Allot - 20-F annual report 2023

 

 

As used herein, and unless the context suggests otherwise, the terms “Allot,” “Company,” “we,” “us” or “ours” refer to Allot Ltd.

 

 

In addition to historical facts, this annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, potential market opportunities and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes and the negatives of those terms. These statements include but are not limited to:

 

These statements may be found in the sections of this annual report on Form 20-F entitled “ITEM 3: Key Information-Risk Factors,” “ITEM 4: Information on Allot,” “ITEM 5: Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” “ITEM 10: Additional Information-Taxation-United States Federal Income Taxation-Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” and elsewhere in this annual report, including the section of this annual report entitled “ITEM 4: Information on Allot-Business Overview-Overview” and “ITEM 4: Information on Allot-Business Overview-Industry Background,” which contain information obtained from independent industry sources. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including all the risks discussed in “ITEM 3: Key Information-Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report.

 

All forward-looking statements in this annual report reflect our current views about future events and are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Unless we are required to do so under U.S. federal securities laws or other applicable laws, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

 

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In recent years, economies worldwide have demonstrated instability. Negative economic conditions in the global economy or certain regions such as the European Market, from which we derived 43% of our revenues in 2023, could cause a decrease in spending on the types of products and services that we offer.

 

Additionally, if the worldwide economy remains unstable or further deteriorates, enterprises, telecommunication carriers and service providers in affected regions may significantly reduce or postpone capital investments, which could result in reductions in sales of our products or services, longer sales cycles, slower adoption of new technologies and increased price competition in such regions. Such circumstances would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows.

 

Further, because a substantial portion of our operating expenses consists of salaries, we may not be able to reduce our operating expenses in line with any reduction in revenues and, therefore, may not be able to continue to generate increased revenues and manage our costs to achieve profitability.

 

 

The global semiconductor chip supply shortage has had, and continues to have, wide-ranging effects across our industry. The shortage has been reported since early 2021 and has caused challenges in the manufacturing industry and impacted our supply chain and production as well. While the semiconductor chip shortage has begun to improve, we still face uncertainties and our ability to source the components that use semiconductor chips may be adversely affected in the future. Component delivery lead times are expected to increase, which may cause delays in our production and increase the cost to obtain components with available semiconductor chips. To the extent this semiconductor chip shortage continues, we may experience delays, increased costs, and an inability to fulfill engineering design changes or customer demand, each of which could adversely impact our results of operations.

 

 

Our revenues are generated primarily in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars. As a result, we consider the U.S. dollar to be our functional currency. A significant portion of our revenues are also generated in Euros. Other significant portions of our expenses are denominated in Israeli shekel (ILS) and, to a lesser extent, in Euros and other currencies. Our ILS-denominated expenses consist principally of salaries and related personnel expenses. We anticipate that a material portion of our expenses will continue to be denominated in ILS. In the past years, we have experienced material fluctuations between the ILS and the U.S. dollar and we anticipate that the ILS will continue to fluctuate against the U.S dollar in the future. In 2023, the ILS depreciated by approximately 3% against the U.S. dollar, while in 2022 the ILS depreciated by approximately 11.6% against the U.S. dollar. In 2023, the Euro depreciated by approximately 3.7% against the U.S. dollar, and in 2022 the Euro appreciated by approximately 5.8% against the U.S. dollar. As the U.S dollar weakens against the ILS, we are exposed to negative impact on our results of operations. Moreover, if the U.S. dollar strengthens against the Euro, our results of operations generated by revenue in the EUR may be negatively impacted.

 

We translate sales and other results denominated in foreign currency into U.S. dollars for our financial statements. During periods of a strengthening dollar, our reported international sales and earnings have been, and could continue to be, reduced because foreign currencies may translate into fewer U.S. dollars.

 

We use derivative financial instruments, such as foreign exchange forward contracts, in an effort to mitigate the risk of changes in foreign exchange rates on forecasted cash flows. We may not purchase derivative instruments adequately to insulate ourselves from foreign currency exchange risks. Volatility in the foreign currency markets may make hedging our foreign currency exposures challenging. In addition, because a portion of our revenue is not earned in U.S. dollars, fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which such revenue is earned may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We could be adversely affected when the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to the local currency between the time of a sale and the time we receive payment, which would be collected in the devalued local currency. Accordingly, if there is an adverse movement in one or more exchange rates, we might suffer significant losses and our results of operations may otherwise be adversely affected. Uncertainty in global market conditions has resulted in and may continue to cause significant volatility in foreign currency exchange rates which could increase these risks. As our international operations expand, our exposure to these risks also increases.

 

 

In response to the conflict, the United States, the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom, among others, have announced targeted economic sanctions on Russia, the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, certain Russian citizens and enterprises, including financial measures such as freezing Russia’s central bank assets and limiting its ability to access its dollar reserves. The continuation of the conflict may trigger a series of additional economic and other sanctions enacted by the United States and other countries, as well as counter responses by the governments of Russia or other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect the global financial markets generally, levels of economic activity, and increase financial markets volatility. The potential impact of bans, sanction programs and boycotts on our business is uncertain at the current time due to the fluid nature of the military conflict and international responses to it, but it could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, the potential impacts include supply chain and logistics disruptions, financial impacts including volatility in commodity prices, foreign exchange rates and interest rates, inflationary pressures on raw materials and energy, heightened cybersecurity threats and other restrictions.

 

 

 

We have a history of net losses in the last ten years. We had a net loss of $63 million in 2023 and $32 million in 2022. In the future, we intend to continue to invest significantly in research and development and sales and marketing, which we believe will contribute to our future growth. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability, and we may incur losses in the future if we do not generate sufficient revenues.

 

 

We have undertaken, and may continue to undertake, efforts to streamline operations and improve cost efficiencies. We may not realize, in full or in part, the anticipated benefits, savings and improvements in our operating results from these efforts due to unforeseen difficulties, delays or unexpected costs. If we are unable to realize the expected operational efficiencies and cost savings, our operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected. We also cannot guarantee that we will not have to undertake additional workforce reductions in the future. Furthermore, our workforce reductions may be further disruptive to our operations. For example, our workforce reductions could yield unanticipated consequences, such as adversely impacting our ability to perform our contractual obligations in a timely manner and at required level of quality, attrition beyond planned staff reductions, increased difficulties in our day-to-day operations and reduced employee morale. In addition, while positions have been eliminated, certain functions necessary to our reduced operations remain, and we may be unsuccessful in distributing the duties and obligations of departed employees among our remaining employees. We may also discover that the reductions in workforce and cost cutting measures will make it difficult for us to pursue new opportunities and initiatives and require us to hire qualified replacement personnel, which may require us to incur additional and unanticipated costs and expenses. Moreover, there is no assurance we will be successful in our efforts. Our failure to successfully accomplish any of the above activities and goals may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

 

We generated 11% of our revenues in 2023, 6% of our revenues in 2022 and 3% of our revenues in 2021 from our SECaaS offering. While we continue to forecast significant future expansion of our SECaas business, the growth of our SECaaS recurring revenue model has been slower than originally anticipated. We will need to expand the number of recurring security revenue deals and the end user penetration within existing customers to achieve the goals that we have set for our business. This will involve a number of steps. Initially, we need to persuade Communication Service Providers (CSPs) as to the benefits that Allot Secure can offer them in terms of driving additional revenue. Those CSPs, with our support, will then need to persuade their customers, consumers and small and medium-sized businesses, to subscribe for security services. We expect that we will need to demonstrate the value that our services offer and add new features to both (i) retain customers in the face of competition and (ii) to capitalize on opportunities where CSPs currently using our competitors’ products are considering a change. We face significant challenges in growing our security business and our failure to do so would adversely impact our future growth and prospects.

 

 

We compete against large companies in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive sector of the networking technology and security markets, which offer, or may offer in the future, competing technologies, including partial or alternative solutions to operators’ and enterprises’ challenges, and which, similarly to us, intensely pursue the largest service providers (referred to as Tier 1 operators) as well as large enterprises. Our ability to effectively compete in these markets may be limited since our competitors may have greater financial resources, significant market share and established relationships with operators and distribution channels.

 

Our Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology enabled offerings face significant competition from router and switch infrastructure companies that integrate functionalities into their platforms, addressing some of the same types of issues that our products are designed to address.

 

Our security products are offered to operators and are deployed in their networks, enabling them to provide security services to their end customers. Such products face significant competition from companies that directly offer to end customers security applications to be installed on their devices; companies that approach that directly offer cloud security products to the business enterprise sector through distribution channels; and companies that offer security products bundled with other products. By offering our security products to operators that provide security services to both business enterprises and individual end customers, we aim to expand the reach of our products. However, this business model may prove to be slower to market or less effective than our competitors’ models, in which case our business and growth prospects may be harmed.

 

Certain of our current direct competitors are substantially larger than we are and have significantly greater financial, sales and marketing, technical, manufacturing and other resources. As the intelligent broadband solutions market has grown, including the markets for DPI enabled solutions for mobile networks and for security products, new competitors have entered and may continue to enter the market. This competition has contributed to a slowing growth of DPI bids for CSPs. Furthermore, our market is subject to industry consolidation, as companies attempt to maintain or strengthen their positions in our evolving industry. Some of our current and potential competitors have made acquisitions or have announced new strategic alliances designed to position them to provide many of the same products and services that we provide to both the service provider and enterprise markets, such as Procera’s acquisition of Sandvine.

 

If our competitors announce new products, services or enhancements that better meet the needs of customers or changing industry requirements, offer alternative methods to achieve customer objectives or implement faster go to market strategies, if our business model proves less effective than those of our competitors, if new competitors enter the market, or if industry consolidation results in stronger competitors with wider range of product offerings and greater financial resources, our ability to effectively compete may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

In addition to enhancing our presence in existing markets, we will need to continue to expand our global reach to enter new markets and build local delivery and support teams to serve customers in new territories.

 

 

We will need to invest heavily in the continued development of our technology in order to keep pace with rapid changes in applications, increased broadband network speeds, network security threats and with our competitors’ efforts to advance their technology. Our ability to develop and deliver effective product offerings depends on many factors, including identifying our customers’ needs, technical implementation of new services and integration of our products with our customers’ existing network infrastructure. While we plan to continue introducing innovative products, we cannot provide any assurance that new products we introduce will achieve the level of market acceptance that we target. Designers of broadband applications and distributors of various network security threats that our products identify, manage or mitigate are using increasingly sophisticated methods to avoid detection and management and/or mitigation by network operators.

 

Even if our products successfully identify a particular application, it is sometimes necessary to distinguish between different types of traffic belonging to a single application. Accordingly, we face significant challenges in ensuring that we identify new applications and new versions of current applications as they are introduced, without impacting network performance, especially as networks become faster. This challenge is increased as we seek to expand sales of our products to new geographic territories because the applications vary from country to country and region to region.

 

The network equipment market is characterized by rapid technological progress, frequent new product introductions, changes in customer requirements and evolving industry standards. To compete, we need to achieve widespread market acceptance. Alternative technologies could achieve widespread market acceptance and displace the technology on which we have based our product architecture. Our business and revenues will be adversely affected if we fail to develop enhancements to our products, in order to keep pace with changes in broadband applications, network security threats and advances in technology. We can give no assurance that our technological approach will achieve broad market acceptance or that other technology or devices will not supersede our technology and products.

 

Additionally, as the adoption of 5G continues to expand, we will need to adapt the functionality of our products to comply with the design and standards prescribed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (the 3GPP Organization), which is responsible for the industry standardization effort and requires significant investment. Our business may be affected if we are unable to adapt our existing products in a quick and timely manner or successfully develop and introduce solutions supporting 5G networks. In addition, in 4G/LTE networks, Allot provides a Traffic Detection Function (TDF) element of the core network. According to the recent network design specifications, published by the 3GPP Organization, in 5G networks this TDF function will be merged within the User Plane Function (UPF), which is provided by major NEP (Network Equipment Provider) competitors. This change in network architecture may jeopardize Allot’s ability to sell a standalone TDF function, which may have a material adverse impact on our business and financial results.

 

 

Our business from the enterprise market may depend on new market and technology trends. For example, some enterprises are implementing a new network architecture, transitioning their datacenter infrastructure to public clouds (such as AWS, Azure, and Google), in which most of the data traffic is sent directly to and from the public cloud. In such designs, Allot’s products deployed at the central location of the enterprise datacenter will have less traffic capacity to manage and will provide only partial visibility into the enterprise’s traffic. This may erode the value provided by Allot’s solutions and reduce amount of revenues derived from the enterprise market. Additionally, some enterprises might decide to outsource their network operation to a public cloud, which would diminish the need for Allot’s products. Due to these factors, we do not anticipate additional growth in the enterprise market.

 

 

A substantial amount of our revenues are currently generated from CSPs. Many of these CSPs are facing declining revenues and profits due to commoditization of the voice and data services they provide and limited success in introduction of the new services for the consumers. In addition, many CSPs are seeing a rise in operational expenses due to the global energy crisis, which may affect their budget allocation for new projects. This might impact their ability to continue to purchase our products and services for the prices we charge or will be unable to purchase these products and services entirely. The outcome of such could result in a decline in our revenues and profits and adversely affect our business.

 

 

In the past few years, we have increased sales of our security products. However, sales of our network intelligence solutions, which provide service providers and governmental customers with visibility and control of their networks, continue to account for a major portion of our revenues, and accounted for 77% of our total revenue in 2023. If we are unable to increase these sales, or compensate for them by sales of security products, our business will suffer. In addition, service providers may choose embedded or integrated solutions using routers and switches from larger networking vendors over a standalone solution that we offer. Any factor adversely affecting our ability to sell, or the pricing of or demand for, our network intelligence solutions would severely harm our ability to generate revenues and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

 

In 2023, we derived 15% of our total revenue from our largest customer and 9% of our total revenue from our second largest customer. In 2022, we derived 8% of our total revenue from our largest customer and 7% of our total revenue from our second largest customer. The loss of any significant customer or a significant decrease in business from any such customer could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

 

 

We may incur significant expenses without generating any sales. As of December 31, 2023, only 59% of our SECaaS sales contracts signed by customers had generated revenues. Our management views realization of revenue from signed contracts as a primary challenge for our current business model and failure to do so could adversely affect our profitability.

 

Beginning in late 2022 and throughout 2023 we shifted our primary sales strategy to target large, strategic accounts, while implementing minimum revenue thresholds or customer assurances for our small to medium sized accounts. While we believe this strategy will generate greater revenue and help us achieve profitability sooner, it may decrease our market share. Additionally, there is inherent risk in implementing a new business plan successfully. If we are unable to secure large, strategic accounts, the economic harm to our business will be exacerbated due to this strategic shift.

 

Our sales cycles to large service providers, including carriers, mobile operators and cable operators, are generally lengthy because these end-customers consider our products to be critical equipment and undertake significant testing to assess the performance of our products within their networks. In particular, beginning in 2022, DPI deals took longer to close than in the past, at least in part due to macroeconomic conditions and tighter expense controls by CSPs. Furthermore, many of our product and service arrangements with our customers provide that the final acceptance of a product or service may be specified by the customer. As a result, we often invest significant time from initial contact with a large service provider until it decides to incorporate our products into its network, and we may not be able to recognize the revenue from a customer until the acceptance criteria have been satisfied. We have in the past, and may in the future, cancelled certain contracts that we later anticipate are unlikely to launch projects and generate revenues.

 

We may also expend significant resources in attempting to persuade large service providers to incorporate our products into their networks without success. Even after deciding to purchase our products, the initial network deployment of our products by a large service provider may last up to one year and in certain exceptional instances up to two years. If a competitor succeeds in convincing a large service provider to adopt that competitor’s product, it may be difficult for us to displace the competitor because of the cost, time, effort and perceived risk to network stability involved in changing solutions.

 

In addition, in our deals based on a revenue share model (and determined by the number of end subscribers using our solution), the cycle from the upfront investments by our company and the revenues stream, is very long.

 

 

The complexity and scope of the solutions and services we provide to larger service providers are increasing. The larger and more complex such projects are, the greater the operational risks associated with them. These risks include, but are not limited to, the failure to meet all the requirements of service providers, the failure to fully integrate our products into the service provider’s network or with third-party products, our dependence on subcontractors and partners and on effective cooperation with third-party vendors for the successful and timely completion of such projects. If we encounter any of these risks, we may incur higher costs in order to complete the project and may be subject to contractual penalties resulting in lower profitability. In addition, the project may demand more of our management’s time than was originally planned, and our reputation may be adversely impacted.

 

 

The current ongoing increase in salaries of research and development personnel could have an adverse effect on our ability to recruit such suitable individuals as well as adversely affect our ability to meet the ongoing research and development related requirements of the market and our customers.

 

 

Our DPI, analytics and security products rely on the ability to read, understand and analyze the nature of Internet traffic. Due to an increase in network encryption, including the meta-data of the network data packets, our ability to read, understand and analyze the traffic transmitted becomes impaired and may reduce or eliminate our ability to provide our customers with the classification and categorization of the traffic and the necessary tools, capabilities and values that they might require. We will need to invest significant research and development resources into this domain so that similar value can be provided to the customers; however, we cannot guarantee success of these activities.

 

 

The commoditization of DPI technology and the introduction of competitive features and services may result in a decrease of the average sale prices of our DPI technology enabled products.

 

The market in which we operate is highly competitive and unless we continue to enhance the functionality of our products, add additional features and offer additional products, our competitiveness may be harmed.

 

We seek to offset this risk by enhancing our products by offering higher system speeds, additional features, such as advanced Quality of Experience (QoE) management functionality, and support for additional applications and enhanced reporting tools. We also continuously endeavor to assure our solutions comply with contemporary network and software architectures such as, but not limited to, virtualized network services (NFV), containerized deployments and 5G networks compliance.

 

Our products offer customers additional tools to increase the efficiency of their networks or to help them offer additional services to their end customers and derive additional revenues from their end customers. The industry and market for our products are still developing and are affected, among others, by trends and changes in internet broadband traffic, including changes in methods used by various content providers and broadband applications and evolution of network security threats.

 

We cannot provide any assurance that demand for our additional features and products will continue or grow, or that we will be able to generate revenues from such sales at the levels we anticipate or at all. Any inability to sell or maintain our additional features and products may lead to commercial disputes with our customers and increased spending on technical solutions, any of which may negatively impact our results of operations.

 

 

Our products are, generally, installed in line as part of our customers’ networks and provide a wide range of services that our customers may offer to their own customers. We endeavor to avoid any interruption to the regular operation of our customers’ networks, any reduction of quality of services or failure to provide the quality and/or scope of services to users, including, by performing certain tasks during predetermined maintenance windows, and implementing a system bypass, in the event of malfunctions. In addition, we offer security protection services offered by our customers to their end users at a certain level and terms of performance. However, in certain cases, a failure of our products or failure of our products to perform in accordance with the performance levels to which we may be committed, may result in our customers experiencing loss of functionality, denial of service and access, interruption of live traffic on our customers’ networks, loss of security protection or inability to provide similar services to our customers’ end users. Such failure of our products, may cause disputes with our customers, adversely affect our reputation, lead to loss of revenues and potential legal exposure.

 

 

Our products are complex and are incorporated into broadband networks, which are a major source of revenue for service providers and support critical applications for subscribers and enterprises. Due to the highly technical nature of our products and variations among customers’ network environments, we may not detect product defects until our products have been fully deployed in our customers’ networks. Regardless of whether warranty coverage exists for a product, we may be required to dedicate significant technical resources to repair any defects. If we encounter significant errors, we could experience, among other things, loss of major customers, cancellation of orders, increased costs, delay in recognizing revenues and damage to our reputation. We could also face claims for product liability, tort or breach of warranty. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, is costly and may divert management’s attention. In addition, if our business liability insurance is inadequate or future coverage is unavailable on acceptable terms or at all, our financial condition could be harmed.

 

 

Our DPI technology enabled products are used by service providers and enterprises to monitor and manage bandwidth-intensive applications that cause congestion in broadband networks and impact the quality of experience for users. Demand for our products is driven particularly by growth in applications, which are highly sensitive to network delays and therefore require efficient network management. If the rapid growth in the adoption of such applications does not continue, the demand for our products may be adversely impacted.

 

 

Our security products are used by service providers to offer security services to their end customers, comprising both business enterprises as well as individual end customers. The demand for these services depends highly on continued evolution and increase of online threats. In the event that such threats decrease, that end customers are unwilling to incur the costs of security services and/or that ISPs do not continue to pursue security services to their end customers as a revenue source, demand for our security products may be materially adversely impacted.

 

 

We depend on third-party channel partners, such as distributors, resellers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and system integrators, to market and sell a material portion of our products to end-customers. In 2023, approximately 42% of our revenues were derived from channel partners. In some cases, our channel partners are also responsible for installing and providing initial customer support for our products, with our continuous technical assistance. In the majority of the cases, the partners are responsible for the initial customer support (Tier 1 support), while we act as the escalation level. As a result, we depend on the ability of our channel partners to successfully market and sell our products to these end-customers. We can give no assurance that our channel partners will market our products effectively, receive and fulfill customer orders for our products on a timely basis or continue to devote the resources necessary to provide us with effective sales, marketing and technical support. In addition, our channel partners may experience disruptions in, or be prevented from, conducting business activities as a result of macroeconomic factors, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Any failure by our channel partners to provide adequate initial support to end-customers could result in customer dissatisfaction with us or our products, which could result in a loss of customers, harm our reputation and delay or limit market acceptance of our products. Our products are complex and it takes time for a new channel partner to gain experience in the operation and installation of these products. Therefore, it may take a long period of time before a new channel partner can successfully market, sell and support our products if an existing channel partner ceases to sell our products. Additionally, our agreements with channel partners are generally not exclusive and our channel partners may market and sell products that compete with our products. Our agreements with our distributors and resellers are usually for an initial one-year term and following the expiration of this term, are usually automatically renewed for additional one year periods, unless terminated by either party. We can give no assurance that these agreements will continue to remain in effect. If we are unable to maintain our relationships with existing channel partners and to develop relationships with new channel partners in key markets our profitability and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

 

 

We integrate various third-party solutions into our products and offer third-party solutions bundled with our products. We may integrate or offer additional third-party solutions in the future. Sales of our products could be disrupted if such third-party solutions were either no longer available to us or no longer offered to us on commercially reasonable terms. In either case, we would be required to spend additional capital to either source alternative third-party solutions, redesign our products to function with alternate third-party solutions or develop substitute components ourselves. As a result, our sales may be delayed and/or adversely affected and we might be forced to limit the features available in our current or future product offerings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

 

We currently depend on a limited number of subcontractors, such as Flex (Israel) Ltd. (previously Flextronics (Israel) Ltd.), Malam Team and Arrow Electronics, to integrate, assemble, test, store, package and prepare for shipment our various Service Gateway, Network Management and Enterprise platforms. If any of these subcontractors experience delays, disruptions or quality control problems in manufacturing or integrating our products or if we fail to effectively manage our relationships with them, product shipments may be delayed and our ability to deliver certain products to customers could be adversely affected.

 

 

We obtain certain hardware components used in our products from single or limited sources.

 

Although such hardware components are off-the-shelf items, because our systems have been designed to incorporate these specific hardware components, any change to these components due to an interruption in supply chains or our inability to obtain such components on a timely basis may require engineering changes to our products before substitute hardware components could be incorporated. Such changes could be costly and could result in lost sales particularly to our traffic management systems. The agreements with our suppliers do not contain any minimum supply commitments. If we or our contract manufacturers fail to obtain components in sufficient quantities when required, our business could be harmed.

 

We obtain certain software components of our security products from a few limited sources, depending primarily on our customers’ preferences. In the event that we are no longer able to source such software components from a particular source, and our customers refuse to implement components from our alternative sources, we may be required to identify an alternative source from which we do not currently acquire such software or develop such software ourselves. This may result in disputes with our customers and/or cancellation or delay of orders, which may materially adversely affect our business.

 

Our suppliers also sell products to our competitors and may enter into exclusive arrangements with our competitors, stop selling their products or components to us at commercially reasonable prices or refuse to sell their products or components to us at any price. Our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of single-source or limited-sourced components or to develop alternative sources for components or products would harm our ability to maintain and expand our business.

 

 

 

We are subject to a complex system of laws and regulations related to international trade, including economic sanctions and export control laws and regulations. We also depend on our distributors and agents outside of Israel for compliance and adherence to local laws and regulations in the markets in which they operate. It is our policy not to make direct or indirect prohibited sales of our products, including into countries sanctioned under laws to which we are subject, and to contractually limit the territories into which our channel partners may sell our products. None of our contracts with channel partners authorize or contemplate any activities with sanctioned countries, and we do not intend to authorize any channel partner to engage in activities with those countries in the future. Nevertheless, over ten years ago one of our channel partners sold certain of our products (designed for the enterprise market) outside of its contractually designated territory, including into a sanctioned country, and we subsequently determined that our contract management protocol for authorizing channel partner sales was not adequately followed in that instance. Although we are not aware of any channel partner making indirect sales to entities or individuals in sanctioned countries in 2023, there is no guarantee that our channel partners will not make such indirect sales in the future, which could result in material adverse impact on our reputation and lead to penalties and increased costs. Though we have not had a material impact to date, we can provide no assurance that new or existing measures will not have a material impact in the future.

 

We are also subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and may be subject to similar worldwide anti-bribery laws that generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Some of the countries in which we operate have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our compliance and training programs, we cannot be certain that our procedures will be sufficient to ensure consistent compliance with all applicable international trade and anti-corruption laws, or that our employees or channel partners will strictly follow all policies and requirements to which we subject them. Any alleged or actual violations of these laws may subject us to government scrutiny, investigation, debarment, and civil and criminal penalties, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

 

 

We cannot always verify whether our customers are using our products in a lawful or ethical manner. It is possible that some of our governmental or law enforcement customers have used our products in a manner that is incompatible with, or that is perceived to be incompatible with, human rights. In some circumstances, governmental customers may desire to surveil their citizenry and may use our products to achieve those ends. For example, some foreign governments use internet infrastructure to undermine democratic values through surveillance of and control over online communications between political activists. Any misuse of our products by our governmental or law enforcement customers, or allegations of misuse, may damage our reputation, business and results of operations.

 

 

Service providers are subject to government regulation in a number of jurisdictions in which we sell our products. There are several existing regulations and proposals in the United States, Europe and elsewhere for regulating service providers’ ability to prioritize applications in their networks. Some advocates for regulating this industry claim that collecting premium fees from certain “preferred” applications would distort the market for Internet applications in favor of larger and better-funded content providers. They also claim that this would impact end-users who already purchased broadband access only to experience response times that differ based on content provider. Some opponents believe that content providers who support bandwidth-intensive applications should be required to pay service providers a premium in order to support further network investments.

 

On December 14, 2017, the United States Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) announced that it voted to repeal the Open Internet Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order (the Open Internet Order). The Open Internet Order was issued by the FCC and went into effect on June 12, 2015. The Open Internet Order set forth rules, grounded, among others, on Title II of the Communications Act of 1934; the Open Internet Order regulated both fixed and mobile Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and prohibited them, subject to reasonable network management, from blocking and/or throttling of lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices, and from unreasonably interfering or disadvantaging of (i) end users’ ability to select, access service of the lawful Internet content, applications, services, or devices of their choice or (ii) edge providers’ ability to make lawful content, applications, services, or devices available to end users. The Open Internet Order also prohibited paid prioritization of content. The repeal largely reversed the Open Internet Order, including the classification of broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service, which is subject to certain common carrier regulations, and restored the regulatory framework that preceded the Open Internet Order. Because our products allow ISPs to identify network traffic and facilitate traffic management, the reinstatement of this traditional regulatory framework has not, to date, affected but may in the future affect ISP’s demand for certain of our products. The repeal of the Open Internet Order was upheld by a federal appeals court in October 2019, however, the repeal does not preclude state and local governments from enacting their own net neutrality rules and certain U.S. states have already implemented net neutrality protections which could impact our operations.

 

On April 30, 2016, Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council came into effect, setting forth the first EU-wide Net Neutrality (“Open Internet”) rules. Under these rules, blocking, throttling and discrimination of internet traffic by ISPs is prohibited in the EU, with three exceptions: (i) compliance with legal obligations; (ii) integrity of the network; and (iii) congestion management in exceptional and temporary situations. Outside these exceptions, there can be no prioritization of traffic within an internet access service. However, equal treatment permits reasonable day-to-day traffic management according to objectively justified technical requirements, and which must be independent of the origin or destination of the traffic and of any commercial considerations. These rules also allow internet access providers, as well as content and applications providers, to offer special services with specific quality requirements (provided the Open Internet is not negatively affected by the provision of these services). Such specialized services cannot be a substitute to internet access services can only be provided if there is sufficient network capacity to provide them in addition to any internet access service and must not be to the detriment of the availability or general quality of internet access services for end-users.

 

Such regulation of both fixed and mobile ISPs, in European Economic Area (EEA) Member States, may limit ISPs’ ability to manage, prioritize and monetize their network. Additionally, these regulations may attract growing public debate and attention of regulators in other jurisdictions we operate in. Demand from service providers, in affected jurisdictions, for the traffic management and subscriber management features of our products may be adversely affected by such regulations. To date, we have not experienced any material decrease in demand for these features; however, a decrease in demand in the future could adversely impact sales of our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

 

Strict data privacy laws regulating the collection, transmission, storage and use of employee data and consumers’ personally-identifying information applicable to ISPs are evolving in the US, European Union and other jurisdictions in which we sell our products. For example, in the US, legislation has in recent years been proposed regarding restrictions on the use of geolocation information collected by mobile devices without consumer consent and California’s California Consumer Privacy Act, which grants expanded rights to access and delete personal information and opt out of certain personal information sharing, among other things, became effective on January 1, 2020. Similarly, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), enforcement of which began on May 25, 2018, creates a range of new compliance obligations, increases financial penalties for non-compliance and extends the scope of the EU data protection law to all companies established in the EEA, and all companies established outside the EEA that either: (a) offer goods or services to individuals in the EEA; or (b) monitor the behavior of individuals in the EEA. The GDPR imposes a strict data protection compliance regime and includes enhanced rights for individuals. It applies to the collection, use, retention, security, processing, transfer and deletion of personally identifiable information of individuals, and creates a range of new compliance obligations. Implementation of, and compliance with, the GDPR has increased, and could continue to increase, our cost of doing business. In addition, the GDPR may be interpreted or applied in a manner that is unforeseen by, or adverse to, us. Violations of the GDPR may result in significant fines (up to four percent of worldwide annual turnover or EUR 20.0 million, whichever is greater) and reputational harm. Such regulations have increased our compliance and administrative burden significantly and require us to invest resources and management attention in order to update our IT systems to meet the new requirements, including those related to recordkeeping of personal identifiable information and segregation of duties.

 

The GDPR and other privacy and data protection laws may be interpreted and applied differently from country to country and may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. Such regulations increase our customers’ compliance and administrative burden significantly and may require us to adapt certain of our products, as well as our support and maintenance services, if necessary, to different requirements in EEA Member States, as well as in the US, in order to allow our customers in such jurisdictions, to comply with such regulations. There is also no assurance that we will be able to adapt our products and/or our support and maintenance services sufficiently in order to allow our customers in various jurisdictions to comply with such regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction.

 

As data protection and privacy-related laws and regulations continue to evolve, these changes may result in increased regulatory and public scrutiny, escalating levels of enforcement and sanctions and increased costs of compliance. Therefore, we may be required to modify the features and functionalities of certain of our products, in a manner that is less attractive to customers. Such adjustments of our products, if required, may require extensive financial investments and may take long periods of time, leading to delay in sales cycles, deployment of our products and recognition of related revenues. Furthermore, we may be required to adjust the geographical and operational structure of our Customer Success department, if required, and this may entail extensive financial investments in providing support and maintenance services.

 

 

 

Know-how relating to networking protocols, building carrier-grade systems, identifying applications and developing and maintaining security products is an important aspect of our intellectual property. It is our practice to have our employees sign appropriate non-compete agreements when permitted under applicable law. These agreements prohibit our employees who cease working for us from competing directly with us or working for our competitors for a limited period of time. The enforceability of non-compete clauses in certain jurisdictions in which we operate may be limited. Under the current laws of some jurisdictions in which we operate, we may be unable to enforce these agreements and it may thereby be difficult for us to restrict our competitors from gaining the expertise our former employees gained while working for us.

 

Further, to protect our know-how, we customarily require our employees, distributors, resellers, software testers and contractors to execute confidentiality agreements or agree to confidentiality undertakings when their relationship with us begins. Typically, our employment contracts also include clauses regarding assignment of intellectual property rights for all inventions developed by employees and non-disclosure of all confidential information. We cannot provide any assurance that the terms of these agreements are being observed and will be observed in the future. Because our product designs and software are stored electronically and thus are highly portable, we attempt to reduce the portability of our designs and software by physically protecting our servers through the use of closed networks, which prevent external access to our servers. We cannot be certain, however, that such protection will adequately deter individuals or groups from wrongfully accessing our technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of intellectual property is difficult and some foreign laws do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary information will be sufficient. In addition, to protect our intellectual property, we may become involved in litigation, which could result in substantial expenses, divert the attention of management, or materially disrupt our business, all of which could adversely affect our revenue, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We also aim to protect our intellectual property with patent protection. As of December 31, 2023, we had a patent portfolio consisting of 29 patent families, including 35 issued U.S. patents, 4 reissued U.S. patents 3 pending U.S. patent applications, and 40 patents issued in Canada, Israel and other jurisdictions. There can be no assurance that: 

 

Any failure to obtain patents, inability to obtain patents with claims of a scope necessary to cover our technology or the invalidation of our patents may weaken our competitive position and may adversely affect our revenues.

 

 

Certain of our products contain open source code, and we may use more open source code in the future. Open source code is the type of code that is covered by a license agreement that permits the user to copy, modify and distribute the software without cost, provided that users and modifiers abide by certain licensing requirements. The original developers of the open source code provide no warranties on such code. As a result of our use of open source software, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source code, and we may incur expenses in defending claims that we did not abide by the open source code license. If we are not successful in defending against such claims, we may be subject to monetary damages or be required to remove the open source code from our products. Such events could disrupt our operations and the sales of our products, which would negatively impact our revenues and cash flow. In addition, under certain conditions, the use of open source code to create derivative code may obligate us to make the resulting derivative code available to others at no cost. If we are required to publicly disclose the source code for such derivative products or to license our derivative products that use an open source license, our previously proprietary software products would be available to others, including our customers and competitors without charge. While we endeavor to ensure that no open source software is used in a way which may require us to disclose the source code to our related product, such use could inadvertently occur. If we were required to make our software source code freely available, our business could be seriously harmed. The use of such open source code may ultimately subject some of our products to unintended conditions so that we are required to take remedial action that may divert resources away from our development efforts.

 

 

Risks related to cybersecurity and privacy, including the activities of criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored intrusions, industrial espionage, employee malfeasance and human or technological error, are constantly evolving. Computer hackers and others routinely attempt to breach the security of companies, governmental agencies, technology products, services and systems.

 

Our IT systems contain personal, financial and other information that is entrusted to us by our customers and employees as well as financial, proprietary and other confidential information related to our business, and we rely on said systems to manage our business, operations and research and development. If these IT systems are compromised as a result of cyber-attacks or cyber-related incidents, it could result in the loss or misappropriation of sensitive data or other disruption to our operations. Although we have a cybersecurity program designed to protect and preserve the integrity of our information technology systems, we have experienced and expect to continue to experience cyber-attacks of our IT systems or networks (such as limited phishing, ransomware and malware activities identified by us in the past, which were mitigated). Although none of these cyber-attacks nor breaches that have been of a minor nature, has had a material effect on our operations or financial condition, due to our security measures and awareness, we cannot guarantee that any such incidents would not materially harm our business in the future.

 

If our IT systems are compromised as a result of cyber-attacks or cyber-related incidents, it could result in the loss or misappropriation of sensitive data or other disruption to our operations. It could also disrupt our electronic communications systems and thus our ability to conduct our business operations, our ability to process customer orders and electronically deliver products and services and our distribution channels.

 

Additionally, as a provider of network intelligence and security solutions for mobile and fixed service providers, an actual or perceived cyber-attack, breach of security or theft of personal data store by us, regardless of whether the cyber-attack, breach or theft is attributable to the failure of our products, could adversely affect the market’s perception of the efficacy of our solutions, and current or potential customers may look to our competitors for alternative solutions. A breach of our systems may also lead defects and security vulnerabilities to be introduced into our software, thereby damaging the reputation and perceived reliability and security of our products and services and potentially making the data systems of our customers vulnerable to further data loss and cyber incidents.

 

Despite our investments in risk prevention and contingencies, data protection, prevention of intrusions, access control systems and other security measures, we can provide no assurance that our current IT systems are fully protected against third-party intrusions, viruses, hacker attacks, information or data theft or other similar threats. Any such security breach, whether actual or alleged, could result in system disruptions or shutdowns and/or destruction, alteration, theft or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Even when an actual or attempted security breach is detected, the full extent of the breach may not be determined for some time. An increasing number of companies have disclosed security breaches of their IT systems and networks, some of which have involved sophisticated and highly targeted attacks. We believe such incidents are likely to continue, and we are unable to predict the direct or indirect impact of these future attacks on our business.

 

 

There can be no assurance that we will not receive communications from third parties asserting that our products and other intellectual property infringe, or may infringe their proprietary rights. We are not currently subject to any proceedings for infringement of patents or other intellectual property rights and are not aware of any parties that intend to pursue such claims against us except for an initial approach from a competitor asserting a potential infringement which we strongly refute. Any such claim, regardless of merit, could result in litigation, which could result in substantial expenses, divert the attention of management, cause significant delays and materially disrupt the conduct of our business. As a consequence of such claims, we could be required to pay substantial damage awards, develop non-infringing technology, enter into royalty-bearing licensing agreements, stop selling our products or re-brand our products. If it appears necessary, we may seek to license intellectual property that we are alleged to infringe. Such licensing agreements may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. Litigation is inherently uncertain and any adverse decision could result in a loss of our proprietary rights, subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses from others and otherwise negatively affect our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us and our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology, our business, operating results or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

 

 

 

The market price of our ordinary shares has been volatile in the past and may continue to be volatile. Our quarterly financial performance is likely to vary in the future, and may not meet our expectations or the expectations of analysts or investors, which may lead to additional volatility in our share price. Many factors could cause the market price of ordinary shares to fluctuate substantially, including, but not limited to:

 

Share price fluctuations may be exaggerated if the trading volume of our ordinary shares is too low. The lack of a trading market may result in the loss of research coverage by securities analysts. Moreover, we can provide no assurance that any securities analysts will initiate or maintain research coverage of our company and our ordinary shares. If our future quarterly operating results are below the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the price of our ordinary shares would likely decline. Securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies following periods of volatility.

 

 

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted under Nasdaq Rule 5615(a)(3) to follow Israeli corporate governance practices instead of Nasdaq requirements that apply to U.S. companies. As a condition to following Israeli corporate governance practices, we must disclose which requirements we are not following and describe the equivalent Israeli law requirement. We must also provide Nasdaq with a letter from our Israeli outside counsel, certifying that our corporate governance practices are not prohibited by Israeli law. As a result of these exemptions, our shareholders do not have the same protections as are afforded to shareholders of a U.S. company.

 

We currently follow Israeli home country practices with regard to the quorum requirement for shareholder meetings and shareholder approval of equity compensation plans requirements. As permitted under the Israeli Companies Law, 5759-1999, or the Companies Law, our articles of association provide that the quorum for any meeting of shareholders shall be the presence of at least two shareholders present in person or by proxy who hold at least 25% of the voting power of our shares instead of 33% of our issued share capital (as prescribed by Nasdaq’s rules). We do not seek shareholder approval for (i) equity compensation plans in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Law, which does not reflect the requirements of Rule 5635(c), (ii) the issuance of securities that would result in a change of control, which does not reflect the requirements of Rule 5635(b), and (iii) certain private issuances of securities representing more than 20% of our outstanding shares or voting power at below market prices, which does not reflect the requirements of Rule 5635(b).

 

In the future, we may also choose to follow Israeli corporate governance practices instead of Nasdaq requirements with regard to, among other things, the composition of our board of directors, compensation of officers, director nomination procedures and quorum requirements at shareholders’ meetings. In addition, we may choose to follow Israeli corporate governance practice instead of Nasdaq requirements to obtain shareholder approval for certain dilutive events. Accordingly, our shareholders may not be afforded the same protection as provided under Nasdaq corporate governance rules. Following our home country governance practices, as opposed to the requirements that would otherwise apply to a U.S. company listed on Nasdaq, may provide less protection than is accorded to investors of domestic issuers. See “ITEM 16G: Corporate Governance.”

 

 

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules and regulations under the Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required under the Exchange Act to file annual and current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. domestic companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. We are permitted to disclose limited compensation information for our executive officers on an individual basis and we are generally exempt from filing quarterly reports with the SEC under the Exchange Act. Moreover, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material nonpublic information to, among others, broker-dealers and holders of a company’s securities under circumstances in which it is reasonably foreseeable that the holder will trade in the company’s securities on the basis of the information. These exemptions and leniencies reduce the frequency and scope of information and protections to which you may otherwise have been eligible in relation to a U.S. domestic issuer.

 

We would lose our foreign private issuer status if (a) a majority of our outstanding voting securities were either directly or indirectly owned of record by residents of the United States and (b) either (i) a majority of our executive officers or directors were United States citizens or residents, (ii) more than 50% of our assets were located in the United States or (iii) our business were administered principally in the United States. Our loss of foreign private issuer status would make U.S. regulatory provisions mandatory. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws as a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we will be required to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We would also be required to follow U.S. proxy disclosure requirements, including the requirement to disclose, under U.S. law, more detailed information about the compensation of our senior executive officers on an individual basis. We may also be required to modify certain of our policies to comply with accepted governance practices associated with U.S. domestic issuers. Such conversion and modifications will involve additional costs. In addition, we would lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain Nasdaq corporate governance requirements that are available to foreign private issuers.

 

 

A non-U.S. corporation is considered a CFC if more than 50% of (1) the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of such corporation entitled to vote, or (2) the total value of the stock of such corporation, is owned, or is considered as owned by applying certain constructive ownership rules, including certain downward attribution rules by United States shareholders who each own stock representing 10% or more of the vote or 10% or more of the value on any day during the taxable year of such non-U.S. corporation (“10% U.S. Shareholder”). Because our group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries will be treated as CFCs (regardless of whether or not we are treated as a CFC). Generally, 10% U.S. Shareholders of a CFC are required to report annually and include currently in its U.S. taxable income such 10% U.S. Shareholder’s pro rata share of the CFC’s “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income,” and investments in U.S. property by CFCs, regardless of whether we make an actual distribution to such shareholders. “Subpart F income” includes, among other things, certain passive income (such as income from dividends, interests, royalties, rents and annuities or gain from the sale of property that produces such types of income) and certain sales and services income arising in connection with transactions between the CFC and a person related to the CFC.

 

Any individual that is a 10% U.S. Shareholder with respect to a CFC generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a 10% U.S. Shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a 10% U.S. Shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist investors in determining whether any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is treated as a CFC or whether any investor is treated as a 10% U.S. Shareholder with respect to any such CFC or furnish to any 10% United States shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax payment obligations. A United States investor should consult its tax advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to an investment in our ordinary shares.

 

 

 

 

We may provide from time to time guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects. Our guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, and supplier and commodity costs. If our guidance varies from actual results due to our assumptions not being met or the impact on our financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of our ordinary shares could decline significantly.

 

 

 

On February 18, 2022, we issued to Lynrock Lake Master Fund LP a senior unsecured promissory note in an aggregate principal amount of $40 million (the “Note”). The Note is convertible into our ordinary shares at an initial conversion rate of 97.0874 ordinary shares per $1,000 of the principal amount being converted (based on an initial conversion price equal to $10.30 per ordinary share). The conversion price decreases by up to two $1 increments if we elect to extend the maturity of the Note by up to two successive years following the initial maturity date of February 14, 2025. Conversion of the Note would result in dilution to the equity interests of our other shareholders. We have no control over whether or when the holder will exercise its right to convert the Note. We cannot predict the market price of our ordinary shares at any future date, and therefore cannot predict whether the Note will be converted. The existence and potentially dilutive impact of the conversion of the Note may prevent us from obtaining additional financing in the future on acceptable terms, or at all.

 

 

Our indebtedness could have material adverse consequences for our security holders and our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:

 

 

The Note includes financially restrictive covenants that, among other things, limit our ability to incur additional debt. Without the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Note, we may not create, incur, assume or be liable for any indebtedness for borrowed money unless the aggregate principal amount of such indebtedness does not exceed $5 million.

 

The Note matures on February 14, 2025, subject to our right to extend it for two successive years. At maturity, unless converted or redeemed, we will need to repay the principal amount under the Note. Our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under our indebtedness, including the Note, and our cash needs may increase in the future.

 

 

In the event of a change of control, the holder of the Note has the right to require us to convert all or a portion of the Note to ordinary shares or redeem all (but not less than all) of the outstanding principal amount of the Note. In the event of such conversion or redemption in connection with a change of control, we will also be required to pay to the holder an amount in cash equal to 6% per annum of the then-outstanding principal amount of the Note. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to redeem the Note or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion or redemption. In addition, applicable law, regulatory authorities and the agreements governing any future indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the Note or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion or redemption. Our failure to repurchase the Note or to pay the cash amounts due upon conversion or redemption when required will constitute a default under the Note. A default under the Note could also lead to a default under agreements governing any future indebtedness, which may result in that other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full. We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy all amounts due under such other indebtedness and the Note.

 

 

Certain provisions in the Note could make a third-party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover constitutes a change of control, then the noteholder will have the right to convert all or a portion of the Note or redeem all (but not less than all) of the outstanding principal amount of the Note. In this case, and in other cases, our obligations under the Note could increase the cost of acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us, including in a transaction that holders of our ordinary shares may view as favorable.

 

 

 

We are incorporated under Israeli law and our principal offices, research and development division and manufacturing facilities are located in Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in Israel directly affect our business.  Since the State of Israel was established in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Although Israel has entered into various agreements with Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, there has been an increase in unrest and terrorist activity, which began in September 2000 and continued with varying levels of severity throughout 2023.

On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas and other terrorist organizations infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip and conducted a series of attacks on civilian and military targets, including widespread killings and kidnappings. They also launched extensive rocket attacks on the Israeli civilian population. Shortly following the attack, Israel declared war against Hamas. Furthermore, following Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s security cabinet declaration of war against Hamas, the Houthi movement, which controls parts of Yemen, launched a number of attacks on marine vessels traversing the Red Sea, which marine vessels were thought to either be in route towards Israel or to be partly owned by Israeli businessmen. There has also been increased fighting along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The south of Lebanon is occupied by Hezbollah, a paramilitary organization backed by Iran. In addition, Iran has threatened to attack Israel and has been developing a nuclear program.

To date, none of our facilities or infrastructure have been damaged nor have our supply chains been significantly impacted since the war broke out. However, a prolonged war could adversely impact our supply chain and our ability to ship products from Israel, which could disrupt our operations.  Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of events associated with war and terrorism. Although the Israeli government currently covers the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure you that this government coverage will be maintained or that it will sufficiently cover our potential damages. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

In the past, the State of Israel and Israeli companies have been subjected to economic boycotts. Several countries still restrict business with the State of Israel and with Israeli companies. These restrictive laws and policies may have an adverse impact on our operating results, financial condition or the expansion of our business. A campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions has been undertaken against Israel, which could also adversely impact our business.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we employed 559 Employees, of whom 222 were based in Israel. Some of our employees in Israel are obligated to perform annual military reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces, depending on their age and position in the army. Additionally, they may be called to active reserve duty at any time under emergency circumstances for extended periods of time. Our operations could be disrupted by the absence of one or more of our executive officers or key employees for a significant period due to military service and any significant disruption in our operations could harm our business. The full impact on our workforce or business if some of our executive officers and employees are called upon to perform military service, especially in times of national emergency, is difficult to predict.

 

Our investment program in equipment at our facility in Hod-Hasharon, Israel, has been granted Approved Enterprise status and we are therefore eligible for tax benefits under the Israeli Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959, referred to as the Investments Law. We have also been granted benefited enterprise status in prior years, but beginning in 2021, this status is no longer applicable to us. We expect that the Approved Enterprise tax benefits will be available to us after we utilize our net operating loss carry forwards As of December 31, 2023, our net operating loss carry forwards for Israeli tax purposes amounted to approximately $119 million. To remain eligible for these tax benefits, we must continue to meet certain conditions stipulated in the Investments Law and its regulations and the criteria set forth in the specific certificate of approval. If we do not meet these requirements, the tax benefits would be canceled and we could be required to refund any tax benefits and investment grants that we received in the past. Further, in the future these tax benefits may be reduced or discontinued. If these tax benefits are cancelled, our Israeli taxable income would be subject to regular Israeli corporate tax rates. The standard corporate tax rate in Israel since the 2018 tax year is 23%.

 

Effective January 1, 2011, the Investments Law was amended (the “2011 Amendment”) to revise the criteria for receiving tax benefits. Under the transition provisions of the 2011 Amendment, a company may decide to irrevocably implement the 2011 Amendment while waiving benefits provided under the Investments Law’s prior benefits programs or to remain subject to the Investments Law’s prior benefits programs. We have opted not to apply the benefits under the 2011 Amendment, however, in the future, we may not be eligible to receive additional tax benefits as were made available under the Investments Law prior to the 2011 Amendment. The termination or reduction of these tax benefits would increase our tax liability, which would reduce our profits. Finally, in the event of a distribution of a dividend from the abovementioned tax-exempt income, we would also be subject to income tax on the amount distributed in accordance with the effective corporate tax rate which would have been applied had we not enjoyed the exemption. See “ITEM 10: Additional Information-Taxation-Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs.”

 

No assurance can be given that we will be eligible to receive additional tax benefits under the Investments Law in the future. The termination or reduction of these tax benefits would increase our tax liability in the future, which would reduce our profits or increase our losses. Additionally, if we increase our activities outside of Israel, for example, by future acquisitions, our increased activities may not be eligible for inclusion in Israeli tax benefit programs.

 

 

We have received grants from the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly known as the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economy) for the financing of a portion of our research and development expenditures in Israel, pursuant to the provisions of The Encouragement of Research, Development and Innovation in Industry Law, 1984, referred to as the Research and Development Law. In the future we may not receive grants or we may receive significantly smaller grants from the Israel Innovation Authority, and our failure to receive grants in the future could adversely affect our profitability. In 2022, we recognized non-royalty-bearing grants totaling $0.5 million, representing 1% of our gross research and development expenditures. In 2023, we recognized non-royalty-bearing grants totaling $0.6 million, representing 1% of our gross research and development expenditures. In each of the years 2023 and 2022, we qualified to participate in one non-royalty-bearing research and development program, funded by the Israel Innovation Authority to develop generic technology relevant to the development of our products. Such programs are approved pursuant to special provisions of the Research and Development Law. In the past three years, we were eligible to receive grants constituting of up to 53% of certain research and development expenses relating to these programs. Although the grants under these programs are not required to be repaid by way of royalties, the restrictions of the Research and Development Law described below apply to these programs.

 

The provisions of the Research and Development Law and the terms of the Israel Innovation Authority grants prohibit us from transferring manufacturing products which we originally planned to manufacture in Israel outside of Israel if they incorporate technologies funded by the Israel Innovation Authority, and from transferring intellectual property rights in technologies developed using these grants, without special approvals from the Israel Innovation Authority.

 

Even if we receive approval to manufacture our products outside of Israel, we may be required to pay an increased total amount of royalties, which may be up to 150% of the grant amount plus interest, depending on our manufacturing volume outside Israel. This restriction may impair our ability to outsource manufacturing or engage in similar arrangements for those products or technologies. Know-how developed under an approved research and development program may not be transferred to any third-parties, except in certain circumstances and subject to prior approval. Similarly, even if we receive approval to transfer intellectual property rights in technologies developed using these grants, we may be required to repay up to 6 times of the original grants plus LIBOR interest to the Israel Innovation Authority. In addition, if we fail to comply with any of the conditions and restrictions imposed by the Research and Development Law or by the specific terms under which we received the grants, we may be required to refund any grants previously received together with interest and penalties, and we may be subject to criminal charges.

 

 

We are incorporated in Israel. The majority of our executive officers and directors, and our auditors are not residents of the U.S., and the majority of our assets and the assets of these persons are located outside the U.S. Therefore, it may be difficult for an investor, or any other person or entity, to enforce a U.S. court judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us or any of these persons in a U.S. or Israeli court, or to effect service of process upon these persons in the United States. Additionally, it may be difficult for an investor, or any other person or entity, to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Israel. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on a violation of U.S. securities laws on the grounds that Israel is not the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. Even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is little binding case law in Israel addressing the matters described above.

 

 

Our articles of association contain certain provisions that may delay or prevent a change of control, including a classified board of directors. In addition, Israeli corporate law regulates acquisitions of shares through tender offers and mergers, requires special approvals for transactions involving significant shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to these types of transactions. These provisions of Israeli law could delay or prevent a change in control and may make it more difficult for third-parties to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our shareholders, and may limit the price that investors may be willing to pay for our ordinary shares in the future. Furthermore, Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions undesirable to us or to some of our shareholders. See “ITEM 10: Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association-Acquisitions under Israeli Law” and “-Anti-Takeover Measures.”

 

 

 

We may, from time to time, voluntarily publish guidance regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of relevant release. Any such guidance is based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, is inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. The principal reason that we may release this data is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business outlook with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by any such persons. Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be expected that some or all of the assumptions of the guidance furnished by us will not materialize or will vary significantly from actual results. Further, our sales during any given quarter tend to be unevenly distributed as individual orders tend to close in greater numbers immediately prior to the relevant quarter end and further. Our revenues from individual customers may also fluctuate from time to time based on the timing and the terms under which further orders are received and the duration of the delivery and implementation of such orders. Therefore, if our projected sales do not close before the end of the relevant quarter, our actual results may be inconsistent with our published guidance. Accordingly, our guidance is only an estimate of what management believes is realizable as of the date of release. Actual results will vary from the guidance and the variations may be material. Investors should also recognize that the reliability of any forecasted financial data diminishes the farther in the future that the data is forecast. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged to consider any guidance we may publish in context and not to place undue reliance on it.

 

 

Significant political or regulatory developments in the jurisdictions in which we sell our products, such as those stemming from the recent change in the presidential administration in the U.S. or the U.K.’s exit from the E.U., are difficult to predict and may have a material adverse effect on us. For example, in the United States, tariffs have recently been imposed on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and other countries, and there may be further restrictions on free trade and has increased tariffs on goods imported into the United States. Changes in U.S. political, regulatory and economic conditions or in its policies governing international trade and foreign manufacturing and investment in the U.S. could materially adversely affect our sales in the U.S.

 

In the United Kingdom, following the vote to approve an exit from the E.U., commonly referred to as “Brexit,” the government officially separated from the E.U. on January 31, 2020. A transition period ended on December 31, 2020, during which the U.K. and the E.U. negotiated the terms of the U.K.’s relationship with the E.U. going forward. With the implementation of the E.U.-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement beginning on January 1, 2021, it is still unclear how the deal will impact relationships within the U.K. and between the U.K. and other countries on many aspects of fiscal policy, cross-border trade and international relations. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement could potentially disrupt the free movement of goods, services and people between the U.K. and the E.U., undermine bilateral cooperation in key geographic areas and significantly disrupt trade between the U.K. and the E.U. or other nations as the U.K. pursues independent trade relations. Because this is an unprecedented event, it is unclear what long-term economic, financial, trade, tax and legal implications Brexit would have and how it would affect the regulation applicable to our business globally and in the region. The impact on us will depend, in part, on the outcome of tariff, trade, regulatory and other negotiations. Brexit could also lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which E.U. laws to replace or replicate. In addition, Brexit may lead other E.U. member countries to consider referendums regarding their European Union membership. Any of these developments, along with any political, economic and regulatory changes that may occur, could cause political and economic uncertainty in Europe and internationally and could materially adversely affect our sales in Europe.

 

 

Part of our strategy is to selectively pursue partnerships and acquisitions. We have acquired a number of companies in the past. The negotiation of acquisitions, investments or joint ventures, as well as the integration of acquired or jointly developed businesses or technologies, could divert our management’s time and resources. Acquired businesses, technologies or joint ventures may not be successfully integrated with our products and operations and we may not realize the intended benefits of these acquisitions. We may also incur future losses from any acquisition, investment or joint venture. In addition, acquisitions could result in:

 

 

As we operate in the global market, we are subject to taxation in Israel and various jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. Our tax expenses include the impact of tax exposures in certain jurisdictions, and may also be affected by adverse changes in the underlying profitability and financial outlook of our operations or changes in tax laws, including introduction of unilateral taxation such as digital services taxes in certain countries, international tax treaties, guidelines such as the OECD inclusive framework on BEPS, proposed regimes informally known as Pillar 2 which apply to large multinational corporations, or EU ATAD I and II, all of which could lead to an increase in our effective tax rate or to changes in our valuation allowances against deferred tax assets on our consolidated balance sheets. Furthermore, we are subject to tax audits by governmental authorities everywhere we do business. If we experience unfavorable results from one or more such tax audits, there could be an adverse effect on our tax rate and therefore on our net income. Our results of operations may also be affected by changes in tax laws, tax rates or double tax treaties.

 

London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interest rates that are indices deemed to be “benchmarks” are the subject of recent and ongoing national, international and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. Some of these reforms are already effective, while others are still to be implemented. These reforms may cause such benchmarks to perform differently than in the past, or to disappear entirely as in the case of LIBOR, or have other consequences that cannot be predicted. Any such consequence could have a material adverse effect on our future debt linked to such a “benchmark” and our ability to service debt that bears interest at floating rates of interest.

 

 

We do not have a controlling shareholder. Notwithstanding provisions of our articles of association and Israeli law, a decline in the price of our ordinary shares may result in us becoming subject to an unsolicited or hostile acquisition bid. In the event that such a bid is publicly disclosed, it may result in increased speculation regarding our company and volatility in our share price even if our board of directors decides not to pursue a transaction. If our board of directors does pursue a transaction, there can be no assurance that it will be consummated successfully or that the price paid will represent a premium above the original price paid for our shares by all of our shareholders.

 

Additionally, in recent years, U.S. and non-U.S. companies listed on securities exchanges in the United States have been faced with governance-related demands from activist shareholders, unsolicited tender offers and proxy contests. Although as a foreign private issuer we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules, responding to any action of this type by activist shareholders could be costly and time-consuming, disrupting our operations and diverting the attention of management and our employees. Such activities could interfere with our ability to execute our strategic plans. In addition, a proxy contest for the election of directors at our annual meeting would require us to incur significant legal fees and proxy solicitation expenses and require significant time and attention by management and our board of directors. The perceived uncertainties due to such actions of activist shareholders also could affect the market price of our securities.

 

 

We are a party to lawsuits in the normal course of our business. Litigation can be expensive, lengthy, and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. Unfavorable resolution of lawsuits could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, or financial condition.

 

 

 

Our legal and commercial name is Allot Ltd. We were incorporated on November 12, 1996. We are a company limited by shares organized under the laws of the State of Israel. Our principal executive offices are located at 22 Hanagar Street, Neve Ne’eman Industrial Zone B, Hod-Hasharon 4501317, Israel, and our telephone number is +972 (9) 761-9200. We have irrevocably appointed Allot Communications Inc. as our agent to receive service of process in any action against us in any United States federal or state court. The address of Allot Communications Inc. is 1500 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803.

 

Our website address is www.allot.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this annual report and is not incorporated by reference herein. We have included our website address in this annual report solely for informational purposes. Our SEC filings are available to you on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The information on that website is not part of this annual report and is not incorporated by reference herein.

 

 

 

We are a provider of leading innovative security solutions and network intelligence solutions for mobile, fixed and cloud service providers as well as enterprises worldwide. For 25 years, our solutions have been deployed globally for network-based security, including mobile security, distributed denial of service (“DDoS”) protection and Internet of Things (“IoT”) security, network and application analytics, traffic control and shaping, and more. More recently, we have cultivated a strategic focus on the expansion and advancement of our SECaaS product offerings.

 

The Company delivers a unified security service for individual consumers and small and medium-sized businesses (“SMBs”), at home, at work and on the go, with the Allot Secure product family. Our Allot Security Management product is, to our knowledge, the only platform that unifies security services for mobile, fixed and 5G converged networks.

 

Our industry-leading network-based SECaaS solution has previously achieved up to 50% penetration with some service providers and is already used by over 20 million subscribers globally. Our multi-service platforms (AllotSmart) are deployed by over 500 mobile, fixed and cloud service providers and over 1,000 enterprises.

 

We have a global and diverse customer base composed of mobile and fixed broadband service providers, cable operators, satellite service providers, private networks, data centers, governments, and enterprises such as financial and educational institutions. We have a strong backlog representing customers’ orders for products and services not yet recognized as revenues. Backlog is subject to delivery delays or program cancellations, which are beyond our control.

 

With over 20 years of experience empowering service providers and enterprises to get more out of their networks and to manage them better, we enable network operators and enterprises to detect security breaches, to protect their own networks and their users from attacks, to clearly see and understand their networks from within, to optimize, innovate and capitalize on every opportunity, to learn about users and network behaviors, and to improve Quality of Service (“QoS”) and reduce costs, all while increasing value to customers and deploying new services faster.

 

Through our combination of innovative technology, proven know-how and collaborative approach to industry standards and partnerships, we deliver solutions that equip service providers with the capabilities to elevate their role as premier digital services providers and to expand into new business opportunities. We offer our customers market leading, proprietary technologies that are powerful, diverse and scalable. In addition, we have developed significant industry know-how and expertise through our experience in designing and implementing use cases with our large customer base.

 

We generated total revenues of $93 million in the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of 24% over the prior year. In 2023, 23% of our revenues were attributable to security solutions, and 77% of our revenues were attributable to network intelligence solutions.

 

Industry Overview

 

 

As the number of networks, applications and network-connected devices has increased, consumers and SMBs have become increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats and crime, and communication service providers (“CSPs”) have begun to encounter complex operational challenges requiring nuanced solutions.

 

 

 

The rapid proliferation of broadband networks in recent years has been driven largely by demand from users for faster and more reliable access to the Internet and by the increased number and complexity of broadband applications, as well as the proliferation of mobile smartphones, tablets and other Internet-connected devices. As a result of this rapid proliferation, service providers have been forced to invest heavily in network infrastructure upgrades and customer support services to maintain the quality of experience for subscribers. Further, the cost of increasing the bandwidth in mobile networks is significantly higher than that in wireline networks, and mobile operators require intelligent bandwidth management solutions to handle increased data traffic and the requirement for continuous low-latency transmission. Moreover, to offset the increased investment and operational costs, CSPs need to be able to offer premium services to consumers. To offer premium services, to guarantee high-quality delivery of content and user experience, to optimize bandwidth utilization and to reduce operational costs, CSPs need enhanced visibility into and control of network traffic, including visibility into the type of applications used on the network and levels of traffic generated by different subscribers.

 

 

 

For CSPs offering the Allot solutions as security services to their subscribers, the Allot SECaaS solutions are offered to the CSPs on a revenue sharing basis, in which both Allot and the operator share the revenue generated from the operator’s subscribers for the use of Allot security services, or offered for a fixed yearly fee or a fixed fee up to an agreed number of subscribers.

 

 

Allot provides a comprehensive security solution, referred to as Allot Secure 360, to protect network customers, network service integrity and brand reputation. Allot’s SECaaS solutions enable operators to secure subscribers against online threats and harmful content by providing network-based SECaaS to their customers. Allot Secure 360 provides consumers with a 360-degree security architecture-complete, end-to-end protection anywhere, against any cyber threat, and on any device.

 

  

 

 

 

In addition to our comprehensive and sophisticated security offerings, our integrated network visibility and traffic management solutions, together called AllotSmart, provide network visibility and control and allow mobile, fixed and enterprise operators to elevate their role in the digital lifestyle ecosystem and expand into new business opportunities. AllotSmart provides our customers with the potential to increase their revenues by monetizing network usage through value-added products and services, implementing value-based charging and reducing costs by optimizing the delivery and performance of OTT content and cloud computing services. AllotSmart also promotes improved customer loyalty by enabling service providers to offer a selection of service tiers and digital lifestyle options, empowering customers to personalize their network experience. In addition, AllotSmart enables telecommunication providers to comply with a wide range of regulatory requirements aimed to assist governments with securing the public. Our products enable both CSPs and our governmental and law enforcement customers to monitor the content of internet traffic in order to oversee compliance with legal and law enforcement requirements.

Allot Smart offering includes the following solutions:

 

The Allot NetXplorer is the management umbrella for our devices, platforms and solutions, providing a central access point for network-wide monitoring, reporting, analytics, troubleshooting, accounting and Quality of Service policy provisioning. Its user-friendly interface provides our customers with a comprehensive overview of the application, user, device and network topology traffic, while its wide variety of reports provide accessible, detailed analyses of granular traffic data.

 

 

     

 

 

We market and sell our products to end-customers both by direct sales and through channel partners, which include distributors, resellers, OEMs and system integrators. A significant portion of our sales occur through our channel partners. In 2023, approximately 42% of our revenues were derived from channel partners. In some cases, our channel partners are also responsible for installing and providing initial customer support for our products, with our continuous technical assistance. In the majority of the cases, the partners are responsible for the initial customer support (Tier 1 support), while we act as the escalation level. Our channel partners are located around the world and address most major markets. Our channel partners target a range of end-users, including carriers, alternative carriers, cable operators, private networks, data centers and enterprises in a wide range of industries, including government, financial institutions and education. Our agreements with channel partners that are distributors or resellers are generally non-exclusive, for an initial term of one year and automatically renew for successive one-year terms unless terminated. After the first year, such agreements may typically be terminated by either party upon ninety days prior notice.

 

We offer support to our channel partners. This support includes the generation of leads through marketing events, seminars and web-based leads and incentive programs as well as technical and sales training.

 

 

Our product sales cycle varies based on the intended use by the end-customer. The sales cycle for initial network deployment may generally last between twelve and twenty-four months for large and medium service providers, six to twelve months for small service providers, and one to six months for enterprises. Follow-on orders and additional deployment of our products usually require shorter cycles. Large and medium service providers generally take longer to plan the integration of our solutions into their existing networks and to set goals for the implementation of the technology.

 

Beginning in late 2022, we changed our SECaaS sales strategy to target strategic accounts that have high revenue potential, while ensuring small to medium sized deals have customer assurances or minimum revenue threshold. Moving forward, the number of our SECaaS deals will likely drop, but we anticipate the total sales potential will remain the same as was expected under the prior SECaaS sales strategy, and we believe the emphasis on larger customers with a minimum guaranteed revenues will help us achieve profitability sooner.

 

We focus our marketing efforts on product positioning, increasing brand awareness, communicating product advantages and generating qualified leads for our sales organization. We rely on a variety of marketing communications channels, including our website, trade shows, industry research and professional publications, the press and special events to gain wider market exposure, as well as an internal cyber marketing team.

 

We have organized our worldwide sales efforts into the following regions: North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia and Oceania. We have regional offices in Spain, Italy, France, Singapore, India, Kazakhstan, Japan, Colombia and Israel. As of December 31, 2023, our sales and marketing staff, including product management and business development functions, consisted of 116 Employees.

 

 

We believe our technical support and professional services capabilities are a key element of our sales strategy. Our technical staff provides project management, delivery, training, support and professional services, as well as assists in presale activities and advises channel partners on the integration of our solutions into end-customer networks. Our basic warranty to end-customers (directly or through our partners) is three months for software and twelve months for hardware. Generally, end-customers are also offered a choice of one year or multi-year customer support programs when they purchase our products. These customer support programs can be renewed at the end of their terms. Our end-customer support plans generally offer the following features:

Our support plans are designed to maximize network up-time and minimize operating costs. Our customers, including partners and their end-customers, are entitled to take advantage of our around-the-clock technical support, which we provide through our seven support centers located in France, Israel, Singapore, India, Colombia, Spain and the United States. We also offer our customers 24-hour access to an external web-based technical knowledge base, which provides technical support information and, in the case of our channel partners, enables them to support their customers independently and obtain follow up and support from us.

 

We also offer particular professional services, such as network audit, solution design, project management, business intelligence reports, customer project documentation, integration services, interoperability testing and training.

 

The expenditures associated with the technical support staff are allocated in our statements of comprehensive loss between sale and marketing expenses and cost of goods sold, based on the roles of and tasks performed by personnel.

 

As of December 31, 2023, our technical staff consisted of 147 Employees, including 57 technical support persons, 79 deployment and professional services engineers, 11 documentation and training persons, and 1 Management.

 

 

Our research and development activities take place primarily in Israel. We also have research and development activities in Spain and India. In addition, since 2020 we have been using subcontractors in Ukraine, Israel and Belarus to source research and development engineers. We devote a significant amount of our resources towards research and development in order to introduce new products and continuously enhance existing products and to support our growth strategy. We have assembled a core team of experienced engineers, many of whom are leaders in their particular field or discipline and have technical degrees from top universities and have experience working for leading Israeli or international networking companies. These engineers are involved in advancing our core technologies, as well as in applying these core technologies to our product development activities. In previous years, our research and development efforts have benefited from non-royalty-bearing grants from the Israel Innovation Authority. As of December 31, 2023, there are no outstanding royalties due from us to the Israel Innovation Authority. In 2023, we received additional grants from the Israel Innovation Authority; however, these grants do not bear royalties. Under the terms of those grants, we are required to perform our manufacturing activities within the state of Israel, as a condition to maintaining these benefits. The State of Israel does not own any proprietary rights in technology developed with the Innovation Authority funding and there is no restriction related to the Israel Innovation Authority on the export of products manufactured using technology developed with the Israel Innovation Authority funding (other limitations on export apply under applicable law). In addition, we have received during 2023 grants from the Spain Tax Authority. For a description of restrictions on the transfer of the technology and with respect to manufacturing rights, please see “ITEM 3: Key Information-Risk Factors-The government grants we have received for research and development expenditures require us to satisfy specified conditions and restrict our ability to manufacture products and transfer technologies outside of Israel. If we fail to comply with these conditions or such restrictions, we may be required to refund grants previously received together with interest and penalties and may be subject to criminal charges.”

 

 

We subcontract the integration of our software products with off-the-shelf hardware platforms provided mainly by Lenovo and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Based on verbal understandings, Arrow ocs (Israel) performs the integration of the software product with HPE servers, while Malam-Team (Israel) performs the integration of such software with Lenovo Servers. Such hardware components are manufactured in accordance with the design of our products.

 

Some of the hardware components of our products are obtained from single or limited sources. Since our products have been designed to incorporate these specific components, any change in these components due to an interruption in supply or our inability to obtain such components on a timely basis may require engineering changes to our products before we could incorporate substitute components. The global semiconductor shortage could increase the possibility of making such engineering changes, or taking other remedial measures, as many of our suppliers use semiconductors in the products we require.

 

We also purchase off-the-shelf hardware components from single or limited sources for our security and Traffic Management products. We carry approximately three to nine months of inventory of key components. We also work closely with our suppliers to monitor the end-of-life of the product cycle for integral components, and believe that in the event that they announce end of life, we will be able to increase our inventory to allow enough time for replacing such components. The agreements with our suppliers do not contain any minimum purchase or supply commitments. Product testing and quality assurance is performed by our integrators using tests and automated testing equipment and according to controlled test documentation we specify. We also use inspection testing and statistical process controls to assure the quality and reliability of our products.

 

 

We compete against large companies in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive sector of the networking technology market, which offer, or may offer in the future, competing technologies, including partial or alternative solutions to operators’ and enterprises’ challenges, and which, similarly to us, intensely pursue the largest service providers (referred to as Tier 1 operators) as well as large enterprises. Our DPI technology enabled offerings face significant competition from router and switch infrastructure companies that integrate functionalities into their platforms addressing some of the same types of issues that our products are designed to address. This competition is expected to intensify as expansion of 5G networks progresses. We do not anticipate growth in our DPI segment for the 2024 fiscal year.

 

Our security products, which are offered to operators and are deployed in their networks for the purpose of enabling them to provide security services to their end customers, are subject to competition from companies which offer security products, based on different technology and marketing and sales approaches. Primarily we compete by providing a network native architecture that allows zero touch operation by the end-user. Additionally, we compete on the basis of product performance, ease of use and installation, customer support, ability to integrate multiple solutions over our management system and price.

 

Our security product offerings face significant competition from companies that directly approach end customers and offer them security applications to be installed on their devices; companies that approach the business enterprise sector through distribution channels and offer cloud security products; and companies that offer security products bundled with other products. By offering our security products to operators that provide security services to both small and medium size business and individual end customers, we aim to expand the reach of our products.

 

See “ITEM 3: Key Information-Risk Factors-Our revenues and business may be adversely affected if we do not effectively compete in the markets in which we operate.”

 

 

Our intellectual property rights are very important to our business. We believe that the complexity of our products and the know-how incorporated into them makes it difficult to copy them or replicate their features. We rely on a combination of confidentiality and other protective clauses in our agreements, copyright and trade secrets to protect our know-how. We also restrict access to our servers physically and through closed networks since our product designs and software are stored electronically and thus are highly portable.

 

We customarily require our employees, subcontractors, customers, distributors, resellers, software testers, technology partners and contractors to execute confidentiality agreements or agree to confidentiality undertakings when their relationship with us begins. Typically, our employment contracts also include assignment of intellectual property rights for all inventions developed by employees, non-disclosure of all confidential information, and non-compete clauses, which generally restrict the employee for six months following termination of employment. The enforceability of non-compete clauses in certain jurisdictions in which we operate may be limited. See “ITEM 3: Key Information-Risk Factors-If we are unable to successfully protect the intellectual property embodied in our technology, our business could be harmed significantly.”

 

The communications equipment industry is characterized by constant product changes resulting from new technological developments, performance improvements and lower hardware costs. We believe that our future growth depends to a large extent on our ability to be an innovator in the development and application of hardware and software technology. As we develop the next generation products, we initiated and continuously pursue patent protection for our core technologies in the telecommunications market. We have and plan to continue to seek patent protection in our largest markets and our competitors’ markets, for example in the United States and Europe. As we continue to spread our business into additional markets, such as Japan and Australia, we will evaluate how best to protect our technologies in those markets. We intend to vigorously prosecute and defend the rights of our intellectual property.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we had 35 issued U.S. patents, 4 U.S. reissued patents, and 3pending U.S. patent applications. We expect to formalize our evaluation process for determining which inventions to protect by patents or other means. We cannot be certain that patents will be issued as a result of the patent applications we have filed.

 

 

Due to the industry and geographic diversity of our operations and services, our operations are subject to a variety of rules and regulations, and several government agencies in the United States, the E.U. and other countries regulate various aspects of our business. See the following risk factors in “ITEM 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors” for more information on regulation material to our business, financial condition and results of operations:

 

Additionally, see “ITEM 5: Overview-Government Grants” for a description of grants received from the Israel Innovation Authority of the Ministry of Economy and “ITEM 10: Additional Information-Taxation-United States Federal Income Taxation-Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” for a description of classification as a “passive foreign investment company,” or a PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes.

 

 

As a provider of innovative network intelligence and security solutions for mobile and fixed service providers, we are particularly sensitive about the possibility of cyber-attacks and data theft. A breach of our system could provide data information about us and the customers that our solutions protect. Further, we may be targeted by cyber-terrorists because we are an Israeli company. We are also aware of the material impact that an actual or perceived breach of our network may have on the market perception of our products and services and on our potential liability. In 2022, we believe we have successfully prevented all cyber-attack and breach attempts, with no impact on our ongoing operations.

 

We are focused on instituting new technologies and solutions to assist in the prevention of potential and attempted cyber-attacks, as well as protective measures and contingency plans in the event of an existing attack. For instance, in our internal IT systems, we employ identity and access controls, next-gen endpoint protection and other security measures that we believe make our infrastructure less susceptible to cyber-attacks. We also continuously monitor our IT networks and systems for intrusions and regularly maintain our backup and protective systems. We have made certain updates to our IT infrastructure to enhance our ability to prevent and respond to such threats and we routinely test the infrastructure for vulnerabilities.

 

We conduct periodic trainings for our employees in this respect on phishing, malware and other cybersecurity risks to the Company. We also have mechanisms in place designed to ensure prompt internal reporting of potential or actual cybersecurity breaches, and maintain compliance programs to address the potential applicability of restrictions on trading while in possession of material, nonpublic information generally and in connection with a cybersecurity breach. Finally, our agreements with third parties also typically contain provisions that reduce or limit our exposure to liability.

 

 

As of December 31, 2023, we held directly and indirectly the percentage indicated of the outstanding capital of the following subsidiaries:

   

 

* Allot Ltd also holds a branch in Colombia.

 

Our principal administrative and research and development activities are located in our approximately 57,048 square foot (5,300 square meter) facilities in Hod-Hasharon, Israel. The leases for our facilities vary in dates and terms, with the main facility’s non-stabilized lease expiring in February 2025.

 

We also lease a total of 7,664 square feet (712 square meters) in two facilities in Spain, mainly for our sales and research and development operations in Spain, pursuant to lease agreements. The lease agreement of our main site in Spain was renewed for three years in 2023 till 2026.

   

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

We are a leading provider of innovative network intelligence and security solutions that enable service providers and enterprises to protect and personalize the digital experience and monetize on their networks. Our flexible and highly scalable service delivery framework leverages the intelligence in data networks, enabling service providers to get closer to their customers, safeguard network assets and users, and accelerate time-to-revenue for value-added services. Our customers use our solutions to create sophisticated policies to monitor network applications, enforce quality of service policies that guarantee mission-critical application performance, mitigate security risks and leverage network infrastructure investments.

 

We market and sell our products through a variety of channels, including direct sales and through our channel partners, which include distributors, resellers, OEMs and system integrators. We have a diversified end-customer base consisting primarily of service providers, enterprises, government and law enforcement entities. The resulting intelligent, content-aware broadband networks enable our customers to accurately monitor and manage network traffic per application, subscriber, network topology and device.

 

In 2023, the primary drivers of our revenues were the mobile and fixed markets.

 

 

 

We generate revenues from two sources: (1) sales of our network traffic management systems, our network management application solutions and platforms, and our security solution to telecom providers and (2) the provision of maintenance and support services and professional services, including installation and training. We generally provide maintenance and support services pursuant to a maintenance and support program, which may be purchased by customers at the time of product purchase or on a renewal basis.

 

We recognize revenue under the core principle that transfer of control of our products or services to our customers should be reflected by an amount that represents the consideration we expect to receive in revenue. As such, we identify a contract with a customer, identify the performance obligations in the contract, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation in the contract and recognize revenues when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation. Apart from our Security-as-a-Service deals, we typically grant a one-year hardware and three-month software warranty on all of our products, or one-year hardware and software warranty to customers that purchase annual maintenance and support. As part of our Security-as-a-Service offering, the maintenance and support services are inherent to the security service fee. Typically, our support contracts with our customers provide hot line support, warranty, and software updates and upgrades if and when available. We record a provision for warranty at the time the product’s revenue is recognized. We estimate the liability of possible warranty claims based on our historical experience. Warranty claims have to date been immaterial to our results of operations. Maintenance and support revenues are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the applicable maintenance and support agreement. See “-Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates-Revenue Recognition” below.

 

Geographical breakdown. See “-Operating Results-Results of Operations-Revenues.” for the geographic breakdown of our revenues by percentage for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023.

 

 

 

We believe that measuring our products’ cost of revenues and gross margins is helpful to understand our financial statements and results of operations because it enables the investors to evaluate the company’s effectiveness in its operations. In addition, our management team uses these metrics to monitor the company’s performance.

 

 

Research and development. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, costs for subcontractor services, depreciation, rent and costs of materials consumed in connection with the design and development of our products. We expense all of our research and development costs as they are incurred. Our net research and development expenses are comprised of gross research and development expenses offset by financing through grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and Spain Tax Authority. Such participation grants are recognized at the time at which we are entitled to such grants on the basis of the costs incurred and included as a deduction of research and development expenses (see “-Government Grants” below). We believe that significant investment in research and development, including hiring high quality research and development personnel, is essential to our future success.

 

Sales and marketing. Our sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, travel expenses, costs associated with promotional activities such as public relations, conventions and exhibitions, rental expenses, depreciation and commissions paid to third parties, promote our brand, establish new marketing channels and expand our presence worldwide.

 

General and administrative. Our general and administrative expenses consist of salaries and related personnel costs, rental expenses, costs for professional services, credit loss expenses and depreciation. General and administrative expenses also include costs associated with corporate governance, VAT and other tax expenses and regulatory compliance, compliance with the rules implemented by the SEC, Nasdaq and the TASE and premiums for our director and officer liability insurance.

 

 

Our facilities in Hod-Hasharon, Israel have been granted Approved Enterprise status under the Encouragement of Capital Investments Law, 1959, and enjoy certain tax benefits under this program. We intend to utilize these tax benefits after we utilize our net operating loss carry forwards. As of December 31, 2023, our net operating loss carry forwards for Israeli tax purposes totaled approximately $119 million. Income derived from other sources, other than through our “Approved Enterprise” status, during the benefit period will be subject to the regular corporate tax rate.

 

 

Our research and development efforts have been financed, in part, through grants from the Israel Innovation Authority under our approved plans in accordance with the Research and Development Law. In 2022 and 2023, we received grants from the Israel Innovation Authority through non-royalty bearing programs. In addition, during 2021, 2022 and 2023, we received non-royalty bearing grants from the Spain Tax Authority.

 

 

Our business, financial position and results of operations, as well as the period-to-period comparability of our financial results, are significantly affected by a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

 

Customer concentration. The revenues derived from our largest customer in each of the past three years were 15%, 8% and 11% of our total revenues in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The revenues derived from our second largest customer amounted to 9%, 7% and 9% of our total revenues for 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. While we have some visibility into the likely scope of the customers’ projects, our relationships are conducted solely on a purchase order basis and we do not have any commitment for future purchase orders from these customers. The loss of any of such third parties could harm our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Size of end-customers and sales cycles. We have a global, diversified end-customer base consisting primarily of service providers, enterprises, government and law enforcement entities. The deployment of our products by small and midsize enterprises and service providers can be completed relatively quickly. Large service providers take longer to plan the integration of our solutions into their existing networks and to set goals for the implementation of the technology. Sales to large service providers are therefore more complicated as they involve a relatively larger number of network elements and solutions. We are seeking to obtain further significant customers in the large service provider market that would positively impact our future performance, but could decrease our market share. The longer sales cycles associated with the increased sales to large service providers of our platforms may increase the unpredictability of the timing of our sales and may cause our quarterly and annual operating results to fluctuate if a significant customer delays its purchasing decision and/or defers an order. Furthermore, longer sales cycles may result in delays from the time we increase our operating expenses and make investments in inventory to the time that we generate revenue from related product sales.

 

Average selling prices. Our performance is affected by the selling prices of our products. We price our products based on several factors, including manufacturing costs, the stage of the product’s life cycle, competition, technical complexity of the product, and discounts given to channel partners in certain territories. We typically are able to charge the highest price for a product when it is first introduced to the market. We expect that the average selling prices for our products will decrease over each product’s life cycle as our competitors introduce new products. In order to maintain or increase our current prices, we expect that we will need to enhance the functionality of our existing products by offering higher system speeds, additional products and features, such as additional security functions, supporting additional applications and providing enhanced reporting tools. We also from time to time introduce enhanced products, typically higher-end models that include new architecture and design and new capabilities that will be offered for an additional charge. Such enhanced products typically increase our average selling price. To further offset such declines, we sell maintenance and support programs for our products, and as our customer base and number of field installations grow, our related service revenues are expected to increase.

 

 

Currency exposure. A majority of our revenues in previous years and a substantial portion of our expenses are denominated in the U.S. dollar. However, a significant portion of our revenues is incurred in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, for example in Euros. In addition, a significant portion of our expenses, associated with our global operations, including personnel and facilities-related expenses, are incurred in currencies other than the U.S. dollar; this is the case primarily in Israel and to a lesser extent in other countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Consequently, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to local currencies will increase the dollar cost of our operations in these countries. A relative decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar would be partially offset to the extent that we generate revenues in such currencies. In order to partially mitigate this exposure, we have decided in the past and may decide from time to time in the future to enter into hedging transactions. We may discontinue hedging activities at any time. As such decisions involve substantial judgment and assessments primarily regarding future trends in foreign exchange markets, which are very volatile, as well as our future level and timing of cash flows of these currencies, we cannot provide any assurance that such hedging transactions will not affect our results of operations when they are realized. See Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report for further information. Also see “ITEM 11: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.”

 

Interest rate exposure. We have a significant amount of cash that is currently invested primarily in interest bearing vehicles, such as bank time deposits and available for sale marketable securities. These investments expose us to risks associated with interest rate fluctuations See “ITEM 11: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.”

 

 

The following table sets forth our statements of operations as a percentage of revenues for the periods indicated:

 

 

 

See “ITEM 4B: Information on Allot-Business Overview-Customers” for the geographic breakdown of our revenues by percentage for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

 

 

 

 

Product revenues comprised 40.4% of our total revenues in 2023, a decrease of 9.3% compared to 2022 while the services revenues portion of total revenues comprised 59.6% of our total revenues in 2023, an increase by 9.3%.

 

 

 

 

Total gross margin decreased from 67.5% in 2022 to 56.6% in 2023.

 

 

 

 

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses increased by $18.7 million, or 116.9%, to $34.7 million in 2023 from $16 million in 2022. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in credit loss expenses. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues increased to 37.2% in 2023 from 13% in 2022.

 

Financial income, net. In 2023 we had $3.2 million financial income, net. In 2022, we had $2.1 million financial income, net. The change in 2023 was mainly attributed to an increase in interest income as well as income from discount amortization on marketable securities.

Income tax expense.  In 2023 we had $1 million Income tax expense. In 2022 we had $1.9 million Income tax expense. The change in 2023 was mainly attributed to the decrease in revenue.

 

For a discussion of our operating results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, see “ITEM 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects-Operating Results” of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 28, 2023.

 

 

 

Based on our current business plan, we believe that our existing cash balances will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months. If our estimates of revenues, expense or capital or liquidity requirements change or are inaccurate and are insufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or arrange additional debt financing. In addition, we may seek to sell additional equity or arrange debt financing to give us financial flexibility to pursue attractive acquisitions or investment opportunities that may arise in the future.

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities in 2023 was $29.7 million. Net cash used in operating activities consisted mainly of a net loss of $62.8 million, depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $8.1 million, $8.8 million of share-based compensation expense, a decrease of $1.4 million in inventory, a decrease of $1.6 million in employees and payroll accruals, a decrease of $34.3 million in trade receivables, a decrease of $10.7 million in trade payables, a decrease of $1.1 million in other payables and accrued expenses, a decrease of $0.5 million in other receivables and prepaid expenses, a decrease of $5.8 million in deferred revenues and a decrease of $1 million related to other operating activities. The change in employees and payroll accruals, trade payables and other receivables and prepaid expenses was mainly due to advanced payments to suppliers and payroll-related items occurring in 2022.

 

During 2022, we had $32.6 million in cash and cash equivalents from operating activities. Net cash used in operating activities consisted mainly of a net loss of $32 million, depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $7.4 million, $9.2 million of share-based compensation expense, a decrease of $2.2 million in inventory, a decrease of $0.4 million in employees and payroll accruals, an increase of $11.6 million in trade receivables, an increase of $7.7 million in trade payables, a decrease of $1.7 in other payables and accrued expenses, an increase of $0.1 million in other receivables and prepaid expenses, a decrease of $10 million in deferred revenues and $1.1 million related to other operating activities. The change in employees and payroll accruals, trade payables and other receivables and prepaid expenses was mainly due to advanced payments to suppliers and payroll-related items.

 

 

 

 

We expect that our capital expenditure will total approximately $2.1 million in 2024. We anticipate that these capital expenditures will be primarily related to purchase of equipment of SECaaS deals and to further investments in lab equipment for research and development and customer success as well as IT infrastructure.

There is no Net cash provided by financing activities in 2023. Net cash provided by financing activities in 2022 was $39.7 million, which was mainly attributable to the issuance of convertible debt in February 2022.

 

For a discussion of our liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, see “ITEM 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects-Liquidity and Capital Resources” of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 28, 2023.

 

On February 18, 2022, we issued to Lynrock Lake Master Fund LP a senior unsecured promissory note, convertible into our ordinary shares, with an aggregate principal amount of $40 million. The note will mature on February 14, 2025, subject to the Company’s option to extend the maturity date by one year up to two times. The closing balance of the convertible note as of December 31, 2023 was $39.8 million (calculated by subtracting the $0.4 million issuance expense from the gross principal amount of $40 million).

 

Our material cash requirements as of December 31, 2023, and any subsequent interim period, primarily include our capital expenditures, lease obligations and purchase obligations.

 

Our capital expenditures primarily consist of purchases of lab equipment, computers and peripheral equipment, office furniture and equipment, leasehold improvements and SECaaS equipment. Our capital expenditures were $7.6 million in 2021, $5.6 million in 2022 and $2.5 million in 2023. We will continue to make capital expenditures to meet the expected growth of our business.

 

Our lease obligations consist of the commitments under the lease agreements for our group facilities and motor vehicles. The group facilities are leased under several lease agreements with various expiration dates. Our leasing expenses were $3.1 million in 2021, $3.8 million in 2022 and $3.6 million in 2023.

As of December 31, 2023, we had fixed future minimum lease payments of $2.1 million related to offices and car leases arrangements, of which $0.7 million is due in the next twelve months, and that we cannot early terminate or where we would be required to pay a termination fee in the event of early termination.

 

Our purchase obligations consist primarily of commitments for our operating activities. Our operating expenses were $115 million in 2021, $115 million in 2022 and $118 million in 2023. More than 70% of the Company’s operating expenses are attributable to salary expenses.

 

We intend to fund our existing and future material cash requirements with our existing cash balance. We will continue to make cash commitments, including capital expenditures, to support the growth of our business.

 

Other than as discussed above, we did not have any significant capital and other commitments or long-term obligations as of December 31, 2023.

 

 

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, we received non-royalty bearing grants from the Israel Innovation Authority. However, the terms of the grants require us to comply with the IIA’s restrictions and obligations as set out below.

 

Approval to manufacture products outside of Israel or consent to the transfer of IIA funded know-how, if requested, is within the discretion of the IIA. Furthermore, the IIA may impose conditions on any arrangement under which it permits us to transfer IIA funded know-how or manufacturing out of Israel.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we had 35 issued U.S. patents, 4 U.S. reissued patents, and 3 pending U.S. patent applications. We expect to formalize our evaluation process for determining which inventions to protect by patents or other means. We cannot be certain that patents will be issued as a result of the patent applications we have filed.

 

In addition, during 2021, 2022 and 2023, we received non-royalty bearing grants from the Spain Tax Authority.

 

See “ITEM 5: Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” above.

 

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates and judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty and actual results may differ. Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report. Certain of our accounting policies are particularly important to the portrayal of our financial position and results of operations. In applying these critical accounting policies, our management uses its judgment to determine the appropriate assumptions to be used in making certain estimates. Those estimates are based on our historical experience, the terms of existing contracts, our observance of trends in our industry, information provided by our customers and information available from other outside sources, as appropriate. With respect to our policies on revenue recognition and warranty costs, our historical experience is based principally on our operations since we commenced selling our products in 1998. Our estimates are primarily guided by observing the following critical accounting policies:

 

 

Because each of the accounting policies listed above requires the exercise of certain judgments and the use of estimates, actual results may differ from our estimations and as a result would increase or decrease our future revenues and net income.

 

Revenue recognition. The Company generates revenues mainly from selling its products along with related maintenance and support services. At times, these arrangements may also include professional services, such as installation services or training. Some of the Company’s product sales are through resellers, distributors, OEMs and system integrators, all of whom are considered end-users. The Company also generates revenues from services, in which the Company provides network filtering and security services to its customers.

 

The Company recognizes revenue under the core principle that transfer of control to the Company’s customers should be depicted in an amount reflecting the consideration the Company expects to receive. As such, the Company identifies a contract with a customer, identifies the performance obligations in the contract, determines the transaction price, allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation in the contract and recognizes revenues when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation.

 

Most of the Company’s contracts usually include combinations of products and services, that are capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations.

 

The products are distinct as the customer can derive the economic benefit of it without any professional services, updates or technical support. The Company allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price out of the total consideration of the contract. For support, the Company determines the standalone selling prices based on the price at which the Company separately sells a renewal support contract on a stand-alone basis. For professional services, the Company determines the standalone selling prices based on the price at which the Company separately sells those services on a stand-alone basis. If the standalone selling price is not observable, the Company estimates the standalone selling price by taking into account available information such as geographic or regional specific factors, internal costs, profit objectives, and internally approved pricing guidelines related to the performance obligation.

 

Product revenue is recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation is being satisfied. Maintenance and support related revenues are deferred and recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the applicable maintenance and support agreement. Professional services are usually recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation is being satisfied.

 

The Company also enters into service contracts, in which the Company provides SECaaS solutions to operators, which the Company considers as its customers. The Company’s SECaaS solutions are offered to operators on a Revenue Share business model, where both the Company and the operator share the revenue generated from the operator’s subscribers, or offered for a fixed yearly fee or up to an agreed number of subscribers. Most of the Company’s SECaaS contracts contain a single performance obligation comprised of series of distinct goods and services satisfied over time. The contracts consideration is based on usage by the operator’s subscribers. As such, the Company allocates the variable consideration in those contracts to distinct service periods in which the service is provided and recognizes revenue for each distinct service period.

 

 

Allowance for credit losses. Trade receivables are recorded and carried at the original invoiced amount which was recognized as revenues less an allowance for any potential uncollectible amounts. The Company makes estimates of expected credit losses for the allowance for credit losses and allowance for unbilled receivables based upon its assessment of various factors, including historical experience, the age of the trade receivable balances, credit quality of its customers, current economic conditions, reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions, and other factors that may affect its ability to collect from customers. The estimated credit losses allowance is recorded as general and administrative expenses on the Company’s consolidated statements of income (loss).

 

Accounting for share-based compensation. We account for share-based compensation in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification No. 718, “Compensation - Stock Compensation” (“ASC No. 718”) that requires companies to estimate the fair value of equity-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as an expense over the requisite service periods in our consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. We recognize compensation expense for the value of its awards granted based on the straight-line method over the requisite service period of each of the awards, net of estimated forfeitures. ASC No. 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of the grant and revised in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The expected annual pre-vesting forfeiture rate affects the number of vested RSUs. The pre-vesting rate ranged between 0% and 30% in the years 2023, 2022 and 2021. In connection with the grant of options and RSUs, we recorded total share-based compensation expenses of $9.2 million in 2022 and $8.8 million in 2023. In 2023, $1.2 million, $3 million, $2.6 million and $2 million of our share-based compensation expense resulted from cost of revenue, research and development expenses, net, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, respectively, based on the department in which the recipient of the option grant was employed. As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate of $8.1 million of unrecognized share-based compensation remaining to be recognized over a weighted average vesting period of 2 years.

 

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market value. Inventory write-offs are provided to cover risks arising from slow-moving items, technological obsolescence, excess inventory and discontinued products. Inventory write-off expenses in 2023 and 2022 totaled $1.6 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

 

Marketable securities. We account for our investments in marketable securities using Accounting Standards Codification No. 320, “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities” (“ASC No. 320”).

 

We determine the appropriate classification of marketable securities at the time of purchase and evaluate such designation as of each balance sheet date. We classify all of our investments in marketable securities as available for sale. Available for sale securities are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported in “accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” in shareholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses on sales of investments are included in earnings and are derived using the specific identification method for determining the cost of securities. The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. Such amortization together with interest and dividends on securities are included in financial income, net, if any.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we held available for sale marketable securities of $28.9 million.

 

Impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets.

 

ASC 350 allows an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. If the qualitative assessment does not result in a more likely than not indication of impairment, no further impairment testing is required. If the Company elects not to use this option, or if the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then the Company prepares a quantitative analysis to determine whether the carrying value of reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, the Company recognizes an impairment of goodwill for the amount of this excess.

 

The Company operates in one operating segment, and this segment comprises its only reporting unit. The Company has performed an annual impairment analysis as of December 31, 2023 and determined that the carrying value of the reporting unit was lower than the fair value of the reporting unit. Fair value is determined using market value. During the years 2023, 2022 and 2021, no impairment losses were recorded.

 

We perform an annual impairment analysis of goodwill at December 31 of each year, or more often as applicable. We operate in one operating segment, and this segment comprises only one reporting unit. The provisions of ASC No. 350 require that a two-step impairment test be performed on goodwill at the level of the reporting units. In the first step, we compare the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value. If the fair value exceeds the carrying value of the net assets, goodwill is considered not impaired, and no further testing is required to be performed. If the carrying value of the net assets exceeds the fair value, then we must perform the second step of the impairment test in order to determine the implied fair value of goodwill. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then we would record an impairment loss equal to the difference.

 

We believe that our business activity and management structure meet the criterion of being a single reporting unit for accounting purposes. We performed an annual impairment analysis as of December 31, 2023, and determined that the carrying value of the reporting unit was lower than the fair value of the reporting unit. Fair value is determined using market value. During the years ended 2022 and 2023, no impairment losses were recorded.

 

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination are recorded at fair value at the date of the acquisition. Following initial recognition, intangible assets are carried at cost less any accumulated amortization and any accumulated impairment losses. The useful lives of intangible assets are assessed to be either finite or indefinite. Intangible assets that are not considered to have an indefinite useful life are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Some of the acquired intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives in proportion to the economic benefits realized. This accounting policy results in accelerated amortization of such customer relationships and backlog as compared to the straight-line method. All other intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis.

 

 

Income taxes. We account for income taxes in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification No. 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC No. 740”). ASC No. 740 prescribes the use of the liability method, whereby deferred tax asset and liability account balances are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. We provide a valuation allowance, if necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to their estimated realizable value in the near future, if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

 

In Israel, we have accumulated operating loss carry forwards of approximately $119 million and capital losses of approximately $27 million for tax purposes as of December 31, 2023, which may be carried forward and offset against ordinary income and capital gains respectively in the future for an indefinite period. In the United States, the accumulated losses for U.S. federal income tax return purposes were approximately $2 million and the accumulated losses for U.S. state income tax return purposes were approximately $5 million. The federal accumulated losses for tax purposes expire between 2027 and 2038. U.S. states have varying rules regarding expiration of net operating losses. We believe that because of our history of losses, and uncertainty with respect to future taxable income, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets regarding the loss carry forwards will not be utilized in the foreseeable future, and therefore, a valuation allowance was provided to reduce deferred tax assets to nil. The valuation allowance attributed to such losses for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $50 million.

 

ASC No. 740 contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring a liability for uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that, on an evaluation of the technical merits, the tax position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement.

 

Contingent liabilities. We are, from time to time, involved in claims, lawsuits, government investigations, and other proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. In making a determination regarding provisions for liability, using available information, we evaluate the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome in legal or regulatory proceedings to which we are a party to and record a loss contingency when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These subjective determinations are based on the status of such legal or regulatory proceedings, the merits of our defenses and consultation with legal counsel. Legal proceedings are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Should any of these estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

 

Contingent Consideration. We measure liabilities related to earn-out payments at fair value at the end of each reporting period. The fair value was estimated by utilizing the future potential cash payments discounted to arrive at a present value amount, based on our expectation. The discount rate was based on the Monte-Carlo simulation method by taking into account, forecast future revenues, expected volatility and weighted average cost of debt.

 

For more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements see Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

   

_____________

(1) Member of our compensation and nomination committee.

(2) Member of our audit committee.

(3) Lead independent director.

(4) Outside director.

(5) Independent director under the rules of Nasdaq.

 

 

David Reis has served as Chairman of our Board since September 2023. Mr. Reis has served as a director of Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) (“Stratasys”) since June 2013. During his tenure with Stratasys, he also served as vice chairman of the board of directors of Stratasys and as an executive director. Since 2017, Mr. Reis has served as Chairman at Enercon Technologies Ltd., Tuttnauer Ltd and Seed X Inc. (since 2020) and a director at Scodix Ltd (since 2021). He also served as a director of Objet Ltd. from 2003 until the closing of the Stratasys-Objet merger and as the Chief Executive Officer of Stratasys from March 2009 until July 2016 (and, prior to the Stratasys-Objet merger, as Chief Executive Officer of Objet). Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of NUR Macroprinters Ltd. (NURMF.PK), a wide format printer manufacturer that was acquired by HP, from February 2006 to March 2008. Prior to joining NUR, Mr. Reis served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of ImageID, an automatic identification and data capture solution provider, and of Scitex Vision, a developer and manufacturer of wide-format printers. Mr. Reis holds a B.A. in Economics and Management from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Denver. Mr. Reis is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

 

 

Steven D. Levy has served as an outside director since 2007. Mr. Levy served as a Managing Director and Global Head of Communications Technology Research at Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm, from 1998 to 2005. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Levy was a Director of Telecommunications Research at Salomon Brothers, an American investment bank, from 1997 to 1998, Managing Director and Head of the Communications Research Team at Oppenheimer & Co., a global full-service brokerage and investment bank from 1994 to 1997 and a senior communications analyst at Hambrecht & Quist, a California-based investment bank, from 1986 to 1994. Mr. Levy has served as a director of PCTEL, a broadband wireless technology company since 2006 and currently serves as the their Chairman and served as a director of Edison Properties, a privately held U.S. real estate company, since 2015. Mr. Levy previously served as a director of privately held GENBAND Inc., a U.S. provider of telecommunications equipment. Mr. Levy holds a B.Sc. in Materials Engineering and an M.B.A., both from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 

Nadav Zohar has served as an interim director since February 2017 and as a director since April 2017. Mr. Zohar has held the position of Chairman of the LRC Group since 2018. Mr. Zohar served as the head of Business Development of Gett, an “on demand” transportation service provider from March 2015 and October 2018. Prior to joining Gett, Mr. Zohar served as Chief Operating Officer of Delek Global Real Estate PLC, company description to be added, between 2006 and 2009 and held several executive positions with Morgan Stanley, a multinational investment bank and financial services company, between 2001 and 2006, the last of which was Executive Director, Financial Sponsors Group. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Zohar served in executive roles at Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm, between 1997 and 2001. Mr. Zohar serves as a board member of Matomy Media Group Ltd. (London Stock Exchange: MTMY), a digital performance-based advertising company. Mr. Zohar holds a Masters in Finance (graduated with Merit) from the London Business School and a LLB in Law (graduated with honors) from the University of Reading.

 

 

Cynthia L. Paul, CFA, has served as a director since December 2022. She is Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Lynrock Lake LP, an investment management firm she founded in 2018. Ms. Paul invests across the full capital structure of public and private companies, employing a long-term, fundamentally-driven, value-oriented investment strategy, with a focus on the technology industry. She is a board member of ON24, Inc. (NYSE: ONTF), a SaaS company providing a cloud-based sales and marketing platform for digital engagement. From 2018 until the time of its acquisition in 2021, Ms. Paul served as a board member of DSP Group, a NASDAQ-listed semiconductor company. She served as chairperson of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee, a member of the Audit Committee, and a member of the Compensation Committee. Ms. Paul served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Conexant Systems, LLC, a privately-held semiconductor company, from 2013 until its acquisition in 2017. Ms. Paul is an advisory board member and former board member of AlphaSense Inc., a privately-held SaaS company providing intelligent search to enterprise customers. From 2002 to 2017, Ms. Paul was a portfolio manager at Soros Fund Management LLC (“SFM”), where she managed a portfolio across corporate credit, convertible and equity securities. Ms. Paul joined SFM in 2000 and served as a SFM representative for the Council on Foreign Relations and on SFM’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining SFM, she worked at The Palladin Group in 1999 and at JP Morgan from 1994 to 1999, most recently as Head of Convertible Research. Ms. Paul graduated from Princeton University in 1994 with an Independent Major in Statistics and Operations Research, a Certificate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and a Certificate in Engineering Management Systems.

 

Raffi Kesten has served as an interim director since May 2022 and as a director since December 2022. Mr. Kesten served as Chief Business Officer of Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ: RDWR) since June 2019 until February 2022, leading all customer-facing functions worldwide as well as international sales, professional services, sales engineering and business development, and international sales. Mr. Kesten has over 30 years of experience in leadership roles at various technology companies, including Intel ,Vice President of HP Indigo Division, a division of HP Inc., between 1991 and 1995, as a Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Cisco Videoscape (formerly NDS Group - Prior acquisition) from 1996 to 2015, as Vice President Video and General Manager Israel of Cisco Videoscape from 2012 to 2015, as Silicon Process Engineer of Intel Corporation from 1982 to 1991, and as a managing partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners from 2014 to 2018. Mr. Kesten holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Ben Gurion University and an Executive M.B.A. from The Hebrew University, Israel.

 

 

Erez Antebi has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since February 2017. Mr. Antebi served as the Chief Executive Officer of Gilat Satellite Networks (NADAQ: GILT), a satellite communications technology and services provider, between 2012 and 2015. Between 2005 and 2012, Mr. Antebi also served in several executive roles at Gilat Satellite Networks. Between 2003 and 2005, Mr. Antebi served as the Chief Executive Officer of Clariton Networks, a start-up company, providing services in cellular coverage. Prior to that Mr. Antebi has served in a variety of roles at Gilat Satellite Networks, Tadiran, a provider of radio communications for military applications and for Rafael, Israel Ministry of Defense. Mr. Antebi currently serves on the advisory boards of HiSky. Mr. Antebi holds a B. Sc., Electrical Engineering (Communications), Summa Cum Laude, and a M.Sc., Electrical Engineering (Information Theory), both from the Technion, Israel.

 

Ziv Leitman has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2019. Prior to joining Allot, Mr. Leitman served as Chief Financial Officer of Powermat Technologies, a wireless charging pioneer leader, and from 2011 to 2017 as CFO of Partner Communications, one of Israel’s leading mobile, fixed-line, Internet and TV service providers. Between 2009 to 2011, he served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Paz Oil Company, and between 2002 to 2009, as CFO of Comverse Inc., a leading provider of telecommunications products. From 1989 to 2002, Mr. Leitman also held Chief Financial Officer positions at Discount Investment Corp., Lucent Technologies EIS, Kimberly-Clark Israel and Optrotech (Orbotech). Mr. Leitman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting and an M.B.A. in Finance & Information Systems, both from the Tel Aviv University.

 

Mark Shteiman has served as our Senior Vice President Allot Smart Business Unit since December 2021. Prior to that Mr. Shteiman served as our Vice President Product Management since October 2019. Prior to that Mr. Shteiman served as our Associate Vice President Product Management from June 2018. Prior to Allot Mr. Shteiman served as Vice President Product Management at Kaminario Ltd. a leading All-flash Software-defined storage company, redefining the future of cloud-scale datacenters, between 2012 and 2015 served as Head of Product, City business unit of AGT International Ltd., between 2011 and 2013 founded Friendize Me. a SaaS Social E-commerce company and served as its Chief Executive Officer, between 2009 and 2011 as Vice President, Products at Gigafone Ltd., between 2006 and 2008 as VP Product Management NGM at Neustar, between 2000 - 2006 he held a number of positions at Followap a leading mobile instant messaging (IM) and interoperability provider for mobile telecom operators and internet service providers, during 2000 held a position in the Israeli Defense Forces and between 1996 - 1998 served as a software developer at Aitech Defense Systems. Mr. Shteiman holds a B.Sc in Computer Science from the Technion, Israel.

 

Rael Kolevsohn joined our company in 2014 and serves as our Vice President Legal Affairs, General Counsel, and Company Secretary. Prior to joining us, he served as Vice President and General Counsel of Radvision Ltd. from 2007 to 2014. From 1998 to 2007, Mr. Kolevsohn served as General Counsel and Vice President of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. after joining Gilat as Legal Counsel. From 1994 to 1998, he completed his legal internship and worked as an attorney at the Tel Aviv law firm of Yossifof, Amir Cohen & Co. Mr. Kolevsohn is a member of the Israel Bar Association and holds an LL.B. degree, with honors, from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

 

Assaf Eyal has served as our Senior Vice President, Global Sales since June 2021. Over the last 25 years, Mr. Eyal held leadership roles in sales, marketing and customer service. Most recently, he served as SVP APAC at Drivenets. Prior to Drivenets, Mr. Eyal was Executive VP, Cyber Security for Enterprise at Cognyte (NASDAQ:VRNT), President Commercial Division & Corporate VP at Gilat (NASDAQ: GILT), President & CEO at Ultrashape Medical and EVP at Nur Macroprinters. Additionally, Mr. Eyal worked at Orbotech Ltd., (NASDAQ: ORBK, now a KLA company) for over 17 years in various management positions in the United States, Hong Kong and Israel. Mr. Eyal holds an M.Sc in Management and B.Sc in Engineering.

 

Vered Zur has served as our Vice President, Marketing since April 2017. Prior to joining us, Ms. Zur served as Chief Marketing Officer of Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELECTRA), a leading supplier of electric appliances. Between 2011 and 2014, Ms. Zur served as VP global Sales Operations and Business enablement of Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX), a provider of software and services to communications and media companies. Between 2005 and 2011, Ms. Zur served as VP Customer Marketing of Comverse (Xura), a company that provided telecommunications software. Prior to that Ms. Zur served in various marketing roles at telecommunications companies and advertising agencies. Ms. Zur holds a B.A. in Behavioral Science from the Ben-Gurion University and a M.B.A from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University.

 

Boaz holds B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Sciences from University of Haifa and Executive MBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

Sarah Warshavsky-Oberman has served as our Chief People Officer since May 2022. Prior to joining Allot, Mrs. Warshavsky-Oberman served as a VP of HR for National Instruments Corp. (NASDAQ: NATI) from 2021 to 2022. Mrs. Warshavsky-Oberman served as global VP of HR for Optimalplus, a global software startup company, from 2018 until its acquisition by National Instruments Corp. in May 2020. Between 2014 and 2018, Mrs. Warshavsky-Oberman served as the Global HR strategic programs lead at Teva pharmaceuticals. From 2010 to 2014, she served in different HR roles for Micron Technology Inc. During the years 1996-2010, Mrs. Warshavsky-Oberman worked for Intel/Numonyx and served in various positions, including production and engineering roles. Mrs. Warshavsky-Oberman holds M.B.A. from Tel Aviv University.

 

Noam Lila has served as our Senior Vice President, Customer Success and Operations since January 2021. Prior to that time, Mr. Lila served as our Assistant Vice President, APAC Customer Success from February 2019. Prior to joining Allot, Mr. Lila accumulated over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, holding various executive positions at Amdocs and Comverse. Most recently, he was Vice President of Services at Amdocs located in Australia, Vice President of APAC CS at Comverse located in Japan, VP of IT & SCM at Comverse, AVP of EMEA CS at Comverse and others. Throughout his career, Mr. Lila lead hundreds of projects deployment and transformation programs to Tier 1 customers and some with value of more than $100 million (USD) each.

 

 

The table below provides certain information regarding the diversity of our board of directors as of December 31, 2023.

 

 

 

The aggregate compensation paid to or accrued on behalf of our directors and executive officers as a group during 2023 consisted of approximately $3.1 million in salary, fees, bonus, commissions and directors’ fees, including amounts we expended for automobiles made available to our officers, but excluding equity based compensation, dues for professional and business associations, business travel and other expenses, and other benefits commonly reimbursed or paid by companies in Israel. This amount includes approximately $0.6 million set aside or accrued to provide pension, severance, retirement or similar benefits or expenses.

 

In 2023, we paid or accrued to the chairman of the board of directors, Mr. Yigal Jacoby, an annual fee of ILS 358,200 (approximately $97,284 USD). we paid or accrued to the chairman of the board of directors, Mr. David Reis, an annual fee of ILS 114,000 (approximately $29,900 USD). During such time we paid our directors, Itzhak Danziger, Nadav Zohar, Efrat Makov and Manuel Echanove ILS 71,190 (approximately $19,334 USD), ILS 92,190 (approximately $25,038 USD), ILS 120,690 (approximately $32,778 USD) and ILS 77,190 (approximately $20,964 USD), respectively, and we paid or accrued to each of our outside directors, Steven Levy, Raffi Kesten and Cynthia Paul, as permitted by the Companies Law, an annual fee of ILS 107,190 (approximately $29,112 USD), ILS 106,440 (approximately $28,908 USD), and ILS 89,190 (approximately $24,223 USD), respectively. . The above fees for each of our directors (other than Yigal Jacoby and David Reis) have included a per-meeting attendance fee of ILS 3,750 (approximately $1,018 USD) for any meeting he or she attended in person and ILS 2,250 (approximately $611 USD) for a meeting he or she attended by conference call or similar means. Our directors are also typically granted upon election a total of 20,000 equity based awards, which vest over a period of not less than three years, and 10,000 RSUs, as of every third annual general meeting following the respective director’s initial election.

During 2023, our executive officers and directors received, in the aggregate, 350,000 RSUs under our equity incentive plans.

 

 

 

For so long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer, we are not required to comply with the proxy rules applicable to U.S. domestic companies, including the requirement applicable to U.S. domestic companies to disclose the compensation of certain executive officers on an individual, rather than an aggregate, basis. Nevertheless, the regulations promulgated under the Companies Law require us to disclose the annual compensation of our five most highly compensated directors and officers on an individual, rather than on an aggregate, basis.

 

The table and summary below outline the compensation granted to our five most highly compensated office holders during or with respect to the year ended December 31, 2023. We refer to the five individuals for whom disclosure is provided herein as our “Covered Executives.”

 

For purposes of the table and the summary below, “compensation” includes base salary, discretionary and non-equity incentive bonuses, equity-based compensation accrued or paid, payments accrued or paid in connection with retirement or termination of employment, and personal benefits and perquisites such as car, phone and social benefits paid to or earned by each Covered Executive during the year ended December 31, 2023.

 

Name and Principal Position(1)		Salary ($)				Bonus and Commission ($)(2)				Equity-Based Compensation ($)(3)				All Other Compensation ($)(4)				Total ($)
Ziv Leitman, Chief Financial Officer			260,726				-				390,285				68,340				719,352
Keren Rubanenko, Senior Vice President, Cyber Security Business Unit			246,233				-				358,285				79,402				683,920
Assaf Eyal, Senior Vice President, Global Sales			260,726				35,364				289,370				87,894				673,355
Erez Antebi, President and Chief Executive Officer			260,726				-				330,799				68,360				659,885
Mark Shteiman, Senior Vice President Allot Smart Business Unit			228,136				29,701				238,625				64,096				530,857

________________________

 

 

Under the Companies Law, we are required to adopt a compensation policy, recommended by the compensation and nominating committee and approved by our board of directors and the shareholders, in that order. The shareholder approval requires a majority of the votes cast by shareholders, excluding any controlling shareholder and those who have a personal interest in the matter. In general, all directors and executive officers’ terms of compensation, including fixed remuneration, bonuses, equity compensation, retirement or termination payments, indemnification, liability insurance and the grant of an exemption from liability, must comply with the compensation policy.

 

In addition, the compensation terms of directors, the chief executive officer, and any employee or service provider who is considered a controlling shareholder must be approved separately by the compensation and nominating committee, the Board of Directors and the shareholders of the Company (by the same majority noted above), in that order. The compensation terms of other executive officers require the approval of the compensation and nominating committee and the Board of Directors.

 

We strive to provide a mix of compensation that supports a pay-for-performance culture and emphasizes long-term incentives. Our executive compensation packages have historically included equity grants, which we believe to be effective tools in aligning performance with compensation.

 

The compensation and nominating committee and the Board are committed to responsible management of earnings-per-share dilution, as the Company must balance the requirements associated with its equity compensation program during its growth stage with the effect on dilution. Therefore, the compensation and nominating committee and the Board continue to review the Company’s equity compensation practices to ensure that they remain in line with evolving regulatory conditions and changes in best practices. The Company remains focused on open and ongoing dialogue with its shareholders and welcomes regular feedback regarding its compensation policies.

 

Our compensation policy was approved by our compensation and nominating committee and by our Board of Directors, and subsequently approved by our shareholders in December 2023, and will be in effect for a period of three years following approval. Our compensation policy provides:

 

 

 

 

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted under Nasdaq Rule 5615(a)(3) to follow Israeli corporate governance practices instead of Nasdaq requirements applicable to the U.S. issuers, provided we disclose which requirements we are not following and describe the equivalent Israeli requirement. See “ITEM 16G: Corporate Governance Requirements” for a discussion of those ways in which our corporate governance practices differ from those required by Nasdaq for domestic companies.

 

 

Our articles of association provide that we may have not less than five directors and have up to nine directors.

 

Under our articles of association, our directors (other than our outside directors) are divided into three classes. Each class of directors consists, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of directors constituting the entire board of directors (other than our outside directors). At each annual meeting of our shareholders, the election or reelection of directors following the expiration of the term of office of the directors of that class of directors is for a term of office that expires on the third annual meeting following such election or reelection, such that each year the term of office of one class of directors expires.

 

Our Class II directors, David Reis (who also serves as our chairman of the board of directors) and Raffi Kesten, will hold office until our annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2024. Our Class I directors, Nadav Zohar and Cynthia Paul, will hold office until the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. We currently have no Class III directors on our board. The directors (other than the outside directors) are elected by a vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power present and voting at the meeting. Each director will hold office until the annual general meeting of our shareholders for the year in which his or her term expires and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, unless the tenure of such director expires earlier pursuant to the Companies Law or unless he or she resigns or is removed from office.

 

Under the Companies Law, a director (including an outside director) must declare in writing that he or she has the required skills and the ability to dedicate the time required to serve as a director in addition to other statutory requirements. A director who ceases to meet the statutory requirements for his or her appointment must immediately notify us of the same and his or her office will become vacated upon such notice.

 

Under our articles of association, the approval of a special majority of the holders of at least 75% of the voting rights present and voting at a general meeting is generally required to remove any of our directors (other than the outside directors) from office. The holders of a majority of the voting power present and voting at a meeting may elect directors in their stead or fill any vacancy, however created, in our board of directors. In addition, vacancies on our board of directors, other than a vacancy in the office of an outside director, may be filled by a vote of a simple majority of the directors then in office. A director so chosen or appointed will hold office until the next annual general meeting of our shareholders, unless earlier removed by the vote of a majority of the directors then in office prior to such annual meeting. See “-Outside Directors” for a description of the procedure for election of outside directors.

 

 

 

The Companies Law requires companies incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel with shares listed on a stock exchange, including Nasdaq, to appoint at least two outside directors. Our outside directors are Ms. Makov and Mr. Levy. Ms. Makov also serves as the lead independent director.

 

Outside directors are required to meet standards of independence requirements set forth in the Companies Law and of the listing standards of Nasdaq. Among other independence qualifications, a person may not serve as an outside director if he is a relative of a controlling shareholder of a company, or if he or his affiliate (as defined in the Companies Law) has an employment, business or professional relationship or other affiliation (as defined in the Companies Law) with us.

 

In addition, the Companies Law requires every outside director appointed to the board of directors of an Israeli company to qualify as a “financial and accounting expert” or as “professionally competent,” as such terms are defined in the applicable regulations under the Companies Law, and at least one outside director must qualify as a “financial and accounting expert.” If at least one of our directors meets the independence requirements of the Exchange Act and the standards of Nasdaq rules for membership on the audit committee and also has financial and accounting expertise as defined in the Companies Law, then the other outside directors are only required to meet the professional qualifications requirement. Under applicable regulations, a director with financial and accounting expertise is a director who, through his or her education, professional experience and skill, has a high level of proficiency in and understanding of business accounting matters and financial statements. He or she must be able to thoroughly comprehend the financial statements of the company and initiate debate regarding the manner in which financial information is presented.

 

Outside directors are elected by a majority vote at a shareholders’ meeting, provided that either:

 

 

The initial term of an outside director is three years, and he or she may be reelected to up to two additional terms of three years each at a shareholders’ meeting, subject to the voting threshold set forth above. Thereafter, an outside director may be reelected for additional periods of up to three years each, only if the company’s audit committee and board of directors confirm that, in light of the outside director’s expertise and special contribution to the work of the board of directors and its committees, the reelection for such additional period is beneficial to the company. The terms of our outside directors, Efrat Makov and Steven Levy, will continue until November 30, 2024 and August 14, 2025, respectively, unless such office is vacated in accordance with our Articles of Association or the Israel Companies Law. Outside directors may be removed by the same voting threshold as is required for their election, or by a court, and only if the outside directors cease to meet the statutory qualifications for their appointment or if they violate their duty of loyalty to the company. The tenure of outside directors, like all directors, may also be terminated by a court under limited circumstances. If the vacancy of an outside director position causes the company to have fewer than two outside directors, a company’s board of directors is required under the Companies Law to call a special general meeting of the company’s shareholders as soon as possible to appoint a new outside director. Each committee of a company’s board of directors which is authorized to exercise the board of directors’ authorities is required to include at least one outside director, except for the audit committee and the compensation committee, which are required to include all outside directors.

 

An outside director is entitled to compensation and reimbursement of expenses as provided in regulations promulgated under the Companies Law, and is otherwise prohibited from receiving any other compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with services provided as an outside director, other than indemnification, exculpation and insurance as permitted pursuant to the Companies Law.

 

 

 

Under the Companies Law, the board of directors of any public company must appoint an audit committee comprised of at least three directors, including all of the outside directors. The following persons may not be appointed as members of the audit committee:

 

The Companies Law requires the majority of the audit committee members to be independent directors (as defined in the Companies Law), and the chairman of the audit committee is required to be an outside director. Any person disqualified from serving as a member of the audit committee may not be present at the audit committee meetings, unless the chairperson of the audit committee has determined that this person is required to be present for a particular matter. The Companies Law provides for certain other exclusions to this provision.

 

 

Under Nasdaq rules, companies are required to maintain an audit committee consisting of at least three independent directors, all of whom are financially literate and one of whom has accounting or related financial management expertise. Our audit committee members are required to meet additional independence standards, including minimum standards set forth in rules of the SEC and adopted by Nasdaq.

 

Each of the members of our audit committee is “independent” under the relevant Nasdaq rules and as defined in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Exchange Act, which is different from the general test for independence of board and committee members.

 

 

The approval of the audit committee is required to effect specified actions and transactions with office holders and controlling shareholders. The term “office holder” means a general manager, chief business manager, deputy general manager, vice general manager, or any other person assuming the responsibilities of any of the foregoing positions, without regard to such person’s title, as well as any director or manager directly subordinate to the general manager. The term “controlling shareholder” means a shareholder with the ability to direct the activities of the company, other than by virtue of being an office holder. A shareholder is presumed to be a controlling shareholder if the shareholder holds 50% or more of the voting rights in a company or has the right to appoint the majority of the directors of the company or its general manager. For the purpose of approving transactions with controlling shareholders, the term also includes any shareholder that holds 25% or more of the voting rights of the company, if the company has no shareholder that owns more than 50% of its voting rights. For purposes of determining the holding percentage stated above, two or more shareholders who have a personal interest in a transaction that is brought for the company’s approval are deemed as joint holders. The audit committee may not approve an action or a transaction with a controlling shareholder or with an office holder unless all the requirements of the Companies Law regarding the structure of the committee and the persons entitled to be present at meetings are met at the time of approval.

 

 

Our board of directors has adopted an audit committee charter setting forth the responsibilities of the audit committee consistent with the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq, which include:

 

 

Additionally, under the Companies Law, the audit committee is responsible for: (a) identifying deficiencies in the management of a company’s business and making recommendations to the board of directors as to how to correct them; (b) reviewing and deciding whether to approve certain related party transactions and certain transactions involving conflicts of interest; (c) deciding whether certain actions involving conflicts of interest are material actions and whether certain related party transactions are extraordinary transactions; (d) reviewing the internal auditor’s work program; (e) examining the company’s internal control structure and processes, the performance of the internal auditor and whether the internal auditor has the tools and resources required to perform his or her duties; and (f) examining the independent auditor’s scope of work as well as the independent auditor’s fees, and providing the corporate body responsible for determining the independent auditor’s fees with its recommendations. In addition, the audit committee is also responsible for implementing procedures concerning employee complaints on improprieties in the administration of the company’s business and the protection to be provided to such employees. Furthermore, in accordance with regulations promulgated under the Companies Law, the audit committee discusses the draft financial statements and presents to the board its recommendations with respect to the draft financial statements. The audit committee charter states that in fulfilling this role the committee is entitled to rely on interviews and consultations with our management, our internal auditor and our independent auditor, and is not obligated to conduct any independent investigation or verification.

 

Our audit committee consists of Ms. Efrat Makov, Mr. Steven Levy and Mr. Nadav Zohar. The chairperson is Ms. Makov. The financial experts on the audit committee pursuant to the definition under the relevant SEC rules and are all members of the audit committee.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, the compensation committee of a public company must consist of at least three directors who satisfy certain independence qualifications, including the additional independence requirements of Nasdaq rules applicable to the members of compensation committees, and the chairman of the compensation committee is required to be an outside director. We have established a compensation and nominating committee which currently consists of Ms. Efrat Makov, Mr. Steven Levy, and Mr. Raffi Kesten. The chairperson is Mr. Levy. This committee oversees matters related to our compensation policy and practices. Our board of directors has adopted a compensation and nominating committee charter setting forth the responsibilities of the committee consistent with the Companies Law and Nasdaq rules, which include:

 

The compensation committee is also authorized to retain and terminate compensation consultants, legal counsel or other advisors to the committee and to approve the engagement of any such consultant, counsel or advisor, to the extent it deems necessary or appropriate after specifically analyzing the independence of any such consultant retained by the committee.

 

On specified criteria, to review modifications to the compensation policy from time to time, to review its implementation and to approve the actual compensation terms of office holders prior to approval by the board of directors.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, the board of directors of a public company must appoint an internal auditor nominated by the audit committee. The role of the internal auditor is, among other things, to examine whether a company’s actions comply with applicable law and orderly business procedure. The internal auditor may be an employee of the company but not an interested party (as defined in the Companies Law), an office holder of the company, or a relative of an interested party or an office holder, among other restrictions. The audit committee has appointed the firm of Deloitte Brightman Almagor Zohar as the internal auditor of the Company.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, a company may not exculpate an office holder from liability for a breach of the duty of loyalty. However, a company may provide certain indemnification rights as detailed below and obtain insurance for an act performed in breach of the duty of loyalty of an office holder provided that the office holder acted in good faith, the act or its approval does not harm the company, and the office holder discloses the nature of his or her personal interest in the act and all material facts and documents a reasonable time before discussion of the approval. Our articles of association, in accordance with Israeli law, allow us to exculpate an office holder, in advance, from liability to us, in whole or in part, for damages caused to us as a result of a breach of duty of care. We may not exculpate a director for liability arising out of a prohibited dividend or distribution to shareholders or prohibited purchase of its securities.

 

In accordance with Israeli law, our articles of association allow us to insure an office holder against certain liabilities incurred for acts performed as an office holder, including certain breaches of duty of loyalty to the company, a breach of duty of care to the company or to another person and certain financial liabilities and obligations imposed on the office holder.

 

We may not indemnify or insure an office holder against any of the following:

 

Under the Companies Law, exculpation, indemnification and insurance of office holders must be approved by our compensation committee and our board of directors and, in respect of our directors, the chief executive officer, and any employee or service provider who is considered a controlling shareholder, by our shareholders, provided that changes to existing arrangements may be approved by the audit committee if it approves that such changes are immaterial.

 

As of the date of this annual report, there are no claims for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance which have been filed in 2023 under our policies and we are not aware of any pending or threatened litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors or officers in which indemnification is sought.

 

We have entered into agreements with each of our directors and with certain of our office holders exculpating them, to the fullest extent permitted by law, from liability to us for damages caused to us as a result of a breach of duty of care, and undertaking to indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by law. This indemnification is limited to events determined as foreseeable by the board of directors based on our activities, and to an amount or according to criteria determined by the board of directors as reasonable under the circumstances, and the insurance is subject to our discretion depending on its availability, effectiveness and cost. The current maximum amount set forth in such agreements is the greater of (1) with respect to indemnification in connection with a public offering of our securities, the gross proceeds raised by us and/or any selling shareholder in such public offering, and (2) with respect to all permitted indemnification, including a public offering of our securities, an amount equal to 50% of the our shareholders’ equity on a consolidated basis, based on our most recent financial statements made publicly available before the date on which the indemnity payment is made.

 

In the opinion of the SEC, indemnification of directors and office holders for liabilities arising under the Securities Act is against public policy and therefore unenforceable.

 

D. Employees*

 

As of December 31, 2023, we had 559 Employees of whom 222 were based in Israel, 197 in Europe, 27 in North America, 20 in Latin America and 93 in Asia, Africa and Oceania. We have never experienced a work stoppage or a strike. The breakdown of our employees by department is as follows:

 

The table below provides a breakdown of employees, permanent contractors and subcontractors employed or engaged by the Company (herein: “Personnel Employed”):

 

 

* Based on the number of full time equivalent Personnel Employed, which is the product of all full time Personnel Employed, plus the ratio of the average monthly hours of part time Personnel Employed to average monthly hours of full time Personnel Employed. In the foregoing table and in each instance herein where number of employees is provided, employees include full time and part time employees, as well as subcontractors and consultants. Typically, our employees, as well as our subcontractors and consultants, are employed or engaged for indefinite periods of time and may be dismissed or terminated with or without notice, depending on the jurisdiction and contracts under which they are employed or engaged. Under applicable Israeli law, we and our employees are subject to protective labor provisions such as restrictions on working hours, minimum wages, minimum vacation, sick pay, severance pay and advance notice of termination of employment as well as equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws. Orders issued by the Israeli Ministry of Economy make certain industry-wide collective bargaining agreements applicable to us. These agreements affect matters such as cost of living adjustments to salaries, length of working hours and week, recuperation, travel expenses, and pension rights. Except as otherwise stated hereunder, our employees are not represented by a labor union. Under Spanish Labor law, we and our employees are subject to protective labor provisions and collective bargaining agreements, governing, among others, restrictions on working hours, minimum wages, minimum vacation, sick pay, severance pay and advance notice of termination of employment as well as equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws. Our workers in our San Sebastian office in Spain are represented by a worker’s representative, who was recently elected for a term of four years. In addition, our employees in our Madrid office in Spain are represented by five worker representatives, who were recently elected for a term of four years. Such representatives represent the employees with respect to labor health and prevention, training and equality. We provide our employees with benefits and working conditions which we believe are competitive with benefits and working conditions provided by similar companies. To foster wellbeing, we allow a hybrid mode of work to employees who attend an office. We expect employees to work in the office for 3 days each week, while in the remaining 2 days they may work remotely to allow flexibility and work life balance. In addition, starting May 2023, we have allowed a short work week (4 working days a week) once a month, for all company personnel. We have never experienced labor-related work stoppages and believe that our relations with our employees are good.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

We will only grant options, RSUs or other equity incentive awards under the 2016 Incentive Compensation Plan, although previously-granted options will continue to be governed by our other plans.

 

 

The Allot Ltd. 2006 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2006 Plan”) was adopted by the Company’s board of directors on October 29, 2006 and became effective immediately prior to the effective date of the Company’s initial public offering. Effective October 28, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company amended and restated the 2006 Plan to extend the term of the 2006 Plan by ten years and to rename the 2006 Plan as the Allot Ltd. 2016 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2016 Plan”). The 2016 Plan will remain in effect, subject to the right of the Board of Directors to amend or terminate the 2016 Plan at any time pursuant to the terms of the 2016 Plan, until all shares reserved for issuance under the 2016 Plan shall have been delivered, and any restrictions on such shares shall have lapsed, provided that in no event may an award under the 2016 Plan be granted on or after October 27, 2026.

 

The 2016 Plan is intended to further our success by increasing the ownership interest of certain of our and our subsidiaries’ employees, directors and consultants and to enhance our and our subsidiaries’ ability to attract and retain employees, directors and consultants.

 

 

Our compensation and nominating committee administers the 2016 Plan and it selects which of our and our subsidiaries’ and affiliates’ eligible employees, directors and/or consultants receive options, RSUs or other awards under the 2016 Plan and will determine the terms of the grant, including, exercise prices, method of payment, vesting schedules, acceleration of vesting and the other matters necessary in the administration of the plan.

 

If we undergo a change of control, as defined in the 2016 Plan, subject to any contrary law or rule, or the terms of any award agreement in effect before the change of control, (a) the compensation and nominating committee may, in its discretion, accelerate the vesting, exercisability and payment, as applicable, of outstanding options, RSUs and other awards; and (b) the compensation and nominating committee, in its discretion, may adjust outstanding awards by substituting ordinary shares or other securities of any successor or another party to the change of control transaction, or cash out outstanding options, RSUs and other awards, in any such case, generally based on the consideration received by our shareholders in the transaction.

 

 

 

 

__________________

 

 

Based on a Schedule 13D/A filed on February 11, 2022 by Outerbridge, Outerbridge became the beneficial owner of 5% or more of our ordinary shares, and is now the beneficial owner of 2,735,112, or 7.1% of our ordinary shares.

 

 

 

 

Our policy is to enter into transactions with related parties on terms that, on the whole, are no less favorable, than those available from unaffiliated third parties. Based on our experience in the business sectors in which we operate and the terms of our transactions with unaffiliated third parties, we believe that all of the transactions described below met this policy standard at the time they occurred.

 

 

Engagement of Officers. We have entered into employment agreements with each of our officers, who work for us as employees or as consultants. These agreements all contain provisions standard for a company in our industry regarding noncompetition, confidentiality of information and assignment of inventions. The enforceability of covenants not to compete in Israel may be limited. In connection with the engagement of our officers, we have granted them options pursuant to our 2016 Plan.

 

Exculpation, Indemnification and Insurance.Our articles of association permit us to exculpate, indemnify and insure our office holders, in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Law. We have entered into agreements with each of our directors and certain office holders, exculpating them from a breach of their duty of care to us to the fullest extent permitted by law and undertaking to indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by law, to the extent that these liabilities are not covered by insurance. See “ITEM 6: Directors, Senior Management and Employees-Board Practices-Exculpation, Insurance and Indemnification of Office Holders.”

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See “ITEM 4: Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” under the caption “Customers” for certain details of export sales for the last three fiscal years.

 

 

We may, from time to time in the future be involved in legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. Such matters are generally subject to many uncertainties and outcomes are not predictable with assurance. We accrue for contingencies when the loss is probable and it can reasonably estimate the amount of any such loss. Except as set forth in Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 included elsewhere in this report, we are currently not a party to any material legal or administrative proceedings for which an appropriate accrual has not been made, and is not aware of any pending or threatened material legal or administrative proceedings against us.

 

 

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the future. We currently intend to retain all future earnings to finance our operations and to expand our business. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and future prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

 

Since the date of our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report, there have not been any significant changes in our financial position.

 

 

Our ordinary shares have been quoted under the symbol “ALLT” on Nasdaq since November 16, 2006 and on the TASE since December 21, 2010.

 

 

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

We are registered as a public company with the Israeli Registrar of Companies. Our registration number is 51-239477-6.

 

Our objectives under our memorandum of association are to engage in the business of computers, hardware and software, including without limitation research and development, marketing, consulting and the selling of knowledge, and any other activity which our board of directors shall determine.

 

 

 

Voting. Holders of our ordinary shares have one vote for each ordinary share held on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders at a shareholder meeting. Shareholders may vote at shareholder meeting either in person, by proxy or by written ballot. Shareholder voting rights may be affected by the grant of any special voting rights to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future.

 

Transfer of Shares. Fully paid ordinary shares are issued in registered form and may be freely transferred under our articles of association unless the transfer is restricted or prohibited by another instrument, Israeli law or the rules of a stock exchange on which the shares are traded.

 

Election of Directors. Our ordinary shares do not have cumulative voting rights for the election of directors. Rather, under our articles of association our directors are elected by the holders of a simple majority of our ordinary shares at a general shareholder meeting. As a result, the holders of our ordinary shares that represent more than 50% of the voting power represented at a shareholder meeting have the power to elect any or all of our directors whose positions are being filled at that meeting, subject to the special approval requirements for outside directors. See “ITEM 6: Directors, Senior Management and Employees-Board Practices-Outside Directors.”

 

Dividend and Liquidation Rights. Under the Companies Law, shareholder approval is not required for the declaration of a dividend, unless the company’s articles of association provide otherwise. Our articles of association provide that our board of directors may declare and distribute a dividend to be paid to the holders of ordinary shares without shareholder approval in proportion to the paid up capital attributable to the shares that they hold. Dividends may be paid only out of profits legally available for distribution, as defined in the Companies Law, provided that there is no reasonable concern that the payment of a dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due. If we do not have profits legally available for distribution, we may seek the approval of the court to distribute a dividend. The court may approve our request if it is convinced that there is no reasonable concern that a payment of a dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due.

 

In the event of our liquidation, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors, our assets will be distributed to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion to the paid up capital attributable to the shares that they hold. Dividend and liquidation rights may be affected by the grant of preferential dividend or distribution rights to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future.

 

 

We are required to convene an annual general meeting of our shareholders once every calendar year within a period of not more than 15 months following the preceding annual general meeting. Our board of directors may convene a special general meeting of our shareholders and is required to do so at the request of two directors or one quarter of the members of our board of directors or, as we are a Nasdaq-listed company at the request of one or more holders of 10% or more of our share capital and 1% of our voting power or the holder or holders of 10% or more of our voting power. All shareholder meetings require prior notice of at least 21 days. The chairperson of our board of directors, or any other person appointed by the board of directors, presides over our general meetings. In the absence of the chairperson of the board of directors or such other person, one of the members of the board designated by a majority of the directors presides over the meeting. If no director is designated to preside as chairperson, then the shareholders present will choose one of the shareholders present to be chairperson. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder, shareholders entitled to participate and vote at general meetings are the shareholders of record on a date to be decided by the board of directors, which, as we are a Nasdaq-listed company, may be between four and 60 days prior to the date of the meeting.

 

 

The quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least two shareholders present in person, by proxy or by written ballot, who hold or represent between them at least 25% of our voting power. A meeting adjourned for lack of a quorum generally is adjourned to the same day in the following week at the same time and place or any time and place as the directors designate in a notice to the shareholders. At the reconvened meeting, the required quorum consists of at least two shareholders present, in person, by proxy or by written ballot, who hold or represent between them at least 10% of our voting power, provided that if the meeting was initially called pursuant to a request by our shareholders, then the quorum required must include at least the number of shareholders entitled to call the meeting. See “-Shareholder Meetings.”

 

 

An ordinary resolution requires approval by the holders of a simple majority of the voting rights represented at the meeting, in person, by proxy or by written ballot, and voting on the resolution.

 

Under the Companies Law, unless otherwise provided in the articles of association or applicable law, all resolutions of the shareholders require a simple majority. A resolution for the voluntary winding up of the company requires the approval by holders of at least 75% of the voting rights represented at the meeting, in person, by proxy or by written ballot, and voting on the resolution. Under our articles of association (1) certain shareholders’ resolutions require the approval of a special majority of the holders of at least 75% of the voting rights represented at the meeting, in person, by proxy or by written ballot, and voting on the resolution, and (2) certain shareholders’ resolutions require the approval of a special majority of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting securities of the company then outstanding.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, all shareholders generally have the right to review minutes of our general meetings, our shareholder register, including with respect to material shareholders, our articles of association, our financial statements and any document we are required by law to file publicly with the Israeli Companies Registrar. Any shareholder who specifies the purpose of its request may request to review any document in our possession that relates to any action or transaction with a related party which requires shareholder approval under the Companies Law. We may deny a request to review a document if we determine that the request was not made in good faith, that the document contains a commercial secret or a patent or that the document’s disclosure may otherwise impair our interests.

 

 

 

The Companies Law imposes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty on all office holders of a company.

 

The duty of care of an office holder requires an office holder to act with the degree of proficiency with which a reasonable office holder in the same position would have acted under the same circumstances. The duty of care includes, among other things, a duty to use reasonable means, in light of the circumstances, to obtain certain information pertaining to the proposed action before the board of directors.

 

The duty of loyalty incumbent on an office holder requires him or her to act in good faith and for the benefit of the company, and includes, among other things, the duty to avoid conflicts of interest with the company, to refrain from competing with the company, and to disclose to the company information disclosed to him or her as a result of being an office holder.

 

We may approve an act specified above which would otherwise constitute a breach of the office holder’s duty of loyalty, provided that the office holder acted in good faith, the act or its approval does not harm the company, and the office holder discloses his or her personal interest a sufficient time before the approval of such act. Any such approval is subject to the terms of the Companies Law, setting forth, among other things, the organs of the company entitled to provide such approval, and the methods of obtaining such approval.

 

 

The Companies Law requires that an office holder promptly disclose to the company any personal interest that he or she may have relating to any existing or proposed transaction by the company (as well as certain information or documents). Once an office holder has disclosed his or her personal interest in a transaction, the approval of the appropriate organ(s) in the company is required in order to effect the transaction. However, a company may approve such a transaction or action only if it is in the best interests of the Company.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, a controlling shareholder must also disclose any personal interest it may have in an existing or proposed transaction by the company. Transactions with controlling shareholders that are material, that are not in the ordinary course of business or that are not on market terms require approval by the audit committee, the board of directors and the shareholders of the company, and the Companies Law provides for certain quantitative requirements in respect of the voting of shareholders not having a personal interest in the applicable transaction.

 

 

Under the Companies Law, a shareholder has a duty to refrain from abusing its power, to act in good faith and to act in an acceptable manner in exercising its rights and performing its obligations to the company and other shareholders. A shareholder also has a general duty to refrain from acting to the detriment of other shareholders.

 

In addition, any controlling shareholder or any shareholder having specific power with respect to a company (the power to appoint an office holder, or specific influence over a certain vote) is under a duty to act with fairness towards the company. The Companies Law does not describe the substance of this duty except to state that the remedies generally available upon a breach of contract will also apply in the event of a breach of the duty to act with fairness, taking the shareholder’s position in the company into account.

 

 

Under the Companies Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder, certain private placements of securities may require approval at a general meeting of the shareholders of a company. These include, for example, certain private placements completed in lieu of a special tender offer (See “Memorandum and Articles of Association-Acquisition under Israeli law”) or a private placement which qualifies as a related party transaction (See “Corporate governance practices-Fiduciary duties and approval of specified related party transactions under Israeli law”).

 

 

Full Tender Offer. A person wishing to acquire shares of a public Israeli company and who would as a result hold over 90% of the target company’s issued and outstanding share capital is required by the Companies Law to make a tender offer for the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of the company. If the shareholders who do not accept the offer hold less than 5% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the company, and more than half of the offerees who do not have a personal interest in the tender offer accept the tender offer, all of the shares that the acquirer offered to purchase will be transferred to the acquirer by operation of law. Notwithstanding the above, if the shareholders who do not accept the offer hold less than 2% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the company or of the applicable class, the offer will nonetheless be accepted. However, a shareholder that had its shares so transferred may, within six months from the date of acceptance of the tender offer, petition the court to determine that the tender offer was for less than fair value and that the fair value should be paid as determined by the court. The bidder may provide in its tender offer that any accepting shareholder may not petition the court for fair value, but such condition will not be valid unless all of the information required under the Companies Law was provided prior to the acceptance date. The description above regarding a full tender offer also applies, with certain limitations, when a full tender offer for the purchase of all of the company’s securities is accepted.

 

Special Tender Offer. The Companies Law provides, subject to certain exceptions, that an acquisition of shares of a public Israeli company must be made by means of a “special tender offer” if, as a result of the acquisition, the purchaser would become a holder of at least 25% of the voting rights in the company. This rule does not apply if there is already another holder of at least 25% of the voting rights in the company. Similarly, the Companies Law provides that an acquisition of shares in a public company must be made by means of a tender offer if, as a result of the acquisition, the purchaser would become a holder of more than 45% of the voting rights in the company, and there is no other shareholder of the company who holds more than 45% of the voting rights in the company. The special tender offer may be consummated subject to certain majority requirements set forth in the Companies Law, and provided further that at least 5% of the voting rights attached to the company’s outstanding shares will be acquired by the party making the offer.

 

Merger. The Companies Law permits merger transactions between two Israeli companies if approved by each party’s board of directors and a certain percentage of each party’s shareholders. Following the approval of the board of directors of each of the merging companies, the boards must jointly prepare a merger proposal for submission to the Israeli Registrar of Companies.

 

Under the Companies Law, if the approval of a general meeting of the shareholders is required, merger transactions may be approved by the holders of a simple majority of our shares present, in person, by proxy or by written ballot, at a general meeting of the shareholders and voting on the transaction. In determining whether the required majority has approved the merger, if shares of the company are held by the other party to the merger, by any person holding at least 25% of the voting rights, or 25% of the means of appointing directors or the general manager of the other party to the merger, then a vote against the merger by holders of the majority of the shares present and voting, excluding shares held by the other party or by such person, or any person or entity acting on behalf of, related to or controlled by either of them, is sufficient to reject the merger transaction. In certain circumstances, a court may still approve the merger upon the request of holders of at least 25% of the voting rights of a company, if the court holds that the merger is fair and reasonable, taking into account the value of the parties to the merger and the consideration offered to the shareholders.

 

The Companies Law provides for certain requirements and procedures that each of the merging companies is to fulfill. In addition, a merger may not be completed unless at least fifty days have passed from the date that a proposal for approval of the merger was filed with the Israeli Registrar of Companies and thirty days from the date that shareholder approval of both merging companies was obtained.

 

 

Undesignated preferred shares. The Companies Law allows us to create and issue shares having rights different from those attached to our ordinary shares, including shares providing certain preferred or additional rights with respect to voting, distributions or other matters and shares having preemptive rights. We do not have any authorized or issued shares other than ordinary shares. In the future, if we do create and issue a class of shares other than ordinary shares, such class of shares, depending on the specific rights that may be attached to them, may delay or prevent a takeover or otherwise prevent our shareholders from realizing a potential premium over the market value of their ordinary shares. The authorization of a new class of shares will require an amendment to our articles of association which requires the prior approval of a simple majority of our shares represented and voted at a general meeting. In addition, we undertook towards the TASE that, as long as our shares are registered for trading with the TASE we will not issue or authorize shares of any class other than the class currently registered with the TASE, unless such issuance is in accordance with certain provisions of the Israeli Securities Law determining that a company registering its shares for trade on the TASE may not have more than one class of shares for a period of one year following registration with the TASE, and following such period the company is permitted to issue preferred shares if the preference of those shares is limited to a preference in the distribution of dividends and the preferred shares have no voting rights.

 

Supermajority voting. Our articles of association require the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our combined voting power to effect certain amendments to our articles of association.

 

Classified board of directors. Our articles of association provide for a classified board of directors. See “ITEM 6: Directors, Senior Management and Employees-Board Practices-Term of Directors.”

 

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our ordinary shares is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company. Its address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219, and its telephone number is (800) 937-5449.

 

 

We have not been party to any material contracts within the two years prior to the date of this annual report, other than contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, or as otherwise described below in this ITEM 10.C.

  

 

 

In 1998, Israeli currency control regulations were liberalized significantly, so that Israeli residents generally may freely deal in foreign currency and foreign assets, and non-residents may freely deal in Israeli currency and Israeli assets. There are currently no Israeli currency control restrictions on remittances of dividends on the ordinary shares or the proceeds from the sale of the shares provided that all taxes were paid or withheld; however, legislation remains in effect pursuant to which currency controls can be imposed by administrative action at any time.

 

Non-residents of Israel may freely hold and trade our securities. Neither our memorandum of association nor our articles of association nor the laws of the State of Israel restrict in any way the ownership or voting of ordinary shares by non-residents, except that such restrictions may exist with respect to citizens of countries which are in a state of war with Israel. Israeli residents are allowed to purchase our ordinary shares.

 

 

 

The following is a general discussion only and is not exhaustive of all possible tax considerations. It is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal or professional tax advice and should not be relied upon for tax planning purposes. In addition, this discussion does not address all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to purchasers of our ordinary shares in light of their particular circumstances, or certain types of purchasers of our ordinary shares subject to special tax treatment. Examples of this kind of investor include residents of Israel and traders in securities who are subject to special tax regimes not covered in this discussion. Each individual/entity should consult its own tax or legal advisor as to the Israeli tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares.

 

To the extent that part of the discussion is based on new tax legislation, which has not been subject to judicial or administrative interpretation, we cannot assure that the tax authorities or the courts will accept the views expressed in this section.

 

The following summary describes the current tax structure applicable to companies in Israel, with special reference to its effect on us. The following also contains a discussion of the material Israeli tax consequences to holders of our ordinary shares.

 

 

Israeli companies are generally subject to corporate tax rate of 23%. However, the effective tax rate payable by a company that derives income from an Approved Enterprise, a Benefited Enterprise, a Preferred Enterprise or a Technological Preferred Enterprise (as discussed below) may be considerably lower. Capital gains derived by an Israeli company are generally subject to the prevailing corporate tax rate.

 

 

Israeli tax law allows, under certain conditions, a tax deduction for expenditures, including capital expenditures, for the year in which they are incurred. Expenditures are deemed related to scientific research and development projects, if:

 

 

The amount of such deductible expenses is reduced by the sum of any funds received through government grants for the finance of such scientific research and development projects. No deduction under these research and development deduction rules is allowed if such deduction is related to an expense invested in an asset depreciable under the general depreciation rules of the Ordinance. Expenditures for research and development not approved are deductible in equal amounts over three years, according to the Ordinance.

 

From time to time, we may apply the Israel Innovation Authority for approval to allow a tax deduction for all research and development expenses during the year incurred. There can be no assurance that such application will be accepted.

 

 

The Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxes), 1969, generally referred to as the Industry Encouragement Law, provides several tax benefits for industrial companies. We believe that we currently qualify as an “Industrial Company” within the meaning of the Industry Encouragement Law. The Industry Encouragement Law defines “Industrial Company” as a company resident in Israel, of which 90% or more of its income in any tax year, other than of income from certain government loans, from an “Industrial Enterprise which is located in Israel” owned by it. An “Industrial Enterprise” is defined as an enterprise whose major activity in a given tax year is industrial production activity.

 

The following corporate tax benefits, among others, are available to Industrial Companies:

 

 

Under certain tax laws and regulations, an “Industrial Enterprise” may be eligible for special depreciation rates for machinery, equipment and buildings. These rates differ based on various factors, including the date the operations begin and the number of work shifts. An “Industrial Company” owning an approved enterprise may choose between these special depreciation rates and the depreciation rates available to the approved enterprise.

 

Eligibility for the benefits under the Industry Encouragement Law is not subject to receipt of prior approval from any governmental authority. We can give no assurance that we qualify or will continue to qualify as an “Industrial Company” or that the benefits described above will be available in the future.

 

 

 

The Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959, as amended, generally referred to as the Investments Law, provides that a proposed capital investment in eligible facilities may, upon application to the Investment Center of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the State of Israel, be designated as an “Approved Enterprise.”

 

The Investments Law provides that an approved enterprise is eligible for tax benefits on taxable income derived from its approved enterprise programs. The tax benefits under the Investments Law also apply to income generated by a company from the grant of a usage right with respect to know-how developed by the Approved Enterprise, income generated from royalties, and income derived from a service which is auxiliary to such usage right or royalties, provided that such income is generated within the Approved Enterprise’s ordinary course of business. The tax benefits under the Investments Law are not, generally, available with respect to income derived from products manufactured outside of Israel. In addition, the tax benefits available to an Approved Enterprise are contingent upon the fulfillment of conditions stipulated in the Investments Law and regulations and the criteria set forth in the specific certificate of approval, as described above. In the event that a company does not meet these conditions, it would be required to refund the amount of tax benefits, plus a consumer price index linkage adjustment and interest.

 

Should a company derive income from sources other than the Approved Enterprise during the relevant period of benefits, such income is taxable at the regular corporate tax rates.

 

A company may elect to receive an alternative package of benefits. Under the alternative package of benefits, a company’s undistributed income derived from the Approved Enterprise will be exempt from corporate tax for a period of between two and ten years from the first year the company derives taxable income under the program, after the commencement of production, depending on the geographic location of the Approved Enterprise within Israel, and such company will be eligible for a reduced tax rate for the remainder of the benefits period. Under certain circumstances (as detailed below regarding Foreign Investment Companies), the benefit period may extend to a maximum of ten years from the commencement of the benefit period.

 

A company that has elected the alternative track of benefits, such as us, that subsequently pays a dividend out of income derived from the approved enterprise(s) during the tax exemption period will be subject to corporate tax in the year the dividend is distributed in respect of the gross amount distributed, at the rate which would have been applicable had the company not elected the alternative track of benefits, (generally 10%-25%, depending on the percentage of the company’s ordinary shares held by foreign shareholders). The dividend recipient is subject to withholding tax at the reduced rate of 15% applicable to dividends from approved enterprises if the dividend is distributed during the tax exemption period or within twelve years thereafter. In the event, however, that the company qualifies as a foreign investors’ company, there is no such time limitation.

 

 

A company that has an Approved Enterprise program is eligible for further tax benefits if it qualifies as a foreign investors’ company. A foreign investors’ company is a company of which, among other criteria, more than 25% of its share capital and combined share and loan capital is owned by non-Israeli residents. A company that qualifies as a foreign investors’ company and has an approved enterprise program is eligible for tax benefits for a ten-year benefit period.

 

Subject to applicable provisions concerning income under the alternative package of benefits, dividends paid by a company are considered to be attributable to income received from the entire company and the company’s effective tax rate is the result of a weighted average of the various applicable tax rates, excluding any tax-exempt income. Under the Investments Law, with the exception of amendment 74, a company that has elected the alternative track of benefits is not obliged to distribute retained profits, and may generally decide from which year’s profits to declare dividends.

 

In 1998, the production facilities of the Company related to its computational technologies were granted the status of an “Approved Enterprise” under the Law. In 2004, an expansion program was granted the status of “Approved Enterprise.” According to the provisions of the Law, the Company has elected the alternative track of benefits and has waived Government grants in return for tax benefits.

 

As of December 31, 2023, the Company has not yet realized the benefits under the “Approved Enterprise” program. We believe that we met the aforementioned conditions.

 

 

An amendment to the Investments Law, generally referred as the 2005 Amendment, effective as of April 1, 2005 has significantly changed the provisions of the Investments Law. The amendment includes revisions to the criteria for investments qualified to receive tax benefits as an Approved Enterprise.

 

The 2005 Amendment simplifies the approval process for the approved enterprise. According to the 2005 Amendment, only approved enterprises receiving cash grants require the approval of the Investment Center.

 

A program receiving benefits under the 2005 Amendment is referred to as the Benefited Enterprise.

 

The duration of tax benefits is subject to a limitation of the earlier of seven to ten years from the Commencement Year, or twelve years from the first day of the Year of Election. We elected the year of 2009 as “year of election” under the Investments Law after the 2005 Amendment. The benefit period under this year of election has ended on December 31, 2020.

 

We believe that a portion of taxable operating income that we may realize in the future will be eligible to benefits under the Investments Law.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we did not generate exempt income under the provisions of the Investments Law.

 

 

Following amendment 74 to the Investment Law as part of the Law for Economic Efficiency (Legislative Amendments for Attaining the Budget Goals for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022), which was enacted in November, 2021, any dividends distributed, or deemed as distributed under the Investment Law after August 15, 2021 by a company which earned exempt income under the Approved or Benefited Enterprise regimes (Trapped Earnings) which it did not elect to release under the terms of amendment 74, will be allocated pro-rata between exempt income and other sources and taxed accordingly. In addition, the corporate income tax claw-back will apply upon any dividend distribution, as long as the company has Trapped Earnings.

 

 

As of January 1, 2011, new legislation amending the Investments Law came into effect (the “2011 Amendment”). The 2011 Amendment introduced a new status of “Preferred Company” and “Preferred Enterprise.” replacing the then existing status of “Benefited Company” and “Benefited Enterprise.” Similar to a “Benefited Company,” a Preferred Company is an industrial company owning a Preferred Enterprise which meets certain conditions (including a minimum threshold of 25% export). However, under this legislation the requirement for a minimum investment in productive assets was cancelled.

 

Under the 2011 Amendment, a uniform corporate tax rate applies to all qualifying income of the Preferred Company, as opposed to the former law, which was limited to income from the Approved Enterprises and Benefited Enterprise during the benefits period. As of the 2017 tax year the corporate tax rate for preferred taxable income is 7.5% in areas in Israel designated as Development Zone A and 16% elsewhere in Israel.

 

A dividend distributed from income which is attributed to a Preferred Enterprise will be subject to withholding tax at source at the following rates: (i) Israeli resident corporation -0%, (ii) Israeli resident individual - 20% in 2014 and onwards (iii) non-Israeli resident - 20% in 2014 and onwards, subject to a reduced tax rate under the provisions of an applicable double tax treaty.

 

The provisions of the 2011 Amendment also provided transitional provisions to address companies already enjoying current benefits. Under the transition provisions of the new legislation, a company may decide to irrevocably implement the 2011 Amendment while waiving benefits provided under the Investments Law prior to the 2011 Amendment; or to remain subject to the Investments Law prior to the 2011 Amendment. We have examined the possible effect, if any, of these provisions of the 2011 Amendment on our financial statements and have decided, at this time, not to opt to apply the new benefits under the 2011 Amendment.

 

 

In December 2016, new legislation amended the Investments Law, effective as of the 2017 tax year (the “2016 Amendment”). Under the 2016 Amendment a new status of “Technological Preferred Enterprise” was introduced to the Investments Law.

 

Under the 2016 Amendment, two new tracks are available:

 

 

Any dividends distributed to foreign companies, as defined in the Investments Law, derived from income from the Technological Preferred Enterprise will be subject to tax at a rate of 20% (with an exemption from such withholding tax applying to dividends paid to an Israeli company), or a lower rate of 4% in case 90% or more of the Preferred Technological Enterprise’s shares are held by foreign corporations. The above rates may be reduced by an applicable double tax treaty, subject to the receipt in advance of a valid certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced tax rate.

 

We have examined the possible effect, if any, of these provisions of the 2016 Amendment on our financial statements and have decided, at this time, not to opt to apply the new benefits under the 2016 Amendment.

 

 

Under the Income Tax (Inflationary Adjustments) Law, 1985, results for tax purposes are measured in real terms, in accordance with the changes in the Israeli Consumer Price Index (“Israeli CPI”). Accordingly, until 2011, results for tax purposes were measured in terms of earnings in ILS after certain adjustments for increases in the Israeli CPI. Commencing in the taxable year 2012, we have elected to measure our taxable income and file our tax return in United States Dollars, under the Israeli Income Tax Regulations (Principles Regarding the Management of Books of Account of Foreign Invested Companies and Certain Partnerships and the Determination of Their Taxable Income), 1986.

 

 

Israeli law generally imposes a capital gains tax on the sale of any capital assets by residents of Israel, as defined for Israeli tax purposes, and on the sale of assets located in Israel, including shares in Israeli companies, by both residents and non-residents of Israel, unless a specific exemption is available or a tax treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence provides otherwise. The law distinguishes between real gain and inflationary surplus. The inflationary surplus is a portion of the total capital gain which is equivalent to the increase of the relevant asset’s purchase price which is attributable to the increase in the Israeli consumer price index or, in certain circumstances, a foreign currency exchange rate, between the date of purchase and the date of sale. The real gain is the excess of the total capital gain over the inflationary surplus.

 

The tax rate applicable to capital gains derived from the sale of shares, whether listed on a stock market or not, is 25% for Israeli individuals, unless such shareholder claims a deduction for financing expenses in connection with such shares, in which case the gain is generally taxed at a rate of 30%. Additionally, if such shareholder is considered a “material shareholder” at any time during the 12-month period preceding such sale, i.e., such shareholder holds directly or indirectly, including with others, at least 10% of any means of control in a company, the tax rate is 30%. Israeli companies are subject to the Corporate Tax rate on capital gains derived from the sale of shares. However, the foregoing tax rates do not apply to: (i) dealers in securities; and (ii) shareholders who acquired their shares prior to an initial public offering (that may be subject to a different tax arrangement).

 

Individuals who are subject to tax in Israel are also subject to an additional tax at a rate of 3% on annual income exceeding a certain threshold (NIS 698,280 and NIS 721,560 for 2023 and 2024 respectively linked to the annual change in the Israeli Consumer Price Index), including, but not limited to income derived from, dividends, interest and capital gains.

 

Non-Israeli residents are exempt from Israeli capital gains tax on any gains derived from the sale of shares of Israeli companies publicly traded on a recognized stock exchange or regulated market outside of Israel, provided that such capital gains are not derived from a permanent establishment in Israel, and the shareholders did not acquire their shares prior to an initial public offering. However, non-Israeli corporations will not be entitled to such exemption if Israeli residents (i) have a controlling interest of more than 25% in such non-Israeli corporation, or (ii) are the beneficiaries or are entitled to 25% or more of the revenues or profits of such non-Israeli corporation, whether directly or indirectly.

 

In some instances where our shareholders may be liable to Israeli tax on the sale of their ordinary shares, the payment of the consideration may be subject to the withholding of Israeli tax at the source.

 

Pursuant to the Convention between the government of the United States and the government of Israel with respect to taxes on income, as amended (the “U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty”), the sale, exchange or disposition of ordinary shares by a person who (i) holds the ordinary shares as a capital asset, (ii) qualifies as a resident of the United States within the meaning of the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty and (iii) is entitled to claim the benefits afforded to such person by the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, generally, will not be subject to the Israeli capital gains tax. Such exemption will not apply if (i) the capital gain arising from such sale, exchange or disposition is attributed to real estate located in Israel, (ii) the capital gain arising from such sale, exchange or disposition is attributed to royalties, (iii) such U.S. resident holds, directly or indirectly, shares representing 10% or more of our voting power during any part of the 12-month period preceding such sale, exchange or disposition, subject to certain conditions, (iv) the capital gains from such sale, exchange or disposition can be allocated to a permanent establishment in Israel, or (v) such U.S. resident is an individual and was present in Israel for 183 days or more during the relevant taxable year. In such case, the sale, exchange or disposition of ordinary shares would be subject to Israeli tax, to the extent applicable; however, under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, such U.S. resident would be permitted to claim a credit for such taxes against the U.S. federal income tax imposed with respect to such sale, exchange or disposition, subject to the limitations in U.S. laws applicable to foreign tax credits. The U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty does not relate to U.S. state or local taxes.

 

 

Non-residents of Israel are subject to income tax on income accrued or derived from sources in Israel. Such sources of income include passive income such as dividends. On distributions of dividends other than bonus shares, or stock dividends, income tax is applicable at the rate of 25%, or 30% for a shareholder that is considered a “material shareholder” at any time during the 12-month period preceding such distribution, which tax will be withheld at source, unless a different rate is provided in a treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence. However, under the Investments Law, dividends generated by an Approved Enterprise, Benefited Enterprise, Preferred Enterprise or Technological Preferred Enterprise may be are taxed at a different rate as discussed above.

 

Under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, the maximum tax on dividends paid to a holder of ordinary shares that is a Treaty U.S. Resident is 25%. However, if the income out of which the dividend is paid is not generated by an Approved Enterprise, Benefited Enterprise, Preferred Enterprise or Technological Preferred Enterprise, and not more than 25% of our gross income consists of interest or dividends (and certain other conditions are met), dividends paid to a U.S. corporation holding at least 10% of our issued voting power during the part of the tax year which precedes the date of payment of the dividend and during the whole of its prior tax year are generally taxed at a rate of 12.5%. If the aforementioned conditions are met and the income out of which the dividend is paid is generated by an Approved Enterprise, Benefited Enterprise, Preferred Enterprise or Technological Preferred Enterprise, then the tax rate will be 15%. If the dividend is partly attributable to income derived from an Approved Enterprise, Benefited Enterprise, Preferred Enterprise or Technological Preferred Enterprise, and partly to other sources of income, the withholding rate will be a blended rate reflecting the relative portions of the two types of income. We cannot assure you that we will designate the profits that we may distribute in a way that will reduce shareholders’ tax liability.

 

 

The following is a description of the material United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders (defined below) of the ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares, but does not purport to be a comprehensive discussion of all tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular person’s decision to acquire our ordinary shares. This description addresses only the United States federal income tax considerations of holders that hold such ordinary shares as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This description does not address tax considerations applicable to holders that may be subject to special tax rules, including: