We may offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, any combination of common stock, preferred stock, warrants, or units having an aggregate initial offering price not exceeding $100,000,000. The preferred stock, warrants, and units may be convertible or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock or preferred stock or other securities of ours.
Each time we sell a particular class or series of securities, we will provide specific terms of the securities offered in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as the documents incorporated by reference or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus, carefully before you invest in any securities.
This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement relating to the offered securities.
Our common stock is presently listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “DPW”. On
January 2, 2018
, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $
3.50
.
These securities may be sold directly by us, through dealers or agents designated from time to time, to or through underwriters or dealers or through a combination of these methods on a continuous or delayed basis. See “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. We may also describe the plan of distribution for any particular offering of our securities in a prospectus supplement. If any agents, underwriters or dealers are involved in the sale of any securities in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, we will disclose their names and the nature of our arrangements with them in a prospectus supplement. The net proceeds we expect to receive from any such sale will also be included in a prospectus supplement.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings from time to time having an aggregate initial offering price of $
100
,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities, we will provide you with a prospectus supplement that describes the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities we offer. The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read carefully both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described below under the caption “Where You Can Find More Information.”
This prospectus does not contain all the information provided in the registration statement we filed with the Commission. You should read both this prospectus, including the section titled “Risk Factors,” and the accompanying prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or a prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with the Commission and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
OUR BUSINESS
Except where the context otherwise requires, the terms, “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company,” refer to the business of
DPW Holdings, Inc., a Delaware
corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Overview
We are a growth company seeking to increase our revenues through acquisitions. Our strategy reflects our management and Board’s current philosophy that occurred as a result of a change in control completed in September 2016. Our acquisition and development target strategy includes companies that have developed a “new way of doing business” in mature, well-developed industries experiencing changes due to new technology; companies that may become profitable or more profitable through efficiency and reduction of costs; companies that are related to our core business in the commercial and defense industries; and companies that will enhance our overall revenues. It is our goal to substantially increase our gross revenues in the near future.
We were originally a solution-driven organization that designs, develops, manufactures and sells high-grade customized and flexible power system solutions for the medical, military, telecom and industrial markets. Although we intend to seek growth through acquisitions, we will continue to focus on high-grade and custom product designs for the commercial, medical and military/defense markets, where customers demand high density, high efficiency and ruggedized products to meet the harshest and/or military mission critical operating conditions.
We also have operations located in Europe through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Digital Power Limited (“DPL”), Salisbury, England, which operates under the brand name of “Gresham Power Electronics” (“Gresham”). DPL designs, manufactures and sells power products and system solutions mainly for the European marketplace, including power conversion, power distribution equipment, DC/AC (Direct Current/Active Current) inverters and UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) products. Our European defense business is specialized in the field of naval power distribution products.
On November 30, 2016, Digital Power formed Digital Power Lending, LLC (“DP Lending”), a wholly-owned subsidiaries. DP Lending is engaged in providing commercial loans to companies throughout the United States to provide them with operating capital to finance the growth of their businesses. The loans will primarily be short-term, ranging from six to twelve months.
On June 2, 2017, we completed the acquisition of a 56.4% majority interest in Microphase Corp. (“Microphase”) Microphase is a customer-driven supplier of advanced electronic technology solutions serving applications from DC to 100 GHz across a diverse mix of markets. Microphase designs, develops and manufactures standard and customized state-of-the-art RF, Microwave, and Millimeter-wave components, devices, subsystems and integrated modules for the worldwide commercial wireless infrastructure, defense & aerospace, satellite, wireless multimedia and consumer electronics, public safety and homeland/global security markets.
In addition, on September 1, 2017, Coolisys Technologies, Inc. (“Coolisys”), a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of
DPW Holdings, Inc.
(the ‘Company”), completed the acquisition of all of the Membership Interests of Power Plus Technical Distributors LLC. Power-Plus Technical Distributors is an industrial distributor of value added power supply solutions, UPS systems, fans, filters, line cords, and other power-related components. As a result of the acquisition, Power Plus Technical Distributors has become a subsidiary of Coolisys.
On August 16, 2017, the Company approved the issuance and sale of (i) 272,727 shares of our common stock at a purchase price equal to $0.55 per share and (ii) warrants to purchase up to 272,727 shares of our common stock at $0.65 per share to two shareholders for an aggregate purchase price of $150,000. These shares and warrants have yet to be issued by the Company and are subject to approval from the NYSE American prior to issuance. In addition, the Company is obligated to issue to Spartan Capital 100,000 shares of our common stock for capital advisory services.
In October 2017, Ault & Company purchased 75,000 shares of our common stock at $0.60 per share and a warrant to purchase up to 75,000 shares at $0.60 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $45,000. These shares and warrants have yet to be issued by the Company and are subject to approval from the NYSE American prior to issuance.
Also, in October 2017, William Gordon, the Company’s Vice President, purchased 128,806 shares of our common stock at $0.67 for cancellation of $93,000 in debt that was owed to Mr. Gordon in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Power Plus Technical Distributors LLC. These shares were issued to Mr. Gordon under the Company’s shelf registration statement (Reg. No. 333-215834).
On November 2, 2017, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional investor (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which the we agreed to issue and sell to the Purchaser (i) at the first closing, 300,000 shares of restricted common stock of the Company (the “Restricted Shares”) and a 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Debenture for a purchase price of $1,010,000 with a principal face amount of $1,111,000 and (ii) at the second closing, an additional 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Debenture for an aggregate purchase price of $990,000 with an aggregate principal face amount of $1,089,000.
On November 7, 2017, we entered into subscription agreements with investors, under which we agreed to issue and sell 725,000 shares of common stock to the investors at $0.60 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $435,000. $180,000 of the aggregate purchase price was paid in cash and $255,000 was in consideration for the cancellation of debt incurred by the Company.
On December 4, 2017, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional investor (the “Purchaser”), pursuant to which we agreed to issue and sell to the Purchaser 150,000 shares of restricted common stock of the Company (the “Restricted Shares”) and a 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Debenture for a purchase price of $500,000 with a principal face amount of $550,000.
The Purchase Agreement closed on December 14, 2017.
On December 5, 2017, we entered into an exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with WT Johnson & Sons (Huddersfield) Limited (the “Holder”), pursuant to which we issued to the Holder, (a) a convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $600,000 (“Note A”), and (b) a convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $1,667,766 (“Note B”), in exchange for cancellation of (i) an outstanding loan made by the Holder to MTIX Ltd., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“MTIX”), in the amount of $265,666; and (ii) cancellation of an aggregate of $2,002,500 owed by us to the Holder pursuant to an Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of the Textile Multi-Laser Enhancement Technology Machine dated as of July 21, 2017 by and between MTIX and the Holder.
The Exchange Agreement closed on December 13, 2017.
On December 5, 2017, we entered into an exchange agreement (the “Agreement”) with several accredited investors (each, an “Investor” and collectively, the “Investor”), pursuant to which we issued to each of the Investors, (a) shares of common stock, no par value (the “Conversion Shares”), and (b) a warrant (the “Warrant”) to purchase shares of common stock (the “Warrant Shares”), in exchange for cancellation of outstanding debt owed to the Investors by Microphase in the amount of $690,000. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Investors were entitled to 10% interest payable on the debt until August 31, 2017 and an additional premium of 25%, resulting in an aggregate amount of debt of $896,939 (the “Debt”). The number of Conversion Shares issuable to each Investor was derived by dividing the individual’s portion of the Debt by the 10-day trailing volume-weighted average price ending on August 4, 2017, resulting in the issuance of an aggregate of 1,523,852 Conversion Shares. Each Investor was entitled to receive a Warrant to purchase that number of Warrant Shares equal to 25% of the Conversion Shares the Investor was issued. Each Warrant is exercisable for $1.10 per share, carries a term of three years, is exercisable on a cashless basis and contains standard anti-dilution provisions. The Agreement provides for registration rights under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended for the Conversion Shares and the Warrant Shares.
The Agreement closed on December 13, 2017.
On December 5, 2017, we entered into a subscription agreement with one investor (the “Direct Offering”) for the sale of 640,000 shares of common stock at $1.25 per share for the aggregate purchase price of $800,000.
The Direct Offering was consummated on December 13, 2017.
On December 28, 2017, at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of DPW Holdings, Inc., then known as Digital Power Corporation, the Company’s shareholders approved a number of proposals, including the reincorporation of the Company from California to Delaware (“Reincorporation”). The effective date of the Reincorporation was December 29, 2017. Upon consummation of the Reincorporation, the daily business operations of the Company continued as they were conducted by its predecessor immediately prior to the Reincorporation and the officers and directors of the predecessor became the officers and directors of the Company, except that Milton C. Ault III became the Company’s Chief Executive Officer whereas Amos Kohn remained as its President and Chief Financial Officer. The Reincorporation did not affect any of the Company’s material contracts with any third parties, and the Company’s rights and obligations under such material contractual arrangements continue to be rights and obligations of the Company after the Reincorporation. The Reincorporation did not result in any change in headquarters, business, jobs, management, location of any of the offices or facilities, number of employees, assets, liabilities or net worth (other than as a result of the costs incident to the Reincorporation) of the Company.
On December 31, 2017, CooliSys Technologies Inc. (“Coolisys”), a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Micronet Enertec Technologies, Inc. (“MICT”), a Delaware corporation, Enertec Management Ltd., an Israeli corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MICT (“EML” and, together with MICT, the “Seller Parties”), and Enertec Systems 2001 Ltd. (“Enertec”), an Israeli corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of EML, pursuant to which Coolisys shall acquire Enertec, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement. The purchase price consists of a cash payment of $5,250,000 and the assumption of $4,000,000 in Enertec’s liabilities, with the cash portion to be adjusted for any increase or decrease of the $4,000,000 in liabilities.
Corporate Information
Our corporate name is DPW Holdings, Inc. for both legal and commercial purposes. We are located at 48430 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, California, 94538-3158 (telephone number (510) 657-2635). Our website address is www.dpwholdings.com. The information on our website does not constitute part of this prospectus. We have included our website
address
as a factual reference and do not intend
it
to be
an
active
link
to our
website
.
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected by any of these risks. You should carefully consider the following factors as well as the other information contained in this prospectus, in any supplement to this prospectus and in the other reports that we file with the Commission and that we incorporate by reference into this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our securities. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, business prospects, financial condition or results of operations could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our shares of common stock to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. Please also read carefully the section below entitled “Forward-Looking Statements.”
We generated operating and net losses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, and for the years ended December 31, 2016, and 2015; we have a risk as a going concern.
We are a growth company and have experienced operating and net losses, and anticipate continuing to experience such losses in the future. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we had a loss from operations of approximately $3,549,000 and a net loss of approximately $4,916,000. For the years ended December 31, 2016, and 2015, we had losses from operations of approximately $1,219,000 and $1,003,000 and net losses of approximately $1,122,000 and $1,096,000, respectively.
We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future and need to raise additional capital to continue business development initiatives and to support our working capital requirements. In March 2017, we were awarded a 3-year, $50 million purchase order by MTIX Ltd. (“
MTIX
”) to manufacture, install and service the Multiplex Laser Surface Enhancement (“
MLSE
”) plasma-laser system. We believe that the MLSE purchase order will be a source of revenue and generate significant cash flows for us. However, if we are unable to raise additional capital, we may be required to curtail operations and take additional measures to reduce costs, including reducing our workforce, eliminating outside consultants and reducing legal fees in order to conserve cash in amounts sufficient to sustain operations and meet our obligations. As a result of these financing uncertainties, during the third quarter ended September 30, 2017, we recognized that our dependence on ongoing capital requirements to fund our operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
If we fail to establish and maintain an effective system of internal control, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately or prevent fraud. Any inability to report and file our financial results accurately and timely could harm our reputation and adversely impact the trading price of our common stock.
Effective internal control is necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, we may not be able to manage our business as effectively as we would if an effective control environment existed, and our business and reputation with investors may be harmed. As a result, our small size and any current internal control deficiencies may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and access to capital. We have also experienced complications reporting as a result of material weaknesses which resulted in the restatement of our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“
Commission
”) on August 21, 2017, and amended on November 14, 2017. We have carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the most recent period covered by this report. Based on the foregoing, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable assurance level due to the material weaknesses described below.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, within the meaning of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“
PCAOB”
) Audit Standard No. 5, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Management has identified the following material weaknesses which have caused management to conclude that as of June 30, 2017 our internal controls over financial reporting (“
ICFR
”) were not effective at the reasonable assurance level:
|
1.
|
We do not have sufficient resources in our accounting function, which restricts our ability to gather, analyze and properly review information related to financial reporting in a timely manner. In addition, due to our size and nature, segregation of all conflicting duties may not always be possible and may not be economically feasible. However, to the extent possible, the initiation of transactions, the custody of assets and the recording of transactions should be performed by separate individuals. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have segregation of duties during our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness.
|
|
2.
|
We have inadequate controls to ensure that information necessary to properly record transactions is adequately communicated on a timely basis from non-financial personnel to those responsible for financial reporting. Management evaluated the impact of the lack of timely communication between non–financial and financial personnel on our assessment of our reporting controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency represented a material weakness.
|
We have taken steps to remediate some of the weaknesses described above, including a greater level of involvement by our Audit Committee. We intend to continue to address these weaknesses as resources permit.
If we do not continue to satisfy the NYSE American continued listing requirements, our common stock could be delisted from NYSE American.
The listing of our common stock on the NYSE American is contingent on our compliance with the NYSE American’s conditions for continued listing. On December 18, 2015, we were notified by the NYSE American that we were no longer in compliance with the NYSE American continued listing standards because our reported stockholders' equity was below continued listing standards. The NYSE American requires that a listed company's stockholders' equity be $4.0 million or more if it has reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years. Subsequently, the NYSE American informed us that we are required to attain stockholders’ equity of $6.0 million or more because we experienced a loss for the year ended December 31, 2016.
Following submission of our compliance plan demonstrating how we intend to regain compliance with the continued listing standards, we were notified on March 9, 2016, that the NYSE American granted us a listing extension on the basis of our plan until June 19, 2017. We are subject to periodic review by NYSE American staff during the extension period. Failure to make progress consistent with the plan or to regain compliance with the continued listing standards by the end of the extension period could result in our common stock being delisted from the NYSE American.
On June 19, 2017, we filed a Form 8-K report with the Commission announcing that our Stockholders' Equity was approximately $6,409,000 on a pro-forma basis. In a letter dated June 20, 2017, the NYSE American notified us that we had successfully regained compliance with the NYSE American continued listing standards. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in light of our continue losses, there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to meet the NYSE American continued listing standard. Failure to meet the NYSE American listing requirement, we may be subject to delisting by the NYSE American. In the event our common stock is no longer listed for trading on the NYSE American, our trading volume and share price may decrease and we may experience further difficulties in raising capital which could materially affect our operations and financial results.
On November 20, 2017, we received a letter from NYSE Regulation indicating that the NYSE American had concluded that we failed to comply with Section 401(a) of the NYSE American’s Company Guide, which section requires that a listed company “make immediate public disclosure of all material information concerning its affairs ...” The letter, which relates to our disclosure of certain personnel changes to our board of directors and officers, provided that such letter constituted a warning letter issued to the Company pursuant to Section 1009(a)(i) of the NYSE American Company Guide. On October 12, 2017, we filed a Form 8-K that disclosed that certain personnel changes to our board of directors and executive officers were effective October 6, 2017. On November 6, 2017, we filed an amendment to the above referenced Form 8-K that disclosed that the personnel changes had not in fact occurred. After discussion with the NYSE American, on November 8, 2017, we filed a subsequent Form 8-K that further clarified that we had determined to rescind the personnel changes as of October 23, 2017. In that Form 8-K, we provided additional disclosure explaining why the personnel changes were not undertaken.
On November 29, 2017, we notified the NYSE American, LLC that we were no longer in compliance with Rule 801(h) of the NYSE American Company Guide because, as a smaller reporting company, our Board of Directors was not comprised of at least 50% independent directors. On November 28, 2017, our Board of Directors approved the issuance of cash compensation, and 200,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 1,000,000 shares of common stock subject to vesting and shareholder approval, to Mr. William Horne, a director of the Company, for services. As a result of this compensation, Mr. Horne may not be deemed independent within the meaning of Section 803A(2) of the NYSE American Company Guide. Mr. Horne has resigned from the audit committee of the Board of Directors. Robert Smith has been appointed as chair of the audit committee. On December 8, 2017, our board of directors rescinded the equity compensation granted to Mr. Horne. We believe that we are therefore presently in compliance with Rule 801(h) of the NYSE American Company Guide.
We will need to raise additional capital to increase our stockholders’ equity and to fund our operations in furtherance of our business plan.
Until we are profitable, we will need to quickly raise additional capital in order to increase our stockholders’ equity in order to continue to meet NYSE American continued listing standards and fund our operations in furtherance of our business plan. The proposed financing may include shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of common stock or preferred stock, debt securities, units consisting of the foregoing securities, equity investments from strategic development partners or some combination of each. Any additional equity financings may be financially dilutive to, and will be dilutive from an ownership perspective to our stockholders, and such dilution may be significant based upon the size of such financing. Additionally, we cannot assure that such funding will be available on a timely basis, in needed quantities, or on terms favorable to us, if at all.
Our growth strategy is subject to a significant degree of risk.
Our growth strategy through acquisitions involves a significant degree of risk. Some of the companies that we have identified as acquisition targets or make a significant investment in may not have a developed business or are experiencing inefficiencies and incur losses. Therefore, we may lose our investment in the event that these companies’ businesses do not develop as planned or that we are unable to achieve the cost efficiencies or reduction of losses as anticipated.
Further, in order to implement our growth plan, we have hired additional staff and consultants to review potential investments and implement our plan. As a result, we have substantially increased our infrastructure and costs. If we fail to quickly find new companies that provide revenue to offset our costs, we will continue to experience losses. No assurance can be given that our product development and investments will produce sufficient revenues to offset these increases in expenditures.
Our inability to successfully integrate new acquisitions could adversely affect our combined business; our operations are widely disbursed.
As stated above, our growth strategy through acquisitions is fraught with risk. On June 2, 2017, we acquired a majority interest in Microphase Corp. Our strategy and business plan is dependent on our ability to successfully integrate Microphase’s and our other acquisition’s operations. In addition, while we are based in Fremont, CA, Microphase’s operations are located in Shelton, Connecticut and Digital Power Limited’s (doing business as Gresham Power) operations are located in Salisbury, England. These distant locations will stretch our resources and management time. Further, failure to quickly and adequately integrate all of these operations and personnel could adversely affect our combined business and our ability to achieve our objectives and strategy. No assurance can be given that we will realize synergies in the areas we currently operate.
A principal stockholder has significant influence over us.
Philou Ventures, LLC (“Philou Ventures”)
beneficially
owns approximately
16.8
% of our currently outstanding Common Stock on a fully diluted basis, as of
January 2, 2018
. As a result, it will be able to exert a significant degree of influence over our management and affairs and over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, and any other significant corporate transaction. Its interests may not always coincide with those of our other stockholders.
A principal stockholder has certain rights to maintain its ownership interest in us.
In connection with entering into a Series B Preferred Stock purchase agreement on March 9, 2017 with Philou Ventures, we granted Philou Ventures the right to participate in future offerings under substantially the same terms of such offerings in order to allow Philou Ventures to maintain its ownership interest. If exercised by Philou Ventures, this contractual right has the effect of allowing Philou Ventures to maintain its interest in us and further dilute existing shareholders’ ownership interests in the event that we issue equity securities in such further offerings.
Our success is dependent on key management.
Our success depends substantially on the performance of certain key officers and personnel, in particular their ability to identify, acquire and operate new businesses and opportunities. The loss of the services of either Messrs. Ault or Kohn would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. We have not obtained key person insurance for these individuals.
Microphase is in technical default of a $450,000 loan.
In connection with our acquisition of a controlling interest in Microphase, Microphase delivered a promissory note in the principal face amount of $450,000 to an unsecured creditor for Microphase’s prior legal work. The promissory note is secured by 10,000 shares of our Series E preferred stock. Subject to shareholder approval, each share of Series E preferred stock is convertible into 60 shares of our common stock. Under the terms of the promissory note, we were required to obtain shareholder approval of the conversion of the Series E preferred stock by August 1, 2017, which has not yet occurred. We will hold a shareholders’ meeting on December 28, 2017 to, among other things, seek approval of the conversion of the Series E preferred stock. The holder of the Microphase promissory note has not initiated any action to notice an event of default and we have had some limited discussion with the holder as to this issue. No assurance can be given that the holder will not send a notice of default under the Microphase promissory note and seek immediate collection. In the event the holder does initiate collection action under the promissory note, this could have an adverse effect on Microphase’s operations, and, in turn, our investment in Microphase and therefore upon us as well.
We depend on Advice Electronics Ltd. (“Advice”) to maintain the technology used to manufacture our products and to manufacture some of our products. We also depend on the right to manufacture certain products subject to royalty payments with Advice.
In January 2016, Telkoor, a prior affiliate, sold its entire commercial assets to Advice which included without limitation product IP, manufacturing rights, customer base, inventory, staff and technological capabilities. Following such transaction, we entered into a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Advice. This agreement allows us to manufacture certain Advice products (formerly owned by Telkoor) through August 2017 against royalty payments. From August 2017 through December 2020, subject to Advice's consent, we will be allowed to continue distributing and selling certain Advice products while keeping product branding under our brand, after which we will be entitled to distribute the products under
DPW Holdings, Inc.
brand until December 2020.
We depend on Advice to design and retain up to date product technology and for manufacturing capabilities for certain of the products that we sell. If Advice is unable or unwilling to continue designing or manufacturing our products in required volumes and with a certain level of quality on a timely basis, that could lead to loss of sales and adversely affect our operating results and cash position. We also depend on Advice's intellectual property and ability to transfer production to third party manufacturers. Failure to obtain new products in a timely manner or delay in delivery of products to customers will have an adverse effect on our ability to meet our customers’ expectations. In addition, we operate in highly competitive markets where our ability to sell Advice’s products could be adversely affected by Advice's agreements with third parties, long lead-times and the high cost of Advice’s products. Also, in 2012, Telkoor’s products manufacturing lead-times increased, which hindered our ability to respond to our customers’ needs in timely manner. Advice's principal offices, research and development and manufacturing facilities are located in Israel. Political, economic and military conditions in Israel directly affect Advice operations. We are also dependent upon Advice’s terms and conditions with its contract manufacturers for some of our products, which terms and conditions may not always be in our best interest. In 2010, we purchased certain IP from Telkoor in order to reduce our dependency on Telkoor with respect to a certain line of products. We also entered into a Manufacturing Rights Agreement with Advice in 2016, pursuant to which we were granted the non-exclusive right to directly place purchase orders for certain products from a third-party manufacturer in consideration for payment of royalties to Advice. This agreement currently accounts for a significant portion of our sales. In the event this agreement is terminated for any reason, it would materially affect our financial position.
We are dependent upon our and our contract manufacturers’ ability to timely procure electronic components.
Because of the global economy, many raw material vendors have reduced capacities, closed production lines and, in some cases, even discontinued their operations. As a result, there is a global shortage of certain electronic components, which has extended our production lead-time and our production costs. Some materials are no longer available to support some of our products, thereby requiring us to search for cross materials or, even worse, redesign some of our products to support currently-available materials. Such redesign efforts may require certain regulatory and safety agency re-submittals, which may cause further production delays. While we have initiated actions that we believe will limit our exposure to such problems, the dynamic business conditions in many of our markets may challenge the solutions that have been put in place, and issues may recur in the future.
In addition, some of our products are manufactured, assembled and tested by third party subcontractors and contract manufacturers located in Asia. While we have had relationships with many of these third parties in the past, we cannot predict how or whether these relationships will continue in the future. In addition, changes in management, financial viability, manufacturing demand or capacity, or other factors, at these third parties could hurt our ability to manufacture our products.
Our strategic focus on our custom power supply solution competencies and concurrent cost reduction plans may be ineffective or may limit our ability to compete.
As a result of our strategic focus on custom power supply solutions, we will continue to devote significant resources to developing and manufacturing custom power supply solutions for a large number of customers, where each product represents a uniquely tailored solution for a specific customer’s requirements. Failure to meet these customer product requirements or a failure to meet production schedules and/or product quality standards may put us at risk with one or more of these customers. Moreover, changes in market conditions and strategic changes at the direction of our customers may affect their decision to continue to purchase from us. The loss of one or more of our significant custom power supply solution customers could have a material adverse impact on our revenues, business or financial condition.
We have also implemented a series of initiatives designed to increase efficiency and reduce costs. While we believe that these actions will reduce costs, they may not be sufficient to achieve the required operational efficiencies that will enable us to respond more quickly to changes in the market or result in the improvements in our business that we anticipate. In such event, we may be forced to take additional cost-reducing initiatives, including those involving our personnel, which may negatively impact quarterly earnings and profitability as we account for severance and other related costs. In addition, there is the risk that such measures could have long-term adverse effects on our business by reducing our pool of talent, decreasing or slowing improvements in our products or services, making it more difficult for us to respond to customers, limiting our ability to increase production quickly if and when the demand for our solutions increases and limiting our ability to hire and retain key personnel. These circumstances could cause our earnings to be lower than they otherwise might be.
We are dependent upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate our key personnel.
Our success depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate our key management personnel, including, but not limited to, our President and Chief Executive Officer, our Vice President of Finance, marketing and sales personnel, and key engineers necessary to implement our business plan and to grow our business. Competition for certain specific technical and management skill sets is intense. If we are unable to identify and hire the personnel that we need to succeed, or if one or more of our present key employees were to cease to be associated with us, our future results could be adversely affected.
We depend upon a few major customers for a majority of our revenues, and the loss of any of these customers, or the substantial reduction in the quantity of products that they purchase from us, would significantly reduce our revenues and net income.
We currently depend upon a few major OEMs and other customers for a significant portion of our revenues. If our major OEM customers reduce or cancel their orders scaling back some of their activities, our revenues and net income would be significantly reduced. Furthermore, diversions in the capital spending of certain of these customers to new network elements have and could continue to lead to their reduced demand for our products, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. If the financial condition of one or more of our major customers should deteriorate, or if they have difficulty acquiring investment capital due to any of these or other factors, a substantial decrease in our revenues would likely result.
We are dependent on the electronic equipment industry, and accordingly will be affected by the impact on that industry of current economic conditions.
Substantially all of our existing customers are in the electronic equipment industry, and they manufacture products that are subject to rapid technological change, obsolescence and large fluctuations in demand. This industry is further characterized by intense competition and volatility. The OEMs serving this industry are pressured for increased product performance and lower product prices. OEMs, in turn, make similar demands on their suppliers, such as us, for increased product performance and lower prices. Such demands may adversely affect our ability to successfully compete in certain markets or our ability to sustain our gross margins.
Our reliance on subcontract manufacturers to manufacture certain aspects of our products involves risks, including delays in product shipments and reduced control over product quality.
Since we do not own significant manufacturing facilities, we must rely on, and will continue to rely on, a limited number of subcontract manufacturers to manufacture our power supply products. Our reliance upon such subcontract manufacturers involves several risks, including reduced control over manufacturing costs, delivery times, reliability and quality of components, unfavorable currency exchange fluctuations and continued inflationary pressures on many of the raw materials used in the manufacturing of our power supply products. If we were to encounter a shortage of key manufacturing components from limited sources of supply, or experience manufacturing delays caused by reduced manufacturing capacity, inability of our subcontract manufacturers to procure raw materials, the loss of key assembly subcontractors, difficulties associated with the transition to our new subcontract manufacturers or other factors, we could experience lost revenues, increased costs, and delays in, or cancellations or rescheduling of, orders or shipments, any of which would materially harm our business.
We outsource, and are dependent upon developer partners for, the development of some of our custom design products.
We made an operational decision to outsource some of our custom design products to numerous developer partners. This business structure will remain in place until the custom design volume justifies expanding our in-house capabilities. Incomplete product designs that do not fully comply with the customer specifications and requirements might affect our ability to transition to a volume production stage of the custom designed product where the revenue goals are dependent on the high volume of custom product production. Furthermore, we rely on the design partners’ ability to provide high quality prototypes of the designed product for our customer approval as a critical stage to approve production.
We face intense industry competition, price erosion and product obsolescence, which, in turn, could reduce our profitability.
We operate in an industry that is generally characterized by intense competition. We believe that the principal bases of competition in our markets are breadth of product line, quality of products, stability, reliability and reputation of the provider, along with cost. Quantity discounts, price erosion and rapid product obsolescence due to technological improvements are therefore common in our industry as competitors strive to retain or expand market share. Product obsolescence can lead to increases in unsaleable inventory that may need to be written off and, therefore, could reduce our profitability. Similarly, price erosion can reduce our profitability by decreasing our revenues and our gross margins. In fact, we have seen price erosion over the last several years on most of the products we sell, and we expect additional price erosion in the future.
Our future results are dependent on our ability to establish, maintain and expand our manufacturers’ representative OEM relationships and our other relationships.
We market and sell our products through domestic and international OEM relationships and other distribution channels, such as manufacturers’ representatives and distributors. Our future results are dependent on our ability to establish, maintain and expand our relationships with OEMs as well as with manufacturers’ representatives and distributors to sell our products. If, however, the third parties with whom we have entered into such OEM and other arrangements should fail to meet their contractual obligations, cease doing, or reduce the amount of their business with us or otherwise fail to meet their own performance objectives, customer demand for our products could be adversely affected, which would have an adverse effect on our revenues.
We may not be able to procure necessary key components for our products, or we may purchase too much inventory or the wrong inventory.
The power supply industry, and the electronics industry as a whole, can be subject to business cycles. During periods of growth and high demand for our products, we may not have adequate supplies of inventory on hand to satisfy our customers' needs. Furthermore, during these periods of growth, our suppliers may also experience high demand and, therefore, may not have adequate levels of the components and other materials that we require to build products so that we can meet our customers' needs. Our inability to secure sufficient components to build products for our customers could negatively impact our sales and operating results. We may choose to mitigate this risk by increasing the levels of inventory for certain key components. Increased inventory levels can increase the potential risk for excess and obsolescence should our forecasts fail to materialize or if there are negative factors impacting our customers’ end markets. If we purchase too much inventory or the wrong inventory, we may have to record additional inventory reserves or write-off the inventory, which could have a material adverse effect on our gross margins and on our results of operations.
Although we depend on sales of our legacy products for a meaningful portion of our revenues, these products are mature and their sales will decline.
A relatively large portion of our sales have historically been attributable to our legacy products. We expect that these products may continue to account for a meaningful percentage of our revenues for the foreseeable future. However, these sales are declining. Although we are unable to predict future prices for our legacy products, we expect that prices for these products will continue to be subject to significant downward pressure in certain markets for the reasons described above. Accordingly, our ability to maintain or increase revenues will be dependent on our ability to expand our customer base, to increase unit sales volumes of these products and to successfully, develop, introduce and sell new products such as custom design and value added products. We cannot assure you that we will be able to expand our customer base, increase unit sales volumes of existing products or develop, introduce and/or sell new products.
Our operating results may vary from quarter to quarter.
Our operating results have in the past been subject to quarter-to-quarter fluctuations, and we expect that these fluctuations will continue, and may increase in magnitude, in future periods. Demand for our products is driven by many factors, including the availability of funding for our products in our customers’ capital budgets. There is a trend for some of our customers to place large orders near the end of a quarter or fiscal year, in part to spend remaining available capital budget funds. Seasonal fluctuations in customer demand for our products driven by budgetary and other concerns can create corresponding fluctuations in period-to-period revenues, and we therefore cannot assure you that our results in one period are necessarily indicative of our revenues in any future period. In addition, the number and timing of large individual sales and the ability to obtain acceptances of those sales, where applicable, have been difficult for us to predict, and large individual sales have, in some cases, occurred in quarters subsequent to those we anticipated, or have not occurred at all. The loss or deferral of one or more significant sales in a quarter could harm our operating results for such quarter. It is possible that, in some quarters, our operating results will be below the expectations of public market analysts or investors. In such events, or in the event adverse conditions prevail, the market price of our common stock may decline significantly.
Failure of our information technology infrastructure to operate effectively could adversely affect our business.
We depend heavily on information technology infrastructure to achieve our business objectives. If a problem occurs that impairs this infrastructure, the resulting disruption could impede our ability to record or process orders, manufacture and ship in a timely manner, or otherwise carry on business in the normal course. Any such events could cause us to lose customers or revenue and could require us to incur significant expense to remediate.
We are subject to certain governmental regulatory restrictions relating to our international sales.
Some of our products are subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulation (“
ITAR
”), which are interpreted, enforced and administered by the U.S. Department of State. ITAR regulation controls not only the export, import and trade of certain products specifically designed, modified, configured or adapted for military systems, but also the export of related technical data and defense services as well as foreign production. Any delays in obtaining the required export, import or trade licenses for products subject to ITAR regulation and rules could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and/or operating results. In addition, changes in United States export and import laws that require us to obtain additional export and import licenses or delays in obtaining export or import licenses currently being sought could cause significant shipment delays and, if such delays are too great, could result in the cancellation of orders. Any future restrictions or charges imposed by the United States or any other country on our international sales or foreign subsidiary could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and/or operating results. In addition, from time to time, we have entered into contracts with the Israeli Ministry of Defense which were governed by the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program (“
FMF
”). Any such future sales would be subject to these regulations. Failure to comply with ITAR or FMF rules could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, and/or operating results.
We depend on international operations for a substantial majority of our components and products.
We purchase a substantial majority of our components from foreign manufacturers and have a substantial majority of our commercial products assembled, packaged, and tested by subcontractors located outside the United States. These activities are subject to the uncertainties associated with international business operations, including trade barriers and other restrictions, changes in trade policies, governmental regulations, currency exchange fluctuations, reduced protection for intellectual property, war and other military activities, terrorism, changes in social, political, or economic conditions, and other disruptions or delays in production or shipments, any of which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and/or operating results.
We depend on international sales for a portion of our revenues.
Sales to customers outside of North America accounted for 40.2% and 55.8% of net revenues for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, and 28.8% and 44.2% of net revenues for the quarters ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and we expect that international sales will continue to represent a material portion of our total revenues. International sales are subject to the risks of international business operations as described above, as well as generally longer payment cycles, greater difficulty collecting accounts receivable, and currency restrictions. In addition, Digital Power Limited, our wholly-owned subsidiary in England, supports our European and other international customers, distributors, and sales representatives, and therefore is also subject to local regulation. International sales are also subject to the export laws and regulations of the United States and other countries.
If our accounting controls and procedures are circumvented or otherwise fail to achieve their intended purposes, our business could be seriously harmed.
We evaluate our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of each fiscal quarter, and are annually reviewing and evaluating our internal control over financial reporting in order to comply with Commission’s rules relating to internal control over financial reporting adopted pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or our management does not timely assess the adequacy of such internal control, we may be subject to regulatory sanctions, and our reputation may decline.
The sale of our products is dependent upon our ability to satisfy the proprietary requirements of our customers.
We depend upon a relatively narrow range of products for the majority of our revenue. Our success in marketing our products is dependent upon their continued acceptance by our customers. In some cases, our customers require that our products meet their own proprietary requirements. If we are unable to satisfy such requirements, or forecast and adapt to changes in such requirements, our business could be materially harmed.
The sale of our products is dependent on our ability to respond to rapid technological change, including evolving industry-wide standards, and may be adversely affected by the development, and acceptance by our customers, of new technologies which may compete with, or reduce the demand for, our products.
Rapid technological change, including evolving industry standards, could render our products obsolete. To the extent our customers adopt such new technology in place of our products, the sales of our products may be adversely affected. Such competition may also increase pricing pressure for our products and adversely affect the revenues from such products.
Our limited ability to protect our proprietary information and technology may adversely affect our ability to compete, and our products could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others, resulting in claims against us, the results of which could be costly.
Many of our products consist entirely or partly of proprietary technology owned by us. Although we seek to protect our technology through a combination of copyrights, trade secret laws and contractual obligations, these protections may not be sufficient to prevent the wrongful appropriation of our intellectual property, nor will they prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our proprietary technology. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. In order to defend our proprietary rights in the technology utilized in our products from third party infringement, we may be required to institute legal proceedings, which would be costly and would divert our resources from the development of our business. If we are unable to successfully assert and defend our proprietary rights in the technology utilized in our products, our future results could be adversely affected.
Although we attempt to avoid infringing known proprietary rights of third parties in our product development efforts, we may become subject to legal proceedings and claims for alleged infringement from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Any claims relating to the infringement of third-party proprietary rights, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, divert management’s attention and resources, require us to reengineer or cease sales of our products or require us to enter into royalty or license agreements which are not advantageous to us. In addition, parties making claims may be able to obtain an injunction, which could prevent us from selling our products in the United States or abroad.
If we are unable to satisfy our customers’ specific product quality, certification or network requirements, our business could be disrupted and our financial condition could be harmed.
Our customers demand that our products meet stringent quality, performance and reliability standards. We have, from time to time, experienced problems in satisfying such standards. Defects or failures have occurred in the past, and may in the future occur, relating to our product quality, performance and reliability. From time to time, our customers also require us to implement specific changes to our products to allow these products to operate within their specific network configurations. If we are unable to remedy these failures or defects or if we cannot effect such required product modifications, we could experience lost revenues, increased costs, including inventory write-offs, warranty expense and costs associated with customer support, delays in, or cancellations or rescheduling of, orders or shipments and product returns or discounts, any of which would harm our business.
If we ship products that contain defects, the market acceptance of our products and our reputation will be harmed and our customers could seek to recover their damages from us.
Our products are complex, and despite extensive testing, may contain defects or undetected errors or failures that may become apparent only after our products have been shipped to our customers and installed in their network or after product features or new versions are released. Any such defect, error or failure could result in failure of market acceptance of our products or damage to our reputation or relations with our customers, resulting in substantial costs for us and our customers as well as the cancellation of orders, warranty costs and product returns. In addition, any defects, errors, misuse of our products or other potential problems within or out of our control that may arise from the use of our products could result in financial or other damages to our customers. Our customers could seek to have us pay for these losses. Although we maintain product liability insurance, it may not be adequate.
Our common stock price is volatile.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE American. In the past, our trading price has fluctuated widely, depending on many factors that may have little to do with our operations or business prospects. The exercise of outstanding options and warrants may adversely affect our stock price and a shareholder’s percentage of ownership.
We have a substantial number of convertible notes, warrants and options outstanding that could affect our price.
Due to a number of financings, we have a substantial number of shares that are subject to issuance pursuant to outstanding convertible debt, warrants and options. These conversion prices and exercise prices range from $0.01 to $1.69 per share of common stock. As of
January 2, 2018
, the number of shares of common stock subject to convertible notes, warrants and options were
1,283,940, 7,133,828
and 3,
877,500
respectively. The issuance of common stock pursuant to convertible notes, warrants and options at conversion or exercise prices less than market prices may have the effect of limiting an increase in market price of our common stock until all of these underling shares have been issued.
We have a number of shares of common stock subject to registration rights.
Due to a number of financings, we have contractually agreed to register with the Commission shares of common stock, and common stock underlying outstanding warrants and convertible debt in connection with private placements of our securities. The potential resale at the same time of a large number of shares of common stock and common stock underlying warrants and convertible debt by the selling stockholders may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.