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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form 10-Q

 

 

 

x	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Quarterly Period Ended: September 30, 2015

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: 000-22333

 

 

Nanophase Technologies Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		36-3687863
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1319 Marquette Drive, Romeoville, Illinois 60446

(Address of principal executive offices, and zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (630) 771-6708

 

 

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 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 whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “accelerated filer”, “large accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer		¨		Accelerated filer		¨
Non-accelerated filer		¨		Smaller reporting company		x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

As of November 6, 2015, there were 28,585,496 shares outstanding of common stock, par value $.01, of the registrant.

 

 

 

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NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

INDEX

 

				Page
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION					3
Item 1.		Financial Statements			3
		Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2015 (unaudited) and December 31, 2014			3
		Unaudited Statements of Operations for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 and the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014			4
		Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014			5
		Notes to Unaudited Financial Statements			6
Item 2.		Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			10
Item 3.		Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			14
Item 4.		Controls and Procedures			14
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION					14
Item 1.		Legal Proceedings			14
Item 1A.		Risk Factors			15
Item 2.		Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds			16
Item 3.		Defaults Upon Senior Securities			16
Item 4.		Mine Safety Disclosures			16
Item 5.		Other Information			16
Item 6.		Exhibits			17
SIGNATURES					18

 

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PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1.

Financial Statements

NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

BALANCE SHEETS

 

		(in thousands except share and per share data)
		September 30, 2015 (Unaudited)				December 31, 2014
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	1,249			$	1,862
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $6 on September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014			1,478				388
Inventories, net			643				950
Prepaid expenses and other current assets			251				367
Total current assets			3,621				3,567
Equipment and leasehold improvements, net			1,916				2,138
Other assets, net			23				25
		$	5,560			$	5,730
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short term debt		$	200			$	—
Current portion of capital lease obligations			82				70
Accounts payable			815				493
Accrued expenses			477				413
Total current liabilities			1,574				976
Long-term portion of capital lease obligations			113				121
Long-term deferred rent			544				621
Asset retirement obligations			171				166
Total long-term liabilities			828				908
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $.01 par value, 24,088 shares authorized and no shares issued and outstanding			—				—
Common stock, $.01 par value, 35,000,000 shares authorized; 28,585,496 and 28,516,163 shares issued and outstanding on September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014			286				285
Additional paid-in capital			96,131				95,966
Accumulated deficit			(93,259	)			(92,405	)
Total stockholders’ equity			3,158				3,846
		$	5,560			$	5,730

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

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NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands except share and per share data)

 

		Three months ended September 30,								Nine months ended September 30,
		2015				2014				2015				2014
Revenue:
Product revenue, net		$	2,779			$	2,647			$	8,000			$	8,070
Other revenue			7				7				33				46
Net revenue			2,786				2,654				8,033				8,116
Operating expense:
Cost of revenue			1,903				1,858				5,593				5,581
Gross profit			883				796				2,440				2,535
Research and development expense			325				316				969				990
Selling, general and administrative expense			709				828				2,316				2,391
Loss from operations			(151	)			(348	)			(845	)			(846	)
Interest income			—				—				—				1
Interest expense			(4	)			(1	)			(9	)			(4	)
Loss before provision for income taxes			(155	)			(349	)			(854	)			(849	)
Provisions for income taxes			—				—				—				—
Net loss		$	(155	)		$	(349	)		$	(854	)		$	(849	)
Net loss per share – basic and diluted		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.03	)		$	(0.03	)
Weighted average number of basic and diluted common shares outstanding			28,585,496				28,481,496				28,571,332				28,481,496

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

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NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

 

		(in thousands) Nine months ended September 30,
		2015				2014
Operating activities:
Net loss		$	(854	)		$	(849	)
Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization			550				556
Stock compensation expense			139				150
Changes in assets and liabilities related to operations:
Trade accounts receivable			(1,090	)			(1,274	)
Other accounts receivable			(4	)			1
Inventories			307				227
Prepaid expenses and other assets			121				(42	)
Accounts payable			301				109
Accrued expenses			(12	)			232
Net cash used in operating activities			(542	)			(890	)
Investing activities:
Acquisition of equipment and leasehold improvements			(228	)			(352	)
Payment of accounts payable incurred for the purchase of equipment and leasehold improvements			(8	)			(23	)
Net cash used in investing activities			(236	)			(375	)
Financing activities:
Principal payments on capital leases			(61	)			(23	)
Proceeds from sale of short term investment			—				30
Proceeds from line of credit			450				—
Principal payment on line of credit			(250	)			—
Proceeds from exercise of stock options			26				—
Net cash provided by financing activities			165				7
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents			(613	)			(1,258	)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period			1,862				3,276
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		$	1,249			$	2,018
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest paid		$	9			$	4
Supplemental non-cash investing activities:
Accounts payable incurred for the purchase of equipment and leasehold improvements		$	28			$	—
Capital lease obligations incurred in the purchase of equipment		$	65			$	—

See Notes to Financial Statements.

 

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NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share data or as otherwise noted herein)

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements of Nanophase Technologies Corporation (“Nanophase” or the “Company”, including “we”, “our” or “us”) reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and operating results of the Company for the interim periods presented. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015.

These financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2014, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(2) Description of Business

Nanophase is an advanced materials and applications developer and commercial manufacturer with an integrated family of nanomaterial and related technologies. We produce engineered nano and larger, sub-micron materials for use in a variety of diverse markets: personal care including sunscreens, architectural coatings, industrial coating applications, abrasion-resistant additives, plastics additives, medical diagnostics, energy, and a variety of surface finishing technologies (polishing) applications. We target markets in which we believe practical solutions may be found using our products. We work closely with current and potential customers in these target markets to identify their material and performance requirements and market our materials to various end-use applications manufacturers. Recently developed technologies have made certain new products possible and opened potential new markets. We recently developed new material solutions in surface finishing technologies (polishing) and energy-management areas that have been taken to potential customers, and for which we are experiencing early stage revenue growth. Although our primary strategic focus has been the North American market, we currently sell material to customers overseas and have been working to expand our reach within foreign markets.

The Company was incorporated in Illinois on November 25, 1989, and became a Delaware corporation in November 1997. Our common stock trades on the OTCQB marketplace under the symbol NANX.

While product sales comprise the majority of our revenue, we also recognize revenue from other sources from time to time. These activities are not expected to drive the long-term growth of the business. For this reason we classify such revenue as “other revenue” in our Statement of Operations, as it does not represent revenue directly from our nanocrystalline materials.

(3) Financial Instruments

We follow the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The fair value framework requires the categorization of assets and liabilities into three levels based upon the assumptions (inputs) used to price the assets or liabilities. Level 1 provides the most reliable measure of fair value, whereas Level 3 generally requires significant management judgment.

 

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Our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses, along with the promissory note with no related borrowings described in Note 4, and any borrowings on the working capital line of credit described in Note 4. The fair values of all financial instruments were not materially different from their carrying values.

(4) Note and Line of Credit

During July 2014, we entered into a bank-issued letter of credit and related promissory note for up to $30 in borrowings to support our obligations under our facility lease agreement. No borrowings have been incurred under this promissory note. Should any borrowings occur in the future, the interest rate would be the prime rate plus 1%, with the bank having the right to “set off” or apply unpaid balances against our checking account if we fail to meet our obligations under any borrowings under the note. It is our intention to renew this note annually, for as long as we need to pursuant to the terms of our facility lease agreement. Because there were no amounts outstanding at any time during 2014 or 2015, we have recorded no related liability on our balance sheet.

During March 2015, we entered into a Business Loan Agreement (the “Line of Credit Agreement”) with Libertyville Bank and Trust Company, a Wintrust Community Bank (“Libertyville”), our primary bank. This Line of Credit Agreement was subsequently amended on April 13, 2015. Under the Line of Credit Agreement, as amended, Libertyville will provide a maximum of $300, or 75% of our eligible accounts receivable, whichever is less, of revolving credit, collateralized by a senior priority lien on our accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, general intangibles and fixtures. Interest on any borrowings would be the prime rate at the time plus 1%. Availability to draw on the line requires us to have at least $1 million in cash, including any amounts borrowed, at Libertyville on the date of any advance. Advances may only occur at the beginning or end of a fiscal quarter and must be repaid in full within five days of the advance. The Line of Credit Agreement expires on March 4, 2016. On September 29, 2015, we borrowed $200 on this line, and subsequently repaid that amount on October 2, 2015. Our only previous drawdown on this line was a borrowing of $250 on June 29, 2015 that was repaid on July 3, 2015.

(5) Inventories

Inventories consist of the following:

 

		September 30, 2015				December 31, 2014
Raw materials		$	275			$	173
Finished goods			420				829
			695				1,002
Allowance for excess inventory quantities			(52	)			(52	)
		$	643			$	950

(6) Share-Based Compensation

We follow FASB ASC Topic 718, Share-Based Payments, in which compensation expense is recognized only for share-based payments expected to vest. We recognized compensation expense related to stock options of $46 and $141 for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2015, respectively, compared to $45 and $155 for the same periods in 2014.

As of September 30, 2015, there was approximately $246 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share-based compensation arrangements granted under our stock option plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 1.7 years.

 

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Stock Options and Stock Grants

During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, 69,333 shares of common stock were issued pursuant to option exercises for proceeds of $26. During the nine months ended September 30, 2014, no stock options were exercised. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, 461,100 stock options were granted compared to 568,000 during the same period in 2014. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, 248,900 stock options were forfeited compared to 22,000 stock options forfeited during the same period in 2014. We had 2,583,199 stock options outstanding at a weighted average exercise price of $0.95 on September 30, 2015, compared to 2,440,000 stock options outstanding at a weighted average exercise price of $1.15 on December 31, 2014.

Stock Appreciation Rights

Prior to 2011, we granted outside directors stock appreciation rights (SARs). The change in fair value of the awards granted during prior years is included in non-cash compensation expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014. The SARs granted vested immediately and are payable upon the directors’ removal or resignation from the position of director. These awards are accounted for as liability awards, included in accrued expenses as of September 30, 2015 and 2014, and adjusted to fair value each reporting period. The fair value of the liability was less than $1 on September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014.

As of September 30, 2015, we did not have any unvested restricted stock or performance shares outstanding.

The following table illustrates the various assumptions used to calculate the Black-Scholes option pricing model for stock options granted during the periods presented:

 

For the three months ended		September 30, 2015				September 30, 2014
Weighted-average risk-free interest rates:			1.7	%			—
Dividend yield:			—				—
Weighted-average expected life of the option:			7 Years				—
Weighted-average expected stock price volatility:			95	%			—
Weighted-average fair value of the options granted:		$	0.34				—

 

For the nine months ended		September 30, 2015				September 30, 2014
Weighted-average risk-free interest rates:			1.7	%			2.0	%
Dividend yield:			—				—
Weighted-average expected life of the option:			7 Years				7 Years
Weighted-average expected stock price volatility:			95	%			95	%
Weighted-average fair value of the options granted:		$	0.44			$	0.42

(7) Significant Customers and Contingencies

Sales to three customers constituted approximately 69%, 6% and 9%, respectively, of our total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2015, and 62%, 8% and 6%, respectively, of our total revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. Amounts included in accounts receivable on September 30, 2015 relating to these three customers were approximately $871, $112 and $240, respectively. Revenue from these three customers constituted approximately 71%, 0% and 10%, respectively, of our total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 73%, 1% and 7%,

 

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respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. Amounts included in accounts receivable on September 30, 2014 relating to these three customers were approximately $747, $0 and $270, respectively. The loss of one of these significant customers or the failure to attract new customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We currently have exclusive supply agreements with BASF Corporation (“BASF”), our largest customer, that have contingencies outlined which could potentially result in the license of technology and/or the sale of production equipment from the Company to the customer intended to provide capacity sufficient to meet the customer’s production needs. This outcome may occur if we fail to meet certain performance requirements, certain other obligations and/or certain financial covenants. The most restrictive financial covenants in one of our supply agreements with BASF “trigger” a technology transfer right (license and equipment sale at BASF’s option) in the event (a) that earnings for the twelve month period ending with our most recently published quarterly financial statements are less than zero and our cash, cash equivalents and certain investments are less than $1 million, or (b) of an acceleration of any debt maturity having a principal amount of more than $10 million. Our supply agreements with BASF also “trigger” a technology transfer right in the event of our insolvency, as further defined within the agreements. In the event of an equipment sale, upon incurring a triggering event, the equipment would be sold to the customer at either 115% of the equipment’s net book value or the greater of 30% of the original book value of such equipment, and any associated upgrades to it, or 115% of the equipment’s net book value, depending on the contract and related equipment.

We believe that we have sufficient cash and credit availability (See Liquidity and Capital Resources in Management’s Discussion and Analysis in Part I, Item 2 of this Form 10-Q for a further discussion) to operate our business during 2015. If a triggering event were to occur and BASF elected to proceed with the license and related equipment sale mentioned above, we would receive royalty payments from this customer for products sold using our technology; however, we would lose both significant revenue and the ability to generate significant revenue to replace that which was lost in the near term. Replacement of necessary equipment that could be purchased and removed by the customer pursuant to this triggering event could take in excess of twelve months. Any additional capital outlays required to rebuild capacity would probably be greater than the proceeds from the purchase of the assets as dictated by our agreement with the customer. Similar consequences would occur if we were determined to have materially breached certain other provisions of the supply agreement with BASF. Any such event would also likely result in the loss of many of our key staff and line employees due to economic realities. We believe that our employees are a critical component of our success and it could be difficult to replace them quickly. Given the occurrence of any such event, we might not be able to hire and retain skilled employees given the stigma relating to such an event and its impact on us. Finally, any shortfall in capital needed to operate the business as management intends, including with respect to avoiding this triggering event as described above, may result in a curtailment of certain activities or anticipated investments.

Should events arise that make it appropriate for us to seek additional financing, such additional financing may not be available on acceptable terms or even at all, and any such financing could be dilutive to our stockholders. Such a financing could be necessitated by such things as the loss of one or more significant customers or a significant decline in revenue from those customers, currently unknown capital requirements, new regulatory requirements, the need to meet cash requirements under our BASF agreement to avoid a triggering event, or other circumstances not currently anticipated by us. The failure to obtain sufficient capital may impair or curtail our business plans and under such circumstances may raise doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

(8) Business Segmentation and Geographical Distribution

Revenue from international sources approximated $398 and $962 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, compared to $376 and $885 for the same periods in 2014. All of this revenue was product revenue.

 

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Our operations comprise a single business segment and all of our long-lived assets are located within the United States.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

Nanophase is an advanced materials and applications developer and commercial manufacturer with an integrated family of materials technologies. We produce engineered nano and sub-micron materials for use in a variety of diverse markets: personal care including sunscreens, architectural coatings, industrial coating applications, abrasion-resistant additives, plastics additives, medical diagnostics, energy, and a variety of surface finishing technologies (polishing) applications, including optics. We target markets in which we believe practical solutions may be found using our products. We work closely with current and potential customers in these target markets to identify their material and performance requirements and market our materials to various end-use applications manufacturers. Recently developed technologies have made certain new products possible and opened potential new markets. For example, we have applied our skills at producing precisely defined nanomaterials to now create and sell larger, sub-micron material products. Our focus is on customer need where we believe we have an advantage, as opposed to finding uses for one particular technology. We expect growth in end-user (manufacturing customers, including customers of our customers) adoption in 2015 and beyond. Our initiatives in targeted market areas are progressing at differing rates of speed, but we have been broadly moving through testing and development cycles, and in a number of cases believe we are approaching first revenue or next stage revenue with particular customers in the industries referenced above. For example, during 2014 we developed new solutions in the surface finishing technologies (polishing) and energy-management areas that were presented to potential customers during the year and have resulted in increasing, early stage order flows in both areas. We believe that successful introduction of our materials with manufacturers may lead to follow-on orders for other materials in their applications. We expect that we will both work more deeply with current customers and attract additional customers, which should help us achieve growth in these markets in 2015 and beyond.

Results of Operations

Total revenue increased to $2,786,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2,654,000 for the same period in 2014. Total revenue decreased to $8,033,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $8,116,000 for the same period in 2014. Product revenue, the primary component of our total revenue, increased to $2,779,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2,647,000 for the same period in 2014. Orders from our largest customer in personal care and sunscreen applications were higher and we received an additional order from our customer in medical diagnostics during the third quarter of 2015. Product revenue decreased to $8,000,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $8,070,000 for the same period in 2014. While a substantial majority of our revenue during 2015 was from our largest customer in personal care and sunscreen applications, sales to this customer during the nine months ended September 30, 2015 were nearly $1 million less than the same period of 2014. We expect fourth quarter sales to this customer to exceed the fourth quarter of 2014. The revenue decrease associated with our largest customer during the first nine months of 2015 was largely offset by increased sales in surface finishing technologies (polishing) and to coatings customers.

Revenue from our top three customers was approximately 69%, 6% and 9%, respectively, during the three months ended September 30, 2015, and 62%, 8% and 6%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. Revenue from these three customers constituted approximately 71%, 0% and 10%, respectively, of our total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 73%, 1%, and 7%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.

 

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Other revenue was $7,000 and $33,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $7,000 and $46,000 for the same periods in 2014. This was comprised primarily of shipping costs paid by customers, and included a non-recurring fee-based development project that was completed during 2014.

Cost of revenue generally includes costs associated with commercial production. Cost of revenue increased to $1,903,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $1,858,000 for the same period in 2014, primarily due to increased revenue volume. Cost of revenue increased to $5,593,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $5,581,000 for the same period in 2014, primarily driven by revenue volume but also impacted by inefficiencies associated with customer order volatility during 2015. We expect to continue new nanomaterial development, primarily using our NanoArc® synthesis and dispersion technologies, for targeted applications and new markets during 2015 and beyond. At current revenue levels we have generated a positive gross margin, though margins have been impeded by not having enough revenue to efficiently absorb manufacturing overhead that is required to work with current customers and expected future customers. We believe that our current fixed manufacturing cost structure is sufficient to support significantly higher levels of production. The extent to which margins grow, as a percentage of total revenue, will be dependent upon revenue mix, revenue volume, our ability to continue to cut costs and pass commodity market-driven raw materials increases on to customers. We expect that product revenue volume increases would result in our fixed manufacturing costs being more efficiently absorbed, leading to increased margins. We expect to continue to focus on reducing controllable variable product manufacturing costs, with potential variability related to the commodity metals markets, but may or may not realize absolute dollar gross margin growth through 2015 and beyond, dependent upon the factors discussed above.

Research and development expense, which includes all expenses relating to the technology and advanced engineering groups, primarily consists of costs associated with the development or acquisition of new product applications and coating formulations and the cost of enhancing our manufacturing processes. As an example, we have been, and continue to be, engaged in research to enhance our ability to disperse material in a variety of organic and inorganic media for use as coatings and polishing materials. Much of this work has led to several new products and additional potential new products.

Having demonstrated the capability to produce pilot quantities of mixed-metal oxides in a single crystal phase, we do not expect development of further variations on these materials to present material technological challenges. Many of these materials exhibit performance characteristics that can enable them to serve in various catalytic applications. We are now working on several related commercial opportunities using the same materials. We expect that this technique should enable us to scale to large quantity commercial volumes once application viability and firm demand are established. We also have an ongoing advanced engineering effort that is primarily focused on the development of new nanomaterials as well as the refinement of existing nanomaterials, as dictated by our customer-driven marketing strategy. We are not certain when or if any significant revenue will be generated from the production of the materials described above.

Research and development expense was $325,000 and $969,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, compared to $316,000 and $990,000 for the same periods in 2014. The changes in cost reflect more focused product development activities coupled with the transfer of projects out of research and development and into commercial operations, resulting in lower costs for salaries and materials, then offset by expenses related to new projects started during 2015. We expect research and development expense to increase slightly from the current rate during the remainder of 2015.

Selling, general and administrative expense was $709,000 and $2,316,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, compared to $828,000 and $2,391,000 for the same periods in 2014. The net decreases were primarily attributed to decreased salary and personnel costs, as well as decreased consulting fees and marketing and selling expenses, as the up-front work associated with launching several new products has been completed. We expect total expense in this area to increase slightly, but not significantly, during the remainder of 2015 as we continue commercial activities in recently launched initiatives, and to remain below total 2014 spending in this area.

 

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Interest income relates to bank yields on excess funds, while interest expense relates to capital leases. Neither was significant during the reported periods.

Inflation

We believe inflation has not had a material effect on our operations or financial position. However, supplier price increases and wage and benefit inflation, both of which represent a significant component of our costs of operations, may have a material effect on our operations and financial position in 2015 and beyond if we are unable to pass through any applicable increases under our present contracts or through to our markets in general.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments amounted to $1,249,000 on September 30, 2015, compared to $1,862,000 on December 31, 2014 and $2,018,000 on September 30, 2014. The net cash used in our operating activities was $542,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $890,000 for the same period in 2014. The difference is primarily driven by volatility in working capital cash flows between the periods. Net cash used in investing activities amounted to $236,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $375,000 for the same period in 2014. Capital expenditures, including those under capital leases, amounted to $293,000 and $352,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Net cash provided by financing activities was $165,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 compared to $7,000 for the same period in 2014, largely driven by a $200,000 borrowing on our working capital line as of September 30, 2015. We also sold a $30,000 certificate of deposit during the nine months ended September 30, 2014.

Our supply agreements with our largest customer, BASF, contain certain financial covenants which could potentially impact our liquidity. The most restrictive financial covenants under these agreements require that we maintain a minimum of $1 million in cash, cash equivalents and certain investments, and that we not have the acceleration of any debt maturity having a principal amount of more than $10 million, in order to avoid triggering the customer’s potential right to transfer certain technology and equipment to that customer at a contractually defined price. We had approximately $1.2 million in cash and cash equivalents on September 30, 2015, including a $200,000 borrowing on our working capital line of credit which was subsequently repaid on October 2, 2015. This supply agreement and its covenants are more fully described in Note 7, and our line of credit is more fully described in Note 4, to our Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.

We believe that cash from operations and cash, cash equivalents and unused borrowing capacity will be adequate to fund our operating plans through 2015. Our actual future capital requirements in 2015 and beyond will depend, however, on many factors, including customer acceptance of our current and potential nanomaterials and product applications, continued progress in research and development activities and product testing programs, the magnitude of these activities and programs, and the costs necessary to increase and expand our manufacturing capabilities and to market and sell our materials and product applications. Other important issues that will drive future capital requirements will be the development of new markets and new customers as well as the potential for significant unplanned growth with existing customers. Depending on the success of certain projects, we expect that capital spending relating to currently known capital needs for the remainder of 2015 will be between $10,000 and $30,000.

Should events arise that make it appropriate for us to seek additional financing, such additional financing may not be available on acceptable terms or even at all, and any such additional financing could be dilutive to our stockholders. Such financing could be necessitated by such things as the loss of one or more existing customers or a significant decrease in revenue from those customers; currently unknown

 

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capital requirements in light of the factors described above; new regulatory requirements that are outside our control; the need to meet previously discussed cash requirements to avoid a triggering event under our BASF agreements; or various other circumstances coming to pass that we currently do not anticipate. The failure to obtain sufficient capital to fund our business plans may result in a curtailment or other change in those plans, and under such circumstances may raise doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern.

On September 30, 2015, we had a net operating loss carryforward of approximately $80 million for income tax purposes. Because we may have experienced “ownership changes” within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code in connection with our various prior equity offerings, future utilization of this carryforward may be subject to certain limitations as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. If not utilized, the carryforward will expire at various dates between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2034. As a result of the annual limitation and uncertainty as to the amount of future taxable income that will be earned prior to the expiration of the carryforward, we have concluded that it is likely that some portion of this carryforward will expire before ultimately becoming available to reduce income tax liabilities.

Changes in Illinois state law that began in 2011 will impact net loss carryforward duration and utilization on the state tax level.

Off–Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not created, and are not party to, any special-purpose or off-balance sheet entities for the purposes of raising capital, incurring debt or operating our business. We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements or relationships with entities that are not consolidated into our financial statements that are reasonably likely to materially affect our liquidity or the availability of capital resources.

As more fully described in Note 4 to our Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, during July 2014 we entered into a letter of credit and promissory note for up to $30,000 supporting our obligations under our facility lease agreement. No borrowings have been incurred under this promissory note.

Safe Harbor Provision

We want to provide investors with more meaningful and useful information. As a result, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Form 10-Q”) contains and incorporates by reference certain “forward-looking statements”, as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements reflect our current expectations of the future results of our operations, performance and achievements. Forward-looking statements are covered under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify these statements by using words such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “plans”, “intends” and similar expressions. These statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information now available to it. Accordingly, these statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements in future reporting periods to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: our ability to become profitable despite the losses we have incurred since our incorporation; our dependence on our principal customers and the terms of our supply agreements with BASF which could trigger a requirement to transfer technology and/or sell equipment to that customer; our potential inability to obtain working capital when needed on acceptable terms or at all; our ability to obtain materials at costs we can pass through to our customers, including Rare Earth elements, specifically cerium oxide; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, our nanocrystalline materials; our limited manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; our limited marketing experience; changes in development and

 

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distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; our dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the resolution of litigation or other legal proceedings in which we may become involved; our ability to maintain an appropriate electronic trading venue for our securities; and the impact of any potential new governmental regulations that could be difficult to respond to or costly to comply with. In addition, our forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Readers of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or uncertainties.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not required for a smaller reporting company.

 

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls

We are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports filed by us under the Exchange Act is: (a) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms; and (b) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. It should be noted that in designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, we recognize that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and that our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment regarding the design of our disclosure controls and procedures. As of the end of the period covered by this report, we conducted an evaluation, under the supervision (and with the participation) of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at reaching that level of reasonable assurance.

Internal control over financial reporting

The Company’s management, including the CEO and CFO, confirm that there was no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1.

Legal Proceedings

We are not a party to any pending legal proceedings or claims that we believe will result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.

 

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Item 1A.

Risk Factors

In addition to the information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and before deciding to invest in, or retain, shares of our common stock, you also should carefully review and consider the information contained in our other reports and periodic filings that we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the information contained under the caption Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Those risk factors could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties that we do not currently know about, we currently believe are immaterial or we have not predicted may also harm our business operations or adversely affect us. If any of these risks or uncertainties actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or stock price could be materially adversely affected. Other than as set forth below, and as set forth in Part II, Item 1A in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and the three months ended June 30, 2015, there have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

We may need to raise additional capital in the future, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate funds, we may be required to delay, scale-back or eliminate some of our manufacturing and marketing operations or we may need to obtain funds through arrangements on less favorable terms or we may be required to sell key production equipment to our largest customer.

We expect to expend resources on research, development and product testing, and in expanding current capacity or capability for new business. In addition, we may incur significant costs in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing our patents and other proprietary rights. We may also need additional financing because of the loss of one or more existing customers or a significant decrease in revenue from those customers. If necessary, we may seek additional funding through public or private financing and through contracts with governmental entities or other companies. Additional financing may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate funds, we may be required to delay, scale-back or eliminate some of our manufacturing and marketing operations or we may need to obtain funds through arrangements on less favorable terms, which circumstances could raise doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. If we obtain funding on unfavorable terms, we may be required to relinquish rights to some of our intellectual property.

To raise additional funds in the future, we would likely sell our equity or debt securities or enter into additional loan agreements. To the extent that we issue debt securities or enter into additional loan agreements, we may become subject to financial, operational and other covenants that we must observe. In the event that we were to breach any of these covenants, then the amounts due under such loans or debt securities could become immediately payable by us, which could significantly harm us. To the extent that we sell additional shares of our equity securities, our stockholders may face economic dilution and dilution of their percentage of ownership.

We currently have a supply agreement with BASF that contains provisions which could potentially result in a mandatory license of technology and/or sale of production equipment to BASF, providing capacity sufficient to meet BASF’s production needs. Under our supply agreement with BASF, a “triggering event” also would occur:

 

•

if our earnings for a twelve month period ending with our most recently published quarterly financial statements are less than zero and our cash, cash equivalents and certain investments are less than $1 million, or

 

•

upon the acceleration of any debt maturity having a principal amount of more than $10 million, or if we become insolvent as defined in the supply agreement.

 

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In the event of a triggering event where we are required to sell to BASF production equipment providing capacity sufficient to meet BASF’s production needs, the equipment would be sold at either 115% of the equipment’s net book value or at the greater of 30% of the original book value of such equipment (including any associated upgrades to it) or 115% of the equipment’s net book value, depending on the particular equipment and contract.

If we were determined to have materially breached certain other provisions of our supply agreement with BASF, we similarly could be subject to a “triggering event” that potentially could result in a mandatory license of technology and/or sale of certain production equipment to the customer.

We believe that our current cash balances and other assets that might be monetized if and as needed, as well as unused capacity that might be available for short-term borrowings, will be sufficient to avoid the first triggering event under the BASF supply agreement during 2015, and because we only had $200,000 of short-term debt that has been subsequently repaid, the second triggering event is not currently applicable to us.

If a triggering event were to occur and BASF elected to proceed with the license and related sale mentioned above, we would lose both significant revenue and the ability to generate significant revenue to replace that which was lost in the near term. Replacement of necessary equipment that would be purchased and removed by the customer pursuant to this triggering event could take in excess of 12 months. Any additional capital outlays required to rebuild capacity would probably be greater than the proceeds from the purchase of the assets pursuant to our agreement with BASF. This potential shortfall might put us in a position where it would be difficult to secure additional funding given what would then be an already tenuous cash position. Such an event would also likely result in the loss of many of our key staff and line employees due to economic realities. We believe that our employees are a critical component of our success and would be difficult to quickly replace and train. Upon the occurrence of such an event, we might not be able to hire and retrain skilled employees given the stigma relating to such an event and its impact on us. We might elect to effectively reduce our size and staffing to a point where we could remain a going concern in the near term.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.

Other Information

None.

 

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Item 6. Exhibits

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements 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.

 

				NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
Date: November 12, 2015						By:		/s/ JESS A. JANKOWSKI
								Jess A. Jankowski
								President and Chief Executive Officer
Date: November 12, 2015						By:		/s/ FRANK J. CESARIO
								Frank J. Cesario
								Chief Financial Officer