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Note 1 - Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Notes to Financial Statements  
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

1. Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity

 

Nature of the Business and Operations

 

American Superconductor Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “AMSC®” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 1987. The Company is a leading system provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions that Orchestrate the Rhythm and Harmony of Power on the Grid™ and protect and expand the capability of the Navy's fleet. The Company’s products leverage its proprietary “smart materials” and “smart software and controls” to provide enhanced resiliency and improved performance of megawatt-scale power flow.

 

The Company’s consolidated financial statements 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-K. 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.

 

Liquidity

 

The Company has historically experienced recurring operating losses and as of March 31, 2022, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $1,020.5 million. In addition, the Company has historically experienced recurring negative operating cash flows.  At March 31, 2022, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $40.6 million. Cash used in operations for the year ended  March 31, 2022 was $19.0 million.

 

In  February 2021, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will expire in  February 2024 (the “Form S-3”). The Form S-3 allows the Company to offer and sell from time-to-time up to $250 million of common stock, debt securities, warrants or units comprised of any combination of these securities. The Form S-3 is intended to provide the Company flexibility to conduct registered sales of the Company's securities, subject to market conditions, in order to fund the Company's future capital needs. The terms of any future offering under the Form S-3 will be established at the time of such offering and will be described in a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC prior to the completion of any such offering.

 

On  May 6, 2021 (the "Neeltran Acquisition Date"), the Company entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the "Real Property Purchase Agreement") and a Stock Purchase Agreement (the "Neeltran Stock Purchase Agreement") with the selling equity holders named therein. Also on  May 6, 2021, pursuant to the Real Property Purchase Agreement, the Company's wholly-owned Connecticut limited liability company, AMSC Husky LLC ("AMSC Husky"), purchased the real property that served as Neeltran's headquarters for $4.3 million, of which (a) $2.4 million was paid in immediately available funds by AMSC Husky to the owners of such real property, and (b) $1.9 million was paid directly to TD Bank as full payment for the outstanding indebtedness secured by the mortgage on such real property.  Pursuant to the terms of the Neeltran Stock Purchase Agreement and concurrently with entering into such agreement, the Company purchased all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of (i) Neeltran, Inc., a Connecticut corporation ("Neeltran") that supplies rectifiers and transformers to industrial customers, and (ii) Neeltran International, Inc., a Connecticut corporation ("International"), for: (a) $1.0 million in cash, and (b) 301,556 shares of the Company's common stock, $.01 par value per share (the "AMSC Shares"), that were paid and issued to the Neeltran selling stockholders, respectively at closing (the "Neeltran Acquisition"). The Company also paid $1.1 million to International selling stockholders at closing to pay off previous loans made by them to Neeltran. Additionally, the Company paid approximately $7.6 million on behalf of the selling equity holders, including $1.9 million of indebtedness secured by the mortgage on the real property as described above, directly to Neeltran lenders at closing to extinguish outstanding Neeltran indebtedness to third parties on behalf of the sellers.

 

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19“) to be a pandemic. COVID-19 has spread throughout the globe, including in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where the Company’s headquarters are located, and in other areas where the Company has business operations. In response to the outbreak, the Company has followed the guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and applicable state government authorities to protect the health and safety of the Company’s employees, families, suppliers, customers and communities. While these existing measures and, COVID-19 generally, have not materially disrupted the Company’s business to date, any future actions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic may result in disruption to the Company’s business.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve. The Company is experiencing substantial inflationary pressure in its supply chain, some delays in sourcing materials needed for its products and some production disruption resulting from higher than typical employee absenteeism due to the highly contagious omicron variant, all of which have increased the Company’s cost of revenues and decreased gross margin. The extent to which the outbreak impacts the Company’s business, liquidity, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.  Changes in macroeconomic conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic or for other reasons, such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, including inflation, labor force availability, sourcing, material delays and global supply chain disruptions could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operation.

 

The Company believes that based on the information presented above and its annual management assessment, it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations and capital expenditures for the next twelve months following the issuance of the financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2022. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on its ability to increase revenues, its ability to control its operating costs, and its ability to raise additional capital, if necessary. The impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic and other sources of instability, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, on the global financing markets may reduce the Company's ability to raise additional capital, if necessary, which could negatively impact the Company's liquidity.  There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital, on favorable terms or at all, from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.