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Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity | 6 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2013
Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity | 1. Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity Nature of the Business and Operations American Superconductor Corporation (“AMSC” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 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 its 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. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-Q. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those instructions. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 and the financial position at September 30, 2013. Certain reclassifications of prior years’ amounts have been made to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications, reflected on the consolidated statements of cash flows, are immaterial and had no impact on net income or stockholders’ equity. Liquidity The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and as of September 30, 2013, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $825.3 million. In addition, the Company has experienced recurring negative operating cash flows, which has resulted in a decrease in its cash balance. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. These financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. At September 30, 2013, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $25.9 million. Cash used in operations for the six months ended September 30, 2013 was $14.8 million. The Company is currently in the process of consolidating certain business operations to reduce facility costs. The Company expects that its cost reduction efforts and anticipated revenue growth will result in a reduction of cash used for operations during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, compared to the prior year. In July 2013, the Company reduced its workforce by approximately 7% and recorded a restructuring charge for severance and other costs of approximately $0.8 million in the quarter end ed September 30, 2013. The Company plans to closely monitor its expenses and, if required, expects to further reduce operating costs and capital spending to enhance liquidity. On April 4, 2012, the Company completed a private placement of $25.0 million aggregate principal amount of a 7% senior unsecured convertible note (the “Initial Note”). On December 20, 2012, the Company agreed to exchange the Initial Note for a new unsecured, senior convertible note (the “Exchanged Note”), which had the same principal amount and accrued interest as the Initial Note at the time of the exchange. (See Note 10, “Debt”, for further information regarding these debt arrangements, including the covenants, restrictions and events of default under the agreements.) On June 5, 2012, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Term Loan”), under which the Company borrowed $10.0 million. The Term Loan contains certain covenants and restrictions including, among others, a requirement to maintain a minimum unrestricted cash balance in the U.S. equal to the remaining principal balance. (See Note 10, “Debt”, for further information regarding these debt arrangements, including the covenants, restrictions and events of default under the agreements.) The Company believes that it is in compliance with the covenants and restrictions included in the agreements governing these debt arrangements as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In order for the Company to continue operations beyond the next twelve months and be able to discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business, the Company needs to increase sales through executing its strategy to broaden its customer base, enter new markets, and commercialize its superconductor product line. In addition, the Company may need to further reduce operating expenses in line with business conditions in order to decrease the amount of cash used in operations. The Company also intends to seek new financing arrang e ments, including, but not limited to, new debt and/or equity financing, and continue to work with the holder of its convertible note in order to maintain the ability to make monthly amortization payments on the convertible note in shares of common stock. In addition, the Company is actively seeking to sell its minority investments in Tres Amigas and Blade Dynamics and has recently engaged a financial advisor to assist with that effort. (See Note 13, “Minority Investments”, for further information about such investments.) There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to raise additional capital or sell one or both of these investments on commercially reasonable terms or at all. The Company must successfully execute on its plans to improve operating performance discussed above and raise additional capital through financings or other means to ensure it has sufficient cash to fund its operations, capital expenditures and scheduled cash payments under its debt obligations through September 30, 2014. The Company’s ability to pay required monthly installment payments under the Exchanged Note in equity instead of cash is based on certain stock price and trading volume conditions that are outside of the Company’s control. If one or both of these equity conditions are not met (absent a waiver from the lender), the Company may be required to make required monthly installment payments in cash. As of the filing date of this Form 10-Q, the Company has only made payments to the lender in shares of common stock and as a result, the principal balance has been reduced by $14.6 million through September 30, 2013. If the Company fails one or both of the equity conditions, the Company can still make required payments in its common stock with a waiver from the lender, which has been provided in the past. There is no assurance that the lender will provide any waivers in the future. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on its ability to profitably grow revenues through both the acquisition of new customers and growth from its existing customers, manage its operating expenses, continue to make amortization payments under the Exchanged Note in shares of the Company’s common stock, maintain compliance with the covenants and restrictions on its debt obligations (or obtain waivers from our lenders in the event of non-compliance), and raise additional capital through new financing arrangements or the sale of its minority investments in Tres Amigas and Blade Dynamics. (See Note 13, “Minority Investments”, for further information about such invest m ents). There can be no assurance that he Company will be able to raise additional capital or be able to sell one or both of these investments on commercially reasonable terms or at all. The results of operations for an interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the fiscal year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2012) which are contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for 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). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592 + Details
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