-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, WhiKGLzIbqjsuJ59EnumRoDvesXU/IF11EcgCD6GawZD9rL0IYOfOopwKxtnugKj 8CfODMOwEtVq15Mw2ODPpg== 0000030828-98-000004.txt : 19980406 0000030828-98-000004.hdr.sgml : 19980406 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000030828-98-000004 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 10-K/A PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 19971231 FILED AS OF DATE: 19980403 SROS: NASD FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: COBRA ELECTRONICS CORP CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000030828 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: RADIO & TV BROADCASTING & COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT [3663] IRS NUMBER: 362479991 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 10-K/A SEC ACT: SEC FILE NUMBER: 000-00511 FILM NUMBER: 98586791 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 6460 W CORTLAND ST CITY: CHICAGO STATE: IL ZIP: 60635 BUSINESS PHONE: 3128898870 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 6460 W CORTLAND ST CITY: CHICAGO STATE: IL ZIP: 60635 10-K/A 1 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K/A AMENDMENT NO. 2 Mark One) [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 1997 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Commission File Number 0-511 COBRA ELECTRONICS CORPORATION (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter) DELAWARE 36-2479991 (State of incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 6500 WEST CORTLAND STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60707 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (773)889-8870 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, Par Value $.33 1/3 Per Share Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES [X] NO [ ] Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [X] The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant at March 12, 1998 was approximately $47,415,422. The number of shares of Registrant's Common Stock outstanding at that date was 6,218,416. Portions of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement relating to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held May 12, 1998, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report. ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS: CORPORATE OVERVIEW Higher sales and gross margin and a $1.1 million one-time gain on the sale of a building resulted in $4.7 million of net income in 1997. An increase in sales of both CB radios, with the company's exclusive, patent-pending SoundTracker technology, and radar detector, both domestically and internationally, fueled the sales growth and improved the gross margin to its highest level in the 1990s. Also late in 1997, the company announced the industry's first line of six-band radar detectors, scheduled for shipment beginning in the Spring of 1998. The company has designed these detectors to alert drivers to each of the four current speed monitoring systems in use -- X,K,Ka and Laser -- plus VG-2, the "detector detector" monitoring band, and the Safety Alert Traffic Warning System band. This makes the unique Cobra six-band detector the most comprehensive alert system in the industry and for the first time allows drivers to be aware of all four speed monitoring systems as well as the presence of VG-2 and Safety Alert transmissions. Because 6 Band technology represents the first really significant innovation since the introduction several years ago of the current four-band models, retailer demand for these proprietary units has been very strong and has resulted in new distribution opportunities for Cobra. For example, the company recently added Best Buy and Circuit City as radar detector customers for 1998 because of six band detectors. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS 1997 Compared to 1996 - --------------------- Net income for 1997 increased to $4.7 million from $601,000 in 1996. Included in net income for 1997 was a $1.1 million gain on the third quarter sale of a building that the company did not need for its operations and was leasing to an outside party. Net income, excluding the gain on the sale of the building, increased $3.0 million to $3.6 million in 1997 from $601,000 in 1996. Net sales increased $13.8 million, or 15.3%, to $104.1 million from $90.3 million in 1996. Selling, general and administrative expense increased to $16.7 million from $14.4 million, but, as a percentage of net sales, remained substantially unchanged at 16%. Sales of mobile electronics products (mainly CB radios, Family Radio Service two-way radios and integrated radar/laser detectors) increased approximately $23.8 million, or 39.6% in 1997 compared to 1996. (In the fourth quarter of 1997, sales of mobile electronics products increased $4.3 million, or 24.4%.) Sales of CB radios increased 28% in 1997 mainly because of strong demand for radios with the company's exclusive, patent-pending SoundTracker technology, introduced early in the year. Additionally, an all-new radar detector lineup helped drive sales volume in the U.S., while internationally the company capitalized on the strong demand in Russia for radar detectors. In total, international sales of mobile electronics products increased $9.8 million in 1997. Telecommunication products sales decreased $10 million because of lower sales of both 25-channel cordless phones and integrated cordless phone answering systems to several large retail customers. Also contributing to the sales decrease was lower sales of factory reconditioned products as a result of agreements with some of the company's vendors that allow product returned from the company's customers to be returned to the vendor for partial credit towards future purchases. Prior to these agreements, which were entered into in 1996, the company repaired and resold this returned merchandise as factory reconditioned product. The company also restricted expanding distribution for its 25-channel cordless phones as it seeks to de-emphasize this product line in favor of the rapidly growing 900 MHz segment which the company will enter in the Fall of 1998 with several 900 MHz cordless phone models. Gross margin for 1997 increased to 20.7% from 18.1% in 1996 primarily due to an improvement in sales mix of higher margin CB and radar detector products. Sales of mobile electronics products increased as a percentage of total sales from 67% in 1996 to 81% in 1997. In addition, gross margin on radar detectors increased due to the new radar detector lineup, which included lower cost models that replaced higher cost models. Also contributing to the gross margin improvement was lower repair costs on returned products, which declined because of return to vendor agreements discussed above. Partially offsetting the favorable impact of these items was $555,000 of increased air freight expense mainly to satisfy the strong demand for CB radios with the SoundTracker system. Normally the company uses significantly less expensive ocean freight to import its products. Selling, general and administrative expense increased $2.3 million during 1997 and, as a percentage of net sales, remained relatively unchanged from 1996. Sales and marketing expenses increased due to: higher variable expenses resulting from the increase in sales volume; the addition of a senior vice president of marketing and sales, a newly created position, in February 1997; and increased promotional spending mainly to promote the new SoundTracker technology. In addition, higher bonus and bad debt expense in 1997 also contributed to the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses. Bad debt expense increased because of the bankruptcy of a small customer and a potential preference payment issue for a prior year's bankruptcy. In addition, prior year's bad debt expense reflected a favorable reserve adjustment because of improvement in the quality of the receivable portfolio and favorable collections experience. Interest expense for 1997 decreased to $1.3 million from $1.7 million. Debt levels declined due to lower average inventory and receivable levels. In addition, the company sold a building, which was not needed for operations and was being leased to an outside party, in the third quarter of 1997 for approximately $2 million. The sale resulted in a $1.1 million gain. Other expense was $60,000 in 1997 compared to other income of $275,000 in 1996. In 1996 there was a gain of $373,000 from a suit against a former distributor for violation of a licensing agreement and $217,000 of royalty income from Safety Alert licensing agreements, offset by a $384,000 writedown of a building related to a discontinued operation. 1996 Compared to 1995 - --------------------- Net income for 1996 was $601,000 compared to a net loss of $1.1 million in the year ago period. Selling, general and administrative expense decreased $1.7 million to 15.9 percent of net sales from 17.8 percent of net sales in the prior year. 1996 net sales were substantially unchanged from the prior year. Sales of mobile electronics products (mainly CB radios and integrated radar/laser detectors) declined approximately $900,000 in 1996 compared to 1995. Higher domestic CB sales were offset by a large drop in international CB sales, mainly because of a trademark dispute that limited shipments to a South American distributor. Also, offsetting some of this drop was increased sales of integrated radar/laser detectors primarily because of expanded distribution overseas. Telecommunications product sales increased $1.6 million in 1996 compared to 1995, primarily due to increased sales to Sprint of the exclusive Sprint-branded Intenna cordless telephone and Cobra-branded integrated Intenna cordless phone/answering systems. 1996 sales to Sprint doubled from their 1995 levels. Partially offsetting this increase was a decrease in international sales of telecommunications products due to a lack of cordless phone availability because of constraints in capacity at the company's cordless phone supplier as well as compliance issues with local regulatory requirements. Gross margin for 1996 and 1995 was 18.1 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively. Increased cordless phone margins, which reflected strong demand for 25-channel phones that were not available in 1995, were offset by lower answering system margins due mainly to increased air freight expenses to import the company's popular Intenna answering systems in order to take advantage of customer orders that exceeded original forecasts. As a result, the company was not able to use less expensive ocean freight as it normally does and still satisfy this demand in a timely manner. Also offsetting the higher cordless phone margins were a decrease in detector margins, which was due to downward pricing pressures on several higher-priced models. CB margins were essentially unchanged from the prior year. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $1.7 million due to lower sales and marketing expenses, which declined because of lower advertising expenses, a change in sales commission programs, and the implementation of other cost reduction programs such as bringing in house some packaging and print media design activities. In addition, 1995 expenses included higher than normal marketing and product development costs incurred to build sales volume. Partially offsetting the lower selling and marketing expenses was a $1.2 million charge to reduce advertising credits to their net realizable value, which was partially offset by a decline in bad debts expense because of improvement in the quality of the receivable portfolio and favorable collections experience. Interest expense for 1996 decreased to $1.7 million from $1.8 million in the prior year due primarily to lower interest rates. In addition, as a result of consolidation of warehousing activities the Company sold one of its three Chicago buildings for approximately $1 million, which reduced borrowings. Other income increased to $275,000 in 1996 from $127,000 in 1995 and reflects a gain of $373,000 from a suit against a former distributor for violation of a licensing agreement and $217,000 of royalty income from Safety Alert licensing agreements, offset by a $384,000 writedown of a building related to a discontinued operation. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES At December 31, 1997, the company had a $30 million secured credit facility that included a fixed term loan. Borrowings and letters of credit issued under this agreement were collateralized by the company's assets, and usage of the non-term loan portion was limited to certain percentages of accounts receivable and inventory. The fixed term loan was secured by the company's buildings and equipment and required both monthly principal payments of $43,000 and a balloon payment of $2 million at the time of expiration. The credit agreement specified that the company may not pay cash dividends and contained a material adverse change clause, which, under certain circumstances, could accelerate the payment of the debt. Because of this clause the company classified the debt as short-term for financial reporting purposes. The company does not believe a material adverse change is likely. At December 31, 1997, the company had approximately $8.4 million of unused credit line. On February 3, 1998, the company entered into a new $35 million secured credit agreement with two financial institutions for a three-year revolving credit facility, replacing the existing $30 million credit agreement. Loans outstanding under the new agreement bear interest, at the company's option, at the prime rate or, under a LIBOR option, at LIBOR plus 2 percent. Additionally, the new agreement provides for higher advance rates on eligible inventory and receivables and eliminates the 2 percent per annum charge that the company was obligated to pay on its average outstanding balance of letters of credit under the previously existing agreement. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $540,000 for the year ended December 31, 1997. Receivables increased compared to the prior year because of higher sales volume. Inventories increased mainly because of higher CB and radar detector inventories as well as investment in inventories for the new power inverter line and for the growing Safety Alert transmitter business. CB inventory increased in anticipation of continued strong demand for SoundTracker models in the first quarter of 1998. Radar detector inventories increased because of lower than anticipated year end domestic sales. Accrued liabilities increased due to: higher product warranty costs as a result of the higher sales volume in 1997 compared to 1996; and increased accrued salaries and commissions due to higher bonus and deferred compensation accruals. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 1996. Receivables decreased compared to the prior year because the 1995 balance included amounts from several large customers which were due prior to year end but were received shortly thereafter. Inventories decreased because soft demand at retail during the fourth quarter of 1995 resulted in lower than anticipated sales and higher than expected inventory levels at the end of 1995. Other assets decreased due to a charge to reduce advertising credits to their net realizable value. Accounts payable declined because of reduced purchases of product on open account from a domestic supplier and lower unpaid letters of credit due to timing of payments. Cash flows used in operating activities were $4.8 million for the year ended December 31, 1995; losses from operations of $1.1 million together with an increase in working capital requirements provided for the cash outflow. The increase in receivables is due mainly to higher fourth quarter sales compared to the prior year as well as payments from several large customers which were due prior to year end but were received shortly thereafter. Inventories increased mainly as a result of lower than anticipated sales during the year-end holiday selling season because of soft demand at the retail level. Accounts payable increased because of additional purchases of product on open account from a domestic supplier. The majority of the company's purchases are from foreign suppliers and are financed with letters of credit, which require payment at the time of shipment. Investing activities provided cash of $683,000 in 1997 and required cash of $703,000 and $1.9 million in 1996 and 1995, respectively. Most of the cash outflows during these years related to the purchase of tooling and equipment. In 1997 the company sold a building that the company did not need for operations and was leasing to an outside party for approximately $2 million. In 1996 due to consolidation of the warehousing activities, the company sold a building for approximately $1 million. Cash flows provided by and used for financing activities for the three years ending December 31, 1997, primarily reflect changes in the company's borrowing requirements under its line-of-credit agreement. At December 31, 1997, the company had no material commitments, other than approximately $21.1 million in outstanding purchase orders for products compared with $23.8 million at the end of the prior year. The company believes that cash generated from operations and from borrowings under its credit agreement will be sufficient in 1998 to fund its working capital needs. In addition, the majority of any taxable income in 1998 will be offset by net operating loss carryforwards that totaled $30.4 million at December 31, 1997. YEAR 2000 The company initiated the process of preparing its computer systems and applications for the Year 2000 in 1997. This process involves modifying or replacing certain hardware and software maintained by the company. Management expects to have substantially all of the system and application changes completed by the end of 1998 and believes its level of preparedness is appropriate. The total cost to the company of these Year 2000 Compliance activities has not been and is not anticipated to be material to its financial position or results of operations in any given year. The costs and the date on which the company plans to complete the Year 2000 modification are based on management's best estimates, which were derived utilizing numerous assumptions of future events including the continued availability of certain resources, third party modification plans and other factors. However, there can be no guarantee that these estimates will be achieved and actual results could differ from those plans. SIGNATURES ---------- Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. COBRA ELECTRONICS CORPORATION /S/ Gerald M. Laures -------------------------- Gerald M. Laures Vice President - Finance and Corporate Secretary Dated: April 3, 1998 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated above. /S/ James Bazet Director, President and Chief Executive - --------------------- Officer James Bazet /S/ Carl Korn Director and Chairman of the Board - --------------------- Carl Korn /S/ Jerry Kalov Director and Vice Chairman of the Board - --------------------- Jerry Kalov /S/ William P. Carmichael Director - --------------------- William P. Carmichael /S/ Samuel B. Horberg Director - ---------------------- Samuel B. Horberg /S/ Gerald M. Laures Director, Vice President - Finance and - ---------------------- Secretary (Principal Financial and Gerald M. Laures Accounting Officer) /S/ Harold D. Schwartz Director - ----------------------- Harold D. Schwartz -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----