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Nature of the Business and Operations | 12 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2011
Nature of the Business and Operations |
Nature of the Business and Operations | 1. Nature of the Business and Operations American Superconductor Corporation (the "Company" or "AMSC") was founded in 1987. The Company is a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, the Company enables manufacturers to field wind turbines through its advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, the Company enables electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through our transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor based products. The Company's wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to its customers. The Company operates in two business units: AMSC Power Systems and AMSC Superconductors. At March 31, 2011 and June 30, 2011, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash of $245.5 million and $166.2 million, respectively. The Company's business plan anticipates a substantial decline in revenues and a substantial use of cash from operations in its fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, particularly in light of the difficult and uncertain current economic environment, the significant restructuring actions undertaken and the uncertainty surrounding Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. ("Sinovel"), which has historically accounted for more than two-thirds of the Company's revenues, and certain of its other customers in China. The Company's plan includes a significant restructuring undertaken in August 2011, resulting in the elimination of approximately 150 positions worldwide. Since April 1, 2011, the Company has eliminated approximately 30% of its workforce and it expects to save approximately $30 million annually as a result of these reductions. See Note 18, "Subsequent Events." Additional actions include further monitoring of its operating results against expectations and, if required, further reducing operating costs and capital spending if events warrant in order to enhance liquidity. Due to the disruption in its relationship with Sinovel, the Company will need to raise additional capital in order to complete the planned acquisition of The Switch, a power technologies company headquartered in Finland (see Note 18) in order to have sufficient cash to fund its working capital, capital expenditures and other cash requirements. The Company may seek this financing through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, or other financing alternatives, however, there can be no assurance that financing will be available on acceptable terms or at all. If the Company fails to raise sufficient additional funds and terminates the purchase agreement for the acquisition of The Switch, it will likely forfeit the $20.6 million cash advance payment it paid to the shareholders of The Switch on June 29, 2011. In the event that the Company does not receive any additional payments from Sinovel and it neither completes the planned acquisition of The Switch, nor raises additional capital, the Company believes that its available cash, together with additional reductions in operating costs and capital expenditures as necessary will be sufficient to fund its operations, capital expenditures and other cash requirements through at least March 31, 2012. The Company's long-term liquidity is dependent on its ability to profitably grow its revenues or raise additional capital as required.

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- Definition Describes the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings). Disclosures about the nature of operations need not be quantified; relative importance could be conveyed by use of terms such as "predominately", "about equally", or "major and other". This element is also referred to as "Business Description". + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher AICPA -Name Statement of Position (SOP) -Number 94-6 -Paragraph 10 + Details
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