Ribbon Communications Inc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 28, 2024.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.
FY2023 · Filed Feb 28, 2024
Contents
Commitments and Contingencies
(26)COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Contingencies
Liabilities for Royalty Payments to the IIA
Prior to the ECI Acquisition, ECI had received research and development grants from the IIA. The Company assumed ECI's contract with the IIA, which requires the Company to pay royalties to the IIA on proceeds from the sale of products which the Israeli government has supported by way of research and development grants. The royalties for grants prior to 2017 were calculated at the rates of 1.3% to 5.0% of the aggregated proceeds from the sale of such products developed at certain of the Company's R&D centers, up to an amount not exceeding 100% of such grants plus interest at LIBOR. Effective for grants approved in 2017 and thereafter, interest was calculated at the higher of LIBOR plus 1.5% to 2.75%. At December 31, 2023, the Company's maximum possible future royalties commitment, including$1.3 million of unpaid royalties accrued, was $20.4 million, including interest of $0.9 million, based on estimates of future product sales, grants received from the IIA and not yet repaid, and management's estimation of products still to be sold.
Litigation
The Company is often a party to disputes and legal proceedings that it considers routine and incidental to its business, including those described below. The Company believes that it has meritorious defenses to the allegations made in the pending cases and intends to vigorously defend these lawsuits; however, the Company is unable currently to forecast the ultimate outcome of these or similar matters. Since it is difficult to predict the outcome of legal proceedings, it is possible that the ultimate outcomes could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Accordingly, with respect to these proceedings, the Company is currently unable to reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of possible loss.
Miller Complaint. On November 8, 2018, Ron Miller, a purported stockholder of the Company, filed a Class Action Complaint (the "Miller Complaint") in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the "Massachusetts District Court") against the Company andthree of its former officers (collectively, the "Defendants"), claiming to represent a class of purchasers of Sonus common stock during the period from January 8, 2015 through March 24, 2015 and alleging violations of the federal securities laws. Similar to a previous complaint entitled Sousa et al. vs. Sonus Networks, Inc. et al., which was dismissed with prejudice by an order dated June 6, 2017, the Miller Complaint claims that the Defendants made misleading forward-looking statements concerning Sonus' expected fiscal first quarter of 2015 financial performance, which statements were also the subject of an August 7, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission Cease and Desist Order, whose findings the Company neither admitted nor denied. The Miller plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages.
After the Miller Complaint was filed, several parties filed and briefed motions seeking to be selected by the Massachusetts District Court to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the action. On June 21, 2019, the Massachusetts District Court appointed a group as Lead Plaintiffs and the Lead Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on July 19, 2019. On August 30, 2019, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Miller Complaint and, on October 4, 2019, the Lead Plaintiffs filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss. There was an oral argument on the motion to dismiss on February 12, 2020, and on October 20, 2022 the court denied the motion to dismiss. In June 2023, the Defendants agreed to a settlement in principle with the named plaintiffs, and the settlement was preliminarily approved by the court on October 18, 2023. The proposed settlement remains subject to final approval by the affected stockholders and the court. The court has set April 24, 2024 as the hearing date for final approval of the proposed settlement. If approved, the proposed settlement would provide a release of all claims asserted in the litigation to all Defendants, who continue to deny liability. The proposed $4.5 million settlement amount was deposited into escrow in the fourth quarter of 2023 by the provider of the Company's Directors and Officers liability insurance policy.
Charter Complaint. On September 19, 2022, Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter”) filedtwo complaints againsttwo of our subsidiaries (Sonus Networks, Inc. and Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc.) alleging breach of contract with respect to indemnification obligations purportedly owed to Charter in connection with Charter’s legal dispute with Sprint Communications Company L.P., which was settled by Charter in March 2022. One complaint was filed in the
Supreme Court of the State of New York, in New York County; the second complaint was filed by Charter as well as co-plaintiffs Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC and Bright House Networks, LLC, in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle County. In both complaints, Charter is seeking monetary damages. The Company filed its answer to the first complaint file in New York on December 7, 2022 and to the second complaint filed in Delaware on January 9, 2023. Discovery is on-going and the court in the Delaware complaint has set a preliminary trial date of January 2025.
WideOpenWest Complaint. On August 9, 2023, WideOpenWest, Inc. and WideOpenWest Finance, LLC (collectively, “WOW”) filed a complaint against Ribbon alleging breach of contract with respect to indemnification obligations purportedly owed to WOW in connection with WOW’s legal dispute with Sprint Communications Company L.P., which was settled by WOW in the second quarter of 2023. The complaint was filed in the 429th Judicial District of the District Court of the State of Texas, in Collin County, Texas and has since been transferred to the 493rd Judicial District Court in Collin County. In the complaint, WOW is seeking monetary damages. The Company filed its answer to the complaint on October 5, 2023. Discovery is on-going and the court has set a preliminary trial date of December 2024.
(27)QUARTERLY RESULTS (UNAUDITED)
The following tables present the Company's quarterly operating results for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. The information for each of these quarters is unaudited and has been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, all necessary adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, have been included to present fairly the unaudited consolidated quarterly results when read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and related notes.
| FirstQuarter | SecondQuarter | ThirdQuarter | FourthQuarter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||
| Revenue | $186,159 | $210,618 | $203,161 | $226,401 |
| Cost of revenue | 104,757 | 109,148 | 99,658 | 104,693 |
| Gross profit | $81,402 | $101,470 | $103,503 | $121,708 |
| (Loss) income from operations | $(35,189) | $(6,622) | $856 | $16,670 |
| Net (loss) income | $(38,305) | $(21,479) | $(13,501) | $7,079 |
| (Loss) earnings per share (1): | ||||
| Basic | $(0.23) | $(0.13) | $(0.08) | $0.04 |
| Diluted | $(0.23) | $(0.13) | $(0.08) | $0.04 |
| Shares used in computing (loss) earnings per share: | ||||
| Basic | 168,541 | 170,103 | 171,190 | 171,755 |
| Diluted | 168,541 | 170,103 | 171,190 | 172,990 |
| FirstQuarter | SecondQuarter | ThirdQuarter | FourthQuarter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||
| Revenue | $173,198 | $205,796 | $207,127 | $233,639 |
| Cost of revenue | 95,143 | 101,246 | 102,809 | 119,626 |
| Gross profit | $78,055 | $104,550 | $104,318 | $114,013 |
| (Loss) income from operations | $(39,054) | $(7,239) | $(3,296) | $1,265 |
| Net (loss) income | $(69,975) | $(30,180) | $(18,416) | $20,488 |
| (Loss) earnings per share (1): | ||||
| Basic | $(0.47) | $(0.20) | $(0.12) | $0.12 |
| Diluted | $(0.47) | $(0.20) | $(0.12) | $0.12 |
| Shares used in computing (loss) earnings per share: | ||||
| Basic | 149,167 | 150,190 | 158,921 | 168,163 |
| Diluted | 149,167 | 150,190 | 158,921 | 172,213 |
(1)(Loss) earnings per share is calculated independently for each of the quarters presented; accordingly, the sum of the quarterly (loss) earnings per share amounts may not equal the total calculated for the year.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.