Form 10-Q Energy Recovery, Inc. For: Mar 31

Note 1 — The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The Company

Energy Recovery, Inc. (the “Company”, “Energy Recovery”, “our”, “us”, or “we”) is an energy solutions provider. We convert wasted pressure energy into a reusable asset and preserve or eliminate pumping technology in hostile processing environments. Our core competencies are fluid dynamics and advanced material science. Our solutions are marketed and sold in fluid flow markets, such as water and oil & gas.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) requires our management to make judgments, assumptions, and estimates that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The accounting policies that reflect our more significant estimates and judgments and that we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results are revenue recognition; allowance for doubtful accounts; allowance for product warranty; valuation of stock options; valuation and impairment of goodwill, long-lived assets, and acquired intangible assets; useful lives for depreciation and amortization; valuation adjustments for excess and obsolete inventory; and deferred taxes and valuation allowances on deferred tax assets. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Energy Recovery, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by us, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The December 31, 2015 condensed consolidated balance sheet was derived from audited financial statements, and may not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP; however, we believe that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2016.

In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments that are necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the interim periods, have been made. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full fiscal year or any future periods.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amendment requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. ASU 2014-09 will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. On July 9, 2015, the FASB voted to approve a one-year deferral of the effective date of ASU 2014-09. Based on the FASB’s decision, ASU 2014-09 will apply to us for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Additionally, the FASB decided to permit early adoption, but not before the original effective date (that is, annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016). The FASB issued ASU 2015-14 in August 2015, formally deferring the effective date of ASU 2014-09 by one year. We expect to adopt this guidance as of January 1, 2018. ASU 2014-09 permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on our financial statements and related disclosures. We have not yet selected a transition method nor have we determined the effect of the standard on our ongoing financial reporting.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01 Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. ASU 2016-01 modifies certain aspects of the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. For public entities, ASU 2016-01 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 Leases (Topic 842). ASU 2016-02 impacts any entity that enters into a lease with some specified scope exceptions. The guidance updates and supersedes Topic 840, Leases. For public entities, ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. We have not evaluated the impact of this guidance, but do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In March and April 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08 and ASU No. 2016-10, respectively, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The amendments in the Updates are intended to improve the operability and understandability of the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations and to clarify two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance, while retaining the related principles for those areas. The effective date and transition requirements for both ASU 2016-08 and ASU 2016-10 are the same as those for ASU 2014-09 as deferred by ASU 2015-14.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09 Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718). ASU 2016-09 affects any entity that issues share-based payment awards to their employees and is intended to simplify several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. For public entities, ASU 2016-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods with those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. We have not evaluated the impact of this guidance, but do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

Note 2 — Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 of $12.8 million was the result of our acquisition of Pump Engineering, LLC in December 2009. During the three months ended March 31, 2016, there were no changes in the recognized amount of goodwill, and there has been no impairment of goodwill to date.

The components of identifiable other intangible assets, all of which are finite-lived, as of the dates indicated were as follows (in thousands):

Accumulated impairment losses at March 31, 2016 include impairment charges for trademarks in 2012 and impairment charges for patents in 2007 and 2010.

Note 3 — Loss per Share

Basic and diluted net loss per share is based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Potential dilutive securities are excluded from the calculation of loss per share, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

The following table shows the computation of basic and diluted loss per share (in thousands, except per share data):

The following potential common shares were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive (in thousands):

Note 4 — Other Financial Information

Restricted Cash

We have pledged cash in connection with stand-by letters of credit. We have deposited corresponding amounts into a money market account at a financial institution for these items as follows (in thousands):

Inventories

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost (using the first-in, first-out “FIFO” method) or market and consisted of the following (in thousands):

Prepaid and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss by component for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, were as follows (in thousands):

There were no reclassifications of amounts out of accumulated other comprehensive loss, as there have been no sales of securities or translation adjustments that impacted other comprehensive loss during the quarter. The tax impact of the changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss were not material.

Note 5 — Investments

Our short-term investments are all classified as available-for-sale. There were no sales of available-for-sale securities during the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Available-for-sale securities as of the dates indicated consisted of the following (in thousands):

Gross unrealized losses and fair values of our investments in an unrealized loss position as of the dates indicated, aggregated by investment category and length of time that the security has been in a continuous loss position, were as follows (in thousands):

Expected maturities can differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to prepay obligations without prepayment penalties. The amortized cost and fair value of available-for-sale securities that had stated maturities as of March 31, 2016 are shown below by contractual maturity (in thousands):

Note 6 — Long-Term Debt and Line of Credit

Debt

In March 2015, we entered into a loan agreement with a financial institution for a $55,000 fixed-rate installment loan carrying an annual interest rate of 6.35%. The loan is payable in equal monthly installments and matures on April 2, 2020. The note is secured by the asset purchased.

Long-term debt consisted of the following (in thousands)

Future minimum principal payments due under long-term debt arrangements consist of the following (in thousands):

Line of Credit

In June 2012, we entered into a loan agreement (the “2012 Agreement”) with a financial institution. The 2012 Agreement matured in and was amended in June 2015. The 2012 Agreement, as amended, provides for a total available credit line of $16.0 million. Under the 2012 Agreement, we are allowed to draw advances not to exceed, at any time, $10.0 million as revolving loans. The total stand-by letters of credit issued under the 2012 Agreement may not exceed the lesser of the $16.0 million credit line or the credit line minus all outstanding revolving loans. At no time may the aggregate of the revolving loans and stand-by letters of credit exceed the total available credit line of $16.0 million. Revolving loans may be in the form of a base rate loan that bears interest equal to the prime rate or a Eurodollar loan that bears interest equal to the adjusted LIBOR rate plus 1.25%. Stand-by letters of credit are subject to customary fees and expenses for issuance or renewal. The unused portion of the credit facility is subject to a facility fee in an amount equal to 0.25% per annum of the average unused portion of the revolving line. The 2012 Agreement, as amended, also requires us to maintain a cash collateral balance equal to 101% of all outstanding advances and all outstanding stand-by letters of credit collateralized by the line of credit. The 2012 Agreement, as amended, matures in June 2018 and is collateralized by substantially all of our assets.

As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, there were no advances drawn under the 2012 Agreement. Stand-by letters of credit collateralized under the 2012 Agreement, as amended, totaled $4.1 million and $3.8 million as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. Total cash restricted related to these stand-by letters of credit totaled $4.1 million and $3.8 million as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.

We are subject to certain financial and administrative covenants under the 2012 Agreement, as amended. As of March 31, 2016, we were in compliance with these covenants.

Note 7 — Equity

Stock Repurchase Program

In January 2016, the Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program under which shares, not to exceed $6.0 million in aggregate cost, of our outstanding common stock can be repurchased through June 30, 2016 at the discretion of management. We account for stock repurchases using the cost method. Cost includes fees charged in connection with acquiring the treasury stock. As of March 31, 2016, 673,700 shares, at an aggregate cost of $4.1 million, had been repurchased under this authorization.

Share-Based Compensation Expense

For the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, we recognized share-based compensation expense related to employees and consultants as follows (in thousands):

As of March 31, 2016, total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested share-based awards, net of estimated forfeitures, was $6.2 million, which is expected to be recognized as expense over a weighted average period of approximately 3.35 years.

In February 2016, we granted 20,678 options to purchase stock to a new employee. The options vest over a four-year period, have an exercise price of $6.00 per share, and expire 10 years from the grant date.

In February 2016, we also granted 32,000 options to purchase stock to another new employee. The options vest over a four-year period, have an exercise price of $7.26 per share, and expire 10 years from the grant date.

In March 2016, we granted 650,301 options to purchase stock to officers and other employees. The options vest over a four-year period, have an exercise price of $8.52 per share, and expire 10 years from the grant date.

In March 2016, we also granted 204,514 restricted stock units to officers and other employees. The restricted units vest over a four-year period, have a grant price of $8.52 per share, and expire 10 years from the grant date.

In connection with the resignation of Mr. Juan Otero, as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Secretary, additional stock based compensation of approximately $0.5 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2016 related to the continued vesting of awards granted to Mr. Otero prior to his resignation.

Note 8 — Income Taxes

The effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 was 9.4% and (1.0%), respectively. As of December 31, 2015, a valuation allowance of approximately $21.4 million had been established to reduce our deferred income tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. The tax benefit recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2016, was primarily related to losses in our Ireland subsidiary.

Note 9 — Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Lease Obligations

We lease facilities under fixed non-cancellable operating leases that expire on various dates through November 2019. Future minimum lease payments consist of the following (in thousands):

Product Warranty

The following table summarizes the activity related to the product warranty liability during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

Purchase Obligations

We enter into purchase order arrangements with our vendors. As of March 31, 2016, there were open purchase orders for which we had not yet received the related goods or services. These arrangements are subject to change based on our sales demand forecasts, and we have the right to cancel the arrangements prior to the date of delivery. As of March 31, 2016, we had approximately $2.0 million of cancellable open purchase order arrangements related primarily to materials and parts.

Guarantees 

We enter into indemnification provisions under our agreements with other companies in the ordinary course of business, typically with customers. Under these provisions, we generally indemnify and hold harmless the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party as a result of our activities, generally limited to personal injury and property damage caused by our employees at a customer’s desalination plant in proportion to the employee’s percentage of fault for the accident. Damages incurred for these indemnifications would be covered by our general liability insurance to the extent provided by the policy limitations. We have not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, the estimated fair value of these agreements is not material. Accordingly, we have no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

In certain cases, we issue warranty and product performance guarantees to our customers for amounts ranging from 5% to 15% of the total sales agreement to endorse the execution of product delivery and the warranty of design work, fabrication, and operating performance. These guarantees, generally in the form of stand-by letters of credit or bank guarantees secured by stand-by letters of credit, typically remain in place for periods ranging up to 24 months and in some cases up to 68 months, and relate to the underlying product warranty period. The stand-by letters of credit are collateralized by restricted cash and our credit facility. The $4.1 million in stand-by letters of credit outstanding at March 31, 2016 were collateralized by restricted cash of $4.1 million.

Litigation

On September 10, 2014, the Company terminated the employment of its Senior Vice President, Sales, Borja Blanco, on the basis of breach of duty of trust and conduct leading to conflict of interest. On October 24, 2014, Mr. Blanco filed a labor claim against ERI Iberia in Madrid, Spain challenging the fairness of his dismissal and seeking compensation (“Case 1”). A hearing was held on November 13, 2015 after which the labor court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over the matter. Mr. Blanco has appealed. At this time, the Company has not determined that an award to Mr. Blanco is probable.

On November 24, 2014, Mr. Blanco filed a second action based on breach of contract theories in the same court as Case 1, but the cases are separate. In Case 2, Mr. Blanco seek s payment of unpaid bonus, stock options, and non-compete compensation. The court ruled that this case is stayed until a final ruling is issued in Case 1. At this time, the Company has not determined that an award to Mr. Blanco is probable.

On January 20 and 27, 2015, two stockholder class action complaints were filed against the Company in the United States District Court of the Northern District of California, on behalf of Energy Recovery stockholders under the captions, Joseph Sabatino v. Energy Recovery, Inc. et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00265 EMC, and Thomas C. Mowdy v. Energy Recovery, Inc, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00374 EMC. The complaints have now been consolidated under the caption, In Re Energy Recovery Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 3:15-cv-00265 EMC. The complaint alleges violations of Section 10(b), Rule 10b-5, and Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 based upon alleged public misrepresentations and seeks the recovery of unspecified monetary damages. The Company is not able to estimate the possible loss, if any, due to the early stage of this matter.

On January 27, 2016, a complaint was filed by the Company’s Former Chief Sales Officer, Mr. David Barnes, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California under the caption, David Barnes v. Energy Recovery, Inc., et al. Case No. 3:16-cv-00477 EMC, related to his separation from the Company and alleging numerous legal claims including, but not limited to, wrongful termination, breach of contracts and negligent and/or intentional misrepresentations to induce Mr. Barnes to join the Company. Mr. Barnes is seeking to recover, among other things, relocation and business expenses, back pay, front pay, lost equity, contractual severance, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, damages under the California Private Attorneys General Act, attorneys’ fees, costs and interest. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate a potential loss, if any, due to the early stage of the matter.

On February 18, 2016, a complaint captioned Goldberg v. Rooney, et al., HG 16804359, was filed in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Alameda, naming as defendants Thomas Rooney, Alexander J. Buehler, Joel Gay, Ole Peter Lorentzen, Audrey Bold, Arve Hanstveit, Fred Olav Johannessen, Robert Yu Lang Mao, Hans Peter Michelet, Maria Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, Paul Cook, Olav Fjell, and Dominique Trempont (“Individual Defendants”) and naming the Company as a nominal defendant. The complaint is styled as a derivative action being brought on behalf of the Company and generally alleges breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement and unjust enrichment causes of action against the Individual Defendants. At this time, the Company is not able to estimate a potential loss, if any, due to the early stage of the matter.

Note 10 — Business Segment and Geographic Information

We manufacture and sell high-efficiency energy recovery devices and pumps as well as related products and services. Our chief operating decision-maker (“CODM”) is the chief executive officer (“CEO”).

Following the appointment of a new CEO in April 2015, new internal reporting was developed for making operating decisions and assessing financial performance. Beginning July 1, 2015, a new internal organizational and reporting structure was implemented and we began reporting segment information on a basis reflecting this new structure. Prior period amounts have been adjusted retrospectively to reflect this new internal reporting structure.

Our reportable operating segments consist of the Water Segment and the Oil & Gas Segment. These segments are based on the industries in which the products are sold, the type of energy recovery device sold, and the related products and services. The Water Segment consists of revenue associated with products sold for use in reverse osmosis water desalination, as well as the related identifiable expenses. The Oil & Gas Segment consists of product revenue associated with products sold for use in gas processing, chemical processing, and hydraulic fracturing and license and development revenue associated with hydraulic fracturing, as well as related identifiable expenses. Operating income for each segment excludes other income and expenses and certain expenses managed outside the operating segment. Costs excluded from operating income include various corporate expenses such as certain share-based compensation expenses, income taxes, and other separately managed general and administrative expenses not related to the identified segments. Assets and liabilities are reviewed at the consolidated level by the CODM and are not accounted for by segment. The CODM allocates resources to and assesses the performance of each operating segment using information about its revenue and operating income (loss).

The following summarizes financial information by segment for the periods presented (in thousands):

The following geographic information includes net revenue to our domestic and international customers based on the customers’ requested delivery locations, except for certain cases in which the customer directed us to deliver our products to a location that differs from the known ultimate location of use. In such cases, the ultimate location of use, rather than the delivery location, is reflected in the table below (in thousands, except percentages):

All of our long-lived assets were located in the United States at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

Note 11 — Concentrations

Customers accounting for 10% or more of our accounts receivable and unbilled receivables were as follows:

A single customer, Customer E, represents 100% of our license and development revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2016. There was no license and development revenue recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

Vendors accounting for 10% or more of our accounts payable were as follows:

Note 12 — Fair Value Measurements

The authoritative guidance for measuring fair value provides a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1 — Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable; and

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs in which little or no market activity exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions that market participants would use in pricing.

The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, unbilled receivables, accounts payable, and other accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the short-term maturity of those instruments. For our investments in available-for-sale securities, if quoted prices in active markets for identical investments are not available to determine fair value (Level 1), then we use quoted prices for similar assets or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable either directly or indirectly (Level 2). The investments included in Level 2 consist of corporate agency obligations and the premium paid for foreign currency put options.

The fair value of financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis for the indicated periods was as follows (in thousands):

Note 13 — Related Party Transactions

In January 2016, the Company entered into a lease agreement with EMS USA, Inc. for the use of office space. The President and Chief Executive Officer of EMS USA, Inc. is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. The lease is for a term of ninety (90) days with continuation on a month-to-month basis thereafter, with each month being an “Additional Term.” Additional Terms are not to exceed a total of three. The Company paid EMS USA, Inc. $1,668 related to this agreement during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

In March 2016, the Company extended an employee loan to one of its employees for $21,786. The loan is repayable to the Company monthly over six months and is non-interest bearing.

Note 14 - Subsequent Events

On April 20, 2016, the Company announced the receipt of a Letter of Award to provide our IsoBoost^TM technology for integration into a major gas processing plant to be constructed in the Middle East. The award value is approximately $7 million worth of equipment and services with a potential to supply an additional $4 million worth of equipment and services. The total potential value could be worth approximately $11 million; however the optional supply may not be confirmed by our client until the latter portion of 2017.