10-K
1
form10k.htm
FORM 10-K
The Alkaline Water Company Inc. - Form 10-K - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended: March 31, 2018
or
[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR
15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from __________________ to
__________________
Commission file number: 000-55096
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY
INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its
charter)
Nevada
99-0367049
State or other jurisdiction of
(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization
Identification No.)
14646 N. Kierland Blvd, Suite 255, Scottsdale, AZ 85254
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (480)
656-2423
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act
Title of Each Class
Name of each Exchange on which registered
Nil
N/A
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act
Common stock with a par value of $0.001 per share
(Title of Class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known
seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes
[ ] No [X]
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to
file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Yes
[ ] No [X]
Page 1
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all
reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such
filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes
[X] No [ ]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted
electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive
Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation
S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such
shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes [X] No [ ]
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers
pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not
contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants
knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by
reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.
[ ]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large
accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller
reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of large
accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, and
emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer [ ]
Accelerated
filer
[ ]
Non-accelerated filer [ ]
Smaller reporting company [X]
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Emerging growth company [ ]
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the
registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to
Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [ ]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell
company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
Yes [
] No [X]
State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting
common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which
the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such
common equity, as of the last business day of the registrants most recently
completed second fiscal quarter.
17,542,062 shares of common stock at a price of $1.36 per share
for an aggregate market value of $23,857,204.32.
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE REGISTRANTS)
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the
registrants classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:
As of June 28, 2018, there were 30,989,727 shares of common stock
outstanding .
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
List hereunder the following documents if incorporated by
reference and the Part of the Form 10-K (e.g., Part I, Part II, etc.) into which
the document is incorporated: (1) Any annual report to security holders; (2) Any
proxy or information statement; and (3) Any prospectus filed pursuant to Rule
424(b) or (c) of the Securities Act of 1933. The listed documents should be
clearly described for identification purposes (e.g., annual report to security
holders for fiscal year ended December 24, 1980). Not
Applicable
Page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART
I
4
ITEM
1. BUSINESS
4
ITEM
1A. RISK FACTORS
9
ITEM
1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
16
ITEM
2. PROPERTIES
16
ITEM
3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
16
ITEM
4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
16
PART
II
17
ITEM
5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
17
ITEM
6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
19
ITEM
7. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
19
ITEM
7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
22
ITEM
8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
23
ITEM
9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
50
ITEM
9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
50
ITEM
9B. OTHER INFORMATION
51
PART
III
52
ITEM
10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
52
ITEM
11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
55
ITEM
12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND
RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
63
ITEM
13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
64
ITEM
14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
66
PART
IV
68
ITEM
15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
68
ITEM
16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
71
SIGNATURES
72
Page 3
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Forward-Looking Statements
This annual report contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking
statements for purposes of applicable securities laws, including, but not
limited to, any projections of earnings, revenue or other financial items; any
statements of the plans, strategies and objections of management for future
operations; any statements concerning proposed new services or developments; any
statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any statements
or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing.
Forward-looking statements may include the words may, could, estimate,
intend, continue, believe, expect or anticipate or other similar
words. These forward-looking statements present our estimates and assumptions
only as of the date of this report. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward- looking statements, which speak only as of the
dates on which they are made. Except as required by applicable law, including
the securities laws of the United States and Canada, we do not intend, and
undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.
Although we believe the expectations reflected in any of our
forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ
materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking
statements. Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as
any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and
uncertainties. The factors impacting these risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to:
lack of working capital;
inability to raise additional financing;
the fact that our accounting policies and methods are
fundamental to how we report our financial condition and results of
operations, and they may require our management to make estimates about
matters that are inherently uncertain;
deterioration in general or regional economic conditions;
adverse state or federal legislation or regulation that
increases the costs of compliance, or adverse findings by a regulator with
respect to existing operations;
inability to efficiently manage our operations;
inability to achieve future sales levels or other
operating results; and
the unavailability of funds for capital expenditures.
Unless otherwise indicated, all reference to dollars, $,
USD or US$ are to United States dollars and all reference to CDN$ are to
Canadian dollars.
Our financial statements are stated in United States Dollars ($
or US$) unless otherwise stated and are prepared in accordance with United
States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
In this annual report, unless otherwise specified, all
references to common shares refer to the common shares in our capital stock.
As used in this annual report on Form 10-K, the terms we,
us our, the Company and Alkaline refer to The Alkaline Water Company
Inc., a Nevada corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC,
unless otherwise specified.
Corporate Overview
Our company offers retail consumers bottled alkaline water in
500-milliliter, 700-milliliter, 1-liter, 1.5 -liter, 3-liter and 1-gallon sizes
under the trade name Alkaline88 ® . Our product is produced through an
electrolysis process that uses specialized electronic cells coated with a
variety of rare earth minerals to produce our 8.8 pH drinking water without the
use of any chemicals. Our product also incorporates 84 trace minerals from
Himalayan salt. Our product was designed to have a clean smooth taste using only purified
water and the Himalayan salt. Consumers drink our water because of the taste
profile and the perceived health benefits. We are now one of the largest (by
sales volume) alkaline water companies in the United States.
Page 4
Our company, The Alkaline Water Company Inc., was incorporated
under the laws of the State of Nevada on June 6, 2011.
On February 20, 2013, The Alkaline Water Company Inc. entered
into a non-binding letter of intent with Alkaline 88, LLC, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Alkaline Water Corp at the time., for the acquisition of all of
the issued and outstanding securities of the capital of Alkaline 88, LLC.
Further to this letter of intent, on May 31, 2013, The Alkaline Water Company
Inc. entered into a share exchange agreement with Alkaline Water Corp. and all
of its stockholders, and as a result of the closing of this agreement on the
same date, Alkaline Water Corp. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Alkaline
Water Company Inc. Consequently, after the closing of this agreement, we adopted
the business of Alkaline Water Corp.s wholly-owned operating subsidiary,
Alkaline 88, LLC.
On March 3, 2018, Alkaline Water Corp. was merged into Alkaline
88, LLC with Alkaline88, LLC being the surviving entity. Accordingly,
Alkaline88, LLC is currently the sole wholly-owned subsidiary of The Alkaline
Water Company Inc.
On May 3, 2017, we designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series D Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. On November 2, 2017, we increased the number of authorized
shares of Series D Preferred Stock in our company to 5,000,000 shares by filing
an Amendment to the foregoing Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of
our company and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $40,000,000 in
any 12 month period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our
fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which
the Series D Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our company
and the holder in writing from time to time.
The principal offices of our company are located at 14646 N.
Kierland Blvd, Suite 255, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Our telephone number is (480)
656-2423.
Operations
Alkaline 88, LLC, our operating subsidiary, operates primarily
as a marketing, distribution, and manufacturing company. Alkaline 88, LLC has
entered into co-packing agreements with six different bottling companies in
Virginia, Georgia, California, Texas and Arizona to act as co-packers for our
product. Our current capacity at all plants exceeds $7,000,000 per month
wholesale. Our branding is being coordinated through 602 Design, LLC and our
component materials are readily available through multiple vendors. Our
principal suppliers are Vav Plastics Inc., Amcor Inc. and Packaging Corporation
of America.
Our product is currently at the expansion phase of its
lifecycle. In March 2012, Alkaline 88, LLC did market research on the demand for
a bulk alkaline product at the Natural Product Expo West in Anaheim, California.
In January 2013, we began the formal launching of our product in Southern
California and Arizona. Since then, we have begun to deliver product through
approximately 40,000 retail outlets throughout the United States. We are
presently in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, although over 50% of
our current sales are concentrated in the Southwest and Texas. We have
distribution agreements with large national distributors (e.g., UNFI, KeHe, and
C&S), representing over 150,000 retail establishments. Our current stores
include convenience stores, natural food products stores, large ethnic markets
and national retailers. Currently, we sell all of our products to our retailers
through brokers and distributors. Our larger retail clients bring the water in
through their own warehouse distribution network. Our current retail clients are
made up of a variety of the following; convenience stores, including 7-11s;
large national retailers, including Walmart, Albertsons/Safeway, Kroger
companies, and regional grocery chains such as Schnucks, Smart & Final,
Jewel-Osco, Sprouts, Bashas, Bristol Farms, Stater Brothers, Vallarta, Superior
Foods, Brookshires, HEB and other companies throughout the United States. In
total we are now in more than half of the top 75 (by sales) grocery retailers in
the United States.
Page 5
In April 2014, we entered into an exclusive territorial
distribution agreement with Kalil Bottling Co. on a new single serve 700ml
bottle with a sport cap. This exclusivity is in Arizona and other areas in the
Southwestern United States. Kalil Bottling Co. is a direct to store distributor
(DSD).
In order to continue our expansion, we anticipate that we will
be required, in most cases, to continue to give promotional deals throughout
2018 and in subsequent years on a quarterly basis ranging from a 5%-20% discount
similar to all other beverage company promotional programs. It has been our
experience that most of the retailers have requested some type of promotional
introductory program which has included either a $0.25 -$0.50 per unit discount
on an initial order; a buy one get one free program; or a free-fill program
which includes 1- 2 cases of free product per store location. Slotting has only
been presented and negotiated in the larger national grocery chains and, in most
cases, is offset by product sales.
Plan of Operations
In order for us to implement our business plan over the next
twelve-month period, we have identified the following milestones that we expect
to achieve:
Expansion of Broker Network We expect to continue to develop our
working relationship with our national broker network. We continually meet,
train, and go on sales call with our national broker network in order to take
advantage of the momentum currently being created by their efforts. We
anticipate a considerable amount of travel and ongoing expenses at an
estimated cost during that time of $300,000.
Increase Manufacturing Capacity We expect to add one or two new
co-packer facilities, strategically located to reduce freight costs and meet
current volumes and future growth objectives.
Expand Retail Distribution We believe that by the end of fiscal
year 2019, we will be in over 50,000 stores. The cost of this retail expansion
is expected to be up to $2,000,000 during that time.
Addition of Support Staff In order to support expansion efforts
and to continue the training and support of our broker network, we will need
to hire approximately two more people on the corporate level, which will be
hired for the specific purpose of supporting the broker, distributor and
retailers and their logistical and accounting requirements. We continue to
seek and interview candidates to fill our growing need for additional
staffing. The additional cost of these new hires is expected to be
approximately $200,000 in salary and benefits over the next twelve months.
Capital Considerations Our business plan can be adjusted based on
the available capital to the business. We anticipate that approximately
$2,000,000 is necessary in the near term in order to build-out a national
presence for our product and to allow for the purchase of the necessary
equipment and facilities over the next twelve months. To fund our expansion in
the longer term, we anticipate that we need at least $3,000,000 during the
next 12 months.
International Expansion We expect to begin selling internationally
over the next 12 months and have budgeted $160,000 towards our initial
efforts.
We believe that cash flow from operations will not meet our
present and near-term cash needs and thus we will require additional cash
resources, including the sale of equity or debt securities, to meet our planned
capital expenditures and working capital requirements for the next 12 months. We
estimate that our capital needs over the next 12 months will be up to
$3,000,000. We will require additional cash resources to achieve the milestones
indicated above. If our own financial resources and future cash-flows from
operations are insufficient to satisfy our capital requirements, we may seek to
sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain additional credit
facilities. The sale of additional equity securities will result in dilution to
our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness will result in increased debt
service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financial
covenants that could restrict our operations or modify our plans to grow the
business. Financing may not be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to
us, if at all. Any failure by us to raise additional funds on terms favorable to
us, or at all, will limit our ability to expand our business operations and
could harm our overall business prospects.
Page 6
Distribution Method for Our Product
Our distribution network is a broker-distributor-retailer
network, whereby brokers represent our products to distributors and retailers.
Our target retail markets are: (a) chain and independent health food stores; (b)
grocery stores; (c) convenience stores; (d) drug stores; and (e) the mass retail
market. We have recently gained broker representation through Advantage
Solutions for the continued expansion into our target retail markets.
We have distribution agreements with large national
distributors (UNFI, KeHe, CoreMark, and C&S), representing over 150,000
retail establishments. Our current retailers include convenience stores, natural
food products stores, large ethnic markets and national retailers. Currently, we
sell all of our products to our retailers through brokers and distributors. Our
larger retail clients bring the water in through their own warehouse
distribution network. Our current retail clients are made up of a variety of the
following; convenience stores, including 7-11s; large national retailers,
including Walmart, Albertsons/Safeway, Kroger companies, and regional grocery
chains such as Schnucks, Smart & Final, Jewel-Osco, Sprouts, Bashas,
Bristol Farms, Stater Brothers, Vallarta, Superior Foods, Brookshires, HEB and
other companies throughout the United States. In total we are now in more than
half of the top 75 (by sale) grocery retailers in the United States.
Dependence on Few Customers
We have 3 major customers that together account for 51% (25%,
16% and 10%, respectively) of accounts receivable at March 31, 2018, and 3
customers that together account for 47% (25%, 12%, and 10%, respectively) of the
total revenues earned for the year ended March 31, 2018.
There can be no assurance that such customers will continue to
order our products in the same level or at all. A reduction or delay in orders
from such customers, including reductions or delays due to market, economic or
competitive conditions, could have a material adverse effect on our business,
operating results and financial condition.
Marketing
We intend to continue to market our product through our broker
network and to avail ourselves to the promotional activities of other companies
and competitors regarding the benefits of alkaline water. We anticipate that our
initial marketing thrust will be to support the retailers and distribution
network with point of sales displays and other marketing materials,
strategically adding an extensive public relations program and other marketing
as the markets dictate.
Competition
The beverage industry is extremely competitive. The principal
areas of competition include pricing, packaging, development of new products and
flavors, and marketing campaigns. Our product will be competing directly with a
wide range of drinks produced by a relatively large number of manufacturers.
Most of these brands have enjoyed broad, well-established national recognition
for years, through well-funded ad and other marketing campaigns. In addition,
companies manufacturing these products generally have far greater financial,
marketing, and distribution resources than we have.
Important factors that will affect our ability to compete
successfully include the continued public perception of the benefits of alkaline
water, taste and flavor of our product, trade and consumer promotions, the
development of new, unique and cutting edge products, attractive and unique
packaging, branded product advertising, pricing, and the success of our
distribution network.
We will also be competing to secure distributors who will agree
to market our product over those of our competitors, provide stable and reliable
distribution, and secure adequate shelf space in retail outlets. The extremely
competitive pressures within the beverage categories could result in our product
never even being introduced beyond what they can market locally themselves.
Page 7
Our product will compete generally with all liquid
refreshments, including bottled water and numerous specialty beverages, such as
Core Hydration, SoBe, Snapple, Arizona Ice Tea, Vitamin Water, Gatorade, and
Powerade. We will compete directly with other alkaline water producers and
brands focused on the emerging alkaline beverage market including Eternal,
Essentia, Icelandic, Real Water, Aqua Hydrate, Mountain Valley, Qure, Penta, and
Alka Power.
Products offered by our direct competitors are sold in various
volumes and prices with prices ranging from approximately $0.99 for a half-liter
bottle to $4.99 for a one-gallon bottle, and volumes ranging from half-liter
bottles to one-and-a half liter bottles. We currently offer our product in a
three-liter bottle for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $3.99, one-gallon
bottle for an SRP of $4.99, 1.5 -liter at an SRP of $2.49, 1 liter at an SRP of
$1.99, 700 milliliter single serving at an SRP of $1.19, and a 500 milliliter at
an SRP of $0.99.
Intellectual Property
Where available, we intend to obtain trademark protection in
the United States for a number of trademarks for slogans and product designs. We
intend to aggressively assert our rights under trade secret, unfair competition,
trademark and copyright laws to protect our intellectual property, including
product design, product research and concepts and recognized trademarks. These
rights are protected through the acquisition of patents and trademark
registrations, the maintenance of trade secrets, the development of trade dress,
and, where appropriate, litigation against those who are, in our opinion,
infringing these rights. The trademark for Alkaline88 ® has been
registered in the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and has been applied for in China.
While there can be no assurance that registered trademarks will
protect our proprietary information, we intend to assert our intellectual
property rights against any infringer. Although any assertion of our rights
could result in a substantial cost to, and diversion of effort by, our company,
management believes that the protection of our intellectual property rights will
be a key component of our sales and operating strategy.
Seasonality of Business
The sales of our products are influenced to some extent by
weather conditions in the markets in which we operate. Unusually cold or rainy
weather during the summer months may have a temporary effect on the demand for
our product and contribute to lower sales, which could have an adverse effect on
our results of operations for such periods.
Government Regulation
The advertising, distribution, labeling, production, safety,
sale, and transportation in the United States of our product will be subject to:
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; the
Lanham Act; state consumer protection laws; competition laws; federal, state and
local workplace health and safety laws; various federal, state and local
environmental protection laws; and various other federal, state and local
statutes and regulations.
Legal requirements apply in many jurisdictions in the United
States requiring that deposits or certain ecotaxes or fees be charged for the
sale, marketing, and use of certain non-refillable beverage containers. The
precise requirements imposed by these measures vary and are constantly evolving.
Other types of statutes and regulations relating to beverage container deposits,
recycling, ecotaxes and/or product stewardship also apply in various
jurisdictions in the United States. We anticipate that additional, similar legal
requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future at the local, state and
federal levels in the United States.
Page 8
Any third-party bottling facility that we may choose to utilize
in the future and any other such operations will be subject to various
environmental protection statutes and regulations, including those relating to
the use of water resources and the discharge of wastewater. It will be our
policy to comply with any and all such legal requirements. Compliance with these provisions has not had, and we do not
expect such compliance to have, any material adverse effect on our capital
expenditures, net income or competitive position.
Employees
In addition to Richard A. Wright, who is our president, chief
executive officer and director, and David A. Guarino, who is our chief financial
officer, secretary, treasurer and director, we currently employ 11 full time
employees and 1 part-time employee. We also work with retail brokers in the
United States who are paid on a contract basis. Our operations are overseen
directly by management that engages our employees to carry on our business. Our
management oversees all responsibilities in the areas of corporate
administration, business development, and research. We intend to expand our
current management to retain skilled directors, officers, and employees with
experience relevant to our business focus. Our managements relationships with
manufacturers, distillers, development/research companies, bottling concerns,
and certain retail customers will provide the foundation through which we expect
to grow our business in the future. We believe that the skill-set of our
management team will be a primary asset in the development of our brands and
trademarks. We also plan to form an independent network of contract sales and
regional managers, a promotional support team, and several market segment
specialists who will be paid on a variable basis.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common stock involves a number of very
significant risks. You should carefully consider the following risks and
uncertainties in addition to other information in this report in evaluating our
company and its business before purchasing our securities. Our business,
operating results and financial condition could be seriously harmed as a result
of the occurrence of any of the following risks. You could lose all or part of
your investment due to any of these risks.
Risks Related to Our Business
Because we have a limited operating history, our ability
to fully and successfully develop our business is unknown.
We were incorporated in June 6, 2011, and we have only begun
producing and distributing alkaline bottled water in 2013, and we have a limited
operating history from which investors can evaluate our business. Our ability to
successfully develop our products, and to realize consistent, meaningful
revenues and profit, has not been established and cannot be assured. For us to
achieve success, our products must receive broad market acceptance by consumers.
Without this market acceptance, we will not be able to generate sufficient
revenue to continue our business operation. If our products are not widely
accepted by the market, our business may fail.
Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and positive
cash flow is dependent upon our ability to generate revenues, manage development
costs and expenses, and compete successfully with our direct and indirect
competitors. We anticipate operating losses in upcoming future periods. This
will occur because there are expenses associated with the development,
production, marketing, and sales of our product.
Our independent registered public accounting firm has
expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our financial statements are prepared using generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States of America applicable to a going
concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of
liabilities in the normal course of business. We have not yet established an
ongoing source of revenues sufficient to cover our operating costs and to allow
us to continue as a going concern. As of March 31, 2018, we had an accumulated
deficit of $30,077,314. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent
on our company obtaining adequate capital to fund operating losses until we
become profitable. If we are unable to obtain adequate capital, we could be
forced to significantly curtail or cease operations. In its report on the
financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, our independent
registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph regarding
substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our
financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the
outcome of this uncertainty.
Page 9
We will need additional funds to produce, market, and
distribute our product.
We will have to spend additional funds to produce, market and
distribute our product. If we cannot raise sufficient capital, we may have to
cease operations and you could lose your investment. We will need additional
funds to produce our product for distribution to our target market. Even after
we have produced our product, we will have to spend substantial funds on
distribution, marketing and sales efforts before we will know if we have
commercially viable and marketable/sellable products.
There is no guarantee that sufficient sale levels will be
achieved.
There is no guarantee that the expenditure of money on
distribution and marketing efforts will translate into sufficient sales to cover
our expenses and result in profits. Consequently, there is a risk that you may
lose all of your investment.
Our development, marketing, and sales activities are
limited by our size.
Because we are small and do not have much capital, we must
limit our product development, marketing, and sales activities. As such, we may
not be able to complete our production and business development program in a
manner that is as thorough as we would like. We may not ever generate sufficient
revenues to cover our operating and expansion costs and you may, therefore, lose
your entire investment.
Changes in the non-alcoholic beverage business
environment and retail landscape could adversely impact our financial results.
The non-alcoholic beverage business environment is rapidly
evolving as a result of, among other things, changes in consumer preferences,
including changes based on health and nutrition considerations and obesity
concerns; shifting consumer tastes and needs; changes in consumer lifestyles;
and competitive product and pricing pressures. In addition, the non-alcoholic
beverage retail landscape is very dynamic and constantly evolving, not only in
emerging and developing markets, where modern trade is growing at a faster pace
than traditional trade outlets, but also in developed markets, where discounters
and value stores, as well as the volume of transactions through e-commerce, are
growing at a rapid pace. If we are unable to successfully adapt to the rapidly
changing environment and retail landscape, our share of sales, volume growth and
overall financial results could be negatively affected.
Intense competition and increasing competition in the
commercial beverage market could hurt our business.
The commercial retail beverage industry, and in particular its
non-alcoholic beverage segment, is highly competitive. Market participants are
of various sizes, with various market shares and geographical reach, some of
whom have access to substantially more sources of capital.
We compete generally with all liquid refreshments, including
bottled water and numerous specialty beverages, such as: Core Hydration, SoBe;
Snapple; Arizona Ice Tea; Vitamin Water; Gatorade; and Powerade.
We compete indirectly with major international beverage
companies including but not limited to: the Coca-Cola Company; PepsiCo, Inc.;
Nestlé; Dr Pepper Snapple Group; Groupe Danone; Kraft Foods Group, Inc.; and
Unilever. These companies have established market presence in the United States,
and offer a variety of beverages that are substitutes to our product. We face
potential direct competition from such companies, because they have the
financial resources, and access to manufacturing and distribution channels to
rapidly enter the alkaline water market. We compete directly with other alkaline
water producers and brands focused on the emerging alkaline beverage market
including: Eternal; Essentia; Icelandic; Real Water; Aqua Hydrate; Mountain
Valley; Qure; Penta; and Alka Power. These companies could bolster their
position in the alkaline water market through additional expenditure and
promotion.
Page 10
As a result of both direct and indirect competition, our
ability to successfully distribute, market and sell our product, and to gain
sufficient market share in the United States to realize profits may be limited,
greatly diminished, or totally diminished, which may lead to partial or total
loss of your investments in our company.
Alternative non-commercial beverages or processes could
hurt our business.
The availability of non-commercial beverages, such as tap
water, and machines capable of producing alkaline water at the consumers home
or at store-fronts, could hurt our business, market share, and profitability.
Expansion of the alkaline beverage market or sufficiency
of consumer demand in that market for operations to be profitable are not
guaranteed.
The alkaline water market is an emerging market and there is no
guarantee that this market will expand or that consumer demand will be
sufficiently high to allow our company to successfully market, distribute and
sell our product, or to successfully compete with current or future competition,
all of which may result in total loss of your investment.
Our growth and profitability depends on the performance
of third-parties and our relationship with them.
Our distribution network and its success depend on the
performance of third parties. Any non-performance or deficient performance by
such parties may undermine our operations, profitability, and result in total
loss to your investment. To distribute our product, we use a
broker-distributor-retailer network whereby brokers represent our products to
distributors and retailers who will in turn sell our product to consumers. The
success of this network will depend on the performance of the brokers,
distributors and retailers of this network. There is a risk that a broker,
distributor, or retailer may refuse to or cease to market or carry our product.
There is a risk that the mentioned entities may not adequately perform their
functions within the network by, without limitation, failing to distribute to
sufficient retailers or positioning our product in localities that may not be
receptive to our product. Furthermore, such third-parties financial position or
market share may deteriorate, which could adversely affect our distribution,
marketing and sale activities. We also need to maintain good commercial
relationships with third-party brokers, distributors and retailers so that they
will promote and carry our product. Any adverse consequences resulting from the
performance of third-parties or our relationship with them could undermine our
operations, profitability and may result in total loss of your investment.
The loss of one or more of our major customers or a
decline in demand from one or more of these customers could harm our business.
We have 3 major customers that together account for 51% (25%,
16% and 10%, respectively) of accounts receivable at March 31, 2018, and 3
customers that together account for 47% (25%, 12%, and 10%, respectively) of the
total revenues earned for the year ended March 31, 2018. There can be no
assurance that such customers will continue to order our products in the same
level or at all. A reduction or delay in orders from such customers, including
reductions or delays due to market, economic or competitive conditions, could
have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial
condition.
Our dependence on a limited number of vendors leaves us
vulnerable to having an inadequate supply of required products, price increases,
late deliveries, and poor product quality.
We have two vendors that accounted for 48% (35% and 13%
respectively) of purchases for the year ended March 31, 2018. Like other
companies in our industry, we occasionally experience shortages and are unable
to purchase our desired volume of products. Increasingly, our vendors are
combining and merging together, leaving us with fewer alternative sources. If we
are unable to maintain an adequate supply of products, our revenue and gross
profit could suffer considerably. Finally, we cannot provide any assurance that
our products will be available in quantities sufficient to meet customer demand.
Any limits to product access could materially and adversely affect our business
and results of operations.
Page 11
Health benefits of alkaline water is not guaranteed or
proven, rather it is perceived by consumers.
Health benefits of alkaline water are not guaranteed and have
not been proven. There is a consumer perception that drinking alkaline water has
beneficial health effects. Consequently, negative changes in consumers
perception of the benefits of alkaline water or negative publicity surrounding
alkaline water may result in loss of market share or potential market share and
hence loss of your investment.
Water scarcity and poor quality could negatively impact
our production costs and capacity.
Water is the main ingredient in our product. It is also a
limited resource, facing unprecedented challenges from overexploitation,
increasing pollution, poor management, and climate change. As demand for water
continues to increase, as water becomes scarcer, and as the quality of available
water deteriorates, we may incur increasing production costs or face capacity
constraints that could adversely affect our profitability or net operating
revenues in the long run.
Increase in the cost, disruption of supply or shortage of
ingredients, other raw materials or packaging materials could harm our business.
We and our bottlers will use water, 84 trace minerals from
Himalayan salts, packaging materials for bottles such as plastic and paper
products. The prices for these ingredients, other raw materials and packaging
materials fluctuate depending on market conditions. Substantial increases in the
prices of our or our bottlers ingredients, other raw materials and packaging
materials, to the extent they cannot be recouped through increases in the prices
of finished beverage products, would increase our operating costs and could
reduce our profitability. Increases in the prices of our finished products
resulting from a higher cost of ingredients, other raw materials and packaging
materials could affect the affordability of our product and reduce sales.
An increase in the cost, a sustained interruption in the
supply, or a shortage of some of these ingredients, other raw materials, or
packaging materials and containers that may be caused by a deterioration of our
or our bottlers relationships with suppliers; by supplier quality and
reliability issues; or by events such as natural disasters, power outages, labor
strikes, political uncertainties or governmental instability, or the like, could
negatively impact our net revenues and profits.
Changes in laws and regulations relating to beverage
containers and packaging could increase our costs and reduce demand for our
products.
We and our bottlers intend to offer our product in
non-refillable, recyclable containers in the United States. Legal requirements
have been enacted in various jurisdictions in the United States requiring that
deposits or certain ecotaxes or fees be charged for the sale, marketing and use
of certain non-refillable beverage containers. Other proposals relating to
beverage container deposits, recycling, ecotax and/or product stewardship have
been introduced in various jurisdictions in the United States and overseas, and
we anticipate that similar legislation or regulations may be proposed in the
future at local, state and federal levels in the United States. Consumers
increased concerns and changing attitudes about solid waste streams and
environmental responsibility and the related publicity could result in the
adoption of such legislation or regulations. If these types of requirements are
adopted and implemented on a large scale in the geographical regions in which we
operate or intend to operate, they could affect our costs or require changes in
our distribution model, which could reduce our net operating revenues or
profitability.
Significant additional labeling or warning requirements
or limitations on the availability of our product may inhibit sales of affected
products.
Various jurisdictions may seek to adopt significant additional
product labeling or warning requirements or limitations on the availability of
our product relating to the content or perceived adverse health consequences of
our product. If these types of requirements become applicable to our product
under current or future environmental or health laws or regulations, they may
inhibit sales of our product.
Page 12
Unfavorable general economic conditions in the United
States could negatively impact our financial performance.
Unfavorable general economic conditions, such as a recession or
economic slowdown, in the United States could negatively affect the
affordability of, and consumer demand for, our product in the United States.
Under difficult economic conditions, consumers may seek to reduce discretionary
spending by forgoing purchases of our products or by shifting away from our
beverages to lower-priced products offered by other companies, including
non-alkaline water. Consumers may also cease purchasing bottled water and
consume tap water. Lower consumer demand for our product in the United States
could reduce our profitability.
Adverse weather conditions could reduce the demand for
our products.
The sales of our products are influenced to some extent by
weather conditions in the markets in which we operate. Unusually cold or rainy
weather during the summer months may have a temporary effect on the demand for
our product and contribute to lower sales, which could have an adverse effect on
our results of operations for such periods.
Changes in, or failure to comply with, the laws and
regulations applicable to our products or our business operations could increase
our costs or reduce our net operating revenues.
The advertising, distribution, labeling, production, safety,
sale, and transportation in the United States of our product will be subject to:
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; the
Lanham Act; state consumer protection laws; competition laws; federal, state,
and local workplace health and safety laws, such as the Occupational Safety and
Health Act; various federal, state and local environmental protection laws; and
various other federal, state, and local statutes and regulations. Legal
requirements also apply in many jurisdictions in the United States requiring
that deposits or certain ecotaxes or fees be charged for the sale, marketing,
and use of certain non-refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements
imposed by these measures vary. Other types of statutes and regulations relating
to beverage container deposits, recycling, ecotaxes and/or product stewardship
also apply in various jurisdictions in the United States. We anticipate that
additional, similar legal requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future
at the local, state and federal levels in the United States. Changes to such
laws and regulations could increase our costs or reduce our net operating
revenues.
In addition, failure to comply with environmental, health or
safety requirements and other applicable laws or regulations could result in the
assessment of damages, the imposition of penalties, suspension of production,
changes to equipment or processes, or a cessation of operations at our or our
bottlers facilities, as well as damage to our image and reputation, all of
which could harm our profitability.
Our products are considered premium and healthy beverages
and are being sold at premium prices compared to our competitors; we cannot
provide any assurances as to consumers continued market acceptance of our
current and future products.
We will compete directly with other alkaline water producers
and brands focused on the emerging alkaline beverage market including Eternal,
Essentia, Icelandic, Real Water, Aqua Hydrate, Mountain Valley, Qure, Penta, and
Alka Power. Products offered by our direct competitors are sold in various
volumes and prices with prices ranging from approximately $0.99 for a half-liter
bottle to $4.99 for a one-gallon bottle, and volumes ranging from half-liter
bottles to one-gallon bottles. We currently offer our product in a one-gallon
bottle for an SRP of $4.99, three-liter bottle for an SRP of $3.99, 1.5 liter at
an SRP of $2.49, 1 liter at an SRP of $1.99, 700 milliliter single serving at an
SRP of $1.19, and a 500 milliliter at an SRP of $0.99. Our competitors may
introduce larger sizes and offer them at an SRP that is lower than our product.
We can provide no assurances that consumers will continue to purchase our
product or that they will not prefer to purchase a competitive product.
Page 13
We are subject to periodic claims and litigation that
could result in unexpected expenses and could ultimately be resolved against us.
From time to time, we are involved in litigation and other
proceedings, including matters related to product liability claims, stockholder
class action and derivative claims, commercial disputes and intellectual
property, as well as trade, regulatory, employment, and other claims related to
our business. Any of these proceedings could result in significant settlement
amounts, damages, fines or other penalties, divert financial and management
resources, and result in significant legal fees. An unfavorable outcome of any
particular proceeding could exceed the limits of our insurance policies or the
carriers may decline to fund such final settlements and/or judgments and could
have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of
operations. In addition, any proceeding could negatively impact our reputation
among our guests and our brand image.
We rely on key executive officers, and their knowledge of
our business would be difficult to replace.
We are highly dependent on our two executive officers, Richard
A. Wright and David A. Guarino. We do not have key person life insurance
policies for any of our officers The loss of management and industry expertise
of any of our key executive officers could result in delays in product
development, loss of any future customers and sales and diversion of management
resources, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Our executive officers are not subject to supervision or
review by an independent board.
Our board of directors consists of Richard A. Wright, David A.
Guarino, Aaron Keay, and Bruce Leitch. The activities of our executive officers
are not subject to the review of an independent board of directors.
Risk Related to Our Stock
Because we can issue additional shares of common stock,
our stockholders may experience dilution in the future.
We are authorized to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of common
stock and 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which 30,989,727 shares of
common stock are issued and outstanding, 1,500,000 shares of Series C Preferred
Stock are issued and outstanding, and 3,800,000 shares of Series D Preferred
Stock are issued and outstanding as of June 28, 2018. Our board of directors has
the authority to cause us to issue additional shares of common stock and
preferred stock, and to determine the rights, preferences and privileges of
shares of our preferred stock, without consent of our stockholders.
Consequently, the stockholders may experience more dilution in their ownership
of our stock in the future.
Trading on the OTCQB or TSX Venture Exchange may be
volatile and sporadic, which could depress the market price of our common stock
and make it difficult for our stockholders to resell their shares.
Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQB operated by the OTC
Markets Group and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Trading in stock quoted on
the OTCQB or TSX Venture Exchange is often characterized by wide fluctuations in
trading prices, due to many factors that may have little to do with our
operations or business prospects. This volatility could depress the market price
of our common stock for reasons unrelated to operating performance. Moreover,
trading of securities on the OTCQB or TSX Venture Exchange is often more
sporadic than the trading of securities listed on a stock exchange like the
NASDAQ, the NYSE or the Toronto Stock Exchange. Accordingly, stockholders may
have difficulty reselling any of our shares.
A decline in the price of our common stock could affect
our ability to raise further working capital, it may adversely impact our
ability to continue operations and we may go out of business.
A prolonged decline in the price of our common stock could
result in a reduction in the liquidity of our common stock and a reduction in
our ability to raise capital. Because we plan to acquire a significant portion
of the funds we need in order to conduct our planned operations through the sale
of equity securities, a decline in the price of our common stock could be
detrimental to our liquidity and our operations because the decline may cause
investors not to choose to invest in our stock. If we are unable to raise the
funds we require for all our planned operations, we may be forced to reallocate
funds from other planned uses and may suffer a significant negative effect on
our business plan and operations, including our ability to develop new products
and continue our current operations. As a result, our business may suffer, and
not be successful and we may go out of business. We also might not be able to
meet our financial obligations if we cannot raise enough funds through the sale
of our equity securities and we may be forced to go out of business.
Page 14
Because we do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our
shares of common stock in the near future, our stockholders will not be able to
receive a return on their shares unless they sell them.
We intend to retain any future earnings to finance the
development and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying any cash
dividends on our common stock in the near future. The declaration, payment and
amount of any future dividends will be made at the discretion of the board of
directors, and will depend upon, among other things, the results of operations,
cash flows and financial condition, operating and capital requirements, and
other factors as the board of directors considers relevant. There is no
assurance that future dividends will be paid, and if dividends are paid, there
is no assurance with respect to the amount of any such dividend. Unless we pay
dividends, our stockholders will not be able to receive a return on their shares
unless they sell them.
Our stock is a penny stock. Trading of our stock may be
restricted by the SECs penny stock regulations, which may limit a stockholders
ability to buy and sell our stock.
Our stock is a penny stock. The Securities and Exchange
Commission ( SEC ) has adopted Rule 15g-9 which generally defines penny
stock to be any equity security that has a market price (as defined in Rule
15g-9) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per
share, subject to certain exceptions. Our securities are covered by the penny
stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on
broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and
accredited investors. The term accredited investor refers generally to
institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth
in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly
with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a
transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a
standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC, which
provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the
penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with
current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the
broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction and monthly account
statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customers
account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson
compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing
prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing
before or with the customers confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules
require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from
these rules; the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that
the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the
purchasers written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements
may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary
market for the stock that is subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently,
these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our
securities. We believe that the penny stock rules discourage investor interest
in and limit the marketability of our common stock.
FINRA sales practice requirements may also limit a
stockholders ability to buy and sell our stock.
In addition to the penny stock rules promulgated by the SEC,
the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has adopted rules that
require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must
have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that
customer. Prior to recommending speculative low priced securities to their
non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to
obtain information about the customers financial status, tax status, investment
objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA
believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced securities
will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it
more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our
common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our stock.
Page 15
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our principal offices are located at 14646 N. Kierland Blvd,
Suite 255, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 with a size of 3,352 square feet leased from a
third party through September, 2020 at the current rate of $7,611.83 per month.
We believe that the condition of our principal offices is satisfactory, suitable
and adequate for our current needs.
We do not own any real estate or other property used in the
operation of our current business.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Our company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed on
April 6, 2017, by Douglas Horn in the Maricopa County, Arizona, Superior Court,
styled as Horn v. The Alkaline Water Company, Inc., et al., cause number
CV2017-005485. Mr. Horn sought damages arising out of the alleged breach of a
written employment agreement between our company and Mr. Horn. Mr. Horn alleged
that our company has failed to pay wages and to transfer stock allegedly owed to
him under the terms of his employment agreement. Our company denied the
allegations of the claims, and moved to dismiss pursuant to the terms of the
employment agreement which require that all disputes be resolved by arbitration.
In response, Mr. Horn filed a notice of dismissal of all claims in that court,
without prejudice. On September 21, 2017, Mr. Horn filed a Demand for
Arbitration with the American Arbitration Association, asserting the same
claims. The claim has been assigned No. 01-17-0005-6474. Our company has
responded, denying any liability to Mr. Horn and the matter is currently in the
discovery phase. The arbitration has been set for a three day hearing on October
8 to 10, 2018. Our company intends to defend the claim vigorously.
Except as detailed above, we know of no material pending legal
proceedings to which our company or our subsidiary is a party or of which any of
our properties, or the properties of our subsidiary, is the subject. In
addition, we do not know of any such proceedings contemplated by any
governmental authorities.
Except as detailed above, we know of no material proceedings in
which any of our directors, officers or affiliates, or any owner of record or
beneficially of more than five percent of our common stock, or any associate of
any such director, officer, affiliate or stockholder is a party adverse to our
company or our subsidiary or has a material interest adverse to our company or
our subsidiary.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
Page 16
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY, RELATED
STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is quoted on the OTC Markets Groups OTCQB
under the trading symbol WTER. Our common stock has also been listed on the
TSX Venture Exchange in Canada under the same trading symbol WTER since April
25, 2018. Trading in stocks quoted on the OTCQB or listed on the TSX Venture
Exchange is often thin and is characterized by wide fluctuations in trading
prices due to many factors that may be unrelated or have little to do with a
companys operations or business prospects.
Set forth below are the range of high and low bid quotations
for the periods indicated as reported by the OTCQB. The market quotations
reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commissions
and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.
Quarter Ended
High Bid
Low Bid
March 31, 2018
$1.02
$0.91
December 31, 2017
$1.41
$1.02
September 30, 2017
$1.55
$1.24
June 30, 2017
$1.67
$1.08
March 31, 2017
$1.08
$1.08
December 31, 2016
$1.35
$0.95
September 30, 2016
$1.80
$1.23
June 30, 2016
$2.00
$1.38
On June 28, 2018, the closing price of our common stock as
reported by the OTCQB was $2.106 per share and the closing price of our
common stock as reported by the TSX Venture Exchange was CDN$2.92.
Transfer Agents
Our shares of common stock are issued in registered form. The
transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Island Stock Transfer,
located at 15500 Roosevelt Boulevard, Suite 301, Clearwater, Florida 33760. The
co-transfer agent for our common stock is TSX Trust Company, located at 650 West
Georgia Street, Suite 2700, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4N9, Canada
Holders of Common Stock
As of June 28, 2018, there were approximately 63 holders of
record of our common stock. As of such date 30,989,727 shares were issued and
outstanding.
Dividends
The payment of dividends, if any, in the future, rests within
the sole discretion of our board of directors. The payment of dividends will
depend upon our earnings, our capital requirements and our financial condition,
as well as other relevant factors. We have not declared any cash dividends since
our inception and have no present intention of paying any cash dividends on our
common stock in the foreseeable future.
Page 17
There are no restrictions in our articles of incorporation or
bylaws that prevent us from declaring dividends. The Nevada Revised Statutes,
however, do prohibit us from declaring dividends where, after giving effect to
the distribution of the dividend:
1.
We would not be able to pay our debts as they become due
in the usual course of business; or
2.
Our total assets would be less than the sum of our total
liabilities plus the amount that would be needed to satisfy the rights of
stockholders who have preferential rights superior to those receiving the
distribution.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation
Plans
The following table summarizes certain information regarding
our equity compensation plans as of March 31, 2018 .
Plan category
Number of securities to be
issued upon exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants
and rights
(a)
Weighted-average exercise
price of outstanding
options, warrants and
rights
(b)
Number of securities
remaining
available for future
issuance under equity
compensation plans
(excluding securities reflected
in column (a))
(c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
(2013 Equity Incentive Plan) (1)(2)
2,434,000
$1.086
Nil
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
(2018 Stock Option Plan) (3)
Nil
N/A
2,737,612
Total
2,434,000
$1.086
2,737,612
(1)
Effective October 7, 2013, our board of directors adopted
and approved our 2013 equity incentive plan. The plan was approved by a
majority of our stockholders on October 7, 2013. On October 31, 2014, our
board of directors amended our 2013 equity incentive plan to, among other
things, increase the number of shares of stock of our company available
for the grant of awards under the plan from 20,000,000 shares to
35,000,000 shares. The purpose of the plan is to (a) enable our company
and any of our affiliates to attract and retain the types of employees,
consultants and directors who will contribute to our companys long range
success; (b) provide incentives that align the interests of employees,
consultants and directors with those of the stockholders of our company;
and (c) promote the success of our companys business. Effective as of
December 30, 2015, we effected a 50-for-1 reverse stock split of our
authorized and issued and outstanding shares of common stock which
decreased the number of shares of stock of our company available for the
grant of awards under the plan from 35,000,000 shares to 700,000 shares.
Effective as of January 20, 2016, our board of directors amended the plan
to increase the number of shares of stock of our company available for the
grant of awards under the plan from 700,000 to 7,700,000. The plan enabled
us to grant awards of a maximum of 7,700,000 shares of our stock and
awards that may be granted under the plan included incentive stock
options, non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights,
restricted awards and performance compensation awards.
(2)
Our 2013 equity incentive plan has been suspended in
connection with our application to list our common stock on the TSX
Venture Exchange, but the suspension does not affect any awards, including
any stock options, already granted under the plan.
Page 18
(3)
On April 25, 2018, our board of directors adopted the
2018 Stock Option Plan, pursuant to which we may grant stock options to
acquire up to a total of 5,171,612 shares of our common stock, including
any other shares of our common stock which may be issued pursuant to any
other stock options granted by our company outside the plan. We adopted
the plan in connection with our application to list our common stock on
the TSX Venture Exchange. The purpose of the plan is to retain the
services of valued key employees and consultants of our company and such
other persons as our board of directors selects, and to encourage such
persons to acquire a greater proprietary interest in our company, thereby
strengthening their incentive to achieve the objectives of our
stockholders, and to serve as an aid and inducement in the hiring of new
employees and to provide an equity incentive to consultants and other
persons selected by our board of directors.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Since the beginning of our fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we
have not sold any equity securities that were not registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 that were not previously reported in a quarterly report
on Form 10-Q or in a current report on Form 8-K.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated
Purchasers
None
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not applicable.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our
financial statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this annual
report. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that
reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ
materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements. Factors that
could cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed below and
elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We offer retail consumers bottled alkaline water in 1-gallon,
3-liter, 1.5 -liter, 1-liter, 700-milliliter and 500-milliliter sizes under the
trade name Alkaline88 ® . Our product is produced through an
electrolysis process that uses specialized electronic cells coated with a
variety of rare earth minerals to produce our 8.8 pH drinking water without the
use of any chemicals. Our product also incorporates 84 trace minerals from
Himalayan salts.
Going Concern
Our financial statements are prepared using generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States of America applicable to a going
concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and liquidation of
liabilities in the normal course of business. We have not yet established an
ongoing source of revenues sufficient to cover our operating costs and to allow
us to continue as a going concern. As of March 31, 2018, we had an accumulated
deficit of $30,077,314. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent
on our company obtaining adequate capital to fund operating losses until we
become profitable. If we are unable to obtain adequate capital, we could be
forced to significantly curtail or cease operations.
In its report on our financial statements for the year ended
March 31, 2018, our independent registered public accounting firm included an
explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about our ability to continue
as a going concern. Our financial statements do not include any
adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Page 19
We will need to raise additional funds to finance continuing
operations. However, there are no assurances that we will be successful in
raising additional funds. Without sufficient additional financing, it would be
unlikely for us to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a
going concern is dependent upon our ability to successfully accomplish the plans
described in this annual report and eventually secure other sources of financing
and attain profitable operations.
Results of Operations
Years Ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017
The following summary of our results of operations should be
read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements for the
years ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017 which are included herein:
Year Ended
Year Ended
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
Revenue
$
19,812,199
$
12,763,630
Cost of goods sold
11,687,017
7,350,394
Gross profit
8,125,182
5,413,236
Net Loss (after operating expenses and other
expenses)
(6,687,280
)
(3,454,600
)
Revenue and Cost of Goods Sold
We had revenue from sales of our product for the year ended
March 31, 2018 of $19,812,199 as compared to $12,763,630 for the year ended
March 31, 2017, an increase of 55%, generated by sales of our alkaline water.
The increase in sales is due to the expanded distribution of our products to
additional retailers throughout the country. As of March 31, 2018, the product
is now available in all 50 states at over 40,000 retail locations. As of March
31, 2017, the product was available in all 50 states at over 31,000 retail
locations. This increase has occurred primarily through the addition of a number
of top national and regional grocery retailers as customer during the year ended
March 31, 2018. We distribute our product through several channels. We sell
through large national distributors (UNFI, KeHe, C&S, and Core-Mark), which
together represent over 150,000 retail outlets. We also sell our product
directly to retail clients, including convenience stores, natural food products
stores, large ethnic markets and national retailers. Some examples of retail
clients are: Walmart, Food Lion, Albertsons, Safeway, Kroger, Schnucks, Smart
& Final, Jewel-Osco, Sprouts, Bashas, Stater Bros. Markets, Unified
Grocers, Bristol Farms, Vallarta, Superior Foods, Ingles, HEB and Brookshires.
Cost of goods sold is comprised of production costs, shipping
and handling costs. For the year ended March 31, 2018, we had cost of goods sold
of $11,687,017, or 59% of net sales, as compared to cost of goods sold of
$7,350,394, or 57.6% of net sales, for the year ended March 31, 2017. The
increase in cost of goods sold as a percentage of net sales compared to the same
period last year was due to increased raw material cost and associated freight
as a result of our east coast expansion.
Expenses
Our operating expenses for the years ended March 31, 2018 and
March 31, 2017 are as follows:
Year Ended
Year Ended
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
Sales and marketing expenses
$
7,211,399
$
4,428,572
General and administrative expenses
6,425,069
3,164,101
Depreciation expenses
418,777
359,556
Total operating expenses
$
14,055,245
$
7,952,229
Page 20
During the year ended March 31, 2018, our total operating
expenses were $14,055,245, as compared to $7,952,229 for the year ended March
31, 2017. For the year ended March 31, 2018, the total included $7,211,399 of
sales and marketing expenses and $6,425,069 of general and administrative
expenses, consisting primarily of $1,255,183 of professional fees and $3,385,340
in stock compensation expense. Our stock compensation expense was incurred as a
part of our issuance of certain stock options and stock grants to employees,
board members, and key consultants to develop our business.
For the year ended March 31, 2017, the total included
$4,428,572 of sales and marketing expenses and $3,164,101 of general and
administrative expenses, consisting primarily of approximately $1,107,577 in
stock compensation expense and $379,125 of professional fees. Our stock
compensation expense was incurred as a part of our issuance of certain stock
options and stock grants to employees and key consultants to develop our
business. Although a non-cash expense, the value of such issuances had a
material impact on our general and administrative expenses for the year ended
March 31, 2017.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Working Capital
At March 31, 2018
At March 31, 2017
Current assets
$
4,886,491
$
3,150,321
Current liabilities
5,595,885
3,429,437
Working capital (deficiency)
$
(709,394
)
$
(279,116
)
Current Assets
Current assets as of March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017
primarily relate to $988,905 and $603,805 in cash, $2,599,095 and $1,419,281 in
accounts receivable and $1,002,020 and $819,988 in inventory, respectively.
Current Liabilities
Current liabilities as of March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017
primarily relate to $2,052,988 and $1,343,824 in accounts payable, revolving
financing of $2,592,015 and $1,436,083, accrued expenses of $819,011 and
$455,916, and current portion of capital leases of $-0- and $190,207,
respectively.
Cash Flow
Our cash flows for the years ended March 31, 2018 and March 31,
2017 are as follows:
Year
Year
Ended
Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2018
2017
Net Cash used in operating
activities
$
(2,625,849
)
$
(2,554,253
)
Net Cash used in investing activities
(317,855
)
(253,170
)
Net Cash provided by
financing activities
3,328,804
2,219,109
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash
equivalents
$
385,100
$
(588,314
)
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $2,625,849 for the
year ended March 31, 2018, as compared to $2,554,253 used in operating
activities for the year ended March 31, 2017. The increase in net cash used was
primarily due to the change in cash used for accounts receivable of ($1,179,814)
for the year ended March 31, 2018 compared to ($507,891) for the year ended
March 31, 2017.
Page 21
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $317,855 for the year
ended March 31, 2018, as compared to $253,170 used in investing activities for
the year ended March 31, 2017. The increase net cash used by investing
activities was from increased purchases of production equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended
March 31, 2018 was $3,328,804, as compared to $2,219,109 for the year ended
March 31, 2017. The increase of net cash provided by financing activities was
mainly attributable to an exercise of warrants of $1,950,000 in the year ended
March 31, 2018 compared to $300,000 in the year ended March 31, 2017.
Subsequent Financing Activities
On May 25 and 30, 2018, we completed private placements of an
aggregate of 5,131,665 units of our securities at a price of $0.75 per unit for
aggregate gross proceeds of $3,848,748.75. Each unit consisted of one share of
our common stock and one-half of one share purchase warrant, with each whole
share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional share of
our common stock at a price of $0.90 per share for a period of two years.
Cash Requirements
We believe that cash flow from operations will not meet our
present and near-term cash needs and thus we will require additional cash
resources, including the sale of equity or debt securities, to meet our planned
capital expenditures and working capital requirements for the next 12 months. We
estimate that our capital needs over the next 12 months will be up to
approximately $3,000,000. We will require additional cash resources to, among
other things, expand broker network, increase manufacturing capacity, expand
retail distribution and add support staff. If our own financial resources and
future cash-flows from operations are insufficient to satisfy our capital
requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain
additional credit facilities. The sale of additional equity securities will
result in dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness will
result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to
operating and financial covenants that could restrict our operations or modify
our plans to grow the business. Financing may not be available in amounts or on
terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any failure by us to raise additional funds
on terms favorable to us, or at all, will limit our ability to expand our
business operations and could harm our overall business prospects.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are
reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition,
changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations,
liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to our
stockholders.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT
MARKET RISK
Not applicable.
Page 22
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS OF MARCH 31, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
28-29
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
30
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
31
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders Equity
32
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
33
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
34-52
Page 23
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
The Alkaline Water Company Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (the “Company”) as of March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017 and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended March 31, 2018, and the related notes and schedules (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended March 31, 2018 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company has negative working capital at March 31, 2018, has incurred recurring losses and recurring negative cash flow from operating activities, and has an accumulated deficit which raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans concerning these matters are also described in Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/ AMC Auditing
AMC Auditing
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2013
Las Vegas, Nevada
June 29, 2018
Page 24
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash
equivalents
$
988,905
$
603,805
Accounts receivable
2,599,095
1,419,281
Inventory
1,002,020
819,988
Prepaid expenses
296,471
307,247
Total
current assets
4,886,491
3,150,321
Fixed assets - net
1,169,635
1,120,148
Total assets
$
6,056,126
$
4,270,469
LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
$
2,052,988
$
1,343,824
Accrued expenses
819,011
455,916
Revolving financing
2,592,015
1,436,083
Loans payable
131,583
-
Current portion of
capital leases
-
190,207
Derivative liability
288
3,407
Total
current liabilities
5,595,885
3,429,437
Long-term Liabilities
Capitalized leases
-
8,006
Total
long-term liabilities
-
8,006
Total
liabilities
$
5,595,885
$
3,437,443
Stockholders' equity
Preferred stock,
$0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, Series
C
issued 1,500,000 and
Series D issued 3,800,000 at March 31, 2018 and Series
A
issued 20,000,000
Series C issued 3,000,000 at March 31, 2017
5,300
23,000
Common stock,
Class A - $0.001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized
25,991,346 and
17,532,451shares
issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017, respectively
25,990
17,531
Additional paid in capital
30,506,265
24,181,029
Accumulated
deficit
(30,077,314
)
(23,388,534
)
Total stockholders' equity
460,241
833,026
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
6,056,126
$
4,270,469
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed
consolidated financial statements.
Page 25
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the Year Ended
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
Revenue
$
19,812,199
$
12,763,630
Cost of Goods Sold
11,687,017
7,350,394
Gross Profit
8,125,182
5,413,236
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing
expenses
7,211,399
4,428,572
General
and administrative
6,425,069
3,164,101
Depreciation
418,777
359,556
Total operating expenses
14,055,245
7,952,229
Total operating loss
(5,930,063
)
(2,538,993
)
Other income (expense)
Interest
income
-
103
Interest expense
(465,336
)
(367,115
)
Amortization of debt discount and accretion
(295,000
)
(556,331
)
Change in derivative
liability
3,119
7,736
Total other income
(expense)
(757,217
)
(915,607
)
Net loss
$
(6,687,280
)
$
(3,454,600
)
EARNINGS PER SHARE (Basic)
$
(0.33
)
$
(0.22
)
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES
OUTSTANDING (Basic)
20,643,082
15,550,257
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed
consolidated financial statements.
Page 26
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
Additional
Preferred Stock
Common Stock
Paid-in
Deficit
Number
Par Value
Number
Par Value
Capital
Accumulated
Total
Balance, March 31, 2016
23,000,000
$
23,000
14,568,970
$
14,568
$
21,423,247
$
(19,933,934
)
1,526,881
Shares issued for cash
private placement
425,000
425
424,575
425,000
Shares issued in connection
with note payable
1,240,000
1,240
1,698,380
1,699,620
Shares issued to
contractors
251,220
251
378,874
379,125
Warrant exercises
814,518
814
299,185
299,999
Stock Options issued to
employees
249,887
250
(250
)
-
Stock Repurchase
(17,144
)
(17
)
(42,982
)
(42,999
)
Net (loss)
(3,454,600
)
(3,454,600
)
Balance, March 31, 2017
23,000,000
$
23,000
17,532,451
$
17,531
$
24,181,029
$
(23,388,534
)
833,026
Retirement of Preferred
A stock
(20,000,000
)
(20,000
)
-
-
-
(20,000
)
Conversion of Preferred
C stock to common stock
(1,500,000
)
(1,500
)
1,500,000
1,500
-
(1,500
)
(1,500
)
Issuance of Preferred D
stock
3,000,000
3,000
3,000
Settlement with related
parties (See Note 8)
800,000
800
1,400,000
1,400
1,718,795
1,720,995
Beneficial conversion feature on convertible note
-
-
295,000
295,000
Conversion of note
payable to common stock
514,853
515
514,068
514,583
Shares issued to
contractors
1,023,024
1,023
1,301,792
1,302,815
Warrant exercises
3,900,000
3,900
1,946,100
1,950,000
Stock Options issued to
employees
-
-
549,602
549,602
Stock Option exercises
121,018
121
(121
)
-
Net (loss)
(6,687,280
)
(6,687,280
)
Balance, March 31, 2018
5,300,000
$
5,300
25,991,346
$
25,990
$
30,506,265
$
(30,077,314
)
$
460,241
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Page 27
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Year Ended
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net loss
$
(6,687,280
)
$
(3,454,600
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss
to net cash used in operating
Depreciation
expense
418,777
359,556
Stock
compensation expense
3,554,912
379,125
Amortization of
debt discount and accretion
295,000
556,330
Interest expense converted to equity
14,583
-
Interest expense
relating to amortization of capital lease discount
60,089
103,009
Change in derivative liabilities
(3,119
)
(7,736
)
Changes in
operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(1,179,814
)
(507,891
)
Inventory
(182,032
)
(385,280
)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
10,776
(296,441
)
Accounts payable
709,164
496,372
Accrued expenses
363,095
203,303
NET
CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES
(2,625,849
)
(2,554,253
)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING
ACTIVITIES
Purchase of fixed
assets
(317,855
)
(253,170
)
CASH
USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES
(317,855
)
(253,170
)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from
convertible note payable
500,000
1,260,000
Proceeds from revolving financing
1,155,932
960,810
Proceeds from sale
of common stock, net
-
425,000
Proceeds for the exercise of warrants, net
1,950,000
300,000
Repayment of loan payable
(18,826
)
-
Repayment of notes
payable
-
(440,078
)
Repayment of capital lease
(258,302
)
(243,623
)
Repurchase of
common stock
-
(43,000
)
CASH
PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES
3,328,804
2,219,109
NET CHANGE IN CASH
385,100
(588,314
)
CASH AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD
603,805
1,192,119
CASH AT END OF PERIOD
$
988,905
$
603,805
INTEREST PAID
$
324,260
$
367,115
NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING TRANSACTION
Conversion of note payable to common shares
$
514,602
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed
consolidated financial statements.
Page 28
THE ALKALINE WATER COMPANY INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of presentation
The audited consolidated financial statements included herein,
presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting
principles and stated in U.S. dollars, have been prepared by the Company,
pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial
statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations, although
the Company believes that the disclosures are adequate to make the information
presented not misleading.
These statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal
recurring adjustments, which in the opinion of management, are necessary for
fair presentation of the information contained therein.
Principles of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of
The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (a Nevada Corporation)and its wholly owned
subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC (an Arizona Limited Liability Company).
All significant intercompany balances and transactions have
been eliminated. The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (a Nevada Corporation) and
Alkaline 88, LLC (an Arizona Limited Liability Company) will be collectively
referred herein to as the Company. Any reference herein to The Alkaline Water
Company Inc., the Company, we, our or us is intended to mean The
Alkaline Water Company Inc., including the subsidiary indicated above, unless
otherwise indicated.
Reverse split
Effective December 30, 2015, the Company effected a fifty for
one reverse stock split of its authorized and issued and outstanding shares of
common stock. As a result, the authorized common stock has decreased from
1,125,000,000 shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.001 per share, to
22,500,000 shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.001 per share. All
shares and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect such
split.
On January 21, 2016, stockholders of our company approved, by
written consents, an amendment to the articles of incorporation of our company
to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock from 22,500,000
to 200,000,000.
The Company received written consents representing 20,776,000
votes from the holders of shares of its common stock and our Series A Preferred
Stock voting as a single class, representing approximately 61% of the voting
power of its outstanding common stock and its outstanding Series A Preferred
Stock voting as a single class as of the record date (January 12, 2016). On
January 21, 2016, there were no written consents received by the Company
representing a vote against, abstention or broker non-vote with respect to the
proposal.
Our authorized preferred stock was not affected by the reverse
stock split and continues to be 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with a
par value of $0.001 per share.
On January 22, 2016, the Company amended the certificate of
designation for our Series A Preferred Stock by filing an amendment to
certificate of designation with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada.
The Company amended the certificate of designation for our Series A Preferred
Stock by deleting Section 2.2 of the certificate of designation, which
proportionately increases or decreases the number of votes per share of Series A
Preferred Stock in the event of any dividend or other distribution on our common
stock payable in its common stock or a subdivision or consolidation of the outstanding shares of its common stock.
Accordingly, holders of Series A Preferred Stock will have 10 votes per share of
Series A Preferred Stock, instead of 0.2 votes per share of Series A Preferred
Stock. On November 14, 2017, we withdrew the Certificate of Designation
establishing Series A Preferred Stock. There were no shares of Series A
Preferred Stock outstanding immediately prior to the withdrawal.
Page 29
On March 30, 2016, the Company designated 3,000,000 shares of
the authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series C
Preferred Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series C Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) the Company achieves consolidated revenue
equal to or greater than $15,000,000 in any 12 month period, ending on the last
day of any quarterly period of our fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger
Event, defined as an event upon which the Series C Preferred Stock will be
convertible as may be agreed by our company and the holder in writing from time
to time.
On May 3, 2017, the Company designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series D Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. On November 2, 2017, we increased the number of authorized
shares of Series D Preferred Stock in our company to 5,000,000 shares by filing
an Amendment to the foregoing Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and nonassessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of
our company and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $40,000,000 in
any 12 month period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our
fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which
the Series D Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our company
and the holder in writing from time to time.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of
revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ
significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid instruments with an
original maturity of three months or less to be considered cash equivalents. The
carrying value of these investments approximates fair value. The Company had
$988,905 and $603,805 in cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2018 and 2017,
respectively.
Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
The Company generally does not require collateral, and the
majority of its trade receivables are unsecured. The carrying amount for
accounts receivable approximates fair value.
Accounts receivable consisted of the following as of March 31,
2018 and 2017:
2018
2017
Trade receivables, net
$
2,639,095
$
1,419,281
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts
(40,000
)
(-0-
)
Net accounts receivable
$
2,599,095
$
1,419,281
Page 30
Accounts receivable are periodically evaluated for
collectability based on past credit history with clients. Provisions for losses
on accounts receivable are determined on the basis of loss experience, known and
inherent risk in the account balance and current economic conditions.
Inventory
Inventory represents raw materials and finished goods
valued at the lower of cost or market with cost determined using the weight
average method which approximates first-in first-out method, and with market
defined as the lower of replacement cost or realizable value.
As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, inventory consisted of the
following:
2018
2017
Raw materials
$
766,556
$
587,688
Finished goods
235,464
232,300
Total inventory
$
1,002,020
$
819,988
The Company records all property and equipment at cost less
accumulated depreciation. Improvements are capitalized while repairs and
maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Depreciation is calculated using the
straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the assets or the lease
term, whichever is shorter. Depreciation periods are as follows for the relevant
fixed assets:
Equipment
5 years
Equipment under capital lease
5 years
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to employees
in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718. Stock-based
compensation to employees is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value
of the award, and is recognized as expense over the requisite employee service
period. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to other than
employees in accordance with ASC 505-50. Equity instruments issued to other than
employees are valued at the earlier of a commitment date or upon completion of
the services, based on the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued and is
recognized as expense over the service period. The Company estimates the fair
value of stock-based payments using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for
common stock options and warrants and the closing price of the Companys common
stock for common share issuances.
Advertising
Advertising costs are charged to operations when incurred.
Advertising expenses for the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were $479,524
and $367,456 respectively
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue when all of the following
conditions are satisfied: (1) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement;
(2) the product or service has been provided to the customer; (3) the amount to
be paid by the customer is fixed or determinable; and (4) the collection of such
amount is probable.
The Company records revenue when it is realizable and earned
upon shipment of the finished products. The Company does not accept returns due
to the nature of the product. However, the Company will provide credit to our
customers for damaged goods.
Page 31
Fair Value Measurements
The valuation of our embedded derivatives and warrant
derivatives are determined primarily by the multinomial distribution (Lattice)
model. An embedded derivative is a derivative instrument that is embedded within
another contract, which under the convertible note (the host contract) includes
the right to convert the note by the holder, certain default redemption right
premiums and a change of control premium (payable in cash if a fundamental
change occurs). In accordance with ASC 815 Accounting for Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities , as amended, these embedded derivatives
are marked-to-market each reporting period, with a corresponding non-cash gain
or loss charged to the current period. A warrant derivative liability is also
determined in accordance with ASC 815. Based on ASC 815, warrants which are
determined to be classified as derivative liabilities are marked-to-market each
reporting period, with a corresponding non-cash gain or loss charged to the
current period. The practical effect of this has been that when our stock price
increases so does our derivative liability resulting in a non-cash loss charge
that reduces our earnings and earnings per share. When our stock price declines,
the Company records a non-cash gain, increasing our earnings and earnings per
share. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be
determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an
asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, there exists a
three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring
fair value as follows:
Level 1
unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical
assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access as of the
measurement date.
Level 2
inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1
that are directly observable for the asset or liability or indirectly
observable through corroboration with observable market data.
Level 3
unobservable inputs for the asset or liability only used
when there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability
at the measurement date.
This hierarchy requires the Company to use observable market
data, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when
determining fair value.
To determine the fair value of our embedded derivatives,
management evaluates assumptions regarding the probability of certain future
events. Other factors used to determine fair value include our period end stock
price, historical stock volatility, risk free interest rate and derivative term.
The fair value recorded for the derivative liability varies from period to
period. This variability may result in the actual derivative liability for a
period either above or below the estimates recorded on our consolidated
financial statements, resulting in significant fluctuations in other income
(expense) because of the corresponding non-cash gain or loss recorded.
Concentration Risks
We have 3 major customers that together account for 51% (25%,
16% and 10%, respectively) of accounts receivable at March 31, 2018, and 3
customers that together account for 47% (25%, 12%, and 10%, respectively) of the
total revenues earned for the year ended March 31, 2018.The Company has 2
vendors that accounted for 48% (35% and 13% respectively) of purchases for the
year ended March 31, 2018.
Income Taxes
In accordance with ASC 740 Accounting for Income
Taxes , the provision for income taxes is computed using the asset and
liability method. Under the asset and liability method, deferred income tax
assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the
financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured
using the currently enacted tax rates and laws. A valuation allowance is
provided for the amount of deferred tax assets that, based on available
evidence, are not expected to be realized.
Page 32
Basic and Diluted Loss Per Share
Basic and diluted earnings or loss per share (EPS) amounts in
the consolidated financial statements are computed in accordance ASC 260 10
Earnings per Share , which establishes the requirements for presenting
EPS. Basic EPS is based on the weighted average number of common shares
outstanding. Diluted EPS is based on the weighted average number of common
shares outstanding and dilutive common stock equivalents. Basic EPS is computed
by dividing net income or loss available to common stockholders (numerator) by
the weighted average number of common shares outstanding (denominator) during
the period. Potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the calculation
of diluted loss per share, because their effect would be anti-dilutive.
Business Segments
The Company operates on one segment in one geographic location
- the United States of America and; therefore, segment information is not
presented.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of the companys financial instruments
including accounts payable, accrued expenses, and notes payable approximate fair
value due to the relative short period for maturity these instruments.
Environmental Costs
Environmental expenditures that relate to current operations
are expensed or capitalized as appropriate. Expenditures that relate to an
existing condition caused by past operations, and which do not contribute to
current or future revenue generation, are expensed. Liabilities are recorded
when environmental assessments and/or remedial efforts are probable, and the
cost can be reasonably estimated. Generally, the timing of these accruals
coincides with the earlier of completion of a feasibility study or the Companys
commitments to a plan of action based on the then known facts.
The Company incurred no environmental expenses during the years
ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Reclassification
Certain accounts in the prior period were reclassified to
conform to the current period financial statements presentation.
Newly Issued
Accounting Pronouncements
In July 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-11 (ASU 2015-11) "Simplifying the
Measurement of Inventory". According to ASU 2015-11 an entity should measure
inventory within the scope of this update at the lower of cost and net
realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the
ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion,
disposal, and transportation. Subsequent measurement is unchanged for inventory
measured using LIFO or the retail inventory method. The amendments in ASU
2015-11 more closely align the measurement of inventory in GAAP with the
measurement of inventory in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The Board has amended some of the other guidance in Topic 330 to more clearly
articulate the requirements for the measurement and disclosure of inventory.
However, the Board does not intend for those clarifications to result in any
changes in practice. Other than the change in the subsequent measurement
guidance from the lower of cost or market to the lower of cost and net
realizable value for inventory within the scope of ASU 2015-11, there are no
other substantive changes to the guidance on measurement of inventory. For
public business entities, the amendments in ASU 2015-11 are effective for fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those
fiscal years. For all other entities, the amendments in ASU 2015-11 are
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim
periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The amendments in
ASU 2015-11 should be applied prospectively with earlier application permitted
as of the beginning of an interim or annual reporting period.
Page 33
The Board decided that the only disclosures required at
transition should be the nature of and reason for the change in accounting
principle. An entity should disclose that information in the first annual period
of adoption and in the interim periods within the first annual period if there
is a measurement-period adjustment during the first annual period in which the
changes are effective.
The Company has evaluated other recent accounting
pronouncements through June 2018 and believes that none of them will have a
material effect on our financial statements.
NOTE 2 GOING CONCERN
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared
assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates
the recoverability and/or acquisition and sale of assets and the satisfaction of
liabilities in the normal course of business. Since its inception, the Company
has been engaged substantially in financing activities, developing its business
plan and building its initial customer and distribution base for its products.
As a result, the Company incurred accumulated net losses from Inception (June
19, 2012) through the period ended March 31, 2018 of ($30,077,314). In addition,
the Companys development activities since inception have been financially
sustained through debt and equity financing.
The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is
dependent upon its ability to raise additional capital from the sale of common
stock and, ultimately, the achievement of significant operating revenues. These
financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the
recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts, or amounts and
classification of liabilities that might result from this uncertainty.
NOTE 3 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Fixed assets consisted of the following at:
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
Machinery and Equipment
$
2,096,074
$
1,012,000
Machinery Construction in Progress
312,160
185,848
Machinery under Capital Lease
-0-
735,781
Office Equipment
29,300
79,681
Leasehold Improvements
-0-
3,979
Less: Accumulated Depreciation
(1,267,899
)
(897,141
)
Fixed Assets, net
$
1,169,635
$
1,120,148
Depreciation expense for the years ended March 31, 2018 and
2017 was $418,777 and $359,556, respectively.
On February 1, 2018, we exercised our purchase option to
purchase four alkaline generating electrolysis system machines leased under the
master lease agreement entered into on October 22, 2014, as amended on February
25, 2015 with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC for a total of $160,000. The purchase
price bears interest of 12% per annum and is payable in eleven equal monthly
installments of $14,934.00 each and one final installment of $4,040.41, with the
first installment due on February 1, 2018 and on the remaining eleven
installments due on the first of each month thereafter with the final
installment due and payable on January 1, 2019.
The Company paid for equipment to Water Engineering Solutions,
LLC, a related party, $-0- and $104,619 for the years ended March 31, 2018 and
March 31, 2017. Water Engineering Solutions, LLC is an entity that is controlled
and owned by our former president and chief executive officer, Steven P.
Nickolas, and our current president and chief executive officer, Richard A.
Wright. The Company no longer has any business relationship with Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC and has not engaged in any business with Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC, for the entirety of fiscal year 2018.
Page 34
NOTE 4 REVOLVING FINANCING
On February 1, 2017, The Alkaline Water Company Inc. and its
subsidiaries (the Company) entered into a Credit and Security Agreement (the
Credit Agreement) with SCM Specialty Finance Opportunities Fund, L.P. (the
Lender).
The Credit Agreement provides the Company with a revolving
credit facility (the Revolving Facility), the proceeds of which are to be used
to repay existing indebtedness of the Company, transaction fees incurred in
connection with the Credit Agreement and for working capital needs of the
Company.
Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, the Lender has agreed
to make cash advances to the Company in an aggregate principal at any one time
outstanding not to exceed the lesser of (i) $4 million (the Revolving Loan
Commitment Amount) and (ii) the Borrowing Base (defined to mean, as of any date
of determination, 85% of net eligible billed receivables plus 65% of eligible
unbilled receivables, minus certain reserves, and is subject to certain customer
specific requirements).
The Credit Agreement has a term of three years, unless earlier
terminated by the parties in accordance with the terms of the Credit
Agreement.
The principal amount of the Revolving Facility outstanding
bears interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) a fluctuating interest rate per
annum equal at all times to the rate of interest announced, from time to time,
within Wells Fargo Bank at its principal office in San Francisco as its prime
rate, plus (ii) 3.25%, payable monthly in arrears.
To secure the payment and performance of the obligations under
the Credit Agreement, the Company granted to the Lender a continuing security
interest in all of the Companys assets and agreed to a lockbox account
arrangement in respect of certain eligible receivables.
In connection with the Credit Agreement, the Company paid to
the Lender a $30,000 facility fee. The Company agreed to pay to Lender monthly
an unused line fee in amount equal to 0.083% per month of the difference derived
by subtracting (i) the average daily outstanding balance under the Revolving
Facility during the preceding month, from (ii) the Revolving Loan Commitment
Amount. The unused line fee will be payable monthly in arrears. The Company also
agreed to pay the Lender as additional interest a monthly collateral management
fee equal to 0.35% per month calculated on the basis of the average daily
balance under the Revolving Facility outstanding during the preceding month. The
collateral management fee will be payable monthly in arrears. Upon a termination
of the Revolving Facility, the Company agreed to pay the Lender a termination
fee in an amount equal to 2% of the Revolving Loan Commitment Amount if the
termination occurs before February 1, 2020. The Company must also pay certain
fees in the event that receivables are not properly deposited in the appropriate
lockbox account.
The interest rate will be increased by 5% in the event of a
default under the Credit Agreement. Events of default under the Credit
Agreement, some of which are subject to certain cure periods, include a failure
to pay obligations when due, the making of a material misrepresentation to the
Lender, the rendering of certain judgments or decrees against the Company and
the commencement of a proceeding for the appointment of a receiver, trustee,
liquidator or conservator or filing of a petition seeking reorganization or
liquidation or similar relief.
The Credit Agreement contains customary representations and
warranties and various affirmative and negative covenants including the right of
first refusal to provide financing for the Company and the financial and loan
covenants, such as the loan turnover rate, minimum EBTDA, fixed charge coverage
ratio and minimum liquidity requirements.
On February 13, 2018, the Lender agreed to provide the Company
a $400,000 Temporary Over Advance (TOA) under the Credit Facility Agreement.
The TOA is to be repaid as follows: (i) the Company shall make five (5) weekly
principal payments on the TOA each in the amount of $20,000 commencing on April
23, 2018 and on the first Business Day of each calendar week thereafter through
and including May 21, 2018, (ii) the Company shall make ten (10) weekly
principle payments on the TOA, each in the amount of $30,000, commencing on May
28, 2018 and on the first Business Day of each calendar week
thereafter through and including July 30, 2018 and (iii) repay the remaining
principal balance on the TOA, if any, in full on or prior to July 30, 2018.
Page 35
On February 14, 2018, David A. Guarino entered into a Guarantee
Agreement (the Guarantee) with the Lender in order for the Lender to agree to
provide the Company the $400,000 TOA under the Credit Agreement. Under the
Guarantee, Mr. Guarino personally, absolutely, and unconditionally, jointly and
severally, guaranteed the prompt, complete and full payment of the Companys
obligations to repay the TOA only, under the Credit Agreement, with the
Lender.
NOTE 5 DERIVATIVE LIABILITY
On May 1, 2014, the Company completed the offering and sale of
an aggregate of shares of our common stock and warrants. Each share of common
stock sold in the offering was accompanied by a warrant to purchase one-half of
a share of common stock. The warrants include down-round provisions that reduce
the exercise price of a warrant and convertible instrument. As required by ASC
815 Derivatives and Hedging, if the Company either issues equity shares for a
price that is lower than the exercise price of those instruments or issues new
warrants or convertible instruments that have a lower exercise price, the
investors will be entitled to down-round protection. The Company evaluated
whether its warrants and convertible debt instruments contain provisions that
protect holders from declines in its stock price or otherwise could result in
modification of either the exercise price or the shares to be issued under the
respective warrant agreements. The Company determined that a portion of its
outstanding warrants and conversion instruments contained such provisions
thereby concluding were not indexed to the Companys own stock and therefore a
derivative instrument.
On August 20, 2014, the Company entered into a warrant
amendment agreement with certain holders of the Companys outstanding common
stock purchase warrants whereby the Company agreed to reduce the exercise price
of the Existing Warrants the Holders are to be issued new common stock purchase
warrants of the Company in the form of the Existing Warrants to purchase up to a
number of shares of our common stock equal to the number of Existing Warrants
exercised by the Holders
The Company analyzed the warrants and conversion feature under
ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedging to determine the derivative liability as of
March 31, 2018 was $288.
NOTE 6 STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
Preferred Shares
On October 7, 2013, the Company amended its articles of
incorporation to create 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock by filing a
Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of
State of Nevada. The preferred stock may be divided into and issued in series,
with such designations, rights, qualifications, preferences, limitations and
terms as fixed and determined by our board of directors.
Grant of Series A Preferred Stock
On October 8, 2013, the Company issued a total of 20,000,000
shares of non-convertible Series A Preferred Stock to Steven Nickolas and
Richard Wright (10,000,000 shares to each), our directors and executive
officers, in consideration for the past services, at a deemed value of $0.001
per share. The company valued these shares based on the cost considering the
time and average billing rate of these individuals and recorded a $20,000 stock
compensation cost for the year ended March 31, 2014.
Our authorized preferred stock was not affected by the reverse
stock split and continues to be 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with a
par value of $0.001 per share. In addition, the number of issued and outstanding
shares of Series A Preferred Stock continues to be 20,000,000. However, holders
of Series A Preferred Stock had 0.2 vote per share of Series A Preferred Stock,
instead of 10 votes per share of Series A Preferred Stock, as a result of the
reverse-stock split.
Page 36
On January 22, 2016, the Company amended the certificate of
designation for our Series A Preferred Stock by filing an amendment to
certificate of designation with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada.
The Company amended the certificate of designation for our Series A Preferred
Stock by deleting Section 2.2 of the certificate of designation, which
proportionately increases or decreases the number of votes per share of Series A
Preferred Stock in the event of any dividend or other distribution on our common
stock payable in its common stock or a subdivision or consolidation of the
outstanding shares of its common stock. Accordingly, holders of Series A
Preferred Stock will have 10 votes per share of Series A Preferred Stock,
instead of 0.2 votes per share of Series A Preferred Stock.
On November 14, 2017, we withdrew the Certificate of
Designation establishing Series A Preferred Stock. There were no shares of
Series A Preferred Stock outstanding immediately prior to the withdrawal.
Grant of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
On March 30, 2016, the Company designated 3,000,000 shares of
the authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series C
Preferred Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series C Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) the Company achieves consolidated revenue
equal to or greater than $15,000,000 in any 12 month period, ending on the last
day of any quarterly period of our fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger
Event, defined as an event upon which the Series C Preferred Stock will be
convertible as may be agreed by our company and the holder in writing from time
to time.
Effective March 31, 2016, the Company issued a total of
3,000,000 shares of our Series C Preferred Stock to Steven Nickolas and Richard
Wright (1,500,000 shares to each), pursuant to their employment agreements dated
effective March 1, 2016. Mr. Nickolas converted his 1,500,000 shares of Series C
Preferred Stock to Common Stock on July 11, 2017. Mr. Wright continues to hold
his 1,500,000 shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
Grant of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock
On May 3, 2017, the Company designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series D Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. On November 2, 2017, we increased the number of authorized
shares of Series D Preferred Stock in our company to 5,000,000 shares by filing
an Amendment to the foregoing Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and nonassessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of
our company and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $40,000,000 in
any 12 month period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our
fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which
the Series D Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our company
and the holder in writing from time to time. In May, 2017, the company issued a
total of 3,000,000 shares of our Series D Preferred Stock to our directors,
officers, consultants and employees. In November, 2017, the company issued an
additional 800,000 shares of our Series D Preferred Stock as follows: (a)
300,000 shares to Steve Nickolas pursuant to the Settlement Agreement detailed
below; and (b) 500,000 shares to Richard A. Wright pursuant to the Exchange
Agreement and stock option forfeitures detailed below. We issued these shares
relying on the registration exemption provided for in Section 4(a)(2) of the
Securities Act of 1933.
Common Stock
Upon incorporation in 2011, the Company was authorized to issue 75,000,000 shares of
$0.001 par value common stock. On May 31, 2013, the Company effected a 15-for-1
forward stock split of our $0.001 par value common stock. All shares and per
share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect such split. Prior to
the acquisition of Alkaline Water Corp., the Company had 109,500,000 shares of
common stock issued and outstanding. On May 31, 2013, the Company issued
43,000,000 shares in exchange for a 100% interest in Alkaline Water Corp. For
accounting purposes, the acquisition of Alkaline Water Corp. by The Alkaline
Water Company Inc. has been recorded as a reverse acquisition of a company and
recapitalization of Alkaline Water Corp. based on the factors demonstrating that
Alkaline Water Corp. represents the accounting acquirer. Consequently, after the
closing of this agreement the Company adopted the business of Alkaline Water Corp.s wholly-owned subsidiary,
Alkaline 88, LLC. As part of the acquisition, the former management of the
Company agreed to cancel 75,000,000 shares of common stock.
Page 37
On December 30, 2015, the Company effected a fifty for one
reverse stock split of its authorized and issued and outstanding shares of
common stock. As a result, the authorized common stock has decreased from
1,125,000,000 shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.001 per share, to
22,500,000 shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.001 per share. All
shares and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect such
split.
On January 21, 2016, stockholders of our company approved, by
written consents, an amendment to the articles of incorporation of our company
to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock from 22,500,000
to 200,000,000.
The Company received written consents representing 20,776,000
votes from the holders of shares of its common stock and our Series A Preferred
Stock voting as a single class, representing approximately 61% of the voting
power of its outstanding common stock and its outstanding Series A Preferred
Stock voting as a single class as of the record date (January 12, 2016). On
January 21, 2016, there were no written consents received by the Company
representing a vote against, abstention or broker non-vote with respect to the
proposal.
Common Stock Issued for Services
In the year ended March 31, 2018, the company issued 262,596
shares of restricted common stock to consultants for services rendered that were
valued at $333,897. In issuing these shares, we relied on an exemption from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 provided by Section
4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.
Common Stock Issued in Conjunction with Notes and Warrant
Exchanges
On March 31, 2016, the Company entered into a promissory note
and warrant exchange agreement (the March Exchange Agreement) with six holders
of our promissory notes (each, a Note) in the aggregate principal amount of
$310,000 and warrants (each, a March Warrant) to purchase an aggregate of
88,563 shares of our common stock, whereby we exchanged the holders Notes and
March Warrants, for no additional consideration, for an aggregate of 551,246
shares of our common stock (the March Exchange), and following the March
Exchange, the Notes and March Warrants were automatically cancelled and
terminated and the holders have no further rights pursuant to the Notes, March
Warrants and any agreement or instrument pursuant to which such Notes or March
Warrants were issued. Pursuant to the March Exchange Agreement, the Company
issued an aggregate of 551,246 shares of our common stock upon exchange of the
above mentioned Notes and March Warrants.
On of May 16, 2016, the Company entered into a warrant exchange
agreement (the May Exchange Agreement) with six holders of our warrants (each,
a May Warrant) to purchase an aggregate of 163,202 shares of our common stock,
whereby the Company exchanged the holders May Warrants, for no additional
consideration, for an aggregate of 163,202 shares of our common stock (the May
Exchange), and following the May Exchange, the May Warrants were automatically
cancelled and terminated and the holders have no further rights pursuant to the
May Warrants and any agreement or instrument pursuant to which such May Warrants
were issued.
Page 38
As of March 31, 2017, pursuant to a Note Exchange Agreement, we
issued an aggregate of 210,000 shares of our common stock upon exchange of the
applicable Notes. In issuing these shares, we relied on an exemption from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 provided by Section
3(a)(9) and/or Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.
As of March 31, 2017, pursuant to a Warrant Exchange Agreement,
we issued an aggregate of 25,716 shares of our common stock upon exchange of the
applicable Warrants. In issuing these shares, we relied on an exemption from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 provided by Section
3(a)(9) and/or Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.
NOTE 7 OPTIONS AND WARRANTS
Stock Option Awards
Effective April 28, 2017, we granted a total of 1,790,000 stock
options to our directors, officers, consultants employees. The stock options are
exercisable at the exercise price of $1.29 per share for a period of ten years
from the date of grant. 360,000 of the stock options vest as follows: (i)
120,000 upon the date of grant; and (ii) 120,000 on each anniversary date of
grant. 1,430,000 of the stock options vest as follows: (i) 357,500 upon the date
of grant; and (ii) 357,500 on each anniversary date of grant. We granted the
stock options to 12 U.S. Persons and 3 non U.S. Persons (as that term is defined
in Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933) and in issuing securities we
relied on the registration exemption provided for in Regulation S and/or Section
4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.
On March 1, 2018, pursuant to Warrant Amendment Agreements
dated February 22, 2018 with 16 holders (the Holders ) of our common
stock purchase warrants (the existing warrants), we issued an aggregate of
3,900,000 shares of our common stock upon exercise of the Existing Warrants at
an exercise price of $0.50 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,950,000.
The Existing Warrants were issued by us as part of an offering that closed on
March 4, 2016 and were included in our registration statement on Form S-1 (File
No. 333-209124). In addition, pursuant to the Warrant Amendment Agreements, we
issued new common stock purchase warrants of our company (the New
Warrants ) in the form of the Existing Warrants to purchase up to a number
of shares of our common stock equal to the number of Existing Warrants exercised
by the Holders, provided that (i) the exercise price of the New Warrants is
$0.60 per share, subject to adjustment in the New Warrants, (ii) the expiry date
of the New Warrants is September 1, 2019 and (iii) the New Warrants are
non-transferable.
For the years ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017 the
Company has recognized compensation expense of $549,602 and $0 respectively, on
the stock options granted that vested. The fair value of the unvested shares is
$0 as of March, 2018. The aggregate intrinsic value of these options was $0 at
March 31, 2017. Stock option activity summary covering options is presented in
the table below:
Weighted-
Weighted-
Average
Average
Remaining
Number of
Exercise
Contractual
Shares
Price
Term (years)
Outstanding at March 31, 2016
4,653,400
$
0.92
8.2
Granted
-
-
7.8
Exercised
(485,000
)
0.52
-
Expired/Forfeited
(192,000
)
0.52
-
Outstanding at March 31, 2017
4,145,800
0.92
7.7
Granted
1,790,000
1.29
9.1
Exercised
(181,000
)
0.52
9.7
Expired/Forfeited
3,320,800
0.55
6.9
Outstanding at March 31, 2018
2,434,000
1.09
8.0
Exercisable at March 31, 2018
1,105,900
0.84
8.4
Page 39
Warrants
The following is a summary of the status of all of our warrants
as of March 31, 2018 and changes during the period ended on that date:
Weighted-
Number
Average
of Warrants
Exercise Price
Outstanding at March 31, 2016
4,988,116
$
1.39
Granted
-
-
Exercised
(600,000
)
0.50
Cancelled or Expired
(195,200
)
1.50
Outstanding at March 31, 2017
4,192,916
0.79
Granted
3,900,000
0.50
Exercised
(3,900,000
)
0.50
Cancelled or Expired
(162,858
)
4.71
Outstanding at March 31, 2018
4,030,059
0.79
Warrants exercisable at March 31, 2018
3,900,000
0.60
The following table summarizes information about stock warrants
outstanding and exercisable at March 31, 2018:
STOCK WARRANTS OUTSTANDING AND EXERCISABLE
Number of
Weighted-Average
Warrants
Remaining Contractual
Exercise Price
Outstanding
Life in Years
$27.50
2,326
0.8
9.375
19,067
2.1
7.50
6,667
1.7
5.00
102,000
0.8
0.60
3,900,000
1.4
On October 22, 2014, the Company entered into a master lease
agreement with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC (the Lessor) for a secured lease
line of credit financing in an amount not to exceed $600,000. The lease was
secured by three new alkaline generating electrolysis system machines. Our
wholly-owned subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC, and Water Engineering Solutions, LLC
acted as co-lessees. Water Engineering Solutions, LLC is an entity that is
controlled and owned by our former President, Chief Executive Officer, director
and major stockholder, Steven P. Nickolas, and our current President, Chief
Executive Officer, director, and major stockholder, Richard A. Wright. Pursuant
to the master lease agreement, the Lessor agreed to lease to us the equipment
described in any equipment schedule signed by us and approved by the Lessor. The
three leases under the master lease agreement were structured for a three-year
lease term with fixed monthly lease rental payments based on a monthly lease
rate factor of 3.4667% of the Lessors capital cost. In connection with the
entering into the master lease agreement, the Company also entered into a
warrant agreement with the Lessor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue
a warrant to purchase 72,000 shares of our common stock to the Lessor and/or its
affiliates at an exercise price of $6.25 per share for a period of five
years.
Page 40
On February 25, 2015, the Company amended the master lease
agreement with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC for an increase in the secured lease
line of credit financing to an amount not to exceed $800,000. The lease was
secured by a new fourth alkaline generating electrolysis system machines. Our
wholly-owned subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC, and Water Engineering Solutions, LLC
acted as co-lessees. Water Engineering Solutions, LLC is an entity that is
controlled and owned by our former President, Chief Executive Officer, director
and major stockholder, Steven P. Nickolas, and our current President, Chief
Executive Officer, director, and major stock holder, Richard A. Wright. Pursuant to the master lease agreement, the Lessor agreed to
lease to us the equipment described in any equipment schedule signed by us and
approved by the Lessor. Any lease under the master lease agreement will be
structured for a three-year lease term with fixed monthly lease rental payments
based on a monthly lease rate factor of 3.4667% of the Lessors capital cost. In
connection with the entering into the master lease agreement, the Company
entered into a warrant agreement with the Lessor, pursuant to which the Company
agreed to cancel the previous issued warrant for 72,000 and issue a warrant to
purchase 102,000 shares of our common stock to the Lessor and/or its affiliates
at an exercise price of $5.00 per share for a period of five years. 18,000
shares vested on October 22, 2014, 13,316 shares on October 28, 2014, 13,606
shares on December 22, 2014, 6,945 shares on February 3, 2015 and 15,799 shares
on March 5, 2015. The remaining 18,105 shares will vest on a pro rata basis
according to any amounts the Lessor funds pursuant to any lease schedules under
the master lease agreement, provided that if we draw on 90% or more of the total
lease line under the master lease agreement, then all such shares will be deemed
to be vested. The Company recorded the bifurcated value of $309,028 of the
warrants issued as additional paid in capital, the value was determine using a
Black-Scholes, a level 3 valuation measure.
The fair value of the warrants granted during the year ended
March 31, 2018 was estimated at the date of agreement using the Black- Scholes
option-pricing model and a level 3 valuation measure, with the following
assumptions:
Market value of stock on purchase date
$3.75
to
$7.10
Risk-free interest rate
.26%
to
1.42%
Dividend yield
0.00%
Volatility factor
116%
to
161%
Weighted average expected life (years)
2
Page 41
NOTE 8 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On October 8, 2013, the Company issued a total of 20,000,000
shares of non-convertible Series A Preferred Stock to Steven A. Nickolas, former
Chairman and CEO as of April 7, 2017, and Richard A. Wright (10,000,000 shares
to each), in consideration for the past services, at a deemed value of $0.001
per share. We valued these shares based on the cost considering the time and
average billing rate of these individuals and recorded a $20,000 stock
compensation cost for the year ended March 31, 2014. On October 30, 2018, Steven
Nickolas forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock
pursuant to the Settlement Agreement detailed below. On November 8, 2018,
Richard A. Wright forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our Series A Preferred
Stock pursuant to the Exchange Agreement as detailed below.
Effective March 31, 2016, the Company issued a total of
3,000,000 shares of our Series C Preferred Stock to Steven P. Nickolas and
Richard A. Wright (1,500,000 shares to each), our directors and executive
officers, pursuant to their employment agreements dated effective March 1, 2016.
Mr. Nickolas converted his 1,500,000 shares of Series C Preferred Stock to
Common Stock on August 17, 2017. Mr. Wright continues to hold his 1,500,000
shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
On April 7, 2017, our board of directors appointed Richard A.
Wright as president of our company. On April 28, 2017, Mr. Wright resigned as
the secretary and treasurer of our company and he was appointed as the chief
executive officer of our company.
On April 28, 2017, our board of directors appointed David A.
Guarino as chief financial officer, treasurer, secretary president of our
company.
On May 3, 2017, the Company designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series D Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. On April 28, 2017, Mr. Wright and Mr. Guarino were each issued
1,000,000 shares each of the Series D Preferred Stock.
On October 25, 2017, Mr. Wright and the Company entered into a
stock option forfeiture and general release agreement whereby Mr. Wright
forfeited stock options to purchase 148,000 shares of the Companys common
stock.
On October 31, 2017, our company and its subsidiaries entered
into a Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims (the Settlement
Agreement ) with Steven P. Nickolas, the Nickolas Family Trust, Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC and Enhanced Beverages, LLC, companies and trust that
are controlled or owned by Mr. Nickolas, (collectively, the Nickolas
Parties ) and McDowell 78, LLC and Wright Investments Group, LLC, a
company controlled or owned by Richard A. Wright, (collectively,
Wright/McDowell). The Settlement Agreement provides, among other things, the
following: a) simultaneous with the full execution of the Settlement Agreement,
we agreed to pay Mr. Nickolas $110,000 in one lump sum (paid); b) in exchange of
700,000 shares of our common stock and 300,000 shares of our Series D Preferred
Stock described above, Mr. Nickolas forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our
Series A Preferred Stock, to be cancelled for no further consideration; c) upon
the full execution of the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Nickolas and our company
agreed to file the stipulations to dismiss the complaints and counterclaim filed
by each of them with prejudice, with each side to bear its own costs and
attorneys fees. In addition, our company and Wright/McDowell agreed that they
will effectuate the dismissal of an arbitration proceeding against the Nickolas
Parties with prejudice, with each side to bear its own attorneys fees and
costs; e) Mr. Nickolas acknowledged and agreed that the employment agreement
between Mr. Nickolas and our company was terminated as of April 7, 2017 and no
further amounts are owed to Mr. Nickolas under the employment agreement and we
agreed to waive restrictive covenants set out in the employment agreement; f) we
agreed to assume financial responsibility for certain obligations owed by Mr.
Nickolas; g) Mr. Nickolas acknowledged and agreed that 1,500,000 stock options
with an exercise price of $0.52 issued to Mr. Nickolas on or about March 1, 2016
has expired and a total of 148,000 stock options issued to Mr. Mr. Nickolas
before 2016 will automatically expire 90 days from October 6, 2017, the date Mr.
Nickolas ceased being a director of our company; and h) the parties also agreed
to mutual release of claims.
Page 42
On November 8, 2017, Richard A. Wright and the Company entered
in to an Exchange Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims (the Exchange
Agreement). The Exchange Agreement provided, among other things, for the following: a) in exchange for the issuance of 700,000 shares of
our common stock and 300,000 shares of our Series D Preferred Stock described
above, Richard A. Wright forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our Series A
Preferred Stock, to be cancelled for no further consideration; and b) Richard A.
Wright also agreed to a release of claims against the Company. Also on November
8, 2017, Richard A. Wright forfeited stock options to purchase 1,500,000 shares
of our companys common stock at an exercise price of $0.52 per share in
exchange for the Company agreeing to issue Richard A. Wright an additional
200,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock.
On September 14, 2017, October 17, 2017 and November 22, 2017
Wright Investment Group LLC, an entity controlled by Richard A. Wright, chief
executive officer, president and director, advanced $200,000, $400,000 and
$400,000, respectively, to the Company for a total of $1,000,000 advanced. The
$1,000,000 in advancements were repaid to Wright Investment Group, LLC on March
2, 2018.
On February 14, 2018, David A. Guarino entered into a Guarantee
Agreement (the Guarantee) with CNH Specialty Finance (the Lender) in order
for the Lender to agree to provide the Company a $400,000 Temporary Over Advance
(TOA) under the Credit Facility Agreement (the Credit Agreement). Under the
Guarantee, Mr. Guarino personally, absolutely, and unconditionally, jointly and
severally, guaranteed the prompt, complete and full payment of the Companys
obligations to repay the TOA only, under the Credit Agreement, with the
Lender.
Employment Agreement with Steven P. Nickolas
On March 30, 2016, the Company entered into an employment
agreement dated effective March 1, 2016 with Steven P. Nickolas, our former
president, chief executive officer and director, pursuant to which Mr. Nickolas
agreed to perform such duties as are regularly and customarily performed by the
president and chief executive officer of a corporation, and any other duties
consistent with Mr. Nickolass position in our company. Pursuant to the terms of
the employment agreement, the Company have agreed to (i) pay Mr. Nickolas
$15,000 per month or such other amount as may be determined by our board of
directors from time to time; and (ii) issue to Mr. Nickolas 1,500,000 shares of
our Series C Preferred Stock (issued effective as of March 31, 2016). The
Company also agreed that each of the following events constitute a Negotiated
Trigger Event as defined in the Certificate of Designation for the Series C
Preferred Stock: (i) the occurrence of a change of control event; (ii) the death
of Mr. Nickolas; and (iii) the termination of the employment agreement for any
reason.
On November 18, 2016, our company provided notice to Steven
Nickolas, our CEO and President, of our board of directors finding that there
is just cause for termination of Mr. Nickolass employment and of our
companys intent to terminate the employment of Mr. Nickolas for just cause
pursuant to the provision of the Employment Agreement with Mr. Nickolas dated
March 1, 2016. Under the Employment Agreement, Mr. Nickolas had 30 days to cure
the failures and breaches creating just cause for termination. Mr. Nickolas
failed to cure such failure and breaches and, on April 7, 2017, our company
terminated the employment of Mr. Nickolas for cause. In addition, our company
removed Mr. Nickolas as the President and Chief Executive Officer of our
company.
Employment Agreement with Richard A. Wright
On March 30, 2016, the Company entered into an employment
agreement dated effective March 1, 2016 with Richard A. Wright, our vice-
president, secretary, treasurer and director, pursuant to which Mr. Wright
agreed to perform such duties as are regularly and customarily performed by the
vice president, secretary and treasurer of a corporation, and any other duties
consistent with Mr. Wrights position in our company. Pursuant to the terms of
the employment agreement, the Company have agreed to (i) pay Mr. Wright $14,000
per month or such other amount as may be determined by our board of directors
from time to time; and (ii) issue to Mr. Wright 1,500,000 shares of our Series C
Preferred Stock (issued effective as of March 31, 2016). The Company also agreed
that each of the following events constitute a Negotiated Trigger Event as
defined in the Certificate of Designation for the Series C Preferred Stock: (i)
the occurrence of a change of control event; (ii) the death of Mr. Wright; and
(iii) the termination of the employment agreement for any reason.
Page 43
In addition, the Company may (i) grant awards under our 2013
equity incentive plan to Mr. Wright from time to time and (ii) pay to Mr. Wright
an annual discretionary performance bonus in an amount to be determined by our
board of directors in its sole discretion. Mr. Wright will also be eligible to
participate in other bonus programs offered by our company to our senior staff
from time to time.
In addition, Mr. Wright will be entitled to participate in all
of our employee benefit plans provided by our company to our senior officers. If
the Company do not provide such plans at any time, the Company agreed to
reimburse Mr. Wright for the reasonable cost of any such plans obtained
privately. The Company also agreed to (i) provide Mr. Wright with vehicle leased
in our companys name, with lease payments not exceeding $700/month or such
other amount as may be determined by our board of directors; (ii) pay Mr. Wright
an allowance of $5,000 per month or such other amount as may be determined by
our board of directors, which may be used by Mr. Wright as he sees fit,
including without limitation, the funding of non-qualified retirement plans;
(iii) reimburse Mr. Wright for any expenses that he incurs in connection with
his duties under his employment agreement. Mr. Wright will be entitled in each
year to five weeks paid vacation, in addition to weekends and statutory
holidays, to be taken in installments of no more than three consecutive weeks of
paid time off.
The initial term of the employment agreement is three years
and, on the third anniversary of the effective date of the employment and on
each annual anniversary date thereafter, the term of the employment agreement
will automatically be extended by one additional year unless either party gives
90 days written notice to the other of its intention not to renew the
employment agreement.
If, within 90 days of the occurrence of a change of control
event, Mr. Wright resigns from his employment relationship with our company or
our company terminates his employment agreement for any reason other than for
just cause, then the Company agreed to pay Mr. Wright severance in an amount
equal to the following: 36 months salary plus an amount, if any, equal to the
following: one months salary multiplied by the number of calendar years,
starting on the effective date of the employment agreement, that Mr. Wright is
employed by our company under his employment agreement.
The Company may terminate Mr. Wrights employment at any time
for other than just cause by delivering to Mr. Wright written notice of
termination. In such a case, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Wright severance in
an amount equal to the following: 36 months salary plus an amount, if any,
equal to the following: one months salary multiplied by the number of calendar
years, starting on the effective date of the employment, that Mr. Wright is
employed by our company under his employment agreement.
Subject to applicable employment laws or similar legislation,
the Company may terminate Mr. Wrights employment in the event he has been
unable to perform his duties for a period of eight consecutive months or a
cumulative period of 12 months in any consecutive 24 month period, because of a
physical or mental disability. Mr. Wrights employment will automatically
terminate on his death. In the event Mr. Wrights employment with our company
terminates by reason of Mr. Wrights death or disability, then upon and
immediately effective on the date of termination the Company agreed to promptly
pay and provide Mr. Wright (or in the event of Mr. Wrights death, Mr. Wrights
estate); any unpaid salary and any outstanding and accrued regular and special
vacation pay through the date of termination; reimbursement for any unreimbursed
expenses incurred through to the date of termination; and any outstanding
amounts due under any awards which will be dealt with in accordance with our
2013 equity incentive plan and the award agreement. In the event Mr. Wrights
employment is terminated due to a disability, the Company agreed to pay to Mr.
Wright the severance referred to above.
The Company may terminate Mr. Wrights employment for just
cause at any time by delivering to Mr. Wright written notice of termination. In
the event that Mr. Wrights employment with our company is terminated by our
company for just cause, Mr. Wright will not be entitled to any additional
payments or benefits (except as otherwise provided in his employment agreement),
other than for amounts due and owing to Mr. Wright by our company as of the date
of termination, except for any awards under our 2013 equity incentive plan will
be dealt with in accordance with the plan and award agreement.
Page 44
Provided that Mr. Wright has acted within the scope of his
authority, the Company agreed to indemnify and save harmless Mr. Wright
(including his heirs and legal representatives) against any and all costs,
claims and expenses (including any amounts paid to settle any actions or satisfy
any judgments) which: he may suffer or incur by reason of any matter or thing
which he may in good faith do or have done or caused to be done as an employee,
officer or director of our company, any of its subsidiaries or of any of their
respective affiliates; or was reasonably incurred by him in respect of any
civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding to which he is made a
party by reason of being or having been an employee, officer or director of our
company, any of its subsidiaries or of any of their respective affiliates;
provided that, the foregoing indemnification will apply only if: he acted
honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of our company, any of
its subsidiaries or any of their respective affiliates; and in the case of a
criminal or administrative action or proceeding that is enforced by a monetary
penalty, he had reasonable grounds for believing that his conduct was lawful.
Mr. Wright agreed to indemnify and save harmless our company
against, and agree to hold it harmless from, any and all damages, injuries,
claims, demands, actions, liability, costs and expenses (including reasonable
legal fees) incurred or made against our company arising from or connected with
the performance or non-performance of his employment by him or the beach of any
warranty, representation or covenant herein by him, other than claims by him
pursuant to his employment agreement.
If and to the extent the Company maintain directors and
officers liability insurance for the protection of our executives in connection
with acts and omissions occurring during their employment with our company, the
Company agreed that Mr. Wright will be included as an officer and director who
is covered by such policy on a basis no less favorable than made available to
other executives of our company.
On April 7, 2017, our board of directors appointed Richard A.
Wright as president of our company. On April 28, 2017, Mr. Wright resigned as
the secretary and treasurer of our company and he was appointed as the chief
executive officer of our company.
Page 45
NOTE 9 INCOME TAXES
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary
differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial
reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. The Company
recorded the valuation allowance due to the uncertainty of future realization of
federal and state net operating loss carryforwards. The deferred income tax
assets are comprised of the following at March 31, 2018:
2018
2017
Deferred income tax assets:
$
3,360,000
$
3,850,000
Valuation allowance
(3,360,000
)
(3,850,000
)
Net total
$
-
$
-
At March 31, 2018, the Company had net operating loss
carryforwards of approximately $14,000,000 and net operating loss carryforwards
expire in 2023 through 2037. The current years net operating loss will
carryforward indefinitely.
The valuation allowance was decreased by $490,000 during the
year ended March 31, 2018 as a result of the reduction of U.S. tax rate to 21%.
The current income tax benefit of ($490,000) and $1,750,000 generated for the
years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, was offset by an equal
decreased in the valuation allowance. The valuation allowance was increased due
to uncertainties as to the Companys ability to generate sufficient taxable
income to utilize the net operating loss carryforwards and other deferred income
tax items.
The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to
uncertain tax positions in general and administrative expense. As of March 31,
2018, the Company has no unrecognized uncertain tax positions, including
interest and penalties
NOTE 10 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Leases
The Company has long-term leases for its office, warehouse, and
office equipment under cancelable operating leases from April 1, 2016 through
December 26, 2020. At March 31, 2018, future minimum contractual obligations
were as follows:
FACILITIES
Year ending March 31, 2019
$
138,338
Year ending March 31, 2020
117,578
Year ending March 31, 2021
71,021
Total Minimum Lease Payments:
$
326,937
On April 1, 2016, the Company entered into an 18-month lease
agreement for certain warehouse space requiring a monthly payment of $1,125. On
September 12, 2017, the Company extended the lease until March 31, 2020,
requiring a monthly rent payment of $1,187.50 for the period October 1, 2017 to
September 30, 2018 and a monthly rent payment of $1,250.00 for the period
October 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020.
On December 1, 2016, the Company entered into a 16-month lease
agreement for certain warehouse space requiring a monthly payment of $2,250. On
May 7, 2018, the Company extended the lease until March 30, 2019, requiring a
monthly payment of $2,375 for the period June 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.
On September 26, 2017, the Company entered into a 39-month
lease agreement for its corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona requiring
a monthly payment of $7,611.83, with a monthly lease increase to $7,751.83 per
month in months 15-26 of the lease and to $7,981.17 per month in the months
27-38 of the lease. The Company shall have the option to extend this lease for
one (1) additional three (3) year term for increased monthly rent.
Page 46
NOTE 11 CAPITAL LEASE
On October 22, 2014, the Company entered into a master lease
agreement with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC (the Lessor) for a secured lease
line of credit financing in an amount not to exceed $600,000. The lease was
secured by three new alkaline generating electrolysis system machines. Our
wholly-owned subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC, and Water Engineering Solutions, LLC
acted as co-lessees. Water Engineering Solutions, LLC is an entity that is
controlled and owned by our former President, Chief Executive Officer, director
and major stockholder, Steven P. Nickolas, and our current President, Chief
Executive Officer, director, and major stockholder, Richard A. Wright. Pursuant
to the master lease agreement, the Lessor agreed to lease to us the equipment
described in any equipment schedule signed by us and approved by the Lessor. The
three leases under the master lease agreement were structured for a three-year
lease term with fixed monthly lease rental payments based on a monthly lease
rate factor of 3.4667% of the Lessors capital cost. In connection with the
entering into the master lease agreement, the Company also entered into a
warrant agreement with the Lessor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue
a warrant to purchase 72,000 shares of our common stock to the Lessor and/or its
affiliates at an exercise price of $6.25 per share for a period of five
years.
On February 25, 2015, the Company amended the master lease
agreement with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC to increase the secured lease line of
credit financing to an amount not to exceed $800,000. The lease was secured by a
new fourth alkaline generating electrolysis system machine. Our wholly-owned
subsidiary, Alkaline 88, LLC, and Water Engineering Solutions, LLC acted as
co-lessees. Water Engineering Solutions, LLC is an entity that is controlled and
owned by our former President, Chief Executive Officer, director and major
stockholder, Steven P. Nickolas, and our current President, Chief Executive
Officer, director, and major stock holder, Richard A. Wright. Pursuant to the
master lease agreement, the Lessor agreed to lease to us the equipment described
in any equipment schedule signed by us and approved by the Lessor. Any lease
under the master lease agreement will be structured for a three-year lease term
with fixed monthly lease rental payments based on a monthly lease rate factor of
3.4667% of the Lessors capital cost. In connection with the entering into the
master lease agreement, the Company entered into a warrant agreement with the
Lessor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to cancel the previous issued
warrant for 72,000 and issue a warrant to purchase 102,000 shares of our common
stock to the Lessor and/or its affiliates at an exercise price of $5.00 per
share for a period of five years. 18,000 shares vested on October 22, 2014,
13,316 shares on October 28, 2014, 13,606 shares on December 22, 2014, 6,945
shares on February 3, 2015 and 15,799 shares on March 5, 2015. The remaining
18,105 shares will vest on a pro rata basis according to any amounts the Lessor
funds pursuant to any lease schedules under the master lease agreement, provided
that if we draw on 90% or more of the total lease line under the master lease
agreement, then all such shares will be deemed to be vested. The Company
recorded the bifurcated value of $309,028 of the warrants issued as additional
paid in capital, the value was determine using a Black-Scholes, a level 3
valuation measure.
During the year ended March 31, 2015 the Company agreed to
lease the four pieces of specialized equipment used to make our alkaline water
with a value of $735,781 under the above Master Lease agreement. The Company
evaluated this lease under ASC 840-30 Leases- Capital Leases and concluded
that these lease where a capital asset.
Page 47
NOTE 12 LOANS PAYABLE
On December 31, 2017, the Company exercised its purchase option
with Lessor to purchase all four pieces of equipment leased under the above
referenced master lease agreement for a total of $160,000 (the Purchase
Payment). The Purchase Payment bears interest of 12% per annum and is payable
in eleven equal monthly installments of $14,934.00 each and one final
installment of $4,040.41, with the first installment due on February 1, 2018 and
on the remaining eleven installments due on the first of each month thereafter
with the final installment due and payable on January 1, 2019.
NOTE 13 CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE
On September 20, 2016, we entered into a loan facility
agreement (the Loan Agreement) with Turnstone Capital Inc. (the Lender),
whereby the Lender agreed to make available to our company a loan in the
aggregate principal amount of $1,500,000 (the Loan Amount). Pursuant to the
Loan Agreement, the Lender agreed to make one or more advances of the Loan
Amount to our company as requested from time to time by our company in an amount
to be agreed upon by our company and the Lender (each, an Advance).
During the year ended March 31, 2017, the lender made advances
totaling $1,000,000. This amount together with accrued interest of $30,000 was
converted to 1,030,000 common shares on March 31, 2017.
In June, 2017, Turnstone Capital Inc. advanced an additional
$500,000 under the Loan Agreement. The Company evaluated this transaction under
ASC 470-20-30 Debt liability and equity component and determined that
a debt discount of $295,000 was provided and will be amortized over the
remaining term of the Loan Agreement.
On September 29, 2017, Turnstone Capital Inc. converted the
$500,000 plus accrued interest of 14,583 to 514,583 common shares for services
provides.
During the year ended March, 31 2017, the Company entered into
a promissory notes totaling $360,000 of which $50,000 was repaid and the
remaining amount of $310,000 was converted into equity on March 31, 2016.
During the year ended March 31, 2017, the Company entered into
promissory notes totaling $260,000 of which $50,000 was repaid and the remaining
amount of $210,000 was converted into equity on March 31, 2017.
On March 31, 2016, the Company entered into a promissory and
warrant exchange agreement (the March Exchange Agreement) with six
holders of our promissory notes (each, a Note) in the aggregate principal
amount of $310,000 and warrants (each, a March Warrant) to purchase an
aggregate of 88,563 shares of our common stock, whereby the Company exchanged
the holders Notes and March Warrants, for no additional consideration, for an
aggregate of 551,246 shares of our common stock (the March Exchange), and
following the March Exchange, the Notes and March Warrants were automatically
cancelled and terminated and the holders have no further rights pursuant to the
Notes, March Warrants and any agreement or instrument pursuant to which such
Notes or March Warrants were issued.
Page 48
NOTE 14 SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On April 25, 2018, the Companys common shares were listed and
began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WTER.
On April 25, 2018, our board of directors adopted the 2018
Stock Option Plan, pursuant to which we may grant stock options to acquire up to
a total of 5,171,612 shares of our common stock, including any other shares of
our common stock which may be issued pursuant to any other stock options granted
by our company outside the plan. We adopted the plan in connection with our
application to list our common stock on the TSX Venture Exchange. Effective
April 25, 2018, the Company suspended 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in order to
comply with policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.
On May 25 and 30, 2018, we completed private placements of an
aggregate of 5,131,665 units of our securities at a price of US$0.75 per unit
for aggregate gross proceeds of US$3,848,748.75. Each unit consisted of one
share of our common stock and one-half of one share purchase warrant, with each
whole share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional
share of our common stock at a price of US$0.90 per share for a period of two
years.
Of the 5,131,665 units we issued: (i) 906,666 units were issued
pursuant to the exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended provided by Section 4(a)(2) and/or Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended to four investors who were
accredited investors within the respective meanings ascribed to that term in
Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; and (ii)
4,224,999 units were issued to 26 non-U.S. persons (as that term is defined in
Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) in an offshore
transaction relying on Regulation S and/or Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended.
In connection with these private placements, we agreed with
each subscriber who purchased these units to prepare and file a registration
statement with respect to (i) the shares of our common stock comprising these
units and (ii) the shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the
share purchase warrants comprising these units with the Securities and Exchange
Commission within 90 days following the closing of the private placements and
agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement
declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as possible
after filing.
Page 49
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as that term
is defined in Rule 13a-15(e), promulgated by the Securities and Exchange
Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 , as amended.
Disclosure controls and procedures include controls and procedures designed to
ensure that information required to be disclosed in our companys reports filed
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and
Exchange Commissions rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated
and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer
and our principal financial officer to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
As required by paragraph (b) of Rules 13a-15 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 , our management, with the participation
of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer,
evaluated our companys disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the
period covered by this annual report on Form 10-K. Based on this evaluation, our
management concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this annual
report on Form 10-K, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting
Our management, including our principal executive officer and
our principal financial officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f)
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).
Our management, with the participation of our principal
executive officer and our principal financial officer, evaluated the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31,
2018. Our managements evaluation of our internal control over financial
reporting was based on the framework in Internal ControlIntegrated Framework,
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control
over financial reporting was effective as of March 31, 2018 and that there were
no material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of control
deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a
reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim
financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
Our principal executive officer and our principal financial
officer do not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over
financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no
matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not
absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further,
the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource
constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their
costs. 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, if any, within our company have been detected. These inherent
limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be
faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake.
Additional controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons,
by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls.
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; over time, controls may become inadequate
because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies
or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-
effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not
be detected.
Page 50
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial
reporting during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 that
have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our
internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
On December 31, 2017, we exercised our purchase option to
purchase four alkaline generating electrolysis system machines leased under the
master lease agreement entered into on October 22, 2014, as amended on February
25, 2015 with Veterans Capital Fund, LLC for a total of $160,000. The purchase
price bears interest of 12% per annum and is payable in eleven equal monthly
installments of $14,934.00 each and one final installment of $4,040.41, with the
first installment due on February 1, 2018 and on the remaining eleven
installments due on the first of each month thereafter with the final
installment due and payable on January 1, 2019.
Page 51
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Directors and Executive Officers
All directors of our company hold office until the next annual
meeting of our stockholders or until their successors have been elected and
qualified, or until their death, resignation or removal. The executive officers
of our company are appointed by our board of directors and hold office until
their death, resignation or removal from office.
Our directors and executive officers, their ages, positions
held, and duration of such, are as follows:
Name
Position Held with Our
Company
Age
Date First Elected or Appointed
Richard A. Wright
President, Chief Executive Officer,
Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director
60
May 31, 2013
David A. Guarino
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer
and Director
54
April 28, 2017
Aaron Keay
Chairman of the Board and Director
41
July 22, 2016
Bruce Leitch
Director
60
September 8, 2016
Business Experience
The following is a brief account of the education and business
experience of our directors and executive officers during at least the past five
years, indicating their principal occupation during the period, and the name and
principal business of the organization by which they were employed:
Richard A. Wright
Mr. Wright is a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated
Magnum Cum Laude in 1978 from Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio. He has
done graduate level MBA courses at Case Western Reserve College in Cleveland,
Ohio. In 2008, Mr. Wright became the Chief Financial Officer for PCT
International. PCT is a leading worldwide developer and manufacturer of last
mile and access network solutions for broadband communication networks. PCT
focuses on innovative and cost-effective solutions that allow service providers
to improve system integrity and expand service offerings. It has manufacturing
plants in USA and China and sells their products in 42 countries. In 2010, Mr.
Wright began his own tax and accounting CPA firm in Scottsdale, Arizona, Wright
Tax Solutions PLC. Mr. Wright also began Wright Investment Group, LLC, a small
equity participation firm that helps provide seed capital through micro loans
and financial expertise to start-up enterprises.
Effective as of May 31, 2013, Mr. Wright was appointed as
vice-president, treasurer and a director of our company. On August 7, 2013, our
board of directors appointed Mr. Wright as secretary of our company. On August
28, 2016, our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright as chief operating officer
of our company. On April 7, 2017, our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright as
president of our company. On April 28, 2017, Mr. Wright resigned as the
secretary and treasurer of our company and our board of directors appointed Mr.
Wright as the chief executive officer of our company.
We believe that Mr. Wright is qualified to serve on our board
of directors because of his knowledge of our current operations in addition to
his education and business experiences described above.
Page 52
David A. Guarino
On April 28, 2017, Mr. Guarino was appointed as the chief
financial officer, secretary and treasurer and a director of our company. Mr.
Guarino currently holds a bachelor of science in accounting and a masters of
accountancy from the University of Denver. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Guarino was
President and a Director of Kahala Corp, a worldwide franchisor of multiple
quick service restaurant brands with locations in 49 states and over 25
countries. From 2014 to 2015, Mr. Guarino was President of HTI International
Holdings, Inc., a technology company focused on forward osmosis water filtration
technology. From 2015 until April, 2017, Mr. Guarino had been a consultant to
our company.
We believe that Mr. Guarino is qualified to serve on our board
of directors because of his knowledge of our current operations in addition to
his education and business experiences described above.
Aaron Keay
On July 22, 2016, Mr. Keay was appointed as a director of our
company and on August 17, 2017, Mr. Keay was appointed as the Chairman of the
Board.
Mr. Keay has been the President and Managing Partner of Inform
Capital Partner, a corporate finance advisory and merchant banking firm, from
2008 to present. He was the Chairman, CEO and director of Inform Resources
Corp., a mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV), from
August 2010 until July 10, 2014. Mr. Keay was the CEO, President and director of
IDM Mining Ltd. (formerly Revolution Resources), a mining company listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange, from 2009 until January 7, 2015. He was a director of
OrganiGram Holdings Inc., an industrial company specializing in the production
of condition specific medical marihuana under license from Health Canada listed
on the TSXV, from September 14, 2010 until July 17, 2014. Mr. Keay was a
director of Plateau Uranium Inc. (formerly Macusani Yellowcake Inc.), a uranium
exploration and development company listed on the TSXV, from April 5, 2013 until
September 4, 2014. He was a director of Aftermath Silver Inc. (formerly Full
Metal Zinc Ltd.), a mineral exploration and development company listed on the
TSXV, from February 2011 until December 12, 2013. Mr. Keay holds a Bachelor of
Human Kinetics from the University of British Columbia.
We believe that Mr. Keay is qualified to serve on our board of
directors because of his knowledge of our current operations in addition to his
education and business experiences described above.
Bruce Leitch
Mr. Leitch has been a director of our company since September
8, 2016. During the past five years Mr. Leitch has been actively engaged as a
management consultant with respect to business development strategies and
overseeing the corporate governance requirements for various private companies.
The bulk of his time has been spent as the V.P. Corporate Finance and a Director
for Citadel LED Lighting Corp., a private company engaged in the importation of
innovative LED lighting products with applications in the retail, hospitality,
outdoor lighting and commercial buildings and facilities market sectors.
Mr. Leitch has extensive experience with consumer products
companies, and is well versed in all aspects of branding, marketing, cross
marketing through strategic relationships, interacting with advertising agencies
to create highly focused and effective sales campaigns, along with being very
conversant in wholesale distribution networks, logistics, managing multiple
channels of product distribution and supply chain management. Mr. Leitch has
extensive experience in the capital markets and the securities industry, having
worked for several major financial services institutions as well as having been
an officer, director and principal of several public and private companies.
We believe that Mr. Leitch is qualified to serve on our board
of directors because of his knowledge of our current operations in addition to
his business experiences described above.
Page 53
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships between any director or
executive officer.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
None of our directors and executive officers has been involved
in any of the following events during the past ten years:
(a)
any petition under the federal bankruptcy laws or any
state insolvency laws filed by or against, or an appointment of a
receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer by a court for the business or
property of such person, or any partnership in which such person was a
general partner at or within two years before the time of such filing, or
any corporation or business association of which such person was an
executive officer at or within two years before the time of such
filing;
(b)
any conviction in a criminal proceeding or being subject
to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other
minor offences);
(c)
being subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not
subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent
jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining such person from, or
otherwise limiting, the following activities: (i) acting as a futures
commission merchant, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor,
commodity pool operator, floor broker, leverage transaction merchant, any
other person regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or an
associated person of any of the foregoing, or as an investment adviser,
underwriter, broker or dealer in securities, or as an affiliated person,
director or employee of any investment company, bank, savings and loan
association or insurance company, or engaging in or continuing any conduct
or practice in connection with such activity; engaging in any type of
business practice; or (iii) engaging in any activity in connection with
the purchase or sale of any security or commodity or in connection with
any violation of federal or state securities laws or federal commodities
laws;
(d)
being the subject of any order, judgment or decree, not
subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any federal or state
authority barring, suspending or otherwise limiting for more than 60 days
the right of such person to engage in any activity described in paragraph
(c)(i) above, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such
activity;
(e)
being found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a
civil action), the Securities and Exchange Commission to have violated a
federal or state securities or commodities law, and the judgment in such
civil action or finding by the Securities and Exchange Commission has not
been reversed, suspended, or vacated;
(f)
being found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a
civil action or by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have
violated any federal commodities law, and the judgment in such civil
action or finding by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has not been
subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated;
(g)
being the subject of, or a party to, any federal or state
judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not
subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, relating to an alleged
violation of: (i) any federal or state securities or commodities law or
regulation; or (ii) any law or regulation respecting financial
institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a
temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution,
civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease- and-desist order, or
removal or prohibition order; or (iii) any law or regulation prohibiting
mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity;
or
(h)
being the subject of, or a party to, any sanction or
order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-
regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934), any registered
entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act), or any
equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary
authority over its members or persons associated with a member.
Page 54
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires
our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of our
common stock, to file reports regarding ownership of, and transactions in, our
securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to provide us with
copies of those filings. Based solely on our review of the copies of such forms
received by us, or written representations from certain reporting persons we
believe that during year ended March 31, 2018 all filing requirements applicable
to our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of
our common stock were complied with, with the exception of the following:
Name
Number of
Late Reports
Number of Transactions
Not
Reported on a
Timely Basis
Failure to File
Requested
Forms
Richard A. Wright
3
9
Nil
David A. Guarino
3
3
Nil
Aaron Keay
1
1
Nil
Bruce Leitch
1
1
Nil
Code of Ethics
We have not adopted a code of ethics because our board of
directors believes that our small size does not merit the expense of preparing,
adopting and administering a code of ethics. Our board of directors intends to
adopt a code of ethics when circumstances warrant.
Committees of Board of Directors
Audit Committee
Effective February 22, 2018, our board of directors established
an audit committee. The audit committee currently consists of three directors,
Aaron Keay, Bruce Leitch and David A. Guarino. Our audit committee assists our
board of directors in fulfilling its financial oversight responsibilities by
reviewing the financial reports and other financial information provided by our
company to regulatory authorities and stockholders, our systems of internal
controls regarding finance and accounting and our auditing, accounting and
financial reporting processes. Our audit committees primary duties and
responsibilities are to: serve as an independent and objective party to monitor
our financial reporting and internal control system and review our financial
statements; oversee our accounting and financial reporting processes and the
preparation and auditing of our financial statements; review and appraise the
performance of our external auditor; and provide an open avenue of communication
among our auditor, financial and senior management and our board of directors.
Audit Committee Financial Expert
Our board of directors has determined that each of Richard A.
Wright and David A. Guarino, both directors of our company, qualifies as an
audit committee financial expert as defined in Item 407(d)(5)(ii) of
Regulation S-K, but Mr. Wright and Mr. Guarino are not independent as the term
is used by NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5605(a)(2). We believe that retaining an
independent director who would qualify as an audit committee financial expert
would be overly costly and burdensome and is not warranted in our circumstances
given the early stages of our development.
Page 55
Nominating and Compensation Committees
We do not presently have a separately constituted compensation
committee, or nominating committee. Our board of directors does not believe that
it is necessary to have such committees because it believes that the functions
of such committees can be adequately performed by our board of directors.
We do not have any defined policy or procedure requirements for
our stockholders to submit recommendations or nominations for directors. We do
not currently have any specific or minimum criteria for the election of nominees
to our board of directors and we do not have any specific process or procedure
for evaluating such nominees. Our board of directors assesses all candidates,
whether submitted by management or stockholders, and makes recommendations for
election or appointment.
A stockholder who wishes to communicate with our board of
directors may do so by directing a written request to the address appearing on
the first page of this annual report.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation
The particulars of compensation paid to the following persons:
(a)
all individuals serving as our principal executive
officer during the year ended March 31, 2018
(b)
each of our two most highly compensated executive
officers who were serving as executive officers at the end of the year
ended March 31, 2018; and
(c)
up to two additional individuals for whom disclosure
would have been provided under (b) but for the fact that the individual
was not serving as our executive officer at March 31,
2018,
who we will collectively refer to as the named executive
officers, for all services rendered in all capacities to our company and
subsidiaries for the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 are set out in the
following summary compensation table:
Page 56
Summary Compensation Table Years ended March 31, 2018
and 2017
Name
and
Principal
Position
Year
Salary
($)
Bonus
($)
Stock
Awards
($)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensa
-tion
($)
Non-
qualified
Deferred
Compensa-
tion
Earnings
($)
All
Other
Compensa-
tion
($)
Total
($)
Richard A. Wright
President, Chief
Executive
Officer, Vice- President, Chief
Operating Officer, Director and
Former
Secretary and
Treasurer (1)
2018
2017
168,000
168,000
Nil
Nil
1,500 (4)
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
24,186
22,002
193,686
190,002
David A. Guarino
Chief Financial Officer,
Secretary, Treasurer and
Director (2)
2018
2017
154,000
N/A
Nil
N/A
168,700 (5)
N/A
Nil
N/A
Nil
N/A
Nil
N/A
5,500
N/A
328,200
N/A
Steven P. Nickolas
Former President,
Chief
Executive Officer and
Director (3)
2018
2017
3,072
180,000
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
24,035
3,072
204,035
Notes:
(1)
Effective as of May 31, 2013, Mr. Wright was appointed as
vice-president, treasurer and a director of our company. On August 7,
2013, our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright as secretary of our
company. On August 28, 2016, our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright
as chief operating officer of our company. On April 7, 2017, our board of
directors appointed Mr. Wright as president of our company. On April 28,
2017, Mr. Wright resigned as the secretary and treasurer of our company
and our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright as the chief executive
officer of our company.
(2)
On April 28, 2017, our board of directors appointed Mr.
Guarino as the chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer and a
director of our company. From 2015 until April, 2017, Mr. Guarino has been
a consultant to our company.
(3)
On April 7, 2017, our company removed Mr. Nickolas as the
president and chief executive officer of our company. On October 6, 2017,
Mr. Nickolas resigned as a director of our company.
(4)
Reflects the grant date fair value computed in accordance
with FASB ASC Topic 718. Reflects the issuance of 1,500,000 shares of
Series D Preferred Stock which will be convertible, without the payment of
any additional consideration by the holder and at the option of the
holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of our common stock
at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of our company
and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $40,000,000 in any 12
month period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our fiscal
year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which
the Series D Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our
company and the holder in writing from time to
time.
Page 57
(5)
Reflects the grant date fair value computed in accordance
with FASB ASC Topic 718. Reflects the issuance of 130,000 shares of common
stock effective April 28, 2017 (valued at $167,700) and the issuance of
1,000,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock (valued at
$1,000).
Employment Agreement with Richard A. Wright
On March 30, 2016, we entered into an employment agreement
dated effective March 1, 2016 with Richard A. Wright, our vice-president,
secretary, treasurer and director, pursuant to which Mr. Wright agreed to
perform such duties as are regularly and customarily performed by the vice
president, secretary and treasurer of a corporation, and any other duties
consistent with Mr. Wrights position in our company. Pursuant to the terms of
the employment agreement, we have agreed to (i) pay Mr. Wright $14,000 per month
or such other amount as may be determined by our board of directors from time to
time; and (ii) issue to Mr. Wright 1,500,000 shares of our Series C Preferred
Stock (issued effective as of March 31, 2016). We also agreed that each of the
following events constitute a Negotiated Trigger Event as defined in the
Certificate of Designation for the Series C Preferred Stock: (i) the occurrence
of a change of control event; (ii) the death of Mr. Wright; and (iii) the
termination of the employment agreement for any reason.
In addition, we may (i) grant awards under our 2018 stock
option plan to Mr. Wright from time to time and (ii) pay to Mr. Wright an annual
discretionary performance bonus in an amount to be determined by our board of
directors in its sole discretion. Mr. Wright will also be eligible to
participate in other bonus programs offered by our company to our senior staff
from time to time.
In addition, Mr. Wright will be entitled to participate in all
of our employee benefit plans provided by our company to our senior officers. If
we do not provide such plans at any time, we agreed to reimburse Mr. Wright for
the reasonable cost of any such plans obtained privately. We also agreed to (i)
provide Mr. Wright with vehicle leased in our companys name, with lease
payments not exceeding $700/month or such other amount as may be determined by
our board of directors; (ii) pay Mr. Wright an allowance of $5,000 per month or
such other amount as may be determined by our board of directors, which may be
used by Mr. Wright as he sees fit, including without limitation, the funding of
non-qualified retirement plans; (iii) reimburse Mr. Wright for any expenses that
he incurs in connection with his duties under his employment agreement. Mr.
Wright will be entitled in each year to five weeks paid vacation, in addition
to weekends and statutory holidays, to be taken in installments of no more than
three consecutive weeks of paid time off.
The initial term of the employment agreement is three years
and, on the third anniversary of the effective date of the employment and on
each annual anniversary date thereafter, the term of the employment agreement
will automatically be extended by one additional year unless either party gives
90 days written notice to the other of its intention not to renew the
employment agreement.
Provided that Mr. Wright has acted within the scope of his
authority, we agreed to indemnify and save harmless Mr. Wright (including his
heirs and legal representatives) against any and all costs, claims and expenses
(including any amounts paid to settle any actions or satisfy any judgments)
which: he may suffer or incur by reason of any matter or thing which he may in
good faith do or have done or caused to be done as an employee, officer or
director of our company, any of its subsidiaries or of any of their respective
affiliates; or was reasonably incurred by him in respect of any civil, criminal
or administrative action or proceeding to which he is made a party by reason of
being or having been an employee, officer or director of our company, any of its
subsidiaries or of any of their respective affiliates; provided that, the
foregoing indemnification will apply only if: he acted honestly and in good
faith with a view to the best interests of our company, any of its subsidiaries
or any of their respective affiliates; and in the case of a criminal or
administrative action or proceeding that is enforced by a monetary penalty, he
had reasonable grounds for believing that his conduct was lawful.
Mr. Wright agreed to indemnify and save harmless our company
against, and agree to hold it harmless from, any and all damages, injuries,
claims, demands, actions, liability, costs and expenses (including reasonable
legal fees) incurred or made against our company arising from or connected with
the performance or non-performance of his employment by him or the beach of any
warranty, representation or covenant herein by him, other than claims by him
pursuant to his employment agreement.
Page 58
If and to the extent we maintain directors and officers
liability insurance for the protection of our executives in connection with acts
and omissions occurring during their employment with our company, we agreed that
Mr. Wright will be included as an officer and director who is covered by such
policy on a basis no less favorable than made available to other executives of
our company.
On August 28, 2016, our board of directors appointed Mr. Wright
as chief operating officer of our company. On April 7, 2017, our board of
directors appointed Mr. Wright as president of our company. On April 28, 2017,
Mr. Wright resigned as the secretary and treasurer of our company and our board
of directors appointed Mr. Wright as the chief executive officer of our company.
David A. Guarino
We pay David A. Guarino $14,000 per month for his services and
a $500 monthly car allowance. Effective April 28, 2017, we issued 130,000 shares
of common stock to Mr. Guarino, who was appointed as the chief financial
officer, secretary, treasurer and a director of our company on the same date.
These shares are restricted from transfer for a period of two years.
Employment Agreement with Steven P. Nickolas
On March 30, 2016, we entered into an employment agreement
dated effective March 1, 2016 with Steven P. Nickolas, our former president and
chief executive officer and a former director of our company, pursuant to which
Mr. Nickolas agreed to perform such duties as are regularly and customarily
performed by the president and chief executive officer of a corporation, and any
other duties consistent with Mr. Nickolass position in our company. Pursuant to
the terms of the employment agreement, we agreed to (i) pay Mr. Nickolas $15,000
per month or such other amount as may be determined by our board of directors
from time to time; and (ii) issue to Mr. Nickolas 1,500,000 shares of our Series
C Preferred Stock (issued effective as of March 31, 2016). We also agreed that
each of the following events constitute a Negotiated Trigger Event as defined
in the Certificate of Designation for the Series C Preferred Stock: (i) the
occurrence of a change of control event; (ii) the death of Mr. Nickolas; and
(iii) the termination of the employment agreement for any reason.
In addition, we agreed to (i) provide Mr. Nickolas with vehicle
leased in our companys name, with lease payments not exceeding $700/month or
such other amount as may be determined by our board of directors; (ii) pay Mr.
Nickolas an allowance of $5,000 per month or such other amount as may be
determined by our board of directors, which may be used by Mr. Nickolas as he
sees fit, including without limitation, the funding of non-qualified retirement
plans; (iii) reimburse Mr. Nickolas for any expenses that he incurs in
connection with his duties under his employment agreement.
On November 18, 2016, our company provided notice to Mr.
Nickolas of our board of directors finding that there is just cause for
termination of Mr. Nickolass employment and of our companys intent to
terminate the employment of Mr. Nickolas for just cause pursuant to the
provision of the employment agreement with Mr. Nickolas dated March 1, 2016.
Under the employment agreement, Mr. Nickolas had 30 days to cure the failures
and breaches creating just cause for termination. Mr. Nickolas failed to cure
such failure and breaches and, on April 7, 2017, our company terminated the
employment of Mr. Nickolas for cause. In addition, our company removed Mr.
Nickolas as the president and chief executive officer of our company. On October
6, 2017, Mr. Nickolas resigned as a director of our company.
On October 31, 2017, our company and its subsidiaries entered
into a Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims with Steven P.
Nickolas, the Nickolas Family Trust, Water Engineering Solutions, LLC and
Enhanced Beverages, LLC, companies and trust that are controlled or owned by Mr.
Nickolas, and McDowell 78, LLC and Wright Investments Group, LLC, a company
controlled or owned by Richard A. Wright. The Settlement Agreement and Mutual
Release of Claims provides that Mr. Nickolas acknowledged and agreed that the
employment agreement between Mr. Nickolas and our company was terminated as of
April 7, 2017 and no further amounts are owed to Mr. Nickolas under the
employment agreement and we agreed to waive restrictive covenants set out in the
employment agreement.
Page 59
Grant of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
On March 30, 2016, we designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series C Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. Each share of the Series C Preferred Stock will be convertible,
without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder and at the
option of the holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of our common
stock at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of our company
and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $15,000,000 in any 12 month
period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our fiscal year; or
(ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which the Series C
Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our company and the
holder in writing from time to time.
Effective March 31, 2016, we issued a total of 3,000,000 shares
of our Series C Preferred Stock (1,500,000 shares to each) to Steven P.
Nickolas, a former director and executive officer of our company, and Richard A.
Wright, a director and executive officer of our company, pursuant to their
employment agreements dated effective March 1, 2016.
On August 17, 2017, we issued 1,500,000 shares of our common
stock to Steven P. Nickolas upon conversion of 1,500,000 shares of our Series C
Preferred Stock held by Mr. Nickolas. The shares of our Series C Preferred Stock
became convertible into shares of our common stock without the payment of any
additional consideration by Mr. Nickolas and at the option of Mr. Nickolas
because the termination of the employment agreement between our company and Mr.
Nickolas was an event constituting a Negotiated Trigger Event as defined in
the Certificate of Designation for our Series C Preferred Stock.
Grant of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock
On May 3, 2017, we designated 3,000,000 shares of the
authorized and unissued preferred stock of our company as Series D Preferred
Stock by filing a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the
State of Nevada. On November 2, 2017, we increased the number of authorized
shares of Series D Preferred Stock in our company to 5,000,000 shares by filing
an Amendment to the foregoing Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada. Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the holder
and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and non-assessable share of
our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve the consolidated revenue of
our company and all of its subsidiaries equal to or greater than $40,000,000 in
any 12 month period, ending on the last day of any quarterly period of our
fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which
the Series D Preferred Stock will be convertible as may be agreed by our company
and the holder in writing from time to time.
Effective May 3, 2017, we issued 1,000,000 shares of our Series
D Preferred Stock to Richard A. Wright and 1,000,000 shares of our Series D
Preferred Stock to Mr. Guarino.
Retirement or Similar Benefit Plans
There are no arrangements or plans in which we provide
retirement or similar benefits for our directors or executive officers.
Resignation, Retirement, Other Termination, or Change in
Control Arrangements
Other than the provisions of the employment agreement with Mr.
Wright described below, we have no contract, agreement, plan or arrangement,
whether written or unwritten, that provides for payments to our directors or
executive officers at, following, or in connection with the resignation,
retirement or other termination of our directors or executive officers, or a
change in control of our company or a change in our directors or executive
officers responsibilities following a change in control.
If, within 90 days of the occurrence of a change of control
event, Mr. Wright resigns from his employment relationship with our company or
our company terminates his employment agreement for any reason other than for
just cause, then we agreed to pay Mr. Wright severance in an amount equal to the
following: 36 months salary plus an amount, if any, equal to the following: one months salary
multiplied by the number of calendar years, starting on the effective date of
the employment agreement, that Mr. Wright is employed by our company under his
employment agreement.
Page 60
We may terminate Mr. Wrights employment at any time for other
than just cause by delivering to Mr. Wright written notice of termination. In
such a case, we agreed to pay Mr. Wright severance in an amount equal to the
following: 36 months salary plus an amount, if any, equal to the following: one
months salary multiplied by the number of calendar years, starting on the
effective date of the employment, that Mr. Wright is employed by our company
under his employment agreement.
Subject to applicable employment laws or similar legislation,
we may terminate Mr. Wrights employment in the event he has been unable to
perform his duties for a period of eight consecutive months or a cumulative
period of 12 months in any consecutive 24 month period, because of a physical or
mental disability. Mr. Wrights employment will automatically terminate on his
death. In the event Mr. Wrights employment with our company terminates by
reason of Mr. Wrights death or disability, then upon and immediately effective
on the date of termination we agreed to promptly pay and provide Mr. Wright (or
in the event of Mr. Wrights death, Mr. Wrights estate); any unpaid salary and
any outstanding and accrued regular and special vacation pay through the date of
termination; reimbursement for any unreimbursed expenses incurred through to the
date of termination; and any outstanding amounts due under any awards which will
be dealt with in accordance with our 2013 equity incentive plan or 2018 stock
option plan and the award agreement. In the event Mr. Wrights employment is
terminated due to a disability, we agreed to pay to Mr. Wright the severance
referred to above.
We may terminate Mr. Wrights employment for just cause at any
time by delivering to Mr. Wright written notice of termination. In the event
that Mr. Wrights employment with our company is terminated by our company for
just cause, Mr. Wright will not be entitled to any additional payments or
benefits (except as otherwise provided in his employment agreement), other than
for amounts due and owing to Mr. Wright by our company as of the date of
termination, except for any awards under our 2013 equity incentive plan or 2018
stock option plan will be dealt with in accordance with the plan and award
agreement.
Page 61
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table sets forth for each named executive officer
certain information concerning the outstanding equity awards as of March 31,
2018:
Option awards
Stock awards
Name
Number
of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
exercisable
Number
of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
unexercisable
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number
of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options
(#)
Option
exercise
price
($)
Option
expiration
date
Number
of
shares
or units
of stock
that
have
not
vested
(#)
Market
value
of
shares
of
units of
stock
that
have
not
vested
($)
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number
of
unearned
shares,
units or
other
rights
that have
not
vested
(#)
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Market
or
payout
value
of
unearned
shares,
units
or other
rights
that
have not
vested
($)
Richard A. Wright
Nil
Nil
Nil
N/A
N/A
Nil
N/A
Nil
N/A
David A. Guarino
Nil
Nil
Nil
N/A
N/A
Nil
N/A
Nil
N/A
Steven P. Nickolas
Nil
Nil
Nil
N/A
N/A
Nil
N/A
Nil
N/A
Compensation of Directors
The particulars of compensation paid to our directors who are
not named executive officers for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 are set
out in the following director compensation table:
Name
Fees
Earned or
Paid
in
Cash
($)
Stock
Awards
($)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation
($)
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
All
Other
Compensation
($)
Total
($)
Aaron Keay
Nil
Nil
100,712 (1)(3)
Nil
Nil
Nil
100,712
Bruce Leitch
Nil
Nil
28,775 (2)(3)
Nil
Nil
Nil
28,775
Notes:
(1)
Effective April 28, 2017, we granted 350,000 stock
options to Aaron Keay, a director of our company. These stock options are
exercisable at the exercise price of $1.29 per share for a period of ten
years from the date of grant and vest as follows: (i) 87,500 upon the date
of grant; and (ii) 87,500 on each anniversary date of grant.
(2)
Effective April 28, 2017, we granted 100,000 stock
options to Bruce Leitch, a director of our company. These stock options
are exercisable at the exercise price of $1.29 per share for a period of
ten years from the date of grant and vest as follows: (i) 25,000 upon the
date of grant; and (ii) 25,000 on each anniversary date of
grant.
(3)
Reflects the grant date fair value computed in accordance
with FASB ASC Topic 718.
Page 62
We have no formal plan for compensating our directors for their
services in their capacity as directors. Our directors are entitled to
reimbursement for reasonable travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in
connection with attendance at meetings of our board of directors. Our board of
directors may award special remuneration to any director undertaking any special
services on their behalf other than services ordinarily required of a director.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND
MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth, as of June 28, 2018, certain
information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock by each
stockholder known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class
of our voting securities and by each of our current directors, our named
executive officers(as defined in the Executive Compensation section above) and
by our current executive officers and directors as a group.
Name of Beneficial Owner
Title of Class
Amount and Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership (1)
Percentage of
Class (2)
Richard A. Wright
Common Stock
700,000
2.26%
Series C
Preferred
Stock (3)
1,500,000
100%
Series D
Preferred
Stock (4)
1,500,000
39.47%
David A. Guarino
Common Stock
909,300
2.93%
Series D
Preferred
Stock (4)
1,000,000
26.32%
Aaron Keay
Common Stock
175,000 (5)
*
Bruce Leitch
Common Stock
50,000 (6)
*
Steven P. Nickolas
14301 North 87 St.,
Suite 109
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Common Stock
Nil (7)
*
Series D
Preferred Stock (4)
300,000
7.89%
All executive officers and directors as
a group (4 persons)
Common Stock
1,834,300
5.88%
Series
C
Preferred Stock (3)
1,500,000
100%
Series D
Preferred Stock (4)
2,500,000
65.79%
Notes
* Less than 1%.
(1)
Except as otherwise indicated, we believe that the
beneficial owners of the common stock listed above, based on information
furnished by such owners, have sole investment and voting power with
respect to such shares, subject to community property laws where
applicable. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the
rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and generally includes
voting or investment power with respect to securities. Common stock
subject to options or warrants currently exercisable or exercisable within
60 days, are deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage
ownership of the person holding such option or warrants, but are not
deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of
any other person.
(2)
Percentage of common stock is based on 30,989,727 shares
of our common stock issued and outstanding as of June 28, 2018. Percentage
of Series C Preferred Stock is based on 1,500,000 shares of Series C
Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of June 28, 2018. Percentage of
Series D Preferred Stock is based on 3,800,000 shares of Series D
Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of June 28, 2018.
(3)
Each share of the Series C Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the
holder and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and
non-assessable share of our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve
the consolidated revenue of our company and all of its subsidiaries equal
to or greater than $15,000,000 in any 12 month period, ending on the last
day of any quarterly period of our fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated
Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which the Series C Preferred Stock will
be convertible as may be agreed by our company and the holder in writing
from time to time.
Page 63
(4)
Each share of the Series D Preferred Stock will be
convertible, without the payment of any additional consideration by the
holder and at the option of the holder, into one fully paid and
non-assessable share of our common stock at any time after (i) we achieve
the consolidated revenue of our company and all of its subsidiaries equal
to or greater than $40,000,000 in any 12 month period, ending on the last
day of any quarterly period of our fiscal year; or (ii) a Negotiated
Trigger Event, defined as an event upon which the Series D Preferred Stock
will be convertible as may be agreed by our company and the holder in
writing from time to time.
(5)
Consists of 175,000 stock options exercisable within 60
days.
(6)
Consists of 50,000 stock options exercisable within 60
days.
(7)
This number is an estimated number based on information
currently available to our company.
Changes in Control
We are unaware of any contract or other arrangement the
operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of our
company.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND
DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Other than as disclosed below, there has been no transaction,
since April 1, 2016, or currently proposed transaction, in which our company was
or is to be a participant and the amount involved exceeds $50,960, being the
lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year end
for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any of the following
persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest:
(a)
Any director or executive officer of our
company;
(b)
Any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly,
more than 5% of any class of our voting securities;
(c)
Any person who acquired control of our company when it
was a shell company or any person that is part of a group, consisting of
two or more persons that agreed to act together for the purpose of
acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of our common stock, that acquired
control of our company when it was a shell company; and
(d)
Any member of the immediate family (including spouse,
parents, children, siblings and in- laws) of any of the foregoing
persons.
Under the terms of the exclusive manufacturing agreement
entered into on April 15, 2013 between our company and Water Engineering
Solutions LLC, an entity that is controlled and majority owned by Steven P.
Nickolas, a stockholder who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, more than
5% of a class of our voting securities and a former officer and director of our
company, and Richard A. Wright, an officer, director and stockholder of our
company, and during the year ended March 31, 2017, we paid $104,619 to Water
Engineering Solutions LLC for custom engineered equipment used in the production
of our alkaline water.
On October 31, 2017, our company and its subsidiaries entered
into a Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims (the Settlement
Agreement ) with Steven P. Nickolas, the Nickolas Family Trust, Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC and Enhanced Beverages, LLC, companies and trust that
are controlled or owned by Mr. Nickolas, (collectively, the Nickolas
Parties ) and McDowell 78, LLC and Wright Investments Group, LLC, a company
controlled or owned by Richard A. Wright, (collectively,
Wright/McDowell ).
The Settlement Agreement provides, among other things, the
following:
1.
Simultaneous with the full execution of the Settlement
Agreement, we agreed to pay Mr. Nickolas $110,000 in one lump sum
(paid);
Page 64
2.
From the date of the Settlement Agreement, we agreed to
waive the application of our Insider Trading Policy as to Mr. Nickolas,
thereby removing any black-out periods for all future sales of our common
stock by Mr. Nickolas;
3.
Within three business date of the full execution of the
Settlement Agreement, we agreed to instruct our transfer agent to issue
Mr. Nickolas 700,000 shares of our common stock (issued);
4.
Within 10 business days of the full execution of the
Settlement Agreement, we agreed to issue Mr. Nickolas 300,000 shares of
our Series D Preferred Stock (issued);
5.
In exchange of 700,000 shares of our common stock and
300,000 shares of our Series D Preferred Stock described above, Mr.
Nickolas forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock,
to be cancelled for no further consideration;
6.
Upon the full execution of the Settlement Agreement, Mr.
Nickolas and our company agreed to file the stipulations to dismiss the
complaints and counterclaim filed by each of them with prejudice, with
each side to bear its own costs and attorneys fees. In addition, our
company and Wright/McDowell agreed that they will effectuate the dismissal
of an arbitration proceeding against the Nickolas Parties with prejudice,
with each side to bear its own attorneys fees and costs;
7.
Mr. Nickolas surrendered all right, interest or claim to
the shares of our common stock owned by WIN Investments, LLC and Lifewater
Industries, LLC for no additional consideration;
8.
Mr. Nickolas acknowledged and agreed that the employment
agreement between Mr. Nickolas and our company was terminated as of April
7, 2017 and no further amounts are owed to Mr. Nickolas under the
employment agreement and we agreed to waive restrictive covenants set out
in the employment agreement;
9.
We agreed to assume financial responsibility for the
federal tax obligations in the total amount of $45,738.68 owed by Mr.
Nickolas and certain outstanding invoice in the amount of
$21,008.71;
10.
Mr. Nickolas acknowledged and agreed that 1,500,000 stock
options with an exercise price of $0.52 issued to Mr. Nickolas on or about
March 1, 2016 has expired and a total of 148,000 stock options issued to
Mr. Nickolas before 2016 will automatically expire 90 days from October 6,
2017, the date Mr. Nickolas ceased being a director of our company
(expired);
11.
We agreed that Mr. Nickolas will have access to a
reasonable amount of Alkaline88 water, not to exceed 30 cases at the time
of pickup at our facility, for his personal consumption only at no cost
while Mr. Nickolas is a direct stockholder of our company and Mr. Nickolas
will be limited to an average of 20 cases per month for his personal
consumption; and
12.
The parties also agreed to mutual release of
claims.
On November 8, 2017, we entered into an Exchange Agreement and
Mutual Release of Claims (the Exchange Agreement ) with Richard A.
Wright, our president, chief executive officer and director.
The Exchange Agreement provides, among other things, the
following:
1.
Within five business date of the full execution of the
Exchange Agreement, we agreed to instruct our transfer agent to issue Mr.
Wright 700,000 shares of our common stock (issued on November 9,
2017);
2.
Within 10 business days of the full execution of the
Exchange Agreement, we agreed to issue 300,000 shares of our Series D
Preferred Stock (issued on November 9, 2017);
3.
In exchange of 700,000 shares of our common stock and
300,000 shares of our Series D Preferred Stock described above, Mr. Wright
forfeited his 10,000,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock, to be
cancelled for no further consideration; and
Page 65
4.
The parties also agreed to mutual release of
claims.
On November 8, 2017, Richard A. Wright and Sharon Wright, Mr.
Wrights spouse, executed a Stock Option Forfeiture & General Release (the
Stock Option Forfeiture Agreement ).
The Stock Option Forfeiture Agreement provides, among other
things, the following:
1.
In exchange for, among other things, receipt of 200,000
shares of our Series D Preferred Stock (issued on November 9, 2017), Mr.
Wright agreed that Mr. Wrights stock options to purchase 1,500,000 shares
of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.52 per share were
forfeited, terminated and otherwise cancelled as of November 8, 2017;
and
2.
Mr. Wright also agreed to release of claims against our
company.
On September 14, 2017, Wright Investment Group LLC, an entity
controlled by Richard A. Wright, our president, chief executive officer and
director, advanced $200,000 to our company. On October 17, 2017, Wright
Investment Group LLC advanced $400,000 to our company. On November 22, 2017,
Wright Investment Group LLC advanced $400,000 to our company. The $1,000,000 in
advancements were repaid to Wright Investment Group, LLC on March 2, 2018.
On February 14, 2018, David A. Guarino, our chief financial
officer, secretary, treasurer and director, entered into a guarantee agreement
with CNH Specialty Finance in order for CNH Specialty Finance to agree to
provide our company a $400,000 temporary order advance under the credit facility
agreement. Under the guarantee agreement, Mr. Guarino personally, absolutely,
and unconditionally, jointly and severally, guaranteed the prompt, complete and
full payment of our obligations to repay the temporary order advance only, under
the credit agreement, with CNH Speciality Finance.
Compensation for Executive Officers and Directors
For information regarding compensation for our executive
officers and directors, see Executive Compensation.
Director Independence
We currently act with four directors consisting of Richard A.
Wright, David A. Guarino, Aaron Keay and Bruce Leitch. Our common stock is
quoted on the OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets Group, which does not impose any
director independence requirements. Our common stock is also listed on the TSX
Venture Exchange which imposes director independent requirements. Under NASDAQ
rule 5605(a)(2), a director is not independent if he or she is also an executive
officer or employee of the corporation or was, at any time during the past three
years, employed by the corporation. Using this definition of independent
director, we have two independent directors, Aaron Keay and Bruce Leitch.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Audit Fees
We were notified that Seale & Beers, CPAs was acquired by
AMC Auditing, LLC. As a result, effective as of November 18, 2016, Seale&
Beers, CPAs resigned as our independent registered public accounting firm and we
engaged AMC Auditing, LLC as our independent registered public accounting firm.
The change of our independent registered public accounting firm from Seale&
Beers, CPAs to AMC Auditing, LLC was approved by our board of directors.
Page 66
The following table sets forth the fees billed to our company
for the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 for professional services rendered
by Seale & Beers, CPAs and AMC Auditing, LLC:
Fees
2018
2017
Audit Fees
$
40,000
$
35,000
Audit Related Fees
-
-
Tax Fees
-
-
Other Fees
22,500
22,500
Total Fees
$
62,500
$
57,500
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
Our audit committee reviews and pre-approves all audit and
audit-related services and the fees and other compensation related thereto, and
any non-audit services, provided by our independent registered public accounting
firm. All of the above services and fees were reviewed and approved by our board
of directors (prior to the establishment of our audit committee) and our audit
committee (subsequent to the establishment of our audit committee) before the
respective services were rendered.
Our board of directors has considered the nature and amount of
fees billed by Seale & Beers, CPAs and AMC Auditing, LLC and believes that
the provision of services for activities unrelated to the audit is compatible
with maintaining its respective independence.
Page 67
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Exhibit Number
Description
(3)
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
3.1
Articles of Incorporation (incorporated by reference from
our Form S-1 Registration Statement, filed on October 28, 2011)
3.2
Certificate of Change (incorporated by reference from our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on August 13, 2013)
3.3
Articles of Merger (incorporated by reference from our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on August 13, 2013)
3.4
Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
October 11, 2013)
3.5
Certificate of Designation (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 11, 2013)
3.6
Certificate of Designation (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 12, 2013)
3.7
Certificate of Change (incorporated by reference from our
Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on December 30, 2015)
3.8
Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
January 25, 2016)
3.9
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Designation
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
January 25, 2016)
3.10
Certificate of Designation (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 5, 2016)
3.11
Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
April 4, 2017)
3.12
Certificate of Designation (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 4, 2017)
3.13
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Designation
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
November 6, 2017)
3.14
Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation
(incorporated by reference from our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed
on November 20, 2017)
3.15
Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8- K, filed on March 15, 2013)
(10)
Material Contracts
10.1
Contract Packer Agreement dated November 14, 2012 between
Alkaline 84, LLC and AZ Bottled Water, LLC (incorporated by reference from
our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on June 5, 2013)
10.2
Contract Packer Agreement dated October 7, 2013 with
White Water, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q, filed on November 13, 2013)
10.3
Manufacturing Agreement dated August 15, 2013 with Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC (incorporated by reference from our
Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed on November 27, 2013)
10.4
Equipment Lease Agreement dated January 17, 2014
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
January 27, 2014)
10.5
Revolving Accounts Receivable Funding Agreement dated
February 20, 2014 (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on
Form 8-K, filed on February 25, 2014)
10.6
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of April
28, 2014, between The Alkaline Water Company Inc. and the purchasers named
therein (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K,
filed on May 6, 2014)
Page 68
Exhibit Number
Description
10.7
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 6, 2014)
10.8
Form of Placement Agent Common Stock Purchase Warrant
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
May 6, 2014)
10.9
Amendment #1 dated February 12, 2014 to Equipment Lease
Agreement (incorporated by reference from our Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q, filed on August 13, 2014)
10.10
Equipment Sale/Lease Back Agreement dated April 2, 2014
(incorporated by reference from our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed
on August 13, 2014)
10.11
Agreement dated August 12, 2014 with H.C. Wainwright
& Co., LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form
8-K, filed on August 21, 2014)
10.12
Form of Warrant Amendment Agreement (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on August 21, 2014)
10.13
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on August 21, 2014)
10.14
Form of Warrant Amendment Agreement (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 9, 2014)
10.15
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 9, 2014)
10.16
Master Lease Agreement dated October 28, 2014 with
Veterans Capital Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current
Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 4, 2014)
10.17
Warrant Agreement dated October 28, 2014 with Veterans
Capital Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on
Form 8-K, filed on November 4, 2014)
10.18
Registration Rights Agreement dated October 28, 2014 with
Veterans Capital Fund, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current
Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 4, 2014)
10.19
Form of Amending Agreement to Stock Option Agreement
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
November 4, 2014)
10.20
Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of May 11, 2015
with Assurance Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our
Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on July 14, 2015)
10.21
Secured Term Note dated May 2015 issued to Assurance
Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our Annual Report on
Form 10-K, filed on July 14, 2015)
10.22
General Security Agreement dated as of May 11, 2015 with
Assurance Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our Annual
Report on Form 10-K, filed on July 14, 2015)
10.23
Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of August 20, 2015
with Assurance Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on November 23, 2015)
10.24
Secured Term Note dated August 20, 2015 issued to
Assurance Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on November 23, 2015)
10.25
General Security Agreement dated as of August 20, 2015
with Assurance Funding Solutions LLC (incorporated by reference from our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on November 23, 2015)
10.26
Loan Agreement dated November 30, 2015 with Neil Rogers
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
December 4, 2015)
10.27
Promissory Note dated November 30, 2015 issued to Neil
Rogers (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K,
filed on December 4, 2015)
10.28
Escrow Agreement dated November 30, 2015 with Neil Rogers
and Escrow Agent (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on
Form 8-K, filed on December 4, 2015)
10.29
2013 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on January 25, 2016)
Page 69
Exhibit Number
Description
10.30
Loan Agreement dated January 25, 2016 with Turnstone
Capital Inc. (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form
8-K, filed on January 25, 2016)
10.31
Promissory Note dated January 25, 2016 issued to
Turnstone Capital Inc. (incorporated by reference from our Current Report
on Form 8-K, filed on January 25, 2016)
10.32
Escrow Agreement dated January 25, 2016 with Turnstone
Capital Inc. and Escrow Agent (incorporated by reference from our Current
Report on Form 8-K, filed on January 25, 2016)
10.33
Amendment Agreement dated January 25, 2016 with Neil
Rogers (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K,
filed on January 25, 2016)
10.34
Employment Agreement dated effective March 1, 2016 with
Steven P. Nickolas (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on
Form 8-K, filed on April 5, 2016)
10.35
Employment Agreement dated effective March 1, 2016 with
Richard A. Wright (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on
Form 8-K, filed on April 5, 2016)
10.36
Form of Promissory Note and Warrant Exchange Agreement
(incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on
June 16, 2016)
10.37
Loan Facility Agreement dated September 20, 2016 with
Turnstone Capital Inc. (incorporated by reference from our Current Report
on Form 8-K, filed on September 22, 2016)
10.38
Credit and Security Agreement dated February 1, 2017 with
SCM Specialty Finance Opportunities Fund, L.P. (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 7, 2017)
10.39
Payoff Agreement dated February 1, 2017 with Gibraltar
Business Capital, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current Report
on Form 8-K, filed on February 7, 2017)
10.40
Form of Stock Option Agreement (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 4, 2017)
10.41
Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims dated
October 31, 2017 with Steven P. Nickolas, Nickolas Family Trust, Water
Engineering Solutions, LLC, Enhanced Beverages, LLC, McDowell 78, LLC and
Wright Investments Group, LLC (incorporated by reference from our Current
Report on Form 8-K filed on November 6, 2017)
10.42
Exchange Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims dated
November 8, 2017 with Ricky Wright (incorporated by reference from our
Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 14, 2017)
10.43
Stock Option Forfeiture & General Release dated
November 8, 2017 by Ricky Wright and Sharon Wright (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on November 14, 2017)
10.44
Form of Warrant Amendment Agreement (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 22, 2018)
10.45
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant (incorporated by
reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on March 5, 2018)
10.46
2018 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference from
our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 25, 2018)
10.47
Form of Subscription Agreement (incorporated by reference
from our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 31, 2018)
(16)
Letter re Change in Certifying Accountant
16.1
Letter from Seale & Beers, CPAs dated November 18,
2016 (incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed
on November 18, 2016)
Page 70
Exhibit Number
Description
(21)
Subsidiaries
21.1
Subsidiaries of The Alkaline Water Company Inc.
Alkaline 88, LLC, Arizona limited liability company
(23)
Consents of Experts and Counsel
23.1*
Consent of AMC Auditing
(31)
Rule 13a-14 Certifications
31.1*
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
(32)
Section 1350 Certifications
32.1*
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2*
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
(101)
Interactive Data File
101.INS*
XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
101.DEF*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
101.LAB*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
101.PRE*
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
* Filed herewith
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
None.
Page 71
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
The Alkaline Water Company Inc.
By: /s/ Richard A.
Wright
Richard A. Wright
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)
Date: June 29, 2018
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of
the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By: /s/ Richard A.
Wright
Richard A. Wright
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)
Date: June 29, 2018
By: /s/ David A.
Guarino
David A. Guarino
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Director
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting
Officer)
Date: June 29, 2018
By: /s/ Aaron Keay
Aaron Keay
Director
Date: June 29, 2018
Page 72
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.