Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
When evaluating our business and future prospects, you should carefully review and consider the risks described below in conjunction with other information in this report and in other reports and documents we file with the SEC. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional material risks and uncertainties, not presently known to us, or that we currently see as immaterial, may also occur or become material. If any of the following risks or any additional risks and uncertainties actually occur or become material, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be seriously harmed. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline and our stockholders could lose all or a portion of the value of their investment in our common stock.
Risks Related to the Company ’ s Industry and Business
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted worldwide economic conditions and could have a material adverse effect on our operations and business.
While our facilities have been able to continue to operate, the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in supply chains, affecting production and sales across a range of industries. While the disruptions are currently expected to be temporary, there is considerable uncertainty around the duration and the impact of these disruptions.
The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our operational and financial performance will depend on the on-going and future impact of the pandemic on our customers, vendors, and availability of labor as well as the potential impact of future expanded local, state, or federal restrictions, all of which are uncertain and are difficult to predict.
Out of an abundance of caution with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and to increase our liquidity in response to the unknown risk from the pandemic, its potential to have a material negative impact on our business and as a preventative measure to provide our business with the potentially needed additional liquidity resulting from such negative impact, we withdrew $10.0 million from our credit facility with Wells Fargo in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. On February 2, 2021 we repaid the entire withdrawal balance bringing our borrowings under our credit facility to zero. While we are unable to determine or predict the nature, duration, or scope of the overall impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our business, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources, we believe we will be able to remain operational and our working capital and available credit facility will be sufficient for us to do so. However, there can be no assurance we will be able to obtain additional working capital in the amounts or in the timing that may become necessary, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
A significant or prolonged economic downturn, could have, and at certain times in the past has had, a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our results of operations are affected by the level of business activity of our customers and licensees, which in turn is affected by the level of consumer demand for their products. A significant or prolonged economic downturn may adversely affect the disposable income of many consumers and may lower demand for the products we produce for our private-label contract manufacturing customers and products sold or manufactured by others using our licensed patent rights. Any decline in economic conditions in the U.S. and the various foreign markets in which our customers operate could negatively impact our customers’ businesses and our operations. A significant decline in consumer demand and the level of business activity of our customers, even if only due in part to general economic conditions, could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and profit margins.
Our industry is highly competitive and we may be unable to continue to compete effectively. Increased competition could adversely affect our financial condition.
The market for our products, and those of our customers, is highly competitive. Some of our competitors are larger than we are and have greater financial resources and broader name recognition than we do. Our competitors may be able to devote greater resources to research and development, marketing and other activities that could provide them with a competitive advantage . Our market has relatively low entry barriers and is highly sensitive to the introduction of new products that may rapidly capture significant market share. Our competitors may not stress the level of quality we provide and could manufacture with a lower level of quality at lower costs. Our competitors are largely private and not subject to the same disclosure requirements as a publicly traded company. If consumers do not perceive higher quality as worth a higher price, our revenue could suffer. Increased competition could result in price reductions, reduced profit margins or loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance we will be able to compete effectively in this intensely competitive environment.
Our business is subject to the effects of adverse publicity, which could negatively affect our sales and revenues.
Our business can be affected by adverse publicity or negative public perception about us, our competitors, our customers, our products, or our industry and competitors generally. Adverse publicity may include publicity about the nutritional supplements industry generally, the efficacy, safety and quality of nutritional supplements and other health care products or ingredients in general or our products or ingredients specifically, and regulatory investigations, regardless of whether these investigations involve us or the business practices or products of our competitors, or our customers. Any adverse publicity or negative public perception could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if any of our products or any similar products distributed by other companies are alleged to be or are proved to be harmful to consumers or to have unanticipated and unwanted health consequences.
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Risks Related to Operations, Manufacturing, and Technology
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified management personnel and key manufacturing personnel, our business may suffer.
Our executive officers and other management personnel along with key manufacturing positions are primarily responsible for our day-to-day operations. We believe our success depends largely on our ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management and key manufacturing personnel. Competition for qualified individuals can be intense and has been increasing in recent years. We may not be able to hire additional qualified personnel in a timely manner or on terms that would not substantially increase our costs. Any inability to retain a skilled professional management team and manufacturing team could adversely affect our ability to successfully execute our business strategies and achieve our goals and objectives.
Our manufacturing and third party fulfillment activities are subject to certain risks.
We manufacture the majority of our products at our manufacturing facilities in California and Switzerland. As a result, we are dependent on the uninterrupted and efficient operation of these facilities. Our manufacturing operations, including those of our suppliers, are subject to power failures, blackouts, border shutdowns, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, human error, breakdown, failure or substandard performance of our facilities, our equipment, the improper installation or operation of equipment, terrorism, pandemics (including COVID-19), natural or other disasters, intentional acts of violence, and the need to comply with the requirements or directives of governmental agencies, including but not limited to the FDA. In addition, we may in the future determine to expand or relocate our facilities, which may result in slowdowns or delays in our operations. While we have implemented and regularly evaluate various emergency, contingency and disaster recovery plans and we maintain business interruption insurance, there can be no assurance the occurrence of these or any other operational problems at our facilities in California or Switzerland would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, there can be no assurance our contingency plans will prove to be adequate or successful if needed or our insurance will continue to be available at a reasonable cost or, if available, will be adequate to cover any losses that we may incur from an interruption in our manufacturing and distribution operations. We recently acquired a warehouse and distribution facility in Carlsbad, California, and plan to convert it into a dedicated high volume powder blending and packaging facility while also providing additional raw material storage capacity. There can be no assurance our conversion plans will be completed in a time period or at the cost we estimate, or that we will obtain sufficient business from our clients to effectively utilize the facility and our investment therein.
We outsource our beta-alanine fulfillment and distribution activities as well as certain manufacturing activities. The operation of the third party service provider’s facilities is subject to the interruption risk and other risks similar to those described above for our facilities and there can be no assurance these interruptions or any other operational problem at such third party’s facilities would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we or our private-label contract manufacturing customers expand into additional markets outside the U.S. or our or their sales in markets outside the U.S. increase, our business could become increasingly subject to political, economic, regulatory and other risks in those markets, which could adversely affect our business.
Our future growth may depend, in part, on our ability and the ability of our private-label contract manufacturing customers, to expand into additional markets outside the U.S. or to improve sales in markets outside the U.S. There can be no assurance we or such customers will be able to expand in existing markets outside the U.S. or enter new markets on a timely basis, or that new markets outside the U.S. will be profitable. There are significant regulatory and legal barriers in markets outside the U.S. that must be overcome to enter and operate in such markets. We will be subject to the burden of complying with a wide variety of national and local laws, including multiple and possibly overlapping and conflicting laws. We also may experience difficulties adapting to new cultures, business customs and legal systems. Our sales and operations outside the U.S. are subject to political, economic and social uncertainties including, among others:
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changes and limits in import and export controls;
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increases in custom duties and tariffs;
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changes in government regulations and laws;
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coordination of geographically separated locations;
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absence in some jurisdictions of effective laws to protect our intellectual property rights;
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changes in currency exchange rates;
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economic and political instability; and
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currency transfer and other restrictions and regulations that may limit our ability to sell certain products or repatriate profits to the U.S.
Any changes related to these and other factors could adversely affect our business, profitability and growth prospects. If we or our customers expand into additional markets outside the U.S. or improve sales in markets outside the U.S., these and other risks associated with operations outside the U.S. will likely increase.
The failure of our suppliers to supply quality materials in sufficient quantities, at a favorable price, and in a timely fashion could adversely affect the results of our operations.
We buy our raw materials from a limited number of suppliers. During fiscal 2021, one of our suppliers, Lonza Group AG, represented more than 10% of our total raw material purchases. During fiscal 2020, another of our suppliers, Yasunaga Trading Company, LTD (Yasunaga), represented more than 10% of our raw material purchases. We currently purchase all of our beta-alanine for our CarnoSyn® and SR CarnoSyn® business from Yasunaga. Any disruption in their ability to source materials for or produce the amounts of beta-alanine needed to meet our requirements could have an adverse effect on our business.
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The loss of any of our other major suppliers or of any supplier who provides us materials that are hard to obtain elsewhere at the same quality could adversely affect our business operations. Although we believe we could establish alternate sources for most of our raw materials, any delay in locating and establishing relationships with other sources could result in shortages of products we manufacture from such raw materials, with a resulting loss of sales and customers. In certain situations we may be required to alter our products or with our customer’s consent to substitute different materials from alternative sources.
A shortage of raw materials or an unexpected interruption of supply could also result in higher prices for those materials. We have experienced increases in various raw material costs, transportation costs and the cost of petroleum-based raw materials and packaging supplies used in our business. Increasing pricing pressures on raw materials and other products have continued throughout fiscal 2021 as a result of limited supplies of various ingredients, the effects of higher labor and transportation costs, and the impact of COVID-19. We expect these upward pressures to continue through fiscal 2022. Although we may be able to raise our prices in response to significant increases in the cost of raw materials, we may not be able to raise prices sufficiently or quickly enough to offset the negative effects such cost increases could have on our results of operations or financial condition.
There can be no assurance suppliers will provide the quality raw materials needed by us in the quantities requested or at a price we are willing to pay. Because we do not control the actual production of these raw materials, we are also subject to delays caused by interruption in production of materials including but not limited to those resulting from conditions outside of our control, such as pandemics, weather, transportation interruptions, labor shortages, strikes, terrorism, natural disasters, and other catastrophic events.
In addition, our efforts to maintain or increase sales of CarnoSyn® and SR CarnoSyn® and related supply agreements are substantially dependent on the availability of the raw material beta-alanine and sales of beta-alanine or products incorporating beta-alanine. The availability of beta-alanine, and thus sales of such raw material and products using such material, could be negatively impacted by any shortages, interruptions and similar events described above, which could in turn adversely affect the amount of revenue and profit margin we earn from the sale of beta-alanine.
Risks Related to Customer Concentration
Because we derive a significant portion of our revenues from a limited number of customers, our revenues would be adversely affected by the loss of a major customer or a significant change in their business, personnel or the timing or amount of their sales to their customers and their orders from us.
We have in the past and expect to continue to derive a significant portion of our revenues from a relatively limited number of customers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, sales to our largest customer, The Juice Plus+ Company, were approximately 51% of our consolidated net sales. We cannot predict with any certainty if sales to Juice Plus+ will increase or decrease in the future. We also have one other private-label contract manufacturing customer that represented 14% of our consolidated net sales during this same time period.
Although no other customers represented more than 10% of our consolidated net sales, the loss of one of our largest customers, or other major customers, a significant decline in sales to any of our largest customers, a significant change in their business model or personnel, or in their ability to make payments when due, could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. The timing of our customers’ orders is impacted by, among other factors, their marketing programs, their customer demand, seasonality, their raw material suppliers we are sometimes required to use, their supply chain management, their entry into new markets and their new product introductions, all of which are outside of our control. All of these attributes have had and are expected to have a significant impact on our business in the future.
Our future growth and stability depends, in part, on our ability to diversify our sales. Our efforts to establish new sales from both existing customers and new customers could require significant initial investments, which may or may not result in higher overall sales and improved financial results.
Our business strategy depends in large part on our ability to develop new product sales from both current and new customer relationships. These activities often require a significant up-front investment including, among others, customized formulations, compliance with a different regulatory schemes, product registrations, package design, product testing, pilot production runs, and the build-up of initial inventory. We may experience significant delays from the time we increase our operating expenses and make investments in inventory (and incur additional related carrying costs) until the time we generate net sales from new products or customers, and it is possible after incurring such expenditures we may not generate material revenue from new products or customers. If we incur significant expenses and investments in inventory that we are not able to recover, and we are not able to compensate for those expenses, our operating results would be adversely affected.
We currently derive significant revenues and income from sales of beta-alanine and from licensing our patents. Our ability to maintain or grow our sales of beta-alanine and license revenue from our other patents is contingent on our ability to continue to defend our patents, and commercialize the sale of beta-alanine under our instant release CarnoSyn ® patents and trademark and our sustained release SR CarnoSyn ® patents and trademark.
We own multiple patents and trademarks related to the use of beta-alanine in food and nutritional supplements. A majority of our revenue and income from this segment is currently derived from activity related to licensing our patents and other intellectual property associated with instant release beta-alanine, sold under our trade name CarnoSyn®. We have five patents for this version of CarnoSyn®, of which the latest expires in 2026. Our patent and trademark licensing revenue increased from $12.6 million in fiscal 2020 to $14.2 million in fiscal 2021 in part due to recovery of the sports nutrition industry after the reopening of gyms and athletic facilities and activities in accordance with easing COVID-19 guidelines for such activities. There is no assurance we will be successful maintaining our historical CarnoSyn® instant release beta-alanine sales levels or growing future sales volumes with our remaining CarnoSyn® instant release patent estate. If we are not successful it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We believe SR CarnoSyn® is a superior delivery system for CarnoSyn® beta-alanine based on its sustained release profile that allows for increased daily dosing and improved muscle retention of carnosine. Our patents related to SR CarnoSyn® extend through 2036 and we believe the introduction of SR CarnoSyn® beta-alanine is an important step in the further commercialization of our patent estate. There can be no assurance we will be successful in getting the market to accept this new form of beta-alanine or that we will be successful launching new products utilizing SR CarnoSyn® beta-alanine.
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Risks Related to Regulations
Our products and manufacturing activities are subject to extensive government regulation, which could limit or prevent the sale of our products in some markets and could increase our costs.
The manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, and sale of our products are subject to regulation by numerous national and local governmental agencies in the U.S. and in other countries. For example, we are required to comply with certain GMP and incur costs associated with the audit and certification of our facilities. Failure to comply with governmental regulations may result in, among other things, injunctions, product withdrawals, recalls, product seizures, fines, and criminal prosecutions. Any action of this type by a governmental agency could materially adversely affect our ability to successfully market our products and services. In addition, if such governmental agency has reason to believe the law is being violated (for example, if it believes we do not possess adequate substantiation for product claims), it can initiate an enforcement action. Governmental agency enforcement could result in orders requiring, among other things, limits on advertising, consumer redress, divestiture of assets, rescission of contracts, and such other relief as may be deemed necessary. Violation of these orders could result in substantial financial or other penalties. Any action by a governmental agency could materially adversely affect our ability and our customers’ ability to successfully market and continue selling the products involved.
Before commencing operations or marketing our products in markets outside the U.S., we are routinely required to obtain approvals, licenses, or certifications from a country’s ministry of health or comparable agency. Approvals or licensing may be conditioned on reformulation of products or even may be unavailable with respect to certain products or product ingredients. We must also comply with product labeling and packaging regulations that vary from country to country. Furthermore, the regulations of these countries may conflict with those in the U.S. and with each other. The sale of our products in certain European countries is subject to the rules and regulations of the European Union, which may be interpreted differently among the countries within the European Union. The cost of complying with these various and potentially conflicting regulations can be substantial and could adversely affect our results of operations.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our operations have been subject to additional laws and regulations imposed by federal, state, and local governments primarily related to the ability of our employees to come to work and the safety measures that need to be in place in order for our facilities to remain operational. While we already had robust quality standards and procedures, we have had to constantly monitor these new regulations and implement additional procedures where necessary, including temperature checks, additional cleaning procedures, allowing administrative personnel to work remotely, etc. New or expanded regulations or our inability to continue operating as an essential business could adversely affect our results of operations.
We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations, or applications, nor can we determine what effect additional governmental regulations, when and if adopted, would have on our business. They could include new or revised requirements or restrictions related to the safe operation of our facilities due to the pandemic, or for the reformulation of certain products to meet new standards, the recall or discontinuance of certain products, additional compliance costs or record keeping requirements, expanded or different labeling, and additional scientific substantiation. Any or all of these requirements could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
Possible new tariffs on imported goods from China and elsewhere could adversely affect our business operations.
The United States has implemented new and increased tariffs on a wide range of goods and materials imported from China and other governments, in addition to tariffs previously imposed. These goods may include products, applications, and ingredients we or our customers require for their products, including beta-alanine. Our ability to maintain or increase CarnoSyn® sales and licensing revenue depends on the availability of the raw material beta-alanine. In response, China and other governments have, or have announced plans to impose additional tariffs on certain American products if additional U.S. tariffs are imposed. Continuing or increased tariffs could have a material adverse effect on our customer’s businesses, the availability of beta-alanine, and the cost of other raw materials we use in our customer’s products. While it is difficult to predict whether or how existing and additional potential tariffs will be imposed, or how tariffs will impact our business, we believe the imposition of additional tariffs by the U.S. or other governments on products we or our customers offer for sale, or ingredients we use in the products we manufacture could adversely impact our offerings and our customers, and could have an adverse impact on the availability of raw materials we purchase including beta-alanine.
Such results could adversely impact our ability to license our patents and trademarks, our ability to sell beta-alanine, and our customers’ ability to compete in the market place, resulting in reduced demand for our products, and products we manufacture for our customers. Additional tariffs imposed by any government on beta-alanine could have an adverse impact on the price we have to pay for beta-alanine and the availability of beta-alanine. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Risks Related to Litigation
We could be exposed to product liability claims or other litigation, which may be costly and could materially adversely affect our operations.
We could face financial liability due to product liability claims if the use of our products results in significant loss or injury. Additionally, the manufacture and sale of our products involves risk of injury to consumers from tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination. We could be exposed to future product liability claims that include, among others, assertions that: our products contain contaminants; we provide consumers with inadequate instructions about product use; or we provide inadequate warning about side effects or interactions of our products with other substances. Even if we were to prevail in any such claims, the cost of litigation and settlement could be significant.
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We maintain product liability insurance coverage, including primary product liability and excess liability coverage. While we expect to be able to continue our product liability insurance, there can be no assurance we will in fact be able to continue such insurance coverage, or that such insurance coverage will be adequate to cover any liability we may incur, or that our insurance policies will continue to be available at a cost similar to our cost today, or even an economically reasonable cost.
Additionally, it is possible one or more of our insurers could exclude from our coverage certain ingredients used in our products. In such event, we may have to stop using those ingredients or rely on indemnification or similar arrangements with our customers who wish to continue to include those ingredients in their products. A substantial increase in our product liability risk or the loss of customers or product lines, or the failure of a customer to honor indemnification agreements could each have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may continue to incur significant costs in the course of creating and defending our intellectual property. We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights or may inadvertently infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.
We possess and may possess in the future certain proprietary technology, trade secrets, trademarks, trade names, licenses, patents, and similar intellectual property. We may continue to incur significant patent and trademark litigation costs associated with creating and defending our intellectual property. During fiscal 2021, we incurred approximately $1.2 million in patent litigation and prosecution expense and expect these expenses to be between $0.5 million and $1.0 million during fiscal 2022. There is no assurance we will be able to create new intellectual property, protect our existing intellectual property adequately or that our intellectual property rights will be upheld. If as we have been in the past, we are again subject to legal proceedings seeking to invalidate our patent rights, such proceedings or the success of the efforts thereby could have a material adverse impact upon our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the laws of certain foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the U.S. Additional litigation in the U.S. or abroad may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement. Such litigation, even if ultimately determined in our favor, could result in substantial additional costs and diversion of resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If infringement claims are asserted against us, we may seek to obtain a license to use the claiming third party’s intellectual property rights. There can be no assurance such a license would be available at all or available on terms acceptable or favorable to us.
Risks Related to Insider Ownership and Corporate Structure
If certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and Delaware law are triggered, the market for our shares may decrease.
Certain provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and Delaware corporate law may discourage unsolicited proposals to acquire our business, even if such proposals would benefit our stockholders. Those provisions include one that authorizes our Board of Directors, without stockholder approval, to issue up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock having such rights, preferences, and privileges, including voting rights, as the Board of Directors designates. The rights of our common stockholders will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. Any or all of these provisions could delay, deter or prevent a takeover of our company and could lower the price investors are willing to pay for our common stock and the number of investors willing to own our common stock.
Collectively, our officers and directors own a significant amount of our common stock, giving them influence over corporate transactions and other matters and potentially limiting the influence of other stockholders on important policy and management issues.
Our officers and directors, together with their families and affiliates, beneficially owned approximately 22% of our outstanding shares of common stock as of June 30, 2021. Approximately 16% of the outstanding shares of common stock are beneficially owned by Mark LeDoux, and his family and affiliates. Mr. LeDoux is our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. As a result, our officers and directors, and in particular Mr. LeDoux, could influence such business matters as the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions.
Various transactions could be delayed, deferred, or prevented without the approval of stockholders, including the following:
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transactions resulting in a change in control;
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mergers and acquisitions;
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tender offers;
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election of directors; and
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proxy contests.
There can be no assurance that conflicts of interest will not arise with respect to the officers and directors who own shares of our common stock or that conflicts will be resolved in a manner favorable to us or our other stockholders.
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Risks Related to Future Acquisitions
We may pursue acquisitions of other companies that, if not successful, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may pursue acquisitions of companies we believe could complement or expand our business, augment our market coverage, provide us with important relationships or otherwise offer us growth opportunities. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including the following:
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potential difficulties related to integrating the products, personnel and operations of an acquired company;
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failure to operate efficiently as a combined organization utilizing common information and communication systems, operating procedures, financial controls and human resources practices;
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diverting management’s attention from other daily operations of the business;
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entering markets in which we have no or limited prior direct experience and where competitors in such markets have more experience and stronger market positions;
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potential loss of key employees of an acquired company;
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potential inability to achieve cost savings and other potential benefits expected from the acquisition;
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an uncertain sales and earnings stream from an acquired company; and
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potential impairment charges, which may be significant, against goodwill and purchased intangible assets acquired in an acquisition due to changes in conditions and circumstances that occur after the acquisition, many of which may be outside of our control.
There can be no assurance that acquisitions we may pursue will be successful. If we pursue an acquisition but are not successful in completing it, or if we complete an acquisition but are not successful in integrating an acquired company’s employees, products or operations successfully, our business, financial position or results of operations could be adversely affected.
General Risk Factors
Our operating results will vary. Fluctuations in our operating results may adversely affect the share price of our common stock.
Our net sales increased during fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020, and there can be no assurance our net sales will improve in the near term, or we will earn a profit in any given year. We experienced a net loss in fiscal 2020 and may incur losses in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate from year to year and/or from quarter to quarter due to various factors including differences related to the timing of revenues and expenses for financial reporting purposes and other factors described in this report. At times, these fluctuations may be significant. We anticipate generating positive net income in fiscal 2022, although there is no assurance we will be able to do so. Fluctuations in our operating results may adversely affect the share price of our common stock.
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Our stock price could fluctuate significantly.
Stock prices in general can be volatile and ours is no different. The trading price of our stock may fluctuate in response to the following, as well as other, factors including but not limited to factors outside of our control:
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broad market fluctuations and general economic and/or political conditions;
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fluctuations in our financial results;
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relatively low trading volumes;
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future offerings of our common stock or other securities;
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the general condition of the nutritional supplement industry;
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increased competition;
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regulatory action;
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adverse publicity;
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manipulative or illegal trading practices by third parties; and
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our and our customers’ and suppliers’ products and other public announcements.
The market for our stock has historically experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. There can be no assurance that an active market in our stock will continue to exist or that the price of our common stock will not decline. Our future operating results may be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. If this were to occur, the price of our common stock could decline, perhaps substantially.
From time to time our shares may be listed for trading on one or more foreign exchanges, with or without our prior knowledge or consent. Certain foreign exchanges may have less stringent listing requirements, rules and enforcement procedures than the Nasdaq Global Market or other markets in the U.S., which may increase the potential for manipulative trading practices to occur on such foreign exchanges. These practices, or the perception by investors that such practices could occur, may increase the volatility of our stock price or result in a decline in our stock price, which in some cases could be significant.
We may not be able to raise additional capital or obtain additional financing if needed.
It is possible our cash from operations could become insufficient to meet our working capital needs and/or to implement our business strategies. In such an event, there can be no assurance our existing line of credit would be sufficient to meet our working capital needs, if the line has any credit still available when needed. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain certain loan covenants, we may no longer have access to our credit line. Under the terms of our credit facility, there are limits on our ability to create, incur or assume additional indebtedness without the approval of our lender. Our credit line terminates in May 2024 and there is no guarantee we will be able to extend or renew this credit line on favorable terms or at all.
We may consider issuing additional debt or equity securities in the future to fund potential acquisitions or investments, to refinance existing debt, or for general corporate purposes. If we issue equity or convertible debt securities to raise additional funds, our existing stockholders may experience dilution, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our existing stockholders. If we incur additional debt, it may increase our leverage relative to our earnings or to our equity capitalization, requiring us to pay additional interest expenses and potentially lowering our credit ratings. At any given time, it could be difficult for us to raise capital due to a variety of factors, some of which may be outside of our control, including a tightening of credit markets, overall poor performance of stock markets, and/or an economic slowdown in the U.S. or other countries, or in the businesses of our customers. There is no assurance we would be able to market such security issuances on favorable terms, or at all, in which case, if we did not have any alternate funds we might not be able to develop or enhance our products, execute our business plan, take advantage of future opportunities, respond to competitive pressures or meet unanticipated customer requirements.
Our inability to raise additional capital or to obtain additional financing if needed could negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategies and meet our goals. This, in turn, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.