STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

4. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company’s 2008 Stock Option Plan (“the Plan”) is used to promote our long-term interests by providing a means of attracting and retaining officers, directors and key employees and aligning their interests with those of our shareholders. The Plan is described more fully in Note 10 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016. All options granted under the Plan had an exercise price equal to the market value of the underlying common shares on the date of grant. We expense the estimated fair value of stock options over the vesting periods of the grants. We recognize expense for awards subject to graded vesting using the straight-line attribution method, reduced for estimated forfeitures. Forfeitures are revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates and an adjustment is recognized at that time. The Compensation Committee may also issue non-qualified stock option grants with vesting periods different from the 2008 Plan. As of March 31, 2017, there are 15 shares underlying options outstanding that were granted outside of the Plan. The assumptions used are detailed in Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016. Stock based compensation expense for the three and six months ended March 31, 2017 was $(3) and $7, respectively. Stock based compensation expense for the three and six months ended March 31, 2016 was $14 and $29, respectively. The negative expense in the three month period ending March 31, 2017 was due to the forfeiture of options related to the former Chief Executive Officer. The 17 options exercised in the current fiscal year were exercised through a cashless transaction.

A summary of our stock option activity for the six months ended March 31, 2017 is as follows (in thousands except for share prices):

			Weighted-		Weighted-
			Average		Average
	Options		Exercise		Grant Date
	(shares)		Price		Fair Value
Outstanding - October 1, 2016		262	$	1.76	$	1.39
Exercised		(17)	$	1.03	$	0.87
Granted		—
Terminated		(50)	$	2.11	$	1.75
Outstanding - March 31, 2017		195	$	1.74	$	1.34