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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

x      QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.

For the quarterly period ended November 1, 2014

OR

o         TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from           to           

Commission File Number: 001-33261

AEROVIRONMENT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(626) 357-9983

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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 x  No o

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 (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes x  No o

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.

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

As of November 14, 2014, the number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value, was 23,321,876.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

AeroVironment, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands except share and per share data)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

(In thousands except share and per share data)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income (Unaudited)

(In thousands)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

(In thousands)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

1. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

Organization

AeroVironment, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), is engaged in the design, development, production, support and operation of unmanned aircraft systems and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions of Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation with respect to the interim financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the three and six months ended November 1, 2014, are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year ending April 30, 2015. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto for the year ended April 30, 2014, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions, including estimates of anticipated contract costs and revenue utilized in the revenue recognition process, that affect the reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The Company’s consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities and operating results of wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Segments

The Company’s products are sold and divided among two reportable segments to reflect the Company’s strategic goals. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise from which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company’s CODM is the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews the revenue and gross margin results for each of these segments in order to make resource allocation decisions, including the focus of research and development (“R&D”) activities and performance assessment. The Company’s reportable segments are business units that offer different products and services and are managed separately.

Investments

The Company’s investments are accounted for as held-to-maturity and available-for-sale and reported at amortized cost and fair value, respectively.

Fair Values of Financial Instruments

Fair values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, unbilled receivables, retentions and accounts payable approximate cost due to the short period of time to maturity.

Government Contracts

Payments to the Company on government cost reimbursable contracts are based on provisional, or estimated indirect rates, which are subject to an annual audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). The cost audits result in the negotiation and determination of the final indirect cost rates that the Company may use for the period(s) audited. The final rates, if different from the provisional billing rates, may create an additional receivable or liability for the Company.  For example, during the course of its audits, the DCAA may question the Company’s incurred project costs, and if the DCAA believes the Company has accounted for such costs in a manner inconsistent with the requirements under Federal Acquisition Regulations, the DCAA auditor may recommend to the Company’s administrative contracting officer to disallow such costs. The Company can provide no assurance that the DCAA or other government audits will not result in material disallowances for incurred costs in the future.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

As of November 1, 2014 and April 30, 2014, the Company had $4.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, in contract-related reserves for its estimate of potential refunds to customers for potential cost adjustments on U.S. government cost reimbursable contracts. For the three and six months ended November 1, 2014, the Company recorded $2.6 million of expense in cost of sales for these contract-related reserves.

(Loss) Earnings Per Share

Basic (loss) earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, excluding shares of unvested restricted stock. The dilutive effect of potential common shares outstanding is included in diluted earnings per share and excludes any anti-dilutive effects of options, shares of unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units.

The reconciliation of basic to diluted shares is as follows:

Due to the net loss for the three months ended November 1, 2014 and the six months ended November 1, 2014 and October 26, 2013, no shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options, restricted stock units or shares of unvested restricted stock were included in the computation of diluted loss per share as their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. During the three months ended October 26, 2013, certain shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options, shares of unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. The number of shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options, shares of unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units that met this anti-dilutive criterion for the three months ended October 26, 2013 was approximately 29,000.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”), No. 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity. This ASU changes the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation. To be considered a discontinued operation a disposal now must represent a strategic shift that has or will have a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. This ASU also requires new disclosures for individually material disposal transactions that do not meet the definition of a discontinued operation. This update will be applied prospectively and is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2014. Early adoption is permitted provided the disposal was not previously disclosed. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The new revenue recognition standard provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 and shall be applied either retrospectively to each period presented or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this adoption on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). This ASU clarifies that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. A reporting entity should apply existing guidance in Topic 718 as it relates to awards with performance conditions that affect vesting to account for such awards. As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award. Compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered. This ASU is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted. This ASU may be applied either (a) prospectively to all awards granted or modified after the effective date or (b) retrospectively to all awards with performance targets that are outstanding as of the beginning of the earliest annual period presented in the financial statements and to all new or modified awards thereafter. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

2. Investments

Investments consist of the following (in thousands):

Held-To-Maturity Securities

As of November 1, 2014 and April 30, 2014, the balance of held-to-maturity securities consisted of state and local government municipal securities, U.S. treasury securities and certificates of deposit. Interest earned from these investments is recorded in interest income.

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the held-to-maturity investments as of November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the held-to-maturity investments as of April 30, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

The amortized cost and fair value of the held-to-maturity securities by contractual maturity at November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

Available-For-Sale Securities

Auction Rate Securities

As of November 1, 2014 and April 30, 2014, the entire balance of available-for-sale, auction rate securities, consisted of two and three investment grade auction rate municipal bonds, respectively, with maturities ranging from 5 to 20 years. These investments have characteristics similar to short-term investments, because at pre-determined intervals, generally ranging from 30 to 35 days, there is a new auction process at which the interest rates for these securities are reset to current interest rates. At the end of such period, the Company chooses to roll-over its holdings or redeem the investments for cash. A market maker facilitates the redemption of the securities and the underlying issuers are not required to redeem the investment within 365 days. Interest earned from these investments is recorded in interest income.

During the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended April 30, 2008, the Company began experiencing failed auctions on some of its auction rate securities. A failed auction occurs when a buyer for the securities cannot be obtained and the market maker does not buy the security for its own account. The Company continues to earn interest on the investments that failed to settle at auction, at the maximum contractual rate until the next auction occurs. In the event the Company needs to access funds invested in these auction rate securities, the Company may not be able to liquidate these securities at the fair value recorded on November 1, 2014, until a future auction of these securities is successful or a buyer is found outside of the auction process.

As a result of the failed auctions, the fair values of these securities are estimated utilizing a discounted cash flow analysis as of November 1, 2014. The analysis considers, among other items, the collateralization underlying the security investments, the creditworthiness of the counterparty, the timing of expected future cash flows, and the estimated date upon which the security is expected to have a successful auction. Based on the Company’s ability to access its cash and cash equivalents, expected operating cash flows, and other sources of cash, the Company does not anticipate the current lack of liquidity of these investments will affect its ability to operate the business in the ordinary course. The Company believes the current lack of liquidity of these investments is temporary and expects that the securities will be redeemed or refinanced at some point in the future. The Company will continue to monitor the value of its auction rate securities at each reporting period for a possible impairment if a further decline in fair value occurs. The auction rate securities have been in an unrealized loss position for more than 12 months. The Company has the ability and the intent to hold these investments until a recovery of fair value, which may be at maturity and as of November 1, 2014, the Company did not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the auction rate securities as of November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the available-for-sale investments as of April 30, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

The amortized cost and fair value of the auction rate securities by contractual maturity at November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

Convertible Bonds

As of November 1, 2014 the Company does not have any convertible bonds outstanding.  On August 11, 2014, the Company exercised its conversion right on its remaining convertible bond and the bond was converted into 1,062,699 CybAero common shares at the conversion price of 9.41 Swedish Kronor (“SEK”). The bond was in the amount of 10 million SEK.  The maturity date of the bond was November 30, 2017.

Equity Securities

As of November 1, and April 30, 2014, the entire balance of available-for-sale equity securities consisted of CybAero common shares. The shares are classified as available-for-sale. During the three and six months ended November 1, 2014, the Company realized gains of $0.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively, on the sale of CybAero shares.

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the equity securities as of November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

3. Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy contains three levels as follows:

·                Level 1 — Inputs to the valuation based upon quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that are accessible as of the measurement date.

·                Level 2 — Inputs to the valuation include quoted prices in either markets that are not active, or in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.

·                Level 3 — Inputs to the valuation that are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

The Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at November 1, 2014, were as follows (in thousands):

The following table provides a reconciliation between the beginning and ending balances of items measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the table above that used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in thousands):

The auction rate securities are valued using a discounted cash flow model.  The analysis considers, among other items, the collateralization underlying the security investments, the creditworthiness of the counterparty, the timing of expected future cash flows, and the estimated date upon which the security is expected to have a successful auction.  As of November 1, 2014, the inputs used in the Company’s discounted cash flow analysis included current coupon rates of 0.08% to 0.09%, estimated redemption periods of 5 to 20 years and discount rates of 4.9% to 19.2%. The discount rates were based on market rates for municipal bond securities, as adjusted for a risk premium to reflect the lack of liquidity of these investments.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

4. Inventories, net

Inventories consist of the following (in thousands):

5. Warranty Reserves

The Company accrues an estimate of its exposure to warranty claims based upon both current and historical product sales data and warranty costs incurred. The warranty reserve is included in other current liabilities. The related expense is included in cost of sales.  Warranty reserve activity is summarized as follows for the three and six months ended November 1, 2014 and October 26, 2013 (in thousands):

6. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The components of accumulated other comprehensive loss are as follows (in thousands):

7. Customer-Funded Research & Development

Customer-funded R&D costs are incurred pursuant to contracts (revenue arrangements) to perform R&D activities according to customer specifications. These costs are direct contract costs and are expensed to cost of sales when the corresponding revenue is recognized, which is generally as the R&D services are performed. Revenue from customer-funded R&D was approximately $5.6 million and $9.9 million for the three and six months ended November 1, 2014, respectively. Revenue from customer-funded R&D was approximately $6.6 million and $16.9 million for the three and six months ended October 26, 2013, respectively.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

8. Restructuring Charges

During the three and six months ended October 26, 2013, the Company recorded restructuring charges consisting primarily of severance charges of $0.7 million and $1.8 million, respectively.  During the three months ended October 26, 2013, $0.7 million in restructuring charges were recorded in cost of sales, all of which were related to the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS”) segment.  During the six months ended October 26, 2013, $1.7 million in restructuring charges were recorded in cost of sales, of which $1.4 million was related to UAS and $0.3 million was related to the Efficient Energy Systems (“EES”) business segment. During the six months ended October 26, 2013, $0.1 million in restructuring charges were recorded in selling, general and administrative costs.  The Company does not report SG&A costs by segment as the CODM only reviews the revenue and gross margin results for each of these segments when making resource allocation decisions.

The purpose of the organizational realignment and workforce reduction on May 29, 2013, within the Company’s UAS and EES business segments, was to enhance the Company’s focus on new product introductions and the adoption of new solutions designed to support the Company’s long-term growth plans. The workforce reduction was necessitated by continuing delays in U.S. government procurements from the Company’s UAS business segment and delays in the growth of plug-in electric vehicle adoption and associated recharging solution sales in the Company’s EES business segment.

The purpose of the organizational realignment and workforce reduction on September 26, 2013, within the Company’s UAS business segment, was to address shifts in the UAS segment’s business mix and align the skills within the UAS business segment more closely with market requirements to support ongoing programs and emerging growth opportunities.

9. Income Taxes

For the three and six months ended November 1, 2014, the Company recorded a benefit for income taxes of $1.6 million and $3.7 million, respectively, yielding an effective tax benefit rate of 35.8% and 36.1%, respectively. For the three and six months ended October 26, 2013, the Company recorded a provision (benefit) for income taxes of $0.2 million and $(2.9) million, respectively, yielding an effective tax rate of 9.1% and 34.4%, respectively. The variance from statutory tax rates for the three months ended October 26, 2013 was primarily due to federal research and development tax credits.

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AeroVironment, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

10. Segment Data

The Company’s product segments are as follows:

·                                          Unmanned Aircraft Systems — The UAS segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems that provide situational awareness, multi-band communications, force protection and other mission effects to increase the security and effectiveness of the operations of the Company’s customers.

·                                          Efficient Energy Systems — The EES segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative efficient electric energy systems that address the growing demand for electric transportation solutions.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 1, “Organization and Significant Accounting Policies.” The operating segments do not make sales to each other. Depreciation and amortization related to the manufacturing of goods is included in gross margin for the segments. The Company does not discretely allocate assets to its operating segments, nor does the CODM evaluate operating segments using discrete asset information. Consequently, the Company operates its financial systems as a single segment for accounting and control purposes, maintains a single indirect rate structure across all segments, has no inter-segment sales or corporate elimination transactions, and maintains limited financial statement information by segment. The segment results are as follows (in thousands):

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ITEM 2.                MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This section and other parts of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, our management’s beliefs and assumptions made by our management. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

Unless required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations discusses our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. When we prepare these consolidated financial statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Some of our accounting policies require that we make subjective judgments, including estimates that involve matters that are inherently uncertain. Our most critical estimates include those related to revenue recognition, inventories and reserves for excess and obsolescence, self-insured liabilities, accounting for stock-based awards, and income taxes. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

There have been no material changes made to the critical accounting estimates during the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements from those disclosed in the Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2014.

We review cost performance and estimates to complete at least quarterly and in many cases more frequently. Adjustments to original estimates for a contract’s revenue, estimated costs at completion and estimated profit or loss are often required as work progresses under a contract, as experience is gained and as more information is obtained, even though the scope of work required under the contract may not change, or if contract modifications occur. The impact of revisions in profit estimates for all types of contracts are recognized on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the revisions are made. During the three and six months ended November 1, 2014 and October 26, 2013, changes in accounting estimates on fixed-price contracts recognized using the percentage of completion method of accounting are presented below.

For the three months ended November 1, 2014 and October 26, 2013, favorable and unfavorable cumulative catch-up adjustments included in cost of sales were as follows (in thousands):