UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

Form 10-K

 

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016

or

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 001-33118

 

ORBCOMM INC.

(Exact name of registrant in its charter)

 

 

395 W. Passaic Street

Rochelle Park, New Jersey 07662

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(703) 433-6300

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act)    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based on the closing price reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 30, 2016) was $664,834,533.

Shares held by all executive officers and directors of the registrant have been excluded from the foregoing calculation because such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of February 27, 2017 was 71,423,437.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on April 19, 2017, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

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Forward- Looking Statements

Certain statements discussed in Part I, Item 1. “Business”, Part I, Item 3. “Legal Proceedings”, Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to our plans, estimates, objectives and expectations for future events, as well as projections, business trends and other statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: demand for and market acceptance of our products and services and our ability to successfully implement our business plan; our dependence on our subsidiary companies (Market Channel Affiliates (MCAs)) and third party product and service developers and providers, distributors and resellers (Market Channel Partners (MCPs)) to develop, market and sell our products and services, especially in markets outside the United States; substantial losses we have incurred and may continue to incur; the inability to effect suitable investments, alliances and acquisitions, and even if we are able to make acquisitions, the failure to integrate and effectively operate the acquired businesses and the exposure to additional risks, such as unexpected costs, contingent or other liabilities, or weaknesses in internal controls, and issues related to non-compliance with domestic and foreign laws, particularly in acquisitions of foreign businesses; our dependence on a significant customers for a substantial portion of our revenues, including key customers such as Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu Ltd., Hub Group, Onixsat and Satlink S.L.; our ability to expand our business outside the United States, including risks related to the economic, political and other conditions in foreign countries in which we do business, including fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on a few significant vendors, service providers or suppliers, as well as the loss or disruption or slowdown in the supply of products and services these key vendors, such as our SkyWave business’s dependence on its commercial relationship with Inmarsat plc and the services provided by Inmarsat plc, including the continued availability of Inmarsat plc’s satellites, the supply of subscriber communicators from Sanmina Corporation and Quake Global, or the supply of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) from S3 Group; competition from existing and potential telecommunications competitors, including terrestrial and satellite-based network providers, some of whom provide wireless network services to our customers in connection with our products and services; our reliance on intellectual property rights and the risk that we, our MCAs, our MCPs and our customers may infringe on the intellectual property rights of others; inability to operate due to changes or restrictions in the political, legal, regulatory, government, administrative and economic conditions and developments in the United States and other countries and territories in which we provide our services; legal proceedings; the failure of our system or reductions in levels of service due to technological malfunctions or deficiencies or other events, such as in-orbit satellite failures, reduced performance of our existing satellites, or man-made or natural disasters and other extreme events; rapid and significant technological changes, pricing pressures and other competitive factors; cybersecurity risks; and the terms of our credit agreement, under which we currently have borrowed $150 million and may borrow up to an additional $10 million, that could restrict our business activities or our ability to execute our strategic objectives or adversely affect our financial performance.  In addition, specific consideration should be given to various factors described in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements or cautionary factors, except as required by law.

 

 

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PART I

We are a global provider of Internet of Things (“IoT”) solutions, including network connectivity, devices, device management and web reporting applications. These solutions enable optimal business efficiencies, increased asset utilization and reduced asset write-offs, helping customers realize benefits on a worldwide basis. Our IoT products and services are designed to track, monitor, control and enhance security for a variety of assets, such as trailers, trucks, rail cars, sea containers, generators, fluid tanks, marine vessels, diesel or electric powered generators (“gensets”), oil and gas wells, pipeline monitoring equipment, irrigation control systems, and utility meters, in industries for transportation & supply chain, heavy equipment, fixed asset monitoring, maritime and government. Additionally, we provide satellite Automatic Identification Service (“AIS”) data services to assist in vessel navigation and to improve maritime safety for government and commercial customers worldwide. We provide these services using multiple network platforms, including our own constellation of low-Earth orbit (“LEO”) satellites and our accompanying ground infrastructure, as well as terrestrial-based cellular communication services obtained through reseller agreements with major cellular (Tier One) wireless providers. We also offer customer solutions utilizing additional satellite network service options that we obtain through service agreements we have entered into with multiple mobile satellite providers. Our satellite-based customer solution offerings use small, low power, mobile satellite subscriber communicators for remote asset connectivity, and our terrestrial-based solutions utilize cellular data modems with subscriber identity modules (“SIMS”). We also resell service using the two-way Inmarsat satellite network to provide higher bandwidth, low-latency satellite products and services, leveraging our IsatDataPro (“IDP”) technology. Our customer solutions provide access to data gathered over these systems through connections to other public or private networks, including the Internet. We are dedicated to providing what we believe are the most versatile, leading-edge IoT solutions in our markets that enable our customers to run their business operations more efficiently and achieve significant return on investment.

Customers benefiting from our network, products and solutions include original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, such as Caterpillar Inc., Doosan Infracore America, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., John Deere, Komatsu Ltd., and Volvo Construction Equipment; vertical market technology integrators known as value-added resellers (“VARs”) and international value-added resellers (“IVARs”), such as I.D. Systems, Inc. and inthinc Technology Solutions Inc., and Value-added Solutions Providers (“SPs”), such as Onixsat, Satlink and Sascar (collectively referred to as Market Channel Partners (“MCPs”)); and end-to-end solutions customers such as Carrier Transicold, Thermo King, C&S Wholesale, Canadian National Railways, CR England, Hub Group, Inc., KLLM Transport Services, Marten Transport, Prime Inc., Swift Transportation, Target, Tropicana, Tyson Foods, Walmart and Werner Enterprises.

Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise requires, references in this Form 10-K to “ORBCOMM,” “the Company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to ORBCOMM Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

Acquisitions

Acquisition of Skygistics (PTY) Ltd.

On May 26, 2016, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Skygistics (PTY) Ltd. (“Skygistics”) for cash consideration of $3.8 million and additional contingent consideration of up to $1.0 million, subject to certain operational milestones (the “Skygistics Acquisition”). The Skygistics Acquisition adds to our product offerings a broad range of satellite and cellular connectivity options, as well as telematics solutions centered on the management of remote and mobile assets to more than 250 telematics and enterprise customers.

Acquisition of WAM Technologies, LLC

On October 6, 2015, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of WAM Technologies, LLC (“WAM Technologies”), an affiliate of Mark-It Services, Inc., for total consideration of $8.7 million, inclusive of a working capital settlement of $0.2 million (the “WAM Acquisition”). The WAM Acquisition expands and strengthens our cold chain monitoring solutions, which include trailers, rail cars, gensets and sea containers.

Acquisition of InSync Software, Inc.

On January 16, 2015, we purchased all the issued and outstanding stock of InSync Software, Inc. (“InSync”) from IDENTEC Group AG (“IDENTEC”) for cash consideration of $10.9 million, inclusive of a working capital settlement of $0.3 million, and additional contingent consideration of up to $5.0 million, subject to certain operational milestones (the “InSync Acquisition”). The acquisition supports our strategy to provide the most complete set of applications and capabilities in the IoT industry, while broadening our market access to a wide range of industries.

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Acquisition of SkyWave Mobile Communications, Inc.

On January 1, 2015, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of SkyWave Mobile Communications, Inc. (“SkyWave”) by way of a Plan of Arrangement (the “Arrangement”) under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “SkyWave Acquisition”) pursuant to an Arrangement Agreement dated as of November 1, 2014 among us, our acquisition subsidiary, SkyWave and the representative of certain SkyWave shareholders (the “Shareholder Representative”). The aggregate purchase price paid by the Company under the Arrangement for 100% of SkyWave’s outstanding shares was $130.2 million, inclusive of a working capital settlement of $0.3 million and subject to certain additional adjustments (the “Purchase Price”). We acquired SkyWave on a cash-free debt-free basis. From the Purchase Price, $7.5 million was paid to Inmarsat Canada Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Inmarsat, in the form of a promissory note in exchange for a portion of its interest in SkyWave. The promissory note provided an off-set for the $7.5 million paid by Inmarsat under an agreement with Inmarsat. In connection with the Arrangement, our acquisition subsidiary and the Shareholder Representative entered into an Escrow Agreement with an escrow agent, pursuant to which $10.6 million was held in escrow to cover certain SkyWave indemnity obligations.

In connection with the SkyWave Acquisition and the entry into the Arrangement Agreement, the Company and Inmarsat entered into an Asset Purchase and Cooperation Agreement with respect to Inmarsat’s services to SkyWave post-acquisition, as well as the purchase, upon consummation of the SkyWave Acquisition, of certain assets of SkyWave by affiliates of Inmarsat (the “Inmarsat Agreement”), and which replaced or amended certain of our and SkyWave’s existing arrangements with Inmarsat, including SkyWave becoming a party to the Inmarsat Agreement.

Acquisition of Euroscan Group

On March 11, 2014, we completed the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity of Euroscan Holding B.V., including, indirectly, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Euroscan B.V., Euroscan GmbH Vertrieb Technischer Geräte, Euroscan Technology Ltd. and Ameriscan, Inc. (collectively, the “Euroscan Group” or “Euroscan”) for an aggregate consideration consisting of (i) $29.2 million, inclusive of net working capital adjustments and net cash (on a debt free, cash free basis); (ii) the issuance of 291,230 shares of the Company’s common stock, valued at $7.70 per share, which reflected the Company’s closing price on the acquisition date; and (iii) additional contingent consideration of up to $6.5 million (the “Euroscan Acquisition”). The Euroscan Acquisition complemented our North American Operations in IoT by adding a significant distribution channel in Europe and other key geographies where Euroscan has market share.

Other Business Development Activities

Share Offerings

On January 17, 2014, we completed a public offering of 6,325,000 shares of common stock, including 825,000 shares sold upon full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, at price of $6.15 per share (the “January 2014 Public Offering”). We received net proceeds of approximately $36.6 million after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions and offering costs.

On November 10, 2014, we completed a public offering of 14,785,714 shares of common stock, including 1,928,571 shares sold upon full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, at a price of $5.60 per share, under our effective shelf registration filed on April 4, 2014 (the “November 2014 Public Offering”). We received net proceeds of approximately $78.1 million after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions and offering costs.

Macquarie Credit Agreement

On September 30, 2014, we entered into a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with Macquarie CAF LLC (“Macquarie” or the “Lender”) in order to refinance our $45 million 9.5% per annum Senior Notes (“Senior Notes”). Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lender provided secured credit facilities (the “Secured Credit Facilities”) in an aggregate amount of $160 million comprised of (i) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million (the “Initial Term Loan Facility”); (ii) a $10 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”); (iii) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million (the “Term B2”), the proceeds of which were drawn and used on January 16, 2015 to partially finance the InSync Acquisition; and (iv) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million (the “Term B3”), the proceeds of which were drawn on December 30, 2014 and used to partially finance the SkyWave Acquisition. The Secured Credit Facilities mature five years after the initial fund date of the Initial Term Loan Facility (the “Maturity Date”), but are subject to mandatory prepayments in certain circumstances. The Secured Credit Facilities will bear interest, at the Company’s election, of a per annum rate equal to either (a) a base rate plus 3.75% or (b) LIBOR plus 4.75%, with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%. Proceeds of the Initial Term Loan Facility and Revolving Credit Facility were used to repay in full our Senior Notes and pay certain related fees, expenses and accrued interest, as well as for general corporate purposes.

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On October 10, 2014 we borrowed $70 million under the Initial Term Loan Facility, a portion of which was used to redeem in full the aggregate $45 million principal amount outstanding of the Senior Notes, and $10 million under the Revolving Credit Facility. The redemption of the Senior Notes resulted in an early termination penalty of $1.8 million and an additional expense associated with the remaining unamortized debt issuance cost.

On March 31, 2015, we repaid in full the $10 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. At December 31, 2016 and 2015 no amounts were outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

OG2 Satellites

We have successfully completed the deployment of our ORBCOMM Generation 2 (“OG2”) satellites with launches on July 14, 2014 and December 21, 2015, both aboard Space Exploration Corporation (“SpaceX”) Falcon 9 launch vehicles. We continue to provide Machine-to-Machine (“M2M”) messaging and AIS service for our global customers through our updated OG2 constellation. See “ORBCOMM Communication System – System Status” below for additional information regarding our satellite constellation.

Shelf Registration Statement

In April 2015, we filed a Form S-3 shelf registration statement registering our securities for a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $200 million (including approximately $17.2 million remaining available under a previous shelf registration statement). We may use this shelf registration statement at any time or from time to time to offer, in one or more offerings, our debt securities, shares of our common stock, shares of our preferred stock, warrants to purchase our debt securities, common stock or preferred stock or units consisting of any combination of the foregoing securities. The shelf registration statement, which was declared effective on April 14, 2015, also registered the resale of up to 3,910,433 shares of common stock by a selling shareholder, all of which were sold on August 19, 2015.

Strategic Alliance with Inmarsat

On November 4, 2013, we announced a strategic alliance with Inmarsat, a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, to collaborate on joint product development and distribution to address the needs of the rapidly growing satellite IoT market. We are working together with Inmarsat to create a standard satellite platform and develop cost-effective hardware and flexible service pricing models for the global IoT industry. We have expanded our alliance with Inmarsat through the SkyWave Acquisition, as described above.

In early 2016, we introduced the first of a series of interchangeable modems that work with either our OG2 VHF network or Inmarsat’s L-band network. These modems have the same footprint, connectors, power input, and programming environment to allow for easy exchange of modems for the different networks. Manufacturers and partners are able to drop in their products the appropriate modem that corresponds with either our or Inmarsat’s network based on geography, message size and delivery speed for ease of use and flexibility. In addition, users will be able to take advantage of our relationships with Tier One cellular providers for dual-mode cellular and satellite service with either satellite network. We also offer our unique ORBCOMMConnect Platform, which seamlessly translates and integrates the communications from our diverse network service partners into a uniform set of commands and information. This facilitates a uniform platform for provisioning, billing and multi-mode access for IoT applications, supported by Inmarsat’s M2M Access Platform, enabling access to network and terminal management tools for wholesale integration with us.

These versatile offerings are available in our end-to-end solutions for heavy equipment, fixed asset and transportation industries, as well as through our MCPs. We leverage our relationship with Inmarsat to access their worldwide fleet of L-band geostationary (“GEO”) satellites to provide IDP, a satellite packet data service offering the highest throughput and lowest latency in the market, as well as a 3G satellite service offering real-time IP data speeds up to 512 kbps on a single global SIM—the only service of its kind in the satellite IoT space.

Our Business Strengths and Competitive Advantage

Over the past several years, we have grown from a satellite network owner and operator into a leading global provider of IoT solutions. We provide individual application components, such as modems and chip sets, as well as full end-to-end solutions, such as freight transportation monitoring, cold chain compliance, refrigerated asset monitoring, fleet management and cargo security systems. Our combination of global network services along with our state-of-the-art devices, device management and robust web-based Software-as-a-Service applications provides what we believe is the global industrial IoT markets most comprehensive service offering and positions us as a leader and innovator in the global industrial IoT marketplace. In addition, our solution delivery team provides end-to-end customer service – from installation to deployment to ongoing customer care — to support our customers across multiple vertical markets. We believe that our approach to IoT solutions is unique in our industry and will enable us to achieve significant growth.

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Within the rapidly evolving IoT market, customers have widely divergent requirements for hardware, connectivity, middleware, and software that depend, in part, on specific industry, geography, and price requirements. Leveraging our expertise in the global industrial IoT sector and through our broad portfolio of devices, network services and applications, we provide solutions that enable customers to minimize development time and reduce costs whether by saving on fuel, improving asset turn times, lowering maintenance costs or optimizing asset utilization. We believe that our flexibility in responding to unique customer requirements, as well as our ability to provide all of these products and services ourselves, through our incremental resources and improved scalability, enhances our competitive positioning and the size of our addressable market.

Our key competitive advantages include a unique range of IoT network connectivity solutions, provided through both cellular network connectivity and global, two-way satellite data communication connectivity. Through our own network of LEO satellites and accompanying ground infrastructure, we provide worldwide coverage, including in the open ocean, allowing end-users to access our communications system in areas outside the coverage of terrestrial networks. Our unique, proven technology offers full two-way data communication with minimal line-of-sight limitations and reliable performance.

By leveraging the enhanced capabilities of our OG2 satellite network, we have reduced the time interval in delivering messages and data, or network latency, in most regions of the world. The new OG2 capabilities also increase our data rate and message size capabilities, as well as enhance our AIS capabilities. Using our satellite-based AIS system, which is equipped on each of our OG2 satellites, our customers have access to AIS data well beyond coastal regions in a cost-effective and timely fashion. We provide what we believe is the most comprehensive global AIS data service through a combination of satellite and terrestrial data, enabling government and commercial customers to track more than 180,000 AIS-equipped vessels worldwide, facilitating maritime surveillance and intelligence. We intend to continue working with system integrators and maritime information service providers to develop AIS-based value added services and to facilitate the sales and distribution of AIS data.

Our strategic relationships with key distributors and OEMs have enabled us to streamline our sales and distribution channels and, in some cases, shift much of the risk and cost of developing and marketing end-user applications to the OEMs and MCPs. We have established strategic relationships with major OEMs, such as Carrier Transicold, Caterpillar Inc., Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Komatsu Ltd., Volvo Construction Equipment and Doosan Infracore America, as well as key VARs and IVARs, such as inthinc Technology Solutions Inc. and XRS Corporation in North America along with Onixsat, Satlink S.L. and Sascar in key international markets.

In addition, we have further expanded our distribution with the Skygistics Acquisition, a long-time distribution partner based in Johannesburg, South Africa, which adds key distribution on the African continent. This acquisition expands our geographic reach in one of the fastest growing IoT markets.

Our Strategy

Our long-term growth strategy capitalizes on expanding our capabilities and distribution through a build, buy or partner approach based on time to market and return on investment. Our growth is a result of our ability to leverage our vast in-house engineering capabilities to design new products as well as reduce costs and improve the functionality of our products through product redesign initiatives. In addition, we continue to identify strategic acquisitions that expand existing business lines, increase our resources and scalability and build collaborative partnerships with fellow industry leaders.

Industry Overview

Businesses and governments increasingly face the need to track, control, monitor and communicate with fixed and mobile assets that are located throughout the world. At the same time, these assets increasingly incorporate microprocessors, sensors and other devices that can provide a variety of information and analytical insight about the asset’s location, condition, operation and environment and are capable of responding to external commands and queries. As these intelligent devices proliferate, we believe that the need to establish two-way communications with these devices is greater than ever. The owners and operators of these intelligent devices are seeking low-cost and efficient communications systems that will enable them to communicate with these devices.

We operate in the IoT industry, which includes various types of communications systems that enable intelligent machines, devices and fixed or mobile assets to communicate information from the machine, device or fixed or mobile asset to and from back-office information systems of the businesses and government agencies that track, monitor, control and communicate with them. These IoT data communications systems integrate a number of technologies and cross several different industries, including computer hardware and software systems, positioning systems, terrestrial and satellite communications networks and information technologies (such as data hosting and report generation).

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There are four main components in any IoT data communications system:

Market Opportunity

We believe the following market opportunities as well as the increasing mainstream deployment of IoT solutions will continue to position us as a leader and innovator in the global industrial IoT market:

Commercial transportation and distribution

Large trucking and trailer leasing companies require applications that report location, engine diagnostic data, driver performance, fuel consumption, compliance, rapid decelerations, fuel taxes, driver logs and zone adherence in order to manage their truck fleets more safely and efficiently and to improve truck and trailer utilization.

Truck and trailer fleet owners and operators, as well as truck and trailer OEMs, are increasingly integrating IoT data communications systems into their trucks and trailers. Trailer tracking represents a significantly larger potential market as we estimate that there are approximately three trailers to every truck. The trailer market also requires additional applications, such as cargo sensor reporting, load monitoring, control of refrigeration systems and door alarms. Future regulations may require position tracking of specific types of cargo, such as hazardous materials, and could also increase trailer tracking market opportunities.

Refrigerated or cold chain transportation shippers and transportation companies have an increasing need to track and monitor environmental and control conditions of cargo over rail, trucking and sea transport and represent an important market opportunity. Our cold chain monitoring solutions include trailers, railcars, gensets and sea containers. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (“FSMA”) will also impact the growth of our market opportunity in this sector. The FSMA legislation

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aims to ensure the safety of food across the supply chain through the introduction of new requirements for food manufacturers, processors, transporters and distributors. FSMA is expected to require every food distribution company at every step, from farm to table, to implement these capabilities in order to be compliant, which we expect will further increase the demand for our cold chain monitoring systems.

Manufacturing, warehousing & supply chain management

In the increasingly complex and competitive world of manufacturing and supply chain operations, enterprises need to ensure that high-value materials, tools and supplies converge at the right time and place. Manufacturing and warehousing profitability is dependent on ensuring just-in-time availability and accurate real-time location of inventory in the supply chain. Companies employing sophisticated supply chain methods are realizing greater profits than competitors using more traditional means.  As regulatory pressure for buying multiple technologies increases, customers are increasingly demanding integrated solutions from single-source providers. End-to-end IoT solutions based on multi-modal short-range tracking technologies such as RFID, WiFi, condition sensors and actuators are more capable of handling the complex demands of today’s manufacturing and supply chain operations.

Heavy equipment

Heavy equipment fleet owners and leasing companies seeking to improve fleet productivity and profitability require applications that report diagnostic information, location, time-of-use information, emergency notification, driver usage and maintenance alerts for their heavy equipment, which may be in remote, difficult to reach locations. Using IoT data communications systems, heavy equipment fleet operators can remotely manage the productivity and mechanical condition of their equipment, potentially lowering operating costs through preventive maintenance. OEMs can also use IoT applications to better anticipate the maintenance and spare parts needs of their customers, expanding the market for higher-margin spare parts orders. Heavy equipment OEMs are increasingly integrating IoT data communications systems into their equipment at the factory or offering them as options through certified after-market dealers.

Fixed asset monitoring

Companies with widely dispersed fixed assets require a means of collecting data from them to monitor productivity, manage inventory, increase security, minimize downtime and realize other operational benefits, as well as managing remote operation of valves and electrical switches. IoT systems can provide automated meter reading, oil and gas storage tank monitoring, pipeline monitoring and environmental monitoring, which can reduce labor costs, fuel costs, and the expense of on-site monitoring and maintenance.

Marine vessels

Marine vessels need satellite-based communications due to the absence of reliable terrestrial-based coverage more than a few miles offshore. IoT systems offer features and functions to luxury recreational marine vessels and commercial fishing vessels, such as onboard diagnostics and other marine telematics, alarms, requests for assistance, security, location reporting and tracking, two-way messaging, catch data and weather reports. In addition, owners and operators of commercial fishing and other marine vessels are increasingly subject to regulations governing, among other things, commercial fishing seasons and geographic limitations, vessel tracking, safety systems, and resource management and protection. Our investments in AIS also provide significant opportunity in the marine market.

Government and homeland security

Governments worldwide are seeking to address the global terror threat by monitoring land borders and hazardous materials, as well as marine vessels and containers. In addition, modern military and public safety forces use a variety of applications, particularly in supply chain management, logistics and support, which could incorporate our products and services. IoT systems can be used in applications to address infiltration across land borders, for example, monitoring seismic sensors placed along the border to detect incursions. IoT systems can also be used in applications to address homeland security requirements, such as tracking and monitoring vessels and containers.

We expect to leverage our investment in AIS technology to resell AIS data collected by our network to other maritime services and governmental agencies. Further expansion of the AIS business had been driven by our AIS distribution agreements for commercial purposes with resellers. The successful deployment of our OG2 satellites, all of which are equipped with AIS capability, will allow us to enhance our AIS services.

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Customers

We market and sell our products and services directly to OEM and government customers and end-users, and indirectly through Market Channel Partners and Market Channel Affiliates, as discussed below.

Revenues in Foreign Geographic Areas

Revenues in 2016 and 2015 in foreign geographic areas, mostly South America, Europe and Japan, represented approximately 31% and 36% of our consolidated revenues, respectively. Revenues in 2014 in foreign geographic areas, mostly Europe and Japan, represented approximately 24% consolidated revenues. No other foreign geographic area accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenues. See also “Note 13 – Segment” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

Sales, Marketing and Distribution

We generally market our services and products through the following channels:

Market Channel Partners. We are currently working with a number of third party resellers referred to as MCPs and seek to add MCPs as we expand our business. The role of the MCP is to develop tailored applications that utilize our system and then market them, through non-exclusive licenses, to specific, targeted vertical markets. MCPs are responsible for establishing retail pricing, collecting revenues from end-users and for providing customer service and support. Our MCPs have made significant investments in developing ORBCOMM-based applications. MCPs pay fees for access to our system based on either a fixed monthly recurring charge or on the amount of data transmitted.

Generally, subject to regulatory restrictions, MCPs that have an IVAR arrangement allows us to enter into a single agreement with any given IVAR and allows the IVARs to pay directly to us a single price on a single monthly invoice in a single currency for worldwide service, regardless of the territories they sell into, avoiding the need to negotiate prices in each territory. We pay our MCAs, as defined below, a commission on revenues received from IVARs from each subscriber activated in a specific territory.

Market Channel Affiliates, referred to as MCAs. We generally market and distribute our services outside the United States primarily through our subsidiary companies, several of which are overseas joint ventures, which are assigned specific international territories. We rely on these MCAs to establish business in their respective territories, including obtaining and maintaining necessary regulatory and other approvals, as well as managing local resellers. We believe our MCAs, through their local expertise, are able to operate in these territories in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. We currently have MCAs covering over 130 countries and territories. As we seek to expand internationally, we expect to add additional MCAs, covering Asia and Africa.

Direct to End-Users. We also market directly to end-users, providing services and products tailored to particular verticals, establishing retail pricing, collecting revenues and for providing customer service and support.

Competition

Currently, we are the only commercial provider of below 1 GHz band, or little LEO, two-way data satellite services optimized for narrowband. However, we are not the only provider of data communication services, and we face competition from a variety of existing and proposed products and services. Competing service providers can be divided into three main categories: terrestrial tower-based, LEO mobile satellite and geostationary satellite service providers.

Terrestrial tower-based cellular networks

While terrestrial tower-based cellular networks are capable of providing services at costs comparable to ours, they lack seamless global coverage. Terrestrial coverage is dependent on the location of tower transmitters, which are generally located in densely populated areas or heavily traveled routes. Several data and messaging markets, such as long-haul trucking, railroads, oil and gas, agriculture, utility distribution and heavy construction, have significant activity in sparsely populated areas with limited or no terrestrial coverage. In some geographic areas, terrestrial tower-based networks have gaps in their coverage and may require a back-up system to fill in such coverage gaps. We have entered into re-seller agreements with several major Tier One cellular wireless providers in the U.S. and the rest of the world to provide our customers options for incorporating terrestrial communications connectivity for IoT solutions, in either single mode or dual mode configurations that use both terrestrial and satellite network platforms.

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Low-Earth orbit mobile satellite service providers

LEO mobile satellite service providers operating above the 1 GHz band, or big LEO systems, can provide data connectivity with global coverage that can compete with our communications services. The primary focus of big LEO satellite service providers is on circuit-switched communications tailored for time- and bandwidth-intensive voice traffic, which is less efficient than the transfer of short data messages. However, big LEO satellite service providers have shifted to focus more on IoT data communications. These systems entail significantly higher costs for the satellite fleet operator and the end-users. Our principal big LEO mobile satellite service competitors are Iridium Communications Inc. and, to a lesser extent, Globalstar, Inc., whose satellite airtime services we also resell.

Geostationary satellite service providers

Geostationary satellite system operators can offer services that compete with ours. Certain pan-regional or global systems (operating in the L or S bands), such as Inmarsat, are designed and licensed for mobile high-speed data and voice services. However, the equipment cost and service fees for narrowband, or small packet, data communications is significantly more expensive than ours. We believe that the equipment cost and service fees for narrowband data communications using these systems are also significantly higher than ours, and that these geostationary providers cannot offer global service with competitive communications devices and costs. In addition, they have other limitations, such as requiring a clear line of sight between the communicator equipment and the satellite, being affected by adverse weather or atmospheric conditions, and being vulnerable to catastrophic single-point failures of their satellites with limited backup options. We resell satellite airtime service provided by Inmarsat as well to meet specific customer needs.

Product Development

We develop products and service enhancements that we sell directly to our end-user customers, as well as design new products and services that enhance features and capabilities, while at the same time reducing costs of our products and services. During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we have incurred product development costs of $6.3 million, $6.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively.

ORBCOMM Communications System

Overview

Our IoT data communications services are provided by offering a unique combination of both satellite and terrestrial networks including our proprietary LEO satellite constellation, consisting of our ORBCOMM Generation 1 (“OG1”) and AIS-equipped OG2 satellites operating in the VHF band. In addition, we offer data communication services provided by third party satellite constellations, such as our partnership with Inmarsat, through which we provide L-band GEO satellite service via both IDP, a satellite packet data service offering the highest payload and lowest latency in the market, and a 3G-based service, and the Globalstar satellite network. In addition, we provide data communication services utilizing Tier One wireless carriers through partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Orange, Rogers and Vodafone, whose Access Point Name (“APN”) networks are tightly integrated into our own production network to provide a common interface for a mix of carrier and service options for our customers.

We utilize our ORBCOMMconnect platform to seamlessly translate and integrate the communications from our diverse network service partners into a uniform and easily manageable set of commands and responses and information transport. This creates a common user platform for provisioning, billing and multi-mode access for IoT applications and enables access to network and terminal management tools for rapid wholesale integration with our network. We provide our customers a subscriber component, which consists of satellite subscriber communicators and cellular terrestrial units, or wireless modems incorporating SIMS, used by end-users to transmit and receive messages to and from their assets and our system. In addition, our web applications provide specialized data feeds that are established through our application gateway interface to third party dispatch systems and proprietary customer software applications to provide customers data and analytics from telematics products and specialized sensors.  

The data generated by our customer base typically comes from application-tailored, end-user or ORBCOMM developed software. The data may be transferred to either a subscriber communicator, or a terrestrial based wireless device using a SIM on the partner cellular provider’s network. If the data is transferred to a satellite subscriber communicator, data is transmitted to the next satellite that comes into view in near real-time. The data is then routed by the satellite to the next gateway earth station (“GES”) that it successfully connects to, which in turn forwards it to the ORBCOMM gateway control center (“GCC”). Within the GCC, the data is processed, safe-stored, and forwarded to its ultimate destination and, if requested, an acknowledgment that the message content has been received is transmitted back to the subscriber communicators. If the data is transferred to a cellular device, data is routed through the partner carrier’s network via VPN to the ORBCOMM GCC and forwarded to its ultimate destination in real time. The destination for transferred data may be another subscriber communicator, a SIM, a corporate resource management system, any personal or

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business Internet e-mail address, a pager or a text message-capable cellular phone, or any combination of the above. In addition, data can be sent in the reverse direction (a feature which is utilized by many applications to remotely control assets) using similar methods. 

System Status

OG1 Satellite Health

With the launch of the OG2 satellites, we are gradually phasing out the OG1 satellites and putting them in a reserve operating mode where they will primarily be used for messaging services only when no OG2 satellites are nearby. We will maintain operational control throughout the remaining lifetime of the OG1 satellites to allow us to perform orbit maneuvers in the event of a conjunction possibility with another object.        

OG2 Satellite Health

On July 14, 2014, we launched six of our next-generation OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The OG2 satellites were separated from the Falcon 9 vehicle into proper orbit. On September 15, 2014, following an in-orbit testing period, we initiated commercial service for the six OG2 satellites. In June 2015, we lost communication with one of our OG2 satellites and recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $12.7 million to write off the value of the satellite. In August 2016, we lost communication with one of our OG2 satellites and recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $10.7 million to write off the value of the satellite.

On December 21, 2015, we launched the remaining 11 next-generation OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The OG2 satellites were separated from the Falcon 9 vehicle into proper orbit. On March 1, 2016, following an in-orbit testing period, we initiated commercial service for the 11 OG2 satellites.

The OG2 satellites are providing both M2M messaging and AIS service for our global customers. The satellites have been divided into four separate planes and placed into differing altitudes to allow each plane to drift to the proper orbit. Once the drifting is complete the four planes of satellites will be equally spaced to provide customers the optimum coverage. Two of the four planes are currently in the proper orbit and the other two planes will reach the proper orbit in March and October 2017.  

One OG2 satellite has experienced a solar array anomaly that resulted in the satellite entering a safe mode and being temporarily taken out of commercial service. The satellite has intermittently provided AIS service and is regularly communicating with the ground infrastructure. Our satellite engineering team is in the process of developing new software which should enable improved availability and resume partial M2M messaging and AIS services.   

ORBCOMM Gateway Health

The gateway earth stations in the United States and internationally are performing well. In addition to routine maintenance, we continue to perform hardware and software upgrades which have improved the functionality of the gateway earth stations. Specifically, new antenna control and drive systems have been installed in several of the gateway earth stations in conjunction with the aforementioned upgrades.

ORBCOMM Network Capacity

With the addition of our OG2 satellites, the network capacity has been greatly increased. In the backwards compatible OG1 mode, each OG2 satellite has more than six times the capacity of the OG1 satellites because each OG2 satellite has six downlink transmitters where the OG1 satellites have only one. Currently, the OG2 satellites are easily meeting our capacity needs with just one or two downlink channels per satellite. Our ground segment was originally designed with scalability in mind. As technologies in storage and networking solutions evolve, we are continuously upgrading the key components, through internal resources, that are impacted most by an increasing subscriber base.

Inmarsat Services

With our acquisition of SkyWave, we entered into an agreement with Inmarsat to transition the primary operational control of the IsatDataPro (“IDP”) services to Inmarsat.  This transition is complete and the system performance is well over 99.9% network availability.  For the legacy IsatM2M services, we provide operational support through a support contract with Inmarsat.  Like the IDP services, network availability for IsatM2M services has been very good.  For both the IDP and ISatM2M services, we remain in control of the message delivery Gateway that is the interface to our customers for message delivery.  The Gateway is a fully internally redundant system providing customer access via two independent Internet lines providing connectivity to their mobile terminals and

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messages over multiple transports and protocols.  It is a high-availability system responsible for connection, storing and relaying messages between customers and Inmarsat satellite network systems, as well as providing terrestrial messaging services between customers and mobile terminals.

 

Terrestrial Services

We have active partnerships with many of the major carriers, both domestic and abroad including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Orange, Rogers and Vodafone. We have tightly integrated each carrier’s APN into our production network to provide a common interface for a mix of carrier and service options for our customers. The integration planning of each carrier network is at the core of our goal to provide a consistent and reliable uniform messaging environment over a variety of networks. We maintain redundant connections to carriers through an East Coast primary data center and West Coast backup data center. CenturyLink is our hosting provider as they are a recognized leader in providing enterprise class service and support. Our Network Control Center (NCC), staffed 24 hours a day, monitors all aspects of the network to ensure prompt response to network anomalies when they occur. Aside from a traditional Network Management System (NMS) utilizing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for infrastructure monitoring, device and carrier specific tests simulate customer traffic and provide performance metrics for support staff as well as engineers. A three-tier support structure is employed to ensure that staff with domain specific knowledge are quickly assigned to anomalies and implement resolutions.

 

AIS Services

Our AIS data services are provided through a combination of our OG2 satellites, which are all enabled with advanced AIS data receivers, and third party space-based assets and terrestrial AIS data providers.

Regulation of Our Business in the United States

FCC Authorizations

Any entity seeking to construct, launch, or operate a commercial satellite system in the United States must first be licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). ORBCOMM License Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of ours, holds the FCC license for our LEO VHF satellite constellation (which we refer to as the Space Segment License). ORBCOMM License Corp. also holds additional FCC licenses relating to our United States gateway earth stations, and our VHF and L-Band subscriber communicator deployments in the United States. We believe that our business, as currently conducted, is in full compliance with all applicable FCC rules, policies, and license conditions.  

FCC License Renewals

The current fifteen-year term of our Space Segment License expires in April 2025, and the renewal application must be filed between 30 and 90 days prior to end of the twelfth year of the current license term (i.e., between 30 and 90 days prior to April 2022). The current FCC licenses for the United States gateway earth stations and VHF subscriber communicators expire on May 17, 2020 and June 12, 2020, respectively, and our two L-Band subscriber communicator licenses expire on January 22, 2019 and April 19, 2026, respectively. Renewal applications for these four licenses must be filed between 30 and 90 days prior to expiration. Although the FCC has been positively disposed thus far towards granting our applications for license renewals, there can be no assurance that the FCC will in fact renew our FCC licenses in the future.

We believe that our business as currently conducted is currently in full compliance with all applicable FCC rules, policies, and license conditions. We also believe that we will continue to be able to comply with all applicable FCC requirements, although we cannot provide assurance that it will be the case.

Non-Common Carrier Status

All of our FCC licenses authorize our provision of commercial services on a “non-common carrier” basis. As a result, our service offerings are subject to limited FCC regulations, and we are not required to comply with the obligations, restrictions and reporting requirements applicable to common carriers or to providers of Commercial Mobile Radio Services, or CMRS. There can be no assurance, however, that in the future, we will not be deemed by the FCC to provide services that are designated common carrier or CMRS, or that the FCC will not exercise its discretionary authority to apply its common carrier or CMRS rules and regulations to our service offerings. If this were to occur, we would be subject to FCC obligations that include record retention requirements, limitations on use or disclosure of customer proprietary network information and truth-in-billing regulations. In addition, we would need to obtain FCC approval for foreign ownership in excess of 25% and authority under Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to provide international services. Finally, we would be subject to additional reporting obligations with regard to international traffic and circuits, and Equal Employment Opportunity compliance.

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United States import and export control regulations

We are subject to U.S. import and export control laws and regulations, specifically the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Regulations and the trade sanctions laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and we believe we are in full compliance with all such laws and regulations. We also believe that we have obtained all the specific authorizations currently needed to operate our business and believe that the terms of the relevant licenses are sufficient given the scope and duration of the activities to which they pertain.

Regulation of our Business in Other Countries

Our business and our business objectives are inherently worldwide, and our product and service offerings are subject to national telecommunication regulation and other applicable laws and policies of every country in which we, our MCAs, and our MCPs conduct business. These rules and policies, all of which are subject to change, which may occur from time to time without prior notice, specify technical parameters for the operation of network facilities and subscriber communicators, determine the permissible uses of network facilities and subscriber communicators, and otherwise establish the terms and conditions pursuant to which our products and services can be offered and utilized in any given country. As a result, we, our MCAs, our MCPs, and in some cases, our respective customers must obtain and maintain requisite local regulatory and other governmental approvals in each country where our product and services are offered and utilized. The process for obtaining the applicable regulatory authorization varies from country to country, and in some instances may require technical studies or actual experimental field tests under the direction and/or supervision of the local regulatory authority. Certain countries continue to require that some or all telecommunications services be provided by a government-owned or controlled entity. Therefore, under such circumstances, we may be required to offer our products or services through a government-owned or controlled entity. Failure to obtain or maintain any requisite authorizations in any given country could mean that some or all of our products and services may not be provided or utilized in that country.

We believe but cannot provide assurance that we, our MCAs, our MCPs, and our customers, have obtained all necessary regulatory or other governmental approvals required to conduct our respective current business activities in each of the countries where we currently operate. However, it may not be possible to obtain, modify, or maintain such approvals in the future. Moreover, future changes in applicable regulatory or governmental approval requirements may result in disruptions of the ability to provide or utilize some or all of the products and services we offer in one or more countries, or alternatively result in added operational costs, which could materially harm our business.

Non-U.S. gateway earth stations for our satellite constellation

To date, in addition to those in the United States, gateway earth stations for our VHF satellite constellation have been authorized and deployed in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Curaçao, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa and South Korea. Gateway earth stations are generally licensed on an individual facility basis. This process normally entails radio frequency coordination within the country of operation for the specific frequencies to be used in the designated geographic location of the subject gateway earth station. This domestic frequency coordination is in addition to any international coordination that may be required, as determined by the proximity of the gateway earth station location to foreign borders (see “— International Regulation of Our Business”). Based on the best available information, we believe that each of the gateway earth station authorizations is sufficient for the provision of our VHF satellite constellation services in the areas served by the relevant facilities. We will need additional gateway earth station authorizations in other countries as we install additional ORBCOMM gateway earth stations around the world.

Equipment standards

Each manufacturer of the applicable subscriber communicator is contractually responsible to obtain and maintain the governmental authorizations necessary to operate their subscriber communicators in each jurisdiction. Most countries generally require all radio transmission equipment used within their borders to comply with operating standards that may include specifications relating to required minimum acceptable levels for radiated power, power density and spurious emissions into adjacent frequency bands not allocated for the intended use. Technical criteria established by telecommunications equipment standards issued by the FCC and/or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, or ETSI, are generally accepted and/or closely duplicated by domestic equipment approval regulations in most countries. To the best of our knowledge, all of the subscriber communicator models that we, our MCAs, and our MCPs offer on the market comply with established FCC and ETSI standards.

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International Regulation of our VHF Satellite Constellation

The use of certain orbital planes and related system radio frequency assignments by our satellite constellation, as licensed by the FCC, is subject to the frequency coordination and registration process of the International Telecommunication Union, or ITU. In order to protect satellite systems from harmful radio frequency interference from other satellite communications systems, the ITU maintains a Master International Frequency Register, or MIFR, of radio frequency assignments and their associated orbital locations. Each ITU member state (referred to as an administration) is required by treaty to give notice of, coordinate and register its proposed use of radio frequency assignments and associated orbital locations with the ITU’s Radio communication Bureau.

The FCC serves as the notifying administration for the United States and is responsible for filing and coordinating the allocated radio frequency assignments and associated orbital locations for our satellite constellation with both the ITU’s Radio Communication Bureau and the national administrations of other countries. While the FCC, as our notifying administration, is responsible for coordinating our satellite constellation, in practice the satellite licensee is generally responsible for identifying any potential interference concerns with existing systems or those enjoying date priority and for coordinating with such systems. If we are unable to reach agreement and finalize coordination, the FCC would then assist with such coordination.

The FCC has notified the ITU that our satellite constellation was initially placed in service in April 1995 and that it has operated without any substantiated complaints of interference since that time. The FCC has also informed the ITU that our system has successfully completed the international coordination process and our system has been formally registered in the MIFR. We continue to support as necessary FCC efforts to complete any additional required international coordination relating to our system and our new satellites. If design modifications we may make to our future satellites entail substantial changes to the frequency utilization by the subject system component(s), additional international coordination may be required or reasonably deemed advisable. However, we believe that ITU coordination can be successfully completed in all circumstances where such coordination is required, although we cannot assure you that we will successfully complete such ITU coordination. Failure to complete requisite ITU coordination could have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless, to date, and to our best knowledge, the system has not caused harmful interference to any other radio system, or suffered harmful interference from any other radio system.

Intellectual Property

We use and hold intellectual property rights for a number of trademarks, service marks and logos for our system. We have one main mark — “ORBCOMM” — which is registered or is pending registration in approximately 125 countries.

The telematics solutions services carried on by our affiliates use trademarks including “REEFERTRAK” and “CARGOWATCH” that are registered in the U.S. and numerous countries around the world and others, such as “GLOBALTRAK” that are seeking registration only in the U.S., and others, such as “STARTRAK,” “MOBILENET” and “FLEETEDGE,” that are subject to common law protection.

Our telematics solutions services are protected by approximately 32 issued patents held by our SkyWave subsidiary, approximately 24 issued patents held by our StarTrak Information Technologies, LLC subsidiary, approximately 5 issued patents held by our ORBCOMM SENS, LLC subsidiary, approximately 24 issued patents held by our GlobalTrak, LLC subsidiary and one issued patent held by our WAM Technology, LLC subsidiary. Each of these subsidiaries also has a number of pending patent applications relating to our solutions services.

We may file additional patent applications in the appropriate countries for various aspects of our businesses and technology.

We believe that all intellectual property rights used in our system were independently developed or duly licensed by us, by those we license the rights from or by the technology companies who supplied portions of our system. We cannot assure you, however, that third parties will not bring suit against us for patent or other infringement of intellectual property rights.

The value of intellectual property assets recorded for accounting purposes is primarily related to technology-based intangible assets resulting from acquisitions.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016, we had 542 full-time employees. Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreements and we have not experienced a work stoppage since our inception.

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Corporate Information

ORBCOMM Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 2003. Our principal executive offices are located at 395 W. Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, New Jersey 07662, and our telephone number is (703) 433-6300. Our website is www.orbcomm.com and information contained on our website is not included as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our annual, quarterly, and other reports, and amendments to those reports can be obtained through the Investor Relations section of our website or from the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

Certain information regarding our executive officers is provided below:

 

 

Marc J. Eisenberg is our Chief Executive Officer and President, a position he has held since March 31, 2008, and a member of our board of directors since March 7, 2008. From June 2006 to March 30, 2008 he was our Chief Operating Officer and from March 2002 to June 2006, he was our Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. He was a member of the board of directors of ORBCOMM Holdings LLC from May 2002 until February 2004. Prior to joining ORBCOMM, from 1999 to 2001, Mr. Eisenberg was a Senior Vice President of Cablevision Electronics Investments, where among his duties he was responsible for selling Cablevision services such as video and internet subscriptions through its retail channel. From 1984 to 1999, he held various positions, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations with the consumer electronics company The Wiz, where he oversaw sales and operations and was responsible for over 2,000 employees and $1 billion a year in sales. Mr. Eisenberg is the son of Jerome B. Eisenberg, our Chairman of the Board.

Robert G. Costantini is our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, a position he has held since October 2, 2006. From October 2003 until September 2006, he served as Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of First Aviation Services Inc., an aviation services company providing aircraft parts and maintenance services. From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Costantini was the Chief Financial Officer of FocusVision Worldwide, Inc., a technology company providing video transmission services. From 1986 to 1999, he was Corporate Controller and then Vice-President — Finance of M.T. Maritime Management Corp., a global maritime transportation company. Mr. Costantini started his career with Peat Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Mr. Costantini is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and a member of the bar of New York and Connecticut.

John J. Stolte, Jr. is our Executive Vice President, Technology and Operations, a position he has held since April 2001. From January to April 2001, he held a similar position with ORBCOMM Global L.P. Mr. Stolte has over 25 years of technology management experience in the aerospace and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining ORBCOMM Global L.P., Mr. Stolte held a number of positions at Orbital Sciences Corporation from September 1990 to January 2001, most recently as Program Director, where he was responsible for design, manufacturing and launch of the ORBCOMM satellite constellation. From 1982 to 1990, Mr. Stolte worked for McDonnell Douglas in a number of positions including at the Naval Research Laboratory where he led the successful integration, test and launch of a multi-billion dollar defense satellite.

Christian G. Le Brun is our Executive Vice President and General Counsel, a position he has held since March 31, 2008. From April 2005 to March 30, 2008, Mr. Le Brun was our Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to joining ORBCOMM, from 1999 to 2005, Mr. Le Brun was an attorney with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, where he oversaw a broad range of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, corporate restructurings and work-outs, as well as debt and equity financing arrangements involving publicly-held and private companies. In addition, from 1994 to 1999, he was a corporate attorney with Pullman & Comley, LLC. Mr. Le Brun is a member of the bar of New York.

Craig Malone is our Executive Vice President, Product Development, a position he has held since July 8, 2013. Mr. Malone joined ORBCOMM in 2011 as the Senior Vice President of Product Development. Mr. Malone has over 20 years of experience in leading teams engaged in the development of innovative products and solutions for the M2M, wireless and telecommunications industries. Prior to ORBCOMM, Mr. Malone was the Senior Vice President of Product Development and Operations at Skybitz. He also served as the Vice President of Product Development and Chief Technology Officer at GeoLogic Solutions and held executive positions at Philips Electronics and Raytheon Company.

 

 

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Set forth below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any of these risks could also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or the price of our common stock. Because of the following factors, as well as other variables affecting our operating results, past financial performance should not be considered as a reliable indicator of future performance and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Our business plan depends on both increased demand for our products and services and our ability to successfully implement it.

Our business plan is predicated on continued growth in demand for our products and services. Demand for such data products and services may not grow, or may even contract, either generally or in particular geographic markets, for particular types of services or during particular time periods. A lack of demand could impair our ability to sell products and services, develop and successfully market new products and services and could exert downward pressure on prices. Any decline in prices would decrease our revenues and negatively affect our ability to generate cash for investments and other working capital needs. Our business plan assumes that potential customers and end-users will accept certain limitations that can be inherent in our product and service offerings. For example, our VHF satellite system is optimized for small packet, or narrowband, data transmissions, is subject to certain delays in the relay of messages, referred to as latencies, and may be subject to certain line-of-sight limitations between our satellites and the end-user’s subscriber communicator.

Our ability to successfully implement our business plan will also depend on a number of other factors, including:

We substantially rely on our subsidiary companies and various third parties to market and sell our products and services, and to develop and sell additional offerings utilizing our products and services. If these parties are unsuccessful in these endeavors, our business will be harmed.

To successfully develop, market, and sell our products and services, we substantially rely on our subsidiary companies, several of which are overseas joint ventures, to address particular product or services, vertical segments, or distinct market territories (we refer collectively here to our subsidiary companies as MCAs). We also substantially rely on our various third-parties, including product and service developers and providers, distributors, resellers, solution providers, and others (we refer collectively here to all such third parties as MCPs). The willingness of our existing and potential new MCPs to engage or continue to engage in our business depends on a number of factors, including whether they perceive our services to be compatible with their business objectives, whether the prices they can charge end-users will provide an adequate return, and the burden imposed by market challenges or regulatory constraints, if any. We believe that successful marketing of our products and services will depend on our ability to continue to develop and launch solutions that support the specific needs of the targeted end-users and offered at competitive pricing. The design, development and implementation of successful solutions require the commitment of substantial financial and technological resources by us and our

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MCPs. Certain of our MCPs are, and many potential new MCPs will be, newly formed or small ventures with limited financial resources, and such entities might not be successful in their efforts to effectively market our products and services, or to design new offerings that utilize our products and services. The inability of our MCAs and MCPs to successfully market and sell to end-users could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We also believe that our success depends upon the competitive pricing of product and service offerings by us, our MCAs and our MCPs. However, we have little or no control over our MCAs and MCPs with respect to customer pricing decisions.

The substantial reliance we must place on our MCAs and MCPs is inherent to our business structure, and is driven by the competitive landscape in which we operate. Thus, our revenues, profitability, liquidity and reputation could be adversely affected if both our MCAs and our MCPs are not sufficiently successful.

We have incurred net losses since our inception, other than in 2012 and 2013, and may incur additional net losses in the future. As a result, we have an accumulated deficit of $104.9 million as of December 31, 2016. We must increase our revenues to become profitable.

We have had annual net losses since our inception, other than in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and as of December 31, 2016, we have an accumulated deficit of $104.9 million. Our future results will continue to reflect significant operating expenses, including expenses associated with expanding our sales and marketing efforts, maintaining the infrastructure to operate as a public company, and the ongoing operation and maintenance of our fleet of VHF satellites and associated ground network facilities, as well as the additional facilities we own and operate in connection with our other satellite and terrestrial network platform service offerings. The continued development of our business also will require additional capital expenditures for, among other things, the costs relating to the installation and maintenance of additional gateway earth stations and associated satellite network ground facilities around the world relating to our VHF satellite system, as well as expenditures for the ongoing maintenance, repair, upgrade, or expansion of other network facilities that we own and operate. In addition, we may acquire additional companies and such acquisitions may result in increases in intangible assets which are subject to amortization and potential impairment. Accordingly, as we make these capital and acquisition investments, our future results will include greater depreciation and amortization expense which reflect the full cost of acquiring these new assets and we may incur additional operating losses and net losses in the future.

In order to become profitable, we must continue to increase revenue. Revenue will depend on the success of our resellers and acceptance of our products and services by end-users in current markets, as well as in new geographic and industry markets. We may not be able to sustain such profitability, if achieved.

If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and The NASDAQ Stock Market, or NASDAQ. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. We perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements, and we may conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective. If that were to happen, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Maintaining effective internal controls over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. If we fail to maintain effective controls over financial reporting in the future, it could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis and which could cause investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial statements.

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We face substantial competition from existing and potential competitors in the telecommunications industry, including numerous terrestrial and satellite-based network systems with greater resources, which could reduce our market share and revenues.

Competition in the telecommunications industry is intense, fueled by rapid, continuous technological advances and alliances between industry participants seeking to capture significant market share. We face competition from numerous existing and potential alternative telecommunications products and services provided by various companies, including sophisticated two-way satellite-based data and voice communication services and digital cellular services, such as GSM, 3G, 4G, LTE and 5G. The rigorously competitive environment in which we operate can have a substantial negative influence on pricing flexibility and market share, both for our products and services and the offerings of our MCPs. For example, we face ongoing market pressures from several global satellite communication services operators that offer mobile satellite data products and services that directly compete with our products and services. New and advanced technology which can perform essentially the same functions as our messaging and products and services, direct broadcast satellites, new deployed satellites of competing low-earth orbit satellite systems and other forms of wireless transmission, are in various stages of development by others in the industry. The telematics industry includes numerous companies developing technologies to compete with the products and services of our subsidiaries. These technologies are being developed, supported and rolled out by entities that may have significantly greater resources than we do. These technologies could adversely impact the demand for our products and services. Research and development by others may lead to technologies that render some or all of our services non-competitive or obsolete in the future. In addition, a continuing trend toward consolidation and strategic alliances in the telecommunications industry, as well as the possibility that new low earth orbit “mega” constellations may be deployed at some future date by companies such as OneWeb and SpaceX, could give rise to significant new competitors.  Furthermore, some foreign competitors may benefit from government subsidies, or other protective measures, afforded by their home countries. Some of these competitors may provide more efficient or less expensive products or services than we are able to provide, which could reduce our market share and adversely affect our revenues and business.

Certain of our existing and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, marketing and distribution resources than we do. Furthermore, these competitors may be able to adopt more aggressive pricing policies and offer customers more attractive terms than we can.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to effect suitable investments, alliances and acquisitions and our ability to successfully integrate the businesses we acquire.

Since mid-2011 we have expanded our business both organically and through several key acquisitions. On an ongoing basis, we review investment, alliance and acquisition prospects that would complement our existing product offerings, augment our market coverage or enhance our technological capabilities. However, we cannot assure that we will be able to identify and consummate suitable investment, alliance or acquisition transactions in the future.  Our prospects and ability to strategically pursue possible new acquisitions or joint ventures are subject to our ability to:

 

Even if we are able to successfully identify and consummate suitable acquisition transactions, the consummation of such acquisitions may result in:

 

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Furthermore, the integration of acquired businesses and their products and services may be expensive, time-consuming, a strain on our resources and present certain challenges, including:

Defects, errors or other insufficiencies in our products or services could result in end-users rejecting our offerings, which could damage our reputation and harm our financial condition.

We must continue to successfully collaborate with our MCAs and MCPs to develop and deploy innovative, reliable, and cost-effective products and services that keep pace with rapidly changing markets and customer requirements. These efforts, which often entail complex or accelerated development cycles, can result in offerings that have undetected errors or defects, especially when first introduced or when subsequent versions are introduced.  Any such errors of defects could result in the disruption or failure of our products or services, or even personal injury or property damage. Any such occurrence could damage our reputation as well as the reputation of respective MCAs or MCPs, and result in lost customers, lost revenue, diverted development resources, and increased service, recall and warranty costs, and even liability claims. In addition, it is possible that our products could become the subject of a product recall as a result of a product defect. We do not maintain recall insurance, so any recall could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition to the direct expenses of liability claim awards, recalls and litigation, a claim, recall or litigation might cause us adverse publicity, which could harm our reputation and compromise our ability to sell our products in the future.

Because we depend on a few significant customers for a substantial portion of our revenues, the loss or decline or slowdown in growth in business in any of these customers could seriously harm our business.

Significant customers such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hub Group Inc., Onixsat and Satlink S.L. collectively, represented 26.5% and 28.4% of our revenues in 2016 and 2015, respectively, and are expected to represent a substantial portion of our revenues in the near future. As a result, the loss of any one of these customers, or decline or slowdown in the growth in business of these customers, which could occur at any time, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, because service revenue depends either partially or entirely on the usage of our products and services by our customers and end users, the decline or slowdown in the growth of usage patterns of these customers which could occur at any time and with or without a reduction in the number of our billable subscribers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could be adversely affected if we are not successful in expanding and managing our business outside of the United States and there are numerous risks inherent to our international operations that are beyond our control.

Our business and our business objectives are inherently worldwide. As a result, we are subject to certain political risks, such as changes in international and foreign domestic law and regulation, varying applicable telecommunication industry and governmental standards, tariffs or taxes and other trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation, and political and economic instability, including fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies. Certain of these risks may be greater in developing countries or regions, where economic, political or diplomatic conditions may be significantly more volatile than those commonly experienced in the United States and other industrialized countries.

Unless we are able to continue expanding our business, particularly in markets outside of the United States, we could be adversely affected. Although we currently have MCAs registered to do business in more than forty-five (45) countries outside of the United States, we also must substantially rely on MCPs to establish and grow our business in many overseas markets. In some countries, due to market conditions, foreign ownership restrictions, or other business or legal constraints, we are compelled or even required to rely on MCPs to obtain and maintain necessary local regulatory and other approvals for some or all of the products and services sought to offered. And of course, we and/or our MCAs or MCPs may not be successful in obtaining and maintaining the necessary regulatory and other approvals in some countries or territories.  Moreover, even if those approvals are obtained and maintained, efforts to develop markets and/or distribution networks within any given country may not be successful. Certain of our MCPs are, or are likely to be, newly formed or small ventures with limited or no operational history and limited financial resources, and any such entities may not be successful in their efforts to secure adequate financing and to continue operating. In addition, in certain countries and territories outside the United States, we must currently rely on MCPs to operate and maintain various components of our system, such as several of the gateway earth stations for our VHF satellite system. These entities may not be successful in operating and maintaining such components of our communications system and may not have the same financial incentives as we do to maintain those components in good repair.

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Our business is affected by the regulatory laws and policies of the countries in which we operate. Due to foreign ownership constraints or other restrictions in certain jurisdictions around the world, we often rely on MCPs to obtain and maintain necessary local regulatory and other governmental approvals. In addition, in certain countries regulatory frameworks may be rudimentary or in an early stage of development, which can make it difficult or impossible in such jurisdictions to secure the necessary approvals to operate in those locations. There can be no assurance that we, our MCAs, or our MCPs will be successful in obtaining or maintaining the necessary approvals for countries that may offer desirable new market opportunities and, if these efforts are not successful, we will be unable to do business in such countries. In addition, efforts to implement network facilities in certain foreign countries may be complicated, constrained, or even prohibited due to legal requirements we must comply with in the United States or other jurisdictions that may contravene with legal requirements in the new country markets we seek access to.  Furthermore, even if the necessary regulatory and other governmental approvals can be obtained in these countries, the cost of developing, deploying, operating and maintaining required local network infrastructure, or other costs associated with ongoing regulatory compliance, may be prohibitive, which could impair our ability to expand our product and service offerings in such areas and undermine our value for potential customers in these markets. Finally, our ability to provide services in these countries is also constrained by national laws and policies regarding the installation and operation of in-country network facilities that manage and control the flow of communication traffic coming to and from the respective national territories.  Our inability to offer our products and services in one or more important new markets could have a negative impact on our business.

While expanding our international operations would advance our growth, it would also increase numerous risks, including:

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our consolidated financial results are reported in U.S. dollars, however a portion of our costs and expenses occur in foreign currencies. Fluctuations in the value of these foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar could result in substantial changes in reported earnings and operating results due to the foreign currency impact upon translation of these transactions into U.S. dollars.  Further, any continued appreciation of the U.S. dollar may also negatively affect our growth by increasing the cost of our products and services in foreign countries.  In the normal course of business, we may employ various hedging strategies to partially mitigate these foreign exchange risks, including the use of forward exchange contracts.  These strategies may not be effective in protecting us against the effects of fluctuations from movements in foreign exchange rates. Our failure to mitigate these foreign currency exchange risks could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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If we become subject to unanticipated domestic or foreign tax or fee liabilities, it could materially increase our costs.

We operate in various tax jurisdictions. We believe that we have complied in all material respects with our obligations to pay taxes and fees in these jurisdictions. However, our position is subject to review and possible challenge by the authorities of these jurisdictions. If the applicable authorities were to challenge successfully our current tax or fee positions, or if there were changes in the manner in which we conduct our activities, or changes in the interpretation or application of existing laws, we could become subject to material unanticipated tax or fee liabilities. We may also become subject to additional tax, tariff, or fee liabilities as a result of changes in laws, which could in certain circumstances, have a retroactive effect.

Economic, political and other conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results or operations or financial condition.

A significant portion of our revenues are generated from customers located in foreign countries. Some country economies have been characterized by interventions by government agencies and unstable economic cycles. Governments have often changed monetary, taxation, credit, tariff and other policies to influence the course of their country’s economy. For example, government actions to control inflation have at times involved setting wage and price controls, blocking access to bank accounts, imposing exchange controls and limiting imports. Our customers may be adversely affected by exchange rate movements; exchange control policies; expansion or contraction of the local economy; inflation; tax policies; other economic political, diplomatic and social developments; interest rates; liquidity of domestic capital and lending markets; and social and political instability.

Extreme events such as a man-made or natural disaster, earthquakes or severe weather could diminish or prelude our ability to provide communications service.

Extreme events or the collateral effects of such events could damage or destroy some or all or of communication system network platforms. Such events could impair or completely preclude our ability to provide service to our customers in the affected region(s) on a temporary, prolonged, or even permanent basis.  Even if network facilities that we own and operate were not affected by any extreme event, some or all of the communication services we provide could be disrupted if an extreme event damages or destroys third party networks that we utilize, or disrupts our ability to connect to those networks. Our operations or the operations of our MCPs with facilities in various locations may be interrupted by extreme events and affect our ability to provide service and products for a period of time. Such failure or service disruptions could materially harm our business and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of manufacturers for many of our products and devices. If we are unable to, or cannot find third parties to, manufacture a sufficient quantity of our products and devices at a reasonable price, the prospects for our business will be negatively impacted.

The development and availability on a timely basis of relatively inexpensive products and devices are critical to the successful commercial operation of our system. We rely on contract manufacturers to produce these products and devices that we market and sell, including those we offer under our own brand names. Our Japan subsidiary mainly relies on Quake Global, Inc. as its contract manufacturer, and each of SkyWave and our solutions subsidiaries relies on a few contract manufacturers. Our customers may not be able to obtain a sufficient supply of products and devices at price points or with functional characteristics and reliability that meet their needs. An inability to successfully develop and manufacture products and devices that meet the needs of customers and are available in sufficient numbers and at prices that render our services cost-effective to customers could limit the acceptance of our system and potentially affect the quality of our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business may be materially and adversely affected if any of our direct or indirect relationships with these contract manufacturers is terminated or modified. If our arrangements with third party manufacturers are terminated our search for additional or alternate manufacturers could result in significant delays, added expense and an inability to maintain or expand our customer base. Any of these events could require us to take unforeseen actions or devote additional resources to provide our services and could harm our ability to compete effectively.

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In particular, significant interruptions, discontinuation, slowdown or loss of the supply of subscriber communicators from our vendor Sanmina Corporation (“Sanmina”) or a change in our commercial relationship with Sanmina could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our business is heavily dependent on Sanmina, a contract manufacturer with significant operations in Mexico, for the manufacture of our subscriber communicators that we design and sell. Consequently, significant interruptions, discontinuation, slowdown or loss of Sanmina’s manufacturing and supply of subscriber communicators will negatively affect our ability to grow, provide reliable service and could have a material adverse effect on our business. While we currently have a good relationship with Sanmina, we cannot provide any assurance that our future commercial relationship or arrangements with Sanmina will not change in a manner that has an adverse effect on our business. In addition, any change in trading agreements between the United States and Mexico could have a significant impact on our business.

If our arrangements with third party manufacturers, including Sanmina, are terminated or expire, our search for additional or alternate manufacturers could result in significant delays in customers activating subscriber communicators on our communications system, added expense for our customers and our inability to maintain or expand our customer base.

We depend on recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so would seriously harm our business.

Because of the technical nature of our services and the market in which we compete, our success depends on the continued services of our key personnel, including certain of our engineering personnel, and our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. The loss of the services of one or more of our key employees or our inability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not have key-man life insurance policies covering any of our executive officers or key technical personnel. Competitors and others have in the past, and may in the future, attempt to recruit our employees. The available pool of individuals with relevant experience in the satellite and telematics industries is limited, and the process of identifying and recruiting personnel with the skills necessary to operate our system and our applications services can be lengthy and expensive. In addition, new employees generally require substantial training, which requires significant resources and management attention. Even if we invest significant resources to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel, we may not be successful in our efforts.

We may be subject to legal proceedings that could adversely affect our business.

We may be subject to legal claims or regulatory matters involving stockholder, consumer, antitrust, intellectual property infringement, product liability and other issues. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, including increases in demands for attention on our management team, and unfavorable rulings could occur. An unfavorable ruling could include money damages. If an unfavorable ruling were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the ruling occurred or future periods. See also “Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies” in our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our business relies on intellectual property, some of which third parties own and we, our MCAs, our MCPs, or our respective customers may inadvertently infringe upon their patents and proprietary rights and we have been and may in the future become subject to claims that our products violate the patent or intellectual property rights of others, which could be costly and disruptive to us.

Many entities, including some of our competitors, currently (or may in the future) hold patents and other intellectual property rights that cover or affect products or services related to those that are offered by us, our MCAs, our MCPs, or our respective customers. We cannot assure you that we are aware of all intellectual property rights that any such products or services may infringe upon. As a result, any such products or services may become subject to intellectual property infringement claims or litigation. The defense of intellectual property suits is both costly and time-consuming, even if ultimately successful, and may divert management’s attention from other business concerns. An adverse determination in litigation to which we may become a party could, among other things:

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We cannot estimate the extent to which we, our MCAs, our MCPs, or our respective customers may be required in the future to obtain intellectual property licenses, or the availability and cost of any such licenses. To the extent that we are required to pay royalties to third parties to whom we are not currently making payments, these increased costs of doing business could negatively affect our profitability or liquidity.

If a competitor holds intellectual property rights, it may not allow use its intellectual property at any price, which could adversely affect our competitive position.

Because we operate our business in the highly regulated telecommunications industry, we may be subjected to increased regulatory restrictions which could disrupt our service or increase our operating costs.

Telecommunications product and service providers are subject to extensive regulation under the laws of various national and international regulatory bodies, all of which are subject to change, which may occur from time to time without prior notice. These rules and policies, among other things, establish technical parameters for the operation of facilities and subscriber communicators, determine the permissible uses of facilities and subscriber communicators, and otherwise establish the terms and conditions pursuant to which we, or MCAs and our MCPs must conduct our respective businesses.  Additionally, under some circumstance, these rules and policies may require us, our MCAs and our MCPs to suspend or terminate the operation or use of network facilities we operate or utilize, or otherwise alter or disrupt our ability to provide services. Any such events could significantly disrupt or preclude the operation of some or all of our communications systems. These rules and policies may also impose regulatory constraints on the use of subscriber communicators within certain countries or territories. They may also cause delays in the marketing of our services and products, may impose costly fees and procedures on us, our MCAs or our MCPs, and may give a competitive advantage to larger companies that we compete with. Possible future changes to regulations and policies in the countries in which we operate may result in additional regulatory requirements or restrictions on the services and equipment we provide, which may have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. Although we believe that we, our MCAs, and our MCPs have obtained all the regulatory or other governmental approvals required to conduct our respective businesses as they are currently operated, it may not be possible to obtain, modify or maintain such approvals in the future. Moreover, future changes in applicable regulatory or governmental approval requirements may result in disruptions of ability to provide some or all of the products and services we offer, or alternatively result in added operational costs, which could materially harm our business.

We do not currently maintain in-orbit or other insurance for our OG1 or OG2 satellites.

We do not currently maintain in-orbit insurance coverage for our OG1 or OG2 satellites to address the risk of potential systemic anomalies, failures, collisions with our satellites or other satellite/debris, or catastrophic events affecting the existing satellite constellation. An uninsured failure of one or more of our satellites could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We do not maintain third-party liability insurance with respect to our satellites. Accordingly, we have no insurance to cover any third-party damages that may be caused by any of our satellites. If we experience significant uninsured losses, such events could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Certain areas of our business rely upon third-party wireless network service providers, which are potential competitors, to deliver existing and developing services.

Certain services we provide rely on our relationships with third party wireless network service providers, including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Orange, Rogers and Vodafone with respect to cellular communications and Inmarsat with respect to IDP services. Our ability to provide these services and grow our business depends on continued access to these wireless networks and our ability to purchase sufficient capacity.  In addition, our services depend on the continuing reliability and security of these third party networks, which could be adversely affected by errors, defects, interrupted service and/or a breach of the network security.  While our existing agreements have multiple year terms certain of these wireless network service providers are and, in the future, could become competitors.  This competition could adversely affect our relationship and their willingness to sell us airtime at commercially reasonable rates.

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Significant interruptions, discontinuation or loss of services provided by Inmarsat plc and its subsidiaries or a change in our commercial relationship with the Inmarsat group could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The revenues generated by our provision of L-Band mobile satellite network services are materially dependent on the satellite network services provided to us by Inmarsat group. Consequently, any significant interruptions, discontinuation or loss of those services due to the temporary or permanent failure of Inmarsat satellites or associated Inmarsat terrestrial network facilities would negatively affect our ability to provide reliable service and could have a material adverse effect on our L-Band mobile satellite product and service revenues. Additionally, although we currently enjoy a stable and beneficial business relationship with Inmarsat, we cannot provide any assurance that our future commercial relationship or arrangements with Inmarsat will not change in a manner that has an adverse effect on our business.

Significant interruptions, discontinuation, slowdown or loss of Application Specific Integrated Circuit, or ASIC, development and manufacturing from vendor S3 Group (“S3”) or a change in our commercial relationship with S3 could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have invested significantly in building the ASIC, with S3, an ASIC developer and manufacturer. Consequently, the inability for S3 to effectively build and supply an ASIC could have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, significant interruptions, discontinuation, slowdown or loss of S3 services for development, manufacturing and delivery of ASICs will negatively affect our ability to grow, provide reliable service and could have a material adverse effect on our business. While we currently have a good relationship with S3, we cannot provide any assurance that our future commercial relationship or arrangements with S3 will not change in a manner that has an adverse effect on our business.

Risks Related to our Technology

Our satellites are subject to significant operating risks due to various types of potential anomalies and potential impacts of space debris or other spacecrafts.

Satellites utilize highly complex technology and operate in the harsh environment of space and, accordingly, are subject to significant operational risks while in orbit. These risks include malfunctions, or “anomalies”, that may occur in our satellites. In addition, satellites have a limited life capacity and they could become compromised over its designated operational life span.  Some of the principal satellite anomalies include:

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We have experienced, and may in the future experience, anomalies in some of the categories described above. The effects of these anomalies include, but are not limited to, failure of the satellite, degraded communications performance, reduced power available to the satellite in sunlight and/or eclipse, battery overcharging or undercharging and limitations on satellite communications capacity. Some of these effects may be increased during periods of greater message traffic and could result in our system requiring more than one attempt to send messages before they get through to our satellites. Although these multiple re-try effects do not result in lost messages, they could lead to increased messaging latencies for the end-user and reduced throughput for our system. We consider a satellite “failed” only when it can no longer provide any communications service, and we do not intend to undertake further efforts to return it to service. See “ORBCOMM Communications System — System Status — ORBCOMM Network Capacity” for a description of our network capacity. While we have already implemented a number of system adjustments we cannot assure you that these actions will succeed or adequately address the effects of any anomalies in a timely manner or at all.

Collisions with space debris or other spacecraft could materially affect system performance and our business. Our satellites operate at LEO altitudes, in a regime populated by other operational satellites, defunct satellites and other cataloged debris, and debris that is too small to be tracked, and do not have the ability to actively maneuver to avoid space debris or other satellites. Two major events in recent years have significantly increased the LEO debris population: a deliberate Chinese ASAT test in 2007 and an accidental collision in 2009 between an operational Iridium satellite and a non-operational Russian satellite. While ORBCOMM does coordinate with the Joint Space Operations Center as well as with other government and commercial spacecraft operators to limit the risk of collision, such risk cannot be fully eliminated.

While certain software deficiencies may be corrected remotely, most, if not all, of the satellite anomalies or debris collision damage cannot be corrected once the satellites are placed in orbit. See “ORBCOMM Communications System — System Status” for a description of the operational status and anomalies that affect our satellites. We may experience additional anomalies in the future, whether of the types described above or arising from the failure of other systems or components, and operational redundancy may not be available upon the occurrence of such an anomaly.

If a satellite fails, we would record an impairment charge in our statement of operations, which would have the effect of fully reducing the net book value of that satellite listed in our operations statement to a zero value.  Any such impairment charges could depress our net income for the reporting period in which the failure occurs.

Our products and services could fail to perform or perform at reduced levels of service because of technological malfunctions, satellite failures or deficiencies or events outside of our control, which would seriously harm our business and reputation.

Our products and services are exposed to the risks inherent in a large-scale, complex telecommunications system employing advanced technology. Any disruption to our services, information systems or communication networks or those of third parties into which our network connects could result in the inability of our customers to receive our services for an indeterminate period of time. Satellite anomalies and other technical and operational deficiencies of our communications system described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K could result in system failures or reduced levels of service. In addition, certain components of our system are located in foreign countries, and as a result, are potentially subject to governmental, regulatory or other actions in such countries which could force us to limit the operations of, or completely shut down, components of our system, including gateway earth stations or subscriber communicators. Any disruption to our services or extended periods of reduced levels of service could, and increased latencies in our satellite network delivering messages have and could continue to, cause us to lose customers or revenue, result in delays or cancellations of future implementations of our products and services, result in failure to attract customers or could result in litigation, customer service or repair work that would involve substantial costs and distract management from operating our business. The failure of any of the diverse and dispersed elements of our system, including our satellites, our network control center or backup control center, our gateway earth stations, our gateway control centers or our subscriber communicators, to function and coordinate as required could render our system unable to perform at the quality and capacity levels required for success. Any system failures, repeated product failures, shortened product life or extended reduced levels of service could reduce our sales, increase costs or result in warranty or liability claims and seriously harm our business.

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Some of the hardware and software we use in operating our gateway earth stations was designed and manufactured over 15 years ago and could be more difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace.

Some of the hardware and software we use in operating our gateway earth stations was designed and manufactured over 15 years ago and portions are becoming obsolete. As they continue to age, they may become less reliable and will be more difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace. Although we maintain inventories of some spare parts, it nonetheless may be difficult or impossible to obtain all necessary replacement parts for the hardware. Our business plan contemplates updating or replacing some of the hardware and software in our network, however, the age of our existing hardware and software may present us with technical and operational challenges that complicate or otherwise make it not feasible to carry out our planned upgrades and replacements, and the expenditure of resources, both from a monetary and human capital perspective, may exceed our estimates. Without upgrading and replacing our equipment, obsolescence of the technologies that we use could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, profitability and liquidity.

Technical or other difficulties with our gateway earth stations could harm our business.

The ongoing operations of our satellite constellation rely on the functionality of our gateway earth stations, some of which are owned and maintained by third parties. While we believe that the overall health of the majority of our gateway earth stations remains stable, we have and may continue to experience technical difficulties or parts obsolescence with our gateway earth stations which negatively impact service in the region covered by that gateway earth station. Certain problems with these gateway earth stations have and may continue to reduce their availability and negatively impact the performance of our system in that region. In addition, due to regulatory and licensing constraints in certain countries in which we operate, we are unable to wholly-own or majority-own some of the gateway earth stations in our system located outside the United States. As a result of these ownership restrictions, we rely on third parties to own and operate some of these gateway earth stations. If our relationship with these third parties deteriorates or where these third parties have been and may continue to be unable or unwilling to bear the cost of operating or maintaining the gateway earth stations, or if there are changes in the applicable domestic regulations that require us to give up any or all of our ownership interests in any of the gateway earth stations, our control over our satellites could be diminished and our business could be harmed.

Rapid and significant technological changes in the satellite communications industry may impair our competitive position and require us to make significant additional capital expenditures.

The space and communications industries are subject to rapid advances and innovations in technology. We expect to face competition in the future from companies using new technologies and new satellite systems. New technology could render some or all of our systems and services obsolete or less competitive by satisfying customer demand in more attractive ways or through the introduction of incompatible standards. Particular technological developments that could adversely affect us include the deployment by our competitors of new satellites or terrestrial network platforms with greater power, coverage, flexibility, efficiency or capabilities than we can deliver. For us to keep up with technological changes and remain competitive, we may need to make significant capital expenditures. Customer acceptance of the products and services that we offer will continually be affected by technology-based differences in our product and service offerings compared to those of our competitors. New technologies may be protected by patents or other intellectual property laws and therefore may not be available to us. Any failure by us to implement new technology within our system may compromise our ability to compete.

Our networks and data processing systems and those of our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to security risks.

We expect the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks to continue to be a critical element of our operations. Our network and those of our third-party service providers, including banks, and our customers may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses and other security problems. The data processing systems used to provide the services of our business may likewise be vulnerable. Persons who circumvent security measures could wrongfully obtain or use information on the network or cause interruptions, delays or malfunctions in our operations, or misappropriation of assets, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems, including reputational harm and litigation, caused by any breaches. Although we have implemented and intend to continue to implement security measures, these measures may prove to be inadequate and result in system failures and delays that could lower network operations center availability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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The collection, storage, transmission, use and disclosure of user data and personal information could give rise to liabilities or additional costs as a result of laws, governmental regulations and evolving views of personal privacy rights.

We transmit, and in some cases store, end user data, including potential personal information. In jurisdictions around the world, personal information is becoming increasingly subject to legislation and regulations intended to protect consumers’ privacy and security. The interpretation of privacy and data protection laws and regulations regarding the collection, storage, transmission, use and disclosure of such information in some jurisdictions is unclear and evolving. These laws may be interpreted and applied in conflicting ways from country to country and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices. Complying with these varying international requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Because our services are accessible in many foreign jurisdictions, some of these jurisdictions may claim that we are required to comply with their laws, even where we have no local entity, employees or infrastructure. We could be forced to incur significant expenses if we were required to modify our products, our services or our existing security and privacy procedures in order to comply with new or expanded regulations. In addition, if end users allege that their personal information is not collected, stored, transmitted, used or disclosed appropriately or in accordance with our privacy policies or applicable laws, we could have liability to them, including claims and litigation resulting from such allegations. Any failure on our part to protect end users’ privacy and data could result in a loss of user confidence, hurt our reputation and ultimately result in the loss of users.

The failure of our information technology systems could disrupt our business operations which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The operation of our business depends on our information technology systems. We rely on our information technology systems to effectively manage, among other things, our subsidiaries’ customer interface as well as business data, communications, supply chain, inventory management, customer order entry and order fulfillment, processing transactions, summarizing and reporting results of operations, human resources benefits and payroll management, complying with regulatory, legal or tax requirements and other processes and data necessary to manage our business. We use technology to provide secure transmission of confidential information, including our business data and customer information. To achieve our strategic objectives and to remain competitive, we must continue to develop and enhance our information systems. This may require the acquisition of equipment and software and the development, either internally or through independent consultants, of new proprietary software. Our inability to design, develop, implement and utilize, in a cost-effective manner, information systems that provide the capabilities necessary for us to compete effectively, could make us less competitive, increase our costs and adversely affect our business. The failure of our information technology systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in, among other things, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, loss of data and the loss of sales and customers, which could cause our business and results of operations to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including, without limitation, fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failure, system conversions, security breaches, cyber-attacks, viruses and/or human error. In any such event, we could be required to make a significant investment to fix or replace our information technology systems, and we could experience interruptions in its ability to service our customers. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Security problems with our software products, systems or services, including the improper disclosure of data, could cause increased cyber-security protections costs and general service costs, harm our reputation, and result in liability and increased expense for litigation and diversion of management time.

We process large amounts of customer information. Our software products also enable our customers to store and process data. We have included security features in our products and processes that are intended to protect the privacy and integrity of data, including confidential client data. Security for our products and processes is critical given the confidential nature of the information contained in our systems. We also rely on employees in our network operations centers, data centers, and support operations to follow our procedures when handling such information. It is possible that our security controls, our selection and training of employees, and other practices we follow may not prevent the improper disclosure of information. Any unauthorized access, computer viruses, accidental or intentional release of confidential information or other disruptions could result in increased costs, customer dissatisfaction leading to loss of customers and revenues, and fines and other liabilities. Also, such disclosure could harm our reputation and subject us to liability in regulatory proceedings and private litigation, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. Improper disclosure of corporate data could result in lawsuits or regulatory proceedings alleging damages, and perceptions that our products and services do not adequately protect the privacy of customer data and could inhibit sales of our products and services. Defending these types of claims could result in increased expenses for litigation and claims settlement and a significant diversion of our management’s attention. Additionally, our software products, the systems on which the products are used, and our processes may not be impervious to intentional break-ins (“hacking”), cyber-attacks or other disruptive disclosures or problems, whether as a result of inadvertent third party action, employee action, malfeasance, or otherwise. Hacking, cyber-attacks or other disruptive problems could result in the diversion of our development resources, damage to our reputation, increased cyber-security protection costs and general service costs. These activities, any damage caused by them, or interruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Risks Related to our Debt

Our Credit Agreement could restrict our business activities or our ability to execute our strategic objectives or adversely affect our financial performance.

On September 30, 2014, we entered into a Credit Agreement with Macquarie to refinance our $45 million 9.5% Senior Notes. Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lender provided secured credit facilities in an aggregate amount of $160 million comprised of (i) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million; (ii) a $10 million revolving credit facility; (iii) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, the proceeds of which were used to finance a portion of the InSync Acquisition; and (iv) a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million, the proceeds of which were used to finance a portion of the SkyWave Acquisition.

The Credit Agreement contains covenants that may restrict our business activities or our ability to execute our strategic objectives, and our failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under our indebtedness. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy interest payments and principal repayment at maturity, could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. The covenants in the Credit Agreement limit our ability to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness and liens, sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of our subsidiaries assets, or merge or consolidate with other companies. We must also comply with a maintenance covenant of having available liquidity and not exceeding a specific leverage ratio. Failure to comply with the covenants could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, the lenders may require repayment in full of all principal and interest outstanding. If we fail to repay such amounts, the lenders may foreclose on substantially all of our assets which we have pledged. If we are unable to cure the default, we may need to repay the debt and find other sources of financing and there can be no assurance that we would have access to other sources of financing on acceptable terms, or at all.

Risks Related to an Investment in our Common Stock

The price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile and your investment may decline in value.

The trading price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses. Factors that could affect the trading price of our common stock include:

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In addition, the stock market in general, and The NASDAQ Global Market and the market for telecommunications companies in particular, have experienced and continue to experience extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies affected. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against that company. Such litigation has previously been instituted against us and could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will continue to depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If we do not continue to maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

We are subject to anti-takeover provisions which could affect the price of our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that could make it difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions do not permit actions by our stockholders by written consent and require the approval of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws. In addition, these provisions include procedural requirements relating to stockholder meetings and stockholder proposals that could make stockholder actions more difficult. Our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors serving staggered, three-year terms and may be removed only for cause. Any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled only by the vote of the majority of directors then in office. Our board of directors has the right to issue preferred stock with rights senior to those of the common stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, effectively preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our board of directors. Delaware law also imposes some restrictions on mergers and other business combinations between us and any holder of 15% or more for our outstanding common stock. Although we believe these provisions provide for an opportunity to receive a higher bid by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our board of directors, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders and may delay or prevent an acquisition of our company.

The future issuance of additional shares of our common stock could cause dilution of ownership interests and adversely affect our stock price.

We may in the future issue our previously authorized and unissued securities, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of our current stockholders. We are authorized to issue 250 million shares of common stock, of which approximately 71.1 million shares of voting common stock were issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and approximately 17.4 million were available for future issuance. The potential issuance of such additional shares of common stock, whether directly or pursuant to any conversion right of any convertible securities, may create downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. We may also issue additional shares of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock for capital raising or other business purposes. Future sales of substantial amounts of common stock, or the perception that sales could occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

We have issued and may issue shares of preferred stock or other securities with greater rights than our common stock.

Subject to the rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market, our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue one or more series of preferred stock and set the terms of the preferred stock without seeking any further approval from holders of our common stock. Currently, there are 50 million shares of preferred stock authorized and approximately 36,000 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock are issued as of December 31, 2016. Any preferred stock that is issued may rank ahead of our common stock in terms of dividends, priority and liquidation premiums and may have greater voting rights than holders of our common stock.

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If persons engage in short sales of our common stock, the price of our common stock may decline.

Selling short is a technique used by a stockholder to take advantage of an anticipated decline in the price of a security. A significant number of short sales or a large volume of other sales within a relatively short period of time can create downward pressure on the market price of a security. Further sales of common stock could cause even greater declines in the price of our common stock due to the number of additional shares available in the market, which could encourage short sales that could further undermine the value of our common stock. Holders of our securities could, therefore, experience a decline in the value of their investment as a result of short sales of our common stock.

We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We do not currently pay cash dividends on our common stock and, because we currently intend to retain all cash we generate to fund the growth of our business, we do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future dividend payments would be within the discretion of our board of directors and would depend on a variety of factors, including our results of operations, working capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, debt covenants, business opportunities, anticipated cash needs, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. We may not generate sufficient cash from operations in the future to pay dividends on our common stock.

 

None.

We currently lease the following properties for operations and administrative functions:

 

 

In addition, we currently own eleven gateway earth stations at the following locations, four situated on owned real property and seven on real property subject to leases:

 

 

We currently own or lease real property sufficient for our business operations, although we may need to purchase or lease additional real property in the future. We intend to renew all leases due to expire in 2017.

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From time to time, we are involved in various litigation matters involving ordinary and routine claims incidental to our business. Management currently believes that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. We record reserves related to legal matters when losses related to such litigation or contingencies are both probable and reasonably estimable.

See “Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

Not applicable.

 

 

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PART II

Price of our Common Stock

Our common stock has traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “ORBC”.

The following sets forth the high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported on The NASDAQ Global Market from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2016:

 

 

As of February 27, 2017, there were 243 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Payments and Policy

Common stock:    We have never declared or paid cash dividends on shares of our common stock. Our board of directors currently intends to retain all available funds and future earnings to support operations and to finance the growth and development of our business and does not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Our board of directors may, from time to time, examine our dividend policy and may, in its absolute discretion, change such policy. In addition, dividends are restricted by the covenants in our Credit Agreement.

Series A convertible preferred stock:    Pursuant to the terms of our Series A convertible preferred stock, the holders are entitled to receive a cumulative 4% annual dividend payable quarterly in additional shares of Series A convertible preferred stock. In 2016, we paid dividends of 1,415 preferred shares.

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Stock Performance Graph

The graph set forth below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock between December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2016, with the cumulative total result of (i) the Russell 2000 Index and (ii) the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index, over the same period. This graph assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 2011 in our common stock, the Russell 2000 Index and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index, and assumes the reinvestment of dividends, if any. The graph assumes the initial value of our common stock on December 31, 2011 was the closing sales price of $2.99 per share.

The comparisons shown in the graph below are based on historical data. We caution that the stock price performance show in the graph below is not necessarily indicative of, nor is it intended to forecast, the potential future performance of our common stock. Information used in the graph was obtained from Research Data Group, a source believed to be reliable, but we are not responsible for any errors or omissions in such information.

(Amounts in dollars) 

 

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The following selected consolidated financial data should be read together with the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have derived the consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have derived the consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 from our consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results of operations.

 

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The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes which appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a global provider of IoT solutions, including network connectivity, devices, device management and web reporting applications. These solutions enable optimal business efficiencies, increased asset utilization and reduced asset write-offs, helping customers realize benefits on a worldwide basis. Our IoT products and services are designed to track, monitor, control and enhance security for a variety of assets, such as trailers, trucks, rail cars, sea containers, generators, fluid tanks, marine vessels, gensets, oil and gas wells, pipeline monitoring equipment, irrigation control systems, and utility meters, in industries for transportation & supply chain, heavy equipment, fixed asset monitoring, maritime and government. Additionally, we provide satellite AIS data services to assist in vessel navigation and to improve maritime safety for government and commercial customers worldwide. We provide these services using multiple network platforms, including our own constellation of LEO satellites and our accompanying ground infrastructure, as well as terrestrial-based cellular communication services obtained through reseller agreements with major cellular (Tier One) wireless providers. We also offer customer solutions utilizing additional satellite network service options that we obtain through service agreements we have entered into with multiple mobile satellite providers. Our satellite-based customer solution offerings use small, low power, mobile satellite subscriber communicators for remote asset connectivity, and our terrestrial-based solutions utilize cellular data modems with SIMS. We also resell service using the two-way Inmarsat satellite network to provide higher bandwidth, low-latency satellite products and services, leveraging our IDP technology. Our customer solutions provide access to data gathered over these systems via connections to other public or private networks, including the Internet. We are dedicated to providing what we believe are the most versatile, leading-edge IoT solutions in our markets to enable our customers to run their business operations more efficiently and achieve significant return on investment.

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2016 Strategic Transactions

During 2016, we completed the following strategic transaction that had an impact and will continue to have an impact on our results of operations:

Acquisition of Skygistics Ltd.

On May 26, 2016, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Skygistics (PTY) Ltd., for cash consideration of $3.8 million and additional contingent consideration of up to $1.0 million, subject to certain operational milestones. The acquisition provides a broad range of satellite and cellular connectivity options, as well as telematics solutions centered on the management of remote and mobile assets to more than 250 telematics and enterprise customers. For additional information regarding the Skygistics Acquisition, refer to “Note 3 — Acquisitions” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

2015 Strategic Transactions

During 2015, we completed the following strategic transactions that had an impact and will continue to have an impact on our results of operations:

Acquisition of WAM Technologies, LLC

On October 6, 2015, we completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of WAM Technologies, for a total consideration of $8.7 million, inclusive of a working capital settlement of $0.2 million. The acquisition expands and strengthens our cold chain monitoring solutions, which include trailers, rail cars, gensets and sea containers. For additional information regarding the WAM Acquisition, refer to “Note 3 — Acquisitions” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

Acquisition of InSync Software Inc.

On January 16, 2015, we completed the acquisition of InSync for an aggregate consideration of (i) $10.9 million in cash, comprised of various components and inclusive of net working capital adjustments of $0.3 million, of which $1.3 million was deposited in escrow to pay certain indemnification obligations and (ii) additional contingent consideration of up to $5.0 million. We borrowed $10 million under our Term B2 facility to partially fund the acquisition. The acquisition supports our strategy to provide the most complete set of applications and capabilities in the IoT industry, while broadening our market access to a wide range of industries. For additional information regarding the InSync Acquisition, refer to “Note 3 — Acquisitions” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

Acquisition of SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc.

On January 1, 2015, we completed the acquisition of SkyWave for a total consideration of $130.2 million, consisting of (i) $122.4 million cash consideration, inclusive of a working capital settlement of $0.3 million, of which $10.6 million was deposited in escrow to pay certain indemnification obligations; and (ii) $7.5 million in the form of a promissory note settled by the transfer of assets to Inmarsat Global Limited pursuant to an agreement with Inmarsat. We borrowed $70 million under our Term B3 facility to partially fund the acquisition. The acquisition furthers our strategy to provide the most complete set of options and capabilities in the industry. For additional information regarding the SkyWave Acquisition, refer to “Note 3 — Acquisitions” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

OG2 Satellite Launch

On December 21, 2015, we launched the remaining 11 of our OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. On March 1, 2016, following an in-orbit testing period, we initiated commercial service for the 11 OG2 satellites, which provide both M2M messaging and AIS service for our global customers. For additional information regarding the OG2 satellites, refer to “Part I, Item 1. Business─ORBCOMM Communications System─System Status─OG2 Satellite Health” in this Annual Report.

2015 Shelf Registration

In April 2015, we filed a Form S-3 Shelf registration statement registering our securities for a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $200 million (including approximately $17.2 million remaining available under a previous shelf registration statement). We may use this shelf registration statement at any time or from time to time to offer, in one or more offerings, our debt

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securities, shares of our common stock, shares of our preferred stock, warrants to purchase our debt securities, common stock or preferred stock or units consisting of any combination of the foregoing securities. The shelf registration statement, which was declared effective on April 14, 2015, also registered the resale of up to 3,910,433 shares of common stock by a selling shareholder, all of which were sold on August 19, 2015.

2014 Strategic Transactions

During 2014, we completed the following strategic transactions that had an impact and will continue to have an impact on our results of operations:

Acquisition of Euroscan Group

On March 11, 2014, we completed the acquisition of the Euroscan Group for an aggregate consideration of (i) $29.2 million, subject to net working capital adjustments and net cash (on a debt free, cash free basis); (ii) issuance of 291,230 shares of the Company’s common stock, valued at $7.70 per share, which reflected the Company’s closing price on the acquisition date; and (iii) additional contingent considerations of up to $6.5 million. The acquisition allows us to complement our North American Operations in IoT by adding a significant distribution channel in Europe and other key geographies where Euroscan has market share. For additional information regarding the Euroscan Acquisition, refer to “Note 3 — Acquisitions” in the accompanying “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Annual Report.

January 2014 Public Offering

On January 17, 2014, we completed a public offering of 6,325,000 shares of common stock including 825,000 shares sold upon full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option at a price of $6.15 per share. We received net proceeds of approximately $36.6 million after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions and offering costs.

OG2 Satellite Launch

On July 14, 2014, we launched six of our OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. On September 15, 2014, following an in-orbit testing period, we initiated commercial service for the six OG2 satellites. The satellites provide both M2M messaging and AIS service for our global customers. For additional information regarding the OG2 satellites, refer to “Part I, Item 1. Business─ORBCOMM Communications System─System Status─OG2 Satellite Health” in this Annual Report.

Macquarie Credit Agreement

On September 30, 2014, we entered into a Credit Agreement with Macquarie which refinanced our Senior Notes. Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lender provided Secured Credit Facilities in an aggregate amount of $160 million comprised of (i) an Initial Term Loan Facility term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million; (ii) a $10 million Revolving Credit Facility; (iii) a Term B2 facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $10 million, the proceeds of which were drawn on January 16, 2015 and used to partially finance the InSync Acquisition; and (iv) a Term B3 facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $70 million, the proceeds of which were drawn on December 30, 2014 and used to partially finance the SkyWave Acquisition. The Secured Credit Facilities mature five years after the initial fund date of the Initial Term Loan Facility, but are subject to mandatory prepayments in certain circumstances. The Secured Credit Facilities bear interest, at the Company’s election, of a per annum rate equal to either (a) a base rate plus 3.75% or (b) LIBOR plus 4.75%, with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%. Proceeds of the Initial Term Loan Facility and Revolving Credit Facility were used to repay in full our Senior Notes and pay certain related fees, expenses and accrued interest, as well as for general corporate purposes.

On September 30, 2014, in connection with entering into the Credit Agreement, we issued notice to the holder of the Senior Notes regarding our election to redeem in full the aggregate $45 million principal amount. On October 10, 2014 we made borrowings of $70 million under the Initial Term Loan Facility, a portion of which was used to repay in full our Senior Notes, and $10 million under the Revolving Credit Facility. The redemption of the Senior Notes resulted in an early termination penalty of $1.8 million and an additional expense associated with the remaining unamortized debt issuance cost.

November 2014 Public Offering

On November 10, 2014 we completed a public offering of 14,785,714 shares of common stock, including 1,928,571 shares sold upon full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option at a price of $5.60 per share. We received net proceeds of approximately $78.1 million, after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions and offering costs.

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Revenues

We derive service revenues mostly from monthly fees for IoT connectivity services that consist of subscriber-based, recurring monthly usage fees for each subscriber communicator or SIM activated for use on our satellite network, other satellite networks, and cellular wireless networks that we resell to our customers (i.e., our MCPs, MCAs and direct customers). Usage fees are generally based upon the data transmitted by a customer and the overall number of subscriber communicators and SIMS activated by each customer and whether we provide services through our value-added portal. Service revenues are recognized on an accrual basis, as services are rendered, or on a cash basis, if collection from the customer is not reasonably assured at the time the service is provided. We also generate AIS service revenues from subscription based services supplying AIS data to customers and resellers. In addition, we earn service revenues from extended warranty service agreements extending beyond the initial warranty period of one year, royalty fees from third parties for the use of our proprietary communications protocol charged on a one-time basis for each subscriber communicator connected to our IoT data communications system and fees from providing engineering, technical and management support services to customers.

We derive product revenues primarily from sales of complete IoT telematics devices, modems and cellular wireless SIMS (for our terrestrial-communication services) to our resellers (i.e., our MCPs and MCAs) and direct customers. Revenues generated from product revenues are either recognized when the products are shipped or when customers accept the product depending on the specific contractual terms. Shipping costs billed to customers are included in product sales revenues and the related costs are included as costs of product sales.

Amounts received prior to the performance of services under customer contracts are recognized as deferred revenues and revenue recognition is deferred until such time that all revenue recognition criteria have been met.

Costs and expenses

Direct costs

We operate a proprietary LEO satellite network and accompanying ground equipment, including fifteen gateway earth stations, three AIS data reception earth stations, and three regional gateway control centers. Our proprietary satellite-based communications system is typically characterized by high initial capital expenditures and relatively low marginal costs for providing service. We use as part of our solution, as well as resell network connectivity for two other satellite networks and seven terrestrial network partners. Reselling network connectivity typically involves a cost for each device connected to the network system and the amount paid to each provider will vary.

We primarily sell IoT telematics devices and modems that we design and build with contract manufacturers. Each IoT device and modem will have engineering costs, manufacturing costs, warehousing and shipping costs and inventory management costs.

Operating expenses

We incur expenses associated with sales, marketing and administrative expenses related to the operation of our business, including significant charges for depreciation and amortization of our satellite communications system and other acquired intellectual property and intangible assets we acquired or developed. We also incur engineering expenses developing and supporting the operation of our communications system and the development and support of new applications.

Acquisition-related and integration costs

Acquisition-related and integration costs include professional services expenses and identifiable integration costs directly attributable to our acquisitions. These costs were expensed as incurred and are reflected in acquisition-related and integration costs on our consolidated statement of operations.

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Results of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015

Revenue

The table below presents our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, together with the percentage of total revenue represented by each revenue category (in thousands):

 

 

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016 increased $8.5 million, or 5%, to $186.7 million in 2016 from $178.3 million in 2015.

Service Revenues

 

 

The increase in service revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to the prior year period, was primarily due to revenue generated from increases in core service revenues from growth in billable subscriber communicators and our acquisitions, as well as increases in satellite-based service revenues due to efficiencies and network capacity provided by our OG2 satellites.

As of December 31, 2016, we had approximately 1,724,000 billable subscriber communicators compared to approximately 1,569,000 billable subscriber communicators as of December 31, 2015, an increase of 9.8%.

Service revenue growth can be impacted by the customary lag between subscriber communicator activations and recognition of service revenue from these units.

Product sales

 

 

The decrease in product revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to the prior year period, was primarily attributable to timing of shipments and lower sales to some international markets, most notably in South America.

Costs of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization

 

 

Costs of services is comprised of expenses to operate our network, such as payroll and related costs, including stock-based compensation, and usage fees to third-party networks, but exclude depreciation and amortization discussed below. The increase in cost of service for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to the prior year, was primarily due to an increase in service revenues from billable subscribers and our acquired companies, as well as increases from third party satellite-based networks.

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Costs of product sales includes the purchase price of subscriber communicators and SIMS sold, costs of warranty obligations, shipping charges, as well as operational costs to fulfill customer orders including costs for employees and inventory management. The decrease in cost of product sales for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to the prior year period, was primarily due to decreases in revenue reflecting fewer shipments and savings associated with a new contract manufacturer, offset, in part, by increased costs associated with the mix of products sold.

Selling, general and administrative expenses