UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

 

[X]QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

[X] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 20192020

 

OR

 

[  ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

[  ]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: 1-13906

 

BALLANTYNE STRONG, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Delaware 47-0587703
(State or Other Jurisdiction of (IRS Employer
Incorporation or Organization) Identification Number)
   

11422 Miracle Hills Drive,4201 Congress Street, Suite 300
Omaha, Nebraska
175

Charlotte, North Carolina

 6815428209
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

 

(402) 453-4444(704) 994-8279

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Each Exchange
on Which Registered
Common Shares, $.01 par value BTN NYSE American

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes [X] No [  ]

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:Act.

 

Large accelerated filer[  ]Accelerated filer[  ]
Non-accelerated filer[X]Smaller reporting company[X]
  Emerging growth company[  ]

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [  ]

 

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

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock as of the latest practicable date:

 

Class Outstanding as of April 30, 2019May 8, 2020
Common Stock, $.01 par value 14,518,75614,651,253 shares

 

 

 

 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  Page No.
   
 PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 
   
Item 1.Financial Statements3
   
 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, March 31, 20192020 (Unaudited) and December 31, 201820193
   
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and 2018 (Unaudited)4
   
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and 2018 (Unaudited)5
   
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and 2018 (Unaudited)6
  
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and 2018 (Unaudited)7
   
 Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)9
   
Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations28
   
Item 3.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk3436
   
Item 4.Controls and Procedures3437
   
 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION 
   
Item 1.Legal Proceedings3437
   
Item 1A.Risk Factors3437
   

Item 2.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

3438

   
Item 6.Exhibits3539
   
 Signatures3640

2

PART I. Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except par values)

 

 March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018  March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
 (unaudited)    (unaudited)   
Assets                
Current assets:                
Cash and cash equivalents $4,989  $6,698  $6,546  $4,951 
Restricted cash  350   350   351   351 
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,624 and $1,832, respectively)  12,394   13,841 
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,217 and $1,291, respectively)  10,252   12,898 
Inventories, net  3,615   3,490   2,794   2,879 
Recoverable income taxes  735   281   262   190 
Other current assets  1,876   1,663   2,642   1,754 
Total current assets  23,959   26,323   22,847   23,023 
Property, plant and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation of $8,687 and $9,046, respectively)  10,298   14,483 
Property, plant and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation of $10,299 and $10,238, respectively)  9,836   10,560 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  9,588   -   5,438   5,581 
Finance lease right-of-use assets  839   692   2,333   2,563 
Equity method investments  10,450   11,167 
Investments  14,368   13,311 
Intangible assets, net  1,748   1,795   1,453   1,534 
Goodwill  894   875   842   919 
Notes receivable  3,455   3,965 
Other assets  326   337   98   142 
Total assets $61,557  $59,637  $57,215  $57,633 
        
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity                
Current liabilities:                
Accounts payable $4,092  $4,724  $5,139  $3,273 
Accrued expenses  2,709   2,782   3,830   4,416 
Short-term debt  3,340   3,152   3,188   3,080 
Current portion of long-term debt  923   1,094   1,016   998 
Current portion of operating lease obligations  1,833   -   974   971 
Current portion of finance lease obligations  181   160   1,633   1,586 
Deferred revenue and customer deposits  2,323   2,310   3,175   2,981 
Total current liabilities  15,401   14,222   18,955   17,305 
Long-term debt, net of current portion and debt issuance costs  3,645   10,053   2,757   3,019 
Operating lease obligations, net of current portion  8,042   -   4,632   4,809 
Finance lease obligations, net of current portion  590   427   3,561   3,988 
Deferred revenue and customer deposits, net of current portion  1,171   1,167   32   38 
Deferred income taxes  2,577   2,516   2,918   2,649 
Other accrued expenses, net of current portion  87   254 
Other long-term liabilities  110   116 
Total liabilities  31,513   28,639   32,965   31,924 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)  -   - 
Commitments, contingencies and concentrations (Note 13)        
Stockholders’ equity:                
Preferred stock, par value $.01 per share; authorized 1,000 shares, none outstanding  -   -   -   - 
Common stock, par value $.01 per share; authorized 25,000 shares; issued 17,313 and 17,237 shares at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively; outstanding 14,519 and 14,443 shares at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively  169   169 
Common stock, par value $.01 per share; authorized 25,000 shares; issued 17,445 and 17,410 shares at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively; outstanding 14,651 and 14,616 shares at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively  174   174 
Additional paid-in capital  41,717   41,474   42,862   42,589 
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):        
Foreign currency translation  (5,051)  (5,308)
Postretirement benefit obligations  127   125 
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities of equity method investment  (286)  (195)
Retained earnings  11,954   13,319   5,554   6,001 
  48,630   49,584 
Less 2,794 of common shares in treasury, at cost  (18,586)  (18,586)  (18,586)  (18,586)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (5,754)  (4,469)
Total stockholders’ equity  30,044   30,998   24,250   25,709 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $61,557  $59,637  $57,215  $57,633 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

3

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
Net product sales $5,579  $8,639 
Net service revenues  8,727   7,189 
Total net revenues  14,306   15,828 
Cost of products sold  3,523   5,812 
Cost of services  8,138   7,166 
Total cost of revenues  11,661   12,978 
Gross profit  2,645   2,850 
Selling and administrative expenses:        
Selling  1,228   1,225 
Administrative  3,929   4,709 
Total selling and administrative expenses  5,157   5,934 
Loss on disposal of assets  (64)  - 
Loss from operations  (2,576)  (3,084)
Other income (expense):        
Interest expense  (119)  (45)
Fair value adjustment to notes receivable  (510)  (42)
Foreign currency transaction (loss) gain  (143)  104 
Other income (expense), net  36   (10)
Total other (expense) income  (736)  7 
Loss before income taxes and equity method investment loss  (3,312)  (3,077)
Income tax expense  141   698 
Equity method investment loss  (697)  (10)
Net loss $(4,150) $(3,785)
Basic loss per share $(0.29) $(0.26)
Diluted loss per share $(0.29) $(0.26)
         
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share:        
Basic  14,438   14,341 
Diluted  14,438   14,341 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2020  2019 
Net product sales $6,404  $5,560 
Net service revenues  7,171   8,746 
Total net revenues  13,575   14,306 
Cost of products sold  4,695   3,523 
Cost of services  4,627   8,138 
Total cost of revenues  9,322   11,661 
Gross profit  4,253   2,645 
Selling and administrative expenses:        
Selling  1,344   1,228 
Administrative  4,830   3,929 
Total selling and administrative expenses  6,174   5,157 
Loss on disposal of assets  -   (64)
Loss from operations  (1,921)  (2,576)
Other income (expense):        
Interest expense  (272)  (119)
Fair value adjustment to notes receivable  -   (510)
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)  488   (143)
Other income, net  289   36 
Total other income (expense)  505   (736)
Loss before income taxes and equity method investment income (loss)  (1,416)  (3,312)
Income tax expense  (400)  (141)
Equity method investment income (loss)  1,369   (697)
Net loss $(447) $(4,150)
         
Basic loss per share $(0.03) $(0.29)
Diluted loss per share $(0.03) $(0.29)
         
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share:        
Basic  14,625   14,438 
Diluted  14,625   14,438 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

4

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,  Three Months Ended March 31, 
 2019 2018  2020  2019 
Net loss $(4,150) $(3,785) $(447) $(4,150)
Adjustment to postretirement benefit obligation  2   9   (4)  2 
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities of equity method investments, net of tax  (91)  (52)  (76)  (91)
Currency translation adjustment:                
Unrealized net change arising during period  257   (467)  (1,205)  257 
Total other comprehensive income (loss)  168   (510)
Total other comprehensive (loss) income  (1,285)  168 
Comprehensive loss $(3,982) $(4,295) $(1,732) $(3,982)

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 5 

 

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

The following summarizes the changes in stockholders’ equity for the three month periodmonths ended March 31, 2019:2020:

 

  Common Stock  Additional Paid-In Capital  Retained Earnings  Treasury Stock  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)  Total Stockholders’ Equity 
Balance at December 31, 2018 $169  $41,474  $13,319  $(18,586) $(5,378) $30,998 
Net loss  -   -   (4,150)  -   -   (4,150)
Net other comprehensive income  -   -   -   -   168   168 
Cumulative effect of adoption of ASC 842  -   -   2,785   -   -   2,785 
Stock-based compensation expense  -   243   -   -   -   243 
Balance at March 31, 2019 $169  $41,717  $11,954  $(18,586) $(5,210) $30,044 
  Common Stock (Shares)  Common Stock ($)  Additional Paid-In Capital  Retained Earnings  Treasury Stock  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss  Total Stockholders’ Equity 
Balance at December 31, 2019  17,410  $174  $42,589  $6,001  $(18,586) $(4,469) $25,709 
Net loss  -   -   -   (447)  -   -   (447)
Net other comprehensive loss  -   -   -   -   -   (1,285)  (1,285)
Vesting of restricted stock  35   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Stock-based compensation expense  -   -   273   -   -   -   273 
Balance at March 31, 2020  17,445   174   42,862   5,554   (18,586)  (5,754)  24,250 

 

The following summarizes the changes in stockholders’ equity for the three month periodmonths ended March 31, 2018:2019:

 

  Common Stock  Additional Paid-In Capital  Retained Earnings  Treasury Stock  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)  Total Stockholders’ Equity 
Balance at December 31, 2017 $169  $40,565  $25,570  $(18,586) $(3,596) $44,122 
Net loss  -   -   (3,785)  -   -   (3,785)
Net other comprehensive loss  -   -   -   -   (510)  (510)
Cumulative effect of adoption of ASC 606  -   -   76   -   -   76 
Stock-based compensation expense  -   255   -   -   -   255 
Balance at March 31, 2018 $169  $40,820  $21,861  $(18,586) $(4,106) $40,158 
  Common Stock (Shares)  Common Stock ($)  Additional Paid-In Capital  Retained Earnings  Treasury Stock  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss  Total Stockholders’ Equity 
Balance at December 31, 2018  17,237  $172  $41,471  $13,319  $(18,586) $(5,378) $30,998 
Net loss  -   -   -   (4,150)  -   -   (4,150)
Net other comprehensive income  -   -   -   -   -   168   168 
Cumulative effect of adoption of ASC 842  -   -   -   2,785   -   -   2,785 
Vesting of restricted stock  76   1   (1)  -   -   -   - 
Stock-based compensation expense  -   -   243   -   -   -   243 
Balance at March 31, 2019  17,313   173   41,713   11,954   (18,586)  (5,210)  30,044 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 6 

 

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,  Three Months Ended March 31, 
 2019  2018  2020  2019 
Cash flows from operating activities:                
Net loss $(4,150) $(3,785) $(447) $(4,150)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:        
Provision for doubtful accounts, net of recoveries  (310)  103 
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:        
Provision for (recovery of) doubtful accounts  819   (310)
Provision for obsolete inventory  53   44   44   53 
Provision for warranty  67   79   53   67 
Depreciation and amortization  795   524   989   795 
Amortization and accretion of operating leases  579   -   309   579 
Fair value adjustment to notes receivable  510   42   -   510 
Equity method investment loss  697   10 
Recognition of contract acquisition costs  -   57 
Equity method investment (income) loss  (1,369)  697 
Loss on disposal of assets  64   -   -   64 
Gain on Firefly transaction (Note 6)  (270)  - 
Deferred income taxes  50   87   23   50 
Stock-based compensation expense  243   255   273   243 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                
Accounts receivable  1,819   (178)  1,499   1,819 
Inventories  (145)  537   (118)  (145)
Other current assets  2   5 
Accounts payable  (592)  256 
Accrued expenses  (13)  429 
Operating lease obligations  (590)  - 
Deferred revenue and customer deposits  11   704 
Current income taxes  (444)  36   (87)  (444)
Other assets  (71)  (796)  (277)  (69)
Net cash used in operating activities  (1,425)  (1,591)
        
Cash flows from investing activities:        
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment  86   - 
Dividends received from investee in excess of cumulative earnings  -   23 
Capital expenditures  (257)  (356)
Net cash used in investing activities  (171)  (333)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses  1,323   (605)
Deferred revenue and customer deposits  216   11 
Operating lease obligations  (341)  (590)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  2,639   (1,425)

 

(Continued on following page)

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

7

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Continued

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 Three Months Ended March 31, 
 2020  2019 
Cash flows from investing activities:        
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment $-  $86 
Capital expenditures  (371)  (257)
Net cash used in investing activities  (371)  (171)
        
Cash flows from financing activities:                
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt  237   -   -   237 
Principal payments on short-term debt  (79)  -   (55)  (79)
Principal payments on long-term debt  (245)  (16)  (243)  (245)
Payments on capital lease obligations  (49)  (53)  (380)  (49)
Net cash used in financing activities  (136)  (69)  (678)  (136)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents  23   471   5   23 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  (1,709)  (1,522)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  1,595   (1,709)
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period  7,048   4,870   5,302   7,048 
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $5,339  $3,348  $6,897  $5,339 
        
Components of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash:                
Cash and cash equivalents $4,989  $3,348  $6,546  $4,989 
Restricted cash  350   -   351   350 
Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash $5,339  $3,348  $6,897  $5,339 
        
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:                
Term loan borrowings to finance equipment purchases $198  $-  $-  $198 
Capital lease obligations for property and equipment $232  $-  $-  $232 
Short-term borrowings to finance insurance $202  $-  $421  $202 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

8

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

 

1. Nature of Operations

 

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (“Ballantyne” or the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is a holding company with diverse business activities focused on serving the cinema,entertainment, retail financial,and advertising and government markets. The Company, and its wholly owned subsidiaries Strong Technical Services, Inc., Strong/MDI Screen Systems, Inc. (“Strong/MDI”), Convergent Media Systems Corporation (“Convergent”) and Strong Digital Media, LLC (“SDM”) design, integrate and install technology solutions for a broad range of applications; develop and deliver out-of-home messaging, advertising and communications; manufacture projection screens; and provide managed services including monitoring of networked equipment to our customers.

 

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and all majority owned and controlled domestic and foreign subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report are presented in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all of the disclosures normally required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (also referred to as “GAAP”) for annual reporting purposes or those made in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.2019.

 

The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 20182019 was derived from the Company’s audited consolidated balance sheet as of that date. All other condensed consolidated financial statements contained herein are unaudited and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary to present a fair statement of the financial position and the results of operations and cash flows for the respective interim periods. Certain prior period balances have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of trends or results expected for a full year.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “dollars” and “$” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are to, and amounts are presented in, U.S. dollars.

 

Use of Management Estimates

 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principlesGAAP 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results and changes in facts and circumstances may alter such estimates and affect results of operations and financial position in future periods.

There is significant ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic and the extent and duration of the impacts that it may have on the Company, as well as its customers, suppliers, and employees. There is heightened potential for future reserves against trade receivables, inventory write downs and impairments of long-lived assets, goodwill, intangible assets and investments. In the current environment, assumptions about future financial and operational performance, supply chain pricing and availability and customer creditworthiness have greater variability than normal, which could in the future significantly affect the valuation of the Company’s assets, both financial and non-financial. As an understanding of the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s customers and business develops, there is heightened potential for changes in these views over the remainder of 2020, and potentially beyond.

9

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash represents amounts held in a collateral account for the Company’s corporate travel and purchasing credit card program.

 

Accounts Receivable

 

Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The Company determines the allowance for doubtful accounts based on several factors, including overall customer credit quality, historical write-off experience and a specific analysis that projects the ultimate collectability of the account. As such, these factors may change over time causing the allowance level and bad debt expense to be adjusted accordingly. Since many of Strong Entertainment’s customers have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, the Company recorded $0.7 million of bad debt expense during the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the increased uncertainty related to collection of trade accounts receivable from these customers.

 

Equity Method Investments

 

We applyThe Company applies the equity method of accounting to investments when we haveit has significant influence, but not controlling interest, in the investee. Judgment regarding the level of influence over each equity method investment includes considering key factors such as ownership interest, representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material intercompany transactions. The Company’s proportionate share of the net income (loss) resulting from these investments is reported under the line item captioned “equity method investment income (loss)” in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. The carrying value of our equity method investments is reported in “equity method investments” in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The Company’s equity method investments are reported at cost and adjusted each period for the Company’s share of the investee’s income or loss and dividend paid, if any. The Company’s share of the investee’s income or loss is recorded on a one quarter lag for all equity method investments. The Company classifies distributions received from equity method investments using the cumulative earnings approach on the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company applies the cost method of accounting to investments when it does not have significant influence or a controlling interest in the investee and the fair value of the investment is not readily determinable. Dividends on cost method investments received are recorded as income.

The Company assesses investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an investment may not be recoverable. Management reviewed the underlying net assets of the equity investmentsinvestees during the three month periodmonths ended March 31, 20192020 and determined that the Company’s proportionate economic interest in the investmentsinvestees indicate that the investments were not other than temporarily impaired. The carrying value of our equity method and cost method investments is reported as “investments” on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Note 6 contains additional information on our equity method and cost method investments.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are categorized into a fair value hierarchy based upon the observability of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. The categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

 

 Level 1 – inputs to the valuation techniques are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
 Level 2 – inputs to the valuation techniques are other than quoted prices but are observable for the assets or liabilities, either directly or indirectly
 Level 3 – inputs to the valuation techniques are unobservable for the assets or liabilities

 

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The following tables present the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value based upon the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the fair value measurements are classified, as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018.2019.

Fair values measured on a recurring basis at March 31, 20192020 (in thousands):

 

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Total  Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Total 
Cash and cash equivalents $4,989  $-  $-  $4,989  $6,546  $    -  $    -  $6,546 
Restricted cash  350   -   -   350   351   -   -   351 
Notes receivable  -   -   3,455   3,455   -   -   -   - 
Total $5,339  $-  $3,455  $8,794  $6,897  $-  $-  $6,897 

 

Fair values measured on a recurring basis at December 31, 20182019 (in thousands):

 

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Total  Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Total 
Cash and cash equivalents $6,698  $-  $-  $6,698  $4,951  $     -  $   -  $4,951 
Restricted cash  350   -       350   351   -   -   351 
Notes receivable  -   -   3,965   3,965   -   -   -   - 
Total $7,048  $-  $3,965  $11,013  $5,302  $-  $-  $5,302 

 

The following table reconciles the beginning and ending balance of the Company’s notes receivable at fair value (in thousands):

 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
Notes receivable balance, beginning of period $3,965  $2,815 
Fair value adjustment  (510)  (42)
Notes receivable balance, end of period $3,455  $2,773 

Quantitative information about the Company’s level 3 fair value measurements at March 31, 2019 is set forth below (in thousands):

  Fair value at
March 31, 2019
  Valuation technique Unobservable input Value 
Notes receivable $3,455  Discounted cash flow Default percentage  39%
        Discount rate  18%
  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2020  2019 
Notes receivable balance, beginning of period $    -  $3,965 
Fair value adjustment  -   (510)
Notes receivable balance, end of period $-  $3,455 

 

During 2011, the Company entered into certain unsecured notes receivable arrangements with CDF2 Holdings, LLC pertaining to the sale and installation of digital projection equipment. The notes receivable accrue interest at a rate of 15% per annum. Interest not paid in any particular year is added to the principal and also accrues interest at 15%. In connection with this transaction, the Company also entered into an agreement with one of its customers, pursuant to which the Company is obligated to provide up to $1.1 million of credits against any amounts due to the Company from the customer based on cash collected on the notes receivable. In the event the Company does not have any outstanding balances due from the customer, the Company would be obligated to remit up to the first $1.1 million collected on the notes receivable directly to the customer.

The notes receivable are recorded at estimated fair value. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s notes receivable are the discount rate and percentage of default. Significant increases (decreases) in any of these inputs in isolation would result in significantly lower (higher) fair value measurements. Adjustments to the fair value of the notes receivable are included in other (expense) income on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

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In order to estimate the fair value, the Company reviews the financial position and estimated cash flows of the debtor of the notes receivable. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company adjusted the carrying value of the notes receivable to $0 based on a quarterly basis.management’s review of the debtor’s financial statements and changes in the underlying trend of historical and projected cash flows available to service the notes. The Company recorded decreases torelated $1.1 million contingent liability was also adjusted during the year ended December 31, 2019, based on the Company’s expectation that cash flow from the notes receivable will not be available. As of March 31, 2020, management estimated the fair value of the notes receivable of approximately $0.5 million and $42 thousand, respectively, recorded in other expense in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations during the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s notes receivable are discount rate and percentage of default. Significant increases (decreases) in any of these inputs in isolation would result in a significantly lower (higher) fair value measurement.to be $0.

 

The Company’s short-term and long-term debt is recorded at historical cost. As of March 31, 2019,2020, the Company’s long-term debt, including current maturities, had a carrying value of $4.6$3.8 million. Based on discounted cash flows using current quoted interest rates (Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy), the estimated fair value at March 31, 20192020 was $4.1$3.5 million.

The carrying values of all other financial assets and liabilities, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and short-term debt, reported in the condensed consolidated balance sheets equal or approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. Note 6 includes fair value information related to our equity and cost method investments. All non-financial assets that are not recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis, which include non-financial long-lived assets, are measured at fair value in certain circumstances (for example, when there is evidence of impairment). The Company did not have any significant non-recurring measurements of non-financial assets or liabilities during the three months ended March 31, 20192020 or 2018.2019.

 

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

 

In February 2016,August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases2018-15, “Intangibles- Goodwill and Other- Internal Use Software (Topic 842),” which was further clarified by ASU 2018-11, “Leases – Targeted Improvements,” issued350): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in July 2018. ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize a lease liability andCloud Computing Arrangement that is a right-to-use asset for all leases, including operating leases, with a term greater than twelve months, on its balance sheet.Service Contract.” This ASU requires customers in a cloud computing arrangement (i.e., hosting arrangement) that is a service contract to follow the internal use software guidance in ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize or expense. The standard is effective in fiscal yearsfor annual periods beginning after December 15, 20182019, and initially required a modified retrospective transition method under which entities would initially apply Topic 842 at the beginninginterim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of the earliest period presented in the financial statements. ASU 2018-11 added an additional optional transition method allowing entities to apply Topic 842 as of the adoption date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. The Company adopted Topic 842 using the optional transition method from ASU 2018-11 as ofnew standard on January 1, 2019. Upon adoption,2020 did not have an impact on the Company recorded a balance sheet gross-up of approximately $4.7 million to record operating lease liabilitiesCompany’s consolidated financial statements and related right-of-use assets. In addition, the sale-leaseback of the Company’s Alpharetta, Georgia office facility in June 2018, which did not qualify for sale-leaseback accounting under the previous lease accounting standard, qualified for sale-leaseback accounting under Topic 842, as Topic 842 eliminated the concept of continuing involvement by the seller-lessee precluding sale-leaseback accounting. Upon adoption, the Company recorded a cumulative effect adjustment increasing retained earnings by approximately $2.8 million, which represents the gain on the sale of the facility. The Company also derecognized approximately $4.0 million of net land and building assets and approximately $6.8 million of debt associated with the previous accounting as a failed sale-leaseback, and recorded approximately $5.0 million of operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities for the leaseback under Topic 842. See Note 11 for more information about the Company’s leases.disclosures.

 

In August 2018, the SecuritiesFASB issued ASU 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework- Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU improves the effectiveness of fair value measurement disclosures by eliminating, adding and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, “Disclosure Update and Simplification,” amendingmodifying certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition,for fair value measurements as part of its disclosure framework project. Entities will no longer be required to disclose the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysisamount of stockholders’ equityand reasons for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders’ equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliationtransfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income isfair value hierarchy, but public companies will be required to be filed.disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. The final rulestandard is effective for all filings made on and after November 5, 2018. Given the effective date and proximity to most filers’ quarterly reports, the SEC did not object to filers deferring the presentation of changes in stockholders’ equity in their quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q until the quarter beginning after November 5, 2018. The Company elected to provide the required disclosure in a separate statement of stockholders’ equity beginning with this Form 10-Q.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” The new guidance eliminates Step 2 of the goodwill impairment testing which requires the fair value of individual assets and liabilities of a reporting unit to be determined when measuring goodwill impairment. The new guidance may result in different amounts of impairment that could be recognized compared to existing guidance. In addition, failing step 1 of the impairment test may not result in impairment under existing guidance. However, under the revised guidance, failing step 1 will always result in a goodwill impairment. ASU 2017-04 is to be applied prospectively for goodwill impairment testing performed in yearsannual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with earlyand interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2017-04 inof the first quarter of 2019. Adoption of ASU 2017-04new standard on January 1, 2020 did not significantlyhave an impact on the Company’s results of operations orconsolidated financial position.statements and related disclosures.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” This ASU will require the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets, including trade receivables, held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The guidance iswas initially effective for the Company for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-10, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842): Effective Dates,” which, among other things, defers the effective date of ASU 2016-13 for public filers that are considered smaller reporting companies as defined by the SEC to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company believes itsthe adoption of this ASU will not significantly impact the Company’sits results of operations and financial position.

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In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes.” This ASU removes certain exceptions for investments, intraperiod allocations and interim tax calculations and adds guidance to reduce complexity in accounting for income taxes. The effective date of the standard will be for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The various amendments in the standard are applied on a retrospective basis, modified retrospective basis and prospective basis, depending on the amendment. The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it may have on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-01, “Clarifying the Interactions Between Topic 321, Topic 323, and Topic 815.” This ASU clarifies the interaction between accounting standards related to equity securities, equity method investments and certain derivatives. The effective date of the standard will be for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of the new standard on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In April 2020, the FASB issued a question-and-answer document to address stakeholder questions on the application of the lease accounting guidance for lease concessions related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance will allow concessions related to the timing of payments, where the total consideration has not changed, to not be accounted for as lease modifications. Instead, any such concessions can be accounted for as if no change was made to the contract or as variable lease payments. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the question-and-answer document on its condensed consolidated financial statements, and will adopt the guidance in the second quarter of 2020, to the extent applicable.

3. Revenue

 

The Company accounts for revenue using the following steps:

 

Identify the contract, or contracts, with a customercustomer;
Identify the performance obligations in the contractcontract;
Determine the transaction priceprice;
Allocate the transaction price to the identified performance obligationsobligations; and
Recognize revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies the performance obligationsobligations.

 

The Company combines contracts with the same customer into a single contract for accounting purposes when the contracts are entered into at or near the same time and the contracts are negotiated as a single commercial package, consideration in one contract depends on the other contract, or the services are considered a single performance obligation. If an arrangement involves multiple performance obligations, the items are analyzed to determine the separate units of accounting, whether the items have value on a standalone basis and whether there is objective and reliable evidence of their standalone selling price. The total contract transaction price is allocated to the identified performance obligations based upon the relative standalone selling prices of the performance obligations. The standalone selling price is based on an observable price for services sold to other comparable customers, when available, or an estimated selling price using a cost plus margin approach. The Company estimates the amount of total contract consideration it expects to receive for variable arrangements by determining the most likely amount it expects to earn from the arrangement based on the expected quantities of services it expects to provide and the contractual pricing based on those quantities. The Company only includes some or a portion of variable consideration in the transaction price when it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur or when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. The Company considers the sensitivity of the estimate, its relationship and experience with the client and variable services being performed, the range of possible revenue amounts and the magnitude of the variable consideration to the overall arrangement.

 

As discussed in more detail below, revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services under the terms of a contract and is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. The Company does not have any material extended payment terms, as payment is due at or shortly after the time of the sale. Observable prices are used to determine the standalone selling price of separate performance obligations, or a cost plus margin approach is used when observable prices are not available. Sales, value-added and other taxes collected concurrently with revenue producing activities are excluded from revenue.

 

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The Company recognizes contract assets or unbilled receivables related to revenue recognized for services completed but not yet invoiced to the clients. Unbilled receivables are recorded as accounts receivable when the Company has an unconditional right to contract consideration. A contract liability is recognized as deferred revenue when the Company invoices clients in advance of performing the related services under the terms of a contract. Deferred revenue is recognized as revenue when the Company has satisfied the related performance obligation.

 

Deferred contract acquisition costs are included in other assets. The Company defers costs to acquire contracts, including commissions, incentives and payroll taxes, if they are incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a customer contract with a term exceeding one year. Deferred contract costs are reported within other assets and amortized to selling expense over the contract term, which generally ranges from one to five years. The Company has elected to recognize the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a term of less than one year as a selling expense when incurred. The Company did not have any deferred contract costs as of March 31, 20192020 or December 31, 2018.2019.

 

The following table disaggregatestables disaggregate the Company’s revenue by major source and by operating segment for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 (in thousands):

 

 Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 
 Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Eliminations  Total  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Total 
Screen system sales $2,819  $-  $-  $-  $-  $2,819  $     2,956  $-  $-  $-  $2,956 
Digital equipment sales  1,484   628   -   -   (3)  2,109   1,649   1,172   -   -   2,821 
Extended warranty sales  159   -   -   -   159 
Other product sales  468   -   -   -   468 
Total product sales  5,232   1,172   -   -   6,404 
Field maintenance and monitoring services  2,218   2,773   -   -   (252)  4,739   1,804   3,414   28   -   5,246 
Installation services  670   2,118   -   -   -   2,788   257   357   -   -   614 
Extended warranty sales  234   -   -   -   -   234 
Advertising  -   -   1,080   -   -   1,080   -   -   1,169   -   1,169 
Other  428   19   13   123   (46)  537 
Other service revenues  22   19   -   101   142 
Total service revenues  2,083   3,790   1,197   101   7,171 
Total $7,853  $5,538  $1,093  $123  $(301) $14,306  $7,315  $4,962  $1,197  $101  $13,575 

 

The following table disaggregates the Company’s revenue by major source for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (in thousands):

 Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 
 Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Eliminations  Total  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Total 
Screen system sales $4,018  $-  $-  $-  $-  $4,018  $2,819  $-  $-  $-  $2,819 
Digital equipment sales  3,158   832   -   -   (216)  3,774   1,484   625   -   -   2,109 
Extended warranty sales  234   -   -   -   234 
Other product sales  398   -   -   -   398 
Total product sales  4,935   625   -   -   5,560 
Field maintenance and monitoring services  2,944   2,376   -   -   (139)  5,181   1,967   2,773   53   -   4,793 
Installation services  328   1,360   -   -   -   1,688   670   2,118   -   -   2,788 
Extended warranty sales  342   -   -   -   -   342 
Advertising  -   -   62   -   -   62   -   -   1,040   -   1,040 
Other  660   39   -   64   -   763 
Other service revenues  29   19   -   77   125 
Total service revenues  2,666   4,910   1,093   77   8,746 
Total $11,450  $4,607  $62  $64  $(355) $15,828  $7,601  $5,535  $1,093  $77  $14,306 

 

Screen system sales

 

The Company recognizes revenue on the sale of its screen systems when control of the screen is transferred to the customer, usually at time of shipment. However, revenue is recognized upon delivery for certain international shipments with longer shipping transit time because control does not transfer to the customer until delivery. The cost of freight and shipping to the customer is recognized in cost of sales at the time of transfer of control to the customer.

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Digital equipment sales

 

The Company recognizes revenue on sales of digital equipment when the control of the equipment is transferred, which occurs at the time of shipment from the Company’s warehouse or drop-shipment from a third party. The cost of freight and shipping to the customer is recognized in cost of sales at the time of transfer of control to the customer.

 

Field maintenance and monitoring services

 

The Company sells service contracts that provide maintenance and monitoring services to Strong CinemaEntertainment and Convergent customers. In the Strong CinemaEntertainment segment, these contracts are generally 12 months in length, while the term for service contracts in the Convergent segment can be for multiple years. Revenue related to service contracts is recognized ratably over the term of the agreement in proportion to the costs incurred in fulfilling performance obligations under the contract.agreement.

 

The Company also performs discrete time and materials-based maintenance and repair work for customers in the Strong CinemaEntertainment and Convergent segments. Revenue related to time and materials-based maintenance and repair work is recognized at athe point in time when the performance obligation has been fully satisfied.

 

Installation services

 

The Company performs installation services for both its Strong CinemaEntertainment and Convergent customers and recognizes revenue upon completion of the installations.

Extended warranty sales

 

The Company sells extended warranties to its Strong CinemaEntertainment customers. When the Company is the primary obligor, revenue is recognized on a gross basis ratably over the term of the extended warranty in proportion to the costs incurred in fulfilling performance obligations under the extended warranty. In third party extended warranty sales, the Company is not the primary obligor, and revenue is recognized on a net basis at the time of the sale.

 

Advertising

 

Strong Outdoor sells advertising space on top of taxicabs. Advertising revenue is recognized ratably over the contracted advertising periods.

 

Timing of Revenue Recognition

 

The following table disaggregatestables disaggregate the Company’s revenue by the timing of transfer of goods or services to the customer for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 (in thousands):

 

 Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 
 Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Eliminations  Total  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Total 
Point in time $6,297  $2,995  $13  $-  $(255) $9,050  $    5,717  $1,794  $1,197  $4  $8,712 
Over time  1,556   2,543   1,080   123   (46)  5,256   1,598   3,168   -   97   4,863 
Total $7,853  $5,538  $1,093  $123  $(301) $14,306  $7,315  $4,962  $1,197  $101  $13,575 

 

The following table disaggregates the Company’s revenue by the timing of transfer of goods or services to the customer for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (in thousands):

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  Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Eliminations  Total 
Point in time $9,599  $2,467  $-  $-  $(355) $11,711 
Over time  1,851   2,140   62   64   -   4,117 
Total $11,450  $4,607  $62  $64  $(355) $15,828 

 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 
  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Other  Total 
Point in time $     6,044  $2,992  $1,093  $-  $10,129 
Over time  1,557   2,543   -   77   4,177 
Total $7,601  $5,535  $1,093  $77  $14,306 

At March 31, 2019,2020, the unearned revenue amount associated with maintenance and monitoring services, extended warranty sales and advertising services in which the Company is the primary obligor was $0.8$2.4 million. The Company expects to recognize $0.7$2.3 million of unearned revenue amounts throughout the rest of 20192020, $0.1 million during 2021 and immaterial amounts each year from 2020 throughduring 2022 and 2023.

 

4. Loss Per Common Share

 

Basic loss per share has been computed on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted loss per share would be computed on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding after giving effect to potential common shares from dilutive stock options and certain non-vested shares of restricted stock and restricted stock units. However, because the Company reported losses in bothall periods presented, there were no differences between average shares used to compute basic and diluted loss per share for either of the three month periodsmonths ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018.March 31, 2019. The following table summarizes the weighted average shares used to compute basic and diluted loss per share:share (shares in thousands):

 Three Months Ended March 31,  Three Months Ended March 31, 
 2019 2018  2020  2019 
Weighted average shares outstanding:                
Basic weighted average shares outstanding  14,438   14,341   14,625   14,438 
Dilutive effect of stock options and certain non-vested restricted stock awards  -   -   -   - 
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding  14,438   14,341   14,625   14,438 

 

Options to purchase 833,5001,057,000 and 490,000833,500 shares of common stock were outstanding as of March 31, 20192020 and 2018,March 31, 2019, respectively, but were not included in the computation of diluted loss per share as the option’soptions’ exercise price wasprices were greater than the average market price of the common shares for each period. An additional 20,99486,725 and 129,52520,994 common stock equivalents related to options and restricted stock awards were excluded for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018,March 31, 2019, respectively, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive, thereby decreasing the net losses per share.

 

5. Inventories

 

Inventories consist of the following (in thousands):

 

  March 31, 2019  December 31, 2018 
Raw materials and components $1,372  $1,422 
Work in process  187   - 
Finished goods  2,056   2,068 
  $3,615  $3,490 

  March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
Raw materials and components $1,562  $1,584 
Work in process  237   211 
Finished goods  995   1,084 
  $2,794  $2,879 

 

The inventory balances are net of reserves of approximately $1.6 million and $1.4$0.9 million as of both March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018, respectively.2019.

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6. Equity Method6. Investments

 

The following summarizes our equity method investments (dollars in thousands):

 

 March 31, 2019  December 31, 2018  March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
Entity Carrying Amount  Economic Interest  Carrying Amount  Economic Interest 
 Carrying Amount  Economic Interest  Carrying Amount  Economic Interest 
Equity Method Investments                
1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc. $7,791   17.3% $7,738   17.3% $8,239   17.1% $6,897   17.2%
Itasca Capital, Ltd.  2,659   32.3%  3,429   32.3%  2,515   32.3%  2,800   32.3%
Total $10,450      $11,167     
Total Equity Method Investments  10,754       9,697     
                
Cost Method Investment                
Firefly Systems, Inc.  3,614       3,614     
Total Investments $14,368      $13,311     

Equity Method Investments

 

The following summarizes the income (loss) of equity method investees reflected in the condensed consolidated statements of operations (in thousands):

 

 Three Months Ended March 31, 
 Three Months Ended March 31,  2020  2019 
Entity 2019  2018         
1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc. $144  $241  $1,417  $144 
Itasca Capital, Ltd.  (841)  103   (48)  (841)
BK Technologies Corporation  -   (354)
Total $(697) $(10) $1,369  $(697)

 

1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc. (“PIH”) is a publicly traded company that provides propertyis implementing business plans to operate as a diversified holding company of insurance, reinsurance and casualty insurance in the States of Louisiana, Texasinvestment management businesses. The Company’s Chairman and Florida. The Company’sformer Chief Executive Officer is the principal executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of PIH, and controlsthe Company’s Co-Chairman is co-chairman of the board of directors of PIH. As of March 31, 2020, they controlled entities that, when combined with the Company’s ownership in PIH, own greater than 20% of PIH, providing the Company with significant influence over PIH, but not controlling interest. The equity method income from PIH was primarily the result of PIH’s non-cash gains associated with the change in fair value of its investment in the common stock of FedNat Holding Company (Nasdaq: FNHC) and PIH’s gain on the sale of its homeowners insurance operations. As a result of the recent significant decline in global equity values, the Company expects to record a loss from its investment in PIH during the second quarter of 2020 of approximately $1.4 million. Effective April 21, 2020, the ownership of such entities, when combined with the Company’s ownership in PIH, exceeded 50% of PIH. The Company did not receive dividends from PIH during the three month periodsmonths ended March 31, 20192020 or 2018. On February 25, 2019, PIH announced a definitive agreement pursuant to which FedNat Holding Company will acquire substantially all of PIH’s homeowners’ insurance operations. PIH intends to maintain its Nasdaq listing and utilize the proceeds from the transaction to launch a new growth strategy focused on reinsurance, investment management and new investment opportunities. PIH intends to provide additional details on the rollout of this strategy prior to the expected closing of the transaction in the second quarter of 2019. Based on quoted market prices, the market value of the Company’s ownership in PIH was $5.5$5.1 million at March 31, 2019.2020.

Itasca Capital, Ltd. (“Itasca”) is a publicly traded Canadian company that is an investment vehicle seeking transformative strategic investments. The Company’s Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer is chairman of the board of directors of Itasca, and the Company’s Co-Chairman is also a member of the board of directors of Itasca. ThisThese board seat,seats, combined with the Company’s 32.3% ownership of Itasca, provide the Company with significant influence over Itasca, but not controlling interest. The Company did not receive dividends from Itasca during the three month periodsmonths ended March 31, 20192020 or 2018.2019. Based on quoted market prices, the market value of the Company’s ownership in Itasca was $1.8$2.5 million at March 31, 2019.

BK Technologies Corporation (“BKTI”) is a publicly traded holding company that, through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary BK Technologies, Inc., designs, manufactures and markets two-way land mobile radios, repeaters, base stations and related components and subsystems. BK Technologies Corporation became the parent company of BK Technologies, Inc. following the completion of a holding company reorganization on March 28, 2019. On September 9, 2018, the Company entered into an agreement with Fundamental Global Investors, LLC (“FGI”), a related party, where the Company sold its shares of common stock of BKTI to FGI. Due to the Company’s significant influence, but not controlling interest, in BKTI, the Company’s investment in BKTI was accounted for using the equity method. Prior to the sale of the BKTI common stock, the Company received dividends of $23 thousand during the three month periods ended March 31, 2018.2020.

 

As of March 31, 2019,2020, the Company’s retained earnings included accumulated deficitundistributed earnings from its equity method investees of $0.4 million.approximately $13 thousand.

17

 

The summarized financial information presented below reflects the financial information of the Company’s equity method investees for the three months ended December 31, 20182019 and 2017,2018, consistent with the Company’s recognition of the results of its equity method investments on a one-quarter lag.lag (in thousands):

 

For the three months ended December 31, 2019  2018 
 2018  2017      
For the three months ended December 31,      
Revenue $15,979  $20,576  $4,340  $352 
Operating income (loss) $246  $(2,034)
Net loss $(1,791) $(2,557)
Operating income $3,977  $240 
Net income (loss) $8,121  $(1,791)

Cost Method Investment

On May 21, 2019, SDM entered into a Taxicab Advertising Collaboration Agreement (the “Commercial Agreement”) and a Unit Purchase Agreement (the “Unit Purchase Agreement”) with Firefly Systems, Inc. (“Firefly”), pursuant to which SDM has agreed to make available to Firefly 300 digital taxi tops and the parties have agreed to coordinate the fulfilling of SDM’s agreements with the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, Inc. (“MTBOT”) and Creative Mobile Media, LLC (“CMM”), each dated February 8, 2018. Firefly has agreed to fulfill the digital taxi top advertising obligations under the MTBOT agreement and CMM agreement, and SDM has agreed to fulfill the non-digital taxi top advertising obligations under the MTBOT agreement and CMM agreement. The Company is a party to the Unit Purchase Agreement and has agreed to guarantee the payment obligations of SDM under the Commercial Agreement. As consideration for entering into these agreements, the Company received $4.8 million of Firefly’s Series A-2 preferred shares (“Firefly Shares”). The Firefly Shares, including those subsequently issued pursuant to an earn-out provision (if any), will be subject to a repurchase option for a period of three years to cover SDM’s indemnity obligations and other post-closing covenants under the Commercial Agreement and the Unit Purchase Agreement. As a condition of the transaction, SDM has agreed to hold the Firefly Shares in an investment fund managed by Fundamental Global Investors, LLC, the controlling stockholder of the Company, that is wholly owned by SDM.

The 300 digital tops the Company has made available to Firefly are subject to a master equipment lease agreement the Company entered into during 2017. Pursuant to the master lease agreement and the Unit Purchase Agreement, the Company will remain the primary obligor until such time as the lease expires. In addition, of the $4.8 million of Firefly Shares received, $1.2 million are eligible for repurchase by Firefly if the Company does not exercise the purchase option contained within the master lease agreement. Accordingly, the Company has deferred recognizing an investment related to these Firefly Shares eligible for repurchase until such time it is reasonably certain the Company will exercise the purchase option. The transaction, in effect, transferred control of the underlying asset to Firefly. As additional consideration for the right to use the digital taxi tops, Firefly has agreed to pay for certain of Company’s operating expenses associated with the non-digital taxi tops. The Company concluded the payments that Firefly will make on its behalf are considered variable payments and were not included in the calculation of the selling profit. Therefore, the Company will record the benefit and the related operating expenses in the period when the changes in facts and circumstances on which the variable lease payments are based occur.

The Unit Purchase Agreement contains an earnout provision pursuant to which SDM can obtain additional Firefly Shares. The earnout period runs from May 22, 2019 through June 30, 2020. SDM will earn additional Firefly Shares equivalent to the cash collections under certain digital top contracts that were in place at the closing of the transaction. In connection with the additional Firefly Shares expected to be received, the Company recorded an additional $0.3 million gain on the Firefly transaction during the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Firefly Shares will be delivered to SDM shortly after the conclusion of the earnout period.

18

 

7.7. Intangible Assets

 

Intangible assets consisted of the following at March 31, 20192020 (dollars in thousands):

 

 Useful life  Gross  Accumulated Amortization  Net  Useful life  Gross  Accumulated Amortization  Net 
 (Years)        (Years)       
Intangible assets not yet subject to amortization:                              
Software in development    $159  $-  $159      $223  $-  $223 
Intangible assets subject to amortization:                              
Software in service 5   2,226   (711)  1,515   5   2,403   (1,219)  1,184 
Product formulation 10   457   (383) $74   10   431   (385) $46 
Total    $2,842  $(1,094) $1,748     $3,057  $(1,604) $1,453 

 

Intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31, 20182019 (dollars in thousands):

 

 Useful life  Gross  Accumulated Amortization  Net  Useful life  Gross  Accumulated Amortization  Net 
 (Years)        (Years)       
Intangible assets not yet subject to amortization:                              
Software in development    $119  $-  $119      $203  $-  $203 
Intangible assets subject to amortization:                              
Software in service 5   2,188   (595)  1,593   5   2,362   (1,087)  1,275 
Product formulation 10   447   (364)  83   10   471   (415)  56 
Total    $2,754  $(959) $1,795     $3,036  $(1,502) $1,534 

Amortization expense relating to intangible assets was $0.2 million forduring each of the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018.2019.

 

The following table shows the Company’s estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets currently subject to amortization for the next five years (in thousands):

 

Remainder 2019 $373 
2020  489 
Remainder of 2020 $415 
2021  450   516 
2022  224   242 
2023  53   57 
2024  - 
Thereafter  -   - 
Total $1,589  $1,230 

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8.8. Goodwill

 

The following represents a summary of changes in the Company’s carrying amount of goodwill for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 (in thousands):

 

Balance as of December 31, 2018 $875 
Foreign currency translation  19 
Balance as of March 31, 2019 $894 

Balance as of December 31, 2019 $919 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  (77)
Balance as of March 31, 2020 $842 

 

9. Warranty Reserves

In most instances, the Company’s digital projection products are covered by the manufacturing firm’s original warranty; however, for certain customers the Company may grant warranties in excess of the manufacturer’s warranty. In addition, the Company provides warranty coverage on screens it manufactures. The Company accrues for these costs at the time of sale. The following table summarizes warranty activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
Warranty accrual at beginning of period $350  $521 
Charged to expense  67   84 
Claims paid, net of recoveries  (33)  (30)
Foreign currency adjustment  6   (11)
Warranty accrual at end of period $390  $564 

10.9. Debt

 

The Company’s debt consists of the following (in thousands):

 

 March 31, 2019  December 31, 2018  March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
Short-term debt:                
Strong/MDI installment loan $3,162  $3,152  $2,767  $3,080 
Insurance note payable  178   -   421   - 
Current portion of long-term debt  923   1,094   1,016   998 
Total short-term debt  4,263   4,246   4,204   4,078 
Long-term debt:                
Sale-leaseback financing  -   6,769 
Equipment term loans  4,587   4,398   3,788   4,031 
Total principal balance of long-term debt  4,587   11,167   3,788   4,031 
Less: current portion  (923)  (1,094)  (1,016)  (998)
Less: unamortized debt issuance costs  (19)  (20)  (15)  (14)
Total long-term debt  3,645   10,053   2,757   3,019 
Total short-term and long-term debt $7,908  $14,299  $6,961  $7,097 

 

Equipment Term Loans

 

On May 22, 2018, the Company’s subsidiary, Convergent entered into an installment payment agreement with an equipment financing company in order to purchase media players and related equipment in an aggregate amount of up to approximately $4.4 million. Installment payments underIn each contract for purchase of the equipment are due monthly for a period of 60 months. The financing provided in the agreement is secured by the equipment, and the obligations under the agreement are recorded as long-term debt on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. In December 2018 and June 2019, Convergent entered into additional installment payment agreements with other financing companies in order to purchase additional media players and related equipment. Thisequipment, with each round of financing totaledtotaling approximately $0.6 million.million and $0.2 million, respectively. Installment payments under each contract are due monthly for a period of 60 months. The financing under each of the agreements is secured by the respective equipment. The borrowings under the agreements are recorded as long-term debt on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. Collectively, the Company had $4.6$3.8 million of outstanding borrowings under equipment term loan agreements at March 31, 2019,2020, which bear interest at a weighted-average fixed rate of 7.4%7.7%.

 

Strong/MDI Installment Loan

 

On September 5, 2017, the Company’s Canadian subsidiary, Strong/MDI, entered into a demand credit agreement, as amended and restated May 15, 2018, with a bank consisting of a revolving line of credit for up to CDN$3.5 million subject to a borrowing base requirement, a 20-year installment loan for up to CDN$6.0 million and a 5-year installment loan for up to CDN$500,000. Amounts outstanding under the line of credit are payable on demand and will bear interest at the prime rate established by the lender. Amounts outstanding under the installment loans will bear interest at the lender’s prime rate plus 0.5% and are payable in monthly installments, including interest, over their respective borrowing periods. The lender may also demand repayment of the installment loans at any time. The Strong/MDI credit facilities are secured by a lien on Strong/MDI’s Quebec, Canada facility and substantially all of Strong/MDI’s assets. The credit agreement requires Strong/MDI to maintain a ratio of liabilities to “effective equity” (tangible stockholders’ equity, less amounts receivable from affiliates and equity method investments) not exceeding 2 to 1, a current ratio (excluding amounts due from related parties) of at least 1.5 to 1 and minimum “effective equity” of CDN$8.0 million. On April 24, 2018, the Company borrowed CDN$3.5 million on the 20-year installment loan. There was CDN$4.23.9 million, or approximately $2.8 million, of principal outstanding on the 20-year installment loan as of March 31, 2019,2020, which bears variable interest at 4.45%2.95%. Strong/MDI was in compliance with its debt covenants as of March 31, 2019.

Sale-leaseback Financing2020. Subsequent to March 31, 2020, Strong/MDI drew down approximately CDN$2.9 million, or approximately $2.1 million, on its revolving line of credit. Amounts outstanding under Strong/MDI’s line of credit are payable upon demand and bear interest at a 2.45% variable rate.

 

20

On June 29, 2018 the Company and Convergent completed a sale-leaseback of Convergent’s Alpharetta, Georgia office facility. The transaction did not qualify for sale-leaseback accounting under the previous lease accounting standard and was accounted for as a financing liability. Upon adoption of ASC 842 during the first quarter of 2019, the Company derecognized approximately $6.8 million of debt associated with the previous accounting as a failed sale-leaseback. See Note 2 for additional details.

 

Scheduled repayments are as follows for the Company’s long-term debt outstanding as of March 31, 20192020 (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2019 $683 
2020  969 
Remainder of 2020 $758 
2021  1,041   1,079 
2022  1,120   1,146 
2023  762   786 
2024  19 
Thereafter  12   - 
Total $4,587  $3,788 

 

11.Paycheck Protection Program

On April 14, 2020, the Company entered into a promissory note evidencing a loan of $3.2 million (the “Loan”) under the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) of the CARES Act. The Company intended to use the Loan for qualifying payroll, rent and utility expenses in accordance with the terms of the CARES Act. At the time the Company applied for the Loan, the Company believed it qualified to receive the funds pursuant to the PPP.

On April 23, 2020, the SBA, in consultation with the Department of Treasury, issued new guidance that creates additional uncertainty regarding the qualification requirements for a PPP loan for public companies. The Company has less than 300 employees and continues to be severely impacted by the disruption to the cinema, theme park and advertising industries as a result of COVID-19. However, out of an abundance of caution and in light of the new guidance, the Company repaid the full amount of the Loan plus accrued interest to the lender on May 5, 2020.

10. Leases

 

The Company and its subsidiaries lease plant and office facilities and equipment under operating and finance leases expiring through 2028. The Company determines if a contract is or contains a lease at inception or modification of a contract. A contract is or contains a lease if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period in exchange for consideration. Control over the use of the identified asset means the lessee has both (a) the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of the asset and (b) the right to direct the use of the asset.

 

Right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized based on the present value of future minimum lease payments over the expected lease term at commencement date. Certain of the leases contain extension options; however, the Company has not included such options as part of its right-of-use assets and lease liabilities because it does not expect to extend the leases. The Company measures and records a right-of-use asset and lease liability based on the discount rate implicit in the lease, if known. In cases where the discount rate implicit in the lease is not known, the Company measures the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities using a discount rate equal to the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate for loans with similar collateral and duration.

 

The Company elected to not apply the recognition requirements of Topic 842 to leases of all classes of underlying assets that, at the commencement date, have a lease term of 12 months or less and do not include an option to purchase the underlying asset that the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise. Instead, lease payments for such short-term leases are recognized in profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the lease term and variable lease payments in the period in which the obligation for those payments is incurred.

 

The Company elected, as a lessee, for all classes of underlying assets, to not separate nonlease components from lease components and instead to account for each separate lease component and the nonlease components associated with that lease component as a single lease component.

21

 

The following tables present the Company’s lease costs and other lease information as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2019 (dollars in thousands):

 

Lease cost         
 Three Months Ended March 31, 2020  Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 
Finance lease cost:           
Amortization of right-of-use assets $49  $380  $49 
Interest on lease liabilities  19   164   19 
Operating lease cost  687   401   687 
Short-term lease cost  6   15   6 
Sublease income  (86)  (116)  (86)
Net lease cost $675  $844  $675 

 

Other information      
  Three Months Ended March 31, 2020  Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:        
Operating cash flows from finance leases $164  $19 
Operating cash flows from operating leases $341  $590 
Financing cash flows from finance leases $380  $49 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new finance lease liabilities $-  $232 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities $109  $644 

 

Other information   
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:   
Operating cash flows from finance leases $19 
Operating cash flows from operating leases $590 
Financing cash flows from finance leases $49 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new finance lease liabilities $232 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities $644 
Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases (years)  4.3 
Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases (years)  6.2 
Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases  12.4%
Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases  7.8%

As of March 31, 2020
Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases (years)2.9
Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases (years)7.0
Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases12.1%
Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases4.2%

 

22

The following table presents a maturity analysis of the Company’s finance and operating lease liabilities as of March 31, 20192020 (in thousands):

 

  Finance Leases  Operating Leases 
Remainder 2019 $216  $1,912 
2020  202   2,385 
2021  202   2,287 
2022  202   1,787 
2023  187   656 
Thereafter  6   3,117 
Total lease payments  1,015   12,144 
Less: Amount representing interest  (244)  (2,269)
Present value of lease payments  771   9,875 
Less: Current maturities  (181)  (1,833)
Lease obligations, net of current portion $590  $8,042 

  Operating Leases  Finance Leases 
Remainder of 2020 $920  $1,630 
2021  1,169   2,173 
2022  820   1,967 
2023  660   353 
2024  669   88 
Thereafter  2,447   - 
Total lease payments  6,685   6,211 
Less: Amount representing interest  (1,079)  (1,017)
Present value of lease payments  5,606   5,194 
Less: Current maturities  (974)  (1,633)
Lease obligations, net of current portion $4,632  $3,561 

The Company subleases certain office and warehouse space and equipment to third parties. Sublease income is included in net service revenues in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. The following table presents a maturity analysis of the Company’s long-term subleases (in thousands):

 

Remainder 2019 $161 
2020  163 
Remainder of 2020 $109 
2021  137   137 
2022  23   23 
2023  -   - 
2024  - 
Thereafter  -   - 
Total sublease payments $484  $269 

 

The Company leases certain equipment to customers as a component of its Digital Signage as a Service (“DSaaS”) offering. Under DSaaS, the Company provides support, maintenance and content management services in addition to the use of a media player to the customer. The Company elected, as a lessor, for all classes of underlying assets, to not separate nonlease components from lease components and, instead, to account for each separate lease component and the nonlease components associated with that lease component as a single component if the nonlease components otherwise would be accounted for under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606 on revenue from contracts with customers, and both of the following conditions are met: 1) the timing and pattern of transfer for the lease component and nonlease components associated with that lease component are the same and 2) the lease component, if accounted for separately, would be classified as an operating lease in accordance with Topic 842. The combined component is accounted for as a single performance obligation under Topic 606 if the nonlease component or components are the predominant component(s) of the combined component. Otherwise, if the lease component is the predominant component, the combined component is accounted for as an operating lease under ASC 842. In the case of the Company’s DSaaS contracts, the nonlease components are predominant; therefore, revenue from DSaaS contracts is accounted for under Topic 606 and is included in net service revenues in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

12.11. Income Taxes

 

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, the Company considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income. The Company considers the scheduled reversal of taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. A cumulative loss in a particular tax jurisdiction in recent years is a significant piece of evidence with respect to the realizability that is difficult to overcome. Based on the available objective evidence, including recent updates to the taxing jurisdictions generating income, the Company concluded that a valuation allowance should be recorded against all of the Company’s U.S. tax jurisdiction deferred tax assets as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2019.

23

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provides for a territorial tax system, which began in 2018. It includes the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) provision. The GILTI provisions require the Company to include in its U.S. income tax return foreign subsidiary earnings in excess of an allowable return on the foreign subsidiary’s tangible assets. As a result of the GILTI provisions, the Company’s inclusion of taxable income was incorporated into the overall net operating loss and valuation allowance for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019.

Changes in tax laws may affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities and the Company’s effective tax rate in the future. On March 27, 2020, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted. The CARES Act made significant changes to Federal tax laws, including certain changes that are retroactive to the prior year. The effects of these changes relate to deferred tax assets and net operating losses; all of which are offset by valuation allowance.

 

The Company is subject to possible examinations not yet initiated for Federal purposes for fiscal years 20152016 through 2017.2019. In most cases, the Company is subject to possible examinations by state or local jurisdictions based on the particular jurisdiction’s statute of limitations.

 

13.12. Stock Compensation

 

The Company recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards made to employees and directors based on estimated grant date fair values. Stock-based compensation expense included in selling and administrative expenses approximated $0.2was $0.3 million and $0.3$0.2 million for the three month periodsmonths ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018,2019, respectively.

 

The Company’s 2017 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan (“2017 Plan”) was approved by the Company’s stockholders and provides the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors with the discretion to grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted shares, restricted stock units, performance shares, performance units and other stock-based awards and cash-based awards. Vesting terms vary with each grant and may be subject to vesting upon a “change in control” of the Company. The totalOn December 17, 2019, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2017 Plan to (i) increase the number of shares of the Company’s common stock authorized for issuance under the 2017 Plan is 1,371,189by 1,975,000 shares with 1,082,656and (ii) extend the expiration date of the 2017 Plan by approximately two years, until October 27, 2029. As of March 31, 2020, 2,366,778 shares remainingwere available for grant at March 31, 2019.issuance under the amended and restated 2017 Plan.

 

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Stock Options

The Company did not grant options during the three month period ended March 31, 2019 and granted a total of 387,500 options during the three month period ended March 31, 2018. Options to purchase shares of common stock were granted with exercise prices equal to the fair value of the common stock on the date of grant.

The weighted average grant date fair value of stock options granted during the three month period ended March 31, 2018 was $1.82. The fair value of each stock option granted was estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions:

2018
Expected dividend yield at date of grant0.00%
Risk-free interest rate2.49%
Expected stock price volatility35.65%
Expected life of options (in years)6.0

The risk-free interest rate assumptions were based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of the grant. Expected volatility is based on historical daily price changes of the Company’s stock for six years prior to the date of grant. The expected life of options is the average number of years the Company estimates that options will be outstanding.

 

The following table summarizes stock option activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019:2020:

 

 Number of
Options
  

Weighted

Average

Exercise Price
Per Share

  Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (Years)
  Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
(in thousands)
  Number of Options  Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share  Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)  Aggregate Intrinsic Value
(in thousands)
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2018  867,000  $5.06   8.3  $- 
Outstanding at December 31, 2019  1,107,000  $4.47   7.9  $148 
Granted  -   -           -             
Exercised  -   -           -             
Forfeited  (27,500)  5.19           -             
Expired  (6,000)  5.03           -             
Outstanding at March 31, 2019  833,500  $5.06   8.0  $- 
Exercisable at March 31, 2019  287,500  $5.12   7.5  $- 
Outstanding at March 31, 2020  1,107,000  $4.47   7.6  $- 
Exercisable at March 31, 2020  441,000  $5.09   6.7  $- 

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The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the total that would have been received by the option holders if all in-the-money options had been exercised and sold on the date indicated.

 

As of March 31, 2019, 546,0002020, 666,000 stock option awards were non-vested. Unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock option awardsoptions was approximately $1.0 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 3.33.0 years.

Restricted Stock Shares and Restricted Stock Units

The Company estimates the fair value of restricted stock awards based upon the market price of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. As of March 31, 2019, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted stock awards was approximately $0.7 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.6 years.

 

The following table summarizes restricted stock share activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019:2020:

 

  

Number of Restricted

Stock Shares

  Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair Value
 
Non-vested at December 31, 2018  46,667  $6.50 
Granted  -   - 
Shares vested  (23,333)  6.50 
Shares forfeited  -   - 
Non-vested at March 31, 2019  23,334  $6.50 

  Number of Restricted Stock Shares  Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value 
Non-vested at December 31, 2019  23,334  $6.50 
Granted  -     
Shares vested  (23,334)  6.50 
Shares forfeited  -     
Non-vested at March 31, 2020  -     

 

The following table summarizes restricted stock unit activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019:

  Number of Restricted
Stock Units
  Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair Value
 
Non-vested at December 31, 2018  277,498  $3.33 
Granted  -   - 
Shares vested  (75,833)  3.87 
Shares forfeited  -   - 
Non-vested at March 31, 2019  201,665  $3.12 

2020:

 

  Number of Restricted Stock Units  Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value 
Non-vested at December 31, 2019  522,379  $3.14 
Granted  -     
Shares vested  (35,833)  4.70 
Shares forfeited  -     
Non-vested at March 31, 2020  486,546  $3.03 

As of March 31, 2020, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted stock unit awards was approximately $1.1 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.0 years.

14.13. Commitments, Contingencies and Concentrations

 

Litigation

 

The Company is involved, from time to time, in certain legal disputes in the ordinary course of business operations. No such disputes, individually or in the aggregate, are expected to have a material effect on the Company’s business or financial condition.

 

Concentrations

 

The Company’s top ten customers accounted for approximately 52% of total consolidated net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Trade accounts receivable from these customers represented approximately 42% of net consolidated receivables at March 31, 2019. The Company had one customer account for more than 10% of its net revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2019.2020. Trade accounts receivable from these customers represented approximately 40% of net consolidated receivables at March 31, 2020. In addition, the Company had one customer account for more than 10% of both its consolidated net revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and its net consolidated receivables atas of March 31, 2019.2020. While the Company believes its relationships with such customers are stable, most arrangements are made by purchase order and are terminable at will by either party. A significant decrease or interruption in business from the Company’s significant customers could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company could also be adversely affected by such factors as changes in foreign currency rates and weak economic and political conditions in each of the countries in which the Company sells its products.

 

25

Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to a concentration of credit risk principally consist of accounts receivable. The Company sells product to a large number of customers in many different geographic regions. To minimize credit risk, the Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition.

 

24

Insurance Recoveries

 

During February 2019, one portion of Strong/MDI’s Quebec, Canada facility sustained damage as a result of inclement weather. In connection with the damage to the facility, during the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company incurred costs of (i) $0.1 million to write off the net book value of property and equipment and inventories and (ii) $0.3 million of salaries, debris removal, temporary facilities and other incremental operating expenses. The Company has property and casualty and business interruption insurance and has been working with its insurance carrier with regard to the insurance claims for reimbursement of incurred costs of the affected portion of the facility and compensation for the Company’s business interruption losses.

 

The insurance company has informed the Company that is has established preliminary loss reserves for both property and casualty claims and business interruption claims totaling in excess of CDN$5.0 million. Those claims reserves are estimates based on preliminary information and are subject to change asThrough March 31, 2020, the insurance carrier completes its analyses and continues their claims review process over the next several months. The ultimate amount of insurance proceeds to be received by the Company could be significantly different than the insurance company’s reserve estimates. During the quarter ended March, 31, 2019, the insurance carrierhas advanced $0.2$3.0 million of insurance proceeds to the Company. TheCompany, which included $1.9 million related to the property and casualty claim and the remaining $1.1 million related to our business interruption claim. Any additional future claims payments are at the discretion of the insurance carrier has also informed the Company that a second advance payment of CDN$1.5 million is in process, which the Company expects to receive in the second quarter of 2019.based on its continuing claims analysis.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, the Company recorded total insurance recoveries of its incurred costs totaling $0.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The Company has also deferred $0.8 million of which $0.2 million had beenproceeds received prior to March 31, 2019 and $0.2 million which was included in Accounts Receivableconnection with the business interruption claim within accrued expenses on ourthe condensed consolidated balance sheet. Those recoveries offset the operating costs detailed above, and effectively offset the incremental costs incurred by the Company in the first quarter.sheet as of March 31, 2020. Recovery of lost revenue and profit under the business interruption coverage will be reflected in future periods as contingencies are resolved and the amounts are confirmed and received fromwith the insurer.

 

15.14. Business Segment Information

 

The Company conducts its operations through three primary business segments: Strong Cinema,Entertainment (formerly known as Strong Cinema), Convergent and Strong Outdoor. The Strong CinemaEntertainment segment name change is to the name only and had no impact on the Company’s historical financial position, results of operations, cash flow or segment level results previously reported. Strong Entertainment is one of the largest manufacturers of premium projection screens and also manufactures customized screen support systems, distributes other products and provides technical support services to the cinema, amusement park and other markets. Convergent delivers digital signage solutions and related services to large multi-location organizations in the United States and Canada. Strong Outdoor provides outdoor advertising and experiential marketing to advertising agencies and corporate customers.accounts, primarily in New York City. The Company’s operating segments were determined based on the manner in which management organizes segments for making operating decisions and assessing performance. During the fourth quarter 2018, the Company separated its former Digital Media segment into separate Convergent and Strong Outdoor segments. All prior periods have been recast in our segment reporting to reflect the current segment organization.

 

 2526 

 

Summary by Business Segments

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2020  2019 
  (in thousands) 
Net revenues        
Strong Entertainment $7,315  $7,601 
Convergent  4,962   5,535 
Strong Outdoor  1,197   1,093 
Other  101   77 
Total net revenues  13,575   14,306 
         
Gross profit (loss)        
Strong Entertainment  1,834   2,415 
Convergent  1,985   1,569 
Strong Outdoor  333   (1,416)
Other  101   77 
Total gross profit  4,253   2,645 
         
Operating (loss) income        
Strong Entertainment  (337)  1,159 
Convergent  857   752 
Strong Outdoor  (376)  (2,012)
Other  (114)  (237)
Total segment operating income (loss)  30   (338)
Unallocated administrative expenses  (1,951)  (2,238)
Loss from operations  (1,921)  (2,576)
Other income (expense), net  505   (736)
Loss before income taxes and equity method investment loss $(1,416) $(3,312)

 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
  (in thousands) 
Net revenues        
Strong Cinema $7,853  $11,450 
Convergent  5,538   4,607 
Strong Outdoor  1,093   62 
Other  123   64 
Total segment net revenues  14,607   16,183 
Eliminations  (301)  (355)
Total net revenues  14,306   15,828 
         
Gross profit (loss)        
Strong Cinema  2,415   3,385 
Convergent  1,569   666 
Strong Outdoor  (1,416)  (1,265)
Other  123   64 
Total segment gross profit  2,691   2,850 
Eliminations  (46)  - 
Total gross profit  2,645   2,850 
         
Operating income (loss)        
Strong Cinema  1,159   2,325 
Convergent  752   (1,025)
Strong Outdoor  (2,012)  (1,497)
Other  (237)  (87)
Total segment operating loss  (338)  (284)
Unallocated administrative expenses  (2,238)  (2,800)
Loss from operations  (2,576)  (3,084)
Other (expense) income, net  (736)  7 
Loss before income taxes and equity method investment loss $(3,312) $(3,077)
(In thousands) March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
Identifiable assets        
Strong Entertainment $18,730  $18,135 
Convergent  13,736   15,797 
Strong Outdoor  3,491   3,737 
Corporate assets  21,258   19,964 
Total $57,215  $57,633 

 

(In thousands) March 31, 2019  December 31, 2018 
Identifiable assets        
Strong Cinema $24,764  $27,009 
Convergent  14,290   14,024 
Strong Outdoor  6,516   3,454 
Corporate assets  15,987   15,150 
Total $61,557  $59,637 

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Summary by Geographical Area

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,  Three Months Ended March 31, 
(In thousands) 2019  2018  2020  2019 
Net revenue                
United States $12,864  $12,830  $11,680  $12,864 
Canada  798   1,400   740   798 
China  212   541   201   212 
Mexico  3   556   78   3 
Latin America  29   270   276   29 
Europe  280   158   194   280 
Asia (excluding China)  58   73   258   58 
Other  62   -   148   62 
Total $14,306  $15,828  $13,575  $14,306 

 

(In thousands) March 31, 2019  December 31, 2018  March 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
Identifiable assets                
United States $46,038  $42,780  $39,430  $37,508 
Canada  15,519   16,857   17,785   20,125 
Total $61,557  $59,637  $57,215  $57,633 

 

Net revenues by business segment are to unaffiliated customers. Net revenues by geographical area are based on destination of sales. Identifiable assets by geographical area are based on location of facilities.

 

 27 

 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this report. Management’s discussion and analysis contains not only historical information, but also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements that are not historical are forward-looking and reflect expectations for future Company performance. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

 

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 20182019 and the following risks and uncertainties: the Company’s ability to maintain and expand its revenue streams, potential interruptions of supplier relationships or higher prices charged by suppliers, the Company’s ability to successfully compete and introduce enhancements and new features that achieve market acceptance and that keep pace with technological developments, the Company’s access to capital, the Company’s ability to successfully execute its capital allocation strategy, the Company’s ability to maintain its brand and reputation and retain or replace its significant customers, the impact of a challenging global economic environment or a downturn in the markets (such as the current economic disruption and market volatility generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), economic and political risks of selling products in foreign countries (including tariffs), risks of non-compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations, potential sales tax collections and claims for uncollected amounts, cybersecurity risks and risks of damage and interruptions of information technology systems, the Company’s ability to retain key members of management and successfully integrate new executives, the Company’s ability to complete acquisitions, strategic investments, entry into new lines of business, divestitures, mergers or other transactions on acceptable terms or at all, the Company’s ability to utilize or assert its intellectual property rights, the impact of natural disasters and other catastrophic events (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), the adequacy of insurance and the impact of having a controlling stockholder. Given the risks and uncertainties, readersshould not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should recognize that the statements are predictions of future results which may not occur as anticipated. Many of the risks listed above have been, and may be further be, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the cinema and entertainment industry, and the worsening economic environment. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and from historical results, due to the risks and uncertainties described herein, as well as others not now anticipated. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Except where required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such forward-looking statements.

 

Overview

 

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (“BTN”, “Ballantyne”, “the Company”, “we”, “our” and “us”) is a holding company with diverse business activities focused on serving the cinema,entertainment, retail financial,and advertising and government markets. The Company and its subsidiaries design, integrate and install technology solutions for a broad range of applications; develop and deliver out-of-home messaging, advertising and communications; manufacture projection screens; and provide managed services including monitoring of networked equipment to our customers. We add value through our design, engineering, manufacturing excellence and customer service.

 

We conduct our operations through three primary businessoperating segments: Strong Cinema,Entertainment (formerly known as Strong Cinema), Convergent and Strong Outdoor. The Strong Entertainment segment name change is to the name only and had no impact on our historical financial position, results of operations, cash flow or segment level results previously reported. Our Strong CinemaEntertainment business is one of the largest manufacturers of premium projection screens. We also manufacture customized screen support systems, distribute other products and provide technical support services to the cinema, amusement park and other markets. Convergent delivers digital signage solutions and related services to large multi-location organizations in the United States and Canada. Strong Outdoor provides outdoor advertising and experiential marketing to advertising agencies and corporate customers. Strong Outdoor started operations in the second half of 2018 and began selling advertising on its approximately 3,500 taxi cab signsaccounts, primarily in New York City, with plans to ramp operations, enter other markets and begin its experiential marketing operations in 2019.City.

28

 

Our segments were determined based on the manner in which management organizes segments for making operating decisions and assessing performance. Approximately 53%54% of our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 were from Strong Cinema,Entertainment, approximately 39%37% were from Convergent and approximately 8%9% were from Strong Outdoor. During the fourth quarter 2018, we separated our former Digital Media segment into separate Convergent and Strong Outdoor segments. All prior periods have been recast in our segment reporting to reflect the current segment organization. Additional information related to our reporting segments can be found in Note 1514 in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) was initially reported, and in March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. COVID-19 has had a widespread and detrimental effect on the global economy as a result of the continued increase in the number of cases and affected countries and actions by public health and governmental authorities, businesses, other organizations and individuals to address the outbreak, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place, stay at home or total lock-down orders and business limitations and shutdowns. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and any additional preventative and protective actions that governments, or we or our customers, may direct, which may result in an extended period of continued business disruption and reduced operations. Any resulting financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but we expect it will continue to have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While business and revenue for the first two months of 2020 started off strong, continuing the favorable trends from the last half of 2019, our customers, particularly those in the entertainment and advertising industries, have been significantly impacted by COVID-19.

The repercussions of the COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in a significant impact to our customers, specifically those in the entertainment and advertising industries, and their ability and willingness to spend on our products and services, which is negatively impacting us. A significant number of our customers have temporarily ceased operations during the pandemic; as such, we have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience at least until our customers have resumed normal operations, a significant decline in our results of operations. For instance, during this time, many movie theaters and other entertainment centers have been forced to close or curtail their hours; many advertisers began to reduce, postpone, or cancel their advertising campaigns as social distancing measures, including closures of schools and non-essential businesses, and restrictions around the free movement of people were implemented; and a number of events during which our experiential marketing services may have been provided have been postponed or cancelled. In addition to decreased business spending by our customers and prospective customers and reduced demand for our products, lower renewal rates by our customers, increased customer losses/churn, increased challenges in or cost of acquiring new customers and increased risk in collectability of accounts receivable may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We have also experienced other negative impacts; among other actions, we were required to temporarily close our screen manufacturing facility in Canada due to the governmental response to COVID-19, which we were able to re-open on May 11, 2020, and have experienced lower revenues from field services and a reduction in non-recurring time and materials-based services. The completion of our outsourced screen finishing facility in China was also delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are currently unable to estimate when the facility will be completed and operational. In addition, as a result of the recent significant decline in global equity values, the Company expects to record a loss from its investment in PIH during the second quarter of 2020 of approximately $1.4 million. We may also experience one or more of the following conditions that could have a material adverse impact on our business operations and financial condition: adverse effects on our strategic partners’ businesses; impairment charges; extreme currency exchange-rate fluctuations; inability to recover costs from insurance carriers; and business continuity concerns for us and our third-party vendors.

In response to uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken, and are continuing to take, significant steps to preserve cash by eliminating non-essential costs, reducing employee hours and deferring all non-essential capital expenditures to minimum levels. Among other mitigating actions, we have implemented targeted furloughs, temporarily curtailed our service and distribution activities in the United States and temporarily reduced compensation of our executive officers and certain other employees. We have also implemented remote work policies for many employees, and the resources available to such employees may not enable them to maintain the same level of productivity and efficiency, and these and other employees may face additional demands on their time, such as increased responsibilities resulting from school closures or illness of family members. Our increased reliance on remote access to our information systems also increases our exposures to potential cybersecurity breaches. We cannot provide any assurance that these actions will help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on us.

 2829 

We cannot provide any assurance that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will remain accurate due to the unprecedented nature of the disruption to our operations and the unpredictability of the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a consequence, our estimates of the duration of the pandemic and the severity of the impact on our future earnings and cash flows could change and have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. In the first quarter of 2020, management decided to draw down CDN$2.9 million, or approximately $2.1 million, under Strong/MDI’s credit facility. Furthermore, we are in the process of reviewing and applying for wage subsidies, tax credits and other financial support under the newly enacted COVID-19 relief legislation in the U.S. and Canada. However, the legislation and guidance from the authorities continues to evolve; as such the amount and timing of support, if any, that we could receive is not determinable at this time, and there can be no guarantees that we will receive financial support through these programs. In the event of a sustained market deterioration, and continued declines in net sales, we may need additional liquidity, which would require us to evaluate available alternatives and take appropriate actions. We cannot provide any assurance that these actions, or any other mitigating actions we may take, will help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on us.

The ultimate duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows is dependent on future developments, including the duration of the pandemic and the related length of its impact on the global economy, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. Furthermore, the extent to which our mitigation efforts are successful, if at all, is not presently ascertainable. However, we expect that our results of operations, including revenues, in future periods will continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effects on global economic conditions, which include the possibility of a global recession.

 

Results of Operations:Operations

 

The following table sets forth our operating results for the periods indicated, the percentage of net revenues represented by certain items reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations.indicated:

 

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
Net revenues  100.0%  100.0%
Cost of revenues  81.5   82.0 
Gross profit  18.5   18.0 
Selling and administrative expenses  36.0   37.5 
Loss from operations  (18.0)  (19.5)
Net loss  (29.0)  (23.9)

  Three Months Ended March 31,       
  2020  2019  $ Change  % Change 
  (dollars in thousands)    
Net revenues $13,575  $14,306  $(731)  (5.1)%
Cost of revenues  9,322   11,661   (2,339)  (20.1)%
Gross profit  4,253   2,645   1,608   60.8%
Gross profit percentage  31.3%  18.5%        
Selling and administrative expenses  6,174   5,157   1,017   19.7%
Loss on disposal of assets  -   (64)  64   (100.0)%
Loss from operations  (1,921)  (2,576)  655   (25.4)%
Other income (expense)  505   (736)  1,241   (168.6)%
Loss before income taxes and equity method investment income (loss)  (1,416)  (3,312)  1,896   (57.2)%
Income tax expense  (400)  (141)  (259)  183.7%
Equity method investment income (loss)  1,369   (697)  2,066   (296.4)%
Net loss $(447) $(4,150) $3,703   (89.2)%

30

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 20182019

 

Revenues

 

Net revenues during the quarter ended March 31, 20192020 decreased 9.6%5.1% to $14.3$13.6 million from $15.8$14.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2018.2019.

 

  Three Months Ended March 31,       
  2019  2018  $ Change  % Change 
  (dollars in thousands)    
Strong Cinema $7,853  $11,450  $(3,597)  (31.4)%
Convergent  5,538   4,607   931   20.2%
Strong Outdoor  1,093   62   1,031   1662.9%
Other  123   64   59   92.2%
Total segment net revenues  14,607   16,183   (1,576)  (9.7)%
Eliminations  (301)  (355)  54   (15.2)%
Total net revenues $14,306  $15,828  $(1,522)  (9.6)%

  Three Months Ended March 31,       
  2020  2019  $ Change  % Change 
  (dollars in thousands)    
Strong Entertainment $7,315  $7,601  $(286)  (3.8)%
Convergent  4,962   5,535   (573)  (10.4)%
Strong Outdoor  1,197   1,093   104   9.5%
Other  101   77   24   31.2%
Total net revenues $13,575  $14,306  $(731)  (5.1)%

 

Strong CinemaEntertainment

 

Sales of Cinema products and servicesRevenue from Strong Entertainment decreased 31.4%3.8% to $7.9$7.3 million in the first quarter of 20192020 from $11.4$7.6 million in the first quarter of 2018. The decrease was primarily the result of a weather-related incident affecting our production facility in Quebec and a decrease in non-recurring audio and projection system sales. As a result of excessive snow pack on the roof, a portion of the Quebec facility suffered damage that caused the facility to temporarily halt operations for several weeks in the first quarter of 2019. The facility resumed operations in March and is producing and shipping productdecrease was primarily due to its customers, although we will continue to experience inefficiencies while the affected portionimpact of the building is being repaired. We have filed claims withCOVID-19 pandemic, including the government mandated temporary closure of our insurance carriers to recover lost revenuesscreen manufacturing facility in Quebec and profits as a result of the incident. Recoveries from business interruption will be recognized in future periods as those claims are processed and amounts are finalized and received. In addition,lower revenues from field service projects. Revenue during the first quarter of 2019 was negatively impacted by roof damage that caused the Company’s Quebec screen facility to temporarily halt operations for a portion of the first and equipment sales decreased duesecond quarter of 2019.

In March 2020, the Quebec government ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses, including our Quebec facility. In April 2020, the Quebec government announced that the temporary shutdown of certain businesses, including our manufacturing facility, would end in May 2020, and we reopened our facility on May 11, 2020. In addition, while we originally expected to large non-recurring projectshave our outsourced screen finishing facility in China up and running in the first quarter of 20182020, the outbreak of COVID-19 in China has delayed those plans, and we are currently unable to estimate when the facility will be completed and operational. We expect that did not repeat in 2019, as well as a reduction in non-recurring timecinemas, theme parks and materials based services.other entertainment venues will begin to reopen their doors to customers this summer.

29

Convergent

 

SalesRevenue from Convergent decreased 10.4% to $5.0 million in the first quarter of Convergent products and services increased 20.2% to2020 from $5.5 million in the first quarter of 20192019. Convergent’s service revenues increased approximately $0.6 million on growth in DSaaS customer installations, while revenue from $4.6non-recurring installation work decreased approximately $1.1 million indue to a large non-recurring installation project during the first quarter of 2018. The increase was driven primarily by the increased recurring revenue2019. Convergent experienced moderate impact from COVID-19 in March and installation revenue from the rolloutApril 2020 and continues to support its retail customers, many of the DSaaS program to large enterprise customers. Revenue from the installation of other products also increased from the prior year due the timing of customer installation projectswhom provide essential services and the increaseremain in new business.operation.

 

Strong Outdoor

 

Revenue from Strong Outdoor was a start-up business in 2018 and began generating meaningful advertising revenue after the first quarter of 2018. For$1.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared to $1.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2019. The increase in revenue was due to higher revenue from our one-time experiential marketing campaigns and premium static taxitop advertising, partially offset by the reduction in revenue from digital taxitops as a result of the Firefly transaction. If the Firefly transaction had been effective as of January 1, 2019, and the digital taxitops transferred to Firefly as of that date, revenue during the first quarter of 2019 would have been lower by $0.6 million. Strong Outdoor’s advertising revenues fromhave been significantly impacted by COVID-19 as its primary advertising services was $1.1 million.market is New York City, which has been largely closed in April and May 2020.

 

31

Gross Profit

 

GrossConsolidated gross profit during the quarter ended March 31, 2019 was $2.6 million comparedincreased 60.8% to $2.9$4.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2018.2020 from $2.6 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2019. As a percentage of revenue, gross profit improved to 18.5%31.3% for the quarter ended March 31, 20192020 compared to 18.0%18.5% for the first quarter of 2018.

2019.

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,       Three Months Ended March 31,      
 2019  2018  $ Change  % Change  2020  2019  $ Change  % Change 
 (dollars in thousands)    (dollars in thousands)   
Strong Cinema $2,415  $3,385  $(970)  (28.7)%
Strong Entertainment $1,834  $2,415  $(581)  (24.1)%
Convergent  1,569   666   903   135.6%  1,985   1,569   416   26.5%
Strong Outdoor  (1,416)  (1,265)  (151)  11.9%  333   (1,416)  1,749   (123.5)%
Other  123   64   59   92.2%  101   77   24   31.2%
Total segment gross profit  2,691   2,850   (159)  (5.6)%
Eliminations  (46)  -   (46)  N/A 
Total gross profit $2,645  $2,850  $(205)  (7.2)% $4,253  $2,645  $1,608   60.8%

 

Strong CinemaEntertainment

 

Gross profit in the CinemaStrong Entertainment segment was $2.4$1.8 million or 30.8%25.1% of revenues in the first quarter of 20192020 compared to $3.4$2.4 million or 29.6%31.8% of revenues in the first quarter of 2018.2019. The decrease in gross profit dollars is primarily due to the short term disruptiondecline in our manufacturing operationsscreen and field service revenues related revenues as discussed above. As a percentage of revenue, gross profit improved, primarily as a result ofto COVID-19and changes in product mix.

 

Convergent

 

Gross profit in the Convergent segment was $2.0 million or 40.0% of revenues in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $1.6 million or 28.3% of revenues in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $0.7 million or 14.4% of revenues in the first quarter of 2018.2019. The increase in gross profit was driven primarily by the increase in higher margin DSaaS revenue combined with positive impact of the cost reduction initiatives implemented in mid-2018.revenue.

 

Strong Outdoor

 

Gross profit in the Strong Outdoor generated asegment was $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared negative gross lossprofit of $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. The increase in revenue2019. Gross profit improved during the first quarter of 2019 was2020 due to increased revenue from experiential marketing campaigns and lower fixed operating costs, partially offset by increased fixedreduced revenue from digital tops following the Firefly transaction. If the Firefly transaction had been effective as of January 1, 2019, Strong Outdoor’s costs associated with our new advertising operations. In addition to lease expense forof sales would have been reduced by $1.4 million during the digital signs, we incur fixed fees payable to our taxicab counterparties for advertising access and maintenance. We expect gross losses in the taxicab advertising business will continue for the next several quarters.first quarter of 2019.

30

 

Operating Income (Loss)

 

We generated anConsolidated operating loss was $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to2019.

  Three Months Ended March 31,       
  2020  2019  $ Change  % Change 
  (dollars in thousands)    
Strong Entertainment $(337) $1,159  $(1,496)  (129.1)%
Convergent  857   752   105   14.0%
Strong Outdoor  (376)  (2,012)  1,636   (81.3)%
Other  (114)  (237)  123   (51.9)%
Total segment operating income (loss)  30   (338)  368   (108.9)%
Unallocated administrative expenses  (1,951)  (2,238)  287   (12.8)%
Total operating loss $(1,921) $(2,576) $655   (25.4)%

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Strong Entertainment generated an operating loss of $3.1$0.3 million in the first quarter of 2018.

  Three Months Ended March 31,       
  2019  2018  $ Change  % Change 
  (dollars in thousands)    
Strong Cinema $1,159  $2,325  $(1,166)  (50.2)%
Convergent  752   (1,025)  1,777   (173.4)%
Strong Outdoor  (2,012)  (1,497)  (515)  34.4%
Other  (237)  (87)  (150)  172.4%
Total segment operating loss  (338)  (284)  (54)  19.0%
Unallocated administrative expenses  (2,238)  (2,800)  562   (20.1)%
Total operating loss $(2,576) $(3,084) $508   (16.5)%

Strong Cinema generated2020 compared to operating income of $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2018.2019. The decrease in operating income was primarily due to the short term disruptiondecline in our manufacturing operations and related revenues as discussed above. In addition, since many of Strong Entertainment’s customers have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, we recorded $0.7 million of bad debt expense during the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the increased uncertainty related to collection of trade accounts receivable.

 

Convergent generated operating income of $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to an operating loss of $1.0 million in2019. Operating income during the first quarter of 2018. We restructured Convergent’s operations in mid-20182020 increased as a result of our investment to reduce operating costs, eliminate low/negative margin products, and to invest in growing ourgrow the higher margin recurring revenue business lines. In addition,The increased gross margin and higher operating income from recurring revenue was favorably impactedpartially offset by approximatelya $0.5 million byfavorable bad debt recovery during the settlement and collectionfirst quarter of a customer account that had previously been fully reserved as uncollectible.2019.

 

Strong Outdoor generated an operating loss of $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared2019. The improvement in operating results was primarily due to an operating loss of $1.5the increased gross profit mentioned above.

Unallocated administrative expenses decreased to $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2018. The increase in operating loss was driven primarily by our investment in sales resources to grow the top line revenue in future periods. We expect Strong Outdoor to continue to generate operating losses in 2019 as monthly expenses are expected to exceed revenues; however, we expect operating losses to begin to improve over the course of 2019 as we anticipate an increase in advertising sales.

Unallocated administrative expenses decreased2020 compared to $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2018.2019. The decrease was driven primarily by professional feesa reduction in costs associated with contractors and employee compensation.consultants and lower overall compensation expense.

 

Other Financial Items

 

Total other income of $0.5 million for the first quarter of 2020 primarily consisted of foreign currency transaction adjustments of $0.5 million and a $0.3 million gain related to the earnout provision associated with the Firefly transaction, partially offset by $0.3 million of interest expense. For the first quarter of 2019, total other loss of $0.7 million primarily consisted of a $0.5 million fair value adjustment to notes receivable, $0.1 million of foreign currency translationtransaction adjustments and $0.1 million of interest expense. For the first quarter of 2018, $0.1 million of foreign currency translation adjustments was offset by interest expense of $0.1 million. The estimated fair market value of the notes receivable is inherently volatile by its nature and subject to upward and downward revisions each quarter as more information becomes available to estimate the ultimate cash proceeds to be received by the Company in the future.

 

Income tax expense was approximately $0.4 million during the first quarter of 2020 compared to $0.1 million during the first quarter of 2019. Our income tax expense consists primarily of income tax on foreign earnings.

We recorded equity method investment income of $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, consisting of equity method investment gains of $1.4 million from PIH and a loss of $48 thousand from Itasca. The equity method income from PIH was primarily the result of PIH’s non-cash gains associated with the change in fair value of its investment in the common stock of FedNat Holding Company (Nasdaq: FNHC) and PIH’s gain on the sale of its homeowners insurance operations. As a result of the recent significant decline in global equity values, we expect to record a loss from our investment in PIH during the second quarter of 2020 of approximately $1.4 million. The first quarter of 2019 includes equity method investment loss of $0.7 million, primarily consisting of losses from Itasca of $0.8 million, partially offset by income from PIH of $0.1 million. The losses from Itasca are a result of the temporary loss in market value of its investment in Limbach Holdings, which we expect to reverse in future quarters.

 

As a result of the items outlined above, we generated a net loss of approximately $4.2$0.4 million, andor $0.03 per basic and diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $0.29 in the first quarter of 2019,2020, compared to a net loss of $3.8$4.2 million, andor $0.29 per basic and diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $0.26 in the first quarter of 2018.2019.

31

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

During the past several years, we have primarily met our working capital and capital resource needs from our operating cash flows and credit facilities. Our primary cash requirements involve operating expenses, working capital fluctuations, capital expenditures, and other general corporate activities. We incurred operating losses and negative operating cash flow in our Convergent business for the first three quarters of 2018, as we executed our plans to restructure that business to reduce operating costs and invest in higher margin recurring revenue. Convergent’s financial performance has improved significantly as a result of those actions and is now generating positive operating income and cash from operations. The startup of Strong Outdoor negatively impacted our cash flow as we investinvested in building that business. Cash flow from Strong CinemaEntertainment and Convergent during 2019 was historically used to fund our corporate operating expenses and startupStrong Outdoor. Our capital expenditures during 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 included costs incurred in the construction of the Strong Entertainment production facility in Quebec that sustained damage as a result of inclement weather. The purchase of equipment in connection with the expansion of our other lines ofConvergent business during 2018.operations has recently been funded via term loan borrowings and capital leases, and we may continue to do so.

 

33

As

We ended the first quarter of March 31, 2019, we had2020 with total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of $5.3$6.9 million compared to $7.0$5.3 million at December 31, 2018.2019. Of the $5.3$6.9 million $1.7as of March 31, 2020, $3.3 million was held by our Canadian subsidiary, Strong/MDI, and $0.4 million was restricted. Strong/MDI also makes intercompany loans to the U.S. parent company which do not trigger Canadian withholding taxes if they meet certain requirements. As of March 31, 2020, the parent company had outstanding intercompany loans from Strong/MDI of approximately $32.6 million. In the event those loans are not repaid, or are recharacterized as dividends to the U.S. parent company, we would be required to pay Canadian withholding taxes, which have been fully accrued as of March 31, 2020.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related closures of cinemas, theme parks and entertainment venues, we have taken steps to conserve cash, reduce operating expenditures, delay capital expenditures, and to manage working capital. We have also implemented targeted furloughs, headcount reductions and temporary salary cuts for our executive officers and certain other employees in order to reduce expenses. Subsequent to March 31, 2020, Strong/MDI drew down approximately CDN $2.9 million, or approximately $2.1 million, on its revolving line of credit to provide additional liquidity during this period, and we have equity investments that could be monetized to generate additional cash.

 

We believe that our existing sources of liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents, operating cash flow, credit facilities, equity investments, receivables and other assets will be sufficient to meet our projected capital needs for the foreseeable future.at least the next twelve months. However, our ability to continue to meet our cash requirements will depend on, among other things, the duration of COVID-19 related restrictions on cinemas and theme parks, our ability to achieve anticipated levels of revenues and cash flow from operations, our ability to manage costs and working capital successfully and the continued availability of financing, if needed. We cannot provide any assurance that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will remain accurate due to the unprecedented nature of the disruption to our operations and the unpredictability of the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a consequence, our estimates of the duration of the pandemic and the severity of the impact on our future earnings and cash flows could change and have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. In the event of a sustained market deterioration, and continued declines in net sales, we may need additional liquidity, which would require us to evaluate available alternatives and take appropriate actions. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to obtain any additional sources of financing or liquidity on acceptable terms, or at all. See Note 9 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for a description of our debt as of March 31, 2020.

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020. Cash flows generated by Convergent and changes in working capital were partially offset by the operating loss generated by Strong Entertainment and Strong Outdoor as well as cash outflows for selling and administrative expenses. Net cash used in operating activities was $1.4 million in the first three months of 2019. The operating loss generated by Strong Outdoor and cash outflows for selling and administrative expenses were partially offset by the operating income and cash flows generated by Strong CinemaEntertainment and Convergent and improvements in working capital.

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

 

Net cash used in investing activities was $0.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020, consisting entirely of capital expenditures. Net cash used in investing activities was $0.2 million in the first three months of 2019, consisting of $0.3 million of capital expenditures, partially offset by $0.1 million of proceeds received from the disposal of assets. Net cash used in investing activities was $0.3 million in the first three months of 2018 consisting primarily of capital expenditures.

34

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

 

Net cash used in financing activities was $0.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020, consisting of principal payments on debt and capital lease obligations. Net cash used in financing activities was $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, primarily consisting of $0.3 million of principal payments on debt, partially offset by $0.2 million of proceeds from the issuance of debt. Net cash used in financing activities in the first quarter of 2018 was $0.1 million, consisting primarily of payments on capital leases.

 

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

 

We prepare our condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In addition to disclosing financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP, the Company discloses information regarding Adjusted EBITDA, which differs from the term EBITDA as it is commonly used. In addition to adjusting net income (loss) to exclude income taxes, interest, and depreciation and amortization, Adjusted EBITDA also excludes share-based compensation, impairment charges, equity method income (loss), fair value adjustments, severance, andforeign currency transaction gains (losses), transactional expenses, gains on insurance recoveries and other cash and non-cash charges.charges and gains.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of performance defined in accordance with GAAP. However, Adjusted EBITDA is used internally in planning and evaluating the Company’s operating performance. Accordingly, management believes that disclosure of these metrics offers investors, bankers and other stakeholders an additional view of the Company’s operations that, when coupled with the GAAP results, provides a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial results.

 

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or to net cash used in operating activities as measures of operating results or liquidity. Our calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, and the measures exclude financial information that some may consider important in evaluating the Company’s performance.

 

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation, or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are (i) they do not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments, (ii) they do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs, (iii) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt, (iv) although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements, (v) they do not adjust for all non-cash income or expense items that are reflected in our statements of cash flows, (vi) they do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations, and (vii) other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

 

We believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by isolating the effects of some items that vary from period to period without any correlation to core operating performance or that vary widely among similar companies. These potential differences may be caused by variations in capital structures (affecting interest expense), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating losses) and the age and book depreciation of facilities and equipment (affecting relative depreciation expense). We also present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because (i) we believe these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry, (ii) we believe investors will find these measures useful in assessing our ability to service or incur indebtedness, and (iii) we use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA internally as benchmarks to evaluate our operating performance or compare our performance to that of our competitors.

 

35

The following table sets forth reconciliations of net loss under GAAP to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):

 

  Quarters Ended March 31, 
  2019  2018 
  Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Corporate and Other  Consolidated  Strong Cinema  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Corporate and Other  Consolidated 
Net income (loss) $(348)  579  $(2,034)  (2,347) $(4,150) $1,862   (1,125) $(1,497)  (3,025) $(3,785)
Interest expense, net  35   92   23   (31)  119   14   9   -   22   45 
Income tax expense  23   68   -   50   141   653   45   -   -   698 
Depreciation and amortization  219   423   100   53   795   224   295   45   45   609 
EBITDA  (71)  1,162   (1,911)  (2,275)  (3,095)  2,753   (776)  (1,452)  (2,958)  (2,433)
Stock-based compensation expense  -   -   -   243   243   -   -   -   255   255 
Fair value adjustment to notes receivable  510   -   -   -   510   42   -   -   -   42 
Equity method investment loss (income)  841   -   -   (144)  697   (103)  -   -   113   10 
Loss on disposal of assets  63   1   -   -   64   -   -   -   -   - 
Severance and other  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   19   19 
Adjusted EBITDA $1,343  $1,163  $(1,911) $(2,176) $(1,581) $2,692  $(776) $(1,452) $(2,571) $(2,107)

  Three Months Ended March 31, 
  2020  2019 
  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Corporate and Other  Consolidated  Strong Entertainment  Convergent  Strong Outdoor  Corporate and Other  Consolidated 
Net (loss) income $(156)  616  $(201)  (706) $(447) $(348)  579  $(2,034)  (2,347) $(4,150)
Interest expense, net  32   144   95   1   272   35   92   23   (31)  119 
Income tax expense  287   58   -   55   400   23   68   -   50   141 
Depreciation and amortization  230   602   110   47   989   219   423   100   53   795 
EBITDA  393   1,420   4   (603)  1,214   (71)  1,162   (1,911)  (2,275)  (3,095)
Stock-based compensation expense  -   -   -   273   273   -   -   -   243   243 
Fair value adjustment to notes receivable  -   -   -   -   -   510   -   -   -   510 
Equity method investment loss (income)  48   -   -   (1,417)  (1,369)  841   -   -   (144)  697 
Loss on disposal of assets and impairment charges  -   -   -   -   -   63   1   -   -   64 
Foreign currency transaction (gain) loss  (528)  40   -   -   (488)  128   15   -   -   143 
Gain on Firefly transaction, net of transaction costs  -   -   (270)  -   (270)  -   -   9   -   9 
Gain on property and casualty insurance recoveries  (16)  -   -   -   (16)  -   -   -   -   - 
Adjusted EBITDA $(103) $1,460  $(266) $(1,747) $(656) $1,471  $1,178  $(1,902) $(2,176) $(1,429)

 

Hedging and Trading Activities

 

Our primary exposure to foreign currency fluctuations pertains to our subsidiary in Canada. In certain instances, we may enter into a foreign exchange contract to manage a portion of this risk. We do not have any trading activities that include non-exchange traded contracts at fair value.

 

Seasonality

 

Generally, our revenue and earnings fluctuate moderately from quarter to quarter. As we increase our sales in our current markets, and as we expand into new markets in different geographies, it is possible we may experience different seasonality patterns in our business. As a result, the results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for an entire fiscal year.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the condensed consolidated financial statements for a description of recently issued accounting pronouncements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

In preparing our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, management must make a variety of decisions which impact the reported amounts and the related disclosures. These decisions include the selection of the appropriate accounting principles to be applied and the assumptions on which to base accounting estimates. In making these decisions, management applies its judgment based on its understanding and analysis of the relevant circumstances and our historical experience.

 

Our accounting policies and estimates that are most critical to the presentation of our results of operations and financial condition, and which require the greatest use of judgments and estimates by management, are designated as our critical accounting policies. See further discussion of our critical accounting policies under Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our year ended December 31, 2018.2019. We periodically re-evaluate and adjust our critical accounting policies as circumstances change. Other than policies related to the adoption of ASC 842 as described in Note 2 to the condensed consolidated financial statements, thereThere were no significant changes in our critical accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2019.2020.

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

Not applicable as we are a “smaller reporting company.”

 

36

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

The Company carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rule 13a-15. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this report, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures arewere effective at ensuring that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Company files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended) is (1) accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures and (2) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, such internal control over financial reporting.

 

PART II. Other Information

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

In the ordinary course of business operations, we are involved, from time to time, in certain legal disputes. No such disputes, individually or in the aggregate, are expected to have a material effect on our business or financial condition.

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

Item 1A “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20182019 includes a detailed discussion of the Company’s risk factors. There have been no material changes to the risk factors as previously disclosed.disclosed, except as set forth below. However, many of the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 have been, and we expect will continue to be further, heightened or exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing governmental responses have negatively impacted, and could further materially adversely affect, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In December 2019, COVID-19 was initially reported, and in March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. COVID-19 has had a widespread and detrimental effect on the global economy as a result of the continued increase in the number of cases and affected countries and actions by public health and governmental authorities, businesses, other organizations and individuals to address the outbreak, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place, stay at home or total lock-down orders and business limitations and shutdowns. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and any additional preventative and protective actions that governments, or we or our customers, may direct, which may result in an extended period of continued business disruption and reduced operations. Any resulting financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but we expect it will continue to have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

37

The repercussions of the COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in a significant impact to our customers, specifically those in the entertainment and advertising industries, and their ability and willingness to spend on our products and services, which is negatively impacting us. A significant number of our customers have temporarily ceased operations during the pandemic; as such, we have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience at least until our customers have resumed normal operations, a significant decline in our results of operations. For instance, during this time, many movie theaters and other entertainment centers have been forced to close or curtail their hours; many advertisers began to reduce, postpone, or cancel their advertising campaigns as social distancing measures, including closures of schools and non-essential businesses, and restrictions around the free movement of people were implemented; and a number of events during which our experiential marketing services may have been provided, such as Coachella, have been postponed or cancelled. In addition to decreased business spending by our customers and prospective customers and reduced demand for our products, lower renewal rates by our customers, increased customer losses/churn, increased challenges in or cost of acquiring new customers and increased risk in collectability of accounts receivable may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We have also experienced other negative impacts; among other actions, we were required to temporarily close our screen manufacturing facility in Canada due to the governmental response to COVID-19, which we were able to re-open on May 11, 2020, and have experienced lower revenues from field services and a reduction in non-recurring time and materials-based services. The completion of our outsourced screen finishing facility in China was also delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are currently unable to estimate when the facility will be completed and operational. In addition, as a result of the recent significant decline in global equity values, the Company expects to record a loss from its investment in PIH during the second quarter of 2020 of approximately $1.4 million. We may also experience one or more of the following conditions that could have a material adverse impact on our business operations and financial condition: adverse effects on our strategic partners’ businesses; impairment charges; extreme currency exchange-rate fluctuations; inability to recover costs from insurance carriers; and business continuity concerns for us and our third-party vendors.

In response to uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken, and are continuing to take, significant steps to preserve cash and remain in a strong competitive position when the current crisis subsides by eliminating non-essential costs, reducing employee hours and deferring all non-essential capital expenditures to minimum levels. Among other mitigating actions, we have implemented targeted furloughs, temporarily curtailed our service and distribution activities in the United States and temporarily reduced compensation of our executive officers and certain other employees. We have also implemented remote work policies for many employees, and the resources available to such employees may not enable them to maintain the same level of productivity and efficiency, and these and other employees may face additional demands on their time, such as increased responsibilities resulting from school closures or illness of family members. Our increased reliance on remote access to our information systems also increases our exposures to potential cybersecurity breaches. We cannot provide any assurance that these actions, or any other mitigating actions we may take, will help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on us.

We cannot provide any assurance that our assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements will remain accurate due to the unprecedented nature of the disruption to our operations and the unpredictability of the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a consequence, our estimates of the duration of the pandemic and the severity of the impact on our future earnings and cash flows could change and have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. In the first quarter of 2020, management decided to draw down CDN$2.9 million, or approximately $2.1 million, under Strong/MDI’s credit facility. Furthermore, we are in the process of reviewing and applying for wage subsidies, tax credits and other financial support under the newly enacted COVID-19 relief legislation in the U.S. and Canada. However, the legislation and guidance from the authorities continues to evolve; as such, the amount and timing of support, if any, that we could receive is not determinable at this time, and there can be no guarantees that we will receive financial support through these programs. In the event of a sustained market deterioration, and continued declines in net sales, we may need additional liquidity, which would require us to evaluate available alternatives and take appropriate actions. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to obtain additional sources of financing or liquidity on acceptable terms, or at all.

The ultimate duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows is dependent on future developments, including the duration of the pandemic and the related length of its impact on the global economy, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. Furthermore, the extent to which our mitigation efforts are successful, if at all, is not presently ascertainable. However, we expect that our results of operations, including revenues, in future periods will continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effects on global economic conditions, which include the possibility of a global recession.

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

On August 20, 2015, we announced that our Board of Directors adopted a stock repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to 700,000 shares of our outstanding Common Stock pursuant to a plan adopted under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended). The repurchase program has no expiration date. There were no repurchases during the three months ended March 31, 2019.2020. As of March 31, 2019,2020, there were 636,931 shares that may yet be purchased under the stock repurchase program.

 

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Item 6. Exhibits

 

    Incorporated by Reference  

Exhibit
Number

Number

 Document Description Form Exhibit Filing
Date
 

Filed
Herewith

Herewith

10.1#10.1* Amendment,Employment Agreement, dated March 26,20, 2019, to Consulting Agreement, dated November 16, 2018, by and between Ballantyne Strong, Inc. and Lance V. Schultz.Todd R. Major.X
10.2*Letter Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2020, by and between the Company and Mark D. Roberson. 8-K 10.1 3/27/19April 30, 2020
10.3*Letter Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2020, by and between the Company and Ray F. Boegner.8-K10.2April 30, 2020
10.4*Letter Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2020, by and between the Company and Todd R. Major.8-K10.3April 30, 2020  
           
31.1 Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Chief Executive Officer.       X
           
31.2 Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of Chief Financial Officer.       X
           
32.1** 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 Certification of Chief Executive Officer.       X
           
32.2** 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 Certification of Chief Financial Officer.       X
           
101 The following materials from Ballantyne Strong, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019,2020, formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss, (iv) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, (v) the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and (vi) the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.       X

 

 

* Management contract or compensatory plan.

** Furnished herewith.

#Management contract or compensatory plan
*39Furnished herewith.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) 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.

BALLANTYNE STRONG, INC.   
     
By:/s/D. Kyle CerminaraBy:

/s/ MARK D. ROBERSON

D. Kyle Cerminara,

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

 By:

/s/ TODD R. MAJOR

 

Mark D. Roberson

Chief Executive Vice President and Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

Todd R. Major
Chief Financial Officer (Principal

(Principal Financial Officer and

Principal Accounting Officer)

     
Date:May 15, 201912, 2020 Date:May 15, 201912, 2020

 

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