-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, JVU9ykB9NL0T39ZkdXE/5CnI9DzVJiHWZf/Io/Te69NhdOzAaap2aKfzM8T+XxhK H4L0zTB8FxbQkF/tGYz2Gw== 0001193125-09-245063.txt : 20091201 0001193125-09-245063.hdr.sgml : 20091201 20091201162924 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001193125-09-245063 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 10-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 8 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20090930 FILED AS OF DATE: 20091201 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20091201 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CORP /DE/ CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000924383 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: HOUSEHOLD AUDIO & VIDEO EQUIPMENT [3651] IRS NUMBER: 870361799 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 0930 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 10-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 000-24248 FILM NUMBER: 091215132 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 15378 AVENUE OF SCIENCE, SUITE 100 CITY: SAN DIEGO STATE: CA ZIP: 92128 BUSINESS PHONE: 858-676-1112 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 15378 AVENUE OF SCIENCE, SUITE 100 CITY: SAN DIEGO STATE: CA ZIP: 92128 10-K 1 d10k.htm FORM 10-K Form 10-K
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

 

 

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009

Commission File Number 0-24248

LOGO

 

 

AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

DELAWARE   87-0361799

(State or other jurisdiction of

Incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 100,

San Diego, California

  92128
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 676-1112

 

 

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:

 

Title of each class

  

Name of exchange on which registered

Common stock, $.00001 par value per share    NASDAQ Capital Market

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT: None

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files). Yes  ¨    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

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

 

Large accelerated filer  ¨   Accelerated filer   ¨    Non-accelerated filer   ¨    Smaller reporting company   x 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

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

The aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by nonaffiliates of the registrant as of March 31, 2009 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $16,979,167* based upon the closing price of the shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market on that date.

* Excludes the common stock held by executive officers, directors and stockholders whose ownership exceeds 5% of the common stock outstanding at March 31, 2009. This calculation does not reflect a determination that such persons are affiliates for any other purpose.

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

30,552,498 shares of common stock, par value $.00001 per share, as of November 23, 2009.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with the registrant’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed subsequent to the date of this report, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Commission not later than 120 days after the conclusion of the registrant’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2009.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page
PART I

ITEM 1.

  

Business

   1

ITEM 1A.

  

Risk Factors

   9

ITEM 1B.

  

Unresolved Staff Comments

   20

ITEM 2.

  

Properties

   20

ITEM 3.

  

Legal Proceedings

   20

ITEM 4.

  

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

   20
PART II

ITEM 5.

  

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

   21

ITEM 6.

  

Selected Financial Data

   21

ITEM 7.

  

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

   22

ITEM 7A.

  

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   30

ITEM 8.

  

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

   30

ITEM 9.

  

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

   30

ITEM 9A(T).

  

Controls and Procedures

   30

ITEM 9B.

  

Other Information

   31
PART III

ITEM 10.

  

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

   32

ITEM 11.

  

Executive Compensation

   32

ITEM 12.

  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

   32

ITEM 13.

  

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

   32

ITEM 14.

  

Principal Accounting Fees and Services

   32
PART IV

ITEM 15.

  

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

   33
  

Consolidated Financial Statements

   33
  

Signatures

   S-1


Table of Contents

PART I

Forward Looking Statements

This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or the future performance of our company. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the only means of identifying forward-looking statements. Such statements are predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. In evaluating such statements, you should specifically consider various factors identified in this report, including the matters set forth below in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements.

For purposes of this Annual Report, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to American Technology Corporation and its consolidated subsidiary.

 

Item 1. Business.

Overview

American Technology Corporation develops and delivers innovative directed acoustic products that beam, focus and control sound over short and long distances. By placing sound only where needed, we not only enhance many typical speaker applications, but we offer novel sound applications that conventional speakers cannot achieve. We offer a variety of directional sound products for applications ranging from focusing digital signage advertising on a customer at ten feet to protecting assets by communicating with and deterring threats over distances greater than 1,000 meters. Since 1996, we have been at the forefront developing new acoustic innovations to project, focus, shape and control sound and we believe we have established a significant competitive advantage in our principal markets. Our Long Range Acoustic DeviceTM or LRAD® pioneered a new worldwide market for directional long-range acoustic hailing and warning devices (AHDs) capable of communicating with authority and clarity over 1,000 meters. We also believe we are the leader in commercializing parametric speakers, branded as HyperSonic® sound or HSS®.

We have 43 patents issued worldwide covering our various sound technologies, of which 40 are patents issued in the United States. We also have 26 pending patent applications worldwide, of which 15 are pending patent applications in the United States.

Technology and Products

Our three major technology platforms and related products are:

LRAD®

Our Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, is a technology breakthrough that creates a directed acoustic beam using minimal power to communicate at operational ranges with authority and superior intelligibility even in high ambient noise environments. LRAD hailing, notification and warning systems feature a 15 to 30 degree acoustic beam and a range of over 1,000 meters. The LRAD also features a rugged construction that allows the product to meet the stringent environmental requirements of military applications. LRAD can emit powerful voice commands, prerecorded messages in multiple languages or deterrent tones to create a safety zone allowing operators to determine the intent, influence the behavior and gain compliance from approaching vessels, vehicles or personnel. LRAD was developed for the U.S. Navy to fulfill a capability gap identified after the USS Cole attack in 2000 and has been deployed by the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, as well as commercial vessels and public safety entities around the globe since the spring of 2003.

 

1


Table of Contents

We have expanded our market penetration by developing new products to meet customer operational needs. In fiscal 2007, we introduced the LRAD-R, a remotely-controlled device that can be operated from a separate command-control center. In fiscal 2008, we introduced our LRAD-X® product line. The LRAD-X product line features improved voice intelligibility and is available in a number of packages and form factors that meet the military’s stringent environmental requirements. Our LRAD-X product line provides a complete range of systems from single man portable to permanently installed, remotely operated infrastructure protection. Our LRAD products have been competitively selected over other commercially available systems by the U.S. military. The LRAD-X series includes:

 

   

LRAD 1000X—selected by the U.S. Navy as its AHD for its Block 0 program of the Shipboard Protection System—can be manually operated to provide long distance hailing and warning with highly intelligible communication.

 

   

LRAD 500X—selected by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as their AHD for small vessels and vehicles—is lightweight and can be easily transported to provide security personnel long-range communications and a highly effective hailing and warning capability where needed.

 

   

LRAD 300X—our newest addition to our LRAD product line, introduced in fiscal 2009—is a compact solution offering highly intelligible mid-range communications in a lightweight, rugged package for use on small vessels and manned and unmanned vehicles and aircraft.

 

   

LRAD 100X is a self-contained, battery powered portable system designed for use in a variety of mass notification, law enforcement and commercial security applications. It is ideally suited for short-range perimeter security and communications.

 

   

LRAD-RXTM is our prescription for remotely controlled security. It enables system operators to detect and communicate with an intruder over long distances. LRAD-RX features an LRAD 1000X emitter head and an integrated internet protocol (IP)-addressable full pan and tilt drive system for precise aiming and tracking. LRAD-RX reduces manpower and false alarms while providing an intelligent, cost-effective security solution. The LRAD-RX can be operated remotely from anywhere across a Transmission Control Protocol IP (TCP/IP) network enabling system operators to respond to security threats from a safe remote environment. The LRAD-RX is aimed and controlled by our proprietary pan and tilt drive system. We designed and engineered this pan and tilt drive system during fiscal 2008 to meet the demanding specifications of customers that deploy these devices on large vessels, offshore oil and other platforms. The LRAD-RX can be integrated with a number of other sensors (radar, cameras, etc.) creating a fully integrated unmanned perimeter security solution.

HSS®

Our HyperSonic sound, or HSS, proprietary parametric speaker technology creates sound “in the air.” Sound is generated along an air column using ultrasonic frequencies above the normal range of hearing. The HSS sound beam is highly directional and maintains sonic clarity and intelligibility. Our HSS products are compatible with any media player but beam sound where you want it and nowhere else. We believe our substantial intellectual property portfolio and pioneering HSS products support our leadership position in the field of parametric non-linear acoustics for sound reproduction. We currently offer our HSS 450 speaker system with a 5 by 10 inch emitting surface area.

SoundSaber®

Our SoundSaber thin film magnetic speaker technology, the predominant product from our NeoPlanar speaker line, provides high clarity throughout the audio range for emergency and mass notification, public address and high-end sound applications. SoundSaber products are based on our proprietary technology incorporating a thin film magnetic speaker that produces sound of high quality, low distortion and high

 

2


Table of Contents

volume. Our SoundSaber line of hardened panels provide improved intelligibility in challenging acoustic environments such as hangar bays, industrial buildings, airports and other facilities and are capable of delivering highly intelligible audio in excess of 500 meters. We offer SoundSaber panels in a variety of sizes for custom installation and packaged for installation in mass notification applications.

Recent Developments

In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, we accomplished the following:

 

   

Established our LRAD brand as the acoustic hailing and warning system of choice. We continue to develop new markets and applications for our products.

 

   

Achieved record revenues for the second straight year and achieved positive cash flow from operations for the first time in our history.

 

   

Expanded our product offerings into two new markets, law enforcement and wildlife preservation and control, which offers us significant revenue potential.

 

   

Developed LRAD 300X to meet customer requirements for small vessels and small manned and unmanned vehicles and aircraft.

 

   

Shipped our first LRAD 300X to customers in the U.S. Military and to customers in Southeast Asia. We have seen strong early market acceptance of this product.

 

   

Further developed our distribution channels by signing new sales representatives in the Middle East and Far East.

 

   

Continued to manage our balance sheet and control expenses while investing in new product development and markets.

Strategy

We believe we have been instrumental in developing a market and increasing demand for acoustic hailing devices in a number of business segments. We are building on our leadership position in the field of directed or focused sound for both short-range and long-range communication with high clarity. Our overall strategy is to offer an increasing variety of directed sound and other products for an increasing range of applications. In executing our strategy, we use direct sales to larger end-users, system integrators and defense-related companies and we are building a worldwide distribution channel consisting of partners and resellers that have significant expertise and experience selling integrated communications solutions into our various target markets.

A major initiative for fiscal 2010 is to continue to accelerate revenue growth by increasing direct sales to military, larger commercial and defense-related companies desiring to use our directed sound technology in their integrated product offerings. Our senior executive, sales and marketing personnel focus primarily on the government, military, homeland and international security, private and commercial security and maritime, wildlife preservation and control and digital signage markets. In 2010, we intend to continue our focus on these markets and to expand our product offerings into the clean/alternative energy market where our products have proven successful in preserving wildlife and protecting assets, including wind farms and solar panels. We continue to focus on expanding and strengthening domestic and international sales channels by adding key channel partners, distributors and dealers. Our goal is to continue to expand market penetration for our LRAD products. We are also working to expand markets for our HSS and SoundSaber products for use in a wide range of commercial applications and mass notification systems.

Our research and development strategy is to continue to develop innovative directed acoustic solutions and to design new products for introduction into our target markets. In 2008, we made significant improvements to the performance and quality of our existing directed sound products and introduced our new line of LRAD-X

 

3


Table of Contents

products. The introduction of our redesigned and reengineered product line led to a 41% increase in 2009 revenues when compared to 2008 revenues. We have ongoing development efforts to further improve our products’ performance and quality. We also engage in ongoing value engineering to reduce the cost and simplify the manufacturing of our products.

Manufacturing and Suppliers

Manufacturing. We believe maintaining quality manufacturing capacity is essential to the performance of our products and the growth of our business. Our technologies are different from mass produced sound transducer designs, and our manufacturing and assembly involves new processes and materials. We contract with third party suppliers to produce various components and sub-assemblies. At our San Diego facility, we complete the final assembly of, and test and ship, our products for both commercial and government systems. We have refined our internal business processes to improve how we design, test and qualify product designs. We continue to implement rigorous manufacturing and quality processes to track production and field failures. We have also implemented third-party testing and certification of our products ensuring that they meet our military customer specifications. We have developed custom manufacturing equipment used to automate the production of key sub-assemblies reducing the labor component and permitting higher volume production. We implement design and component changes periodically to reduce our product costs, improve product reliability and improve operating margins.

Suppliers. Our products have a large number of components and sub-assemblies produced by outside suppliers. In addition, for some of these items, we qualify only a single source, which can magnify the risk of shortages and decrease our ability to negotiate with our suppliers on the basis of price. In particular, we depend on our HSS piezo-film supplier to provide expertise and materials used in our proprietary HSS emitters, and we rely on one supplier of a key component for our LRAD products. If shortages occur, or if we experience quality problems with suppliers, then our production schedules could be significantly delayed or costs significantly increased, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.

Sales and Marketing

We market and sell products and services through our sales force based in San Diego, California, Maine and Washington. Our corporate and administrative offices are located in San Diego, California.

We make direct sales to large end-users and defense-related companies. We use independent representatives to assist us in these efforts. We also use a channel distribution model in which we sell our products directly to a small network of worldwide independent resellers and system integrators who then sell our products (or our products integrated with other systems) to end-user customers. We are focusing our internal business development resources on building relationships with defense integrators and other large, direct customers.

We have established a reputation for providing high quality, innovative sound solutions and have increased our brand recognition for LRAD and HSS. We actively promote our brands on our products and we intend to continue to increase the use of our trademarks throughout our product distribution chain and believe growing brand awareness will assist in expanding our business.

Customer Concentration

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, revenues from Anchor Innovation, Inc. accounted for 24% of revenues. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, revenues from two customers, ADS, Inc. and Advanced Integrated Systems accounted for 17% and 10% of revenues, respectively, with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of revenues. Anchor Innovation, Inc. is a representative, primarily to end users in the U.S. Navy. ADS, Inc. is a reseller to end users in various branches of the military such as the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security and international customers.

 

4


Table of Contents

Our revenues have to date relied on a few major customers. The loss of any customer could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our goal is to diversify sound technology revenues in future periods.

Our order backlog for products that are deliverable in the next 12 months was approximately $1,112,000 at September 30, 2009 compared to $351,000 at September 30, 2008. The amount of backlog at any point in time is dependent upon scheduled delivery dates by our customers and product lead times. Backlog orders are subject to modification, cancellation or rescheduling by our customers.

Warranties

We generally warrant our products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period up to one year from the date of purchase. The warranty is generally a limited warranty, and in some instances imposes certain shipping costs on the customer. To date, we have been providing direct warranty service, but in the future we may establish warranty service through OEM customers or others. Some of our agreements require OEM customers to stock certain quantities of product for use as warranty replacements. Our international market warranties are generally similar to the warranties we offer in the U.S. market.

As our products become more complex, we are providing service and maintenance agreements and extended warranty contracts at market rates as an additional source of revenue and to provide increased customer satisfaction.

Competition

Our technologies and products compete with those of other companies. The consumer, commercial and government audio industry markets are fragmented and competitive and include numerous manufacturers with audio products that vary widely in price, quality and distribution channels. Manufacturers of consumer and commercial speakers include Harman International, Boston Acoustics and many others. Many of our present and potential future competitors have, or may have, substantially greater resources to devote to further technological and new product developments. We believe we compete primarily on the originality of our concepts, the uniqueness and quality of our technology and designs, the ease and cost of manufacturing and implementing our technologies, the ability to meet customer needs, the strength of our intellectual property and the strength of licensee and contract supply arrangements. We may not, however, be competitive with the existing or future products, technologies or services of our competitors.

We believe our LRAD products are the leading acoustic hailing and warning products in the market for military and commercial applications. The broad category of government audio industry speakers includes competitors such as IML Sound Commander and others. We do not believe these competitors have achieved significant market penetration in the government or commercial directed hailing markets to date. We believe our LRAD product line has demonstrated acceptance and has performed extremely well in harsh environments and can continue to compete on the basis of technical features, performance, ease of use and cost.

We believe HSS is the leading parametric speaker with little direct competition to date. Companies such as Brown Innovations and others have employed domes and other techniques to try to focus or contain sound for directed sound applications such as point-of-sale. We do not believe these methods are directly competitive to HSS in ease of use, cost and performance. Although others have attempted to use parametric speaker concepts to produce sound, we do not believe they have progressed to the point of cost-effective and directly competitive commercial products as compared to HSS. Holosonic Research Labs produces a parametric speaker called the Audio Spotlight. Sennheiser Electronics has announced a parametric speaker product called the AudioBeam Master and Mitsubishi has a parametric speaker product which is sold in Japan. These companies employ electrostatic and piezoelectric emitter devices, which we believe have lower output and are more expensive than our proprietary emitters. However, these parametric speaker competitors or others may introduce products with features and performance competitive to our products.

 

5


Table of Contents

We believe our SoundSaber technology is novel and has distinct market attributes compared to existing and competing flat panel and traditional speaker designs. We believe our SoundSaber technology produces high intelligibility and reliability for a range of consumer, commercial and government applications. Other companies that compete in the flat panel market include, but are not limited to high-end electrostatic flat panel manufacturers such as Martin Logan and others, and NXT Plc and its licensees employing the NXT flat panel technology, which uses a magnetic actuator to produce vibrations over a rigid panel. We are not aware of companies offering flat panel technology comparable to our SoundSaber products, but others may introduce products with competitive features and performance.

We intend to continue our strategy to aggressively seek patent protection for our intellectual property.

There are also continuing attempts by a large number of competitors to innovate new methods of sound reproduction to overcome limitations of traditional loudspeakers. It is possible that alternate technologies and systems that would be directly competitive with our sound technology have been developed but are unknown to us. Such systems may also currently be in development, and may be developed by others in the future.

Seasonality

Government business tends to be seasonal due to government procurement cycles, with the quarter ending September 30 usually producing relatively higher sales and the quarter ending December 31 usually producing relatively lower sales. We have not experienced any significant seasonality trends to date, but we may experience increased seasonality in the future.

Government Regulation

We are subject to a variety of government laws and regulations that apply to companies engaged in international operations, including, among others, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.S. Department of Commerce export controls, local government regulations and procurement policies and practices (including regulations relating to import-export control, investments, exchange controls and repatriation of earnings). We maintain controls and procedures to comply with laws and regulations associated with our international operations. If we are unable to remain compliant with such laws and regulations, our business may be adversely affected.

Some of our electronic products are subject to various regulations and are required to meet the specifications of agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). We believe we are in substantial compliance with all current applicable regulations, and that we have all material governmental permits, licenses, qualifications and approvals currently required for our operations.

Our HSS technology is subject to control under the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968, and the associated regulations promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as an electrical emitter of ultrasonic vibrations. Under the terms of such regulations, we provided an abbreviated report to the FDA describing the technology. The FDA may respond to the report and request changes or safeguards to the technology, but it has not done so to date. We will also be required to notify the FDA in writing should an HSS product be found to have a defect relating to safety of use due to the emission of electronic product radiation. We do not believe our HSS technology poses any human health risks. However, it is possible that we, or one of our OEM customers or licensees, could be required to modify the technology, or a product incorporating the technology, to comply with requirements that may be imposed by the FDA.

Our products are being produced to standard product safety requirements for sale in the United States and to similar requirements for sale in Europe and Canada. We expect to meet the electrical and other regulatory requirements for electronic systems or components we sell throughout the world.

 

6


Table of Contents

Intellectual Property Rights and Proprietary Information

We operate in an industry where innovations, investment in new ideas and protection of resulting intellectual property rights are important to success. We rely on a variety of intellectual property protections for our products and technologies, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and contractual obligations, and we pursue a policy of vigorously enforcing such rights.

We have a substantial base of intellectual property assets. We have 43 patents issued worldwide, of which 40 are in the U.S. We also have approximately 26 patents pending worldwide, of which 15 are in the U.S. on our proprietary sound technologies. Our issued patents expire between 2010 and 2025. We intend to file other sound technology patent applications. We target our patent coverage to provide protection in the major manufacturing and commercial centers of the world. In addition to such factors as innovation, technological expertise and experienced personnel, we believe that a strong patent position is important to compete effectively in the sound reproduction industry.

We have an ongoing policy of filing patent applications to seek protection for novel features of our products and technologies. Prior to the filing and granting of patents, our policy is to disclose key features to patent counsel and maintain these features as trade secrets prior to product introduction. Patent applications may not result in issued patents covering all important claims and could be denied in their entirety.

We invest management, legal and financial resources toward our technology patents. The electronics industry is characterized by frequent litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. Others, including academic institutions and competitors, hold numerous patents in electronics and sound reproduction. Although we are not aware of any existing patents that would materially inhibit our ability to commercialize our sound technology; others may assert claims in the future. Such claims, with or without merit, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The validity of our existing patents has not been adjudicated by any court. Competitors may bring legal action to challenge the validity of our existing or future patents or may attempt to circumvent the protection provided by such patents. The failure to obtain patent protection or the loss of patent protection on our existing and future technologies or the circumvention of our patents by competitors could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete successfully.

We generally take advantage of the Patent Convention Treaty procedures for patent protection in foreign countries. This procedure is more cost efficient, but results in a delay in the application and issuance of foreign patents; however, any resulting foreign patents, if and when issued, enjoy the same priority date as U.S. counterparts.

We also file for trade name and trademark protection when appropriate. We are the owner of federally registered trademarks including HYPERSONIC®, HYPERDIRECTIONAL®, HSS®, LRAD®, LRAD-X®, PMT®, SOUNDSABER® and SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SOUND® . Trade names or trademarks may not be successfully maintained, defended or protected.

Our policy is to enter into nondisclosure agreements with each employee and consultant or third party to whom any of our proprietary information is disclosed. These agreements prohibit the disclosure of confidential information to others, both during and subsequent to employment or the duration of the working relationship. These agreements may not prevent disclosure of confidential information or provide adequate remedies for any breach.

We are obligated to pay a minimum of $1.00 per unit royalty on one electronic component for our HSS product. The cost of this royalty has been immaterial in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008.

 

7


Table of Contents

Research and Development

The sound reproduction market is subject to rapid changes in technology and designs with frequent improvements and new product introductions. We believe our future success will depend on our ability to enhance and improve existing technologies and to introduce new technologies and products on a competitive basis. Accordingly, we have in the past, and we expect in the future, to engage in significant research and development activities.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, we spent approximately $2.1 million and $3.4 million, respectively, on company-sponsored research and development. Future levels of research and development expenditures will vary depending on the timing of further new product development and the availability of funds to carry on additional research and development on currently owned technologies or in other areas.

Executive Officers

The current executive officers of American Technology Corporation and their ages and business experience are set forth below.

Thomas R. Brown, age 59, has been a director of our Company since March 2006 and was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2006 and Interim Chief Financial Officer in September 2006. Mr. Brown served as President of BrownThompson Executive Search, a financial executive search firm, from April 2005 to August 2006. Mr. Brown was employed by Sony Electronics, Inc. from February 1988 to September 2004. From April 2001 to September 2004, Mr. Brown was Executive Vice President and Deputy President of the Engineering and Manufacturing division of Sony Electronics, Inc., where he was responsible for supply chain operations including Information Technology, Procurement, Customer Service, North American Manufacturing Operations and Finance. From April 2000 to September 2004, Mr. Brown was concurrently the Executive Vice President and President of Information Technology Division for Sony Electronics, where he was responsible for establishing the North American personal computer manufacturing division. Mr. Brown is a member of the board of directors of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a provider of video game accessories. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University and is a certified public accountant.

Katherine H. McDermott, age 49, was appointed as Controller/Chief Accounting Officer in June 2007 and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in September 2007. Ms. McDermott served as the Chief Financial Officer for National Pen Company from 2005 to 2006 and the vice president of finance for Lantronix, Inc., a publicly traded technology company, from 2000 to 2005. Ms. McDermott held a variety of senior financial positions with Bausch & Lomb from 1988 to 1999 and began her career holding a number of financial positions with a component division of General Motors from 1982 to 1988. Ms. McDermott holds a B.A. in Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University and an MBA from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.

Norman Carmichael, age 43, was appointed Vice President, Operations in October 2008. Mr. Carmichael has been with the Company four of the past five years, most recently serving as the Company’s Director of Operations. Between his current and prior employment with the Company, Mr. Carmichael was the Director of Supply Chain Management for Continuous Computing Corporation from 2005 to 2006. Prior to initially joining the Company in October 2003, Mr. Carmichael was the Director of Materials for Copper Mountain Networks and held positions at Deloitte Consulting and IBM Global Services as a manufacturing and supply chain consultant. Mr. Carmichael holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

 

8


Table of Contents

Employees

At September 30, 2009, we employed a total of 36 people. Of such employees, 10 were in research and development, 12 were in production, quality assurance and materials control, 8 were in general and administrative and 6 were in marketing, sales and licensing. We also lease technical and production personnel from time to time on an as needed basis and use outside consultants for various services. We have not experienced any work stoppages and are not a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and we consider our relations with our employees to be favorable.

Available Information

Our shares of common stock trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “ATCO.” Our address is 15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 100, San Diego, California, 92128, our telephone number is 858-676-1112, and our internet website is located at www.atcsd.com. We make available, free of charge through our website, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, reports filed by our directors, executive officers and certain significant shareholders pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practical after the reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this report nor is it part of this report.

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

An investment in our company involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information included in this report, you should carefully consider the following risk factors in evaluating an investment in our company. You should consider these matters in conjunction with the other information included or incorporated by reference in this report. Our results of operations or financial condition could be seriously harmed, and the trading price of our common stock may decline due to any of these or other risks.

We have a history of net losses and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.

We have a history of operating losses and our ability to achieve future profitability is dependent on a variety of factors, many outside our control. At September 30, 2009 we had an accumulated deficit of $74,904,164. We need to generate additional revenue to be profitable in future periods. Failure to achieve profitability, or sustain profitability if achieved, may require us to raise additional funding which could have a material negative impact on the market value of our common stock.

We may need additional capital for growth.

We may need additional capital to support our growth. While we expect to generate these funds from operations, we may not be able to do so. Principal factors that could affect the availability of our internally generated funds include:

 

   

failure of sales from government, military and commercial markets to meet planned projections;

 

   

government spending levels impacting the sale of our products;

 

   

our ability to control spending;

 

   

introduction of new competing technologies;

 

   

product mix and effect on margins; and

 

   

acceptance of our existing and future products in existing and new markets.

 

9


Table of Contents

Should we require additional funds, general market conditions or the then-current market price of our common stock may not support capital raising transactions and any such financing may require advance approval of our stockholders under the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market. Our ability to obtain financing may be further constrained by the current economic conditions. The recent credit crisis and other related trends affecting the capital markets have caused significant reductions in capital availability. Many lenders and institutional investors have ceased funding even the most credit-worthy entities. In addition, we may be required to reduce costs, including the scaling back of research and development into new products, which could have a negative impact on our ability to compete and to innovate. If we raise additional funds by selling additional shares of our capital stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for common stock (assuming we are able to obtain additional financing), the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted.

One customer accounted for 24% of our total revenues for fiscal year 2009. We expect to continue to be dependent on a limited number of customers.

One customer accounted for 24% of total revenues for the fiscal year 2009, and two customers accounted for 17% and 10% of total revenues for the fiscal year 2008, respectively. Historically our revenues have been dependent upon a limited number of customers. We do not have long term agreements with these or other significant customers, and our customers have the right to cease doing business with us at any time. No assurance can be given that these or other customers will continue to do business with us or that they will maintain their historical levels of business. If our relationship with any material customer were to cease, then our revenues would decline and negatively impact our results of operations. Any such decline could result in us increasing our net losses and accumulated deficit and a need to raise additional capital to fund our operations. If our expectations regarding future sales are inaccurate, we may be unable to reduce costs in a timely manner to adjust for sales shortfalls.

Disruption and fluctuations in financial and currency markets could have a negative effect on our business.

Financial markets in the United States, Europe and Asia have been experiencing extreme disruption over the past year, including, among other things, extreme volatility in security prices, severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, rating downgrades of certain investments and declining valuations of others. Governments have taken unprecedented actions intended to address extreme market conditions that include severely restricted credit and declines in real estate values. While currently these conditions have not impaired our ability to operate our business, there can be no assurance that there will not be a further deterioration in financial markets and confidence in major economies, which can then lead to challenges in the operation of our business. These economic developments affect businesses such as ours in a number of ways. The current tightening of credit in financial markets adversely affects the ability of commercial customers to finance purchases and operations and could result in a decrease in orders and spending for our products as well as create supplier disruptions. Economic developments could also reduce future government spending on our products. We are unable to predict the likely duration and severity of the current disruption in financial markets and adverse economic conditions and the effects they will have on our business and financial condition.

We purchase a number of key components and subassemblies from foreign suppliers. Consequently, we are subject to the impact economic conditions can have on such suppliers and subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Increases in our cost of purchasing these items could negatively impact our financial results if we are not able to pass these increased costs on to our customers.

We must expand our customer base in order to grow our business.

To grow our business, we must fulfill orders from our existing customers, obtain additional orders from our existing customers, develop relationships with new customers and obtain and fulfill orders from new customers. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to increase our customer base. Further, even if we do obtain new

 

10


Table of Contents

customers, we cannot guarantee that those customers will purchase from us enough quantities of our product or at product prices that will enable us to recover our costs in acquiring those customers and fulfilling those orders. Whether we will be able to sell more of our products will depend on a number of factors, including:

 

   

our ability to manufacture reliable products that have the features that are required by our customers;

 

   

our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and to develop relationships with new customers that will lead to additional orders for our products;

 

   

our ability to develop and expand new markets for directed sound products; and

 

   

our ability to develop international product distribution directly or through strategic partners.

The growth of our LRAD product revenues is dependent on continued acceptance of our products by government, military and developing force protection and emergency response agencies. If these agencies do not purchase our LRAD products, our revenues will be adversely affected.

Although our LRAD products are designed for use by both government and commercial customers, the products have, to date, been predominantly sold for government use. While our government sales have been increasing, our products have not yet been widely accepted in the large government and military market that includes many prospective customers. Furthermore, the force protection and emergency response market is itself an emerging market that is changing rapidly. If our LRAD products are not widely accepted by the government, military and the developing force protection and emergency response markets, we may not be able to identify other markets, and we may fail to achieve our sales projections.

Perceptions that long range hailing devices are unsafe or may be used in an abusive manner may hurt sales of our LRAD products which could cause our revenues to decline.

Potential customers for our LRAD products, including government, military and force protection and emergency response agencies, may be influenced by claims or perceptions that long range hailing devices are unsafe or may be used in an abusive manner. These claims or perceptions, while unsubstantiated, could reduce our product sales.

A significant portion of our revenue is derived from a few core product categories.

We are dependent on a small number of core product categories to generate a significant proportion of our revenues. No assurance can be given that these or other products will continue to have consumer acceptance or that they will maintain their historical levels of sales. The loss of one or more of these products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We are continually introducing new or improved products and technologies. If commercially successful products are not produced in a timely manner, we may be unprofitable or forced to cease operations.

Our HSS and SoundSaber technologies have had only limited market acceptance and are still being improved. Commercially viable sound technology systems may not be successfully and timely produced by us due to the inherent risks of technology development, new product introduction, limitations on financing, manufacturing problems, competition, obsolescence, loss of key technical personnel and other factors. Revenues from these products have been limited to date and we cannot guarantee significant revenues in the future. The development and introduction of our HSS product took longer than anticipated by management and the introduction of future products, if any, could also be subject to delays. Customers may not accept our current products and may elect to purchase products from competitors. We experienced quality control problems with some of our initial commercial HSS units, and we may not be able to resolve similar problems in a timely and cost effective manner. Products employing our sound technology may not achieve market acceptance. Our various sound projects are high risk in nature, and unanticipated technical obstacles can arise at any time and

 

11


Table of Contents

result in lengthy and costly delays or result in a determination that further exploitation is unfeasible. If we do not successfully exploit our technology, our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects would be adversely affected.

We may incur significant and unpredictable warranty costs.

Our products are substantially different from proven, mass produced sound transducer designs and are often employed in harsh environments. We may incur substantial and unpredictable warranty costs from post-production product or component failures. We generally warrant our products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period up to one year from the date of purchase. At September 30, 2009, we had a warranty reserve of $277,717. In prior years, we recorded substantial warranty reserves for early versions of our HSS products and have limited history to predict future warranty costs. Future warranty costs could further adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and business prospects.

We could incur additional charges for excess and obsolete inventory.

Due to rapidly changing technology, and uneven customer demand, product cycles tend to be short and the value of our inventory may be adversely affected by changes in technology that affect our ability to sell the products in our inventory. If we do not effectively forecast and manage our inventory, we may need to write off inventory as excess or obsolete, which in turn can adversely affect cost of sales and gross profit.

We have previously experienced, and may in the future experience, reductions in sales of older generation products as customers delay or defer purchases in anticipation of new product introductions. We currently have established reserves for slow moving or obsolete inventory of approximately $1.7 million. The reserves we have established for potential losses due to obsolete inventory may, however, prove to be inadequate and may give rise to additional charges for obsolete or excess inventory.

We do not have the ability to accurately predict future operating results. Our quarterly and annual revenues are likely to fluctuate significantly due to many factors, any of which could result in our failure to achieve our revenue expectations.

We expect our proprietary sound reproduction products and technologies will be the source of substantially all of our future revenues. Revenues from these products and technologies are expected to vary significantly due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Any one or more of the factors listed below or other factors could cause us to fail to achieve our revenue expectations. These factors include:

 

   

our ability to develop and supply sound reproduction components to customers, distributors or OEMs or to license our technologies;

 

   

market acceptance of and changes in demand for our products or products of our customers;

 

   

gains or losses of significant customers, distributors or strategic relationships;

 

   

unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders;

 

   

the availability, pricing and timeliness of delivery of components for our products and OEM products;

 

   

fluctuations in the availability of manufacturing capacity or manufacturing yields and related manufacturing costs;

 

   

the timing of new technological advances, product announcements or introductions by us, by OEMs or licensees and by our competitors;

 

   

product obsolescence and the management of product transitions and inventory;

 

   

unpredictable warranty costs associated with new product models;

 

12


Table of Contents
   

production delays by customers, distributors, OEMs or by us or our suppliers;

 

   

the conditions of other industries, such as military and commercial industries, into which our technologies may be licensed;

 

   

general consumer electronics industry conditions, including changes in demand and associated effects on inventory and inventory practices;

 

   

general economic conditions that could affect the timing of customer orders and capital spending and result in order cancellations or rescheduling; and

 

   

general political conditions in this country and in various other parts of the world that could affect spending for the products that we offer.

Some or all of these factors could adversely affect demand for our products or technologies, and therefore adversely affect our future operating results.

Most of our operating expenses are relatively fixed in the short term. We may be unable to rapidly adjust spending to compensate for any unexpected sales or license revenue shortfalls, which could harm our quarterly operating results. We do not have the ability to predict future operating results with any certainty.

Many potential competitors who have greater resources and experience than we do may develop products and technologies that make ours obsolete.

Technological competition from other and longer established electronic and loudspeaker manufacturers are expected to increase. Most of the companies with which we expect to compete have substantially greater capital resources, research and development staffs, marketing and distribution programs and facilities, and many of them have substantially greater experience in the production and marketing of products. In addition, one or more of our competitors may have developed or may succeed in developing technologies and products that are more effective than any of ours, rendering our technology and products obsolete or noncompetitive.

Our competitive position will be seriously damaged if we cannot protect intellectual property rights in our technology.

We rely on a combination of contracts and trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our proprietary rights in our technology. However, we may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property, our competitors may be able to independently develop competing technologies, or the agreements we enter into may not be enforceable.

Our success, in part, depends on our ability to obtain and enforce intellectual property protection for our technology. There is no guarantee any patent will issue on any patent application that we have filed or may file. Claims allowed from existing or pending patents may not be of sufficient scope or strength to protect the economic value of our technologies. Further, any patent that we may obtain will expire, and it is possible that it may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. If we do not secure and maintain patent protection for our technology and products, our competitive position will be significantly harmed. A competitor may independently develop or patent technologies that are substantially equivalent to or superior to our technology. If this happens, any patent that we may obtain may not provide protection and our competitive position could be significantly harmed.

As we expand our product line or develop new uses for our products, these products or uses may be outside the protection provided by our current patent applications and other intellectual property rights. In addition, if we develop new products or enhancements to existing products we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain patents to protect them. Even if we do receive patents for our existing or new products, these patents may not provide meaningful protection. In some countries outside of the United States where our products can be sold or

 

13


Table of Contents

licensed, patent protection is not available. Moreover, some countries that do allow registration of patents do not provide meaningful redress for violations of patents. As a result, protecting intellectual property in these countries is difficult and our competitors may successfully sell products in those countries that have functions and features that infringe on our intellectual property.

We may initiate claims or litigation against third parties in the future for infringement of our proprietary rights or to determine the scope and validity of our proprietary rights or the proprietary rights of our competitors. These claims could result in costly litigation and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel. As a result, our operating results could suffer and our financial condition could be harmed.

We may be faced with legal challenges related to our products, including that our products infringe third parties’ intellectual property rights of others. These challenges could cause us to incur significant litigation or licensing expenses or could prohibit us from producing or marketing some or all of our products entirely.

Other companies and our competitors may currently own or obtain patents or other proprietary rights that might prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use or sell our products. Although we do not believe that our products infringe the proprietary rights of any third parties, there can be no assurance that infringement or other legal claims will not be asserted against us or that any such claims will not materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. The electronics industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights or positions. Regardless of their validity or success, such claims may result in protracted and costly litigation, divert management’s time and attention, cause product shipment delays or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us and our failure or inability to license the infringed technology, our business and operating results could be adversely affected. An adverse result from intellectual property litigation could force us to do one or more of the following:

 

   

cease selling, incorporating or using products or services that incorporate the challenged intellectual property;

 

   

obtain a license from the holder of the infringed intellectual property right, which license may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all; and

 

   

redesign products or services that incorporate the disputed technology.

If we are forced to take any of the foregoing actions, we could face substantial costs and shipment delays and our business could be seriously harmed. Although we carry general liability insurance, our insurance may not cover potential claims of this type or be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed.

In addition, it is possible that our customers or end users may seek indemnity from us in the event that our products are found or alleged to infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Any such claim for indemnity could result in substantial expenses to us that could harm our operating results.

Our HSS technology is subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration, which could lead to unanticipated expense or litigation.

Our HSS sound technology emits ultrasonic vibrations, and as such is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. In the event of certain unanticipated defects in an HSS product, a customer or we may be required to comply with FDA requirements (1) to provide written notification of the defect to: the FDA; dealers or distributors to whom the product was delivered; and purchasers of the product (and any reasonably ascertainable subsequent transferees), and (2) to repair, replace, or refund to the purchaser the cost of the product. This could lead to unanticipated expense, and possible product liability litigation against a customer or us. Any regulatory impediment to full commercialization of our HSS technology, or any of our other technologies, could adversely affect our results of operations.

 

14


Table of Contents

We may face personal injury and other liability claims that harm our reputation and adversely affect our sales and financial condition.

Some of our products are capable of sufficient acoustic output to cause damage to human hearing or human health if used improperly, such as when the products are used at close ranges or for long periods of exposure. A person injured in connection with the use of our products may bring legal action against us to recover damages on the basis of theories including personal injury, negligent design, dangerous product or inadequate warning. We may also be subject to lawsuits involving allegations of misuse of our products. Our product liability insurance coverage may be insufficient to pay all such claims. Product liability insurance may also become too costly for us or may become unavailable for us in the future. We may not have sufficient resources to satisfy any product liability claims not covered by insurance which would materially and adversely affect our financial position. Significant litigation could also result in negative publicity and a diversion of management’s attention and resources.

Our international operations could be harmed by factors including political instability, natural disasters, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and changes in regulations that govern international transactions.

We sell our products worldwide. The risks inherent in international trade may reduce our international sales and harm our business and the businesses of our customers and our suppliers. These risks include:

 

   

changes in tariff regulations;

 

   

political instability, war, terrorism and other political risks;

 

   

foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

   

establishing and maintaining relationships with local distributors and dealers;

 

   

lengthy shipping times and accounts receivable payment cycles;

 

   

import and export control and licensing requirements;

 

   

compliance with a variety of U.S. laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, by us or key subcontractors;

 

   

compliance with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, including unexpected changes in taxation and regulatory requirements;

 

   

greater difficulty in safeguarding intellectual property than in the U.S.; and

 

   

difficulty in staffing and managing geographically diverse operations.

These and other risks may preclude or curtail international sales or increase the relative price of our products compared to those manufactured in other countries, reducing the demand for our products. Failure to comply with U.S. and foreign governmental laws and regulations applicable to international business such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or U.S. export control regulations could have an adverse impact on our business with the U.S. and foreign governments.

Current environmental laws, or laws enacted in the future, may harm our business.

Our operations are subject to environmental regulation in areas in which we conduct business. Our product design and procurement operations must comply with new and future requirements relating to the materials composition of our products, including restrictions on lead, cadmium and other substances. We do not expect that the impact of these environmental laws and other similar legislation adopted in the U.S. and other countries will have a substantial unfavorable impact on our business. However the costs and timing of costs under environmental laws are difficult to predict.

 

15


Table of Contents

Errors or defects contained in our products, failure to comply with applicable safety standards or a product recall could result in delayed shipments or rejection of our products, damage to our reputation and expose us to regulatory or other legal action.

Any defects or errors in the operation of our products may result in delays in their introduction. In addition, errors or defects may be uncovered after commercial shipments have begun, which could result in the rejection of our products by our customers, damage to our reputation, lost sales, diverted development resources and increased customer service and support costs and warranty claims, any of which could harm our business. Third parties could sustain injuries from our products, and we may be subject to claims or lawsuits resulting from such injuries. There is a risk that these claims or liabilities may exceed, or fall outside the scope of, our insurance coverage. We may also be unable to obtain adequate liability insurance in the future. Because we are a small company, a product recall would be particularly harmful to us because we have limited financial and administrative resources to effectively manage a product recall and it would detract management’s attention from implementing our core business strategies. A significant product defect or product recall could materially and adversely affect our brand image, causing a decline in our sales, and could reduce or deplete our financial resources.

We rely on outside manufacturers and suppliers to provide a large number of components and sub-assemblies incorporated in our products.

Our products have a large number of components and sub-assemblies produced by outside suppliers. In addition, for certain of these items, we qualify only a single source, which can magnify the risk of shortages and decrease our ability to negotiate with our suppliers on the basis of price. In particular, we depend on our HSS piezo-film supplier to provide materials used in our proprietary HSS emitters and we rely on one supplier for a key component for our LRAD products. If shortages occur, or if we experience quality problems with suppliers, then our production schedules could be significantly delayed or costs significantly increased, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, results of operation and financial position.

Although we assemble our products internally, we have some sub-assemblers and components produced by third-party manufacturers. We may be required to outsource manufacturing if sales of our products increase significantly. We have historically used a single third-party contract manufacturer to manufacture for certain sub-assemblies, and we expect to continue to use a single manufacturer in the future until product volume grows substantially. We may be unable to obtain acceptable manufacturing sources on a timely basis. In addition, from time to time we may change manufacturers and any new manufacturer engaged by us may not perform as expected. An extended interruption in the supply of our products could result in a substantial loss of sales. Furthermore, any actual or perceived degradation of product quality as a result of our reliance on third-party manufacturers may have an adverse effect on sales or result in increased warranty costs, product returns and buybacks. Failure to maintain quality manufacturing could reduce future revenues, adversely affecting financial condition and results of operations.

We derive revenue from government contracts and subcontracts, which are often non-standard, may involve competitive bidding, may be subject to cancellation with or without penalty and may produce volatility in earnings and revenue.

Our sales to government customers have involved and are expected in the future to involve providing products and services under contracts or subcontracts with U.S. federal, state, local and foreign government agencies. Obtaining contracts and subcontracts from government agencies is challenging, and contracts often include provisions that are not standard in private commercial transactions. For example, government contracts may:

 

   

include provisions that allow the government agency to terminate the contract without penalty under some circumstances;

 

16


Table of Contents
   

be subject to purchasing decisions of agencies that are subject to political influence;

 

   

contain onerous procurement procedures; and

 

   

be subject to cancellation if government funding becomes unavailable.

Securing government contracts can be a protracted process involving competitive bidding. In many cases, unsuccessful bidders may challenge contract awards, which can lead to increased costs, delays and possible loss of the contract for the winning bidder.

We have current government contracts and our future growth is dependent, in large part, on continued sales to U.S. and international governments and businesses who sell to governments.

In fiscal 2009, direct and indirect sales to the U.S. government accounted for approximately 45% of our total net sales. Changes in defense spending could have an adverse effect on our current and future revenues. Sales of our product to U.S. government agencies and organizations is subject to the overall U.S. government budget and congressional appropriation decisions and processes which are driven by numerous factors, including geo-political events and macroeconomic conditions, and are beyond our control. The recent election and changes in political leadership could affect future U.S. Department of Defense’s military initiatives and homeland security spending. We can’t be assured that the military’s interest in communication devices to minimize unnecessary force will continue or will provide future growth opportunities for our business.

Our success is dependent on the performance of our executive team, and the cooperation, performance and retention of our executive officers and key employees.

Over the past few years, we have experienced significant changes in our senior management. Our business and operations are substantially dependent on the performance of our current executive team including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer. We do not maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our executive officers. The loss of one or several key employees could seriously harm our business.

We are also dependent on our ability to retain and motivate high quality personnel, especially sales and marketing executives and skilled technical personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be able to attract, assimilate or retain other highly qualified managerial, sales and technical personnel in the future. The inability to attract and retain the necessary managerial, sales and technical personnel could cause our business, operating results or financial condition to suffer.

We may not address successfully the problems encountered in connection with any potential future acquisitions.

We expect to continue to consider opportunities to acquire or make investments in other technologies, products and businesses that could enhance our capabilities, complement our current products or expand the breadth of our markets or customer base. We have little experience in acquiring other businesses and technologies. Potential and completed acquisitions and strategic investments involve numerous risks and if we fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions and strategic investments, our management team may be distracted from our day-to-day operations, our business may be disrupted and our operating results may suffer. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders would be diluted.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all acts of fraud.

Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed in reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to

 

17


Table of Contents

management and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Our management expects that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, they cannot provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been prevented or detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by an unauthorized override of the controls. The design of any systems of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and we cannot assure that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in a cost effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting could harm stockholder and business confidence in our financial reporting, our ability to obtain financing and other aspects of our business.

Maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC require us to include in our Form 10-K a report by management regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The report includes, among other things, an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the respective fiscal year, including a statement as to whether or not our internal control over financial reporting is effective. This assessment must include disclosure of any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting identified by management. While our management has concluded that we did not have any material weaknesses as of September 30, 2009, it is possible that material weaknesses will be identified in the future. In addition, components of our internal control over financial reporting may require improvement from time to time. If management is unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective in any future period, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have an adverse effect on its stock price.

Evolving regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses and continuing uncertainty.

During fiscal 2005, 2006 and 2007, we incurred substantial costs in complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 relating to the evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting and having our independent auditor attest to that evaluation. Compliance with these requirements, and other similar corporate regulations, has been and is expected to continue to be expensive and time consuming.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC regulations and NASDAQ Stock Market rules are creating uncertainty for public companies. We continually evaluate and monitor developments with respect to new and proposed rules and cannot predict or estimate the amount of the additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. These new or changed laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.

We are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and public disclosure. If our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and we may be harmed.

 

18


Table of Contents

Our common stock may be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Nasdaq’s continued listing standards for our common stock require, among other things, that (i) we maintain a closing bid price for our common stock of at least $1.00, and (ii) we maintain: (A) stockholders’ equity of $2.5 million; (B) market value of listed securities of $35 million; or (C) net income from continuing operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the last three most recently completed fiscal years. In October 2008, we were notified by Nasdaq that we failed to meet the listing standards by failing to maintain a bid price of $1.00 but we received notice from Nasdaq on April 22, 2009 that we became compliant by meeting the bid price requirement. Future failures to satisfy any continued listing requirements could lead to the receipt of a deficiency notice from Nasdaq and ultimately to a delisting from trading of our common stock. If our common stock were delisted from Nasdaq, among other things, this could result in a number of negative implications, including reduced liquidity in our common stock as a result of the loss of market efficiencies associated with Nasdaq and the loss of federal preemption of state securities laws as well as the potential loss of confidence by suppliers, customers and employees, the loss of analyst coverage and institutional investor interest, fewer business development opportunities, greater difficulty in obtaining financing and breaches of certain contractual obligations.

Sales of common stock issuable on the exercise of outstanding options and warrants, may depress the price of our common stock.

As of September 30, 2009, we had outstanding options granted to our employees, directors and consultants to purchase 4,068,409 shares of our common stock, and had outstanding warrants issued to investors and others to purchase 2,098,204 shares of our common stock. At September 30, 2009, the exercise prices for the options and warrants ranged from $0.46 to $9.48 per share. The issuance of shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants could cause substantial dilution to holders of common stock, and the sale of those shares in the market could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. The potential dilution from these shares could negatively affect the terms on which we could obtain equity financing.

We may issue preferred stock in the future, and the terms of the preferred stock may reduce the value of your common stock.

We are authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series. Our board of directors may determine the terms of future preferred stock offerings without further action by our stockholders. If we issue additional preferred stock, it could affect the rights or reduce the value of our common stock. In particular, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with or sell our assets to a third party. These terms may include voting rights, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion and redemption rights, and sinking fund provisions.

Our stock price is volatile and may continue to be volatile in the future.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly to date. In the future, the market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations due to general market conditions and in response to quarter-to-quarter variations in:

 

   

our anticipated or actual operating results;

 

   

developments concerning our sound reproduction technologies;

 

   

technological innovations or setbacks by us or our competitors;

 

   

conditions in the consumer electronics market;

 

   

announcements of merger or acquisition transactions;

 

   

changes in personnel within our company; and

 

   

other events or factors and general economic and market conditions.

 

19


Table of Contents

The stock market in recent years has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many technology companies, and that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

The implementation of authoritative accounting guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), which is effective for our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2009, could have a substantial unfavorable impact on our financial statements.

We have determined that based on provisions of accounting guidance issued by the EITF, as codified in FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 815-40 (formerly EITF 07-5), warrants granted in 2006 contain a strike price adjustment feature that causes these warrants to change the current classification of these instruments from equity to a current liability as of October 1, 2009. These warrants will be revalued based on assumptions at the end of each reporting period, including stock price, volatility, interest rates and remaining term. An increase in the company’s stock price or changes in the stock price volatility or other assumptions could result in an increase in the warrant liability and in a significant non-cash charge to our results of operations.

 

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

 

Item 2. Properties.

Our executive offices, sales, research and development and production facility are located at 15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 100, San Diego, California. We presently occupy, pursuant to a sublease, approximately 23,698 square feet, and our monthly rent payments are approximately $29,600. This sublease expires May 31, 2011. In addition, the sublease provides that we have a right of first refusal on additional space in the building, which contains a total of 68,910 square feet including our premises. We believe this space is adequate for our needs for the foreseeable future.

 

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

We are not a party to any material pending legal proceedings as of the date of this report. However, we may at times be involved in litigation in the ordinary course of business. We will also, from time to time, when appropriate in management’s estimation, record adequate reserves in our financial statements for pending litigation. Litigation is expensive and is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in any such matters could adversely impact our operating results or financial condition. Additionally, any litigation to which we may become subject could also require significant involvement of our senior management and may divert management’s attention from our business and operations.

 

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

None.

 

20


Table of Contents

PART II

 

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock is traded and quoted on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “ATCO”. The market for our common stock has often been sporadic and limited.

The following table sets forth the high and low reported sales prices for our common stock for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2009:

 

     Sales Prices
     High    Low

Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2008

     

First Quarter

   $ 3.97    $ 1.90

Second Quarter

   $ 2.38    $ 1.60

Third Quarter

   $ 2.35    $ 1.46

Fourth Quarter

   $ 1.61    $ 0.54

Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2009

     

First Quarter

   $ 0.60    $ 0.35

Second Quarter

   $ 0.98    $ 0.49

Third Quarter

   $ 2.77    $ 0.75

Fourth Quarter

   $ 1.90    $ 1.27

The above quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail markup, markdown or commission and may not represent actual transactions.

Holders

We had 30,552,498 shares issued and outstanding by 1,039 holders of record of our common stock at November 23, 2009.

Dividends

We have never paid a cash dividend on our common stock or preferred stock and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information set forth in Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

No securities were sold within the past two years that were not registered under the Securities Act and not previously reported.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

 

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not applicable.

 

21


Table of Contents
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The discussion and analysis set forth below in this section should be read in conjunction with the information presented in other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including “Item 1. Business,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” and “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” This discussion contains forward-looking statements which are based on our current expectations and industry experience, as well as our perception of historical trends, current market conditions, current economic data, expected future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a pioneer of highly intelligible, high clarity directed sound technologies and products. We aggressively seek to create markets for our products, and we are increasing our focus on and investment in worldwide sales and marketing activities while we continue to innovate.

In fiscal 2008, we completed the development and introduced a new generation of LRAD products called the LRAD-X. Our new LRAD-X products use directionality and focused acoustic output to clearly transmit critical information, instructions and warnings 1,000 meters and beyond. The LRAD-X product line features improved voice intelligibility and is available in a number of packages that meet the military’s stringent environmental requirements in a number of packages and form factors. Through the use of powerful voice commands and deterrent tones, large safety zones can be created while determining the intent and influencing the behavior of an intruder. Our LRAD-X product line provides a complete range of systems from single man portable to permanently installed, remotely operated infrastructure production. Our LRAD products have been competitively selected over other commercially available systems by the U.S. military. Our new product line includes the following:

 

   

LRAD 1000X—selected by the U.S. Navy as its AHD for Block 0 of the Shipboard Protection System—can be manually operated to provide long distance hailing and warning with highly intelligible communication.

 

   

LRAD 500X—selected by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as their AHD for small vessels and vehicles—is lightweight and can be easily transported to provide security personnel long-range communications and a highly effective hailing and warning capability where needed.

 

   

LRAD 300X —The newest addition to our product line, introduced in fiscal 2009—is a lightweight mid-range AHD developed for small vessels and manned and unmanned vehicles and aircraft.

 

   

LRAD 100X is a self-contained, battery powered, portable system designed for use in a variety of mass notification, law enforcement and commercial security applications. It is ideally suited for short-range perimeter security and communications.

 

   

LRAD-RX is our prescription for remotely controlled security. It enables system operators to detect and communicate with an intruder over long distances. LRAD-RX features an LRAD 1000X emitter head, integrated camera, high-intensity searchlight and a newly developed, robust, and IP-addressable full pan and tilt drive system for precise aiming and tracking. LRAD-RX can also be integrated with radar to provide automated intruder alerts. Because of its automated capabilities, LRAD-RX reduces manpower and false alarms while providing an intelligent, cost-effective security solution.

We incurred $2,106,959 of research and development expense during fiscal 2009, a decrease of 37% from the prior year. Research and development expenses were reduced in fiscal 2009, following the launch of our enhanced LRAD-X product line during fiscal 2008. We focused during fiscal 2009 on the development of the LRAD 300X product, as well as cost reductions and customized applications of existing products. We believe these products provide increased opportunities in government and commercial markets and allow us to continue as the leader in this market. We intend to continue to innovate during fiscal 2010 with consistent levels of expenditures for research and development.

 

22


Table of Contents

We incurred net losses of $1,042,753 and $6,360,276 in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. We generated $2,578,630 of cash from operating activities during fiscal 2009 compared to using $3,409,932 for operating activities in the prior year. We generated positive cash flow from operations for fiscal 2009 despite our net loss in large part because of the non-cash expenses recorded for share-based compensation and accrued bonuses of $1,562,633 and $1,085,559, respectively, that reduced earnings, but not cash flow. Future cash from operating activities are also expected to be impacted by other factors including changes in receivables, payables and accruals. We have substantial research and development and selling, marketing and general administrative expenses, and our margins from the sale of our products have not yet been sufficient to offset these costs. We believe we have adequate financial resources to sustain operations for the next twelve months.

Business Outlook

We recorded revenues of $15,824,838 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, a 41% increase over the prior year’s revenues of $11,189,942. Gross profit improved from $4,410,729 (39% of revenue) in the year ended September 30, 2008 to $7,450,756 (47% of revenue) in the year ended September 30, 2009. In fiscal year 2009, our gross profit margin was favorably impacted by increased unit shipments and reduced product cost on our LRAD-X product line.

In fiscal 2009, our operating expenses of $8,472,605 represented a decrease of $2,384,497 compared to the prior year. Fiscal 2009 operating expenses included $1,485,752 of non-cash share-based compensation costs, a decrease of $749,609 from the prior year. In addition, we decreased spending in research and development by $764,869 following an increase in fiscal 2008 for the development and launch of our LRAD-X product line, reduced staffing by $819,241, decreased legal, auditing and accounting costs by $415,504, reduced patent impairments by $281,145 and reduced selling expenses and travel by $260,339. These decreases were partially offset by $843,510 for bonus expense based on meeting company targets for the year and increased commission to outside sales representatives of $337,291.

Our $1,021,849 operating loss for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 was a $5,424,524 improvement from the $6,446,373 in the prior year, primarily due to increased revenue, improved product margins and reduced operating expenses.

In fiscal year 2010, we anticipate our revenues will continue to grow, primarily due to the increased acceptance of our LRAD, HSS and SoundSaber products, and a stronger sales channel. We believe we have a solid technology and product foundation for business growth. We are experiencing positive response to our new LRAD-X product line, and we have additional technologies and products planned for fiscal 2010. We have strong market opportunities within the government and military sector, as well as increased commercial applications as a result of continued global threats to governments, commerce, law enforcement and wildlife preservation and control. Our selling network has expanded to include a number of key integrators and sales representatives within the United States and in a number of worldwide locations. However, we may face challenges in fiscal 2010 from extreme international market conditions that are severely restricting credit and disrupting major economies. A further and continued deterioration in financial markets and confidence in major economies could disrupt the operation of our business.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We have identified the policies below as critical to our business operations and to understanding our results of operations. Our accounting policies are more fully described in our financial statements and related notes located in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The impact and any associated risks related to these policies on our business operations are discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and throughout Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations when such policies affect our reported and expected financial results.

 

23


Table of Contents

The methods, estimates and judgments we use in applying our accounting policies, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, have a significant impact on the results we report in our financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates affect the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Revenue Recognition. We currently derive our revenue primarily from two sources: (i) component and product sale revenues and associated engineering and installation, which we refer to collectively as product sales and (ii) contract and license fee revenues. Product sales revenues are recognized in the periods that products are shipped to customers (FOB shipping point) or when product is received by the customer (FOB destination), when the fee is fixed and determinable, when collection of resulting receivables is probable and there are no remaining obligations on our part. Revenues from engineering contracts are recognized based on milestones or completion of the contracted services. Revenues from up-front license and other fees and annual license fees are evaluated for multiple elements but are generally recognized ratably over the specified term of the particular license or agreement. Revenues from ongoing per unit license fees are earned based on units shipped by the licensee incorporating our patented proprietary technologies. Revenues are recognized in the period when the ultimate customer accepts the product and collectability is reasonably assured.

Share-Based Compensation. We account for share-based compensation in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, “Compensation—Stock Compensation” (formerly SFAS No. 123(R)), using the modified prospective method which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees and directors based on estimated fair values. ASC 718 requires the use of subjective assumptions, including expected stock price volatility and the estimated term of each award. We estimate the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which is then amortized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which is generally the vesting period. This model also utilizes the fair value of our common stock and requires that, at the date of grant, we use the expected term of the share-based award, the expected volatility of the price of our common stock over the expected term, the risk free interest rate and the expected dividend yield of our common stock to determine the estimated fair value. We determine the amount of share-based compensation expense based on awards that we ultimately expect to vest, reduced for estimated forfeitures. ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Share-based compensation expense includes awards granted prior to, but not yet vested as of September 30, 2005, based on the grant date fair value estimated in accordance with the pro forma provisions of SFAS No. 123 and compensation expense for awards granted subsequent to September 30, 2005 based on the grant date fair value estimated in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718.

We account for equity instruments issued in exchange for the receipt of goods or services from non-employees in accordance with the consensus of ASC 505-50, “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees” (formerly EITF No. 96-18). Costs are measured at the fair market value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. The value of equity instruments issued for consideration other than employee services is determined on the earlier of the date on which there first exists a firm commitment for performance by the provider of goods or services or on the date performance is complete.

Allowance for doubtful accounts. Our products are sold to customers in many different markets and geographic locations. We estimate our bad debt reserve on a case-by-case basis due to a limited number of customers. We base these estimates on many factors including customer credit worthiness, past transaction history with the customer, current economic industry trends and changes in customer payment terms. Our judgments and estimates regarding collectability of accounts receivable have an impact on our financial statements.

 

24


Table of Contents

Valuation of Inventory. Our inventory is comprised of raw materials, assemblies and finished products. We must periodically make judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and carrying value of our inventory. The carrying value of our inventory is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future benefit from our inventory is less than its carrying value. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, we reviewed the carrying value of our inventory and increased the inventory reserve by $147,701 primarily to reserve for excess HSS components and certain other slow moving components associated with our older generation of products and changes in demand.

Valuation of Intangible Assets. Intangible assets consist of patents that are amortized over their estimated useful lives. We must make judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and carrying value of intangible assets. The carrying values of such assets are periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future benefit to be derived from an individual intangible asset is less than its carrying value. In fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, we reviewed the carrying value of our intangible assets and reduced it by $91,470 due to certain assets that are no longer consistent with our business strategy and whose expected future value has decreased.

Accrued Expenses. We establish a warranty reserve based on anticipated warranty claims at the time product revenue is recognized. This reserve requires us to make estimates regarding the amount and costs of warranty repairs we expect to make over a period of time. Factors affecting warranty reserve levels include the number of units sold, anticipated cost of warranty repairs, and anticipated rates of warranty claims. The warranty reserve at September 30, 2009 was $277,717, compared to $235,174 as of September 30, 2008. We evaluate the adequacy of this reserve each reporting period.

We use the recognition criteria of ASC 450-20, “Loss Contingencies” to estimate the amount of bonuses when it becomes probable a bonus liability will be incurred and we recognize expense ratably over the service period. As no target-based bonuses were earned in any prior years that our bonus plan has been in place, and there was significant uncertainty that the targets for fiscal 2009 would be achieved, we accrued no bonus expense until the fourth quarter when $1,085,559 was recorded for fiscal 2009 bonuses and related taxes.

Deferred Tax Asset. We have provided a full valuation reserve related to our substantial deferred tax assets. In the future, if sufficient evidence of our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income in certain tax jurisdictions becomes apparent, we may be required to reduce our valuation allowances, resulting in income tax benefits in our consolidated statement of operations. We evaluate quarterly the realizability of the deferred tax assets and assess the need for a valuation allowance. Utilizing the net operating loss carry forwards in future years could be substantially limited due to restrictions imposed under federal and state laws upon a change in ownership or control. Included in the net operating loss carryforward are deductions from stock options that if recognized will be recorded as a credit to additional paid-in capital rather than through operations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

A number of new pronouncements have been issued for future implementation as discussed in the notes to our consolidated financial statements located in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” See Note 1 of our consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Segment Information

We are engaged in the design, development and commercialization of directed sound technologies and products. We present our business as one reportable segment due to the similarity in nature of products marketed, financial performance measures (revenue growth and gross margin), methods of distribution (direct and indirect) and customer markets (each product is sold by the same personnel to government and commercial customers, domestically and internationally). Our chief operating decision making officer reviews financial information on sound products on a consolidated basis.

 

25


Table of Contents

Comparison of Results of Operations for Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

The following table sets for the periods indicated certain items of our consolidated statements of operations expressed in dollars and as a percentage of net sales. The financial information and discussion below should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes contained in this Annual Report.

 

     Year Ended September 30,              
   2009     2008              
   Dollars     % of
Revenue
    Dollars     % of
Revenue
    Change  
           Dollars     %  

Revenues:

            

Product sales

   15,488,667      97.9   10,647,935      95.2   4,840,732      45

Contract, license and other

   336,171      2.1   542,007      4.8   (205,836   (38 )% 
                    
   15,824,838      100.0   11,189,942      100.0   4,634,896      41

Cost of revenues

   8,374,082      52.9   6,779,213      60.6   (1,594,869   (24 )% 
                    

Gross profit

   7,450,756      47.1   4,410,729      39.4   3,040,027      69

Operating Expenses:

            

Selling, general and administrative

   6,365,646      40.2   7,502,641      67.0   (1,136,995   (15 )% 

Research and development

   2,106,959      13.3   3,354,461      30.0   (1,247,502   (37 )% 
                    
   8,472,605      53.5   10,857,102      97.0   (2,384,497   (22 )% 
                    

Loss from operations

   (1,021,849   (6.5 )%    (6,446,373   (57.6 )%    5,424,524      84
                    

Other income

   28,767      0.2   86,097      0.8   (57,330   (67 )% 
                    

Net loss before provision for income taxes

   (993,082   (6.3 )%    (6,360,276   (56.8 )%    5,367,194      84
                    

Revenues

Revenues increased $4,634,896, or 41%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 to $15,824,838 compared to $11,189,942 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Fiscal year 2009 revenues included $15,488,667 of product sales and $336,171 of contract, license and other revenue. Fiscal year 2008 revenues included $10,647,935 of product sales and $542,007 of contract, license and other revenue. The increase in fiscal year 2009 revenues reflected an increase in LRAD revenue from $9,152,962 in fiscal 2008 to $14,328,389 in fiscal 2009, due primarily to the launch of the new LRAD-X products and expanded sales distribution. HSS revenues decreased from $713,294 in fiscal year 2008 to $586,693 in 2009, as demand from certain key customers in the digital signage and in-store broadcasting markets declined.

For the year ended September 30, 2008, we recognized $162,500 in contract revenue representing ratable earned revenue under a three year license agreement. We did not record any similar contract revenue in the current year as the contract expired in September 2008. At September 30, 2009, we had aggregate deferred license revenue of $273,954 representing amounts collected from another license agreement in advance of recognized earnings. This revenue component is subject to significant variability based on the timing, amount and recognition of new arrangements, if any.

Gross Profit

Gross profit for the year ended September 30, 2009 was $7,450,756, or 47% of total revenues, compared to $4,410,729, or 39% of total revenues, for the year ended September 30, 2008. The increase in gross profit is primarily driven by increased sales, increased fixed absorption and lower product cost on our LRAD-X product line following some higher start-up production costs in fiscal 2008 when the product was launched.

 

26


Table of Contents

Our products have varying gross margins, so product sales mix materially affects gross profit. In addition, we continue to make product updates and changes, including raw material and component changes that may impact product costs. We do not believe that historical gross profit margins should be relied upon as an indicator of future gross profit margins.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended September 30, 2009 decreased $1,136,995 to $6,365,646, or 40% of total revenues, compared to $7,502,641, or 67% of total revenues, for the year ended September 30, 2008. The decrease in expense is primarily due to $555,758 for reduced staffing, a $501,736 decrease in non-cash share-based compensation expense, $415,504 for decreased legal, audit and accounting fees, $260,339 for reduced selling expenses and travel, and other savings, offset by an increase of $506,393 for bonus expense and related payroll taxes based on meeting company incentive targets, and a $337,291 increase in commission expense for outside sales representatives.

We incurred non-cash share-based compensation expenses allocated to selling, general and administrative expenses in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 of $1,370,417 and $1,872,153, respectively. The decrease in expenses is due to a number of options becoming fully vested and new options granted at lower fair values due to lower share prices and lower interest rates. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, we incurred $506,393 of bonus expense and related payroll taxes allocated to selling, general and administrative expenses related to a bonus plan more fully described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.

We may expend additional resources on marketing our products in future periods which may increase selling, general and administrative expenses.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses decreased $1,247,502 to $2,106,959, or 13% of total revenues, for the year ended September 30, 2009, compared to $3,354,461, or 30% of total revenues, for the year ended September 30, 2008. This decrease in research and development expenses was primarily due to a $764,869 reduction in development cost due to costs to develop the new LRAD-X products in 2008, $263,483 for reduced staffing, $281,145 for reduced impairment of patents and $247,843 decrease in non-cash compensation costs, offset by an increase of $337,117 for bonus expense and related payroll taxes based on meeting company targets.

Included in research and development expenses for the year ended September 30, 2009 was $115,335 of non-cash share-based compensation costs. A total of $363,208 of non-cash compensation costs was included for the year ended September 30, 2008. The decrease in expenses is due to a number of options becoming fully vested and new options granted at lower fair values due to lower share prices and lower interest rates. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, we incurred $337,116 of bonus expense and related payroll taxes allocated to research and development expenses related to a bonus plan more fully described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.

During fiscal years 2009 and 2008, we reviewed the ongoing value of our capitalized patent expenses and identified some of these assets as being associated with patents that are no longer consistent with our business strategy. As a result of this review, we reduced the value of our previously capitalized patents for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 by $91,470 and $372,615, respectively.

Research and development costs vary period to period due to the timing of projects, the availability of funds for research and development and the timing and extent of use of outside consulting, design and development firms. In fiscal 2009, research and development expenses were primarily for in-house development. In fiscal 2008, we supplemented our in-house development with third-party consulting resulting in higher research and development costs in that fiscal year when compared to fiscal 2009. Based on current plans and engineering staffing, we expect fiscal year 2010 research and development costs to be comparable to expenditures made in fiscal year 2009.

 

27


Table of Contents

Loss From Operations

Loss from operations was $1,021,849 for the year ended September 30, 2009, compared to a loss from operations of $6,446,373 for the year ended September 30, 2008. The reduced loss from operations resulted primarily from the increased revenue, improved margins and lower operating expenses.

Other Income (Expense)

During the year ended September 30, 2009, we earned $30,332 of interest income on our cash balances compared to interest income of $171,537 in the year ended September 30, 2008. The lower interest was due to lower average cash equivalent balances and a significant drop in interest rate due to market conditions. We also incurred $85,440 of other expense for the year ended September 30, 2008 related to liquidated damages in connection with the late filing of our September 30, 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Net Loss

Our net loss decreased 84% to $1,042,753, or $0.03 per share for the year ended September 30, 2009, compared to a net loss of $6,360,276, or $0.21 per share, for the year ended September 30, 2008. In the year ended September 30, 2009, we recorded a tax provision of $49,671 as a result of taxable income generated during the year. We generated a federal tax liability due to the Federal alternative minimum tax and a tax liability in the State of California due to legislation suspending NOL carryforwards for the 2008 and 2009 tax years.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

During the year ended September 30, 2009, we generated $2,578,630 of cash from operating activities, compared to $3,409,932 of cash used in operating activities in the year ended September 30, 2008. Cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2009 was $5,102,502 compared to $2,694,869 at September 30, 2008. The increase in cash was primarily the result of increased sales, lower expenses and tight management of our operating cash flow.

Other than cash and cash equivalents and our balance of accounts receivable, we have no other unused sources of liquidity at this time.

Principal factors that could affect the availability of our internally generated funds include:

 

   

ability to meet sales projections;

 

   

government spending levels;

 

   

introduction of competing technologies;

 

   

product mix and effect on margins;

 

   

ability to reduce and manage inventory levels; and

 

   

product acceptance in new markets.

Principal factors that could affect our ability to obtain cash from external sources include:

 

   

volatility in the capital markets; and

 

   

market price and trading volume of our common stock.

Based on our current cash position, our order backlog, and assuming currently planned expenditures and current level of operations, we believe we have sufficient capital to fund operations for the next twelve months. However, we operate in a rapidly evolving and often unpredictable business environment that may change the

 

28


Table of Contents

timing or amount of expected future cash receipts and expenditures. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we may not be required to raise additional funds through the sale of equity or debt securities or from credit facilities. Additional capital, if needed, may not be available on satisfactory terms, if at all.

Cash Flows

Operating Activities

Our net cash generated from operating activities was $2,578,630 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 compared to cash used in operating activities of $3,409,932 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Cash generated from operating activities for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 included the $1,042,753 net loss, reduced by expenses not requiring the use of cash of $2,289,920, a $772,065 decrease in accounts receivable, a $56,939 decrease in prepaid expenses and a $989,157 increase in accrued liabilities. Cash used in operating activities included a $325,157 increase in inventory, $157,934 increase in warranty settlements and a $3,607 decrease in accounts payable. Cash used in operating activities for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008 included the $6,360,276 net loss, reduced by expenses not requiring the use of cash of $3,451,191, a $1,291,426 increase in accounts receivable and a $158,583 increase in warranty settlements. Cash generated from operating activities included $695,199 decrease in inventory, $192,273 increase in accounts payable, $8,176 decrease in prepaid expenses and a $53,514 increase in accrued liabilities.

At September 30, 2009, we had working capital of $6,858,039 compared to working capital of $6,105,286 at September 30, 2008. This increase was primarily a result of the positive cash generated from operating activities.

At September 30, 2009, we had accounts receivable of $1,463,222. This compares to $2,210,526 in accounts receivable at September 30, 2008. The level of trade accounts receivable at September 30, 2009 represented approximately 34 days of revenues for the year compared to 72 days of revenues at September 30, 2008. The decrease in days was due to a higher level of sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 of $3,857,693, compared to $3,055,073 in the fourth quarter of 2009. Terms with individual customers vary greatly. We typically require thirty-day terms from our customers. Our receivables can vary dramatically due to overall sales volumes and due to quarterly variations in sales and timing of shipments to and receipts from large customers and the timing of contract payments.

Investing Activities

We use cash in investing activities primarily for the purchase of laboratory and computer equipment, product tooling, software and investment in new patents. Cash used in investing activities for capital expenditures was $142,723 and $121,265 in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Cash used for investment in new patents was $38,650 and $189,136 in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. We anticipate continued expenditures for patents and capital expenditures in fiscal 2010 as we continue to invest in new technologies.

Financing Activities

In the year ended September 30, 2009, we received proceeds of $10,376 from the exercise of stock options. There was no cash provided by financing activities for the year ended September 30, 2008.

Commitments

We are committed for our facility lease as more fully described in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.

 

29


Table of Contents

We have a bonus plan for employees whereby each can earn a percentage of his or her salary if we achieve operating income targets established by the board of directors for the fiscal year. The operating income target for bonuses excludes the cost of non-cash share-based compensation expense and includes the cost of the bonus plan. For the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, we incurred bonus expense of $1,085,559 and $-0-, respectively, related to this plan. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.

In April 2009, our Board of Directors adopted a Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan. The Change of Control Plan provides that in the event of a qualifying termination, each of three participating executives will be entitled to receive (i) a lump sum payment equal to twenty-four months’ base salary (less applicable tax and other withholdings), (ii) a lump sum payment equal to the officer’s target bonus for the year in which the officer is terminated, (iii) continuation of health benefits for twenty-four months and (iv) accelerated vesting of any unvested stock options and other securities or similar incentives held at the time of termination. A qualifying termination under the Change of Control Plan is any involuntary termination without cause or any voluntary termination for good reason, in each case occurring within three months before or twelve months after a change of control of the Company.

We entered into an employment agreement in September 2006 with our president and chief executive officer that provides for severance benefits in the form of up to a maximum of six months’ salary and health benefit continuation if his employment is terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason. There are no other employment agreements with executive officers or other employees providing future benefits or severance arrangements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, financings or other relationships with unconsolidated entities or other persons.

 

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The financial statements required by this item begin on page F-1 with the index to financial statements followed by the financial statements.

 

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

There have been no disagreements or any reportable events requiring disclosure under Item 304(b) of Regulation S-K.

 

Item 9A(T). Controls and Procedures.

We are required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that material information related to us, including our consolidated subsidiaries, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act Reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the

 

30


Table of Contents

time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Our disclosure controls and procedures are also designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act Reports is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2009 and, based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009 based on the guidelines established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Our internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. Based on this evaluation, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of September 30, 2009.

Changes in Internal Controls

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting since June 30, 2009 in connection with the evaluation required by paragraph (d) of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 or 15d-15, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Our process for evaluating controls and procedures is continuous and encompasses constant improvement of the design and effectiveness of established controls and procedures and the remediation of any deficiencies which may be identified during this process.

This annual report does not include an attestation report of the company’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the company’s registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the SEC that permit the company to provide only management’s report in this annual report.

 

Item 9B. Other Information.

None

 

31


Table of Contents

PART III

Certain information required by this Part III is omitted from this report and is incorporated by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held in 2010.

 

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

The information with respect to our executive officers is set forth in the section entitled “Executive Officers” in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The information required by this item with respect to our directors and corporate governance matters is incorporated by reference to the information under the captions “Election of Directors,” “Board and Committee Matters and Corporate Governance Matters” and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the Proxy Statement).

 

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information in the Proxy Statement under the caption “Executive Compensation.”

 

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information in the Proxy Statement under the captions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information.”

 

Item 13. Certain Relationships, Related Transactions and Director Independence.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information in the Proxy Statement under the captions “Certain Transactions” and “Independence of the Board of Directors.”

 

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement, under the heading “Principal Accountant Fees and Services.”

 

32


Table of Contents

PART IV

 

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

Consolidated Financial Statements:

The following consolidated financial statements are filed as part of this report as required by “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   F-2

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-3

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-4

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and  2008

   F-5

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-6

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   F-7 – F-23

Exhibits:

The following exhibits are incorporated by reference or filed as part of this report.

 

3.    Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
3.1    Certificate of Incorporation of American Technology Corporation (Delaware) dated March 1, 1992. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 on Form 10-SB effective August 1, 1994.
3.1.1    Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of American Technology Corporation dated March 24, 1997 and filed with Delaware on April 22, 1997. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.1 on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended March 31, 1997, dated May 13, 1997.
3.1.2    Corrected Certificate of Designations of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock dated and filed with Delaware on August 25, 1997. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.3 on Form 8-K dated August 29, 1997.
3.1.3    Corrected Certificate of Designations of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on December 23, 1998. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.4 on Form 10-KSB for the year ended September 30, 1998, dated December 29, 1998.
3.1.4    Corrected Certificate of Designation of Series C Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on April 19, 2000. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.5 on Form 8-K dated April 19, 2000.
3.1.5    Certificate of Designation of Series D Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on May 3, 2002. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, dated May 15, 2002.
3.1.6    Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation filed with Delaware on September 26, 2002. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.6 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2002, dated December 23, 2002.
3.1.7    Certificate of Designation of Series E Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on February 28, 2003. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 on Form 8-K dated March 6, 2003.
3.2    Restated Bylaws of American Technology Corporation. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, dated May 10, 2006.

 

33


Table of Contents
10.    Material Contracts
10.1    2002 Stock Option Plan. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 on Form S-8 dated November 18, 2002.+
10.1.1    Form of Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement under 2002 Stock Option Plan. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6.1 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004, dated December 28, 2004.+
10.2    Form of Warrant. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.41 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004, dated December 28, 2004.
10.3    Registration Rights Agreement dated July 14, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 on Form 8-K filed July 19, 2005.
10.4    Form of Warrant-A issued July 18, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 on Form 8-K filed July 19, 2005.
10.5    Form of Warrant-B issued July 18, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.4 on Form 8-K filed July 19, 2005.
10.6    American Technology Corporation 2005 Equity Incentive Plan (as Amended March 15, 2007). Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 14, 2007.+
10.7    Form of Stock Option Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan for grants prior to August 5, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to Form S-8 filed June 2, 2005.+
10.8    Form of Stock Option Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan for grants on or after August 5, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated August 9, 2005.+
10.9    Form of Stock Award Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated August 9, 2005.+
10.10    Sublease between American Technology Corporation and Anacomp, Inc. dated December 13, 2005. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.51 on Form 10-K for year ended September 30, 2005, dated December 29, 2005.
10.11    Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 4, 2006. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 on Form 8-K filed August 8, 2006.
10.12    Form of Warrant, issued August 7, 2006. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 on Form 8-K filed August 8, 2006.
10.13    Employment Letter between American Technology Corporation and Thomas R. Brown dated August 23, 2006. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 on Form 8-K filed August 25, 2006.+
10.14    Employment Letter between American Technology Corporation and Katherine H. McDermott dated June 21, 2007. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.37 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2007 filed January 4, 2008.+
10.15    Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan, issued April 30, 2009+*
21.    Subsidiaries of the Registrant
21.1    Subsidiary of American Technology Corporation. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.41 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2008, dated December 4, 2008.
23.    Consents of Experts and Counsel
23.1    Consent of Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson, LLP.*

 

34


Table of Contents
24.    Power of Attorney
24.1    Power of Attorney. Included on signature page.*
31.    Certifications
31.1    Certification of Thomas R. Brown, Principal Executive Officer, pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
31.2    Certification of Katherine H. McDermott, Principal Financial Officer, pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
32.1    Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, executed by Thomas R. Brown, Principal Executive Officer, and Katherine H. McDermott, Principal Financial Officer.*
99.    Additional Exhibits
99.1    Press Release dated December 1, 2009*

 

* Filed herewith.
+ Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. Exhibit 10.13 is included as a management contract given that a trust affiliated with a director and significant stockholder purchased a note and received a warrant in connection with that financing and is a party to this exhibit.

 

35


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Index to Financial Statements

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   F-2

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-3

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-4

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-5

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended September 30, 2009 and 2008

   F-6

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   F-7 – F-23

 

F-1


Table of Contents

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of

American Technology Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of American Technology Corporation and Subsidiary (collectively, the “Company”) as of September 30, 2009 and 2008, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company was not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009. Our audit for the year ended September 30, 2009 included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that were appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of American Technology Corporation and Subsidiary as of September 30, 2009 and 2008, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

/S/ SQUAR, MILNER, PETERSON, MIRANDA & WILLIAMSON, LLP

San Diego, California

December 1, 2009

 

F-2


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

     September 30,  
     2009     2008  

ASSETS

    

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 5,102,502      $ 2,694,869   

Accounts receivable, less allowance of $222,864 and $247,625 for doubtful accounts

     1,463,222        2,210,526   

Inventories, net

     3,067,675        2,890,219   

Prepaid expenses and other

     194,451        251,390   
                

Total current assets

     9,827,850        8,047,004   

Property and equipment, net

     230,432        292,094   

Patents, net

     897,351        1,058,186   

Deposits

     58,265        58,265   
                

Total assets

   $ 11,013,898      $ 9,455,549   
                

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

    

Current liabilities:

    

Accounts payable

   $ 960,308      $ 963,915   

Accrued liabilities

     2,009,503        977,803   
                

Total current liabilities

     2,969,811        1,941,718   
                

Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)

    

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock, $0.00001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —          —     

Common stock, $0.00001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 30,552,498 and 30,535,207 shares issued and outstanding, respectively

     306        305   

Additional paid-in capital

     82,947,945        81,374,937   

Accumulated deficit

     (74,904,164     (73,861,411
                

Total stockholders’ equity

     8,044,087        7,513,831   
                

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 11,013,898      $ 9,455,549   
                

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

 

F-3


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Consolidated Statements of Operations

 

     Years Ended September 30,  
     2009     2008  

Revenues:

    

Product sales

   $ 15,488,667      $ 10,647,935   

Contract, license and other

     336,171        542,007   
                

Total revenues

     15,824,838        11,189,942   

Cost of revenues

     8,374,082        6,779,213   
                

Gross profit

     7,450,756        4,410,729   
                

Operating expenses:

    

Selling, general and administrative

     6,365,646        7,502,641   

Research and development

     2,106,959        3,354,461   
                

Total operating expenses

     8,472,605        10,857,102   
                

Loss from operations

     (1,021,849     (6,446,373
                

Other income (expense):

    

Interest income

     30,332        171,537   

Finance expense

     (1,565     (85,440
                

Total other income

     28,767        86,097   
                

Net loss before provision for income taxes

     (993,082     (6,360,276

Provision for income taxes

     (49,671     —     
                

Net loss

   $ (1,042,753   $ (6,360,276
                

Net loss per common share—basic and diluted

   $ (0.03   $ (0.21
                

Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic and diluted

     30,537,424        30,535,207   
                

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

 

F-4


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

 

     Common Stock    Additional
Paid-in
Capital
   Accumulated
Deficit
    Total
Stockholders’
Equity
 
     Shares    Amount        

Balances, September 30, 2007

   30,535,207    $ 305    $ 79,116,792    $ (67,501,135   $ 11,615,962   

Share-based compensation expense

   —        —        2,258,145      —          2,258,145   

Net loss for the year

   —        —        —        (6,360,276     (6,360,276
                                   

Balances, September 30, 2008

   30,535,207    $ 305    $ 81,374,937    $ (73,861,411   $ 7,513,831   

Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options

   17,291      1      10,375      —          10,376   

Share-based compensation expense

   —        —        1,562,633      —          1,562,633   

Net loss for the year

   —        —        —        (1,042,753     (1,042,753
                                   

Balances, September 30, 2009

   30,552,498    $ 306    $ 82,947,945    $ (74,904,164   $ 8,044,087   
                                   

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

 

F-5


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

 

     Years Ended September 30,  
     2009     2008  

Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents:

    

Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

   $ (1,042,753   $ (6,360,276

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     312,382        352,514   

Provision for doubtful accounts

     (24,761     19,129   

Warranty provision

     200,477        211,510   

Inventory obsolescence

     147,701        217,329   

Loss on disposition of fixed assets

     18        19,949   

Share-based compensation

     1,562,633        2,258,145   

Loss on impairment of patents

     91,470        372,615   

Changes in assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable

     772,065        (1,291,426

Inventories

     (325,157     695,199   

Prepaid expenses and other

     56,939        8,176   

Accounts payable

     (3,607     192,273   

Warranty settlements

     (157,934     (158,583

Accrued liabilities

     989,157        53,514   
                

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

     2,578,630        (3,409,932
                

Investing Activities:

    

Purchase of equipment

     (142,723     (121,265

Proceeds from the sale of assets

     —          665   

Patent costs paid

     (38,650     (189,136
                

Net cash used in investing activities

     (181,373     (309,736
                

Financing Activities:

    

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

     10,376        —     
                

Net cash provided by financing activities

     10,376        —     
                

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     2,407,633        (3,719,668

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

     2,694,869        6,414,537   
                

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

   $ 5,102,502      $ 2,694,869   
                

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information

    

Cash paid for interest

   $ 1,565      $ 662   

Cash paid for taxes

   $ 3,405      $ 6,944   

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

 

F-6


Table of Contents

American Technology Corporation

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

1. OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

OPERATIONS

American Technology Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company), is engaged in design, development and commercialization of directed sound technologies and products. The principal markets for the Company’s proprietary sound reproduction technologies and products are in North America, Europe and Asia.

The Company has a currently inactive wholly owned subsidiary, American Technology Holdings, Inc., through which the Company intends to conduct international marketing, sales and distribution activities. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of this subsidiary after elimination of intercompany transactions and accounts.

LIQUIDITY

The Company has incurred net losses for each of the last two fiscal years but generated positive cash flow from operating activities in its most recent fiscal year. The Company had working capital of $6,858,039 and cash on hand of $5,102,502 at September 30, 2009. The Company believes it has adequate financial resources to sustain operations for the next twelve months. The Company’s future operating results will depend on product sales levels and other factors, some of which are beyond management’s control. There can be no assurance the Company can sustain positive cash flow or achieve profitability. If required, management has some flexibility to take remedial actions to adjust the level of research and development and selling and administrative expenses. However, the Company operates in a rapidly evolving and often unpredictable business environment that may change the timing or amount of expected future cash receipts and expenditures. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Company may not be required to raise additional funds through the sale of equity or debt securities or from credit facilities. Additional capital, if needed, may not be available on satisfactory terms, if at all.

USE OF ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions (e.g., reserves for accounts receivable and inventory, valuation of patents and warranty reserves) that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK

The Company maintains cash and cash equivalent accounts with a major Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guaranteed financial institution that was enrolled in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Temporary Guarantee Program for money market funds. Under this program, the U.S. Treasury guaranteed the $1.00 per share value of fund shares outstanding as of September 19, 2008, subject to certain terms and limitations, through September 18, 2009. Effective October 14, 2008, FDIC deposit insurance was changed to provide full deposit insurance coverage for non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts through December 31, 2009. During most of the year ended September 30, 2009, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents consisted of guaranteed money market funds. Upon expiration of the money market guarantee on September 18, 2009, the Company transferred its funds to a non-interest bearing deposit transaction account. At September 30, 2009, all of the Company’s cash was fully guaranteed under current FDIC coverage.

 

F-7


Table of Contents

The Company sells its products to a large number of geographically diverse customers. The Company routinely assesses the financial strength of its customers and generally does not require collateral or other security to support customer receivables. At September 30, 2009, accounts receivable from five customers accounted for 15%, 13%, 11%, 11% and 10% of total accounts receivable with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of the accounts receivable balance. At September 30, 2008, accounts receivable from two customers accounted for 49% and 14% of total accounts receivable with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of the accounts receivable balance.

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivables, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair values due to the short maturity of these instruments.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS

The Company carries its accounts receivable at their face amounts, less an allowance for doubtful accounts. On a periodic basis, the Company evaluates its accounts receivable and establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses considering the following factors when determining if collection of a receivable is reasonably assured: customer credit-worthiness, past transaction history with the customer, current economic industry trends and changes in customer payment terms. If the Company has no previous experience with the customer, the Company may obtain reports from various credit organizations to ensure that the customer has a history of paying its creditors. The Company may also request financial information to ensure that the customer has the means of making payment. If these factors do not indicate collection is reasonably assured, revenue is deferred until collection becomes reasonably assured, which is generally upon receipt of cash. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, adversely affecting their ability to make payments, additional allowances would be required. The Company determines allowances on a case-by-case basis. The Company reduced its allowance for doubtful accounts by $22,176 and increased its allowance by $20,470 for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively

CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS

The Company employs contract manufacturers for production of certain components and sub-assemblies. The Company may provide parts and components to such parties from time to time but recognizes no revenue or markup on such transactions. During fiscal 2009, the Company performed assembly of products in-house using components and sub-assemblies from a variety of contract manufacturers and suppliers.

INVENTORIES

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined on a first-in, first-out basis. Inventory is comprised of raw materials, assemblies and finished products intended for sale to customers. The Company periodically makes judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and carrying value of inventory. The carrying value of inventory is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future benefit is less than carrying value. The Company has inventory reserves for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory which is equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated market value based upon assumptions about future demand and market conditions. The Company increased its inventory reserve by $147,701 and $217,329 during the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively, primarily to reserve for excess HyperSonic Sound (HSS) components and certain other slow moving components resulting from changes in product lines and changes in demand.

 

F-8


Table of Contents

EQUIPMENT AND DEPRECIATION

Equipment is stated at cost. Depreciation on machinery and equipment and office furniture and equipment is computed over the estimated useful lives of three to five years using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the life of the lease. Upon retirement or disposition of equipment, the related cost and accumulated depreciation or amortization is removed and a gain or loss is recorded.

INTANGIBLES

Patents and trademarks are carried at cost and, when granted, are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which have been estimated to be 15 years. The carrying value of intangibles is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future benefit to be derived from an individual intangible asset is less than its carrying value. The Company wrote off $91,470 and $372,615, of previously capitalized patent costs during the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

LEASES

Leases entered into are classified as either capital or operating leases. At the time a capital lease is entered into, an asset is recorded together with its related long-term obligation to reflect the purchase and financing. At September 30, 2009, the Company had no capital lease obligations.

GUARANTEES AND INDEMNIFICATIONS

Under its bylaws, the Company has agreed to indemnify its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences arising as a result of the officer or director serving in such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for the officer or director’s lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited. However, the Company has a director and officers’ liability insurance policy that limits its exposure and enables it to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. As a result of its insurance policy coverage, the Company does not believe that a material loss exposure related to these agreements is either probable or reasonably estimable. Accordingly, the Company has no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of September 30, 2009.

The Company enters into indemnification provisions under (i) its agreements with other companies in its ordinary course of business, typically with business partners, contractors, customers and landlords and (ii) its agreements with investors. Under these provisions the Company generally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party as a result of the Company’s activities or, in some cases, as a result of the indemnified party’s activities under the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is unlimited. The Company has not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, the Company does not believe that a material loss exposure related to these agreements is either probable or reasonably estimable. Accordingly, the Company has no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of September 30, 2009.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

The Company derives its revenue primarily from two sources: (i) product sales (which includes associated engineering and installation), and (ii) contract and license fees.

Product sales are recognized in the periods that products are shipped to customers (FOB shipping point) or when product is received by the customer (FOB destination), when the fee is fixed and determinable, when collection of resulting receivables is probable and there are no remaining obligations on the part of the Company. In limited circumstances, product sales revenues may be recognized prior to shipment when, based on the

 

F-9


Table of Contents

Company’s evaluation, criteria for recognizing revenue under bill and hold arrangements have been met. During the year ended September 30, 2009, the Company did not recognize any bill and hold revenue and during the year ended September 30, 2008, recognized $1,080,000 in revenue pursuant to a qualifying bill and hold arrangement.

Revenues from associated engineering and installation contracts are recognized based on milestones or completion of the contracted services.

The Company provides research and development services and licenses its technology to third parties. Revenues from up-front license and other fees and annual license fees are evaluated for multiple elements but are generally recognized ratably over the specified term of the particular license or agreement. Revenues from ongoing per unit license fees are earned based on units shipped and are recognized in the period when the ultimate customer accepts the product and collection is reasonably assured.

Deferred revenue balances of $273,954 and $275,509 at September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively, represent amounts received or billed in connection with contract development and license agreements. On one agreement, royalty revenue is recognized based on a per unit royalty fee based on the customer’s unit sales.

SHIPPING AND HANDLING COSTS

Shipping and handling costs are included in cost of revenues. The amount of shipping and handling costs invoiced to customers is included in revenue. Actual shipping and handling costs were $235,185 and $181,192 for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

ADVERTISING

Advertising costs are charged to expense as incurred. The Company expensed $66,929 and $36,477 for the years ended September 2009 and 2008, respectively, for advertising costs.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

WARRANTY RESERVES

The Company warrants its products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. The warranty is generally a limited warranty. The Company currently provides direct warranty service. Some agreements with OEM customers from time to time may require that certain quantities of product be made available for use as warranty replacements. International market warranties are generally similar to the U.S. market.

The Company establishes a warranty reserve based on anticipated warranty claims at the time revenue from product sales is recognized. Factors affecting warranty reserve levels include the number of units sold and anticipated cost of warranty repairs and anticipated rates of warranty claims. The Company evaluates the adequacy of the provision for warranty costs each reporting period. In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, the Company increased its reserve by $42,543. The warranty reserve was $277,717 and $235,174 at September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. See Note 9 for additional information regarding warranties.

INCOME TAXES

The Company determines its income tax provision using the asset and liability method. Temporary differences are differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the

 

F-10


Table of Contents

financial statements that will result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years. A valuation allowance is recorded by the Company to the extent it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized. Additional information regarding income taxes appears in Note 5, “Income Taxes”.

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Comprehensive income (loss) consists of net income (loss) and other gains and losses affecting stockholders’ equity that under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, are excluded from reported net income (loss). There were no differences between net loss and comprehensive loss for any of the periods presented.

IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS

Long-lived assets and identifiable intangibles held for use are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If the sum of undiscounted expected future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset or if changes in facts and circumstances indicate, an impairment loss is recognized and measured using the asset’s fair value.

SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Company presents its business as one reportable segment due to the similarity in nature of products provided, financial performance measures (revenue growth and gross margin), methods of distribution (direct and indirect) and customer markets (each product is sold by the same personnel to government and commercial customers, domestically and internationally). The Company’s chief operating decision making officer reviews financial information on sound products on a consolidated basis.

NET LOSS PER SHARE

Basic net loss per share includes no dilution and is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted loss per share reflects the potential dilution of securities that could share in the earnings of an entity. The Company’s losses for the years presented cause the inclusion of potential common stock instruments outstanding to be anti-dilutive. Stock options and warrants exercisable for 6,166,613 and 6,162,893 shares of common stock were outstanding at September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These securities were not included in the computation of diluted loss per share because of the losses but could potentially dilute earnings per share in future periods.

FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION

The Company’s functional currency is United States (U.S.) dollars as substantially all of the Company’s operations use this denomination. Foreign sales to date have been denominated in U.S. dollars. Transactions undertaken in other currencies, which have not been material, are translated using the exchange rate in effect as of the transaction date. Any exchange gains and losses are included in the statement of operations.

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company recognized share-based compensation expense related to stock options issued to employees and directors over the vesting term of the stock-based instrument based on the grant date fair value. Options or stock awards issued to non-employees who are not directors of the Company are recorded at their estimated fair value at the measurement date, and are periodically revalued as the options vest and are recognized as expense over the related service period.

 

F-11


Table of Contents

The Company is in a net operating loss position; therefore, no excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements have been recognized for the year ended September 30, 2009.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In June 2009, through the issuance of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement No. 168, “The FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles” (the ASC or Codification), there became a single official source of authoritative generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (US GAAP), superseding existing FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), and related literature. There is now only one level of authoritative US GAAP. All other literature will be considered non-authoritative. The Codification does not change US GAAP; instead, it introduces a new structure that is organized in an easily accessible, user-friendly online research system. The Codification is effective for interim and annual periods ending on or after September 15, 2009. The Company applied the Codification beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The adoption of the Codification did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. This new standard is now codified under ASC 105, “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.” In circumstances where revisions or updates to existing standards are required, the FASB will issue an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) on the ASC topic. All of the Company’s financial statement disclosures have been updated in accordance with the Codification. SEC pronouncements are still authoritative for public companies.

Effective April 1, 2009, the Company adopted three accounting standard updates that were intended to provide additional application guidance and enhanced disclosures regarding fair value measurements and impairments of securities established in ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (formerly SFAS 157) . They also provide additional guidelines for estimating fair value in accordance with fair value accounting. The first update, as codified in ASC 820-10-65, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (formerly SFAS 157-2), provides additional guidelines for estimating fair value in accordance with fair value accounting. The second accounting update, as codified in ASC 320-10-65, “Debt and Equity Securities” (formerly FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2), changes accounting requirements for other-than-temporary-impairment for debt securities by replacing the current requirement that a holder have the positive intent and ability to hold an impaired security to recovery in order to conclude an impairment was temporary with a requirement that an entity conclude it does not intend to sell an impaired security and it will not be required to sell the security before the recovery of its amortized cost basis. The third accounting update, as codified in ASC 825-10-65, “Financial Instruments” (formerly FSP FAS No. 107-1 and APB 28-1), increases the frequency of fair value disclosures. These updates were effective for fiscal years and interim periods ended after June 15, 2009. The adoption of these accounting updates did not have any impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In February 2008, the FASB issued guidance, as codified in ASC 820-10, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, that delayed the effective date of fair value measurements accounting for all non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually), until the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2010. These include goodwill and other non-amortizable intangible assets. The Company adopted this guidance effective October 1, 2008. The adoption of this update to non-financial assets and liabilities did not have any impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In April 2008, the FASB issued ASC 350-30, “General Intangibles Other Than Goodwill” (formerly FSP SFAS 142-3). ASC 350-30 provides the factors that should be considered in developing the renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset. ASC 350-30 also requires expanded disclosure related to the determination of intangible asset useful lives. It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. Earlier adoption is not permitted. The Company does not expect ASC 350-30 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

 

F-12


Table of Contents

In June 2008, the FASB issued ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging; Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” (formerly Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 07-5). ASC 815-40 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is not permitted. This guidance provides a two-step model to be applied in determining whether a financial instrument or an embedded feature is indexed to an issuer’s own stock and thus able to qualify for the ASC 815-10 (formerly SFAS No. 133 paragraph 11(a)) scope exception. Based on the Company’s review, warrants granted in 2006 contain a strike price adjustment feature, which upon adoption of ASC 815-40 will result in the instruments no longer being considered indexed to the Company’s own stock. Accordingly, our adoption of ASC 815-40 effective October 1, 2009 will cause these warrants to be reclassified from equity to liabilities. Based on assumptions used at October 1, 2009, the Company expects to record a warrant liability of approximately $748,000 and a cumulative effect adjustment to accumulated deficit of approximately $1,499,000 upon the adoption of this pronouncement. The warrant fair value will be adjusted each reporting period based on current assumptions, with the change in value being recognized in current earnings, with an offset to the warrant liability. Increases in stock price and stock volatility and decreases in interest rates will increase the warrant liability and negatively affect the Company’s consolidated statement of operations.

In May 2009, the FASB issued ASC 855-10, “Subsequent Events” (formerly SFAS No. 165). ASC 855-10 establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. ASC 855-10 was effective for fiscal years and interim periods ending after June 15, 2009. The implementation of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. (See Note 11).

Effective October 1, 2009, the Company adopted a new accounting standard update regarding business combinations. As codified under ASC 805, “Business Combinations” (formerly FAS 141R) the update requires the acquisition method to be applied to all transactions and other events in which an entity obtains control over one or more other businesses, requires the acquirer to recognize the fair value of all assets and liabilities acquired, even if less than one hundred percent ownership is acquired, and establishes the acquisition date fair value as measurement date for all assets and liabilities assumed. For the Company, this accounting update was effective on a prospective basis for all business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after October 1, 2009. Since the Company is not contemplating any business combinations it does not presently expect any impact of adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

ASC 810-10-65, “Consolidation” (formerly SFAS 160) establishes accounting and reporting standards for the non-controlling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. It clarifies that a non-controlling interest in a subsidiary is an ownership interest in the consolidated financial statements. ASC 810-10-65 is effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. The provisions of are applied prospectively upon adoption except for the presentation and disclosure requirements that are applied retrospectively. The Company has no non-controlling interests and accordingly the adoption of this guidance effective October 1, 2009 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In September 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-13, “Revenue Recognition (Topic 605)—Multiple Deliverable Arrangements” (formerly EITF Issue 08-1). This guidance updates the existing multiple-element revenue arrangements guidance currently included under ASC 605-25, which originated primarily from the guidance in EITF Issue No. 00-21, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” The revised guidance primarily provides two significant changes: 1) eliminates the need for objective and reliable evidence of the fair value for the undelivered element in order for a delivered item to be treated as a separate unit of accounting, and 2) eliminates the residual method to allocate the arrangement consideration. In addition, the guidance also expands the disclosure requirements for revenue recognition. ASU 2009-13 will be effective for the first annual reporting period beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted provided that the revised guidance is retroactively applied to the beginning of the year of adoption. The Company is currently assessing the future impact of this new accounting update to its consolidated financial statements.

 

F-13


Table of Contents

In October 2009, the FASB published ASU 2009-14, “Software (Topic 985)-Certain Revenue Arrangements that Include Software Elements” (formerly EITF Issue 09-3) and changes the accounting model for revenue arrangements that include both tangible products and software elements. Under this guidance, tangible products containing software components and nonsoftware components that function together to deliver the tangible product’s essential functionality are excluded from the software revenue guidance in Subtopic 985-605, “Software-Revenue Recognition”. In addition, hardware components of a tangible product containing software components are always excluded from the software revenue guidance. The guidance in this ASU is effective prospectively for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations since this accounting standard update provides only implementation and disclosure amendments.

RECLASSIFICATIONS

Where necessary, the prior year’s information has been reclassified to conform to the fiscal 2009 statement presentation.

2. INVENTORIES

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost, which approximates actual costs on a first in, first out cost basis, or market.

Inventories consisted of the following:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Finished goods

   $ 1,214,879      $ 998,609   

Work in process

     32,997        29,959   

Raw materials

     3,522,651        3,416,802   
                
     4,770,527        4,445,370   

Reserve for obsolescence

     (1,702,852     (1,555,151
                

Total, net

   $ 3,067,675      $ 2,890,219   
                

The Company had raw materials located at supplier locations of $92,240 and $42,243 at September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

The Company relies on one supplier for film for its HSS product and one supplier for compression drivers for its LRAD product and is making efforts to obtain alternative suppliers to reduce such reliance. The Company’s ability to manufacture its HSS and LRAD product could be adversely affected if it were to lose a sole source supplier and was unable to find an alternative supplier.

The reserve for obsolescence increased by $147,701 due to excess HSS components and other slow moving components resulting from changes in demand for the Company’s products.

 

F-14


Table of Contents

3. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consists of the following:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Machinery and equipment

   $ 635,832      $ 511,464   

Office furniture and equipment

     806,210        821,121   

Leasehold improvements

     262,258        260,591   
                
     1,704,300        1,593,176   

Accumulated depreciation

     (1,473,868     (1,301,082
                

Property and equipment, net

   $ 230,432      $ 292,094   
                

Included in office furniture and equipment for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively, were $414,921 and $411,963 for purchased software, which is amortized over three years. The unamortized portion of purchased software for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 was $9,885 and $13,755, respectively.

Depreciation expense, excluding amortization of software, was $194,314 and $207,209 for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Amortization of purchased software was $10,053 and $23,375 for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

4. PATENTS

Patents consist of the following:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Cost

   $ 1,586,621      $ 1,662,787   

Accumulated amortization

     (689,270     (604,601
                

Patents, net

   $ 897,351      $ 1,058,186   
                

Aggregate amortization expense for the Company’s patents was $108,015 and $121,930 during the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. In addition to amortization, the Company wrote off $91,470 and $372,615 of impaired patent costs during the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

 

Estimated Amortization Expense Years Ended September 30,

    

2010

   $ 107,304

2011

   $ 107,304

2012

   $ 107,304

2013

   $ 107,304

2014

   $ 107,304

Thereafter

   $ 360,831

 

F-15


Table of Contents

5. INCOME TAXES

Income taxes consisted of the following:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Current tax expense

    

Federal

   $ 10,000      $ —     

State

     40,000        —     
          
     50,000     

Deferred (benefit)

    

Federal

     (143,000     (946,000

State

     (25,000     (167,000
                
     (168,000     (1,113,000

Change in valuation allowance

     168,000        1,113,000   
                

Provision for income taxes

   $ 50,000      $ —     
                

A reconciliation of income taxes at the federal statutory rate of 34% to the effective tax rate is as follows:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Income taxes (benefit) computed at the federal statutory rate

   $ (338,000   $ (2,162,000

Change in valuation allowance

     168,000        1,113,000   

Nondeductible compensation, interest expense and other

     5,000        7,000   

State income taxes (benefit), net of federal tax benefit

     (60,000     (382,000

Change in R&D credit carryover

     —          1,820,000   

NOL/Prior year true-ups

     301,000        (286,000

State business credit utilization

     (26,000     —     

Other

     —          (110,000
                
   $ 50,000      $ —     
                

The types of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their approximate tax effects that give rise to a significant portion of the net deferred tax asset (liability) at September 30, 2009 and 2008 are as follows:

 

     At September 30,  
     2009     2008  

Deferred tax assets:

    

Net operating loss carryforwards

   $ 23,462,000      $ 23,663,000   

Share-based compensation

     2,113,000        1,750,000   

Equipment

     77,000        53,000   

Patents

     65,000        212,000   

Accruals and other

     672,000        616,000   

State Tax Deduction

     13,500        —     

Federal AMT Credit

     10,000        —     

Allowances

     770,000        721,000   
                

Gross deferred tax asset

     27,182,500        27,015,000   

Less valuation allowance

     (27,182,500     (27,015,000
                
   $ —        $ —     
                

 

F-16


Table of Contents

A valuation allowance has been recorded to offset the net deferred tax assets as realization of such assets has not met the threshold under ASC 740-10, “Income Taxes” (formerly SFAS 109).

At September 30, 2009, the Company had net deferred tax assets of $27.2 million. The deferred tax assets are primarily composed of federal and state net operating loss carryforwards (NOL) and federal and state research and development (R&D) credit carryforwards. At September 30, 2009, the Company, for federal income tax purposes, had net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $62,403,000, which expire through 2029. Included in the net operating loss carryforwards are deductions from stock options that, if recognized, will be recorded as a credit to additional paid-in capital rather than through the consolidated statement of operations.

Due to uncertainties surrounding the Company’s ability to generate future taxable income to realize these assets, a full valuation allowance has been established to offset net deferred tax assets. The future utilization of the Company’s NOL carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to a substantial annual limitation as a result of ownership changes that could occur in the future. The Company has an estimated $1,383,000 and $1,120,000 of federal and state research and development tax credits, respectively, at September 30, 2009, a portion of which begin to expire in 2010. The Company has not completed a comprehensive review of the components of its R&D credits. Until this analysis has been completed, the Company has removed the deferred tax assets associated with the tax credit carryforwards from its deferred tax assets recording a corresponding decrease in the valuation allowance. Once an analysis is completed, the Company plans to update its unrecognized R&D tax benefits. At this time, the Company cannot estimate how much the unrecognized tax benefits may change, if any.

The Company adopted ASC 740-10-25, “Income Taxes—Recognition” (formerly FIN 48) as of October 1, 2007. As of the date of the adoption, the Company had no unrecognized tax benefits and there were no material changes during the year. Due to the existence of the valuation allowance, future changes in the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits will not impact its effective tax rate. The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. Upon adoption of ASC 740-10-25 on October 1, 2007, the Company did not record any interest or penalties.

The Company is subject to taxation in the U.S. and various state jurisdictions. Effectively, all of the Company’s historical tax years are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service and various state jurisdictions due to the generation of net operating loss and credit carryforwards.

6. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Common Stock Activity

During the year ended September 30, 2009, the Company issued 17,291 shares of common stock and obtained gross proceeds of $10,376 in connection with the exercise of stock options.

Preferred Stock

The Company is authorized under its certificate of incorporation and bylaws to issue 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001 par value, without any further action by the stockholders. The board of directors has the authority to divide any and all shares of preferred stock into series and to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of the preferred stock, such as the designation of series and the number of shares constituting such series, dividend rights, redemption and sinking fund provisions, liquidation and dissolution preferences, conversion or exchange rights and voting rights, if any. Issuance of preferred stock by the board of directors could result in such shares having dividend and or liquidation preferences senior to the rights of the holders of common stock and could dilute the voting rights of the holders of common stock.

No shares of preferred stock were outstanding during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 or 2008.

 

F-17


Table of Contents

Stock Purchase Warrants

A summary of the status of outstanding purchase warrants outstanding as of September 30, 2008 and 2009 and the changes during the years then ended is presented below:

 

     Number of
Shares
    Weighted
Average
Purchase
Price

Shares purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30, 2007

   3,340,318      $ 3.72

Stock purchase warrants expired

   (403,625   $ 3.30
            

Shares purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30, 2008

   2,936,693      $ 3.78

Stock purchase warrants expired

   (838,489   $ 5.44
            

Shares purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30, 2009

   2,098,204      $ 3.12
            

At September 30, 2009, the following stock purchase warrants were outstanding arising from offerings and other transactions, each exercisable into one common share:

 

    

Number

       Exercise Price    

Expiration Date

  75,000      $ 8.60      December 31, 2009
  75,000      $ 9.28      December 31, 2009
  1,948,204      $ 2.67   August 7, 2010
          
  2,098,204       
          

 

  * These warrants contain certain antidilution rights if the Company sells securities for less than the exercise price.

7. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock Option Plans

At September 30, 2009, the Company had two equity incentive plans. The 2002 Stock Option Plan (2002 Plan) was terminated with respect to new grants in April 2005 but remains in effect for grants issued prior to the termination. The 2005 Equity Incentive Plan (2005 Plan), as amended, authorizes for issuance as stock options, stock appreciation rights, or stock awards an aggregate of 3,250,000 new shares of common stock to employees, directors or consultants, plus 1,749,564 shares remaining eligible for issuance under the 2002 Plan for a total plan reserve of 4,999,564. The current plan reserve at September 30, 2009, net of exercises, allows for the issuance of up to 4,627,372 shares. At September 30, 2009, there were options outstanding covering 85,000 and 3,951,409 shares of common stock under the 2002 Plan and 2005 Plan, respectively.

At September 30, 2009, there were also options outstanding covering 32,000 shares of common stock from grants outside the stock option plans.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company’s employee stock options have various restrictions that reduce option value, including vesting provisions and restrictions on transfer and hedging, among others, and are often exercised prior to their contractual maturity.

 

F-18


Table of Contents

The Company recorded $1,562,633 and $2,258,145 of stock compensation expense for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The weighted-average estimated fair value of employee stock options granted during the year ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 was $0.29 per share and $0.99 per share, respectively, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions (annualized percentages):

 

     Years Ended September 30,
     2009   2008

Volatility

   71.0% - 83.0%   71.0%

Risk-free interest rate

   1.30% - 2.46%   2.79% - 3.49%

Forfeiture rate

   20.0%   20.0%

Dividend yield

   0.0%   0.0%

Expected life in years

   3.4 - 4.9   3.4 - 4.9

The dividend yield of zero is based on the fact that the Company has never paid cash dividends and has no present intention to pay cash dividends. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock over the period commensurate with the expected life of the options. The risk-free interest rate is based on rates published by the Federal Reserve Board. The expected life is based on observed and expected time to post-vesting exercise. The expected forfeiture rate is based on past experience and employee retention data. Forfeitures are estimated at the time of the grant and revised in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates or if the Company updates its estimated forfeiture rate. Such amounts will be recorded as a cumulative adjustment in the period in which the estimate is changed.

As of September 30, 2009, there was $500,000 of total unrecognized compensation costs related to outstanding employee stock options. This amount is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.3 years. To the extend the forfeiture rate is different from what the Company anticipated, stock-based compensation related to these awards will be different from the Company’s expectations.

Stock Option Summary Information

A summary of activity for the Company’s stock option plans, as well as options granted outside such plans as of September 30, 2009 and 2008, is presented below:

 

     Number
of Shares
    Weighted Average
Exercise Price

Fiscal 2008:

    

Outstanding October 1, 2007

   3,128,761      $ 4.10

Granted

   698,500      $ 1.93

Canceled/expired

   (601,061   $ 3.63
            

Outstanding September 30, 2008

   3,226,200      $ 3.72
            

Exercisable at September 30, 2008

   2,186,270      $ 3.93
            

Fiscal 2009:

    

Outstanding October 1, 2008

   3,226,200      $ 3.72

Granted

   1,003,000      $ 0.56

Canceled/expired

   (143,500   $ 3.46

Exercised

   (17,291   $ 0.60
            

Outstanding September 30, 2009

   4,068,409      $ 2.96
            

Exercisable September 30, 2009

   3,380,072      $ 3.27
            

Weighted average fair value of options granted during the year

     $ 0.29
        

 

F-19


Table of Contents

The aggregate intrinsic value for both options outstanding and options exercisable at September 30, 2009 was $1,205,635 and $683,302, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic value represents the difference between the Company’s closing stock price on the last day of trading during the year, which was $1.77 per share, and the exercise price multiplied by the number of applicable options. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during 2009 and 2008 was $20,389 and $-0-, respectively. Cash received from the exercise of stock options for the year ended September 30, 2009 was $10,376. The Company recognized the $20,389 as a tax benefit in the income tax provision for the year ended September 30, 2009.

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at September 30, 2009:

 

Range of
Exercise
Prices

  Number
Outstanding
  Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
  Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
  Number
Exercisable
  Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
$0.46-$2.00   1,383,209   3.95   $ 0.93   877,422   $ 1.04
$2.01-$3.50   977,500   2.57   $ 3.12   852,801   $ 3.15
$3.51-$5.00   1,495,700   2.35   $ 4.13   1,437,849   $ 4.12
$5.01-$6.50   95,000   0.81   $ 5.37   95,000   $ 5.37
$6.51-$9.48   117,000   0.32   $ 8.70   117,000   $ 8.70
                         
$0.46-$9.48   4,068,409   2.85   $ 2.96   3,380,072   $ 3.27
                         

The Company recorded non-cash share-based compensation expense for employees, directors and consultants of $1,562,633 and $2,258,145, respectively, for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008. The amounts of share-based compensation expense are classified in the consolidated statements of operations as follows:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009    2008

Cost of revenue

   $ 76,881    $ 22,784

Selling, general and administrative

     1,370,417      1,872,153

Research and development

     115,335      363,208
             

Total

   $ 1,562,633    $ 2,258,145
             

8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Facility Lease

The Company’s executive offices, research and development, assembly and operational facilities in San Diego, California, are occupied under a sublease agreement that commenced in January 2006 and expires May 31, 2011. The Company currently occupies approximately 23,698 square feet of office, laboratory, production and warehouse space with aggregate monthly payments of approximately $29,623, plus certain costs and charges specified in the sublease, including the Company’s proportionate share of the building operating expenses and real estate taxes.

Other Operating Leases

In addition to the facility lease, the Company had one automobile lease obligation that commenced in October 2006, replacing an expiring automobile lease, and continued through October 2008. The Company also has two business equipment leases expiring in December 2012 and December 2013. These leases are reported as operating leases.

Total operating lease expense, including facilities, automobile and business equipment leases, recorded by the Company for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 was $366,988 and $376,348, respectively.

 

F-20


Table of Contents

The obligations under all operating leases are as follows:

 

Year ending September 30:

    

2010

   $ 365,947

2011

   $ 247,297

2012

   $ 9,997

2013

   $ 5,947

Employment Agreements

The Company entered into an employment agreement in September 2006 with its president and chief executive officer that provides for severance benefits in the form of up to a maximum of six months’ salary and health benefit continuation if his employment is terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason. There are no other employment agreements with executive officers or other employees providing future benefits or severance arrangements.

Commission and Bonus Plans

The Company has established a bonus plan for its employees, in accordance with their terms of employment, whereby they can earn a percentage of their salary if the Company achieves certain targeted objectives for net income before taxes. In February 2008, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors modified this plan to exclude non-cash, share-based compensation expense from the calculation of net income. In fiscal 2008, the Company did not pay or accrue any such bonuses. In fiscal 2009, the Company accrued $1,085,559 for bonuses and related payroll taxes based on achieving targeted objectives for the year. The bonuses will be paid in the quarter ending December 31, 2009.

Change of Control Severance Benefit Plan

In April 2009, the Board of Directors adopted a Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan. The Change of Control Plan provides that in the event of a qualifying termination, each of three participating executives will be entitled to receive (i) a lump sum payment equal to twenty-four months’ base salary (less applicable tax and other withholdings), (ii) a lump sum payment equal to the officer’s target bonus for the year in which the officer is terminated, (iii) continuation of health benefits for twenty-four months and (iv) accelerated vesting of any unvested stock options and other securities or similar incentives held at the time of termination. A qualifying termination under the Change of Control Plan is any involuntary termination without cause or any voluntary termination for good reason, in each case occurring within three months before or twelve months after a change of control of the Company.

Employee Benefit—401K Plan

The Company has a defined contribution plan (401(k)) covering its employees. Matching contributions are made on behalf of all participants at the discretion of the board of directors. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, the Company made matching contributions of $32,249 and $34,287, respectively.

Litigation

The Company may at times be involved in litigation in the ordinary course of business. The Company will also, from time to time, when appropriate in management’s estimation, record adequate reserves in the Company’s financial statements for pending litigation. There are no pending material legal proceedings to which the Company is a party or to which any of its property is subject.

 

F-21


Table of Contents

Royalties

The Company is obligated to pay a minimum of $1.00 per unit royalty on one electronic component for HSS product. The cost of this royalty has been immaterial in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008.

The Company was obligated to pay a director a 2% royalty on net sales from certain of its technologies. The royalty obligation terminated in October 2008. No royalties were paid under this agreement in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, as the director waived royalties of $14,266.

Guarantees and Indemnifications

The Company undertakes indemnification obligations in the ordinary course of business related to its products and the issuance of securities. Under these arrangements, the Company may indemnify other parties such as business partners, customers, underwriters, and investors for certain losses suffered, claims of intellectual property infringement, negligence and intentional acts in the performance of services, and violations of laws including certain violations of securities laws. The Company’s obligation to provide such indemnification in such circumstances would arise if, for example, a third party sued a customer for intellectual property infringement and the Company agreed to indemnify the customer against such claims. The Company is unable to estimate with any reasonable accuracy the liability that may be incurred pursuant to such indemnification obligations. Some of the factors that would affect this assessment include, but are not limited to, the nature of the claim asserted, the relative merits of the claim, the financial ability of the parties, the nature and amount of damages claimed, insurance coverage that the Company may have to cover such claims, and the willingness of the parties to reach settlement, if any. Because of the uncertainty surrounding these circumstances, the Company’s indemnification obligations could range from immaterial to having a material adverse impact on its financial position and its ability to continue in the ordinary course of business. The Company has no liabilities recorded for such indemnities.

9. ACCRUED LIABILITIES

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following:

 

     September 30,
     2009    2008

Payroll and related

   $ 1,329,322    $ 421,686

Deferred revenue

     273,954      275,509

Warranty reserve

     277,717      235,174

Income Tax

     49,671      —  

Customer deposits

     56,052      8,975

Other

     22,787      36,459
             

Total

   $ 2,009,503    $ 977,803
             

The Company establishes a warranty reserve based on anticipated warranty claims at the time product revenue is recognized. Factors affecting warranty reserve levels include the number of units sold, anticipated cost of warranty repairs and anticipated rates of warranty claims. The Company evaluates the adequacy of the provision for warranty costs each reporting period.

Details of the estimated warranty liability are as follows:

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009     2008  

Beginning balance

   $ 235,174      $ 182,247   

Warranty provision

     200,477        211,510   

Warranty settlements

     (157,934     (158,583
                

Ending balance

   $ 277,717      $ 235,174   
                

 

F-22


Table of Contents

In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, the Company increased its reserve by $42,543, primarily due to increased product shipments.

10. MAJOR CUSTOMERS, SUPPLIERS, SEGMENT AND RELATED INFORMATION

Major Customers

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, revenues from one customer accounted for 24% of total revenues. No other single customer represented more than 10% of total revenues. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, revenues from two customers accounted for 17% and 10% of total revenues with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of total revenues.

Suppliers

The Company has a large number of components and sub-assemblies produced by outside suppliers, some of which are sourced from a single supplier, which can magnify the risk of shortages and decrease the Company’s ability to negotiate with suppliers on the basis of price. In particular, the Company depends on its HSS piezo-film supplier to provide expertise and materials used in the Company’s proprietary HSS emitters, and on one supplier of compression drivers for its LRAD products. If supplier shortages occur, or quality problems arise, then production schedules could be significantly delayed or costs significantly increased, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.

Segment and Related Information

The Company presents its business as one reportable segment due to the similarity in nature of products marketed, financial performance measures (revenue growth and gross margin), methods of distribution (direct and indirect) and customer markets (each product is sold by the same personnel to government and commercial customers, domestically and internationally). The Company’s chief operating decision making officer reviews financial information on sound products on a consolidated basis.

The following table summarizes revenues by geographic region. Revenues are attributed to countries based on customer location.

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009    2008

Revenues

     

United States

   $ 11,593,672    $ 7,026,174

Other

     4,231,166      4,163,768
             

Total Revenues

   $ 15,824,838    $ 11,189,942
             

The following table summarizes revenues by product line.

 

Years Ended September 30,

   2009    2008

Revenues

     

HSS

   $ 586,693    $ 713,294

LRAD

     14,328,389      9,152,962

SoundSaber

     721,781      1,171,196

Other

     187,975      152,490
             

Total Revenues

   $ 15,824,838    $ 11,189,942
             

11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Subsequent events have been evaluated through December 1, 2009, which was the date the Company’s financial statements were issued.

 

F-23


Table of Contents

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.

 

AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
December 1, 2009
By:   /s/    THOMAS R. BROWN        
  Thomas R. Brown
  President and Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Know all persons by these presents, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Thomas R. Brown, and each of them, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place, and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this report, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that all said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them or their or his substitute or substituted, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    THOMAS R. BROWN        

     

Thomas R. Brown

Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer

and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    KATHERINE H. MCDERMOTT        

     

Katherine H. McDermott, Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    ELWOOD G. NORRIS        

     

Elwood G. Norris

Director

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    RAYMOND SMITH        

     

Raymond Smith

Director

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    LAURA M. CLAGUE        

     

Laura M. Clague

Director

Date: December 1, 2009

  By    

/s/    DANIEL HUNTER        

     

Daniel Hunter

Director

 

S-1

EX-10.15 2 dex1015.htm CHANGE IN CONTROL SEVERANCE BENEFIT PLAN Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan

Exhibit 10.15

American Technology Corporation

CHANGE IN CONTROL SEVERANCE BENEFIT PLAN

Section 1.     INTRODUCTION.

The American Technology Corporation Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan (the “Plan”) was established effective April 30, 2009 (the “Adoption Date”). The purpose of the Plan is to provide severance benefits to certain eligible employees of the Company and its Affiliates upon selected terminations of service in connection with a Change in Control (as defined below).

This Plan shall supersede any generally applicable change in control severance plan, policy, or practice, whether written or unwritten, with respect to each employee who becomes a Participant in the Plan. In consideration for the benefits set forth in this Plan, this Plan shall also supersede and replace the change in control benefits in any individually negotiated employment contract or agreement, or any written plans that are not of general application, and, except as set forth in the Participation Notice (as defined below), each Participant’s change in control severance benefits shall be governed solely by the terms of this Plan.

This Plan document is also the Summary Plan Description for the Plan.

Section 2.     DEFINITIONS.

The following shall be defined terms for purposes of the Plan:

(a) “Affiliate” means, with respect to any individual or entity, any other individual or entity who, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, such individual or entity.

(b) “Base Salary” means a Participant’s monthly base salary in effect immediately prior to the Covered Termination and prior to any reduction in base salary that would permit such Participant to voluntarily terminate employment for Good Reason (as defined below) (including without limitation any compensation that is deferred by Participant into a Company-sponsored retirement or deferred compensation plan, exclusive of any employer matching contributions by the Company associated with any such retirement or deferred compensation plan and exclusive of any other Company contributions) and excludes all bonuses, commissions, expatriate premiums, fringe benefits (including without limitation car allowances), option grants, equity awards, employee benefits and other similar items of compensation.

(c) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(d) “Cause” means with respect to a Participant, the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) such Participant’s commission of any felony or any crime involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude under the laws of the United States or any state thereof; (ii) such Participant’s attempted commission of, or participation in, a fraud or act of dishonesty against the Company; (iii) such Participant’s intentional, material violation of any contract or agreement between the Participant and the Company or of any statutory duty owed to the Company; (iv) such Participant’s unauthorized use or disclosure of the Company’s confidential information or trade secrets; or (v) such Participant’s gross misconduct. The determination that a termination of the Participant’s employment is either for Cause or without Cause shall be made by the Company in its sole discretion. Any determination by the Company that the employment of a Participant was terminated by reason of dismissal without Cause for the purposes of this Plan shall have no effect upon any determination of the rights or obligations of the Company or such Participant for any other purpose.


(e) “Change in Control” means the occurrence of any of the following events prior to the automatic termination of this Plan as provided in Section 6(b):

(1) The consummation of a merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another entity or any other corporate reorganization, if more than 50% of the combined voting power of the continuing or surviving entity’s securities outstanding immediately after such merger, consolidation or other reorganization is not owned by persons who were stockholders of the Company immediately prior to such merger, consolidation or other reorganization, in substantially the same relative proportions as their ownership of the combined voting power of the Company immediately prior to such merger, consolidation or other reorganization;

(2) There is consummated a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, other than a sale, lease, license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company to an entity, more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease, license or other disposition;

(3) When a majority of the incumbent directors on the Board are replaced by new directors within any 18-month period; provided, however, that each director (i) whose election has been approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors who were either incumbent directors at the beginning of the period or elected or nominated in accordance with clause (i) or (ii) of this Section 2(e)(3) during such period or (ii) whose nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders has been approved by a committee of the Board, a majority of whose members are directors who were either incumbent directors at the beginning of the period or elected or nominated in accordance with clause (i) or (ii) of this Section 2(e)(3) during such period shall be deemed to be an “incumbent director” and not a “new director” for purposes of this Section 2(e)(3); or

(4) Any “person” that (as such term is used in sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) by the acquisition or aggregation of securities is or becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities ordinarily (and apart from rights accruing under special circumstances) having the right to vote at elections of directors (the “Base Capital Stock” ); except that any change in the relative beneficial ownership of the Company’s securities by any person resulting solely from a reduction in the aggregate number of outstanding shares of Base Capital Stock, and any decrease thereafter in such person’s ownership of securities, shall be disregarded until such person increases in any manner, directly or indirectly, such person’s beneficial ownership of any securities of the Company.

The term “Change in Control” shall not include a transaction, the sole purpose of which is to change the state of the Company’s incorporation.

(f) “Company” means American Technology Corporation or, following a Change in Control, the surviving entity resulting from such transaction or the parent company of such surviving entity.

(g) “Compensation Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board.


(h) “Covered Termination” means, with respect to a Participant who immediately prior to a termination of employment was an employee of the Company, such Participant’s termination of employment by the Company without Cause or a voluntary resignation of employment by the Participant for Good Reason; provided that the involuntary termination or the event giving rise to the resignation for Good Reason, as applicable, occurs within the three-months prior to, or 12 months following, the effective date of a Change in Control.

(i) “Good Reason” means, with respect to a Participant, the occurrence of one or more of the following events, if applicable, without such Participant’s express written consent:

(1) A material reduction in such Participant’s authority, duties or responsibilities (and not simply a change in title or reporting relationships);

(2) A material reduction by the Company in such Participant’s Base Salary;

(3) A material adverse change by the Company to Participant’s Target Bonus or to the criteria, milestones or objectives related to such Participant’s Target Bonus that is reasonably likely to result in the Participant earning less than his or her Target Bonus during the subsequent applicable period;

(4) A relocation of the Participant’s principal place of work to a location that would increase the Participant’s one-way commute from his or her personal residence to the new principal place of work by more than 50 miles.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Participant shall have “Good Reason” for his or her resignation only if: (a) the Participant notifies the Company in writing, within 30 days after the occurrence of one of the foregoing events, that he or she intends to terminate his or her employment no earlier than 30 days after providing such notice; (b) the Company does not cure such condition within 30 days following its receipt of such notice or states unequivocally in writing that it does not intend to attempt to cure such condition; and (c) the Participant resigns from employment within 180 days following the end of the period within which the Company was entitled to remedy the condition constituting Good Reason but failed to do so.

(j) “Health Severance Benefits Period” means 24 months.

(k) “Participant” means an individual who (i) is employed by the Company or its Affiliates, (ii) has been designated eligible to participate in the Plan by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion (either by a specific designation or by virtue of being a member of a class of employees who have been so designated) and (iii) who has received a Participation Notice from the Company and elected to participate in the Plan by executing and returning such Participation Notice to the Company within the time period set forth therein.

(l) “Participation Notice” means the latest notice delivered by the Company to a Participant substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto or such other form as may be approved by the Plan Administrator.

(m) “Payment Commencement Date” means, with respect to a Participant, (i) if such Covered Termination occurs prior to the applicable Change in Control, the later of (A) such Change in Control or (B) the effective date of the Release (as defined below) or (ii) if such Covered Termination occurs on or after the applicable Change in Control, the later of (X) the date of such Covered Termination or (Y) the effective date of the Release.

(n) “Plan Administrator” means the Company.


(o) “Target Bonus” means the target bonus (i.e., the annual bonus amount payable to a Participant in cash, common stock or other property if exactly 100% of all performance goals are achieved) most recently approved by the Compensation Committee or the Board for such Participant prior to the earlier of (i) the Payment Commencement Date and (ii) any reduction in Target Bonus that would permit such Participant to voluntarily terminate employment for Good Reason.

(p) “Vesting Acceleration Benefit” means the remainder of all vesting installments, whether time-based or performance-based, for a Participant.

The following additional terms are defined in the Section identified below:

 

TERM

   SECTION

“Additional Gross-Up Payment”

   5(d)(3)

“Adoption Date”

   1

“COBRA”

   7(a)

“Code”

   4(a)(3)

“ERISA”

   9

“Excise Tax”

   5(d)

“Gross-Up Payment”

   5(d)

“Payment”

   5(d)

“Plan”

   1

“Release”

   3

Section 3.     ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

Subject to the requirements set forth in this Section, the Company shall provide change in control severance benefits under the Plan to the Participants. In order to be eligible to receive benefits under the Plan, a Participant must (i) experience a Covered Termination and (ii) execute a general waiver and release (the “Release”) in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (or as then may be required by law to effect a release of claims), and such Release must become effective in accordance with its terms; provided, however, that no such Release shall require the Participant to forego any unpaid salary, any accrued but unpaid vacation pay or any benefits payable pursuant to this Plan. With respect to any outstanding option held by the Participant, no provision set forth in this Plan granting the Participant additional rights to exercise the option can be exercised unless and until the Release becomes effective.

The Participant must execute the Release within the time period set forth therein, but in no event later than (x) if a Change in Control shall have occurred prior to such Covered Termination, 45 days following termination of employment or (y) if a Change in Control shall not have occurred prior to such Covered Termination, the later of (A) 45 days following termination of employment or (B) ten days following such Change in Control, and such release must become effective in accordance with its terms.

Unless a Change in Control has occurred, the Plan Administrator, in its sole discretion, may modify the form of the required Release to comply with applicable law and shall determine the form of the required Release, which may be incorporated into a termination agreement or other agreement with the Participant; provided, that, after a Change in Control occurs, the Plan Administrator may modify the form of required Release only if necessary to comply with applicable law.

Section 4.     AMOUNT OF BENEFIT.

(a) Provision of Benefits. Subject to the limitations and reductions provided in this Plan, benefits under this Plan, if any, shall be provided to the Participants described in Section 3 in the


following amounts. Effective commencing with the Payment Commencement Date, such Participant shall receive the following severance package:

(1) Cash Severance Benefits. The Company shall make a cash severance payment to the Participant in an amount equal to 24 months of Base Salary. Any such payment pursuant to this Section 4(a)(1) shall be in a single lump sum to be paid within 10 days following the Payment Commencement Date.

(2) Bonus Severance Benefits. The Company shall make a cash severance payment to the Participant in an amount equal to such Participant’s Target Bonus. Any such bonus payment pursuant to this Section 4(a)(2) shall be in a single lump sum to be paid within 10 days following the Payment Commencement Date.

(3) Health Severance Benefits. During the Health Severance Benefits Period, the Company will pay all premiums for group medical, dental and vision coverage elected by such Participant for the Participant and his or her eligible dependents under any individual policy providing group medical, dental and vision benefits substantially similar to those provided to Participant immediately prior to his or her termination of Service.

(4) Equity Award Acceleration. The vesting and exercisability of all outstanding options to purchase the Company’s common stock issued pursuant to any equity incentive plan of the Company or any Affiliate that are then held by the Participant on such date shall be accelerated to the extent applicable so that the Participant shall receive the Vesting Acceleration Benefit, any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company in respect of common stock issued pursuant to any other stock award granted to the Participant by the Company shall lapse so that the Participant shall receive the Vesting Acceleration Benefit, and the vesting of any other stock awards granted to the Participant by the Company, and any issuance of shares triggered by the vesting of such stock awards, shall be accelerated so that the Participant shall receive the Vesting Acceleration Benefit. If the Covered Termination occurs prior to the applicable Change in Control, such vesting acceleration shall be deemed effective as of the date of the Covered Termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 4(a)(4) shall not apply to stock awards issued under or held in any plan sponsored by the Company or an Affiliate that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 4(a)(4), in the event that the provisions of this Section 4(a)(4) regarding acceleration of vesting of an option would adversely affect a Participant’s option (including, without limitation, its status as an incentive stock option under Section 422 of the Code) that is outstanding on the date the Participant commences participation in the Plan, such acceleration of vesting shall be deemed null and void as to such option unless the affected Participant consents in writing to such acceleration of vesting as to such option at the time he or she becomes a Participant.

(b) Certain Reductions. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, any benefits payable to a Participant under Sections 4(a) of this Plan shall be reduced (but not below zero) by any severance benefits payable by the Company or an Affiliate to such Participant under any other policy, plan, program, agreement or arrangement, including, without limitation, a contract between such Participant and any entity, covering such Participant. In addition, to the extent that any federal, state or local laws, including, without limitation the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. Section 2101 et seq., or any similar state statute, require the Company to give advance notice or make a payment of any kind to a Participant because of that Participant’s involuntary termination due to a layoff, reduction in force, plant or facility closing, sale of business, change of control, or any other similar event or reason, the benefits payable under Sections 4(a)(1) and 4(a)(3) of this Plan shall either be reduced or eliminated by such required payments or notice. The benefits provided under this Plan are intended to satisfy any and all statutory obligations that may arise out of a Participant’s involuntary termination of employment for the foregoing reasons, and the Plan Administrator shall so construe and implement the terms of the Plan.


(c) Application of Section 409A. Any compensation and benefits payable under the Plan are intended to be payable pursuant to the “short-term deferral” rule set forth in Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) of the Treasury Regulations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company determines that any payments hereunder fail to satisfy the distribution requirement of Section 409A(a)(2)(A) of the Code, the payment of such benefit shall be delayed until six months after separation from service if the Participant is a “specified employee” within the meaning of the aforesaid section of the Code at the time of such separation from service.

(d) Withholding. All payments under the Plan will be subject to all applicable withholding obligations of the Company, including, without limitation, obligations to withhold for federal, state and local income and employment taxes.

Section 5.     LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.

(a) Mitigation. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, a Participant shall not be required to mitigate damages or the amount of any payment provided under the Plan by seeking other employment or otherwise, nor shall the amount of any payment provided for under the Plan be reduced by any compensation earned by a Participant as a result of employment by another employer or any retirement benefits received by such Participant after the date of service or employment termination.

(b) Non-Duplication of Benefits. No Participant is eligible to receive benefits under this Plan more than one time.

(c) Indebtedness of Participants. To the extent permitted by law, if a Participant is indebted to the Company or an Affiliate on the date of his or her termination of employment or service, the Company reserves the right to offset any severance benefits payable in cash under the Plan by the amount of such indebtedness. A Participant may be required to execute an agreement to such effect if requested by the Company.

Section 6.     RIGHT TO INTERPRET PLAN; AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION.

(a) Exclusive Discretion. The Plan Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion and authority to establish rules, forms, and procedures for the administration of the Plan and to construe and interpret the Plan and to decide any and all questions of fact, interpretation, definition, computation or administration arising in connection with the operation of the Plan, including, but not limited to, the eligibility to participate in the Plan and amount of benefits paid under the Plan. The rules, interpretations, computations and other actions of the Plan Administrator shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.

(b) Change of State of Incorporation, Amendment or Termination. The Board reserves the right to change the state of incorporation, and the Board and the Compensation Committee reserve the right to amend or terminate this Plan or the benefits provided hereunder at any time; provided, however, that no such change of state, amendment or termination shall impair or reduce the rights of a Participant unless such Participant consents to such amendment or termination of the Plan in writing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Plan shall automatically terminate on the tenth anniversary from the Adoption Date, unless extended by the Board or the Compensation Committee. Any action amending, terminating or extending the Plan shall be in writing and executed by the Board or the Compensation Committee.


Section 7.     CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

(a) COBRA. Each Participant who is enrolled in a group medical, dental or vision plan sponsored by the Company or an Affiliate may be eligible to continue coverage under such group medical, dental or vision plan (or to convert to an individual policy), at the time of the Participant’s termination of employment under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”). The Company will notify the Participant of any such right to continue group medical coverage at the time of termination of the Health Severance Benefits. No provision of this Plan will affect the continuation coverage rules under COBRA. Therefore, the period during which a Participant may elect to continue the Company’s group medical, dental or vision coverage at his or her own expense under COBRA, the length of time during which COBRA coverage will be made available to the Participant, and all other rights and obligations of the Participant under COBRA will be applied in the same manner that such rules would apply in the absence of this Plan. At the conclusion of the COBRA premium reimbursements made by the Company, if any, the Participant will be responsible for the entire payment of premiums required under COBRA for the duration, if any, of the COBRA period.

(b) Other Employee Benefits. All non-health benefits (such as life insurance, AD&D, disability and 401(k) plan coverage) terminate as of an employee’s termination date (except to the extent that a conversion privilege may be available thereunder).

Section 8.     NO IMPLIED EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT.

The Plan shall not be deemed (i) to give any employee or other person any right to be retained in the employ or service of the Company or (ii) to interfere with the right of the Company to discharge any employee or other person at any time and for any reason, which right is hereby reserved.

Section 9.     LEGAL CONSTRUCTION.

This Plan is intended to be governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and, to the extent not preempted by ERISA, the laws of the State of California. The Plan, as a “severance pay arrangement” within the meaning of Section 3(2)(B)(i) of ERISA, is intended to be excepted from the definitions of “employee pension benefit plan” and “pension plan” set forth under section 3(2) of ERISA, and is intended to meet the descriptive requirements of a plan constituting a “severance pay plan” within the meaning of regulations published by the Secretary of Labor at Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations §2510.3-2(b).

Section 10.     CLAIMS, INQUIRIES AND APPEALS.

(a) Applications for Benefits and Inquiries. Any application for benefits, inquiries about the Plan or inquiries about present or future rights under the Plan must be submitted to the Plan Administrator in writing by an applicant (or his or her authorized representative). The Plan Administrator is:

American Technology Corporation

Attn: Chief Financial Officer

15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 100

San Diego, CA 92128

(b) Denial of Claims. In the event that any application for benefits is denied in whole or in part, the Plan Administrator must provide the applicant with written or electronic notice of the denial of the application, and of the applicant’s right to review the denial. Any electronic notice will comply with the regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor. The written notice of denial will be set forth in a manner


designed to be understood by the employee and will include specific reasons for the denial, specific references to the Plan provision upon which the denial is based, a description of any information or material that the Plan Administrator needs to complete the review and an explanation of the Plan’s review procedure. This written notice will be given to the applicant within 90 days after the Plan Administrator receives the application, unless special circumstances require an extension of time, in which case, the Plan Administrator has up to an additional 90 days for processing the application. If an extension of time for processing is required, written notice of the extension will be furnished to the applicant before the end of the initial 90-day period. This notice of extension will describe the special circumstances necessitating the additional time and the date by which the Plan Administrator is to render its decision on the application. If written notice of denial of the application for benefits is not furnished within the specified time, the application shall be deemed to be denied. The applicant will then be permitted to appeal the denial in accordance with the review procedure described below.

(c) Request for a Review. Any person (or that person’s authorized representative) for whom an application for benefits is denied, in whole or in part, may appeal the denial by submitting a request for a review to the Compensation Committee within 60 days after the application is denied. A request for a review shall be in writing and shall be addressed to:

Compensation Committee

Attn: Chairman

c/o American Technology Corporation

15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 100

San Diego, CA 92128

A request for review must set forth all of the grounds on which it is based, all facts in support of the request and any other matters that the applicant feels are pertinent. The applicant (or his or her representative) shall have the opportunity to submit (or the Compensation Committee may require the applicant to submit) written comments, documents, records, and other information relating to his or her claim. The applicant (or his or her representative) shall be provided, upon request and free of charge, reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records and other information relevant to his or her claim. The review shall take into account all comments, documents, records and other information submitted by the applicant (or his or her representative) relating to the claim, without regard to whether such information was submitted or considered in the initial benefit determination.

(d) Decision on Review. The Compensation Committee will act on each request for review within 60 days after receipt of the request, unless special circumstances require an extension of time (not to exceed an additional 60 days), for processing the request for a review. If an extension for review is required, written notice of the extension will be furnished to the applicant within the initial 60 day period. This notice of extension will describe the special circumstances necessitating the additional time and the date by which the Compensation Committee is to render its decision on the review. The Compensation Committee will give prompt, written or electronic notice of its decision to the applicant. Any electronic notice will comply with the regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor. In the event that the Compensation Committee confirms the denial of the application for benefits in whole or in part, the notice will set forth, in a manner calculated to be understood by the applicant, the specific Plan provisions upon which the decision is based. If written notice of the Plan Administrator’s decision is not given to the applicant within the time prescribed in this Section 10(d) the application will be deemed denied on review.

(e) Rules and Procedures. The Plan Administrator will establish rules and procedures, consistent with the Plan and with ERISA, as necessary and appropriate in carrying out its responsibilities in reviewing benefit claims. The Plan Administrator may require an applicant who wishes to submit additional information in connection with an appeal from the denial of benefits to do so at the applicant’s own expense.


(f) Exhaustion of Remedies. No legal action for benefits under the Plan may be brought until the claimant (i) has submitted a written application for benefits in accordance with the procedures described by Section 10(a) above, (ii) has been notified by the Plan Administrator that the application is denied (or the application is deemed denied due to the Plan Administrator’s failure to act on it within the established time period), (iii) has filed a written request for a review of the application in accordance with the appeal procedure described in Section 10(c) above, and (iv) has been notified in writing that the Compensation Committee has denied the appeal (or the application is deemed denied due to the Plan Administrator’s failure to act on it within the established time period).

Section 11.     BASIS OF PAYMENTS TO AND FROM PLAN.

All benefits under the Plan shall be paid by the Company. The Plan shall be unfunded, and benefits hereunder shall be paid only from the general assets of the Company. A Participant’s right to receive payments under the Plan is no greater than that of the Company’s unsecured general creditors. Therefore, if the Company were to become insolvent, the Participant might not receive benefits under the Plan.

Section 12.     SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS.

This Plan shall be binding upon any surviving entity resulting from a Change in Control and upon any other person who is a successor by merger, acquisition, consolidation or otherwise to the business formerly carried on by the Company without regard to whether or not such person actively adopts or formally continues the Plan. Participants, to the extent they are otherwise eligible for benefits under the Plan, are intended third party beneficiaries of this provision.

Section 13.     EXECUTION.

To record the adoption of the Plan as set forth herein, American Technology Corporation has caused its duly authorized officer to execute the same this 30th day of April, 2009.

 

AmericanTechnology Corporation

/s/ Daniel Hunter
Daniel Hunter
Chairman of the Compensation Committee of
the Board of Directors


EXHIBIT A

PARTICIPATION NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To:                                                                                  

Date:                                                                            

Deadline to Return Participation Notice:                       

American Technology Corporation (the “Company”) has adopted the Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan (the “Plan”). The Company is providing you with this Participation Notice to inform you that you have been designated as a Participant in the Plan. A copy of the Plan document is attached to this Participation Notice. The terms and conditions of your participation in the Plan are as set forth in the Plan and this Participation Notice, which together also constitutes a summary plan description of the Plan.

In consideration for the benefits set forth in the Plan, each Participant’s change in control benefits shall be governed by the terms of the Plan and the Plan shall supersede and replace any individually negotiated change in control benefits in any employment contract or agreement and all change in control benefits payable to you as set forth in any agreement, including offer letters, with the Company entered into prior to the date hereof.

If you choose to participate in the Plan, please return to the Company (Attn. Chief Financial Officer) a copy of this Participation Notice and Acknowledgement signed by you and retain a copy, along with the Plan document, for your records. Please note that you are not a Participant in the Plan until you execute and return this Participation Notice and Acknowledgement to the Company.

The undersigned hereby acknowledges receipt of the foregoing Participation Notice. In the event the undersigned holds outstanding stock options as of the date of this Participation Notice, the undersigned hereby (check one box—failure to check a box will be deemed the selection of the second alternative):

 

 

¨

   accepts all of the benefits of Section 4(a)(4) of the Plan regardless of any potential adverse effects on any outstanding option
 

¨

   accepts the benefits of Sections 4(a)(4) of the Plan that have no adverse effect on outstanding options or other stock awards and rejects the benefits of Sections 4(a)(4) of the Plan as to those outstanding options and other stock awards that would have potential adverse effects
 

¨

   other (please describe):                                                                                                                                                                                                          
    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The undersigned acknowledges that he/she has been advised to obtain tax and financial advice regarding the consequences of this election including the effect, if any, on the status of the stock options for tax purposes under Sections 409A and 422 of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

American Technology Corporation

    [Participant Name]

By:

 

                                                                                            

   

Its:

 

                                                                                            

   

Participant Signature                                                                           


EXHIBIT B

RELEASE AGREEMENT

I understand and agree completely to the terms set forth in the American Technology Corporation Change in Control Severance Benefit Plan (the “Plan”).

I understand that this Release, together with the Plan, constitutes the complete, final and exclusive embodiment of the entire agreement between the Company and me with regard to the subject matter hereof. I am not relying on any promise or representation by the Company that is not expressly stated therein. This Release and Waiver may only be modified by a writing signed by both me and a duly authorized officer of the Company. Certain capitalized terms used in this Release are defined in the Plan.

I hereby confirm my obligations under the Company’s Employee Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement.

In exchange for the consideration to be provided to me under the Plan to which I am not otherwise entitled, I hereby generally and completely release American Technology Corporation and its current and former directors, officers, employees, shareholders, partners, agents, attorneys, predecessors, successors, parent and subsidiary entities, insurers, affiliates, and assigns (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from any and all claims, liabilities and obligations, both known and unknown, that arise out of or are in any way related to events, acts, conduct, or omissions occurring prior to my signing this Agreement (collectively, the “Released Claims”). The Released Claims include, but are not limited to: (1) all claims arising out of or in any way related to my employment with the Company, or the termination of that employment; (2) all claims related to my compensation or benefits from the Company, including salary, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay, expense reimbursements, severance pay, fringe benefits, stock, stock options, or any other ownership interests in the Company; (3) all claims for breach of contract, wrongful termination, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (4) all tort claims, including claims for fraud, defamation, emotional distress, and discharge in violation of public policy; and (5) all federal, state, and local statutory claims, including claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, attorneys’ fees, or other claims arising under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended), the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (as amended) (“ADEA”), and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (as amended). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following are not included in the Released Claims (the “Excluded Claims”): (1) any rights or claims for indemnification I may have pursuant to any written indemnification agreement with the Company to which I am a party, the charter, bylaws, or operating agreements of the Company, or under applicable law; or (2) any rights which are not waivable as a matter of law. In addition, nothing in this Release prevents me from filing, cooperating with, or participating in any proceeding before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, except that I hereby waive my right to any monetary benefits in connection with any such claim, charge or proceeding. I hereby represent and warrant that, other than the Excluded Claims, I am not aware of any claims I have or might have against any of the Released Parties that are not included in the Released Claims.

I acknowledge and represent that I have not suffered any age or other discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wrongful treatment by any Released Party. I also acknowledge and represent that I have not been denied any rights including, but not limited to, rights to a leave or reinstatement from a leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the California Family Rights Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, or any similar law of any jurisdiction. I further acknowledge that I am knowingly and voluntarily waiving and releasing any rights I may have under the ADEA. I also acknowledge that the consideration given for the Released Claims is in addition to anything of value to which I was already entitled. I further acknowledge that I have been advised by this writing, as


required by the ADEA, that: (a) the Released Claims do not apply to any rights or claims that arise after the date I sign this Release; (b) I should consult with an attorney prior to signing this Release (although I may choose voluntarily not to do so); (c) I have 21 days to consider this Release (although I may choose to voluntarily to sign it sooner); (d) I have seven days following the date I sign this Release to revoke the Release by providing written notice to an officer of the Company; and (e) the Release will not be effective until the date upon which the revocation period has expired unexercised, which will be the eighth day after I sign this Release (“Effective Date”).

I acknowledge that I have read and understand Section 1542 of the California Civil Code which reads as follows: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.” I hereby expressly waive and relinquish all rights and benefits under that section and any law of any jurisdiction of similar effect with respect to my release of any claims hereunder.

I hereby represent that I have been paid all compensation owed and for all hours worked, I have received all the leave and leave benefits and protections for which I am eligible, and I have not suffered any on-the-job injury for which I have not already filed a workers’ compensation claim.

 

EMPLOYEE

Employee Signature                                                           
Employee Name                                                                  
Date:                                                                                         
EX-23.1 3 dex231.htm CONSENT OF SQUAR, MILNER, PETERSON, MIRANDA & WILLIAMSON, LLP Consent of Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson, LLP

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT

REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

American Technology Corporation

San Diego, California

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements on Forms S-8 (File No. 333-144698, File No. 333-09265, File No. 333-09269, File No. 333-23845, File No. 333-59929, File No 333-54034, File No. 333-101279, File No. 333-125454 and File No. 333-128263) and Forms S-3 (File No. 333-99675, File No. 333-105740, File No. 333-107635, File No. 333-127534 and File No. 333-137289) of American Technology Corporation (the “Company”) of our report dated December 1, 2009, relating to the consolidated financial statements of American Technology Corporation and Subsidiary as of September 30, 2009 and 2008 and for each of the years then ended appearing in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

/s/ SQUAR, MILNER, PETERSON, MIRANDA & WILLIAMSON, LLP

San Diego, CA

December 1, 2009

EX-31.1 4 dex311.htm CERTIFICATION OF THOMAS R. BROWN, PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER Certification of Thomas R. Brown, Principal Executive Officer

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Thomas R. Brown, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of American Technology Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s independent registered public accounting firm and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: December 1, 2009

 

/S/    THOMAS R. BROWN      

Thomas R. Brown,

Chairman of the Board,

President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

EX-31.2 5 dex312.htm CERTIFICATION OF KATHERINE H. MCDERMOTT, PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER Certification of Katherine H. McDermott, Principal Financial Officer

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Katherine H. McDermott, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of American Technology Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s independent registered public accounting firm and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: December 1, 2009

 

/S/    KATHERINE H. MCDERMOTT        

Katherine H. McDermott

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

EX-32.1 6 dex321.htm CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350 Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION OF CO-PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND PRINCIPAL

FINANCIAL OFFICER

PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

Each of the undersigned hereby certifies, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in his or her capacity as an officer of American Technology Corporation (the “Company”), that, to his or her knowledge, the Annual Report of the Company on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (except as to the due date for filing) and that the information contained in such report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operation of the Company as of the dates and for the periods presented in the financial statements included in such report.

Dated: December 1, 2009

 

/S/    THOMAS R. BROWN        

Thomas R. Brown,

President,

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

/S/    KATHERINE H. MCDERMOTT        

Katherine H. McDermott

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

This certification accompanies the Form 10-K to which it relates, is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of American Technology Corporation under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended (whether made before or after the date of the Form 10-K), irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.

EX-99.1 7 dex991.htm PRESS RELEASE Press Release

Exhibit 99.1

AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY REPORTS RECORD

ANNUAL REVENUES OF $15.8 MILLION

Fiscal Year 2009 Revenues Up 41% Over Prior Year

Revenue Growth Forecast for Fiscal 2010

SAN DIEGO, CA, December 1, 2009 – American Technology Corporation (ATC) (NASDAQ: ATCO), the innovator and distributor of the Long Range Acoustic Device™ (LRAD®) product line, today reported record revenues of $15.8 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, an increase of 41% over fiscal 2008. The record revenues were driven by a 57% increase in LRAD sales that totaled $14.3 million, compared to $9.2 million for the prior year.

In addition to record fiscal year revenues, accomplishments in fiscal 2009 included:

 

   

Established the LRAD brand as the premier acoustic hailing device while opening new markets and applications for LRAD products and systems including law enforcement and wildlife preservation and control.

 

   

Generated positive cash flow from operating activities for the first time in the Company’s history. Cash generated from operating activities was $2.6 million.

 

   

Reduced net loss by $5.4 million, or 84%, from the prior year to a net loss of $1.0 million.

 

   

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the cost of non-cash share-based compensation expense, fiscal 2009 generated non-GAAP net income of $520,000, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $4.1 million in fiscal 2008.

 

   

Expanded LRAD sales within the U.S. Military and to international naval forces around the world to support the international fight against escalating piracy and terrorist threats.

 

   

Developed and launched the LRAD 300X™ to meet customer requirements for installations on small vessels and small manned and unmanned vehicles and aircraft. The 300X is receiving strong initial market acceptance.

 

   

Managed the balance sheet and reduced operating expenses while continuing to invest in new product development and markets.

“We believe fiscal 2009 was a turning point for American Technology as we grew LRAD sales for the third consecutive year and achieved positive cash flow,” said Tom Brown, president and CEO of ATC. “Since the introduction of our LRAD-X® product line in March 2008, we have experienced a trend of strong revenue growth and significantly improved our financial results.”

Gross profit for fiscal 2009 was $7.5 million or 47% of revenues, compared to a gross profit of $4.4 million, or 39% of revenues for fiscal 2008. Increased sales, increased fixed


absorption and lower production costs on the LRAD-X product line, following higher start-up productions costs in fiscal 2008 when the product line was launched, contributed to the improved gross margin.

Operating expenses for fiscal 2009 decreased by 22% to $8.5 million, compared to $10.9 million in fiscal 2008. The decrease is primarily due to $765,000 in reduced research and development expense following an increase in fiscal 2008 for the development and launch of the LRAD-X product line, $819,000 in reduced staffing, $750,000 in decreased in non-cash share-based compensation expense, $416,000 in decreased legal, audit and accounting fees and reduced patent impairments of $281,000, offset by an increase of $844,000 for bonuses and related payroll taxes based on meeting Company performance targets.

Net loss for fiscal 2009 decreased 84% to $1.0 million, or $(0.03) per share, compared to $6.4 million or $(0.21) per share for fiscal 2008. The decrease in net loss was due primarily to increased sales of the Company’s higher margin LRAD-X products and systems and reduced operating expenses. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the cost of non-cash share-based compensation expense of $1.5 million, fiscal 2009 resulted in non-GAAP net income of $520,000, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $4.1 million in fiscal 2008 after excluding $2.3 million of non-cash share-based expense.

“We anticipate reporting strong revenues this quarter (fiscal Q1 2010) and expect a fourth consecutive year of LRAD sales growth, and record financial results,” Brown concluded. “We’ll discuss our fiscal year 2009 results and our growing LRAD business during our December 2nd conference call.”

About American Technology Corporation

American Technology Corporation is providing directed audio solutions that place clear, highly intelligible sound exactly where needed. ATC’s Long Range Acoustic Device™ (LRAD®) and other directed sound technologies comprise the core of an expanding portfolio of products being used around the world in diverse applications including, global military deployments, maritime security, critical infrastructure and commercial security, border and port security, law enforcement and emergency responder communications, and wildlife preservation and control. For more information about ATC and its directed sound products, please visit the company’s web site at www.atcsd.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

In addition to disclosing financial measures prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), this press release contains a non-GAAP financial measure: non-GAAP net income (loss). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP net income (loss) in this press release is defined as net income (loss) plus non-cash share-based compensation expenses.

The Company’s management believes its non-GAAP financial measure provides meaningful supplemental information allowing investors to evaluate results that management uses internally and for determining employee bonuses. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types that companies can use to compute non-cash share-based expense, management believes that providing a non-GAAP financial measure excluding share-based expenses, even though a recurring expense, allows investors to compare its results with those of other companies.

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We base these statements on particular assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience, the stage of product and market development as well as our perception of historical trends, current market conditions, current economic data, expected future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the performance of our management team, market acceptance of our directed sound technologies and products, entry of competitors, the possibility our intellectual property protections will not prevent others from marketing products similar to or competitive with our products, potential technical or manufacturing difficulties that could delay product deliveries or increase warranty costs, and other risks identified and discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on information and management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Future results may differ materially from our current expectations. For more information regarding other potential risks and uncertainties, see the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009. American Technology Corporation disclaims any intent or obligation to update those forward-looking statements, except as otherwise specifically stated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Putnam

Investor Relations

(858) 676-0519

robert@atcsd.com


American Technology Corporation

Condensed Balance Sheets

(000’s omitted)

 

     September 30,
     2009    2008

ASSETS

     

Current assets:

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 5,103    $ 2,695

Accounts receivable, net

     1,463      2,211

Inventories, net

     3,068      2,890

Prepaid expenses and other

     194      251
             

Total current assets

     9,828      8,047

Equipment, net

     231      292

Patents, net

     897      1,059

Deposits

     58      58
             

Total assets

   $ 11,014    $ 9,456
             

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

     

Current liabilities:

     

Accounts payable

   $ 960    $ 964

Accrued liabilities

     2,010      978
             

Total current liabilities

     2,970      1,942
             

Total stockholders’ equity

     8,044      7,514
             

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 11,014    $ 9,456
             


American Technology Corporation

Condensed Statements of Operations

(000’s omitted except share and per share amounts)

 

     Years Ended September 30,  
     2009     2008  

Revenues

   $ 15,825      $ 11,190   

Cost of revenues

     8,374        6,779   
                

Gross profit

     7,451        4,411   
                

Operating expenses:

    

Selling, general and administrative

     6,366        7,503   

Research and development

     2,107        3,354   
                

Total operating expenses

     8,473        10,857   
                

Loss from operations

     (1,022     (6,446

Other income

     29        86   
                

Net loss before provision for income taxes

     (993     (6,360

Provision for income taxes

     (50     —     
                

Net loss

   $ (1,043   $ (6,360
                

Net loss per common share—basic and diluted

   $ (0.03   $ (0.21
                

Weighted average common shares outstanding

     30,537,424        30,535,207   
                
GRAPHIC 8 g39904g89i90.jpg GRAPHIC begin 644 g39904g89i90.jpg M_]C_X``02D9)1@`!`@$`8`!@``#_[0G&4&AO=&]S:&]P(#,N,``X0DE-`^T` M`````!``8`````$``0!@`````0`!.$))300-```````$````'CA"24T$&0`` M````!````!XX0DE-`_,```````D```````````$`.$))300*```````!```X M0DE-)Q````````H``0`````````".$))30/U``````!(`"]F9@`!`&QF9@`& M```````!`"]F9@`!`*&9F@`&```````!`#(````!`%H````&```````!`#4` M```!`"T````&```````!.$))30/X``````!P``#_____________________ M________`^@`````_____________________________P/H`````/______ M______________________\#Z`````#_____________________________ M`^@``#A"24T$"```````$`````$```)````"0``````X0DE-!!X```````0` M````.$))300:``````!M````!@``````````````-@```,H````&`&<`.``Y M`&D`.0`P`````0`````````````````````````!``````````````#*```` M-@`````````````````````````````````````````````X0DE-!!$````` M``$!`#A"24T$%```````!`````(X0DE-!`P`````!RD````!````<````!X` M``%0```G8```!PT`&``!_]C_X``02D9)1@`!`@$`2`!(``#_[@`.061O8F4` M9(`````!_]L`A``,"`@("0@,"0D,$0L*"Q$5#PP,#Q48$Q,5$Q,8$0P,#`P, M#!$,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,`0T+"PT.#1`.#A`4#@X. M%!0.#@X.%!$,#`P,#!$1#`P,#`P,$0P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P,#`P, M#`P,#`S_P``1"``>`'`#`2(``A$!`Q$!_]T`!``'_\0!/P```04!`0$!`0$` M`````````P`!`@0%!@<("0H+`0`!!0$!`0$!`0`````````!``(#!`4&!P@) M"@L0``$$`0,"!`(%!P8(!0,,,P$``A$#!"$2,05!46$3(G&!,@84D:&Q0B,D M%5+!8C,T)E\K.$P]-U MX_-&)Y2DA;25Q-3D]*6UQ=7E]59F=H:6IK;&UN;V-T=79W>'EZ>WQ]?G]Q$` M`@(!`@0$`P0%!@<'!@4U`0`"$0,A,1($05%A<2(3!3*!D12AL4(CP5+1\#,D M8N%R@I)#4Q5C+RLX3#TW7C\T:4 MI(6TE<34Y/2EM<75Y?569G:&EJ:VQM;F]B7I[?'_]H`#`,!``(1 M`Q$`/P#T;-ZEZ5K\+$#+NI"H7LQ[7.J8:]XJ?8[);5 MYM>WT;,;*;0S)W>G^SO0_/\`YZM;.`RHYN2Q[&LLQ2UF-4)AE&QOIOI86L:Q MMK_58]]/^B]#?^KI*95E[K?M6QHO]!M6HMC?OKL_2_P`T MK%%>UK&UN<*:H##O]3U&EOY[[?4M]O\`QB.N`I^M?UE;;86TF.IW"[IKLNA_ MIMQC]I:?3&,]MCMM%'3[OT_H6^KF7?H_YNQ)3WZ2XK"^M_U@NOPJ+L6AGVFR MO=:X.I86VU8&5]CJ=DW-_7:ZNH9'^F^T_8OT>'7OM^RQI^LW6FOQK;6^VFQKO3JIR8!]EI;ETOS7VVO8,/]'5D55X-5KLG9CLO_3>M;L2 M4^B)+SCJWUI^LN;?5C8^SIN73U'$;7AM;;875/9O?DY>50YM>1TJZUWI[*:: MW_\`"(N/]?/K3:X6CI]-E)H#A2QEWJNN.`[JOL<7&OTO7K]#T_Y[^W]-*?0D MEYJ[ZY_6&Q[>IUT'(;CX^6UAI9>S#O#;,%K>HG%L#\EU6$W(O]7_`,+W>E=5 M^9<_Y]?6`WX-8HQZZI8 MNH24_P#_T/0\W"NK=;F80<]SJWBS`9Z=3I'IP=^[B/ MSMTI*:E5U[V5GW%]E;K6C?46SN:]M0>UNYS=K_3]5K/YK_AD6B]CFM+7"RMY MV,=639[F[O5%EC=S?8]CF;W?G^S^<4OU7UJ_YOU]CO2XW[/9ZGI_G>G_`#6_ M;_P:*W;'MB/))2Z2222E+/?TW(= MO(6@LJVGJ3LZ]V->:Y'L8\/ZESW^KZO\_;Z?IV_IDU?U:,D!OK6%K7AW?=['[ZOYNO_``2(_&ZS]F

SW?X#_KUJ2G_]D`.$))300A``````!5`````0$````/`$$` M9`!O`&(`90`@`%``:`!O`'0`;P!S`&@`;P!P````$P!!`&0`;P!B`&4`(`!0 M`&@`;P!T`&\`R#"8IF\D4Z*R78TBK0-$?ST>VM$NDH!Q(K'PRJQ7 MKHA@((@)2"`@4>`V,!D;8=;8&Y4ZV8VB\E.R!B%Z9.*N M9FDHQ[4$0,)EA],``?CWP,(V@GN.]CEKI=-I9)W7LNH)5S&N`9QC6XZ%1F6C M<72RM8E$SA,S;SZ,6\U3KM MC2#7AG-;=V)\";I!S9U%6:LJRF(=N']VF19,G@;\Q1^?`7[Y[=AM<`E"Q]6> M41RQ?*V&9=S4@C86CX!+]M2A8EM$.HZ1:+AWZJBKQ`2?V2FX"TX!P#@'`.`< M`X!P#@'`.`<`X!P#@'`.`<`X'__0[2=N;SLC3<:BXU1HM.R3E<91F4:S:K`U MB")09C#]:_0;N7C$SY9,/D3U2?#XAW\N!'Z]RFMV-3Z\[,[KXVI]'VM^5I9"6AYN*`[J+/)192:=*2=4/%+55LE`Q164BFY:70B!_JW4E+>H<'-?5<>($(1L1< MI.Q'L>@X%]FRE'+)&`LU;CU`G:^L%PEH-XDA#*RKE#Z-^Q0(=1C8%@=I*&%- M?T2B4GS,4PKN':_B7^T MHH0AV(\"YP M#@4,8"@)C"!2@'8F$0```/Q$1^7`H0Y%"@9,Q3E'Y&(8#%']0@(@/`]<`X!P M#@'`.!__T=_&+;%IQL%[H\Q8:9FO8P,P4Q:977H;MU/1V+I25JY!8R;5DLX( M4J4&@4>QCSD(BN^S,0'U#MDZ.54JB"YC"(]%#Q^/`>;"=AB\_;/YDN;N4;2;3`\D;'% M290[O*%?*@$FW3=RQ;=7)YG%TFSNBJD_N'C('9$P#Q\N_CP-A0``?(`#H.@Z M_`/T?JX%>!I9]\/8W*V(M:4?P[2YK.WWIQB3*TE126`RATR`B)E?(0#@*G&G\P/D6S2$._R M!HG;<>X]KNTL?J-G*\GRK29IK0;IK74P3\1`>!$[./NPV3974EQG&YZTYZP]@>"W"Q#@VGY"Q M?L3#X]M]]R..:%:#-M2)P[*1G0Q_%_3$<.BN4$D91,YD`$.O+@;*,%>YGDG9 M383,^,==M796ZX`UGN3G%>5=@[1D^I54YKI%5XTHX0JE2DU_NMG8)*IE;K.A M,AX+&$3%``'@1L7]]25I-VS5CO+FO%X3:I32.;Q?DS0V_[-:K M&SEKEFV-L=0R%8VU45,Q&3GS0D/))MH*=BC*`*#9RX`RJ2@";P'LO`Y]]3MM M=H-3+QO7M)M)[@FQV;L8>W5F^/Q'%81>14*+#8J_S..+8^A[)26R>"5L99'P-B^I96A:?CO)U2RS!Y(A MKV*2=;@X6W12C)DPM*9W!!?-G)"%:!Y`)A.'B(:P/=Q]S;>W/&C>L&?)W6G* M&F%?M6Q>/+)BU[1\V/7-AS-3)$B;E*%DVE9+7)*(6D$TR@#%Z!B*>J`]"4>^ M!-."_FAI:DZ_["6K*VE5MJ.3M5KYB#'5JQQ(W]LM(R<7D)0(MM,O)-:&3.RL M+;S[_`/<]AL+;`:Z9:UNN M&H^6,K:76W/^O-P@,EM+(C-U%:(5?Q#Q:7ADH28J=I=-D3'2;D`ZB8EZ.8@B M7L&PT#][+(FN^C'M]:W4;$U[W6W(SS4KU;RQMOR<:#1:U:OR4DNJ^LN0[8>; M>G?JMF9Q;I'*8IB%`/,HB4!"8MB_F<*<[UOUTO\`BG5^TWG9'/6;I_`QM='U MPC(,]7N-4?I1LTJZN`-'S=>-S-/USRY]QR0P4D*,]M"OT*UA>E:PKEDNV82B"Z)2$6\5BI@8#]& M^`;A-#/=`B-]MC-ML58XQFY9XEUDE:U7&&:#SJ3UCD*QS[)"448QT2@T*#%! MI'+@IYF6,8P@(>(?/@;7^`<`X'__TNJ;(">W%`W0@Y'$6L.NZ.`ITK`]_P`T MJM:W`Y#59N2B-@6DK"D>/E$%FYP+X(*(NOJ/F!A_`%;GV?D]?,QQNTMBSL:$ MU\D6D/5YO%U.PRCV51JJL8#^9C"BAX]>(]]\!:S4-9 ML495?;'U!U9;+B#(-72L66F=CM=QG9"KM&;5)S!CBO$T?`OO3>/D5RBY2*8J MWEV`E#K@2YJF0ZEWSVDP#?=FI2)ON$\/42_,HC7=\ MK/QB=HOED5:@A?G$W`3L,_2&M1Z)DB))#T<#]F'H.N!`9G_+Q5;'^6V4G@K+ M[+&NO<)MC1-K*KA-6`F)_P#A6>J]>"OR]:A[#)S;IZ$5+I%]4IEC*J%4$?(1 M^'0.F;V0G:F/LHT1;.3%5/)&_E/W7.[-5%_!BTJTR644H1T?N':ZCX@"G]5Y M`!>_V1X"NP/[.\GK=G2PSV.K3K/,8%L>7+?F,8O(.J]9M.QE=E;JH[?RU7J^ M=59M)RP@DIAV*S9<[([ELF'II@`?'@?%->S#(ROM_5/2(N;V:;BL[AP>TYKV M>KKG2*<@[7Q&"-M(R MEZQ;GSUCMN6,83>,',Q?:I8[+7'$%)K8SOK&X13>.:OE%@76^K9JF'\Q"]>7 MD`1FK'\OYD1!E'L;=L9B,K:MZAY6U'JZ&-=?T,>"K"9!79*M;U2FK:]9^P*-#691\ M6.[MP2!GAR,$D2Q_^H,4P]&_:X&KF3]GO5*_X6]SVNY"W6I4A2]ML]0.2AN$ M`C&$0PGD&`=.%*W&2PNI8S.PKED#'*9`%$#*!V4/B'`P%6]H3"MGURM>OVRF MVNG+VN;$XYK^.,`7;`FN^,L179S8ZC*%59W%U:&#DDCD"75!N5!XS!1)!0_D M81\Q[$$3=O:?R+FO`=7U>SW[MF),A5/2G(U$MD0P_@*%B9#&];H<@V9EB[FY M0FTGQ)!VF5-J)UA.1(XE+V80^()+83V4,#YQU0+\C(Y5R?[C]#V'EB:OW?5;7F=I];C8RIUJG5^$6;2]BE%RSCA:PS51 MB@.9T5$2II%[,H<0#K@8^"]ES$-1Q#JKD_7#W)\84?/.F<1*8LD,S.HB(G<; MV:*R.[=I1L;-P:DT1Q#RR@R)DF1_653<]@'CWT;@,'N?[5FN^E6HFG4A7<\Y MVM>7P=@HV9H]3(CX$YZ7866C5V4.M#0OW,@HQYBG7#U^R+^)1 M$>!%C6?#5TQY[6_NJY$VQP/L18XS>'+1&>"B+XD=K9-M5I5;N9""RUW1:TXNM@P+L=F.VK9GR!).8- MA*S#-I)MQ:UVIVJ(G6CDZCF.A2I`<"J)J%`>@.'R`-_>'JK>Z5CJMUG)>0UL MJW:,:G2G;XXAF5?5L#DZRBH.1AX[MFQ*F0X)E(01_*4.Q$>QX#F<`X'_T^Y' M/N#J?L7BRSXBO;ZSQ]7MK9-K)N:A.KUZ<*FF<%`!O(I)N"^F80Z.FJFHD#L]YKH]HE5HT+FB_0MG\%$>/TTU0L$H[,Q*@DB0YE MR(IHI()H%-X_'X"$A'6,I#'5ES/?<<7^QW+*N1HX7M9QCD[(9#X[AI9HB4K- M"MPJ4>+ZNQRYB=JBGZWE^/S[`,#+P[MI1H":R?@92;R]E]A`4#,4A@LZR4E$ MLP6.&;NMV=.JPIP`X*I+@HB)A\`'YB#J.3U:$RI4:;]KR*O(RN.9.-C MY%LI:WM%8P4.=))1"5HTG7I"4DXYC,'3%NTN$>5S,N`,! MDF*IDQ*`G$X"<02LM[-GDU4&C*7M]@G4IV7D)N MKM#(0BLJD4/96MLRM=`O,E=0F7[ M^0B))K8V%LBHZ(B)9V_KS2"8S\<1<[5)LB5R(B*@B;HP`D)OVTL56^+,2ZW: M^3EDD,C7G+-ALD>_-6`F+U>F$-'/7(0\(NW:)03-&"0\8YPZ! MS6VD]1;;"QFS09%R(7)$:LCROXYK6::JR6]5HWD).,S@VF&MF%VN1` MY$W#%*:4^F$I1+V4OF4P=@(-4A[:&)Y:!FH/(]JL61DYF`QK1SC)1T-$M"X_ MQ00R53K:\=&(%;.G?@)1O$HE'O@.Y)[#8-AG+YE+96HT<[C9`(J0:O+"P0792(I@L#-RDHJ4Z2_I& M`W0A^R/?RX&/A]D,.2DB\AW%]JD3+MW,B#6,?6*'%Y(Q4>D"_P!]:)-WBP_; M7#?R.03^)_$HB)0X'R63:/`M8I2&0GF2ZR[J3NPDJ;.8BGQ)-JYLJ@'$L,FH MR!8/K0\/S%'KP[[-T'`MT7:'"EZKT#/-;Y6HM2PO1BVD-)3D8652E?54(G&+ MHH.52%>+)E*H4@&'LIP_'X<#RGLGCTSA++J,FABF75!'T4Q.4HF['@9.O;+8)M+:8=P^3ZFLA!2;J)DU%I M1!H#9XT<*-5>PA&?>A M:Q,RS>K!%>(F^X>"*AA^E`H"(G^0!P&XE-I\5?Q=0Z13K!#7VP7JQRE?2;5^ MP0@DAC0;+Z^5@$.OGP+LKGO"T&Y8,IC*%)C7 M3[!!=X,DF"K#Z=,ZH&4!XF8#)B`=&`?AP&8O.ZN*J<^NS=@A+W9CCZ(BI&S2 M].!E,,F+Z7EE(MO`&*DZ!R,PF5(RYR`02@B'???PX'K_`.RZ%_XS_C@'`/A^/Z?A^O_3P#@4'K\>OZ>N!7X=_Y M?Z^N`<`X!P#@'`.!91"+(EBAEK M,G%D;)R14'BYU#G`ZI""`EX#.N\;&39Y,:M:W.0)*P8KR(C/?:` MB?3D8F'9V%)P1/SK7:GUK,5&X?)%N)AZ`++FF:E0>/IIU2LS6:YKD4HIF<_998U M*23SO99.XR<%29F;BW65G#&7*_KAHV,*8&:[&(4\DW"2RS3U4P!-1;L!,&$; MTW4ECF>#DWF97DQ,)U.DHR-9?8_RD2$=U,AXO^#W"\O7CP\!'+K.B)#Y2(ND M_P`X@9`H@)@!69IH6"I+-DY(V'/,C6;<+I\O:*Z?'-FF2C"J*U]0L>PE&K8C M1LHW020(#@IG'FBJ803Z*80!F[?C#6Q9E8QL&S[EK!FIQ:].8)6E:OO9)0*G/(,Z\"2I4XU@5P/?7FH;L.!D]?Z9@R%R>NO`9 MF<77)!JBDW%J[HD_7X5-BI2&1(:0;H/&Y6'DVI94S+)`],JL)C"84S=D*#&+ MXWUX/5KHM*;(SJ=$<52R#;6?^$N16[!K35KNY,!:$I,_=)-G`L;B)BF^D/)$ M<'`?2%-,>^!YE<O";3)T)DJ+=1=#&4 -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----