form10q.htm
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
T QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION
13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For
the quarterly period ended December 31, 2008
OR
£ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION
13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from____ to ____ .
Commission
file number: 1-34167
ePlus
inc.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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54-1817218
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(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
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13595
Dulles Technology Drive, Herndon, VA 20171-3413
(Address,
including zip code, of principal executive offices)
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code: (703) 984-8400
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days.
Yes T No £
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated
filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act.
Large
accelerated filer £
|
Accelerated
filer £
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Non-accelerated
filer £ (Do not
check if a smaller reporting company)
|
Smaller
reporting company T
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in
Rule
12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes £ No T
The
number of shares of common stock outstanding as of January 30, 2009 was
8,033,217.
ePlus inc. AND
SUBSIDIARIES
Part I. Financial
Information:
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Item
1.
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Financial
Statements
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Part
II. Other Information:
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Cautionary
Language About Forward-Looking Statements
This
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains certain statements that are, or may be
deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are made in reliance upon the protections
provided by such acts for forward-looking statements. Such statements are
not based on historical fact, but are based upon numerous assumptions about
future conditions that may not occur. Forward-looking statements are
generally identifiable by use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “should,”
“intend,” “estimate,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project” and similar
expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Forward-looking
statements are made based upon information that is currently available or
management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and
their potential effects upon the Company, speak only as of the date hereof, and
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. We do not undertake
any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which we
hereafter become aware. Actual events, transactions and results may
materially differ from the anticipated events, transactions or results described
in such statements. Our ability to consummate such transactions and achieve
such events or results is subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Such
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the matters set forth
below:
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·
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we
have been offering our comprehensive set of solutions—the bundling of our
direct IT sales, professional services and financing with our proprietary
software since 2002, and may encounter some of the challenges, risks,
difficulties and uncertainties frequently faced by companies providing new
and/or bundled solutions in an evolving market, such
as:
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o
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managing
a diverse product set of solutions in highly competitive
markets;
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o
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increasing
the total number of customers utilizing bundled solutions by up-selling
within our customer base and gaining new
customers;
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o
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adapting
to meet changes in markets and competitive
developments;
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o
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maintaining
and increasing advanced professional services by retaining
highly skilled personnel and vendor
certifications;
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o
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integrating
with external IT systems, including those of our customers and vendors;
and
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o
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continuing
to update our software and technology to enhance the features and
functionality of our products.
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our
ability to hire and retain sufficient
personnel;
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a
decrease in the capital spending budgets of our
customers;
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our
ability to protect our intellectual
property;
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the
creditworthiness of our customers;
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our
ability to raise capital and obtain non-recourse financing for our
transactions;
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our
ability to realize our investment in leased
equipment;
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our
ability to reserve adequately for credit losses;
and
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significant
changes in, reductions in, or losses of relationships with major customers
or vendors.
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We cannot
be certain that our business strategy will be successful or that we will
successfully address these and other challenges, risks and
uncertainties. For a further list and description of various risks,
relevant factors and uncertainties that could cause future results or
events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our
forward-looking statements, see the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections
contained elsewhere in this report, as well as our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, any subsequent Reports on Form 10-Q
and Form 8-K, and other filings with the SEC.
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Financial Statements
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
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As
of
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As
of
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December 31, 2008
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March 31, 2008
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ASSETS
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(in
thousands)
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Cash
and cash equivalents
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$ |
86,551 |
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$ |
58,423 |
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Accounts
receivable—net
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99,672 |
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109,706 |
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Notes
receivable
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3,007 |
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726 |
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Inventories—net
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6,717 |
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9,192 |
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Investment
in leases and leased equipment—net
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133,767 |
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157,382 |
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Property
and equipment—net
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3,702 |
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4,680 |
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Other
assets
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17,747 |
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13,514 |
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Goodwill
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21,601 |
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26,125 |
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TOTAL
ASSETS
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$ |
372,764 |
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$ |
379,748 |
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LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
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LIABILITIES
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Accounts
payable—equipment
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$ |
4,434 |
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$ |
6,744 |
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Accounts
payable—trade
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13,545 |
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22,016 |
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Accounts
payable—floor plan
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58,151 |
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55,634 |
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Salaries
and commissions payable
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5,077 |
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4,789 |
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Accrued
expenses and other liabilities
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29,503 |
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30,372 |
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Income
taxes payable
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25 |
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- |
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Recourse
notes payable
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102 |
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- |
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Non-recourse
notes payable
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85,076 |
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93,814 |
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Deferred
tax liability
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2,739 |
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2,677 |
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Total
Liabilities
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198,652 |
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216,046 |
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COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 7)
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STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY
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Preferred
stock, $.01 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or
outstanding
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- |
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- |
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Common
stock, $.01 par value; 25,000,000 shares authorized; 11,370,056 issued and
8,088,193 outstanding at December 31, 2008 and 11,210,731 issued and
8,231,741 outstanding at March 31, 2008
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114 |
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112 |
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Additional
paid-in capital
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78,937 |
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77,287 |
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Treasury
stock, at cost, 3,281,863 and 2,978,990 shares,
respectively
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(35,806 |
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(32,884 |
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Retained
earnings
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130,698 |
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118,623 |
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Accumulated
other comprehensive income—foreign currency translation
adjustment
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169 |
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564 |
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Total
Stockholders' Equity
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174,112 |
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163,702 |
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TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
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$ |
372,764 |
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$ |
379,748 |
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See
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
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Three Months Ended
December 31,
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Nine Months Ended
December 31,
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2008
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2007
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2008
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2007
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(amounts
in thousands, except per share data)
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Sales
of product and services
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$ |
171,557 |
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$ |
168,394 |
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$ |
516,807 |
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$ |
564,628 |
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Sales
of leased equipment
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- |
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13,740 |
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3,447 |
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40,544 |
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171,557 |
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182,134 |
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520,254 |
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605,172 |
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Lease
revenues
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10,361 |
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12,194 |
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34,197 |
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43,810 |
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Fee
and other income
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2,806 |
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4,111 |
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9,417 |
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13,124 |
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13,167 |
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16,305 |
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43,614 |
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56,934 |
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TOTAL
REVENUES
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184,724 |
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198,439 |
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563,868 |
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662,106 |
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COSTS
AND EXPENSES
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Cost
of sales, product and services
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146,224 |
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148,802 |
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444,355 |
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|
500,202 |
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Cost
of leased equipment
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|
- |
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|
13,308 |
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|
3,260 |
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|
38,919 |
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|
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|
146,224 |
|
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|
162,110 |
|
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|
447,615 |
|
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|
539,121 |
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Direct
lease costs
|
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|
3,636 |
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|
4,460 |
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|
11,263 |
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|
16,353 |
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Professional
and other fees
|
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|
1,577 |
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|
2,479 |
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|
5,930 |
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|
9,650 |
|
Salaries
and benefits
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|
19,573 |
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|
17,069 |
|
|
|
57,709 |
|
|
|
53,971 |
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
4,307 |
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|
3,760 |
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|
11,896 |
|
|
|
12,135 |
|
Impairment
of Goodwill
|
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|
4,644 |
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|
- |
|
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|
4,644 |
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|
- |
|
Interest
and financing costs
|
|
|
1,355 |
|
|
|
1,818 |
|
|
|
4,307 |
|
|
|
6,590 |
|
|
|
|
35,092 |
|
|
|
29,586 |
|
|
|
95,749 |
|
|
|
98,699 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
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TOTAL
COSTS AND EXPENSES (1)(2)
|
|
|
181,316 |
|
|
|
191,696 |
|
|
|
543,364 |
|
|
|
637,820 |
|
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EARNINGS
BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
|
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|
3,408 |
|
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|
6,743 |
|
|
|
20,504 |
|
|
|
24,286 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
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PROVISION
FOR INCOME TAXES
|
|
|
1,446 |
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|
2,992 |
|
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|
8,429 |
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|
10,671 |
|
|
|
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NET
EARNINGS
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|
$ |
1,962 |
|
|
$ |
3,751 |
|
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$ |
12,075 |
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$ |
13,615 |
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NET
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE—BASIC
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$ |
0.24 |
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$ |
0.45 |
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$ |
1.46 |
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$ |
1.65 |
|
NET
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE—DILUTED
|
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$ |
0.24 |
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$ |
0.45 |
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$ |
1.42 |
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$ |
1.63 |
|
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|
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WEIGHTED
AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING—BASIC
|
|
|
8,264,115 |
|
|
|
8,231,741 |
|
|
|
8,271,616 |
|
|
|
8,231,741 |
|
WEIGHTED
AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING—DILUTED
|
|
|
8,404,352 |
|
|
|
8,422,256 |
|
|
|
8,518,419 |
|
|
|
8,375,412 |
|
(1)
|
Includes
amounts to related parties of $277 thousand and $274 thousand for the
three months ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007,
respectively.
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(2)
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Includes
amounts to related parties of $833 thousand and $798 thousand for the nine
months ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007,
respectively.
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See
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
|
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|
|
2008
|
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|
2007
|
|
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(in
thousands)
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Cash
Flows From Operating Activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Net
earnings
|
|
$ |
12,075 |
|
|
$ |
13,615 |
|
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|
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|
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|
Adjustments
to reconcile net earnings to net cash used in operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
11,847 |
|
|
|
17,161 |
|
Impairment
of goodwill
|
|
|
4,644 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Reserves
for credit losses and sales returns
|
|
|
560 |
|
|
|
(246 |
) |
Provision
for inventory allowances and inventory returns
|
|
|
341 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
Share-based
compensation expense
|
|
|
114 |
|
|
|
1,562 |
|
Excess
tax benefit from exercise of stock options
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Tax
benefit of stock options exercised
|
|
|
164 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Deferred
taxes
|
|
|
62 |
|
|
|
(251 |
) |
Payments
from lessees directly to lenders—operating
leases
|
|
|
(7,022 |
) |
|
|
(10,754 |
) |
Loss
on disposal of property and equipment
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Gain
on sale of operating leases
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(403 |
) |
Gain
on sale or disposal of operating lease equipment
|
|
|
(1,035 |
) |
|
|
(1,078 |
) |
Excess
increase in cash value of officers' life insurance
|
|
|
(52 |
) |
|
|
(30 |
) |
Changes
in:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
receivable—net
|
|
|
9,636 |
|
|
|
1,071 |
|
Notes
receivable
|
|
|
(2,280 |
) |
|
|
51 |
|
Inventories—net
|
|
|
2,134 |
|
|
|
(1,090 |
) |
Investment
in direct financing and sale-type leases—net
|
|
|
(18,053 |
) |
|
|
(2,926 |
) |
Other
assets
|
|
|
(3,784 |
) |
|
|
(2,241 |
) |
Accounts
payable—equipment
|
|
|
(1,973 |
) |
|
|
797 |
|
Accounts
payable—trade
|
|
|
(8,463 |
) |
|
|
5,233 |
|
Salaries
and commissions payable, accrued expenses and other
liabilities
|
|
|
(584 |
) |
|
|
3,912 |
|
Net
cash (used in) provided by operating activities
|
|
|
(1,681 |
) |
|
|
24,452 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
Flows From Investing Activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from sale or disposal of operating lease equipment
|
|
|
2,907 |
|
|
|
4,293 |
|
Purchases
of operating lease equipment
|
|
|
(2,675 |
) |
|
|
(7,039 |
) |
Purchases
of property and equipment
|
|
|
(622 |
) |
|
|
(1,315 |
) |
Premiums
paid on officers' life insurance
|
|
|
(236 |
) |
|
|
(238 |
) |
Cash
used in acquisition, net of cash acquired
|
|
|
(364 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(990 |
) |
|
|
(4,299 |
) |
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - continued
(UNAUDITED)
|
|
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Cash
Flows From Financing Activities:
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-recourse
borrowings
|
|
|
34,896 |
|
|
|
35,792 |
|
Non-recourse
repayments
|
|
|
(4,801 |
) |
|
|
(21,491 |
) |
Repurchase
of common stock
|
|
|
(2,922 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds
from issuance of capital stock, net of expenses
|
|
|
1,374 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Excess
tax benefit from exercise of stock options
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Net
borrowings (repayments) on floor plan facility
|
|
|
2,517 |
|
|
|
(3,852 |
) |
Net
proceeds (repayments) on recourse lines of credit
|
|
|
102 |
|
|
|
(5,000 |
) |
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
|
|
31,194 |
|
|
|
5,449 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Effect
of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash
|
|
|
(395 |
) |
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents
|
|
|
28,128 |
|
|
|
25,910 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period
|
|
|
58,423 |
|
|
|
39,680 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and Cash Equivalents, End of Period
|
|
$ |
86,551 |
|
|
$ |
65,590 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
paid for interest
|
|
$ |
322 |
|
|
$ |
1,020 |
|
Cash
paid for income taxes
|
|
$ |
7,846 |
|
|
$ |
6,692 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Schedule
of Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase
of property and equipment included in accounts payable
|
|
$ |
38 |
|
|
$ |
151 |
|
Purchase
of operating lease equipment included in accounts payable
|
|
$ |
32 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Principal
payments from lessees directly to lenders
|
|
$ |
38,838 |
|
|
$ |
46,296 |
|
Repayment
of non-recourse debt to lenders from sales of operating
leases
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
11,400 |
|
See
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
ePlus inc. AND
SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.
ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of ePlus inc. and subsidiaries
and notes thereto included herein are unaudited and have been prepared by us,
pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”) and reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management,
necessary for a fair statement of results for the interim periods. All
adjustments made were of a normal recurring nature.
Certain
information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to SEC rules
and regulations.
These
interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated
Financial Statements and Notes thereto contained in our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended March 31, 2008. Operating results for the
interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for an entire
year.
PRINCIPLES
OF CONSOLIDATION — The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
include the accounts of ePlus inc. and its
wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been
eliminated.
REVENUE
RECOGNITION — The majority of our revenues is derived from three sources: sales
of products and services, lease revenues and sales of our software. Our revenue
recognition policies vary based upon these revenue sources.
Revenue
from Technology Sales Transactions
We adhere
to guidelines and principles of sales recognition described in Staff Accounting
Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition” (“SAB No. 104”), issued by the staff
of the SEC. Under SAB No. 104, sales are recognized when the title and risk of
loss are passed to the customer, there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement
for sale, delivery has occurred and/or services have been rendered, the sales
price is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. Using
these tests, the vast majority of our product sales are recognized upon
delivery.
We also
sell services that are performed in conjunction with product sales, and
recognize revenue for these sales in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force
("EITF") 00-21, “Accounting
for Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” Accordingly, we
recognize sales from delivered items only when the delivered item(s) has value
to the client on a stand alone basis, there is objective and reliable evidence
of the fair value of the undelivered item(s), and delivery of the undelivered
item(s) is probable and substantially under our control. For most of
the arrangements with multiple deliverables (hardware and services), we
generally cannot establish reliable evidence of the fair value of the
undelivered items. Therefore, the majority of revenue from these services, and
hardware sold in conjunction with those services, is recognized when the service
is complete and we have received an acceptance certificate. However, in some
cases, we do not receive an acceptance certificate and we determine the
completion date based upon our records.
We also
sell certain third-party service contracts and software assurance or
subscription products for which we evaluate whether the subsequent sales of such
services should be recorded as gross sales or net sales in accordance with the
sales recognition criteria outlined in SAB No. 104, EITF 99-19, “Reporting Revenue Gross as a
Principal versus Net as an Agent,” and Financial Accounting Standards
Board (“FASB”) Technical Bulletin 90-1, “Accounting for Separately Priced
Extended Warranty and Product Contracts.” We must determine whether we
act as a principal in the transaction and assume the risks and rewards of
ownership or if we are simply acting as an agent or broker. Under gross sales
recognition, the entire selling price is recorded in sales of product and
services and our costs to the third-party service provider or vendor is recorded
in cost of sales, product and services on the accompanying Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations. Under net sales recognition, the cost to
the third-party service provider or vendor is recorded as a reduction to sales
resulting in net sales equal to the gross profit on the transaction and there is
no cost of sales. In accordance with EITF 00-10, “Accounting for Shipping and Handling
Fees and Costs,” we record
freight billed to our customers as sales of product and services and the related
freight costs as cost of sales, product and services on the accompanying
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Revenue
from Leasing Transactions
Our
leasing revenues are accounted for in accordance with Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 13, “Accounting for Leases.” The
accounting for revenue is different depending on the type of lease. Each lease
is classified as either a direct financing lease, sales-type lease, or operating
lease, as appropriate. If a lease meets one or more of the following
four criteria, the lease is classified as either a sales-type or direct
financing lease; otherwise, it will be classified as an operating
lease:
|
•
|
the
lease transfers ownership of the property to the lessee by the end of the
lease term;
|
|
•
|
the
lease contains a bargain purchase
option;
|
|
•
|
the
lease term is equal to 75 percent or more of the estimated economic life
of the leased property; or
|
|
•
|
the
present value at the beginning of the lease term of the minimum lease
payments equals or exceeds 90 percent of the fair value of the leased
property at the inception of the
lease.
|
For
direct financing and sales-type leases, we record the net investment in leases,
which consists of the sum of the minimum lease payments, initial direct costs
(direct financing leases only), and unguaranteed residual value (gross
investment) less the unearned income. For direct financing leases, the
difference between the gross investment and the cost of the leased equipment is
recorded as unearned income at the inception of the lease. Under sales-type
leases, the difference between the fair value and cost of the leased property
plus initial direct costs (net margins) is recorded as unearned revenue at the
inception of the lease. Revenue for both sales-type and direct financing leases
are recognized as the unearned income is amortized over the life of the lease
using the interest method. For operating leases, rental amounts are accrued on a
straight-line basis over the lease term and are recognized as lease
revenue.
Sales of
leased equipment represent revenue from the sales to a third party other than
the lessee of equipment subject to a lease (lease schedule) in which we are the
lessor. If the rental stream on such a lease has non-recourse debt associated
with it, sales revenue is recorded at the amount of consideration received, net
of the amount of debt assumed by the purchaser. If there is no non-recourse
debt associated with the rental stream, sales revenue is recorded at the amount
of gross consideration received, and costs of sales is recorded at the book
value of the lease. Sales of leased equipment represents revenue generated
through the sale of equipment sold primarily through our financing business
unit.
Lease
revenues consist of rentals due under operating leases, amortization of unearned
income on direct financing and sales-type leases and sales of leased assets to
lessees. Equipment under operating leases is recorded at cost and depreciated on
a straight-line basis over the lease term to the estimated residual
value.
SFAS No.
140, “Accounting for Transfers
and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities”
(“SFAS No. 140”), establishes criteria for determining whether a transfer of
financial assets in exchange for cash or other consideration should be accounted
for as a sale or as a pledge of collateral in a secured borrowing. Certain
assignments of direct-finance leases we make on a non-recourse basis meet the
criteria for surrender of control set forth by SFAS No. 140 and have therefore
been treated as sales for financial statement purposes. We assign all rights,
title, and interests in a number of our leases to third-party financial
institutions without recourse. These assignments are recorded as sales because
we have completed our obligations as of the assignment date, and we retain no
ownership interest in the equipment under lease.
Revenue
from Software Sales Transactions
We derive
revenue from licensing our proprietary software for a fixed term or for
perpetuity in an enterprise license. In addition, we receive revenues from
hosting our proprietary software for our clients. Revenue from hosting
arrangements is recognized in accordance with EITF 00-3, “Application of AICPA Statement of
Position 97-2 to Arrangements That Include the Right to Use Software Stored on
Another Entity’s Hardware.” Our hosting arrangements do not contain a
contractual right to take possession of the software. Therefore, our hosting
arrangements are not in the scope of Statement of Position 97-2 (“SOP 97-2”),
“Software Revenue
Recognition,” and require that the portion of the fee allocated to the
hosting elements be recognized as the service is provided. Currently, the
majority of our software revenue is generated through hosting agreements and is
included in fee and other income on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Statements of Operations.
Revenue
from sales of our software is recognized in accordance with SOP 97-2, as amended
by SOP 98-4, “Deferral of the
Effective Date of a Provision of SOP 97-2,” and SOP 98-9, “Modification of SOP 97-2 With
Respect to Certain Transactions.” We recognize revenue when all the
following criteria exist:
|
•
|
there
is persuasive evidence that an arrangement
exists;
|
|
•
|
no
significant obligations by us related to services essential to the
functionality of the software remain with regard to
implementation;
|
|
•
|
the
sales price is determinable; and
|
|
•
|
it
is probable that collection will
occur.
|
Revenue
from sales of our software is included in fee and other income on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Our
software agreements often include implementation and consulting services that
are sold separately under consulting engagement contracts or as part of the
software license arrangement. When we determine that such services are not
essential to the functionality of the licensed software and qualify as “service
transactions” under SOP 97-2, we record revenue separately for the license and
service elements of these agreements.
Generally,
we consider that a service is not essential to the functionality of the software
based on various factors, including if the services may be provided by
independent third parties experienced in providing such consulting and
implementation in coordination with dedicated customer personnel. When
consulting qualifies for separate accounting, consulting revenues under time and
materials billing arrangements are recognized as the services are performed.
Consulting revenues under fixed-price contracts are generally recognized using
the percentage-of-completion method. If there is a significant uncertainty about
the project completion or receipt of payment for the consulting services,
revenue is deferred until the uncertainty is sufficiently resolved. Consulting
revenues are classified as fee and other income on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations.
If a
service arrangement is essential to the functionality of the licensed software
and therefore does not qualify for separate accounting of the license and
service elements, then license revenue is recognized together with the
consulting services using either the percentage-of-completion or
completed-contract method of contract accounting. Under the
percentage-of-completion method, we may estimate the stage of completion of
contracts with fixed or “not to exceed” fees based on hours or costs incurred to
date as compared with estimated total project hours or costs at completion. If
we do not have a sufficient basis to measure progress towards completion,
revenue is recognized upon completion of the contract. When total cost estimates
exceed revenues, we accrue for the estimated losses immediately. The use of the
percentage-of-completion method of accounting requires significant judgment
relative to estimating total contract costs, including assumptions relative to
the length of time to complete the project, the nature and complexity of the
work to be performed, and anticipated changes in salaries and other costs. When
adjustments in estimated contract costs are determined, such revisions may have
the effect of adjusting, in the current period, the earnings applicable to
performance in prior periods.
For
agreements that include one or more elements to be delivered at a future date,
we generally use the residual method to recognize revenues when evidence of the
fair value of all undelivered elements exists. Under the residual method, the
fair value of the undelivered elements (e.g., maintenance, consulting and
training services) based on vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) is
deferred and the remaining portion of the arrangement fee is allocated to the
delivered elements (i.e., software license). If evidence of the fair value of
one or more of the undelivered services does not exist, all revenues are
deferred and recognized when delivery of all of those services has occurred or
when fair values can be established. We determine VSOE of the fair value of
services revenue based upon our recent pricing for those services when sold
separately. VSOE of the fair value of maintenance services may also be
determined based on a substantive maintenance renewal clause, if any, within a
customer contract. Our current pricing practices are influenced primarily by
product type, purchase volume, maintenance term and customer location. We review
services revenue sold separately and maintenance renewal rates on a periodic
basis and update our VSOE of fair value for such services to ensure that it
reflects our recent pricing experience, when appropriate.
Maintenance
services generally include rights to unspecified upgrades (when and if
available), telephone and Internet-based support, updates and bug fixes.
Maintenance revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the maintenance
contract (usually one year) on a straight-line basis and is included in fee and
other income on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Training services include on-site training, classroom training and
computer-based training and assessment. Training revenue is recognized as the
related training services are provided and is included in fee and other income
on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Revenue
from Other Transactions
Other
sources of revenue are derived from: (1) income from events that occur after the
initial sale of a financial asset; (2) remarketing fees; (3) brokerage fees
earned for the placement of financing transactions; (4) agent fees received from
various manufacturers in the IT reseller business unit; (5) settlement fees
related to disputes or litigation; and (6) interest and other miscellaneous
income. These revenues are included in fee and other income on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
VENDOR
CONSIDERATION — We receive payments and credits from vendors, including
consideration pursuant to volume sales incentive programs, volume purchase
incentive programs and shared marketing expense programs. Vendor consideration
received pursuant to volume sales incentive programs is recognized as a
reduction to costs of sales, product and services on the accompanying Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in accordance with EITF
Issue No. 02-16, “Accounting
for Consideration Received from a Vendor by a Customer (Including a Reseller of
the Vendor’s Products).” Vendor consideration received pursuant to
volume purchase incentive programs is allocated to inventories based on the
applicable incentives from each vendor and is recorded in cost of sales, product
and services, as the inventory is sold. Vendor consideration received pursuant
to shared marketing expense programs is recorded as a reduction of the related
selling and administrative expenses in the period the program takes place only
if the consideration represents a reimbursement of specific, incremental,
identifiable costs. Consideration that exceeds the specific, incremental,
identifiable costs is classified as a reduction of cost of sales, product and
services on the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Statements of Operations.
RESIDUALS
— Residual values, representing the estimated value of equipment at the
termination of a lease, are recorded on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements at the inception of each sales-type or direct
financing lease as amounts estimated by management based upon its experience and
judgment. The estimated residual values will vary, both in amount and as a
percentage of the original equipment cost, and depend upon several factors,
including the equipment type, manufacturer's discount, market conditions and the
term of the lease. Unguaranteed residual values for sales-type and direct
financing leases are recorded at their net present value and the unearned income
is amortized over the life of the lease using the interest method. The residual
values for operating leases are included in the leased equipment’s net book
value.
We
evaluate residual values on an ongoing basis and record any downward adjustment,
if required. No upward revision of residual values is made subsequent to lease
inception.
RESERVES
FOR CREDIT LOSSES —The reserve for credit losses (the “Reserve”) is maintained
at a level believed by management to be adequate to absorb potential losses
inherent in our lease and accounts receivable portfolio. Management’s
determination of the adequacy of the Reserve is based on an evaluation of
historical credit loss experience, current economic conditions, volume, growth,
the composition of the lease portfolio, and other relevant factors. The Reserve
is increased by provisions for potential credit losses charged against income.
Accounts are either written off or written down when the loss is both probable
and determinable, after giving consideration to the customer’s financial
condition, the value of the underlying collateral and funding status (i.e., not
funded or funded on a recourse or partial recourse basis, or funded on a
non-recourse basis).
Sales are
reported net of returns and allowances. Allowance for sales returns is
maintained at a level believed by management to be adequate to absorb potential
sales returns from product and services in accordance with SFAS No. 48,“Revenue Recognition when the Right of Return
Exists” (“SFAS No. 48”). Management's
determination of the adequacy of the reserve is based on an evaluation of
historical sales returns, current economic conditions, volume and other relevant
factors. These determinations require considerable judgment in assessing the
ultimate potential for sales returns and include consideration of the type and
volume of products and services sold.
CASH AND CASH
EQUIVALENTS — We consider all highly liquid investments, including those
with an original maturity of three months or less, to be cash equivalents. Cash
and cash equivalents consist primarily of interest-bearing accounts and money
market account that consist of short-term U.S. treasury securities with original
maturities less than or equal to 90 days. Interest income on these short-term
investments is recognized when earned. There are no restrictions on the
withdrawal of funds from our money market account.
INVENTORIES
— Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (weighted average basis) or market
and are shown net of allowance for obsolescence.
PROPERTY
AND EQUIPMENT — Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated
depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are computed
using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related
assets, which range from three to ten years. Hardware is
depreciated over three years. Software is depreciated over five
years. Furniture and certain fixtures are depreciated over five to
ten years. Telephone equipment is depreciated over seven
years.
CAPITALIZATION
OF COSTS OF SOFTWARE FOR INTERNAL USE — We have capitalized certain costs for
the development of internal use software under the guidelines of SOP 98-1,
“Accounting for the Costs of
Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use.” Software
capitalized for internal use was $34 thousand and $761 thousand during the nine
months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively, which is
included on the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as
a component of property and equipment—net. We had capitalized costs, net of
amortization, of approximately $1.0 million at December 31, 2008 and $1.2
million at March 31, 2008.
CAPITALIZATION
OF COSTS OF SOFTWARE TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMERS — In accordance with SFAS
No. 86, “Accounting for Costs
of Computer Software to be Sold, Leased, or Otherwise
Marketed,” software development costs are expensed as incurred until
technological feasibility has been established. At such time such costs are
capitalized until the product is made available for release
to customers. For the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, no
such costs were capitalized. We had $445 thousand and $572 thousand of
capitalized costs, net of amortization, at December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008,
respectively.
GOODWILL
AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS — We record, as goodwill,
the excess of purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable net assets
acquired in a purchase transaction. In accordance with SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible
Assets,” (“SFAS No. 142”) we
perform an annual impairment test for goodwill during the third quarter of our
fiscal year, or when events or circumstances indicate there might be impairment,
and follow the two-step process prescribed in SFAS No. 142. The first step is to
screen for potential impairment, while the second step measures the amount of
the impairment, if any. Intangible assets with finite lives are
amortized over the estimated useful lives using the straight-line method. An
impairment loss on such assets is recognized if the carrying amount of an
intangible asset is not recoverable and its carrying amount
exceeds its fair value.
Application
of the goodwill impairment test requires judgment, including the determination
of the fair value of each reporting unit. We have two operating segments
and four reporting units: leasing, technology, software document
management and software procurement. In determining potential impairment,
we estimate the market value of each of the four reporting units using the best
information available to us. We employ the discounted cash flow
method and the guideline company method. The discounted cash flow
method takes into account management’s best projections of revenue and
profitability and the weighted average cost of capital. The
guideline company method compares the earnings multiples from publicly traded
companies with similar operating characteristics as the reporting
units. We then compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its
carrying value to determine if there is an impairment of
goodwill.
The
estimates and judgments that most significantly affect the fair value
calculation are assumptions related to estimates of economic and market
conditions over the projected period, including growth rates in sales, costs,
estimates of future expected changes in operating margins and cash
expenditures. Other significant estimates and assumptions include terminal
value growth rates, future estimates of capital expenditures and changes in
future working capital requirements. During our annual impairment test for
goodwill, we recognized an impairment of goodwill for our software procurement
reporting unit, which is part of our technology sales business
segment. See Note 3, “Impairment of Goodwill,” for more information
on the impairment charges taken.
IMPAIRMENT
OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS — We review long-lived assets, including property
and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully
recoverable. If the total of the expected undiscounted future cash flows is less
than the carrying amount of the asset, a loss is recognized for the difference
between the fair value and the carrying value of the asset.
FAIR
VALUE MEASUREMENT— We adopted SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS No. 157”), as amended, on April 1, 2008. SFAS
No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework and gives guidance regarding
the methods used for measuring fair value, and expands disclosures about fair
value measurements. In February 2008, the FASB released an FASB Staff Position
(FSP FAS 157-2—Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157) which delays the
effective date of SFAS No. 157 for all nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial
liabilities, except those that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the
financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually) to fiscal years
beginning after November 15, 2008. The partial adoption of SFAS No. 157 for
financial assets and liabilities did not have a material impact on our
consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We are
currently analyzing the impact, if any, of adopting SFAS No. 157 for
nonfinancial assets and liabilities.
SFAS No.
157 clarifies that fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that
would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly
transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based
measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market
participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. FASB Staff Position
(“FSP”) No. 157-3, “Determining the Fair Value of an
Asset When the Market For that Asset is not Active,” clarifies the application of SFAS
No. 157 in a market that is not active and provides an example to illustrate key
considerations in determining the fair value of a financial asset when the
market for that financial asset is not active. As a basis for considering
such assumptions, SFAS No. 157 establishes a three-tier value hierarchy, which
prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:
|
·
|
Level
1 - Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active
markets;
|
|
·
|
Level
2 - Inputs other than the quoted prices in active markets that are
observable either directly or indirectly;
and
|
|
·
|
Level
3 - Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which
require us to develop our own
assumptions.
|
This
hierarchy requires us to use observable market data, when available, and to
minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value. On a
recurring basis, we measure certain financial assets and liabilities at fair
value.
We
adopted SFAS No. 159, “The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities—Including an
amendment of FASB Statement No. 115” (“SFAS No. 159”), on April 1, 2008. SFAS No.
159 expands the use of fair value accounting but does not affect existing
standards which require assets or liabilities to be carried at fair value. The
objective of SFAS No. 159 is to improve financial reporting by providing
companies with the opportunity to mitigate volatility in reported earnings
caused by measuring related assets and liabilities differently without having to
apply complex hedge accounting provisions. Under SFAS No. 159, a company may
elect to use fair value to measure eligible items at specified election dates
and report unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option
has been elected, in earnings, at each subsequent reporting date. Eligible items
include, but are not limited to, accounts and loans receivable,
available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities, equity method investments,
accounts payable, guarantees, issued debt and firm commitments. Currently, we
have not expanded our eligible items subject to the fair value option under SFAS
No. 159.
For the
financial instruments that are not accounted for under SFAS 157, which consist
primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term government debt instruments,
accounts receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses and other
liabilities, we consider the recorded value of the financial instruments to
approximate the fair value due to their short maturities. The carrying amounts
of our non-recourse and recourse notes payable approximates their fair values.
We determined the fair value of notes payable by applying the average portfolio
debt rate and applying such rate to future cash flows of the respective
financial instruments. The average portfolio debt rate is a weighted
average of all individual discount rates associated with each lease. The
discount rate for each lease is an agreed upon rate between two unrelated
parties – either between the lender and us or between the lessee and the
lender. We are
using Level 2 inputs in determining the fair value of our recourse and
non-recourse notes payable. The estimated fair value
and carrying amount of our total notes payable at December 31, 2008 was $84.7
million and $85.2 million, respectively, and at March 31, 2008, they
were $93.3 million and $93.8 million, respectively. As the fair value
approximates the carry costs of these notes payable, we report them at carrying
costs on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. We do not have
any other balance sheet items carried at fair value on a recurring
basis.
As of December
31, 2008 and March 31, 2008, fair values of recourse and non-recourse notes
payable are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
Fair
Value Measurement Using
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Level
1 input
|
|
|
Level
2 input
|
|
|
Level
3 input
|
|
|
As
of December 31, 2008
|
|
Recourse
notes payable
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
102 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
102 |
|
Non-recourse
notes payable
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
84,619 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
84,619 |
|
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
84,721 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
84,721 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair
Value Measurement Using
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Level
1 input
|
|
|
Level
2 input
|
|
|
Level
3 input
|
|
|
As
of March 31, 2008
|
|
Recourse
notes payable
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Non-recourse
notes payable
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
93,297 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
93,297 |
|
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
93,297 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
93,297 |
|
TREASURY
STOCK — We account for treasury stock under the cost method and include treasury
stock as a component of stockholders’ equity on the accompanying
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 9,
“Stock Repurchase,” for additional information.
INCOME
TAXES — Deferred income taxes are accounted for in accordance with SFAS No.
109, “Accounting for Income Taxes.” Under
this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on
the temporary differences between the financial statement reporting and tax
bases of assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect. Future tax
benefits, such as net operating loss carryforwards, are recognized to the extent
that realization of these benefits is considered to be more likely than not. We
review our deferred tax assets at least annually and make necessary valuation
adjustments.
In
addition, on April 1, 2007, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board
Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income
Taxes—An Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109” (“FIN 48”).
Specifically, the pronouncement prescribes a recognition threshold and a
measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and
measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The
interpretation also provides guidance on the related derecognition,
classification, interest and penalties, accounting for interim periods,
disclosure and transition of uncertain tax positions. In accordance with our
accounting policy, we recognize accrued interest and penalties related to
unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense. This policy did
not change as a result of the adoption of FIN 48. We have recorded a
cumulative effect adjustment to reduce our fiscal 2008 balance of beginning
retained earnings by $491 thousand on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements.
ESTIMATES
— The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires
management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of
assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at
the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and
expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those
estimates.
COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME — Comprehensive income consists of net income and foreign currency
translation adjustments. For the nine months ended December 31, 2008, other
comprehensive loss was $395 thousand, and net income was $12.1 million,
resulting in total comprehensive income of $11.7 million. For the nine
months ended December 31, 2007, other comprehensive income was $308 thousand and
net income was $13.6 million, resulting in total comprehensive income of $13.9
million.
EARNINGS
PER SHARE — Earnings per share (“EPS”) have been calculated in accordance with
SFAS No. 128, “Earnings per
Share”(“SFAS No. 128”). In accordance with SFAS No. 128, basic EPS
amounts were calculated based on weighted average shares outstanding of
8,264,115 and 8,271,616 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008,
respectively, and 8,231,741 for both the three and nine months ended December
31, 2007. Diluted EPS amounts were calculated based on weighted average
shares outstanding and potentially dilutive common stock equivalents of
8,404,352 and 8,518,419 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008,
respectively, and 8,422,256 and 8,375,412 for the three and nine months ended
December 31, 2007. Additional shares included in the diluted EPS
calculations are attributable to incremental shares issuable upon the assumed
exercise of stock options and other common stock equivalents.
SHARE-BASED
COMPENSATION — We currently have two equity incentive plans which provide us
with the opportunity to compensate directors and selected employees with stock
options, restricted stock and restricted stock units. A stock option
entitles the recipient to purchase shares of common stock from us at the
specified exercise price. Restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”)
entitle the recipient to obtain stock or stock units, which vest over
a set period of time. RSUs are granted at no cost to the employee and employees
do not need to pay an exercise price to obtain the underlying common stock. All
grants or awards made under the Plans are governed by written agreements between
us and the participants. We also have options outstanding under three
previous incentive plans, under which we no longer grant
awards.
We
account for share-based compensation under the provisions of SFAS No. 123
(revised 2004), "Share-Based
Payment." We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all
options and the straight-line method to amortize this fair value as compensation
cost over the requisite service period.
Total
share-based compensation expense, which includes expense recognized for the
grants of options and restricted stock for our employees and non-employee
directors, was $53 thousand and $31 thousand for the three months ended December
31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Total share-based compensation expense for
the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, was $115 thousand and $1.6
million, respectively. As previously disclosed, during the nine months ended
December 31, 2007, 450,000 options were cancelled which resulted in the
recognition of the remaining nonvested share-based compensation
expense of $1.5 million for that period. At December 31, 2008, there was no
unrecognized compensation expense related to nonvested options since all options
were vested. Unrecognized compensation expense related to restricted stock
was $364 thousand at December 31, 2008, which will be fully recognized over the
next 21 months.
RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS — In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141
(revised 2007), “Business
Combinations” (“SFAS No. 141R”), which replaces SFAS 141. SFAS No. 141R
applies to all transactions in which an entity obtains control of one or more
businesses, including those without the transfer of consideration. SFAS No. 141R
defines the acquirer as the entity that obtains control on the acquisition date.
It also requires the measurement at fair value of the acquired assets, assumed
liabilities and noncontrolling interest. In addition, SFAS No. 141R requires
that the acquisition and restructuring related costs be recognized separately
from the business combinations. SFAS No. 141R requires that goodwill be
recognized as of the acquisition date, measured as residual, which in most cases
will result in the excess of consideration plus acquisition-date fair value of
noncontrolling interest over the fair values of identifiable net assets. Under
SFAS No. 141R, “negative goodwill,” in which consideration given is less than
the acquisition-date fair value of identifiable net assets, will be recognized
as a gain to the acquirer. SFAS No. 141R is applied prospectively to business
combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the first annual
reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. We are evaluating the
impact of SFAS No. 141R, if any, to our financial position and statement of
operations. We will adopt SFAS No. 141R for future business combinations
that occur on or after April 1, 2009.
In May
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 162, "The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles" ("SFAS No. 162"). SFAS No. 162 identifies the sources of
accounting principles and the framework for selecting the principles used in the
preparation of financial statements of nongovernmental entities that are
presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (the GAAP
hierarchy). We do not expect this provision to have any material impact on our
financial position or results of operations. SFAS No. 162 is effective
November 15, 2008.
In April
2008, the FASB issued Staff Position (“FSP”) No. 142-3, "Determination of the Useful Life
of Intangible Assets." FSP No. 142-3 amends the factors
that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to
determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142.
The provisions of FSP No. 142-3 are effective for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2008 and interim periods within those fiscal years. We are in the
process of evaluating the impact, if any, that FSP No. 142-3 will have on our
consolidated financial statements.
In
October 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. 157-3, "Determining the Fair Value of a
Financial Asset When the Market for That Asset is Not Active." FSP No. 157-3 clarifies
the application of SFAS No. 157 in a market that is not active and provides
an example to illustrate key considerations in determining the fair value of
a financial asset when the market for that financial asset is not
active. The provisions of FSP No. 157-3 were effective upon issuance and
for financial statements not yet reported. The adoption of FSP No. 157-3
did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial
statements.
2.
INVESTMENT IN LEASES AND LEASED EQUIPMENT—NET
Investment
in leases and leased equipment—net consists of the following:
|
|
As
of
|
|
|
|
December 31,
2008
|
|
|
March 31,
2008
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
Investment
in direct financing and sales-type leases—net
|
|
$ |
109,382 |
|
|
$ |
124,254 |
|
Investment
in operating lease equipment—net
|
|
|
24,385 |
|
|
|
33,128 |
|
|
|
$ |
133,767 |
|
|
$ |
157,382 |
|
INVESTMENT
IN DIRECT FINANCING AND SALES-TYPE LEASES—NET
Our
investment in direct financing and sales-type leases—net consists of the
following:
|
|
As
of
|
|
|
|
December 31,
2008
|
|
|
March 31,
2008
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
Minimum
lease payments
|
|
$ |
106,615 |
|
|
$ |
120,224 |
|
Estimated
unguaranteed residual value (1)
|
|
|
13,898 |
|
|
|
17,831 |
|
Initial
direct costs, net of amortization (2)
|
|
|
1,013 |
|
|
|
1,122 |
|
Less: Unearned
lease income
|
|
|
(10,544 |
) |
|
|
(13,568 |
) |
Reserve
for credit losses
|
|
|
(1,600 |
) |
|
|
(1,355 |
) |
Investment
in direct financing and sales-type leases—net
|
|
$ |
109,382 |
|
|
$ |
124,254 |
|
(1)
|
Includes
estimated unguaranteed residual values of $1,633 thousand and $2,315
thousand as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008, respectively, for
direct-financing leases accounted for under SFAS No.
140.
|
(2)
|
Initial
direct costs are shown net of amortization of $1,173 thousand and $1,536
thousand as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008,
respectively.
|
Our net
investment in direct financing and sales-type leases is collateral for
non-recourse and recourse equipment notes, if any.
INVESTMENT
IN OPERATING LEASE EQUIPMENT—NET
Investment
in operating lease equipment—net primarily represents leases that do not qualify
as direct financing leases or are leases that are short-term renewals on a
month-to-month basis. The components of the net investment in operating lease
equipment are as follows:
|
|
As
of
|
|
|
|
December 31,
2008
|
|
|
March 31,
2008
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
Cost
of equipment under operating leases
|
|
$ |
55,200 |
|
|
$ |
62,311 |
|
Less: Accumulated
depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
(30,815 |
) |
|
|
(29,183 |
) |
Investment
in operating lease equipment—net (1)
|
|
$ |
24,385 |
|
|
$ |
33,128 |
|
(1) |
Includes
estimated unguaranteed residual values of $11,804 thousand and $17,699
thousand as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008, respectively,
for operating leases.
|
During
the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, we sold portions of our lease
portfolio. The sales were reflected on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements as sales of leased equipment totaling approximately $3.4
million and $40.5 million, and cost of leased equipment of $3.3 million and
$38.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively. There was a corresponding reduction of investment in leases
and lease equipment—net of $3.3 million and $38.9 million at December 31, 2008
and 2007, respectively.
3.
IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL
We
completed our annual goodwill impairment test during the third quarter of
our fiscal year. We concluded that there was no impairment in our leasing,
technology and software document management reporting units. The
weakening U.S. economy and the global credit crisis have accelerated
the reduction in demand for certain software products. As a result of
this reduced demand, we projected a decline in revenue in our software
procurement reporting unit, which lowered the fair value estimates of the
reporting unit. As a result of the lower fair value estimates, we
concluded that the carrying amounts of the software procurement reporting unit
exceeded its respective fair value. We then compared the implied fair value of
the goodwill in the software procurement reporting unit with the carrying value
and recorded a $4.6 million impairment charge in the three months ended December
31, 2008. This amount is reported on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Statement of Operations. As of December 31, 2008, the
total goodwill was $21.6 million, and is reported on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets. A reconciliation of the carrying amount
of goodwill by reporting unit is as follows (in thousands):
|
|
Financing Business Segment
|
|
|
Technology Sales Business
Segment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leasing
|
|
|
Technology
|
|
|
Software Procurement
|
|
|
Software Document
Management
|
|
|
Total
|
|
Balance
April 1, 2008
|
|
$ |
4,029 |
|
|
$ |
16,483 |
|
|
$ |
4,644 |
|
|
$ |
1,089 |
|
|
$ |
26,245 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impairment
of goodwill
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(4,644 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(4,644 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
4,029 |
|
|
$ |
16,483 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
1,089 |
|
|
$ |
21,601 |
|
We
will continue to monitor the market, our operational performance and general
economic conditions. A downward trend in one or more of these factors
could cause us to reduce the estimated fair value of our reporting units and
recognize a future corresponding impairment of our goodwill.
4.
RESERVES FOR CREDIT LOSSES
As of
March 31, 2008 and December 31, 2008, our activity in our reserves for credit
losses is as follows (in thousands):
|
|
Accounts Receivable
|
|
|
Lease-Related Assets
|
|
|
Total
|
|
Balance
April 1, 2007
|
|
$ |
2,060 |
|
|
$ |
1,641 |
|
|
$ |
3,701 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provision
for Bad Debts
|
|
|
55 |
|
|
|
(245 |
) |
|
|
(190 |
) |
Recoveries
|
|
|
40 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
40 |
|
Write-offs
and other
|
|
|
(453 |
) |
|
|
(41 |
) |
|
|
(494 |
) |
Balance
March 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,702 |
|
|
|
1,355 |
|
|
|
3,057 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provision
for Bad Debts
|
|
|
115 |
|
|
|
503 |
|
|
|
618 |
|
Recoveries
|
|
|
58 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
58 |
|
Write-offs
and other
|
|
|
(120 |
) |
|
|
(258 |
) |
|
|
(378 |
) |
Balance
December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
1,755 |
|
|
$ |
1,600 |
|
|
$ |
3,355 |
|
5.
RECOURSE AND NON-RECOURSE NOTES PAYABLE
As of
December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008, recourse and non-recourse obligations
consisted of the following:
|
|
As
of
|
|
|
|
December 31,
2008
|
|
|
March 31,
2008
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
Bank of Highland Park recourse note payable at 5.5% expires on April 1,
2011 or when the early termination option is enacted.
|
|
$ |
102 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-recourse
equipment notes secured by related investments in leases with interest
rates ranging from 4.34% to 8.76% for the nine months ended December
31, 2008 and 4.02% to 10.77% for year ended March 31,
2008.
|
|
$ |
85,076 |
|
|
$ |
93,814 |
|
During
the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, we sold portions of our lease
portfolio. The sales were reflected on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements as sales of leased equipment totaling approximately
$3.4 million and $40.5 million, and cost of leased equipment of $3.3 million and
$38.9 million, for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively. There was a corresponding reduction of investment in leases
and lease equipment—net of $3.3 million and $38.9 million at December 31, 2008
and 2007, respectively.
Principal
and interest payments on the recourse and non-recourse notes payable are
generally due monthly in amounts that are approximately equal to the total
payments due from the lessee under the leases that collateralize the notes
payable. Under recourse financing, in the event of a default by a lessee,
the lender has recourse against the lessee, the equipment serving as collateral,
and us. Under non-recourse financing, in the event of a default by a lessee, the
lender generally only has recourse against the lessee, and the equipment serving
as collateral, but not against us.
Our
technology sales business segment, through our subsidiary ePlus Technology, inc.,
finances its operations with funds generated from operations, and with a credit
facility with GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corporation
(“GECDF”). This facility provides short-term capital for our reseller
business. There are
two components of the GECDF credit facility: (1) a floor plan
component and (2) an accounts receivable component. Under the floor
plan component, we had outstanding balances of $58.2 million and $55.6
million as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008,
respectively. Under the accounts receivable component, we had no
outstanding balances as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008. As of
December 31, 2008, the facility agreement had an aggregate limit of
the two components of $125 million, and the accounts receivable component had a
sub-limit of $30 million, which bears interest at prime less 0.5%, or
4.75%. Availability under the GECDF facility may be limited by the asset
value of equipment we purchase or accounts receivable, and may be further
limited by certain covenants and terms and conditions of the
facility. These covenants include, but are not limited to, a minimum total
tangible net worth and subordinated debt, and maximum debt to tangible net worth
ratio of ePlus
Technology, inc. We were in compliance with these covenants as of
December 31, 2008. Either party may terminate with 90 days’ advance
notice.
The
facility provided by GECDF requires a guaranty of up to $10.5 million by ePlus inc. The guaranty
requires ePlus
inc. to deliver its annual audited financial statements by certain
dates. We have delivered the annual audited financial statements for the
year ended March 31, 2008 as required. The loss of the GECDF credit
facility could have a material adverse effect on our future results as we
currently rely on this facility and its components for daily working capital and
liquidity for our technology sales business and as an operational function of
our accounts payable process.
National
City Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.)
provides a credit facility which can be used for all ePlus inc.’s subsidiaries.
Borrowings under our $35 million line of credit from National City Bank are
subject to certain covenants regarding minimum consolidated tangible net
worth, maximum recourse debt to net worth ratio, cash flow coverage, and minimum
interest expense coverage ratio. We were in compliance with these covenants as
of December 31, 2008. The borrowings are secured by our assets such as
leases, receivables, inventory, and equipment. Borrowings are limited to our
collateral base, consisting of equipment, lease receivables, and other current
assets, up to a maximum of $35 million. In addition, the credit agreement
restricts, and under some circumstances prohibits, the payment of
dividends.
The
National City Bank facility requires the delivery of our audited and unaudited
financial statements, and pro-forma financial projections, by certain
dates. As required by Section 5.1 of the facility, we have delivered all
financial statements. We had no balance on
this facility as of December 31, 2008.
6.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
We lease
approximately 55,880 square feet for use as our principal headquarters from
Norton Building 1, LLC for a monthly rent payment of approximately $93
thousand. Norton Building 1, LLC is a limited liability company owned in
part by the spouse of Mr. Norton, our President and CEO, and in part in
trust for his children. Since May 31, 2007, Mr. Norton has not
had a managerial or executive role in Norton Building 1, LLC. The lease
was approved by the Board of Directors prior to its commencement, and viewed by
the Board as being at or below comparable market rents, and ePlus has the right to
terminate up to 40% of the leased premises for no penalty, with six months'
notice. The current lease will expire on December 31, 2009 with an option
to renew for an additional five years. During the three months ended
December 31, 2008 and 2007, we paid rent in the amount of $277 thousand and $274
thousand, respectively. During the nine months ended December 31,
2008 and 2007, we paid rent in the amount of $833 thousand and $798 thousand,
respectively.
7.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Liabilities
for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation and other
sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and
the amount of the claim, assessment or damages can be reasonably
estimated.
Litigation
We have
been involved in several matters relating to a customer named Cyberco Holdings,
Inc. ("Cyberco"). The Cyberco principals were perpetrating a scam, and at
least five principals have pled guilty to criminal conspiracy and/or related
charges, including bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. One lender
who financed our transaction with Cyberco, Banc of America Leasing and Capital,
LLC ("BoA"), filed a lawsuit against ePlus inc. in the Circuit
Court for Fairfax County, Virginia on November 3, 2006, seeking to enforce a
guaranty in which ePlus
inc. guaranteed ePlus
Group's obligations to BoA relating to the Cyberco transaction. We are
vigorously defending this suit. As we do not believe a loss is probable or
the amount is reasonably estimable, we have not accrued for this
matter.
On
January 18, 2007, a stockholder derivative action related to stock option
practices was filed in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia. The amended complaint names ePlus inc. as nominal
defendant, and personally names eight individual defendants who are directors
and/or executive officers of ePlus. The amended complaint
alleges violations of federal securities law, and various state law claims such
as breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment. We
have filed a Motion to Dismiss the plaintiff's amended complaint. The amended
complaint seeks monetary damages from individual defendants and that we
take certain corrective actions relating to option grants and corporate
governance, and attorneys' fees. As we do not believe a loss is probable or the
amount is reasonably estimable, we have not accrued for this
matter.
We are
also engaged in other ordinary and routine litigation incidental to our
business. While we cannot predict the outcome of these various legal
proceedings, management does not believe that the ultimate resolution will have
a material effect on our financial condition or results of
operations.
Regulatory
and Other Legal Matters
In June
2006, the Audit Committee commenced an investigation of our stock option grants
since our initial public offering in 1996. In August 2006, the Audit Committee
voluntarily contacted and advised the staff of the SEC of its investigation and
the Audit Committee's preliminary conclusion that a restatement would be
required. This restatement was included in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2006 and was filed with the SEC on August 16, 2007. The SEC
opened an informal inquiry and we have and will continue to cooperate with the
staff. No amount has been accrued for this matter.
In
December 2008 we finalized resolution of a dispute with the government of the
District of Columbia ("DC") regarding personal property taxes. DC was seeking
payment for property taxes relating to property we financed for our
customers. Under the terms of the settlement, we paid $747 thousand to DC
reflecting personal property taxes on leased equipment in DC for the years
2001-2008. The settlement agreement assigns to us the right to collect the
taxes from our lessees
8.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
The
following table provides a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators
used to calculate basic and diluted net income per common share as disclosed on
our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and
nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 (in thousands, except per share
data).
|
|
Three
months ended
December 31,
|
|
|
Nine
months ended
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income available to common shareholders—basic and diluted
|
|
$ |
1,962 |
|
|
$ |
3,751 |
|
|
$ |
12,075 |
|
|
$ |
13,615 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding—basic
|
|
|
8,264 |
|
|
|
8,232 |
|
|
|
8,272 |
|
|
|
8,232 |
|
Effect
of dilutive shares
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
190 |
|
|
|
247 |
|
|
|
143 |
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding—diluted
|
|
$ |
8,404 |
|
|
$ |
8,422 |
|
|
$ |
8,519 |
|
|
$ |
8,375 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.45 |
|
|
$ |
1.46 |
|
|
$ |
1.65 |
|
Diluted
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.45 |
|
|
$ |
1.42 |
|
|
$ |
1.63 |
|
Unexercised
employee stock options with respect to 326,500 and 286,500 shares of our common
stock were not included in the computations of diluted EPS for the
three and nine months ended December 31, 2008, respectively, because the
options’ exercise prices were greater than the average market price of our
common stock during the applicable periods.
9.
SHARE REPURCHASE
On July
31, 2008, our Board authorized a share repurchase plan commencing after August
4, 2008. The new share repurchase plan is for a 12-month period ending
August 4, 2009 for up to 500,000 shares of ePlus’ outstanding common
stock. In addition, our credit agreement with National City Bank has
an annual dollar limit of $12,500,000 for common stock
repurchase. The purchases may be made from time to time in the open
market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to
availability. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury
shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes. The
previous stock repurchase program expired on November 17, 2006. During
the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008, we repurchased 302,873
shares of our outstanding common stock at an average cost of $9.65 per
share for a total purchase price of $2.9 million. Since the inception of
our initial repurchase program on September 20, 2001, as of December 31, 2008,
we have repurchased 3,281,863 shares of our outstanding common stock at an
average cost of $10.91 per share for a total purchase price of $35.8
million.
On February 11, 2009, our Board amended
our current share repurchase plan to extend the program from August 4,
2009 to September 15, 2009. In addition, the amendment authorizes us
to repurchase up to 500,00 shares of ePlus' outstanding common
stock, beginning February 12, 2009. See Note 14, "Subsequent Event," for
additional information.
10.
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
Share-Based
Plans
We have
issued share-based awards under the following plans: (1) the 1998
Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “1998 LTIP”), (2) Amendment and Restatement
of the 1998 Stock Incentive Plan (2001) (the “Amended LTIP (2001)”) , (3)
Amendment and Restatement of the 1998 Stock Incentive Plan (2003) (the “Amended
LTIP (2003)”), (4) the 2008 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan
(“2008 Director LTIP”) and (5) the 2008 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2008
Employee LTIP”). However, we no longer issue awards under the 1998 LTIP,
the Amended LTIP (2001), or the Amended LTIP
(2003). Currently, awards are only issued under the 2008
Director LTIP and the 2008 Employee LTIP. Sections of these
plans are summarized below. All the share-based plans require the
use of the previous trading day's closing price when the grant date falls on a
date the stock was not traded.
1998
Long-Term Incentive Plan
The 1998
LTIP was adopted by the Board on July 28, 1998, which is its effective date, and
approved by the shareholders on September 16, 1998. The allowable number of
shares under the 1998 LTIP was 20% of the outstanding shares, less shares
previously granted and shares purchased through our then-existing employee stock
purchase program. It specified that options shall be priced at not less
than fair market value. The 1998 LTIP consolidated the Company’s
preexisting stock incentive plans and made the Compensation Committee of the
Board responsible for its administration. The 1998 LTIP required that
grants be evidenced in writing, but the writing was not a condition precedent to
the grant of the award.
Under the
1998 LTIP, options were to be automatically awarded to non-employee directors
the day after the annual shareholders meeting to all non-employee directors in
service as of that day. No automatic annual grants may be awarded under the
LTIP after September 1, 2006. The LTIP also permits for discretionary
option awards to directors.
Amended
and Restated 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan
Minor
amendments were made to the 1998 LTIP on April 1, April 17 and April 30,
2001. The amendments change the name of the plan from the 1998 Long-Term
Incentive Plan to the Amended and Restated 1998 Long-Term Incentive
Plan. In addition, provisions were added “to allow the Compensation
Committee to delegate to a single board member the authority to make awards to
non-Section 16 insiders, as a matter of convenience,” and to provide that “no
option granted under the Plan may be exercisable for more than ten years from
the date of its grant.”
The
Amended LTIP (2001) was amended on July 15, 2003 by the Board and approved by
the stockholders on September 18, 2003. Primarily, the amendment modified
the aggregate number of shares available under the plan to a fixed number
(3,000,000). Although the language varies somewhat from earlier plans, it
permits the Board or Compensation Committee to delegate authority to a committee
of one or more directors who are also officers of the corporation to award
options under certain conditions. The Amended LTIP (2003) replaced all the
prior plans, and covered option grants for employees, executives and outside
directors.
On
September 15, 2008, our shareholders approved the 2008 Director LTIP and the
2008 Employee LTIP. Both of the plans were adopted by the Board on
June 25, 2008. As a result of the approval of these plans, the Company does
not intend to grant any awards under the Amended LTIP (2003) or any earlier
plan.
2008
Non-Employee Director Plan
Under the
2008 Director LTIP, 250,000 shares were authorized for grant to non-employee
directors. The purpose of the 2008 Director LTIP is to align the economic
interests of the directors with the interests of shareholders by including
equity as a component of pay and to attract, motivate and retain experienced and
knowledgeable directors. Under the 2008 Director LTIP, each non-employee
director received a one-time grant of a number of restricted shares of common
stock having a grant-date fair value of $35,000. The grant-date fair value
for this one-time grant was determined based on the share closing price on
September 25, 2008. In addition, each director will receive an annual
grant of restricted stock having a grant-date fair value equal to the cash
compensation earned by an outside director during our fiscal year ended
immediately before the respective annual grant-date. Directors may elect to
receive their cash compensation in restricted stock. These restricted shares are
prohibited from being sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or otherwise
encumbered or disposed of. Half of these shares will vest on the one-year
and second-year anniversary from the date of the grant.
2008
Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan
Under the
2008 Employee LTIP, 1,000,000 shares were authorized for grant of incentive
stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted
stock, restricted stock units, performance awards, and other share-based awards
to ePlus
employees. The purposes of the 2008 Employee LTIP are to encourage our
employees to acquire a proprietary interest in the growth and performance of the
Company, thus enhancing the value of the Company for the benefit of its
stockholders, and to enhance our ability to attract and retain exceptionally
qualified individuals. The 2008 Employee LTIP will be administered by the
compensation committee of the Board of Directors. Shares issuable under the
2008 Employee LTIP may consist of authorized but unissued shares or shares held
in our treasury. Shares under the 2008 Employee LTIP will not be used to
compensate our outside directors, who may be compensated under the separate 2008
Director LTIP, as discussed above. We have not granted any awards
under the 2008 Employee LTIP as of December 31, 2008.
Stock
Option Activity
During
the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, there were no stock
options granted to employees.
A summary
of stock option activity during the nine months ended December 31, 2008 is as
follows:
|
|
Number of Shares
|
|
|
Exercise Price Range
|
|
|
Weighted Average Exercise
Price
|
|
|
Weighted Average Contractual Life Remaining (in
years)
|
|
|
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding,
April 1, 2008
|
|
|
1,240,813 |
|
|
$ |
6.23
- $17.38 |
|
|
$ |
9.78 |
|
|
|
2.8 |
|
|
|
|
Options
granted
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
exercised
|
|
|
(159,325 |
) |
|
$ |
6.24
- $9.31 |
|
|
$ |
8.02 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
forfeited
|
|
|
(34,987 |
) |
|
$ |
6.86
- $17.38 |
|
|
$ |
11.01 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding,
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,046,501 |
|
|
$ |
6.23
- $17.38 |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
|
$ |
2,037,483 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vested
or expected to vest at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,046,501 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
|
$ |
2,037,483 |
|
Exercisable,
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,046,501 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
|
$ |
2,037,483 |
|
(1) The
total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the nine months ended
December 31, 2008 was $568 thousand.
Additional
information regarding stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2008 is as
follows:
|
|
Options Outstanding
|
|
|
Options Exercisable
|
|
Range of
Exercise Prices
|
|
Options Outstanding
|
|
|
Weighted Avg. Exercise Price per
Share
|
|
|
Weighted Avg. Contractual Life
Remaining
|
|
|
Options Exercisable
|
|
|
Weighted Average Exercise Price per
Share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6.23
- $9.00
|
|
|
700,001 |
|
|
$ |
7.64 |
|
|
|
1.6 |
|
|
|
700,001 |
|
|
$ |
7.64 |
|
$9.01
- $13.50
|
|
|
146,500 |
|
|
$ |
11.81 |
|
|
|
5.4 |
|
|
|
146,500 |
|
|
$ |
11.81 |
|
$13.51
- $17.38
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
$ |
16.95 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
$ |
16.95 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6.23
- $17.38
|
|
|
1,046,501 |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
|
|
1,046,501 |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
We issue
shares from our authorized but unissued common stock to satisfy stock option
exercises.
A summary
of nonvested option activity is presented below:
|
|
Shares
|
|
|
Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonvested
at April 1, 2008
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
$ |
6.13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Vested
|
|
|
(20,000 |
) |
|
$ |
6.13 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonvested
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Restricted
Stock
On
September 25, 2008, each non-employee director received an annual grant of
restricted shares of common stock. The number of shares subject to the
grant was determined based on the cash compensation received by a non-employee
director in the entire fiscal year immediately prior to the grant date, which
was $35 thousand. In addition, each non-employee director received a
one-time grant of a number of restricted shares of common stock having a
grant-date fair value of $35 thousand. The grant-date fair value for this
one-time grant was determined based on the share closing price on
September 25, 2008. The total number of shares of restricted stock granted to
all non-employee directors for the one-time and annual grant was
38,532. The closing price of our common stock on September 25, 2008 was
$10.90, resulting in a total grant-date fair value of $420 thousand. These
shares will be vested over a two-year period and we will recognize share-based
compensation expense over the service period. We estimate the forfeiture
rate of the restricted stock to be zero.
A summary
of restricted stock activity during the nine months ended December 31, 2008 is
as follows:
|
|
Number of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding,
April 1, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares
granted
|
|
|
38,532 |
|
|
$ |
10.90 |
|
Shares
forfeited
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding,
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
38,532 |
|
|
$ |
10.90 |
|
Share-based
Compensation Expense
We
recognized $52 thousand and $114 thousand of total share-based
compensation expense for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008,
respectively. Share-based compensation expense related to restricted stock is
approximately $52 thousand and $56 thousand for the three and nine months ended
December 31, 2008, respectively. Share-based compensation expense
related to stock options is $0 and $58 thousand for the three and nine months
ended December 31, 2008, respectively. The share-based compensation
expense recognized for stock options was $31 thousand and $1.6 million for
the three and nine months ended December 31, 2007, respectively. As
previously disclosed, during the nine months ended December 31, 2007, 450,000
options were cancelled which resulted in the recognition of the remaining
nonvested share-based compensation expense of $1.5 million for that
period. At December 31, 2008, there was no unrecognized compensation
expense related to nonvested options because all the options were vested.
Unrecognized compensation expense related to the restricted stock was $364
thousand which will be fully recognized over the next 21 months.
11.
INCOME TAXES
On April
1, 2007, we adopted FIN 48 and recognized liabilities for uncertain tax
positions based on the two-step approach prescribed in the interpretation. The
first step is to evaluate each uncertain tax position for recognition by
determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely
than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of
related appeals or litigation processes, if any. For tax positions that are more
likely than not of being sustained upon audit, the second step requires us to
estimate and measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more
than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
As of
March 31, 2008, our gross FIN 48 tax liability was $712 thousand; we have
decreased this liability by $208 thousand in the second quarter of this fiscal
year based on the preliminary results of the Internal Revenue Service Audit
for the periods March 31, 2004 through March 31, 2006. We expect that the gross
unrecognized tax benefit will decrease by approximately $44 thousand in the next
12 months related to this audit.
In
accordance with our accounting policy, we recognize accrued interest and
penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense.
This policy did not change as a result of the adoption of FIN 48. Our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the three and nine months
ended December 31, 2008 includes additional interest of $12 thousand and $35
thousand, respectively.
12.
SEGMENT REPORTING
We manage
our business segments on the basis of the products and services offered. Our
reportable segments consist of our traditional financing business unit and
technology sales business unit. The financing business unit offers
lease-financing solutions to corporations and governmental entities nationwide.
The technology sales business unit sells information technology equipment and
software and related services primarily to corporate customers on a nationwide
basis. The technology sales business unit also provides Internet-based
business-to-business supply chain management solutions for information
technology and other operating resources. We evaluate segment performance on the
basis of segment net earnings.
Both
segments utilize our proprietary software and services throughout the
organization. Sales and services and related costs of our software are included
in the technology sales business unit.
The
accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 1,
“Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.” Corporate
overhead expenses are allocated on the basis of employee headcount.
|
|
Three months ended December 31, 2008
|
|
|
Three months ended December 31, 2007
|
|
|
|
Financing Business Segment
|
|
|
Technology Sales Business
Segment
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
Financing Business Segment
|
|
|
Technology Sales Business
Segment
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
of product and services
|
|
$ |
588 |
|
|
$ |
170,969 |
|
|
$ |
171,557 |
|
|
$ |
1,291 |
|
|
$ |
167,103 |
|
|
$ |
168,394 |
|
Sales
of leased equipment
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
13,740 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
13,740 |
|
Lease
revenues
|
|
|
10,361 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
10,361 |
|
|
|
12,194 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
12,194 |
|
Fee
and other income
|
|
|
261 |
|
|
|
2,545 |
|
|
|
2,806 |
|
|
|
253 |
|
|
|
3,858 |
|
|
|
4,111 |
|
Total
revenues
|
|
|
11,210 |
|
|
|
173,514 |
|
|
|
184,724 |
|
|
|
27,478 |
|
|
|
170,961 |
|
|
|
198,439 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
569 |
|
|
|
145,655 |
|
|
|
146,224 |
|
|
|
14,465 |
|
|
|
147,645 |
|
|
|
162,110 |
|
Direct
lease costs
|
|
|
3,636 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
3,636 |
|
|
|
4,460 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4,460 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
3,895 |
|
|
|
21,562 |
|
|
|
25,457 |
|
|
|
3,338 |
|
|
|
19,970 |
|
|
|
23,308 |
|
Impairment
of goodwill
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4,644 |
|
|
|
4,644 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Segment
earnings
|
|
|
3,110 |
|
|
|
1,653 |
|
|
|
4,763 |
|
|
|
5,215 |
|
|
|
3,346 |
|
|
|
8,561 |
|
Interest
and financing costs
|
|
|
1,331 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
1,355 |
|
|
|
1,795 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
1,818 |
|
Earnings
before income taxes
|
|
$ |
1,779 |
|
|
$ |
1,629 |
|
|
$ |
3,408 |
|
|
$ |
3,420 |
|
|
$ |
3,323 |
|
|
$ |
6,743 |
|
Assets
|
|
$ |
225,743 |
|
|
$ |
147,021 |
|
|
$ |
372,764 |
|
|
$ |
244,825 |
|
|
$ |
145,342 |
|
|
$ |
390,167 |
|
|
|
Nine months ended December 31, 2008
|
|
|
Nine months ended December 31, 2007
|
|
|
|
Financing Business Segment
|
|
|
Technology Sales Business
Segment
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
Financing Business Segment
|
|
|
Technology Sales Business
Segment
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
of product and services
|
|
$ |
3,085 |
|
|
$ |
513,722 |
|
|
$ |
516,807 |
|
|
$ |
3,057 |
|
|
$ |
561,571 |
|
|
$ |
564,628 |
|
Sales
of leased equipment
|
|
|
3,447 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
3,447 |
|
|
|
40,544 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
40,544 |
|
Lease
revenues
|
|
|
34,197 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
34,197 |
|
|
|
43,810 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
43,810 |
|
Fee
and other income
|
|
|
554 |
|
|
|
8,863 |
|
|
|
9,417 |
|
|
|
1,272 |
|
|
|
11,852 |
|
|
|
13,124 |
|
Total
revenues
|
|
|
41,283 |
|
|
|
522,585 |
|
|
|
563,868 |
|
|
|
88,683 |
|
|
|
573,423 |
|
|
|
662,106 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
5,354 |
|
|
|
442,261 |
|
|
|
447,615 |
|
|
|
41,347 |
|
|
|
497,774 |
|
|
|
539,121 |
|
Direct
lease costs
|
|
|
11,263 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
11,263 |
|
|
|
16,353 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
16,353 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
12,053 |
|
|
|
63,482 |
|
|
|
75,535 |
|
|
|
11,075 |
|
|
|
64,681 |
|
|
|
75,756 |
|
Impairment
of goodwill
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4,644 |
|
|
|
4,644 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Segment
earnings
|
|
|
12,613 |
|
|
|
12,198 |
|
|
|
24,811 |
|
|
|
19,908 |
|
|
|
10,968 |
|
|
|
30,876 |
|
Interest
and financing costs
|
|
|
4,239 |
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
4,307 |
|
|
|
6,476 |
|
|
|
114 |
|
|
|
6,590 |
|
Earnings
before income taxes
|
|
$ |
8,374 |
|
|
$ |
12,130 |
|
|
$ |
20,504 |
|
|
$ |
13,432 |
|
|
$ |
10,854 |
|
|
$ |
24,286 |
|
Assets
|
|
$ |
225,743 |
|
|
$ |
147,021 |
|
|
$ |
372,764 |
|
|
$ |
244,825 |
|
|
$ |
145,342 |
|
|
$ |
390,167 |
|
Included
in the financing business segment above are inter-segment accounts receivable of
$53.9 million and $45.2 million at December 31, 2008 and 2007,
respectively. Included in the technology sales business segment
above are inter-segment accounts payable of $53.9 million and $45.2 million
at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
For the
three months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, our technology sales business
segment sold products to our financing business segment of $0.6 million and
$0.4 million, respectively. For the nine months ended December 31,
2008 and 2007, our technology sales business segment sold products to our
financing business segment of $1.6 million and $1.7 million,
respectively. These revenues were eliminated in our technology sales
business segment for the same periods.
For the
three and nine months ended December 31, 2008, we recorded an impairment of
goodwill in the amount of $4.6 million in our software procurement reporting
unit, which is part of our technology sales business segment.
13.
ACQUISITION
On May 9,
2008, we acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Network
Architects, Inc., a San Francisco-based company, for approximately $364 thousand
dollars in cash. Additional consideration totaling $250 thousand may be due
on the first and second anniversary dates of the purchase date to one of the
principals if certain targets are met. These assets and liabilities are
included on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of
December 31, 2008. This transaction was accounted for as a business
combination in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 141,“Business Combinations,” and EITF 95-8,
“Accounting for Contingent
Consideration Paid to the Shareholders of an Acquired Enterprise in a Purchase Business
Combination.” In accordance with EITF 95-8, once the contingency is
resolved and considered distributable, we will record the fair value of the
consideration issued as compensation expense in the period.
The
estimated determination of the purchase price allocation was based on the fair
values of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed including acquired
intangible assets. The estimated purchase price allocation was made by
management through various means, including obtaining a third-party valuation of
identifiable intangible assets acquired and an evaluation of the fair value of
other assets and liabilities acquired. The assignment of amounts to some assets
acquired and liabilities assumed are noted below, and was prepared on the basis
of all information available at the time. The following table summarizes the
estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the date of
acquisition (in thousands):
Property
and equipment—net
|
|
$ |
64 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customer
Relationship (estimated 5-year life)
|
|
|
200 |
|
Tradename
(estimated 15-year life)
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
|
120 |
|
Other
current liabilities
|
|
|
(27
|
) |
|
|
$ |
364 |
|
All the
assets acquired and liabilities assumed are included in ePlus Technology, inc., a
subsidiary of ePlus
inc., which is a part of the technology sales business unit segment as of
December 31, 2008.
Network
Architects, Inc. is a Cisco-focused solution provider and consulting firm.
Network Architects strengthens our existing footprint in the San Francisco Bay
Area and improves our reach into the commercial marketplace for Cisco advanced
technologies, a key strategic focus for us. In addition, Network Architects has
highly experienced Cisco engineers with deep expertise in commercial marketplace
solutions, including remote managed services solutions, systematic remote
deployment and configuration, and security and network assessments.
The pro
forma impact of Network Architects, Inc. on our historical operating results is
not material.
14. SUBSEQUENT
EVENT
On February 11, 2009, our Board of
Directors amended our current share repurchase plan, which commenced August 4,
2008. The plan, as amended, has been extended through September 15,
2009, and we may repurchase up to 500,000 shares of ePlus' outstanding common
stock beginning February 12, 2009. The purchases may be made from time to
time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to
availability. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury
shares and may be used when needed for general corporate purposes.
This
discussion is intended to further the reader’s understanding of the consolidated
financial condition and results of operations of our company. It should be
read in conjunction with the financial statements included in this quarterly
report on Form 10-Q and our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March
31, 2008 (the “2008 Annual Report”). These historical financial statements
may not be indicative of our future performance. This Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
contains a number of forward-looking statements, all of which are based on our
current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risks
described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our 2008 Annual Report and
in Part II, Item 1A of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
EXECUTIVE
OVERVIEW
Business
Description
ePlus and its consolidated
subsidiaries provide leading IT products and services, flexible leasing
solutions, and enterprise supply management to enable our customers to optimize
their IT infrastructure and supply chain processes. Our revenues are
composed of sales of product and services, sales of leased equipment,
lease revenues and fee and other income. Our operations are
conducted through two business segments: our technology sales business
unit and our financing business unit.
Financial
Summary
During
the three months ended December 31, 2008, total revenue decreased 6.9% to $184.7
million while total costs and expenses decreased 5.4% to $181.3
million. Net income decreased 47.7% to $2.0 million as compared to the same
period in the prior fiscal year. These results included a goodwill
impairment charge of $4.6 million during the three months ended December 31,
2008. Gross margin for product and services improved 3.2% to 14.8%
during the three months ended December 31, 2008. During the nine
months ended December 31, 2008, total revenue decreased 14.8% to $563.9 million
while total costs and expenses decreased 14.8% to $543.4 million. Net
income decreased 11.3% to $12.1 million as compared to the same period in the
prior fiscal year. Gross margin for product and services improved 2.6% to
14.0% during the nine months ended December 31, 2008. Our gross margin on
sales of product and services was affected by our customers’ investment in
technology equipment, the mix and volume of products sold and changes in
incentives provided to us by manufacturers. Cash increased $28.1 million or
48.1% to $86.6 million at December 31, 2008 compared to March 31, 2008, due in
part to management’s effort to conserve our liquidity position. Total sales
for both the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008 decreased as compared
to the prior fiscal periods due to an overall softening in
the economy, which delays our customers’ investment in capital
equipment. We expect this trend to continue in calendar year 2009 and we
believe that the recent credit market condition will intensify this
trend.
The
United States and other countries around the world have been experiencing
deteriorating economic conditions, including unprecedented financial market
disruption. As a result of the recent financial crisis in the credit
markets, softness in the housing markets, difficulties in the financial services
sector and continuing economic uncertainties, the direction and relative
strength of the U.S. economy has become increasingly uncertain. This could cause
our current and potential customers to delay or reduce technology purchases,
which could reduce sales of our products and services, and result in longer
sales cycles, slower adoption of new technologies and increased price
competition. Restrictions on credit may impact economic activity and
our results. Credit risk associated with our customers and vendors may
also be adversely impacted. Additionally, although we do not
anticipate needing additional capital in the near term due to our current
financial position, financial market disruption may adversely affect our access
to additional capital.
We
completed our annual goodwill impairment test during the third quarter of our
fiscal year. We concluded that there was no impairment in our leasing,
technology and software document management reporting units. The
weakening U.S. economy and the global credit crisis have accelerated
the reduction in demand for certain software products. As a result of
this reduced demand, we projected a decline in revenue in our software
procurement reporting unit, part of our technology sales business segment, which
lowered the fair value estimates of the reporting unit. As a result
of the lower fair value estimates, we concluded that the carrying amount of the
software procurement reporting unit exceeded its respective fair value. We then
compared the implied fair value of the goodwill in the software procurement
reporting unit with the carrying value and recorded a $4.6 million impairment
charge in the three months ended December 31, 2008. This amount is
reported on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of
Operations.
Business
Unit Overview
Technology
Sales Business Unit
The
technology sales business unit sells information technology equipment and
software and related services primarily to corporate customers on a nationwide
basis. The technology sales business unit also provides Internet-based
business-to-business supply chain management solutions for information
technology and other operating resources.
Our
technology sales business unit derives revenue from the sales of new
equipment and service engagements. These revenues are reflected on our
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations under sales of product
and services and fee and other income. Many customers purchase information
technology equipment from us using Master Purchase Agreements (“MPAs”)
in which the terms and conditions of our relationship are stipulated. Some
MPAs contain pricing arrangements. However, the MPAs do not contain purchase
volume commitments and most have 30-day termination for convenience
clauses. In addition, many of our customers place orders using purchase
orders without an MPA in place. A substantial portion of our sales of
product and services are from sales of Hewlett Packard and CISCO
products, which represent approximately 17% and 33% of sales,
respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2008.
Included
in the sales of product and services in our technology sales business unit are
certain service revenues that are bundled with sales of equipment and are
integral to the successful delivery of such equipment. Our service
engagements are generally governed by Statements of Work and/or Master Service
Agreements. They are primarily fixed fee; however, some agreements are time
and materials or estimates. We endeavor to minimize the cost of sales
in our technology sales business unit through vendor consideration programs
provided by manufacturers. The programs are generally governed by our
reseller authorization level with the manufacturer. The authorization level
we achieve and maintain governs the types of products we can resell as well as
such items as pricing received, funds provided for the marketing of these
products and other special promotions. These authorization levels are
achieved by us through sales volume, certifications held by sales executives or
engineers and/or contractual commitments by us. The authorizations are
costly to maintain and these programs continually change and there is no
guarantee of future reductions of costs provided by these vendor consideration
programs. We currently maintain the following authorization levels with our
major manufacturers:
Manufacturer
|
Manufacturer Authorization
Level
|
|
|
|
HP
Preferred Elite Partner (National)
|
|
Cisco
Gold DVAR (National)
|
|
|
|
Microsoft
Gold (National)
|
|
Sun
SPA Executive Partner (National)
|
|
Sun
National Strategic DataCenter Authorized
|
|
Premier
IBM Business Partner (National)
|
|
Lenovo
Premium (National)
|
|
|
|
|
Through
our technology sales business unit we also generate revenue through hosting
arrangements and sales of our software. These revenues are reflected on our
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations under fee and other
income. In addition, fee and other income results from: (1) income from
events that occur after the initial sale of a financial asset; (2) remarketing
fees; (3) brokerage fees earned for the placement of financing transactions; (4)
agent fees received from various manufacturers; (5) settlement fees related to
disputes or litigation; and (6) interest and other miscellaneous
income.
Financing
Business Unit
The
financing business unit offers lease-financing solutions to corporations and
governmental entities nationwide. The financing business unit derives
revenue from leasing primarily information technology equipment and sales
of leased equipment. These revenues are reflected on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations under lease revenues and sales
of leased equipment.
Lease
revenues consist of rentals due under operating leases, amortization of unearned
income on direct financing and sales-type leases and sales of leased assets to
lessees. These transactions are accounted for in accordance with SFAS No.
13. Each lease is classified as either a direct financing lease, sales-type
lease, or operating lease, as appropriate. Under the direct financing and
sales-type lease methods, we record the net investment in leases, which consists
of the sum of the minimum lease payments, initial direct costs (direct financing
leases only), and unguaranteed residual value (gross investment) less the
unearned income. The difference between the gross investment and the cost
of the leased equipment for direct financing leases is recorded as
unearned income at the inception of the lease. The unearned income is
amortized over the life of the lease using the interest method. Under
sales-type leases, the difference between the fair value and cost of the leased
property plus initial direct costs (net margins) is recorded as revenue at the
inception of the lease. For operating leases, rental amounts are
accrued on a straight-line basis over the lease term and are recognized as lease
revenue. SFAS No. 140 establishes criteria for determining whether a
transfer of financial assets in exchange for cash or other consideration should
be accounted for as a sale or as a pledge of collateral in a secured
borrowing. Certain assignments of direct financing leases we make on a
non-recourse basis meet the criteria for surrender of control set forth by SFAS
No. 140 and have, therefore, been treated as sales for financial statement
purposes.
Sales of
leased equipment represent revenue from the sales to a third party other than
the lessee of equipment subject to a lease in which we are the lessor. Such
sales of equipment may have the effect of increasing revenues and net income
during the quarter in which the sale occurs, and reducing revenues and net
income otherwise expected in subsequent quarters. If the rental stream on
such lease has non-recourse debt associated with it, sales revenue is recorded
at the amount of consideration received, net of the amount of debt
assumed by the purchaser. If there is no non-recourse debt associated with
the rental stream, sales revenue is recorded at the amount of gross
consideration received, and costs of sales is recorded at the book value of the
lease.
Fluctuations
in Revenues
Our
results of operations are susceptible to fluctuations for a number of reasons,
including, without limitation, customer demand for our products and services,
supplier costs, interest rate fluctuations and differences between estimated
residual values and actual amounts realized related to the equipment we
lease. Operating results could also fluctuate as a result of the sale of
equipment in our lease portfolio prior to the expiration of the lease term to
the lessee or to a third party. Such sales of leased equipment prior to the
expiration of the lease term may have the effect of increasing revenues and net
earnings during the period in which the sale occurs, and reducing revenues and
net earnings otherwise expected in subsequent periods.
We have
expanded our product and service offerings under our comprehensive set of
solutions which represents the continued evolution of our original
implementation of our e-commerce products entitled ePlusSuite®. The
expansion to our bundled solution is a framework that combines our IT sales
and professional services, leasing and financing services, asset
management software and services, procurement software, and electronic catalog
content management software and services.
We expect
to expand or open new sales locations and hire additional staff for specific
targeted market areas in the near future whenever we can find both experienced
personnel and qualified geographic areas.
As a
result of our acquisitions and expansion of sales locations, our historical
results of operations and financial position may not be indicative of our future
performance over time.
RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), “Business Combinations” (“SFAS
No. 141R”), which replaces SFAS 141. SFAS No. 141R applies to all transactions
in which an entity obtains control of one or more businesses, including those
without the transfer of consideration. SFAS No. 141R defines the acquirer as the
entity that obtains control on the acquisition date. It also requires the
measurement at fair value of the acquired assets, assumed liabilities and
noncontrolling interest. In addition, SFAS No. 141R requires that the
acquisition and restructuring related costs be recognized separately from the
business combinations. SFAS No. 141R requires that goodwill be recognized
as of the acquisition date, measured as residual, which in most cases will
result in the excess of consideration plus acquisition-date fair value of
noncontrolling interest over the fair values of identifiable net assets. Under
SFAS No. 141R, “negative goodwill,” in which consideration given is less than
the acquisition-date fair value of identifiable net assets, will be recognized
as a gain to the acquirer. SFAS No. 141R is applied prospectively to business
combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the first annual
reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. We are evaluating the
impact of SFAS No. 141R, if any, to our financial position and statement of
operations. We will adopt SFAS No. 141R for future business combinations
that occur on or after April 1, 2009.
In May
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 162, "The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles" ("SFAS No. 162"). SFAS No. 162
identifies the sources of accounting principles and the framework for selecting
the principles used in the preparation of financial statements of
nongovernmental entities that are presented in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles (the GAAP hierarchy). We do not expect this
provision to have any material impact on our financial position or results
of operations. SFAS No. 162 is effective November 15,
2008.
In April
2008, the FASB issued Staff Position (“FSP”) No. 142-3, “Determination of the Useful Life of
Intangible Assets.” FSP No. 142-3 amends the
factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions
used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS
No. 142. The provisions of FSP No. 142-3 are effective for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2008 and interim periods within those fiscal years.
We are in the process of evaluating the impact, if any, that FSP No. 142-3 will
have on our consolidated financial statements.
In
October 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. 157-3, “Determining the Fair Value of a
Financial Asset When the Market for That Asset is Not Active.” FSP No. 157-3 clarifies
the application of SFAS No. 157 in a market that is not active and provides
an example to illustrate key considerations in determining the fair value of
a financial asset when the market for that financial asset is not
active. The provisions of FSP No. 157-3 were effective upon issuance and
for financial statements not yet reported. The adoption of FSP No. 157-3
did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial
statements.
CRITICAL
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires
management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including
making estimates and assumptions. If our judgment or interpretation of
the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions had been different,
or different assumptions were made, it is possible that alternative accounting
policies would have been applied, resulting in a change in financial results. On
an ongoing basis, we reevaluate our estimates, including those related to
revenue recognition, residuals, vendor consideration, lease classification,
goodwill and intangibles, reserves for credit losses and income taxes
specifically relating to FIN 48. Estimates in the assumptions used in the
valuation of our stock option expense are updated periodically and reflect
conditions that existed at the time of each new issuance of stock
options. We base estimates on historical experience and on various
other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the
circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about
the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from
other sources. For all of these estimates, we caution that future events
rarely develop exactly as forecasted, and therefore, these estimates routinely
require adjustment.
We
consider the following accounting policies important in understanding the
potential impact of our judgments and estimates on our operating results and
financial condition. For additional accounting policies, see Note 1,
“Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" to the Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this
report.
REVENUE
RECOGNITION. The majority of our
revenues are derived from three sources: sales of products and services,
lease revenues and sales of our software. Our revenue recognition policies
vary based upon these revenue sources. We adhere to guidelines and
principles of sales recognition described in Staff Accounting Bulletin
(“SAB”) No. 104, “Revenue
Recognition” (“SAB 104”), issued by the staff of the SEC. Under SAB
No. 104, sales are recognized when the title and risk of loss are passed to the
customer, there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement for sale, delivery has
occurred and/or services have been rendered, the sales price is fixed or
determinable and collectibility is reasonably assured. Using these tests,
the vast majority of our product sales are recognized upon delivery due to our
sales terms with our customers and with our vendors. For proper cutoff, we
estimate the product delivered to our customers at the end of each quarter based
upon historical delivery dates.
We also
sell services that are performed in conjunction with product sales, and
recognize revenue for these sales in accordance with EITF 00-21, “Accounting for Revenue Arrangements
with Multiple Deliverables.” Accordingly, we recognize
sales from delivered items only when the delivered item(s) has value to the
client on a stand-alone basis, there is objective and reliable evidence of the
fair value of the undelivered item(s), and delivery of the undelivered
item(s) is probable and substantially under our control. For most of the
arrangements with multiple deliverables (hardware and services), we generally
cannot establish reliable evidence of the fair value of the undelivered
items. Therefore, the majority of revenue from these services and hardware
sold in conjunction with the services is recognized when the service is complete
and we have received an acceptance certificate. However, in some cases, we
do not receive an acceptance certificate and we estimate the completion date
based upon our records.
RESIDUAL
VALUES. Residual values represent our estimated value of the equipment at
the end of the initial lease term. The residual values for direct financing
and sales-type leases are included as part of the investment in direct financing
and sales-type leases. The residual values for operating leases are
included in the leased equipment's net book value and are reported in the
investment in leases and leased equipment—net. Our estimated residual
values will vary, both in amount and as a percentage of the original equipment
cost, and depend upon several factors, including the equipment type,
manufacturer's discount, market conditions and the term of the
lease.
We
evaluate residual values on a quarterly basis and record any required changes in
accordance with SFAS No. 13, paragraph 17.d, in which impairments of residual
value, other than temporary, are recorded in the period in which the impairment
is determined. Residual values are affected by equipment supply and demand
and by new product announcements by manufacturers.
We seek
to realize the estimated residual value at lease termination mainly through
renewal or extension of the original lease or the sale of the equipment either
to the lessee or on the secondary market. The difference between the
proceeds of a sale and the remaining estimated residual value is
recorded as a gain or loss in lease revenues when title is transferred to the
lessee, or, if the equipment is sold on the secondary market, in sales
of product and services and cost of sales, product and
services when title is transferred to the buyer.
ASSUMPTIONS
RELATED TO GOODWILL. We account for our acquisitions using the purchase
method of accounting. This method requires estimates to determine the fair
values of assets and liabilities acquired, including judgments to determine any
acquired intangible assets such as customer-related intangibles, as well as
assessments of the fair value of existing assets such as property and
equipment. Liabilities acquired can include balances for litigation and
other contingency reserves established prior to or at the time of acquisition,
and require judgment in ascertaining a reasonable value. Third-party
valuation firms may be used to assist in the appraisal of certain assets and
liabilities, but even those determinations are based on significant
estimates provided by us, such as forecasted revenues or profits on
contract-related intangibles. Numerous factors are typically considered in
the purchase accounting assessments. Changes in assumptions and estimates
of the acquired assets and liabilities would result in changes to the fair
values, resulting in an offsetting change to the goodwill balance associated
with the business acquired.
We review
our goodwill for impairment annually, or more frequently, if indicators of
impairment exist. Goodwill has been assigned to four reporting units for
purposes of impairment testing. Our reporting units are leasing, technology,
software procurement and software document management.
A
significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of
impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include, among others: a
significant decline in our expected future cash flows; a sustained, significant
decline in our stock price and market capitalization; a significant adverse
change in legal factors or in the business climate; unanticipated competition;
the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting
unit; and slower growth rates. Any adverse change in these factors could have a
significant impact on the recoverability of these assets and could have a
material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
The
goodwill impairment test involves a two-step process. The first step is a
comparison of each reporting unit’s fair value to its carrying value. We
estimate fair value using the best information available, including market
information. We employ the discounted cash flow method and the guideline
company method, and compute a weighted average to determine the fair value of
each reporting unit. The discounted cash flow method uses a reporting unit’s
projection of estimated operating results and cash flows that is discounted
using a weighted-average cost of capital that reflects current market
conditions. The projection uses management’s best estimates of economic and
market conditions over the projected period including growth rates in sales,
costs, estimates of future expected changes in operating margins and cash
expenditures. Other significant estimates and assumptions include terminal value
growth rates, future estimates of capital expenditures and changes in future
working capital requirements. We validate our estimates of fair value under the
discounted cash flow method by comparing the values to fair value estimates
using the guideline company method. The guideline company method estimates fair
value by applying earnings multiples to the reporting unit’s operating
performance. The multiples are derived from publicly traded companies with
similar operating and investment characteristics as our reporting
units.
If the
carrying value of the reporting unit is higher than its fair value, there is an
indication that impairment may exist and the second step must be performed to
measure the amount of impairment loss. The amount of impairment is determined by
comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill to the carrying
value of the goodwill in the same manner as if the reporting unit was being
acquired in a business combination. Specifically, we would allocate the fair
value to all of the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, including any
unrecognized intangible assets, in a hypothetical analysis that would calculate
the implied fair value of goodwill. If the implied fair value of goodwill is
less than the recorded goodwill, we would record an impairment charge for the
difference.
During the
third quarter of our fiscal year, we completed our annual goodwill impairment
test. We concluded that there was no impairment in our leasing, technology and
software document management reporting units. The weakening U.S.
economy and the global credit crisis have accelerated the reduction in
demand for certain software products. As a result of this reduced
demand, we projected a decline in revenue in our software procurement
reporting unit, part of our technology sales business segment, which lowered the
fair value estimates of the reporting unit. As a result of the lower
fair value estimates, we concluded that the carrying amount of the software
procurement reporting unit exceeded its respective fair value. We then
compared the implied fair value of the goodwill in the software procurement
reporting unit with the carrying value and recorded a $4.6 million impairment
charge in the three months ended December 31, 2008. This amount is
reported on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of
Operations. See Note 3, “Impairment of Goodwill,” for additional
information.
We will
continue to monitor the market, our operational performance and general economic
conditions. A downward trend in one or more of these factors could cause us to
reduce the estimated fair value of our reporting units and recognize a
corresponding future impairment of our goodwill.
VENDOR
CONSIDERATION. We receive payments and credits from vendors, including
consideration pursuant to volume sales incentive programs, volume purchase
incentive programs and shared marketing expense programs. Many of these
programs extend over one or more quarter’s sales activities and are
primarily formula-based. These programs can be very complex to
calculate and, in some cases, we estimate that we will obtain our targets based
upon historical data.
Vendor
consideration received pursuant to volume sales incentive programs is recognized
as a reduction to cost of sales, product and services on the accompanying
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in accordance
with EITF Issue No. 02-16, “Accounting for Consideration
Received from a Vendor by a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendor’s
Products).” Vendor consideration received pursuant to volume
purchase incentive programs is allocated to inventories based on the applicable
incentives from each vendor and is recorded in cost of sales, product and
services, as the inventory is sold. Vendor consideration received pursuant
to shared marketing expense programs is recorded as a reduction of the related
selling and administrative expenses in the period the program takes place only
if the consideration represents a reimbursement of specific,
incremental, identifiable costs. Consideration that exceeds the
specific, incremental, identifiable costs is classified as a reduction
of cost of sales, product and services on the accompanying Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. We accrue vendor consideration
in accordance with the terms of the related program which may include a
certain amount of sales of qualifying products or as targets are met or as the
amounts are estimable and probable or as services are provided. Actual vendor
consideration amounts may vary based on volume or other sales achievement
levels, which could result in an increase or reduction in the estimated amounts
previously accrued, and can, at times, result in significant earnings
fluctuations on a quarterly basis.
RESERVES
FOR CREDIT LOSSES. The reserves for credit losses are maintained at a
level believed by management to be adequate to absorb potential losses inherent
in our lease and accounts receivable portfolio. Management's
determination of the adequacy of the reserve is based on an evaluation of
historical credit loss experience, current economic conditions, volume, growth,
the composition of the lease portfolio and other relevant factors. These
determinations require considerable judgment in assessing the ultimate potential
for collection of these receivables and include giving consideration to the
customer's financial condition and the value of the underlying collateral and
funding status (i.e., discounted on a non-recourse or recourse
basis).
SALES
RETURNS ALLOWANCE. The allowance for sales returns is maintained at a level
believed by management to be adequate to absorb potential sales returns from
product and services in accordance with SFAS No. 48. Management's
determination of the adequacy of the reserve is based on an evaluation of
historical sales returns and other relevant factors. These
determinations require considerable judgment in assessing the ultimate potential
for sales returns and include consideration of the type and volume of products
and services sold.
INCOME
TAX. We make certain estimates and judgments in determining income tax
expense for financial statement purposes. These estimates and judgments occur in
the calculation of certain tax assets and liabilities, which principally arise
from differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax and
financial statement purposes. We also must analyze income tax reserves, as well
as determine the likelihood of recoverability of deferred tax assets, and adjust
any valuation allowances accordingly. Considerations with respect to the
recoverability of deferred tax assets include the period of expiration of the
tax asset, planned use of the tax asset, and historical and projected taxable
income as well as tax liabilities for the tax jurisdiction to which the tax
asset relates. Valuation allowances are evaluated periodically and will be
subject to change in each future reporting period as a result of changes in one
or more of these factors. The calculation of our tax liabilities also involves
dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations. We
recognize liabilities for uncertain income tax positions based on our estimate
of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes will be
required.
SHARE-BASED
PAYMENT. We currently have two equity incentive plans which provide us with
the opportunity to compensate directors and selected employees with stock
options, restricted stock and restricted stock units. A stock option entitles
the recipient to purchase shares of common stock from us at the specified
exercise price. Restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) entitle the
recipient to obtain stock or stock units, which vest over a set period of time.
RSUs are granted at no cost to the employee and employees do not need to pay an
exercise price to obtain the underlying common stock. All grants
or awards made under the plans are governed by written agreements between us and
the participants. We also have options outstanding under three previous
incentive plans, under which we no longer issue equity awards.
We
account for share-based compensation under the provisions of SFAS No. 123
(revised 2004), “Share-Based
Payment.” We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to
value all options and the straight-line method to amortize this fair value as
compensation cost over the requisite service period.
Under the fair value
method of accounting for stock-based compensation, we measure stock option
expense at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes valuation model. This model
estimates the fair value of the options based on a number of assumptions, such
as interest rates, employee exercises, the current price and expected volatility
of our common stock and expected dividends, if any. The expected life is a
significant assumption as it determines the period for which the risk-free
interest rate, volatility and dividend yield must be applied. The expected life
is the average length of time in which we expect our employees to exercise their
options. The risk-free interest rate is the five-year nominal constant maturity
Treasury rate on the date of the award. Expected stock volatility reflects
movements in our stock price over a historical period that matches the
expected life of the options. The dividend yield assumption is zero since we
have historically not paid any dividends and do not anticipate paying any
dividends in the near future.
Results
of Operations — Three and nine months ended December 31, 2008 compared to
three and nine months ended December 31, 2007
REVENUES
Total Revenues. We generated total
revenues during the three months ended December 31, 2008 of $184.7 million
compared to revenues of $198.4 million during the three months ended December
31, 2007, a decrease of 6.9%. During the nine months ended December 31,
2008, revenues decreased 14.8% to $563.9 million, as compared to $662.1 million
during the same period ended December 31, 2007.
Sales of product and
services. Sales of product and services increased slightly at
1.9% to $171.6 million during the three months ended December 31, 2008 compared
to $168.4 million during the three months ended December 31,
2007. The net increase in sales of product and services during the
three months ended December 31, 2008 was driven by a greater increase in sales
to some existing customers. However, during the nine months ended
December 31, 2008, sales of product and services decreased 8.5% to
$516.8 million compared to $564.6 million in the prior fiscal year. The
decrease in revenue for the nine-month period is primarily attributed to the
economic downturn, which generally results in our customers' tendency to
postpone technology equipment investments. Sales of product and
services represented 92.9% and 84.9% of total revenue during the three
months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Sales of product
and services represented 91.7% and 85.3% of total revenue during the nine
months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Sales of product and
services as a percentage of total revenue increased as a result of
proportionately larger decreases in sales of leased equipment and lease revenue
as compared to the same periods in the prior fiscal year.
Gross margin. We
realized a gross margin on sales of product and services of 14.8% and 14.0%
for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008, respectively, and 11.6%
and 11.4% for the same periods ended December 31, 2007. Our gross
margin on sales of product and services was affected by our customers’
investment in technology equipment, the mix and volume of products sold and
changes in incentives provided to us by manufacturers. While we saw
improvement in the gross margin this fiscal year related to
manufacturer incentives, which partially offsets cost of sales, products
and services. We believe that manufacturers may begin tightening
these programs due to current market conditions. We believe our ability to
maintain or increase the level of manufacturer incentives may therefore be
limited without increases in the volume of products sold.
Lease
revenues. Lease revenues decreased 15.0% to $10.4 million and
21.9% to $34.2 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008,
respectively. These decreases are due to smaller number of leases in our operating and
direct financing lease portfolio as a result of higher sales of leased
equipment during the same periods in fiscal year 2008. Sales of leased
equipment fluctuate from quarter to quarter, and are a component of our
risk-mitigation process, which we conduct to diversify our portfolio by
customer, equipment type, and residual value investments. The recent
tightness in the credit market has affected our non-recourse debt funding
interest rates and prompted us to arrange funding earlier in our
transaction cycles. From time
to time, our lessees purchase leased assets from us before and at the end of the
lease term. This amount is included in lease revenues on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. During the three
months ended December 31, 2008 sales of leased assets to lessees was $1.7
million, a 27.6% decrease from $2.3 million as of December 31, 2007. During
the nine months ended December 31, 2008, sales of leased assets to lessees
was $7.0 million, a 47.2% decrease from $13.3 million as of December 31,
2007.
Sales of leased
equipment. We also recognize revenue from the sale of leased
equipment to non-lessee third parties. During the three months ended
December 31, 2008 we did not have such sales. During the same period
in 2007, we sold a portion of our lease portfolio and recognized a gross margin
of 3.1%, on these sales. The revenue recognized on the sale of leased equipment
totaled approximately $13.7 million, and the cost of leased equipment totaled
$13.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2007. For the nine months
ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, we recognized revenue from sales of leased
equipment of approximately $3.4 million and $40.5 million, cost of leased
equipment of $3.3 million and $38.9 million, resulting in gross margins of 5.4%
and 4.0%, respectively, on the sales of leased equipment. These decreases
were due to management’s decision to sell part of the lease schedules, as part
of a risk-mitigation process. The revenue and gross margin recognized on
sales of leased equipment can vary significantly depending on the nature and
timing of the sale, as well as the timing of any debt funding recognized in
accordance with SFAS No. 125, “Accounting for Transfers and
Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities,” as amended
by SFAS No. 140, “Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of
Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities - a replacement of FASB
Statement No. 125.”
Fee and other
income. For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008,
fee and other income was $2.8 million and $9.4 million, a decrease of 31.7% and
28.2%, respectively, over the same periods ended December 31,
2007. These decreases were primarily driven by a decrease in fees related
to early lease buyouts, a decrease in software and related consulting revenue, a
decrease in short-term investment income and a decrease in agent fees from
manufacturers for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008. Fee
and other income may also include revenues from adjunct services and fees,
including broker and agent fees, support fees, warranty reimbursements, monetary
settlements arising from disputes and litigation and interest income. Our fee
and other income contains earnings from certain transactions that are
infrequent, and there is no guarantee that future transactions of the same
nature, size or profitability will occur. Our ability
to consummate such transactions, and the timing thereof, may
depend largely upon factors outside the direct control
of management. The earnings from these types of transactions in
a particular period may not be indicative of the earnings that can be expected
in future periods.
COSTS AND
EXPENSES
Cost of sales, product and
services. During the three months ended December 31, 2008, cost of sales,
product and services decreased 1.7% to $146.2 million as compared to $148.8
million during the same period ended December 31, 2007. During the nine
months ended December 31, 2008, cost of sales, product and services decreased
11.2% to $444.3 million as compared to $500.2 million during the same period in
the prior fiscal period. These decreases correspond to the decreases
in sales of product and services in our technology sales business unit as well
as a reduction in cost of goods sold due to increased incentives from
manufacturers during the three and nine months ended December 31,
2008.
Direct lease costs. Direct
lease costs decreased 18.5% to $3.6 million and 31.1% to $11.3 million during
the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008, respectively, as compared to
the same periods in the prior fiscal year. The largest component of direct
lease costs is depreciation expense for operating lease equipment. Our
investment in operating leases decreased 31.4% to $24.4 million at December 31,
2008 as compared to $35.6 million at December 31, 2007, as a result of the sale
of a number of lease schedules during the prior fiscal year.
Professional and other
fees. Professional and other fees decreased 36.4% to $1.6
million and 38.5% to $5.9 million during the three and nine months ended
December 31, 2008, respectively, as compared to the same periods in December 31,
2007. These decreases are primarily due to higher expenses in the
same periods last year relating to our delay in our SEC filings. The
delay in SEC filings was due to the investigation that was commenced by our
Audit Committee and previously disclosed in our Form 10-K for the year ended
March 31, 2007. In addition, during the same periods, we reduced our legal
and outside consulting fees and other fees.
Salaries and
benefits. Salaries and benefits expense increased 14.7% to
$19.6 million and 6.9% to $57.7 million during the three and nine months
ended December 31, 2008, respectively, as compared to the same periods in
December 31, 2007. Theses increases are mostly driven by an increase
in the number of employees and related expenses. We employed 672
people at December 31, 2008 as compared to 649 people at December 31,
2007. The increase in headcount is attributable to the establishment of a
telesales unit, the employment of several former consultants as
professional services staff and additional support personnel. The
increases are partially offset by the recognition of $1.5 million
share-based compensation expense from the cancellation of options,
during the nine months ended December 31, 2007 as previously
disclosed.
We also
provide our employees with a contributory 401(k) profit sharing
plan. Employer contribution percentages are determined by us and are
discretionary each year. The employer contributions vest over a four-year
period. For the three months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, our expense
for the plan was approximately $69 thousand and $79 thousand,
respectively. For the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, our
expense for the plan was approximately $277 thousand and $242 thousand,
respectively.
General and administrative
expenses. General and administrative expenses increased 14.5%
to $4.3 million and decreased 2.0% to $11.9 million during the three and nine
months ended December 31, 2008, respectively, as compared to the same periods in
the prior fiscal year. The increase during the three months ended December
31, 2008 is primarily driven by an increase in bad debt expense. The
increase in bad debt expense is attributable to specific customers and an
overall increase in credit risk in our portfolio. The decrease during
the nine-month period was due to increased efficiency in spending controls and
efforts to enhance productivity, partially offset by the increase in bad debt
expense.
Impairment of
goodwill. Impairment of goodwill for the three and nine months
ended December 31, 2008 was $4.6 million. This non-cash impairment
was related to our software procurement reporting unit, which is part of
our technology sales business segment. See Note 3,
“Impairment of Goodwill,” in the notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements.
Interest and financing
costs. Interest and financing costs decreased 25.5% to $1.4
million and 34.6% to $4.3 million during the three and nine months ended
December 31, 2008 respectively, as compared to the same periods in the prior
fiscal year. This decrease is primarily due to lower interest costs
and related expenses as a result of lower recourse and non-recourse note
balances. We repaid our $5.0 million recourse notes payable related to
our credit facility with National City Bank on December 31, 2007. In
addition, there was an 18.8% decrease in non-recourse notes payable to
$85.1 million at December 31, 2008 as compared to $104.7 million at December 31,
2007.
Provision for Income
Taxes. Our provision for income taxes decreased $1.5 million to $1.4
million for the three months ended December 31, 2008 and
decreased $2.2 million to $8.4 million for the nine months ended
December 31, 2008. These decreases are due to lower earnings as
compared to the same periods in the prior fiscal year. Our effective income
tax rates for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008 were
42.4% and 41.1%, respectively. Our effective income tax rates for the
three and nine months ended December 31, 2007 were 44.4% and 43.9%,
respectively. These decreases were due to the non-deductible
share-based compensation expense of $1.5 million incurred during the last fiscal
year as previously disclosed.
Net Earnings. The foregoing
resulted in net earnings of $2.0 million for the three months ended
December 31, 2008, a decrease of 47.7% as compared to $3.8 million during the
same period in the prior fiscal year. Net earnings for the nine
months ended December 31, 2008 were $12.1 million, a decrease of 11.3% from
$13.6 million over the same period in the prior fiscal period.
Basic and
fully diluted earnings per common share were both $0.24 for the three months
ended December 31, 2008 as compared to $0.45, for both basic and fully diluted
earnings per common share during the same period in the prior fiscal year.
Basic and fully diluted earnings per common share were $1.46 and $1.42,
respectively, for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 as compared to $1.65
and $1.63, respectively, for the nine months ended December 31,
2007.
Basic and
diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the three months ended
December 31, 2008 were 8,264,115 and 8,404,352, respectively. For the
three months ended December 31, 2007 the basic and diluted weighted average
common shares outstanding were 8,231,741 and 8,422,256, respectively. Basic
and diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the nine months ended
December 31, 2008 were 8,271,616 and 8,518,419, respectively. For the
nine months ended December 31, 2007 the basic and diluted weighted average
common shares outstanding were 8,231,741 and 8,375,412,
respectively.
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity
Overview
Our
primary sources of liquidity have historically been cash and cash equivalents,
internally generated funds from operations, and borrowings, both non-recourse
and recourse. We have used those funds to meet our
capital requirements, which have historically consisted primarily of
working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures, purchases of
operating lease equipment, payments of principal and interest on indebtedness
outstanding, acquisitions and the repurchase of shares of our common
stock.
Our
subsidiary ePlus
Technology, inc., part of our technology sales business segment, finances its
operations with funds generated from operations, and with a credit facility with
GECDF, which is described in more detail below. There are two
components of this facility: (1) a floor plan component; and (2) an accounts
receivable component. After a customer places a purchase order with us and
we have completed our credit check, we place an order for the equipment with one
of our vendors. Generally, most purchase orders from us to our vendors
are first financed under the floor plan component and reflected in “accounts
payable—floor plan” on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance
Sheets. Payments on the floor plan component are due on three specified
dates each month, generally 30-45 days from the invoice date. At each due
date, the payment is made by the accounts receivable component of our facility
and reflected as “recourse notes payable” on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets. The borrowings and repayments under the
floor plan component are reflected as “net borrowings (repayments) on floor plan
facility” in the cash flows from financing activities section of our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow.
Most
customer payments in our technology sales business segment are received by our
lockboxes. Once payments are cleared, the monies in the lockbox accounts
are automatically transferred to our accounts receivable facility at GECDF
on a daily basis. To the extent the monies from the lockboxes are
insufficient to cover the amount due under the accounts receivable facility, we
make a cash payment to GECDF for the deficit. To the extent the
monies received from the lockbox account exceed the amounts due under
the accounts receivable facility, GECDF wires the excess funds to
us. These payments from the accounts receivable component to the
floor plan component and repayments from our lockboxes and repayments from our
cash are reflected as “net repayments on recourse lines of credit” in the cash
flows from the financing activities section of our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. We engage in this payment structure
in order to minimize our interest expense in connection with financing the
operations of our technology sales business segment.
We
believe that cash on hand, and funds generated from operations, together with
available credit under our credit facilities, will be sufficient to finance our
working capital, capital expenditures and other requirements for at least the
next twelve calendar months.
Our
ability to continue to fund our planned growth, both internally and externally,
is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations
or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other
sources of financing, as may be required. While at this time we do not
anticipate needing any additional sources of financing to fund operations, if
demand for IT products declines, our cash flows from operations may be
substantially affected. Given the current environment within the global
financial markets, management has maintained higher cash reserves to ensure
adequate cash is available to fund our working capital requirements should the
availability to the debt and equity markets be limited.
Cash
Flows
The
following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the periods
indicated (in thousands):
|
|
Nine months ended
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Net
cash (used in) provided by operating activities
|
|
$ |
(1,681 |
) |
|
$ |
24,452 |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(990
|
) |
|
|
(4,299
|
) |
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
|
|
31,194 |
|
|
|
5,449 |
|
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
|
|
(395 |
) |
|
|
308 |
|
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
28,128 |
|
|
$ |
25,910 |
|
Cash Flows from Operating
Activities. Cash used in operating activities totaled $1.7 million in the
nine months ended December 31, 2008, compared to cash provided by operations of
$24.5 million during nine months ended December 31, 2007. Cash flows used
in operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 resulted primarily
from $18.1 million in cash used by investment in direct financing and sales
type leases—net. While our investment in direct financing and sales-type
leases—net decreased $14.8 million on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated
Balance Sheet (see Note 2, “Investment in Leases and Leased Equipment—net,” in
the notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements) over the
nine months ended December 31, 2008 which might otherwise be expected to create
a cash inflow, it resulted in a cash outflow of $7.0 million for new
leases. This was as a result of the repayment of $38.8 million in principal
payments by our lessees directly to our lenders which has the effect of
decreasing the investment in direct financing and sales-type leases—net, but is
not reported in our cash flows from operating activities. These lessee principal
payments are disclosed in our schedule of Non-Cash Investing and Financing
Activities. These payments by our lessees directly to our lenders also
decreased our non-recourse debt on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance
Sheet. Other significant changes from the nine months ended December 31, 2008
compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2007 include the $13.7 million
unfavorable change in accounts payable—trade and the $4.5 million unfavorable
change in salaries and commissions payable, accrued expenses and other
liabilities.
The
increase in cash used in operating activities was partially offset by an
increase in net earnings for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and
favorable changes in accounts receivable—net and payments from lessees directly
to lenders for operating leases.
Cash Flows from Investing
Activities. Cash used in investing activities decreased to
$990 thousand in the nine months ended December 31, 2008, a decrease of
$3.3 million compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2007. This
decrease was primarily due to a $4.4 million decrease in purchases of operating
lease equipment and a $1.4 million decrease in proceeds from the sale or
disposal of operating lease equipment for the nine months ended December 31,
2008 compared with the nine months ended December 31, 2007. Cash used in
investing activities also includes cash paid, net of cash acquired, in the
amount of $364 thousand to acquire certain assets of Network Architects,
Inc.
Cash Flows from Financing
Activities. Cash provided by financing activities increased to $31.2
million for the nine months ended December 31, 2008, an increase of $25.7
million compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2007. The increase is
primarily due to a $16.7 million decrease in repayments by us of non-recourse
borrowings. Repayments of non-recourse borrowings was $4.8 million
for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 compared to $21.5 million during the
same period in the prior fiscal year. In addition, net repayments on
recourse lines of credit was $5.0 million for the prior fiscal
year. However, principal payments from lessees of $38.8 million were
paid directly from our lessees to our lenders as disclosed in our Schedule of
Non-cash Investing and Financing Activities. Therefore, non-recourse debt
decreased during the nine months ended December 31, 2008. Cash flows from
non-recourse borrowings increased primarily due to the recordation of new
leases. In addition, net borrowings on the floor plan facility were $2.5
million for the nine months ended December 31, 2008 and net repayments on
floor plan facility were $3.9 million for the same period in
2007.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Debt
financing activities provide approximately 80% to 100% of the purchase price of
the equipment we purchase for leases to our customers. Any balance of the
purchase price (our equity investment in the equipment) must generally be
financed by cash flows from our operations, the sale of the equipment leased to
third parties, or other internal means. Although we expect that the credit
quality of our leases and our residual return history will continue to allow us
to obtain such financing, no assurances can be given that such financing will be
available on acceptable terms, or at all. The financing necessary to support our
leasing activities has principally been provided by non-recourse and recourse
borrowings. Given the current market, we have been monitoring our exposure
closely and conserving our capital. Historically, we have obtained recourse and
non-recourse borrowings from banks and finance companies. We continue to be
able to obtain financing through our traditional lending sources, however
pricing has increased and has become more volatile. Non-recourse
financings are loans whose repayment is the responsibility of a specific
customer, although we may make representations and warranties to the lender
regarding the specific contract or have ongoing loan servicing obligations.
Under a non-recourse loan, we borrow from a lender an amount based on the
present value of the contractually committed lease payments under the lease at a
fixed rate of interest, and the lender secures a lien on the financed assets.
When the lender is fully repaid from the lease payment, the lien is released and
all further rental or sale proceeds are ours. We are not liable for the
repayment of non-recourse loans unless we breach our representations and
warranties in the loan agreements. The lender assumes the credit risk of
each lease, and its only recourse, upon default by the lessee, is against the
lessee and the specific equipment under lease. At December 31, 2008, our
lease-related non-recourse debt portfolio decreased 9.3% to $85.1 million as
compared to $93.8 million at March 31, 2008.
Whenever
possible and desirable, we arrange for equity investment financing, which
includes selling assets, including the residual portions, to third parties and
financing the equity investment on a non-recourse basis. We generally retain
customer control and operational services, and have minimal residual risk. We
usually reserve the right to share in remarketing proceeds of the equipment on a
subordinated basis after the investor has received an agreed-to return on its
investment.
Accrued
expenses and other liabilities includes deferred expenses, income tax accrual
and amounts collected and payable, such as sales taxes and lease rental payments
due to third parties. We had $29.5 million and $30.4 million of accrued expenses
and other liabilities as of December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2008, respectively,
an decrease of 2.9%. The decrease is primarily driven by decreases in
professional and other fees as a result of higher expenses in the same periods
last year relating to our investigation of stock option grants, which was
commenced by our Audit Committee and previously disclosed in our Form 10-K for
the year ended March 31, 2007.
Credit Facility — Technology
Business
Our
subsidiary ePlus
Technology, inc. has a financing facility from GECDF to finance its working
capital requirements for inventories and accounts receivable. There are two
components of this facility: (1) a floor plan component; and (2) an accounts
receivable component. This facility has full recourse to ePlus Technology, inc. and is secured by a
blanket lien against all its assets, such as chattel paper, receivables and
inventory. As of December 31, 2008, the facility had an aggregate
limit of the two components of $125 million with an accounts receivable
sub-limit of $30 million. Availability under the GECDF facility may be
limited by the asset value of equipment we purchase and may be further limited
by certain covenants and terms and conditions of the facility. These
covenants include but are not limited to a minimum total tangible net worth and
subordinated debt, and maximum debt to tangible net worth ratio of ePlus Technology,
inc. We were in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2008. In
addition, the facility restricts the ability of ePlus Technology, inc. to
transfer funds to its affiliates in the form of dividends, loans or advances;
however, we do not expect these restrictions to have an impact on the ability of
ePlus inc. to meet its
cash obligations.
The
facility provided by GECDF requires a guaranty of up to $10.5 million by ePlus inc. The guaranty
requires ePlus inc. to
deliver its audited financial statements by certain dates. We have
delivered the annual audited financial statements for the year ended March 31,
2008 as required. The loss of the GECDF credit facility could have a
material adverse effect on our future results as we currently rely on this
facility and its components for daily working capital and liquidity for our
technology sales business and as an operational function of our accounts payable
process. In light of the credit market condition, we have had discussions
with GECDF recently to inquire about the strategic focus of their distribution
finance unit. Pursuant to these discussions, we believe that we can
continue to rely on the availability of this credit facility. Should
the GECDF credit facility no longer be available, we believe we can
increase our lines of credit with our vendors and utilize our cash and credit
facility with National City Bank for working capital.
Floor
Plan Component
The
traditional business of ePlus Technology, inc. as a
seller of computer technology, related peripherals and software products is in
part financed through a floor plan component in which interest expense for the
first thirty to forty-five days, in general, is not charged. The floor plan
liabilities are recorded as accounts payable—floor plan on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as they are normally repaid within the
thirty- to forty-five-day time frame and represent an assigned accounts payable
originally generated with the manufacturer/distributor. If the thirty- to
forty-five-day obligation is not paid timely, interest is then assessed at
stated contractual rates.
The
respective floor plan component credit limits and actual outstanding balances
for the dates indicated were as follows (in thousands):
|
Maximum Credit Limit at
December 31, 2008
|
|
Balance as of
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
Maximum Credit Limit at
March 31, 2008
|
|
|
Balance as of
March 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
125,000
|
|
$ |
58,151 |
|
|
$ |
125,000 |
|
|
$ |
55,634 |
|
Accounts
Receivable Component
Included
within the credit facility, ePlus Technology, inc. has an
accounts receivable component from GECDF, which has a revolving line of
credit. On the due date of the invoices financed by the floor
plan component, the invoices are paid by the accounts receivable
component of the credit facility. The balance of the accounts receivable
component is then reduced by payments from our customers into a lockbox and our
available cash. The outstanding balance under the accounts receivable
component is recorded as recourse notes payable on our Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets. There was no outstanding balance at December
31, 2008 or March 31, 2008.
The
respective accounts receivable component credit limits and actual outstanding
balances for the dates indicated were as follows (in thousands):
|
Maximum Credit Limit at
December 31, 2008
|
|
Balance as of
December 31, 2008
|
|
|
Maximum Credit Limit at
March 31, 2008
|
|
|
Balance as of
March 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
30,000
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
30,000 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Credit Facility — Leasing
Business
Working
capital for our leasing business is provided through a $35 million credit
facility which is currently contractually scheduled to expire on July 10,
2009. Participating in this facility are Branch Banking and Trust Company
($15 million) and National City Bank ($20 million), with National City Bank
acting as agent. The ability to borrow under this facility is limited to
the amount of eligible collateral at any given time. The credit facility
has full recourse to us and is secured by a blanket lien against all of our
assets such as chattel paper (including leases), receivables, inventory and
equipment and the common stock of all wholly-owned subsidiaries.
The
credit facility contains certain financial covenants and certain restrictions
on, among other things, our ability to make certain investments, sell assets or
merge with another company. Borrowings under the credit facility bear
interest at London Interbank Offered Rates (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin
or, at our option, the Alternate Base Rate (“ABR”) plus an applicable
margin. The ABR is the higher of the agent bank’s prime rate or Federal
Funds rate plus 0.5%. The applicable margin is determined based on our
recourse funded debt ratio and can range from 1.75% to 2.50% for LIBOR loans and
from 0.0% to 0.25% for ABR loans. As of December 31, 2008, we had no
outstanding balance on the facility. We believe that we will be able to
renew this credit facility when it expires in July 2009.
In
general, we may use the National City Bank facility to pay the cost of equipment
to be put on lease, and we repay borrowings from the proceeds of: (1)
long-term, non-recourse, fixed-rate financing which we obtain from lenders after
the underlying lease transaction is finalized; or (2) sales of leases to third
parties. The availability of the credit facility is subject to a borrowing
base formula that consists of inventory, receivables, purchased assets and lease
assets. Availability under the credit facility may be limited by the asset
value of the equipment purchased by us or by terms and conditions in the credit
facility agreement. If we are unable to sell the equipment or unable
to finance the equipment on a permanent basis within a certain time period,
the availability of credit under the facility could be diminished or
eliminated. The credit facility contains covenants relating to
minimum tangible net worth, cash flow coverage ratios, maximum debt to equity
ratio, maximum guarantees of subsidiary obligations, mergers and
acquisitions and asset sales. We were in compliance with these
covenants as of December 31, 2008.
The
National City Bank facility requires the delivery of our Audited and Unaudited
Financial Statements, and pro forma financial projections, by certain
dates. As required by Section 5.1 of the facility, we have delivered all
financial statements and pro forma financial projections.
Performance
Guarantees
In the
normal course of business, we may provide certain customers with performance
guarantees, which are generally backed by surety bonds. In general, we
would only be liable for the amount of these guarantees in the event of default
in the performance of our obligations. We are in compliance with the
performance obligations under all service contracts for which there is a
performance guarantee, and we believe that any liability incurred in connection
with these guarantees would not have a material adverse effect on our Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
As part
of our ongoing business, we do not participate in transactions that generate
relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as
entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities,
which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance
sheet arrangements as defined in item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K or other
contractually narrow or limited purposes. As of December 31, 2008, we were not
involved in any unconsolidated special purpose entity transactions.
Adequacy
of Capital Resources
The
continued implementation of our business strategy will require a significant
investment in both resources and managerial focus. In addition, we may
selectively acquire other companies that have attractive customer relationships
and skilled sales forces. We may also acquire technology companies to expand and
enhance the platform of bundled solutions to provide additional functionality
and value-added services. As a result, we may require additional financing to
fund our strategy, implementation and potential future acquisitions, which
may include additional debt and equity financing.
For the
periods presented herein, inflation has been relatively low and we believe that
inflation has not had a material effect on our results of
operations.
Potential
Fluctuations in Quarterly Operating Results
Our
future quarterly operating results and the market price of our common stock may
fluctuate. In the event our revenues or earnings for any quarter are less
than the level expected by securities analysts or the market in general, such
shortfall could have an immediate and significant adverse impact on the market
price of our common stock. Any such adverse impact could be greater if any such
shortfall occurs near the time of any material decrease in any widely followed
stock index or in the market price of the stock of one or more public equipment
leasing and financing companies, IT resellers, software competitors, major
customers or vendors of ours.
Our
quarterly results of operations are susceptible to fluctuations for a number of
reasons, including, but not limited to, reduction in IT spending, our entry into
the e-commerce market, any reduction of expected residual values related to the
equipment under our leases, the timing and mix of specific transactions, and
other factors. Quarterly operating results could also fluctuate as a result of
our sale of equipment in our lease portfolio, at the expiration of a lease term
or prior to such expiration, to a lessee or to a third party. Such sales
of equipment may have the effect of increasing revenues and net income during
the quarter in which the sale occurs, and reducing revenues and net income
otherwise expected in subsequent quarters. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk
Factors,” in our 2008 Annual Report and Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in
this Form 10-Q.
We
believe that comparisons of quarterly results of our operations are not
necessarily meaningful and that results for one quarter should not be relied
upon as an indication of future performance.
Although
a substantial portion of our liabilities are non-recourse, fixed-interest-rate
instruments, we are reliant upon lines of credit and other financing facilities
which are subject to fluctuations in short-term interest rates. These
instruments, which are denominated in U.S. dollars, were entered into for other
than trading purposes and, with the exception of amounts drawn under the
National City Bank and GECDF facilities, bear interest at a fixed rate. Because
the interest rate on these instruments is fixed, changes in interest rates will
not directly impact our cash flows. Borrowings under the National City Bank
facility bear interest at a market-based variable rate, based on a rate
selected by us and determined at the time of
borrowing. Borrowings under the GECDF facility bear interest at a
market-based variable rate. As of March 31, 2008, the aggregate fair value
of our recourse borrowings approximated their carrying value.
During
the year ended March 31, 2003, we began transacting business in Canada. As such,
we have entered into lease contracts and non-recourse, fixed-interest-rate
financing denominated in Canadian dollars. To date, Canadian operations have
been insignificant and we believe that potential fluctuations in currency
exchange rates will not have a material effect on our financial
position.
As of the
end of the period covered by this report, we carried out an evaluation, under
the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our
Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and our Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), of the
effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and
procedures, or “disclosure controls,” pursuant to Securities Exchange Act
(“Exchange Act”) Rule 13a-15(b). Disclosure controls are controls and procedures
designed to reasonably ensure that information required to be disclosed in our
reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this quarterly report, is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure
controls include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure
that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the
Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our
CEO and CFO, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow
timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our disclosure controls include
some, but not all, components of our internal control over financial reporting.
Based upon that evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure
controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2008.
Changes
in Internal Controls
During
the course of preparing our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial
Statements for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, we identified a material
weakness related to the cut-off of accrued liabilities. As of December 31, 2008,
this material weakness has been remediated. In addition, we have developed
enhancements to our controls surrounding these cut-off issues, including, but
not limited to, electronically tracking liabilities incurred from third parties
related to service engagements, and enhanced monitoring of our accounts payable
obligations. The actions we plan to take are subject to continued management
review supported by confirmation and testing as well as Audit Committee
oversight.
Other
than as described above, there have not been any other changes in our internal
control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2008,
which have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations
on the Effectiveness of Controls
Our
management, including our CEO and CFO, does not expect that our disclosure
controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect
all errors and all fraud. A control system cannot provide absolute assurance due
to its inherent limitations; it is a process that involves human diligence and
compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from
human failures. A control system also can be circumvented by collusion or
improper management override. Further, the design of a control system must
reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of
controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of such
limitations, disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting
cannot prevent or detect all misstatements, whether unintentional errors or
fraud. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial
reporting process; therefore, it is possible to design into the process
safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.
PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
Cyberco
Related Matters
We have
been involved in several matters relating to a customer named Cyberco Holdings,
Inc. ("Cyberco"). The Cyberco principals were perpetrating a scam,
and at least five principals have pled guilty to criminal conspiracy and/or
related charges, including bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. We have
previously disclosed our losses relating to Cyberco, and are pursuing avenues to
recover those losses. In September 2008, the Superior Court in the state of
California, County of San Diego, dismissed a claim we filed against one of our
lenders, Banc of America Leasing and Capital, LLC, relating to the Cyberco
transaction, and we timely filed a Notice of Appeal. In June 2007, ePlus
Group, inc. and two other Cyberco victims filed suit in the United States
District Court for the Western District of Michigan against The Huntington
National Bank. The complaint alleges counts of aiding and abetting fraud, aiding
and abetting conversion, and statutory conversion. While we believe that we have
a basis for these claims to recover certain of our losses related to the Cyberco
matter, we cannot predict whether we will be successful in our claims for
damages, whether any award ultimately received will exceed the costs incurred to
pursue these matters, or how long it will take to bring these matters to
resolution.
Other
Matters
On
January 18, 2007, a shareholder derivative action related to stock option
practices was filed in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia. The amended complaint names ePlus inc. as nominal defendant and
personally names eight individual defendants who are directors and/or executive
officers of ePlus inc. The amended complaint alleges violations of federal
securities law, and various state law claims such as breach of fiduciary duty,
waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment. The amended complaint seeks
monetary damages from the individual defendants and that we take certain
corrective actions relating to option grants and corporate governance, and
attorneys' fees. We have filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. We
cannot predict the outcome of this suit.
In
December 2008 we finalized resolution of a dispute with the government of the
District of Columbia ("DC") regarding personal property taxes. DC was seeking
payment for property taxes relating to property we financed for our
customers. Under the terms of the settlement, we paid an agreed-upon
amount of tax and are entitled to collect reimbursement from our
lessees. See Note 7, “Commitments and Contingencies” for additional
information.
There can
be no assurance that these or any existing or future litigation arising in the
ordinary course of business or otherwise will not have a material adverse effect
on our business, consolidated financial position, or results of operations or
cash flows.
Factors
That May Affect Our Future Results or the Market Price of Our Stock
Our
business faces significant risks including the risks described in our Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 and those set forth
below. If any of the events or circumstances described in such risks
actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations
could suffer, and the trading price of our common stock could decline. The risks
described in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 and those
set forth below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks that are
presently unknown to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impact our
business.
General
Economic Weakness May Harm Our Operating Results and Financial
Condition
Our
results of operations are dependent to a large extent upon the state of the
economy. General economic weakness or weaker economic conditions in the United
States could adversely impact our customers and our results of operations and
financial condition. Challenging economic conditions may decrease our customers’
demand for our products and services or impair the ability of our customers to
pay for products and services they have purchased. As a result, our revenues
could decrease and reserves for credit losses and write-offs of accounts
receivable may increase.
The
Soundness of Financial Institutions Could Adversely Affect Us
We have
relationships with many financial institutions, including lenders under our
credit facilities, and, from time to time, we execute transactions with
counterparties in the financial services industry. As a result, defaults by, or
even rumors or questions about, financial institutions or the financial services
industry generally, could result in losses or defaults by these institutions. In
the event that the volatility of the financial markets adversely affects these
financial institutions or counterparties, we or other parties to the
transactions with us may be unable to access credit facilities or complete
transactions as intended, which could adversely affect our business and results
of operations.
We
May Be Required to Take Additional Impairment Charges For Goodwill or Intangible
Assets Related to Acquisitions
We have
acquired certain portions of our business and certain assets through
acquisitions. Further, as part of our long-term business strategy, we may
continue to pursue acquisitions of other companies or assets. In connection with
prior acquisitions, we have accounted for the portion of the purchase price paid
in excess of the book value of the assets acquired as goodwill or intangible
assets, and we may be required to account for similar premiums paid on future
acquisitions in the same manner.
Under the
applicable accounting rules, goodwill is not amortized and is carried on our
books at its original value, subject to periodic review and evaluation for
impairment, whereas intangible assets are amortized over the life of the
asset. Changes in the business itself, the economic environment
(including business valuation levels and trends), or the legislative or
regulatory environment may trigger a periodic review and evaluation of our
goodwill and intangible assets for potential impairment. These
changes may adversely affect either the fair value of the business or the
fair value of our individual reporting units and we may be required to take an
impairment charge to the extent that the carrying values of our goodwill or
intangible assets exceeds the fair value of the business in the reporting unit
with goodwill and intangible assets. Also, if we sell a business for less than
the book value of the assets sold, plus any goodwill or intangible assets
attributable to that business, we may be required to take an impairment charge
on all or part of the goodwill and intangible assets attributable to that
business.
We
determined that our goodwill was impaired, resulting in a non-cash impairment
charge of $4.6 million during the three months ended December 31,
2008.
If market
and economic conditions deteriorate further, this could increase the likelihood
that we will need to record additional impairment charges to the extent the
carrying value of our goodwill exceeds the fair value of our overall
business.
We
May Not Be Able to Realize Our Entire Investment in the Equipment We
Lease
The
realization of equipment values (residual values) during the life and at the end
of the term of a lease is an important element in our leasing business. At the
inception of each lease, we record a residual value for the leased equipment
based on our estimate of the future value of the equipment at the expected
disposition date.
A
decrease in the market value of leased equipment at a rate greater than the rate
we projected, whether due to rapid technological or economic obsolescence,
unusual wear and tear on the equipment, excessive use of the equipment, or other
factors, would adversely affect the current or the residual values of such
equipment.
Further,
certain equipment residual values are dependent on the manufacturer’s or
vendor’s warranties, reputation and other factors, including market liquidity.
In addition, we may not realize the full market value of equipment if we are
required to sell it to meet liquidity needs or for other reasons outside of the
ordinary course of business. Consequently, there can be no assurance that we
will realize our estimated residual values for equipment.
The
degree of residual realization risk varies by transaction type. Capital leases
bear the least risk because contractual payments cover approximately 90% of the
equipment’s inception of lease cost. Operating leases have a higher degree of
risk because a smaller percentage of the equipment’s value is covered by
contractual cash flows at lease inception.
On
July 31, 2008, our Board authorized a share repurchase plan commencing
after August 4, 2008. The new plan authorized the repurchase of up to
500,000 shares of ePlus’ outstanding common
stock over a 12-month period ending no later than August 4, 2009. In
addition, our credit agreement with National City Bank has an annual dollar
limit of $12,500,000 for common stock repurchases. During the
nine months ended December 31, 2008, we have repurchased 302,873 shares for a
total purchase price of approximately $2.9 million. Since the
inception of our initial repurchase program on September 20, 2001, as of
December 31, 2008, we have repurchased 3,281,863 shares of our outstanding
common stock at an average cost of $10.91 per share for a total purchase price
of $35.8 million.
On February 11, 2009, our Board amended
our current share repurchase plan to extend the program from August 4,
2009 to September 15, 2009. In addition, the amendment authorizes us
to repurchase up to 500,000 shares of ePlus' outstanding common
stock beginning February 12, 2009. See Note 14, "Subsequent Event," for
additional information.
The
following table provides information regarding our purchases of ePlus inc. common stock
during the nine months ended December 31, 2008.
Period
|
|
Total
number of shares purchased (1)
|
|
|
Average
price paid per share
|
|
|
Total
number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs
|
|
|
Maximum
number (or approximate dollar value) of shares that may yet be purchased
under the plans or
programs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October
1, 2008 through October 31, 2008
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
November
1, 2008 through November 30, 2008
|
|
|
216,019 |
|
|
$ |
9.40 |
|
|
|
216,019 |
|
|
|
283,981 |
(2) |
|
December
1, 2008 through December 31, 2008
|
|
|
86,854 |
|
|
$ |
10.27 |
|
|
|
86,854 |
|
|
|
197,127 |
(3) |
|
(1)
|
All
shares acquired were in open-market
purchases.
|
(2)
|
The
share purchase authorization in place for the month ended
November 30, 2008 had purchase limitations on the number of shares
(500,000). As of November 30, 2008, the remaining authorized
shares to be purchased is 283,981.
|
(3)
|
The
share purchase authorization in place for the month ended
December 31, 2008 had purchase limitations on the number of shares
(500,000). As of December 31, 2008, the remaining authorized
shares to be purchased is 197,127.
|
Not
Applicable.
Not
Applicable.
None.
Exhibit
No.
|
Exhibit
Description
|
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to
the Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and
15d-14(a).
|
|
Certification
of the Chief Financial Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to
the Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and
15d-14(a).
|
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to
18 U.S.C. § 1350.
|
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
|
ePlus
inc.
|
|
|
Date:
February 17, 2009
|
/s/PHILLIP G. NORTON
|
|
By:
Phillip G. Norton, Chairman of the Board,
|
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
Date:
February 17, 2009
|
/s/ELAINE D. MARION
|
|
By:
Elaine D. Marion
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
(Principal
Financial Officer)
|
45