RELL Richardson Electronics Ltd

ITEM 1A. Ri sk Factors

Investors should consider carefully the following risk factors in addition to the other information included and incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that we believe are applicable to our businesses and the industries in which we operate. While we believe we have identified the key risk factors affecting our businesses, there may be additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known or that are not currently believed to be significant that may adversely affect our results of operations.

A significant portion of our cash, cash equivalents and investments are held by our foreign subsidiaries and could affect future liquidity needs.

As of June 1, 2019, $29.3 million, or approximately 59% of our cash, cash equivalents and investments was held by our foreign subsidiaries. Some of these subsidiaries are located in jurisdictions that require foreign government approval before a cash repatriation can occur. In addition, under current tax law, repatriation of this cash may trigger significant adverse tax consequences in the U.S.

Our liquidity requirements could necessitate transfers of existing cash balances between our subsidiaries or to the United States. While we intend to use some of the cash held outside the United States to fund our international operations and growth, when we encounter a significant need for liquidity domestically or at a particular location that we cannot fulfill through other internal or external sources, we may experience unfavorable tax, earnings and liquidity consequences due to cash transfers. These adverse consequences would occur, for example, if the transfer of cash into the United States is taxed and no offsetting foreign tax credit or net operating loss carryforward is available to offset the U.S. tax liability, resulting in lower earnings and liquidity.

We may not achieve our plan for sales growth and margin targets.

We have established both margin and expense targets to grow our sales with new and existing customers. If we do not achieve our growth objectives, the complexity of our global infrastructure makes it difficult to leverage our fixed cost structure to align with the size of our operations. Factors that could have a significant effect on our ability to achieve these goals include the following:

We have historically incurred significant charges for inventory obsolescence, and may incur similar charges in the future.

We maintain significant inventories in an effort to ensure that customers have a reliable source of supply. Our products generally support industrial machinery powered by tube technology. As technology evolves and companies replace this capital equipment, the market for our products potentially declines. In addition, the market for many of our other products changes rapidly resulting from the development of new technologies, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions by some of our suppliers and changing end-user demand, which can contribute to the decline in value or obsolescence of our inventory. We do not have many long-term supply contracts with our customers. If we fail to anticipate the changing needs of our customers or we do not accurately forecast customer demand, our customers may not place orders with us, and we may accumulate significant inventories of products that we may be unable to sell or return to our vendors. This may result in a decline in the value of our inventory.

We face competitive pressures that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our overall competitive position depends on a number of factors including price, engineering capability, vendor representation, product diversity, lead times and the level of customer service. There are very few vacuum tube competitors in the markets we serve. There are also a limited number of Chinese manufacturers whose ability to produce vacuum tubes has progressed over the past several years. The most significant competitive risk comes from technical obsolescence. Canvys faces many competitors in the markets we serve. Increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced margins, or a loss of market share, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. As we expand our business and pursue our growth initiatives, we may encounter increased competition from current and/or new competitors. Our failure to maintain and enhance our competitive position could have a material adverse effect on our business.      

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A single stockholder has voting control over us.

As of July 22, 2019, Edward J. Richardson, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, beneficially owned approximately 99% of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock, representing approximately 65% of the voting power of the outstanding common stock. This share ownership permits Mr. Richardson to exert control over the outcome of stockholder votes, including votes concerning the election of directors, by-law amendments, possible mergers, corporate control contests, and other significant corporate transactions. 

Failure to attract and retain key skilled personnel could hurt operations.

Our success depends to a large extent upon the continued services of key management personnel, particularly Mr. Richardson. While we have employment contracts in place with several of our executive officers, we nevertheless cannot be assured that we will retain our key employees and the loss of service of any of these officers or key management personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business growth and operating results.

Our future success will require an ability to attract and retain qualified employees. Competition for such key personnel is intense and we cannot be assured that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel. We cannot make assurances that key personnel will not depart in the future. Changes in the cost of providing employee benefits in order to attract and retain personnel, including changes in health care costs, could lead to increased costs in any of our operations.

We are dependent on a limited number of vendors to supply us with essential products.

Our principal products are capacitors, vacuum tubes and related products, microwave generators and high voltage power supplies. The products we supply are currently produced by a relatively small number of manufacturers. One of our suppliers represented 11 percent of our total cost of sales. Our success depends, in large part, on maintaining current vendor relationships and developing new relationships. To the extent that our significant suppliers are unwilling or unable to continue to do business with us, extend lead times, limit supplies due to capacity constraints, or other factors, there could be a material adverse effect on our business.

International operations represent a significant percentage of our business and present a variety of risks that could impact our results. 

Because we source and sell our products worldwide, our business is subject to risks associated with doing business internationally. These risks include the costs and difficulties of managing foreign entities, limitations on the repatriation and investment of funds, cultural differences that affect customer preferences and business practices, unstable political or economic conditions, trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements, and changes in tax laws.

We also face exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates because we conduct business outside of the United States. Price increases caused by currency exchange rate fluctuations may make our products less competitive or may have an adverse effect on our margins. Our international revenues and expenses generally are derived from sales and operations in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Accordingly, when the U.S. dollar strengthens in relation to the base currencies of the countries in which we sell our products, our U.S. dollar reported net revenue and income would decrease. We currently do not engage in any currency hedging transactions. We cannot predict whether foreign currency exchange risks inherent in doing business in foreign countries will have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results in the future. 

We may need to raise additional funds through debt or equity financings in the future to fund our domestic operations and our broader corporate initiatives , which would dilute the ownership of our existing shareholders.

If the cash generated by our domestic operations is not sufficient to fund our domestic operations and our broader corporate initiatives, such as stock repurchases, dividends, acquisitions, and other strategic opportunities, we may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt or equity financings, or we may need to obtain new credit facilities to the extent we are unable to, or choose not to, repatriate our overseas cash. Such additional financing may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all, and any new equity financings or offerings would dilute our current stockholders’ ownership interests in us. Furthermore, lenders may not agree to extend us new, additional or continuing credit. In any such case, our business, operating results or financial condition could be adversely impacted.

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A withdrawal by the United Kingdom from the European Union could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, liquidity and results of operations

In a non-binding referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union (“EU”) in June 2016, a majority of those who voted approved the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU (also referred to as “Brexit”). In March 2017, the U.K. government officially gave notice to leave, starting a two-year negotiation process. The U.K. and EU have since been negotiating the terms of the U.K.’s exit from the EU. The Brexit vote and the perceptions as to the impact of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom may adversely affect business activity, political stability and economic conditions in the United Kingdom, the EU and elsewhere. Further, if no agreement is reached and the U.K. leaves the EU, significant trade barriers would exist between the EU and the U.K.  Any of these developments, or the perception that any of these developments are likely to occur, could have a material adverse effect on economic growth or business activity in the United Kingdom, the Eurozone, or the EU, and could result in the relocation of businesses, cause business interruptions, lead to economic recession or depression, and impact the stability of the financial markets, availability of credit, political systems or financial institutions and the financial and monetary system. Given that we conduct a substantial portion of our business in the EU, these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, liquidity and results of operations. The uncertainty concerning the timing and terms of the exit could also have a negative impact on the growth of the European economy and cause greater volatility in all of the global currencies that we currently use to transact business.

We rely heavily on information technology systems that, if not properly functioning, could materially adversely affect our business.

We rely on our information technology systems to process, analyze, and manage data to facilitate the purchase, manufacture, and distribution of our products, as well as to receive, process, bill, and ship orders on a timely basis. A significant disruption or failure in the design, operation, security or support of our information technology systems could significantly disrupt our business.

Our information technology systems may be subject to cyber attacks, security breaches or computer hacking. Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our security controls and misappropriate or compromise sensitive personal, proprietary or confidential information, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns. They also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our systems or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities. Additionally, third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers into disclosing sensitive information such as user names, passwords or other information in order to gain access to our customers’ data or our data, including our intellectual property and other confidential business information, employee information or our information technology systems. Our systems and the data stored on those systems may also be vulnerable to security incidents or security attacks, acts of vandalism or theft, coordinated attacks by activist entities, misplaced or lost data, human errors, or other similar events that could negatively affect our systems and its data, as well as the data of our business partners. Further, third parties, such as hosted solution providers, that provide services to us, could also be a source of security risk in the event of a failure of their own security systems and infrastructure.

The costs to mitigate or address security threats and vulnerabilities before or after a cyber incident could be significant. Our remediation efforts may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays or cessation of service, and loss of existing or potential suppliers or customers. In addition, breaches of our security measures and the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive personal, proprietary or confidential information about us, our business partners or other third parties could expose us to significant potential liability and reputational harm. As threats related to cyber attacks develop and grow, we may also find it necessary to make further investments to protect our data and infrastructure, which may impact our profitability. As a global enterprise, we could also be negatively impacted by existing and proposed laws and regulations, as well as government policies and practices related to cybersecurity, privacy, data localization and data protection.

Our products may be found to be defective or our services performed may result in equipment or product damage and, as a result, warranty and/or product liability claims may be asserted against us.

We sell many of our components at prices that are significantly lower than the cost of the equipment or other goods in which they are incorporated. Since a defect or failure in a product could give rise to failures in the equipment that incorporates them, we may face claims for damages that are disproportionate to the revenues and profits we receive from the components involved in the claims. While we typically have provisions in our agreements with our suppliers that hold the supplier accountable for defective products, and we and our suppliers generally exclude consequential damages in our standard terms and conditions, our ability to avoid such liabilities may be limited as a result of various factors, including the inability to exclude such damages due to the laws of some of the countries where we do business. Our business could be adversely affected as a result of a significant quality or performance issues in the components sold by us if we are required to pay for the damages. Although we have product liability insurance, such insurance is limited in coverage and amount.

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Substantial defaults by our customers on our accounts receivable or the loss of significant customers could have a significant negative impact on our business.

We extend credit to our customers. The failure of a significant customer or a significant group of customers to timely pay all amounts due could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The extension of credit involves considerable judgment and is based on management’s evaluation of factors that include such things as a customer’s financial condition, payment history, and the availability of collateral to secure customers’ receivables.

Failure to successfully implement our growth initiatives, or failure to realize the benefits expected from these initiatives if implemented, may create ongoing operating losses or otherwise adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our growth strategy focuses on expanding our healthcare and our power conversion businesses. In 2015, we acquired certain assets, including inventory, receivables, fixed assets and certain other assets, of International Medical Equipment and Services, Inc. (“IMES”) and launched Power and Microwave Technologies Group (“PMT”), which combines our core engineered solutions, power grid and microwave tube business with new RF and power technologies. We may be unable to implement our growth initiatives or reach profitability in the near future or at all, due to many factors, including factors outside of our control. If our investments in these growth initiatives do not yield anticipated returns for any reason, our business, operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We may not be successful in identifying, consummating and integrating future acquisitions.

As part of our growth strategy, our intent is to acquire additional businesses or assets. We may not be able to identify attractive acquisition candidates or complete the acquisition of identified candidates at favorable prices and upon advantageous terms. Also, acquisitions are accompanied by risks, such as potential exposure to unknown liabilities and the possible loss of key employees and customers of the acquired business. In addition, we may not obtain the expected benefits or cost savings from acquisitions. Acquisitions are subject to risks associated with financing the acquisition, and integrating the operations, personnel and systems of the acquired businesses. If any of these risks materialize, they may result in disruptions to our business and the diversion of management time and attention, which could increase the costs of operating our existing or acquired businesses or negate the expected benefits of the acquisitions.

Economic weakness and uncertainty could adversely affect our revenues and gross margins.

Our revenues and gross profit margins depend significantly on global economic conditions, the demand for our products and services and the financial condition of our customers. Economic weakness and uncertainty have in the past, and may in the future, result in decreased revenues and gross profit margins. Economic uncertainty also makes it more difficult for us to forecast overall supply and demand with a great deal of confidence.

Our operating results during fiscal 2019 reflect a net loss, while we are reporting net income for fiscal 2018 and net loss for fiscal 2017. There can be no assurance that we will experience recovery in the near future; nor is there any assurance that such worldwide economic volatility experienced recently will not continue.

Major disruptions to our logistics capability or to the operations of our key vendors or customers could have a material adverse impact on our operations.

We operate our global logistics services through specialized and centralized distribution centers. We depend on third party transportation service providers for the delivery of products to our customers. A major interruption or disruption in service at any of our distribution centers, or a disruption at the operations of any of our significant vendors or customers, for any reason, including reasons beyond our control (such as natural disasters, pandemics, work stoppages, power loss, cyber attacks, incidents of terrorism or other significant disruptions of services from our third party providers) could cause cancellations or delays in a significant number of shipments to customers and, as a result, could have a severe impact on our business, operations and financial performance.

We may be subject to intellectual property rights claims, which are costly to defend, could require payment of damages or licensing fees, and/or could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

Substantial litigation and threats of litigation regarding intellectual property rights exist in the display systems and electronics industries. From time to time, third parties, including certain companies in the business of acquiring patents with the intention of aggressively seeking licensing revenue from purported infringers, may assert patent and/or other intellectual property rights to technologies that are important to our business. In any dispute involving products that we have sold, our customers could also become the target of litigation. We are obligated in many instances to indemnify and defend our customers if the products we sell are alleged to infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights. In some cases, depending on the nature of the claim, we may be able to seek indemnification from our suppliers for our self and our customers against such claims, but there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining such indemnification or that we are fully protected against such claims. Any infringement claim brought against us, regardless of the duration, outcome or size of damage award, could result in substantial cost, divert our management’s attention, be time consuming to defend, result in significant damage awards, cause product shipment delays, or require us to enter into royalty or other licensing agreements. See Note 12 “Litigation” of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding specific legal matters related to our patents.

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Additionally, if an infringement claim is successful we may be required to pay damages or seek royalty or license arrangements which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. The payment of any such damages or royalties may s ignificantly increase our operating expenses and harm our operating results and financial condition. Also, royalty or license arrangements may not be available at all. We may have to stop selling certain products or certain technologies, which could affect our ability to compete effectively.

Potential lawsuits, with or without merit, may divert management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in our defense. In addition, we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements, become subject to injunctions or other equitable remedies, or determine to abandon certain lines of business, that may cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.                                                    

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls or discover material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to detect fraud or report our financial results accurately or timely.

An effective internal control environment is necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and is an important part of our effort to prevent financial fraud. We are required to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the design and operation of our internal controls over financial reporting. Based on these evaluations, we may conclude that enhancements, modifications, or changes to internal controls are necessary or desirable. While management evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls on a regular basis, these controls may not always be effective. There are inherent limitations on the effectiveness of internal controls, including fraud, collusion, management override, and failure in human judgment. In addition, control procedures are designed to reduce rather than eliminate business risks.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, or if management or our independent registered public accounting firm discovers material weaknesses in our internal controls, we may be unable to produce reliable financial reports or prevent fraud. In addition, we may be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission or NASDAQ. Any such actions could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

If we are deemed to be an investment company, we will be required to meet burdensome compliance requirements and restrictions on our activities.

We currently have significant cash and investments. If we are deemed to be an “investment company” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”), the nature of our investments may be subject to various restrictions. We do not believe that our principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. If we are deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with required additional regulatory burdens would increase our operating expenses.

The company recorded a non-cash impairment charge for the full value of our goodwill and there remains the risk of possible additional future identifiable intangible asset impairment, which could reduce the value of our assets and reduce our net income in the year in which the write-off occurs.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $6.3 million for the full amount of the goodwill associated with the IMES reporting unit. The impairment resulted from fourth quarter events that decreased the forecasted future cash flows and the fair value of the IMES reporting unit below its carrying value as of the March 3, 2019 testing date. Refer to Note 7 “Goodwill and Intangible Assets” of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our remaining intangible assets could become impaired, which could reduce the value of our assets and reduce our net income in the year in which the write-off occurs. We ascribe value to certain intangible assets, which consist of customer lists and trade names resulting from acquisitions. An impairment charge on intangible assets would be incurred in the event that the fair value of the intangible assets are less than their current carrying values. We evaluate whether events have occurred that indicate all, or a portion, of the carrying amount of intangible assets may no longer be recoverable. If this is the case, an impairment charge to earnings would be necessary.

We may incur substantial operational costs or be required to change our business practices to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and similar regulations.

The EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which went into effect in May 2018 . The GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Union, including more robust documentation requirements for data protection compliance programs. Specifically, the GDPR introduced numerous privacy-related changes for companies operating in the EU, including greater control for data subjects, increased data portability for EU consumers, and data breach notification requirements.  

Although GDPR has already gone into effect, there is still considerable uncertainty as to how to interpret and implement many of its provisions.  Complying with the GDPR may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to change our business practices in ways that we cannot currently predict.  Despite our efforts to bring our practices into compliance with the GDPR, we may not be successful. Non-compliance could result in proceedings against us by governmental entities, customers, data subjects or others. Fines of up to 20 million euros or up to 4% of the annual global revenue of the noncompliant company, whichever is greater, may be imposed for violations of certain of the GDPR’s requirements.

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In addition, several other jurisdictions around the world have recently enacted privacy laws or regulations similar to GDPR. For instance, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which is effective January 1, 2020 and which gives consumers many of the same rights as those available under GDPR. Several laws similar to the CCPA have been proposed in the United States at both the federal and state level.

New tariffs and the evolving trade policy dispute between the United States and China may adversely affect our business.

The U.S. government has made statements and taken certain actions that have led to, and may lead to, further changes to U.S. and international trade policies, including recently imposed tariffs affecting certain products exported by a number of U.S. trading partners, including China. For example, during 2018, the U.S. and China each imposed new tariffs, and announced further proposed tariffs, on various products imported from China and the U.S., respectively. Between July 2018 and September 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) imposed tariffs of 10% and 25% on three product lists totaling approximately $250 billion in Chinese imports. These lists include some of our products.

Furthermore, the current U.S. administration continues to signal that it may further alter trade agreements between China and the U.S. and may impose additional tariffs on imports from China. It is possible that further tariffs may be imposed on imports of our products, or that our business will be impacted by retaliatory trade measures taken by China or other countries in response to existing or future tariffs, causing us to raise prices or make changes to our operations, any of which could adversely impact demand for our products, our costs, customers, suppliers and/or the United States economy or certain sectors thereof and, thus, to adversely impact our businesses and results of operations.

Given the uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of the effective and proposed tariffs, as well as the potential for additional trade actions by the U.S. or other countries, the impact on our operations and results is uncertain and could be significant. We can provide no assurance that any strategies we implement to mitigate the impact of such tariffs or other trade actions will be successful. To the extent that our supply chain, costs, sales or profitability are negatively affected by the tariffs or other trade actions, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.