardware solutions and related maintenance and professional services.
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Key Performance Indicators
We use a variety of operational and financial measures to assess our performance. Among the measures considered by our management are the following:
● Revenue by segment;
● Gross profit by segment; and
● Adjusted EBITDA (which is a non-GAAP financial measure).
Revenue by segment
We analyze our revenue by comparing actual monthly revenue to internal projections and prior periods across our operating segments in order to assess performance, identify potential areas for improvement, and determine whether segments are meeting management’s expectations.
Gross profit by segment
The Company defines Gross Profit as revenue less cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization). The Company uses Gross Profit by segment to assess financial performance at the segment level.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its financial data presented on a basis consistent with GAAP, this Annual Report contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The Company has included these non-GAAP financial measures because they are financial measures used by management to evaluate the Company’s core operating performance and trends, to make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital and new investments. These measures exclude certain expenses that are required under GAAP. The Company excludes these items because they are non-recurring or non-cash expenses that are determined based in part on the Company’s underlying performance.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
We define EBITDA as net income (loss), plus taxes, interest expense, and depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus restructuring and related expenses, related party management fee and royalties, non-cash equity compensation, foreign exchange gains or losses, changes in fair value of warrant liability, and non-recurring transaction costs incurred in connection with the Business Combination.
Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures will provide useful information to investors in assessing our financial performance and results of operations as our board of directors and management use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess our financial performance, because it allows them to compare our operating performance on a consistent basis across periods by removing the effects of our capital structure (such as varying levels of interest expense), asset base (such as depreciation and amortization) and items outside the control of our management team. Net income/loss is the GAAP measure most directly comparable to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. Our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Each of these non-GAAP financial measures has important limitations as analytical tools because they exclude some but not all items that affect the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not required to be uniformly applied, are not audited and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may be defined differently by
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other companies in our industry, our definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, thereby diminishing their utility.
The following tables present a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to our net loss from continuing operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
Year Ended December 31,
Net loss from continuing operations $ (6,533) $ (5,568)
Interest expense including related party interest expense, net 6,322 7,006
Depreciation and amortization 3,160 2,944
EBITDA from continuing operations 5,860 4,988
Restructuring and related expenses(1) 1,879 5,053
Employee litigation matter(2) 1,283 1,431
Related party management fee and royalties(3) — 1,330
Foreign exchange losses, net 2,520 599
Non-cash equity compensation(4) 1,611 —
Changes in fair value of warrant liability (43) (597)
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations $ 13,390 $ 15,774
(4) Represents the non-cash charges for restricted stock units and options.
(5) Represents transaction costs incurred as part of the Business Combination.
The following tables present a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to our net loss from discontinued operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
Year Ended December 31,
Income tax expense — —
Interest expense, net 145 189
Depreciation and amortization 555 907
EBITDA from discontinued operations (5,133) (4,383)
Restructuring and related expenses(1) 38 187
Related party service fees and royalties — 25
Impairment of goodwill 87 —
Foreign exchange losses (gains), net 211 (5)
Adjusted EBITDA from discontinued operations $ (4,797) $ (4,176)
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Key Components of Revenue and Expenses
Revenue
The Company earns revenue from transactions processed using its products and services. In addition, the Company also sells recurring and perpetual software licenses, as well as maintenance and other professional services. Licensing options are flexible and clients can purchase a license covering a maximum number of transactions, multi-year term licenses with flexible renewal options. The Company derives a majority of its revenue from transactions processing as well as from the sale of licenses and technology implementation services.
Related party revenue — Related party revenue consists of sales of the above products or services to related parties.
Costs and Expenses
Cost of revenue — Cost of revenue consists primarily of salaries and employee benefits, including performance bonuses, facility costs and cost of products.
Related party cost of revenue — Related party cost of revenue consists of the cost of the products or services purchased or acquired from related parties, plus a related party transfer pricing markup.
Selling, general and administrative expenses — Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of administrative personnel and officers’ salaries and benefits including performance bonuses, legal and audit expenses, insurance, operating lease expenses (mainly facilities and vehicles) and other facility costs.
Related party expenses — Related party expenses primarily consist of the shared service cost, service fee, royalties and related party management fee which was replaced by the related party service fee in connection with the Business Combination.
Depreciation and amortization — Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets expenses consist of depreciation of property and equipment and amortization of client relationship asset.
Interest expense, net — Interest expense consists of interest related to pensions, debt, and finance leases.
Related party interest expense — Related party interest expense consists of interest incurred on amounts due to related parties.
Foreign exchange losses, net — Foreign exchange losses, net is comprised of losses and gains due to foreign currency remeasurement that are netted together for reporting purposes.
Changes in fair value of warrant liability – Changes in fair value of warrant liability represents the mark-to-market fair value adjustments to the outstanding Private Warrants issued as part of the consummation of the Business Combination. The change in fair value of Private Warrants is primarily the result of the change in the underlying stock price of our stock used in the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The warrant liability is remeasured at the end of each subsequent reporting period.
Pension income, net — Pension income, net consists of expected return on employee benefit plan assets, amortization of prior service cost and amortization of net loss.
Income tax expense — Income taxes consist primarily of income taxes related to federal, and foreign jurisdictions in which the Company conducts its business. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets for its U.S. federal taxes and certain foreign and state taxes as the Company has concluded that it is not more likely than not that the deferred assets will be utilized.
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Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023 (US dollars in thousands)
Years Ended December 31,
Revenue:
Cost of revenue:
Depreciation and amortization 3,160 2,944
Related party interest expense, net 90 1,971
Foreign exchange losses, net 2,520 599
Changes in fair value of warrant liability (43) (597)
Pension income, net (1,705) (929)
Net loss before income taxes (3,622) (4,962)
Net loss from continuing operations $ (6,533) $ (5,568)
For the purposes of trend analysis, constant currency refers to the prevailing rate of the US dollar against relevant currencies for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Revenue
For the year ended December 31, 2024, our revenue on a consolidated basis decreased by $12.4 million, or 8.0%, to $142.8 million (including related party revenue of $0.4 million) from $155.2 million (including related party revenue of $0.2 million) for the year ended December 31, 2023. On a constant currency basis, revenue declined by $13.5 million, or 8.7%, offset by the positive impact of foreign currency accounting for $1.1 million or 0.7%.
Bills & Payments and Technology segments constituted 71.3%, and 28.7%, respectively, of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to 71.2%, and 28.8%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2023. The revenue changes by reporting segment were as follows:
Bills & Payments — Net revenue attributable to bills and payments segment was $101.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $110.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The revenue decline of $8.6 million, or 7.8%, is primarily attributable to completion of one time projects, lower volumes and client contract end, offset by the positive impact of newly won and revenue ramping contracts. On a constant currency basis, revenue declined by $9.3 million, or 8.4%, offset by the positive impact of foreign currency accounting for a $0.7 million or 0.6%.
Technology — For the year ended December 31, 2024, revenue attributable to the Technology segment decreased by $3.8 million, or 8.5%, to $40.9 million from $44.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The revenue decrease in the Technology segment was largely due to a lower volume of software licenses sold and partially
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offset by an increase in professional services and maintenance revenue. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased by $4.2 million, or 9.4%, offset by the positive impact of foreign currency accounted for $0.4 million or 0.9%.
Cost of Revenue
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the cost of revenue decreased by $10.8 million (including decrease in related party cost of $0.0 million), or 9.4%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. Total cost of revenue decreased by $11.6 million or 10.1% on a constant currency basis, offset by the positive impact of foreign currency of $0.9 million or 0.7%, when compared to the cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023.
In the Bills & Payments segments, the decrease was primarily attributable to a decline in revenue, improved utilization of operations coupled with cost optimizations and more profitable contracts. The cost of revenue in the Bills & Payments segment decreased by $10.1 million, or 10.6%. On a constant currency basis, cost of revenue at Bills & Payments segment declined by $10.9 million, or 11.4%, offset by the positive impact of foreign currency of 0.8% or $0.8 million.
The cost of revenue in the Technology segment decreased by $0.7 million, or 3.4%, primarily due to the change in the revenue mix within the Technology segment. On a constant currency basis, cost of revenue at the Technology segment decreased by $0.7 million, or 3.7%, offset by the foreign currency impact accounting for $0.1 million or 0.3%.
Cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 was 73.2% of revenue compared to 74.3% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023, with the decrease primarily due to improved utilization of operations, cost optimizations and change in revenue mix.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A expenses”) decreased by $4.6 million, or 14.9%, to $26.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $31.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to cost optimization initiatives, coupled with higher one-time costs pertaining to professional fees and insurance in 2023. SG&A expenses decreased as a percentage of revenue to 18.6% for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 20.1% for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Related Party Expenses
Related party expense was $5.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was mainly due to the growth in the COE (Center of Excellence), partially offset by the cost optimizations taken during the year.
Depreciation and Amortization
Total depreciation and amortization expense was $3.2 million and $2.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in total depreciation and amortization expense by $0.3 million was primarily due to an increase in amortization expense related to outsource contract costs during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, largely due to an increase in borrowing costs as a result of higher borrowings under the 2024 Credit Facilities during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
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Related Party Interest Expense, Net
Related party interest expense, net was $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to related party interest expense, net of $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in the related party interest expense, net was due to an elimination of a related party interest receivable as required by the Ultimate Parent Support Agreement during the prior year.
Foreign Exchange Losses, net
Foreign exchange losses were $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to foreign exchange losses of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to higher unrealized foreign exchange losses, partially offset by lower realized foreign exchange losses for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Changes in fair value of warrant liability
The change in fair value of warrant liability during the year ended December 31, 2024 was a gain of $43 thousand. The change in fair value of warrant liability resulted from the remeasurement of the Private Warrant liability between December 31, 2023 and the end of the reporting period, December 31, 2024.
Pension Income, net
Pension income, net was $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to pension income, net of $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in income was primarily due to higher expected return on plan assets recorded in the year ended December 31, 2024.
Income Tax Expense
The Company had an income tax expense of $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to an income tax expense of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in the income tax expenses for the current period is higher than the same period last year due to a remeasurement of existing uncertain tax positions in Germany.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
At December 31, 2024 and 2023 cash and cash equivalents totalled $12.1 million and $6.5 million, respectively.
The Company currently expects to spend approximately $1.5 to $2.5 million on total capital expenditures over the next twelve months. The Company will continue to evaluate additional capital expenditure needs that may arise.
As of December 31, 2024, and in comparison to December 31, 2023, total debt increased by $12.3 million primarily due to borrowings under the 2024 Senior Credit Facilities, partially offset by repayments of Revolving Credit Facilities and 2022 Committed Facility Agreement (See “Indebtedness” below).
The Company has utilized COVID-19 relief measures in various European jurisdictions, including permitted deferrals of certain payroll, social security and value added taxes. At the end of the fourth quarter 2024, the Company paid a significant portion of these deferred payroll taxes, social security and value added taxes. The remaining balance of deferred payroll taxes, social security and value added taxes will be paid by the April 2027, or later, as per deferment timeline as established by local laws and regulations.
The Company believes the current cash, cash equivalents and cash flows from financing activities, including the reduction in cash used in principal repayment on borrowings under factoring arrangement, are sufficient to meet the
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Company’s working capital and capital expenditure requirements for a period of at least twelve months. To the extent existing cash, cash from operations, and amounts available for borrowing are insufficient to fund future activities, the Company may need to raise additional capital. The Company may require funding for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, cost overruns for reasons outside of its control and it may experience slower sales than anticipated. If the Company’s current cash on hand is not sufficient to meet its financing requirements for the next twelve months, it may have to raise funds to allow it to continue to operate its business and execute on its business plan. The Company cannot be certain that funding will be available on acceptable terms or at all particularly given the amount of Company securities being offered, the terms of such securities and the potential duration of any offering. To the extent that the Company raises additional funds by issuing equity securities, its stockholders may experience significant dilution. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants that may impact the Company’s ability to conduct business or return capital to investors. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital on acceptable terms, it may have to significantly scale back, delay or discontinue certain businesses, restrict its operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms.
Cash Flows
Our consolidated statements of cash flows include cash flows related to the disposable group. Significant non-cash items and capital expenditures of discontinued operations related to our disposable group are presented separately in Note 3 - Discontinued Operations of the notes to consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report.
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years indicated:
Year Ended December 31,
Net cash used in operating activities $ (5,227) $ (1,535)
Net cash used in investing activities (1,710) (2,669)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 12,446 (305)
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents (308) 3,941
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 5,201 (568)
Analysis of Cash Flow Changes between the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
Operating Activities — Net cash used in operating activities was $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase of $3.7 million in cash used in operating activities was largely due to a higher net loss and higher outflows from related party payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities.
Investing Activities — Net cash used in investing activities was $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to net cash used in investing activities of $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease of $1.0 million in cash used in investing activities was primarily due to reduction in additions of property, plant and equipment during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Financing Activities — Net cash provided by financing activities was $12.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to net cash used in financing activities of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase of $12.8 million in cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to borrowings under the 2024 Senior Credit Facilities, partially offset by repayments of Revolving Credit Facilities and 2022 Committed Facility Agreement, and reduction in net borrowing under the securitization facility due to the entry into the Amended Factoring Agreement on September 15, 2023, which resulted in an off-balance sheet treatment of the Secured Borrowing Facility.
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Indebtedness
Secured Borrowing Facility
On August 25, 2020, certain entities entered into an agreement wherein amounts due from clients were pledged to a third party, in exchange for a borrowing facility in amounts up to a total of €31.0 million (the “Secured Borrowing Facility”). The proceeds from the Secured Borrowing Facility were determined by the amounts invoiced to our clients. The amounts due from clients were recorded in accounts receivable and the amount due to the third party as a liability, presented under “Current portion of long-term debt” on the consolidated balance sheets. The cost of the Secured Borrowing Facility was 0.10% of newly assigned receivables with minimum of €0.1 million in annual fees and the Secured Borrowing Facility bore interest at Euribor rate plus 0.70% on the unpaid principal amount. The Company incurred interest expense of $0 and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to the Secured Borrowing Facility. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the outstanding balances payable under the Secured Borrowing Facility were $0 and $0.1 million, respectively.
On September 15, 2023, the relevant entities entered into an amendment to the Secured Borrowing Facility (the “Amended Factoring Agreement”) to convert the existing arrangement into a non-recourse factoring program wherein an unrelated third party (the “Factor”) shall provide financing to certain subsidiaries of the Company by purchase of certain approved and partially approved accounts receivables (as defined in the Amended Factoring Agreement) up to a maximum amount of €15.0 million while assuming the risk of non-payment on the purchased accounts receivables up to the level of approval. The relevant entities shall have no continuing involvement in the transferred accounts receivable, other than collection and administrative responsibilities and, once sold, the accounts receivable shall no longer be available to satisfy creditors of the relevant entities.
The Company accounted for the transactions under the Amended Factoring Agreement as a sale under ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing, and treats it as an off-balance sheet arrangement. Net funds received from the transfers reflect the face value of the account less a fee, which is recorded as an increase to cash and a reduction to accounts receivable outstanding in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company reports the cash flows attributable to the sale of account receivables to the Factor and the cash receipts from collections made on behalf of and paid to the Factor under the Amended Factoring Agreement, on a net basis as trade accounts receivables in cash flows from operating activities in the Company’s consolidated statements of cash flows.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s outstanding factored accounts receivable amounted to $16.6 million pursuant to the Amended Factoring Agreement, representing the face value of the invoices. The Company recognizes factoring costs upon disbursement of funds. The Company incurred a loss on sale of accounts receivables including expenses pursuant to the Amended Factoring Agreement totaling approximately $0.8 million and $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 respectively, which is presented in interest expense,net on the consolidated statements of operations.
2019 Credit Agreement
In October 2019, a wholly-owned UK subsidiary of XBP Europe (the “UK Subsidiary”) entered into a secured credit agreement (the “2019 Credit Agreement”) with HSBC UK Bank plc (“HSBC”) for a £9.0 million Secured Credit Facility (the “Secured Credit Facility”) consisting of (i) a secured Term Loan A facility in an aggregate principal amount of £2.0 million (the “Term Loan A Facility”), (ii) a secured Term Loan B facility in an aggregate principal amount of £2.0 million (the “Term Loan B Facility”), and (iii) a secured revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of £5.0 million (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). On December 21, 2022, the UK Subsidiary amended its 2019 Credit Agreement, allowing the UK Subsidiary to affirm to extend the maturity of Term Loan A Facility and Term Loan B Facility to October 31, 2024 subject to compliance with financial covenants. On February 9, 2023, the UK Subsidiary amended its 2019 Credit Agreement, allowing the UK Subsidiary to extend the maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility to October 31, 2024 subject to compliance with financial covenants. The maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility has since been extended on various dates. On May 10, 2024, the maturity was further extended to August 31, 2025. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company has repaid outstanding amount of $1.9 million, $0.4 million, and $6.4 million under the Term Loan A Facility, the Term Loan B Facility, and the Revolving
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Credit Facility, respectively and accordingly wrote off the unamortized balance of less than $0.1 million of debt issuance cost related to the 2019 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had fully repaid the outstanding balance under the 2019 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balance of the Term Loan A Facility, the Term Loan B Facility, and the Revolving Credit Facility was $1.9 million, $0.4 million, and $6.4 million, respectively.
The 2019 Credit Agreement contained financial covenants including, but not limited to (a) a Combined Cashflow Coverage Ratio, which measured the ratio of (i) Combined Cashflow and (ii) Debt Service defined as finance charges in addition to mandatory repayments in respect to the 2019 Credit Agreement, (b) Combined Interest Coverage Ratio, which measured the ratio of (i) Combined EBITDA to (ii) Combined Finance Charges, (c) a Combined Total Net Leverage Ratio, which measured the ratio of (i) Combined Net Indebtedness in respect to the last day of the most recent period to (ii) EBITDA, (d) Guaranteed Intragroup Balances, (e) the Loan to Market Value defined as the Facility A Loan outstanding to the market value of the property in each case, as defined in the 2019 Credit Agreement. The term “Combined” refers to the UK Subsidiary and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
The 2019 Credit Agreement and indenture governing the Secured Credit Facility contained limitations on the ability of the UK subsidiary to effect mergers and change of control events as well as certain other limitations, including limitations on: (i) the declaration and payment of dividends or other restricted payments (ii) substantial changes of the general nature of the business, (iii) acquisition of a company, (iv) enter a joint venture, (v) or effect a dormant subsidiary to commence trading or cease to satisfy the criteria of a dormant subsidiary.
The UK Subsidiary’s obligations under the 2019 Credit Agreement were jointly and severally guaranteed by certain of its existing and future direct and indirectly wholly owned subsidiaries. The 2019 Credit Agreement and the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement (defined below) contained cross default provisions which related to the UK Subsidiary and its subsidiaries, but not any other entities within the consolidated group.
At inception, borrowings under the Secured Credit Facility bore interest at a rate per annum equal to the LIBOR plus the applicable margin of 2%, 2.5%, and 3% per annum for the Term Loan A Facility, the Term Loan B Facility, and the Revolving Credit Facility respectively. Effective October 29, 2021, borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bore interest at a rate per annum equal to the SONIA plus the applicable margin of 3%. Effective December 31, 2021, borrowings under the Term Loan A Facility and the Term Loan B Facility bore interest at a rate per annum equal to the SONIA plus the applicable margin of 2% and 2.5%, respectively.
In June 2020, the UK Subsidiary entered into an amendment to the 2019 Credit Agreement, to provide an additional aggregate principal amount of £4.0 million under a credit agreement (the “Revolving Working Capital Loan Facility” or “2020 Credit Agreement”) together with Revolving Credit Facility (the “Revolving Credit Facilities”). At the inception of the Revolving Working Capital Loan Facility, the borrowing bore an interest rate per annum equal to the LIBOR plus the applicable margin of 3.5% per annum. Effective December 31, 2022, borrowings under the Revolving Working Capital Loan Facility bore interest at a rate per annum equal to the SONIA plus the applicable margin of 3.5%.
The maturity of the Revolving Working Capital Loan Facility has since been extended on various dates subject to compliance with financial covenants. On May 10, 2024 the maturity was further extended to August 31, 2025. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company repaid outstanding amounts of $5.1 million under the 2020 Credit Agreement and accordingly wrote off the unamortized balance of less than $0.1 million of debt issuance cost related to the 2020 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had fully repaid the outstanding balance under the 2020 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, the Revolving Working Capital Loan Facility had an outstanding principal balance of $5.1 million.
As of December 31, 2023, the UK Subsidiary was in compliance with all affirmative and negative covenants under the 2019 Credit Agreement, including any financial covenants, pertaining to its financing arrangements.
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2022 Committed Facility Agreement
In May 2022, the UK Subsidiary entered into a committed facility agreement (the “2022 Committed Facility Agreement”) with HSBC, which includes a term loan for £1.4 million to be used in refinancing a property owned by XBP Europe in Dublin, Ireland (the “Property”). At inception of the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement, the borrowing bore an interest rate equal to 3.5% per annum in addition to the Bank of England Base Rate. The maturity of the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement is May 2027. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company has repaid outstanding amount of $1.5 million under the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had fully repaid the outstanding balance under the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement had an outstanding balance of $1.5 million.
The 2022 Committed Facility Agreement contained financial covenants including, but not limited to (a) a Combined Debt Service Coverage Ratio, which measured the cashflow less dividends, net capital expenditure, and taxation relative to the debt service for that relevant period, (b) interest cover, which measured EBITDA relative to the aggregate of (i) interest charges and (ii) interest element of finance leases in any relevant period, (c) Total Net Debt to EBITDA, which measured the total net debt relative to EBITDA for any relevant period, and (d) loan to market value, which measured the loan as a percentage of the aggregate market value of The Property. The term “Combined” refers to the UK subsidiary and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
As of December 31, 2023, the UK Subsidiary was in compliance with all affirmative and negative covenants under the 2022 Committed Facility Agreement, including any financial covenants pertaining to its financing arrangements.
2024 Facilities Agreement