ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS 

An investment in our common stock may be considered speculative and involves a high degree of risk, including among other items the risk factors described below. These risk factors are intended to generally describe certain risks that could materially affect the Company and its current business operations and activities.

You should carefully consider the risks described below and elsewhere herein in connection with any decision whether to acquire, hold or sell the Company’s securities. The following list identifies and briefly summarizes certain risk but should not be viewed as complete or comprehensive. If any of the contingencies discussed in the following paragraphs or other materially adverse events actually occur, the business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or a significant part of your investment.

Liquidity and Debt Risks

Inadequate liquidity could materially and adversely affect our business operations.

We have significant outstanding indebtedness under our credit facility. As of December 31, 2019, we had fully drawn the $34.0 million available under our credit facility and were in default under our 2017 Credit Agreement with East West Bank. In addition, we experienced significant declines in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 compared to the prior year’s comparable quarters and have very limited cash flow. Due to this limited liquidity and decreased cash flow, we may not be able to provide our services, which could lead to continued deterioration in our financial condition.

On January 6, 2020, the Company received a notice (the “Default Notice”) from East West Bank regarding events of default of the Company with respect to the 2017 Credit Agreement. As a result of the events of default, East West Bank may accelerate the $34.0 million outstanding loan balance under the 2017 Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable. As of the date of this report, East West Bank has not accelerated the outstanding loan balance amount but it may do so in the future.

The Default Notice indicates that the Company is in default under the 2017 Credit Agreement as a result of its:

We are also currently negotiating and working with East West Bank in an effort to obtain a waiver for our breaches of the 2017 Credit Agreement. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on our renegotiation of the 2017 Credit Agreement and our ability to further reduce costs and raise further capital, of which there can be no assurance. Further, there can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain a waiver from the East West Bank or maintain or increase our cash flows from operations. Given our current financial situation we may be required to accept terms on the transactions that we are seeking that are onerous to us.

The Default Notice indicated that although East West Bank was not as of January 6, 2020, exercising its rights and remedies available as a result of the events of default, it specifically did not waive its rights and remedies resulting from the events of default and it reserves all other available rights and remedies under the Credit Agreement, certain other related documents and applicable law.

Our ability to pay interest and principal on our indebtedness and to satisfy our other obligations will depend upon our ability to achieve increased utilization of our equipment, which is highly influenced by weather and customer's drilling activity.  We cannot assure that our business will generate sufficient cash flows from operations, or that future capital will be available to us in an amount sufficient to fund our liquidity needs. In the absence of adequate cash from operations and other available capital resources, we could face substantial liquidity constraints. We are seeking additional debt and equity financing without which we may have to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. If we do not succeed in these endeavors, we may fail to continue as a going concern.  We cannot assure you that we will be able to raise capital through debt or equity financings on terms acceptable to us or at all, or that we could consummate dispositions of assets or operations for fair market value, in a timely manner or at all.  Furthermore, any proceeds that we could realize from any financings or dispositions may not be adequate to meet our debt service or other obligations then due.

We are currently in a very difficult operating environment.

We face a very difficult operating environment in 2020 with exploration and production companies significantly cutting back their drilling and completions plans and exerting significant pressure on us to reduce our prices for the services we provide. Additionally, as indicated above, we are in default under out 2017 Credit Agreement due to our operating results experienced in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 and we believe we will need additional debt or equity capital to meet expected cash needs in the second quarter of 2020 and throughout the rest of 2020. We cannot assure that we will raise any such capital on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Due to our lack of capital we may be forced to curtail operations in some or all of our locations which will materially and adversely affect our revenues and our ability to continue as a going concern. 

We are in violation of two covenants of our 2017 Credit Agreement as well as failure to pay an overadvance that has continued through the date of this report and the bank has declared events of default and may claim remedies that would effectively put us out of business. Also, we may be unable to meet the obligations of various financial covenants that are contained in the terms of our 2017 Credit Agreement.

Our 2017 Credit Agreement with East West Bank imposes numerous financial covenants on the Company including maintaining a prescribed fixed charge coverage ratio, a minimum liquidity ratio at certain times, and it limits the Company's ability to make capital investments. This agreement has a variable interest rate and is collateralized by substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. We are currently in violation of two covenants as discussed above, as well as failure to pay an overadvance that has continued through the date of this report.  Although East West Bank has not as of March 20, 2020, exercised its rights and remedies available as a result of these covenant violations, it specifically did not waive its rights and remedies resulting from the events of default and it continues to reserve all other available rights and remedies under the Credit Agreement, certain other related documents and applicable law.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with these covenants, or that if we violate other covenants in the future that East West Bank would be willing to provide waivers. Violation of these covenants could result in the acceleration of maturities under the default provisions of our 2017 Credit Agreement and put into jeopardy our ability to operate as a going concern.

Our debt obligations have reduced, and may reduce in the future, our financial and operating flexibility.

As of December 31, 2019, we had borrowed approximately $34.0 million under our senior revolving credit facility and did not have any capacity available under this facility. Additionally, as of December 31, 2019 we owed approximately $2.8 million to other parties pursuant to various secured and unsecured subordinate debt agreements.

A high level of indebtedness subjects us to several material adverse risks. In particular, it may make it more likely that a reduction in the borrowing base of our credit facility following a periodic redetermination could require us to repay a portion of outstanding borrowings, may impair our ability to obtain additional financing in the future, and increases the risk that we may default on our debt obligations, as is presently occuring. In addition, we are required to devote a significant portion of our cash flows to servicing our debt, and we are subject to interest rate risk under our credit facility, which bears interest at variable rates. An increase in our interest rates could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our ability to meet our debt obligations and to reduce our level of indebtedness depends on our future performance and as of March 2020 we had experienced two significantly reduced operating quarters (2019 fourth quarter and 2020 first quarter) from the like quarters in the prior years. Thus, we are extremely limited in our ability to repay any indebtedness without substantial debt restructuring and/or additional financing, either debt or equity, of which we can make no assurance will occur. Also, because of these poor operating results, we expect that we will need operating capital to meet expected cash needs in the second quarter of 2020 and throughout the rest of 2020. At this time, we do not have any commitments for such capital. Due to our lack of capital we may be forced to curtail operations in some or all of our locations which will materially and adversely affect our revenues and our ability to continue as a going concern. 

General economic conditions, weather, oil and natural gas prices and financial, business and other factors affect our operations and our future performance. We experienced a heavy downturn in demand for our services in the fourth quarter of 2019 that has continued through 2020 to date. Many of these factors are beyond our control. If we do not have sufficient funds on hand to pay our debt when due, we may be required to seek a waiver or amendment from our lenders, refinance our indebtedness, incur additional indebtedness, sell assets or sell additional shares of our common stock. We may not be able to complete such transactions on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our failure to generate sufficient funds to pay our debts or to undertake any of these actions successfully could result in a default on our debt obligations, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our auditors and management have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

As disclosed in the consolidated financial statements in this report, we incurred net losses of $7.7 million and $5.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Additionally, we are in violation of two of our 2017 Credit Agreement covenants, as well as continually having failed to pay an overadvance through the date of this report have experienced revenue declines, have very limited liquidity and expect negative cash flow from operations in the near term, and have suffered recurring losses from operations. We believe these circumstances raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on achievement of significantly increased revenues, raising equity or additional debt and/or a combination transaction with another entity. If we are not able to generate the funds needed to cover our ongoing expenses, then we may be forced to cease operations or seek bankruptcy protection, in which event our stockholders could lose their entire investment.

Operations Related Risks

While our growth strategy includes seeking acquisitions of other oilfield services companies, we may not be successful in identifying, making and integrating business or asset acquisitions, if any, in the future.

We anticipate that a component of our growth strategy may be to make geographically focused acquisitions of businesses or assets aimed to strengthen our presence and expand services offered in selected regional markets. Pursuit of this strategy may be restricted by the on-going volatility and uncertainty within the credit markets which may significantly limit the availability of funds for such acquisitions. Our ability to use shares of our common stock in an acquisition transaction may be adversely affected by the volatility in the price of our common stock.

In addition to restricted funding availability, the success of this strategy will depend on our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates and to negotiate acceptable financial and other terms. There is no assurance that we will be able to do so. The success of an acquisition also depends on our ability to perform adequate due diligence before the acquisition and on our ability to integrate the acquisition after it is completed. While we intend to commit significant resources to ensure that we conduct comprehensive due diligence, there can be no assurance that all potential risks and liabilities will be identified in connection with an acquisition. Similarly, while we expect to commit substantial resources, including management time and effort, to integrating acquired businesses into ours, there is no assurance that we will be successful in integrating these businesses. In particular, it is important that we be able to retain both key personnel of the acquired business and its customer base. A loss of either key personnel or customers could negatively impact the future operating results of any acquired business.

Our business is materially impacted by seasonal weather conditions.

Our businesses, particularly our frac heating and hot oil services, are impacted by weather conditions and temperatures. Unseasonably warm weather during winter months reduces demand for the heating services and results in higher operating costs, as a percentage of revenue, due to the need to retain equipment operators during these low demand periods. Management makes concerted efforts to reduce costs during these low demand periods by utilizing operators in other business segments, reducing hours, and some instances utilizing seasonal layoffs.

Further, during the winter months, our customers may delay operations or we may not be able to operate or move our equipment between locations during periods of heavy snow, ice or rain, and during the spring some areas impose transportation restrictions due to muddy conditions caused by spring thaws.

We may be unable to implement price increases and recently have had to decrease existing prices on our core services.

We periodically seek to increase the prices of our services to offset rising costs and to generate increased revenues. We operate in a very competitive industry and, as a result, we are not always successful in raising or maintaining our existing prices. Additionally, during periods of increased market demand, a significant amount of new equipment may enter the market, which would also put pressure on the pricing of our services. Even when we are able to increase our prices, we may not be able to do so at a rate that is sufficient to offset rising costs. Also, we may not be able to successfully increase prices without adversely affecting our activity levels. The inability to maintain our prices or to increase the prices of our services to offset rising costs increase could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. Recently, in the face of significantly reduced demand for oil field services resulting from significant reduced capital expenditures, we have been forced to decrease our frac heating prices in order to obtain new business and obtain existing business, which will result in lower margins for us and decrease operating revenues. We anticipate pricing pressure impacting our other service lines if lower oil and gas prices persist.

We operate in a capital-intensive industry. We may not be able to finance future growth of our operations or future acquisitions.

Our business activities require substantial capital expenditures. If our cash flow from operating activities and borrowings under our existing credit facility were not sufficient to fund our capital expenditure budget, we would be required to reduce these expenditures or to fund these expenditures through new debt or equity issuances.

Our ability to raise new debt or equity capital or to refinance or restructure our debt at any given time depends, among other things, on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Also, the terms of existing or future debt or equity instruments could further restrict our business operations. The inability to finance future growth could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Increased labor costs or the unavailability of skilled workers could hurt our operations.

Companies in our industry, including us, are dependent upon the available labor pool of skilled workers. We compete with other oilfield services businesses and other employers to attract and retain qualified personnel with the technical skills and experience required to provide our customers with the highest quality service. We are also subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as minimum wage, overtime and other working conditions, and which can increase our labor costs or subject us to liabilities to our employees. A shortage of skilled workers or other general inflationary pressures or changes in applicable laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain skilled personnel and could require us to enhance our wage and benefits packages. Labor costs may increase in the future or we may not be able to reduce wages when demand and pricing falls, and such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Historically, we have experienced a high employee turnover rate. Any difficulty we experience replacing or adding workers could adversely affect our business.

We believe that the high turnover rate in our industry is attributable to the nature of oilfield services work, which is physically demanding and performed outdoors, and to the seasonality of certain of our segments. As a result, workers may choose to pursue employment in areas that offer a more desirable work environment at wage rates that are competitive with ours. The potential inability or lack of desire by workers to commute to our facilities and job sites, as well as the competition for workers from competitors or other industries, are factors that could negatively affect our ability to attract and retain skilled workers. We may not be able to recruit, train and retain an adequate number of workers to replace departing workers. The inability to maintain an adequate workforce could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

New U.S. tax legislation could adversely affect us and our shareholders.

On December 22, 2017, legislation referred to as the Tax Act was signed into law. The Tax Act is generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. The Tax Act includes significant amendments to the Internal Revenue Code, including amendments that significantly change the taxation of business entities, including the deductibility of interest. Some of the amendments could adversely affect our business and financial condition, including by limiting our ability to realize tax benefits from our NOLs, however we expect that, ultimately, the reduction of the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% should be beneficial to us.

Our business depends on domestic (United States) spending by the crude oil and natural gas industry which suffered significant price volatility in 2019 and 2020, and such volatility may continue; our business has been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by industry and financial market conditions that are beyond our control.

We depend on our customers’ ability and willingness to make operating and capital expenditures to explore, develop and produce crude oil and natural gas in the United States. Customers’ expectations for future crude oil and natural gas prices, as well as the availability of capital for operating and capital expenditures, may cause them to curtail spending, thereby reducing demand for our services and equipment. Major declines in oil and natural gas prices in 2019 and 2020 have resulted in substantial declines in capital spending and drilling programs across the industry. As a result of the declines in oil and natural gas prices, many exploration and production companies have and are expected to substantially reduce drilling and completions programs at times and have required service providers to make pricing concessions. 

Industry conditions and specifically the market price for crude oil and natural gas are influenced by numerous domestic and global factors over which we have no control, such as the supply of and demand for oil and natural gas, domestic and worldwide economic conditions that are affected by several factors beyond our control, weather conditions, political instability in oil and natural gas producing countries and perceived economic conditions. The volatility of the oil and natural gas industry and the consequent impact on commodity prices as well as exploration and production activity could adversely impact the level of drilling and activity by many of our customers. Where declining prices lead to reduced exploration and development activities in our market areas, the reduction in exploration and development activities over a sustained period will have a negative long-term impact on our business. Several month periods of low oil and natural gas prices typically result in increased pressure from our customers to make additional pricing concessions and impact our borrowing arrangements with our principal bank. There can be no assurance that the prices we charge to our customers will return to former levels experienced.

There has also been significant political pressures for the United States economy to reduce its dependence on crude oil and natural gas due to the perceived impacts on climate change. Furthermore, there have been significant political and regulatory efforts to reduce or eliminate hydraulic fracturing operations in certain of our service areas, particularly in Colorado. Colorado legislature recently enacted a bill that could significantly restrict oil and gas drilling in Colorado, thereby negatively affecting our revenues. These activities may make oil and gas investment and production less attractive.

Higher oil and gas prices do not necessarily result in increased drilling activity because our customers’ expectation of future prices also drives demand for production maintenance and completion services. Oil and gas prices, as well as demand for our services, also depend upon other factors that are beyond our control, including the following:

Ongoing volatility and uncertainty in the domestic and global economic and political environments have caused the oilfield services industry to experience demand volatility. While our management is generally optimistic for the continuing development of the onshore North American oil and gas industry over the long term, there are several political and economic pressures negatively impacting the economics of production from existing wells, future drilling operations, and the willingness of banks and investors to provide capital to participants in the oil and gas industry. We believe that these cuts in spending will continue to curtail drilling programs as well as discretionary spending on well services, and will continue to result in a reduction in the demand for our services, the rates we can charge, and equipment utilization. In addition, certain of our customers could become unable to pay their suppliers, including us. Any of these conditions or events would adversely affect our operating results.

Our success depends on key members of our management, the loss of any executive or key personnel could disrupt our business operations.

We depend to a large extent on the services of certain of our executive officers. The loss of the services of Ian Dickinson or Marjorie Hargrave, could disrupt our operations. Although we have entered into employment agreements with Mr. Dickinson and Ms. Hargrave, that contain, among other things non-compete and confidentiality provisions, we may not be able to enforce the non-compete and/or confidentiality provisions in the employment agreements.

We depend on several significant customers, and a loss of one or more significant customers could adversely affect our results of operations. 

Our top five customers accounted for approximately 35% and 39% of our total annual revenues for 2019 and 2018, respectively. 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. 

While we believe our equipment could be redeployed in the current market environment if we lost any material customers, such loss could have an adverse effect on our business until the equipment is redeployed. We believe that the market for our services is sufficiently diversified that it is not dependent on any single customer or a few major customers.

Demand for the majority of our services is substantially dependent on the levels of expenditures by the domestic oil and natural gas industry. We have no influence over our customers’ capital expenditures. On-going economic volatility could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Over the last several years, oil prices have experienced significant swings. Prices for crude oil and natural gas decreased significantly in 2019 and 2020, to date, compared to prior years. Significant and sustained price declines have historically caused many of our customers to reduce or delay their oil and natural gas exploration and production spending, which consequently resulted in decreased demand for our services, and exerted downward pressure on the prices we charged for our services and products.

Also, an environment of increasing oil and natural gas prices can lead to increasing costs of exploring for and producing oil and natural gas. Though the addition of frac stimulation into the domestic oil and gas industry has somewhat reduced the overall costs of producing oil and natural gas, the price of drill rigs, pipe, other equipment, fluids, and oil field services and the cost to companies like us of providing those services, has generally increased along with increases in oil and natural gas prices. The reduction in cash flows experienced by our customers during periods of lower oil and natural gas prices and the increase of the costs of exploring for and producing oil and natural gas as noted above could have significant adverse effects on the financial condition of some of our customers. This could result in project modifications, delays or cancellations, general business disruptions, and delay in, or nonpayment of, amounts that are owed to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Environmental compliance costs and liabilities could reduce our earnings and cash available for operations.

We are subject to increasingly stringent laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and the importation and use of hazardous materials, including laws and regulations governing air emissions, water discharges and waste management. Government authorities have the power to enforce compliance with their regulations, and violations are subject to fines, injunctions or both. We incur, and expect to continue to incur, capital and operating costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations. The technical requirements of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly complex, stringent and expensive to implement. These laws may provide for “strict liability” for damages to natural resources or threats to public health and safety. Strict liability can render a party liable for damages without regard to negligence or fault on the part of the party. Some environmental laws provide for joint and several strict liability for remediation of spills and releases of hazardous substances.

We use hazardous substances and transport hazardous wastes in our operations. Accordingly, we could become subject to potentially material liabilities relating to the investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties, and to claims alleging personal injury or property damage as the result of exposures to, or releases of, hazardous substances. In addition, stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations, new laws and regulations, the discovery of previously unknown contamination or the imposition of new or increased requirements could require us to incur costs and penalties, or become the basis of new or increased liabilities that could reduce its earnings and cash available for operations. We believe we are currently in compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

Intense competition within the well services industry may adversely affect our ability to market our services.

The well services industry is intensely competitive. It includes numerous small companies capable of competing effectively in our markets on a local basis, as well as several large companies that possess substantially greater financial and other resources than us. Our larger competitors have greater resources that allow those competitors to compete more effectively than us. Our small competitors may be able to react to market conditions more quickly. The amount of equipment available may exceed demand at some point in time, which could result in active price competition.

We could be impacted by unfavorable results of legal proceedings, such as being found to have infringed on intellectual property rights.

As is the situation with other companies in the frac water heating service business, we rely on certain procedures and practices in performing our services. In 2016, we were issued our first patent relating to an aspect of the frac water heating process and in 2017, a second patent was issued. We have other patent applications pending regarding other procedures used in our process of heating frac water. We are aware that one unrelated company has been awarded four patents related, in part, to a process for heating of frac water. 

Our operations are subject to inherent risks, some of which are beyond our control. These risks may be self-insured, or may not be fully covered under our insurance policies, but to the extent not covered, are self-insured by us.

Our operations are subject to hazards inherent in the oil and natural gas industry, such as, but not limited to, accidents, blowouts, explosions, fires and oil spills. These conditions can cause:

The occurrence of a significant event or adverse claim in excess of the insurance coverage that we maintain or that is not covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, claims for loss of oil and natural gas production and damage to formations can occur in the well services industry. Litigation arising from a catastrophic occurrence at a location where our equipment and services are being used may result in us being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting large claims.

We maintain insurance coverage that we believe to be customary in the industry against these hazards. In addition, in June 2015, we became self-insured under our Employee Group Medical Plan for the first $50,000 per individual participant. However, we do not have insurance against all foreseeable risks, either because insurance is not available or because of the high premium costs. The occurrence of an event not fully insured against, or the failure of an insurer to meet its insurance obligations, could result in substantial losses to us. In addition, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at reasonable rates. Insurance may not be available to cover any or all of the risks to which we are subject, or, even if available, it may be inadequate, or insurance premiums or other costs could rise significantly in the future so as to make such insurance prohibitively expensive. It is likely that, in our insurance renewals, our premiums and deductibles will be higher, and certain insurance coverage either will be unavailable or considerably more expensive than it has been in the recent past. In addition, our insurance is subject to coverage limits, and some policies exclude coverage for damages resulting from environmental contamination.

Compliance with climate change legislation or initiatives could negatively impact our business.

The U.S. Congress has considered legislation to mandate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and certain states have already implemented, or may be in the process of implementing, similar legislation. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has held in its decisions that carbon dioxide can be regulated as an “air pollutant” under the Clean Air Act, which could result in future regulations even if the U.S. Congress does not adopt new legislation regarding emissions. At this time, it is not possible to predict how legislation or new federal or state government mandates regarding the emission of greenhouse gases could impact our business; however, any such future laws or regulations could require us or our customers to devote potentially material amounts of capital or other resources in order to comply with such regulations. These expenditures could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Anti-fracking initiatives and revisions of applicable state regulations could adversely impact our business.

Some states (including Colorado) and certain municipalities have regulated, or are considering regulating fracking which, if accomplished, could impact certain of our operations. There can be no assurance that these actions, if taken on a wider scale, may not adversely impact our business operations and revenues.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards may be subject to limitation and may result in increased future tax liability.

Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, contain rules that limit the ability of a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” to utilize its net operating loss carry forwards (“NOLs”) and certain built-in losses recognized in years after the ownership change. An “ownership change” is generally defined as any change in ownership of more than 50% of a corporation’s stock over a rolling three-year period by stockholders that own (directly or indirectly) 5% or more of the stock of the corporation, or arising from a new issuance of stock by the corporation. If an ownership change occurs, Section 382 generally imposes an annual limitation on the use of pre-ownership change net operating losses, or NOLs, credits and certain other tax attributes to offset taxable income earned after the ownership change. The annual limitation is equal to the product of the applicable long-term tax-exempt rate and the value of the corporation’s stock immediately before the ownership change. This annual limitation may be adjusted to reflect any unused annual limitation for prior years and certain recognized built-in gains for the year. In addition, Section 383 generally limits the amount of tax liability in any post-ownership change year that can be reduced by pre-ownership change tax credit carryforwards. If we were to experience an "ownership change," this could result in increased U.S. federal income tax liability for us if we generate taxable income after the ownership change. Limitations on the use of NOLs and other tax attributes could also increase our state tax liabilities. The use of our tax attributes will also be limited to the extent that we do not generate positive taxable income in future tax periods. As a result of these limitations, we may be unable to offset future taxable income, if any, with NOLs before such NOLs expire. Accordingly, these limitations may increase our federal and state income tax liabilities.

As of December 31, 2019, we had U.S. federal NOLs of approximately $31.8 million and state NOLs of approximately $27.5 million.

While our growth strategy includes seeking acquisitions of other oilfield services companies, we may not be successful in identifying, making and integrating business or asset acquisitions, if any, in the future.

At this time, we are very limited in considering potential acquisitions due to our deteriorating financial condition and immediate liquidity need. We anticipate that a component of any future growth strategy may be to make geographically focused acquisitions of businesses or assets aimed to strengthen our presence and expand services offered in selected regional markets. Pursuit of this strategy may be restricted by the on-going volatility and uncertainty within the credit markets which may significantly limit the availability of any funds for such acquisitions. Our ability to use shares of our common stock in an acquisition transaction may be adversely affected by the volatility in our stock price.

In addition to restricted funding availability, the success of this strategy will depend on our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates and to negotiate acceptable financial and other terms. There is no assurance that we will be able to do so. The success of an acquisition also depends on our ability to perform adequate due diligence before the acquisition and on our ability to integrate the acquisition after it is completed. While the Company intends to commit significant resources to ensure that it conducts comprehensive due diligence, there can be no assurance that all potential risks and liabilities will be identified in connection with an acquisition. Similarly, while we expect to commit substantial resources, including management time and effort, to integrating acquired businesses into ours, there is no assurance that we will be successful in integrating these businesses. In particular, it is important that the Company be able to retain both key personnel of an acquired business and its customer base. A loss of either key personnel or customers could negatively impact the future operating results of any acquired business. 

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We have no plans to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Stockholders may not receive funds without selling their shares.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to pay down debt and finance the expansion of our business. Our future dividend policy is within the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including our business, financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and investment opportunities. In addition, we have agreed with East West Bank, our principal lender that we will not pay any cash dividends on our common stock until our obligations to East West Bank are paid in full. Accordingly, realization of a gain on a shareholder’s investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of our common stock.

Our board of directors can, without stockholder approval, cause preferred stock to be issued on terms that adversely affect holders of our common stock.

Under our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is authorized to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which none are issued and outstanding as of the date of this annual report. Also, our board of directors, without stockholder approval, may determine the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, of those shares. If our board of directors causes shares of preferred stock to be issued, the rights of the holders of our common stock would likely be subordinate to those of preferred holders and therefore could be adversely affected. Our board of directors’ ability to determine the terms of preferred stock and to cause its issuance, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding common stock. Preferred shares issued by our board of directors could include voting rights or super voting rights, which could shift the ability to control the Company to the holders of the preferred stock. Preferred stock could also have conversion rights into shares of our common stock at a discount to the market price of our common stock, which could negatively affect the market for our common stock. In addition, preferred stock would have preference in the event of liquidation of the corporation, which means that the holders of preferred stock would be entitled to receive the net assets of the corporation distributed in liquidation before the holders of our common stock receive any distribution of the liquidated assets. 

The price of our common stock may be volatile regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid or at all.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price at which you paid for such shares. Our stock price volatility can be in response to a number of factors, including those listed in this section and elsewhere in this annual report. Many of these volatility factors are beyond our control. Other factors that may affect the market price of our common stock include:

In addition, the U.S. securities markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations over the past several years. These fluctuations often have been unrelated to the operating performance of companies in these markets. Market fluctuations and broad market, economic and industry factors may negatively affect the price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. Any volatility or a significant decrease in the market price of our common stock could also negatively affect our ability to make acquisitions using our common stock. Further, if we were to be the object of securities class action litigation as a result of volatility in our common stock price or for other reasons, it could result in substantial costs and diversion of our management’s attention and resources, which could negatively affect our financial results.

Our existing shareholders would experience dilution if we elect to raise equity capital to meet our liquidity needs or finance a strategic transaction.

As part of our strategy we may desire to raise capital and or utilize our common stock to effect strategic business transactions. Either such action will likely require that we issue equity (or debt) securities which would result in dilution to our existing stockholders. Although we will attempt to minimize the dilutive impact of any future capital-raising activities or business transactions, we cannot offer any assurance that we will be able to do so. If we are successful in raising additional working capital, we may have to issue additional shares of our common stock at prices at a discount from the then-current market price of our common stock.

The value of our common stock may decline significantly if we are unable to maintain our NYSE American listing. 

Our common stock has sold and may continue to sell at a price per share well below $1.00. The NYSE American rules contain requirements with respect to continued listing standards, which include, among other things, when it appears to the Board of Directors of the Exchange that “the extent of public distribution or the aggregate market value of the security has become so reduced as to make further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable” (Rule 1002). Rule 1003 also provides that the Exchange will not normally consider removing shares from listing where, like Enservco at the present time, “the issuer has at least 1,100,000 shares publicly held, a market value of publicly held shares of at least $15,000,000 and 400 round lot shareholders”.

On November 12, 2019 we received notification from the NYSE American LLC (the “NYSE American”) indicating that the Company is not in compliance with Sections 1003(a)(i) and (ii) of the NYSE’s Company Guide in that it has reported stockholders’ equity of less than $2 million as of December 31, 2019, and reported losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in its four most recent fiscal years.

The NYSE American has approved the Company’s plan to regain compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard related to stockholders’ equity.  Accordingly, Enservco’s common stock will continue to be listed on the NYSE American pursuant to an extension while it seeks to regain compliance with the listing standards noted, subject to the Company’s compliance with other continued listing requirements.

If we fail to meet the requirements, our common stock may be delisted. If our common stock is delisted, we would be forced to list our common stock on the OTC Markets or some other quotation medium, depending on our ability to meet the specific requirements of those quotation systems. In that case, we may lose some or all of our institutional investors, and selling our common stock on the OTC Markets would be more difficult because smaller quantities of shares would likely be bought and sold and transactions could be delayed. These factors could result in lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for shares of our common stock. Further, because of the additional regulatory burdens imposed upon broker-dealers with respect to de-listed companies, delisting could discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our stock, further limiting the liquidity of our shares. These factors could have a material adverse effect on the trading price, liquidity, value and marketability of our stock.

General Corporate Risks

Concentration of ownership makes it unlikely that any stockholder will be able to influence the election of directors or engage in a change of control transaction.

Five stockholders directly and indirectly own approximately 38% of the Company’s outstanding common stock and have the ability to heavily influence the election of our directors when they again stand for reelection. Furthermore, it is likely that no person seeking control of the Company through stock ownership will be able to succeed in doing so without negotiating an arrangement to do so with these stockholders. For so long as these stockholders continue to own a significant percentage of the outstanding shares of the Company common stock, they will retain such influence over the election of the board of directors and the negotiation of any change of control transaction.

Provisions in our charter documents could prevent or delay a change in control or a takeover.

Provisions in our bylaws provide certain requirements for the nomination of directors which preclude a stockholder from nominating a candidate to stand for election at any annual meeting. As described in Section 2.12 of the Company’s bylaws, nominations must be presented to the Company well in advance of a scheduled annual meeting, and the notification must include specific information as set forth in that section. The Company believes that such a provision provides reasonable notice of the nominees to the board of directors, but it may preclude stockholder nomination at a meeting where the stockholder is not familiar with nomination procedures and, therefore, may prevent or delay a change of control or takeover.

Although the Delaware General Corporation Law includes §112 which provides that bylaws of Delaware corporations may require the corporation to include in its proxy materials one or more nominees submitted by stockholders in addition to individuals nominated by the board of directors, the bylaws of the Company do not so provide. As a result, if any stockholder desires to nominate persons for election to the board of directors, the proponent will have to incur all of the costs normally associated with a proxy contest.

Indemnification of officers and directors may result in unanticipated expenses.

The Delaware General Corporation Law, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws, and indemnification agreements between the Company and certain individuals provide for the indemnification of our directors, officers, employees, and agents, under certain circumstances, against attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by them in any litigation to which they become a party arising from their association with us or activities on our behalf. We also will bear the expenses of such litigation for any of our directors, officers, employees, or agents, upon such person’s promise to repay them if it is ultimately determined that any such person shall not have been entitled to indemnification. This indemnification policy could result in substantial expenditures by us that we may be unable to recoup and could direct funds away from our business and products (if any).

We have significant obligations under the 1934 Act and the NYSE American.

Because we are a public company filing reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, we are subject to increased regulatory scrutiny and extensive and complex regulation. The Securities and Exchange Commission has the right to review the accuracy and completeness of our reports, press releases, and other public documents. In addition, we are subject to extensive requirements to institute and maintain financial accounting controls and for the accuracy and completeness of our books and records. In addition to regulation by the SEC, we are subject to the NYSE American rules. The NYSE American rules contain requirements with respect to corporate governance, communications with shareholders, and various other matters.

Our operations are subject to cyber-attacks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations and consolidated financial condition.

Our operations are increasingly dependent on digital technologies and services. We use these technologies for internal purposes, including data storage, processing and transmissions, as well as in our interactions with customers and suppliers. Digital technologies are subject to the risk of cyber-attacks. If our systems for protecting against cybersecurity risks prove not to be sufficient, we could be adversely affected by, among other things: loss of or damage to intellectual property, proprietary or confidential information, or customer, supplier, or employee data; interruption of our business operations; and increased costs required to prevent, respond to, or mitigate cybersecurity attacks. These risks could harm our reputation and our relationships with customers, suppliers, employees and other third parties, and may result in claims against us. These risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations and consolidated financial condition.

The following biographies describe the business experience of our executive officers:

Ian E. Dickinson, Age 47. Mr. Dickinson became our Chief Executive Officer and President on May 9, 2019 and was also appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors on May 9, 2017. Mr. Dickinson joined the Company from Caddis Capital Investments, LLC (“Caddis”), an actively managed private equity firm, where he had been a partner since July, 2016. Prior to joining Caddis, Mr. Dickinson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Premier Oilfield Equipment Company (“Premier”) from its acquisition by Altira Group, LLC in February, 2012, until July, 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Dickinson served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Startek, Inc. (“SRT”), a global contact center outsource services provider, from March 2011 until February, 2012, and as Managing Director at Slalom Consulting, LLC, leading the CFO Advisory Services practice from October, 2009 until March, 2011. His previous experience includes CFO and corporate development roles at several private equity and venture capital backed companies. Mr. Dickinson began his career in various and expanding leadership roles in finance and M&A at Quest Communications (acquired by CenturyLink), Nextel (acquired by Sprint), and ADT Security Services. Mr. Dickinson is a member of Young President Organization – Colorado Chapter, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Fox Management, LLC and the ACE Scholarships Advisory Board. Mr. Dickinson is a graduate of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Marjorie Hargrave, Age 56. Ms. Hargrave became our Chief Financial Officer on July 24, 2019. Ms. Hargrave previously provided consulting services to various companies in the areas of finance, administration, accounting, risk mitigation, human resources, and investor relations from 2016 to joining us in 2019. Prior to her consulting work, Ms. Hargrave served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for CTAP, LLC, a privately held distributor of tubing and casing throughout the United States, from 2010 to 2016. Ms. Hargrave also served as Chief Financial Officer of High Sierra Energy, LP, a start-up energy company which focused on midstream acquisitions, from 2005 to 2009. Ms. Hargrave’s previous experience also includes management and associate roles with Black Hills Corporation, Xcel Energy, and Merrill Lynch & Co. Ms. Hargrave earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston University, and a master’s degree in economics from New York University.