Flux Power Holdings, Inc. 10-K

ITEM 1A - RISK FACTORS An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the summary of risk factors described below, together with all of the other information included in this report, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. You also should read the section entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” above for a discussion of what types of statements are forward-looking statements, as well as the significance of such statements in the context of this report. The risk factors below do not address all the risks relating to securities, business and operations, and financial condition. Risk Factors Relating to Our Business Our independent registered public accounting firm has included an explanatory paragraph relating to our ability to continue as a going concern in its report on our audited financial statements included in this report. Our audited financial statements at June 30, 2024, and for the year then ended, were prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern. Management has evaluated the Company’s expected cash requirements, including investments in additional sales and marketing and research and development, capital expenditures and working capital requirements, and believes the Company’s existing cash and funding available under the GBC Credit Facility and the Subordinated LOC, along with the forecasted gross margin, will not be sufficient to meet the Company’s anticipated capital requirements to fund planned operations for the next twelve months following the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The report from our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended June 30, 2024 includes an explanatory paragraph stating that our current liquidity position and projected cash needs raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, along with management’s assessment and strategies. The perception that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may make it difficult for us to raise new funds and to operate our business due to concerns about our ability to meet our contractual obligations. There is no assurance that sufficient financing will be available when needed or on reasonable terms to allow us to continue our operations. Our ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon, among other factors, the availability of the GBC Credit Facility or obtaining alternate financing. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital. See Liquidity and Financial Condition in Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the audited consolidated financial statements for additional information. We have a history of losses and negative working capital. For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, we had net losses of $8.3 million and $7.7 million, respectively. We have historically experienced net losses and until we generate sufficient revenue, we anticipate that we will continue to experience losses in the near future. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, we had a cash balance of $0.6 million and $2.4 million, respectively. We currently believe that our existing cash balances, availability of our credit facilities and cash resources from operations will not be sufficient to fund our existing and planned operations for the next twelve months. Until such time as we generate sufficient cash to fund our operations, we will need additional capital to continue our operations thereafter. We have historically relied on equity financings, borrowings under short-term loans with related parties, credit facilities and/or cash resources from operating activities to fund our operations. Specifically, we have relied heavily on a credit facility with GBC, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain this facility, obtain additional funds via a new facility or that funds will be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Failure to maintain the GBC debt facility without a replacement facility would have material adverse impact on our operations. If we were to access additional capital via an equity or equity-linked financing, such funding would result in dilution of the ownership interests of our current stockholders. If funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be required to curtail our operations or take other actions to preserve our cash, which may have a material adverse effect on our future cash flows and results of operations. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate these material weaknesses, or if we identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect our business and stock price. Based on management’s evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2024, we identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting. The material weaknesses were based on our ineffective oversight of our internal control over financial reporting and lack of sufficient personnel resources with technical accounting expertise related to certain aspects of the financial reporting process. While management intends to increase the use of third-party consultants and technical accounting experts and to implement measures designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate material weaknesses, there can be no assurance that these steps will be effective. As previously disclosed, we have concluded that the previously issued audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 and the unaudited consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarters ended September 30, 2023, December 31, 2023, and March 31, 2024, which were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on September 21, 2023, November 9, 2023, February 8, 2024 and May 13, 2024, respectively, should no longer be relied upon because of errors in such financial statements relating to the improper accounting for inventory and a restatement should be undertaken. As a part of this restatement and evaluation process, we also discovered that: (a) the Company’s original estimate of the overstatement of inventories had risen due to additional excess and obsolete inventory identified related to inventory components not recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value, as well as consigned inventory not reconciled in a timely manner; (b) the Company had not properly recognized revenue in the periods in which the related performance obligations had been satisfied for a contract with a certain customer, and that the Company had improperly recorded accounts receivable pertaining to that contract as a reduction to its accounts payable owed to that customer although the right of offset conditions under ASC 210-20 had not been met, resulting in misstatements to revenues, accounts receivable and accounts payable; (c) the Company had improperly recorded various inventory write downs to research and development expenses although such expenses did not meet the classification criteria for research and development under ASC 730, resulting in an overstatement of research and development expenses and a corresponding understatement of cost of sales; (d) the Company had various clearing accounts that had not been reconciled in a timely manner, resulting in misstatements of accounts payable, inventories and cost of sales; (e) the Company had not included certain product warranty-related expenses within the proper periods in its calculation of its product warranty reserve estimate, resulting in an understatement of accrued expenses, an understatement of accounts payable and an understatement of cost of sales; and (f) the Company erroneously presented non-cash debt issuance cost incurred in conjunction with credit facility arrangements as a non-cash adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities in the consolidated cash flow statements when such cost should have been recognized as a change in other assets. As a result, we have determined to restate our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, including all related unaudited consolidated interim financial statements within the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022. After re-evaluation, the Company’s management has concluded that considering the errors described above, this represents an additional material weakness in the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The material weakness was based upon a lack of sufficiently designed controls over the prevention of fraud and possible management override of controls. To address this material weakness, management plans to continue to devote significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Moreover, the effectiveness of our controls and procedures may be limited by a variety of factors, including faulty human judgment and simple errors, omissions or mistakes; fraudulent action of an individual or collusion of two or more people; inappropriate management override of procedures; and the possibility that any enhancements to controls and procedures may still not be adequate to assure timely and accurate financial control. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud or error, if any, have been detected, and there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. We are committed to remediating our material weakness. However, there can be no assurance as to when this material weakness will be remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future. If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to record, process and report financial information in a timely manner and accurately could be adversely affected and could result in a material misstatement in our financial statements, which could subject us to litigation or investigations, require management resources, increase our expenses, negatively affect investor confidence in our financial statements and adversely impact the trading price of our common stock. The restatement of our previously issued financial statements has had a material adverse impact on us, including increased costs, loss of investor confidence, the increased possibility of legal or administrative proceedings and non-compliance with the Nasdaq listing rules. In connection with the restatements, we have become subject to a number of additional risks and uncertainties, including: ● We incurred substantial unanticipated costs for accounting, legal and consultancy fees in connection with the restatements and internal investigation, and we expect to continue to incur additional costs; ● The SEC may institute a formal investigation of the Company’s financial statements. In such an event, investigation will divert our management’s time and attention and cause us to incur substantial costs. These investigations can also lead to fines or injunctions or orders with respect to future activities, as well as further substantial costs and diversion of management time and attention; ● Our ability to regain compliance and continue to meet the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market; and ● A pending purported federal securities class action lawsuit has been filed against us, our Chief Executive Officer, Ronald F. Dutt, and our former Chief Financial Officer, Charles A. Scheiwe. The outcome of litigation is uncertain and we may not be successful in defending against these and future claims. In addition, the Company is named as a nominal defendant in a pending purported shareholder derivative lawsuit. These proceedings, and any other regulatory proceedings or actions, can be lengthy, time consuming and disruptive to normal business operations and could cause us to incur significant defense costs, including costs associated with the indemnification of our officers and directors, and could damage our reputation or adversely affect our stock price. Any adverse ruling or unfavorable resolution in any legal or regulatory proceeding or action could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, or financial condition. For additional information regarding certain of the matters in which we are involved, see Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” contained in Part I of this report. We, and certain of our current and former officers and directors, face litigation and legal proceedings which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. We are subject to lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims in the normal course of our business, which can be expensive, lengthy, and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. We are currently the subject of complaints alleging violations of various laws, including but not limited to certain employment lawsuits, a shareholder class action lawsuit and a derivative lawsuit, which are further described under the heading “Legal Proceedings” elsewhere in this report, and in the future could also be subject to other proceedings. These proceedings and any other regulatory proceedings or actions may be time consuming, could cause us to incur significant defense costs and could damage our reputation or adversely affect our stock price. Any adverse ruling or unfavorable resolution in any legal or regulatory proceeding or action could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. For additional information regarding certain of the matters in which we are involved, see Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” contained in Part I of this report. We will need to raise additional capital or financing to continue to execute and expand our business. We expect that our existing cash and additional funding which we believe are available under our GBC Credit Facility, combined with funds available to us under our subordinated line of credit and from our operations, will not be sufficient to meet our anticipated capital resources and to fund our planned operations for the next twelve months (see Liquidity and Financial Condition in Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the audited consolidated financial statements for additional information). However, the use of such credit facilities remains subject to performance metrics, certain restrictions and compliance with loan covenants. If we are unable to meet the conditions provided in the loan documents, these funds will not be available to us. In addition, should there be any delays in the receipts of key component parts, due in part to supply chain disruptions, our ability to fulfil the backlog of sales orders will be negatively impacted resulting in lower availability of cash resources from operations. We may be required to access other forms of capital to support our expanded operations and execute our business plan by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, or by entering into another form of structured financing or strategic transaction. Our ability to access such forms of capital will be impacted by investor confidence in our business strategy as well as market conditions In addition, our failure to timely file our fiscal 2024 annual report on form 10-K and subsequent fiscal 2025 interim quarterly reports on Form 10-Q means that we currently are ineligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3. We will not be eligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3 again until we have timely filed all materials and reports required to be filed pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for a period of at least twelve (12) calendar months immediately preceding the filing of a new registration statement on Form S-3. The inability to use a Form S-3 registration statement will limit our ability to raise capital through sales of our securities in a timely and cost-efficient manner. In the event we are required to obtain additional funds, there is no guarantee that additional funds will be available on a timely basis or on acceptable terms. To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders may experience additional dilution and such financing may involve restrictive covenants. Newly issued securities may include preferences, superior voting rights, and the issuance of warrants or other convertible securities that will have additional dilutive effects. We cannot assure that additional funds will be available when needed from any source or, if available, will be available on terms that are acceptable to us. Further, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital and/or financing. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we may issue, such as convertible notes and warrants, which will adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to obtain needed financing may be impaired by such factors as the weakness of capital markets, and the fact that we have not been profitable, which could impact the availability and cost of future financings. If such funds are not available when required, management will be required to curtail investments in additional sales and marketing and product development, which may have a material adverse effect on future cash flows and results of operations. 13 Table of Contents In the event of default of the Revolving Note under the GBC Credit Facility, such default could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. The loans and other obligations of the Company under the GBC Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets (including, without limitation, intellectual property) pursuant to the terms of a Loan and Security Agreement with GBC dated July 28, 2023 (the “Agreement”) and an Intellectual Property Security Agreement (the “IP Security Agreement”). The GBC Credit Facility is evidenced by a revolving note, which matures on July 28, 2025 (the “Maturity Date”), unless extended, modified, or renewed (the “Revolving Note”). Provided that there is no event of default, the Maturity Date can automatically be extended for one (1) year period upon payment of a renewal fee for each such extension in the amount of three-quarters of one percent (0.75%) of the Revolving Loan Commitment, which fee will be due and payable on or before the applicable Maturity Date. The holder of the Revolving Note is entitled to all of the benefits and security provided for in the Agreement. All Revolving Loans shall be repaid by the Borrower on the Maturity Date, unless payable sooner pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement. As a secured party, upon an event of default, GBC will have a first priority right to the collateral granted to them under the Agreement and IP Security Agreement, and we may lose our ownership interest in the assets pledged as security interest. Events of default have occurred under the GBC Credit Facility associated with certain EBITDA requirements that were not achieved for the three-month period ending April 30, 2024, May 31, 2024 and July 31, 2024, non-compliance with various representations, financial covenants and non-financial covenants relating to our financial restatements under the Agreement. We have obtained waivers with respect to such defaults, which each waive any failure of the Company to be in compliance with such representations, financial covenants and non-financial covenants under the Agreement. We may need to seek waivers in the future and we cannot provide any assurance that such waivers will be available should we not be in compliance with the terms of the GBC Credit Facility in the future. If we had not been able to obtain such waivers, we would have had events of default under the GBC Credit Facility and GBC could terminate their commitments under the facility and foreclose against substantially all our assets. We would likely be forced to seek bankruptcy protection and our investors could lose the full value of their investment in our common stock. As such, a default and/or loss of our collateral will have a material adverse effect on our operations, business and financial condition. We are dependent on one supplier for our battery cells, and the inability of this supplier to continue to deliver, or their refusal to deliver, our battery cells at prices and volumes acceptable to us would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and operating results. We do not manufacture the battery cells used in our energy storage solutions. Our battery cells, which are an integral part of our energy storage solutions, are sourced from a single manufacturer located in China. While we obtain components for our products and systems from multiple sources whenever possible, we have spent a great deal of time in developing and testing our battery cells that we receive from our main supplier. Additionally, our operations are materially dependent upon the continued market acceptance and quality of this manufacturer’s products and its ability to continue to manufacture products that are competitive and that comply with laws relating to environmental and efficiency standards. Our inability to obtain products from our main supplier or a decline in market acceptance of its products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. From time to time we have experienced shortages, allocations and discontinuances of certain components and products, resulting in delays in filling orders. Qualifying new suppliers to compensate for such shortages may be time-consuming and costly. In addition, we may have to recertify our UL Listings for the battery cells from new suppliers, which in turn has led to delays in product acceptance. Similar delays may occur in the future. Furthermore, the performance of the components from our supplier as incorporated in our products may not meet the quality requirements of our customers. To date, we have no qualified alternative sources for our battery cells although we research and assess cells from other suppliers on an ongoing basis. We generally do not maintain long-term agreements with our current supplier. While we believe that we will be able to establish additional supplier relationships for our battery cells, we may be unable to do so in the short term or at all at prices, quality or costs that are favorable to us. We intend to undertake and diversify suppliers for our battery cells to lessen this concentration, however, in the near term, this relationship is a critical component in our business and operations. The loss of this supplier, significant changes in our product requirements, delays of significant orders could have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition. Changes in business conditions, wars, regulatory requirements, economic conditions and cycles, governmental changes, pandemic, and other factors beyond our control could also affect our suppliers’ ability to deliver components to us on a timely basis or cause us to terminate our relationship with them and require us to find replacements, which we may have difficulty doing. Furthermore, if we experience significant increased demand, or need to replace our existing suppliers, there can be no assurance that additional supplies of component parts will be available when required on terms that are favorable to us, at all, or that any supplier would allocate sufficient supplies to us in order to meet our requirements or fill our orders in a timely manner. In the past, we have replaced certain suppliers because of their failure to provide components that met our quality control standards. The loss of any limited source supplier or the disruption in the supply of components from these suppliers could lead to delays in the deliveries of our battery products and systems to our customers, which could hurt our relationships with our customers and also materially adversely affect our business, prospects and operating results. Backlog may not be indicative of future operating results. Future revenue for the Company can be influenced by order backlog. Backlog represents the dollar amount of revenues we expect to recognize in the future from contracts awarded and in progress. Backlog substantially represents new orders. Backlog is not a measure defined by generally accepted accounting principles and is not a measure of contract profitability. Our methodology for determining backlog may not be comparable to methodologies used by other companies in determining their backlog amounts. The backlog values we disclose include anticipated revenues associated with: (1) the original contract amounts; (2) change orders for which we have received written confirmations from the applicable customers; (3) change orders for which we expect to receive confirmations in the ordinary course of business; and (4) claims that we have made against customers. In addition, the timing of order placement, size, and customer delivery dates can create unusual fluctuations in backlog. We include unapproved change orders for which we expect to receive confirmations in the ordinary course of business in backlog, generally to the extent of the lesser of the amount management expects to recover or the associated costs incurred. Any revenue that would represent profit associated with unapproved change orders is generally excluded from backlog until written confirmation is obtained from the applicable customer. However, consideration is given to our history with the customer as well as the contractual basis under which we may be operating. Accordingly, in certain cases based on our historical experience in resolving unapproved change orders with a customer, the associated profit may be included in backlog. However, if an unapproved change order is under dispute or has been previously rejected by the customer, the associated amount of revenue is treated as a claim. For amounts included in backlog that are attributable to claims, we include unapproved claims in backlog when we have a legal basis to do so, consider collection to be probable and believe we can reliably estimate the ultimate value. Claims revenue is included in backlog to the extent of the lesser of the amount management expects to recover or associated costs incurred. Backlog may not be indicative of future operating results, and projects in our backlog may be cancelled, modified or otherwise altered by customers. Our ability to realize revenue from the current backlog is dependent on among other things, the delivery of key parts from our vendors in a timely manner. We can provide no assurance as to the profitability of our contracts reflected in backlog. 14 Table of Contents Economic conditions may adversely affect consumer spending and the overall general health of our customers, which, in turn, may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash resources. Uncertainty about the current and future global economic conditions may cause our customers to defer purchases or cancel purchase orders for our products in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability and weakened consumer confidence. Our financial success is sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, both globally and nationally. Recessionary economic cycles, higher interest borrowing rates, higher fuel and other energy costs, inflation, increases in commodity prices, higher levels of unemployment, higher consumer debt levels, higher tax rates and other changes in tax laws or other economic factors that may affect consumer spending or buying habits could continue to adversely affect the demand for our products. If credit pressures or other financial difficulties result in insolvency for our customers, it could adversely impact our financial results. There can be no assurances that government and consumer responses to the disruptions in the financial markets will restore consumer confidence. We are dependent on a few customers for the majority of our net revenues, and our success depends on demand from OEMs and other users of our battery products. Historically a majority of our product sales have been generated from a small number of OEMs and customers, including three (3) customers who, on an aggregate basis, made up 77% of our sales for the year ended June 30, 2024, and three (3) customers who, on an aggregate basis, made up 80% of our sales for the year ended June 30, 2023. As a result, our success depends on continued demand from this small group of customers and their willingness to incorporate our battery products in their equipment. The loss of a significant customer would have an adverse effect on our revenues. There is no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts to convince end users to accept our products. Our failure to gain acceptance of our products could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, OEMs, their dealers and battery distributors may be subject to changes in demand for their equipment which could significantly affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not have long-term contracts with our customers. We do not have long-term contracts with our customers. Future agreements with respect to pricing, returns, promotions, among other things, are subject to periodic negotiation with each customer. No assurance can be given that our customers will continue to do business with us. The loss of any of our significant customers will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. In addition, the uncertainty of product orders can make it difficult to forecast our sales and allocate our resources in a manner consistent with actual sales, and our expense levels are based in part on our expectations of future sales. If our expectations regarding future sales are inaccurate, we may be unable to reduce costs in a timely manner to adjust for sales shortfalls. Real or perceived hazards associated with Lithium-ion battery technology may affect demand for our products. Press reports have highlighted situations in which lithium-ion batteries in automobiles and consumer products have caught fire or exploded. In response, the use and transportation of lithium-ion batteries has been prohibited or restricted in certain circumstances. This publicity has resulted in a public perception that lithium-ion batteries are dangerous and unpredictable. Although we believe our energy storage solutions are safe, these perceived hazards may result in customer reluctance to adopt our lithium-ion based technology. Our products may experience quality problems from time to time that could result in negative publicity, litigation, product recalls and warranty claims, which could result in decreased revenues and harm to our brands. A catastrophic failure of our battery modules could cause personal or property damages for which we would be potentially liable. Damage to or the failure of our energy storage solutions to perform to customer specifications could result in unexpected warranty expenses or result in a product recall, which would be time consuming and expensive. Such circumstances could result in negative publicity or lawsuits filed against us related to the perceived quality of our products which could harm our brand and decrease demand for our products. 15 Table of Contents We may be subject to product liability claims . If one of our products were to cause injury to someone or cause property damage, including as a result of product malfunctions, defects, or improper installation, then we could be exposed to product liability claims. We could incur significant costs and liabilities if we are sued and if damages are awarded against us. Further, any product liability claim we face could be expensive to defend and could divert management’s attention. The successful assertion of a product liability claim against us could result in potentially significant monetary damages, penalties or fines, subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position, and adversely affect sales of our products. In addition, product liability claims, injuries, defects, or other problems experienced by other companies in the solar industry could lead to unfavorable market conditions for the industry as a whole, and may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract new customers, thus harming our growth and financial performance. Although we carry product liability insurance, it may be insufficient in amount to cover our claims. Tariffs could be imposed on lithium-ion batteries or on any other component parts by the United States government or a resulting trade war could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. The lithium-ion battery industry has been subjected to tariffs implemented by the United States government on goods imported from China. There is an ongoing risk of new or additional tariffs being put in place on lithium-ion batteries or related parts which would dramatically increase the cost of our energy storage solutions. Since all of our lithium-ion batteries are manufactured in China, current and potential tariffs on lithium-ion batteries imported by us from China could increase our costs, require us to increase prices to our customers or, if we are unable to do so, result in lower gross margins on the products sold by us. China has already imposed tariffs on a wide range of American products in retaliation for the American tariffs on steel and aluminum. Additional tariffs could be imposed by China in response to actual or threatened tariffs on products imported from China. The imposition of additional tariffs by the United States could trigger the adoption of tariffs by other countries as well. Any resulting escalation of trade tensions, including a “trade war,” could have a significant adverse effect on world trade and the world economy, as well as on our results of operations. At this time, we cannot predict how such enacted tariffs will impact our business. Tariffs on components imported by us from China could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. 16 Table of Contents Increases in costs, disruption of supply or shortage of raw materials, in particular lithium-ion phosphate cells, could harm our business. We may experience increases in the costs, or a sustained interruption in the supply or shortage, of raw materials. Any such cost increase or supply interruption could materially negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. For instance, we are exposed to multiple risks relating to price fluctuations for lithium-iron phosphate cells. These risks include: ● the inability or unwillingness of battery manufacturers to supply the number of lithium-iron phosphate cells required to support our sales as demand for such rechargeable battery cells increases; ● disruption in the supply of cells due to quality issues or recalls by the battery cell manufacturers; and ● an increase in the cost of raw materials, such as iron and phosphate, used in lithium-iron phosphate cells. Our success depends on our ability to develop new products and capabilities that respond to customer demand, industry trends or actions by our competitors and failure to do so may cause us to lose our competitiveness in the battery industry and may cause our profits to decline. Our success will depend on our ability to develop new products and capabilities that respond to customer demand, industry trends or actions by our competitors. There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop new products and capabilities that adequately respond to these forces. In addition, changes in legislative, regulatory or industry requirements or in competitive technologies may render certain of our products obsolete or less attractive. If we are unable to offer products and capabilities that satisfy customer demand, respond adequately to changes in industry trends or legislative changes and maintain our competitive position in our markets, our financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected . 17 Table of Contents The research and development of new products and technologies is costly and time consuming, and there are no assurances that our research and development efforts will be either successful or completed within anticipated timeframes, if at all. Our failure to technologically evolve and/or develop new or enhanced products may cause us to lose competitiveness in the battery market. In addition, in order to compete effectively in the renewable battery industry, we must be able to launch new products to meet our customers’ demands in a timely manner. However, we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to install and certify any equipment needed to produce new products in a timely manner, or that the transitioning of our manufacturing facility and resources to full production under any new product programs will not impact production rates or other operational efficiency measures at our manufacturing facility. In addition, new product introductions and applications are risky, and may suffer from a lack of market acceptance, delays in related product development and failure of new products to operate properly. Any failure by us to successfully launch new products, or a failure by us to meet our customers criteria in order to accept such products, could adversely affect our results. Our business will be adversely affected if we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or infringement by third parties. Any failure to protect our intellectual proprietary rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage and a decrease in our revenue, which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our success depends, at least in part, on our ability to protect our core technology and intellectual property. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of patents, patent applications, trade secrets, including know-how, employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements, copyright laws, trademarks, intellectual property licenses and other contractual rights to establish and protect our proprietary rights in our technology. The protections provided by patent laws will be important to our future opportunities. However, such patents and agreements and various other measures we take to protect our intellectual property from use by others may not be effective for various reasons, including the following: ● The patents we have been granted may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented because of the pre-existence of similar patented or unpatented intellectual property rights or for other reasons; ● The costs associated with enforcing patents, confidentiality and invention agreements or other intellectual property rights may make aggressive enforcement impracticable; and ● Existing and future competitors may independently develop similar technology and/or duplicate our systems in a way that circumvents our patents. Our patent applications may not result in issued patents, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to ours. We cannot be certain that we are the first creator of inventions covered by pending patent applications or the first to file patent applications on these inventions, nor can we be certain that our pending patent applications will result in issued patents or that any of our issued patents will afford protection against a competitor. In addition, patent applications that we intend to file in foreign countries are subject to laws, rules and procedures that differ from those of the United States, and thus we cannot be certain that foreign patent applications related to issue United States patents will be issued. Furthermore, if these patent applications are issued, some foreign countries provide significantly less effective patent enforcement than in the United States. The status of patents involves complex legal and factual questions and the breadth of claims allowed is uncertain. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that we file will result in patents being issued, or that our patents and any patents that may be issued to us in the near future will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. In addition, patents issued to us may be infringed upon or designed around by others and others may obtain patents that we need to license or design around, either of which would increase costs and may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. 18 Table of Contents We rely on trade secret protections through confidentiality agreements with our employees, customers and other parties; the breach of such agreements could adversely affect our business and results of operations. We rely on trade secrets, which we seek to protect, in part, through confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with our employees, customers and other parties. There can be no assurance that these agreements will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any such breach or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known to or independently developed by competitors. To the extent that consultants, key employees or other third parties apply technological information independently developed by them or by others to our proposed projects, disputes may arise as to the proprietary rights to such information that may not be resolved in our favor. We may be involved from time to time in litigation to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights. Any such litigation could result in substantial cost and diversion of effort by our management and technical personnel. Our business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of the members of our senior management team and our business may be severely disrupted if we lose their services or are unable to recruit qualified replacements in the event of departures. We believe that our success is largely dependent upon the continued service of the members of our senior management team, who are responsible for who establishing our corporate strategies and focus, overseeing the execution of our business strategy and ensuring our continued growth. Our continued success will depend on our ability to attract and retain a qualified and competent management team in order to manage our existing operations and support our expansion plans. If any of the members of our senior management team are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them readily. Therefore, our business may be severely disrupted, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit and retain their replacement. In addition, if any of the members of our senior management team joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose some of our customers. On November 20, 2024, Ronald F. Dutt, our chairman and Chief Executive Officer, notified the Company’s Board of Directors that he intends to retire from his positions upon the appointment of a successor. The Board has commenced a search for a new Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Dutt will remain with Flux Power through the search and transition period. In the event Company is unable to successfully recruit a new chief executive officer who can effectively and efficiently transition to this position, the Company and business may be adversely affected If we are forced to implement workforce reductions, our staff resources will be stretched making our ability to comply with legal and regulatory requirements as a public company difficult. There can be no assurance that our management team will be able to implement and affect programs and policies in an effective and timely manner especially if subject to workforce reductions, that adequately respond to increased legal, regulatory compliance and reporting requirements imposed by such laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with such laws and regulations could lead to the imposition of fines and penalties and further result in the deterioration of our business. Compliance with changing regulations concerning corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses. There have been changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the (Sarbanes-Oxley) Act of 2002, new regulations promulgated by the SEC and rules promulgated by the national securities exchanges. These new or changed laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies, which could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. As a result, our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards are likely to continue to result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Members of our Board of Directors and our chief executive officer and chief financial officer could face an increased risk of personal liability in connection with the performance of their duties. As a result, we may have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified directors and executive officers, which could harm our business. If the actions we take in our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards differ from the actions intended by regulatory or governing bodies, we could be subject to liability under applicable laws or our reputation may be harmed. 19 Table of Contents In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley specifically requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure of controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Our testing, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, when required, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses. Our compliance with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources. We may face significant costs relating to environmental regulations for the storage and shipment of our lithium-ion energy storage solutions. Federal, state, and local regulations impose significant environmental requirements on the manufacture, storage, transportation, and disposal of various components of advanced energy storage systems. Although we believe that our operations are in material compliance with applicable environmental regulations, there can be no assurance that changes in such laws and regulations will not impose costly compliance requirements on us or otherwise subject us to future liabilities. Moreover, Federal, state, and local governments may enact additional regulations relating to the manufacture, storage, transportation, and disposal of components of advanced energy storage systems. Compliance with such additional regulations could require us to devote significant time and resources and could adversely affect demand for our products. There can be no assurance that additional or modified regulations relating to the manufacture, storage, transportation, and disposal of components of advanced energy systems will not be imposed. 20 Table of Contents Natural disasters, public health crises, political crises and other catastrophic events or other events outside of our control may damage our sole facility or the facilities of third parties on which we depend, and could impact consumer spending. Our sole production facility is located in southern California near major geologic faults that have experienced earthquakes in the past. An earthquake or other natural disaster or power shortages or outages could disrupt our operations or impair critical systems. Any of these disruptions or other events outside of our control could affect our business negatively, harming our operating results. In addition, if our sole facility, or the facilities of our suppliers, third-party service providers or customers, is affected by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, power shortages or outages, floods or monsoons, public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, political crises, such as terrorism, war, political instability or other conflict, or other events outside of our control, our business and operating results could suffer. Moreover, these types of events could negatively impact consumer spending in the impacted regions or, depending upon the severity, globally, which could adversely impact our operating results. Similar disasters occurring at our vendors’ manufacturing facilities could impact our reputation and our consumers’ perception of our brands. Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business, prevent us from accessing critical information or expose us to liability, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation. We utilize information technology systems and networks to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. As the use of digital technologies has increased, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks and divert financial resources, have increased in frequency and sophistication. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, all of which are vital to our operations and business strategy. There can be no assurance we will succeed in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects. Despite implementing security measures, any of the internal computer systems belonging to us or our suppliers are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failure. Any system failure, accident, security breach or data breach that causes interruptions could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. Further, our information technology and other internal infrastructure systems, including firewalls, servers, leased lines and connection to the Internet, face the risk of systemic failure, which could disrupt our operations. If any disruption or security breach results in a loss or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we may incur resulting liability, and competitive position may be adversely affected, and the further development of our products may be delayed. Furthermore, we may incur additional costs to remedy the damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches. Risks Related to Our Common Stock and Market The market price of our common stock could become volatile, or our trading volume become weak, either of which could lead to the price of our stock being depressed at a time when you may want to sell. Our common stock is being traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “FLUX.” We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our common stock will lead to the development of an active trading market on that stock exchange or any other exchange in the future. An active market for our common stock may never develop. We cannot assure you that the volume of trading in shares of our common stock will increase in the future. The trading price of our common stock has experienced volatility and is likely to continue to be highly volatile in response to numerous factors which have been discussed in this Section 1A, and additional factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, without limitation, the following: ● Our earnings releases, actual or anticipated changes in our earnings, fluctuations in our operating results or our failure to meet the expectations of financial market analysts and investors; ● Changes in financial estimates by securities analysts, if any, who might cover our stock; ● Speculation about our business in the press or the investment community; 21 Table of Contents ● Significant developments relating to our relationships with our customers or suppliers; ● Stock market price and volume fluctuations of other publicly traded companies and, in particular, those that are in our industry; ● Customer demand for our products; ● Investor perceptions of our industry in general and our Company in particular; ● General economic conditions and trends; ● Announcements by us or our competitors of new products, significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships or divestitures; ● Changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretation or principles; ● Loss of external funding sources; ● Sales of our common stock, including sales by our directors, officers or significant stockholders; and ● Additions or departures of key personnel, including but not limited to our chief financial officer. The trading price and volume of our common stock may impact your ability to sell your shares of common stock, causing you to lose all or part of your investment. The ownership of our stock is highly concentrated in our management. As of January 3 2025, our directors and executive officers, and their respective affiliates beneficially owned approximately 27.5% of our outstanding common stock, including common stock underlying options, and warrants that were exercisable or convertible or which would become exercisable or convertible within 60 days, with Michael Johnson, our director and sole director of Esenjay Investments LLC (“Essenjay”), beneficially owning approximately 25.1% of such outstanding common stock. As a result of their ownership, our directors and executive officers and their respective affiliates collectively, and Esenjay, individually, are able to significantly influence all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control. We do not intend to pay dividends on shares of our common stock for the foreseeable future. We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on shares of our common stock. We intend to retain any future earnings to fund the operation and expansion of our business and, therefore, we do not anticipate paying cash dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future. We are not currently in compliance with the continued listing requirements for the Nasdaq Stock Market. If we fail to regain compliance or to meet the continued listing requirements, our common stock may be delisted, which could affect the market price of our common stock, hurt your ability to sell your shares and negatively impact our ability to access the capital markets On October 16, 2024, we received a notice (the “October Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market stating that because the Company had not yet filed its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”), the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the “Listing Rule”), which requires Nasdaq-listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On November 20, 2024, we received a notice (the “November Notice,” together with the October Notice, the “Notices”) from the Staff of the Nasdaq Stock Market stating that because the Company had not yet filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-Q”) and because the Company remains delinquent in filing its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-K” and together with the Form 10-Q, the “Delinquent Reports”), the Company does not comply with the Listing Rule. Under the Nasdaq rules and pursuant to the Notices, we had until December 16, 2024 to submit to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule. If Nasdaq accepts our plan, then Nasdaq may grant us up to 180 days from the prescribed due date for filing the Delinquent Reports to regain compliance. On December 11, 2024, we filed a plan with Nasdaq to regain Nasdaq compliance with the Listing Rule, including requesting an extension to file the Delinquent Reports by no later than April 14, 2025. If Nasdaq does not accept the Plan and we fail to prevail in our appeal to Nasdaq, or if we fail to regain compliance with the Listing Rule, the Company’s common stock will be subject to delisting by Nasdaq . We intend to file the Form 10-Q by no later than April 15, 2025 to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule. However, any subsequent failure to regain and maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq could result in delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq and negatively impact our company and holders of our common stock, including by reducing the liquidity and trading of our common stock, limited availability of price quotations and reduced news and analyst coverage. Delisting may adversely impact the perception of our financial condition, cause reputational harm with investors, our employees and parties conducting business with us and limit our access to debt and equity financing. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to comply with the minimum bid price requirement, stockholder equity requirement and the other standards that we are required to meet in order to maintain a listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Our failure to continue to meet these requirements may result in our common stock being delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market. There can be no assurance that our common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market or trade on the over-the counter markets or any public market in the future. In the event our common stock is delisted, our stock price and market liquidity of our stock will be adversely affected which will impact your ability to sell your securities in the market. 22 Table of Contents Preferred Stock may be issued under our Articles of Incorporation, which may have superior rights to our common stock. Our Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance. These terms may include voting rights including the right to vote as a series on particular matters, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. In addition, these voting, conversion and exchange rights of preferred stock could negatively affect the voting power or other rights of our common stockholders. The issuance of any preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock, or delay or prevent a change of control of our Company, and therefore could reduce the value of such common stock.