Item 1. Business
ITEM 1: BUSINESS.
Overview
Napco Security Technologies, Inc (“NAPCO”, “the Company”, “we”) is one of the leading manufacturers and designers of high-tech electronic security devices, cellular communication services for intrusion and fire alarm systems as well as a leading provider of school safety solutions. We offer a diversified array of security products, encompassing access control systems, door-locking products, intrusion and fire alarm systems and video surveillance products. These products are used for commercial, residential, institutional, industrial and governmental applications, and are sold worldwide principally to independent distributors, dealers and installers of security equipment. We have experienced significant growth in recent years, primarily driven by fast growing recurring service revenues generated from wireless communication services for intrusion and fire alarm systems, as well as our school security products that are designed to meet the increasing needs to enhance school security as a result of on-campus shooting and violence in the U.S. While recurring service revenues have continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, equipment sales for fiscal 2020 were negatively impacted by the economic slowdown associated with this pandemic.
Since 1969, NAPCO has established a heritage and proven record in the professional security community for reliably delivering both advanced technology and high-quality security solutions, building many of the industry’s widely recognized brands, such as NAPCO Security Systems, Alarm Lock, Continental Access, Marks USA, and other popular product lines: including Gemini and F64-Series hardwire/wireless intrusion systems and iSee Video internet video solutions. We are also dedicated to developing innovative technology and producing the next generation of reliable security solutions that utilize remote communications and wireless networks, including our StarLink, iBridge, and more recently the iSecure product lines. Today, millions of businesses, institutions, homes, and people around the globe are protected by products from the NAPCO Group of Companies.
Our net sales were $143.6 million, $114.0 million and $101.4 million for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The change in our net sales was driven primarily by increased sales of our recurring services ($12.1 million) and sales of equipment ($17.5 million) as compared to the same period a year ago. The increase in equipment sales was due primarily to the recovery from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the elimination of most of the closures mandated by federal, state and local governments during the early and peak stages of the pandemic. As these closures abated and economic conditions improved, our equipment sales increased. In addition, fiscal 2022 net sales increased due, in part, to an increase in sales of the Company’s 4G and 5G cellular radio products as the major cellular providers sunset their 3G networks. Our net income was $19.6 million, $15.4 million and $7.8 million for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increases in net income during this period were due primarily to the recovery from the COVID-19 impact described above, as well as by the growth of our cellular products and the associated recurring service revenues which generated a gross margin of 87% in fiscal 2022.
Our Products and Services
The Company’s products and services are comprised of the following:
● Alarm Lock standalone and networked digital door locks
● Marks USA standard and custom Locksets, Panic Devices and Door Closers
● NAPCO Gemini intrusion alarm equipment
● NAPCO StarLink and FireLink cellular communication devices and services
● NAPCO iSecure integrated cellular intrusion alarm systems
● Continental Access door controllers and hosted services for access control
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Door Security Products .
The Company manufactures a variety of door locking devices including microprocessor-based electronic door locks with push button, card reader and bio-metric operation, door alarms, mechanical door locks and simple dead bolt locks. These devices may control a single door or, in the case of some of the Company’s microprocessor-based door locks, may be networked with the Company’s access control systems and controlled remotely.
Intrusion and Fire Alarm Systems .
Alarm systems usually consist of various detectors, a control panel, a digital keypad and signaling equipment. When a break-in occurs, an intrusion detector senses the intrusion and activates a control panel via hard-wired or wireless transmission that sets off the signaling equipment and, in most cases, causes a bell or siren to sound. Communication equipment such as a cellular or digital communicator may be used to transmit the alarm signal to a central station or another person selected by a customer. Cellular communicators have become more popular and panels and communicators are trending towards integration so that many alarm panels will contain an integrated cellular communication device.
The Company manufactures and markets the following products for these alarm systems:
● Automatic Communicators. When a control panel is activated by a signal from an intrusion detector, it activates a communicator that can automatically dial one or more pre-designated telephone numbers utilizing wired (“landline”) or cellular communications systems. If programmed to do so, a digital communicator dials the telephone number of a central monitoring station and communicates in computer language to a digital communicator receiver, which signals an alarm message.
● Cellular communication devices. A cellular communication device connects to the communicator and is used in lieu of, or in addition to, a landline for communicating with a central monitoring station.
● Control Panels. A control panel is the "brain" of an alarm system. When activated by any one of the various types of intrusion detectors, it can activate an audible alarm and/or various types of communication devices.
● Combination Control Panels/Digital Communicators and Digital Keypad Systems. A combination control panel, digital communicator and a digital keypad has continued to be the leading configuration in terms of dealer and consumer preference. Benefits of the combination format include the cost efficiency resulting from a single microcomputer function, as well as the reliability and ease of installation gained from the simplicity and sophistication of micro-computer technology.
● Fire Alarm Control Panel. Multi-zone fire alarm control panels, which accommodate an optional digital communicator for reporting to a central station, are also manufactured by the Company.
● Area Detectors. The Company's area detectors are both passive infrared heat detectors and combination microwave/passive infrared detectors that are linked to alarm control panels. Passive infrared heat detectors respond to the change in heat patterns caused by an intruder moving within a protected area. Combination units respond to both changes in heat patterns and changes in microwave patterns occurring at the same time.
Recurring Cellular Communication Services .
The Company provides cellular access for the cellular communication devices described above. These services are provided and invoiced to the Company’s service customers on a month to month basis. Revenues from these services have grown significantly over the past several years, increasing 91% from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2022. These revenues, which currently have a gross margin of approximately 87% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, represent approximately 32% of our total revenue for the fiscal year ended of June 30, 2022. The Company’s long-term goal is to have recurring revenues from these services represent at least 50% of total revenue.
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Access Control Systems .
Access control systems consist of one or more of the following: various types of identification readers (e.g. card readers, hand scanners), a control panel, a PC-based computer and electronically activated door-locking devices. When an identification card or other identifying information is entered into the reader, the information is transmitted to the control panel/PC, which then validates the data and determines whether or not to grant access by electronically deactivating the door locking device. An electronic log is kept which records various types of data regarding access activity.
Video Surveillance Systems.
Video surveillance systems typically consist of one or more video cameras, a control panel and a video monitor or PC. More advanced systems can also include a recording device and some type of remote communication device such as an internet connection to a PC or browser-enabled cell phone. The system allows the user to monitor various locations at once while recorders save the video images for future use. Remote communication devices can allow the user to view and control the system from a remote location. The Company designs, engineers, and markets the software and control panels discussed above. It also buys and resells various video cameras, PC-based computers and peripheral equipment for video surveillance systems.
The Company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets the software and control panels discussed above. It also buys and resells various identification readers, PC-based computers and various peripheral equipment for access control systems.
Peripheral Equipment
The Company also markets peripheral equipment manufactured by other companies. Revenues from peripheral equipment have not been significant.
Our Growth Drivers
Recurring Revenue Business
In 2012, we began to generate recurring revenue by developing our cellular radio technology. Since then, we have continued to introduce additional products generating recurring revenues, primarily in the cellular communication devices such as our StarLink, iBridge, and more recently the iSecure product lines. These products are installed at the premises of end customers and we generate revenue from the installers by both the upfront purchase of our products and the monthly subscription fees for services we perform at our cloud-based operations center to communicate security breaches and fire alarms to a central station. The monthly recurring revenue allows us to generate a more consistent and predictable stream of income and mitigates the risk of fluctuation in market demand for our equipment products. In addition, these monthly services generate higher gross margin, which has the effect of improving our profitability. We believe there is a significant market opportunity for these products and services, because many commercial and residential customers prefer to purchase real-time security monitoring services to ensure continuous protection and swift responses to security breaches and fire alarms.
We also experienced accelerating growth in our recurring revenue from sales of fire radio products. In the past few years, we introduced several Starlink fire radio solutions, including a Starlink dual path radio that can utilize cellular or internet technologies for their communication function. Dual path radios are required by local fire codes in certain areas such as New York City or L.A. County. A third fire radio was introduced during fiscal 2019 in the form of a Firelink fire panel with a Starlink fire radio built into it. In general, the gross margin for fire radio products is higher than the other Starlink solutions. The sales of fire radio products have contributed positively to our gross margin during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. We expect that fire radio products will continue to be an increasing portion of the overall mix of our recurring revenue and positively impact our gross margin.
We intend to continue pursuing recurring revenue opportunities by developing new and innovative products and continuing our aggressive sales and marketing efforts. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, our recurring revenue constituted approximately 32% of our total revenue.
School Security and Public Safety
We have developed products to help address security concerns arising from the significant need for increased security in schools and other public spaces. In the U.S., there are over 100,000 K-12 schools, over 5,000 colleges and universities and over 350,000 houses of
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worship. Management estimates that less than 10% of these institutions have adequate protection from an active shooter or intruder. As a result of increased “active shooter” incidents, a number of U.S. states and local governments have substantially increased school security budgets. Many colleges and universities have large endowments which are starting to be utilized to address this critical issue. Security equipment and services focused on education has reached over $3 billion in revenues and this segment is still in the early stages as many K-12 schools, colleges and universities have still not addressed this issue.
With a full suite of products and solutions, we believe we are well positioned to meet the security needs of schools, houses of worship, and other places where people congregate. Depending on the needs of the school and their budget, we offer (i) Standalone LocDown locks which can be operated by a teacher, (ii) a series of Networx standalone wireless locks which communicate with central controls, or (iii) enterprise-class access control with cellular connectivity, which allows the head of security to lock down all or part of the campus, including dorm rooms, classrooms and administrative offices, from a centralized office.
The Company has had several significant wins in school security contracts, including the Houston Independent School District, which is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh largest in the U.S. On this project the Company implemented its Enterprise-wide security solution via its Continental Access control with intrusion, video and alarm communicators. Another example is Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where the Company provided a lockdown system in place for its over 1,700 dorm rooms that required both locking and access control technologies. We were chosen because we were the only security company that has both locking and access control technologies that work on the same platform and met the needs of the university.
Competitive Strengths
The security products industry is highly competitive. The Company's primary competitors are comprised of approximately 12 other companies that manufacture and market security equipment to distributors, dealers, central stations and original equipment manufacturers. The Company believes that none of these competitors is dominant in the industry. Most of these companies have substantially greater financial and other resources than the Company. However, unlike the Company, we believe that none of these competitors manufactures all key building security products: Intrusion Alarms and Access Control, Connectivity, and Locking devices. As more security installations include multiple security-related systems, which can include, intrusion, fire, access control, door-locking and connectivity, there is more demand for the various systems to communicate with each other. By having everything manufactured under one roof, we can offer customers one integrated platform solution without the risk of incompatible equipment from multiple vendors to “talk” to each other.
Our manufacturing facility located in the Dominican Republic (“D.R.”) manufactures over 90% of our products. It is located in a free zone which is a tax-advantaged location. The Company also benefits from the lower tariffs available to it under The Dominican Republic-Central America FTA (CAFTA-DR). The D.R. manufacturing operation is vertically integrated and operates in a low-cost location, where the typical labor cost is approximately one-tenth (1/10) of the cost for similar services in the U.S. The D.R. facility allows us to maintain a lower manufacturing overhead and improve our gross margin. This facility is currently running one shift, plus a second shift on select products with the ability to run 3 full shifts. Additional staffing is readily available for future expansion. The annual revenue that can be generated per shift is approximately $100 million. The building is a self-contained “concrete bunker” with ability to withstand Category 5 hurricanes. We have enough land to build additional space; 180,000 square feet of additional manufacturing space in the D.R., and approximately 100,000 square feet of office and warehousing space in Amityville, should the need arise. The Company has multiple transportation options between the D.R. and Amityville facilities. Shipping times from the D.R. to the Amityville facility are typically 6-8 days.
We perform our managerial and administrative activities in the U.S. in our facility located in Amityville, New York, which is 100,000 square feet and serves as Company’s headquarters, containing its corporate offices, research and development, design, sales administration, technical services, finance, procurement, manufacturing control, warehousing, and shipping operations. We believe that our ability to provide timely and effective technical support and services to our U.S. customers from our U.S. facility in Amityville is an advantage over other companies in the security industry that have moved customer service functions overseas to countries such as India and Philippines. Our dealers and customers rely substantially on the ability to communicate real-time to experts who can provide clear and understandable advice and instruction, because they are usually dealing with highly technical problems on a job site with little time to spare.
The Company competes primarily on the basis of the features, quality, reliability and pricing of, and the incorporation of the latest innovative and technological advances into, its products. The Company also competes by offering technical support services to its customers. In addition, the Company competes on the basis of its expertise, its proven products, its reputation and its ability to provide
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products to customers on a timely basis. The inability of the Company to compete with respect to any one or more of the aforementioned factors could have an adverse impact on the Company's business.
Our Strategy
Due to paradigm changes in the security marketplace, the Company’s focus has been on mandatory (non-elective) systems, such as fire systems with central station monitoring in commercial buildings, and iOT-driven connectivity services in high growth and margin categories. As copper land lines are phased out and more people switch to cellular phone service for their homes, our cellular communication services become increasingly attractive in these installations, both new and existing. We have built a strong competitive position by developing a wide range of software capabilities from embedded micro-coding to enterprise system software, database design, mobile applications development, user portal design, mechanical and electronic mechanisms and telecommunications, featuring our significant radio and cellular communications expertise. This has enabled us to create recurring revenue opportunities across product lines, and our goal is to expand such opportunities to generate recurring revenue that will account for over 50% of our total revenue and to sustain profitability from recurring revenue margins of over 80%. We are also focusing on security solutions for the healthcare industry, including anti-ligature lockets designed for life safety and liability reduction in hospitals, behavior health institutions and correctional facilities, and such products are highly profitable while complying with applicable regulatory and health standards. We believe that our ability to design and produce these products and services are possible due to our advanced set of in-house engineering technology capability from mechanical to electronic and electro-mechanical products, digital, microprocessor and analog circuit design, networking products, and wireless and cellular communications electronics.
Research and Development
The success of the Company’s business depends substantially on its ability to develop new and proprietary technology and products. The research and development (“R&D”) costs incurred by the Company are charged to expense as incurred and are included in "Operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of operations. During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the Company expended approximately $8,024,000, $7,620,000 and $7,257,000, respectively, on research and development activities conducted primarily by its engineering department to develop and improve the products. The Company intends to continue to conduct a significant portion of its future research and development activities internally.
Our Human Capital Resources
As of June 30, 2022, the Company had 1,149 full-time employees. 258 of these were located in the United States (“U.S.”) and 891 were located at our manufacturing facility in the Dominican Republic (“DR”). 42 of our U.S. employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We also engage consultants from time to time. Management considers its relationship with its employees to be very good.
Hiring, motivating and retaining talented employees is an ongoing priority to Napco. Maintaining a talented workforce at all levels is critical to our ability to delver high quality products and services to our customers as well as maintain shareholder value.
In order to maintain a high level of talent in our workforce, Napco offers comprehensive benefits programs, competitive wages, incentive programs, performance reviews and various employee activities and awards. We also provide training and management support for employees to enhance their success and to identify outstanding talent and development opportunities.
Government Regulation
Our business and products are subject to various federal, state, local and international regulatory authorities and the regulatory authorities in the countries in which our products are produced or sold. Compliance with these laws and regulations has not had and is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company, including capital expenditures for environmental compliance, or on its earnings or competitive position.
Marketing
The Company's staff of approximately 60 sales and marketing support employees located at the Company's Amityville offices sells and markets our products primarily to independent distributors, wholesalers and dealers of security alarm and security hardware equipment. The Company currently has approximately 9,000 customers made up of distributors, installing dealers and wholesalers who purchase our products from distributors or directly from the Company. The Company's sales representatives periodically contact existing and potential customers to introduce new products and create demand for those as well as other Company products. These
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sales representatives, together with the Company's technical personnel, provide training and other services to wholesalers and distributors so that they can better service the needs of their customers. In addition to direct sales efforts, the Company advertises in technical trade publications and participates in trade shows in major United States cities.
Seasonality
The Company's fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. Historically, the end users of the Company’s hardware products want to install these products prior to the summer; therefore, sales of these products historically peak in the period April 1 through June 30, the Company's fiscal fourth quarter, and are reduced in the period July 1 through September 30, the Company's fiscal first quarter. In addition, demand for all of our products may be affected by the housing and construction markets. Deterioration of the current economic conditions may also affect this trend. The monthly recurring revenue, which is less susceptable to these fluctuations, allows us to generate a more consistent and predictable stream of income and mitigates the risk of fluctuation in market demand for our equipment products.
Raw Materials
The Company prepares specifications for component parts used in the products and purchases the components from outside sources or fabricates the components itself. These components, if standard, are generally readily available; if specially designed for the Company, there is usually more than one alternative source of supply available to the Company on a competitive basis. The Company generally maintains inventories of all critical components. A majority of purchased components are sourced from U.S. and Asian suppliers and are typically shipped directly to the D.R. The Company, for the most part, is not dependent on any one source for its raw materials. The Company believes that any vendor that is currently the sole source of a component can be replaced without a material impact on the Company.
Corporate Information and History
The Company was founded in 1969 and incorporated as NAPCO Security Systems, Inc. in December 1971 in the State of Delaware. NAPCO went public on NASDAQ with the ticker symbol “NSSC”, in 1972. In December 2008 the Company changed its name to NAPCO Security Technologies, Inc.
In 1987, the Company acquired a locking company, Alarm Lock Systems, the first of its three acquisitions. In 2000, the Company acquired an access control company, Continental Instruments. In 2008, the Company acquired another locking company, Marks USA. In 1990, the Company began the process of moving most of its manufacturing operations offshore. After studying various options, the D.R. was chosen as it is relatively close to our headquarters (three and half hours by plane), is in the same time zone, has a relatively stable political and economic situation and is a low cost manufacturing environment. In 1995, the Company built a state-of-the-art 180,000 square foot facility in the D.R., and we continued to improve and upgrade the facility’s manufacturing capability by utilizing and acquiring the latest technology and equipment.
Our executive offices are located at 333 Bayview Ave, Amityville NY 11701. Our telephone number is (631) 842-9400.
Website Access to Company Reports
Copies of our filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to these reports) are available free of charge on our website ( www.napcosecurity.com ) on the same day they are electronically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company has one class of Common Stock which trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “NSSC”.