Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

(Mark one)

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2008

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                          to                         

000-29748

(Commission file number)

 

 

ECHELON CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   77-0203595
(State or other jurisdiction of   (IRS Employer
incorporation or organization)   Identification Number)

550 Meridian Avenue

San Jose, CA 95126

(Address of principal executive office and zip code)

(408) 938-5200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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 filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   x      No   ¨

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

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   x    Non-accelerated filer   ¨   Smaller reporting company   ¨
      (do not check if a smaller

reporting company)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes   ¨      No   x

As of July 31, 2008, 40,763,432 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

ECHELON CORPORATION

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2008

INDEX

 

          Page

Part I.

   FINANCIAL INFORMATION    3

Item 1.

  

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

   3
  

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007

   3
  

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2007

   4
  

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2007

   5
  

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

   6

Item 2.

  

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

   16

Item 3.

  

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks

   39

Item 4.

  

Controls and Procedures

   40

Part II.

  

OTHER INFORMATION

   41

Item 1.

  

Legal Proceedings

   41

Item 1A.

  

Risk Factors

   41

Item 2.

  

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

   41

Item 4.

  

Submission of Matters To A Vote of Security Holders

   41

Item 6.

  

Exhibits

   42

SIGNATURE

   42

EXHIBIT INDEX

   43

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties. Certain statements contained in this report are not purely historical including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, anticipations, commitments or strategies regarding the future that are forward-looking. These statements include those discussed in Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, including “Critical Accounting Estimates,” “Results of Operations,” “Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements and Other Critical Contractual Obligations,” “Liquidity and Capital Resources,” and “Recently Issued Accounting Standards,” and elsewhere in this report.

In this report, the words “may,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “ forecast,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “future,” “moving toward” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those forward-looking statements contained in this report as a result of a number of risk factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the section entitled “Factors That May Affect Future Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this report. You should carefully consider these risks, in addition to the other information in this report and in our other filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements and reasons why results may differ included in this report are made as of the date of this report, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement or reason why such results might differ.

 

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ECHELON CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     June 30,
2008
    December 31,
2007
 
ASSETS     

CURRENT ASSETS:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 77,877     $ 76,062  

Short-term investments

     27,772       31,128  

Accounts receivable, net (1) 

     15,248       33,469  

Inventories

     18,631       14,012  

Deferred cost of goods sold

     4,365       6,656  

Other current assets

     4,103       2,092  
                

Total current assets

     147,996       163,419  
                

Property and equipment, net (note 3)

     41,194       30,776  

Goodwill

     8,768       8,548  

Other long-term assets

     2,017       1,964  
                

TOTAL ASSETS

   $ 199,975     $ 204,707  
                
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY     

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

    

Accounts payable

   $ 9,879     $ 12,945  

Accrued liabilities

     5,273       4,551  

Current portion lease financing obligations (note 7)

     1,376       2,900  

Deferred revenues

     11,449       16,312  
                

Total current liabilities

     27,977       36,708  
                

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:

    

Lease financing obligations, net of current portion (note 7)

     26,084       13,151  

Other long-term liabilities

     1,610       1,637  
                

Total long-term liabilities

     27,694       14,788  
                

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:

    

Common stock

     434       432  

Additional paid-in capital

     306,103       298,556  

Treasury stock

     (21,893 )     (19,259 )

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     2,114       1,718  

Accumulated deficit

     (142,454 )     (128,236 )
                

Total stockholders’ equity

     144,304       153,211  
                

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

   $ 199,975     $ 204,707  
                

 

(1)

Includes related party amounts of $499 as of June 30, 2008 and $3,000 as of December 31, 2007. See Note 12 for additional information on related party transactions.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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ECHELON CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007     2008     2007  

REVENUES:

        

Product

   $ 31,466     $ 26,437     $ 66,133     $ 65,514  

Service

     691       259       1,619       451  
                                

Total revenues (2)

     32,157       26,696       67,752       65,965  
                                

COST OF REVENUES:

        

Cost of product (1)

     18,751       15,331       41,283       43,965  

Cost of service (1)

     675       505       1,388       988  
                                

Total cost of revenues

     19,426       15,836       42,671       44,953  
                                

GROSS PROFIT

     12,731       10,860       25,081       21,012  
                                

OPERATING EXPENSES:

        

Product development (1)

     9,402       8,118       18,438       15,896  

Sales and marketing (1)

     6,162       4,968       12,167       10,395  

General and administrative (1)

     4,721       4,163       9,236       7,731  
                                

Total operating expenses

     20,285       17,249       39,841       34,022  
                                

LOSS FROM OPERATIONS

     (7,554 )     (6,389 )     (14,760 )     (13,010 )

INTEREST AND OTHER INCOME, NET

     519       1,488       1,178       2,985  

INTEREST EXPENSE ON LEASE FINANCING OBLIGATIONS

     (265 )     (308 )     (539 )     (627 )
                                

LOSS BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES

     (7,300 )     (5,209 )     (14,121 )     (10,652 )

INCOME TAX EXPENSE

     74       107       94       215  
                                

NET LOSS

   $ (7,374 )   $ (5,316 )   $ (14,215 )   $ (10,867 )
                                

NET LOSS PER SHARE:

        

Basic

   $ (0.18 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.35 )   $ (0.28 )
                                

Diluted

   $ (0.18 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.35 )   $ (0.28 )
                                

SHARES USED IN COMPUTING NET LOSS PER SHARE:

        

Basic

     40,774       39,508       40,781       39,368  
                                

Diluted

     40,774       39,508       40,781       39,368  
                                

 

( 1 )       Amounts include stock-based compensation costs as follows:

 

        

Cost of product

   $ 390     $ 162     $ 753     $ 309  

Cost of service

     47       11       94       27  

Product development

     1,532       510       2,701       992  

Sales and marketing

     746       321       1,443       637  

General and administrative

     1,102       589       2,118       961  
                                

Total

   $ 3,817     $ 1,593     $ 7,109     $ 2,926  
                                

 

(2)

Includes related party amounts of $1,598 and $3,832 for the three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively, and $2,915 and $4,988 for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, respectively. See Note 12 for additional information on related party transactions.

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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ECHELON CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007  

CASH FLOWS USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

    

Net loss

   $ (14,215 )   $ (10,867 )

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

    

Depreciation and amortization

     4,255       3,588  

Loss on disposal of fixed assets

     —         4  

Reduction of allowance for doubtful accounts

     (44 )     (57 )

Reduction of (increase in) accrued investment income

     650       (245 )

Stock-based compensation

     7,109       2,926  

Change in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable

     18,279       (4,198 )

Inventories

     (4,600 )     1,879  

Deferred cost of goods sold

     2,291       11,690  

Other current assets

     (1,986 )     34  

Accounts payable

     (3,189 )     (102 )

Accrued liabilities

     576       697  

Deferred revenues

     (4,844 )     (10,320 )

Deferred rent

     (14 )     (28 )
                

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

     4,268       (4,999 )
                

CASH FLOWS PROVIDED BY INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

    

Purchases of available-for-sale short-term investments

     (30,507 )     (55,077 )

Proceeds from maturities and sales of available-for-sale short-term investments

     33,104       62,176  

Change in other long-term assets

     (22 )     43  

Capital expenditures

     (2,038 )     (3,132 )
                

Net cash provided by investing activities

     537       4,010  
                

CASH FLOWS PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

    

Principal payments of lease financing obligations

     (1,118 )     (1,252 )

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

     1,209       3,165  

Repurchase of common stock from employees for payment of taxes on vesting of performance shares and upon exercise of stock options

     (717 )     (842 )

Repurchase of common stock under stock repurchase program

     (2,634 )     —    
                

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     (3,260 )     1,071  
                

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

     270       83  
                

NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

     1,815       165  

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS:

    

Beginning of period

     76,062       37,412  
                

End of period

   $ 77,877     $ 37,577  
                

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

    

Cash paid for income taxes

   $ 422     $ 194  
                

Cash paid for interest on lease financing obligations

   $ 606     $ 620  
                

Noncash investing and financing information – Increase in property and equipment and related lease financing obligation due to lease extension (see Note 3)

   $ 12,526     $ —    
                

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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ECHELON CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

 

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Echelon Corporation (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

While the financial information furnished is unaudited, the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which the Company considers necessary for the fair presentation of the results of operations for the interim periods covered and of the financial condition of the Company at the date of the interim balance sheet. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year. The condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenues are derived from the sale and license of its products and to a lesser extent, from fees associated with training, technical support, and custom software design services offered to its customers. Product revenues consist of revenues from hardware sales and software licensing arrangements. Service revenues consist of product technical support (including software post-contract support services), training, and custom software development services.

The Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable, collectability is probable, and there are no post-delivery obligations. For hardware sales, including sales to third party manufacturers, these criteria are generally met at the time of shipment. For sales made to the Company’s distributor partners, these criteria are generally met at the time the distributor sells the products through to its end-use customer. For software licenses, these criteria are generally met upon shipment to the final end-user. Service revenue is recognized as the training services are performed, or ratably over the term of the support period.

In accordance with AICPA Statement of Position 97-2 (“SOP 97-2”), Software Revenue Recognition , as amended, revenue earned on software arrangements involving multiple elements is allocated to each element based upon the relative fair values of the elements. The Company uses the residual method to recognize revenue when a license agreement includes one or more elements to be delivered at a future date. In these instances, the amount of revenue deferred at the time of sale is based on vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of the fair value for each undelivered element. If VSOE of fair value does not exist for each undelivered element, all revenue attributable to the multi-element arrangement is deferred until sufficient VSOE of fair value exists for each undelivered element or all elements have been delivered.

The Company currently sells a limited number of its L ON W ORKS ® Infrastructure products that are considered multiple element arrangements under SOP 97-2. Revenue for the software license element is recognized at the time of delivery of the applicable product to the end-user. The only undelivered element at the time of sale consists of post-contract customer support (“PCS”). The VSOE for this PCS is based on prices paid by the Company’s customers for stand-alone purchases of PCS. Revenue for the PCS element is deferred and recognized ratably over the PCS service period. The costs of providing these PCS services are expensed when incurred.

In most instances involving large-scale deployments, the Company’s Networked Energy Services (“NES”) System products are sold as part of multiple element arrangements, which may include electricity meters and data concentrators (collectively, the “Hardware”); NES System software, for which a royalty is charged on a per-meter basis; PCS for the NES System software; and extended warranties for the Hardware. These arrangements may require the Company to deliver Hardware over an extended period of time. In accordance with SOP 97-2, when the multiple element arrangement includes NES System software, the Company defers the recognition of all revenue until all software required under the arrangement has been delivered to the customer. Once the software has been delivered, the Company recognizes revenues for the Hardware and NES System software royalties upon customer acceptance of the Hardware based on a constant ratio of meters to data concentrators, which is determined on a contract-by-contract basis. To the extent actual deliveries of either meters or data concentrators is disproportionate to the expected overall ratio for any given arrangement, revenue for the excess meters or data concentrators is

 

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deferred until such time as additional deliveries of meters or data concentrators has occurred. The Company has established VSOE for the PCS on the NES System software, as well as for the warranties on its NES Hardware products, based on stated renewal rates. These revenues are recognized ratably over the associated service period, which generally commences upon the later of the delivery of all software, or the customer’s acceptance of any given Hardware shipment.

In arrangements which include significant customization or modification of software, the Company recognizes revenue using the percentage-of-completion method, as described in SOP 81-1, Accounting for Performance of Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts , if the Company believes it is able to make reasonably dependable estimates of the extent of progress toward completion. The Company measures progress toward completion using an input method based on the ratio of costs incurred, principally labor, to date to total estimated costs of the project. These estimates are assessed continually during the term of the contract, and revisions are reflected when the changed conditions become known. Revenues from these types of arrangements are included in service revenues in the condensed consolidated statement of operations.

The Company accounts for the rights of return, price protection, rebates, and other sales incentives offered to its distributors in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 48, Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists, and EITF Issue No. 01-09, Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor to a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendor’s Products).

Deferred Revenue and Deferred Cost of Goods Sold

Deferred revenue and deferred cost of goods sold result from transactions where the Company has shipped product or performed services for which all revenue recognition criteria have not yet been met. Deferred cost of goods sold related to deferred product revenues includes direct product costs and applied overhead. Deferred cost of goods sold related to deferred service revenues includes direct labor costs and applied overhead. Once all revenue recognition criteria have been met, the deferred revenues and associated cost of goods sold are recognized.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

With the exception of the items discussed below, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2007, that are of significance, or potential significance, to the Company.

In March 2008, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 161 (“SFAS 161”), Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities . SFAS 161 requires companies with derivative instruments to disclose information that should enable financial statement users to understand how and why a company uses derivative instruments, how derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for under FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities , and how derivative instruments and related hedged items affect a company’s financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. SFAS 161 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008. The Company believes that the adoption of SFAS 161 will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements as it does not currently engage in the use of derivative instruments or hedging activities.

 

2. Cash Equivalents and Investments

The Company measures at fair value its cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments in accordance with SFAS 157. SFAS 157 specifies a valuation hierarchy based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions. These two types of inputs have created the following fair value hierarchy:

 

   

Level 1 – Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets;

 

   

Level 2 – Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets; and

 

   

Level 3 – Valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

 

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This hierarchy requires the Company to minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to use observable market data, if available, when estimating fair value. Other than cash and money market funds, the Company’s only financial assets or liabilities required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis at June 30, 2008, are fixed income available-for-sale securities. The fair value of cash equivalents and short-term investments was determined using the following inputs at June 30, 2008 (in thousands):

 

     Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
     Total    Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets
   Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
   Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
        (Level 1)    (Level 2)    (Level 3)

Money market funds

   $ 34,525    $ 34,525    $ —      $ —  

Fixed income available-for-sale securities

     55,185      —        55,185      —  
                           

Total

   $ 89,710    $ 34,525    $ 55,185    $ —  
                           

Fixed income available-for-sale securities are included in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. Of the $89.7 million of fixed income available-for-sale securities, approximately $61.9 million are classified as cash equivalents, while the remaining $27.8 million are classified as short-term investments. Cash equivalents consist of either investments with remaining maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase, or money market funds for which the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

As of June 30, 2008, the Company’s available-for-sale securities had contractual maturities from three to twenty-four months and an average remaining term to maturity of six months. As of June 30, 2008, the amortized cost basis, aggregate fair value, and gross unrealized holding losses by major security type were as follows (in thousands):

 

     Amortized
Cost
   Aggregate Fair
Value
   Unrealized
Holding
Gains
   Unrealized
Holding
Losses

U.S. corporate securities:

           

Commercial paper

   $ 14,921    $ 14,889    $ —      $ 33

Corporate notes and bonds

     5,355      5,341      1      15
                           
     20,276      20,230      1      48

Foreign corporate notes and bonds

     512      515      3      —  

U.S. government and agency securities

     7,027      7,027      1      —  
                           

Total investments in debt securities

   $ 27,815    $ 27,772    $ 5    $ 48
                           

 

3. Property and Equipment

A summary of property and equipment, net as of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007 is as follows (in thousands):

 

     June 30,
2008
    December 31,
2007
 

Buildings and improvements

   $ 37,356     $ 40,850  

Computer and other equipment

     21,300       19,403  

Software

     4,631       4,511  

Furniture and fixtures

     2,804       2,666  

Leasehold improvements

     3,854       3,809  
                
     69,945       71,239  

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization

     (28,751 )     (40,463 )
                

Property and equipment, net

   $ 41,194     $ 30,776  
                

 

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Property and equipment are stated at cost. Prior to June 2008, the cost of buildings and improvements for our leased San Jose, California headquarters facilities, for which we are the “deemed owner” for accounting purposes only, had included both the costs paid for directly by the Company and the costs paid for by the builder (lessor) from the period commencing with the start of construction through the lease commencement date for each building. These “building assets” are reflected as “Buildings and Improvements” in the schedule above. Building improvements paid for by the Company subsequent to the lease commencement date of each building are reflected as “Leasehold Improvements” in the schedule above.

Effective June 2008, the building leases were amended, resulting in an extension of the lease term for both buildings through March 2020. As a result of the lease extensions, the lease financing obligations for each building were increased based on the present value of the revised lease payments on the date of the extension, with a corresponding increase to the net carrying amount of the cost of the building assets (see further information below).

Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method as follows:

 

   

Building assets and leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the remaining lease term or estimated useful lives (see further information below);

 

   

Computer equipment and related software, other equipment, and furniture and fixtures are depreciated over their estimated useful lives of two to five years; and

 

   

Certain telecommunications equipment is depreciated over its estimated useful life of 10 years.

Accounting for buildings and improvements

In December 1999, the Company entered into a lease agreement with a real estate developer for its existing corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. In October 2000, the Company entered into a second lease agreement with the same real estate developer for an additional building at its headquarters site. These leases were scheduled to expire in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

Effective June 2008, the building leases were amended resulting in an extension of the lease term for both buildings through March 2020. The extended leases require minimum lease payments through March 2020 totaling approximately $48.9 million. Both leases permit the Company to exercise an option to extend the respective lease for two sequential five-year terms. In addition, the amended leases eliminated the Company’s requirement to provide the landlord with security deposits totaling $6.2 million, which the Company had previously satisfied by causing to have issued standby letters of credit (“LOCs”). As of June 30, 2008, the previously issued LOCs had been returned to the bank that issued them and were cancelled.

The Company has historically accounted for the two buildings at its San Jose, California headquarters site under EITF Issue No. 97-10 (“EITF 97-10”), The Effect of Lessee Involvement in Asset Construction , and SFAS No. 98 (“SFAS 98”), Accounting for Leases: Sale-Leaseback Transactions Involving Real Estate, Sales-Type Leases of Real Estate, Definition of the Lease Term, and Initial Direct Costs of Direct Financing Leases – an amendment of FASB Statements No. 13, 66, and 91 and a rescission of FASB Statement No. 26 and Technical Bulletin No. 79-11 . EITF 97-10 applies to entities involved with the construction of an asset that will be leased when the construction project is completed. During construction, the Company paid for certain tenant improvements, including structural elements of the buildings, and, in accordance with EITF 97-10, is therefore the “deemed owner” for accounting purposes of the two buildings at its San Jose, California headquarters site. Accordingly, the Company recorded assets for the total costs of the buildings and improvements, including the costs paid by the lessor (the legal owner of the buildings), with corresponding liabilities for the costs paid by the lessor. Upon completion of construction of each building, the Company did not meet the sale-leaseback criteria in SFAS 98 for de-recognition of the building assets and liabilities. Therefore the leases are accounted for as financing obligations.

For the December 1999 and October 2000 lease agreements, the Company initially recorded lease financing obligations of $12.0 million and $15.2 million, respectively, which corresponded to the building asset costs paid for by the lessor. As a result of the lease extension in June 2008, the Company increased the carrying amount of its lease financing obligations by approximately $12.5 million to approximately $27.6 million (an amount equal to the present value of the revised lease payments at the date of the lease extension), with a corresponding increase to the net carrying amount of the building assets. In addition, all of accumulated depreciation on the building assets at the date of the lease extensions (approximately $16.0 million) was eliminated with a corresponding decrease to the gross carrying amount of the building assets. As a result of the extension in lease terms, the Company also extended the estimated useful lives of the building assets and the leasehold improvements to equal the amended lease term.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, the Company recorded depreciation expense associated with the building assets of $659,000 and $1.3 million, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2007, the Company has recorded depreciation expense associated with the building assets of $681,000 and $1.4 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, the net book value of the building assets was $23.7 million and $12.5 million, respectively.

 

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Under the lease agreements, a portion of the total lease payments is accounted for as an operating lease of land and recorded as expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The remaining portions of the monthly lease payments are considered to be payments of principal and interest on the lease financing obligations. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, land lease expense was $121,000 and $234,000, respectively, principal reductions on the lease financing obligations were $641,000 and $1.3 million, respectively, and interest expense was $265,000 and $539,000, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2007, land lease expense was $113,000 and $225,000, respectively, principal reductions on the lease financing obligations were $639,000 and $1.3 million, respectively, and interest expense was $308,000 and $627,000, respectively.

 

4. Earnings Per Share

The following is a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted net loss per share computations for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2007 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007     2008     2007  

Net loss (Numerator):

        

Net loss, basic & diluted

   $ (7,374 )   $ (5,316 )   $ (14,215 )   $ (10,867 )
                                

Shares (Denominator):

        

Weighted average common shares outstanding

     40,774       39,508       40,781       39,368  
                                

Shares used in basic computation

     40,774       39,508       40,781       39,368  

Common shares issuable upon exercise of stock options (treasury stock method)

     —         —         —         —    
                                

Shares used in diluted computation

     40,774       39,508       40,781       39,368  
                                

Net loss per share:

        

Basic

   $ (0.18 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.35 )   $ (0.28 )
                                

Diluted

   $ (0.18 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (0.35 )   $ (0.28 )
                                

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, the diluted net loss per share calculation is equivalent to the basic net loss per share calculation as there were no potentially dilutive stock options due to the Company’s net loss position. The number of stock options, stock appreciation rights, and restricted stock units excluded from this calculation for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 was 8,431,216 and 8,207,494, respectively.

 

5. Stockholders’ Equity and Employee Stock Option Plans

Common Stock

In April 2008, the Company’s board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program, which authorizes the Company to repurchase up to 3.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock. During the three months ended June 30, 2008, the Company repurchased 216,750 shares at a cost of $2.6 million. The new stock repurchase program will expire in April 2011.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss for the Company consists of net loss plus the effect of unrealized holding gains or losses on investments classified as available-for-sale and foreign currency translation adjustments. Comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007     2008     2007  

Net loss

   $ (7,374 )   $ (5,316 )   $ (14,215 )   $ (10,867 )

Other comprehensive income/(loss), net of tax:

        

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     (184 )     41       506       124  

Unrealized holding loss on available-for-sale securities

     (44 )     (43 )     (110 )     (3 )
                                

Comprehensive loss

   $ (7,602 )   $ (5,318 )   $ (13,819 )   $ (10,746 )
                                

 

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Stock Award Activity

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 was approximately $1.0 million and $1.2 million, respectively. The intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the market value on the date of exercise and the exercise price of the awards.

The total fair value of performance shares vested and released during the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 was approximately $212,000 and $1.6 million, respectively. The fair value is calculated by multiplying the fair market value of the Company’s stock on the vesting date by the number of shares vested.

Equity Compensation Expense for Share Awards with Financial- Based Performance Vesting Requirements

As of June 30, 2008, there were 188,614 nonvested share awards (with a grant date fair value of $2.0 million) that were subject to certain financial-based performance requirements that must be achieved before vesting can occur. Cumulative compensation expense of $627,000 through June 30, 2008 associated with 122,195 of these performance shares (with a grant date fair value of approximately $1.1 million) has been recognized assuming that those financial performance requirements will be achieved. If such requirements are not met, no compensation cost is recognized and any recognized compensation cost will be reversed. No compensation expense has been recognized associated with the remaining 66,419 share awards (with a grant date fair value of $885,000) as management does not currently expect the financial performance requirements for these awards will be met.

 

6. Significant Customers

The Company markets its products and services throughout the world to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and systems integrators in the building, industrial, transportation, utility/home, and other automation markets. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, the Company had six customers that accounted for a majority of its revenues: EBV Electronik GmbH (“EBV”), the Company’s primary distributor of its L ON W ORKS ® Infrastructure products in Europe, Enel S.p.A. (“Enel”), an Italian utility company (including Enel’s third party meter manufacturers), Duke Energy Corporation (“Duke”), a US utility company, and Telvent Energia y Medioambiente SA (“Telvent”), Limited Liability Company Engineering Center ENERGOAUDITCONTROL (“EAC”), and ES Elektrosandberg AB (“ES”), value added resellers of the Company’s NES products. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, the percentage of the Company’s revenues attributable to sales made to these customers was as follows:

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007     2008     2007  

ES

   23.1 %   18.8 %   24.7 %   11.5 %

EBV

   17.2 %   16.3 %   16.2 %   13.7 %

Telvent

   5.6 %   16.0 %   15.3 %   39.0 %

Duke

   5.9 %   —   %   3.6 %   —   %

EAC

   14.7 %   —   %   8.0 %   —   %

Enel

   4.1 %   14.4 %   3.8 %   7.6 %
                        

Total

   70.6 %   65.5 %   71.6 %   71.8 %
                        

Of the percentage of sales made to EBV, approximately 0.9% and 0.5% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, respectively, related to sales of components we sold to EBV, which EBV in turn sold to one of Enel’s third party meter manufacturers. Elsewhere in this document, those sales are reported as Enel Project revenues. The Company’s contract with EBV, which has been in effect since 1997 and has been renewed annually thereafter, expires in December 2008. Please refer to Note 12, Related Parties, for additional information regarding the Company’s agreements with Enel.

 

7. Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

As discussed in Note 3, the December 1999 and October 2000 leases of our corporate headquarters facilities, as amended in June 2008, are accounted for under EITF 97-10 and SFAS 98.

In addition, the Company leases facilities under operating leases for its sales, marketing, and product development personnel located elsewhere within the United States and in ten foreign countries throughout Europe and Asia including a land lease for accounting purposes associated with the Company’s corporate headquarters facilities in San Jose, California. These operating leases expire on various dates through 2020, and in some instances are cancelable with advance notice. Lastly, the Company also leases certain equipment and, for some of its sales personnel, automobiles. These operating leases are generally less than five years in duration.

 

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Royalties

The Company has certain royalty commitments associated with the shipment and licensing of certain of its products. Royalty expense is generally based on a U.S. dollar amount per unit shipped or a percentage of the underlying revenue. Royalty expense, which is recorded as a component of cost of product revenues in our condensed statements of income, was approximately $140,000 during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, and $150,000 for the same period in 2007. Royalty expense was approximately $273,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2008, and $299,000 for the same period in 2007.

The Company will continue to be obligated for royalty payments in the future associated with the shipment and licensing of certain of its products. The Company is currently unable to estimate the maximum amount of these future royalties. However, such amounts will continue to be dependent on the number of units shipped or the amount of revenue generated from these products.

Warranties

The Company typically sells its products with a limited warranty against defects in manufacture or performance. When evaluating the reserve for warranty costs, management takes into consideration the term of the warranty coverage, the quantity of product in the field that is currently under warranty, historical return rates, and historical costs of repair. In addition, certain other applicable factors, such as technical complexity, may also be taken into consideration when historical information is not yet available for recently introduced products. Estimated reserves for warranty costs are generally provided for when the associated revenue is recognized. In addition, additional warranty reserves may be established when the Company becomes aware of a specific warranty related problem, such as a product recall. Such additional warranty reserves are based on the Company’s current estimate of the total out-of-pocket costs expected to be incurred to resolve the problem, including, but not limited to, costs to replace or repair the defective items and shipping costs. The reserve for warranty costs was $526,000 as of June 30, 2008 and $301,000 as of December 31, 2007.

Guarantees

In the normal course of business, the Company provides indemnifications of varying scope to its customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from the use of its products. Historically, costs related to these indemnification provisions have not been significant. However, the Company is unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these indemnification provisions on its future results of operations.

As permitted under Delaware law, the Company has entered into agreements whereby it indemnifies its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was serving, at the Company’s request in such capacity. The indemnification period covers all pertinent events and occurrences during the officer’s or director’s lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited. However, the Company has directors and officers insurance coverage that would enable it to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. The Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements in excess of the applicable insurance coverage is minimal.

Taxes

The Company conducts operations in many tax jurisdictions throughout the world. In many of these jurisdictions, non-income based taxes such as property taxes, sales and use taxes, and value-added taxes are assessed on the Company’s operations in that particular location. While the Company strives to ensure compliance with these various non-income based tax filing requirements, there have been instances where potential non-compliance exposures have been identified. In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, the Company makes a provision for these exposures when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the exposure can be reasonably estimated. To date, such provisions have been immaterial, and the Company believes that, as of June 30, 2008, it has adequately provided for such contingencies. However, it is possible that the Company’s results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed if one or more non-compliance tax exposures are asserted by any of the jurisdictions where the Company conducts its operations.

Legal Actions

From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to legal proceedings, claims, investigations, and other proceedings, including claims of alleged infringement of third-party patents and other intellectual property rights, and commercial, employment, and other matters. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the Company makes a provision for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has

 

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been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular case. While the Company believes it has adequately provided for such contingencies as of June 30, 2008, the amounts of which were immaterial, it is possible that the Company’s results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed by the resolution of any such outstanding claims.

 

8. Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market and include material, labor and manufacturing overhead. When required, provisions are made to reduce excess and obsolete inventories to their estimated net realizable value. Inventories consist of the following (in thousands):

 

     June 30,
2008
   December 31,
2007

Purchased materials

   $ 9,041    $ 4,379

Work-in-process

     13      360

Finished goods

     9,577      9,273
             
   $ 18,631    $ 14,012
             

 

9. Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

 

     June 30,
2008
   December 31,
2007

Accrued payroll and related costs

   $ 3,134    $ 3,006

Accrued taxes

     —        37

Customer deposits

     1,181      932

Accrued warranty

     526      301

Other accrued liabilities

     432      275
             
   $ 5,273    $ 4,551
             

 

10. Segment Disclosure

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing business performance. The Company’s chief operating decision-making group is the Executive Staff, which is comprised of the Chief Executive Officer and his direct reports. SFAS 131 also requires disclosures about products and services, geographic areas, and major customers.

The Company operates in one principal industry segment, its reportable segment: the design, manufacture and sale of products for the controls network industry, and markets its products primarily to the building automation, industrial automation, transportation, and utility/home automation markets. The Company’s products provide the infrastructure and support required to implement and deploy open, interoperable, control network solutions. For the electric utility industry, the Company has developed an advanced metering infrastructure system called the Networked Energy Services (NES) system. The NES system provides a two-way information and control path between the utility and its customer, which enables utilities to reduce operating costs; improve customer service; offer multiple tariff plans, including time-of-use metering and prepay metering; promote energy efficiency; better utilize distribution assets; improve grid quality and reliability; control loads and reduce peak demand; and respond more rapidly to changing customer and regulatory requirements. All of the Company’s products either incorporate or operate with the Neuron ® Chip and/or the LonWorks protocol. The Company also provides a range of services to its customers that consist of technical support, training courses covering its LonWorks network technology and products, and custom software development. In total, the Company offers a wide ranging set of products and services that together constitute the LonWorks system. Any given customer purchases a small subset of such products and services that are appropriate for that customer’s application.

 

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The Company operates in three main geographic areas: the Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”); and Asia Pacific/ Japan (“APJ”). Each geographic area provides products and services to the Company’s customers located in the respective region. The Company’s long-lived assets include property and equipment, goodwill, loans to certain key employees, purchased technology, and deposits on its leased facilities. Long-lived assets are attributed to geographic areas based on the country where the assets are located. As of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, long-lived assets of approximately $48.0 million and $37.7 million, respectively, were domiciled in the United States. Long-lived assets for all other locations are not material to the consolidated financial statements.

The Company has three primary product lines: NES, LonWorks Infrastructure, and products and services sold to Enel. Summary revenue information by product line for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   Six Months Ended
June 30,
     2008    2007    2008    2007

NES

   $ 16,623    $ 9,411    $ 37,140    $ 34,272

LonWorks Infrastructure

     13,936      13,453      27,698      26,705

Enel

     1,598      3,832      2,914      4,988
                           

Total

   $ 32,157    $ 26,696    $ 67,752    $ 65,965
                           

In North America, the Company sells its products primarily through a direct sales organization and select third-party electronics representatives. Outside North America, the Company sells its products through direct sales organizations in EMEA and APJ, value-added resellers, and local distributors. Revenues are attributed to geographic areas based on the country where the customer is domiciled. Summary revenue information by geography for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   Six Months Ended
June 30,
     2008    2007    2008    2007

Americas

   $ 7,102    $ 4,996    $ 12,274    $ 9,250

EMEA

     22,879      15,738      50,599      47,101

APJ

     2,176      5,962      4,879      9,614
                           

Total

   $ 32,157    $ 26,696    $ 67,752    $ 65,965
                           

For information regarding the Company’s major customers, please refer to Note 6, Significant Customers.

 

11. Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes for the three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 was $74,000 and $107,000, respectively. The provision for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 was $94,000 and $215,000, respectively. The difference between the statutory rate and the Company’s effective tax rate is primarily due to the impact of foreign taxes, changes in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and changes in the accruals related to unrecognized tax benefits recorded in accordance with FASB Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”), Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes – an Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 .

The Company adopted FIN 48 on January 1, 2007. This interpretation prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attributes for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. FIN 48 also provides guidance on de-recognition of tax benefits, classification on the balance sheet, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, and disclosure and transition.

As of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, the Company had gross unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $6.0 million and $5.8 million, respectively, of which $875,000 and $921,000, respectively, if recognized, would impact the effective tax rate on income from continuing operations. The $228,000 increase in unrecognized tax benefits during the six months ended June 30, 2008, is primarily comprised of a $157,000 increase due to the impact of foreign exchange rates on the December 31, 2007 balances and a $211,000 increase due to tax positions expected to be taken in the current year; partially offset by a $140,000 decrease due to the expiration of the statute of limitations in certain foreign jurisdictions.

 

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The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. As of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, the Company had $260,000 and $327,000, respectively, accrued for interest and penalties. The $67,000 reduction in accrued interest and penalties during the six months ended June 30, 2008 was primarily attributable to a $92,000 reduction due to the expiration of the statute of limitations in certain foreign jurisdictions; partially offset by a $19,000 increase for interest and penalties accrued during the period and a $6,000 increase due to the impact of foreign exchange rates on December 31, 2007 balances. The Company estimates that the total interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits will increase by approximately $45,000 over the next twelve months.

 

12. Related Parties

The law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. acted as principal outside counsel to our company. Mr. Sonsini, a director of our company, is a member of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

In June 2000, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement with Enel pursuant to which Enel purchased 3.0 million newly issued shares of our common stock. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, Enel has the right to nominate a member of the Company’s board of directors. A representative of Enel is not presently serving on the Company’s board.

At the same time as the Company entered into the stock purchase agreement with Enel, it also entered into a Research and Development and Technological Cooperation Agreement with an affiliate of Enel (the “R&D Agreement”). Under the terms of the R&D Agreement, the Company cooperated with Enel to integrate L ON W ORKS technology into Enel’s remote metering management project in Italy, the Contatore Elettronico. The Company completed the sale of its components and products for the deployment phase of the Contatore Elettronico project during 2005. During 2006, the Company supplied Enel and its designated manufacturers with limited spare parts for the Contatore Elettronico system. In October 2006, the Company entered into a new development and supply agreement and a software enhancement agreement with Enel. Under the development and supply agreement, Enel and its contract manufacturers may purchase additional electronic components and finished goods from Echelon. Under the software enhancement agreement, the Company provides software enhancements to Enel for use in its Contatore Elettronico system. The development and supply agreement expires in December 2011, and the software enhancement agreement expires in December 2009, although delivery of products and services can extend beyond those dates and the agreements may be extended under certain circumstances.

For the three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, the Company recognized revenue from products and services sold to Enel and its designated manufacturers of approximately $1.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, the Company recognized revenue from products and services sold to Enel and its designated manufacturers of approximately $2.9 million and $5.0 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2008, and December 31, 2007, $499,000 and $3.0 million, respectively, of the Company’s total accounts receivable balance related to amounts owed by Enel and its designated manufacturers.

 

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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. The following discussion contains predictions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties about our business. These statements may be identified by the use of words such as “we believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “continues,” “may,” and similar expressions. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risk factors described throughout this filing and particularly in the “Factors That May Affect Future Results Of Operations” section. Our actual results may differ materially.

O VERVIEW

Echelon Corporation was incorporated in California in February 1988 and reincorporated in Delaware in January 1989. We are based in San Jose, California, and maintain offices in ten foreign countries throughout Europe and Asia. We develop, market, and sell system and network infrastructure products that enable everyday devices — such as air conditioners, appliances, electricity meters, light switches, thermostats, and valves — to be made smart and inter-connected. Working together, products and systems equipped with our technology can monitor and save energy, lower costs, improve productivity and enhance service, quality, safety and convenience. We offer these hardware and software products and related services to OEMs and systems integrators in the building, industrial, transportation, utility/home, and other automation markets.

We have been investing in products for use by electricity utilities for use in management of electricity distribution. We began to receive modest amounts of revenue resulting from these investments in 2004, which grew to approximately $883,000 in 2005, decreased slightly to $791,000 in 2006, grew substantially to $70.6 million in 2007, and remained strong at $37.1 million during the first six months of 2008. We refer to this revenue as networked energy services, or NES, revenue. We sell certain of our products to Enel and certain suppliers of Enel for use in Enel’s Contatore Elettronico electricity meter management project in Italy. We refer to Echelon’s revenue derived from sales to Enel and Enel’s designated manufacturers as Enel Project revenue. We refer to all other revenue as L ON W ORKS Infrastructure, or LWI, revenue. We also provide a variety of technical training courses related to our products and the underlying technology. Some of our customers also rely on us to provide customer support on a per-incident or term contract basis.

Subsequent to the July 30, 2008 announcement of our preliminary results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008, we have made an adjustment to our reported results. This adjustment resulted in an increase in our net loss for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008 of $316,000. This adjustment relates to an increase in our excess and obsolete inventory reserves associated with the acquisition of raw material inventories from one of our contract manufacturers during the quarter.

We have a history of losses and, although we achieved profitability in past fiscal periods, we incurred a loss for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006, and 2005. We also expect to incur an operating loss in 2008.

C RITICAL A CCOUNTING E STIMATES

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Note 1 – Significant Accounting Policies of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2007, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May 2008, describes the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to our stock-based compensation, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventories, and commitments and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

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We believe the following critical accounting policies and estimates relate to those policies that are most important to the presentation of our consolidated financial statements and require the most difficult, subjective and complex judgments.

Revenue Recognition. Our revenues are derived from the sale and license of our products and to a lesser extent, from fees associated with training, technical support, and custom software design services offered to our customers. Product revenues consist of revenues from hardware sales and software licensing arrangements. Service revenues consist of product technical support (including software post-contract support services), training, and custom software development services.

We recognize revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable, collectibility is probable, and there are no post-delivery obligations. For hardware sales, including sales to third party manufacturers, these criteria are generally met at the time of shipment. For sales made to our distributor partners, these criteria are generally met at the time the distributor sells the products through to its end-use customer. For software licenses, these criteria are generally met upon shipment to the final end-user.

In most instances involving large-scale deployments, our Networked Energy Services (“NES”) System products are sold as part of multiple element arrangements as that term is defined under AICPA Statement of Position 97-2 (“SOP 97-2”), Software Revenue Recognition , as amended. These arrangements may include electricity meters and data concentrators (collectively, the “Hardware”); NES System software, for which a royalty is charged on a per-meter basis; post-contract customer support (“PCS”) for the NES System software; and extended warranties for the Hardware. These arrangements may require us to deliver Hardware over an extended period of time. In accordance with SOP 97-2, when the multiple element arrangement includes NES System software, we defer the recognition of all revenue until all software required under the arrangement has been delivered to the customer. Once the software has been delivered, we recognize revenues for the Hardware and NES System software royalties upon customer acceptance of the Hardware based on a constant ratio of meters to data concentrators, which is determined on a contract-by-contract basis. To the extent actual deliveries of either meters or data concentrators is disproportionate to the expected overall ratio for any given arrangement, revenue for the excess meters or data concentrators is deferred until such time as additional deliveries of meters or data concentrators has occurred. We have established vendor specific objective evidence for the PCS on the NES System software, as well as for the warranties on our NES Hardware products, based on stated renewal rates. These revenues are recognized ratably over the associated service period, which generally commences upon the latter of the delivery of all software, or the customer’s acceptance of any given Hardware shipment.

We account for the rights of return, price protection, rebates, and other sales incentives offered to distributors of our products in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 48, Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists, and EITF Issue No. 01-09, Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor to a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendor’s Products).

Stock-Based Compensation. Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted the provisions of and account for stock-based compensation in accordance with SFAS 123R. We elected the modified-prospective method, under which prior periods are not revised for comparative purposes. Under the fair value recognition provisions of this statement, stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the estimated fair value of the award and is recognized as expense ratably over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period.

We currently use the Black-Scholes-Merton (“BSM”) option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options. The estimation of fair value of share-based payment awards on the date of grant using the BSM option-pricing model is affected by the fair market value of our stock on the date of grant, as well as a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of our stock price over the expected term of the option, risk-free interest rates, and expected dividends.

The expected term of the option is based on historical experience and on the terms and conditions of the stock awards granted to employees. The expected volatility is based on the implied volatility of market traded options on our common stock, adjusted for other relevant factors including historical volatility of our common stock over the most recent period commensurate with the estimated expected term of the options granted to employees. We base the risk-free interest rate that we use in the BSM option-pricing model on U.S. Treasury issues in effect at the time of option grant that have remaining terms similar to the expected term of the option. We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock, and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, we use an expected dividend yield of zero in the BSM option-pricing model.

 

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SFAS 123R also requires us to record compensation expense for stock-based compensation net of estimated forfeitures, and to revise those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. We use historical data to estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and record stock-based compensation expense only for those awards that are expected to vest. All share-based payment awards are amortized using the multiple option method over their requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period.

Certain of the stock-based compensation awards we issue vest upon the achievement of specific financial-based performance requirements. SFAS 123R requires us to estimate whether or not it is probable that these financial-based performance requirements will be met, and, in some cases, when they will be met. These estimates of future financial performance are based on the best information available at the time of grant, and each quarterly period thereafter until the awards are either earned or forfeited. Any changes we make to our estimates of future financial performance could have a material impact on the amount and timing of compensation expense associated with these awards.

There are significant differences among valuation models, and there is a possibility that we will adopt different valuation models in the future. This may result in a lack of consistency in future periods and may materially affect the estimated fair value of stock-based payments. It may also result in a lack of comparability with other companies that use different models, methods, and assumptions. The BSM option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting or hedging restrictions and that are fully transferable, characteristics that are not present in our option grants.

If factors change and we employ different assumptions for estimating stock-based compensation expense in future periods, or if we decide to use a different option-pricing model, stock-based compensation expense in those future periods may differ significantly from what we have recorded in the current period and could materially affect our operating results.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. We typically sell our products and services to customers with net 30-day payment terms. In certain instances, payment terms may extend to as much as approximately net 90 days. For a customer whose credit worthiness does not meet our minimum criteria, we may require partial or full payment prior to shipment. Alternatively, customers may be required to provide us with an irrevocable letter of credit prior to shipment.

We evaluate the collectibility of our accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where we are aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to us, we record a specific allowance against amounts due to reduce the net recognized receivable to the amount we reasonably believe will be collected. These determinations are made based on several sources of information, including, but not limited to, a specific customer’s payment history, recent discussions we have had with the customer, updated financial information for the customer, and publicly available news related to that customer. For all other customers, we recognize allowances for doubtful accounts based on the length of time the receivables are past due, the current business environment, the credit worthiness of our overall customer base, changes in our customers’ payment patterns, and our historical experience. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, or if general economic conditions worsened, additional allowances may be required in the future, which could materially impact our results of operations and financial condition. Our allowance for doubtful accounts was $286,000 as of June 30, 2008, and $330,000 as of December 31, 2007.

Inventory Valuation. At each balance sheet date, we evaluate our ending inventories for excess quantities and obsolescence. This evaluation includes analyses of sales levels by product and projections of future demand. Inventories on hand in excess of one year’s forecasted demand are not valued. In addition, we write off inventories that we consider obsolete. We consider a product to be obsolete when one of several factors exists. These factors include, but are not limited to, our decision to discontinue selling an existing product, the product has been re-designed and we are unable to rework our existing inventory to update it to the new version, or our competitors introduce new products that make our products obsolete. We adjust remaining inventory balances to approximate the lower of our cost or market value. If future demand or market conditions are less favorable than our projections, additional inventory write-downs may be required and would be reflected in cost of sales in the period the revision is made.

Warranty Reserves. We evaluate our reserve for warranty costs based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where we are aware of a specific warranty related problem, for example a product recall, we reserve an estimate of the total out-of-pocket costs we expect to incur to resolve the problem, including, but not limited to, costs to replace or repair the defective items and shipping costs. When evaluating the need for any additional reserve for warranty costs, management takes into consideration the term of the warranty coverage, the quantity of product in the field that is currently under warranty, historical warranty-related return rates, historical costs of repair, and

 

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knowledge of new products introduced. If any of these factors were to change materially in the future, we may be required to increase our warranty reserve, which could have a material negative impact on our results of operations and our financial condition. Our reserve for warranty costs was $526,000 as of June 30, 2008, and $301,000 as of December 31, 2007.

R ESULTS OF O PERATIONS

The following table reflects the percentage of total revenues represented by each item in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and six month ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2007:

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2008     2007     2008     2007  

Revenues:

        

Product

     97.9 %     99.0 %     97.6 %   99.3 %

Service

     2.1       1.0       2.4     0.7  
                              

Total revenues

     100.0       100.0       100.0     100.0  

Cost of revenues:

        

Cost of product

     58.3       57.4       60.9     66.7  

Cost of service

     2.1       1.9       2.1     1.5  
                              

Total cost of revenues

     60.4       59.3       63.0     68.2  
                              

Gross profit

     39.6       40.7       37.0     31.8  
                              

Operating expenses:

        

Product development

     29.2       30.4       27.2     24.1  

Sales and marketing

     19.2       18.6       18.0     15.8  

General and administrative

     14.7       15.6       13.6     11.7  
                              

Total operating expenses

     63.1       64.6       58.8     51.6  
                              

Loss from operations

     (23.5 )     (23.9 )     (21.8 )   (19.8 )

Interest and other income, net

     1.6       5.6       1.7     4.5  

Interest expense on lease financing obligations

     (0.8 )     (1.2 )     (0.8 )   (0.9 )
                              

Loss before provision for income taxes

     (22.7 )     (19.5 )     (20.9 )   (16.2 )

Income tax expense

     0.2       0.4       0.1     0.3  
                              

Net loss

     (22.9 %)     (19.9 %)     (21.0 %)   (16.5 %)
                              

Revenues

 

Total Revenues

 

 

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008     2007      

Total revenues

   $ 32,157     $ 26,696     $ 5,461     20.5 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
    2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008     2007      

Total revenues

   $ 67,752     $ 65,965     $ 1,787     2.7 %

The $5.5 million increase in total revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily the result of a $7.2 million increase in NES revenues and a $483,000 increase in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues, partially offset by a $2.2 million decrease in Enel Project revenues. The $1.8 million increase in total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily the result of a $2.9 million increase in NES revenues and a $993,000 increase in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues, partially offset by a $2.1 million decrease in Enel Project revenues.

 

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NES revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

NES revenues

   $ 16,623    $ 9,411    $ 7,212    76.6 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

NES revenues

   $ 37,140    $ 34,272    $ 2,868    8.4 %

NES revenues generated during the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 were primarily related to large scale deployments of our NES system products.

Of the $34.3 million of NES revenue reported for the six months ended June 30, 2007, approximately $14.4 million related to shipments of hardware products that were accepted by our customers and, in some cases paid for, in 2006. However, we could not record this revenue in 2006 since we had not yet met all of the required criteria for revenue recognition. As of June 30, 2008, approximately $5.0 million of NES revenue was deferred. This revenue will be recognized in future periods once all of the required criteria for revenue recognition have been met.

We expect that, during 2008, shipments of our NES products will continue to increase over 2007 levels. Our ability to recognize revenue on these shipments depends on several factors, including, but not limited to, delivery to the customer of all of the software called for in any given agreement, the impact on delivery dates of any modifications to existing shipment schedules included in the contracts that have been awarded to us thus far, and certain contractual provisions, such as customer acceptance. In addition, the complex revenue recognition rules relating to products such as our NES system will likely require us to defer some or all of the revenue associated with NES product shipments until certain conditions are met in a future period. In some instances, the reasons for these deferrals may not be fully under our control, which could result in the actual timing of revenue being significantly different than we currently anticipate.

We also expect that some foreign utilities will require us to price our NES system in the respective utility’s local currency, which will expose us to foreign currency risk. For the six months ended June 30, 2008, the portion of our NES revenues conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, principally the European Euro and the Australian dollar, was about $184,000, or 0.5%. For the six months ended June 30, 2007, the portion of our NES revenues conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, principally the Australian dollar, was about $300,000, or 0.9%. In most cases, in the event of a significant contract award, we intend to hedge this foreign currency risk so long as we can secure forward currency contracts that are reasonably priced and that are consistent with the scheduled deliveries for that project. In addition, we will face foreign currency exposures from the time we submit our foreign currency denominated bid until the award of a contract by the utility (the “bid to award” term). This bid to award term can often exceed several months. If a utility awards us a contract that gives the utility the right to exercise options for additional supply in the future, we would also be exposed to foreign currency risk until such time as these options, if any, were exercised. We may decide that it is too expensive to hedge the foreign currency risks during the bid to award term or for any unexercised options. Any resulting adverse foreign currency fluctuations could significantly harm our revenues, results of operations, and financial condition.

L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues

   $ 13,936    $ 13,453    $ 483    3.6 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues

   $ 27,698    $ 26,705    $ 993    3.7 %

Our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues are primarily comprised of sales of our hardware and software products, and to a lesser extent, revenues we generate from our customer support and training offerings. Both the $483,000 increase in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007, and the $993,000 increase for the six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007, was primarily due to increases in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues in the EMEA and Americas regions, slightly offset by a reduction in sales in the APJ region. Within the L ON W ORKS Infrastructure family of products, the quarterly and six month increases were primarily attributable to increases in our power line transceiver and i.Lon products, partially offset by a reduction in sales of our development tool and network services products.

 

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As long as current worldwide economic conditions do not deteriorate further, we currently believe our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues will grow modestly in 2008 as compared to the $52.8 million we reported in 2007. However, within any given region, revenue growth may fluctuate up or down. In addition, the expected improvement in 2008 L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues will also be subject to further fluctuations in the exchange rates between the United States dollar and the foreign currencies in which we sell our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure products and services. In general, if the dollar were to weaken against these currencies, our revenues from those foreign currency sales, when translated into United States dollars, would increase. Conversely, if the dollar were to strengthen against these currencies, our revenues from those foreign currency sales, when translated into United States dollars, would decrease. The extent of this exchange rate fluctuation increase or decrease will depend on the amount of sales conducted in these currencies and the magnitude of the exchange rate fluctuation from year to year. The portion of our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, principally the Japanese Yen, was about 5.4% for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 6.3% for the same period in 2007. We do not currently expect that, during the remainder of 2008, the amount of our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure revenues conducted in these foreign currencies will fluctuate significantly from prior year levels. Given the historical and expected future level of sales made in foreign currencies, we do not currently plan to hedge against these currency rate fluctuations. However, if the portion of our revenues conducted in foreign currencies were to grow significantly, we would re-evaluate these exposures and, if necessary, enter into hedging arrangements to help minimize these risks.

Enel Project revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Enel Project revenues

   $ 1,598    $ 3,832    $ (2,234 )   (58.3 %)
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Enel Project revenues

   $ 2,914    $ 4,988    $ (2,074 )   (41.6 %)

In October 2006, we entered into two new agreements with Enel, a development and supply agreement and a software enhancement agreement. Under the development and supply agreement, Enel is purchasing additional metering kit and data concentrator products from us. Under the software enhancement agreement, we are providing software enhancements to Enel for use in its Contatore Elettronico system. The $1.6 million of Enel project revenue recognized during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, and the $2.9 million of Enel project revenues recognized during the six months ended June 30, 2008, related primarily to shipments under the new development and supply agreement, and to a lesser extent, from revenues attributable to the software enhancement agreement. The $3.8 million of Enel project revenue recognized during the quarter ended June 30, 2007, and the $5.0 million of Enel project revenues recognized during the six months ended June 30, 2007, related to initial shipments under the new development and supply agreement. The development and supply agreement expires in December 2011, and the software enhancement agreement expires in December 2009, although delivery of products and services can extend beyond that date and the agreements may be extended under certain circumstances.

We sell our products to Enel and its designated manufacturers in U.S. dollars. Therefore, the associated revenues are not subject to foreign currency risks.

We currently expect that our full year 2008 Enel Project revenues will decrease from the $14.2 million reported in 2007, due primarily to a reduction in the number of metering kits we expect to ship to Enel and its designated meter manufacturers during 2008.

 

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EBV revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

EBV revenues

   $ 5,248    $ 4,360    $ 888    20.4 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

EBV revenues

   $ 10,624    $ 9,008    $ 1,616    17.9 %

Sales to EBV, our largest distributor and the primary independent distributor of our products in Europe, accounted for 16.3% of our total revenues for each of the quarters ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, and 15.7% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 13.7% of our total revenues for the same period in 2007. The primary factor contributing to the $888,000 increase between the two quarters and the $1.6 million increase between the two six month periods was an increase in sales of our power line transceiver products.

We currently sell our products to EBV in U.S. dollars. Therefore, the associated revenues are not subject to foreign currency exchange rate risks. However, EBV has the right, on notice to our company, to require that we sell our products to them in Euros.

Our contract with EBV, which has been in effect since 1997 and to date has been renewed annually thereafter, expires in December 2008. If our agreement with EBV is not renewed, or is renewed on terms that are less favorable to us, our revenues could decrease and our results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

Product revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Product revenues

   $ 31,466    $ 26,437    $ 5,029    19.0 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Product revenues

   $ 66,133    $ 65,514    $ 619    0.9 %

The $5.0 million increase in product revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily the result of a $6.9 million increase in NES product revenues and a $498,000 increase in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure product revenues, partially offset by a $2.4 million decrease in Enel project product revenues. The $619,000 increase in product revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily the result of a $2.2 million increase in NES product revenues and a $997,000 increase in L ON W ORKS Infrastructure product revenues, partially offset by a $2.6 million decrease in Enel project product revenues.

Service revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Service revenues

   $ 691    $ 259    $ 432    166.8 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Service revenues

   $ 1,619    $ 451    $ 1,168    259.0 %

The $432,000 and $1.2 million increases in service revenues during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same periods in 2007 were primarily due to an increase in NES support revenues, and to a lesser extent, increases in custom software development services provided to Enel.

 

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Gross Profit and Gross Margin

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008     2007       

Gross Profit

   $ 12,731     $ 10,860     $ 1,871    17.2 %

Gross Margin

     39.6 %     40.7 %     —      (1.1 %)
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
    2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008     2007       

Gross Profit

   $ 25,081     $ 21,012     $ 4,069    19.4 %

Gross Margin

     37.0 %     31.8 %     —      5.2 %

Gross profit is equal to revenues less cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold for product revenues includes direct costs associated with the purchase of components, subassemblies, and finished goods, as well as indirect costs such as allocated labor and overhead; costs associated with the packaging, preparation, and shipment of products; and charges related to warranty and excess and obsolete inventory reserves. Cost of goods sold for service revenues consists of employee-related costs such as salaries and fringe benefits as well as other direct and indirect costs incurred in providing training, customer support, and custom software development services. Gross margin is equal to gross profit divided by revenues.

The 1.1 percentage point decrease and the 5.2 percentage point increase in gross margin during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to the same periods in 2007, were due to several factors. Favorably impacting gross margins during the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2008, as compared to the same periods in 2007, was the impact of improved gross margins in our NES product line. During the first six months of 2007, our NES revenues were generated from sales of earlier versions of our NES products. These older versions were generally more expensive to manufacture. In late 2007, we began shipping more recent, cost reduced versions of our NES products that, when sold at approximately the same price as the earlier versions, yield higher gross margins. As our 2008 NES revenues were generated primarily from sales of these newer, cost reduced NES products, the gross margin attributable to our NES revenues improved.

Also impacting the fluctuation in gross margins for the periods presented was the mix of revenues reported. Although, as noted above, gross margins attributable to sales of our NES system products have improved during 2008, in general, sales of these products generate lower gross margins than do sales of either our L ON W ORKS Infrastructure products and services or sales made under the Enel Project. As a result, when NES revenues comprise a higher percentage of overall revenues, as they were during the quarter ended June 30, 2008 when they represented 51.7% of our total revenues (as compared to 35.2% during the same period in 2007), overall gross margins will tend to be lower. However, overall gross margins improved during the six months ended June 30, 2008, when NES revenues comprised 54.8% of our total revenues as compared to 51.9% for the same period in 2007. In this instance, when NES revenues were only slightly higher as a percentage of overall revenues, the impact of improved gross margins in the NES product line more than offset the negative impact on gross margins resulting from increased NES revenues.

Also contributing to the fluctuation in gross margins for the periods presented was the impact of fluctuating total revenue levels. As discussed above, a portion of our cost of goods sold relates to indirect costs. Some of these costs do not increase or decrease in conjunction with revenue levels, but rather remain relatively constant from quarter to quarter. As a result, when revenues increase, as they did in the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same periods in 2007, gross margins are favorably impacted.

Lastly, during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, our inventory levels increased substantially as a result of our transition between contract electronic manufacturers (“CEMs”). As a result, the amount of indirect overhead spending we capitalized in inventory increased during the quarter. This had the effect of improving gross margin as those costs would otherwise have been expensed during the quarter. We expect our inventory levels to decrease during the remainder of 2008, which will result in the reduction of capitalized overhead in inventory. When this occurs, it will cause gross margin rates to decrease.

We expect that, during 2008, our gross margins will not change significantly from the 36.5% recorded in 2007. While we do expect 2008 gross margins will be favorably affected by an increase in overall revenues and, to a lesser extent, by increased sales of the more recent, cost reduced versions of our NES products, there are several other factors that we expect will, when combined, offset those improvements. Among those other factors are the transition we are currently undertaking to move our product manufacturing from WKK Technology to alternative CEM in Asia. As noted above, this effort has required us to purchase inventory from WKK that WKK procured in

 

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anticipation of our production requirements, and resell that inventory to the new CEMs as they require it. This process will likely result in historically high inventory levels during 2008, and will also increase our exposure to excess and obsolete inventories. In addition, the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations could also affect our gross margins during 2008. We currently outsource the manufacturing of most of our products requiring assembly to CEMs located in China. To the extent the dollar were to weaken further against the Chinese currency, or other currencies used by our CEMs, our costs for the products they manufacture could rise, which would negatively affect our gross margins. Lastly, many of our products, particularly our NES products, contain significant amounts of certain commodities, such as copper and cobalt. Recently, prices for these commodities have increased, which in turn have increased the prices we pay for the products in which they are incorporated.

Operating Expenses

Product Development

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Product Development

   $ 9,402    $ 8,118    $ 1,284    15.8 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Product Development

   $ 18,438    $ 15,896    $ 2,542    16.0 %

Product development expenses consist primarily of payroll and related expenses for development personnel, fees paid to third party consultants, facility costs, equipment and supplies, depreciation and amortization, and other costs associated with the development of new technologies and products.

The $1.3 million and $2.5 million increases in product development expenses for the quarter and six month periods ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same periods in 2007 were primarily due to increases of $1.0 million and $1.7 million, respectively, in non-cash equity compensation expenses for our product development personnel. Also contributing to the increases between the periods were additional cash based compensation expenses, partially offset by reductions in fees paid to third party service providers, and equipment and supplies used in the development process.

We expect that, for full year 2008, product development expenses will increase over 2007 levels. This increase will primarily be the result of increased development efforts related to our NES system products as well as increased equity and other compensation related expenses.

Sales and Marketing

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Sales and Marketing

   $ 6,162    $ 4,968    $ 1,194    24.0 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

Sales and Marketing

   $ 12,167    $ 10,395    $ 1,772    17.0 %

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of payroll and related expenses for sales and marketing personnel, including commissions to sales personnel, travel and entertainment, facilities costs, advertising and product promotion, and other costs associated with our sales and support offices.

The $1.2 million increase in sales and marketing expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily due to a $788,000 increase in compensation and related expenses (including a $425,000 increase in non-cash equity compensation expense), and to a lesser extent, increases in marketing expenses, facilities costs, and fees paid to third party service providers. The $1.8 million increase in sales and marketing expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily due to a $1.3 million increase in compensation and related expenses (including a $806,000 increase in non-cash equity compensation expense), and to a lesser extent, increases in marketing expenses, facilities costs, and fees paid to third party service providers.

 

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Also contributing to the increases between the quarterly and six month periods was the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the local currencies in several of the foreign countries in which we operate, including the Euro, the British Pound Sterling, and the Japanese Yen. Approximately $211,000 of the $1.2 million increase between the two quarterly periods, and $418,000 of the $1.8 million increase between the two six month periods, was the result of these foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

We expect that, during 2008, our sales and marketing expenses will increase over 2007 levels due in part to increased commissions paid to our sales personnel as well as higher equity compensation expenses. In addition, if the United States dollar were to weaken against the foreign currencies where we operate, our sales and marketing expenses could increase further. Conversely, if the dollar were to strengthen against these currencies, it would have a favorable impact on our sales and marketing expenses.

General and Administrative

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

General and Administrative

   $ 4,721    $ 4,163    $ 558    13.4 %
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
   2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007      

General and Administrative

   $ 9,236    $ 7,731    $ 1,505    19.5 %

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of payroll and related expenses for executive, finance, and administrative personnel, professional fees for legal and accounting services rendered to the company, facility costs, insurance, and other general corporate expenses.

The $558,000 increase in general and administrative expenses during the quarter ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 was primarily attributable to a $513,000 increase in non-cash equity compensation expenses for our executive, finance, and administrative personnel. The $1.5 million increase in general and administrative expenses during the six months ended June 30, 2008 was primarily attributable to a $1.2 million increase in non-cash equity compensation expenses, and to a lesser extent, increased fees paid to our independent accountants and other third party service providers.

We believe that, for full year 2008, general and administrative costs will increase above 2007 levels due primarily to increased equity compensation expenses.

Interest and Other Income, Net

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Interest and Other Income, Net

   $ 519    $ 1,488    $ (969 )   (65.1 %)
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Interest and Other Income, Net

   $ 1,178    $ 2,985    $ (1,807 )   (60.5 %)

Interest and other income, net primarily reflects interest income earned by our company on cash and short-term investment balances. In addition, foreign exchange translation gains and losses related to short-term intercompany balances are also reflected in this amount.

The $969,000 and $1.8 million decreases in interest and other income, net during the quarter and six month periods ended June 30, 2008 as compared to the same periods in 2007 was primarily attributable to a $1.0 million and $1.6 million, respectively, decrease in interest income. The reduction in interest income is primarily the result of a reduction in our average invested cash balance between the periods coupled with reductions in the weighted average yield on our investment portfolio.

Also contributing to the $1.8 million decline in interest and other income, net between the two six month periods was a $231,000 increase in foreign currency translation losses. In accordance with SFAS No. 52, Foreign Currency Translation , we account for foreign currency translation gains and losses associated with our short-term intercompany balances by reflecting these amounts as either other income or loss in our consolidated statements of operations. During periods when the U.S. dollar strengthens in value against these foreign currencies, the associated translation gains favorably impact other income. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar weakens, as it did during the first quarter of 2008, the resulting translation losses negatively impact other income.

 

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We expect that, for full year 2008, interest and other income, net will decrease significantly from the $5.7 million reported for 2007. This expected decrease is primarily attributable to our current belief that the average yield on our investment portfolio will trend downwards as a result in the reduction of short-term interest rates. In addition, future fluctuations in the exchange rates between the United States dollar and the currencies in which we maintain our short-term intercompany balances (principally the European Euro and the British Pound Sterling) will also affect our interest and other income, net.

Interest Expense on Lease Financing Obligations

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Interest Expense on Lease Financing Obligations

   $ 265    $ 308    $ (43 )   (14.0 %)
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Interest Expense on Lease Financing Obligations

   $ 539    $ 627    $ (88 )   (14.0 %)

In December 1999 and October 2000, we entered into two separate lease agreements with a local real estate developer for the two buildings we currently occupy at our San Jose headquarters site. The terms of these leases were extended in June 2008. As discussed in Note 3 of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1 of this Report, we have accounted for these leases in accordance with EITF 97-10 and SFAS 98. The application of this accounting literature causes Echelon to be considered the “deemed owner” of the two buildings for accounting purposes only.

Accordingly, we initially recorded assets and corresponding financing liabilities for an amount equal to these lessor paid construction costs. As a result of the lease extension in June 2008, we adjusted the lease financing liabilities to equal the present value of the new lease payments we are obligated to make, with a corresponding increase to the net book value of the building assets. The monthly rent payments we make to our lessor under our lease agreements are recorded in our financial statements as land lease expense and principal and interest on the lease financing obligations. “Interest expense on lease financing obligations” reflects the portion of our monthly lease payments that is allocated to interest expense.

We expect that, during 2008, interest expense on lease financing obligations will increase from the amounts reported for 2007. As with any amortizing fixed rate loan, payments made earlier in the term of the loan are comprised primarily of interest expense with little being allocated to principal repayment. Payments made later in the term of the loan, however, have an increasing proportion of principal repayment, with less being attributable to interest expense. As a result of the June 2008 lease extension, we will now be making payments against a new lease financing obligation balance. Accordingly, a higher percentage of the payments we make in 2008 will be allocated to interest expense and less will be allocated to principal repayment.

Provision for Income Taxes

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Provision for Income Taxes

   $ 74    $ 107    $ (33 )   (30.8 %)
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
   2008 over
2007 $

Change
    2008 over
2007 %

Change
 
(Dollars in thousands)    2008    2007     

Provision for Income Taxes

   $ 94    $ 215    $ (121 )   (56.3 %)

The provision for income taxes for the quarters ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 was $74,000 and $107,000, respectively. The provision for income taxes for the six month periods ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 was $94,000 and $215,000, respectively. The difference between the statutory rate and our effective tax rate is primarily due to the impact of federal and state alternative minimum taxes, foreign taxes, changes in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and changes in the accruals related to unrecognized tax benefits recorded in accordance with FASB Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”), Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes – an Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 .

Although we expect to generate a loss before provision for income taxes in 2008, we will be required to book income tax expense to cover, at a minimum, the foreign taxes owed on income generated by our profitable foreign subsidiaries and various state minimum taxes. We currently expect our 2008 provision for income taxes will be modestly higher than the amounts provided for in 2007.

 

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O FF -B ALANCE -S HEET A RRANGEMENTS AND O THER C ONTRACTUAL O BLIGATIONS

Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements. We have not entered into any transactions with unconsolidated entities whereby we have financial guarantees, subordinated retained interests, derivative instruments, or other contingent arrangements that expose Echelon to material continuing risks, contingent liabilities, or any other obligation under a variable interest in an unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk, or credit risk support to us.

Lease Commitments . We lease our present corporate headquarters facility in San Jose, California, under two non-cancelable leases, each of which expires in March 2020. Upon expiration, both lease agreements provide for extensions of up to ten years. The leases of our corporate headquarters facilities are accounted for under EITF 97-10 and SFAS 98 (see Note 3 of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements).

In addition, we lease facilities under operating leases for our sales, marketing, distribution, and product development personnel located elsewhere within the United States and in ten foreign countries throughout Europe and Asia including a land lease for accounting purposes associated with our corporate headquarters facilities in San Jose, California (see Note as referenced above). With the exception of the land lease associated with our corporate headquarters facilities, which has a term commensurate with the building leases, these operating leases expire on various dates through 2020, and in some instances are cancelable with advance notice. Lastly, we also lease certain equipment and, for some of our sales personnel, automobiles. These operating leases are generally less than five years in duration.

Purchase Commitments. We utilize several contract manufacturers who manufacture and test our products requiring assembly. These contract manufacturers acquire components and build product based on demand information supplied by us in the form of purchase orders and demand forecasts. These purchase orders and demand forecasts generally cover periods that range from one to six months, and in some cases, up to one year. We also obtain individual components for our products from a wide variety of individual suppliers. We generally acquire these components through the issuance of purchase orders, and in some cases through demand forecasts, both of which cover periods ranging from one to nine months.

We also utilize purchase orders when procuring capital equipment, supplies, and services necessary for our day-to-day operations. These purchase orders generally cover periods ranging up to twelve months, but in some instances cover a longer duration.

Indemnifications . In the normal course of business, we provide indemnifications of varying scope to customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from the use of our products. Historically, costs related to these indemnification provisions have not been significant. However, we are unable to estimate the maximum potential impact of these indemnification provisions on our future results of operations.

As permitted under Delaware law, we have agreements whereby we indemnify our officers and directors for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was serving, at our request in such capacity. The indemnification period covers all pertinent events and occurrences during the officer’s or director’s lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, we have director and officer insurance coverage that could enable us to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. We believe the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements in excess of the applicable insurance coverage is minimal.

Royalties . We have certain royalty commitments associated with the shipment and licensing of certain products. Royalty expense is generally based on a U.S. dollar amount per unit shipped or a percentage of the underlying revenue. Royalty expense, which is recorded under our cost of products revenue on our consolidated statements of operations, was approximately $140,000 during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, and $150,000 for the same period in 2007, and $273,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2008, and $299,000 for the same period in 2007.

We will continue to be obligated for royalty payments in the future associated with the shipment and licensing of certain of our products. While we are currently unable to estimate the maximum amount of these future royalties, such amounts will continue to be dependent on the number of units shipped or the amount of revenue generated from these products.

 

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Taxes. We conduct our operations in many tax jurisdictions throughout the world. In many of these jurisdictions, non-income based taxes such as property taxes, sales and use taxes, and value-added taxes are assessed on Echelon’s operations in that particular location. While we strive to ensure compliance with these various non-income based tax filing requirements, there have been instances where potential non-compliance exposures have been identified. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we make a provision for these exposures when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the exposure can be reasonably estimated. To date, such provisions have been immaterial, and we believe that, as of June 30, 2008, we have adequately provided for such contingencies. However, it is possible that our results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed if one or more non-compliance tax exposures are asserted by any of the jurisdictions where we conduct our operations.

Legal Actions. From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, we are subject to legal proceedings, claims, investigations, and other proceedings, including claims of alleged infringement of third-party patents and other intellectual property rights, and commercial, employment, and other matters. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we make a provision for a liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least quarterly and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other information and events pertaining to a particular case. While we believe we have adequately provided for such contingencies as of June 30, 2008, it is possible that our results of operations, cash flows, and financial position could be harmed by the resolution of any such outstanding claims.

L IQUIDITY AND C APITAL R ESOURCES

Since our inception, we have financed our operations and met our capital expenditure requirements primarily from the sale of preferred stock and common stock, although during the years 2002 through 2004, we were also able to finance our operations through operating cash flow. From inception through June 30, 2008, we raised $290.5 million from the sale of preferred stock and common stock, including the exercise of stock options and warrants from our employees and directors.

In March and August 2004, March 2006, and February 2007, our board of directors approved a stock repurchase program, which authorized us to repurchase up to 3.0 million shares of our common stock, in accordance with Rule 10b-18 and other applicable laws, rules and regulations. Since inception, we have repurchased a total of 2,204,184 shares under the program at a cost of $16.1 million. The stock repurchase program expired in March 2008.

In April 2008, our board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program, which authorizes us to repurchase up to 3.0 million shares of our common stock, in accordance with Rule 10b-18 and other applicable laws, rules and regulations. Since inception, we have repurchased a total of 216,750 shares under the program at a cost of $2.6 million. As of June 30, 2008, 2,783,250 shares were available for repurchase. The new stock repurchase program will expire in April 2011.

The following table presents selected financial information as of June 30, 2008, and for each of the last three fiscal years (dollars in thousands):

 

     June 30,
2008
   December 31,
        2007    2006    2005

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments

   $ 105,649    $ 107,190    $ 124,157    $ 154,480

Trade accounts receivable, net

     15,248      33,469      13,918      11,006

Working capital

     120,019      126,711      129,521      154,869

Stockholders’ equity

     144,304      153,211      153,663      178,551

As of June 30, 2008, we had $105.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, a decrease of $1.5 million as compared to December 31, 2007. Historically, our primary source of cash, other than stock sales, has been receipts from revenue, and to a lesser extent, proceeds from the exercise of stock options and warrants by our employees and directors. Our primary uses of cash have been cost of product revenue, payroll (salaries, commissions, bonuses, and benefits), general operating expenses (costs associated with our offices such as rent, utilities, and maintenance; fees paid to third party service providers such as consultants, accountants, and attorneys; travel and entertainment; equipment and supplies; advertising; and other miscellaneous expenses), acquisitions, capital expenditures, and purchases under our stock repurchase programs.

 

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Cash flows from operating activities. Cash flows from operating activities have historically been driven by net income (loss) levels, adjustments for non-cash charges such as stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, and in-process research and development charges, as well as fluctuations in operating asset and liability balances. Net cash provided by operating activities was $4.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008, an increase of approximately $9.3 million from the same period in 2007. During the six months ended June 30, 2008, net cash provided by operating activities was primarily the result of stock-based compensation expenses of $7.1 million, depreciation and amortization expense of $4.3 million, a reduction in our accrued investment income of $650,000, and changes in our operating assets and liabilities of $6.5 million, partially offset by our net loss of $14.2 million. During the six months ended June 30, 2007, net cash used in operating activities was primarily a result of our net loss of $10.9 million, changes in our operating assets and liabilities of $348,000, an increase in accrued investment income of $245,000, and a reduction in our bad debt reserve balance of $57,000, partially offset by stock-based compensation expenses of $2.9 million, and depreciation and amortization expense of $3.6 million.

Cash flows from investing activities . Cash flows from investing activities have historically been driven by transactions involving our short-term investment portfolio, capital expenditures, changes in our long-term assets, and acquisitions. Net cash provided by investing activities was $537,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2008, a $3.5 million decrease from the same period in 2007. During the six months ended June 30, 2008, net cash provided by investing activities was primarily the result of proceeds from maturities and sales of available-for-sale short-term investments of $33.1 million, partially offset by purchases of available-for-sale short-term investments of $30.5 million and capital expenditures of $2.0 million. During the six months ended June 30, 2007, net cash provided by investing activities was primarily the result of proceeds from maturities and sales of available-for-sale short-term investments of $62.2 million and changes in our other long-term assets of $43,000, partially offset by purchases of available-for-sale short-term investments of $55.1 million, and capital expenditures of $3.1 million.

Cash flows from financing activities. Cash flows from financing activities has historically been driven by the proceeds from issuance of common and preferred stock offset by transactions under our stock repurchase programs and principal payments on our lease financing obligations. Net cash used in financing activities was $3.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008, a $4.3 million increase over the same period in 2007. During the six months ended June 30, 2008, net cash used in financing activities was primarily the result of $2.6 million worth of open-market repurchases of our common stock under our stock repurchase program, $1.1 million in principal payments on our building lease financing obligations, and $717,000 worth of shares repurchased from employees for payment of employee taxes on vesting of share awards and upon exercise of stock options, partially offset by proceeds of $1.2 million from the exercise of stock options by our employees. During the six month period ended June 30, 2007, net cash provided by financing activities was attributable to proceeds of $3.2 million from issuance of common stock as a result of options exercised by our employees, partially offset by $842,000 of repurchases of common stock from our employees for payment of income and other payroll taxes they owed upon the vesting of share awards and upon the exercise of stock options, and $1.3 million in principal payments of lease financing obligations.

We use well-regarded investment management firms to manage our invested cash. Our portfolio of investments managed by these investment managers is primarily composed of highly rated United States corporate obligations, United States government securities, money market funds, and to a lesser extent, foreign corporate obligations. All investments are made according to guidelines and within compliance of policies approved by the Audit Committee of our board of directors.

We expect that cash requirements for our payroll and other operating costs will continue at or slightly above existing levels. We also expect that we will continue to acquire capital assets such as computer systems and related software, office and manufacturing equipment, furniture and fixtures, and leasehold improvements, as the need for these items arises. Furthermore, our cash reserves may be used to strategically acquire other companies, products, or technologies that are complementary to our business.

Our existing cash, cash equivalents, and investment balances will likely decline during 2008 as a result of our anticipated operating losses. In addition, any weakening of current economic conditions, or changes in our planned cash outlay, could negatively affect our existing cash, cash equivalents, and investment balances. Based on our current business plan and revenue prospects, we believe that our existing cash and short-term investment balances will be sufficient to meet our projected working capital and other cash requirements for at least the next twelve months. Cash from operations could be affected by various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks detailed later in this discussion in the section titled “Factors That May Affect Future Results of Operations.” In the unlikely event that we would require additional financing within this period, such financing may not be available to us in the amounts or at the times that we require, or on acceptable terms. If we fail to obtain additional financing, when and if necessary, our business would be harmed.

 

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R ELATED P ARTY T RANSACTIONS

During the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008, and the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006, and 2005, the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. acted as principal outside counsel to our company. Mr. Sonsini, a director of our company, is a member of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

In June 2000, we entered into a stock purchase agreement with Enel pursuant to which Enel purchased 3.0 million newly issued shares of our common stock for $130.7 million (see Note 12 to our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information on our transactions with Enel). The closing of this stock purchase occurred on September 11, 2000. At the closing, Enel had agreed that it would not, except under limited circumstances, sell or otherwise transfer any of those shares for a specified time period. That time period expired September 11, 2003. To our knowledge, Enel has not disposed of any of its 3.0 million shares.

Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, Enel has the right to nominate a member of our board of directors. As of July 31, 2008, a representative of Enel is not presently serving on our board.

At the time we entered into the stock purchase agreement with Enel, we also entered into a research and development agreement with an affiliate of Enel (the “R&D Agreement”). Under the terms of the R&D Agreement, we cooperated with Enel to integrate our L ON W ORKS technology into Enel’s remote metering management project in Italy, the Contatore Elettronico. We completed the sale of our components and products for the deployment phase of the Contatore Elettronico project during 2005. During 2006, we supplied Enel and its designated manufacturers with limited spare parts for the Contatore Elettronico system. In October 2006, we entered into a new development and supply agreement and a software enhancement agreement with Enel. Under the development and supply agreement, Enel and its contract manufacturers purchase additional electronic components and finished goods from us. Under the software enhancement agreement, we provide software enhancements to Enel for use in its Contatore Elettronico system. The development and supply agreement expires in December 2011, and the software enhancement agreement expires in December 2009, although delivery of products and services can extend beyond that date and the agreements may be extended under certain circumstances.

For the three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, we recognized revenue from products and services sold to Enel and its designated manufacturers of approximately $1.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007, we recognized revenue from products and services sold to Enel and its designated manufacturers of approximately $2.9 million and $5.0 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2008, and December 31, 2007, $499,000 and $3.0 million, respectively, of our total accounts receivable balance related to amounts owed by Enel and its designated manufacturers.

R ECENTLY I SSUED A CCOUNTING S TANDARDS

With the exception of the items discussed below, there have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the six months ended June 30, 2008, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2007, that are of significance, or potential significance, to Echelon.

In March 2008, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 161 (“SFAS 161”), Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities . SFAS 161 requires companies with derivative instruments to disclose information that should enable financial statement users to understand how and why a company uses derivative instruments, how derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for under FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities , and how derivative instruments and related hedged items affect a company’s financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. SFAS 161 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008. We believe that the adoption of SFAS 161 will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements as we do not currently engage in the use of derivative instruments or hedging activities.

 

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F ACTORS T HAT M AY A FFECT F UTURE R ESULTS O F O PERATIONS

Interested persons should carefully consider the risks described below in evaluating our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently consider immaterial, may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline.

Our NES revenues may not be predictable.

We and our partners sell our NES system to utilities. For several reasons, sales cycles with utility companies are generally extended and unpredictable. Utilities generally have complex budgeting, purchasing, and regulatory processes that govern their capital spending. In addition, in many instances, a utility may require one or more field trials of an automated meter infrastructure (AMI) system (such as one based on our NES system) before moving to a volume deployment. There is also generally an extended development and integration effort required in order to incorporate a new technology into a utility’s existing infrastructure. A number of other factors may also need to be addressed before the utility decides to engage in a full-scale deployment of our NES system, including:

 

   

regulatory factors that may affect the requirements of the AMI system or the timing of its deployment;

 

   

the time it takes for utilities to evaluate multiple competing bids, negotiate terms, and award contracts for large scale metering system deployments;

 

   

the deployment schedule for projects undertaken by our utility or systems integrator customers; and

 

   

delays in installing, operating, and evaluating the results of an AMI field trial that is based on our NES system.

In addition, shipment of NES products to a particular jurisdiction or customer is generally dependent on either obtaining regulatory approval for the NES meter or other products from a third party for the relevant jurisdiction, or satisfying the customer’s internal testing requirements, or both. This approval process is often referred to as homologation or type testing. Further, shipment of NES products into some jurisdictions requires our contract manufacturers to pass certain tests and meet various standards related to the production of our NES meters. Failure to receive any such approval on a timely basis or at all, or failure to maintain any such approval, would have a material adverse impact on our ability to ship our NES system products, and would therefore have an adverse affect on our results of operations and our financial condition.

Once a utility decides to move forward with a large-scale deployment of an AMI project that is based on our NES system, the timing of and our ability to recognize revenue on our NES system product shipments will depend on several factors. These factors, some of which may not be under our control, include shipment schedules that may be delayed or subject to modification, other contractual provisions, such as customer acceptance of all or any part of the AMI system, and our ability to manufacture and deliver quality products according to expected schedules. In addition, the complex revenue recognition rules relating to products such as our NES system may also require us to defer some or all of the revenue associated with NES product shipments until certain conditions, such as the acceptance of software deliverables, are met in a future period. As a consequence, our ability to predict the amount of NES revenues that we may expect to recognize in any given fiscal quarter is likely to be limited. As NES revenues account for an increasing percentage of our overall revenues, we and our investors may have increasing difficulty in projecting our financial results.

Sales of our NES system may fail to meet our financial targets.

We have invested and intend to continue to invest significant resources in the development and sales of our NES system. Our long-term financial goals include expectations for a reasonable return on these investments. However, to date the revenues generated from sales of our NES system products have not yielded gross margins in line with our long term goals for this product line, while our NES related operating expenses have increased significantly.

In order to achieve our financial targets, we must meet the following objectives:

 

   

Increase market acceptance of our NES system products in order to increase revenues;

 

   

Increase gross margin from our NES revenues by continuing to reduce the cost of manufacturing our NES system products, while at the same time managing manufacturing cost pressures associated with commodity prices and foreign exchange fluctuations;

 

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Manage the manufacturing transition to reduced-cost NES products; and

 

   

Manage our operating expenses to a reasonable percentage of revenues.

We cannot assure you that we will meet any or all of these objectives to the extent necessary to achieve our financial goals.

We depend on a limited number of key suppliers.

Our future success will depend significantly on our ability to timely manufacture our products cost-effectively, in sufficient volumes, and in accordance with quality standards. For most of our products requiring assembly, we rely on a limited number of contract electronic manufacturers (CEMs), principally Jabil, Flextronics, and TYCO. These CEMs procure material and assemble, test, and inspect the final products to our specifications. This strategy involves certain risks, including reduced control over quality, costs, delivery schedules, availability of materials, components, finished products, and manufacturing yields. In addition, CEMs can experience turnover and instability, exposing us to additional risks as well as missed commitments to our customers.

We also maintain manufacturing agreements with a limited number of semiconductor manufacturers for the production of key products, including those used in our NES system. The Neuron Chip, which is an important component that we and our customers use in control network devices, is currently manufactured and distributed by two providers, Toshiba and Cypress Semiconductor. Another semiconductor supplier, STMicroelectronics, manufactures our power line smart transceiver products, for which we have no alternative source. In addition, we currently purchase several key products and components from sole or limited source suppliers with which we do not maintain signed agreements that would obligate them to supply to us on negotiated terms.

We may elect to change any of these key suppliers. For example, we are currently in the process of ending our relationship with a former CEM partner, WKK Technology (“WKK”). As part of this transition, we have moved the production of products WKK built for us to alternative CEMs. We have also been required to purchase raw material and in-process inventory from WKK that WKK procured in anticipation of our production requirements. In addition, we currently have capital equipment located at WKK that must be relocated to the new CEMs in order to continue manufacturing our products there. In addition, if any of our key suppliers were to stop manufacturing our products or supplying us with our key components, it could be expensive and time consuming to find a replacement. Also, as our NES business grows, we will be required to expand our business with our key suppliers or find additional sources of supply, as we have recently done with Flextronics and Jabil. There is no guarantee that we would be able to find acceptable alternative or additional sources. Additional risks that we face if we must transition between CEMs include:

 

   

moving raw material, in-process inventory, and capital equipment between locations, some of which may be in different parts of the world;

 

   

reestablishing acceptable manufacturing processes with a new work force; and

 

   

exposure to excess or obsolete inventory held by contract manufacturers for use in our products.

The failure of any key manufacturer to produce a sufficient number of products on time, at agreed quality levels, and fully compliant with our product, assembly and test specifications could adversely affect our revenues and gross profit, and could result in claims against us by our customers, which could harm our results of operations and financial position.

Our products use components or materials that may be subject to price fluctuations, shortages, or interruptions of supply.

We may be vulnerable to price increases for products, components, or materials, such as copper and cobalt. In addition, in the past we have occasionally experienced shortages or interruptions in supply for certain of these items, including products or components that have been or will be discontinued, which caused us to delay shipments beyond targeted or announced dates. To help address these issues, we may decide to purchase quantities of these items that are in excess of our estimated requirements. As a result, we could be forced to increase our excess and obsolete inventory reserves to provide for these excess quantities, which could harm our operating results.

 

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If we experience any shortage of products or components of acceptable quality, or any interruption in the supply of these products or components, or if we are not able to procure them from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable period of time, our revenues, gross profits or both could decrease. In addition, under the terms of some of our contracts with our customers, we may also be subject to penalties if we fail to deliver our products on time.

If we are not able to develop or enhance our products in a timely manner, our revenues will suffer.

Due to the nature of development efforts in general, we often experience delays in the introduction of new or improved products beyond our original projected shipping date for such products. Historically, when these delays have occurred, we experienced an increase in our development costs and a delay in our ability to generate revenues from these new products. We believe that similar new product introduction delays in the future, particularly with respect to the NES system, could also increase our costs and delay our revenues.

We may incur penalties and/or be liable for damages with respect to sales of our NES system products.

In the event of late deliveries, late or improper installations or operations, failure to meet product specifications or other product failures, failure to achieve performance specifications, indemnities or other compliance issues, the agreements governing the sales of the NES system may expose us to penalties, damages and other liabilities. Even in the absence of such contractual provisions, we may agree to assume certain liabilities for the benefit of our customers. Any such liabilities would have an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

The markets for our products are highly competitive.

Competition in our markets is intense and involves rapidly changing technologies, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions, rapid changes in customer or regulatory requirements, and localized market requirements. In each of our markets, we compete with a wide array of manufacturers, vendors, strategic alliances, systems developers and other businesses.

The principal competitive factors that affect the markets for our products include the following:

 

   

our ability to anticipate changes in customer or regulatory requirements and to develop or improve our products to meet these requirements in a timely manner;

 

   

the price and features of our products such as adaptability, scalability, functionality, ease of use, and the ability to integrate with other products;

 

   

our product reputation, quality, performance, and conformance with established industry standards;

 

   

our ability to meet a customer’s required delivery schedules;

 

   

our customer service and support;

 

   

warranties, indemnities, and other contractual terms; and

 

   

customer relationships and market awareness.

Competitors for our NES system products include the Bayard Capital group of companies, ESCO, Elster, Enel, General Electric, Iskraemeco, Itron/Actaris, Kamstrup, Sensus, and Siemens, which directly or through IT integrators such as IBM or telecommunications companies such as Telenor, offer metering systems that compete with our NES system offering.

For our LWI products, our competitors include some of the largest companies in the electronics industry, operating either alone or together with trade associations and partners. Key company competitors include companies such as Siemens in the building industry; Allen-Bradley (a subsidiary of Rockwell Automation), Groupe Schneider and Siemens in the industrial automation industry; Siemens in the transportation industry; and Zensys in the home control market. Key industry standard and trade group competitors include BACnet, DALI, and Konnex in the buildings industry; DeviceNet, HART, and Profibus in the industrial control market; DLMS in the utility industry; Echonet, Zigbee and the Z-Wave alliance in the home control market; and the Train Control Network (TCN) in the rail transportation market. Each of these standards and/or alliances is backed by one or more competitors. For example, the Zigbee alliance includes over 150 member companies with promoter members such as Eaton, Freescale, Motorola, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Ember, Siemens, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Tendril, Huawei Technologies, and Philips.

 

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Many of our competitors, alone or together with their trade associations and partners, have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, service and other resources, significantly greater name recognition, and broader product offerings. In addition, the utility metering market is experiencing a trend towards consolidation. As a result, these competitors may be able to devote greater resources to the development, marketing, and sale of their products, and may be able to respond more quickly to changes in customer requirements or product technology. If we are unable to compete effectively in any of the markets we serve, our revenues, results of operations, and financial position would be harmed.

Liabilities resulting from defects in or misuse of our products, whether or not covered by insurance, may delay our revenues and increase our liabilities and expenses.

Our products may contain undetected errors or failures when first introduced, as new versions are released, or as a result of the manufacturing or shipping process. In addition, our customers or their installation partners may improperly install or implement our products, which could delay completion of a deployment or hinder our ability to win a subsequent award. Furthermore, because of the low cost and interoperable nature of our products, LONWORKS technology could be used in a manner for which it was not intended.

If errors or failures are found in our products, we may not be able to successfully correct them in a timely manner, or at all. Such errors or failures could delay our product shipments and divert our engineering resources while we attempt to correct them. In addition, we could decide to extend the warranty period, or incur other costs outside of our normal warranty coverage, to help address any known errors or failures in our products and mitigate the impact on our customers. This could delay our revenues and increase our expenses.

To address these issues, the agreements we maintain with our customers may contain provisions intended to limit our exposure to potential errors and omissions claims as well as any liabilities arising from them. In certain very limited instances, these agreements require that we be named as an additional insured on our customers’ insurance policies. However, our customer contracts and additional insured coverage may not effectively protect us against the liabilities and expenses associated with errors or failures attributable to our products.

Defects in our products may also cause us to be liable for losses in the event of property damage, harm or death to persons, claims against our directors or officers, and the like. Such liabilities could harm our reputation, expose our company to liability, and adversely affect our operating results and financial position.

To help reduce our exposure to these types of liabilities, we currently maintain property, general commercial liability, errors and omissions, directors and officers, and other lines of insurance. However, it is possible that such insurance may not be available in the future or, if available, may be insufficient in amount to cover any particular claim, or we might not carry insurance that covers a specific claim. In addition, we believe that the premiums for the types of insurance we carry will continue to fluctuate from period to period. Significant cost increases could also result in increased premiums or reduced coverage limits. Consequently, if we elect to reduce our coverage, or if we do not carry insurance for a particular type of claim, we will face increased exposure to these types of claims.

If we do not maintain adequate distribution channels, our revenues will be harmed.

We market our NES system products directly, as well as through selected VARs and integration partners. We believe that a significant portion of our NES system sales will be made through our VARs and integration partners, rather than directly by our company. To date, our VARs and integration partners have greater experience in overseeing projects for utilities. As a result, if our relationships with our VARs and integration partners are not successful, or if we are not able to create similar distribution channels for our NES system products with other companies in various geographic areas, revenues from sales of our NES system products may not meet our financial targets, which will harm our operating results and financial condition.

Currently, significant portions of our LWI revenues are derived from sales to distributors, including EBV, the primary independent distributor of our products to OEMs in Europe. Historically, sales to EBV, as well as sales to our other distributor partners, have accounted for a substantial portion of our total LWI revenues. Agreements with our distributor partners are generally renewed on an annual basis. If any of these agreements are not renewed, we would be required to locate another distributor or add our own distribution capability to meet the needs of our end-use customers. Any replacement distribution channel could prove less effective than our current arrangements. In addition, if any of our distributor partners fail to dedicate sufficient resources to market and sell our products, our revenues would suffer. Furthermore, if they significantly reduce their inventory levels for our products, service levels to our end-use customers could decrease.

 

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We face financial and operational risks associated with international operations.

We have operations located in ten countries around the world. Revenues from international sales, which include both export sales and sales by international subsidiaries, accounted for about 77.9% of our total net revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, and 81.2% of our total net revenues for the same period in 2007, and 81.9% of our total net revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008, and 86.0% for the same period in 2007. We expect that international sales will continue to constitute a significant portion of our total net revenues.

Changes in the value of currencies in which we conduct our business relative to the U.S. dollar have caused and could continue to cause fluctuations in our reported financial results. The three primary areas where we are exposed to foreign currency fluctuations are revenues, cost of goods sold, and operating expenses.

With respect to revenues generated in foreign currencies, our historical foreign currency exposure has been related primarily to the Japanese Yen and has not been material to our consolidated results of operations. However, in the future, we expect that some foreign utilities may require us to price our NES system in the utility’s local currency, which will increase our exposure to foreign currency risk. In addition, we have agreed with EBV, our European distributor, that upon notice from EBV, we will sell our products to EBV in European Euros rather than U.S. dollars. If EBV were to exercise this right, our revenue exposure to foreign currency fluctuations would increase.

For our cost of goods sold, our products are generally assembled by CEMs in China. Although our transactions with these vendors have historically been denominated in U.S. dollars, in the future they may require us to pay in their local currency, or demand a U.S. dollar price adjustment or other payment to address a change in exchange rates, which would increase our cost to procure our products. This is particularly a risk in China, where any future revaluations of the Chinese currency against the U.S. dollar could result in significant cost increases. In addition, any future increase in labor costs in the markets where our products are manufactured could also result in higher costs to procure our products.

We use the local currency to pay for our operating expenses in the various countries where we have operations. If the value of the U.S. dollar declines as compared to the local currency where the expenses are incurred, our expenses, when translated back into U.S. dollars, will increase.

To date, we have not hedged any of our foreign currency exposures and currently do not maintain any hedges to mitigate our foreign currency risks. Consequently, any resulting adverse foreign currency fluctuations could significantly harm our revenues, cost of goods sold, or operating expenses.

Additional risks inherent in our international business activities include the following:

 

   

timing of and costs associated with localizing products for foreign countries and lack of acceptance of non-local products in foreign countries;

 

   

inherent challenges in managing international operations;

 

   

the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, tariffs, and other trade barriers;

 

   

economic and political conditions in the countries where we do business;

 

   

differing vacation and holiday patterns in other countries, particularly in Europe;

 

   

labor actions generally affecting individual countries, regions, or any of our customers, which could result in reduced demand for, or could delay delivery or acceptance of, our products;

 

   

international terrorism and anti-American sentiment; and

 

   

potentially adverse tax consequences, including restrictions on repatriation of earnings.

Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, results of operations, and our financial condition.

 

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Our executive officers and technical personnel are critical to our business.

Our company’s success depends substantially on the performance of our executive officers and key employees. Due to the specialized technical nature of our business, we are particularly dependent on our Chief Executive Officer and our technical personnel. In May 2008, our President and Chief Operating Officer, Beatrice Yormark, passed away unexpectedly. Her duties have been assumed by our Chief Executive Officer for an indeterminate period of time. Our future success will depend on our ability to attract, integrate, motivate and retain qualified technical, sales, operations, and managerial personnel, as well as our ability to successfully implement a plan for management succession.

Competition for qualified personnel in our business areas is intense, and we may not be able to continue to attract and retain qualified executive officers and key personnel. Our product development and marketing functions are largely based in Silicon Valley, which is a highly competitive marketplace. It may be particularly difficult to recruit, relocate and retain qualified personnel in this geographic area. Moreover, the cost of living, including the cost of housing, in Silicon Valley is known to be high. Because we are legally prohibited from making loans to executive officers, we will not be able to assist potential key personnel as they acquire housing or incur other costs that might be associated with joining our company. In addition, if we lose the services of any of our key personnel and are not able to find suitable replacements in a timely manner, our business could be disrupted, other key personnel may decide to leave, and we may incur increased operating expenses in finding and compensating their replacements.

The sales cycle for our LWI products is lengthy and unpredictable.

The sales cycle between initial LWI customer contact and execution of a contract or license agreement with a customer or purchase of our products, can vary widely. Initially, we must educate our customers about the potential applications of and cost savings associated with our products. If we are successful in this effort, OEMs typically conduct extensive and lengthy product evaluations before making a decision to design our products into their offerings. Once the OEM decides to incorporate our products, volume purchases of our products are generally delayed until the OEM’s product development, system integration, and product introduction periods have been completed. In addition, changes in our customer’s budgets, or the priority they assign to control network development, could also affect the sales cycle.

We generally have little or no control over these factors, any of which could prevent or substantially delay our ability to complete a transaction and could adversely affect the timing of our revenues and results of operations.

If we sell our NES system products directly to a utility, we will face additional risks.

If we sell our NES system products to a utility directly, we may be required to assume responsibility for installing the NES system in the utility’s territory, integrating the NES system into the utility’s operating and billing system, overseeing management of the combined system, and undertaking other activities. To date, we do not have any significant experience with providing these types of services. As a result, if we sold directly to a utility, it may be necessary for us to contract with third parties to satisfy these obligations. We cannot assure you that we would find appropriate third parties to provide these services on reasonable terms, or at all. Assuming responsibility for these or other services would add to the costs and risks associated with NES system installations, and could also negatively affect the timing of our revenues and cash flows related to these transactions.

Fluctuations in our operating results may cause our stock price to decline.

Our quarterly and annual results have varied significantly from period to period, and we have sometimes failed to meet securities analysts’ expectations. Moreover, we have a history of losses and cannot assure you that we will achieve sustained profitability in the future. Our future operating results will depend on many factors, many of which are outside of our control, including the following:

 

   

the mix of products and services that we sell may change to a less profitable mix;

 

   

shipment, payment schedules, and product acceptance may be delayed;

 

   

the complex revenue recognition rules relating to products such as our NES system could require us to defer some or all of the revenue associated with NES product shipments until certain conditions, such as delivery and acceptance criteria for our software and/or hardware products, are met in a future period;

 

   

our contract electronic manufacturers may not be able to provide quality products on a timely basis, especially during periods where capacity in the CEM market is limited;

 

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our products may not be manufactured in accordance with specifications or our established quality standards, or may not perform as designed;

 

   

our products may not be accepted by utilities, OEMs, systems integrators, service providers and end-users at the levels we project;

 

   

downturns in any customer’s or potential customer’s business, or declines in general economic conditions, could cause significant reductions in capital spending, thereby reducing the levels of orders from our customers;

 

   

recording of expense relating to equity compensation as required under SFAS No. 123R will decrease our earnings;

 

   

we may incur costs associated with any future business acquisitions; and

 

   

results of impairment tests for goodwill and other intangible assets in accordance with SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets , and SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets , with respect to goodwill and other identified intangible assets that we acquired in the past or that we may acquire in the future may negatively affect our earnings and financial condition.

Any of the above factors could, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and our financial condition, which could cause our stock price to decline.

We may be unable to promote and expand acceptance of our open, interoperable control systems over competing protocols, standards, or technologies.

LONWORKS technology is open, meaning that many of our technology patents are broadly licensed without royalties or license fees. As a result, our customers are able to develop hardware and software solutions that compete with some of our products. Because some of our customers are OEMs that develop and market their own control systems, these customers in particular could develop competing products based on our open technology. For instance, we have published all of the network management commands required to develop software that competes with our LNS software.

In addition, many of our competitors are dedicated to promoting closed or proprietary systems, technologies, software and network protocols or product standards that differ from or are incompatible with ours. We also face strong competition from large trade associations that promote alternative technologies and standards for particular vertical applications or for use in specific countries. These include BACnet, DALI, and KNX in the buildings market; DeviceNet, HART, and ProfiBus in the industrial controls market; TCN in the rail transportation market; DLMS in the metering market; and Echonet, Zigbee, and Z-Wave in the home control market.

Our technologies, protocols, or standards may not be successful or we may not be able to compete with new or enhanced products or standards introduced by our competitors, which would have a material adverse affect on our revenues, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business may suffer if it is alleged or found that our products infringe the intellectual property rights of others .

We may be contractually obligated to indemnify our customers or other third parties that use our products in the event our products are alleged to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights. From time to time, we may also receive notice that a third party believes that our products may be infringing patents or other intellectual property rights of that third party. Responding to those claims, regardless of their merit, can be time consuming, result in costly litigation, divert management’s attention and resources, and cause us to incur significant expenses.

As the result of such a claim, we may elect or be required to redesign our products, some of our product offerings could be delayed, or we could be required to cease distributing some of our products. In the alternative, we could seek a license to the third party’s intellectual property. Even if our products do not infringe, we may elect to take a license or settle to avoid incurring litigation costs. However, it is possible that we would not be able to obtain such a license or settle on reasonable terms, or at all.

Lastly, our customers may not purchase our products if they are concerned our products may infringe third party intellectual property rights. This could reduce the market opportunity for the sale of our products and services.

 

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Any of the foregoing risks could have a material adverse affect on our revenues, results of operations, and financial condition.

We have limited ability to protect our intellectual property rights.

Our success depends significantly upon our intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, non-disclosure agreements and other contractual provisions to establish, maintain and protect these intellectual property rights, all of which afford only limited protection. If any of our patents fail to protect our technology, or if we do not obtain patents in certain countries, our competitors may find it easier to offer equivalent or superior technology.

We have also registered or applied for registration for certain trademarks, and will continue to evaluate the registration of additional trademarks as appropriate. If we fail to properly register or maintain our trademarks or to otherwise take all necessary steps to protect our trademarks, the value associated with the trademarks may diminish. In addition, if we fail to protect our trade secrets or other intellectual property rights, we may not be able to compete as effectively in our markets.

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our products or services or use information that we regard as proprietary, or it may not be economically feasible to enforce them. Any of our patents, trademarks, copyrights or intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. In addition, we cannot assure you that we have taken or will take all necessary steps to protect our intellectual property rights. Third parties may also independently develop similar technology without breach of our trade secrets or other proprietary rights. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries, including several in which we operate or sell our products, do not protect proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States and it may take longer to receive a remedy from a court outside of the United States. Also, some of our products are licensed under shrink-wrap license agreements that are not signed by licensees and therefore may not be binding under the laws of certain jurisdictions.

From time to time, litigation may be necessary to defend and enforce our proprietary rights. As a result, we could incur substantial costs and divert management resources, which could harm our business, regardless of the final outcome. Despite our efforts to safeguard and maintain our proprietary rights both in the United States and abroad, we may be unsuccessful in doing so. Also, the steps that we take to safeguard and maintain our proprietary rights may be inadequate to deter third parties from infringing, misusing, misappropriating, or independently developing our technology or intellectual property rights, or to prevent an unauthorized third party from misappropriating our products or technology.

The trading price of our stock has been volatile, and may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control.

The trading price of our common stock is subject to significant fluctuations in response to numerous factors, including the following:

 

   

significant stockholders may sell some or all of their holdings of our stock;

 

   

investors may be concerned about our ability to develop additional customers for our products and services; and

 

   

volatility in our stock price may be unrelated or disproportionate to our operating performance.

Any of these factors could have a negative impact on the market price of our stock.

Voluntary standards and governmental regulatory actions in our markets could limit our ability to sell our products.

Standards bodies, which are formal and informal associations that attempt to set voluntary, non-governmental product standards, are influential in many of our target markets. We participate in many voluntary standards organizations around the world in order to both help prevent the adoption of exclusionary standards and to promote voluntary standards for our products. However, we do not have the resources to participate in all voluntary standards processes that may affect our markets.

 

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In addition, many of our products and the industries in which they are used are subject to U.S. and foreign regulation. For example, the power line medium, which is the communications medium used by some of our products, is subject to special regulations in North America, Europe and Japan. In general, these regulations limit the ability of companies to use power lines as a communication medium. In addition, some of our competitors have attempted to use regulatory actions to reduce the market opportunity for our products or to increase the market opportunity for their own products.

The adoption of voluntary standards or the passage of governmental regulations that are incompatible with our products or technology could limit the market opportunity for our products, which could harm our revenues, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our existing stockholders control a significant percentage of our stock, which will limit other stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters.

As of July 31, 2008, our directors and executive officers, together with certain entities affiliated with them (including, for this purpose, Enel, which has the right to nominate a director to our board of directors), beneficially owned 32.5% of our outstanding stock.

When we sold 3.0 million newly issued shares of our common stock to Enel on September 11, 2000, we granted Enel the right to nominate a director to our board of directors, although a nominee of Enel does not currently sit on our board. In connection with the stock sale, our directors and our Chief Financial Officer agreed to enter into a voting agreement with Enel in which each of them agreed to vote in favor of Enel’s nominee to our board of directors. In addition, Enel agreed to vote for our board’s recommendations for the election of directors, approval of accountants, approval of Echelon’s equity compensation plans, and certain other matters. As a result, our directors and executive officers, together with certain entities affiliated with them, may be able to control substantially all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of all directors and approval of certain other corporate matters.

Natural disasters, power outages, and other factors outside of our control such as widespread pandemics could disrupt our business.

We must protect our business and our network infrastructure against damage from earthquake, flood, hurricane and similar events, as well as from power outages. A natural disaster, power outage, or other unanticipated problem could also adversely affect our business by, among other things, harming our primary data center or other internal operations, limiting our ability to communicate with our customers, and limiting our ability to sell our products. We do not insure against several natural disasters, including earthquakes.

Any outbreak of a widespread communicable disease pandemic could similarly impact our operations. Such impact could include, among other things, the inability for our sales and operations personnel located in affected regions to travel and conduct business freely, the impact any such disease may have on one or more of the distributors for our products in those regions, and increased supply chain costs. Additionally, any future health-related disruptions at our third-party contract manufacturers or other key suppliers could affect our ability to supply our customers with products in a timely manner, which would harm our results of operations.

 

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISKS

We have not experienced any material change in our exposure to interest rate and foreign currency risks since the date of our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2007.

Market Risk Disclosures . The following discussion about our market risk disclosures involves forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. We do not use derivative financial instruments to hedge these exposures.

Interest Rate Sensitivity. We maintain a short-term investment portfolio consisting mainly of fixed income securities with a weighted average maturity of less than one year. These available-for-sale securities are subject to interest rate risk and will fall in value if market interest rates increase. If market rates were to increase immediately and uniformly by 10% from levels at June 30, 2008, and December 31, 2007, the fair value of the portfolio would decline by an immaterial amount. We currently intend to hold our fixed income investments until maturity, and therefore we would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by a sudden change in market interest rates. If necessary, we may sell short-term investments prior to maturity to meet the liquidity needs of the company.

 

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Foreign Currency Exchange Risk. We have international subsidiaries and operations and are, therefore, subject to foreign currency rate exposure. To date, our exposure to exchange rate volatility has not been significant. If foreign exchange rates were to fluctuate by 10% from rates at June 30, 2008, and December 31, 2007, our financial position and results of operations would not be materially affected. However, we could experience a material impact in the future.

 

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We have designed our disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure, and that such information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms. As of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such terms are defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2008.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In conjunction with our review of the effectiveness of our “disclosure controls and procedures” as of March 31, 2008, management identified material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting as follows:

 

   

We lacked policies and procedures for the timely review of the amortization settings within our third-party equity compensation software application; these settings ensure that the automated calculation of stock-based compensation expense uses our selected method of amortization under FAS 123R; and

 

   

We lacked effectively designed policies and procedures for the accounting and disclosure of our San Jose, California facilities leases.

These material weaknesses resulted in the restatement of our previously issued consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, and each of the quarterly periods in 2007 and 2006, to correct reported stock-based compensation expense and other expenses, assets and liabilities associated with accounting for our San Jose, California headquarters facilities leases in such consolidated financial statements.

During the quarter ended June 30, 2008, we remediated these material weaknesses by making the following changes to our internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting:

 

   

We have implemented a new control to ensure appropriate and timely review of all critical input settings within our equity compensation software application; and

 

   

We have designed and implemented procedures to properly account for and provide the required disclosures for our San Jose, California headquarters facility leases.

 

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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

For a discussion regarding our legal proceedings and matters, please refer to the “Legal Actions” section of Note 7, Commitments and Contingencies, to our condensed consolidated financial statements included under Item 1 of Part I, Financial Information, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

A restated description of the risk factors associated with our business is included under “Factors That May Affect Future Results Of Operations” in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contained in Item 2 of Part I of this report. This restated description includes any material changes to and supersedes the description of the risk factors associated with our business previously disclosed in Part I Item 1A of our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A and in Part II Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

In April 2008, the Company’s board of directors approved a new stock repurchase program, which authorizes the Company to repurchase up to 3.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock. During the three months ended June 30, 2008, the Company repurchased 216,750 shares at a cost of $2.6 million. As of June 30, 2008, 2,783,250 shares were available for repurchase. The new stock repurchase program will expire in April 2011. The following table provides information about the repurchase of our common stock during the quarter ended June 30, 2008:

 

     Total Number of
Shares
Purchased (1)
   Average
Price Paid
per Share
   Total Number of Shares
Purchased as Part of
Publicly Announced
Plans or Programs
   Maximum Number of
Shares that May Yet Be
Purchased Under the
Plans or Programs (1)

April 1- April 30

   7,740    $ 14.85    —      3,000,000

May 1- May 31

   224,546    $ 12.21    216,750    2,783,250

June 1- June 30 31

   125,461    $ 13.69    —      2,783,250
               

Total

   357,747    $ 12.78    216,750    2,783,250
               

 

(1) Shares purchased that were not part of our publicly announced repurchase program represent those shares surrendered to us by employees in order to satisfy stock-for-stock option exercises and/or withholding tax obligations related to stock-based compensation. These purchases do not reduce the number of shares that may yet be purchased under our publicly announced repurchase program.

 

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

The Company held its annual meeting of stockholders on May 27, 2008. At such meeting, the following directors were elected: M. Kenneth Oshman and Larry W. Sonsini. Our incumbent directors, Robyn M. Denholm, Robert J. Finocchio, Jr., Armas Clifford Markkula, Jr., Robert R. Maxfield, Richard M. Moley, and Betsy Rafael will continue to serve on the Board. Voting results for the election of the directors were as follows:

 

     Votes For    Votes
Withheld

M. Kenneth Oshman

   33,791,673    141,359

Larry W. Sonsini

   31,047,933    2,885,099

 

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Table of Contents

The only other matter submitted to stockholder vote at the Annual Meeting was the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as independent auditors of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008. Voting results for the KPMG LLP appointment were as follows:

 

Votes For    Votes Against    Abstain
33,148,058    762,270    22,704

 

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit No.

 

Description of Document

10.2(k)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Performance Share Agreement for US Based Corporate Officers
10.2(l)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Performance Share Agreement for non-US Based Corporate Officers
10.2(m)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Stock Appreciation Right Agreement for US based Corporate Officers
10.2(n)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Stock Appreciation Right Agreement for non-US based Corporate Officers
31.1   Certificate of Echelon Corporation Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2   Certificate of Echelon Corporation Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32   Certification by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, furnished herewith

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements 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.

 

    ECHELON CORPORATION
  Date: August 11, 2008     By:   /s/ Oliver R. Stanfield
        Oliver R. Stanfield,
       

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(Duly Authorized Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

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Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.

 

Description of Document

10.2(k)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Performance Share Agreement for US Based Corporate Officers
10.2(l)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Performance Share Agreement for non-US Based Corporate Officers
10.2(m)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Stock Appreciation Right Agreement for US based Corporate Officers
10.2(n)   Form of 1997 Stock Plan Stock Appreciation Right Agreement for non-US based Corporate Officers
31.1   Certificate of Echelon Corporation Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2   Certificate of Echelon Corporation Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32   Certification by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, furnished herewith

 

43

Exhbit 10.2(k)

ECHELON CORPORATION

Performance Share Agreement

Grant #__________

Echelon Corporation (the “Company”) hereby grants you, [Name] (the “Employee”), an award of Performance Shares under the Company’s 1997 Stock Plan (the “Plan”). The date of this Agreement is ______, 20___. Subject to the provisions of Appendix A (attached hereto) and of the Plan, the principal features of this award are as follows:

 

Number of Performance Shares:

   [________]

Vesting of Performance Shares :

   The Performance Shares will vest in accordance with the following schedule: [INSERT VESTING SCHEDULE], subject to your continuing to be a Service Provider with the Company or its Subsidiaries through the applicable vesting date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon Employee’s “Involuntary Termination” (as defined below) within twelve (12) months following a “Change of Control Merger” (as defined in the Plan), 100% of the outstanding and unvested Performance Shares awarded by this Agreement will vest in full and, to the extent applicable, all performance goals or other vesting criteria to which such Performance Shares are subject will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

IMPORTANT:

Your signature below indicates your agreement and understanding that this award is subject to all of the terms and conditions contained in Appendix A and the Plan. For example, important additional information on vesting and forfeiture of the Performance Shares is contained in paragraphs 3 through 6 of Appendix A. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL OF APPENDIX A, WHICH CONTAINS THE SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

 

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ECHELON CORPORATION     EMPLOYEE
           
[NAME]     [NAME]
   
[TITLE]    
Date: ___________, 20___     Date: ___________, 20___

 

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APPENDIX A

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PERFORMANCE SHARES

Grant #_________

1. Grant . The Company hereby grants to the Employee under the Plan [              ] Performance Shares, subject to all of the terms and conditions in this Agreement and the Plan. When the Performance Shares are paid to the Employee, par value will be deemed paid by the Employee for each Performance Share by past services rendered by the Employee, and will be subject to the appropriate tax withholdings.

2. Company’s Obligation to Pay . Each Performance Share has a value equal to the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant and represents the right to receive a Share on the vesting date (or such later time indicated in this Agreement). Unless and until the Performance Shares have vested in the manner set forth in paragraphs 3, 5 or 12, the Employee will have no right to payment of such Performance Shares. Prior to actual payment of any vested Performance Shares, such Performance Shares will represent an unsecured obligation.

3. Vesting Schedule/Period of Restriction .

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 5 of this Agreement, the Performance Shares awarded by this Agreement shall vest in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Notice of Grant, subject to the Employee’s continuing to be a Service Provider on each relevant vesting date. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph 3 to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided by the Administrator, vesting of the Performance Shares shall be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence other than military leave and will resume on the date the Employee returns to work on a regular schedule as determined by the Company; provided, however, that no vesting credit will be awarded for the time vesting has been suspended during such leave of absence.

(b) For purposes of this Agreement, “Involuntary Termination” shall mean, without Employee’s express written consent: (i) a significant reduction of the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities, relative to the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (ii) a material reduction in the total cash compensation of the Employee as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (iii) the relocation of the Employee to a facility or a location more than thirty (30) miles from the Employee’s then present location, without the Employee’s express written consent; or (iv) any purported termination of the Employee which is not effected for “Disability” or for “Cause” (each as defined in the Plan), or any purported termination for which the grounds relied upon are not valid.

 

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4. Payment after Vesting .

(a) One Share shall be issued for each Performance Share that vests. No fractional Shares shall be issued under this Agreement.

(b) Subject to paragraph 8, any Performance Shares that vest pursuant to paragraph 3 shall be paid in Shares as soon as practicable upon or following the date of vesting (the “Vesting Date”), but, except as provided in this Agreement, in no event later than two and one-half (2  1 / 2 ) months following the applicable Vesting Date, subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.

(c) Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or this Agreement to the contrary, and subject to paragraph 8, if the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Performance Shares is accelerated in connection with the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider, such accelerated Performance Shares will not be paid out until Employee has a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, as determined by the Company. Further, if (x) Employee is subject to U.S. income tax, and (y) Employee is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A at the time of Employee’s “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A (as determined by the Company), other than due to death, then the payment of such accelerated Performance Shares will not be made until the date six (6) months and one (1) day following the date of the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider (or such later date as is necessary to avoid the imposition of additional taxation under Section 409A). Notwithstanding the foregoing, any delay in payment pursuant to this paragraph 5 will cease upon the Employee’s death and such payment will be made as soon as practicable after the date of Employee’s death, subject to paragraph 8. For purposes of this Agreement, “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any proposed, temporary or final Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance thereunder, as each may be amended from time to time.

(d) If the vesting of all or a portion of the Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement accelerate pursuant to Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply to discretionary accelerations under paragraph 5 also shall apply. If the vesting of all or a portion of the Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement accelerate pursuant to Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply under paragraph 4(b) also shall apply.

(e) It is the intent of this Agreement to comply with the requirements of Section 409A so that none of the Performance Shares provided under this Agreement or Shares issuable thereunder will be subject to the additional tax imposed under Section 409A, and any ambiguities herein will be interpreted to so comply.

5. Administrator Discretion .

(a) The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Performance Shares at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan. If so accelerated, such Performance Shares will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.

 

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(b) If the Administrator, in its discretion, accelerates the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Award, the payment of such accelerated Performance Shares nevertheless shall be made at the same time or times as if such Performance Shares had vested in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in paragraph 3, including any necessary delay in payment pursuant to the application of paragraph 4(c) (whether or not the Employee remains employed by the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company as of such date(s)). Notwithstanding the foregoing, any delay in payment pursuant to this paragraph 5 will cease upon the Employee’s death and such payment will be made as soon as practicable after the date of Employee’s death.

6. Forfeiture . Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Agreement, the balance of the Performance Shares that have not vested pursuant to paragraphs 3, 5 or 12 at the time of the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider for any or no reason will be forfeited and automatically transferred to and reacquired by the Company at no cost to the Company. The Employee shall not be entitled to a refund of the price paid for the Performance Shares forfeited to the Company pursuant to this paragraph 6.

7. Death of Employee . Any distribution or delivery to be made to the Employee under this Agreement will, if the Employee is then deceased, be made to the administrator or executor of the Employee’s estate. Any such administrator or executor must furnish the Company with (a) written notice of his or her status as transferee, and (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to said transfer.

8. Withholding of Taxes . When the Shares are issued as payment for vested Performance Shares, the Employee generally will recognize immediate U.S. taxable income if the Employee is a U.S. taxpayer. If the Employee is a non-U.S. taxpayer, the Employee will be subject to applicable taxes in his or her jurisdiction. The Company will withhold a portion of the vested Performance Shares that have an aggregate market value sufficient to pay the minimum federal, state and local income, employment and any other applicable taxes required to be withheld by the Company. No fractional Shares will be withheld or issued pursuant to the grant of Performance Shares and the issuance of Shares thereunder; any additional withholding necessary for this reason will be done by the Company through the Employee’s paycheck. The Company, in its discretion, may, and with respect to its executive officers (as determined by the Company) will, withhold an amount equal to two (2) times the fair market value of a Share from the last paycheck due to the Employee prior to the vesting of the Performance Shares. In the event that the cash amounts withheld by the Company exceed the withholding taxes that are due after the automatic withholding of whole Shares, the Company will reimburse the Employee for the excess amounts. In the event the withholding requirements are not satisfied through the withholding of Shares (or, through the Employee’s paycheck, as indicated above), no payment will be made to the Employee (or his or her estate) for Performance Shares unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) have been made by the Employee with respect to the payment of any income and other taxes which the Company determines must be withheld or collected with respect to such Performance Shares. By accepting this Award, the Employee expressly consents to the withholding of Shares and to any additional cash withholding as provided for in this paragraph 8.

 

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9. Rights as Stockholder . Neither the Employee nor any person claiming under or through the Employee will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until certificates representing such Shares (which may be in book entry form) will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to the Employee (including through electronic delivery to a brokerage account). After such issuance, recordation and delivery, the Employee will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

10. No Effect on Employment . Subject to any employment contract with the Employee, the terms of such employment will be determined from time to time by the Company, or the Affiliate employing the Employee, as the case may be, and the Company, or the Affiliate employing the Employee, as the case may be, will have the right, which is hereby expressly reserved, to terminate or change the terms of the employment of the Employee at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without good cause. The transactions contemplated hereunder and the vesting schedule set forth in the Notice of Grant do not constitute an express or implied promise of continued employment for any period of time.

11. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Agreement will be addressed to the Company, in care of Human Resources Department, at Echelon Corporation, 550 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

12. Changes in Performance Shares . In the event that as a result of a stock or extraordinary cash dividend, stock split, distribution, reclassification, recapitalization, combination of Shares or the adjustment in capital stock of the Company or otherwise, or as a result of a merger, consolidation, spin-off or other corporate transaction or event, the Performance Shares will be increased, reduced or otherwise affected, and by virtue of any such event the Employee will in his or her capacity as owner of unvested Performance Shares which have been awarded to him or her (the “Prior Performance Shares”) be entitled to new or additional or different shares of stock, cash or other securities or property (other than rights or warrants to purchase securities); such new or additional or different shares, cash or securities or property will thereupon be considered to be unvested Performance Shares and will be subject to all of the conditions and restrictions that were applicable to the Prior Performance Shares pursuant to this Agreement and the Plan. If the Employee receives rights or warrants with respect to any Prior Performance Shares, such rights or warrants may be held or exercised by the Employee, provided that until such exercise any such rights or warrants and after such exercise any shares or other securities acquired by the exercise of such rights or warrants will be considered to be unvested Performance Shares and will be subject to all of the conditions and restrictions which were applicable to the Prior Performance Shares pursuant to the Plan and this Agreement. The Administrator in its absolute discretion at any time may accelerate the vesting of all or any portion of such new or additional shares of stock, cash or securities, rights or warrants to purchase securities or shares or other securities acquired by the exercise of such rights or warrants; provided, however, that the payment of such accelerated new or additional awards shall be made in accordance with the timing of payment rules under

 

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paragraph 5(b). If the vesting of all or a portion of such new or additional award accelerates pursuant to Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply to discretionary accelerations under paragraph 5 also shall apply. If the vesting of all or a portion of the of such new or additional award accelerates pursuant to Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply under paragraph 4(b) also shall apply.

13. Grant is Not Transferable . Except to the limited extent provided in paragraph 7 above, this grant of Performance Shares and the rights and privileges conferred hereby will not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred or disposed of any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and will not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process, until you have been issued the Shares. Upon any attempt to sell, pledge, assign, hypothecate, transfer or otherwise dispose of this grant, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.

14. Restrictions on Sale of Securities . The Shares issued as payment for vested Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement will be registered under the federal securities laws and will be freely tradable upon receipt. However, your subsequent sale of the Shares will be subject to any market blackout-period that may be imposed by the Company and must comply with the Company’s insider trading policies, and any other applicable securities laws.

15. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this grant contained herein, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto.

16. Additional Conditions to Issuance of Certificates for Shares . The Company shall not be required to issue any certificate or certificates for Shares hereunder prior to fulfillment of all the following conditions: (a) the admission of such Shares to listing on all stock exchanges on which such class of stock is then listed; (b) the completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any state or federal law or under the rulings or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable; (c) the obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any state or federal governmental agency, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable; and (d) the lapse of such reasonable period of time following the date of vesting of the Performance Shares as the Administrator may establish from time to time for reasons of administrative convenience.

17. Plan Governs . This Agreement is subject to all terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will govern. Capitalized terms used and not defined in this Agreement will have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

18. Administrator Authority . The Administrator will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules (including, but not

 

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limited to, the determination of whether or not any Performance Shares have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon the Employee, the Company and all other interested persons. No member of the Administrator will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

19. Captions . Captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Agreement.

20. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Agreement will be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability will not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

21. Modifications to the Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. The Employee expressly warrants that he or she is not accepting this Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Modifications to this Agreement or the Plan can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or this Agreement, the parties agree to work in good faith to revise this Agreement as necessary to comply with Section 409A or to otherwise avoid imposition of any additional tax or income recognition under Section 409A in connection to this Award of Performance Shares.

22. Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan . By accepting this Award, the Employee expressly warrants that he or she has received a right to purchase stock under the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. The Employee understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

23. Notice of Governing Law . This grant of Performance Shares shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

 

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Exhibit 10.2(l)

ECHELON CORPORATION

Performance Share Agreement

for Non-U.S. Employees

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PERFORMANCE SHARES

By executing the Grant Acceptance process and using the services on this Smith Barney Benefit Access ® website, you, the Employee and Echelon Corporation (the “Company”) agree that this Award is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Company’s 1997 Plan (the “Plan”) and the Terms and Conditions of Performance Shares (the “Agreement”), which may be amended or modified from time to time. Employee has reviewed the Plan and this Agreement in its entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to accepting this Award and fully understands provisions of the Plan and this Agreement. Employee hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and this Agreement. Employee further agrees to promptly notify the Company upon any change in the Employee’s residence address. [PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (IF ANY) AND APPENDICES, (IF ANY) FOR YOUR COUNTRY, THAT CONTAIN THE SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AWARD.]

 

 

The Company hereby grants you, the Employee, an award (the “Award”) of Performance Shares under the Plan. The Award is subject to the provisions of the Plan and the Agreement, including Appendices, if any, for the Employee’s country.

1. Grant . The Company hereby grants Performance Shares to the Employee under the Plan subject to all of the terms and conditions in the Plan and this Agreement, including Appendices, if any, for the Employee’s country. If the Performance Shares are paid out in Shares to the Employee upon vesting, par value for the Common Stock underlying the Performance Shares will be deemed to have been paid by the Employee’s services over the vesting period rendered by the Employee to the Company or its Subsidiary.

2. Company’s Obligation to Pay . Each Performance Share represents an unfunded promise by the Company to issue one share of the Company’s Common Stock, subject to certain restrictions and on the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement. Unless and until the Performance Shares have vested in the manner set forth in paragraphs 3 or 4, the Employee will have no right to the payment of Shares. Prior to actual payment of any vested Performance Shares, such Performance Shares will represent an unsecured obligation.

3. Vesting Schedule/Period of Restriction .

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph 4 of this Agreement, the Performance Shares awarded by this Agreement shall vest in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant, subject to the Employee’s continuing to be a Service Provider on each relevant vesting date. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph 3 to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided by the Administrator or as required by local law, vesting of the Performance Shares shall be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence other than military leave and will resume on the date the Employee returns to work on a regular schedule as determined by the Company; provided, however, that no vesting credit will be awarded for the time vesting has been suspended during such leave of absence, if permissible under local law. Further, and notwithstanding the foregoing, upon Employee’s “Involuntary Termination” (as defined below) within twelve (12) months following a “Change of Control Merger” (as defined in the Plan), 100% of the outstanding and unvested Performance Shares awarded by this Agreement will vest in full and, to the extent applicable, all performance goals or other vesting criteria to which such Performance Shares are subject will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.


(b) For purposes of this Agreement, “Involuntary Termination” shall mean, without Employee’s express written consent: (i) a significant reduction of the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities, relative to the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (ii) a material reduction in the total cash compensation of the Employee as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (iii) the relocation of the Employee to a facility or a location more than thirty (30) miles from the Employee’s then present location, without the Employee’s express written consent; or (iv) any purported termination of the Employee which is not effected for “Disability” or for “Cause” (each as defined in the Plan), or any purported termination for which the grounds relied upon are not valid.

4. Administrator Discretion .

(a) The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Performance Shares at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan, and if permissible under local law. If so accelerated, such Performance Shares will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.

(b) If (x) the Employee is subject to U.S. income tax at any point between the date of grant of the Performance Shares and when the Performance Shares are paid out or forfeited (a “U.S. Taxpayer”), and (y) the Administrator, in its discretion, accelerates the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Award, the payment of such accelerated Performance Shares nevertheless shall be made at the same time or times as if such Performance Shares had vested in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in paragraph 3, including any necessary delay in payment pursuant to the application of paragraph 5(c) (whether or not the Employee remains employed by the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company as of such date(s)). Notwithstanding the foregoing, any delay in payment pursuant to this paragraph 4 will cease upon the Employee’s death and such payment will be made as soon as practicable after the date of Employee’s death.

5. Payment after Vesting .

(a) One Share shall be issued for each Performance Share that vests. No fractional Shares shall be issued under this Agreement.

(b) Subject to paragraph 8, any Performance Shares that vest in accordance with paragraphs 3 will be paid to the Employee (or in the event of the Employee’s death, to his or her estate) in Shares as soon as practicable following the date of vesting, subject to paragraph 8 but, except as provided in this Agreement, in no event later than two and one-half (2  1 / 2 ) months following the applicable Vesting Date, subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.

(c) Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or this Agreement to the contrary, and subject to paragraph 8, if (x) the Employee is a U.S. Taxpayer, and (y) the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Performance Shares is accelerated in connection with the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider, such accelerated Performance Shares will not be paid out until Employee has a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, as determined by the Company. Further, if (x) Employee is a U.S. Taxpayer, and (y) at the time of Employee’s “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A (as determined by the Company), other than due to death, Employee is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A, then the payment of such accelerated Performance Shares will not be made until the date six (6) months and one (1) day following the date of the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider (or such later date as is necessary to avoid the imposition of additional taxation under Section 409A). Notwithstanding the


foregoing, any delay in payment pursuant to this paragraph 5 will cease upon the Employee’s death and such payment will be made as soon as practicable after the date of Employee’s death, subject to paragraph 8. For purposes of this Agreement, “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any proposed, temporary or final Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance thereunder, as each may be amended from time to time.

(d) If (x) the Employee is a U.S. Taxpayer, and (y) the vesting of all or a portion of the Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement accelerate pursuant to (i) Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A or (ii) any other plan or agreement that provides for acceleration in the event of a change in control that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply to discretionary accelerations under paragraph 4 also shall apply. If the vesting of all or a portion of the Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement accelerate pursuant to (i) Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A or (ii) any other plan or agreement that provides for acceleration in the event of a change in control that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, then the timing of payment rules that apply under paragraph 5(b) also shall apply.

(e) It is the intent of this Agreement to comply with the requirements of Section 409A so that none of the Performance Shares provided under this Agreement or Shares issuable thereunder will be subject to the additional tax imposed under Section 409A, and any ambiguities herein will be interpreted to so comply.

6. Forfeiture . Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Agreement, the balance of the Performance Shares that have not vested pursuant to paragraphs 3, 4 or 14 at the time of the Employee’s termination as a Service Provider for any or no reason will be forfeited and automatically transferred to and reacquired by the Company at no cost to the Company. The Employee shall not be entitled to a refund of the price paid for the Performance Shares forfeited to the Company pursuant to this paragraph 6.

7. Death of Employee . Any distribution or delivery to be made to the Employee under this Agreement will, if the Employee is then deceased, be made to the administrator or executor of the Employee’s estate. Any such administrator or executor must furnish the Company with (a) written notice of his or her status as transferee, and (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to said transfer.

8. Withholding of Taxes . Regardless of any action the Company or its Subsidiary takes with respect to any or all income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, or other tax-related withholding (“Tax-Related Items”), the Employee acknowledges and agrees that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items legally due by the Employee is and remains the Employee’s responsibility and that the Company and/or the Subsidiary (a) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the Performance Shares, including the grant or vesting of the Performance Shares, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired under the Plan and the receipt of dividend equivalents, if any; and (b) do not commit to structure the terms of the Award or any aspect of the Award to reduce or eliminate the Employee’s liability for Tax-Related Items.

No Shares will be issued to the Employee (or his or her estate) for Performance Shares unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) have been made by the Employee with respect to the payment of any Tax-Related Items obligations of the Company and/or the Subsidiary with respect to the issuance of such Shares.

In this regard, the Employee authorizes the Company and/or its Subsidiary to withhold Shares from the Performance Shares, provided that the Company withholds only that number of Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum required withholding amount for Tax-Related Items, determined on the date that the


amount for Tax-Related Items to be withheld is to be determined. If the Company or the Employer satisfies the obligation for Tax-Related Items by withholding a number of whole Shares as described herein, the Employee is deemed to have been issued the full number of Shares subject to the Award of Performance Shares, notwithstanding that a number of the Shares is held back solely for the purpose of paying the Tax-Related Items due as a result of the vesting of the Performance Shares. No fractional Shares will be withheld or issued pursuant to the grant of Performance Shares and the issuance of Shares thereunder; any additional withholding necessary for this reason will be done by the Company or the Subsidiary through the Employee’s paycheck or other cash compensation paid to the Employee by the Company and/or the Subsidiary. The Company or the Subsidiary, in its discretion, may, and with respect to its executive officers (as determined by the Company) will withhold an amount equal to two (2) times the Fair Market Value of a Share from the last paycheck or other cash compensation due to the Employee prior to the vesting of the Performance Shares. In the event that the cash amounts withheld by the Company or the Subsidiary exceed the Tax-Related Items that are due after the automatic withholding of whole Shares, the Company or the Subsidiary will reimburse the Employee for the excess amounts.

In addition, the Employee authorizes the Company and/or the Subsidiary, in their sole discretion, in lieu of or in addition to the foregoing and in each case to the extent permissible under local law, to (i) sell or to arrange for the sale of Shares received as a result of vesting of the Performance Shares (on the Employee’s behalf and at the Employee’s discretion pursuant to the Employee’s authorization in this Agreement), with the proceeds going toward satisfaction of the Tax-Related Items, (ii) require the Employee to pay the Tax Related Items in cash or with a cashier’s check or certified check, and/or (iii) withhold all applicable Tax-Related Items legally payable by the Employee from the Employee’s wages or other cash compensation payable to the Employee by the Company or its Subsidiary.

The Employee shall pay to the Company and or the Subsidiary any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company may be required to withhold as a result of the Employee’s participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by one or more of the means previously described in this paragraph 8.

The Company shall not be required to deliver any of the Shares if the Employee fails to comply with his or her obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items as described in this paragraph 8.

9. Rights as Stockholder . Neither the Employee nor any person claiming under or through the Employee will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company with respect to any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until certificates representing such Shares (which may be in book entry form) will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to the Employee (including through electronic delivery to a brokerage account). After such issuance, recordation and delivery, the Employee will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

10. No Effect on Employment . Subject to any employment contract with the Employee, the terms of such employment will be determined from time to time by the Company, or the Subsidiary employing the Employee, as the case may be, and the Company, or the Subsidiary, as the case may be, will have, and the Employee’s participation in the Plan shall not interfere with, the right, which is hereby expressly reserved, to terminate or change the terms of the employment of the Employee at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without good cause. The transactions contemplated hereunder, the Employee’s participation in the Plan and the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant do not constitute an express or implied promise of continued employment for any period of time. In the event that the Employee is not an employee of the Company, the grant will not be interpreted to form an employment contract with the Employee’s employer or any Subsidiary or affiliate of the Company.


11. Nature of Grant . In accepting the Performance Shares, the Employee acknowledges that:

(a) the grant of the Performance Shares is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of Performance Shares, or benefits in lieu of Performance Shares even if Performance Shares have been granted repeatedly in the past;

(b) all decisions with respect to future Awards of Performance Shares, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;

(c) the Employee’s participation in the Plan is voluntary;

(d) Performance Shares are extraordinary items that do not constitute regular compensation for services rendered to the Company or its Subsidiary, and that is outside the scope of the Employee’s employment contract, if any;

(e) the Award is not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purposes, including, but not limited to, calculating any severance, resignation, redundancy or end of service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments and in no event should be considered as compensation for, or relating in any way to, past services for the Company or its Subsidiary;

(f) the future value of the underlying Shares is unknown and cannot be predicted with certainty;

(g) in consideration of the Award, no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from termination of the Award or any diminution in value of the Performance Shares or Shares received when the Performance Shares vest resulting from termination of employment by the Company or its Subsidiary (for any reason whatsoever and whether or not in breach of local labor laws), and the Employee irrevocably releases the Company and/or its Subsidiary from any such claim that may arise; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have arisen, then, by signing this Agreement, the Employee shall be deemed irrevocably to have waived his or her entitlement to pursue such claim;

(h) in the event of involuntary termination of the Employee’s employment (whether or not in breach of local labor laws), the Employee’s right to receive Performance Shares and vest under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of the date that the Employee is no longer actively employed and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under local law (e .g. , active employment would not include a period of “garden leave” or similar period pursuant to local law); the Committee shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when the Employee is no longer actively employed for purposes of the Award;

(i) the Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations regarding the Employee’s participation in the Plan, or the Employee’s acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares; and

(j) the Employee is hereby advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding the Employee’s participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.

12. Data Privacy . The Employee hereby explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of the Employee’s personal data as described in this Agreement by and among, as applicable, the Employee’s employer, the Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Employee’s participation in the Plan.

The Employee understands that the Company and the Subsidiary may hold certain personal information about the Employee, including, but not limited to, the Employee’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares of stock or directorships held in the Company or its Subsidiaries and affiliates, details of


all Performance Shares or any other entitlement to shares of stock awarded, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in the Employee’s favor, for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan (“Personal Data”). The Employee understands that Personal Data may be transferred to any third parties assisting in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan, that these recipients may be located in the Employee’s country, or elsewhere, and that the recipient’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections than the Employee’s country. The Employee understands that he or she may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Personal Data by contacting the Employee’s local human resources representative. The Employee authorizes the recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Personal Data, in electronic or other form, for the purposes of implementing, administering and managing the Employee’s participation in the Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Personal Data as may be required to a broker or other third party with whom the Employee may elect to deposit any Shares received upon vesting of the Award. The Employee understands that Personal Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage the Employee’s participation in the Plan. The Employee understands that he or she may, at any time, view Personal Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Personal Data, require any necessary amendments to Personal Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, without cost, by contacting in writing the Employee’s local human resources representative. The Employee understands that refusal or withdrawal of consent may affect the Employee’s ability to realize benefits from the Award. For more information on the consequences of the Employee’s refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, the Employee understands that he or she may contact his or her local human resources representative.

13. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Agreement will be addressed to the Company, in care of Human Resources Department, at Echelon Corporation, 550 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

14. Changes in Performance Shares . In the event that as a result of a stock or extraordinary cash dividend, stock split, distribution, reclassification, recapitalization, combination of Shares or the adjustment in capital stock of the Company or otherwise, or as a result of a merger, consolidation, spin-off or other corporate transaction or event, the Performance Shares will be increased, reduced or otherwise affected, and by virtue of any such event the Employee will in his or her capacity as owner of unvested Performance Shares which have been awarded to him or her (the “Prior Performance Shares”) be entitled to new or additional or different shares of stock, cash or other securities or property (other than rights or warrants to purchase securities); such new or additional or different shares, cash or securities or property will thereupon be considered to be unvested Performance Shares and will be subject to all of the conditions and restrictions that were applicable to the Prior Performance Shares pursuant to this Agreement and the Plan. If the Employee receives rights or warrants with respect to any Prior Performance Shares, such rights or warrants may be held or exercised by the Employee, provided that until such exercise any such rights or warrants and after such exercise any shares or other securities acquired by the exercise of such rights or warrants will be considered to be unvested Performance Shares and will be subject to all of the conditions and restrictions which were applicable to the Prior Performance Shares pursuant to the Plan and this Agreement. The Administrator in its absolute discretion at any time may accelerate the vesting of all or any portion of such new or additional shares of stock, cash or securities, rights or warrants to purchase securities or shares or other securities acquired by the exercise of such rights or warrants; provided, however, that the payment of such accelerated new or additional awards shall be made in accordance with the timing of payment rules under paragraph 4(b). If the vesting of all or a portion of such new or additional award accelerates pursuant to (i)Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A or (ii) any other plan or agreement that provides for acceleration in the event of a change in control that is not a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply to discretionary accelerations under paragraph 4 also shall apply. If the vesting of all or a portion of the of such new or additional award accelerates pursuant to (i) Section 11(c)(i) of the Plan in the event of a “Merger” (as defined in the Plan) that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A or (ii) any other plan or agreement that provides for acceleration in the event of a change in control that is a “change in control” within the meaning of Section 409A, the timing of payment rules that apply under paragraph 5(b) also shall apply.


15. Grant is Not Transferable . Except to the limited extent provided in paragraph 7 above, this grant of Performance Shares and the rights and privileges conferred hereby may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred or disposed of any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and may not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process, until you have been issued the Shares. Upon any attempt to sell, pledge, assign, hypothecate, transfer or otherwise dispose of this grant, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.

16. Restrictions on Sale of Securities . Subject to the provisions of paragraph 17 below, the Shares issued as payment for vested Performance Shares awarded under this Agreement will be registered under the U.S. federal securities laws and will be freely tradable upon receipt. However, your subsequent sale of the Shares will be subject to any market blackout-period that may be imposed by the Company and must comply with the Company’s insider trading policies, and any other applicable securities laws.

17. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this grant contained herein, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto, to the extent permissible under local law.

18. Additional Conditions to Issuance of Certificates for Shares . The Company shall not be required to issue any certificate or certificates for Shares hereunder prior to fulfillment of all the following conditions: (a) the admission of such Shares to listing on all stock exchanges on which such class of stock is then listed; (b) the completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any state, federal, or local law or under the rulings or regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable; (c) the obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any governmental agency, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable; and (d) the lapse of such reasonable period of time following the date of vesting of the Performance Shares as the Administrator may establish from time to time for reasons of administrative convenience.

19. Plan Governs . This Agreement is subject to all terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will govern. Capitalized terms used and not defined in this Agreement will have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

20. Administrator Authority . The Administrator will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any Performance Shares have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon the Employee, the Company and all other interested persons. No member of the Administrator will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

21. Captions . Captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Agreement.


22. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Agreement will be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability will not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

23. Modifications to the Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. The Employee expressly warrants that he or she is not accepting this Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Except as provided herein, modifications to this Agreement can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company.

24. Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan . The Employee understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be amended, altered, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

25. Notice of Governing Law . This grant of Performance Shares and the provisions of this Agreement, including Appendices, if any, for the Employee’s country, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

26. Electronic Delivery . The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to the Performance Shares granted under and participation in the Plan or future Awards that may be granted under the Plan by electronic means or to request the Employee’s consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. The Employee hereby consents to receive such documents by electronic delivery and, if requested, to agree to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

27. Language . If the Employee has received this Agreement, including Appendix A and Appendix B (if any), or any other document related to the Plan translated into a language other than English, and if the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control.

28. No Compensation Deferrals . The Company reserves the right, to the extent the Company deems necessary or advisable in its sole discretion, to unilaterally amend or modify the Plan and/or this Agreement, including Appendix A and Appendix B (if any) to ensure that all Performance Share Awards are made in a manner that qualifies for exemption from or complies with Section 409A of the Code, provided, however, that the Company makes no representation that this Award is not subject to Section 409A of the Code nor makes any undertaking to preclude Section 409A of the Code from applying to this Award.

Exhibit 10.2(m)

ECHELON CORPORATION

STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHT AGREEMENT

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS

By executing the Grant Acceptance process and using the services on this Smith Barney Benefit Access ® website, you, the Employee and Echelon Corporation (the “Company”) agree that this Award is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of Company’s 1997 Stock Plan (the “Plan”) and the Terms and Conditions of Stock Appreciation Rights (the “Agreement”), which may be amended or modified from time to time. Employee has reviewed the Plan and this Agreement in its entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to accepting this Award and fully understands provisions of the Plan and this Agreement. Employee hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and this Agreement. Employee further agrees to promptly notify the Company upon any change in the Employee’s residence address.

 

 

The “Company hereby grants you, the employee, a stock appreciation right (the “SAR”) under the Plan, to exercise in exchange for a payment from the Company pursuant to this SAR Agreement. However, as provided in the Agreement, this SAR may expire earlier than the Expiration Date.

1. Grant of SAR . The Company hereby grants to the Employee under the Company’s 1997 Stock Plan a Stock Appreciation Right (“SAR”) pertaining to all or any part of an aggregate of the number of shares set forth in the Summary of Grant, which SAR entitles the Employee to exercise the SAR in exchange for Shares in the amount determined under paragraph 6 below.

2. Vesting Schedule .

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the right to exercise this SAR will vest in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant, subject to the Employee continuing to be a Service Provider on each relevant vesting date. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph 2 to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided by the Administrator, vesting of the SAR will be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence other than military leave and will resume on the date the Employee returns to work on a regular schedule as determined by the Company; provided, however, that no vesting credit will be awarded for the time vesting has been suspended during such leave of absence. The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the SAR at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan. If so accelerated, such SAR (or the portion thereof) will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.


(b) Further, and notwithstanding the foregoing, upon Employee’s “Involuntary Termination” (as defined below) within twelve (12) months following a “Change of Control Merger” (as defined in the Plan), 100% of the outstanding and unvested portion of the SAR awarded by this Agreement will vest in full and, to the extent applicable, all performance goals or other vesting criteria to which the SAR is subject will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

(c) For purposes of this Agreement, “Involuntary Termination” shall mean, without Employee’s express written consent: (i) a significant reduction of the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities, relative to the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (ii) a material reduction in the total cash compensation of the Employee as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (iii) the relocation of the Employee to a facility or a location more than thirty (30) miles from the Employee’s then present location, without the Employee’s express written consent; or (iv) any purported termination of the Employee which is not effected for “Disability” or for “Cause” (each as defined in the Plan), or any purported termination for which the grounds relied upon are not valid.

3. Exercise of SAR .

(a) Grant Price . The purchase price per Share for this SAR (the “Grant Price”) shall be the amount set forth in the Summary of Grant which is the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date.

(b) Right to Exercise . This SAR is exercisable during its term in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant and the applicable provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.

(c) Method of Exercise . This SAR is exercisable by (i) delivery of an exercise notice, in the form and manner determined by the Administrator, or (ii) following an electronic or other exercise procedure prescribed by the Administrator (which may require the Employee to exercise this SAR through the Company’s designated broker or administrator), which in either case shall state the election to exercise the SAR, the number of Shares in respect of which the SAR is being exercised (the “Exercised Shares”), and such other representations and agreements as may be required by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan. Subject to paragraph 8, the Employee shall provide payment of any applicable withholding taxes arising in connection with such exercise. This SAR shall be deemed to be exercised upon receipt by the Company of a fully executed exercise notice or completion of such exercise procedure, as the Administrator may determine in its sole discretion, accompanied by any applicable withholding taxes.

4. Death of Employee . In the event that the Employee dies while in the employ of the Company and/or a Parent or Subsidiary, the administrator or executor of the Employee’s estate (or such other person to whom the SAR is transferred pursuant to the Employee’s will or in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution), may exercise any vested but unexercised

 

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portion of the SAR within the period set forth in the Summary of Grant. Any such transferee must furnish the Company (a) written notice of his or her status as a transferee, (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer of this SAR and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to such transfer, and (c) written acceptance of the terms and conditions of this SAR as set forth in this Agreement.

5. Persons Eligible to Exercise SAR . Except as provided in paragraph 4 above or as otherwise determined by the Administrator in its discretion, this SAR shall be exercisable during the Employee’s lifetime only by the Employee.

6. Payment of SAR Amount. Upon exercise of this SAR, the Employee shall be entitled to receive the number of Shares (the “SAR Amount”), less applicable withholdings, determined by (i) multiplying (a) the difference between the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise over the Grant Price; times (b) the number of Shares with respect to which this SAR is exercised, and (ii) dividing the product of (a) and (b) by the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise. The SAR Amount shall be paid solely in whole Shares; any fractional amount shall be rounded down to the nearest whole share. Shares issued pursuant to the exercise of this SAR may be delivered in book form or listed in street name with a brokerage company of the Company’s choice.

No payment shall be made pursuant to the exercise of this SAR unless such payment complies with Applicable Laws. Assuming such compliance, for income tax purposes, the payment shall be considered transferred to the Employee on the date the SAR is exercised with respect to such Exercised Shares.

7. Term of SAR . This SAR may be exercised only within the term set out in the Summary of Grant, and may be exercised during such term only in accordance with the Plan and the terms of this Agreement.

8. Tax Withholding and Payment Obligations . When the Shares are issued as payment for the exercise of this SAR, the Employee will recognize immediate U.S. taxable income if the Employee is a U.S. taxpayer. If the Employee is a non-U.S. taxpayer, the Employee will be subject to applicable taxes in his or her jurisdiction. The Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) will withhold a portion of the Shares otherwise issuable in payment for the exercise of this SAR that have an aggregate market value sufficient to pay the minimum federal, state and local income, employment and any other applicable taxes required to be withheld by the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) with respect to the Shares. No fractional Shares will be withheld or issued pursuant to the exercise of this SAR and the issuance of Shares thereunder; any additional withholding necessary for this reason will be done by the Company through the Employee’s paycheck except as otherwise provided herein with respect to an Employee who is an “executive officer” of the Company within the meaning of Section 402 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (an “Executive Officer”). With respect to an Employee who is an Executive Officer, the Employee hereby agrees to pay the Company, on or prior to the date of exercise, by cash or check an amount equal to such additional withholding unless the Company otherwise determines that withholding such amount from the Employee’s paycheck in accordance with the preceding sentence would not violate Section 402 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. The Employee acknowledges and agrees that the Company may refuse to honor the exercise and refuse to make the SAR Payment required under

 

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this Agreement if such amount is not delivered at the time of exercise. In the event that the cash amounts withheld by the Company exceed the withholding taxes that are due after the automatic withholding of whole Shares, the Company will reimburse the Employee for the excess amounts. In the event the withholding requirements are not satisfied through the withholding of Shares (or, through the Employee’s paycheck, as indicated above), no payment will be made to the Employee (or his or her estate) for SARs unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) have been made by the Employee with respect to the payment of any income and other taxes which the Company determines must be withheld or collected with respect to such SARs. By accepting this SAR award, the Employee expressly consents to the withholding of Shares and to any cash withholding as provided for in this paragraph 8. All income and other taxes related to this SAR award and any Shares delivered in payment thereof are the sole responsibility of the Employee.

9. Suspension of Exercisability . This SAR, in the sole discretion of the Company, may not be exercised, in whole or in part, and the Company shall not be required to issue any certificate or certificates for Shares hereunder prior to fulfillment of all the following conditions: (a) the admission of such Shares to listing on all stock exchanges on which such class of stock is then listed; (b) the completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares, the filing of quarterly reports and the completion of any restatement of financial statements required under any state or federal law or under the rulings or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable; (c) the obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any state or federal governmental agency, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable; and (d) the lapse of such reasonable period of time following the date of exercise of the SAR as the Administrator may establish from time to time for reasons of administrative convenience. Any suspension of exercise or delay in the issuance of Shares as a result of one or more of the foregoing conditions shall not extend the Expiration Date of this SAR, and the Company shall have no further obligation or liability with respect to this SAR as of and following the Expiration Date.

10. Rights as Stockholder . Neither the Employee nor any person claiming under or through the Employee will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any of the Shares covered by this SAR unless and until certificates representing such Shares (which may be in book entry form) will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to the Employee (including through electronic delivery to a brokerage account). After such issuance, recordation and delivery, the Employee will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

11. Termination Period. This SAR will be exercisable for thirty (30) days after the Employee ceases to be a Service Provider, unless such termination is due to the Employee’s death or Disability, in which case this SAR will be exercisable for twelve (12) months after the Employee ceases to be a Service Provider. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may this SAR be exercised after the Expiration Date as set forth in the Summary of Grant.

 

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12. No Effect on Employment . Subject to any employment contract with the Employee, the terms of such employment will be determined from time to time by the Company, or the Parent or Subsidiary employing the Employee, as the case may be, and the Company, or the Parent or Subsidiary employing the Employee, as the case may be, will have the right, which is hereby expressly reserved, to terminate or change the terms of the employment of the Employee at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without good cause. The transactions contemplated hereunder and the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant do not constitute an express or implied promise of continued employment for any period of time.

13. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Agreement shall be addressed to the Company, in care of the Human Resources Department, at Echelon Corporation, 550 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

14. SAR is Not Transferable . Except as otherwise expressly provided in paragraph 4 above, this SAR and the rights and privileges conferred hereby may not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, hypothecated or disposed of in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and will not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process. Upon any attempt to sell, transfer, pledge, assign, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of this SAR, or of any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this SAR and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately shall become null and void.

15. Restrictions on Sale of Securities . The Shares issued upon exercise of this SAR will be registered under the federal securities laws and will be freely tradable upon receipt. However, your subsequent sale of the Shares will be subject to any market blackout-period that may be imposed by the Company and must comply with the Company’s insider trading policies, and any other applicable securities laws.

16. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this SAR contained herein, this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto.

17. Plan Governs . This Agreement is subject to all of the terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall govern. Capitalized terms and phrases used and not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

18. Administrator Authority . The Administrator shall have all discretion, power, and authority to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any SARs have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon the Employee, the Company and all other interested persons, and will be given the maximum deference permitted by law. No member of the Administrator shall be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

 

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19. Captions . The captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for the interpretation or construction of this Agreement.

20. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability shall not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

21. Modifications to the Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. The Employee expressly warrants that he or she is not executing this Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Except as otherwise provided herein, modifications to this Agreement or the Plan can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company.

22. Amendment, Suspension, or Termination of the Plan . By accepting this SAR, the Employee expressly warrants that he or she has received a SAR to purchase stock under the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. The Employee understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

23. Section 409A . Under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, a SAR that vests after December 31, 2004, that was granted with a per share Grant Price that is determined by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) to be less than the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant (a “discount SAR”) may be considered “deferred compensation.” A SAR that is a “discount SAR” may result in (i) income recognition by the Employee prior to the exercise of the SAR, (ii) an additional twenty percent (20%) tax, and (iii) potential penalty and interest charges. The Employee acknowledges that the Company cannot and has not guaranteed that the IRS will agree that the per Share Grant Price of this SAR equals or exceeds the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant in a later examination. The Employee agrees that if the IRS determines that this SAR was granted with a per Share Grant Price that was less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant, the Employee will be solely responsible for the Employee’s costs related to such a determination.

24. Notice of Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

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Exhibit 10.2(n)

ECHELON CORPORATION

STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHT AGREEMENT

FOR NON-U.S. EMPLOYEES

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS

By executing the Grant Acceptance process and using the services on this Smith Barney Benefit Access ® website, you, the Employee and Echelon Corporation (the “Company”) agree that this Award is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Company’s 1997 Stock Plan (the “Plan”) and the Terms and Conditions of Stock Appreciation Rights (the “Agreement”), which may be amended or modified from time to time. Employee has reviewed the Plan and the Agreement in its entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to accepting this Award and fully understands provisions of the Plan and this Agreement. Employee hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and this Agreement. Employee further agrees to promptly notify the Company upon any change in the Employee’s residence address. [PLEASE BE SURE TO READ ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (IF ANY) AND APPENDICES, (IF ANY) FOR YOUR COUNTRY, THAT CONTAIN THE SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AWARD.]

 

 

The Company hereby grants you, the employee, a stock appreciation right (the “SAR”) under the Plan, to exercise in exchange for a payment from the Company pursuant to this SAR Agreement. However, as provided in the Agreement, this SAR may expire earlier than the Expiration Date.

1. Grant of SAR . The Company hereby grants to the Employee under the Plan a SAR pertaining to all or any part of an aggregate of the number of shares set forth in the Summary of Grant, which SAR entitles the Employee to exercise the SAR in exchange for Shares in the amount determined under paragraph 6 below.

2. Vesting Schedule .

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the right to exercise this SAR will vest in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant, subject to the Employee continuing to be a Service Provider on each relevant vesting date. Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph 2 to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided by the Administrator or as required by local law, vesting of the SAR will be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence other than military leave and will resume on the date the Employee returns to work on a regular schedule as determined by the Company; provided, however, that no vesting credit will be awarded for the time vesting has been suspended during such leave of absence, if permissible under local law. The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the SAR at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan, and if permissible under local law. If so accelerated, such SAR (or the portion thereof) will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.


(b) Further, and notwithstanding the foregoing, upon Employee’s “Involuntary Termination” (as defined below) within twelve (12) months following a “Change of Control Merger” (as defined in the Plan), 100% of the outstanding and unvested portion of the SAR awarded by this Agreement will vest in full and, to the extent applicable, all performance goals or other vesting criteria to which the SAR is subject will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

(c) For purposes of this Agreement, “Involuntary Termination” shall mean, without Employee’s express written consent: (i) a significant reduction of the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities, relative to the Employee’s duties, authority or responsibilities as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (ii) a material reduction in the total cash compensation of the Employee as in effect immediately prior to the Change of Control Merger; (iii) the relocation of the Employee to a facility or a location more than thirty (30) miles from the Employee’s then present location, without the Employee’s express written consent; or (iv) any purported termination of the Employee which is not effected for “Disability” or for “Cause” (each as defined in the Plan), or any purported termination for which the grounds relied upon are not valid.

3. Exercise of SAR .

(a) Grant Price . The purchase price per Share for this SAR (the “Grant Price”) shall be the amount set forth in the Summary of Grant, which is the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date.

(b) Right to Exercise . This SAR is exercisable during its term in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant and the applicable provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.

(c) Method of Exercise . This SAR is exercisable by (i) delivery of an exercise notice, in the form and manner determined by the Administrator, or (ii) following an electronic or other exercise procedure prescribed by the Administrator (which may require the Employee to exercise this SAR through the Company’s designated broker or administrator), which in either case shall state the election to exercise the SAR, the number of Shares in respect of which the SAR is being exercised (the “Exercised Shares”), and such other representations and agreements as may be required by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan. Subject to paragraph 8, the Employee shall provide payment of any applicable withholding taxes arising in connection with such exercise. This SAR shall be deemed to be exercised upon receipt by the Company of a fully executed exercise notice or completion of such exercise procedure, as the Administrator may determine in its sole discretion, accompanied by any applicable withholding taxes.

 

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4. Death of Employee . In the event that the Employee dies while in the employ of the Company and/or a Parent or Subsidiary, the administrator or executor of the Employee’s estate (or such other person to whom the SAR is transferred pursuant to the Employee’s will or in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution), may exercise any vested but unexercised portion of the SAR within the period set forth in the Summary of Grant. Any such transferee must furnish the Company (a) written notice of his or her status as a transferee, (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer of this SAR and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to such transfer, and (c) written acceptance of the terms and conditions of this SAR as set forth in this Agreement.

5. Persons Eligible to Exercise SAR . Except as provided in paragraph 4 above or as otherwise determined by the Administrator in its discretion, this SAR shall be exercisable during the Employee’s lifetime only by the Employee.

6. Payment of SAR Amount. Upon exercise of this SAR, the Employee shall be entitled to receive the number of Shares (the “SAR Amount”), less applicable withholdings, determined by (i) multiplying (a) the difference between the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise over the Grant Price; times (b) the number of Shares with respect to which this SAR is exercised, and (ii) dividing the product of (a) and (b) by the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise. The SAR Amount shall be paid solely in whole Shares; any fractional amount shall be rounded down to the nearest whole share. Shares issued pursuant to the exercise of this SAR may be delivered in book form or listed in street name with a brokerage company of the Company’s choice.

No payment shall be made pursuant to the exercise of this SAR unless such payment complies with Applicable Laws. Assuming such compliance, for income tax purposes, the payment shall be considered transferred to the Employee on the date the SAR is exercised with respect to such Exercised Shares.

7. Term of SAR . This SAR may be exercised only within the term set out in the Summary of Grant, and may be exercised during such term only in accordance with the Plan and the terms of this Agreement.

8. Tax Withholding and Payment Obligations . Regardless of any action the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) takes with respect to any or all income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, or other tax-related withholding (“Tax-Related Items”), the Employee acknowledges and agrees that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items legally due by the Employee is and remains the Employee’s responsibility and that the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) (a) makes no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the SAR, including the grant, vesting, or exercise of the SAR, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired under the Plan and the receipt of dividends, if any; and (b) does not commit to structure the terms of the SAR or any aspect of the SAR to reduce or eliminate the Employee’s liability for Tax-Related Items.

No payment will be made to the Employee (or his or her estate) for SARs unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) have been made by the Employee with respect to the payment of any Tax-Related Items obligations of the Company (and/or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) with respect to the SARs.

 

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In this regard, the Employee authorizes the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) to withhold a portion of the Shares otherwise issuable in payment for the exercise of this SAR that have an aggregate market value sufficient to pay the minimum required withholding amount for Tax-Related Items, determined on the date that the amount for Tax-Related Items to be withheld is to be determined. If the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) satisfies the obligation for Tax-Related Items by withholding a number of whole Shares as described herein, the Employee is deemed to have been issued the full number of Shares subject to the SAR award, notwithstanding that a number of the Shares is held back solely for the purpose of paying the Tax-Related Items due as a result of the exercise of the SAR. No fractional Shares will be withheld or issued pursuant to the exercise of this SAR and the issuance of Shares thereunder; any additional withholding necessary for this reason will be done by the Company (or employing Parent or Subsidiary) through the Employee’s paycheck or other cash compensation paid to the Employee by the Company (or employing Parent or Subsidiary) except as otherwise provided herein with respect to an Employee who is an “executive officer” of the Company within the meaning of Section 402 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (an “Executive Officer”). With respect to an Employee who is an Executive Officer, the Employee hereby agrees to pay the Company, on or prior to the date of exercise, by cash or check an amount equal to such additional withholding unless the Company otherwise determines that withholding such amount from the Employee’s paycheck or other cash compensation in accordance with the preceding sentence would not violate Section 402 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.

Instead of or in combination with the foregoing, the Employee authorizes the Company and/or the employing Parent and/or Subsidiary, in their sole discretion, and in each case to the extent permissible under local law, to (i) sell or to arrange for the sale of Shares received as a result of the exercise of the SAR (on the Employee’s behalf and at the Employee’s discretion pursuant to the Employee’s authorization in this Agreement), with the proceeds going toward satisfaction of the Tax-Related Items, (ii) require the Employee to pay the Tax Related Items in the form of cash, check or other cash equivalent, and/or (iii) withhold all applicable Tax-Related Items legally payable by the Employee from the Employee’s paycheck or other cash compensation payable to the Employee by the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary).

The Employee shall pay to the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company may be required to withhold as a result of the Employee’s participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by one or more of the means previously described in this paragraph 8.

The Employee acknowledges and agrees that the Company may refuse to honor the exercise and refuse to make the SAR Payment required under this Agreement if the Employee fails to comply with his or her obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items as described in this paragraph 8. In the event that the cash amounts withheld by the Company exceed the withholding taxes that are due after the automatic withholding of whole Shares, the Company will reimburse the Employee for the excess amounts.

 

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9. Suspension of Exercisability . This SAR, in the sole discretion of the Company, may not be exercised, in whole or in part, and the Company shall not be required to issue any certificate or certificates for Shares hereunder prior to fulfillment of all the following conditions: (a) the admission of such Shares to listing on all stock exchanges on which such class of stock is then listed; (b) the completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares, the filing of quarterly reports and the completion of any restatement of financial statements required under any state, federal, or local law or under the rulings or regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable; (c) the obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any governmental agency, which the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable; and (d) the lapse of such reasonable period of time following the date of exercise of the SAR as the Administrator may establish from time to time for reasons of administrative convenience. Any suspension of exercise or delay in the issuance of Shares as a result of one or more of the foregoing conditions shall not extend the Expiration Date of this SAR, and the Company shall have no further obligation or liability with respect to this SAR as of and following the Expiration Date.

10. Rights as Stockholder . Neither the Employee nor any person claiming under or through the Employee will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any of the Shares covered by this SAR unless and until certificates representing such Shares (which may be in book entry form) will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to the Employee (including through electronic delivery to a brokerage account). After such issuance, recordation and delivery, the Employee will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

11. Termination Period. This SAR will be exercisable for thirty (30) days after the Employee ceases to be a Service Provider, unless such termination is due to the Employee’s death or Disability, in which case this SAR will be exercisable for twelve (12) months after the Employee ceases to be a Service Provider. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may this SAR be exercised after the Expiration Date as set forth in the Summary of Grant.

12. No Effect on Employment . Subject to any employment contract with the Employee, the terms of such employment will be determined from time to time by the Company, or the Parent or Subsidiary employing the Employee, as the case may be, and the Company, or the Parent or Subsidiary employing the Employee, as the case may be, will have and the Employee’s participation in the Plan shall not interfere with, the right, which is hereby expressly reserved, to terminate or change the terms of the employment of the Employee at any time for any reason whatsoever, with or without good cause. The transactions contemplated hereunder, the Employee’s participation in the Plan, and the vesting schedule set forth in the Summary of Grant do not constitute an express or implied promise of continued employment for any period of time. In the event that the Employee is not an employee of the Company, the grant will not be interpreted to form an employment contract with the Employee’s employer or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company.

13. Nature of Grant . In accepting the SAR, the Employee acknowledges that: (a) the grant of the SAR is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of SARs, or benefits in lieu of SARs even if SARs have been granted repeatedly in the past; (b) all decisions with respect to future awards of SARs, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company; (c) the Employee’s participation in the Plan is voluntary; (d) SARs are

 

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extraordinary items that do not constitute regular compensation for services rendered to the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary), and that are outside the scope of the Employee’s employment contract, if any; (e) SARs are not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purposes, including, but not limited to, calculating any severance, resignation, redundancy or end of service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments and in no event should be considered as compensation for, or relating in any way to, past services for the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary); (f) the future value of the underlying Shares is unknown and cannot be predicted with certainty; (g) in consideration of the award of SARs, no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from termination of the SARs or any diminution in value of the SAR or Shares received when the SARs are exercised resulting from termination of employment by the Company (or the employing Parent or Subsidiary) (for any reason whatsoever and whether or not in breach of local labor laws), and the Employee irrevocably releases the Company and/or the employing Parent or Subsidiary from any such claim that may arise; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have arisen, then, by signing this Agreement, the Employee shall be deemed irrevocably to have waived his or her entitlement to pursue such claim; (h) in the event of involuntary termination of the Employee’s employment (whether or not in breach of local labor laws), the Employee’s right to vest in SARs under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of the date that the Employee is no longer actively employed and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under local law (e.g., active employment would not include a period of “garden leave” or similar period pursuant to local law); the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when the Employee is no longer actively employed for purposes of the SAR; (i) the Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations regarding the Employee’s participation in the Plan, or the Employee’s acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares; and (j) the Employee is hereby advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding the Employee’s participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.

14. Data Privacy . The Employee hereby explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of the Employee’s personal data as described in this Agreement by and among, as applicable, the Employee’s employer, the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Employee’s participation in the Plan.

The Employee understands that the Company, the Parent and the Subsidiary may hold certain personal information about the Employee, including, but not limited to, the Employee’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares of stock or directorships held in the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary, details of all SARs or any other entitlement to shares of stock awarded, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in the Employee’s favor, for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan (“Personal Data”). The Employee understands that Personal Data may be transferred to any third parties assisting in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan, that these recipients may be located in the Employee’s country, or elsewhere, and that the recipient’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections than the Employee’s country. The Employee understands that he or she may request a list with the names and addresses of any

 

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potential recipients of the Personal Data by contacting the Employee’s local human resources representative. The Employee authorizes the recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Personal Data, in electronic or other form, for the purposes of implementing, administering and managing the Employee’s participation in the Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Personal Data as may be required to a broker or other third party with whom the Employee may elect to deposit any Shares received upon exercise of the SAR. The Employee understands that Personal Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage the Employee’s participation in the Plan. The Employee understands that he or she may, at any time, view Personal Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Personal Data, require any necessary amendments to Personal Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, without cost, by contacting in writing the Employee’s local human resources representative. The Employee understands that refusal or withdrawal of consent may affect the Employee’s ability to realize benefits from the SAR. For more information on the consequences of the Employee’s refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, the Employee understands that he or she may contact his or her local human resources representative.

15. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Agreement shall be addressed to the Company, in care of the Human Resources Department, at Echelon Corporation, 550 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

16. SAR is Not Transferable . Except as otherwise expressly provided in paragraph 4 above, this SAR and the rights and privileges conferred hereby shall not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, hypothecated or disposed of in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and shall not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process. Upon any attempt to sell, transfer, pledge, assign, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of this SAR, or of any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this SAR and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately shall become null and void.

17. Restrictions on Sale of Securities . Subject to the provisions of paragraph 9 above, the Shares issued upon exercise of this SAR will be registered under the U.S. federal securities laws and will be freely tradable upon receipt. However, your subsequent sale of the Shares will be subject to any market blackout-period that may be imposed by the Company and must comply with the Company’s insider trading policies, and any other applicable securities laws.

18. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this SAR contained herein, this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto to the extent permissible under local law.

19. Plan Governs . This Agreement is subject to all of the terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall govern. Capitalized terms and phrases used and not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

 

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20. Administrator Authority . The Administrator shall have all discretion, power, and authority to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any SARs have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon the Employee, the Company and all other interested persons, and will be given the maximum deference permitted by law. No member of the Administrator shall be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

21. Captions . The captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for the interpretation or construction of this Agreement.

22. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability shall not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

23. Modifications to the Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. The Employee expressly warrants that he or she is not executing this Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Except as otherwise provided herein, modifications to this Agreement can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company.

24. Amendment, Suspension, or Termination of the Plan . By accepting this SAR, the Employee expressly warrants that he or she has received a SAR to purchase stock under the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. The Employee understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

25. Section 409A . Under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, a SAR that vests after December 31, 2004, that was granted with a per share Grant Price that is determined by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) to be less than the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant (a “discount SAR”) may be considered “deferred compensation.” A SAR that is a “discount SAR” may result in, if the Employee is subject to tax in the United States, (i) income recognition by the Employee prior to the exercise of the SAR, (ii) an additional twenty percent (20%) tax, and (iii) potential penalty and interest charges. The Employee acknowledges that the Company cannot and has not guaranteed that the IRS will agree that the per Share Grant Price of this SAR equals or exceeds the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant in a later examination. The Employee agrees that if the IRS determines that this SAR was granted with a per Share Grant Price that was less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant, the Employee (if subject to tax in the United States) will be solely responsible for the Employee’s taxes and other costs related to such a determination.

 

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26. Notice of Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without regard to principles of conflict of laws.

27. Electronic Delivery . The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to the SAR granted under, and participation in, the Plan or future Awards that may be granted under the Plan by electronic means or to request the Employee’s consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. The Employee hereby consents to receive such documents by electronic delivery and, if requested, to agree to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

28. Language . If the Employee has received this Agreement, including Appendices (if any), or any other document related to the Plan translated into a language other than English, and if the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control.

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EXHIBIT 31.1

I, M. Kenneth Oshman, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Echelon Corporation;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

    ECHELON CORPORATION

Date: August 11, 2008

    By:   /s/ M. Kenneth Oshman
        M. Kenneth Oshman,
        Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

EXHIBIT 31.2

I, Oliver R. Stanfield, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Echelon Corporation;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

    ECHELON CORPORATION

Date: August 11, 2008

    By:   /s/ Oliver R. Stanfield
        Oliver R. Stanfield,
       

Executive Vice President Finance and Chief

Financial Officer (Duly Authorized Officer and

Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

EXHIBIT 32

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002*

I, M. Kenneth Oshman, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that the Quarterly Report of Echelon Corporation on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2008 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that information contained in such Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly presents in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of Echelon Corporation.

 

    ECHELON CORPORATION
Date: August 11, 2008     By:   /s/ M. Kenneth Oshman
        M. Kenneth Oshman,
        Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

I, Oliver R. Stanfield, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that the Quarterly Report of Echelon Corporation on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2008 fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that information contained in such Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly presents in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of Echelon Corporation.

 

    ECHELON CORPORATION
Date: August 11, 2008     By:   /s/ Oliver R. Stanfield
        Oliver R. Stanfield,
        Executive Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer

 

* A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906, or other document authenticating, acknowledging, or otherwise adopting the signature that appears in typed form within the electronic version of this written statement required by Section 906, has been provided to Echelon Corporation and will be retained by Echelon Corporation and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

This certification accompanies this Form 10-Q to which it relates, is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Registrant (whether made before or after the date of this Form 10-Q) under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.