SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
[X] Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or
15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000
OR
[ ] Transition
Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934
For
the transition period from to
Commission
file number 1-6081
COMFORCE
Corporation
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
36-2262248
(State or other jurisdiction of (IRS Employer Identification
No.)
incorporation or organization)
415
Crossways Park Drive, P.O. Box 9006, Woodbury, New York
11797
(Address of principal executive
offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code:
(516) 437-3300
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Name of Each
Exchange Title of Each Class on Which Registered
Common
stock, $.01 par value American Stock Exchange
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in the definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to
this Form 10-K. [ ]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (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
(Cover page continued next page)
(Cover page continued)
State
the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the
registrant at March 22, 2001:
$22,030,667
Indicate
the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common
stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Class Outstanding at March 22, 2001
Common
stock, $.01 par value 16,659,062
Documents Incorporated by Reference: Portions
of the Registrant’s proxy statement to be filed by April 30, 2001 are
incorporated herein by reference in Items 10, 11, 12 and 13.
PART I
ITEM 1.
BUSINESS
Overview
COMFORCE
Corporation (“COMFORCE”) is a leading provider of specialty staffing,
consulting and outsourcing services primarily to Fortune 500 companies for
their information technology, telecommunications, scientific and engineering‑related
needs. COMFORCE Operating, Inc. (“COI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COMFORCE,
was formed for the purpose of facilitating certain of the Company’s financing
transactions in November 1997. Unless
the context otherwise requires, the term the “Company” refers to COMFORCE, COI
and all of their direct and indirect subsidiaries.
Through
a national network of 62 offices (48 company‑owned and 14 licensed), the
Company recruits and places highly skilled contingent personnel and provides
financial and outsourcing services for a broad customer base, including Sun
Microsystems, Bellsouth Telecommunications, Inc. (directly and through
Accenture, formerly Anderson Consulting, LLP), Boeing Company and Microsoft
Corporation. The Company’s labor force consists primarily of computer
programmers, systems consultants, telecommunications engineers, analysts,
engineers, technicians, scientists, researchers and skilled office support
personnel.
Services
The
Company provides a wide range of staffing, consulting, financial and
outsourcing services, including web-enabled solutions for the effective
procurement, tracking and engagement of contingent or non-employee labor. The Company’s extensive proprietary database
and national presence enable it to draw from a wealth of resources to link
highly‑trained computer technicians, telecommunications engineers and
other professionals, as well as clerical personnel, with businesses that need
highly skilled labor. The Company’s services are designed to give its customers
maximum flexibility and maximum choice. The Company’s professionals are
available on a short-term or long-term basis. The Company’s services permit
businesses to increase the volume of their work without increasing fixed
overhead and permanent personnel costs.
The Company has previously been reporting its results through two operating segments -- Staff Augmentation and Financial Services. Principally as a result of the development by the Company’s PrO Unlimited® subsidiary of a business offering web-enabled solutions for the procurement, tracking and engagement of contingent labor, the Company has determined to begin reporting its results through three operating segments -- Staff Augmentation, Human Capital Management Services and Financial Services. The Staff Augmentation segment provides information technology (IT), telecom and other staffing services. The Human Capital Management Services segment provides contingent workforce management services. The Financial Services segment provides payroll, funding and back office support services to independent consulting and staffing companies. A description of the types of services provided by each segment follows.
The
Company’s IT customers include Microsoft Corporation, BellSouth
Telecommunications, Inc. (directly and through Accenture) and Boeing
Information Services, Inc.
The Company’s telecom customers include Northern Telecom, Inc., ALCATEL Network Systems, Inc. and Ericsson Corporation.
In
addition to providing staffing services in the IT and telecom fields, as
described above, the Company provides a broad range of staffing services to its
customers, including laboratory support (through the Company’s Labforce®
division), medical office support, professional, scientific, clerical and call
center staffing.
The
Company provides engineer-related staffing services for national laboratory
research in such areas as environmental safety, alternative energy source
development and laser technology, and provides highly‑skilled labor
meeting diverse commercial needs in the avionics and aerospace, architectural,
automotive, energy and power, pharmaceutical, marine and petrochemical
fields. The Company’s engineer-related
staffing customers include Boeing Company, Gulfstream Aerospace, Raytheon
Company and the National Department of Energy National Research Laboratories,
including Los Alamos and Sandia.
In
the professional staffing area, the Company offers highly specialized chemists,
biologists, engineers, laboratory instrumentation operators, technicians and
others to companies involved in pharmaceutical, environmental, biotech and
other businesses.
The Company also recruits and
trains skilled billing, data entry and other clerical personnel who provide
support services for smaller businesses, particularly for medical, accounting
and law offices. In addition, the
Company provides staff for inbound call center operations, including
telemarketing personnel.
Human Capital Management Services
The Company provides Human Capital Management
services through its PrO Unlimited subsidiary.
PrO Unlimited has become a market leader in providing end-to-end
web-enabled solutions for the effective procurement, tracking and engagement of
contingent or non-employee labor. PrO
Unlimited utilizes a combination of proprietary web-based software and
intellectual capital to manage all aspects of this rapidly growing segment of
the workforce. While the Company
focuses on selling its services primarily to Fortune 500 companies, including
customers such as Sun Microsystems and Pfizer, PrO Unlimited’s contingent
workforce management tools are suitable for a cross-section of large employers
throughout the United States and Canada.
The contingent labor force consists of independent
contractors, temporary workers, consultants, returning retirees and
freelancers. A growing number of
corporations are utilizing contingent labor solutions to enable them to manage
their cost structures more effectively and to better position them to weather
business strategy transition and maintain streamlined “just-in-time” labor
pools. PrO Unlimited has been a pioneer
in assisting companies with government regulatory compliance regarding
contingent personnel, particularly the management, tax, benefit and liability
issues associated with the contingent workforce.
PrO Unlimited’s program
is designed to replace vendor-on-premise programs that large companies have
been using in recent years to manage their contingent workforces. PrO Unlimited seeks to draw upon its own
resources as well as Internet-based information and tools, and to provide a
range of services and software that enable large companies to effectively
manage their contingent workforces.
Rather than competing with traditional staffing firms, PrO Unlimited
acts as a "vendor neutral" facilitator providing customized
management reports and proprietary Total Quality Management (“TQM”) programs
that are designed to generate cost savings and improve efficiencies for client
companies. PrO Unlimited’s typical
client is a large company that relies upon contingent labor to meet important
elements of its staffing needs. Pro
Unlimited currently provides the following solutions:
Services
·
Contingent Staffing
Management – act
as impartial staffing desk for procuring contingent employees by utilizing many
different service providers to provide client’s hiring managers with the most
qualified candidate in the shortest period of time at the lowest cost.
·
Supplier Management
Services
– act as single-source supplier by consolidating and managing the invoicing,
negotiating and monitoring of services provided by a customer’s multiple
service providers.
·
The 1099 Management
Solution
– help customers manage the tax and benefit risks associated with the use of
independent contractors to ensure compliance with all governmental
regulations.
·
Professional Payrolling
Services –
provide automated payroll services and worker benefits as third party
processor.
Software
·
Workforce Alliance
Network Database (“WAND”) – web-enabled system developed for the engagement, management
and tracking of the contingent workforce by providing reports, consolidated
billing, security checks and screening services.
·
Staffing & Project
Ordering Tool (“SPOT”) – custom web-based
software tool that allows hiring managers and staffing vendors to communicate
24 hours a day to place job orders, check status of job orders, submit resumes,
review resumes, schedule interviews, select candidates and create custom
reports on staffing activity.
·
YourSourceTM
System
– search and retrieval system
software that allows on-line searches for contingent workers originally sourced
by a company who have previously worked in other departments within that
organization.
Financial Services
The Company provides payroll,
funding and back office support services to approximately 130 independent
consulting and staffing companies. The Company’s back office services include
payroll processing and billing, preparation of various management reports and
analysis, payment of all Federal, state and local payroll taxes and preparation
and filing of quarterly and annual payroll tax returns for the contingent
personnel employed and placed by independently owned and operated staffing and
consulting firms. Personnel placed by
such independent staffing and consulting firms remain employees of such firms.
In providing payroll funding services, the Company purchases the accounts
receivable of independent staffing firms and receives payments directly from
these firms’ clients. The Company pursues the collection of those receivables;
however, the amount of any account receivable, which is not collected within a
specified period after billing, is charged back by the Company to such firm.
The Company provides staffing, consulting and outsourcing services to a broad range of customers including telecommunication equipment manufacturers, telecommunication service providers (wireline and wireless), computer software and hardware manufacturers, aerospace and avionics firms, utilities, national laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics companies, health care facilities, educational institutions and accounting firms. Services to Fortune 500 companies represent a majority of the Company’s revenues.
In certain cases, the Company’s contracts with its customers provide that the Company will have the first opportunity to supply the personnel required by that customer. Other staffing companies not under contract with the customer are then offered the opportunity to supply personnel only if the Company is unable to meet the customer’s requirements.
The
Company generally invoices its customers weekly. IT, telecom and professional staffing customers generally obtain
the Company’s services on a purchase order basis, while engineer-related
staffing and Human Capital Management Services customers generally enter into
long-term contracts with the Company.
During
the year ended December 31, 2000, no single customer accounted for 10% or more
of the Company’s revenues. The largest
four customers accounted for approximately 28% of the Company’s revenues.
The
Company services its customers through a network of 48 company‑owned and
14 licensed branch offices located in 19 states across the United States and
its corporate headquarters located in Woodbury, New York. The Company’s sales
and marketing strategy is focused on increasing its share of existing customer
business, expanding its business with existing customers through cross‑selling
and by establishing relationships with new customers. The Company solicits
customers through personal sales presentations, telephone marketing, direct
mail solicitation, referrals from customers, and advertising in a variety of
local and national media including the Yellow Pages, magazines, newspapers,
trade publications and through the Company’s website (www.comforce.com).
The
Company’s Sales and Resource Managers are responsible for maintaining contact
with existing clients, maximizing the number of requisitions that the Company
will have the opportunity to fill, and then working with the recruiting staff
to offer the client the candidate or candidates that best fit the
specification. New account targets are
chosen by assessing: (1) their need for contract labor with skill sets provided
by the Company; (2) the appropriateness of the Company’s niche products to the
client’s needs; (3) the potential growth and profitability of the account; and
(4) the creditworthiness of the client. While the Company’s corporate office
assists in the selection of target accounts, the majority of account selection
and marketing occurs locally. Although
the Company continues to market to its Fortune 500 client base, it also places
a significant marketing focus on smaller, faster-growing companies.
The Company’s success
depends on its ability to effectively and efficiently match skilled personnel
with specific customer assignments. The Company has established an extensive
national resume database of prospective employees with expertise in the disciplines
served by the Company. To identify qualified personnel for inclusion in this
database, the Company solicits referrals from its existing personnel and
customers, places advertisements in local newspapers, trade magazines, its
website and otherwise actively recruits through the Internet. The Company continuously updates its
proprietary database to reflect changes in personnel skill levels and
availability. Upon receipt of assignment specifications, the Company searches
the database to identify suitable personnel. Once an individual’s skills are
matched to the specifications, the Company considers other selection criteria
such as interpersonal skills, availability and geographic preferences to ensure
there is a proper fit between the employee and the assignment being staffed.
The Company can search its resume database by a number of different criteria,
including specific skills or qualifications, to match the appropriate employee
with the assignment.
Management
believes that the Company enhances its ability to attract recruits by making
extensive training opportunities available to its employees. The Company employs Internet‑based
educational programs to train employees in the latest developments in IT,
telecommunications and other technologies.
The Company maintains training facilities in Dallas, Texas and Raleigh,
North Carolina, where telecom staffers are trained to install and test
telecommunications equipment. The
Company also provides training to telecom staff on assignment for the Company
throughout the United States. In
addition, the Company maintains a telephone hot line to assist its clerical
employees with software problems or questions.
The
Company believes it has a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining
specialty staffing and consulting personnel as it provides assignments with
high-profile customers that make use of advanced technology and offers the
employees the opportunity to obtain additional experience that can enhance
their skills and overall marketability. The Company also offers flexible
schedules, wages and, depending on the contract or assignment, paid holidays,
vacation, and certain benefit plan opportunities to attract and retain
qualified personnel.
The
Company uses PeopleSoft® system software, which it believes is the industry
standard, and is currently upgrading to the PeopleSoft® 8.0 version. With its PeopleSoft® system, the Company has
been able to substantially consolidate its back office operations. Through this
system, the Company has also been able to substantially integrate the
management information systems of its 11 acquired companies.
The
Company is in the final stage of implementation of the EZAccess® recruiting and
database software system to consolidate the resume databases of its acquired
companies. This software allows easier, faster and more accessible updating of
its resume database and posting of job openings on a national basis. The
Company believes that EZAccess® will enhance both its recruiting efforts and
its customer service capabilities.
The
contingent staffing and consulting industry is very competitive and fragmented.
There are relatively limited barriers to entry and new competitors frequently
enter the market. The Company’s competitors vary depending on geographic region
and the nature of the service(s) being provided. The Company faces substantial
competition from both larger firms possessing substantially greater financial,
technical and marketing resources than the Company and smaller, regional firms
with a strong presence in their respective local markets.
Management
believes that the availability and quality of candidates, the effective
monitoring of job performance, the scope of geographic service and the price of
service are the principal elements of competition. The availability of quality
contingent personnel is an especially important facet of competition. The
Company believes its ability to compete also depends in part on a number of
competitive factors outside its control, including the ability of its
competitors to hire, retain and motivate skilled personnel and the extent of
its competitors’ responsiveness to customer needs.
The Company currently employs approximately 650 full-time staff employees at its headquarters and Company-owned offices. The Company issued approximately 30,000 W-2s to employees of the Company who provided services to its customers during 2000, not including W-2s issued as part of the Financial Services segment payrolling services provided by the Company to its customers. In addition to employees on assignment, the Company maintains a proprietary database of prospective employees with expertise in the disciplines served by the Company. Billable employees are employed by the Company on an as-needed basis dependent on customer demand and are paid only for time they actually work. Non-billable administrative personnel provide management, sales and marketing and other services in support of the Company’s staffing services.
The Company has granted a limited number
of licenses to operate COMFORCE offices. The most recent license for a new
office was granted in July 1992, and the Company does not presently expect
to grant more licenses. Licensees recruit contingent personnel and promote their
services to both existing and new clients obtained through the licensees’
marketing efforts. Performance of the
contingent personnel and overall service quality is the direct responsibility
of licensees, and the licensees are ultimately responsible for the collection
of accounts receivable. The Company and
the licensees share the gross profits from each licensed office.
Contingent
staffing and consulting services firms are generally subject to one or more of
the following types of government regulations: (1) registration of the
employer/employees; (2) licensing, record keeping and recording
requirements; and (3) substantive limitations on operations. Contingent
staffing and consulting firms are the legal employers of their workers.
Therefore, the Company is governed by laws regulating the employer/employee
relationship, such as tax withholding or reporting, social security or
retirement, anti-discrimination and workers’ compensation. In addition, the
Company’s licenses are considered to be franchises, which are subject to
regulation, both by the Federal Trade Commission and a number of states.
The Company leases all of its office space. Excluding the Company’s headquarters, these leases are for office space ranging in size from approximately 150 square feet to approximately 15,600 square feet and have remaining lease terms of from less than one year to five years. The Company’s headquarters in Woodbury, New York occupies approximately 38,000 square feet of space in two facilities under separate leases that expire in 2010. The Company owns no real estate, except for an approximately 700 square foot condominium.
The
Company believes that its facilities are adequate for its present and
reasonably anticipated future business requirements, except to the extent of
future acquisitions of existing businesses. In the case of such acquisitions,
the Company expects to assume the leases of businesses acquired or, to the
extent possible, consolidate such operations with existing offices. The Company
does not anticipate difficulty locating additional facilities, if needed.
In
January 1997, Austin A. Iodice, who served as the Company's chief
executive officer, president and vice chairman from 1993 to 1995 while the
Company was engaged in the jewelry business, and Anthony Giglio, who performed
the functions of the Company's chief operating officer during this same period,
filed separate suits against the Company in the Connecticut Superior Court
alleging that the Company had breached the terms of management agreements
entered into with them by failing to honor options awarded to them in
1993. Mr. Iodice had received options
to purchase 370,419 shares of the Company’s common stock and Mr. Giglio had
received options to purchase 185,209 shares of common stock, each at an
exercise price of $1.125 per share. The
Company maintained that these options had expired in 1996, three months after
the plaintiffs ceased to be employed by the Company, as provided in the Company’s
Long-Term Stock Investment Plan. The
plaintiffs maintained that they were agents and not employees of the Company
and that, therefore, these options had not expired.
The plaintiffs alleged that they were entitled to an
unspecified amount of damages based upon the difference between the exercise
price and highest market price of the Company’s common stock following the date
of the purported exercise of all options, plus costs and expenses. They also claimed entitlement to treble
these damages under Connecticut law. They filed offers of judgment with the
court for $6.0 million in the aggregate based upon the significantly higher
prices of the Company’s common stock in 1996 and 1997, but this offer did not
limit the amount of damages they could claim at trial.
On
November 30, 2000, immediately prior to the scheduled jury trial, the parties
reached settlement of these suits, the terms of which were entered with the
court. Under the terms of settlement,
the Company agreed to pay to the plaintiffs $325,000 on January 2, 2001 (which
amount was paid on this date) and $300,000 on May 1, 2001, and to issue to them
options on January 2, 2001 to purchase 555,628 shares of common stock in the
aggregate at an exercise price of $0.6625 per share. The options are exercisable until March 15, 2006. While management of the Company believes
that the options originally issued to the plaintiffs had expired, it believes
that settlement was advisable given the exposure faced by the Company in the
event of an adverse judgment in the jury trial. The Company incurred a charge of approximately $1.1 million in
connection with this settlement.
The Company is a party to routine contract and employment‑related litigation matters in the ordinary course of its business. No such pending matters, individually or in the aggregate, if adversely determined, are believed by management to be material to the business or financial condition of the Company. The Company maintains general liability insurance, property insurance, automobile insurance, employee benefit liability insurance, fidelity insurance, errors and omissions insurance and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The Company is generally self-insured with respect to workers’ compensation, but maintains umbrella workers’ compensation coverage to limit its maximum exposure to such claims.
None.
PART
II
ITEM 5.
MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER
MATTERS
Market Price and Dividends
The Company’s Common Stock is traded on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX:CFS). The high and low sales prices for the Common Stock, as reported by the American Stock Exchange in the Monthly Market Statistics for the periods indicated, were as follows:
|
|
|
High |
Low |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1999 |
First Quarter............................................................................................................. |
$ 6.25 |
$
3.50 |
||
|
|
Second Quarter......................................................................................................... |
3.94 |
2.63
|
||
|
|
Third Quarter............................................................................................................ |
3.06 |
2.00
|
||
|
|
Fourth Quarter.......................................................................................................... |
3.00
|
1.00
|
||
|
2000 |
First Quarter............................................................................................................. |
3.63 |
1.75 |
||
|
|
Second Quarter......................................................................................................... |
2.19 |
1.25 |
||
|
|
Third Quarter............................................................................................................ |
2.13
|
1.25 |
||
|
|
Fourth Quarter.......................................................................................................... |
2.00 |
1.25
|
||
The last reported sale price of the Common Stock of the Company on the American Stock Exchange on March 22, 2001 was $1.90. As of such date, there were approximately 4,600 shareholders of record.
No
dividends were declared or paid on the Common Stock during 2000. The terms of
the Company’s debt obligations effectively prohibit its payment of
dividends. Accordingly, the Company
does not anticipate that it will pay cash dividends on the Common Stock for the
foreseeable future.
As partial consideration under
the terms of settlement of litigation described in Item 3 of this Report, on
November 30, 2000, the Company agreed to issue to Austin Iodice and Anthony
Giglio options to purchase an aggregate of 555,628 shares of the Company’s
common stock at an exercise price of $0.6625 per share, which options were
issued as of January 2, 2001. The
options are exercisable until March 15, 2006.
The Company received no cash proceeds upon the issuance of the
options. Any proceeds received by the
Company upon the exercise of the options are expected to be used for working
capital purposes. In issuing these
securities, the Company relied upon the exemption available under Section 4(2)
of the Securities Act of 1933. The
Company has registered the shares of its common stock issuable upon the
exercise of these options under a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration
No. 333-52356) that became effective on January 10, 2001.
The following table sets forth selected historical financial data of the Company as of and for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2000. The Company derived the statement of operations and balance sheet data as of and for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2000 from its audited historical consolidated financial statements.
|
|
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
||||
|
|
(in thousands, except per share data) |
||||||||
|
Statement of Operations Data:
(1) |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Net sales of services................................................. |
$
55,867 |
$ 216,521 |
$ 459,022 |
$ 436,221 |
$ 480,325 |
||||
|
Operating income...................................................... |
2,413 |
6,865 |
24,924 |
21,863 |
25,437 |
||||
|
Income (loss) before
extraordinary gain ................ |
1,352 |
(3,700) |
805 |
(2,038) |
(397) |
||||
|
Income (loss)
available to common stockholders before extraordinary gain .................................... |
362 |
(4,437) |
784 |
(2,038) |
(397) |
||||
|
Gain on early debt
extinguishment, net of taxes (2)............................................................. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
2,784 |
||||
|
Income (loss)
available to common stockholders.. |
362 |
(4,437) |
784 |
(2,038) |
2,387 |
||||
|
Diluted income
(loss) per share: Income (loss) available to common
stockholders before extraordinary gain..................................... Extraordinary gain.................................................. |
$
0.03 -- |
$
(0.33) -- |
$
0.05 -- |
$
(0.12) -- |
$
(0.02) 0.17 |
||||
|
Net
income (loss) available to common
stockholders.......................................................... |
$
0.03 |
$
(0.33) |
$
0.05 |
$
(0.12) |
$
0.15 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Balance
Sheet Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Working capital ........................................................ |
$
8,012 |
$
59,762 |
$
65,563 |
$
65,808 |
$
88,942 |
||||
|
Accounts receivable, net........................................... |
12,042 |
72,865 |
81,680 |
81,834 |
119,067 |
||||
|
Intangible assets, net................................................. |
24,756 |
135,516 |
138,847 |
139,010 |
137,655 |
||||
|
Total assets................................................................. |
43,366 |
235,934 |
246,082 |
249,710 |
283,414 |
||||
|
Total debt, including current maturities.................. |
3,850 |
171,038 |
178,579 |
182,346 |
197,421 |
||||
|
Preferred stock.......................................................... |
2 |
1 |
- |
- |
--- |
||||
|
Stockholders’ equity................................................. |
34,744 |
39,402 |
44,334 |
43,163 |
46,374 |
||||
___________
(1) Results for the year ended
December 31, 1996 include results of Williams Communications
Services, Inc. from the acquisition date of March 3, 1996 through
December 31, 1996, results of RRA, Inc. and certain related entities
from the acquisition date of May 10, 1996 through December 31, 1996,
results of Force Five, Inc. from the acquisition date of July 31,
1996 through December 31, 1996, results of AZATAR Computer
Systems, Inc. from the acquisition date of November 1, 1996 through
December 31, 1996, and results of Continental Field Services Corporation
and a related entity from the acquisition date of November 8, 1996 through
December 31, 1996. Results for the
year ended December 31, 1997 include results of RHO Company, Incorporated
from the acquisition date of February 28, 1997 through December 31,
1997 and results of Uniforce Services, Inc. from the acquisition date of
November 26, 1997 through December 31, 1997. Results for the year ended December 31,
1998 include results of Camelot Consulting Group Inc., Camelot Communications
Group Inc., Camelot Control Group Inc. and Camelot Group Inc.
(collectively, “Camelot”) from the acquisition
date of January 27, 1998 through December 31, 1998. Results for the year ended December 31, 2000
include results of Gerri G. Inc. from the acquisition date of February 6, 2000
through December 31, 2000.
(2) During the third quarter of 2000, the Company repurchased $10.0 million face value of its 12% Senior Notes due 2007 for a purchase price of $5.1 million. The net extraordinary gain that was realized by these repurchases was $2.8 million, which includes the reduction of $200,000 of deferred financing costs associated with the repurchases net of tax expense of $1.9 million. See “Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this Item 7.
ITEM 7.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
The discussion set forth below
supplements the information found in the consolidated financial statements and
related notes.
From
the time it entered the staffing business in October 1995 through January
1998, the Company completed 10 acquisitions.
In February 2000, it completed one additional acquisition. Each of these acquisitions has been
accounted for on a purchase basis and the results of operations of each of the
businesses acquired have been included in the Company’s historical consolidated
financial statements from the date of acquisition. Certain of these
acquisitions provide for contingent payments by the Company as a part of the
purchase consideration based upon the operating results of the acquired
businesses for specified future periods. The acquisitions were financed by the
Company principally through its issuance of debt and equity securities and
borrowings under credit facilities.
Staffing personnel placed
by the Company are employees of the Company. The Company is responsible for
employee related expenses for its employees, including workers' compensation,
unemployment compensation insurance, Medicare and Social Security taxes and
general payroll expenses. The Company offers health, dental, disability and
life insurance to its billable employees. Staffing and consulting companies,
including the Company, typically pay their billable employees for their
services before receiving payment from their customers, often resulting in
significant outstanding receivables. To the extent the Company increases
revenues through acquisitions and/or internal growth, these receivables will
grow and there will be greater requirements for borrowing availability under
its credit facility to fund current operations.
The
Company had been reporting its results through two operating segments -- Staff
Augmentation and Financial Services.
Principally as a result of the development by the Company’s PrO
Unlimited subsidiary of a business offering web-enabled solutions for the
procurement, tracking and engagement of contingent labor, the Company has
determined to begin reporting its results through three operating segments --
Staff Augmentation, Human Capital Management Services and Financial
Services. The Staff Augmentation
segment provides information technology (IT), telecom and other staffing
services. The Human Capital Management
Services segment provides contingent workforce management services. The Financial Services segment provides
payroll, funding and back office support services to independent consulting and
staffing companies. For a detailed
discussion of the Company’s business, see Item 1 of this Report.
New Credit Facility
On December 14, 2000, COMFORCE, COI and
various of their operating subsidiaries entered into a Loan and Security
Agreement with IBJ Whitehall Business Credit Corporation (“IBJ”), as lender and
agent for other participating lenders, to provide for a $100.0 million
revolving credit facility with available borrowings to be based upon a
specified percentage of the Company’s eligible accounts receivable (the “IBJ
Credit Facility”). At closing, the
Company borrowed $72.0 million and repaid the Company’s existing credit
facility with Heller Financial, Inc., as lender and agent for other
participating lenders (the “Heller Credit Facility”), which was thereupon
terminated. On January 5, 2001, the IBJ
Credit Facility was amended to increase the Company’s borrowing availability to
$110.0 million when additional lending institutions requested to join the loan
syndicate. As discussed under “Recent
Developments—Repurchase of Senior Notes and PIK Debentures,” the Company
further amended the IBJ Credit Facility on March 5, 2001 to permit borrowings
thereunder to repurchase its 15% Senior PIK Debentures due 2009. See “Financial Condition, Liquidity and
Capital Resources” in this Item 7 for a discussion of the terms of the IBJ
Credit Facility.
The
Heller Credit Facility, which the Company entered into in November 1997,
provided for borrowings of up to $75.0 million. The Company entered into the IBJ Credit Facility to permit it to
increase its borrowing availability, which management believes will position
the Company to better address its financial needs in the future. As discussed
under “Recent Developments—Amendment of Indentures,” the Company obtained
consents from its public debtholders to amend its indentures to enable the
Company to increase its credit facility borrowings.
Amendment
of Indentures
In
November 2000, the Company solicited the consents of its public debtholders to
amend the Indenture dated November 26, 1997 between COI and Wilmington Trust
Company, as trustee, with respect to the 12% Senior Notes due 2007 of COI (the
“Senior Notes”) and the Indenture dated November 26, 1997 between COMFORCE and
The Bank of New York, as trustee, with respect to the 15% Senior Secured PIK
Debentures due 2009 of COMFORCE (the “PIK Debentures”). Upon obtaining the requisite consents, the
Company entered into First Supplemental Indentures dated as of November 29,
2000 with Wilmington Trust Company and The Bank of New York to give effect to
the amendments approved.
Among
other things, the amendments adopted in the First Supplemental Indentures:
· expand the permitted maximum amount of credit facility debt to the greater of (1) $75.0 million at any time outstanding, less the amount repaid with the proceeds of asset dispositions, or (2) 90% of eligible accounts receivable outstanding at any time without reduction for repayments of principal.
· allow the Company the flexibility to use securitization financing techniques when they are more cost effective and provide greater flexibility than other financing vehicles.
· increase the permitted upstream of funds from COI to COMFORCE to pay public company expenses from $1.25 million annually to $2.0 million annually.
· to facilitate the purchase or exchange by COMFORCE of PIK Debentures at less than par from willing sellers, permit COI to upstream up to $10.0 million to pay income tax related to deemed forgiveness of PIK Debentures.
Shortly after adoption of these amendments, IBJ requested that further amendments be adopted to clarify the scope of eligible accounts receivable, as defined in the amendments of November 29, 2000, before it entered into the IBJ Credit Facility. Accordingly, the Company entered into Second Supplemental Indentures dated as of December 4, 2000 with Wilmington Trust Company and The Bank of New York to adopt the clarifying amendments. These amendments did not, in the opinion of management, substantively modify the terms of the First Supplemental Indentures.
Settlement
of Litigation
On
November 30, 2000, immediately prior to a scheduled jury trial, the Company
settled its long-standing litigation with two former executives of the Company,
Austin Iodice and Anthony Giglio. Under
the terms of settlement, the Company agreed to pay to the plaintiffs $325,000
on January 2, 2001 (which amount was paid on this date) and $300,000 on May 1,
2001 and to issue options to them to purchase 555,628 shares of common stock in
the aggregate at an exercise price of $0.6625 per share on January 2, 2001
(which options were issued as of this date).
See Item 3 in this Report for a description of this litigation and the
terms of settlement.
Change
in Fiscal Year
On
March 22, 2001, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution to change
the Company’s fiscal year, which is currently a calendar year. Beginning in 2001, the fiscal year will
consist of the 52 or 53 weeks ending on the last Sunday in December. Accordingly, the Company’s next fiscal year
will end on Sunday, December 30, 2001.
Repurchase
of Senior Notes and PIK Debentures
As part of its strategy to reduce its higher interest
rate debt and improve its balance sheet, on February 28, 2001, the Company
completed the repurchase of $11.0 million principal amount of Senior Notes for
$7.5 million and on March 5, 2001, the Company completed the repurchase of an
additional $2.0 million of Senior Notes for $1.4 million, the repurchase prices
of which were paid from lower interest rate borrowings under the IBJ Credit
Facility. In addition, on March 5,
2001, the Company entered into an amendment of the IBJ Credit Facility to
permit borrowings thereunder to repurchase of PIK Debentures under certain
circumstances. As amended, the IBJ
Credit Facility permits the use of up to $16.5 million in loan proceeds to pay
the aggregate repurchase prices of Senior Notes and PIK Debentures and costs
associated therewith (including related tax expenses), not more than $9.0 million
of which may be used to pay the repurchase price of PIK Debentures and such
associated costs. On March 6, 2001,
the Company completed the repurchase of $5.2 million principal amount of PIK
Debentures for $2.5 million using lower interest rate borrowings under the IBJ
Credit Facility. Prior thereto, during the third quarter of 2000, the Company
repurchased $10.0 million principal amount of the Senior Notes for a purchase
price of $5.1 million, the repurchase price of which was paid from lower interest
rate borrowings under the now retired Heller Credit Facility.
Results of Operations
Net
sales of services for the year ended December 31, 2000 were $480.3 million, an
increase of 10.1% from net sales of services for the year ended December 31,
1999 of $436.2 million. The increase in
2000 net sales of services is principally attributable to higher sales to
customers in the Company’s Human Capital Management Services segment and to
telecom customers in the Staff Augmentation segment, the contribution of sales
by Gerri G. since its acquisition in February 2000 in the Staff Augmentation
segment and there being more business days in 2000 than in 1999, partially
offset by a decrease in sales to Staff Augmentation customers in the
engineer-related and information technologies sectors.
Cost
of services for the year ended December 31, 2000 was 79.0% of net sales of
services as compared to cost of services of 80.7% for the year ended December
31, 1999. The cost of services
decreased as a percentage of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2000 as
a result of the continued strategies undertaken by management to increase
margins throughout the Company, as well as increases in fees for direct hire
placements, which generally have no related costs of services.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales of services
were 13.9% for the year ended December 31, 2000, compared to 12.7% for the year
ended December 31, 1999. This increase
resulted principally from higher payroll and recruiting costs with respect to
non-billable staff, the expansion of the Company's corporate headquarters and
investments to expand the infrastructure for the Company’s Human Capital
Management Services segment.
The
Company incurred a charge in the year ended December 31, 2000 of approximately
$1.1 million as a result of the settlement of its litigation with Austin Iodice
and Anthony Giglio (see Item 3, “Legal Proceedings”).
Operating
income for the year ended December 31, 2000 was $25.4 million as compared to
operating income of $21.9 million for the year ended December 31, 1999. This 16.3% increase in operating income for
the year ended December 31, 2000 resulted principally from an increase in gross
margin, partially offset by higher selling, general and administrative expenses
and the Iodice and Giglio litigation settlement as well as an increase in
depreciation and amortization.
The Company's interest expense
for the year ended December 31, 2000 and 1999 is attributable to the interest
on the Heller Credit Facility, the IBJ Credit Facility, the Senior Notes and
the PIK Debentures. The IBJ Credit
Facility was entered into in December 2000 to repay the Heller Credit Facility
and provide the Company additional borrowing availability. These other obligations were incurred in
1997, principally in connection with the funding of business acquisitions. The Company incurred a charge of $742,000
for the write-off of deferred financing costs in the fourth quarter of 2000 for
the early termination of the Heller Credit Facility. The interest expense is higher in 2000 due to increased interest
rates and borrowings under the credit facilities.
Included
in other income is a payment for a restricted covenant release of $1.0 million
for the year ended December 31, 2000.
This represents a payment made by certain former officers of the Company
to release them from certain restrictive agreements and non-competition
covenants.
During
the third quarter of 2000, the Company repurchased $10.0 million face value of
the Senior Notes for a purchase price of $5.1 million. The net extraordinary gain that was realized
by these repurchases was $2.8 million, which includes the reduction of $200,000
of deferred financing costs associated with the repurchases net of tax expense
of $1.9 million. See “Financial
Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this Item 7.
The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2000 was $3.1 million on income before taxes and extraordinary gain, compared to an income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 1999 of $2.2 million on a profit before taxes of $131,000. The difference between the Federal statutory income tax rate of 34.0% and the Company’s effective tax rate of 114.8% relates primarily to the nondeductibility of amortization expense associated with certain intangible assets, the nondeductibility of a portion of the interest expense associated with the PIK Debentures and state income taxes.
Year Ended December 31, 1999
Compared to Year Ended December 31, 1998
Net sales of services for the year ended December 31, 1999 were $436.2 million, a decline of 5.0% from net sales of services for the year ended December 31, 1998 of $459.0 million. The decrease in 1999 net sales of services is principally attributable to a decrease in sales to IT customers and other staffing customers in the Company’s Staff Augmentation segment, offset partially by higher sales to customers in the Human Capital Management Services segment and telecom customers in the Staff Augmentation segment. The Company’s business with Boeing Corporation, its largest customer in 1998, was substantially lower in 1999. This represented the majority of the decline the Company experienced in sales to other staffing customers in the Staff Augmentation segment. The Company also experienced a decline in IT sales in the second half of 1999 as a result of the Year 2000 lockdown, which slowed contract activity, as many customers in the Staff Augmentation segment limited or delayed IT development work until after January 1, 2000.
Cost of services for the year ended December 31, 1999 was 80.7% of net sales of services compared to cost of services of 81.2% for the year ended December 31, 1998. The cost of services decrease as a percentage of net sales for the 1999 is a result of the strategies undertaken by management to increase margins, as well as the Company’s business mix, which reflected growth in the Company’s sales to telecom customers in the Staff Augmentation segment and declines in other staffing services in this segment having lower margins.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales of services
was 12.7% for the year ended December 31, 1999, compared to 12.2% for the year
ended December 31, 1998. This
percentage increase was principally attributable to the decline of net sales of
services discussed above.
Operating
income for the year ended December 31, 1999 was $21.9 million, compared to
operating income of $24.9 million for the year ended December 31, 1998. This decrease was principally attributable
to the reduced net sales of services discussed above coupled with increased
depreciation and amortization, partially offset by increased margins.
The
Company’s interest expense for 1999 and 1998 is attributable to the interest
under the Heller Credit Facility, the Senior Notes and the PIK Debentures,
which obligations were incurred in 1997, principally in connection with the
funding of business acquisitions.
The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 1999 was $2.2 million on a profit before taxes of $131,000, as compared to an income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 1998 of $2.7 million on pre-tax income of $3.5 million. The difference between the Federal statutory income tax rate and the Company’s effective tax rate relates primarily to the nondeductibility of amortization expense associated with certain intangible assets, the nondeductibility of a portion of the interest expense associated with the PIK Debentures and adjustments to prior period tax estimates.
Financial Condition, Liquidity and
Capital Resources
The
Company pays its billable employees weekly for their services, and remits
certain statutory payroll and related taxes as well as other fringe
benefits. Invoices are generated to
reflect these costs plus the Company’s markup.
These bills are typically paid within 45 days. Increases in the Company's net sales of services, resulting from
expansion of existing offices or establishment of new offices, will require
additional cash resources.
Management
of the Company believes that cash flow from operations and funds anticipated to
be available under the IBJ Credit Facility will be sufficient to service the
Company’s indebtedness and to meet anticipated working capital requirements for
the foreseeable future.
During
the year ended December 31, 2000, the Company's primary sources of funds to
meet working capital needs were from borrowings under the Heller Credit Facility
and, later, under the IBJ Credit Facility.
Cash and cash equivalents decreased $2.9 million during the year ended
December 31, 2000. Cash flows provided
by financing activities of $15.0 million were exceeded by cash flows used in
operating activities of $11.5 million and cash flows used in investing
activities of $6.4 million. The
increase in cash flows used in operations over the same period in the prior
year is primarily attributable to the need to fund growth in accounts
receivable as a result of increased revenues and there being more business days
in 2000 than in 1999.
As
of December 31, 2000, the Company had outstanding $66.5 million in principal
amount under the IBJ Credit Facility bearing interest at an average rate of
9.46% per annum. In addition, as of
December 31, 2000, the Company had outstanding $30.9 million in principal
amount of PIK Debentures bearing interest at a rate of 15%, and $100.0 million
in principal amount of Senior Notes bearing interest at a rate of 12%. The debt service costs associated with the
PIK Debentures may be satisfied through the issuance of new notes. To date, the Company has chosen to issue new
PIK Debentures to pay these costs. In
the third quarter of 2000, the Company repurchased $10.0 million principal amount
of Senior Notes for a purchase price of $5.1 million, principally from funds
made available for this purpose through an amendment of the now retired Heller
Credit Facility entered into in the third quarter of 2000.
As described above under “Recent Developments—New Credit Facility,” in December 2000, the Company entered into the IBJ Credit Facility to provide greater borrowing availability. The maximum availability of $100.0 million was increased to $110.0 million in January 2001 when additional lending institutions requested to join the loan syndicate. The IBJ Credit Facility was further amended in March 2001 to permit the Company to use certain borrowed funds to repurchase PIK Debentures (in addition to Senior Notes, the repurchase of which was previously permitted). Borrowings under the IBJ Credit Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at a per annum rate equal to either (1) the base commercial lending rate of IBJ as announced from time to time (but not less than 0.5% in excess of the weighted average of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions), plus a margin ranging from 0% if the Company’s leverage ratio is 4.00 or less to 1% if the Company’s leverage ratio is greater than 6.00 (which margin will be fixed at 0.75% through December 14, 2001), or (2) LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.75% if the Company’s leverage ratio is 4.00 or less to 2.75% if the Company’s leverage ratio is greater than 6.00 (which margin will be fixed at 2.50% through December 14, 2001).
The
obligations evidenced by the IBJ Credit Facility are collateralized by a pledge
of the capital stock of the subsidiaries of the Company and by security
interests in substantially all of the assets of the Company. The agreements evidencing the IBJ Credit
Facility contain various financial and other covenants and conditions,
including, but not limited to, limitations on paying dividends, engaging in
affiliate transactions, making acquisitions and incurring additional
indebtedness. The scheduled maturity
date of the IBJ Credit Facility is December 14, 2003.
In addition, as described under “Recent Developments—Amendment of Indentures,” during the fourth quarter of 2000, the Company solicited and received approval from the holders of the Senior Notes to authorize amendments of the Indentures designed to address certain of the Company’s debt strategies, including permitting the Company to increase the indebtedness under the Credit Facility and through securitization vehicles to the greater of (i) $75.0 million at any time outstanding, less the aggregate amount thereof repaid with the net proceeds of asset dispositions, or (ii) 90% of eligible accounts receivable outstanding at any time.
The Company continues to examine strategies to reduce its higher interest rate debt and improve its balance sheet. These strategies include, but are not limited to, repurchasing Senior Notes or PIK Debentures through public market purchases or privately negotiated transactions or exchanging Senior Notes or PIK Debentures for other securities of the Company. As discussed under “Recent Developments—Repurchase of Senior Notes and PIK Debentures” in this Item 7, as part of its strategy, in February and March 2001, the Company repurchased $13.0 million principal amount of Senior Notes for $8.9 million and $5.2 million principal amount of PIK Debentures for $2.5 million, the repurchase prices of which were paid from lower interest rate borrowings under the IBJ Credit Facility. These repurchases are in addition to the Company’s repurchase during the third quarter of 2000 of $10.0 million principal amount of the Senior Notes for a purchase price of $5.1 million, the repurchase price of which was paid from lower interest rate borrowings under the now retired Heller Credit Facility. The IBJ Credit Facility permits the use of up to $16.5 million in loan proceeds to pay the aggregate repurchase prices of Senior Notes and PIK Debentures and costs associated therewith (including related tax expenses), not more than $9.0 million of which may be used to pay the repurchase price of PIK Debentures and such associated costs. In the case of each repurchase to date, the Company has incurred tax liabilities for the forgiveness of indebtedness as a result of its repurchase of Senior Notes or PIK Debentures for consideration that is less than par. Subsequent to these purchases, Management believes the remaining availability under the credit facility is sufficient to service the Company’s indebtedness and to meet anticipated working capital requirements in the foreseeable future.
Substantially all of the consolidated net assets of the Company are assets of COI and all of the net income which has been generated by Company through December 31, 2000 is net income attributable to the operations of COI. Accordingly, except for permitted distributions, these assets and net income are restricted as to their use by COMFORCE. The indenture governing the Senior Notes imposes restrictions on COI making specified payments, which are referred to as “restricted payments,” including making distributions or paying dividends (referred to as upstreaming funds) to COMFORCE. Under the indenture, COI is not permitted to make cash distributions to COMFORCE other than (1) to upstream $2.0 million annually ($1.25 million annually prior to 2000) to pay public company expenses, (2) to upstream up to $10.0 million to pay income tax related to deemed forgiveness of PIK Debentures to facilitate the purchase or exchange by COMFORCE of PIK Debentures at less than par, (3) under certain circumstances in connection with a disposition of assets, to upstream proceeds therefrom to repay the PIK Debentures, and (4) to upstream funds to the extent COI meets the restricted payments test under the indenture, as described under Note 9(b) to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In
2000, COI upstreamed $1.9 million for public company expenses of COMFORCE. Management believes that $2.0 million
annually (if COI has funds available for this purpose) will be sufficient to
pay COMFORCE’s annual public company expenses for the foreseeable future. In the first quarter of 2001, in connection
with its repurchase of $5.2 million principal amount of PIK Debentures for $2.5
million, COMFORCE incurred a tax liability related to the forgiveness of
indebtedness of approximately $1.1 million, payable from the $10.0 million
permitted to be upstreamed for this purpose.
The $2.5 million repurchase cost is deemed to be a restricted payment of
COI under the indenture governing the Senior Notes. Accordingly, upon completion of the repurchase, COI had
approximately $1.8 million remaining available for distribution as permitted
restricted payments (representing 50% of consolidated net income of COI for the
period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2000, less $2.5 million).
Through December 1, 2002, interest under the PIK Debentures is payable, at the option of COMFORCE, in cash or in kind through the issuance of additional PIK Debentures. To date, COMFORCE has paid all interest in kind. Beginning with the interest payment due June 1, 2003, COMFORCE will be required to pay interest on the PIK Debentures in cash. Its ability to do so will be dependent on the ability of COI to upstream funds for this purpose under the restricted payments test. In addition, COMFORCE’s ability to repay the PIK Debentures at their maturity on December 1, 2009 or on any earlier required repayment or repurchase date will also be dependent on the ability of COI to upstream funds for this purpose under the restricted payments test, unless COMFORCE separately obtains a loan or sells its capital stock or other securities to provide funds for this purpose.
As of December 31, 2000,
approximately $137.7 million, or 48.6%, of the Company's total assets were
intangible assets. These intangible assets substantially represent amounts
attributable to goodwill recorded in connection with the Company's
acquisitions. Intangible assets will be
amortized over a 5 to 40 year period, resulting in an annual non-cash
charge of approximately $4.2 million.
The
Company is obligated under various agreements to make earn-out payments to the
sellers of companies acquired by the Company and to sellers of franchised
businesses repurchased by the Company, subject to the sellers meeting specified
contractual requirements. During the
year ended December 31, 2000, contingent payments in connection with these
acquisitions and repurchases were approximately $2.2 million in cash. The maximum amount of the remaining
potential earn-out payments is approximately $1.1 million in cash payable
through December 31, 2002. The Company
cannot currently estimate whether it will be obligated to pay the maximum
amount; however, the Company anticipates that the cash generated by the
operations of the acquired companies or franchised businesses will provide all
or a substantial part of the capital required to fund the cash portion of the
earn-out payments.
Seasonality
The Company’s quarterly operating results are affected primarily by the number of billing days in the quarter and the seasonality of its customers’ businesses. Demand for engineer-related staffing services has historically been lower during the year-end holidays through January of the following year, showing gradual improvement over the remainder of the year. Although less pronounced than in engineer-related services, the demand for Telecom and IT services is typically lower during the first quarter until customers’ operating budgets are finalized. The Company believes that the effects of seasonality will be less severe in the future if sales to IT, Telecom and Financial Services customers continue to increase as a percentage of the Company's consolidated net sales of services.
Other Matters
Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments
and Hedging Activities,” was issued in June 1998. This statement establishes accounting and reporting standards for
derivative instruments and for hedging activities. It requires that an entity recognize all derivatives as either
assets or liabilities in the statement of financial position and measure those
instruments at fair value. In June
1999, SFAS No. 138, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
– Deferral of the Effective Date of SFAS
No. 133” was issued, making SFAS No.
133 effective for all quarters of fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2000,
or the Company’s fiscal 2001. Based
upon review of the provisions of this standard, the Company has determined that
it will not have a significant impact on its financial position or results of
operations or have a material effect on its financial statement reporting
because the Company does not enter into such transactions.
Various statements made in this Report concerning the manner in which the Company intends to conduct its future operations, and potential trends that may impact future results of operations, are forward looking statements. The Company may be unable to realize its plans and objectives due to various important factors, including, but not limited to, heightened competition for customers as well as for contingent personnel which could potentially require the Company to reduce its current fee scales without being able to reduce the personnel costs of its billable employees; due to the Company’s significant leverage, its greater vulnerability to economic downturns and its potentially diminished ability to obtain additional financing for capital expenditures or for other purposes; if the Company is unable to sustain the cash flow necessary to support the significant amortization charges related to goodwill for its acquired businesses, it could be required to write-off the impaired assets, which could have a material adverse impact on its financial condition and results of operations; or, if COI does not generate sufficient consolidated net income or have other funds available to upstream to COMFORCE under the restricted payments test of the Senior Notes indenture in order for it to pay cash interest on the PIK Debentures (which is required beginning June 1, 2003) or to repay the PIK Debentures at their maturity on December 1, 2009 or on any earlier required repayment or repurchase date, then, unless COMFORCE obtains a loan or sells its capital stock or other securities to provide funds for this purpose, the Company will default under the indentures governing the PIK Debentures and the Senior Notes and under the IBJ Credit Facility. Additional important factors that could cause the Company to be unable to realize its plans and objectives are described under “Risk Factors” in the Registration Statement on Form S-3 of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 21, 2000 (Registration No. 333-52356). The disclosure under “Risk Factors” in the Registration Statement may be accessed through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at “www.sec.gov.” In addition, the Company will provide, without charge, a copy of such “Risk Factors” disclosure to each stockholder of the Company who requests such information. Requests for copies should be directed to the attention of Linda Annicelli, Vice President of Administration at COMFORCE Corporation, 415 Crossways Park Drive, P.O. Box 9006, Woodbury, New York 11797, telephone 516-437-3300.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Most
of the Company’s borrowings are fixed rate obligations. During 2000, approximately 21.6% of the
Company’s interest expense was attributable to variable rate loans, all of
which were under the Heller Credit Facility (which was repaid and terminated in
December 2000) and IBJ Credit Facility (which was entered into in December
2000). The IBJ Credit Facility provides
for borrowing availability of up to $110.0 million based upon a specified
percentage of the Company’s eligible accounts receivable. Since the interest rates on borrowings under
the IBJ Credit Facility are variable, they will be impacted by changes in interest
rates generally prevailing in the United States and internationally. However, management of the Company does not
believe that any adjustments to the rate under the IBJ Credit Facility are
likely to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations in the
immediate future. Assuming an immediate
10% increase in the interest rate under the IBJ Credit Facility, the impact to
the Company in annualized interest payable would be approximately
$600,000. Since management does not
believe that any adjustments to the rate under the IBJ Credit Facility are
likely to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, the
Company has not entered into any swap agreements or other hedging transactions
as a means of limiting exposure to interest rate fluctuations.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Financial
Statements and Schedules as listed on page F-1.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH
ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
The
information required by this section will be included in the Company’s Proxy
Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
or before April 30, 2001 and is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The
information required by this section will be included in the Company’s Proxy
Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
or before April 30, 2001 and is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The
information required by this section will be included in the Company’s Proxy
Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
or before April 30, 2001 and is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
The
information required by this section will be included in the Company’s Proxy
Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
or before April 30, 2001 and is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 14.
EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K
(a) 1. Financial
Statements as listed on page F-1.
2. Financial Statement Schedules as
listed on page F-1.
3. Exhibits as listed on page E-1.
(b) Reports on Form 8-K.
On December 19, 2000, the Company
filed a Current Report on Form 8-K to (1) announce that it had entered into the
IBJ Credit Facility and describe the terms thereof, (2) announce that it had
amended the Indentures for the Senior Notes and PIK Debentures and describe the
terms thereof, and (3) announce that it had settled its litigation with Austin
Iodice and Anthony Giglio and describe the terms of settlement. Each of these
disclosures was made under Item 5 of Form 8-K.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
COMFORCE
Corporation
By: /s/ John C. Fanning
John
C. Fanning, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Date:
March 22, 2001
COMFORCE
Operating, Inc.
By: /s/ John C. Fanning
John
C. Fanning, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Date:
March 22, 2001
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has
been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in
the capacities and on the dates indicated.
SIGNATURE
TITLE DATE
------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------------------
/s/
John C. Fanning
Chairman,
Chief Executive
John C. Fanning Officer and
Director
(Principal
Executive Officer) March 22, 2001
/s/
Harry Maccarrone
Executive
Vice President
Harry Maccarrone and Director
(Principal
Financial
and Accounting
Officer) March
22, 2001
/s/Daniel Raynor Director March 22, 2001
Daniel Raynor
/s/
Gordon Robinett
Director March
22, 2001
Gordon Robinett
/s/
Keith Goldberg Director March 22, 2001
Keith Goldberg
/s/
Kenneth J. Daley Director March 22, 2001
Kenneth J. Daley
COMFORCE CORPORATION
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Table of Contents
Page
Independent Auditors’ Reports F-2
Consolidated Financial Statements:
Consolidated
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2000 and 1999 F-4
Consolidated
Statements of Operations for the
years
ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998 F-5
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
for the years ended December 31,
2000, 1999 and 1998 F-6
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the
years
ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998 F-7
Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements F-
9
Schedule
Schedule II
-- Valuation and Qualifying Accounts F-25
|
|
Board of Directors and Stockholders
COMFORCE Corporation:
We have audited the accompanying
consolidated balance sheets of COMFORCE Corporation and subsidiaries as of
December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the related consolidated statements of
operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years in the
two-year period ended December 31, 2000.
In connection with our audit of the consolidated financial statements,
we have also audited the financial statement schedule for each of the years in
the two-year period ended December 31, 2000 as listed in the accompanying
index. These consolidated financial
statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the
Company’s management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial
statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with
auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement.
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the
amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used
and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We
believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated
financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of COMFORCE Corporation and subsidiaries as of
December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31,
2000, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the related financial
statement schedule for each of the years in the two-year period ended December
31, 2000 when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial
statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the
information set forth therein.
KPMG LLP
Melville, New York
February 27, 2001,
except as to note 18,
which is as of March 6, 2001
Report of Independent Accountants
To
the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
of
COMFORCE Corporation:
In
our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index
appearing on page F-1, present
fairly, in all material respects, the results of operations and cash flows of
COMFORCE Corporation and Subsidiaries for the year ended December 31,1998, in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America. In addition, in our
opinion, the financial statement schedule for 1998, listed in the index
appearing on page F-1, presents fairly, in all material respects, the
information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related
consolidated financial statements.
These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the
responsibility of the Company’s management; our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on
our audit. We conducted our audit of
these statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in
the United States of America, which require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free
of material misstatement. An audit
includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that
our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
February
25, 1999





COMFORCE Corporation (COMFORCE), is a leading provider
of staffing, outsourcing and consulting solutions primarily to Fortune 500
companies in the information technology (IT), telecommunications, technical,
professional and financial market sectors.
COMFORCE Operating, Inc. (COI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COMFORCE,
was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in October 1997 for the purpose
of facilitating certain of the Company’s financing transactions in
November 1997 (see note 9). Unless
the context otherwise requires, the term “Company” refers to COMFORCE, COI and
all of their wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries.
Effective January 1, 1996, the Company effected a
quasi-reorganization through the application of $93,847,000 of its $95,993,000
additional paid-in capital account to eliminate its accumulated deficit. The Company’s Board decided to effect a
quasi-reorganization given that the Company achieved profitability following
its entry into the technical staffing business and discontinuation of its
unprofitable jewelry business.
(2) Summary of Significant
Accounting Policies
Fiscal Year
Through December 31, 2000, the Company’s fiscal years
have ended on December 31 in each year.
Beginning in 2001, the Company’s fiscal year will consist of the 52 or
53 weeks ending on the last Sunday in December. Accordingly, the Company’s next fiscal year will end on Sunday,
December 30, 2001.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of COMFORCE, COI and their subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been
eliminated in consolidation.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue for providing staffing services is recognized
at the time such services are rendered.
A portion of the Company’s revenue is attributable to
franchise operations. The Company
includes such revenues and related direct costs in its net sales of services and
cost of services, respectively. The net
distribution to the franchisee is based on a percentage of gross profit
generated and is included in operating expenses. The licensee share in operating expenses at December 31, 2000,
1999 and 1998 was approximately $5,102,000, $5,374,000 and $6,946,000,
respectively.
Funding and support services provide payroll funding
services and back office support to independent consulting and staffing
companies. In providing payroll funding
services, the Company purchases the accounts receivable of independent staffing
firms and receives payments directly from these firms’ clients. The Company pursues the collection of these
receivables; however, the amount of any account receivable which is not
collected within a specified period after billing is charged back by the
Company to such firm. The Company
receives a fee for providing such funding and other services, which is included
in net sales of services in the accompanying consolidated statements of
operations at the time such services are rendered.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid short-term
investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash and
cash equivalents. Cash equivalents
consists primarily of money market funds.
Property
and Equipment
Property and equipment are carried at cost. Depreciation is provided primarily on a straight-line basis over
the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the life
of the lease or of the improvement.
Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred and
improvements that extend the useful life are capitalized. Upon retirement or sale, the cost and
accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from the respective
accounts, and the gain or loss, if any, is reflected in earnings.
If events or changes in circumstances indicate that
the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable, the Company
estimates the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset
and its eventual disposition. If the
sum of the expected future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest
charges) is less than the carrying amount of the long-lived asset, an
impairment loss is recognized. To date,
no impairment losses have been recognized.
Intangible Assets
The net assets of a purchased business are recorded at
their fair value at the date of acquisition.
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair value of
identifiable net assets of companies acquired.
Goodwill is amortized on a straight-line basis over periods of 20 to 40
years (see note 6).
The Company assesses the recoverability of this asset
by determining whether the amortization of the goodwill balance over its remaining
life can be recovered through forecasted future operations. Impairment is evaluated by comparing future
cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) expected to result from
the use or sale of the asset and its eventual disposition, to the carrying
amount of the asset.
Income Taxes
The Company recognizes deferred tax liabilities and
assets for the expected future tax consequences of differences between the tax
basis of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts at each
year-end based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the
periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when
necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be
realized. Income tax expense consists
of the tax payable for the period and the change during the period in deferred
tax assets and liabilities.
Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of
the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses
during the reporting period. Actual
results could differ from those estimates.
Fair Values of Financial
Instruments
Cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable,
funding and service fees receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses are
reflected in the financial statements at fair value because of the short-term
maturity of these financial instruments.
The Company’s fixed rate debt obligations are traded
infrequently, and their fair market value may fluctuate significantly due to
changes in the demand for securities of their type, the overall level of
interest rates, conditions in the high yield capital markets, and perceptions
as to the Company’s condition and prospects.
After giving consideration to similar debt issues, indicated bid levels,
and other market information, the Company believes that the approximate fair
value of the 12% Senior Notes of COI and the 15% PIK Debentures of COMFORCE are
$68.0 million and $14.8 million, respectively, at December 31, 2000.
Deferred Financing Costs
Deferred financing costs consist of costs associated
with the issuance of the Company’s long-term debt (see note 9). Such costs are amortized on a straight-line
basis over the life of each financing source, which ranges from 3 to 12 years,
and unamortized costs are fully recognized upon discharge of any
financing. Upon the repayment and
termination in December 2000 of the Company’s revolving credit facility agented
by Heller Financial, Inc. entered into in November 1997 (the “Heller Credit
Facility”), $742,000 in unamortized
financing costs related thereto were expensed (see note 9).
Income (Loss) Per Share
Basic income (loss) per common share is computed by
dividing net income (loss) available for common shareholders by the weighted
average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Diluted income (loss) per share is computed
assuming the conversion of stock options, warrants and contingent shares with a
market value greater than the exercise price.
Reclassification
Certain reclassifications have been made to conform
prior year amounts to the current year presentation.
Impact of New Accounting Pronouncements
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No.
133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” was issued
in June 1998. This statement
establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and
for hedging activities. It requires
that an entity recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the
statement of financial position and measure those instruments at fair
value. In June 1999, SFAS No. 138,
“Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities – Deferral of the
Effective Date of SFAS No. 133” was
issued, making SFAS No. 133 effective
for all quarters of fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2000, or the
Company’s fiscal 2001. Based upon
review of the provisions of this standard, the Company has determined that it
will not have a significant impact on its financial position or results of
operations or have a material effect on its financial statement reporting
because the Company does not enter into such transactions.
(3) Acquisitions
In February 2000, the Company purchased all of the
issued and outstanding stock of Gerri G. Inc. for $800,000 in cash paid at
closing, plus a contingent payment of up to $600,000 payable in cash over a
two-year period based upon the future operating results of this business. The acquisition has been accounted for under
the purchase method and, accordingly, the results of operations are included in
the financial statements from the date of acquisition. Pro forma results have not been provided as
their effect is not material to the financial statements of the Company.
In January 1998, COMFORCE Telecom, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company, purchased all of the issued and outstanding stock of
Camelot Consulting Group Inc., Camelot Communications Group Inc., Camelot
Control Group Inc. and Camelot Group Inc. (collectively, Camelot) for total
consideration of approximately $3.7 million in cash and 203,307 shares of the
Company’s common stock. In addition,
the Company issued contingent payment certificates under which it could be
required to pay up to $3.25 million in cash over a three-year period. The acquisition has been accounted for under
the purchase method and, accordingly, the results of operations are included in
the financial statements from the date of acquisition. Camelot is in the business of selling and installing
telecommunications equipment and of providing staffing services.
For the year ended December 31, 1997, the Company
completed the acquisitions of the following businesses which have been
accounted for under the purchase method of accounting: Uniforce Services, Inc. and subsidiaries
(Uniforce) and RHO Company, Inc. (Rhotech).
The aggregate purchase price of the acquisitions for the year ended
December 31, 1997 was approximately $120,600,000, comprised of $108,400,000 in
cash and approximately $12,200,000 in common stock (1,585,208 shares). In addition, certain of the acquisitions
contained contingent payout provisions based on the attainment of specified
earnings.
For the year ended December 31, 1996, the Company
completed the acquisitions of the following businesses which have been accounted
for under the purchase method of accounting: Williams Communication Services,
Inc. (Williams), Project Staffing Support Team, Inc., RRA, Inc. and Datatech
Technical Services, Inc. (collectively RRA), Force Five, Inc. (Force Five),
Azatar Computer Systems, Inc. (Azatar), and Continental Field Services
Corporation and its affiliate, and Progressive Telecom, Inc. (collectively,
Continental). The aggregate purchase
price of the acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 1996 was
approximately $21,029,000, comprised of $15,834,000 in cash and approximately
$5,195,000 in common stock of the Company.
In addition, certain of the acquisitions contained contingent payout
provisions based on the attainment of specified earnings.
During 2000, contingent payments in connection with
recently completed acquisitions were approximately $2.2 million in cash.
At December 31, 2000, maximum future contingent payments in connection
with all acquisitions approximate $1.1 million in cash.
(4) Restructuring Charges
The Company recorded a $1.6 million restructuring
charge in the fourth quarter of 1997 related to merger and integration charges
resulting from the acquisition of Uniforce.
All of the actions under these plans are completed and have resulted in
lower costs than originally estimated.
As a result of these developments, the Company recognized a
restructuring credit of $163,000 in 1999 and $211,000 in 1998. As of December 31, 1999 and 2000, there were
no remaining restructuring liabilities.
(5) Property and Equipment
Property and equipment as of December 31, 2000 and
1999 consisted of (in thousands):
Estimated
useful
lives
in
years 2000
1999
Computer equipment and related software 3-7 $
16,390 $ 13,243
Furniture, fixtures and vehicles 3-7 2,244 1,921
Leasehold improvements 3-7 676 578
19,310 15,742
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (7,260) (4,252)
$ 12,050 11,490
Depreciation and amortization expense was $3,008,000,
$2,342,000 and $1,255,000 for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998,
respectively.
(6) Intangibles
Intangibles as of December 31, 2000 and 1999 consisted of (in
thousands):
Estimated
useful
lives
in
years 2000
1999
Goodwill 20-40 $ 150,512
147,491
Non-compete covenants 5 660 1,190
Other 5 587 716
151,759
149,397
Less accumulated amortization (14,104)
(10,387)
$ 137,655 139,010
Amortization expense was $4,416,000, $4,482,000 and $4,326,000
for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998, respectively.
(7) Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses as
of December 31, 2000 and 1999 consisted of (in thousands):
2000 1999
Payroll and payroll taxes $ 20,249 9,729
Vacation/pension plan 2,318 1,742
Income taxes payable 973 1,048
Commissions 2,288 1,424
Medical insurance --- 1,100
Interest 1,485 1,867
Litigation settlement 1,056 --
Other
5,866 4,078
$ 34,235 20,988
(8) Income Taxes
The provision for
income taxes as of December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998 consisted of (in
thousands):
2000
1999
1998
Current:
Federal $ 2,056 1,338 621
State 996 303 296
Deferred 21 528
1,747
$ 3,073 2,169 2,664
Total income tax expense differed from the statutory
United States Federal income tax rate of 34% before income taxes as a result of
the following items (in thousands):
2000
1999
1998
Statutory Federal tax
rate provision
at 34.0% $ 910 45 1,181
State and local taxes, net of Federal benefit 657 5 133
Change in deferred tax rates and estimates used (71) 157 --
Effect of non-deductible items 1,577 1,820 1,350
Change in estimates used for prior years -- 142
--
$ 3,073 2,169
2,664
The components of deferred tax assets and deferred tax
liabilities at December 31, 2000 and 1999 (in thousands) are as follows:
2000 1999
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves
and allowances $
586 637
Accrued
severance --- 19
Accrued
liabilities and other 4,327 3,110
Total
deferred tax assets 4,913 3,766
Deferred tax liability:
Intangibles 1,255 896
Excess
depreciation 2,178 1,316
Total
deferred tax liabilities 3,433 2,212
Net
deferred tax asset $ 1,480 1,554
The net deferred income tax assets are reflected in
the accompanying balance sheets as follows (in thousands):
2000 1999
Net deferred income tax assets – current $ 1,076 1,373
Net deferred income tax assets – noncurrent 404 181
$ 1,480 1,554
In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets,
management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or
all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon
the generation of future taxable income and tax planning strategies
implemented. Based upon the level of
historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income over the
periods in which the deferred tax assets are deductible, management believes it
is more likely than not that the Company will realize the benefits of these
deductible differences at December 31, 2000.
The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable, however,
could be reduced if estimates of future taxable income change.
(9) Debt
Notes payable and long-term debt at December 31, 2000 and 1999
consisted of (in thousands):
2000 1999
12% Senior Notes, due 2007 (a) $ 100,000 110,000
15% Senior Secured PIK Debentures,
due 2009
(b) 30,932 26,766
Revolving line of credit, due November 26, 2002
with
interest payable monthly at LIBOR plus
2.0%. At December 31, 1999, the
weighted
average rate was 8.17% (c) -- 45,580
Revolving line of credit, due December 14, 2003,
with
interest payable monthly at LIBOR plus
2.50%.
At December 31, 2000, the
weighted average rate was 9.46% (d) 66,489 --
197,421 182,346
Less
current portion -- 4,000
Total
long-term debt $ 197,421 178,346
(a) The 12% Senior Notes (the Senior Notes)
are senior uncollateralized obligations of COI and rank equal in right of
payment with all existing and future senior indebtedness of COI and senior in
right of payment to all existing and future subordinated indebtedness of
COI. The Senior Notes provide for the
payment of interest semi-annually at the rate of 12% per annum and mature on
December 1, 2007.
COI may redeem the Senior
Notes, in whole or in part, at any time on or after December 1, 2002 at a
redemption price of 106% for the 12 months commencing December 1, 2002,
declining annually to 100% at any time on or after December 1, 2005, together
with accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption. During the third quarter of 2000, COI
repurchased $10.0 million face value of the Senior Notes for a purchase price
of $5.1 million. The net extraordinary
gain that was realized by these repurchases was approximately $2.8 million,
which includes the reduction of $200,000 of deferred financing costs associated
with the repurchases net of tax expense of $1.9 million.
Upon the occurrence of
certain specified events deemed to result in a change of control, COI will be
required to make an offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at a price equal to
101% of the principal amount thereof, together with accrued and unpaid interest
to the date of repurchase.
Subject to certain
qualifications and exceptions the indenture governing the Senior Notes limits
(i) the incurrence of additional indebtedness by COI and its subsidiaries, (ii)
the payment of dividends on, and redemption of, capital stock of COI and the
redemption of certain subordinated obligations of COI, (iii) investments, (iv)
sales of assets and subsidiary stock, (v) transactions with affiliates, (vi)
consolidations, mergers and transfers of all or substantially all the assets of
COI, and (vii) distributions from subsidiaries. See note 18 for a description of certain subsequent events with
respect to the repurchase of Senior Notes.
(b) The 15% Senior Secured PIK Debentures
(the PIK Debentures) constitute direct and unconditional senior obligations of
the Company and are collateralized by a pledge by the Company of all of the
issued and outstanding common stock of COI.
The payment obligations of the Company under the PIK Debentures must at
all times rank at least equal in priority of payment with all existing and
future indebtedness of the Company. The
PIK Debentures are structurally subordinated to all indebtedness of the
Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries.
The PIK Debentures bear
interest at the rate of 15% per annum, subject to increases in certain
circumstances, payable semi-annually, and mature on December 1, 2009. Through December 1, 2002, interest is
payable in cash or in additional PIK Debentures paid in kind (PIK) on each
interest payment date, at the option of the Company. Thereafter, interest is payable only in cash. During 2000, the Company issued
approximately $4.2 million of additional PIK Debentures in lieu of interest.
Subject to certain
requirements, the Company may at any time redeem any or all of the PIK
Debentures at the price of 107.5%.
Upon the occurrence of
certain specified events deemed to result in a change of control, COMFORCE will
be required to make an offer to repurchase the PIK Debentures at a price equal
to 101% of the principal amount thereof, together with accrued and unpaid
interest, if any, to the date of repurchase.
Subject to certain
qualifications and exceptions, the indenture governing the PIK Debentures
limits (i) the incurrence of additional indebtedness by the Company and its
subsidiaries, (ii) the payment of dividends on, and redemption of, capital
stock of the Company and the redemption of certain subordinated obligations of
the Company, (iii) investments, (iv) sales of assets and subsidiary stock, (v)
transactions with affiliates, (vi) consolidations, mergers and transfers of all
or substantially all the assets of the Company and (vii) distributions from
subsidiaries. See note 18 for a
description of a subsequent event respecting the repurchase of PIK Debentures.
Substantially all of the consolidated net assets of the Company are assets of COI and all of the net income which has been generated by Company through December 31, 2000 is net income attributable to the operations of COI. Accordingly, except for permitted distributions as described below, these assets and net income are restricted as to their use by COMFORCE.
The indenture governing the Senior Notes imposes restrictions on COI making specified payments, which are referred to as “restricted payments,” including making distributions or paying dividends (referred to as upstreaming funds) to COMFORCE. Under the indenture, COI is not permitted to make cash distributions to COMFORCE other than (1) to upstream $2.0 million annually to pay public company expenses, (2) to upstream up to $10.0 million to pay income tax related to deemed forgiveness of PIK Debentures to facilitate the purchase or exchange by COMFORCE of PIK Debentures at less than par, (3) under certain circumstances in connection with a disposition of assets, to upstream proceeds therefrom to repay the PIK Debentures, and (4) to upstream funds to the extent COI meets the restricted payments test described below.
In November 2000, COI obtained approval of the holders of the Senior Notes to amend the indenture governing the Senior Notes to increase the permitted upstream of funds to pay public company expenses of COMFORCE from $1.25 million annually to $2.0 million annually. COI upstreamed $1.25 million in 1999 and $1.9 million in 2000 for public company expenses of COMFORCE.
Under the restricted payments test, COI is permitted to upstream funds to COMFORCE if (1) a default under the indenture does not then exist or would result therefrom, (2) COI has a consolidated coverage ratio (as defined in the indenture) of at least 1.50 to 1.00 and (3) the aggregate amount of the upstream and all other restricted payments previously made does not exceed 50% of COI’s consolidated net income (as defined in the indenture) accrued from January 1, 1998 through the most recent fiscal quarter ending prior to the date of the restricted payment, plus 100% of other amounts upon the occurrence of certain events (none of which have occurred to date). At December 31, 2000, COI had approximately $4.3 million available for distribution as permitted restricted payments. This amount represents 50% of consolidated net income of COI for the period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2000.
As described above, through December 1, 2002, interest under the PIK Debentures is payable, at the option of COMFORCE, in cash or in kind through the issuance of additional PIK Debentures. To date, COMFORCE has paid all interest in kind. Beginning with the interest payment due June 1, 2003, COMFORCE will be required to pay interest on the PIK Debentures in cash. Its ability to do so will be dependent on the ability of COI to upstream funds for this purpose under the restricted payments test. In addition, COMFORCE’s ability to repay the PIK Debentures at their maturity on December 1, 2009 or on any earlier required repayment or repurchase date will also be dependent on the ability of COI to upstream funds for this purpose under the restricted payments test, unless COMFORCE separately obtains a loan or sells its capital stock or other securities to provide funds for this purpose.
(c) Throughout 1999 and until repaid
and terminated in December 2000, the Company maintained a revolving credit
facility (the Heller Credit Facility) providing for borrowings of up to $75.0
million based on a specified percentage of the Company’s eligible accounts
receivable. The Company pledged
substantially all of its assets as collateral for the Heller Credit Facility.
Borrowings
under the Heller Credit Facility bore interest, at the Company’s option, at a rate based on a
margin over
either prime rate or LIBOR. The terms
of the agreement included a commitment fee based
on
unutilized amounts.
(d) In December 2000, the Company repaid and
terminated the Heller Credit Facility with the proceeds of a new revolving
credit facility agented by IBJ Whitehall Business Credit Corporation (the IBJ
Credit Facility) providing for borrowings of up to $100.0 million at December
31, 2000, and subsequently increased to $110.0 million by an amendment entered
into in January 2001. Permitted
borrowings under the IBJ Credit Facility are based upon a specified percentage
of the Company’s eligible accounts receivable.
The Company has pledged substantially all of its assets as collateral
for the IBJ Credit Facility.
Borrowings under the IBJ Credit
Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at a rate based on a margin
over either the base commercial lending rate of IBJ or LIBOR. The terms of the agreement include a
commitment fee based on unutilized amounts.
The agreements evidencing
the IBJ Credit Facility contain various financial and other covenants and
conditions, including, but not limited to, limitations on paying dividends,
engaging in affiliate transactions, making acquisitions and incurring
additional indebtedness. The scheduled maturity
date of the IBJ Credit Facility is December 14, 2003.
Required principal payments
of long-term debt are as follows (in thousands):
2003 $ 66,489
Thereafter 130,932
$ 197,421
See note 18 for a
description of a subsequent amendment to the IBJ Credit Facility.
(10) Income (Loss) Per Share
The following represents a reconciliation of the
numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted income (loss) per share
computations (in thousands):
2000
1999
1998
Numerator:
Net income (loss) $ 2,387 (2,038) 805
Preferred stock dividends ---
--- (21)
Numerator for basic and diluted income
(loss) per
share – income (loss)
available to common stockholders $ 2,387 (2,038) 784
Denominator:
Denominator
for basic income (loss)
per share –
weighted-average shares 16,471 16,315 15,971
Effect of
dilutive securities:
Employee stock options -- -- 280
Warrants -- -- 397
-- -- 677
Dilutive potential common shares:
Denominator
for diluted income (loss)
per
share – adjusted weighted-
average
shares and assumed
conversions 16,471 16,315 16,648
Options and warrants to purchase 3,264,490, 4,781,487
and 2,043,370 shares of common stock were outstanding for the years ended 2000,
1999 and 1998, respectively, but were not included in the computation of
diluted income (loss) per share because their effect would be anti-dilutive.
(11) Stock Options and Warrants
Long-Term
Stock Investment Plan
Effective December 16, 1993, the Company’s Board of
Directors approved the Long-Term Stock Investment Plan (the 1993 Plan), which
provided for the granting of options for the purchase of the Company’s common
stock to executives, key employees and non-employee consultants and agents of
the Company and its subsidiaries. The
1993 Plan authorizes the awarding of Stock Options, Incentive Stock Options and
Alternative Appreciation Rights. The
1993 Plan reserved 1,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for grant on
or before December 31, 2002. All
options have generally been granted at a price equal to or greater than the
fair market value of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. Generally, options are granted with a
vesting period of up to 4 years and expire 10 years from the date of
grant. In October 1996, the 1993 Plan
was amended to allow for the issuance of an additional 2,500,000 options under
the plan for a total of 4,000,000 shares.
In June 2000, the 1993 Plan was further amended to allow for the
issuance of an additional 1,000,000 options under the plan for a total of
5,000,000 shares.
A summary of stock option transactions for the years ended December 31,
2000, 1999 and 1998 is as follows:
2000 1999 1998
|
|
Shares |
Exercise price |
Shares |
Exercise price |
Shares |
Exercise price |
|
Outstanding,
beginning of year |
2,761,825 |
$1.125 to 18.50 |
2,565,625 |
$1.125
to 18.50 |
2,135,775 |