SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

[X]

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

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2004

or

[ ]

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OF 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________________ to __________________

Commission File No. 1-106

LYNCH CORPORATION

(401) 453-2007

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   X      No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes          No  X  

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the Registrant’s classes of Common Stock, as of the latest practical date.

INDEX

LYNCH CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Part 1 – FINANCIAL INFORMATION –

Item 1 – Financial Statements

LYNCH CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS – UNAUDITED
(In thousands except share amounts)

(A)

The Balance Sheet at December 31, 2003 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements.

See accompanying notes

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1 – Financial Statements

LYNCH CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS – UNAUDITED
(In Thousands, except share amounts)

See accompanying notes

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1 – Financial Statements

LYNCH CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS – UNAUDITED
(In Thousands)

See accompanying notes

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

A.

Subsidiaries of the Registrant

As of March 31, 2004, the Subsidiaries of the Registrant are as follows:

B.

Basis of Presentation

         The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2004 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ended December 31, 2004.

         The balance sheet at December 31, 2003 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements.

         For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Registrant Company and Subsidiaries’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003.

C.

Adoption of Accounting Pronouncements

         In January 2003, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 46, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an Interpretation of ARB No. 51” (“FIN 46”). FIN 46 clarifies the application of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51, “Consolidated Financial Statements,” to certain entities in which equity investors do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties. The consolidation requirements of FIN 46, as revised, are required for periods ending after December 15, 2003 for interests in structures that are commonly referred to as special-purpose entities, while the application of this Interpretation for all other types of variable interest entities is required for periods ending after March 15, 2004. The Company does not have any interests in variable interest entities.

D.

Restricted Cash

         At both March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, the Company had $1.1 million of Restricted Cash that secures a Letter of Credit issued by Fleet Bank to the First National Bank of Omaha as collateral for its M-tron subsidiary’s loans.

E.

Investments

         The following is a summary of marketable securities (investments) held by the Company (in thousands):

         The Company has a margin liability against this investment of $996,000 at March 31, 2004 and $1,033,000 as of December 31, 2003 which must be settled upon the disposition of the related securities whose fair value is based on quoted market prices. The Company has designated these investments as available for sale pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities”.

F.

Inventories

         Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market value. At March 31, 2004, inventories were valued by two methods: last-in, first-out (LIFO) – 80%, and first-in, first-out (FIFO) – 20%. At December 31, 2003, inventories were valued by the same two methods: LIFO – 73%, and FIFO – 27%.

         Current costs exceed LIFO value of inventories by $1,006,000 and $930,000 at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003 respectively.

G.

Indebtedness

         On a consolidated basis, at March 31, 2004, Lynch maintains short-term credit facilities totaling $10.0 million, of which $2.3 million was available for future borrowings, including up to $2.3 million for working capital and/or up to $1.6 million for Letters of Credit. These facilities generally limit the credit available under the lines of credit to certain variables, such as inventories and receivables, and are secured by the operating assets of the respective subsidiary borrower, and include various financial covenants, which currently restrict the transfer of substantially all the assets of the subsidiaries. Both M-tron and Lynch Systems intend to renew the credit agreements that expire on April 30, 2004 and May 30, 2004 respectively with the incumbent lenders. (See “Subsequent Events”.)

         Lynch Systems, Inc. and M-tron Industries, Inc. maintain their own credit facilities. The Lynch Systems facility includes an unsecured parent Company guarantee. M-tron’s revolving credit agreement is supported by a $1.0 million Letter of Credit that is secured by a $1.1 million deposit in a Fleet Bank Treasury Fixed Income Fund (see Note D – “Restricted Cash”).

         In general, the credit facilities are secured by property, plant and equipment, inventory, receivables and common stock of certain subsidiaries and contain certain covenants restricting distributions to the Company.

         Notes payable to banks and long-term debt consists of:

H.

Long-Term Contracts and Warranty Expense

         Lynch Systems, a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of glass-forming machines and specialized manufacturing machines. Certain sales contracts require an advance payment (usually 30% of the contract price) which is accounted for as a customer advance. The contractual sales prices are paid either (i) as the manufacturing process reaches specified levels of completion or (ii) based on the shipment date. Guarantees by letter of credit from a qualifying financial institution are required for most sales contracts. Because of the specialized nature of these machines and the period of time needed to complete production and shipping, Lynch Systems accounts for these contracts using the percentage-of-completion accounting method as costs are incurred compared to total estimated project costs (cost to cost basis). At March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, unbilled accounts receivable were $0 and $2.4 million, respectively.

         Lynch Systems provides a full warranty to world-wide customers who acquire machines. The warranty covers both parts and labor and normally covers a period of one year or thirteen months. Based upon experience, the warranty accrual is based upon three to five percent of the selling price of the machine. The Company periodically assesses the adequacy of the reserve and adjusts the amounts as necessary.

I.

Earnings Per Share and Stockholders’ Equity

         The Company’s basic and diluted earnings per share are equivalent as the options issued in May 2002 to purchase 228,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were anti-dilutive throughout 2003 and the first quarter of 2004.

         On December 10, 2001, the Board of Directors approved, subject to shareholder approval at the May 2002 Annual Meeting, the 2001 Equity Incentive Plan and the issuance of up to 300,000 options to purchase shares of Company common stock to certain employees of the Company, of which 228,000 options were granted (subject to shareholder approval) at $17.50 per share on December 10, 2001. Although the grants were approved by the shareholders on May 2, 2002, the shares are not considered issued until exercised or in the money, neither event having transpired to-date. 216,000 of these options are fully vested, with the remaining options vesting quarterly over the next three quarters.

         The Company has a stock-based employee compensation plan. The Company accounts for the plan under the recognition and measurement principles of Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees,” and related Interpretations. No stock-based employee compensation cost is reflected in net income, as all options granted under those plans had an exercise price equal to or above the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. The Company provides pro forma disclosures of the compensation expense determined under the fair value provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation” as follows:

         The net loss as reported in each period did not include any stock-based compensation.

J.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

         Total comprehensive loss was $222,000 and $763,000 for the three months ended 3/31/04 and 3/31/03 respectively, including other comprehensive income of $586,000 in the first quarter of 2004 resulting from gains on available for sale securities as compared to other comprehensive loss of $25,000 in the first quarter of 2003 resulting from losses on available for sale securities.

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of related tax, at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, and March 31, 2003 are as follows:

K.

Segment Information

         The Company has two reportable business segments. The first segment is Lynch Systems’ glass manufacturing equipment business. Frequency control devices (quartz crystals and oscillators) manufactured and sold by M-tron is the other segment. Except for M-tron’s Hong Kong subsidiary which acts as a buying agent and sales representative, the businesses are located domestically.

         Operating loss is equal to revenues less operating expenses, excluding investment income, interest expense and income taxes. The Company allocates a negligible portion of its general corporate expenses to its operating segments.