Overview
We design, manufacture and market high-end, high-intensity portable illumination
products. Our core product line consists of lightweight, long-range, ultra-high intensity
illumination products used in a wide variety of applications by the military, law enforcement,
security, search and rescue and, to a lesser extent, in commercial markets. We hold several
patents for our technology platform, which applies high efficiency dimmable electronic ballast
circuitry and precision optics to xenon light to produce an illumination device that delivers
improved performance over current technologies.
We are largely dependent upon government orders for our revenues. Existing customers include
all branches of the United States Armed Forces. We also sell to other government agencies such as
the U.S. Border Patrol.
We market our illumination products under the NightHunter brand name. The NightHunter series
of products is produced in a variety of configurations to suit specific customer needs. These
include compact hand-held systems for foot-borne personnel and stabilized systems for airborne,
vehicular and shipboard use. These NightHunter illumination systems are used for reconnaissance,
surveillance, search and rescue, physical security, target identification and navigation. The
systems allow the user to illuminate an area, an object or a target with visible or non-visible
light, and to improve visibility through many types of obscurants such as smoke, haze and most
types of fog.
In late 2006, the company announced that it will introduce SUPERVISION which has been under
development for nearly two years into the commercial markets. SUPERVISION is based on Xenonics
innovative night vision technology.
History
We conduct all of our operations through our subsidiary, Xenonics, Inc. On July 23,
2003, Digital Home Theater Systems, Inc. acquired in a reorganization all of the issued and
outstanding shares of Xenonics, Inc.s common stock in exchange for 8,750,000 shares of our common
stock, and we changed our name from Digital Home Theater Systems, Inc. to Xenonics Holdings, Inc.
The transaction was accounted for as a reorganization of Xenonics, Inc. with the issuance of stock
for cash. For accounting purposes, Xenonics, Inc. was treated as the acquirer and, as such, its
historical financial statements will continue and are incorporated by reference into this
prospectus.
In addition, we exchanged all of the then-outstanding options to purchase stock in Xenonics,
Inc. for options to purchase our stock (at the same price then in effect, but with different
terms), and exchanged 94% of the warrants to purchase stock in Xenonics, Inc. (one warrant to
purchase 135,000 shares of Xenonics, Inc. common stock remained outstanding), for warrants to
purchase our stock (with modified terms and a higher exercise price). On December 14, 2004, the
holder of the remaining warrant to purchase shares of Xenonics, Inc. partially exercised his
warrant and purchased 125,000 shares of Xenonics, Inc. As a result, we currently own approximately
98.6% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Xenonics, Inc.
Between 1999 and the time of the transaction described in the preceding two paragraphs,
Digital Home Theater Systems engaged in no business activity or operations. The sole officer and
director of the
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company formerly known as Digital Home Theater Systems, Inc. resigned and was replaced by the
officers and directors of Xenonics, Inc.
Our Products
The NightHunter series of products currently consists of three versatile compact
illumination systems NightHunter, NightHunterII and NightHunter ext . Our products are
lightweight, ruggedized for operation in harsh environments, and allow users to illuminate objects
with visible or infrared (IR) light at distances of more than one mile. With our infrared filter
accessory in place, the NightHunter products emit non-detectable infrared light. When used with
night vision devices or low-light cameras, our NightHunter products can illuminate a target without
the target knowing that it is being illuminated. We have also developed an ultraviolet filter
which enables our product to fluoresce materials from great distances for applications including
forensics and special lighting effects. Each NightHunter product incorporates a mechanical
focusing design that enables the user to vary the flood spread of the beam. For example, the
systems can be focused at a 0.5 ° spread that results in only a 60-90 foot footprint at one
mile, or at a 10 ° spread that results in a 900 foot footprint at one mile. Unlike other high
intensity lighting systems (and traditional flashlights), the NightHunter products do not have a
black hole at the center of the light beam that obstructs the field of view (that is, there is no
blind spot in the beam), allowing the user to keep the illumination centered on the target area.
Our NightHunter and NightHunterII both have an internal rechargeable battery and built-in charger.
In addition, the NightHunter and NightHunter ext can be operated from external power
sources. Depending on the functionality and accessories of the product, the prices for our
products range from $2,000 to $3,200 per unit.
Our currently available products and their respective features are listed below.
NightHunter The NightHunter system is a lightweight (9.7 lbs.) illumination system that can
be readily adapted to a variety of uses and platforms, from handheld to fixed mounted use on
vehicles, boats, and helicopters. The NightHunter can be powered from its internal rechargeable
battery or from any 12-32 VDC power source.
NightHunterII The NightHunterII is a self-contained, durable, waterproof and lightweight (4.4
lbs) unit. The unit has an extended battery life (1.5 hrs on a single charge), can recharge in 1.5
hours, and is durable and waterproof. To date, we have received most of our orders for this
system. The NightHunterII is manufactured for us by PerkinElmer Electronics, Inc.
NightHunter ext The NightHunter ext is a durable and lightweight (5.5
lbs) illumination system that is designed for fixed mounted applications, for use on stationary
platforms or vehicles, boats, or helicopters. The NightHunter ext has the same range as
the NightHunter, but with an increased field-of-view. The NightHunter ext can be
equipped with an optional pistol grip and utilized as a powerful spotlight.
The following product is expected to be available in 2007.
SuperVision SuperVision will allow the user to see in the dark with greater clarity than
night vision, up to 300 yards with a zoom capability. The product is a small hand held device and
weighs only 13 ounces. SuperVision is expected to retail for significantly less than the high-end
night vision products.
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The Markets
The actual and potential markets for our products consist of the following.
Military Forces, of the United States and Foreign Allies
Military forces in the United States currently represent the primary target market for
our NightHunter products. Through September 30, 2006, we have sold approximately $22.8 million of
NightHunter brand illumination systems into this market for testing or deployment. Our customers
include the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. In 2007, the
Defense Appropriations Bill includes $2.0 million for the purchase of NightHunter products to the
U.S. Army.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the U.S. Department of
Defense, there are nearly 5 million active troops, over 8 million reserve troops, approximately 600
warships, and 900 amphibious, major mine, and support ships, 26,000 heavy tanks, and 63,000
armored infantry vehicles in the armed forces of the United States and its allies. Given the large
number of applications for NightHunter products, we believe that this represents a substantial
market opportunity.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security represent another key market for
NightHunter products. These agencies include the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Secret Service
and the U.S. Coast Guard. Our products have been tested and deployed in key strategic locations
for port, waterway, coastline, airport and border security, and as of September 30, 2006 we have
sold more than $1.5 million of NightHunter products to these organizations. We believe that the
increased concern about homeland security and the higher amounts budgeted for new security products
may make homeland security a potentially significant market for our products. Our goal is for
agencies within the United States Department of Homeland Security to use discretionary funding to
purchase our products, and we believe that in the future we may achieve specific line items in the
budget similar to our experience with the defense budget.
U.S. Law Enforcement and Fire, Search & Rescue
We are in the early stage of pursuing additional opportunities for sales of NightHunter
illumination systems to U.S. law enforcement and fire, search & rescue organizations. Thus far
sales to this market group have been limited. However, law enforcement and fire, search & rescue
represent a large market opportunity. Approximately 700,000 law enforcement personnel are
estimated to be employed in the United States and there are approximately 30,000 fire, search &
rescue departments in the United States. The introduction of SuperVision may have a significant
impact in this segment.
Sales & Marketing
We generate most of our revenue from the direct sale of our products to customers. To
date, most of our sales have been to the United States military. The strategy for generating
revenue in this market segment is two-fold. We communicate to those in the field the existence and
application of our products. Once the application and need are substantiated, we help determine
how the specific military unit might find funding for the purchase of the products. The successful
deployment of our products to some branches of the US Army has led to purchase orders from other
Army units that are currently deployed in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq. We believe that
testimonials from military units currently
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employing our NightHunter products in active military situations may assist us in penetrating
other units of the military that also could benefit from the use of our products.
As this bottom-up marketing process is unfolding, we also communicate the existence and
application of the products from the top-down to the appropriate offices of the various military
branches located in Washington, DC and to the offices of those members of Congress involved in
appropriating funds for specific needs in the defense budget. Our contacts with these offices in
Washington DC are initiated either by our officers and directors or on our behalf by lobbyists. It
is also possible for a military unit to spend discretionary funds to purchase our products. We
have generated military sales from both line item budgets and discretionary spending from specific
units.
We also generate sales from the United States Border Patrol, which recently became realigned
under the Department of Homeland Security. In the past, our products were sold directly to
specific border patrol locations. We expect that with the new Homeland Security organizational
structure, the marketing effort will be similar to that used with the military.
Small orders are also sold to numerous other customers including international customers, law
enforcement and resellers.
We currently have three persons engaged on a full-time basis in sales and marketing. In
addition, our senior executives actively assist in our marketing efforts by initiating and
maintaining customer relationships and interacting with external consultants who assist the company
with its marketing activities.
In the future, we may consider partnering with others to generate additional sales though
distributorships and/or licenses and may utilize such models to expand our sales capabilities in
certain domestic market segments as well as internationally. We may offer exclusive marketing
and/or manufacturing licenses to partners in key markets, such as China, Japan, the Middle East,
South America and Europe.
The introduction of SuperVision will drive additional emphasis in sales and marketing and
permit possible significant sales growth in the commercial, governmental and international sectors.
The Company has hired a leader in the field to create a marketing team to spearhead the SuperVision
rollout.
Manufacturing
We conduct manufacturing and final assembly operations on the NightHunter and
NightHunter ext at our headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and own all of the equipment
required to manufacture and assemble these finished products. In addition, we also own all molds,
schematics, and prototypes utilized by our vendors in the production of the components and
sub-assemblies used in our products. We can expand our production capabilities by adding
additional personnel with negligible new investment in tooling and equipment.
We currently purchase both commodity off-the-shelf components and custom-designed fabricated
parts and sub-assemblies for use in our products from a number of qualified local, national and
international suppliers. We believe that there are readily available alternative suppliers that
can consistently meet our needs for these components. Although we currently obtain these
components from single source suppliers, we believe we could obtain components from alternative
suppliers without incurring significant production delays. We acquire all of our components on a
purchase order basis and do not have long-term contracts with suppliers. We believe that our
relations with our suppliers are good.
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In January 2003, we entered into a three-year agreement with PerkinElmer Electronics, Inc. for
the manufacturing of our NightHunterII product. This agreement will renew automatically for an
additional 12 month term unless otherwise terminated by either party. PerkinElmer, a publicly
traded company (NYSE: PKI), is a leader in the life sciences, fluid sciences and optoelectronics
industries. Under the terms of this agreement, PerkinElmer will manufacture all NightHunterII
products exclusively for Xenonics, on a fixed price basis. In return, we have agreed not to
purchase any NightHunterII products from any other manufacturer or to manufacture any NightHunterII
products ourselves. In addition, PerkinElmer agreed not to produce, market, or sell NightHunterII
products to any entity except Xenonics. PerkinElmer further agreed that all intellectual property
relating to the NightHunterII products is solely owned by Xenonics.
PerkinElmer is responsible for the purchasing, shipping and receiving, production, inventory
management and quality assurance of the NightHunterII. PerkinElmer provides the working capital
required for inventory and manages the labor pool required to meet our delivery requirements
without any cash investment by Xenonics. PerkinElmer has demonstrated the ability to increase
production to meet growing demand. Despite this sole source relationship, Xenonics retains all
documentation and know-how to build the NightHunterII and owns all tooling required to produce
NightHunterII products and related components, and we believe we could transition to a second
source if required without significant disruption.
Competition
Other companies that offer high intensity, portable lighting products include Reva
International and Peak Beam Systems, Inc. We believe that neither of these companies currently
offers a product with the features or range of applications of our NightHunter series. To our
knowledge, only one company, Peak Beam Systems, supplies a short-arc xenon-based product. Peak
Beams product also has the capability of utilizing infrared and ultraviolet filters, and provides
a long-range light beam. However, unlike our products, we believe that Peak Beams products
project a black hole and hence an obstructed field-of-view.
In addition to these suppliers of hand-held high intensity lighting products, we believe that
other companies that use first generation xenon technology, such as Spectrolab (helicopter
searchlights), Phoebus (entertainment spotlights), and Strong (entertainment spotlights) could
enter our market in the future. Our strategy is to become the recognized market and technology
leader before competitors can deliver a comparable product to the market.
Regulation
We applied to the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Export Administration
for an export license. In response to our inquiry, the department assigned an EAR classification
of 99. We can export our product without a license to all countries that are not on the restricted
list IAW part 746 of the EAR.
Intellectual Property
We have eleven design and utility patents issued, allowed or pending, including patents
for our technology platform, which applies high efficiency dimmable electronic ballast circuitry
and precision optics to xenon light as well as our ruggedized digital low-light viewing device. We
continue to make advancements, and have recently filed for an additional patent covering certain
technologies that complement our NightHunter product technologies. In addition to the foregoing
patents, we also rely on certain know-how and trade secrets related to the design and manufacture
of our products. We believe that the patents (both granted and pending) and our know-how and trade
secrets provide protection to
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certain of our core technologies, and allow us to develop future products that can be scaled
up or down (or to develop alternative packages for the existing products). We are not aware of any
infringement of our patents or that we are infringing any patents owned by third parties.
Our NightHunter, Xenonics and SuperVision trademarks have been registered with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Research and Development
We maintain an engineering, research and development program for the development and
introduction of new products and accessories and for the development of enhancements and
improvements to our existing products. In addition, we collaborate closely with certain of our
largest customers in the design and improvement of our products to suit their respective needs.
As such, we consider our research and development program to be an important element of our
business, operations and future success.
Our research and development efforts currently are focused on (i) improving our current
product line, (ii) designing and developing product line extensions that employ our proprietary
illumination and electronics platforms, and (iii) designing and developing new products
complementary to our existing products. We maintain an active research and development program at
our facilities in Carlsbad, California, and as needed we retain outside consultants who can provide
any necessary additional engineering or technological expertise. In addition, our relationship
with PerkinElmer provides us with the resources and know-how of a multi-billion dollar
manufacturing company. Under terms of our exclusive agreement, any intellectual property relating
to new products or improvements to our existing products that result from our relationship will
belong to us. We also regularly work with our outside vendors and manufacturers to improve product
performance and manufacturability, and to reduce manufacturing costs.
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, we spent $576,000 and $504,000,
respectively, on engineering, research and development.
Employees
As of September 30, 2006, we employed 15 persons. There are four members in our executive
management team, five persons employed in operations, two persons in engineering and four persons
involved in sales and administrative support. We are not a party to any collective bargaining
agreements.
Xenonics Holdings, Inc (XNN) - Description of business
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