25 Jun 10. AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ: AVAV – News) noted in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on June 25, 2010 that it is currently cooperating with an investigation by the Civil Fraud Section of the
United States Department of Justice with respect to certain of its billing practices. The investigation is focused on three matters: the appropriateness of certain expenses included in AV’s fiscal year 2006 Incurred Indirect Cost Claim (reconciliation of projected rates to actual rates); billing labor rates associated with time and materials government contracts; and billing rates for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems maintenance and repair contracts. Based on AV’s current understanding of the matters identified, the company believes that the outcome of the investigation will not have a material impact on its business. In addition, the commencement of this investigation has had no apparent impact on the company’s ability to receive government contracts. In fact, AV has received orders from the government in excess of $50m since February 2010. AV notes that it believes the majority of the issues identified in the notice have been previously addressed during Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit processes, and that AeroVironment was notified by the DCAA in February 2010 that the DCAA deemed its accounting system to be adequate for accumulating and billing costs under government contracts. In addition, time and materials government contracts have accounted for less than 1% of the company’s revenue over the last 6 years. AeroVironment is voluntarily cooperating with a request for information received in connection with this investigation. No claim has been filed against AeroVironment to date. As previously disclosed, the resignation of Mr. Stephen Wright as Chief Financial Officer of AeroVironment, Inc. in March 2010 was motivated by personal reasons and was unrelated to the commencement of the investigation by the Department of Justice or any other AeroVironment operational matters. (Source: Google)
29 Jun 10. Armor Designs, Inc. announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2009. First full year of revenues generated from commercial operations; Sales of US$1.05m for the year ended 31 December 2009; Operating loss of US$11.7m, (US$9.1m after US$2.6m of non-cash items) in 2009; Equity fundraising in 2009 of US$1.5m closed; Reduced operating expenses by over 41% from prior year levels, from US$15.8m in 2008 to US$9.2m in 2009; Established accounts receivable financing facility with a credit capacity of US$0.25m; The Company continues its efforts to correct and strengthen the balance sheet conditions previously announced and described more fully in footnotes 2 and 16 to the financial statements; and correction of an error, dating back to 2007, in the fair value of stock based compensation (a non-cash item) calculated for 2008, resulting in restatement of the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008. The re-statement had no impact on cash, other assets or any liabilities. As announced on 28 June 2010, closing of US$3.6m equity fundraising; and commitment for a US$10.0m line of credit as announced on 28 June 2010. Fulfillment of the commitment is subject to completion of due diligence and execution of legal documents. Availability of funds to be dependent on achievement of commercial and product development milestones.
Commenting on the results, Philip Clement, CEO of Armor Designs, Inc., said: “2009 was a challenging year, but a year that brought us another step towards achievement of our long term strategy. As a result of the significant expense reductions made during the year, we have streamlined our cost structure and are now well positioned for business development growth and profitability. We have continued to build on the reputation which has set us apart for providing leading edge armour solutions using our proprietary IP know-how. Our existing products are meeting good acceptance