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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
You should carefully consider the following risk factors, together with the other information contained in this annual report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," before making a decision to purchase or sell shares of our common stock. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. These risks could have a material and adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects. If that were to happen, the trading price of our common stock could decline. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations or financial condition. In this section, we first provide a summary of the more significant risks and uncertainties we face and then provide a full set of risk factors and discuss them in greater detail.
If revenues decline, then our financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
Our revenue is predominantly generated from our Play MPE distribution service. Competitors may arise and/or customers may not renew distribution contracts. This factor could cause our revenue to decrease with the result that our financial condition and operating results would be adversely affected. Competitors have been small, regionally based, have limited resources, and have yet to capture a material share of the market. If a competitor were to develop a comparable or superior product, our market share could be reduced.
If we are not able to control our operating expenses, then our financial condition may be adversely affected.
Our ability to maintain profitability is conditional upon our ability to control our operating expenses. There is a risk that we will have to increase our operating expenses in the future. Factors that could cause our operating expenses to increase include: our determination to spend more on sales, marketing, and business development to increase product sales, our determination that more research and development expenditures are required to keep our current software products competitive, or to develop new products for the market. To the extent that our operating expenses increase without a corresponding increase in revenue, our financial condition would be adversely impacted.
If we are not successful in legal proceedings against us, then our business and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The Company is subject to claims and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Such matters are inherently uncertain, and there can be no guarantee that the outcome of any such matter will be decided favorably to the Company or that the resolution of any such matter will not have a material adverse effect upon the Company's financial statements. The Company does not believe that any of such pending claims and legal proceedings will have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial statements, however if we are not successful in these legal proceeding and are forced to make payments of damages to the plaintiffs, then our business and our financial condition would be adversely affected.
Our financial results may be adversely impacted by currency fluctuations.
Our revenues are primarily in United States dollars and Euros while our operating expenses are primarily in Canadian dollars. An increase in the value of the Canadian dollar in relation to the United States dollar and/or Euro could have the effect of decreasing our income from operations. We do not currently hedge our foreign currency exposures.
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If our products are defective or contain errors, we may become subject to product liability claims.
As a result of their complexity, our software products may contain undetected errors or failures when first introduced or as new versions are released. There can be no assurance that, despite testing we undertake and testing and use by current and potential customers, errors will not be found in new products after commencement of commercial use. The occurrence of such errors could result in loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our products also may be vulnerable to break-ins and similar disruptive problems caused by Internet or other users.
Such computer break-ins and other disruptions would jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through the computer systems of our customers, which may result in significant liability to us and deter potential customers. The sale and support of our products may entail the risk of liability claims. A product liability claim brought against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Successful expansion of our business will depend on our ability to manage growth.
Should we be successful in the sales, marketing, and business development efforts of our software products, we will experience significant growth in operations. If this occurs, management anticipates that additional expansion will be required to continue our product development. Any expansion of our business would place further demands on our management, operational capacity, and financial resources. We anticipate that we may need to recruit qualified personnel in all areas of operations, including management, sales, marketing, delivery, and software development. There can be no assurance that we will be effective in attracting and retaining additional qualified personnel, expanding operational capacity or otherwise managing growth. In addition, there can be no assurance that our current systems, procedures, or controls will be adequate to support any expansion of our operations. The failure to manage growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our network infrastructure could be vulnerable to system failure and/or security risks.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our network infrastructure could be vulnerable to unforeseen computer problems. Although we believe we have taken steps to mitigate much of the risk, we may in the future experience interruptions in service as a result of the accidental or intentional actions of Internet users, current and former employees, or others. Unknown security risks may result in liability to us and may also deter new customers from purchasing our software and services, and individuals from utilizing it. Although we intend to continue to implement and establish security measures, there can be no assurance that measures implemented by us will not be circumvented in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our business depends on continued development of the internet and intranets as mediums of commerce and communications, and our ability to evolve along with these mediums.
The market for our streaming media products and services is new and evolving rapidly. It depends on increased use of the Internet and intranets. If the Internet and intranets are not adopted as methods for commerce and communications, or if the adoption rate slows, the market for our products and services may not grow or may develop more slowly than expected.
Sales of our products depend in large part on the continued development of the Internet as a viable commercial marketplace. There are now substantially more users and much more "traffic" over the Internet than ever before, use of the Internet is growing faster than anticipated, and the technological infrastructure of the Internet may be unable to support the demands placed on it by continued growth. Delays in development or adoption of new technological standards and protocols, or increased government regulation, could also affect Internet use. In addition, issues related to use of the Internet and intranets, such as security, reliability, cost, ease of use and quality of service, remain unresolved and may affect the amount of business that is conducted over the Internet and intranets.
We could experience product delays and errors, which could affect our ability to adapt to technological changes and evolving industry standards.
We have experienced development delays and cost overruns associated with our product development efforts. We may encounter such problems in the future. Delays and cost overruns could affect our ability to respond to technological changes, evolving industry standards, competitive developments, or customer requirements. Our products also may contain undetected errors that could cause adverse publicity, reduced market acceptance of the products, or lawsuits by customers.
Our business could be adversely affected by online commerce security failures.
Online commerce and communications depend on the ability to transmit confidential information securely over public networks. Any compromise of our ability to transmit confidential information securely, and costs associated with the prevention or elimination of such problems, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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Our business is international and could be affected by unexpected changes in international regulatory standards and laws.
We market and sell our products in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia. As such, we are subject to the normal risks of doing business abroad. Risks include unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, export and import restrictions, tariffs and trade barriers, difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, longer payment cycles, problems in collecting accounts receivable, potential adverse tax consequences, exchange rate fluctuations, increased risks of piracy, limits on the our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights, discontinuity of our infrastructures, limitations on fund transfers and other legal and political risks. Such limitations and interruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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Customer concentration.
During the year ended August 31, 20234, 41.92.7% of the Company's revenue is derived from one customer with operations in numerous countries. This customer is currently of key importance to our operations and any adverse change to the revenue from this customer would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.