Risk Factors Dashboard
Once a year, publicly traded companies issue a comprehensive report of their business, called a 10-K. A component mandated in the 10-K is the ‘Risk Factors’ section, where companies disclose any major potential risks that they may face. This dashboard highlights all major changes and additions in new 10K reports, allowing investors to quickly identify new potential risks and opportunities.
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Risk Factors - SGMA
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Warehousing and Distribution: The Company provides both in-house and third-party warehousing, including in-bond warehouses, shipping, and customs brokerage for certain border crossings as part of its service offering. This includes international shipping, drop shipments to the end customer as well as support of inventory optimization activities such as kanban and consignment.
Government Compliance, Green, Sustainability, and Social Responsible Initiatives: The Company supports initiatives that promote sustainability, green environment and social responsibility. The Company helps its customers in achieving effective compliance. Those include, but are not limited to, Restrictions of Hazardous Substances (“RoHS”), Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”) and Conflict Minerals regulations.
Manufacturing Locations and Certifications: The Company’s manufacturing locations are strategically located to support our customers with locations in Elk Grove Village, Illinois U.S.; Union City, California U.S.; Acuna, Chihuahua and Tijuana, Mexico; Suzhou, China; and Bien Hoa City, Vietnam. The Company’s ability to transition manufacturing to lower cost regions without jeopardizing flexibility and service differentiates it from many competitors. Manufacturing certifications and registrations are location specific, and include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2004, ISO 14001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, Medical ISO 13485:2016 and FDB Certification and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) certifications. Manufacturing certifications and registrations are location specific, 7 and include ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2004, ISO 14001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, Medical ISO 13485:2016 and FDB Certification and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) certifications.
In addition, the Company provided products, design and manufacturing services to the pet technology market through its former subsidiary, Wagz. Wagz offered electronic products such as the Freedom Smart Dog Collar™, a wireless, geo-mapped fence, and wellness system, and apparel and accessories. It also sold its products online. The Company sold a majority of its interest in Wagz on April 28, 2023, effective as of April 1, 2023. The Company still owns a 19% interest in Wagz as a passive investment as of April 30, 2024. However, the Company determined that due to financial uncertainty of Wagz after the Company’s sale, the 19% ownership interest was fully reserved as of April 30, 2023.
The Company sold its Elgin, Illinois property in February 2024, and moved all operations from Elgin to Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
Markets and Customers
The Company’s customers are in the industrial electronics, consumer electronics and medical/life sciences industries. As of April 30, 2024, the Company had approximately 130 active customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small, privately held enterprises.
The following table shows, for the periods indicated, the percentage of net sales to the principal end-user markets the Company serves.
For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2024, the Company’s largest customer accounted for 13.1% of the Company’s net sales. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2023, the Company’s largest customer accounted for 13.4% of the Company’s net sales.
The majority of sales are made to U.S. based customers and denominated in USD. The following geographic data includes net sales based on the country location of the Company’s operation providing the electronic manufacturing service for the year ended April 30, 2024 and 2023:
As of April 30, 2024, approximately 43% of the total assets of the Company are located in foreign jurisdictions outside the United States, 31% and 10% of the total assets were located in Mexico and China, respectively, and 2% in other foreign locations. As of April 30, 2023, approximately 37% of the total assets were located in foreign jurisdictions, 25% and 10% were located in China and Mexico, respectively, and 2% in other foreign locations. As of April 30, 2022, approximately 35% of the total assets were located in foreign jurisdictions; 20% and 12% were located in China and Mexico, respectively and 3% in other foreign locations.
Sales and Marketing
Many of the members of the Company’s senior management are actively involved in sales and marketing efforts, and the Company has direct sales employees. The Company also markets its services through independent manufacturers’ representative organizations that employ sales personnel in the United States and Canada. Independent manufacturers’ representative organizations receive variable commissions based on orders received by the Company and are assigned specific accounts, not territories. In addition, the Company markets itself through its website and tradeshows. Wagz sold its products primarily online.
Mexico, China, Vietnam and Taiwan Operations
The Company’s subsidiary, Standard Components de Mexico, S.A, a Mexican entity, is located in Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico, a border town across the Rio Grande River from Del Rio, Texas, U.S. and is 155 miles west of San Antonio. Standard Components de Mexico, S.A. was incorporated and commenced operations in 1968 and had 785 employees at April 30, 2024. The Company’s subsidiary, AbleMex S. was incorporated and commenced operations in 1968 and had 854 employees at April 30, 2023. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, AbleMex S. A. de C.V., a Mexican entity, is located in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, a border town south of San Diego, California, U.S. AbleMex S.A. de C.V. was incorporated and commenced operations in 2000. The operation had 390 employees at April 30, 2024. The Company’s subsidiary, Digital Appliance Controls de Mexico S. was incorporated and commenced operations in 2000. The operation had 436 employees at April 30, 2023. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Digital Appliance Controls de Mexico S. A., a Mexican entity, operates in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, located approximately 235 miles from El Paso, Texas, U.S. Digital Appliance Controls de Mexico S.A. was incorporated and commenced operations in 1997. The operation had 445 employees at April 30, 2024. The Company believes that one of the key benefits to having operations in Mexico is its access to cost-effective labor resources while having geographic proximity to the United States.
The Company’s wholly-owned foreign enterprises, Wujiang SigmaTron Electronics Co., Ltd. and Wujiang SigmaTron Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., are located in Suzhou, China. The Company has entered into an agreement with governmental authorities in the economic development zone of Wujiang, Jiangsu Province, Peoples Republic of China, pursuant to which the Company became the lessee of a parcel of land of approximately 100 Chinese acres. The term of the land lease is 50 years. The Company built a manufacturing plant, office space and dormitories on this site during 2004. In fiscal year 2015, the China facility expanded and added 40,000 square feet in warehouse and manufacturing. The total square footage of the facility is 216,950 and the operation had 316 employees as of April 30, 2024. Both Wujiang SigmaTron Electronics Co., Ltd. and Wujiang SigmaTron Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. operate at this site.
The Company’s subsidiary, Spitfire Controls (Cayman) Co. Ltd., owns all of the equity of the subsidiary, Spitfire Controls (Vietnam) Co. Ltd., and does not conduct any other operations. Spitfire Controls (Vietnam) Co. Ltd. is located in Amata Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, and is 18 miles east of Bien Hoa City. Spitfire Controls (Vietnam) Co. Ltd. was incorporated and commenced operation in 2005 and had 291 employees as of April 30, 2024.
The Company maintains an international procurement office (“IPO”) in Taipei, Taiwan which was incorporated in 1991. The total square footage of the office is 4,685 square feet. The Company has an information technology office in Taichung, Taiwan. The total square footage of the office is 1,650 square feet. The Company had 37 employees located in the Taiwan offices as of April 30, 2024.
The Company provides funds for manufacturing services such as salaries, wages, inventory purchases for certain locations, overhead and capital expenditure items as necessary to operate its Mexican, Vietnamese and Chinese subsidiaries and foreign enterprises and the IPO in Taiwan. The Company provides funding in U.S. Dollars, which are exchanged for Pesos, Dong, Renminbi, and New Taiwan dollars. The fluctuation of currencies from time to time, without an equal or greater increase in inflation, could have a material impact on the financial results of the Company. The impact of currency fluctuations for the fiscal year ended April 30,
2024, resulted in net foreign currency transaction losses of $796,315 compared to net foreign currency losses of $892,642 in the prior fiscal year. In fiscal year 2024, the Company paid approximately $60,320,000 to its foreign subsidiaries for manufacturing services. All intercompany balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.
The consolidated financial statements as of April 30, 2024, include the accounts and transactions of SigmaTron, its subsidiaries, Standard Components de Mexico, S.A., AbleMex S.A. de C.V., Digital Appliance Controls de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Spitfire Controls (Vietnam) Co. Ltd., and Spitfire Controls (Cayman) Co. Ltd., wholly-owned foreign enterprises Wujiang SigmaTron Electronics Co., Ltd. and Wujiang SigmaTron Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., its IPO, SigmaTron International, Inc. Taiwan Branch, and Wagz, Inc. The Company still owns a 19% interest in Wagz as a passive investment as of April 30, 2024. However, the Company determined that due to financial uncertainty of Wagz after the Company’s sale, the 19% ownership interest was fully reserved as of April 30, 2023. The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries operations is the U.S. Dollar. Intercompany transactions are eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.
Competition
The EMS industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid change. Furthermore, both large and small companies compete in the industry, and many have significantly greater financial resources, more extensive business experience and greater marketing and production capabilities than the Company. The significant competitive factors in this industry include price, quality, service, timeliness, reliability, the ability to source raw components, and manufacturing and technological capabilities. The Company believes it can compete on all of these factors.
Consolidation
As a result of consolidation and other transactions involving competitors and other companies in the Company’s markets, the Company occasionally reviews potential transactions relating to its business, products and technologies. Such transactions could include mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, licensing agreements, co-promotion agreements, financing arrangements or other types of transactions. In the future, the Company may choose to enter into these types of or other transactions at any time depending on available sources of financing, and such transactions could have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition or operations.
Governmental Regulations
The Company’s operations are subject to certain foreign government, U.S. federal, state and local regulatory requirements relating to, among others, environmental, waste management, consumer, labor and health and safety matters. Management believes that the Company’s business is operated in compliance with all such regulations, which include European regulations known as Restriction of Hazardous Substances (“RoHS”) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”). From time-to-time the Company's customers request REACH required information and certifications on the assemblies the Company manufactures for them. These requests require the Company to gather information from component suppliers to verify the presence and level of mass of any substances of very high concerns (“SVHCs”) greater than 0.1% in the assemblies the Company manufactures based on customer specifications. If any SVHCs are present at more than 0.1% of the mass of the item, the specific concentration and mass of the SVHC must be reported to proper authorities by the Company's customer.
Backlog
The Company relies on binding forecasted orders and purchase orders (firm orders) from its customers to estimate backlog. The Company’s backlog of firm orders as of April 30, 2024, and April 30, 2023, was approximately $289,900,000 and $387,350,000, respectively. The Company believes a significant portion of the backlog at April 30, 2024, will ship in fiscal year 2025. Because customers may cancel or reschedule deliveries, backlog may not be a meaningful indicator of future revenue. Variations in the magnitude and duration of contracts, forecasts and purchase orders received by the Company and delivery requirements generally may result in substantial fluctuations in backlog from period to period. The Company believes the
decrease in backlog is largely the result of customers shortening the forecasting period as market conditions and lead times for components have improved.
Human Capital Resources
The Company employed approximately 2,750 full-time employees of which approximately 490 were located in the U.S. as of April 30, 2024. There were approximately 240 engaged in engineering or engineering-related services, 2,090 in manufacturing and 420 in administrative functions, including supply chain, accounting, management and sales and marketing.
The Company makes a considerable effort to maintain a qualified and engaged work force. The Company makes a concerted effort to engage its employees and provide opportunities for growth and the Company believes that its employee relations are good. The Company considers the health and safety of its employees a key priority. The Company considers the health and safety of its employees a key priority, and even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company is committed to removing conditions that may cause personal injury or occupational illness.
SigmaTron has a labor contract with Chemical & Production Workers Union Local No. 30, AFL-CIO, covering the Company’s workers in Elk Grove Village, Illinois which expires on November 30, 2024. The Company’s Mexican subsidiary, Standard Components de Mexico S.A., has a labor contract with Sindicato De Trabajadores de la Industra Electronica, Similares y Conexos del Estado de Coahuila, C.T.M. covering the Company’s workers in Acuna, Mexico which expires on February 1, 2026. The Company’s subsidiary located in Tijuana, Mexico has a labor contract with Sindicato Mexico Moderno De Trabajadores De La, Baja California, C.R.O.C. The contract does not have an expiration date. The Company’s subsidiary located in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam, has a labor contract with CONG DOAN CO SO CONG TY TNHH Spitfire Controls Vietnam. The contract expires on April 30, 2025.
Since the time the Company commenced operations, it has not experienced any union-related work stoppages.
Available Information
The Company’s website address is www.sigmatronintl.com. The Company announces material information, including press releases and financial information regarding the Company, through a variety of means, including the Company’s website, the Investors subpage of its website (www.sigmatronintl.com/investors/), press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and social media, in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public.com/investors/), press releases, filings with the SEC and social media, in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public. The Investors subpage is accessible by clicking on the tab labeled “Investors” on the Company’s website home page. The Company also uses these channels to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the Company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the SEC disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to these channels for important and time-critical information. In addition, the Company is subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and files or furnishes reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. Such reports and other information filed by the Company with the SEC are available free of charge on its website when such reports are simultaneously available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company encourages investors, the media and others interested in the Company to review the information it posts on these various channels, as such information could be deemed to be material information.
The contents of the websites referred to above, including the Company’s social media accounts, are not incorporated into this filing. Further, the Company’s references to the URLs for these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.
Information about our Executive Officers
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The following risk factors should be read carefully in connection with evaluating our business and the forward-looking information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any of the following risks could materially adversely affect our business, operations, industry or financial position or our future financial performance. While the Company believes it has identified and discussed below the key risk factors affecting its business, there may be additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known or that are not currently believed to be significant that may adversely affect its business, operations, industry, financial position and financial performance in the future.
Business and Operational Risks
Raw material price increases and supply shortages could adversely affect results.
The supply of raw materials to the Company and to its component parts suppliers could be interrupted for a variety of reasons, including availability and pricing. In particular, inflation, changes in trade policies, the imposition of duties and tariffs, potential retaliatory countermeasures, public health crises (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), and geopolitical conflicts (including involving Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine, which supply raw materials, such as neon, palladium and nickel, to the semiconductor industry) could adversely impact the price or availability of raw materials. Prices for raw materials necessary for production have fluctuated significantly in the past and the Company is currently experiencing upward pricing pressure on raw materials. Historically, it has been difficult to pass increased prices for components and raw materials through to our customers in the form of price increases. The Company may not be able to pass along increased raw material and components parts prices to its customers in the form of price increases or its ability to do so could be delayed. Significant price increases for components and raw materials could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and operating margins. Consequently, its results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
The Company experiences variable operating results.
The Company’s results of operations have varied and may continue to fluctuate significantly from period to period, including on a quarterly basis. Consequently, results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results for any future period, and fluctuations in operating results may also result in fluctuations in the price of the Company’s common stock.
The Company’s quarterly and annual results may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Some of these factors include:
- changes in availability and rising component costs
- changes in sales mix to customers
- volume of customer orders relative to capacity
- market demand and acceptance of our customers’ products
- price erosion within the EMS marketplace
- capital equipment requirements needed to remain technologically competitive
- volatility in the U.S. and international economic and financial markets
The volume and timing of sales to the Company’s customers may vary due to:
- component availability
- variation in demand for the Company’s customers’ products
- customers’ attempts to manage their inventory
- design changes
- acquisitions of or consolidation among customers
Most of the Company’s customers’ production schedules are volatile, which makes it difficult to schedule production and achieve maximum efficiency at the Company’s manufacturing facilities and manage inventory levels.
The Company’s inability to forecast the level of customer orders with certainty can make it difficult to schedule production and maximize utilization of manufacturing capacity and manage inventory levels. The Company could be required to increase or decrease staffing and more closely manage other expenses in order to meet the anticipated demand of its customers. Orders from the Company’s customers could be cancelled or delivery schedules could be deferred or accelerated as a result of changes in our customers’ demand, which can put added stress on resources. Sudden decreases in production can lead to excess inventory on hand which may or may not be reimbursed by our customers even when under contract. These and other factors could harm our ability to achieve anticipated levels of profitability and thereby adversely affecting the Company’s results of operations in any given period.
The Company’s inventory levels have been adversely impacted by the global supply chain crisis, with an unprecedented impact on working capital requirements.
The impact of component shortages on sales of finished goods and the resulting increase in inventory levels in prior fiscal years had been unprecedented although inventory levels have decreased significantly during fiscal year 2024. The supply chain uncertainty has significantly lessened during the fiscal year, however there are still certain components that are difficult to obtain on a timely basis. The continued impact of increased inventory levels on working capital requirements materially increases our operating costs and if it continues unabated, could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
If our manufacturing processes and services do not comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, or if we manufacture products containing design or manufacturing defects, demand for our services may decline and we may be subject to liability claims.
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