SEC Company Response from QUANTUM (QMCO) — Mar 13, 2013
QUANTUM CORP /DE/ (QMCO) (CIK 0000709283)
Date: March 13, 2013 · CIK: 0000709283 · Accession: 0001206774-13-001043
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File numbers found in text: 001-13449
Referenced dates: February 27, 2013
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CORRESP
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filename1.htm
March 13, 2013
Via EDGAR
Securities and Exchange Commission
100
F Street, N.E.
Mail Stop 4561
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attn:
Patrick Gilmore
Re:
Quantum Corporation
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2012
Filed June 14, 2012
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended December 31,
2012
Filed February 8, 2013
File No. 001-13449
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Quantum
Corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “Quantum”) submits this letter in
response to the comments from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) received by letter dated February 27,
2013 relating to the Company’s Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2012,
filed June 14, 2012 and Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended December 31,
2012, filed February 8, 2013.
In this letter, we
have recited the comments from the Staff in italicized, bold type and have
followed each comment with the Company’s response.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year
Ended March 31, 2012
Item 8. Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm, page 44
1.
We note that you have included
separate Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) on page 47 and that the
first paragraph of the audit report does not reference these statements.
Please amend your Form 10-K to include an opinion that references all of
the audited financial statements. Refer to AU Section
508.08.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 2
Response:
Reference to the Statements of
Comprehensive Income (Loss) was inadvertently omitted from the opinion. On March
8, 2013 we filed an amended Form 10-K for inclusion of the corrected opinion.
Note 13 – Commitments and
Contingencies
Legal Proceedings, page
74
2.
We note that your statement
regarding the Compression Technology Solutions LLC (CTS) patent
infringement lawsuit indicates that “[d]ue to inherent uncertainty of
litigation, [you] cannot identify probable or estimable damages.” We note
similar disclosure included in your Form 10-Q for the quarterly period
ended December 31, 2012 with respect to the CTS lawsuit and a patent
infringement lawsuit with Overland Storage, Inc. If there is at least a
reasonable possibility that a loss exceeding amounts already recognized
may have been incurred, in your next periodic filing, either disclose an
estimate (or, if true, state that the estimate is immaterial in lieu of
providing quantified amounts) of the additional loss or range of loss, or
state that such an estimate cannot be made. Refer to ASC
450-20-50.
Response:
At this time, we do not believe there is
at least a reasonable possibility that a material loss exceeding amounts already
recognized may have been incurred with respect to either the CTS or Overland
lawsuits. If we reach the same conclusion based on our evaluation of the facts
and circumstances at the time of our next periodic filing, we will remove the
“[d]ue to inherent uncertainty of litigation, we cannot identify probable or
estimable damages” disclosure and include instead the following disclosure in
our Legal Proceedings footnote:
“We do not believe there is a reasonable possibility that we will pay
material damages related to these lawsuits.”
However, we confirm that if we determine
in the future that there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss
exceeding amounts already recognized may have been incurred, we will update our
Legal Proceedings disclosure in the next applicable periodic filing to include
either an estimate of the additional loss or range of loss (or, if true, state
that the estimate is immaterial in lieu of providing quantified amounts), or
state that such an estimate cannot be made.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 3
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period
Ended December 31, 2012
Item 1. Financial
Statements
Note 1 – Basis of Presentation,
page 5
3.
We note your disclosure on
page 13 of your Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30,
2012 that during the second quarter of fiscal 2013 you introduced a new
product, Q-Cloud, that provides backup and disaster recovery on a
subscription basis. Please provide us with the details and terms of these
arrangements, including whether any implementation or set-up fees were
earned, and your accounting policy for these cloud subscription
services.
Response:
Our Q-Cloud arrangements are annual
subscriptions that provide the customer with hosted access to virtual backup and
disaster recovery in “the cloud,” as well as related technical support.
Customers do not have the contractual right to take possession of the underlying
software or other technology at any time during or after the subscription
period. Accordingly, based on the guidance of ASC 985-605-55-121 to 125, these
arrangements are outside the scope of ASC 985-605 and are accounted for as
service contracts. We recognize subscription fees as revenue ratably over the
annual contract period. These arrangements do not include any implementation or
set up fees. Q-Cloud revenue to date has been immaterial.
Note 4 – Intangible Assets and
Goodwill, page 6
4.
We note that you evaluate
goodwill for impairment during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year or
more frequently if indicators of impairment are present. We further note
that your stock price has declined from $2.62 on March 30, 2012 to as low
as $1.05 on October 31, 2012. You have also included disclosure on page 34
regarding your decreasing stock price and the risk of NYSE delisting. In
light of these factors, as well as your declining revenues, please tell us
how you concluded that there were no indicators of goodwill
impairment.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 4
Response:
We operate as a single reporting unit and
perform our goodwill impairment assessment for the Company as a whole. As the
carrying amount of the reporting unit is negative, on an interim basis between
annual impairment tests we consider whether an event occurs or circumstances
exist that indicate that it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment
exists in accordance with ASC 350-20-35-30. To make this determination, we
evaluated the examples of such events and circumstances included in ASC
350-20-35-3C(a) through (g). Also, in accordance with ASC 350-20-35-3F and G, we
evaluated on the basis of the weight of evidence the significance of identified
events and circumstances along with how they could affect the relationship
between the reporting unit's fair value and
carrying amount, including positive mitigating events and circumstances. An
overview of our considerations is as follows:
a.
Macroeconomic conditions such
as a deterioration in general economic conditions, limitations on
accessing capital, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, or other
developments in equity and credit markets
b.
Industry and market
considerations such as a deterioration in the environment in which an
entity operates, an increased competitive environment, a decline in
market-dependent multiples or metrics (consider in both absolute terms
and relative to peers), a change in the market for an entity's products or
services, or a regulatory or political development
c.
Cost factors such as increases
in raw materials, labor, or other costs that have a negative effect on
earnings and cash flows
d.
Overall financial performance
such as negative or declining cash flows or a decline in actual or planned
revenue or earnings compared with actual and projected results of relevant
prior periods
Circumstances included in (a)
through (c) all impacted our financial performance described in (d) to
some extent, so we have combined our evaluation of these four factors. We
had lower than expected revenue during the first half of our current
fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (“Fiscal 2013”) that was attributable in
part to economic uncertainty, particularly in Europe, as well as a
decrease in overall demand in the tape automation market. However, based
on some key results in the second and third quarters of Fiscal 2013, we do
not believe these factors are indicative of an ongoing adverse trend that
would lead us to conclude it is more likely than not that a goodwill
impairment exists. For example, during the quarter ended September 30,
2012, we had year-over-year growth and record revenue in our disk and
software category, which is our growth business. We also saw
year-over-year growth in this revenue category during the quarter ended
December 31, 2012 (“Q313”). Additionally, during Q313 we experienced
sequential growth in tape automation revenue with the release of new
technology and believe we are outperforming the market in this area. Total
revenue for Q313 was within $600,000 of forecast and increased 8% from the
second quarter of Fiscal 2013. Further, the long-term outlook in key
market segments continues to be positive, with growth forecast for the
disk-based deduplication and big data markets. Our disk and software
products provide solutions in these growing markets.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 5
As part of our financial plan for
Fiscal 2013, we increased our spending during the first half of the fiscal
year in sales and marketing and certain other areas in an effort to drive
revenue growth. Although gross margin percentages during Fiscal 2013 have
remained relatively flat with the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2012, this
increased spending combined with the revenue
shortfall resulted in larger than expected operating losses and the use of
cash in operations during the first half of Fiscal 2013. To mitigate the
impact to operating profit and cash used in operations, during Q313 we
implemented a restructuring plan to align spending with our revenue
levels. These actions had a positive impact on Q313 results as we exceeded
forecast gross margin by approximately 200 basis points, were at the low
end of our operating expense forecast (excluding restructuring charges)
and generated $6 million in cash from operations.
The Q313 restructuring actions
included headcount reductions of approximately 10% and saved an estimated
$1 million during Q313 and are expected to save more in future quarters,
as the full savings of the headcount and other cost reductions are
realized. Historically, we have proven our ability to align spending with
revenue levels by implementing measures to control expenditures quickly
and decreasing operating expenses in successive quarters. For example, in
connection with spending reductions initiated in response to the economic
crisis of 2008, our operating expenses (excluding a goodwill impairment)
decreased 20% between the quarters ended September 30, 2008 and June 30,
2009 while maintaining gross margins around 38.5%.
Due to demonstrated improvement
in our Q313 results and our history of implementing cost controls, we
concluded that our financial results for the first half of Fiscal 2013
were not indicative of an ongoing negative trend that would lead us to
conclude it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment
exists.
e.
Other relevant entity-specific
events such as changes in management, key personnel, strategy, or
customers; contemplation of bankruptcy; or litigation
We have not experienced
significant changes in management, strategy or customers, nor have we
contemplated bankruptcy. During June 2012 Overland Storage, Inc.
(“Overland”) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us, but we do not
believe we infringe on Overland’s patents and will defend ourselves
vigorously. In August 2012 we filed a patent infringement lawsuit against
Overland.
f.
Events affecting a reporting
unit, such as a change in the composition or carrying amount of its net
assets, a more-likely-than-not expectation of selling or disposing all, or
a portion of a reporting unit, the testing for recoverability of a
significant asset group within a reporting unit, or recognition of a
goodwill impairment loss in the financial statements of a subsidiary that
is a component of a reporting unit
No such events have
occurred.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 6
g.
If applicable, a sustained
decrease in share price (consider in both absolute terms and relative to
peers)
Although we have not had a
closing stock price below $1.00 since August 17, 2009, as our stock price
fell close to $1.00 at the end of October 2012, we felt it was prudent to
include risk factor disclosure regarding the possibility of our stock
price dropping below $1.00 and that a consequence of a closing stock price
that averages less than $1.00 for a consecutive thirty trading-day period
includes the risk of delisting on the NYSE. The stock price low of $1.05
on October 31, 2012 occurred within one week of two events. First, our
results for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 were released on October
24, 2012. As described above, we have since taken steps to improve our
financial results, and those actions have already had a positive impact on
Q313 results. Second, we announced pricing for a convertible debt offering
on October 26, 2012. The convertible debt proceeds were used to repay an
existing bank line of credit, and we have subsequently modified certain
covenants of that line of credit to be less restrictive. Our stock price
increased 18% to $1.24 on December 31, 2012, and the closing price in
November 2012 through December 2012 averaged $1.28, a 22% increase from
the October 31, 2012 low. Closing prices during calendar 2013 through
March 11, 2013 have ranged from a low of $1.21 to a high of $1.47. At the
stock price low of $1.05, our market capitalization was approximately $250
million, and at the current stock price as of March 11, 2013 it
approximates $290 million.
Based on consideration of the factors
described above, we concluded that it was not more likely than not that a
goodwill impairment existed at an interim date.
Item 4. Controls and
Procedures
(a) Evaluation of disclosure
controls and procedures, page 24
5.
Please confirm whether your
Chief Executive Officer and your Chief Financial Officer evaluated the
effectiveness of your disclosure controls and procedures as defined in
Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Please also consider
including the full definition of disclosure controls and procedures in
future filings similar to the disclosure on page 76 of your Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 or alternatively, provide a reference
to the definition of the rules (i.e. Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under
the Exchange Act).
Securities and Exchange
Commission
March 13, 2013
Page 7
Response:
We confirm that our Chief Executive
Officer and our Chief Financial Officer evaluated the effectiveness of our
disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)
under the Exchange Act for all quarterly periods in our current fiscal year,
including the quarter ended Dec