v2.4.1.9
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN [Abstract]  
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
14 SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

 

Share-based Compensation Plan A - for options granted from 2007 up to March 2013

 

In May 2007, the Board of Directors approved a share incentive plan, in which the Group may grant either restricted stock units (“RSU”) or options to purchase the Company's ordinary shares. A maximum of 8,000,000 stock options or RSU were authorized to be granted to the directors of the Company and senior officers of the Group to subscribe 48,000,000 shares of the Company. The share based awards granted under this plan have a requisite service period of four years. The Board of Directors also has the right to terminate any unvested share based awards.

 

The share based awards vest over four years and expire six years from grant date. For some of the employees, twenty-five percent of the share based awards vest on each of the four years following the grant date.  For the other employees, fifteen, twenty, thirty and thirty five percent, respectively, will vest on each of the four years following the grant date.

 

The Group reviewed the actual employee terminations in the past and changed the estimated employee forfeiture rate to reflect the current competitive environment of talent recruiting and sustaining in China. The Group estimated forfeitures at the time of grant based on historical experiences and record share-based compensation expenses only for those awards that are expected to vest. Changes in estimated forfeitures will be recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment in the period of change and will also impact the amount of share-based compensation expenses to be recognized in future periods.

 

Share-based Compensation Plan B – for options granted since April 2013

 

On April 1, 2013, the Board of Directors approved another share incentive plan, which the Group may grant either RSU or options to purchase the Company's ordinary shares. A maximum of 2,000,000 stocks options or RSU were authorized to grant to the directors of the Company and senior officers of the Group to subscribe to 12,000,000 shares of the Company. The share based awards granted under this plan, were under performance condition for vesting. Under this incentive plan, the Board of Directors granted 280,000 stock options to subscribe 1,680,000 shares of the Company and 1,217,600 RSU to subscribe 7,305,600 shares (collectively referred as “Shares”). The option exercise price was $2.58. The employee's ability to earn the award was conditioned on the Group's ability in attaining specified performance targets. Details of the performance conditions were noted below:

 

  1) When the 4-quarter gross profit reaches or exceeds $31.5 million ("Milestone One") for the first time, then 20% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall be vested and 20% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall vest 1 year after.

 

  2) After meeting Milestone One, when the 4-quarter gross profit reaches or exceeds $44.5 million ("Milestone Two") for the first time, then an additional 15% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall be vested and an additional fifteen percent 15% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall vest 1 year after.

 

  3) After meeting Milestone One and Milestone Two, when the 4-quarter gross profit reaches or exceeds $55.5 million ("Milestone Three") for the first time, then an additional 15% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall be vested and an additional 15% of the Shares subject to the share incentive plan shall vest 1 year after.

 

No share-based compensation was accrued as the probability that these performance conditions will be achieved was remote as at December 31, 2014.

The fair value of each share-based award is estimated at grant date for the years ended 2012, 2013 and 2014 using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model based on the following assumptions:

 

Year ended December 31          2012     2013   2014
                
Risk-free interest rate (1)       0.11% - 2.66       0.11% - 2.66%       0.11% - 2.66%  
Expected life (2)       2-5 years        2-5 years       2-5 years  
Expected volatility (3)       39.97% - 42.04%       39.17%-42.04%       38.15-%42.04%  
Dividend yield (4)        Nil       Nil       Nil  

 


(1)

Risk-free interest rate

Risk-free interest rate adopted the yield to maturity of United States government bonds with the same maturity as the respective expected term of the options.

 

(2)
Expected life

 

The expected life was estimated as the average between the vesting term of the options and the original contractual term.

 

(3)
Expected volatility

 

The expected volatility of the underlying ADS during the life of the options was calculated based on the Company's historical stock price volatility over the period from initial public offering through to the grant date.

 

(4)
Dividend yield

 

The dividend yield was expected to be nil based on the Company's historical dividend distribution record and its policy.

 
(5) Share price

The fair value of the ordinary shares on the grant date was the closing price of the Company's stock at each grant date.

Stock options

 

A summary of stock option activity is as follows:

 

          Weighted     Weighted  
          average     average  
    Number     exercise price     fair value  
    of options     per option     at grant date  
                   
 Outstanding at December 31, 2011     7,356,249       $ 1.40       $ 1.01   
 Exercised     (1,635,252)       $ 1.40       $ 1.01   
 Forfeited     (751,425)       $ 1.40       $ 1.01   
 Expired     (91,475)       $ 1.40       $ 1.01   
Outstanding at December 31, 2012     4,878,097     $ 1.40     $ 1.01  
Granted on April 1, 2013     280,000     $ 2.58     $ 0.05  
Exercised     (2,172,103 )   $ 1.40     $ 1.21  
Forfeited     (68,005 )   $ 1.40     $ 1.12  
Expired     (21,650)     $ 1.40     $ 1.27  
Outstanding at December 31, 2013     2,896,339     $ 1.51     $ 0.77  
Exercised     (1,815,259)     $ 1.40     $ 1.20  
Forfeited     (10,000)     $ 1.40     $ 1.28  
Expired     (96,796)     $ 1.40     $ 1.09  
Outstanding at December 31, 2014     974,284     $ 1.73     $ 0.86  

 

The following table summarizes information with respect to stock options outstanding at December 31, 2013 and 2014:

 

                            Options exercisable  
    Options outstanding as of December 31, 2013     as of December 31, 2013  
                Weighted                 Weighted        
          Weighted     average                 average        
          average     exercise     Aggregate     Number     exercise     Aggregate  
    Number     contractual     price     intrinsic     of     price     intrinsic  
    of option     period     per option     value     options     per option     value  
                                                         
Ordinary shares     2,896,339       5 years     $ 1.51     $   22,301       2,677,154     $ 1.40     $ 2,154  

 

                            Options exercisable  
    Options outstanding as of December 31, 2014     as of December 31, 2014  
                Weighted                 Weighted        
          Weighted     average                 average        
          average     exercise     Aggregate     Number     exercise     Aggregate  
    Number     contractual     price     intrinsic     of     price     intrinsic  
    of option     period     per option     value     options     per option     value  
                                                           
Ordinary shares     974,284       5 years     $ 1.73     $   8,117       694,284     $ 1.40     $ 648  

 

As at December 31, 2014, there was nil (2013: $2) of unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock options.

 

RSU

 

The fair value of each RSU is estimated based on the market price at granted date. RSU were first grant to the directors of the Company and senior management of the Group since May 2011. A summary of RSU activity is as follows:

 

      Number  
      of RSU  
 Outstanding at December 31, 2011     234,000   
 Granted on January 17, 2012     100,000   
 Granted on May 8, 2012     313,250   
 Exercised     (31,500)   
 Forfeited     (34,100)   
Outstanding at December 31, 2012     581,650  
Granted on April 1, 2013     1,217,600  
Exercised     (173,350 )
Forfeited     (51,900 )
Outstanding at December 31, 2013     1,574,000  
Granted on November 4, 2014     20,000  
Exercised     (237,400)  
Expired     (26,500)   
Forfeited     (227,900)  
Outstanding at December 31, 2014     1,102,200  

 

As at December 31, 2014, there was $22 (2013: 19) of unrecognized compensation expenses related to non-vested RSU that are expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2 years (2013: 1 years) on a straight-line basis.


The total share-based compensation expense in relation to options and RSU recognized in the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were $1,465, $492 and $45, respectively.

 

As at December 31, 2014, 9,323,516 (2013: 6,929,661) options to purchase ordinary shares or RSU were available for future grant.