Item 1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Overview
We were incorporated on September 27, 2006 in Nevada as Sunrise Global, Inc. Until closing of the Acquisition of Greenkraft on December 6, 2013 (as described below), we were a recycled industrial waste resale company. On December 27, 2013, we changed our corporate name to Greenkraft, Inc. from Sunrise Global, Inc., which name change reflects our acquisition of Greenkraft resulting in us now conducting Greenkraft’s business. Concurrent with the name change, we effectuated a 2-for-1 forward split, also effective December 27, 2013. All share amounts have been adjusted to give effect to the reverse split.
We are a manufacturer and distributor of automotive products. We manufacture commercial forward trucks for vehicle classes 3,4, 5, 6, and 7 (GVW ranging from 10,001 lbs. to 33,000 lbs.) in alternative fuels. We also manufacture and sell alternative fuel systems to convert petroleum based fuels to natural gas and propane fuels.
Our executive offices are located at 2530 S. Birch Street, Santa Ana, CA 92707. Our telephone number is (714) 545-7777 and our Internet address is
www.greenkraftinc.com
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Acquisition oF Greenkraft, Inc.
On December 5, 2013, we entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with the sole stockholder (the “Stockholder”) of Greenkraft, Inc., a California corporation (“Greenkraft”), pursuant to which, on December 6, 2013 (the “Closing Date”), we issued 83,000,000 shares (as adjusted to give effect for the 2-for-1 forward split effectuated on December 27, 2013) of our common stock to the Stockholder in consideration of the Stockholder’s transfer of all of his Greenkraft shares to our wholly-owned acquisition subsidiary, Greenkraft, Inc, a Nevada corporation (the “Acquisition Subsidiary)., at which time Greenkraft became Acquisition Subsidiary’s wholly owned subsidiary (the “Acquisition”).
Prior to the Acquisition, Greenkraft was the Company’s controlling stockholder, owning approximately 68% of our common stock which it purchased in May 2013. In addition, George Gemayel, Greenkraft’s sole shareholder, president and director, was appointed as the Company’s president and sole director in connection with their purchase of the controlling interest in May 2013. The Greenkraft Shares exchanged for the Company shares were valued at $100,000,000 based on internal forecasts and EBITDA projections prepared by the common management of Greenkraft and the Company. Such internal forecasts and projections have not been independently verified by any financial advisor, are based solely on management beliefs and there can be no assurance that Greenkraft’s actual results will match the internal forecast or projections. There was no third party independent valuation. This valuation is not reflected in our financial statements, which are based on historical cost.
As a condition to the closing of the Acquisition, on the Closing Date, 4,600,000 shares (as adjusted to give effect for the 2-for-1 forward split effectuated on December 27, 2013) of our issued and outstanding common stock previously held by Greenkraft were cancelled pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement (the “Cancelled Shares”).
Following the Acquisition, we now conduct operations through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenkraft.
Industry Overview
The combination of environmental pressures, regulations, and alternative fuel vehicle initiatives has resulted in the transportation industry offering environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles. Currently automotive manufacturers are actively engaged in the competitive pursuit of innovative, clean, alternative fuel vehicles – particularly as they strive to meet new emissions rules and contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. These alternative fuel vehicles can provide needed performance, sustained mobility, and immediate emissions reductions in the industry. Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are abundantly available in the US, and a growing network of fueling stations exists in California. Light- and medium-duty service trucks are utilized by a growing business sector. Developing these vehicles to run on CNG, LPG, and electric will offer a cleaner fuel choice for these business operators without sacrificing availability, safety, or convenience.
Natural gas powers about 112,000 vehicles in the United State and roughly 14.8 million vehicles worldwide. Natural gas vehicles which can run on compressed natural gas are good choices for high mileage centrally fueled fleets which operate within a limited area. For vehicles needing to travel long distances, liquifed natural gas is a good choice. CNG and LNG are considered alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Today’s fleets are increasingly interested in medium and heavy duty vehicles that use alternative fuels or advanced technologies that can help reduce operating costs, meet emission requirements and support US energy independence. Vehicle and engine manufacturers are responding to this interest with a wide range of options across a steadily growing number of vehicle applications.
Our business expects to benefit from the availability of government tax incentives, such as tax credits and grants to encourage the use of natural gas in trucks, buses and other vehicles. On December 31, 2012, the United States Congress passed the American Tax Relief Act of 2012, which extended the Alternative Fuels Excise Tax Credit of U.S.$0.50 per gallon for LNG and U.S.$0.50 per GGE of CNG until December 31, 2013 and also made those credits retroactive to January 1, 2012. In addition, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fueling Infrastructure Credit of 30% of the cost of any qualified alternative fuel vehicle refuelling property placed in service during the taxable year, not to exceed U.S.$30,000 in the case of a property of a character subject to an allowance for depreciation, and U.S.$1,000 in any other case, was also extended until December 31, 2013 and made retroactive to January 1, 2012. There was also an extension and modification of the bonus depreciation provision that extends the 50% bonus depreciation through to January 1, 2014.
In the absence of federal legislation, individual states have initiated and passed bills to provide incentives to encourage the use of domestic energy sources such as natural gas. Texas Senate Bills 20 and 385 have been passed and authorize funding for approximately U.S.$16 million for natural gas vehicle rebates, which includes converting heavy-duty fleet vehicles to natural gas, and U.S.$4 million per year for the next two years for the establishment of natural gas stations between the cities of Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. California, through the CEC with funds through Assembly Bill 118, has established the Natural Gas Vehicle Buy-Down Program, a rebate program to incentivize the deployment of natural gas and propane vehicles in all weight classes in California. Funding for this program for 2012 was U.S.$12.7 million. No date for 2013 applications has been announced. California also has programs authorized by Proposition 1B that periodically make funding available to promote the use of cleaner heavy-duty trucks within the state. Pennsylvania through House Bill 1950 authorizes U.S.$20 million over three years in vehicle and transit grants of up to U.S.$20,000 per vehicle. Other states such as Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia offer state income tax credits for the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles including natural gas.
Our Principal Products and Services
We currently offer two main products and services at this time:
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Commercial forward cabin trucks that run on alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied propane gas (LPG).
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Conversion of existing vehicles to run on alternative fuels such as CNG, or LPG.
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Commercial Forward Cab Trucks with Alternative Fuels
We currently offer commercial trucks (Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with dedicated natural gas fuel system for 6.0 liter Greenkraft/General Motor (GM) engines for 14,000 lbs. and above gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) trucks and custom chassis manufacturers. We offer a range of Class 3-7 cab-forward trucks based on chassis from JAC, China’s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company. We then installs 6.0-liter GM engines and our CNG fuel systems and adds Quantum Technologies’ tanks in the vehicle. The CNG fuel systems are assembled by Greenkraft using parts manufactured by various suppliers. The chassis and cabin are imported from overseas and the powertrain is assembled in the chassis. Prior to order of the chassis, we provided specific design specifications to JAC to ensure that the chassis comply with US guidelines and specifications. We have received California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification of 2013 and 2014 dedicated-compressed natural gas fuel systems for its 6.0-liter GM engines for 14,000 lbs. and above GVWR trucks. We complete assembly (through the use of employees provided by CEE, LLC, an entity controlled by our president, George Gemayel) of the trucks and CNG fuel systems at its location in Santa Ana, CA. We use our strategic partner, CEE, LLC for the testing of its engines prior to applying for the CARB and EPA certifications referred to above. In addition, We used CEE, LLC and G&K Automotive, another strategic partner, in connection with research and development activities. See “—Strategic Partners” below.
Customers
We have sold its alternative fuel trucks to Ryder System, Fox Transportation, Otto Environmental Systems, and City of Santa Monica.
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Ryder System, Inc.—submitted purchase orders for 20 CNG trucks from Greenkraft. Greenkraft began delivery of these trucks in the third quarter of 2013.
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Fox Transportation—submitted purchase orders for 30 CNG trucks and 40 propane trucks. Greenkraft began delivery of the trucks in third quarter of 2013.
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Otto Environmental Systems – submitted a purchase order for 4 CNG trucks to be used in waste management industry. Greenkraft expects to deliver these trucks in April 2014 upon receipt of payment from Otto.
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City of Santa Monica – submitted a purchase order for 3 CNG trucks to be used in their fleet. Greenkraft expects to begin delivery by April 2014.
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During fiscal year 2013, two of the Company’s customers collectively accounted for more than 67% of our total gross revenues, with one customer accounting for 40% and another accounting for approximately 26%. We believe we will reduce the customer concentration risks by engaging new customers and increasing activity of existing less active customers and smaller, newer customer relationships. While we continue to acquire new customers in an effort to grow and reduce our customer concentration risks, management believes these risks will continue for the foreseeable future.
Funding for the incremental cost of the vehicles was provided by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Mobile Source for Pollution Reduction Review Committee. The CEC provides up to (i) $20,000 per vehicle that are up to 26,000 LBS GVWR and (ii) $26,000 per vehicle that are over 26,000 LBS GVWR. These funds are paid directly to us and taken in as deposits until actual delivery of the vehicles at which time it is deemed revenue. We have received $1.140 million from the CEC related to the sale of CNG and propane trucks.
In addition, we have dealer relationships with each of (i) Don Kahan Motor, Inc. for sales of CNG vehicles in Missouri and Kansas and parts of Illinois and (ii) A.R. Natural Gas Fueling Systems for sales of our CNG vehicles in Pennsylvania. Each of these dealers has placed an order for 25 of our CNG trucks. We expect to start delivering trucks to these dealers in the second half of 2014. We have had discussions with other dealers throughout the United States and intends to enter into formal relationships with these dealers upon completion and assembly of additional truck inventory. There is no guarantee that we will enter into additional contracts or formal relationships with its current customers and additional dealers.
Convert Vehicles for Alternative Fuels
In addition to our offering of new commercial trucks in alternative fuels, we can convert other existing vehicles (such as vehicles manufactured by Ford or GM that do not currently run on alternative fuels) to allow engines to run on CNG or LPG instead of gas or diesel. We converted 20 Isuzu trucks to CNG operation for Fox Transportation in 2013. In addition, We have converted vehicles for other dealers including, without limitation, Tom’s Truck Center, Borhner Trucks, Rush Trucks and Rentals, and Thorson Motors. Prior to 2014, all vehicle conversions were completed with employees provided by CEE, LLC, an entity controlled by our president, George Gemayel. In 2014, we intend to hire our own employees for vehicle conversions. Until such employees are hired, we will continue to use personnel provided by CEE LLC.
Suppliers
We have supplier relationships with each of
Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company (JAC Motors), General Motors and Quantum Technologies for supply of the chassis, engine and CNG tanks, respectively.
Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company (JAC Motors)—Chassis
In October 2012, Greenkraft entered into an agreement with JAC Motors, a Chinese Truck Chassis Manufacturer for the supply of its chassis and cabins. Greenkraft is entitled to use the JAC brand name for manufacturing and distribution of its trucks. The Agreement is for a term of 5-years and will automatically be renewed for an additional 5-years if the product targets are met.
Greenkraft has relationships with other chassis suppliers. In the event that its relationship with JAC Motors was terminated, Greenkraft is confident that it could procure a relationship with an alternative chassis supplier on commercially reasonable terms.
General Motors (GM)—Engines/Power Trains
In October 2011, Greenkraft entered into an agreement with GM under which Greenkraft will have access to GM motors and power trains for insertion into their alternative fuel trucks. The agreement is for a 3-year term and expires on December 31, 2014. Greenkraft has relationships with other suppliers of engines and power trains. In the event that Greenkraft’s agreement with GM is terminated, it is confident that it could execute agreements with other suppliers for its engines on commercially reasonable terms.
Quantum Technologies—CNG tanks and tank assemblies
In December 2012, Greenkraft entered into $2.5 million purchase order and summary of terms with Quantum Fuel Systems, Inc. under which Quantum agreed to supply Greenkraft with 250 Type 4 30 GGE CNG cylinder tanks including assembly.
Greenkraft obtains most components for the alternative fuel trucks from various suppliers as discussed above. In addition, the fuel systems are put together with different components from various suppliers. All components are either procured from suppliers or made specifically by suppliers for Greenkraft. Greenkraft does design certain components and brackets for use in its alternative fuel trucks and conversion systems and then contracts suppliers to make these items based on Greenkraft’s design and specification.
Strategic Partners
We have a strategic relationship with CEE, LLC, an emission laboratory of which George Gemayel is the managing member. CEE, LLC is recognized by EPA and CARB and has certified vehicles over 30 years. CEE has also provided its employees to Greenkraft for its truck assembly and conversion jobs with the salaries paid for by CEE which is reflected as a capital contribution to Greenkraft by Mr. Gemayel. Greenkraft does not have a written agreement with CEE LLC governing this relationship. In 2014, Greenkraft intends to hire its employees directly for truck assembly and intends to hire 10-20 employees in 2014 for truck assembly but will continue to use personnel provided by CEE LLC until such employees are hired. In addition, Greenkraft will continue to use CEE for testing of its engines to ensure CARB compliance.
We also work with an automotive technical division in the automotive safety compliance industry. G&K Automotive Conversion Inc. (“G&K”). G&K is a California based company founded in 1982 to modify and certify foreign motor vehicles to meet the stringent vehicle safety and emission standards of the United States. G&K is certified as a Registered Importer (“RI”) by the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and is certified as an Independent Commercial Importer (“ICI”) by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). G&K is also recognized by the California Air Resources board (“CARB”) as an approved motor vehicle modifier. G&K is able to provide DOT, EPA, and CARB certification services at a full-service state-of-the-art facility in Santa Ana, California. Mr. George Gemayel is the president and controlling shareholder of G&K. We do not have a written agreement with G&K governing this relationship.
Sales Distribution Strategy
As discussed above, we already have distribution agreements in place with each of
(i) Don Kahan Motors, Inc. for sales of CNG vehicles in Missouri and Kansas parts of Illinois and (ii) A.R. Natural Gas Fueling Systems for sales of our CNG vehicles in Pennsylvania. In the event that our relationship with either of these dealers terminated, we have relationships with other dealers in these geographic areas and believes it could enter into additional agreements on commercially reasonable terms. We intend to enter into distribution agreements with other dealers for other territories in the United States. We already had discussions with distributors in New York, New Jersey, California and Oregon for formal distribution relationships, which it intends to formalize upon reaching a critical mass of inventory of its alternative fuel trucks. We believe partnering with dealers for distribution of its trucks will have certain advantages such as,
experienced trained sales force; service network, existing customer base and should also serve to reduce marketing costs.
Employees
As of December 31, 2013, we had 2 employees, including our executive officers George Gemayel and Sosi Bardakjian. Greenkraft intends to hire 10-20 employees in 2014.
Intellectual
Property
We believe that intellectual property protection will be important to our ability to successfully compete in the alternative fuel truck industry. We currently own all rights and patents associated with the Invention “LPG Fuel System” described under Application Number 61908022. This invention relates to the conversion of vehicles to run on LPG. We are currently in the process of recording a formal notice of assignment related to this invention with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
We intend to rely on a combination of trademark, copyright, certifications and trade secret laws and disclosure restrictions to protect our intellectual property rights. We intend to maintain a policy requiring our employees, consultants and other third parties to enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements and to control access to software, documentation and other proprietary information.
We will enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and nondisclosure agreements with parties with whom we conduct business in order to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information.
We will aggressively protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights, as well as a variety of administrative procedures. We will pursue the registration of our trademarks, copyrights, and domain names in the U.S. and international jurisdictions.
The steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Third parties may infringe or misappropriate our proprietary rights. Competitors may also independently develop technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to the technologies we employ in our services. Failure to protect our proprietary rights adequately could significantly harm our competitive position and results of operations.
Governmental Programs, Incentives and Regulations
California Energy Commission (CEC)
The California Energy Commission is currently providing buy-downs related to the purchase of alternative fuel trucks to cover the incremental cost of purchasing alternative fuel vehicles. Greenkraft received $1,140,000 from the CEC of which (i) $400,000 was applied to the buy-down of 20 CNG vehicles of 16,000 lbs.; (ii) $340,000 was applied to the buy down of 17 CNG vehicles of 14,500 lbs. and (iii) $400,000 was applied to the buy down of 40 propane vehicles of 14,500 lbs. Greenkraft continues to apply for grants and more incentives that are available.
California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Tax Incentives
We intend to apply for an arrangement with the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) that could result in an exemption from California state sales and use taxes for sale of our trucks.
Regulatory Credits
In connection with the delivery and placement into service of our alternative fuel vehicles in the United Sates, we may be able to earn various tradable regulatory credits that can be sold to other manufacturers.
Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards, vehicle manufacturers are required to meet fleet-wide average carbon dioxide emissions standards for cars and trucks at increasingly lower levels annually from 2012 – 2025. Those manufacturers whose fleet wide average fails to meet such standards have a deficit in their emission profile. Those manufacturers whose fleet wide average performs better than such standards may earn credits. Manufacturers may sell excess credits to other manufacturers who can apply such credits to comply with these regulatory requirements. As a manufacturer solely of zero emission vehicles, we earn the full amount of GHG credits established by the standards on each vehicle sold. We have entered into agreements with another automobile manufacturer to sell the credits that we earn.
We may enter into contracts for the sale of credits with several automotive manufacturers, if and when such credits are earned by us.
Regulation—EPA Emissions & Certificate of Conformity
Our products are sold to commercial users. Our alternative fuel engines are subject to approval for the U.S. EPA as well as state agencies such as the CARB. We have received Certificates of Conformity from the EPA for our natural gas engines that go into vehicles (in excess of 14,000 lbs.) in both 2012, 2013, and 2014. In addition the CARB has issued executive orders for 4.8 liter, and 6.0 liter CNG engines in 2012 and 6.0 liter propane engines in 2014 and 6.0 liter and 6.8 liter CNG engines in 2013 and 2014. For 2014, Greenkraft also applied for 6.0 liter and 6.8 liter GM and Ford Fuel delivery system certifications with EPA and CARB
Competition
Competition in the automotive industry is intense and evolving. We believe the impact of new regulatory requirements for vehicle emissions, technological advances in powertrain and shifting customer needs and expectations are causing the industry to evolve in the direction alternative fuel vehicles. We believe the primary competitive factors in our markets include but are not limited to:
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product quality and safety;
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service options;
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product performance;
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product price; and
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manufacturing efficiency.
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The worldwide automotive market, particularly for alternative fuel vehicles, is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future.
Most of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. Virtually all of our competitors have more extensive customer bases and broader customer and industry relationships than we do. In addition, almost all of these companies have longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we do. Our competitors may be in a stronger position to respond quickly to new technologies and may be able to design, develop, market and sell their products more effectively.
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The statements in this section describe the most significant risks to our business and should be considered carefully in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” to this Form 10-K. In addition, the statements in this section and other sections of this Form 10-K include “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve uncertainties that could significantly impact results. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events about the company or our outlook. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact they do not relate to historical or current facts and by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “will be,” “should,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “could” and similar words or expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and on known risks and uncertainties. Although we believe we have been prudent in our assumptions, any or all of our forward-looking statements may prove to be inaccurate, and we can make no guarantees about our future performance. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could materially differ from past results and/or those anticipated, estimated or projected.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should, however, consult any subsequent disclosures we make in our filings with the SEC on Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.
The following is a cautionary discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that we believe are significant to our business. In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this report, the following are some of the important factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we believe could make our actual results differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements. It is impossible to predict or identify all such factors and, as a result, you should not consider the following factors to be a complete discussion of risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our long-term success will be dependent upon our ability to design and achieve market acceptance of new alternative fuel commercial trucks.
Our long-term success is dependent on market acceptance of our new alternative fuel commercial trucks. There is no guarantee that our alternative fuel commercial trucks will be successfully accepted by the general public in the long-term. In addition, as technologies change in the future, we may be expected to upgrade or adapt our vehicles and introduce new models in order to continue to provide vehicles with the latest technology and meet customer expectations. We have limited experience simultaneously designing, assembling, converting and selling our alternative fuel commercial trucks.
Our future growth is dependent upon consumers’ willingness to adopt alternative fuel commercial trucks.
Our growth is highly dependent upon the adoption by consumers of, and we are subject to an elevated risk of any reduced demand for, alternative fuel alternative fuel commercial trucks. If the market for alternative fuel commercial trucks does not develop as we expect or develops more slowly than we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be harmed. The market for alternative fuel vehicles is relatively new, rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, additional competitors, evolving government regulation and industry standards, frequent new vehicle announcements and changing consumer demands and behaviors.
Our limited operating history makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult, and may increase the risk of your investment.
You must consider the risks and difficulties we face as an early stage company with a limited operating history. If we do not successfully address these risks, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely harmed. We were formed in 2008 and only recently began delivering our first alternative fuel trucks. We intend to derive substantial revenues from the sales of future alternative fuel trucks. It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our operating results and financial position could be materially affected.
If our commercial trucks fail to perform as expected, or if we suffer product recalls, our ability to develop, market and sell our alternative fuel vehicles could be harmed.
Our commercial trucks may contain defects in design and manufacture that may cause them not to perform as expected or that may require repair. While we intend to perform extensive internal testing, there can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix any defects in the vehicles prior to their sale to consumers.
Our alternative fuel commercial trucks may not perform consistent with customers’ expectations or consistent with other vehicles currently available. Any product defects or any other failure of our performance electric vehicles to perform as expected could harm our reputation and result in adverse publicity, lost revenue, delivery delays, product recalls, product liability claims, harm to our brand and reputation, and significant warranty and other expenses, and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
We have a history of losses.
We incurred net losses of $1,224,731 and $910,556 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. We had net income of $181,389 for the three months ended September 30, 2013, but other than this most recent quarter, we had net losses in each quarter since our inception. There can be no assurance that our sales of alternative fuel vehicles will continue to result in the net income we achieved in the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2013.
The automotive market is highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in this industry. We currently face competition from new and established competitors and expect to face competition from others in the future.
The worldwide automotive market, particularly for alternative fuel vehicles and aftermarket fuel systems, is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future. New developments in technology may negatively affect the development or sale of some or all of our products or make our products uncompetitive.
Most of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. Virtually all of our competitors have more extensive customer bases and broader customer and industry relationships than we do. In addition, almost all of these companies have longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we do. Our competitors may be in a stronger position to respond quickly to new technologies and may be able to design, develop, market and sell their products more effectively.
We expect competition in our industry to intensify in the future in light of increased demand for alternative fuel vehicles, continuing globalization and consolidation in the worldwide automotive industry. Factors affecting competition include product quality and features, innovation and development time, pricing, reliability, safety, fuel economy, customer service and financing terms. Increased competition may lead to lower vehicle unit sales and increased inventory, which may result in a further downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. Our ability to successfully compete in our industry will be fundamental to our future success in existing and new markets and our market share. There can be no assurances that we will be able to compete successfully in our markets. If our competitors introduce new cars or services that compete with or surpass the quality, price or performance of our cars or services, we may be unable to satisfy existing customers or attract new customers at the prices and levels that would allow us to generate attractive rates of return on our investment. Increased competition could result in price reductions and revenue shortfalls, loss of customers and loss of market share, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We depend on several significant customers, and a loss of one or more significant customers could adversely affect our results of operations.
During fiscal year 2013, two of the Company’s customers collectively accounted for approximately 67% of our total gross revenues, with one customer accounting for 40% and another accounting for approximately 26%. The loss of any one of these customers or a sustained decrease in demand by any of such customers could result in a substantial loss of revenues and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, should these large customers default in their obligation to pay, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We may need or want to raise additional funds and these funds may not be available to us when we need them. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, our operations and prospects could be negatively affected.
The design, manufacture, and sale of alternative fuel vehicles is a capital intensive business. As of December 31, 2013, we had approximately $582,689 in principal sources of liquidity from our cash and cash equivalents. We anticipate requiring approximately $1 million to fund operations over the next twelve months, including labor, rent and parts for building trucks.
We may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt securities or through obtaining credit from government or financial institutions. This capital will be necessary to fund and expand our ongoing operations, continue research and development projects. We cannot be certain that additional funds will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need them, our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects could be materially adversely affected. Additionally, under our credit facility with Pacific Premier, we are required to maintain certain financial ratios, including a global debt coverage ratio and a debt/worth ratio which may require us to obtain a waiver from Pacific Premier Bank in order to incur additional indebtedness in the future. We may not be able to obtain such waiver from Pacific Premier which may harm our business. Future issuance of equity or equity-related securities will dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders and our issuance of debt securities could increase the risk or perceived risk of our company.
The unavailability, reduction or elimination of government and economic incentives could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
We are partly dependent on government incentives to facilitate demand for our products and these incentives may not be renewed or may be redirected.
Our business is expected to benefit from the availability of government tax incentives, such as tax credits and grants to encourage the use of natural gas in trucks, buses and other vehicles. On December 31, 2012, the United States Congress passed the American Tax Relief Act of 2012, which extended the Alternative Fuels Excise Tax Credit of U.S.$0.50 per gallon for LNG and U.S.$0.50 per GGE of CNG until December 31, 2013 and also made those credits retroactive to January 1, 2012. In addition, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fueling Infrastructure Credit of 30% of the cost of any qualified alternative fuel vehicle refuelling property placed in service during the taxable year, not to exceed U.S.$30,000 in the case of a property of a character subject to an allowance for depreciation, and U.S.$1,000 in any other case, was also extended until December 31, 2013 and made retroactive to January 1, 2012. There was also an extension and modification of the bonus depreciation provision that extends the 50% bonus depreciation through to January 1, 2014.
In the absence of federal legislation, individual states have initiated and passed bills to provide incentives to encourage the use of domestic energy sources such as natural gas. Texas Senate Bills 20 and 385 have been passed and authorize funding for approximately U.S.$16 million for natural gas vehicle rebates, which includes converting heavy-duty fleet vehicles to natural gas, and U.S.$4 million per year for the next two years for the establishment of natural gas stations between the cities of Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. California, through the CEC with funds through Assembly Bill 118, has established the Natural Gas Vehicle Buy-Down Program, a rebate program to incentivize the deployment of natural gas and propane vehicles in all weight classes in California. Funding for this program for 2012 was U.S.$12.7 million. No date for 2013 applications has been announced. California also has programs authorized by Proposition 1B that periodically make funding available to promote the use of cleaner heavy-duty trucks within the state. Pennsylvania through House Bill 1950 authorizes U.S $20 million over three years in vehicle and transit grants of up to U.S.$25,000 per vehicle. Other states such as Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia offer state income tax credits for the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles including natural gas.
Any reduction, elimination or discriminatory application of government subsidies and economic incentives because of policy changes, the reduced need for such subsidies and incentives due to the perceived success of alternative fuel vehicles, fiscal tightening or other reasons may result in the diminished competitiveness of the alternative fuel vehicle industry generally. This could materially and adversely affect the growth of the alternative fuel automobile markets and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We could become subject to product liability claims.
Our business exposes us to potential product liability claims that are inherent to natural gas, LPG and products that use these gases. Natural gas and LPG are flammable gases and are potentially dangerous products. Any accidents involving our products or other natural gas, or LPG could materially impede widespread market acceptance and demand for our engines and fuel systems. In addition, we may be subject to a claim by end-users or others alleging that they have suffered property damage, personal injury or death because our products did not perform adequately. Such a claim could be made whether or not our products perform adequately under the circumstances. From time to time, we may be subject to product liability claims in the ordinary course of business, and we carry a limited amount of product liability insurance for this purpose. However, our current insurance policies may not provide sufficient or any coverage for such claims, and we cannot predict whether we will be able to maintain our insurance coverage on commercially acceptable terms.
Natural gas, LPG, and products that use these gases entail inherent safety and environmental risks that may result in substantial liability to us.
Natural gas and LPG are flammable gases and are potentially dangerous products. Our operations, including our research and development and manufacturing processes, are subject to all of the risks and hazards inherent to natural gas, LPG and products that use these gases, including equipment defects, malfunctions and failures and natural disasters, which could result in uncontrollable flows of natural gas, fires, explosions and other damages. Although we believe that our procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of natural gas, LPG, and other hazardous materials comply with legally prescribed standards, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from natural gas, LPG, and other hazardous materials and we may incur liability as a result of such contamination or injury. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our insurance and other resources, in which event we could incur significant costs that could have a material adverse effect upon its financial condition.
We could become liable for environmental damages resulting from our research, development or manufacturing activities.
The nature of our business and products exposes us to potential claims and liability for environmental damage, personal injury, loss of life, and damage to or destruction of property. Our business is subject to numerous laws and regulations that govern environmental protection and human health and safety. These laws and regulations have changed frequently in the past and it is reasonable to expect additional and more stringent changes in the future. Our operations may not comply with future laws and regulations, and we may be required to make significant unanticipated capital and operating expenditures. If we fail to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations, governmental authorities may seek to impose fines and penalties on us or to revoke or deny the issuance or renewal of operating permits, and private parties may seek damages from us. Under those circumstances, we might be required to curtail or cease operations, conduct site remediation or other corrective action, or pay substantial damage claims. In addition, depending on the nature of the claim, our current insurance policies may not provide sufficient or any coverage for such claims.
Fuel price differentials are hard to predict and may be less favorable in the future.
The acceptance of natural gas-fuelled engines by customers depends in part on the price differential between natural gas, diesel and gasoline fuels. Natural gas has generally been, and currently is, less expensive than diesel fuel in many jurisdictions. This price differential is affected by many factors, including changes in the resource base for natural gas compared with crude oil, availability of shale gas, pipeline transportation capacity for natural gas, refining capacity for crude oil, and government excise and fuel tax policies. While this price differential increased in the year ended December 31, 2012, there can be no assurance that natural gas will remain less expensive than diesel and gasoline fuels. This may impact upon potential customers’ decisions to adopt natural gas as an energy solution in the short term.
We are dependent on relationships with our suppliers.
While we have negotiated supply agreements with certain suppliers such as JAC Motors for our chassis, GM for the engines for our commercial trucks and Quantum Technologies for the CNG tanks for our commercial trucks. Thus, we are dependent on their ability to source materials, manage their capacity, workforce and schedules. For a number of reasons, including but not limited to shortages of parts, labor disruptions, lack of capacity and equipment failure, a supplier may fail to supply materials or components that meet our quality, quantity or cost requirements or to supply any at all. If we are not able to resolve these issues or obtain substitute sources for these materials or components in a timely manner or on terms acceptable to us, our ability to manufacture certain products may be harmed, and we may be subjected to cancellation of orders or penalties for failed or late deliveries, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. Our products also use steel and other materials that have global demand. The prices and quantities at which those supplies are available fluctuate and may increase significantly. Competitive pressure, however, may not allow us to increase the sales price of our products. Any such increases may therefore negatively affect our margins and financial condition. We mitigate these risks by seeking secondary suppliers, carrying inventory and locking in long-term pricing when possible. There are no guarantees, however, that we will be successful in securing alternative suppliers or that our inventory levels will be sufficient for our production requirements.
Our growth is dependent on natural gas refuelling infrastructure that may not be built and commissioned.
For motor vehicles, natural gas must be carried on board in liquefied or compressed form, and there are few public or private refuelling stations available in most jurisdictions. There can be no assurance of the successful expansion of the availability of natural gas as a vehicle fuel or that companies will develop refuelling stations to meet projected demand. If customers are unable to obtain fuel conveniently and affordably, a mass market for vehicles powered by our technology is unlikely to develop.
Changes in environmental and regulatory policies could hurt the market for our products.
We currently benefit from, and hope to continue to benefit from, certain government environmental policies, mandates and regulations around the world, most significantly in the international automotive market and in the United States. Examples of such regulations include those that provide economic incentives, subsidies, tax credits and other benefits to purchasers of low emission vehicles, restrict the sale of engines that do not meet emission standards, fine the sellers of non-compliant engines, tax the operators of diesel engines and require the use of more expensive ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel. There can be no assurance that these policies, mandates and regulations will be continued. Incumbent industry participants with a vested interest in gasoline and diesel, many of which have substantially greater resources than we do, may invest significant time and money in an effort to influence environmental regulations in ways that delay or repeal requirements for clean vehicle emissions. If these are discontinued or if current requirements are relaxed, this may have a material impact on our competitive position.
If we fail to manage future growth effectively as we rapidly grow our company, we may not be able to produce, market, sell and service our vehicles successfully.
Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Our future operating results depend to a large extent on our ability to manage this expansion and growth successfully. Risks that we face in undertaking this expansion include:
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finding and training new personnel;
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forecasting production and revenue;
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controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations;
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establishing or expanding design, manufacturing, sales and service facilities;
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implementing and enhancing manufacturing and administrative infrastructure, systems and processes; and
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addressing new markets.
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We intend to continue to hire a significant number of additional personnel. Competition for individuals with experience designing, manufacturing and servicing alternative fuel vehicles is intense, and we may not be able to attract, assimilate, train or retain additional highly qualified personnel in the future. The failure to attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these additional employees could seriously harm our business and prospects.
If we are unable to attract and/or retain key employees and hire qualified management, technical vehicle engineering, and manufacturing personnel, our ability to compete could be harmed and our stock price may decline.
The loss of the services of any of our key employees could disrupt our operations, delay the development and introduction of our vehicles and services, and negatively impact our business, prospects and operating results as well as cause our stock price to decline. In particular, we are highly dependent on the services of George Gemayel, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors. None of our key employees is bound by an employment agreement for any specific term. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully attract and retain senior leadership necessary to grow our business. Our future success depends upon our ability to attract and retain our executive officers and other key technology, sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing and support personnel and any failure to do so could adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. In addition, we do not have “key person” life insurance policies covering any of our officers or other key employees. Our continued success depends upon our continued ability to hire and retain employees. Additionally, we compete with many mature and prosperous companies in Southern California that have far greater financial resources than we do and thus can offer current or perspective employees more lucrative incentive packages than we can. Any difficulties in retaining current employees or recruiting news ones would have an adverse effect on our performance.
We are subject to substantial regulation, which is evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by us to comply with these regulations could substantially harm our business and operating results.
Our alternative fuel vehicles, the sale of trucks in general are subject to substantial regulation under international, federal, state, and local laws. We expect to incur in the future, significant costs in complying with these regulations. For example, the Clean Air Act requires that we obtain a Certificate of Conformity issued by the EPA and a California Executive Order issued by the CARB with respect to emissions for our vehicles.
To the extent the laws change, some or all of our vehicles may not comply with applicable international, federal, state or local laws, which would have an adverse effect on our business. Compliance with changing regulations could be burdensome, time consuming, and expensive. To the extent compliance with new regulations is cost prohibitive, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be adversely affected.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we would not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related rules implemented or to be implemented by the SEC and the NYSE AMEX. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. In order to comply with such requirements, our independent registered auditors will have to review our financial statements on a quarterly basis and audit our financial statements on an annual basis. Moreover, our legal counsel will have to review and assist in the preparation of such reports. We have estimated the annual costs for our public filings will approximate $60,000. Factors such as the number and type of transactions that we engage in and the complexity of our reports cannot accurately be determined at this time and may have a major negative affect on the cost and amount of time to be spent by our auditors and attorneys. However, the incurrence of such costs will obviously be an expense to our operations and thus have a negative effect on our ability to meet our overhead requirements and earn a profit.
We currently rely on our primary executive officer, George Gemayel and his related entities, the loss of any of whom may materially and adversely affect our company.
Currently, we rely on Mr. Gemayel and his related entities for (i) employees for truck assembly and conversion; (ii) loans to purchase inventory and (iii) corporate headquarters at no cost. The loss of Mr. Gemayel and the provision of services by him, the loss of allocation of personnel from his related companies and allocation of space at no cost could have a substantial negative effect on our company. In the event of the loss of services or of such personnel, no assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain the services of adequate replacement personnel. We do not have any employment agreements or maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our officers and directors.
Our principal executive officer is engaged in other activities and may not devote sufficient time to our affairs, which may affect our ability to conduct operations and generate revenues.
Our principal executive officer, George Gemayel has existing responsibilities and has additional responsibilities to provide management and services to other entities. Mr. Gemayel currently serves as an officer a director for two private companies, CEE, LLC, an emission laboratory and G&K Automotive Conversion, Inc. At both companies, Mr. Gemayel is the primary executive officer. We initially expect Mr. Gemayel to spend approximately 75% of his time on the business of our company. As a result, demands for the time and attention from Mr. Gemayel from our company and other entities may conflict from time to time. Because we rely primarily on Mr. Gemayel to maintain our business contacts and to promote our services, his limited devotion of time and attention to our business may hurt the operation of our business.
The lack of public company experience of our management team could adversely impact our ability to comply with the reporting requirements of U.S. Securities Laws
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Both Mr. Gemayel and Ms. Barkadjian, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, respectively, lack public company experience, which could impair our ability to comply with legal and regulatory requirements such as those imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Neither of our executive officers have ever been responsible for managing a publicly traded company. Such responsibilities include complying with federal securities laws and making required disclosures on a timely basis. Any such deficiencies, weaknesses or lack of compliance could have a materially adverse effect on our ability to comply with the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which is necessary to maintain our public company status. If we were to fail to fulfill those obligations, our ability to continue as a U.S. public company would be in jeopardy in which event you could lose your entire investment in our company.
We may be compelled to undertake product recalls, which could adversely affect our brand image and financial performance.
Any product recall in the future may result in adverse publicity, damage our brand and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
We have relied on our primary officer and his related entities to provide loans to finance our operations.
We have become reliant on George Gemayel and his related entities to fund our operations. As of December 31, 2013, we owed Mr. Gemayel and his related entities $1,916,916. These loans are undocumented and unsecured. However, any demand by Greenkraft to repay these loans immediately could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Further, financial institutions may be reluctant to lend us additional funds due to the high balance of these related party loans. There is no guarantee that Mr. Gemayel will continue to provide loans as needed in the future, which could have a material effect on our operations.
The line of credit with Pacific Premier Bank contains certain restrictive covenants which could limit management’s discretion to operate the business
In March 2012, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenkraft, entered into a $3.5 million revolving line of credit facility with Pacific Premier Bank. On July 15, 2013 the maturity date was extended to December 10, 2013 and the maximum amount available under this facility was decreased to $2 million. On December 26, 2013, Greenkraft entered into a loan modification agreement to extend the maturity dates to June 10, 2014. Our agreements with Pacific Premier Bank require us to maintain certain financial covenants, such as a current ratio in excess of 1.2 to 1 (measured at year end), a global debt coverage ratio in excess of 1.25 to 1 (evaluated at year end), a tangible net worth ratio of not less than $350,000 on an annual basis and a debt to worth ratio not in excess of 3 to 1. These covenants could restrict our ability to incur additional debt which could restrict our ability to grow our operations. On October 19, 2013, Pacific Premier advised us that we were not in compliance with the minimum global debt coverage ratio (as our ratio was (0.06) at December 31, 2012) and granted a one-time waiver of this covenant violation on such date. In our December 26, 2013 Loan Modification with Pacific Premier, we acknowledged that we were in breach of (a) our covenant to maintain a ratio of Global Debt Coverage in excess of 1.250 to 1.0, (b) our covenant to maintain a ratio of Debt/Worth not in excess of 3.0 to 1.0 and (c) our covenant to a Tangible Net Worth of not less than $350,000 (collectively the Covenant Violations”). In connection with the December 26, 2013 Loan Modification Agreement, Pacific Premier waived its rights arising out of the Covenant Violations for the reporting periods ending on December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2013. There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance with the financial covenants in future periods. Our failure to comply with the covenants included in the Pacific Premier loan agreements could result in an event of default, which, at Pacific Premier’s option, could trigger an acceleration of the related debt, which could place a strain on our financial resources and have an adverse effect on our operations.
Our internal controls over financial reporting were not be determined to be effective at December 31, 2013, which may adversely affect investor confidence in our company and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, as well as a statement that our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
Complying with Section 404 requires a rigorous compliance program as well as adequate time and resources. As a result of developing, improving and expanding our core information technology systems as well as implementing new systems to support our sales, engineering, supply chain and manufacturing activities, all of which require significant management time and support, we may not be able to complete our internal control evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. For the period ended December 31, 2013, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to our financial reporting system (adjustments were required in order to produce our financial statements) and segregation of duties (we did not segregate certain accounting duties due to the small size of our accounting staff). As such we were be unable to assert that our internal controls are effective. This could result in the loss of investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which would have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Risk Factors Related To The Kodiak Capital Group Investment Agreement
Existing stockholders may experience significant dilution from the sale of our common stock pursuant to the Kodiak Capital Group Investment Agreement.
The sale of our common stock to Kodiak Capital Group, LLC in accordance with the Investment Agreement may have a dilutive impact on our shareholders. As a result, our net income per share could decrease in future periods and the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, the lower our stock price is at the time we exercise our put options, the more shares of our common stock we will have to issue to Kodiak Capital Group, LLC in order to exercise a put under the Investment Agreement. If our stock price decreases, then our existing shareholders would experience greater dilution for any given dollar amount raised through the Offering.
The perceived risk of dilution may cause our stockholders to sell their shares, which may cause a decline in the price of our common stock. Moreover, the perceived risk of dilution and the resulting downward pressure on our stock price could encourage investors to engage in short sales of our common stock. By increasing the number of shares offered for sale, material amounts of short selling could further contribute to progressive price declines in our common stock.
The issuance of shares pursuant to the Kodiak Investment Agreement may have a significant dilutive effect.
Depending on the number of shares we issue pursuant to the Kodiak Investment Agreement, it could have a significant dilutive effect upon our existing shareholders. Although the number of shares that we may issue pursuant to the Investment Agreement will vary based on our stock price (the higher our stock price, the less shares we have to issue) the information set out below indicates the potential dilutive effect to our shareholders, based on different potential future stock prices, if the full amount of the Investment Agreement is realized.
Dilution based upon common stock put to Kodiak Capital Group and the stock price discounted to Kodiak Capital Group’s purchase price of 83% of the volume weighted average price (VWAP) during the pricing period. The example below illustrates dilution based upon a $1.75 market price/$1.45 purchase price and other increased/decreased prices (without regard to Kodiak’s 4.99% ownership limit):
$5,000,000 Put
Stock Price(Kodiak Purchase Price)
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Shares Issued
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Percentage of
Outstanding
Shares (1)
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$2.19 ($1.82) +25%
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2,753,873
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3.09
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%
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3,442,340
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3.84
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%
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4,589,788
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5.05
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%
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$0.88 ($0.73) -50%
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6,884,682
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7.39
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%
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$0.44 ($0.36) -75%
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13,769,363
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13.77
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%
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(1)
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Based on 86,252,718 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2014.
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Kodiak Capital Group, LLC will pay less than the then-prevailing market price of our common stock which could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Our common stock to be issued under the Kodiak Investment Agreement will be purchased at a seventeen (17%) discount or 83% of the lowest daily VWAP during the five trading days immediately following our notice to Kodiak Capital Group, LLC of our election to exercise our "put" right.
Kodiak Capital Group, LLC has a financial incentive to sell our shares immediately upon receiving the shares to realize the profit between the discounted price and the market price. If Kodiak Capital Group, LLC sells our shares, the price of our common stock may decrease. If our stock price decreases, Kodiak may have a further incentive to sell such shares. Accordingly, the discounted sales price in the Investment Agreements may cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Kodiak Capital Group, LLC has entered into similar agreements with other public companies and may not have sufficient capital to meet our put notices.
Kodiak Capital Group, LLC has entered into similar investment agreements with other public companies, and some of those companies have filed registration statements with the intent of registering shares to be sold to Kodiak pursuant to investment agreement. We do not know if management at any of the companies who have or will have effective registration statements intend to raise funds now or in the future, what the size or frequency of each put request would be, if floors will be used to restrict the amount of shares sold, or if the investment agreement will ultimately be cancelled or expire before the entire amount of shares are put to Kodiak. Since we do not have any control over the requests of these other companies, if Kodiak Capital Group, LLC receives significant requests, it may not have the financial ability to meet our requests. If so, the amount of available funds may be significantly less than we anticipate.
Risks Related to the Ownership of our Common Stock
Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and their affiliates may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.
As of December 31, 2013, our executive officers and directors beneficially owned, in the aggregate, approximately 97% of our outstanding shares of common stock. In particular, George Gemayel, our Chief Executive Officer, beneficially owned approximately 97% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2013 (after giving effect to the Acquisition). As a result, these stockholders will be able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders.
We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.
We have not voluntarily implemented various corporate governance measures, in the absence of which stockholders may have more limited protections against interested director transactions, conflicts of interests and similar matters.
We have not yet adopted any corporate governance measures and, since our securities are not yet listed on a national securities exchange, we are not required to do so. We have not adopted corporate governance measures such as an audit or other independent committees of our board of directors as we presently do not have any independent directors. In the future, we may seek to establish an audit and other committees of our board of directors. It is possible that if we were to adopt some or all of these corporate governance measures, stockholders would benefit from somewhat greater assurances that internal corporate decisions were being made by disinterested directors and that policies had been implemented to define responsible conduct. For example, in the absence of audit, nominating and compensation committees comprised of at least a majority of independent directors, decisions concerning matters such as compensation packages to our senior officers and recommendations for director nominees may be made by a majority of directors who have an interest in the outcome of the matters being decided. Prospective investors should bear in mind our current lack of corporate governance measures in formulating their investment decisions.
Trading in our common stock is limited and the price of our common stock may be subject to substantial volatility.
Our common stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board/OTC Marketplace, and therefore the trading volume is more limited and sporadic than if our common stock were traded on a national stock exchange such as The Nasdaq Stock Market or the NYSE Amex. Additionally, the price of our common stock may be volatile as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
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quarterly variations in our operating results;
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large purchases or sales of our common stock;
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actual or anticipated announcements of new products or services by us or competitors;
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general conditions in the markets in which we compete; and
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economic and financial conditions.
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“Penny stock” regulations may impose certain restrictions on the marketability of our securities.
The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define a “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions (including the issuer of the securities having net tangible assets (
i.e.,
total assets less intangible assets and liabilities) in excess of $2,000,000 or average revenue of at least $6,000,000 for the last three years). As a result, our common stock could be subject to these rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell our securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors (generally persons with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouse). For transactions covered by these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchase of such securities and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to the purchase. Additionally, for any transaction involving a “penny stock,” unless exempt, the rules require the delivery, prior to the transaction, of a risk disclosure document mandated by the SEC relating to the “penny stock” market. The broker-dealer must also disclose the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the “penny stock” held in the account and information on the limited market in “penny stocks.” Consequently, although the “penny stock” rules do not currently apply to our securities, if these rules do become applicable in the future, this may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities.
Securities analysts may not cover our common stock and this may have a negative impact on our common stock’s market price.
The trading market for our common stock may depend on the research and reports that securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. There is no guarantee that securities analysts will cover our common stock. If securities analysts do not cover our common stock, the lack of research coverage may adversely affect our common stock’s market price, if any. If we are covered by securities analysts, and our stock is downgraded, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regularly reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information
This annual report and the documents to which we refer you and incorporate into this annual report by reference contain forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we, or our representatives, may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing. These are statements that relate to future periods and include statements regarding our future strategic, operational and financial plans, potential acquisitions, anticipated or projected revenues, expenses and operational growth, markets and potential customers for our products and services, plans related to sales strategies and efforts, the anticipated benefits of our relationships with strategic partners, growth of our competition, our ability to compete, the adequacy of our current facilities and our ability to obtain additional space, use of future earnings, and the feature, benefits and performance of our current and future products and services.
You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “plans,” “projected,” “predicts,” “potential,” “seek” or “continue” or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including those described in this annual report under the heading “Risk Factors.” These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
We base these forward-looking statements on our expectations and projections about future events, which we derive from the information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance. Forward-looking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this annual report, the documents to which we refer you and other statements made from time to time by us or our representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us. For these statements, we claim the protection of the “bespeaks caution” doctrine. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and we expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this filing.