Note 12 - Compensation Related Costs, Share Based Payments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Compensation Related Costs, Share Based Payments

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

12.  Share-Based Compensation

2009 Stock Incentive Plan ("2009 Plan")

Effective July 1, 2009, the Company implemented the 2009 Plan, which the Company's stockholders approved on June 19, 2009.  The 2009 Plan provided for the grants of non-statutory and incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, performance shares, and other awards to officers, employee and other individuals.  Under the terms of the 2009 Plan, stock options have a maximum term of ten years from the date of grant, and have various vesting criteria depending on the grant with most grants vesting 25% on the first year anniversary date of the grant and ratably over the next 36 months.  The 1998 Plan, which expired by its terms on October 7, 2008, had reserved for issuance a total of 7,154,198 common stock shares.  At December 31, 2011, stock options for 333,956 common stock shares were outstanding, stock options for 310,622 common stock shares were vested, and 6,517,221 common stock shares that had not been issued remained available for future stock options grants and other awards.  Awards made under the 1998 Plan prior to its expiration are still in effect.

Total share-based compensation expense was $43,000, $74,000 and $99,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  Related tax benefits of $15,000, $26,000 and $35,000 were recognized for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. 

Stock Options

            The Company’s stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2011 was as follows:

	No. of	Weighted
	Shares	Average
	Under	Exercise
	Option	Price
Balance, December 31, 2010	359,234	$	9.95
Granted	20,001		5.52
Expired	(31,668)		4.50
Exercised	(13,611)		4.24
Balance, December 31, 2011	333,956	$	10.43

Compensation expense was $36,000, $56,000, and $74,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively.  As of December 31, 2011, there was approximately $80,000 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested options which will be recognized over the remaining requisite service periods.

The following table summarizes information regarding outstanding and exercisable options as of December 31, 2011:

		Outstanding		Exercisable
Number of options		333,956		310,622
Weighted average exercise price per share	$	10.43	$	10.82
Aggregate intrinsic value of options	$	-	$	-
Weighted average contractual term remaining		3.12 years		2.67 years

The fair value of each stock option on the date of grant was estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for years 2011 and 2010:

		Year Ended
		December 31,
		2011		2010
Volatility		36.89%		45.00%
Risk-free interest rate		3.11%		3.69%
Dividend yield		-		-
Expected lives in years		5.0		5.0
Weighted average fair value	$	3.02	$	2.79

Restricted Stock

The Company issued 12,000 restricted stock awards in the second quarter of 2008, with a weighted average grant-date fair value of $6.92 per share.  No restricted stock awards were issued in 2011 and 2010.  Restricted stock expense was $7,000, $18,000 and $25,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The following table summarizes restricted stock activity for the year ended December 31, 2011:

		Weighted
	No. of	Average
	Non-vested	Exercise
	Shares	Price
Balance, December 31, 2010	2,500	$	6.92
Vested	(1,500)		6.92
Forfeited	(1,000)		6.92
Balance, December 31, 2011	0	$	0