UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| þ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 26, 2003 |
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Commission file number 0-27231
Wireless Facilities, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 13-3818604 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
4810 Eastgate Mall
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 228-2000
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrants principal executive offices)
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:
None
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT:
Common Stock, par value $0.001
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 þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2)
Yes þ No ¨
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock (Common Stock) held by non-affiliates as of the last business day of most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 27, 2003) was approximately $336.2 million, based on the closing sale price on the NASDAQ market exchange on that date.*
The number of shares outstanding of the Registrants Common Stock was 64,026,604 as of March 1, 2004.
*Excludes the common stock held by executive officers, directors and stockholders whose individual ownership exceeds 5% of the Common Stock outstanding at June 27, 2003.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Certain portions of Registrants proxy statement for the annual meeting to be held on May 13, 2004 (the Proxy Statement), to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the close of the Registrants fiscal year ended December 26, 2003, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
FORM 10-K
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 26, 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Item 1. | Business |
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (including the section regarding Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) contains forward-looking statements regarding our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not deemed to represent an all-inclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements as denoted in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additionally, statements concerning future matters are forward-looking statements.
Although forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K reflect the good faith judgment of our management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by us. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in or anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences in results and outcomes include, without limitation, those specifically addressed under the heading Risks Related to Our Business below, as well as those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We make available on our website under Investor Relations/SEC Filings, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with or furnish them to the SEC. Our website address is www.wfinet.com. You can also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SECs Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549. You can obtain additional information about the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us.
We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made throughout the entirety of this Annual Report, which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We operate and report using a 52-53 week fiscal year ending the last Friday in December. As a result, a fifty-third week is added every five or six years. Our 52 week fiscal years consist of four equal quarters of 13 weeks each, and our 53 week fiscal years will consist of three 13 week quarters and one 14 week quarter. The financial results for our 53 week fiscal years and our 14 week fiscal quarters will not be exactly comparable to our 52 week fiscal years and our 13 week fiscal quarters. For presentation purposes, all fiscal periods presented or discussed in this report have been presented as ending on the last day of the nearest calendar month. For example, our 2003 fiscal year ended on December 26, 2003, but we present our 2003 fiscal year as ending on December 31, 2003.
Description of the Business
General
We are an independent provider of outsourced communications and security systems engineering and integration services and other technical services for the wireless communications industry, the U.S. government, and enterprise customers. We were incorporated in the state of New York on December 19, 1994 and began operations in March 1995. We reincorporated in the state of Delaware in 1998. We consummated our initial public offering on November 5, 1999. Our principal executive office is located at 4810 Eastgate Mall, San Diego, California 92121. Our telephone number is (858) 228-2000.
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The principal services we provide include, but are not limited to, the design, deployment, integration, and the overall management of communications and security networks. Our work for the wireless communications industry primarily involves radio frequency engineering, site development, project management and the installation of radio equipment networks. We also provide network management services, which involve day-to-day optimization and maintenance of wireless networks. As part of our strategy, we are technology and vendor independent. We believe that this aligns our goals with those of our customers and enables us to objectively evaluate and recommend specific products or technologies. We provide network design and deployment services to wireless carriers including, but not limited to, (in alphabetical order) AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Telcel, Telefonica, Verizon and Vodaphone and equipment vendors such as Ericsson, Nortel and Siemens. We have internally developed a methodology of planning and deploying wireless networks that allows us to deliver reliable and scalable network solutions, primarily on a fixed-price, time-certain basis. We believe this enables our customers to improve their ability to forecast the costs and timing of network deployment and management and increase their focus on internal core competencies while relying on us for planning, designing, deploying and managing their networks. Our work for the federal government primarily involves systems engineering, systems integration, and the outsourcing of technical services such as operational test and evaluation and program management. We also provide services in the areas of mission assurance, product and process validation and verification, and software and applications development. Our work for enterprise customers primarily involves the design, deployment, and integration of security and other in-building systems including access control and intrusion detection and is focused on opportunities to integrate wireless technology into enterprise networks, especially physical and electronic security systems, and voice and data networks.
Operating Segments
At December 31, 2003, our business was organized into four primary operating segments: business consulting, network design and deployment services, network management services, and enterprise solutions. See note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for information with respect to revenues, operating results and long-lived assets of each segment. In 2004, we reorganized our operating segments to reflect our operations and strategic direction. Our three operating segments, effective January 1, 2004, are our Wireless Network Services segment (encompassing business consulting, design and deployment services and network management services), our Enterprise Network Services segment, and our Government Network Services segment.
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Wireless Network Services Segment
Business Consulting
We provide business consulting services for all pre-deployment planning including technology assessment, market analysis, and business plan development. We study and analyze the traffic patterns, population density, topography and propagation environment in each market under consideration. We have developed a proprietary methodology to assist customers in analysis of the competitive landscape for mobile broadband services, and we use our expertise and experience to analyze the financial, engineering, competitive and technology issues applicable to a proposed technology or network deployment project. Drawing upon the demographic analysis and preliminary network dimensioning and benchmarks for deployment-related expenditures from our various functional groups and consultants, we create new business strategies or evaluate existing deployment strategies. Although the size of these projects is typically smaller in scope than design and deployment projects, they are strategically important to us because they represent opportunities to build relationships and credibility with customers during the planning phase, and they enhance our experiences with leading edge technologies.
Network Design and Deployment Services
We provide a range of services for the full design and deployment of wireless networks. Such services include:
| | Radio Frequency Engineering. Radio frequency engineers design each integrated wireless system to meet the customers performance requirements. These requirements are based upon a projected level of subscriber density, traffic demand, and the coverage area. Our engineers perform the calculations, measurements and tests necessary to determine the optimal placement of the wireless equipment. In addition to meeting basic transmission requirements, the radio frequency network design must make optimal use of radio frequency and result in the highest possible signal quality for the greatest portion of subscriber usage within existing constraints. The constraints may be imposed by cost parameters, terrain, license limitations, interference with other operators, site availability, applicable zoning requirements and other factors. |
| | Spectrum Relocation. To enable customers to use the radio frequency spectrum they have licensed, it is often necessary for customers to analyze the licensed spectrum for interference from existing users, and move these incumbent users to new frequencies. We assist our customers in accomplishing this spectrum relocation by providing complete point-to-point and point-to-multipoint line-of-sight microwave and other types of engineering and support services. Engineering and support services include identifying existing microwave or other frequency uses, negotiating relocation with incumbent users, managing and tracking relocation progress and documenting the final decommissioning and replacement of the incumbent users facilities. |
| | Fixed Network Engineering. Most wireless calls are ultimately routed through a wireline network. As a result, the traffic from wireless networks must be connected with switching centers within wireline networks. We establish the most efficient method to connect cell sites to the wireline backbone, whether by microwave radio or by landline connections. Our engineers are involved in specifying, provisioning and implementing fixed network facilities. |
| | Site Development. Site development experts acquire the rights to build wireless transmission sites, gain zoning approvals, secure building permits, and manage the construction of the site. |
| | Installation and Optimization Services. WFI personnel install radio frequency equipment, including base station electronics and antennas, and recommend and implement location, software and capacity changes required to meet the customers performance specifications. We provide installation and optimization services for all major PCS, cellular and mobile broadband wireless air interface standards and equipment manufacturers. We also perform initial optimization testing of installed networks to maximize the efficiency of these networks. |
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Network Management Services
Network management services are comprised of post-deployment radio frequency optimization services and network operations and maintenance services.
| | Post-Deployment Radio Frequency Optimization. Upon initial deployment, a network is optimized to provide wireless service based upon a set of parameters existing at that time, such as cell density, spectrum usage, base station site locations and estimated calling volumes and traffic patterns. Over time, call volumes or other parameters may change, requiring, for example, the relocation of base stations, addition of new equipment or the implementation of system enhancements. We offer ongoing radio frequency optimization services to periodically test network elements, tune the network for optimal performance and identify elements that need to be upgraded or replaced. |
| | Network Operations and Maintenance. For customers with ongoing outsourcing needs, we can assume responsibility for day-to-day operation and maintenance of their wireless networks. The relationship we develop with our customers for this type of outsourcing contract begins with a team of engineers and other professional and support staff aligned to meet the customers specific needs. We take into account such variables as grade of service, reliability requirements, and geographic layout of the system in determining the allocation of site maintenance responsibilities between our service team and the customers own personnel. We provide staffing to perform the necessary services for centralized network monitoring, optimization services, and maintenance and repair of critical network elements, including base station equipment, mobile switching centers and network operating centers. |
Within these segments we have developed solutions that enable us to manage large scale deployments for the carriers and to offer specialized solutions that enable our customers to meet their objectives of increased quality, coverage and capacity on the carrier networks worldwide.
Turnkey Solutions. Traditionally, carriers engaged a number of firms or used internal personnel to build and operate their wireless networks. In this case, the carrier was responsible for the coordination and integration of the various contractors. WFIs turnkey approach allows the carrier to engage a single responsible party accountable for delivering and managing the network. Through total control of staff and resources, WFI reduces the time and cost of network deployment, management, and subsequent operation. Finally, WFIs turnkey model eliminates the need for a carrier or equipment vendor to assemble, train and retain network deployment and management staff, resulting in additional cost and schedule efficiencies.
Technology and Vendor Independence for both Mobile and Fixed Wireless Operations. We have experience in all major wireless technologies, including: conversion of analog cellular systems to digital capability (CDMA, TDMA, GSM, GPRS and iDEN); deployment of digital PCS systems and; migration to 3G network platforms to provide high speed wireless data Internet capability, such as UMTS spectrum in Europe. The critical components of our ability to meet and exceed customer expectations are our broad scope of services, our technical expertise and our technology and vendor agnosticism. Such independence allows WFI to offer its customers the most technologically advanced, objective and appropriate suite of solutions available based solely on the customers requirements.
Fixed-Price and Time-Certain Delivery. A significant portion of our services (66% during fiscal year 2003) are sold primarily on a fixed-price, time-certain basis, where our customers pay by project increments according to defined results on a per-unit basis project site (as defined in the agreement based on milestones), rather than by the hour. By selling our services primarily on a fixed-price, time-certain basis, our customers can better forecast their capital expenditures and operating expenditures more accurately.
Proven Methodology. Our project management process enables us to meet our customers needs without compromising project quality. We have a dedicated staff employed to facilitate efficient feedback of information among the various specialized activities involved in the design and deployment of a network so that our project
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teams work quickly and effectively. Through this coordinated effort, and the use of Dynamic Tracker®, our proprietary project tracking software tool, we are able to continually optimize human resource deployment and deliver the most efficient and effective solutions on time and within budget.
Depth and Scale. Our principal asset is our staff, 84% of who work directly on customer projects. Our technological expertise and industry knowledge has enabled us to form strong customer relationships with established carriers and equipment vendors. In addition, we have established corporate resource centers in Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Sweden and China. We believe our committed presence in these countries facilitates, and therefore, enhances our ability to customize services to meet the needs of our international customer base via a comprehensive understanding of the local economic issues, business practices and culture.
Enterprise Network Services Segment
Our Enterprise Network Services division provides system design, deployment, integration, monitoring and support services for enterprise networks. Enterprise networks have been traditionally segregated into systems such as voice, data, access control, video surveillance, temperature control and fire alarm. We provide services that combine such systems and offer integrated solutions on an Ethernet-based platform. We also offer solutions that combine electronic security and building automation systems with fixed or wireless connectivity solutions. We aim to meet the needs of any business enterprise by understanding the needs of the particular entity, sifting through the multiple solutions and complex technologies available in the marketplace and designing, deploying, managing and maintaining a cost-effective and integrated solution that is capable of evolving as the needs of the client change with time. Our target markets are healthcare, education, government and correctional facilities as well as commercial and industrial enterprises. Our commitment to these markets and our proven ability to provide feature-rich, cost-effective solutions has allowed us to become one of the larger independent integrators for these types of systems.
Historically, the largest systems integrators serving such markets have been divisions of larger companies that also manufactured proprietary security and building automation products. As security and building systems evolve from stand-alone products into integrated systems, and finally into critical infrastructure the demand for enterprise solutions such as those offered by us are expected to increase. Volume buyers are increasingly showing a tendency to select independent vendor agnostic service providers, allowing our independence to become an important differentiator. As open standards and IP-based architecture continue to supplant vendor proprietary protocols and products in the marketplace, we believe our independent position will allow us to capture an increasing share of the systems integration market.
Our Enterprise Network Services division also leverages our certified wireless specialists and registered communications network designers to customize wired and wireless solutions that meet the requirements of even the most sophisticated customer. A typical enterprise campus environment not only has a large number of sub-systems but also a large number of users with different and varying needs, and we are able to use both wireless and wired technologies to create a network that meets the complex requirements of our customers. For those clients who also demand the integration of licensed band wireless systems (such as cellular and PCS) within the enterprise network, we are uniquely equipped and qualified to meet these deployment challenges both independently and through leveraging the skill sets of our Wireless Network Services segment.
Government Network Services Segment
In January 2004, with the acquisition of High Technology Solutions, Inc. (HTS), we created our Government Network Services division which provides systems engineering, systems integration, and the outsourcing of technical services such as operational test and evaluation and program management to government agencies. We also provide services in the areas of mission assurance, product and process validation and verification, and software and applications development.
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Our Government Network Services division serves the federal information technology services market, which includes the design, development, deployment, integration and management of communications and information networks. According to INPUT, a government market research firm, this market is currently in excess of $60 billion annually and includes not only spending by the Department of Defense (DoD) but also by federal civilian agencies. More importantly for us, preliminary estimates by INPUT show wireless-related spending in as much as $43 billion worth of government information technology contracts, and industry experts expect the market for wireless related spending to grow even faster than the overall government information technology market.
The growth in the government information technology market is being driven by a number of factors, including an overall desire on the part of the federal government to upgrade communication and information systems, the aging of the federal workforce, and an increase in the use of private sector outsourcing. In addition, market growth has been driven and will continue to be driven in large part by DoD information technology spending which has been increasing over the past two years at an even faster rate than the overall government information technology market. World events, political factors, and changing DoD priorities have resulted not only in the growth of the overall DoD budget, but more importantly in the significant growth of the DoD information technology budget. The end of the cold war and the emergence of new enemies and new national security threats have caused an increased emphasis on network centric warfare, information superiority and the convergence and interoperability of information systems. These changes are also bringing a significant increase in demand for wireless related technology as the governments national security efforts focus more and more on mobility, broadband connectivity, speed, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of deployment.
Our Government Network Services division was created to leverage our core competencies in skills that are currently in great demand wireless radio frequency engineering, Internet protocol engineering, network management, project management, and physical and electronic security systems integration to capitalize on the numerous contracting opportunities available to outside service providers.
Our Government Network Services division also focuses on the homeland security market with products and services aimed at helping first responders to emergency situations. In addition, as physical security and electronic or information security continue to converge, our Government Network Services division plans to utilize the systems integration expertise that has been developed within the Enterprise Network Services division to offer complete security solutions to WFIs government customers.
ISO Qualification
In November 2002, we received ISO 9001:2000 certification. This certification validates that we are among an exclusive tier of companies that possess well-defined and integrated quality measures and comprehensive programs that ensure our services are provided according to uniform standards that are considered best practices within the industry. In 2004, we are upgrading our ISO certified to system to a TL 9000 certified system. TL 9000 is a set of quality standards specifically tailored for the telecommunications industry and focuses on measurement of service, accuracy, adherence to customer requirements and monthly submission of performance metrics to the QuEST Forum. We believe that the addition of the telecommunication-specific quality standards will further prove that we are dedicated to providing a quality service to our clients.
Customers
We are an independent provider of outsourced communications and security systems engineering and integration services and other technical services for the wireless communications industry, the U.S. government, and enterprise customers. We also provide services to satellite service providers and wireless tower companies. A representative list of our customers in our wireless business during 2003 includes (in alphabetical order) AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Telcel, Telefonica, Verizon and Vodaphone and equipment vendors such as Ericsson, Nortel and Siemens. In our Enterprise Network Services division, our customers include Coca Cola, Westfield Shopping Towns, Port of Texas, iPass and General Electric. Customers in our Government Network Services division include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
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Competition
Our market is competitive, and includes the full range of service providers. Many of the companies that we compete against have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources, and generate greater revenues than does WFI.
Competition in the Wireless Network Services business comes from the internal engineering departments of carrier and equipment vendors, as well as companies like American Tower, Flextronics, LCC International, Marconi Communications, General Dynamics and Whalen & Company, Inc. (a subsidiary of Tetra Tech, Inc.). We also compete with engineering and project management companies like Bechtel Corporation, Bovis Lend Lease, CH2MHill and Fluor Daniel, Inc. for the turnkey deployment of wireless networks. These companies are significant competitors given their project finance capabilities, reputations and global presence.
Competition in the Enterprise Network Services division includes Siemens Building Technology, Johnson Controls, Ingersoll Rand and Convergent.
Competition in the Government Network Services division includes Northrop Gruman, SAIC, Anteon International, ITT Industries, Inc., General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation.
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our business include the ability to deliver results within budget (time and cost), reputation, accountability, staffing flexibility, project management expertise, industry experience and competitive pricing. In addition, our technology independence and technical expertise in new and evolving technologies has become increasingly important. We believe that the ability to integrate these technologies, as well as equipment from multiple vendors, gives us a competitive advantage as we can offer the best technology and equipment to meet a customers needs. We believe our ability to compete also depends on a number of additional factors including:
| | competitive pricing for similar services; |
| | the ability and willingness of our competitors to finance customers projects on favorable terms; |
| | the ability of our customers to perform the services themselves; and |
| | the responsiveness of our competitors to customer needs. |
Employees
As of December 31, 2003, we employed 1,760 full time employees worldwide. None of our employees, other than our Swedish employees (approximately 57 at December 31, 2003), are represented by a labor union, and we have not experienced any work stoppages.
Risks Related to Our Business
You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all other information contained herein as well as the information included in this Annual Report in evaluating our business and prospects. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties, other than those we describe below, that are not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial, may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks occur, our business and financial results could be harmed. You should refer to the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.
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Our success is dependent on growth in the deployment of wireless networks, and to the extent that such growth slows, our business may be harmed.
The wireless telecommunications industry has historically experienced a dramatic rate of growth both in the United States and internationally. In recent years, however, many telecommunications carriers have re-evaluated their network deployment plans in response to downturns in the capital markets, changing perceptions regarding industry growth, the adoption of new wireless technologies, increasing pricing competition for subscribers and a general economic slowdown in the United States and internationally. That trend has only recently begun to change as several large carriers in the U.S. and Latin America have started to once again focus on network expansion. If the rate of growth slows or carriers reduce their capital investments in wireless infrastructure or fail to expand into new geographic areas, our business may be significantly harmed.
The uncertainty associated with rapidly changing telecommunications technologies may also negatively impact the rate of deployment of wireless networks and the demand for our services. Telecommunications service providers face significant challenges in assessing consumer demand and in acceptance of rapidly changing enhanced telecommunications capabilities. If telecommunications service providers perceive that the rate of acceptance of next generation telecommunications products will grow more slowly than previously expected, they may, as a result, slow their development of next generation technologies. Moreover, increasing price competition for subscribers could adversely affect the profitability of carriers and limit their resources for network deployment. Any significant sustained slowdown will further reduce the demand for our services and adversely affect our financial results.
The high amount of capital required to obtain radio frequencies licenses could slow the growth of the wireless communications industry and adversely affect our business.
Our growth is dependent upon the increased use of wireless communications services. In order to provide wireless communications services, carriers must obtain rights to use specific radio frequencies. The allocation of frequencies is regulated in the United States and other countries throughout the world and limited spectrum space is allocated to wireless communications services. Industry growth may be affected by the amount of capital required to obtain licenses to use new frequencies. Typically, governments sell these licenses at auctions. Over the last several years, the amount paid for these licenses has increased significantly. In addition, litigation and disputes involving companies bidding to acquire spectrum has delayed the expansion of wireless networks in the United States, and it is possible that this delay could continue for a significant amount of time. The significant cost of licenses and delays associated with disputes over license auctions may slow the growth of the industry if service providers are unable to obtain the additional capital necessary to implement the necessary infrastructure. Our business could be adversely affected if this occurs.
If wireless carriers, network equipment vendors and enterprises do not outsource their wireless telecommunications services, our business will suffer.
Our success depends upon the continued trend by wireless carriers and network equipment vendors to outsource their network design, deployment and management needs. If this trend does not continue and wireless carriers and network equipment vendors elect to perform more network deployment services themselves, our operating results and revenues may decline.
If enterprise customers do not invest in security systems and other new in-building technologies such as wireless local area networks, our business will suffer.
In 2003, we launched significant enterprise-based WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) and security systems initiatives. We intend to devote significant resources to developing these initiatives, but we cannot predict that we will achieve widespread market acceptance amongst the enterprises. It is possible that some enterprises will determine that their current capital constraints and other factors outweigh their need for WLANs and security systems at this time. As a result, we may incur a significant delay in the adoption of WLAN and security systems by enterprises which would harm our business.
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Our failure to obtain new government contracts, the cancellation of government contracts, or a reduction in federal budget appropriations involving our services could materially adversely affect our revenues.
We anticipate that a material portion of our future revenues will come from our Government Network Services division. Our revenues and cash flows from our Government Network Services division may decline if a significant number of our government contracts are delayed or cancelled due to cutbacks in defense, homeland security or other federal agency budgets or for other reasons. In addition, our failure to successfully compete for and retain such government contracts could have an adverse effect on our revenues and cash flows. We cannot guarantee that we, or if we are a subcontractor that the prime contractor, will win any particular bid, or that we will be able to replace business lost upon expiration or completion of a contract.
We anticipate that our Government Network Services division will also be sensitive to changes in national and international defense and budget priorities. Demand for our services may decline if conflicts in the Middle East and other high risk areas subside, or if U.S. defense budget appropriations are reduced.
We are subject to extensive government regulation, and our failure or inability to comply with these regulations could subject us to penalties and result in a loss of our government contracts, which could adversely affect our revenues.
We must comply with and are affected by various government regulations that impact our operating costs, profit margins and our internal organization and operation of our business. We are also subject to routine audits to assure our compliance with these requirements. Our failure to comply with these regulations, rules and approvals could result in the impositions of penalties and the loss of our government contracts and disqualification as a U.S. government contractor, which could adversely affect our revenues.
We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a limited number of customers.
We have derived, and believe that we will continue to derive, a significant portion of our revenues from a limited number of customers. To the extent that any significant client uses less of our services or terminates its relationship with us, our revenues could decline significantly. As a result, the loss of any significant client could seriously harm our business. For the year ended December 31, 2003, we had one customer which comprised 24% of our revenues and our five largest customers accounted for approximately 53% of our total revenues. None of our customers are obligated to purchase additional services from us. As a result, the volume of work that we perform for a specific client is likely to vary from period to period, and a significant client in one period may not use our services in a subsequent period.
Recent business acquisitions and potential future business acquisitions could be difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and adversely affect our operating results.
We completed our acquisition of HTS in January 2004. In addition, since February 2003, we have acquired three other businesses. Our integration of these acquisitions will require significant management time and financial resources because we will need to integrate dispersed operations with distinct corporate cultures. We also intend to continue to expand our operations through business acquisitions over time. We recently filed an acquisition shelf registration statement on Form S-4. Once the acquisition shelf is declared effective by the SEC, it will enable us to issue up to $200 million shares or our common stock in one or more acquisition transactions.
Our failure to properly integrate businesses we acquire and to manage future acquisitions successfully could seriously harm our operating results. Also, acquisition costs could cause our quarterly operating results to vary significantly. To the extent we acquire an international operation, we will face additional risks, including:
| | difficulties in staffing, managing and integrating international operations due to language, cultural or other differences; |
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| | different or conflicting regulatory or legal requirements; |
| | foreign currency fluctuations; and |
| | diversion of significant time and attention of our management. |
The consolidation of equipment vendors or carriers could adversely impact our business.
Recently, the wireless telecommunications industry has been characterized by significant consolidation activity. In particular, Cingular has recently announced plans to acquire AT&T Wireless, both of whom are significant customers of ours. This consolidation and the potential continuing trend towards future consolidation within the wireless telecommunication industry may lead to a greater ability among equipment vendors and carriers to provide a comprehensive range of network services, and may simplify integration and installation, which could lead to a reduction in demand for our services. Moreover, the consolidation of equipment vendors or carriers could reduce the number of our current or potential customers and increase the bargaining power of our remaining customers which may adversely impact our business.
If our customers do not receive sufficient financing or fail to pay us for services performed, our business may be harmed.
Some of our customers rely upon outside financing to pay the costs of deploying their networks. These customers may fail to obtain adequate financing or experience delays in receiving financing and they may choose the services of our competitors if our competitors are willing and able to provide project financing. Unfavorable economic conditions have caused and may in the future cause those customers that have adequate financing to delay deploying or upgrading their networks as they prioritize or ration their capital resources.
In addition, we have historically taken significant write-offs of our accounts receivable. In some instances we may not receive payment for services we have already performed. If our customers do not receive adequate financing or if we are required to write-off significant amounts of our accounts receivables, then our net income will decline, and our business will be harmed.
If we fail to successfully compete, our business may suffer.
Each of the vertical markets that we compete in is highly competitive. If we fail to compete successfully against current or future competitors, our business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed. We expect competition to continue and intensify in the future. We cannot be certain that we will be able to compete successfully with existing or new competitors.
Many of our current competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources, generate greater revenues and have greater name recognition and experience than we do. This may place us at a disadvantage in responding to our competitors pricing strategies, technological advances, advertising campaigns, strategic partnerships and other initiatives. In addition, many of our competitors have well-established relationships with our potential clients and have extensive knowledge of the industries that we compete in. As a result, our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, and they may be able to devote more resources to the development, promotion and sale of their services that we can.
Our quarterly results fluctuate and may cause our stock price to decline.
Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and will likely fluctuate in the future. As a result, we believe that period to period comparisons of our results of operations are not a good indication of our future performance. A number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, are likely to cause these fluctuations. Some of these factors include:
| | telecommunications market conditions and economic conditions generally; |
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| | the timing and size of network deployments by our carrier customers and the timing and size of orders for network equipment built by our vendor customers; |
| | fluctuations in demand for our services; |
| | changes in our effective tax rate; |
| | the length of sales cycles; |
| | reductions in the prices of services offered by our competitors; |
| | our success in bidding on and winning new business; |
| | changes in the actual and estimated costs and time to complete fixed-price, time-certain projects that may result in revenue adjustments for contracts where revenue is recognized under the percentage of completion method; |
| | the timing of expansion into new markets, both domestically and internationally; |
| | our allowance for doubtful accounts; |
| | our sales, marketing, and administrative cost structure; and |
| | the costs of integrating technologies or businesses that we add. |
Because our operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter, our operating results may not meet the expectations of securities analysts and investors, and our common stock could decline significantly which may expose us to risks of securities litigation, impair our ability to attract and retain qualified individuals using equity incentives and make it more difficult to complete acquisitions using equity as consideration.
Our business is dependent upon our ability to keep pace with the latest technological changes.
The market for our services is characterized by rapid change and technological improvements. Failure to respond in a timely and cost-effective way to these technological developments will result in serious harm to our business and operating results. We have derived, and we expect to continue to derive, a substantial portion of our revenues from creating wireless networks that are based upon todays leading technologies and that are capable of adapting to future technologies. As a result, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and market service offerings that respond in a timely manner to the technological advances of our customers, evolving industry standards and changing client preferences.
Failure to properly manage projects may result in costs or claims.
Our wireless network engagements often involve large scale, highly complex projects. The quality of our performance on such projects depends in large part upon our ability to manage the relationship with our customers, and to effectively manage the project and deploy appropriate resources, including third-party contractors, and our own personnel, in a timely manner. Any defects or errors or failure to meet clients expectations could result in claims for substantial damages against us. Our contracts generally limit our liability for damages that arise from negligent acts, error, mistakes or omissions in rendering services to our clients. However, we cannot be sure that these contractual provisions will protect us from liability for damages in the event we are sued. In addition, in certain instances, we guarantee customers that we will complete a project by a scheduled date or that the network will achieve certain performance standards. If the project or network experiences a performance problem, we may not be able to recover the additional costs we will incur, which could exceed revenues realized from a project. Finally, if we miscalculate the resources or time we need to complete a project with capped or fixed fees, our operating results could be seriously harmed.
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Our failure to attract and retain key managerial, technical, selling and marketing personnel could adversely affect our business.
Our success depends upon our attracting and retaining key members of our management team. We recently announced that Masood Tayebi, our Chief Executive Officer since inception, will be transitioning to the role of Executive Chairman, and Eric DeMarco, our current President and Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of CEO on April 1, 2004. In addition, we are currently engaged in a search for a Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. We cannot assure you that these management transitions will not result in some disruption of our business. The loss of any of our key members might delay or prevent the achievement of our development and strategic objectives. Our future performance will be substantially dependent on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key members of our management team.
We must also continue to hire and retain additional highly skilled engineering, managerial, business development and sales personnel. In an effort to manage our costs, it is our policy to hire employees on a project-by-project basis. Upon completion of an assigned project, the employees are no longer employed by us until we elect to hire them for the next project. Competition for such highly skilled personnel in our industry is intense, especially for engineers and project managers, and we can not be certain that we will be able to hire or re-hire sufficiently qualified personnel in adequate numbers to meet the demand for our services. We also believe that our success depends to a significant extent on the ability of our key personnel to operate effectively, both individually and as a group. If we are unable to identify, hire and integrate new employees in a timely and cost-efficient manner, our operating results will suffer.
Our failure to maintain appropriate staffing levels could adversely affect our business.
We can not be certain that we will be able to hire the requisite number of experienced and skilled personnel when necessary in order to service a major contract, particularly if the market for related personnel becomes competitive. Conversely, if we maintain or increase our staffing levels in anticipation of one or more projects and the projects are delayed, reduced or terminated, we may underutilize the additional personnel, which would increase our general and administrative expenses, reduce our earnings and possibly harm our results of operations. If we are unable to obtain major contracts or effectively complete such contracts due to staffing deficiencies, our revenues may decline and our business may be harmed.
Government regulations of the telecommunications industry may adversely affect our business.
The wireless networks that we design, deploy and manage are subject to various FCC regulations in the United States and other international regulations. These regulations require that these networks meet certain radio frequency emission standards, not cause unallowable interference to other services, and in some cases accept interference from other services. These networks are also subject to government regulations and requirements of local standards bodies outside the United States, where we are less prominent than local competitors and have less opportunity to participate in the establishment of regulatory and standards policies. We are also subject to state and federal health, safety and environmental regulations, as well as regulations related to the handling of and access to classified information. Changes in the regulation of our activities, including changes in the allocation of available spectrum by the United States government and other governments or exclusion of our technology by a standards body, could have a harmful effect on our business, operating results, liquidity and financial position. Additionally, because we conduct business throughout the United States, many of our activities are subject to different state and local regulatory schemes, including those relating to licensing, taxes and employment matters, with which we are required to comply.
Government regulations could restrict our ability to ability to hire employees or to utilize employees effectively.
As of December 31, 2003, approximately 150 or 11% of our employees in the United States were working under H-1B visas. H-1B visas are a special class of nonimmigrant working visas for qualified aliens working in
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specialty occupations, including, for example, radio frequency engineers. The H-1B program refers to a provision of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act that allows highly skilled foreigners to work in the United States for as long as six years. Current law limits the number of foreign workers who may be issued a visa or otherwise be provided H-1B status to 195,000 through 2003. Absent other congressional action, the cap will return to 65,000 in 2004. In addition, because we are an H-1B dependent employer under the Department of Labor regulations, we could face enhanced compliance requirements and penalties.
Immigration policies are subject to rapid change, and these policies have become more stringent since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Any additional significant changes in immigration law or regulations may further restrict our ability to continue to employ or to hire new workers on H-1B visas and otherwise restrict our ability to utilize our existing employees as we see fit, and, therefore, could harm our business.
International uncertainties and fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies could harm our profitability.
We currently have international operations, including offices in Brazil, China, Mexico, United Kingdom, Sweden and Turkey. For the year ended December 31, 2003, international operations accounted for approximately 20% of our total revenues. Our international business operations are subject to a number of material risks, including, but not limited to:
| | difficulties in building and managing foreign operations; |
| | regulatory uncertainties in foreign countries, including changing regulations and delays in licensing carriers to build out their networks in various locations; |
| | difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems and addressing other legal issues; |
| | longer payment cycles; |
| | foreign and U.S. taxation issues; |
| | potential weaknesses in foreign economies, particularly in Europe, South America and Mexico; |
| | fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies; |
| | general economic and political conditions in the markets in which we operate; and |
| | unexpected domestic and international regulatory, economic or political changes. |
Our significant international subsidiaries (i.e., in Brazil, Mexico, Sweden and United Kingdom) procure certain transactions that are denominated in U.S. dollars. Downward fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies, compared to the U.S. dollar, may make our services more expensive than local service offerings in international locations. This would make our service offerings less price competitive than local service offerings, which could harm our business. To date, our experience with this foreign currency risk has predominately related to the Brazilian Real and Mexican Peso. In addition, we also conduct business in British Pound Sterling, Chinese Renminbi, Euro, Swedish Krona and Turkish Lira. We do not currently engage in currency hedging activities to limit the risks of currency fluctuations. Therefore, fluctuations in foreign currencies could have a negative impact on the profitability of our global operations, which would harm our financial results.
Future changes in financial accounting standards may cause adverse unexpected revenue fluctuations and affect our reported results of operations.
A change in accounting standards could have a significant effect on our reported results and may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has announced its intention to require that companies record compensation expense in the statement of operations for employee stock options using the fair value method. Implementation of this requirement could have a significant negative effect on our reported results or impair our ability to use equity compensation to
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attract and retain skilled personnel. New pronouncements and varying interpretations of pronouncements have occurred and may occur in the future. Changes to existing rules or the questioning of current practices may adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business.
Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses.
Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, newly enacted SEC regulations and Nasdaq Stock Market rules, are creating uncertainty for companies such as ours. We are committed to maintaining high standards of internal controls over financial reporting, corporate governance and public disclosure. As a result, we intend to invest appropriate resources to comply with evolving standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
A few individuals own a significant percentage of our stock.
As of December 31, 2003, our executive officers and directors and their affiliates beneficially owned, in the aggregate, approximately 31% of our outstanding common stock, after giving effect to the conversion of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock. In particular, our current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Masood K. Tayebi, beneficially owned, approximately 10% of our outstanding common stock. The remaining 21% is beneficially owned by certain of our other officers and directors and their affiliates. In addition, other members of the Tayebi family owned, incrementally and in the aggregate, approximately 16% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, the executive officers, directors and their affiliates are able to collectively exercise control over matters requiring stockholder approval, such as the election of directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions. These types of transactions include transactions involving an actual or potential change in control or other transactions that the non-controlling stockholders may deem to be in their best interests and in which such stockholders could receive a premium for their shares.
We may need additional capital in the future to fund the growth of our business, and financing may not be available.
We currently anticipate that our available capital resources and operating income will be sufficient to meet our expected working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, we cannot assure you that such resources will be sufficient to fund the long-term growth of our business. In particular, we may experience a negative operating cash flow due to billing milestones and project timelines in certain of our contracts. We may raise additional funds through public or private debt or equity financings if such financings become available on favorable terms. We also recently filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Once declared effective by the SEC, we may sell, in one or more public offerings, shares of newly issued common stock or preferred stock, warrants or debt securities, or any combination of such securities, for proceeds in an aggregate amount of up to $200 million. Such financing or offerings would likely dilute our stockholders. In addition, we cannot assure you that any additional financing we may need will be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to take advantage of unanticipated opportunities, develop new products or otherwise respond to competitive pressures. In any such case, our business, operating results or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Litigation may harm our business or otherwise distract our management.
Substantial, complex or extended litigation could cause us to incur large expenditures and distract our management. For example, lawsuits by employees, stockholders or customers could be very costly and substantially disrupt our business. Disputes from time to time with such companies or individuals are not uncommon, and we cannot assure you that that we will always be able to resolve such disputes or on terms favorable to us.
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Disclosure of trade secrets could aid our competitors.
We attempt to protect our trade secrets by entering into confidentiality agreements with third parties, our employees and consultants. However, these agreements can be breached and, if they are, there may not be an adequate remedy available to us. If our trade secrets become known we may lose our competitive position.
Our stock price may be volatile, which may result in lawsuits against us and our officers and directors.
The stock market in general, and the stock prices of technology and telecommunications companies in particular, have experienced volatility that has often been unrelated to or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. The market price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past and is likely to fluctuate in the future. Factors which could have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock include, but are not limited to, the following:
| | quarterly variations in operating results; |
| | announcements of new services by us or our competitors; |
| | the gain or loss of significant customers; |
| | changes in analysts earnings estimates; |
| | rumors or dissemination of false information; |
| | pricing pressures; |
| | short selling of our common stock; |
| | general conditions in the market; |
| | political and/or military events associated with current worldwide conflicts; and |
| | events affecting other companies that investors deem comparable to us. |
Companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have frequently been the object of securities class action litigation. Such litigation could result in substantial costs to us and a diversion of our managements attention and resources.
Our charter documents and Delaware law may deter potential acquirers and may depress our stock price.
Certain provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law, as well as certain agreements we have with our executives, could make it substantially more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us. These provisions include:
| | authorizing the board of directors to issue preferred stock; |
| | prohibiting cumulative voting in the election of directors; |
| | prohibiting stockholder action by written consent; |
| | establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at meetings of our stockholders; |
| | Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder unless specific conditions are met; and |
| | a number of our executives have agreements with us that entitle them to payments in certain circumstances following a change in control. |