Flux Power Holdings (FLUX) Risk Factors

A catastrophic failure of our battery modules could cause personal or property damages for which we would be potentially liable. Damage to or the failure of our battery packs to perform to customer specifications could result in unexpected warranty expenses or result in a product recall, which would be time consuming and expensive. Such circumstances could result in negative publicity or lawsuits filed against us related to the perceived quality of our products which could harm our brand and decrease demand for our products.

We do not manufacture the battery cells used in our energy storage packs. Our battery cells, which are an integral part of our battery products and systems, are sourced from a limited number of manufacturers located in China. While we obtain components for our products and systems from multiple sources whenever possible, we have spent a great deal of time in developing and testing our battery cells that we receive from our suppliers. We refer to the battery cell suppliers as our "limited source suppliers." Additionally, our operations are materially dependent upon the continued market acceptance and quality of these manufacturers' products and their ability to continue to manufacture products that are competitive and that comply with laws relating to environmental and efficiency standards. Our inability to obtain products from one or more of these suppliers or a decline in market acceptance of these suppliers' products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. From time to time we have experienced shortages, allocations and discontinuances of certain components and products, resulting in delays in filling orders. Qualifying new suppliers to compensate for such shortages may be time-consuming and costly. In addition, we may have to recertify our UL Listings for the battery cells from new suppliers, which in turn has led to delays in product acceptance. Similar delays may occur in the future. Furthermore, the performance of the components from our suppliers as incorporated in our products may not meet the quality requirements of our customers. To date, we have no qualified alternative sources for our battery cells although we research and assess cells from other suppliers on an ongoing basis. We generally do not maintain long-term agreements with our limited source suppliers. While we believe that we will be able to establish additional supplier relationships for our battery cells, we may be unable to do so in the short term or at all at prices, quality or costs that are favorable to us. Changes in business conditions, wars, regulatory requirements, economic conditions and cycles, governmental changes, pandemic, and other factors beyond our control could also affect our suppliers' ability to deliver components to us on a timely basis or cause us to terminate our relationship with them and require us to find replacements, which we may have difficulty doing. Furthermore, if we experience significant increased demand, or need to replace our existing suppliers, there can be no assurance that additional supplies of component parts will be available when required on terms that are favorable to us, at all, or that any supplier would allocate sufficient supplies to us in order to meet our requirements or fill our orders in a timely manner. In the past, we have replaced certain suppliers because of their failure to provide components that met our quality control standards. The loss of any limited source supplier or the disruption in the supply of components from these suppliers could lead to delays in the deliveries of our battery products and systems to our customers, which could hurt our relationships with our customers and also materially adversely affect our business, prospects and operating results.

Our success will depend on our ability to develop new products and capabilities that respond to customer demand, industry trends or actions by our competitors. There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop new products and capabilities that adequately respond to these forces. In addition, changes in legislative, regulatory or industry requirements or in competitive technologies may render certain of our products obsolete or less attractive. If we are unable to offer products and capabilities that satisfy customer demand, respond adequately to changes in industry trends or legislative changes and maintain our competitive position in our markets, our financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected. The research and development of new products and technologies is costly and time consuming, and there are no assurances that our research and development efforts will be either successful or completed within anticipated timeframes, if at all. Our failure to technologically evolve and/or develop new or enhanced products may cause us to lose competitiveness in the battery market. In addition, in order to compete effectively in the renewable battery industry, we must be able to launch new products to meet our customers' demands in a timely manner. However, we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to install and certify any equipment needed to produce new products in a timely manner, or that the transitioning of our manufacturing facility and resources to full production under any new product programs will not impact production rates or other operational efficiency measures at our manufacturing facility. In addition, new product introductions and applications are risky, and may suffer from a lack of market acceptance, delays in related product development and failure of new products to operate properly. Any failure by us to successfully launch new products, or a failure by us to meet our customers criteria in order to accept such products, could adversely affect our results.

We utilize information technology systems and networks to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. As the use of digital technologies has increased, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks and divert financial resources, have increased in frequency and sophistication. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, all of which are vital to our operations and business strategy. There can be no assurance we will succeed in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects. Despite implementing security measures, any of the internal computer systems belonging to us or our suppliers are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failure. Any system failure, accident, security breach or data breach that causes interruptions could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. Further, our information technology and other internal infrastructure systems, including firewalls, servers, leased lines and connection to the Internet, face the risk of systemic failure, which could disrupt our operations. If any disruption or security breach results in a loss or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we may incur resulting liability, and competitive position may be adversely affected, and the further development of our products may be delayed. Furthermore, we may incur additional costs to remedy the damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches.

We do not have long-term contracts with our customers. Future agreements with respect to pricing, returns, promotions, among other things, are subject to periodic negotiation with each customer. No assurance can be given that our customers will continue to do business with us. The loss of any of our significant customers will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. In addition, the uncertainty of product orders can make it difficult to forecast our sales and allocate our resources in a manner consistent with actual sales, and our expense levels are based in part on our expectations of future sales. If our expectations regarding future sales are inaccurate, we may be unable to reduce costs in a timely manner to adjust for sales shortfalls.

Uncertainty about the current and future global economic conditions may cause our customers to defer purchases or cancel purchase orders for our products in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability and weakened consumer confidence. Our financial success is sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, both globally and nationally. Recessionary economic cycles, higher interest borrowing rates, higher fuel and other energy costs, inflation, increases in commodity prices, higher levels of unemployment, higher consumer debt levels, higher tax rates and other changes in tax laws or other economic factors that may affect consumer spending or buying habits could continue to adversely affect the demand for our products. If credit pressures or other financial difficulties result in insolvency for our customers, it could adversely impact our financial results. There can be no assurances that government and consumer responses to the disruptions in the financial markets will restore consumer confidence.

Our sole production facility is located in southern California near major geologic faults that have experienced earthquakes in the past. An earthquake or other natural disaster or power shortages or outages could disrupt our operations or impair critical systems. Any of these disruptions or other events outside of our control could affect our business negatively, harming our operating results. In addition, if our sole facility, or the facilities of our suppliers, third-party service providers or customers, is affected by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, power shortages or outages, floods or monsoons, public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, political crises, such as terrorism, war, political instability or other conflict, or other events outside of our control, our business and operating results could suffer. Moreover, these types of events could negatively impact consumer spending in the impacted regions or, depending upon the severity, globally, which could adversely impact our operating results. Similar disasters occurring at our vendors' manufacturing facilities could impact our reputation and our consumers' perception of our brands.

In 2018, the United States government announced tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products imported into the United States, which led to reciprocal tariffs being imposed by the European Union and other governments on products imported from the United States. The United States government has implemented tariffs on goods imported from China. The lithium-ion battery industry has been subjected to tariffs implemented by the United States government on goods imported from China. There is an ongoing risk of new or additional tariffs being put in place on lithium-ion batteries or related part. Since all of our lithium-ion batteries are manufactured in China, current and potential tariffs on lithium-ion batteries imported by us from China could increase our costs, require us to increase prices to our customers or, if we are unable to do so, result in lower gross margins on the products sold by us. China has already imposed tariffs on a wide range of American products in retaliation for the American tariffs on steel and aluminum. Additional tariffs could be imposed by China in response to actual or threatened tariffs on products imported from China. The imposition of additional tariffs by the United States could trigger the adoption of tariffs by other countries as well. Any resulting escalation of trade tensions, including a "trade war," could have a significant adverse effect on world trade and the world economy, as well as on our results of operations. At this time, we cannot predict how such enacted tariffs will impact our business. Tariffs on components imported by us from China could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

There have been changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the (Sarbanes-Oxley) Act of 2002, new regulations promulgated by the SEC and rules promulgated by the national securities exchanges. These new or changed laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies, which could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. As a result, our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards are likely to continue to result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Members of our Board of Directors and our chief executive officer and chief financial officer could face an increased risk of personal liability in connection with the performance of their duties. As a result, we may have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified directors and executive officers, which could harm our business. If the actions we take in our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards differ from the actions intended by regulatory or governing bodies, we could be subject to liability under applicable laws or our reputation may be harmed. In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley specifically requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure of controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Our testing, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, when required, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses. Our compliance with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

If one of our products were to cause injury to someone or cause property damage, including as a result of product malfunctions, defects, or improper installation, then we could be exposed to product liability claims. We could incur significant costs and liabilities if we are sued and if damages are awarded against us. Further, any product liability claim we face could be expensive to defend and could divert management's attention. The successful assertion of a product liability claim against us could result in potentially significant monetary damages, penalties or fines, subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position, and adversely affect sales of our products. In addition, product liability claims, injuries, defects, or other problems experienced by other companies in the solar industry could lead to unfavorable market conditions for the industry as a whole, and may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract new customers, thus harming our growth and financial performance. Although we carry product liability insurance, it may be insufficient in amount to cover our claims.