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Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

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FY2017 Annual Report · Comtech Telecommunications Corp.
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COMTECH

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.

Connections That Matter

Annual Report 2017

Presence in Large, 
Growing End Markets

Comtech is focused on markets 
that are highly dependent on secure, 
advanced communications technologies.

•  Satellite-based Communications

•  Public Safety & Next Generation 9-1-1

•  Enterprise & Trusted Location Platforms

•  Command & Control (C4ISR) Solutions

•  Cybersecurity Training

•  Emerging Markets

Commercial Solutions Segment

Government Solutions Segment 

Our  Commercial  Solutions  segment  serves  commercial 
customers  and  smaller  government  customers,  such 
as  state  and  local  governments,  that  require  advanced  
communication  technologies  to  meet  their  needs  and  also 
serves  certain  large  government  customers  (including  the 
U.S.  government)  that  have  requirements  for  off-the-shelf 
commercial equipment. Our satellite-based communication  
technologies,  products  and  services  are  used  in  a  wide  
variety  of  commercial  and  government  applications 
including  the  backhaul  of  satellite-based  cellular  traffic,  
broadcasting 
in-flight  
connectivity, IP trunking solutions and premium enterprise 
services.  Our  offerings  also  include  safety  and  security  
technologies,  such  as  Next  Generation  (“NG”)  9-1-1,  
Wireless/Voice  over  Internet  Protocol  (“VoIP”)  and  Text  
to  9-1-1,  and  NG9-1-1  Emergency  Services  IP  Networks  
(“ESInet”)  services.  Our  Enterprise  and  Trusted  
LocationTM  technologies  include  location-based  technology  
such  as  Trusted  LocationTM,  Look4TM,  Indoor  Location,  
text  messaging  platforms,  and  VirtuMedix®.  Our  text  
messaging platforms are used by wireless carriers to provide 
Short Messaging Service, or SMS, to their end customers.

(including  HDTV  and  4K), 

and 

integrate 

computing 

Our  Government  Solutions  segment  serves 
large  
government end-users (including those of foreign countries)  
that  require  mission-critical  technologies  and  systems.  
We  are  a  leading  provider  of  command  and  control  
C4ISR  technologies  and  applications  (such  as  the 
design,  installation  and  operation  of  data  networks  
that 
communications, 
including  both  satellite  and  terrestrial  links),  ongoing  
network  operation  and  management  support  services 
telecom  expense  management,  project  
(including 
management  and  fielding  and  maintenance  solutions  
related  to  satellite  ground  terminals),  troposcatter  
communications (such as digital troposcatter multiplexers, 
digital over-the-horizon modems, troposcatter systems, and 
frequency converter systems) and RF power and switching 
technologies  (such  as  solid-state  high-power  broadband 
amplifiers,  enhanced  position  location  reporting  system 
(commonly  known  as  “EPLRS”)  amplifier  assemblies,  
identification  friend  or  foe  (“IFF”)  amplifiers,  and  
amplifiers used in the counteraction of improvised explosive  
devices). Other offerings include our cybersecurity training 
solutions to produce certified cyber professionals.

FISCAL 2017 REVENUE BY SEGMENT

FISCAL 2017 REVENUE BY CUSTOMER

39.9%

60.1%

Commercial Solutions
Government Solutions

32.7%

28.4%

38.9%

Domestic
International
U.S. Government

1

T O   O U R   F E L L O W   S H A R E H O L D E R S :

Fiscal year 2017 was a busy and successful year for Comtech.

We  completed  the  integration  of  our  acquisition  of  
TeleCommunication  Systems,  Inc.  (“TCS”),  the  largest  
acquisition  in  our  history.  The  TCS  acquisition  was  
transformative for our business and a significant step in our 
strategy  of  entering  complementary  markets  and  expanding 
our domestic and international commercial offerings. 

We delivered strong operating results including reporting: 
•   Consolidated net sales of $550.4 million,
•   Consolidated net income of $15.8 million, 
•   Adjusted EBITDA of $70.7 million, and
•   $66.7 million of cash flow from operations. 

I  am  proud  of  the  results  we  achieved  in  fiscal  2017  
and  we  entered  fiscal  2018  with  a  solid  backlog  and  
a  large  pipeline  of  opportunities  that  give  us  reason  to  be  
excited about our future prospects.

With  the  integration  of  TCS  complete,  we  are  now  shifting  
our  focus  to  growing  our  commercial  and  government  
segments and increasing shareholder value.  

Our Commercial Solutions segment is focused on several large 
growing  markets.  For  example,  we  are  the  leading  provider  
of satellite communications networks and products, such as  
satellite  earth  station  modems,  up-and-down  frequency  
converters  and  solid-state  and  traveling  wave  tube  power  
amplifiers.  We  are  also  a  leading  provider  of  public  
safety  systems,  such  as  next-generation  9-1-1  networks  
and enterprise applications, such as messaging and trusted 
location-based technologies. 

Our  strategy  in  the  past  few  years  has  been  focused 
on  developing  and  marketing  our  new  HEIGHTSTM  
products  and  network  solutions  for  use  with  the  new  High 
Throughput  Satellites  (“HTS”).  During  our  fourth  quarter 
of fiscal 2017 we announced the general availability of our  
HEIGHTSTM Dynamic Network Access, or H-DNA technology.  

2

The  HEIGHTSTM  solution  is  intended  to  not  only  meet  the  
demands  of  traditional  fixed  satellite  systems  but  also  
provide  distinct  advantages  for  those  system  users  
considering  migrating  to  HTS  systems.  This  is  an  entirely 
new  market  for  us  and  one  which  is  much  larger  than  
our traditional Single Channel Per Carrier, or SCPC, market 
where we continue to be dominant. 

Another  area  we  continue  to  be  excited  about  is  the  IFEC  
market,  or  in-flight  satellite-based  connectivity  market.  Our  
solid-state  amplifiers  help  enable  commercial  airlines  to  
provide  in-flight  connectivity  services  to  their  passengers. 
This  is  a  new  and  growing  market  for  us,  and  we  believe  
this area will be a significant revenue contributor for Comtech 
in fiscal year 2018 and beyond.

On  the  public  Safety  and  Security  Solutions  side,  our  
solutions  include  9-1-1  call  routing  for  Wireless  Networks,  
9-1-1  routing  for  Voice-Over  Internet  networks  and  
Next-Generation Network 9-1-1 solutions for state and local 
public  safety  operations.  We  continue  to  roll  out  multi-year  
next-generation deployments and believe that this market will 
continue to grow for many years ahead. 

Our  Enterprise  and  Trusted  LocationTM  Solutions  include  
GPS-enabled  software  which  we  provide  for  navigation  
services  to  make  it  easier  for  users  to  find,  locate  and  
get  directions  to  various  points  of  interest.  We  also  offer 
text  messaging  solutions  and  believe  we  are  one  of  the  
leading  providers  of  text  messaging  in  North  America,  
providing  such  service  to  Verizon,  AT&T  and  others  for  
many  years.  As  part  of  our  text  messaging  solutions,  
we offer carrier-grade platforms and high-performance short 
messaging  services,  or  SMS  routing  for  cloud  messaging  
centers,  wireless  intelligent  gateways  and  feature-rich,  
operator-grade  messaging  platforms.  Our  newly  released 
Location Studio product suite was recognized by the Cellular 
Telecommunications  Industry  Association,  or  CTIA,  as  a  
winner  for  the  industrial  Internet  of  Things  or  IoT  product  
of  the  year.  Looking  forward,  we  anticipate  future 
announcements  for  location-enabled  applications  in  the  
connected car, mobile OEM and data analytics domains.

Our  Government  Solutions  segment  serves  large  government  
end-users  that  require  mission-critical  technologies  and  
systems  which  are  sold  to  the  U.S.  Department  of  Defense  
international  government  agencies.  Our 
agencies  and 
solutions,  primarily  C4ISR  solutions,  include  satellite,  
Line-of-Sight  and  Tropospheric  Scatter  ground  products  
and  terminals,  management  and  sale  of  satellite  bandwidth  
and  RF  power  and  switching  technologies.  In  fiscal  2017,  
we  continued  to  execute  a  tactical  shift  in  this  segment’s 
strategy  to  focus  less  on  commodity  service  contracts  with  
more  emphasis  on  contracts  for  products  with  higher  
margins.  We  believe  that  we’re  starting  to  see  tangible  
benefits of this strategy, such as being named a final awardee 
on  a  10-year,  $2.5  billion  IDIQ  contract,  commonly  referred  
to as Complex Commercial SATCOM Solutions, or CS3.

Our Government Solutions segment’s strategy to focus efforts 
on  supporting  the  U.S.  Army  on  a  possible  next-generation  
Blue  Force  Tracking  (“BFT”)  program  appears  to  be  gaining  
ground.  Our  BFT-1  systems  remain  deployed  and  continue  
to  be  used  as  the  workhorse  of  the  BFT-1  program  
more  than  seven  years  after  the  U.S.  government  awarded  
Blue  Force  Tracking  2  (“BFT-2”)  to  a  competitor.  In  fiscal  
2017,  we  were  awarded  a  contract  to  provide  BFT  aviation  
transceivers  to  the  Defense  Logistics  Agency  and  during 
the  first  quarter  of  fiscal  2018,  we  were  awarded  a  highly  
strategic $6.5 million contract to support the BFT-2 program, 
including  porting  additional  Comtech  waveforms  onto  the  
current  BFT-2  transceiver  to  allow  it  to  be  used  in  various 
operational environments and allow the U.S. Army to quickly 
change to different waveforms as needed. In our view, these  
two  contract  awards  demonstrate  the  quality  of  our  BFT-1  
system and our expertise in the BFT area. 

In  addition,  we  recently  responded  to  a  large  multi-million  
dollar  competitive  solicitation  from  the  U.S.  Army  to  
provide  sustainment  services  for  the  SNAP  satellite  earth  
station  terminals  we  originally  supplied  to  the  U.S. 
Army.  SNAP  terminals  provide  quick  and  mobile  satellite  
communications capability to personnel in the field. Recently,  
SNAP  terminals  were  used  to  provide  vital  satellite  
communications  in  support  of  hurricane  disaster  recovery  
efforts  in  Texas  and  Florida.  We  are  the  incumbent  in  this  
program,  and  as  such,  we’re  optimistic  that  the  U.S.  Army  
will select us to continue to perform this important work.

We  are  a  supplier  of  over-the-horizon  troposcatter  systems  
to international and U.S. government agencies and customers 
and we have a large worldwide installed base of these systems  
which can transmit video and other broadband applications at  
throughputs  over  50  megabits  per  second.  We  believe  many 
emerging and developing countries will be required to further  
develop  and  upgrade  their  commercial  and  defense  
communications systems and we believe our over-the-horizon  
microwave technologies often provide affordable and effective  
solutions that meet these requirements. Our pipeline today is 
full of opportunities in this area.

role  using 

On  the  cyber-training  front,  we  are  working  with  several  
different  government  and  commercial  customers  and  we  
expect to announce additional large orders for these products 
in fiscal 2018. We recently launched our third CYBRScore™ 
Skills  Assessment  work 
the  knowledge,  
skills  and  abilities  defined  in  the  National  Initiative  for  
Cybersecurity  Education  (“NICE”)  Cybersecurity  Workforce  
Framework (“NCWF”). In today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity  
threat  environment,  the  awareness  and  knowledge  of  
to  protect  critical  enterprise  
employees 
infrastructure;  however,  few  organizations  are  able  to  
quantitatively  measure  the  skills  of  their  key  personnel  
responsible  for  cybersecurity  protection.  Our  CYBRScore™ 
skills  assessment  tool  provides  quantitative  metrics  on  
cybersecurity job role skills. 

is  essential 

All in all, fiscal 2017 was a very successful and transformative  
year  for  Comtech.  The  fundamentals  of  our  two  business  
segments  are  solid  and  we  are  seeing  strong  demand  for  
our  product  and  service  offerings,  as  evidenced  by  recent  
order activity.  

I want to express my sincere thanks to all our employees for 
their dedication and collaborative efforts toward the successful 
integration  of  TCS.  I  remain  very  excited  about  the  positive 
signs  and  broad  opportunities  for  future  growth  for  all  our  
businesses and look forward to continuing our upward trend in 
fiscal 2018 and beyond. 

Respectfully yours, 

Fred Kornberg
Chairman
CEO and President

3

 
Commercial Solutions

4

Our  Super  PowerTM  traveling  wave  tube  
amplifiers have been well received, allowing  
our  customers,  such  as  broadcasters,  to 
build  new  infrastructure  and  enable  the  
replacement  of  aged  klystron  or  TWT  
equipment. These high power, high efficiency  
broadband  amplifiers  are  necessary  for  
High  Definition  and  Ultra-High  Definition  
or “4K” broadcasting.

Safety and Security 
Technologies

We  offer  safety  and  security  technology  
solutions  that  enable  9-1-1  call  routing  via  
cellular,  over  the  Internet  using  VoIP,  and 
across  next  generation  technology.  We  
believe  we  are  a  leader  in  public  safety  
communication  technologies  used  for  the  
delivery  of  9-1-1  calls  and  believe  we  
have significant market share in the routing 
of  U.S.  wireless  9-1-1  calls,  VoIP  9-1-1 
calls  and  Text  to  9-1-1  deployments.  
When  someone  places  an  emergency  call 
using one of these technologies, our software 
can  identify  the  call  as  an  emergency  call, 
access  the  user’s  location  information  from 
the wireless network and route the call to the 
assigned public safety jurisdiction. 

We  continue  to  invest  in  and  upgrade  our 
9-1-1  capabilities  as  we  believe  this  market 
will grow from current levels. We believe our 
existing  customer  base  has  a  need  for  Next 
Generation  Emergency  (NG9-1-1)  systems,  
including  9-1-1  text  messaging  services, 
advanced  data,  real-time  photos,  and  other 
types of information sharing over IP networks.

We  believe  the  Commerce  Department’s 
FirstNet system, a nationwide LTE broadband 
network for over five million first responders,  
using  the  700MHz  spectrum  will  facilitate  
sales of our NG9-1-1 systems. Our FirstNet  
opportunities  include  systems  integration,  
infrastructure  
location 
satellite 
terminals,  and 
to  NG9-1-1 
linkage 
Emergency Services IP Networks (“ESlnet”).

and 

We believe that this market will continue to 
grow for many years and the current political 
environment will help facilitate such growth.

Communication 
Technologies 

We  believe  we  are  the  leading  provider  of  
satellite  communications  technologies.  Our 
product  offerings  include  ground-based  
equipment  such  as  satellite  earth  station 
modems,  traveling  wave  tube  amplifiers,  
block  up  converters,  power  amplifiers,  
frequency  converters,  transceivers,  access  
devices,  voice-gateways,  internet  protocol  
encapsulators,  and  media  routers.  We  
manufacture  most  of  the  satellite-based  
communication  equipment  we  sell  to  
our customers.

In  the  satellite  earth  station  sector,  we  
remain  the  undisputed  leader  of  SCPC,  
driven  by  our  proven  ability  to  deliver  the  
most  bandwidth  efficient  modems  and  
highest  efficiency  amplifiers  to  end  users.  
Our  HEIGHTSTM  Networking  Platform,  
combines  our  most  efficient  waveforms,  
compression  engines  and  the  ability  to  
provide  dynamic  bandwidth  to  meet  the  
demands of traditional fixed satellite system  
users  but  also  provide  distinct  advantages  
system  users  considering 
for 
migrating  to  High  Throughput  Satellite 
systems.  We  have  a  growing  sales  
funnel  of  HEIGHTSTM  opportunities  and 
believe  that  fiscal  2018  will  be  a  breakout  
year for our HEIGHTSTM network products.

those 

The  “in-flight  connectivity”  market  has  
become a growing market for Comtech. The  
deployment  of  in-flight  connectivity  and  
entertainment systems by airlines around the  
world  is  creating  opportunities  for  us  as  a  
key  supplier  of  amplifier  components  used  
for  in-flight  Ku-band  connectivity  systems. 
As  airlines  move  to  offer  higher  speed  
satellite-based  connectivity,  we  believe  this  
market  will  experience  solid  demand  over  
the next few years. 

Enterprise Technologies

We  offer  enterprise  application  technologies 
including  location-based  technology  such  as 
Trusted Location™, Look4™, Indoor Location, 
text messaging platforms, and VirtuMedix®.

leading 

Leveraging  our 
location-based  
technology expertise, we have developed a wide  
range of commercial solutions to help address  
mapping,  routing  and  geolocation  to  help  
reduce  cybercrime  and  fraud  and  enhance  
public safety. Our Trusted Location™ product 
allows providers to accurately determine mobile  
location and identify fraudulent behavior (e.g., 
location  spoofing)  and  other  security  risks, 
including  risks  arising  from  mobile-based 
financial transactions.

Our  Look4™  application  allows  customers  to 
build  their  own  applications  that  include  our  
location-based  technology.  Look4™  allows  
end-customers  functionality  such  as  maps,  
search,  geocoding,  routing  and  navigation 
using their brand.

Our  Indoor  Location  solution  enables  the  
determination of a cell phone user’s geospatial  
position  in  environments  where  traditional 
Global  Positioning  System  (“GPS”),  global  
navigation  satellite  systems  and  cellular  
technologies  do  not  work  well  (such  as 
office  buildings).  The  FCC  has  mandated  
that  emergency  services  incorporate  this  
technology which utilizes more precise location  
information  in  mobile  applications  as  well  as 
in  driverless  cars  and  C4ISR  systems.  Our 
platform  is  also  used  to  provide  “Connected 
Car” connectivity.

Our  text  messaging  platforms  are  used  by  
wireless  carriers  to  provide  Short  Messaging 
Service  (“SMS”)  to  their  end-customers  and  
to  communicate  with  9-1-1  PSAPs  through 
major network operators. 

Our VirtuMedix® product is a new secure digital  
health  platform  that  we  have  developed  and 
is  accessible  from  most  mobile  devices,  
connecting  patients  and  providers  to  enable  
virtual healthcare. Changes in health regulations  
and  reimbursement  models  have  created  this 
new market opportunity.

5

 
Government Solutions

6

Command & Control 
Technologies

Troposcatter 
Technologies

RF Power Systems 
Technologies

We offer solutions to help close the security  
gap in an era of information-based, network- 
centric  warfare.  Our  solutions  are  primarily  
sold  to  the  U.S.  Department  of  Defense  
and  consist  of  C4ISR  (command,  control, 
communication,  computers, 
intelligence  
surveillance  and  reconnaissance)  solutions. 
We offer integrated satellite equipment and 
design, install and operate data networks that 
integrate  computing  and  communications  
(including  satellite  and  terrestrial  links). 
In  addition,  we  provide  ongoing  network  
operation and management support services  
including  telecom  expense  management  
and  project  management  and  fielding  and  
maintenance  solutions  related  to  satellite  
ground terminals and related systems.

We  offer  satellite  transceivers  used  by  
militaries  to  track  and  communicate  with  
friendly  forces.    U.S.  and  foreign  military  
customers  use  our  solid-state  amplifiers  in  
a  variety  of  electronic  warfare  systems  such  
as  jamming,  broadcasting  and  deception  in  
addition  to  simulation,  communication, 
radar,  counter  measure  and  Identification 
Friend or Foe (“IFF”) systems.

Our  BFT-1  systems  remain  deployed  and 
continue to be used as the workhorse of the 
BFT-1 program more than seven years after 
the  U.S.  government  awarded  BFT-2  to  a 
competitor.    In  fiscal  2017,  we  received  a  
new  $42.7  million  five-year  contract  to  
continue  to  provide  the  U.S.  Army  with  
BFT-1  sustainment  support.  We  believe 
that  the  U.S.  Army  has  a  requirement  
for  a  next  generation  system  (referred  to  
commonly  as  “BFT-3”)  and,  based  on  our  
recent  interactions  with  the  U.S.  Army,  we 
are  becoming  increasingly  optimistic  that 
we will be able to participate in future BFT 
program awards. 

We also offer cybersecurity training. Increased  
focus  by  government  agencies  on  the 
protection  of  their  online  assets  has  
brought the importance of cybersecurity and  
associated solutions to the forefront. We have  
developed a number of cybersecurity training 
solutions and we are proficient in the recruitment  
and development of cyber professionals. Our  
Art of Exploitation training program covers a  
clear set of leading methodologies to produce  
a certified cyber professional.  

Our  high-power  solid-state  amplifiers  and  
related  technologies  are  utilized  in  several  
critical  applications 
including  electronic  
warfare,  communications,  radar,  IFF  and  
medical applications.

In  the  electronic  warfare  marketplace,  we  
support  legacy  systems  and  are  participating 
in  the  ongoing  migration  to  platforms  that 
require  smaller  and  lighter  amplifiers.  We 
expect  the  U.S.  Department  of  Defense  to 
fund  initial  proof  of  concept  systems  and 
fund production of small airborne platforms to 
meet the need for improved data link systems  
with  manned  and  unmanned  platforms. 
Our 
flexibility  
increase 
of  systems  by  providing  wider  bandwidth  
capabilities to address communication needs.

solutions 

the 

We  have  designed,  manufactured  and  sold 
over-the -horizon  (“OTH”)  microwave  (also 
known  as  troposcatter)  communication  
products  and  systems  for  over  forty  years  
and  believe  we  are  the  leading  supplier  in  
this specialized product market. We believe 
we  offer  the  only  available  troposcatter 
modem operating at 50 megabits per second 
(“Mbps”).  OTH  microwave  systems  readily 
transmit  digitized  voice,  video,  and  data 
over  unfriendly  or  inaccessible  terrain  by  
reflecting  transmitted  signals  off  of  the  
troposphere  and  are  extremely  reliable,  
secure  and  a  cost-effective  alternative  to 
satellite communication as it does not require  
the leasing of expensive satellite transponder 
space with its attendant recurring costs.

Traditional  end-users  of  our  troposcatter  
equipment  have  included  the  U.S.  and  
foreign  governments 
that  utilize  our  
systems  to,  among  other  things,  transmit  
radar tracking, run C4ISR applications, and  
connect remote border locations. Additionally,  
energy  companies  use  our  systems  to  
enable communication links for offshore oil 
rigs and other remote locations, as well as for 
exploration activities.

Our  high  power  and  highly  reliable  Gallium 
(“GaN”)  amplifier  technology  is  increasingly  
being  used  both  to  update  existing  radar  
systems  for  improved  sensitivity  and  range  as 
well as for new radar installations.  

In  addition  to  technologies  that  enhance  
performance of primary radars, we also supply  
solutions for IFF systems that provide positive  
identification  of  radar  targets.  Governing  
bodies  are  requiring  the  implementation  of  
spectrum  friendly  systems  which,  in  turn, 
is  driving  market  need  for  new  hardware  for  
our advanced performance systems.

technologies 

The  medical  industry  is  also  making  use  
in  oncology  and  
of  our 
hypothermic  cancer 
treatment  systems.  
These  systems  improve  treatment  precision, 
reduce  marginal  costs  and  allow  for  higher  
insurance reimbursement rates.

7

Our  Modular  Tactical  Transmission  System 
(“MTTS”),  the  first  truly  modular,  rapidly 
deployable  transit  case -based  troposcatter  
system,  has  been  purchased  by  the  U.S.  
Army,  and  is  incorporated  into  the  Secret  
Internet  Protocol  Router  and  Non-Secure  
Internet  Protocol  Router  Access  Point 
(“SNAP”)  family  of  products  used  by  the  
U.S. military. We believe that the U.S. Army  
intends  to  deploy  a  significant  number  
of  units  in  the  future.  We  are  currently  
developing  next  generation  troposcatter  
modems 
that  will  provide  significant 
reductions  in  size,  power  and  weight  as 
compared  to  currently  available  models.  
We  believe  these  next  generation  modems  
will facilitate further market expansion over 
the next several years.

S E L E C T E D   F I N A N C I A L   D A T A

NET SALES
$ in thousands

$550,368

$411,004

$347,150

$319,797

$307,289

ADJUSTED EBITDA(1)
$ in thousands

$70,705

$61,336

$52,242

$51,761

$48,062

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

REVENUES BY SEGMENT ($ IN THOUSANDS)

COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS

GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS

$330,867

$248,955

$229,058

$228,745

$203,674

$219,501

$162,049

$118,405 $103,615

$90,739

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

(1) A reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA is included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

8

 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017 

Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Commission File Number:    0-7928

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation /organization)

11-2139466
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

68 South Service Road, Suite 230,
Melville, NY
(Address of principal executive offices)

11747
(Zip Code)

(631) 962-7000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Common Stock, par value $.10 per share
Series A Junior Participating Cumulative

Name of each exchange on which registered
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes              

No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 of Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes              

No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such 
reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes              

No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every 
Interactive Data file required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during 
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes              

No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not 
contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements 

incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller 
reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller 
reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Emerging growth company

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for 

complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes              

No

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the 
closing sales price as quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market on January 31, 2017 was approximately $247,917,000.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding on September 22, 2017 was 23,585,941.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.

Certain portions of the document listed below have been incorporated by reference into the indicated Part of this Annual Report 
on Form 10-K:

Proxy Statement for 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders - Part III

ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

INDEX

PART I

Corporate Strategies
Competitive Strengths
Commercial Solutions Segment
Government Solutions Segment
Summary of Key Products, Systems and Services by Business Segment
Acquisitions
Sales, Marketing and Customer Support
Backlog
Manufacturing and Service
Research and Development
Intellectual Property
Competition
Employees
U.S. Government Contracts and Security Clearances
Regulatory Matters

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 2.

PROPERTIES

ITEM 3.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND 

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

PART II

Stock Performance Graph and Cumulative Total Return
Dividends
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
Approximate Number of Equity Security Holders

ITEM 6.

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

i

1

2
2
5
7
9
10
10
11
12
12
12
13
14
14
15

17

40

41

43

43

44

44
45
45
45
45

46

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS 

OF OPERATIONS

Overview
Critical Accounting Policies
Results of Operations
         Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018
         Comparison of Fiscal 2017 and 2016
         Comparison of Fiscal 2016 and 2015
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Recent Accounting Pronouncements

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

ITEM 8.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

ITEM 9.

CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND 
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND 

RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR 

INDEPENDENCE

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

SIGNATURES

48

48
49
53
53
55
62
67
72

75

75

75

75

76

77

77

77

77

77

78

81

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SCHEDULE

F- 1

ii

Note:  As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms "Comtech," "we," "us," "our" and "our Company" mean Comtech 
Telecommunications Corp. and its subsidiaries.

Note About Forward-Looking Statements 
This  Form  10-K  contains  "forward-looking  statements"  including  statements  concerning  the  future  of  our  industry,  product 
development, business strategy, continued acceptance of our products, market growth, and dependence on significant customers. 
These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," 
"expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," the negative of these terms, or other similar 
words  or  comparable  terminology. All  statements  in  this  report,  other  than  statements  of  historical  fact,  are  forward-looking 
information.  When  considering  forward-looking  statements,  you  should  keep  in  mind  the  risk  factors  and  other  cautionary 
statements included in this Form 10-K. However, the risks described in this Form 10-K are not the only risks that we face. Additional 
risks and uncertainties, not currently known to us or that do not currently appear to be material, may also materially adversely 
affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results in the future. We describe risks and uncertainties that could cause 
actual results and events to differ materially in "Risk Factors" (Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K), "Quantitative and Qualitative 
Disclosures about Market Risk" (Part II, Item 7A of this Form 10-K), and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations" (Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K). We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly 
any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

PART I
ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

We are a leading provider of advanced communications solutions for both commercial and government customers worldwide. 
Our solutions fulfill our customers’ needs for secure wireless communications in some of the most demanding environments, 
including those where traditional communications are unavailable or cost-prohibitive, and in mission-critical scenarios where 
performance is crucial. 

As more fully described throughout this Form 10-K, fiscal 2017 turned out to be a successful year for Comtech.  We have largely 
completed the integration of our February 23, 2016 acquisition of TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. ("TCS"), the largest acquisition 
in  our  history.  The  TCS  acquisition  was  transformative  for  our  business  and  a  significant  step  in  our  strategy  of  entering 
complementary markets and expanding our domestic and international commercial offerings.

Our fiscal 2017 results include a full twelve months of TCS operations and we reported consolidated net sales of $550.4 million, 
consolidated net income of $15.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA (a Non-GAAP financial measure) of $70.7 million. For a definition 
and explanation of Adjusted EBITDA, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results 
of Operations - Comparison of Fiscal 2017 and 2016 - Adjusted EBITDA.” We generated significant cash flows from operations 
and significantly reduced our long-term indebtedness.  

We enter fiscal 2018 with a solid backlog and a pipeline of opportunities that give us reason to be excited about our future prospects. 
Our Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018 is discussed further in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition 
and Results of Operations - Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018." 

Our Internet website is www.comtechtel.com and we make available on our website: our filings with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission  ("SEC"),  including  annual  reports,  quarterly  reports,  current  reports  and  any  amendments  to  those  filings.  The 
reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained therein into this Form 
10-K. We also use our website to disseminate other material information to our investors (on the Home Page and in the "Investor
Relations" section). Among other things, we post on our website our press releases and information about our public conference
calls (including the scheduled dates, times and the methods by which investors and others can listen to those calls), and we make
available for replay webcasts of those calls and other presentations.

We also use social media channels to communicate with customers and the public about our Company, our products, services and 
other issues, and we use social media and the Internet to communicate with investors, including information about our stockholder 
meetings. Information and updates about our Annual Meetings will continue to be posted on our website at www.comtechtel.com
in the "Investor Relations" section.

1

Any materials filed with the SEC may be read and copied by the public at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., 
Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC 
at 1-800-SEC-0330.

We are incorporated in the state of Delaware and were founded in 1967.

Corporate Strategies 

We intend to manage our business with the following principal corporate strategies:

•

•

Seek leadership positions in markets where we can provide differentiated products and technology solutions;

Identify and participate in emerging technologies that enhance or expand our product portfolio;

• Maximize responsiveness to our customers, including offering more integrated systems and solutions;

•

•

Expand and further penetrate our diversified and balanced customer base; and

Pursue acquisitions of complementary businesses and technologies.

Competitive Strengths

The successful execution of our principal corporate strategies is based on our competitive strengths, including the following:

(1) We Have Significant Exposure to Large, Growing End Markets

We  believe  Comtech  is  well  positioned  to  capitalize  on  some  of  the  most  significant  emerging  technology  trends  occurring 
worldwide and that customers around the world will increasingly turn to us to fulfill their needs for secure wireless communications 
in some of the most demanding environments, including those where traditional communications are unavailable or cost-prohibitive, 
and in mission-critical scenarios where performance is crucial. These important emerging technology trends include growth in 
global wireless penetration and mobile data consumption, proliferation of mobile applications requiring trusted location data, the 
need  for  public  safety  agencies  to  seamlessly  connect  individuals  with  first  responders,  widespread  deployment  of  in-flight 
connectivity solutions by airlines worldwide, and the rapidly expanding breadth of High Definition ("HD") and 4K broadcasting 
content.

(2) We Believe We Are a Market Leader in the End-Markets That We Serve

Commercial Solutions Segment 
Communication Technologies - We believe we are the leading provider of Single Carrier per Channel ("SCPC") satellite earth 
station modems. Many of our key satellite earth station products incorporate Turbo Product Code ("TPC") forward error correction 
technology and our licensed DoubleTalk® Carrier-in-Carrier® bandwidth compression technology which enables our customers 
to optimize their satellite networks by either reducing their satellite transponder lease costs or increasing data throughput. We 
believe we are a leader in the traveling wave tube amplifiers ("TWTA") market and we differentiate our product offerings by our 
ability to develop the most efficient size, weight and power profile. Our TWTA products are vital to satellite communication 
applications such as traditional broadcast, direct-to-home ("DTH") broadcast and satellite newsgathering. We provide solid-state 
amplifiers that are also used to amplify signals carrying voice, video or data for air-to-satellite-to-ground communications. For 
example, our amplifiers, when incorporated into an aircraft satellite communication system, can provide passengers with email, 
Internet access and video conferencing. Certain of our high-powered amplifiers are AS-900 (an airborne quality standard ) certified. 
We believe we are a leader in providing amplifiers for the growing in-flight connectivity market.

2

Safety and Security Technologies - We believe that we are a leader in public safety communication technologies used for delivery 
of 911 calls. We believe we have significant market share in the routing of U.S. wireless 911 calls, Voice over Internet Protocol 
("VoIP") 911 calls and Text to 911 deployments. We believe we are one of two companies fulfilling the Federal Communications 
Commission  ("FCC")  requirements  for  Enhanced  911  ("E911")  call-routing  to  public  safety  answering  points  ("PSAPs")  for 
wireless and VoIP network operators. E911 refers to 911 calls for both wireline and wireless telephones that are enhanced to provide 
location information of the caller. We are focusing our marketing and research and development efforts to meet system standards 
for next generation 911 ("NG911"), which refers to an Internet Protocol ("IP") based system that allows digital information (e.g., 
voice, photos, videos, text messages) to flow seamlessly from the public, through the 911 network, and on to emergency responders.

Enterprise Technologies - Our Short-Messaging Service ("SMS") Center software has been used by wireless carrier subscribers 
to send and receive text or data messages to and from wireless devices for almost two decades. We provide ongoing operational 
support for our installed base of systems, including administration of system components, system optimization and configuration 
management. Our systems include our Location Trust Score technology, a unique process we developed to reliably identify a 
mobile location by generating a "Location Trust Score." Additionally, we offer Location Studio TM,  a complete end-to-end location-
based services platform for mobile carriers, application developers and enterprises. The platform consists of multiple modular 
technology suites that provide a rich set of functionalities, including indoor and outdoor positioning, geolocation, mapping, search, 
routing, navigation, real-time message updates, and analytics. This platform includes Look4TM geo-services which enable customers 
to build their own applications powered by our location-based technology and a cloud-based positioning engine. We believe the 
positioning of Location StudioTM is unique in the industry and is an appealing alternative to free consumer-based mapping services 
which are subject to change by the supplier and which may not meet an enterprise’s privacy and security requirements.

Government Solutions Segment
Command and Control Technologies - We are a key supplier to the U.S. Army for mission critical command and control technology 
solutions and field support services. We are a prime contractor under several indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (“IDIQ”) 
defense contract vehicles, including the: (i) Army’s Global Tactical Advanced Communications Systems ("GTACS") contract, (ii) 
Defense Information Systems Agency’s Custom SATCOM Solutions ("CS2") contract and (iii) “Complex Commercial SATCOM 
Solutions” (“CS3”) contract from the General Services Administration. We also provide the U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD") 
personnel  with  curriculum  development  and  training  services  to  support  cybersecurity  workforce  development. We  currently 
provide sustainment services to the U.S. Army’s AN/TSC-198 family of communication systems that are commonly referred to 
as “SNAP” (“Secret Internet Protocol Router (“SIPR”) and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router (“NIPR”) Access Point) Very 
Small Aperture Terminals (“VSATs”). Additionally, we have provided and expect to continue to provide Blue Force Tracking-1 
sustainment services to the U.S. Army well into the future. 

Troposcatter Technologies - We have designed, manufactured and sold over-the-horizon microwave products and systems for 
approximately forty years and believe we are the leading supplier in this specialized product market. We believe we offer the only 
available adaptive troposcatter modem operating at 50 Mbps. Our Modular Tactical Transmission System ("MTTS") systems 
provide a high capacity, beyond-line-of-sight modular communications system designed for easy and rapid deployment. Our MTTS 
systems also offer seamless compatibility and interoperability with legacy-fielded troposcatter systems currently used by the U.S. 
military, including all versions of the AN/TRC-170.

RF Power & Switching Technologies - We are one of the largest independent suppliers of broadband, high-power, high-performance 
RF microwave amplifiers, which reproduce signals with high power and are extremely complex and critical to the performance 
of the systems into which they are incorporated. Many of these amplifiers are produced in-house by large companies; however, 
our expertise has created a cost-effective and technologically superior alternative to in-house sourcing. Some of the companies 
who have outsourced amplifier production to us include Rockwell Collins, Inc., Thales Group, European Aeronautic Defense and 
Space  Company  ("EADS"),  Telephonics  Corporation,  Northrop  Grumman  Corporation,  BAE  Systems  PLC  and  Raytheon 
Company. Our amplifiers are also used in oncology treatment systems that allow physicians to give cancer patients higher doses 
of radiation that are more closely focused on cancerous tissue, thereby minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

(3) We Believe We Provide Industry Leading Innovation, Capabilities and Solutions

We have established a leading position of technology innovation in our fields through internal and customer-funded research and 
development activities, which have yielded significant advances. Examples of our industry-leading innovation include:

3

Our HEIGHTS Networking Platform - In fiscal 2017, we announced the general availability of our HeightsTM Dynamic Network 
Access Technology ("HEIGHTS"), a potentially revolutionary technology designed to deliver the highest Internet Protocol bits 
per Hertz in its class, as well as robust reliability. HEIGHTS is an advanced networking platform that combines our most efficient 
waveforms, compression engines and the ability to provide dynamic bandwidth and power management to meet the demands of 
customers operating on traditional fixed satellite service systems ("FSS") while providing advantages for customers who plan to 
transition to high throughput satellite ("HTS") systems in the future. Our HEIGHTS networking platform, a successor to our 
advanced  VSAT  series  of  products,  is  ideally  suited  for  cellular  backhaul,  universal  service  obligation  networks  and  other 
applications that require high performance in a hub-spoke environment.

Our New Line of SLM-5650B Satellite Modems - During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare 
System  Command,  in  support  of  the  Program  Executive  Office  for  Command,  Control,  Communications,  Computer  and 
Intelligence, publicly announced its intention to sole-source a five year, IDIQ contract to procure our SLM-5650B satellite modems 
and upgrade kits. There are over eight-hundred older generation modems currently utilized by multiple Navy programs and our 
new modems and related upgrade kits will meet critical Navy requirements. We believe no other competitor responded to the 
Navy’s Request for Proposal (“RFP”) and that we are the only company in the world that is able to meet the Navy’s requirements. 

Our Gallium Nitride Based Amplifiers - These amplifiers, which incorporate Gallium Nitride ("GaN") technololgy, offer an efficient 
size, weight and power profile affording customers more power with higher efficiency. With continued technology evolution in 
the GaN semiconductor marketplace, we have successfully developed solid-state products with our GaN semiconductor partners 
that are achieving power levels of traditional tube amplifier products. We believe this will create opportunities to replace difficult 
to utilize amplifiers which use antiquated technology and are more expensive to operate. In the first quarter of fiscal 2017, we 
introduced a new series of high-power GaN SSPAs which we believe are more compact and significantly more efficient than other 
SSPAs on the market, making them ideal for transportable and mobile applications where power draw matters.  These new SSPAs 
include: our new XTLIN-200K SSPA which covers 13.75 to 14.5 GHz Ku-band with a minimum of 200W of linear power; our 
new XTLIN-100K SSPA which also covers 13.75 to 14.5 GHz Ku-band but with a minimum of 100W of linear power and which 
allows easy conversion from X-band to Ku-band; and our new XTLIN-200X SSPA which can be used for tactical X-band and 
which offers a minimum of 200W of linear power. We believe these new product introductions will meet the needs of our customers 
for many years ahead. 

Our New Trusted Technology Location Solutions - In order to determine a cellular phone user’s location, many companies utilize 
technology that combines wireless network-derived location data with data from the phone’s on-board global positioning system 
receiver. In April 2016, we were issued a U.S. patent for our Location Trust Score technology. This patent grants us important 
intellectual property protection and licensing opportunities for a unique process that identifies the reliability of a stated mobile 
location by generating a "Location Trust Score." We believe this technology is a major breakthrough in providing secure, accurate 
and reliable information and a powerful tool for identifying fraud, preventing "false positive" denials of service, and confirming 
location compliance for regulated industries.

(4) We Have a Diverse Global Customer Base

We have established longstanding relationships with hundreds of customers worldwide. Our customers include leading system 
and network suppliers in the global satellite, defense, broadcast and aerospace industries, as well as the U.S. federal government, 
U.S. state and local governments, and foreign governments.

Our satellite earth station products and our high-power amplifiers are used by hundreds of international customers including mobile 
cellular network providers and governments around the world. We also have ongoing relationships with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. 
Navy, U.S. Army and other government agencies. Our global commercial and government customers are increasingly seeking 
integrated solutions to meet their operational needs. We believe that our customers recognize our ability to develop improved 
technologies and to meet stringent program requirements.

We have long standing relationships with U.S.-based telecommunications companies, including Verizon Wireless and AT&T, 
through various divisions, directly and through channels.

We believe the TCS acquisition has further strengthened our relationship with the U.S. government, given its prime position on 
key contracts. Prior to the acquisition, Comtech and TCS had worked together for a number of years to offer the U.S. military a 
troposcatter system in a transportable flyaway configuration (known as the AN/TCS-198(V3) or SNAP-3T) which is capable of 
providing seamless compatibility and interoperability with legacy-fielded over-the-horizon microwave systems. Over time, we 
hope to utilize these prime contracts to facilitate procurement by the U.S. government for our satellite earth station and over-the-
horizon microwave equipment and systems, given the ever increasing amount of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, 
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (also known as "C4ISR") information that is being generated. 

4

Our Two Business Segments

We manage our business through two reportable operating segments: Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions. Our 
corporate senior management team supports the business segments by, among other things, actively seeking to exploit potential 
synergies that exist between the segments, including in areas such as manufacturing, technology, sales, marketing and customer 
support. 

In fiscal 2017, our Commercial Solutions segment contributed 60.1% of our consolidated net sales and our Government Solutions 
segment contributed 39.9% of our consolidated net sales. Additional financial information about our business segments, including 
net sales, operating income, Adjusted EBITDA (a Non-GAAP financial measure), total assets, and our operations outside the 
United States, is provided in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (13) Segment Information" included in "Part II 
- Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

Commercial Solutions Segment

Overview

Our Commercial Solutions segment serves commercial customers and smaller government customers, such as state and local 
governments,  that  require  advanced  communication  technologies  to  meet  their  needs. This  segment  also  serves  certain  large 
government customers (including the U.S. government) that have requirements for off-the-shelf commercial equipment. We believe 
this segment is a leading provider of satellite communications (such as satellite earth station modems and TWTAs), public safety 
systems (such as NG911 technologies) and enterprise application technologies (such as messaging and trusted location-based 
technologies).

Key Markets and Technology Solutions 

Communication Technologies 

We offer communication technologies with particular expertise in the satellite communications industry, which is undergoing a 
period of significant growth and rapid technological change.  Our Commercial Solutions segment manufactures most of the satellite-
based communication equipment we sell to our customers including equipment sold by our Government Solutions segment.

We believe that the overall satellite ground station equipment industry will grow over the next few years.  This growth is expected 
to occur as a result of wide-sweeping deployment and upgrades of ground-based systems, including satellite earth stations, as well 
as integration of high-performance amplifiers used for high-performance systems and applications necessary to meet emerging 
demand for high-performance applications of satellite communications technologies, such as satellite-based wireless backhaul, 
direct to home ("DTH"), high definition ("HD") and 4K broadcasting, and in-flight connectivity.

We believe that Comtech is well positioned to capitalize on this industry growth and change through sales of our market leading, 
high performance communication technologies and products, including our SCPC satellite modems, solid-state amplifiers and our 
HEIGHTS  networking  platform.  Examples  of  end-market  applications  that  are  driving  demand  for  our  satellite-based 
communication technologies include:

•

•

Satellite-Based Cellular Backhaul.  Demand for satellite-based cellular backhaul services is anticipated to grow
rapidly as a result of the increased penetration of smart cellular phones and network upgrades to 3G and 4G in
developing regions of the world. As mobile data penetration expands and mobile data consumption increases, wireless
carriers must invest in their mobile network infrastructure.  In developing regions of the world and in remote areas
where terrestrial network infrastructure is lacking, wireless network operators often backhaul, or transport, their
wireless data traffic using satellite-based networking technologies. Comtech is well positioned to serve the high-
performance, high availability needs of satellite-based cellular backhaul through sales of our leading SCPC modems
and solid-state amplifiers.

New High Throughput Satellites. There are literally more than 100 new High Throughput Satellite ("HTS") payloads
expected to launch over the next decade which we believe is expected to lead to increasingly complex satellite
networks.  As service providers work to offer connectivity to these high-speed, high-bandwidth satellites and expand
their networks to handle the demand for new HTS applications, we believe they will require new installations and
upgrades of equipment.

5

• High Definition and Ultra-High Definition Broadcasting.  In recent years, consumers have purchased millions of
High Definition televisions and Ultra-High Definition or "4K" televisions. We believe this will require a significant
amount of satellite bandwidth, which is expected to require satellite service providers to upgrade equipment and find
new ways to manage the cost and transmission efficiency of their networks.  We believe that these requirements will
drive increased demand for new SCPC-based modems, our Ka-frequency based 500 Watt TWTA, our HEIGHTS
products and our SuperPowerTM TWTAs, which can double TWTA output power and provide direct replacement for
bandwidth deficient KPAs.

•

In-Flight Connectivity.  Consumer demand for anytime, anywhere connectivity is rapidly rising.  As a result, airlines
worldwide are deploying in-flight connectivity and entertainment systems. The deployment of in-flight connectivity
and entertainment systems by airlines around the world is creating opportunities for us to serve as a key supplier of
amplifier components used for in-flight Ku-band connectivity systems. As airlines move to offer higher speed satellite-
based connectivity, we believe this market will experience solid demand over the next few years.

Safety and Security Technologies 

We offer safety and security technology solutions that enable 911 call routing via cellular, over the Internet using VoIP, and across 
next generation technology.  When someone places an emergency call using one of these technologies, our software, which is 
utilized by certain telecommunication carriers, can identify the call as an emergency call, accesses the user’s location information 
from the wireless network and route the call to the assigned public safety jurisdiction.

We intend to continue to invest in and upgrade our 911 capabilities as we believe this market will grow from current levels. We 
believe our existing customer base has a need for NG911 systems, including 911 text messaging services, advanced data, real-
time photos, and other types of information sharing over IP networks. We believe the Commerce Department’s FirstNet system, 
a  nationwide  LTE  broadband  network  for  over  five  million  first  responders,  which  encompasses  police  departments,  fire 
departments, the National Guard, and other emergency service providers using the 700MHz spectrum will facilitate sales of our 
NG911  systems. Additionally,  over  time,  we  believe  we  can  provide  systems  integration,  satellite  and  location  infrastructure 
terminals, and linkage to NG911 Emergency Services IP Networks ("ESInet"). Although the sales cycle is lengthy and difficult 
to predict, we believe the market for NG911 products will grow from current levels. As a result, we have implemented and will 
continue to implement pilot programs of our market leading U.S. solutions in foreign countries.  Our NG911 solutions have been 
deployed since 2006 and are utilized by literally millions of people in more than 30 states. Key E911 capability upgrades include: 
Text-to-911, indoor location accuracy and multimedia messaging.

Enterprise & Trusted Location™ Technologies 

We offer enterprise application technologies including location-based technology such as Trusted LocationTM, Look4TM, Indoor 
Location,  text  messaging  platforms,  and  VirtuMedix®.  These  technologies  are  included  in  some  of  our  Safety  and  Security 
Technologies solutions as well. 

Leveraging our leading location-based technology expertise, we have developed a wide range of commercial solutions to help 
address mapping, routing, and geolocation to help reduce cybercrime and fraud, as well as enhance public safety. Our Trusted 
LocationTM product is a software-based scoring system that allows providers to accurately determine mobile location and identify 
fraudulent  behavior  (e.g.,  location  spoofing)  and  other  security  risks,  including  risks  arising  from  mobile-based  financial 
transactions.  Our Look4TM application allows customers to build their own applications that include our location-based technology. 
Look4TM allows enterprise customers to offer their end-customers functionality such as maps, search, geocoding, routing and 
navigation using their brand. We believe that enterprise customers are increasingly looking for an alternative to free mapping 
services that are subject to change by the provider and may not meet the enterprise’s privacy and security requirements. Our Indoor 
Location solution enables the determination of a cell phone user’s geospatial position in environments where traditional Global 
Positioning  System  (“GPS”),  global  navigation  satellite  systems  and  cellular  technologies  do  not  work  well  (such  as  office 
buildings).  The FCC has mandated that emergency services must incorporate this technology (and we believe other markets will 
follow) which utilizes more precise location information in mobile applications as well as in driverless cars and C4ISR systems. 
We provide services to support these applications, and our platform is used to provide "Connected Car" connectivity. Our text 
messaging platforms are used by wireless carriers to provide SMS to their end-customers and are also used to communicate with 
911 PSAPs through major network operators.  For our installed base of systems, we provide ongoing operational support, including 
administration of system components, system optimization, and configuration management.  Maintenance services include tracking 
customer support issues, trouble shooting, and developing and installing maintenance releases. The VirtuMedix® product is a new 
secure digital health platform that we have developed and is accessible from any device, connecting patients and providers to 
enable virtual healthcare. Changes in health regulations and reimbursement models have created a new market opportunity. To 
date, sales of this product have been nominal. 

6

Government Solutions Segment

Overview

Our Government Solutions segment serves large government end-users (including those of foreign countries) that require mission-
critical technologies and systems. We believe this segment is a leading provider of command and control applications (such as the 
design, installation and operation of data networks that integrate computing and communications, including both satellite and 
terrestrial links), ongoing network operation and management support services (including telecom expense management, project 
management and fielding and maintenance solutions related to satellite ground terminals), troposcatter communications (such as 
digital troposcatter multiplexers, digital over-the-horizon modems, troposcatter systems, and frequency converter systems) and 
RF power and switching technologies (such as solid-state high-power broadband amplifiers, enhanced position location reporting 
system (commonly known as "EPLRS") amplifier assemblies, identification friend or foe ("IFF") amplifiers, and amplifiers used 
in the counteraction of improvised explosive devices).

Key Markets and Technology Solutions 

Our Government Solutions segment offers integrated satellite equipment and designs, installs and operates data networks that 
integrate  computing  and  communications  (including  both  satellite  and  terrestrial  links)  and  field  support.  In  addition,  our 
Government  Solutions  segment  provides  ongoing  network  operation  and  management  support  services  including  project 
management and fielding and maintenance solutions related to satellite ground terminals and related systems. 

Command & Control (C4ISR) Technologies

With persistent threats from state and non-state actors, governments seek to mitigate these threats using information to increase 
decision-makers’ situational awareness.  This information is collected through various surveillance platforms, such as radars and 
unmanned aerial vehicles ("UAVs"), and transferred and processed through secure communications networks.

We  offer  solutions  to  help  close  the  security  gap  in  an  era  of  information-based,  network-centric  warfare.    U.S.  and  foreign 
governments  use  our  over-the-horizon  microwave  systems  to,  among  other  things,  transmit  radar  tracking  and  air  defense 
information and to connect remote border locations.  We also offer satellite transceivers used by militaries to track and communicate 
with friendly forces, and we offer cybersecurity training.  Our amplifiers support high capacity U.S. military satellite systems and 
our narrow-band solid state amplifier products are a key component in communications systems used to support U.S. special 
operations forces.  In addition, advanced UAVs use our integrated solid state products as part of their data link systems.  U.S. and 
foreign military customers use our solid state amplifiers in a variety of electronic warfare systems such as jamming, broadcasting 
and deception in addition to simulation, communication, radar, counter measure and IFF systems.

Governments around the world have historically allocated large portions of their defense budgets to platform-based programs - 
for example, the development, acquisition, operation and maintenance of aircrafts and ships.  However, with increasing security 
threats  and  increasingly  constrained  budgets,  the  new  capital  allocation  mentality  in  the  defense  industry  is  that  incremental 
investment in old platform programs is seen as starving funding from data-centric investments which do more to close the security 
gap. Increasing focus by government agencies on the protection of their online assets has brought the importance of cybersecurity 
and associated solutions to the forefront. As such, we have developed a number of cybersecurity training solutions to meet the 
U.S.  government’s  surging  demand  for  qualified  personnel.  We  are  proficient  in  the  recruitment  and  development  of  cyber 
professionals and offer our Art of Exploitation training program. This training program covers a clear set of leading methodologies 
to produce a certified cyber professional.

Troposcatter Technologies 

Over-the-horizon microwave systems, sometimes referred to as troposcatter systems, are extremely reliable and secure. Over-the-
horizon microwave communication is a cost-effective, secure alternative to satellite communication as it does not require the 
leasing  of  expensive  satellite  transponder  space  with  its  attendant  recurring  costs.  Traditional  end-users  of  our  troposcatter 
equipment have included the U.S. government and foreign governments that utilize our systems to, among other things, transmit 
radar tracking, run C4ISR applications, and connect remote border locations. Additionally, energy companies use our systems to 
enable communication links for offshore oil rigs and other remote locations, as well as for exploration activities. Our over-the-
horizon  microwave  systems,  which  include  our  patented  forward  error  correction  technology,  can  transmit  video  and  other 
broadband applications at throughputs of up to 50 megabits per second ("Mbps").

7

We believe the market for troposcatter technologies is poised for growth. We believe many emerging and developing countries 
will be required to further develop and upgrade their commercial and defense communications systems, and many of these countries 
lack  the  financial  resources  to  install  extensive  land-based  networks,  particularly  where  they  have  large  geographic  areas  or 
unfriendly terrain that make the installation of land-based networks more costly.  We believe our over-the-horizon microwave 
technologies  often  provide  affordable  and  effective  solutions  to  meet  the  requirements  for  communications  services  in  these 
countries and that long-term demand will increase.

Our MTTS, the first truly modular, rapidly deployable transit case-based troposcatter system, which has recently been purchased 
by the U.S. Army, has been incorporated into the SNAP family of products used by the U.S. military and called the Tactical 
Transportable TROPO ("SNAP 3T") or AN/TRC 198(V3). Numerous SNAP 3T terminals have been deployed by the U.S. Army 
in recent years and we believe that the U.S. Army intends to deploy a significant number of units in the future.  We are currently 
developing next generation troposcatter modems that will provide significant reductions in size, power and weight as compared 
to currently available models. We believe these next generation modems will facilitate further market expansion over the next 
several years.

RF Power and Switching Technologies 

Our high-power solid-state amplifiers and related technologies are utilized in several critical applications including: electronic 
warfare, communications, radar, IFF and medical applications. We believe the demand for our RF power and switching technologies 
is growing. 

In the electronic warfare marketplace, we support legacy systems and are participating in the ongoing migration to platforms that 
require smaller and lighter amplifiers. We expect the U.S. DoD to fund initial proof of concept systems and fund production of 
small airborne platforms to meet the need for improved data link systems with manned and unmanned platforms. Our solutions 
increase the flexibility of systems by providing wider bandwidth capabilities to address communication needs.

We also believe that the desire for increased situational awareness of the airspace may create opportunities for our radar and IFF 
products, which are used by government customers around the world. Our high power and highly reliable GaN amplifier technology 
is increasingly being used both to update existing radar systems for improved sensitivity and range as well as for new radar 
installations. In addition to technologies that enhance performance of primary radars, we also supply solutions for IFF systems 
that provide positive identification of radar targets. Governing bodies are requiring the implementation of spectrum friendly systems 
which, in turn, is driving market need for new hardware for our advanced performance systems.

The medical industry is also making use of our technologies in oncology and hypothermic cancer treatment systems. These systems 
improve  treatment  precision,  reduce  marginal  costs  and  allow  for  higher  insurance  reimbursement  rates.  These  increased 
reimbursement levels are strong incentives to upgrade facilities with the latest available technologies.

Over time, as a result of the TCS acquisition, we expect to be able to compete for a larger number of government contracts due 
to  our  increased  scale,  prime  contracting  experience,  key  past  performance  qualifications  and  broader  technology  resources. 
Furthermore, TCS  has  historically  procured  certain  modems  and  amplifiers  used  in  its  equipment  from  third  parties. We  are 
currently in the process of having our equipment certified for inclusion on these programs, which will allow us to displace existing 
third party providers and control and enhance overall system performance.

8

Summary of Key Products, Systems and Services by Business Segment

The diagram below illustrates how our advanced technology solutions are organized by our two reportable operating segments:

Commercial Solutions Segment Technologies

Government Solutions Segment Technologies

Safety and
Security
Technologies

Safety and 
Security
•  Wireless/
VoIP 911
service for
network
operators

•  NextGen 911

• ESInet

(Emergency
Services IP
Network)

Communication
Technologies

Satellite Earth 
Station 
Products
•  Ground-based

equipment such
as single
channel per
carrier modems
and solid-state
amplifiers that
facilitate the
transmission of
voice, video
and data over
satellite links

Traveling 
Wave Tube 
Amplifiers
• High power

narrow-band
amplifiers used
to amplify
signals from
satellite earth
stations

Enterprise
Technologies

Command and
Control Technologies

Troposcatter
Technologies

Over-the-
Horizon 
Microwave 
Systems
• Equipment and
systems that
can transmit
digitized voice,
video and data
over unfriendly
or inaccessible
terrain over
distances from
20 to 200 miles
using the
troposphere

Application 
Solutions
•  Software and
equipment for
Iocation-based
and
messaging
infrastructure

•  Managed
“cIoud-
services”

•  Trusted

LocationTM

• Indoor Location

C4ISR
•  Tactical

communications,
managed
networks,
logistics, end-to-
end integration

Cyber Intelligence 
Solutions
•  Cybersecurity

training

•  Computer
network
operations

Mobile Data 
Communications
•  Secure,

satellite-based
mobile
communications
and tracking
systems

RF Power and
Switching
Technologies

Solid State 
Power 
Amplifiers
• Solid state high

power
broadband
amplifiers
designed for
radar, electronic
warfare,
jamming,
medical and
aviation
applications

Commercial Solutions Segment Representative Customers

Government Solutions Segment Representative Customers

Satellite systems integrators, wireless and other 
communication service providers, broadcasters.

Domestic and international defense customers, as well as 
U.S. and foreign governments, prime contractors and 
system suppliers such as Harris Corporation, General 
Dynamics Corporation, L-3 Communications, Raytheon 
Company and ViaSat Inc. 

Satellite broadcasters, such as The DIRECTV Group and 
EchoStar Corporation.

End-customers also include AT&T Inc., BT Group plc., 
China Mobile Limited, Century Link, Comcast Corporation, 
Intelsat, Ltd., Globecomm Systems, Inc., Nokia 
Corporation, O3b Networks, Qualcomm Incorporated, 
Sprint Corporation and Verizon Communications, Inc.

U.S. Army logistics community, the U.S. Army war-fighter 
community, foreign governments, the U.S. Navy, prime 
contractors to the U.S. Armed Forces and NATO.

Domestic and international defense customers, prime 
contractors and system suppliers such as Raytheon 
Company, Exelis Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, 
Telephonics, Inc. and Thales Group. 

Medical equipment companies, such as Varian Medical 
Systems, Inc., and aviation industry system integrators such 
as Rockwell Collins, Inc.

U.S. government customers in the Middle East, Europe, 
North Africa and Latin America and related prime 
contractors and systems integrators.

Oil companies such as Shell Oil Company and Petronas.

9

Acquisitions

In the past, we have acquired businesses and enabling technologies. We have followed a disciplined approach in identifying, 
executing and capitalizing on these acquisitions. 

On February 23, 2016, we acquired TCS, a leading provider of commercial solutions (such as public safety systems and enterprise 
application technologies) and government solutions (such as command and control (C4ISR) applications). The TCS acquisition 
has an aggregate purchase price for accounting purposes of $340.4 million (also referred to as the transaction equity value) and 
an enterprise value of $423.6 million. The TCS acquisition was the largest acquisition in our history and resulted in Comtech 
entering complementary markets and expanding our domestic and international commercial offerings. TCS is a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Comtech. Our financial results for fiscal 2017 include a full year of TCS operations and for fiscal 2016 include 
approximately five months of TCS operations. See "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
Results of Operations" for further discussion. Because our historical results prior to February 23, 2016 do not include TCS, you 
should not rely on period-to-period comparisons as an indicator of our future performance as these comparisons may not be 
meaningful.

Sales, Marketing and Customer Support

Sales and marketing strategies vary with particular markets served and include direct sales through sales, marketing and engineering 
personnel,  indirect  sales  through  independent  representatives,  value-added  resellers,  and  sales  through  a  combination  of  the 
foregoing. We devote resources to evaluating and responding to requests for proposals by governmental agencies around the world 
and, as needed, we employ the use of specialized consultants to develop our proposals and bids.

We  intend  to  continue  to  expand  international  marketing  efforts  by  engaging  additional  independent  sales  representatives, 
distributors and value-added resellers and by establishing additional foreign sales offices.

In addition, we also leverage our relationships with larger companies to market our commercial systems. These indirect sales 
relationships include AT&T, CenturyLink, and Nokia Corporation. We have Cisco certifications which enhance our ability to co-
sell with Cisco’s sales force.

We are pre-qualified as an approved vendor for certain government contracts, and some of our products and services are available 
to government customers via the General Services Administration’s Information Technology Schedule 70, GTACS, CS2, CS3 and 
the Space and Naval Warfare Foreign Military Sales contract vehicles. We collaborate in sales efforts under various arrangements 
with  integrators.  Our  marketing  efforts  also  include  advertising,  public  relations,  speaking  engagements  and  attending  and 
sponsoring industry conferences. 

Our management, technical and marketing personnel establish and maintain relationships with customers. Our sales strategies 
include a commitment to providing ongoing customer support for our systems and equipment. This support involves providing 
direct access to engineering staff or trained technical representatives to resolve technical or operational issues.

Our products and services in many of our product lines have long sales cycles. Once a product is designed into a system, customers 
may be reluctant to change the incumbent supplier due to the extensive qualification process and potential redesign required in 
using alternative sources. In addition, in recent years, we have found that overall sales cycles for each of our product lines have 
significantly increased.

Sales by geography and customer type, as a percentage of consolidated net sales, are as follows:

U.S. government
Domestic
Total U.S.

International
Total

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
2017
2015
2016
Government Solutions

2017

2015

2016
Commercial Solutions
15.1% 25.0% 29.3% 59.2% 65.0% 33.2% 32.7% 40.8% 30.6%
54.4% 40.6% 15.9% 15.5% 11.6%
7.9% 38.9% 29.2% 13.2%
69.5% 65.6% 45.2% 74.7% 76.6% 41.1% 71.6% 70.0% 43.8%

2016
Consolidated

2017

2015

30.5% 34.4% 54.8% 25.3% 23.4% 58.9% 28.4% 30.0% 56.2%
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

10

Sales to U.S. government customers include sales to the DoD, intelligence and civilian agencies such as Homeland Security and 
the General Services Administration, as well as sales directly to or through prime contractors. 

Domestic sales include sales to U.S state and local governments.

International sales for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 (which include sales to U.S. domestic companies for inclusion in products that 
will  be  sold  to  international  customers)  were  $156.5  million,  $123.5  million  and  $172.7  million,  respectively. When  we  sell 
internationally, we denominate virtually all of our contracts in U.S. dollars. Some of our sales to international customers are paid 
for by letters of credit or on an open account. From time to time, some of our international customers may require us to provide 
performance guarantees. 

For fiscal 2017 and 2016, except for the U.S. government, no other customer or individual country (including sales to U.S. domestic 
companies for inclusion in products that will be sold to a foreign country) represented more than 10% of consolidated net sales. 
Sales to a U.S. prime contractor customer represented 13.5% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2015. Almost all of those sales 
relate to our North African country end-customer. 

As a result of the TCS acquisition, we believe that domestic net sales as a percentage of our consolidated net sales in future periods 
will be significantly higher than it was in periods prior to the TCS acquisition, due to the inclusion in consolidated net sales of 
safety and security technology solutions (such as 911 call routing) which are primarily sold to U.S. domestic customers.

Backlog

Our backlog as of July 31, 2017 was $446.2 million (of which $289.0 million was attributed to the Commercial Solutions segment 
and $157.2 million was attributed to the Government Solutions segment). We expect that a significant portion of the backlog as 
of July 31, 2017 will be recognized as sales during fiscal 2018.

At July 31, 2017, 22.7% of our backlog consisted of U.S. government contracts, subcontracts and government funded programs, 
16.3% consisted of orders for use by international customers (including sales to U.S. domestic companies for inclusion in products 
that will be sold to international customers) and 61.0% consisted of orders for use by U.S. commercial customers.

Our backlog consists of orders (sometimes referred to herein as bookings) that we believe to be firm; however, almost all of the 
contracts  in  our  backlog  (including  firm  orders  previously  received  from  the  U.S.  government)  are  subject  to  modification, 
cancellation at the convenience of the customer or for default in the event that we are unable to perform under the contract. Backlog 
that is derived from U.S. government orders relates to U.S. government contracts that have been awarded, signed and funded. 
Backlog for our U.S. government customers also includes amounts appropriated by Congress and allotted to the contract by the 
procuring government agency. Our backlog does not include the value of options that may be exercised in the future on multi-
year contracts, nor does it include the value of additional purchase orders that we may receive under indefinite delivery/indefinite 
quantity ("IDIQ") contracts or basic ordering agreements.

In some  cases, such as contracts received from large U.S. based  telecommunication companies, our backlog is computed by 
multiplying the most recent month’s contract or revenue by the months remaining under the existing long-term agreements, which 
we consider to be the best available information for anticipating revenue under those agreements.

A significant portion of the backlog from our U.S. commercial customers relates to large, multi-year contracts to provide state 
and local governments (and their agencies) with safety and security solutions.  Although the contracts themselves represent legal, 
binding obligations of these governments, funding is often subject to the approval of budgets (for example, on an annual or bi-
annual basis). Although funding for these multi-year contracts are dependent on future budgets being approved, we include the 
full estimated value of these large, multi-year contracts in our backlog given the critical nature of the services being provided and 
the positive historical experience of our state and local government customers passing their respective budgets.

There can be no assurance that our backlog will result in actual revenue in any particular period, or at all, or that any contract 
included in backlog will be profitable. There is a higher degree of risk in this regard with respect to unfunded backlog. The actual 
receipt and timing of any revenue is subject to various contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. The actual recognition 
of revenue on contracts included in backlog may never occur or may change because a program schedule could change, the program 
could be canceled, a contract could be reduced, modified or terminated early, funding may not be included in future budgets, or 
an option that we had assumed would be exercised is not exercised.

11

Variations in backlog from time to time are attributable, in part, to changes in sales mix, the timing of contract proposals, and the 
timing of contract awards and delivery schedules on specific contracts. A large majority of the solutions in our communication 
technologies product line operate under short lead times. Our Government Solutions segment backlog is highly influenced by the 
nature  and  timing  of  orders  received  from  the  U.S.  government,  which  is  subject  to  unpredictable  funding,  deployment  and 
technology decisions. As a result, we believe our backlog and orders, at any point in time, are not necessarily indicative of the 
total sales anticipated for any particular future period.  

Manufacturing and Service

Our manufacturing operations consist principally of the assembly and testing of electronic products that we design and build from 
purchased fabricated parts, printed circuits and electronic components. We consider our facilities to be well maintained and adequate 
for current and planned production requirements. All of our manufacturing facilities, including those that serve the military market, 
must comply with stringent customer specifications. We employ formal quality management programs and other training programs, 
including the International Standard Organization’s quality procedure registration programs.

We operate a high-volume technology manufacturing center located in Tempe, Arizona. This manufacturing center is operated by 
our Commercial Solutions segment and can be utilized, in part, by our Government Solutions segment and by third-party commercial 
customers, including prime contractors to the U.S. government, who can outsource a portion of their product manufacturing to 
us. Increased usage of our high-volume technology manufacturing center allows us to secure volume discounts on key components, 
better control the quality of our manufacturing process and maximize the utilization of our manufacturing capacity.

Our ability to deliver products to customers on a timely basis is dependent, in part, upon the availability and timely delivery by 
subcontractors  and  suppliers  (including,  at  times,  the  U.S.  government)  of  the  components  and  subsystems  that  we  use  in 
manufacturing our products. Electronic components and raw materials used in our products are generally obtained from independent 
suppliers. Some components are standard items and are available from a number of suppliers. Others are manufactured to our 
specifications by subcontractors. Although we obtain certain components and subsystems from a single source or a limited number 
of sources, we believe that most components and equipment are available from multiple sources. Certain U.S. government contracts 
may require us to incorporate government furnished parts into our products. Delays in receipt of such parts can adversely impact 
the timing of our performance on the related contracts.

Research and Development

We have established a leading technology position in our fields through internal and customer-funded research and development 
activities.

Internal research and development expenses are reported as research and development expenses for financial reporting purposes 
and were $54.3 million, $42.2 million and $35.9 million in fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, representing 9.9%, 10.3%
and 11.7% of total consolidated net sales, respectively, for these periods. Customer-funded research and development activities 
relate to the adaptation of our basic technology to specialized customer requirements which is recoverable under contracts and is 
reflected in net sales with the related costs included in cost of sales. Certain of our government customers contract with us from 
time to time to conduct research on telecommunications software, equipment and systems. During fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, 
we were reimbursed by customers for such activities in the amounts of $27.1 million, $17.4 million and $9.2 million, respectively.

Intellectual Property

We rely upon trade secrets, technical know-how, continuing technological innovation and, with respect to certain technologies, 
patents  to  develop  and  maintain  our  competitive  position.  The  products  we  sell  require  significant  engineering  design  and 
manufacturing expertise. For these technological capabilities that are not protected by patents or licenses, we generally rely on 
the expertise of our employees and our learned experiences in both the design and manufacture of our products and the delivery 
of our services.

Some of our key Commercial Solutions segment technology is protected by patents that are significant to protecting our proprietary 
technology. We have been issued several U.S. patents relating to forward error correction technology that is utilized in our TPC-
enabled satellite modems. Due to our market leadership position, we do not expect that upon expiration of these patents, our future 
results will be negatively impacted. Our DoubleTalk® Carrier-in-Carrier® bandwidth compression technology is licensed by us 
from a third party.

12

In connection with the TCS acquisition, we acquired a portfolio of several hundred patents worldwide relating to wireless location-
based services, text messaging, GPS ephemeris data, emergency public safety data routing, electronic commerce, and other areas. 
Our patent portfolio allows us to build meaningful partnerships with other companies through direct licensing, cross licensing, 
and other forms of agreements. Our commitment to protecting our intellectual property ensures continued differentiation and 
freedom to operate in the industry. We do not believe that any single patent or group of patents, patent application or patent license 
agreement is material to the Company’s operations.

We have filed additional patent applications for certain apparatus and processes we believe we have invented covering key features 
of the location services, wireless text alerts, SMS Center, mobile-originated data and E911 network software. There is no assurance 
that our patent applications will result in a patent being issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other patent offices, 
nor is there any guarantee that any issued patent will be valid and enforceable. Additionally, foreign patent rights may or may not 
be available or pursued in any technology area for which U.S. patent applications have been filed. 

Almost all of the products and services we sell to the U.S. government include technology and other technical know-how that we 
have internally developed. In past instances where we have provided government-purpose rights, to our knowledge, the U.S. 
government has not exercised any of these rights. To the extent that we have provided or will provide government-purpose rights 
in the future, we believe that given the rapidly changing nature of our technology, our future success will depend primarily on the 
technical competence and creative skill of our personnel, rather than any contractual protection.

Competition

Our  businesses  are  highly  competitive  and  are  characterized  by  rapid  technological  change.  Some  of  our  competitors  are 
substantially  larger,  have  significantly  greater  financial,  marketing,  research  and  development,  technological  and  operating 
resources and broader product lines than we have. Other companies are developing new technologies and the shift towards open 
standards such as IP-based satellite networks will likely result in increased competition. A significant technological breakthrough 
by others, including new companies, our existing competitors and our customers, could have a material adverse effect on our 
business. Our growth and financial condition depends on, among other things, our ability to keep pace with such changes and 
developments and to respond to the increasing variety of electronic equipment users and transmission technologies.

Some large defense-based companies, such as Northrop Grumman Corporation, have subsidiaries or divisions that compete against 
us in one or more business segments. In addition, new and potential competitors are always emerging. Certain of our customers, 
such as prime contractors who currently outsource their engineering and manufacturing requirements to us, have technological 
capabilities in our product areas and could choose to replace our products with products they develop. In some cases, we partner 
or team with companies (both large and mid-tier) to compete against other teams for large defense programs. In some cases, these 
same companies may be among our competitors.

Listed below, in alphabetical order, are some of our competitors in each of our two business segments: 

Commercial Solutions - Airbus DS Communications, Advantech Wireless Inc., CalAmp Corp., COM Dev International 
Ltd.  (a  subsidiary  of  Honeywell,  Inc.),  Comverse  Technology  Inc.  (a  subsidiary  of  Mavenir  Systems,  Inc.),  CPI 
International, Inc., Datum Systems, Inc., 8x8 Inc., Motorola Solutions, Inc., Ericsson LM Telephone Co., Gilat Satellite 
Networks Ltd., Google Inc., Harris Corporation, iDirect, Inc., Intermap Technologies Corp., Iridium Communications 
Inc., KVH Industries Inc., Mavenir Systems, Inc. (formerly Xura, Inc.), Newtec, Nokia Networks, NovelSat, Orbcomm, 
Inc., Paradise Datacom LLC (a subsidiary of Teledyne Corporation), Solacom Technologies Inc., Telenav, Inc., ViaSat, 
Inc. and West Corporation.

Government Solutions - Aethercomm, Inc., CACI International Inc., CalAmp Corp., Computer Sciences Corporation, 
DB Control Corp. (a subsidiary of HEICO Corp.), E2V Technologies Ltd., Empower RF Systems, Inc., General Dynamics 
Corporation, Harris Corporation, L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., Mercury Systems, Inc., NeuStar, Inc., The KEYW 
Holding  Corporation,  Northrop  Grumman  Corporation,  Orbital ATK,  Inc., Teledyne Technologies,  Ultra  Electronics 
Herley Industries (a division of Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC) and ViaSat, Inc.

We believe that competition in all of our markets is based primarily on technology innovation, product performance, reputation, 
delivery times, customer support and price. Due to our proprietary know-how, we believe we have the ability to develop, produce 
and deliver products and services on a cost-effective basis faster than many of our competitors.

13

Employees

At July 31, 2017, we had 1,813 employees (including temporary employees and contractors), 1,075 of whom were engaged in 
production and production support, 386 in research and development and other engineering support, and 352 in marketing and 
administrative functions. None of our U.S. based employees are represented by a labor union. We believe that our employee 
relations are good.

U.S. Government Contracts and Security Clearances

The U.S. government operates on an October-to-September fiscal year. Generally, in February of each year, the President of the 
United States presents to the U.S. Congress ("Congress") the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year and from February 
through  September  of  each  year,  the  appropriations  and  authorization  committees  of  Congress  review  the  President’s  budget 
proposals and establish the funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year. Once these levels are enacted into law, the Executive Office 
of the President administers the funds to the agencies. Thereafter, we can receive orders pursuant to sole-source or competitively 
awarded contracts, which we describe below.

The U.S. government may be unable to complete its budget process before the end of any given government fiscal year and when 
the fiscal budget is not approved in a timely manner, the U.S. government is required either to shut down or be funded pursuant 
to a so-called "continuing resolution" that authorizes agencies of the U.S. government to continue operations but does not authorize 
new spending initiatives, either of which could result in reduced or delayed orders or payments for products and services we 
provide.

Sole-source contracts are generally awarded to a single contractor without a formal competition when a single contractor is deemed 
to have an expertise or technology superior to that of competing contractors or when there is an urgent need by the U.S. government 
that cannot wait for a full competitive process. Potential suppliers compete informally through research and development and 
marketing efforts. Competitively-bid contracts are awarded based on a formal proposal evaluation established by the procuring 
agency and interested contractors prepare bids. Competitively-bid contracts are awarded after a formal bid and proposal competition 
among suppliers.

The  U.S.  government  has  a  stated  policy  direction  to  reduce  the  number  of  sole-source  contract  awards  across  all  procuring 
agencies. In addition, the U.S. government is increasing the use of multiple-award IDIQ contracts to increase its procurement 
options. IDIQ contracts allow the U.S. government to select a group of eligible contractors for the same program. When the 
government awards IDIQ contracts to multiple bidders under the same program, a company that has already competed to be 
selected as a participant in the program must subsequently compete for individual delivery orders. As a result of this U.S. government 
shift toward multiple award IDIQ contracts, we expect to face greater competition for future U.S. government contracts and, at 
the same time, greater opportunities for us to participate in program areas that we do not currently participate in.

As a U.S. government contractor and subcontractor, we are subject to a variety of rules and regulations, such as the Federal 
Acquisition Regulations ("FAR"). Individual agencies can also have acquisition regulations. For example, the Department of 
Defense implements the FAR through the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation supplement (commonly known as "DFARs"). 
For all Federal government entities, the FAR regulates the phases of any product or service acquisition, including: acquisition 
planning,  competition  requirements,  contractor  qualifications,  protection  of  source  selection  and  vendor  information,  and 
acquisition procedures. In addition, the FAR addresses the allowability of supplier costs, while Cost Accounting Standards address 
how those costs can be allocated to contracts. The FAR also subjects suppliers to audits and other government reviews. These 
reviews cover issues such as cost, performance and accounting practices relating to our contracts. The government may challenge 
a supplier's costs and fees. Suppliers are also required to comply with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual 
which  relates  to  requirements  regarding  classified  materials  and  programs.  Suppliers  who  do  not  comply  with  these  various 
regulations may lose and/or become ineligible for facility security clearances and/or participation in classified programs.

Under firm fixed-price contracts, we perform for an agreed-upon price and we can derive benefits from cost savings, but bear the 
risk of cost overruns. Our cost-reimbursable type contracts typically provide for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred plus 
a negotiated fee. Cost-plus-incentive-fee orders typically provide for sharing with the U.S. government savings accrued from 
orders performed for less than the target costs and costs incurred in excess of targets up to a negotiated ceiling price (which is 
higher than the target cost), and for the supplier to carry the entire burden of costs exceeding the negotiated ceiling price. 

In fiscal 2017, $180.0 million or 32.7% of our consolidated net sales were to the U.S. government (including sales to prime 
contractors to the U.S. government). Of this amount, firm fixed-price and cost-reimbursable type contracts (including fixed-fee, 
incentive-fee and time and material type contracts) accounted for approximately $135.4 million and $44.6 million, respectively. 

14

Regulatory Matters

In addition to the rules and regulations that pertain to us as a U.S. government contractor and subcontractor, we are also subject 
to a variety of local, state and federal governmental regulations.

Our products that are incorporated into wireless communications systems must comply with various government regulations, 
including  those  of  the  FCC.  Our  manufacturing  facilities,  which  may  store,  handle,  emit,  generate  and  dispose  of  hazardous 
substances that are used in the manufacture of our products, are subject to a variety of local, state and federal regulations, including 
those issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Our products are also subject to European Union directives related to the 
recycling of electrical and electronic equipment. 

Our international sales are subject to U.S. and foreign regulations such as the Arms Export Control Act, the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA"), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"), the Export Administration Regulations 
("EAR") and the trade sanctions laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign 
Assets Control ("OFAC"). If we are unable to receive appropriate export authorizations in the future, we may be prohibited from 
selling our products and services internationally, which may limit our sales and have a material adverse effect on our business, 
results of operations and financial condition. We must comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations of the U.S. 
and other countries. Certain of our products and systems may require licenses from U.S. government agencies for export from the 
U.S., and some of our products are not permitted to be exported.  In addition, in certain cases, U.S. export controls also severely
limit unlicensed technical discussions, such as discussions with any persons who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. As
a result, in cases where we may need an export license, our ability to compete against a non-U.S. domiciled foreign company that
may not be subject to the same U.S. laws may be materially adversely affected. In addition, we are subject to the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act ("FCPA") and other local laws that generally bar bribes or unreasonable gifts to foreign governments or officials.
Violations of these laws or regulations could result in significant sanctions, including disgorgement of profits, fines, and criminal
sanctions  against  us,  our  officers,  our  directors,  or  our  employees,  more  onerous  compliance  requirements,  more  extensive
debarments from export privileges or loss of authorizations needed to conduct aspects of our international business. A violation
of any of the regulations enumerated above could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of
operations. Additionally, changes in regulatory requirements which could further restrict our ability to deliver services to our
international customers, including the addition of a country to the list of sanctioned countries under the IEEPA or similar legislation
could negatively impact our business.

In the past, we have self-reported violations of ITAR to the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls 
("DDTC") and had an ITAR compliance audit performed by an independent auditor at the request of the DDTC. Although the 
audit found no violations of ITAR, we committed to the DDTC that we would enhance and maintain certain policies and procedures 
and we have established a company-wide Office of Trade Compliance.

In October 2014, we self-disclosed to OFAC that we learned during a routine assessment of the adequacy of our export control 
compliance procedures that we had inadvertently neglected to obtain an OFAC license for a shipment of modems to a Canadian 
customer who, we learned after the transaction had begun, intended to incorporate our modems in a communication system the 
ultimate end user of which was the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority.  OFAC regulations prohibit U.S. persons from doing business 
directly or indirectly in Sudan and from facilitating transactions by non-U.S. persons which would be illegal if done by a U.S. 
person.  In late 2015, OFAC issued an administrative subpoena to us seeking further information about the previous voluntarily 
disclosed transaction and any other transactions involving Sudan. We responded to the subpoena, including alerting OFAC to 
Comtech’s repair of three modems for a customer in Lebanon after which time the modems were rerouted to Sudan without 
Comtech’s knowledge. OFAC has not responded to our submission of further information and we cannot predict when the agency 
will complete its review and determine whether any violations occurred. See "Risk Factors - Risks Related to our Business-Our 
international sales and operations are subject to risks of conducting business in foreign countries, including applicable laws 
relating to trade, export controls and foreign corrupt practices, the violation of which could adversely affect our operations. We 
cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain necessary export licenses, and such failure would materially adversely affect our 
operations."

15

Our  financial  reporting,  corporate  governance,  public  disclosure  and  compliance  practices  are  governed  by  laws  such  as  the 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and rules and regulations issued by the SEC. The SEC has adopted rules 
which require, among other things, public companies to conduct certain inquiries to determine whether or not Conflict Minerals 
(as that term is defined in the SEC rules) that are necessary to the functionality of their manufactured products or their product's 
production processes originated in a Covered Country (as that term is defined in the SEC rules) and ultimately file a report with 
the SEC. Conflict Minerals are widely used in many industries, including the telecommunications industry and almost all of our 
products include component parts purchased from third party suppliers and we must rely heavily on information received from 
suppliers to determine the origin of those materials. We have implemented a due diligence program consistent with the Organization 
for  Economic  Co-operation  and  Development  guidelines  to  collect  information  concerning  the  country  of  origin  of  Conflict 
Minerals and in that regard, have adopted a policy that requires our suppliers (both public and private) to commit to a code of 
conduct relating to the responsible sourcing of minerals and to establish a policy to reasonably assure that the products they 
manufacture do not contain Conflict Minerals that originated in a Covered Country. Efforts to comply with this SEC rule have 
resulted in additional costs to us and, we believe, to our suppliers. As such, the availability of raw materials used in our operations 
could be negatively impacted and/or raw material prices could increase. Further, if we are unable to certify that our products are 
conflict free, we may face challenges with our customers, which could place us at a competitive disadvantage and could harm our 
reputation.

16

Forward-Looking Statements

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

The following describes major risks to our business and should be considered carefully. Any of these factors could significantly 
and negatively affect our business, prospects, financial condition, or operating results, which could cause the trading prices of 
our equity securities to decline. The risks described below are not the only risks we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties 
not presently known to us, or risks that we currently consider immaterial, could also negatively affect us.

Risks Related to our Business

Our fiscal 2018 business outlook is difficult to forecast and operating results are subject to significant fluctuations and are 
likely to be volatile.

Our new orders (sometimes referred to herein as bookings), net sales and operating results may vary significantly from period to 
period due to a number of factors including: sales mix; fluctuating market demand; price competition; new product introductions 
by our competitors; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; unexpected changes in the timing of delivery of components 
or subsystems; the financial performance of acquisitions; new accounting standards relating to acquisitions, revenue recognition 
and leasing; political instability; regulatory developments; changes in income tax rates or tax credits; the price and expected 
volatility of our stock (which will impact, among other items, the amount of stock-based compensation expense we may record); 
and general global economic conditions.

We have experienced, and will experience in the future, significant fluctuations in new orders, net sales and operating results from 
period to period. A large portion of our Commercial Solutions segment net sales are derived from products such as satellite earth 
station equipment and certain traveling wave tube amplifier products that generally have short lead times. As a result, bookings 
and backlog related to these products are extremely sensitive to short-term fluctuations in customer demand. 

A large portion of our Government Solutions segment net sales are derived in part from large U.S. Government programs or large 
foreign government opportunities that are subject to lengthy sales cycles and are therefore difficult to predict.

In fiscal 2016, we completed our acquisition of TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. ("TCS"), the largest acquisition in our history. 
Fiscal 2016 included five months of TCS operations. Fiscal 2017 included the operations of TCS for a twelve-month period. As 
such,  fiscal  2018  is  expected  to  be  the  first  comparative  twelve  month  fiscal  period  including TCS  operations. Although  the 
integration of TCS into our business is largely complete, our ability to accurately forecast future performance will continue to be 
dependent  upon  our  ability  to  fully  familiarize  ourselves  with  the  variability  of  the  business  and  environment  in  which TCS 
operates. Although we expect to continue to realize strategic, operational and financial benefits as a result of the TCS acquisition, 
we cannot be certain whether, and to what extent, such benefits will be achieved in the future. In particular, the ongoing success 
of the TCS acquisition will depend on maintaining the efficiencies and cost savings we have achieved to date, and no assurances 
can be given that we will be able to continue to do so.

Our ongoing tactical shift in our Government Solutions segment toward pursuing contracts with higher margins may not 
prove successful. 

We continue to execute on our shift in efforts in our Government Solutions segment away from bidding on large commodity service 
contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche products with higher margins. Although we are beginning to see the benefits 
of this strategy, in the short-term, this strategy has resulted, and may continue to result, in lower net sales and operating income, 
in dollars, in our Government Solutions segment. Although we believe this tactical shift will ultimately yield higher operating 
income, in dollars, as well as higher operating income as a percentage of net sales, we may not be able to successfully execute 
this strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

17

If global economic business and political conditions deteriorate as compared to the current environment, it could have a 
material adverse impact on our business outlook and our business, operating results and financial condition.

For the past several years, many of the end-markets for our products and services have been significantly impacted by adverse 
global  economic  conditions.  For  example,  many  of  our  international  end-customers  are  located  in  emerging  and  developing 
countries that continue to undergo sweeping economic and political changes. Many governments around the world have also cut 
their spending budgets and are under pressure to further reduce them. In recent years, global oil and natural gas prices plunged, 
significantly impairing the ability of our customers in the oil and gas producing regions of the world to invest in telecommunications 
products and infrastructure. Additionally, the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against many international currencies, as compared 
to several years ago, has negatively impacted the purchasing power for many of our international end-customers because virtually 
all of our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars. We generate significant sales from Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as other 
emerging and developing countries. 

The business environment in the past several years resulted in the suppression of end-market demand for many of our satellite 
earth station products. Although economic conditions have improved, we continue to believe that nearly all of our customers are 
challenged by capital and operating budget constraints and a difficult credit environment. The impact, severity and duration of 
these conditions are impossible to predict with precision. Many of our international customers (including our Middle Eastern and 
African customers) rely on European bank financing to procure funding for large systems, many of which include our equipment. 
We believe that European financing has been and continues to be difficult to obtain. Volatility of interest rates may cause our 
customers to be reluctant to spend funds required to purchase our equipment or projects could be postponed or canceled.

In 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” 
As a result of the referendum, it is expected that the British government will negotiate the terms of the U.K.’s future relationships 
with European Union member states. Adverse consequences concerning Brexit or the European Union could include deterioration 
in global economic conditions, instability in global financial markets, political uncertainty, volatility in currency exchange rates, 
or adverse changes in the cross-border agreements currently in place, any of which could have an adverse impact on our financial 
results in the future.

In the past, our overall business has not been immune from adverse economic conditions. Although business conditions in fiscal 
2017 improved as compared to prior years and were relatively stable during fiscal 2017, if political conditions around the world 
become unstable or additional economic sanctions are imposed on some of our end-customers, it could adversely impact our sales. 
If business conditions become adverse, our business could be impacted in a number of ways, including:

•

•

•

Difficulty in forecasting our results of operations - It is difficult to accurately forecast our results of operations during
adverse conditions as we cannot predict the severity or the duration of such conditions or the impact it could have on our
current and prospective customers. If our current or prospective customers materially postpone, reduce or even forgo
purchases of our products and services to a greater extent than we anticipate, our business outlook will prove to be
inaccurate.

Additional reductions in telecommunications equipment and systems spending may occur - Our businesses have been
negatively  affected  by  uncertain  economic  environments  in  the  overall  market  and,  more  specifically,  in  the
telecommunications sector. Our customers have reduced their budgets for spending on telecommunications equipment
and systems and in some cases postponed or reduced the purchase of our products and systems. In the future, our customers
may reduce their spending on telecommunications equipment and systems which would negatively impact both of our
operating  segments.  If  this  occurs,  it  would  adversely  affect  our  business  outlook,  net  sales,  profitability  and  the
recoverability of our assets, including intangible assets such as goodwill.

Our customers may not be able to obtain financing - Although many of our products are relatively inexpensive when
compared to the total systems or networks that they are incorporated into, our sales are affected by our customers' ability
to obtain the financing they may require to build out their total systems or networks and fund ongoing operations. Many
of our emerging market customers obtain financing for network build-outs from European commercial banks and/or
governments. Our customers' inability to obtain sufficient financing would adversely affect our net sales. In addition, if
the current economic environment and lack of financing results in insolvencies for our customers, it would adversely
impact the recoverability of our accounts receivable which would, in turn, adversely impact our results of operations.

18

Although the integration of the fiscal 2016 TCS acquisition into our business is largely complete, we may not realize the 
anticipated benefits from the TCS acquisition, the acquisition may ultimately not be successful and ongoing activity may 
continue to divert our resources and management attention.

The acquisition of TCS continues to have a number of unique risks, including:

• We may not be able to continue to manage organizational changes associated with the TCS acquisition - As of February 1,
2016, in connection with the acquisition of TCS, we reorganized our business into two reportable operating segments:
Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions. Although this integration is largely complete, we may further change
our business and organizational structure and streamline and further consolidate certain business processes to achieve
greater operating efficiencies. The acquisition of TCS has significantly expanded the types of products and services that
we sell, expanded the businesses in which we engage, and increased the number of facilities we operate, thereby presenting
us with significant challenges in managing the substantial increase in scale of our business. These challenges include the
integration of a large number of systems, both operational and administrative. We may not be able to successfully manage
these organizational changes and the unanticipated disruption to our business that might result from these changes could
have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. In addition, the diversion of
our management’s attention to these matters and away from other business concerns could have a material adverse effect
on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

• We may experience a loss or adverse effect on customer relationships - The acquisition of TCS may adversely affect the
relationships that the combined company has with its customers, service providers and employees. As a result of the
acquisition, we may experience a loss of, or changes to, TCS’s relationships with its customers or Comtech’s legacy
customers,  which  could  negatively  impact  our  business  outlook.  Our  future  growth  depends  in  part  on  expanding
relationships with key distribution channels for TCS products such as Next Generation 911 solutions. If we are unable
to capitalize on those relationships or if we lose existing relationships, it could have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operation and financial condition.

The  loss  of  key  personnel  or  our  inability  to  attract  and  retain  personnel  could  adversely  affect  our  future  business, 
operations and financial results.

Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified personnel, particularly 
in sales and marketing and research and development. If we are unable to do so, our business could be harmed. 

We have incurred indebtedness under a Secured Credit Facility, and may not be able to service that debt in the future.

In connection with the acquisition of TCS, we entered into a Secured Credit Facility, as amended June 6, 2017, which provides 
for borrowing availability of up to $400.0 million. As of July 31, 2017, we had approximately $196.5 million of borrowings under 
the Secured Credit Facility, as amended, of which $139.1 million is from an original $250.0 million Term Loan A and $57.4 million
of drawings under a $150.0 million revolving credit line. 

The Secured Credit Facility, as amended, requires quarterly payments and repayment in full by February 23, 2021. If we do not 
have sufficient funds to repay our debt when due, it may be necessary to refinance our debt through additional debt or equity 
financings.  If,  at  the  time  of  any  refinancing,  prevailing  interest  rates  or  other  factors  result  in  higher  interest  rates  on  such 
refinancing, increases in interest expense could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial 
condition. 

If we are unable to meet future debt service obligations or refinance our debt on acceptable terms, we may be forced to dispose 
of assets on disadvantageous terms, potentially resulting in losses, as we have pledged substantially all of our assets to the lenders 
as security for our payment obligations.

19

Our Secured Credit Facility, as amended June 6, 2017, contains various covenants that impose restrictions on us that may 
limit our ability to plan for or respond to changes in our business and, as a result, may reduce our profitability.

Our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, contains various affirmative and negative covenants that may restrict our ability to, 
among other things, permit liens on our property, change the nature of our business, transact business with affiliates and/or merge 
or consolidate with any other person or sell or convey certain of our assets to any one person. 

As of July 31, 2017, our Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Secured Credit Facility, as amended) was 2.84x TTM Consolidated 
EBITDA (as defined in the Secured Credit Facility, as amended) compared to the maximum allowable Leverage Ratio of 3.75x 
TTM Consolidated EBITDA. In fiscal 2018, the maximum allowable Leverage Ratio will decrease each quarter until reaching 
3.00x TTM Consolidated EBITDA in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, with no further reductions thereafter. Our Fixed Charge 
Coverage Ratio (as defined in the Secured Credit Facility, as amended) as of July 31, 2017 was 1.95x compared to the minimum 
required Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.25x, which will not change for the remaining term of the Secured Credit Facility, as 
amended. Given our expected future business performance, we anticipate maintaining compliance with the terms and financial 
covenants in our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, for the foreseeable future. However, there can be no assurance that we will 
be able to meet such covenants. Our ability to comply with these provisions may be affected by events beyond our control. Failure 
to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate our repayment 
obligations. Our substantial debt obligations could impede, restrict or delay the implementation of our business strategy or prevent 
us from entering into transactions that would otherwise benefit our business. For example:

•

•

•

•

•

•

we may be required to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to payments on our indebtedness,
thereby reducing the availability of our cash flows for other purposes, including business development efforts, capital
expenditures, dividends or strategic acquisitions;

if we are not able to generate sufficient cash flows to meet our substantial debt service obligations or to fund our other
liquidity needs, we may have to take actions such as selling assets or raising additional equity or reducing or delaying
capital expenditures, strategic acquisitions, investments and joint ventures, or restructuring our debt;

we may not be able to fund future working capital, capital investments and other business activities;

we may not be able to pay dividends or make certain other distributions;

we may become more vulnerable in the event of a downturn in our business or a worsening of general economic or
industry-specific conditions; and

our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry may be limited, thereby placing us at
a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less indebtedness.

Future acquisitions of companies and investments could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder 
value or adversely affect operating results or the market price of our common stock.

We expect to continue to consider future acquisitions and investments as part of our growth plans. Future acquisitions or investments 
may result in the use of significant amounts of cash, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, incurrence of large amounts 
of debt, increases to amortization expense and future write-offs of intangibles acquired. Acquisitions and investments involve risks 
that include failing to:

•

•

•

•

•

•

properly evaluate the technology;

accurately forecast the financial impact of the transaction, including accounting charges and transaction expenses;

integrate the technologies, products and services, research and development, sales and marketing, support and other
operations;

integrate and retain key management personnel and other key employees;

retain and cross-sell to acquired customers; and

combine potentially different corporate cultures.

20

Acquisitions and investments could also:

•

•

•

divert management’s attention away from the operation of our businesses;

result  in  significant  goodwill  and  intangibles  write-offs  in  the  event  an  acquisition  or  investment  does  not  meet
expectations; and

increase expenses, including expenses of managing the growth of such acquired businesses.

There can be no assurance that any future acquisition or investment will be successful within the anticipated time frame, or at all, 
will be as valuable as the amount we eventually pay to acquire it, and will not adversely affect our business, results of operations 
or financial condition. In addition, if we consummate future acquisitions using our equity securities or securities convertible into 
our equity securities, existing stockholders may be diluted, which could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our 
common stock.

Our business is highly dependent on the budgetary decisions of our government customers, including the U.S. government 
(including prime contractors to the U.S. government), and changes in the U.S. government’s fiscal policies or budgetary 
priorities may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

During our fiscal years ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, sales to the U.S. government (including sales to prime contractors 
to the U.S. government) were $180.0 million, $167.5 million and $94.0 million or 32.7%, 40.8% and 30.6% of our consolidated 
net sales, respectively. In addition, a large portion of our existing backlog consists of orders related to U.S. government contracts 
and our business outlook for fiscal 2018 and beyond depends, in part, on new orders from the U.S. government, which is currently 
under extreme budgetary pressures.

We rely on particular levels of U.S. government spending on our communication solutions, and our receipt of future orders depends 
in large part on continued funding by the U.S. government for the programs in which we participate. These spending levels are 
not generally correlated with any specific economic cycle, but rather follow the cycle of general public policy and political support 
for this type of spending. Government contracts are conditioned upon the continuing availability of congressional appropriations 
and Congress’s failure to appropriate funds, or Congress’s actions to reduce or delay spending on, or reprioritize its spending away 
from, U.S. government programs which we participate in, could negatively affect our results of operations. Because many of the 
items we sell to the U.S. government are included in large programs realized over a period of several years, it is difficult, if not 
impossible, to determine specific amounts that are or will be appropriated for our products and services. As such, our assessments 
relating to the impact of changes in U.S. government spending may prove to be incorrect.

The federal debt limit continues to be actively debated as plans for long-term national fiscal policy are discussed. The outcome 
of these debates, including sequestration or mandated reductions which are currently in effect, could have a significant impact on 
defense spending broadly and programs we support in particular. The failure of Congress to approve future budgets and/or increase 
the debt ceiling of the U.S. on a timely basis could delay or result in the loss of contracts for the procurement of our products and 
services and we may be asked or required to continue to perform for some period of time on certain of our U.S. government 
contracts, even if the U.S. government is unable to make timely payments. A decrease in Department of Defense or Department 
of Homeland Security expenditures, the elimination or curtailment of a material program in which we are involved, or changes 
in payment patterns of our customers as a result of changes in U.S. government spending could have a material adverse effect on 
our business, results of operation and financial condition. Considerable uncertainty exists regarding how budget reductions will 
be applied and what challenges the reductions will present.

Ultimately the U.S. government may be unable to timely complete its budget process or fully agree upon spending priorities. If 
the U.S. government budget process results in a prolonged shutdown or prolonged operation under a continuing resolution, we 
may experience delayed orders, delayed payments and declines in net sales, profitability and cash flows. We may experience 
related  supply  chain  delays,  disruptions  or  other  problems  associated  with  financial  constraints  faced  by  our  suppliers  and 
subcontractors. All of the aforementioned conditions and factors could, in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our 
business,  results  of  operation  and  financial  condition. Additionally,  cost  cutting,  efficiency  initiatives,  reprioritization,  other 
affordability analyses, and changes in budgetary priorities by our governmental customers, including the U.S. government, could 
adversely impact both of our operating segments. We are unable to predict the impact these or similar events could have on our 
business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

21

Our contracts with the U.S. government are subject to unique business, commercial and government audit risks.

We depend on the U.S. government for a significant portion of our revenues.  Our contracts with the U.S. government are subject 
to unique business and commercial risks, including:

•

•

•

•

unexpected contract or project terminations or suspensions;

unpredictable order placements, reductions, delays or cancellations;

higher than expected final costs, particularly relating to software and hardware development, for work performed under
contracts where we commit to specified deliveries for a fixed-price; and

unpredictable cash collections of unbilled receivables that may be subject to acceptance of contract deliverables by the
customer and contract close out procedures, including government audit and approval of final indirect rates.

Although we take steps to mitigate our risk with respect to contracts with the U.S. government, we may not be able to do so in 
every instance for any of the following reasons, among others:

•

•

Our U.S. government contracts can easily be terminated by the U.S. government - Our U.S. government contracts can
be terminated by the U.S. government for its convenience or upon an event of default by us. Termination for convenience
provisions provide us with little to no recourse: our potential recovery of costs incurred or costs committed, potential
settlement expenses and hypothetical profit on work completed prior to termination.

Our U.S. government contracts are subject to funding by the U.S. Congress -  U.S. government contracts are conditioned
upon the continuing approval by Congress of the necessary funding. Congress usually appropriates funds for a given
program on a fiscal year basis even though contract performance may take more than one year. Consequently, at the
beginning of a major program, the contract may not be fully funded, and additional monies are normally committed to
the contract only if, and when, appropriations are made by Congress for future fiscal years.  Delays or changes in funding
can impact the timing of awards or lead to changes in program content. We obtain certain of our U.S. government contracts
through a competitive bidding process. There can be no assurance that we will win additional contracts or that actual
contracts that are awarded will ultimately be profitable.

• We can be disqualified as a supplier to the U.S. government -  As a supplier to the U.S. government, we must comply
with numerous regulations, including those governing security, contracting practices and classified information. Failure
to comply with these regulations and practices could result in fines being imposed against us or our suspension for a
period of time from eligibility for bidding on, or for award of, new government contracts.  If we are disqualified as a
supplier to government agencies, we would lose most, if not all, of our U.S. government customers and revenues from
sales of our products would decline significantly.

In addition, all of our U.S. government contracts can be audited by the Defense Contract Audit Agency ("DCAA") and other U.S. 
government agencies and we can be subject to penalties arising from post-award contract audits (sometimes referred to as a Truth 
in Negotiations Act or "TINA" audit) or cost audits in which the value of our contracts may be reduced. If costs are found to be 
improperly allocated to a specific contract, those costs will not be reimbursed, and any such costs already reimbursed would be 
required to be refunded. Although we record contract revenues based upon costs we expect to realize upon final audit, we cannot 
predict the outcome of any such future audits and adjustments and we may be required to materially reduce our revenues or profits 
upon completion and final negotiation of audits. Negative audit findings could also result in termination of a contract, forfeiture 
of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting or subcontracting for a 
period of time.

22

Our dependence on sales to international customers exposes us to unique business, commercial and export compliance 
audit risks.

Sales for use by international customers (including sales to U.S. companies for inclusion in products that will be sold to international 
customers) represented approximately 28.4%, 30.0% and 56.2% of our consolidated net sales for the fiscal years ended July 31, 
2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and we expect that international sales will continue to be a significant portion of our consolidated 
net sales for the foreseeable future. These sales expose us to certain risks, including barriers to trade, fluctuations in foreign currency 
exchange rates (which may make our products less price-competitive), political and economic instability, exposure to public health 
epidemics, availability of suitable export financing, tariff regulations, and other U.S. and foreign regulations that may apply to 
the export of our products. Although we take steps to mitigate our risk with respect to international sales, we may not be able to 
do so in every instance for any of the following reasons, among others:

• We may not be able to continue to structure our international contracts to reduce risk - We attempt to reduce the risk of
doing business in foreign countries by seeking subcontracts with large systems suppliers, contracts denominated in U.S.
dollars, advance or milestone payments and irrevocable letters of credit in our favor. However, we may not be able to
reduce  the  economic  risk  of  doing  business  in  foreign  countries  in  all  instances.  In  such  cases,  billed  and  unbilled
receivables relating to international sales are subject to increased collectability risk and may result in significant write-
offs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. In addition,
foreign defense contracts generally contain provisions relating to termination at the convenience of the government.

• We rely on a limited number of international sales agents - In some countries, we rely upon one or a small number of
sales agents, exposing us to risks relating to our contracts with, and related performance of, those agents. We attempt to
reduce our risk with respect to sales agents by establishing additional foreign sales offices where it is practical and by
engaging, where practicable, more than one independent sales representative in a territory. It is our policy to require all
sales agents to operate in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Violations of any of these laws, rules
or regulations, and other business practices that are regarded as unethical, could interrupt the sales of our products and
services, result in the cancellation of orders or the termination of customer relationships, and could damage our reputation,
any  of  which  developments  could  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  business,  results  of  operation  and  financial
condition.

• We currently price virtually all of our products in U.S. dollars - Today, virtually all of our sales are denominated in U.S.
dollars. Over the last few years, the U.S. dollar has strengthened significantly against many international currencies. As
such, many of our international customers experienced a drop in their purchasing power as it relates to their ability to
purchase our products. To date, we have not materially changed our selling prices and have experienced lower sales
volumes. Although monetary conditions in fiscal 2017 improved as compared to recent years, it is possible, that the U.S.
dollar will strengthen from current levels against many international currencies. If this occurs, our customers may reduce
their spending or postpone purchases of our products and services to a greater extent than we currently anticipate which
could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

• We must comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations of the U.S. and other countries - Certain of our
products and systems may require licenses from U.S. government agencies for export from the U.S., and some of our
products are not permitted to be exported.  In addition, in certain cases, U.S. export controls also severely limit unlicensed
technical discussions, such as discussions with any persons who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. As a result,
in cases where we may need a license, our ability to compete against a non-U.S. domiciled foreign company that may
not be subject to the same U.S. laws may be materially adversely affected. U.S. laws and regulations applicable to us
include  the Arms  Export  Control Act,  the  IEEPA,  the  ITAR,  the  EAR  and  the  trade  sanctions  laws  and  regulations
administered by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control ("OFAC").

23

• We must comply with the FCPA and similar laws elsewhere - We are subject to the FCPA and other foreign laws prohibiting
corrupt payments to government officials, which generally bar bribes or unreasonable gifts to foreign governments or
officials. Violations of these laws or regulations could result in significant sanctions, including disgorgement of profits,
fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, our directors, or our employees, more onerous compliance requirements,
more extensive debarments from export privileges or loss of authorizations needed to conduct aspects of our international
business. A violation of any of the regulations enumerated above could materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations.  Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance
with these laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, agents, or subsidiaries will
not violate our policies. Additionally, changes in regulatory requirements which could restrict our ability to deliver services
to our international customers, including the addition of a country to the list of sanctioned countries under the IEEPA or
similar legislation could negatively impact our business. For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we
have conducted virtually no business with states designated as sponsors of terrorism.

• We must maintain a company-wide Office of Trade Compliance - In the past, we have self-reported violations of ITAR
to the DDTC and had an ITAR compliance audit performed by an independent auditor at the request of the DDTC.
Although the audit found no violations of ITAR, we committed to the DDTC that we would enhance and maintain certain
policies and procedures and we have established a company-wide Office of Trade Compliance. In October 2014, we self-
disclosed  to  OFAC  that  we  learned  during  a  routine  assessment  of  the  adequacy  of  our  export  control  compliance
procedures that we had inadvertently neglected to obtain an OFAC license for a shipment of modems to a Canadian
customer who, we learned after the transaction had begun, intended to incorporate our modems in a communication
system the ultimate end user of which was the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority.  OFAC regulations prohibit U.S. persons
from doing business directly or indirectly in Sudan and from facilitating transactions by non-U.S. persons which would
be illegal if done by a U.S. person.  In late 2015, OFAC issued an administrative subpoena to us seeking further information
about the previous voluntarily disclosed transaction and any other transactions involving Sudan. We have responded to
the subpoena, including alerting OFAC to Comtech’s repair of three modems for a customer in Lebanon after which time
the modems were rerouted to Sudan without Comtech’s knowledge. OFAC has not responded to our submission of further
information  and  we  cannot  predict  when  the  agency  will  complete  its  review  and  determine  whether  any  violations
occurred. While OFAC could decide not to impose penalties and only issue a no action or cautionary letter, we could face
civil and criminal penalties and may suffer reputational harm if we are found to have violated U.S. sanctions laws. Even
though we take precautions to prevent transactions with U.S. sanction targets, any such measures, or any new measures
we may implement in the future, may be ineffective. As a result, there is risk that in the future we could provide our
products to or permit our products to be downloaded or accessed by such targets despite these precautions. This could
result in negative consequences to us, including government investigations, penalties and reputational harm.

• We may be subject to future export compliance audits - We continue to implement policies and procedures to ensure that
we comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations. In the future, we may be subjected to compliance
audits in the future that may uncover improper or illegal activities that would subject us to material remediation costs,
civil and criminal fines and/or penalties and/or an injunction. In addition, we could suffer serious reputational harm if
allegations of impropriety were made against us. Each of these outcomes could, individually or in the aggregate, have a
material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. The absence of comparable restrictions
on competitors in other countries may adversely affect our competitive position. In addition, in order to ship our products
into and implement our services in some countries, the products must satisfy the technical requirements of that particular
country. If we were unable to comply with such requirements with respect to a significant quantity of our products, our
sales in those countries could be restricted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation
and financial condition.

Our investments in recorded goodwill and other intangible assets could be impaired as a result of future business conditions, 
a deterioration of the global economy or if we change our reporting unit structure.

As of July 31, 2017, goodwill recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet aggregated $290.6 million. Additionally, as of July 
31, 2017, net intangibles recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet aggregated $261.9 million.

For purposes of reviewing impairment and the recoverability of goodwill and other intangible assets, our Government Solutions 
and Commercial Solutions segment each constitute a reporting unit and we must make various assumptions in determining their 
estimated fair values. Reporting units are defined by how our President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") manages the business, 
which includes resource allocation decisions. We may, in the future, change our management approach which in turn may change 
the way we define our reporting units, as such term is defined by Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting 
Standards Codification ("ASC") 350 "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other." A change to our management approach may require us 
to perform an interim goodwill impairment test and possibly record impairment charges in a future period.

24

In accordance with FASB ASC 350, we perform a goodwill impairment analysis at least annually (in the first fiscal quarter of each 
fiscal year), unless indicators of impairment exist in interim periods. If we fail the quantitative assessment of goodwill impairment 
("quantitative assessment"), pursuant to our adoption of FASB ASU No. 2017-04 in fiscal 2017, we would be required to recognize 
an impairment loss equal to the amount that a reporting unit's carrying value exceeded its fair value; however, any loss recognized 
should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. 

On August 1, 2017 (the first day of our fiscal 2018), we performed our annual quantitative assessment and estimated the fair value 
of each of our reporting units using a combination of the income and market approaches. Based on our quantitative evaluation, 
we determined that our Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions reporting units had estimated fair values in excess of 
their carrying values of at least 17.8% and 52.9%, respectively, and concluded that our goodwill was not impaired and that neither 
of our two reporting units was at risk of failing the quantitative assessment. It is possible that, during fiscal 2018 or beyond, 
business  conditions (both  in  the U.S.  and  internationally) could  deteriorate from the  current state,  our current  or  prospective 
customers could materially postpone, reduce or even forgo purchases of our products and services to a greater extent than we 
currently anticipate or our common stock price could decline. A significant decline in our customers' spending that is greater than 
we anticipate or a shift in funding priorities may also have a negative effect on future orders, sales, income and cash flows and 
we might be required to perform an interim quantitative assessment during fiscal 2018 or beyond. If assumed net sales and cash 
flow projections are not achieved in future periods or our common stock price significantly declines from current levels, our 
Commercial Solutions or Government Solutions reporting units could be at risk of failing the quantitative assessment and goodwill 
and intangibles assigned to the respective reporting units could be impaired. 

In any event, we are required to perform the next annual goodwill impairment analysis on August 1, 2018 (the start of our fiscal 
2019). If our assumptions and related estimates change in the future, or if we change our reporting unit structure or other events 
and circumstances change (e.g., a sustained decrease in the price of our common stock (considered on both absolute terms and 
relative to peers)), we may be required to record impairment charges when we perform these tests, or in other future periods.

In addition to our impairment analysis of goodwill, we also review net intangibles with finite lives when an event occurs indicating 
the potential for impairment. We believe that the carrying values of our net intangibles were recoverable as of July 31, 2017. Any 
impairment charges that we may record in the future could be material to our results of operation and financial condition.

We could be negatively impacted by a systems failure or security breach through cyber-attack, cyber intrusion or otherwise, 
by other significant disruption of our IT networks or those we operate for certain customers, or third party data center 
facilities, servers and related systems.

Similar to all companies in our industry, we are under constant risk of security breaches and other significant attacks on and 
disruptions of our IT networks and related systems, including third party data center facilities, whether through actual breaches, 
cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions via the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e-mails, persons inside our organization 
or persons with access to systems inside our organization. Actual security breaches or disruption, particularly through cyber-attack 
or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, have increased in recent years and 
have become more complex. Our IT network and systems, as well as third party data center facilities, have been and, we believe, 
continue to be under constant attack. We face an added risk of a security breach or other significant disruption to certain of our 
equipment  used  on  some  of  our  customer’s  IT  networks  and  related  systems  which  may  involve  managing  and  protecting 
information relating to national security and other sensitive government functions. We may incur significant costs to prevent and 
respond to actual breaches, cyber-attacks and other systems disruptions.

25

As a communications company, and particularly as a government contractor and a provider of 911 systems, we face a heightened 
risk of a security breach or disruption from actual breaches, cyber-attacks and other threats to gain unauthorized access to our and 
our customers' proprietary or classified information on our IT networks, third party data center facilities and related systems and 
to certain of our equipment used on some of our customer’s IT networks and related systems. These types of information and IT 
networks  and  related  systems  are  critical  to  the  operation  of  our  business  and  essential  to  our  ability  to  perform  day-to-day 
operations, and, in some cases, are critical to the operations of certain of our customers. Although we make significant efforts to 
maintain the security and integrity of these types of information and IT networks and related systems, and we have implemented 
various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, there can be no assurance that our security efforts and 
measures will be effective or that actual security breaches or disruptions will not be successful or damaging. Even the most well 
protected information, networks, data centers, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because security breaches, 
particularly cyber-attacks and intrusions, or disruptions have occurred and will occur again in the future. Techniques used in such 
breaches and cyber-attacks are constantly evolving and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some 
cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected.  In some cases, the resources of foreign governments may 
be behind such attacks. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers 
or other preventative measures, and thus it is virtually impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk.

A security breach or other significant disruption involving these types of information and IT networks and related systems could:

•

•

•

•

•

Disrupt the proper functioning of these networks, data center facilities and systems and therefore our operations and/or
those of certain of our customers;

Result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of, proprietary, confidential,
sensitive or otherwise valuable information of ours or our customers, including trade secrets, which others could use to
compete against us or for disruptive, destructive or otherwise harmful purposes and outcomes;

Compromise national security and other sensitive government functions;

Require significant management attention and resources to remedy the damages that result; and

Damage our reputation with our customers (particularly agencies of the U.S. government) and the public generally.

In addition, the cost of continually defending against cyber-attacks and actual breaches has increased in recent years and future 
costs and any or all of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial 
condition.

The measures we have implemented to secure information we collect and store or enable access to may be breached, which 
could cause us to breach agreements with our partners and expose us to potential investigation and penalties by authorities 
and potential claims for contract breach, product liability damages, credits, penalties or termination by persons whose 
information was disclosed.

We take reasonable steps to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of the information we collect and store and to prevent 
unauthorized access to third party data to which we enable access through our products, but there is no guarantee that inadvertent 
or  unauthorized  disclosure  will  not  occur  or  that  third  parties  will  not  gain  unauthorized  access  despite  our  efforts.  If  such 
unauthorized disclosure or access does occur, we may be required to notify persons whose information was disclosed or accessed 
under existing and proposed laws. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or 
sabotage systems change frequently and are often not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate 
these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. We also may be subject to claims of breach of contract for such 
disclosure, investigation and penalties by regulatory authorities and potential claims by persons whose information was disclosed. 
If there is a security breach or if there is an inappropriate disclosure of any of these types of information, we could be exposed to 
investigations, litigation, fines and penalties. Remediation of and liability for loss or misappropriation of end user or employee 
personal information could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. Even if 
we were not held liable for such event, a security breach or inappropriate disclosure of personal, private or confidential information 
could harm our reputation and our relationships with current and potential customers and end users. Even the perception of a 
security risk could inhibit market acceptance of our products and services. We may be required to invest additional resources to 
protect  against  damages  caused  by  any  actual  or  perceived  disruptions  of  our  services. We  may  also  be  required  to  provide 
information about the location of an end user’s mobile device to government authorities, which could result in public perception 
that we are providing the government with intelligence information and deter some end users from using our services. Any of 
these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

26

Our U.S. Federal, state and foreign tax returns are subject to audit and a resulting tax assessment or settlement could have 
a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. Significant judgment is required in 
determining the provision for income taxes.

The  final  determination  of  tax  examinations  and  any  related  litigation  could  be  materially  different  than  what  is  reflected  in 
historical income tax provisions and accruals. Our federal income tax returns for fiscal 2015 and 2016 remain subject to potential 
future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audits. In addition, TCS's federal income tax returns for calendar years 2013 through 
2015 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016 are subject to potential future IRS audits. In addition to income 
tax audits, TCS is subject to ongoing state and local tax audits by the Washington State Department of Revenue and the City of 
Seattle. Although adjustments relating to past audits of our federal tax returns (including the recent audit of fiscal 2014) were 
immaterial, a resulting tax assessment or settlement for other periods or other jurisdictions that may be selected for future audit 
could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operation and financial condition. 

We have significant operations in Arizona, Florida, California, Washington State, New York and other locations which 
could be materially and adversely impacted in the event of a terrorist attack and government responses thereto or significant 
disruptions (including natural disasters) to our business.

Terrorist attacks, the U.S. and other governments' responses thereto, and threats of war could materially adversely impact our 
business, results of operation and financial condition.  For example, our 911, hosted location-based services and satellite teleport 
services operations depend on our ability to maintain our computer and equipment and systems in effective working order, and to 
protect our systems against damage from fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, sabotage, unauthorized 
access to our system or similar events.  Although all of our mission-critical systems and equipment are designed with built-in 
redundancy and security, any unanticipated interruption or delay in our operations or breach of security could have a material 
adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. Our property and business interruption insurance may 
not be adequate to compensate us for any losses that may occur in the event of a terrorist attack, threat, system failure or a breach 
of security. Insurance may not be available to us at all or, if available, may not be available to us on commercially reasonable 
terms.

We operate a high-volume technology manufacturing center located in Tempe, Arizona. We expect intercompany manufacturing 
to increase from current levels in future periods and we intend to maximize the use of our high-volume technology manufacturing 
center by continuing to seek contracts with third parties to outsource a portion of their manufacturing to us. A terrorist attack or 
similar future event may disrupt our operations or those of our customers or suppliers and may affect the availability of materials 
needed to manufacture our products or the means to transport those materials to manufacturing facilities and finished products to 
customers. If a natural disaster or other business interruption occurred with respect to our high-volume technology manufacturing 
center, we do not have immediate access to other manufacturing facilities and, as a result, our business, results of operation and 
financial condition would be materially adversely affected.

We design and manufacture our over-the-horizon microwave equipment and systems in Florida, where major hurricanes have 
occurred in the past, and traveling wave tube amplifiers in Santa Clara, California, an area close to major earthquake fault lines, 
and also manufacture amplifiers in Melville, New York, an area subject to hurricanes. Additionally, certain of our Commercial 
Solutions segment activities are conducted in Washington State which is also near a fault line.  Our operations in these and other 
locations (such as in our high-volume technology manufacturing center located in Tempe, Arizona), could be subject to natural 
disasters or other significant disruptions, including hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, fires, water 
shortages,  other  extreme  weather  conditions,  medical  epidemics,  acts  of  terrorism,  power  shortages  and  blackouts, 
telecommunications failures, and other natural and man-made disasters or disruptions.

We cannot be sure that our systems will operate appropriately if we experience hardware or software failure, intentional disruptions 
of service by third parties, an act of God or an act of war. A failure in our systems could cause delays in transmitting data, and as 
a result we may lose customers or face litigation that could involve material costs and distract management from operating our 
business.

In the event of any such disaster or other disruption, we could experience disruptions or interruptions to our operations or the 
operations of our suppliers, distributors, resellers or customers; destruction of facilities; and/or loss of life, all of which could 
materially increase our costs and expenses and materially adversely affect our business, results of operation and financial condition.

27

We may be subject to environmental liabilities.

We engage in manufacturing and are subject to a variety of local, state and federal laws and regulations relating to the storage, 
discharge, handling, emission, generation, manufacture and disposal of toxic or other hazardous substances used to manufacture 
our products. We are also subject to the Restriction of Hazardous Substance ("RoHS") directive which restricts the use of lead, 
mercury and other substances in electrical and electronic products. The failure to comply with current or future environmental 
requirements could result in the imposition of substantial fines, suspension of production, alteration of our manufacturing processes 
or cessation of operations that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. 
In addition, the handling, treatment or disposal of hazardous substances by us or our predecessors may have resulted, or could in 
the future result, in contamination requiring investigation or remediation, or lead to other liabilities, any of which could have a 
material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

The success of our business is dependent on compliance with FCC rules and regulations and similar foreign laws and 
regulations.

Many of our products are incorporated into wireless communications systems that must comply with various U.S. government 
regulations, including those of the FCC, as well as similar international laws and regulations. As a result, our business faces 
increased risks including the following:

• We must obtain various licenses from the FCC - We operate FCC licensed teleports that are subject to the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, or the FCC Act, and the rules and regulations of the FCC.  We cannot guarantee that the FCC
will grant renewals when our existing licenses expire, nor are we assured that the FCC will not adopt new or modified
technical requirements that will require us to incur expenditures to modify or upgrade our equipment as a condition of
retaining our licenses. We may, in the future, be required to seek FCC or other government approval if foreign ownership
of our stock exceeds certain specified criteria. Failure to comply with these policies could result in an order to divest the
offending foreign ownership, fines, denial of license renewal and/or license revocation proceedings against the licensee
by the FCC, or denial of certain contracts from other U.S. government agencies.

• We are dependent on the allocation and availability of frequency spectrum - Adverse regulatory changes related to the
allocation and availability of frequency spectrum and in the military standards and specifications that define the current
satellite networking environment, could materially harm our business by: (i) restricting development efforts by us and
our customers, (ii) making our current products less attractive or obsolete, or (iii) increasing the opportunity for additional
competition. The increasing demand for wireless communications has exerted pressure on regulatory bodies worldwide
to  adopt  new  standards  and  reassign  bandwidth  for  these  products  and  services.  The  reduced  number  of  available
frequencies for other products and services and the time delays inherent in the government approval process of new
products and services have caused, and may continue to cause, our customers to cancel, postpone or reschedule their
installation of communications systems including their satellite, over-the-horizon microwave, or terrestrial line-of-sight
microwave communication systems. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our sales of products to our
customers. Changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations could materially adversely harm
our business, results of operation, and financial condition.

•

Our future growth is dependent, in part, on developing NG911 compliant products - The FCC requires that certain location
information be provided to network operators for public safety answering points when a subscriber makes a 911 call.
Technical failures, greater regulation by federal, state or foreign governments or regulatory authorities, time delays or
the significant costs associated with developing or installing improved location technology could slow down or stop the
deployment of our mobile location products. If deployment of improved location technology is delayed, stopped or never
occurs, market acceptance of our products and services may be materially adversely affected. Because we rely on some
third-party location technology instead of developing all of the technology ourselves, we have little or no influence over
its improvement. The technology employed with NG911 services generally anticipates a migration to internet-protocol
(“IP”) based communication. Since many companies are proficient in IP-based communication protocols, the barriers to
entry to providing NG911 products and services are lower than exist for the traditional switch-based protocols. If we are
unable to develop unique and proprietary solutions that are superior to and more cost effective than other market offers,
our 911 business could get replaced by new market entrants, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, results
of operation and financial condition.

28

•

Under the FCC’s mandate, our 911 business is dependent on state and local governments - Under the FCC’s mandate,
wireless carriers are required to provide 911 services only if state and local governments request the service. As part of
a state or local government’s decision to request 911, they have the authority to develop cost recovery mechanisms.
However, cost recovery is no longer a condition to wireless carriers’ obligation to deploy the service. If state and local
governments do not widely request that 911 services be provided or we become subject to significant pressures from
wireless carriers with respect to pricing of 911 services, our 911 business would be harmed and future growth of our
business would be reduced.

Regulation of the mobile industry and VoIP is evolving, and unfavorable changes or our failure to comply with existing 
and potential new legislation or regulations could harm our business and operating results.

As the mobile industry continues to evolve, we believe greater regulation by federal, state or foreign governments or regulatory 
authorities is likely and we face certain risks including:

• We must adhere to existing and potentially new privacy rules related to mobile-location based services - We believe
increased regulation is likely in the area of data privacy, and laws and regulations applying to the solicitation, collection,
processing or use of personal or consumer information could affect our customers’ ability to use and share data, potentially
reducing our ability to utilize this information for the purpose of continued improvement of the overall mobile subscriber
experience. In order for mobile location products and services to function properly, wireless carriers must locate their
subscribers and store information on each subscriber’s location. Although data regarding the location of the wireless user
resides only on the wireless carrier’s systems, users may not feel comfortable with the idea that the wireless carrier knows
and can track their location. Carriers will need to obtain subscribers’ permission to gather and use the subscribers’ personal
information, or they may not be able to provide customized mobile location services which those subscribers might
otherwise desire. If subscribers view mobile location services as an annoyance or a threat to their privacy, that could
reduce demand for our products and services and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and
financial condition.

• We may face increased compliance costs in connection with health and safety requirements for mobile devices - If wireless
handsets pose health and safety risks, we may be subject to new regulations and demand for our products and services
may decrease. Media reports have suggested that certain radio frequency emissions from wireless handsets may be linked
to various health concerns, including cancer, and may interfere with various electronic medical devices, including hearing
aids and pacemakers. Concerns over radio frequency emissions may have the effect of discouraging the use of wireless
handsets, which would decrease demand for our services. In recent years, the FCC and foreign regulatory agencies have
updated the guidelines and methods they use for evaluating radio frequency emissions from radio equipment, including
wireless handsets. In addition, interest groups have requested that the FCC investigate claims that wireless technologies
pose health concerns and cause interference with airbags, hearing aids and other medical devices. There also are some
safety risks associated with the use of wireless handsets while driving. Concerns over these safety risks and the effect of
any legislation that may be adopted in response to these risks could limit our ability to market and sell our products and
services.

•

The regulatory environment for VoIP services is developing - The FCC has determined that VoIP services are not subject
to the same regulatory scheme as traditional wireline and wireless telephone services. If the regulatory environment for
VoIP services evolves in a manner other than the way we anticipate, our 911 business would be significantly harmed and
future growth of our business would be significantly reduced. For example, the regulatory scheme for wireless and wireline
service providers requires those carriers to allow service providers such as us to have access to certain databases that
make the delivery of a 911 call possible. No such requirements exist for VoIP service providers, so carriers could prevent
us from continuing to provide VoIP 911 service by denying us access to the required databases.

29

All of our business activities are subject to rapid technological change, new entrants, the introduction of other distribution 
models and long development and testing periods each of which may harm our competitive position, render our product 
or service offerings obsolete and require us to continuously develop technology and/or obtain licensed technology in order 
to compete successfully.

We are engaged in business activities characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, frequent new 
product announcements and enhancements, and changing customer demands. The introduction of products and services on future 
industry standards embodying new technologies such as multi-frequency time-division multiple access ("MF-TDMA") based 
technologies could render any of our products and services obsolete or non-competitive.  The successful execution of our business 
strategy is contingent upon wireless network operators launching and maintaining mobile location services, our ability to maintain 
a technically skilled development and engineering team, our ability to create new network software products and adapt our existing 
products to rapidly changing technologies, industry standards and customer needs. As a result of the complexities inherent in our 
product offerings, new technologies may require long development and testing periods. Additionally, new products may not achieve 
market acceptance or our competitors could develop alternative technologies that gain broader market acceptance than our products. 
If we are unable to develop and introduce technologically advanced products that respond to evolving industry standards and 
customer needs, or if we are unable to complete the development and introduction of these products on a timely and cost effective 
basis, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition or could result in our 
technology becoming obsolete.

New entrants seeking to gain market share by introducing new technology and new products may make it more difficult for us to 
sell our products and services and could create increased pricing pressure, reduced profit margins, increased sales and marketing 
expenses, or the loss of market share or expected market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, 
results of operation and financial condition.  For example, many companies are developing new technologies and the shift towards 
open standards such as IP-based satellite networks will likely result in increased competition and some of our products may become 
commoditized. Our DoubleTalk® Carrier-in-Carrier® bandwidth compression technology is licensed by us from a third party that 
maintains patents associated with the technology. Other competitors have developed similar technologies and some may have also 
licensed parts or all of this compression technology.

Our  Commercial  Solutions  segment  provides  various  technologies  that  are  utilized  on  mobile  phones.  Applications  from 
competitors for location-based or text-based messaging platforms may be preloaded on mobile devices by original equipment 
manufacturers, or OEMs, or offered by OEMs directly. Increased competition from providers of location-based services which 
do not rely on a wireless carrier may result in fewer wireless carrier subscribers electing to purchase their wireless carrier’s branded 
location-based services, which could harm our business and revenue. In addition, these location-based or text-based services may 
be offered for free or on a onetime fee basis, which could force us to reduce monthly subscription fees or migrate to a onetime fee 
model to remain competitive. We may also lose end users or face erosion in our average revenue per user if these competitors 
deliver their products without charge to the consumer by generating revenue from advertising or as part of other applications or 
services.

Our expected growth and our financial position depends on, among other things, our ability to keep pace with such changes and 
developments and to respond to the increasing variety of electronic equipment users and transmission technologies. We may not 
have the financial or technological resources to keep pace with such changes and developments or be successful in our research 
and development and we may not be able to identify and respond to technological improvements made by our competitors in a 
timely or cost-effective fashion. Any delays could result in increased costs of development or redirect resources from other projects. 
In addition, we cannot provide assurances that the markets for our products, systems, services or technologies will develop as we 
currently anticipate. The failure of our products, systems, services or technologies to gain market acceptance could significantly 
reduce our net sales and harm our business.

30

Our business is highly competitive, we are reliant upon the success of our partners, and some of our competitors have 
significantly greater resources than we do, which could result in a loss of customers, market share and/or market acceptance.

Our  business  is  highly  competitive. We  will  continue to  invest  in  research  and  development  for  the  introduction  of  new  and 
enhanced products and services designed to improve capacity, data processing rates and features. We must also continue to develop 
new features and to improve functionality of our software. Research and development in our industry is complex, expensive and 
uncertain. We believe that we must continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to research and development efforts to 
maintain our competitive position. If we continue to expend a significant amount of resources on research and development, but 
our efforts do not lead to the successful introduction of product and service enhancements that are competitive in the marketplace, 
our business, results of operation and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Several  of  our  potential  competitors  are  substantially  larger  than  we  are  and  have  greater  financial,  technical  and  marketing 
resources than we do. In particular, larger competitors have certain advantages over us which could cause us to lose customers 
and impede our ability to attract new customers, including: larger bases of financial, technical, marketing, personnel and other 
resources; more established relationships with wireless carriers and government customers; more funds to deploy products and 
services; and the ability to lower prices (or not charge any price) of competitive products and services because they are selling 
larger volumes. Furthermore, we cannot be sure that our competitors will not develop competing products, systems, services or 
technologies that gain market acceptance in advance of our products, systems, services or technologies, or that our competitors 
will not develop new products, systems, services or technologies that cause our existing products, systems, services or technologies 
to become non-competitive or obsolete, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our Commercial Solutions segment provides Safety and Security Technologies to various state and local municipalities and to a 
large extent, we are reliant on the success of our wireless partners and distributors to meet our growth objectives. In some cases, 
our wireless partners may have different objectives or our distributors may not be successful. For example, in February 2016, 
AT&T, one of our largest partners publicly announced a new nationwide service that is focused on the adoption of NG911 services 
and that such new service will be deployed in collaboration with a competitor.  In fiscal 2018, we were informed by two of our 
large distributors that they did not win two large programs which included our NG911 solutions and that AT&T was awarded both 
programs. Going forward, we intend to continue to work with our partners and expand our direct and indirect sales and distribution 
channel in this area. If we are not successful in doing so, we may not be able to achieve our long-term business goals.

Contract cost growth on our fixed price contracts, including most of our government contracts, cost reimbursable type 
contracts and other contracts that cannot be justified as an increase in contract value due from customers exposes us to 
reduced profitability and the potential loss of future business and other risks.

A substantial portion of our products and services are sold under fixed-price contracts. Fixed-price contracts inherently have more 
risk than flexibly priced contracts. This means that we bear the risk of unanticipated technological, manufacturing, supply or other 
problems, price increases or other increases in the cost of performance. Future events could result in either upward or downward 
adjustments to those estimates which could negatively impact our profitability. Operating margin is materially adversely affected 
when contract costs that cannot be billed to the customer are incurred. This cost growth can occur if initial estimates used for 
calculating the contract price were incorrect, or if estimates to complete increase. To a lesser extent, we provide products and 
services under cost reimbursable type contracts which carry the entire burden of costs exceeding a negotiated contract ceiling 
price.

The cost estimation process requires significant judgment and expertise. Reasons for cost growth may include unavailability and 
productivity of labor, the nature and complexity of the work to be performed, the effect of change orders, the availability of 
materials, the effect of any delays in performance, availability and timing of funding from the customer, natural disasters, and the 
inability to recover any claims included in the estimates to complete. A significant change in an estimate on one or more programs 
could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

31

Ongoing compliance with the provisions of securities laws, related regulations and financial reporting standards could 
unexpectedly materially increase our costs and compliance related expenses.

Because we are a publicly traded company, we are required to comply with provisions of securities laws, related regulations and 
financial  reporting  standards.  Because  securities  laws,  related  regulations  and  financial  reporting  standards  pertaining  to  our 
business are relatively complex, our business faces increased risks including the following:

•

•

If we identify a material weakness in the future, our costs may unexpectedly increase - Pursuant to Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related SEC rules, we are required to furnish a report of management’s assessment of
the effectiveness of our internal controls as part of our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our independent registered public
accountants are required to attest to and provide a separate opinion. To issue our report, we document our internal control
design and the testing processes that support our evaluation and conclusion, and then we test and evaluate the results.
There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to remediate material weaknesses, if any, that may be identified
in future periods, or maintain all of the controls necessary for continued compliance. There likewise can be no assurance
that we will be able to retain sufficient skilled finance and accounting personnel, especially in light of the increased
demand for such personnel among publicly traded companies.

We acquired TCS on February 23, 2016 and have integrated TCS into our existing internal controls over financial reporting.
We continue to make changes and related enhancements to the TCS controls as part of our evaluation of the effectiveness
of our internal controls over financial reporting.  Although we do not expect to experience significant changes in internal
control over financial reporting, we may identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses and incur additional
costs in the future.

Stock-based compensation accounting standards could negatively impact our stock - Since our inception, we have used
stock-based awards as a fundamental component of our employee compensation packages. We believe that stock-based
awards directly motivate our employees to maximize long-term stockholder value and, through the use of long-term
vesting, encourage employees to remain with us. We apply the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC")
718,  "Compensation  -  Stock  Compensation,"  which  requires  us  to  record  compensation  expense  in  our  statement  of
operations for employee and director stock-based awards using a fair value method. In the first quarter of fiscal 2018,
we adopted FASB ASU No. 2016-09 which modified certain aspects of ASC 718, including the requirement to recognize
excess tax benefits and shortfalls in the income statement. The ongoing application of this standard will have a significant
effect on our reported earnings, and could adversely impact our ability to provide accurate guidance on our future reported
financial results due to the variability of the factors used to estimate the value of stock-based awards (including long-
term performance shares which are subject to the achievement of three-year goals which are based on several performance
metrics). The ongoing application of this standard could impact the future value of our common stock and may result in
greater stock price volatility. To the extent that this accounting standard makes it less attractive to grant stock-based
awards to employees, we may incur increased compensation costs, change our equity compensation strategy or find it
difficult to attract, retain and motivate employees, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business,
results of operation and financial condition.

• We must adopt new complex revenue recognition rules - The accounting rules and regulations that we must comply with
are complex. Accounting rules and regulations are continually changing in ways that could materially impact our financial
statements. The FASB has recently issued new guidance for revenue recognition. The new guidance replaces the prior
revenue recognition guidance in its entirety. We have not yet selected a transition method and continue to evaluate the
impact that this guidance will have on our business, results of operation and financial condition. This evaluation and the
implementation must be completed by August 1, 2018 (our first quarter of fiscal 2019). Due to the complexity of the new
standard and our organizational structure, we may not be able to complete such timely. Regardless of the transition method,
the application of this new guidance may result in certain adjustments to our financial statements, which could have a
material  adverse  effect  on  our  net  income.  Because  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  estimates,  judgments  and  assumptions
associated with our accounting policies, we cannot provide any assurances that we will not make subsequent significant
adjustments to our consolidated financial statements.

32

•

Changes in securities laws, regulations and financial reporting standards are increasing our costs - The Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002 required changes in some of our corporate governance, public disclosure and compliance practices. These
changes have resulted in increased costs. The SEC has promulgated and proposed new rules on a variety of subjects
including the requirement to use the interactive data format eXtensible Business Reporting Language (commonly referred
to as "XBRL") in our financial statements, which we began including in our quarterly reports filed with the SEC in the
first quarter of fiscal 2011, and the possibility that we would be required to adopt International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS"). In April 2016, as part of its Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative, the SEC published a concept release
which considers various business and financial disclosures that public companies make in investor reports and seeks the
public’s input on ways to further improve that disclosure. The issues raised by the SEC in the concept release have the
potential to dramatically change the way in which companies prepare and deliver disclosure to investors and the burdens
of preparing that disclosure. In August 2012, the SEC adopted new rules establishing additional disclosure, supply chain
verification and reporting requirements regarding a public company's use of Conflict Minerals procured from Covered
Countries (as both of those terms are defined by the SEC). These SEC rules and reporting requirements have resulted in
us incurring additional costs to document and perform supplier due diligence. As these rules impact our suppliers, the
availability of raw materials used in our operations could be negatively impacted and/or raw material prices could increase.
Further, if we are unable to certify that our products are conflict free, we may face challenges with our customers, which
could place us at a competitive disadvantage and could harm our reputation.

Our  costs  to  comply  with  the  aforementioned  and  other  regulations  continue  to  increase  and  we  may  have  to  add  additional 
accounting staff, engage consultants or change our internal practices, standards and policies which could significantly increase 
our costs to comply with ongoing or future requirements. In addition, the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") routinely 
changes its requirements for companies, such as us, that are listed on NASDAQ. These changes (and potential future changes) 
have increased and may increase our legal and financial compliance costs, including making it more difficult and more expensive 
for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance or maintain our current liability coverage. We believe that these new and 
proposed laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board of Directors, 
particularly to serve on our Audit Committee, and qualified executive officers.

Our backlog is subject to customer cancellation or modification and such cancellation could result in a decline in sales and 
increased provisions for excess and obsolete inventory.

We currently have a backlog of orders, mostly under contracts that our customers may modify or terminate. Almost all of the 
contracts in our backlog (including firm orders previously received from the U.S. government) are subject to cancellation at the 
convenience of the customer or for default in the event that we are unable to perform under the contract. A portion of our backlog 
is determined based on contracts received from our customers (such as the U.S. government and large telephone companies) and 
in certain cases, is computed by multiplying the most recent month’s contract or revenue by the months remaining under the 
existing  long-term  agreements,  which  we  consider  to  be  the  best  available  information  for  anticipating  revenue  under  those 
agreements.  There can be no assurance that our backlog will result in actual revenue in any particular period, or at all, or that any 
contract included in backlog will be profitable. There is a higher degree of risk in this regard with respect to unfunded backlog. 
The actual receipt and timing of any revenue is subject to various contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. The actual 
receipt of revenue on contracts included in backlog may never occur or may change because a program schedule could change, 
the program could be canceled, a contract could be reduced, modified or terminated early, or an option that we had assumed would 
be exercised not being exercised.

A significant portion of the backlog from our U.S. commercial customers relates to large, multi-year contracts to provide state 
and local governments (and their agencies) with safety and security solutions.  Although the contracts themselves represent legal, 
binding obligations of these governments, funding is often subject to the approval of budgets (for example, on an annual or bi-
annual basis). Although funding for these multi-year contracts are dependent on future budgets being approved, we include the 
full estimated value of these large, multi-year contracts in our backlog given the critical nature of the services being provided and 
the positive historical experience of our state and local government customers passing their respective budgets.

We record a provision for excess and obsolete inventory based on historical and future usage trends and other factors, including 
the consideration of the amount of backlog we have on hand at any particular point in time. If orders in our backlog are canceled 
or modified, our estimates of future product demand may prove to be inaccurate, in which case we may have understated the 
provision required for excess and obsolete inventory. In the future, if we determine that our inventory is overvalued, we will be 
required to recognize such costs in our financial statements at the time of such determination. Any such charges could be materially 
adverse to our results of operations and financial condition.

33

We face a number of risks relating to the expected growth of our business. Our business and operating results may be 
negatively impacted if we are unable to manage this growth.

These risks include:

•

The loss of key technical or management personnel could adversely affect our business - Our future success depends on
the continued contributions of key technical management personnel. Many of our key technical management personnel
would be difficult to replace, and are not subject to employment or non-competition agreements. We currently have
research and development employees in areas that are located a great distance away from our U.S. headquarters. Managing
remote product development operations is difficult and we may not be able to manage the employees in these remote
centers successfully. Our expected growth and future success will depend, in large part, upon our ability to attract and
retain highly qualified engineering, sales and marketing personnel. Competition for such personnel from other companies,
academic institutions, government entities and other organizations is intense. Although we believe that we have been
successful to date in recruiting and retaining key personnel, we may not be successful in attracting and retaining the
personnel we will need to grow and operate profitably. Also, the management skills that have been appropriate for us in
the past may not continue to be appropriate if we grow and diversify.

• We may not be able to improve our processes and systems to keep pace with anticipated growth - The future growth of
our business may place significant demands on our managerial, operational and financial resources. In order to manage
that growth, we must be prepared to improve and expand our management, operational and financial systems and controls.
We also need to continue to recruit and retain personnel and train and manage our employee base. We must carefully
manage research and development capabilities and production and inventory levels to meet product demand, new product
introductions and product and technology transitions. If we are not able to timely and effectively manage our growth and
maintain the quality standards required by our existing and potential customers, it could have a material adverse effect
on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

•

Our markets are highly competitive and there can be no assurance that we can continue our success - The markets for
our products are highly competitive. There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to compete successfully
or that our competitors will not develop new technologies and products that are more effective than our own. We expect
the Department of Defense’s increased use of commercial off-the-shelf products and components in military equipment
will encourage new competitors to enter the market. Also, although the implementation of advanced telecommunications
services is in its early stages in many developing countries, we believe competition will continue to intensify as businesses
and foreign governments realize the market potential of telecommunications services. Many of our competitors have
financial, technical, marketing, sales and distribution resources greater than ours.

• We may not be able to obtain sufficient components to meet expected demand - Our dependence on component availability,
government furnished equipment, subcontractors and key suppliers, including the core manufacturing expertise of our
high-volume technology manufacturing center located in Tempe, Arizona, exposes us to risk. Although we obtain certain
components and subsystems from a single source or a limited number of sources, we believe that most components and
subsystems are available from alternative suppliers and subcontractors. A significant interruption in the delivery of such
items, however, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. In
addition, if our high-volume technology manufacturing center located in Tempe, Arizona is unable to produce sufficient
product or maintain quality, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial
condition.

•

Our ability to maintain affordable credit insurance may become more difficult - In the normal course of our business, we
purchase credit insurance to mitigate some of our domestic and international credit risk. Although credit insurance remains
generally available, upon renewal, it may become more expensive to obtain or may not be available for existing or new
customers in certain international markets and it might require higher deductibles than in the past. If we acquire a company
with a different customer base, we may not be able to obtain credit insurance for those sales. As such, there can be no
assurance that, in the future, we will be able to obtain credit insurance on a basis consistent with our past practices.

34

We rely upon various third party companies and their technology to provide services to our customers and if we are unable 
to obtain such services at reasonable prices, or at all, our gross margins and our ability to provide the services of our 
wireless applications business could be materially adversely affected.

Risks from our reliance with these third parties include:

•

•

The loss of mapping and third party content - The wireless data services provided to our customers are dependent on
real-time, continuous  feeds  from  map  data,  points  of  interest  data, traffic  information, gas  prices, theater,  event  and
weather information from vendors and others. Any disruption of this third-party content from our satellite feeds or backup
landline feeds or other disruption could result in delays in our subscribers’ ability to receive information.  We obtain this
data that we sell to our customers from companies owned by current and potential competitors, who may act in a manner
that is not in our best interest.  If our suppliers of this data or content were to enter into exclusive relationships with other
providers of location-based services or were to discontinue providing such information and we were unable to replace
them cost effectively, or at all, our ability to provide the services of our wireless applications business would be materially
adversely affected. Our gross margins may also be materially adversely affected if the cost of third party data and content
increases substantially.

Third party data centers or third party networks may fail - Many products and services of our advanced communication
solutions, in particular our public safety and enterprise technology solutions, are provided through a combination of our
servers, which we house at third party data centers, and the networks of our wireless carrier partners. As such, our business
relies to a significant degree on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of the third-party data centers we use. Our hosted
data centers are currently located in third party facilities located in the Irvine and San Francisco, California areas, and
we may use others as required. We also use third party data center facilities in the Phoenix, Arizona area to provide for
disaster recovery. Network failures, disruptions or capacity constraints in our third-party data center facilities or in our
servers maintained at their location could affect the performance of the products and services of our wireless applications
and 911 business and harm our reputation and our revenue. The ability of our subscribers to receive critical location and
business information requires timely and uninterrupted connections with our wireless network carriers. Any disruption
from our satellite feeds or backup landline feeds could also result in delays in our subscribers’ ability to receive information.

• We must integrate our technologies and routinely upgrade them - We may not be able to upgrade our location-based
services platform to support certain advanced features and functionality without obtaining technology licenses from third
parties. Obtaining these licenses may be costly and may delay the introduction of such features and functionality, and
these licenses may not be available on commercially favorable terms, or at all. Problems and delays in development or
delivery  as  a  result  of  issues  with  respect  to  design,  technology,  licensing  and  patent  rights,  labor,  learning  curve
assumptions, or materials and components could prevent us from achieving contractual obligations. In addition, our
products cannot be tested and proven in all situations and are otherwise subject to unforeseen problems. The inability to
offer advanced features or functionality, or a delay in our ability to upgrade our location-based services platform, may
materially adversely affect demand for our products and services and, consequently, have a material adverse effect on
our business, results of operation and financial condition.

• We rely upon “open-source” software - We have incorporated some types of open-source software into our products,
allowing us to enhance certain solutions without incurring substantial additional research and development costs. Thus
far, we have encountered no unanticipated material problems arising from our use of open-source software. However, as
the use of open-source software becomes more widespread, certain open-source technology could become competitive
with our proprietary technology, which could cause sales of our products to decline or force us to reduce the fees we
charge for our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial
condition.

Indemnification provisions in our contracts could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, 
financial position, or cash flows.

In the ordinary course of business, we include indemnification provisions in certain of our customer contracts. Pursuant to these 
agreements, we have agreed to indemnify, hold harmless and reimburse the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by 
the indemnified party, including but not limited to losses related to third-party intellectual property claims.  Some customers seek 
indemnification under their contractual arrangements with the Company for claims and other costs associated with defending 
lawsuits alleging infringement of patents through their use of our products and services, and the use of our products and services 
in combination with products and services of other vendors. 

35

In some cases, we have agreed to assume the defense of the case. In others, the Company will negotiate with these customers in 
good faith because the Company believes its technology does not infringe the cited patents and due to specific clauses within the 
customer contractual arrangements that may or may not give rise to an indemnification obligation. It is not possible to determine 
the maximum potential amount the Company may spend under these agreements due to the unique facts and circumstances involved 
in each particular agreement.

For example, we have accrued certain costs related to Vehicle IP, LLC ("Vehicle IP") which filed a patent infringement lawsuit in 
the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (the "District Court"). TCS is defending our customer.   Substantive settlement 
conversations have occurred but, to date, the parties have been unable to reach a settlement. For additional information, see "Notes 
to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (14)(b) Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and 
Final Settlements" included in "Part II - Item 8.- Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," included in this Annual Report 
on Form 10-K.

The Company's assessments related to indemnification provisions are based on estimates and assumptions that have been deemed 
reasonable by management, but that may prove to be incomplete or inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may 
occur that might cause the Company to change those estimates and assumptions. Therefore, it is possible that an unfavorable 
resolution of one or more of these matters could have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements 
in a future fiscal period.

We are, from time to time, and could become a party to additional litigation or subject to claims, including product liability 
claims, relating to our software, government investigations and other proceedings that could cause us to incur unanticipated 
expenses and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

We are, from time to time, involved in commercial disputes and civil litigation relating to our businesses. Our agreements with 
customers may require us to indemnify such customers. Direct claims against us or claims against our customers may relate to 
defects in or non-conformance of our products, or our own acts of negligence and non-performance. Occasionally, we are called 
upon also to provide information in connection with litigation involving other parties or government investigations. Product liability 
and other forms of insurance are expensive and may not be available in the future. We cannot be sure that we will be able to 
maintain or obtain insurance coverage at acceptable costs or in sufficient amounts or that our insurer will not disclaim coverage 
as to a future claim. In many cases, we are unable to obtain insurance and are self-insured. Any such claim could have a material 
adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. 

Because our software may contain defects or errors, and our hardware products may incorporate defective components, 
our sales could decrease if these defects or errors adversely affect our reputation or delay shipments of our products.  

Products as complex as ours are likely to contain undetected errors or defects, especially when first introduced or when new 
versions are released. Our products may not be error or defect free after delivery to customers, which could damage our reputation, 
cause revenue losses, result in the rejection of our products or services, divert development resources and increase service and 
warranty costs, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition.

Software products, such as our 911 call handling software solutions, must meet the stringent technical requirements of our customers 
and we must satisfy our warranty obligations to our customers. Our 911 call handling software product is a small product line, 
developed by TCS more than ten years ago and older versions of this software remain deployed by certain end-customers. In 
August 2016, AT&T, a distributor of this small TCS product line informed us that they do not believe we met certain contractual 
specifications related to performance and usability and has requested a refund of certain payments made by them.  Our Consolidated 
Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2017 includes an estimate of our warranty liability associated with this issue which was determined 
based on a review of contractual obligations, settlement discussions with AT&T and estimates of costs to enhance the software. 
We believe our customer support plan, which includes an intention to continue to support end-customers in exchange for an annual 
customer support fee, has mitigated the negative reputational impact of this issue. In fiscal 2017, we generated approximately $5.5 
million of such fees, of which a significant portion was derived from our relationship with AT&T.  Sales in fiscal 2018 for this 
product line are expected to be similar to what we achieved in fiscal 2017. Although we expect to resolve this issue amicably with 
AT&T, we may not be able to do so. 

Our hardware products are also subject to warranty obligations and integrate a wide variety of components from different vendors. 
We  must  quickly  develop  new  products  and  product  enhancements  to  keep  pace  with  the  rapidly  changing  software  and 
telecommunications markets in which we operate.

36

Protection of our intellectual property is limited and pursuing infringers of our patents and other intellectual property 
rights can be costly.

Our businesses rely, in large part, upon our proprietary scientific and engineering know-how and production techniques. We rely 
on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret and unfair competition laws, restrictions in licensing 
agreements, confidentiality provisions and various other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property and related 
proprietary rights, but these legal means provide only limited protection. Although a number of patents have been issued to us and 
we have obtained a number of other patents as a result of our acquisitions, we cannot assure you that our issued patents will be 
upheld if challenged by another party. Additionally, with respect to any patent applications which we have filed, we cannot assure 
you that any patents will be issued as a result of these applications.

The  departure  of  any  of  our  key  management and  technical personnel,  the breach  of  their  confidentiality and  non-disclosure 
obligations to us or the failure to achieve our intellectual property objectives could have a material adverse effect on our business, 
results of operation and financial condition. Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenue growth will depend, 
in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology and operate without infringing upon the rights of others. We may fail 
to do so. In addition, the laws of certain countries in which our products are or may be sold may not protect our products or 
intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S.

Our ability to protect our intellectual property rights is also subject to the terms of future government contracts. We cannot assure 
you that the federal government will not demand greater intellectual property rights or restrict our ability to disseminate intellectual 
property. We are also a member of standards-setting organizations and have agreed to license some of our intellectual property to 
other members on fair and reasonable terms to the extent that the license is required to develop non-infringing products.

Pursuing infringers of our proprietary rights could result in significant litigation costs, and any failure to pursue infringers could 
result in our competitors utilizing our technology and offering similar products, potentially resulting in loss of a competitive 
advantage and decreased revenues. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, existing patent, copyright, trademark and 
trade secret laws afford only limited protection. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary 
rights to the same extent as do the laws of the U.S. Protecting our know-how is difficult especially after our employees or those 
of our third-party contract service providers end their employment or engagement. Attempts may be made to copy or reverse-
engineer aspects of our products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Accordingly, we may not be able 
to prevent the misappropriation of our technology or prevent others from developing similar technology. Furthermore, policing 
the unauthorized use of our products is difficult and expensive. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual 
property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. The costs and diversion of resources could 
significantly harm our business. If we fail to protect our intellectual property, we may not receive any return on the resources 
expended to create the intellectual property or generate any competitive advantage based on it.

Third parties may claim we are infringing their intellectual property rights and we could be prevented from selling our 
products, or suffer significant litigation expense, even if these claims have no merit.

Our competitive position is driven in part by our intellectual property and other proprietary rights. Third parties, however, may 
claim that we, our products, operations or any products or technology we obtain from other parties are infringing their intellectual 
property rights, and we may be unaware of intellectual property rights of others that may cover some of our assets, technology 
and products. From time to time we receive letters from third parties who allege we are infringing their intellectual property and 
ask us to license such intellectual property. We review the merits of each such letter and respond as we deem appropriate.

From time to time our customers are parties to allegations of intellectual property infringement claims based on our customers’ 
incorporation and use of our products and services, which may lead to demands from our customers for us to indemnify them for 
costs in defending those allegations. Any litigation regarding patents, trademarks, copyrights or intellectual property rights, even 
those without merit, and the related indemnification demands of our customers, can be costly and time consuming, and divert our 
management and key personnel from operating our business. The complexity of the technology involved and inherent uncertainty 
and cost of intellectual property litigation increases our risks. If any third party has a meritorious or successful claim that we are 
infringing its intellectual property rights, we may be forced to change our products or enter into licensing arrangements with third 
parties, which may be costly or impractical. This also may require us to stop selling our products as currently engineered, which 
could  harm  our  competitive  position. We  also  may  be  subject  to  significant  damages  or  injunctions  that  prevent  the  further 
development and sale of certain of our products or services and may result in a material loss of revenue.

37

From time to time, there have been claims challenging the ownership of open source software against companies that incorporate 
open source software into their products. As a result, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe 
to be open source software. Some open source licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications 
or derivative works under the terms of a particular open source license or other license granting third parties certain rights of 
further use. If we combine our proprietary software products with open source software in a certain manner, we could under certain 
of the open source licenses, be required to release our proprietary source code. Open source license terms may be ambiguous and 
many of the risks associated with usage of open source cannot be eliminated, and could if not properly addressed, negatively affect 
our business. If we were found to have inappropriately used open source software, we may be required to release our proprietary 
source code, re-engineer our products and client applications, discontinue the sale of our products or services in the event re-
engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis or take other remedial action that may divert resources away from our 
development efforts, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operation, and financial condition.

If our wireless carrier partners change the pricing and other terms by which they offer our products to their end-customers 
or do not continue to provide our services at all, our business, results of operation, and financial condition could be materially 
adversely affected. Additionally, potential future business combinations among wireless network operators could result in 
a loss of revenue for our business.

We generate a significant portion of our revenue from customers that are wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon. In addition, 
a portion of our revenue is derived from subscription fees that we receive from our wireless carrier partners for end users who 
subscribe to our service on a standalone basis or in a bundle with other services. To date, a relatively small number of end users 
have subscribed for our services in connection with their wireless plans compared to the total number of mobile phone users. Our 
future growth depends heavily on achieving significantly increased subscriber adoption of the wireless communication solutions 
we sell either through standalone subscriptions to our solutions or as part of bundles from our existing wireless carrier partners. 
Our success also depends on achieving widespread deployment of our solutions by attracting and retaining additional wireless 
carrier partners. Future revenue will depend on the pricing and quality of those services and subscriber demand for those services, 
which may vary by market, and the level of subscriber turnover experienced by our wireless carrier partners. If subscriber turnover 
increases more than we anticipate, our financial results could be materially adversely affected.

Poor performance in or disruptions of the services including in our advanced communication solutions could harm our reputation, 
delay market acceptance of our services and subject us to liabilities (including breach of contract claims brought by our customers 
and third-party damages claims brought by end-users). Our wireless carrier agreements and certain customers require us to meet 
specific requirements including operational uptime requirements or be subject to penalties. 

If we are unable to meet contractual requirements with our wireless carrier partners, such as AT&T, they could terminate our 
agreements or we may be required to refund a portion of monthly subscriptions fees they have paid us.

Although we have a long history of providing services to many of our wireless carrier partners, from time to time, we routinely 
perform  services  without  a  multi-period  contract  while  we  negotiate  new  and  extended  contract  terms  and  pricing.  These 
negotiations are complex and may take long periods of time. Ultimately, if we are not successful in obtaining multi-period contract 
terms, or even a new contract, our revenues could be suddenly and materially reduced.

Competitors offer technology that has functionality similar to ours for free, under different business models. Competition from 
these free offerings may reduce our revenue and harm our business. If our wireless carrier partners can offer these location-based 
services to their subscribers for free, they may elect to cease their relationships with us, alter or reduce the manner or extent to 
which they market or offer our services or require us to substantially reduce our subscription fees or pursue other business strategies 
that may not prove successful for us and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial 
condition.

The telecommunications industry generally is currently undergoing a consolidation phase. Many of our customers, specifically 
wireless carrier customers of our Commercial Solutions segment, have or may become the target of acquisitions. If the number 
of our customers is significantly reduced as a result of this consolidation trend, or if the resulting companies do not utilize our 
product offerings, our business, results of operation and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

38

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our stock price is volatile.

The stock market in general and the stock prices of technology-based companies, in particular, experience extreme volatility that 
often  is  unrelated  to  the  operating  performance  of  any  specific  public  company. The  market  price  of  our  common  stock  has 
fluctuated significantly in the past and is likely to fluctuate significantly in the future as well. Factors that could have a significant 
impact on the market price of our stock include, among others:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

our ability to successfully integrate TCS and manage our combined company;
strategic transactions, such as acquisitions and divestures;
issuance of potentially dilutive equity or equity-type securities;
issuance of debt;
future announcements concerning us or our competitors;
receipt or non-receipt of substantial orders for products and services;
quality deficiencies in services or products;
results of technological innovations;
new commercial products;
changes in recommendations of securities analysts;
government regulations;
changes in the status or outcome of government audits;
proprietary rights or product or patent litigation;
changes in U.S. government policies;
changes in economic conditions generally, particularly in the telecommunications sector;
changes in securities market conditions, generally;
changes in the status of litigation and legal matters (including changes in the status of export matters);
cyber-attacks;
energy blackouts;
acts of terrorism or war;
inflation or deflation; and
rumors or allegations regarding our financial disclosures or practices.

Shortfalls in our sales or earnings in any given period relative to the levels expected by securities analysts could immediately, 
significantly and adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Future issuances of our shares of common stock could dilute a stockholder's ownership interest in Comtech and reduce 
the market price of our shares of common stock.

In the future we may issue additional securities to raise capital. We may also acquire interests in other companies by using a 
combination of cash and our common stock or just our common stock. We may also issue securities convertible into our common 
stock. Any of these events may dilute a stockholder's ownership interest in Comtech and have an adverse impact on the price of 
our common stock.

Provisions in our corporate documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change in control of Comtech.

We have taken a number of actions that could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a merger or acquisition 
involving Comtech that our stockholders may consider favorable.

For example, we have a classified board and the employment contract with our President and CEO, and agreements with other of 
our executive officers, provide for substantial payments in certain circumstances or in the event of a change of control of Comtech. 
In the future, we may adopt a stockholder rights plan which could cause substantial dilution to a stockholder, and substantially 
increase the cost paid by a stockholder who attempts to acquire us on terms not approved by our Board of Directors.

In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, an anti-takeover law. In 
general,  this  statute  provides  that,  except  in  certain  limited  circumstances,  a  corporation  shall  not  engage  in  any  "business 
combination" with an "interested stockholder" for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person 
became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner.

39

A "business combination" includes mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in a financial benefit to the interested 
stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, for purposes of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, an "interested 
stockholder" is a person who, together with affiliates, owns, or within three years did own, 15% or more of the corporation's voting 
stock. This provision could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of Comtech.

A disruption in our dividend program could negatively impact our stock price.

We have paid quarterly dividends every quarter since September 2010. 

Our ability to continue to pay quarterly dividends will depend on our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations in 
the future and maintain compliance with our Secured Credit Facility, as amended. This ability may be subject to certain economic, 
financial, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control. Future dividends remain subject to compliance with financial 
covenants under the Company's Secured Credit Facility, as amended, as well as Board approval. Our Board of Directors may, at 
its discretion, decrease the targeted annual dividend amount or entirely discontinue the payment of dividends at any time.

Additionally, our ability to declare and pay dividends and make other distributions with respect to our capital stock may also be 
restricted by the terms of our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, and may be restricted by the terms of financing arrangements 
that we enter into in the future.

None.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

40

ITEM 2.  PROPERTIES

Historically, we have not owned any material properties or facilities and have relied upon a strategy of leasing. The following 
table lists our primary leased facilities at July 31, 2017:

Location

Property Type

Square Footage

Lease Expiration

Commercial Solutions Segment

Tempe, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Seattle, Washington

(A) Manufacturing and Engineering

(B)

(C)

General office (currently vacated)

Network Operations, R&D,
Engineering and Sales

Santa Clara, California

(D) Manufacturing and Engineering

Various facilities

Aliso Viejo, California

Greenwood Village, Colorado

Moscow, Idaho

Annapolis, Maryland

Fremont, California

Germantown, Maryland

Government Solutions Segment

Orlando, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Melville, New York

Torrance, California

Germantown, Maryland

Various facilities

Richardson, Texas

Annapolis, Maryland

Manassas, Virginia

Corporate

Annapolis, Maryland

Melville, New York

Total Square Footage

(E)

(F)

(F)

(G)

(F)

(G)

(H)

Engineering and General Office

R&D and Engineering

Network Operations

Support, Engineering and Sales

Support, Engineering and Sales

Support, Engineering and Sales

Engineering and General Office

(I)

Manufacturing and Engineering

(F) Manufacturing

(J)

(F)

(H)

(K)

(F)

(F)

(F)

(F)

(L)

Manufacturing and Engineering

Support, Engineering and Sales

Engineering and General Office

Support, Engineering and Sales

R&D and Engineering

Support, Engineering and Sales

Support, Engineering and Sales

General Office and common areas

Corporate headquarters and
general office

February 2021

October 2018

December 2022

April 2019

Various

December 2017

July 2020

February 2020

July 2019

April 2020

May 2025

April 2026

April 2022

December 2021

January 2018

May 2025

Various

July 2020

July 2019

November 2017

July 2019

August 2027

161,000

75,000

57,000

47,000

35,000

29,000

17,000

13,000

12,000

10,000

6,000

462,000

99,000

46,000

45,000

35,000

26,000

14,000

13,000

12,000

11,000

301,000

19,000

9,600

28,600

791,600

41

(A)  Although primarily used for our satellite earth station product lines, which are part of the Commercial Solutions segment,
both of our business segments utilize, from time to time, our high-volume technology manufacturing facilities located
in Tempe, Arizona. These manufacturing facilities utilize state-of-the-art design and production techniques, including
analog, digital and RF microwave production, hardware assembly and full service engineering. Our leases for these
facilities expire from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2021. We have the option to extend the lease terms for up to an additional
five-year period.

(B) As a result of the August 1, 2008 Radyne acquisition, we also assumed a lease of building space in Phoenix, Arizona that
was previously used for manufacturing. In connection with our fiscal 2009 Radyne acquisition restructuring plan, we
vacated and subleased this space through October 2015. We are currently seeking to sublease this space.

(C) Our office in Seattle, Washington is used primarily for servicing and hosting our wireless and VoIP E9-1-1 public safety

support services.

(D)  Our Commercial Solutions segment manufactures our traveling wave tube amplifiers in a leased manufacturing facility
located in Santa Clara, California. Our Commercial Solutions segment also operates a small office in the United Kingdom
with a lease that expires in October 2021.

(E) Our Commercial Solutions segment also leases an additional twelve facilities, three of which are located in the U.S. The
U.S.  facilities  aggregate  7,000  square  feet  and  are  primarily  utilized  for  engineering  and  general  office  use.  Our
Commercial Solutions segment also operates nine small offices in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Singapore, Australia and
the United Kingdom, all of which aggregate 28,000 square feet and are primarily utilized for customer support, engineering
and sales.

(F) We have leases for facilities in Annapolis, Maryland, Aliso Viejo, California, and Greenwood Village, Colorado used
primarily for the design and development of our software based systems and applications and network operations. Major
manufacturing  and  engineering  facilities  for  our  Government  Solutions  segment  are  in  Tampa,  Florida,  Torrance,
California, Richardson, Texas and Manassas, Virginia. We are currently finalizing plans to move our Aliso Viejo, California
and Torrance, California office facilities to new facilities when the current leases expire. In addition, we are in the process
of closing our Manassas, Virginia facility.

(G) Our offices in Moscow, Idaho and Fremont, California are primarily used for research and development, engineering and

sales of our satellite earth station products.

(H) Our Government Solutions segment leases a 32,000 square foot facility located in Germantown, Maryland which is
primarily used for BFT-1 sustainment activities, engineering and general office use. Our Government Solutions segment
occupies 26,000 feet of the facility with the remainder utilized by our Commercial Solutions segment.

(I) Our Government Solutions segment manufactures our over-the-horizon microwave systems in a leased facility in Orlando,

Florida. This business also leases a small office in North Africa.

(J) Our Government Solutions segment manufactures our solid-state, high-power, broadband amplifiers in a 45,000 square
foot engineering and manufacturing facility on more than two acres of land in Melville, New York and an 8,000 square
foot facility in Topsfield, Massachusetts. We lease the New York facility from a partnership controlled by our President
and CEO. The lease provides for our use of the premises as they exist through December 2021 with an option to renew
for an additional ten-year period. We have a right of first refusal in the event of a sale of the facility. Our Massachusetts
lease is currently on a month-to-month basis.

(K) Our Government Solutions segment also leases an additional four facilities located in the U.S. that are primarily used for
engineering, sales and software development.  Our leases for these facilities expire from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2021.

(L) Our corporate headquarters are located in an office building complex in Melville, New York. The lease provides for our

use of the premises through August 2027.

The terms for all of our leased facilities are generally for multi-year periods and we believe that we will be able to renew these 
leases or find comparable facilities elsewhere.

42

ITEM 3.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Information regarding legal proceedings is incorporated herein by reference to the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 
– Note (14)(b) Commitments and Contingencies – Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and Final Settlements" included in "Part II
- Item 8.- Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Not applicable.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

43

PART II

ITEM 5.  MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND 
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Stock Performance Graph and Cumulative Total Return

The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the 
S&P’s 500 Index and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index for each of the last five fiscal years ended July 31, assuming an 
investment of $100 at the beginning of such period and the reinvestment of any dividends. The comparisons in the graphs below 
are based upon historical data and are not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, future performance of our common stock.

Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") under the symbol "CMTL."

44

The following table shows the quarterly range of the high and low sale prices for our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ. 
Such prices do not include retail markups, markdowns or commissions.

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2016
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2017
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Dividends

Common Stock

High

Low

$

$

29.31
25.85
25.09
24.93

13.84
12.81
15.25
19.80

20.30
17.27
18.01
11.24

9.84
9.52
10.53
13.75

Since September 2010, we have paid quarterly dividends. On October 6, 2016, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.30
per common share, which was paid on November 22, 2016. On December 7, 2016, March 8, 2017 and June 7, 2017, our Board 
of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, which were paid on February 17, 2017, May 19, 2017 and August 18, 
2017, respectively. 

On September 27, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, payable on November 17, 2017
to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 18, 2017. 

The Board of Directors is currently targeting fiscal 2018 quarterly dividend payments of $0.10 per common share. Future dividends 
remain subject to compliance with financial covenants under our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, as well as Board approval.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

We did not repurchase any of our equity securities during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017. 

As of July 31, 2017 and September 26, 2017, we were authorized to repurchase up to an additional $8.7 million of our common 
stock, pursuant to a $100.0 million stock repurchase program that was authorized by our Board of Directors. The $100.0 million
stock repurchase program has no time restrictions and repurchases may be made in open-market or privately negotiated transactions 
and may be made pursuant to SEC Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. 

Approximate Number of Equity Security Holders

As of September 22, 2017, there were approximately 819 holders of our common stock. Such number of record owners was 
determined from our stockholder records and does not include beneficial owners whose shares of our common stock are held in 
the name of various security holders, dealers and clearing agencies.

45

ITEM 6.  SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table shows selected historical consolidated financial data for our Company.

Detailed historical financial information is included in the audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 
2015.

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

Net sales

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Expenses:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

$

550,368

332,183

218,185

411,004

239,767

171,237

307,289

168,405

138,884

347,150

195,712

151,438

319,797

178,967

140,830

Selling, general and administrative

Research and development

Amortization of intangibles

Settlement of intellectual property litigation

Acquisition plan expenses

116,080

54,260

22,823
(12,020)
—

181,143

94,932

42,190

13,415

—

21,276

171,813

62,680

35,916

6,211

—

—

67,147

34,108

6,285

—

—

63,265

36,748

6,328

—

—

104,807

107,540

106,341

Operating income (loss)

37,042

(576)

34,077

43,898

34,489

Other expenses (income):

Interest expense

Interest income and other

11,629
(68)

7,750
(134)

479
(405)

6,304
(913)

8,163
(1,167)

Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from)
income taxes

25,481

(8,192)

34,003

38,507

27,493

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

9,654

(454)

10,758

13,356

9,685

Net income (loss)

$

15,827

(7,738)

23,245

25,151

17,808

Net income (loss) per share:

Basic

Diluted

$

$

0.68

0.67

(0.46)
(0.46)

1.43

1.42

1.58

1.37

1.05

0.97

Weighted average number of common shares

outstanding – basic

23,433

16,972

16,203

15,943

16,963

Weighted average number of common and

common equivalent shares outstanding – diluted

23,489

16,972

16,418

20,906

23,064

Dividends declared per issued and outstanding
common share as of the applicable dividend
record date

$

0.60

1.20

1.20

1.175

1.10

46

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
(In thousands)

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Other Consolidated Operating Data:
Backlog at period-end
New orders
Research  and  development  expenditures  -  internal 

and customer funded

Adjusted EBITDA

$

446,230
512,593

81,310

70,705

484,005
451,278

59,622

48,062

117,744
291,621

45,144

51,761

133,412
290,820

47,211

61,336

189,742
355,600

41,920

52,242

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
Total assets
Working capital
Debt, including capital leases
Convertible senior notes
Other long-term obligations
Stockholders’ equity

Non-GAAP Financial Data

As of July 31,
(In thousands)

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

$

832,063
96,833
195,802
—
2,655
480,150

921,196
119,493
258,649
—
4,105
470,401

473,877
236,419
—
—
3,633
401,409

473,852
224,656
—
—
4,364
396,925

681,815
220,560
—
200,000
3,958
404,062

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains a Non-GAAP financial metric titled Adjusted EBITDA for the Company, which 
represents  earnings  before  income  taxes,  interest  (income)  and  other  expense,  interest  expense,  amortization  of  stock-based 
compensation, amortization of intangibles, depreciation expense, settlement of intellectual property litigation, acquisition plan 
expenses, restructuring (benefits) charges related to the wind-down of the microsatellite product line and strategic alternatives 
analysis expenses. In future periods, we expect to incur expenses similar to the aforementioned items and investors should not 
infer from our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA that these costs are unusual, infrequent or non-recurring. These items, while 
periodically affecting our results, may vary significantly from period to period and may have a disproportionate effect in a given 
period, thereby affecting the comparability of results. Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP financial measure used by management 
in assessing Comtech’s operating results.  Although closely aligned, Comtech's definition of Adjusted EBITDA is different than 
the Consolidated EBITDA (as such term is defined in our Secured Credit Facility, as amended) utilized for financial covenant 
calculations  and  also  may  differ  from  the  definition  of  EBITDA  or Adjusted  EBITDA  used  by  other  companies,  including 
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. ("TCS"), prior to our acquisition and, therefore, may not be comparable to similarly titled 
measures used by other companies. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also a measure frequently requested by Comtech’s investors and 
analysts.

Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytical tool as they exclude the financial impact of transactions necessary 
to conduct Comtech’s business, such as the granting of equity compensation awards, and are not intended to be an alternative to 
financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should only be considered as a supplement, and not a 
substitute, to GAAP metrics such as net income. These measures are adjusted as described in the reconciliation of GAAP to Non-
GAAP in the below table, but these adjustments should not be construed as an inference that all of these adjustments or costs are 
unusual, infrequent or non-recurring.

47

The following is a reconciliation of net income (loss), the most comparable GAAP measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:

Adjusted EBITDA:

Net income (loss)

Income taxes

Interest (income) and other expense

Interest expense

Amortization of stock-based compensation

Amortization of intangibles

Depreciation

Settlement of intellectual property litigation

Acquisition plan expenses

Restructuring (benefits) charges related to the
wind-down of microsatellite product line

Strategic alternatives analysis

Adjusted EBITDA

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
(In thousands)

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

$

15,827

9,654
(68)
11,629

8,506

22,823

14,354
(12,020)
—

—

—

(7,738)
(454)
(134)
7,750

4,117

13,415

9,830

—

21,276

—

—

23,245

10,758
(405)
479

4,363

6,211

6,525

—

—

—

585

25,151

13,356
(913)
6,304

4,263

6,285

6,721

—

—

(56)
225

17,808

9,685
(1,167)
8,163

3,130

6,328

7,837

—

—

458

—

$

70,705

48,062

51,761

61,336

52,242

Our historical results prior to February 23, 2016 do not include TCS; as such, you should not rely on period-to-period comparisons 
as an indicator of future performance as these comparisons may not be meaningful.  

ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a leading provider of advanced communications solutions for both commercial and government customers worldwide. 
Our solutions fulfill our customers' needs for secure wireless communications in some of the most demanding environments, 
including those where traditional communications are unavailable or cost-prohibitive, and in mission-critical and other scenarios 
where performance is crucial.

On February 23, 2016 (the first month of our third quarter of fiscal 2016), we acquired TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. ("TCS"), 
a leading provider of commercial solutions (such as public safety systems and enterprise application technologies), and government 
solutions  (such  as  command  and  control  (also  known  as  Command,  Control,  Communications,  Computers,  Intelligence, 
Surveillance and Reconnaissance ("C4ISR"))) applications.  The TCS acquisition was a significant step in our strategy of entering 
complementary markets and expanding our domestic and international commercial offerings. The integration of TCS was largely 
completed during fiscal 2017.

We manage our business through two reportable operating segments:

•

Commercial Solutions - serves commercial customers and smaller governments, such as state and local governments,
that require advanced communication technologies to meet their needs. This segment also serves certain large government
customers (including the U.S. government) that have requirements for off-the-shelf commercial equipment. We believe
this segment is a leading provider of satellite communications (such as satellite earth station modems and traveling wave
tube amplifiers ("TWTA")), public safety systems (such as next generation 911 ("NG911") technologies) and enterprise
application technologies (such as a messaging and trusted location-based technologies).

48

•

Government Solutions - serves large government end-users (including those of foreign countries) that require mission
critical technologies and systems. We believe this segment is a leading provider of command and control applications
(such as the design, installation and operation of data networks that integrate computing and communications (including
both  satellite  and  terrestrial  links),  ongoing  network  operation  and  management  support  services  including  telecom
expense management, project management and fielding and maintenance solutions related to satellite ground terminals),
troposcatter communications (such as digital troposcatter multiplexers, digital over-the-horizon modems, troposcatter
systems, and frequency converter systems) and RF power and switching technologies (such as solid state high-power
broadband  amplifiers,  enhanced  position  location  reporting  system  (or  commonly  known  as  "EPLRS")  amplifier
assemblies,  identification  friend  or  foe  amplifiers,  and  amplifiers  used  in  the  counteraction  of  improvised  explosive
devices).

Our Quarterly Financial Information
Quarterly and period-to-period sales and operating results may be significantly affected by either short-term or long-term contracts 
with our customers. In addition, our gross profit is affected by a variety of factors, including the mix of products, systems and 
services sold, production efficiencies, estimates of warranty expense, price competition and general economic conditions. Our 
gross  profit  may  also  be  affected  by  the  impact  of  any  cumulative  adjustments  to  contracts  that  are  accounted  for  under  the 
percentage-of-completion method.

Our contracts with the U.S. government can be terminated for convenience by it at any time and orders are subject to unpredictable 
funding, deployment and technology decisions by the U.S. government. Some of these contracts are indefinite delivery/indefinite 
quantity ("IDIQ") contracts and, as such, the U.S. government is not obligated to purchase any equipment or services under these 
contracts. We have, in the past, experienced and we continue to expect significant fluctuations in sales and operating results from 
quarter-to-quarter and period-to-period. As such, comparisons between periods and our current results may not be indicative of a 
trend or future performance.

Our historical results prior to February 23, 2016 do not include TCS.  Given the integration of TCS into our business and the joint 
marketing of our products, historical sales patterns and mix trends are not relevant. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of 
sales, margins, operating income and Adjusted EBITDA contributions between TCS and Comtech legacy products will not be 
meaningful and you should not rely on period-to-period comparisons as an indicator of future performance.

Critical Accounting Policies

We consider certain accounting policies to be critical due to the estimation process involved in each.

Revenue Recognition.  We earn revenue from the sale of advanced communication solutions to customers around the world. Sales 
of  advanced  communication  solutions  can  consist  of  any  one  or  a  combination  of  items  required  by  our  customer  including 
hardware, technology platforms and related support. A large portion of our revenue from advanced communication solutions is 
derived  from  contracts  relating  to  the  design,  development  or  manufacture  of  complex  electronic  equipment  to  a  buyer’s 
specification or to provide services relating to the performance of such contracts and is recognized in accordance with FASB ASC 
605-35. For these contracts, we primarily apply the percentage-of-completion accounting method and generally recognize revenue
based on the relationship of total costs incurred to total projected costs, or, alternatively, based on output measures, such as units
delivered or produced. Profits expected to be realized on such contracts are based on total estimated sales for the contract compared
to total estimated costs, including warranty costs, at completion of the contract.

Direct costs which include materials, labor and overhead are charged to work-in-progress (including our contracts-in-progress) 
inventory or cost of sales. Indirect costs relating to long-term contracts, which include expenses such as general and administrative, 
are charged to expense as incurred and are not included in our work-in-process (including our contracts-in-progress) inventory or 
cost of sales. Total estimates are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the lives of the contracts, and adjustments to profits 
resulting from such revisions are made cumulative to the date of the change. Estimated losses on long-term contracts are recorded 
in the period in which the losses become evident. Long-term U.S. government cost-reimbursable type contracts are also specifically 
covered by FASB ASC 605-35.

We have been engaged in the production and delivery of goods and services on a continual basis under contractual arrangements 
for many years. Historically, we have demonstrated an ability to accurately estimate total revenues and total expenses relating to 
our long-term contracts. However, there exist inherent risks and uncertainties in estimating revenues, expenses and progress toward 
completion, particularly on larger or longer-term contracts. If we do not accurately estimate the total sales, related costs and 
progress towards completion on such contracts, the estimated gross margins may be significantly impacted or losses may need to 
be recognized in future periods. Any such resulting changes in margins or contract losses could be material to our results of 
operations and financial condition.

49

In addition, most government contracts have termination for convenience clauses that provide the customer with the right to 
terminate the contract at any time. Such terminations could impact the assumptions regarding total contract revenues and expenses 
utilized in recognizing profit under the percentage-of-completion method of accounting. Changes to these assumptions could 
materially impact our results of operations and financial condition. Historically, we have not experienced material terminations 
of our long-term contracts. We also address customer acceptance provisions in assessing our ability to perform our contractual 
obligations under long-term contracts. Our inability to perform on our long-term contracts could materially impact our results of 
operations and financial condition. Historically, we have been able to perform on our long-term contracts.

We also derive a portion of our revenues for advanced communication solutions from contracts and purchase orders where revenue 
is recorded on delivery of products or performance of services. Such revenues are recognized in accordance with the authoritative 
guidance contained in FASB ASC 605-25 "Revenue Recognition - Multiple Deliverable Revenue Arrangements" ("FASB ASC 
605-25")  and,  as  applicable,  FASB ASC  605-20  "Revenue  Recognition  -  Services"  ("FASB ASC  605-20")  and Accounting
Standards Update ("ASU") 2009-14 (FASB ASC Topic 985) "Certain Revenue Arrangements That Include Software Elements."
Revenue  recognition  for  multiple-element  arrangements  requires  judgment  to  determine  if  multiple  elements  exist,  whether
elements can be accounted for as separate units of accounting, and if so, the fair value for each of the elements. In summary, we
recognize revenue for each separate unit of accounting when the applicable revenue recognition criteria for each element have
been met. We allocate revenue to each separate unit of accounting in a multi-element arrangement based on the relative fair value
of each element, using vendor-specific objective evidence ("VSOE") of their fair values, if available. VSOE is generally determined
based on the price charged when an element is sold separately. In the absence of VSOE of fair value, the fee is allocated among
each element based on third-party evidence ("TPE") of fair value, which is determined based on competitor pricing for similar
deliverables when sold separately. When we are unable to establish fair value using VSOE or TPE, we use estimated selling price
("ESP") to allocate value to each element. The objective of ESP is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the
product or service were sold separately. We determine ESP for deliverables by considering multiple factors including, but not
limited to, prices we charge for similar offerings, market conditions, competitive landscape, and pricing practices. For multiple
element arrangements that contain only software and software-related elements, we allocate the fees to each element based on the
VSOE of fair value of each element. Due to the nature of some of the agreements it may be difficult to establish VSOE of separate
elements of an agreement; in these circumstances the appropriate recognition of revenue may require the use of judgment based
on the particular facts and circumstances.

As discussed further in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (1)(c) Summary of Significant Accounting and Reporting 
Policies - Revenue Recognition" included in "Part II - Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," we are required 
to adopt FASB ASU No. 2014-09 in our first quarter of fiscal 2019.  This ASU sets forth new revenue recognition guidance and 
will require us to conform our policies, procedures and disclosures to those required by the new standard.  

Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. As of July 31, 2017, goodwill recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet 
aggregated $290.6 million (of which $231.4 million relates to our Commercial Solutions segment and $59.2 million relates to our 
Government Solutions segment). Additionally, as of July 31, 2017, net intangibles recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet 
aggregated $261.9 million (of which $216.7 million relates to our Commercial Solutions segment and $45.2 million relates to our 
Government Solutions segment). Each of our two operating segments constitutes a reporting unit and we must make various 
assumptions in determining their estimated fair values. 

In accordance with FASB ASC 350 “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other,” we perform a goodwill impairment analysis at least 
annually (in the first quarter of each fiscal year), unless indicators of impairment exist in interim periods. If we fail the quantitative 
assessment of goodwill impairment ("quantitative assessment"), pursuant to our adoption of FASB ASU No. 2017-04 in fiscal 
2017, we would be required to recognize an impairment loss equal to the amount that a reporting unit's carrying value exceeded 
its fair value; however, any loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. 

On August 1, 2017 (the first day of our fiscal 2018), we performed our annual quantitative assessment using market participant 
assumptions to determine if the fair value of each of our reporting units with goodwill exceeded its carrying value. In making this 
assessment, we considered, among other things, expectations of projected net sales and cash flows, assumptions impacting the 
weighted average cost of capital, trends in trading multiples of comparable companies, changes in our stock price and changes in 
the carrying values of our reporting units with goodwill. We also considered overall business conditions. 

50

In performing the quantitative assessment, we estimated the fair value of each of our reporting units using a combination of the 
income and market approaches. The income approach, also known as the discounted cash flow ("DCF") method, utilizes the present 
value of cash flows to estimate fair value. The future cash flows for our reporting units were projected based on our estimates, at 
that time, of future revenues, operating income and other factors (such as working capital and capital expenditures). For purposes 
of conducting our impairment analysis, we assumed revenue growth rates and cash flow projections that are below our actual 
long-term expectations. The discount rates used in our DCF method were based on a weighted-average cost of capital ("WACC") 
determined from relevant market comparisons, adjusted upward for specific reporting unit risks (primarily the uncertainty of 
achieving projected operating cash flows). A terminal value growth rate was applied to the final year of the projected period and 
reflected our estimate of stable, perpetual growth. We then calculated a present value of the respective cash flows for each reporting 
unit to arrive at an estimate of fair value under the income approach. Under the market approach, we estimated a fair value based 
on comparable companies' market multiples of revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and 
factored  in  a  control  premium.  Finally,  we  compared  our  estimates  of  fair  values  to  our August  1,  2017  total  public  market 
capitalization and assessed implied control premiums based on our common stock price of $18.47 as of August 1, 2017. 

Based on our August 1, 2017 quantitative evaluation, we determined that our Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions 
reporting units had estimated fair values in excess of their carrying values of at least 17.8% and 52.9%, respectively, and concluded 
that our goodwill was not impaired and that neither of our two reporting units was at risk of failing the quantitative assessment. 
In order to sensitize our goodwill impairment test, we also performed a second analysis using only the income approach and 
concluded that neither reporting units' goodwill was impaired or at risk of failing the quantitative assessment. It is possible that, 
during fiscal 2018 or beyond, business conditions (both in the U.S. and internationally) could deteriorate from the current state, 
our current or prospective customers could materially postpone, reduce or even forgo purchases of our products and services to a 
greater extent than we currently anticipate or our common stock price could decline. A significant decline in our customers' spending 
that is greater than we anticipate or a shift in funding priorities may also have a negative effect on future orders, sales, income and 
cash flows and we might be required to perform an interim quantitative assessment during fiscal 2018 or beyond. If assumed net 
sales and cash flow projections are not achieved in future periods or our common stock price significantly declines from current 
levels, our Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions reporting units could be at risk of failing the quantitative assessment 
and goodwill and intangibles assigned to the respective reporting units could be impaired.  In any event, we are required to perform 
the next annual goodwill impairment analysis on August 1, 2018 (the start of our fiscal 2019). If our assumptions and related 
estimates change in the future, or if we change our reporting unit structure or other events and circumstances change (e.g., a 
sustained decrease in the price of our common stock (considered on both absolute terms and relative to peers)), we may be required 
to record impairment charges when we perform these tests, or in other future periods. In addition to our impairment analysis of 
goodwill, we also review net intangible assets with finite lives when an event occurs indicating the potential for impairment. We 
believe that the carrying values of our net intangible assets were recoverable as of July 31, 2017. Any impairment charges that we 
may record in the future could be material to our results of operation and financial condition.

Provision for Warranty Obligations.  We provide warranty coverage for most of our products, including products under long-
term contracts, for a period of at least one year from the date of shipment. We record a liability for estimated warranty expense 
based on historical claims, product failure rates and other factors. Costs associated with some of our warranties that are provided 
under long-term contracts are incorporated into our estimates of total contract costs. There exist inherent risks and uncertainties 
in estimating warranty expenses, particularly on larger or longer-term contracts. If we do not accurately estimate our warranty 
costs, any changes to our original estimates could be material to our results of operations and financial condition. 

There exist inherent risks and uncertainties in estimating warranty expenses, particularly on larger or longer-term contracts. In 
August 2016, AT&T, a distributor of a small TCS product line that we refer to as our 911 call handling software solution, informed 
us that they do not believe TCS met certain contractual specifications related to performance and usability and had requested a 
refund of certain payments made by them as well as provide them with software changes at no additional cost. TCS has also sold 
this software to other customers. Our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2017 includes accrued costs of $5.5 million related 
to this contingent liability, net of charges incurred to date. This amount reflects a consideration of contractual obligations as well 
as an estimate of future costs to resolve this matter with AT&T.

Accounting for Income Taxes.  Our deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between 
financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities, and applying enacted tax rates expected to be in effect for the year in 
which the differences are expected to reverse. Our provision for income taxes is based on domestic (including federal and state) 
and international statutory income tax rates in the tax jurisdictions where we operate, permanent differences between financial 
reporting and tax reporting and available credits and incentives. We recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions 
in income tax expense. The U.S. federal government is our most significant income tax jurisdiction.

51

Significant judgment is required in determining income tax provisions and tax positions. We may be challenged upon review by 
the applicable taxing authority and positions taken by us may not be sustained. We recognize all or a portion of the benefit of 
income tax positions only when we have made a determination that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained 
upon examination, based upon the technical merits of the position and other factors. For tax positions that are determined as more 
likely than not to be sustained upon examination, the tax benefit recognized is the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 
50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The development of valuation allowances for deferred tax assets and reserves 
for income tax positions requires consideration of timing and judgments about future taxable income, tax issues and potential 
outcomes, and are subjective critical estimates. A portion of our deferred tax assets consist of federal net operating losses and 
federal research and experimentation tax credit carryforwards, most of which was acquired in connection with our acquisition of 
TCS.  No valuation allowance has been established on these deferred tax assets based on our evaluation that our ability to realize 
such assets has met the criteria of “more likely than not.” We continuously evaluate additional facts representing positive and 
negative evidence in determining our ability to realize these deferred tax assets. In certain circumstances, the ultimate outcome 
of exposures and risks involves significant uncertainties. If actual outcomes differ materially from these estimates, they could 
have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. 

Our federal income tax returns for fiscal 2015 and 2016 are subject to potential future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audits. 
None of our state income tax returns prior to fiscal 2013 are subject to audit. TCS's federal income tax returns for calendar years 
2013 through 2015 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016 are subject to potential future IRS audits. None 
of TCS's state income tax returns prior to calendar year 2012 are subject to audit. Future tax assessments or settlements could have 
a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations and financial condition.       

Research and Development Costs. We generally expense all research and development costs. Research and development expenses 
include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and other personnel-related expenses associated with 
product development. Research and development expenses also include third-party development and programming costs. Costs 
incurred internally in researching and developing software to be sold are charged to expense until technological feasibility has 
been established for the software. Judgment is required in determining when technological feasibility of a product is established. 
Technological feasibility for our advanced communication software solutions is generally reached after all high-risk development 
issues have been resolved through coding and testing. Generally, this occurs shortly before the products are released to customers 
and when we are able to validate the marketability of such product. Once technological feasibility is established, all software costs 
are capitalized until the product is available for general release to customers. To date, we have not capitalized any of our internally 
developed software costs.

Provisions for Excess and Obsolete Inventory.  We record a provision for excess and obsolete inventory based on historical and 
future usage trends. Other factors may also influence our provision, including decisions to exit a product line, technological change 
and new product development. These factors could result in a change in the amount of excess and obsolete inventory on hand. 
Additionally, our estimates of future product demand may prove to be inaccurate, in which case we may have understated or 
overstated the provision required for excess and obsolete inventory. In the future, if we determine that our inventory was overvalued, 
we would be required to recognize such costs in our financial statements at the time of such determination. Any such charge could 
be material to our results of operations and financial condition.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.  We perform credit evaluations of our customers and adjust credit limits based upon customer 
payment history and current creditworthiness, as determined by our review of our customers’ current credit information. Generally, 
we will require cash in advance or payment secured by irrevocable letters of credit before an order is accepted from an international 
customer that we do not do business with regularly. In addition, we seek to obtain insurance for certain domestic and international 
customers.

We monitor collections and payments from our customers and maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon our historical 
experience and any specific customer collection issues that we have identified. In light of ongoing tight credit market conditions, 
we continue to see requests from our customers for higher credit limits and longer payment terms. Because of our strong cash 
position and the nominal amount of interest we are earning on our cash and cash equivalents, we have, on a limited basis, approved 
certain customer requests.

We  continue  to  monitor  our  accounts  receivable  credit  portfolio.  Our  overall  credit  losses  have  historically  been  within  our 
expectations of the allowances established; however, we cannot guarantee that we will continue to experience the same credit loss 
rates that we have in the past. Measurement of credit losses requires consideration of historical loss experience, including the need 
to adjust for changing business conditions, and judgments about the probable effects of relevant observable data, including present 
economic conditions such as delinquency rates and the financial health of specific customers. Changes to the estimated allowance 
for doubtful accounts could be material to our results of operations and financial condition.

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Results of Operations

The following  table sets  forth, for  the periods  indicated, certain income and expense  items expressed  as a  percentage of  our 
consolidated net sales:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
2016

2015

2017

Gross margin
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Research and development expenses
Settlement of intellectual property litigation
Acquisition plan expenses
Amortization of intangibles
Operating income (loss)
Interest expense (income) and other, net
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes
Net income (loss)
Adjusted EBITDA (a Non-GAAP measure)

39.6 %
21.1 %
9.9 %
(2.2)%
— %
4.1 %
6.7 %
2.1 %
4.6 %
2.9 %
12.8 %

41.7 %
23.1 %
10.3 %
— %
5.2 %
3.3 %
(0.1)%
1.9 %
(2.0)%
(1.9)%
11.7 %

45.2%
20.4%
11.7%
—%
—%
2.0%
11.1%
—%
11.1%
7.5%
16.8%

For a definition and explanation of Adjusted EBITDA, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition 
and Results of Operations - Comparison of Fiscal 2017 and 2016 - Adjusted EBITDA.”

Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018

Our fiscal 2017 was a successful year.  Fiscal 2017 financial results reflect the integration of the TCS business into our operations 
and were capped by strong fourth quarter net sales and sequentially higher Adjusted EBITDA. During fiscal 2017, we achieved 
annual: 

•

•

•

•

•

Net sales of $550.4 million;

Operating income of $37.0 million;

Net income of $15.8 million;

Cash flows from operating activities of $66.7 million; and

Adjusted EBITDA (a Non-GAAP financial measure discussed below) of $70.7 million.

Our fiscal 2017 Adjusted EBITDA reflects $6.7 million of benefit associated with a fee paid by the U.S. Army to use our BFT-1 
intellectual property.  Effective April 1, 2017, the U.S. Army retains a limited non-exclusive right to use this intellectual property 
for no additional payment. Without this fee, Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2017 would have been $64.0 million. For a definition and 
explanation of Adjusted EBITDA, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of 
Operations - Comparison of Fiscal 2017 and 2016 - Adjusted EBITDA.”

As of July 31, 2017, our cash and cash equivalents were $41.8 million and our total debt outstanding was $200.6 million (excluding 
deferred financing costs). Given our strong fiscal 2017 operating cash flows, we have successfully reduced the level of our total 
indebtedness since the beginning of our fiscal year by $63.7 million. Since the February 23, 2016 acquisition of TCS, we have 
reduced our total indebtedness by $160.3 million.

We enter fiscal 2018 with solid backlog and a pipeline of opportunities. During fiscal 2017, we achieved a consolidated book-to-
bill ratio (a measure defined as bookings divided by net sales) of 0.93 and finished the year with consolidated backlog of $446.2 
million. Looking forward, we anticipate that our strong growth prospects will drive an increase in net sales as compared to fiscal 
2017. In addition, despite the absence of $6.7 million of BFT-1 intellectual property license fee in fiscal 2018, we are targeting 
Adjusted  EBITDA  in  a  range  comparable  to  the  $70.7  million  we  achieved  in  fiscal  2017.  If  market  conditions  continue  to 
strengthen, enabling us to achieve all of our fiscal 2018 business goals, it is possible that Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2018 could 
exceed the $70.7 million achieved in fiscal 2017. We expect that fiscal 2018 Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of consolidated 
net sales, will be comparable to the 12.8% we achieved in fiscal 2017.

53

Our optimism for fiscal 2018 is driven by recent momentum on many fronts, including the following: 

•

•

Our  Commercial  Solutions  segment  is  expected  to  benefit  from  increased  fiscal  2018  sales  of  satellite  earth  station
products (which include satellite modems and solid-state power amplifiers ("SSPAs")). We experienced satellite earth
station revenue growth to international customers in fiscal 2017, and our international markets continue to show signs
of strengthening. In addition, we expect to benefit from recent new product introductions. For instance, during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2017, we announced the general availability of our HeightsTM Dynamic Network Access Technology
("HEIGHTS"), a potentially revolutionary technology designed to deliver the highest Internet Protocol bits per Hertz in
its class, as well as robust reliability. HEIGHTS has and will continue to be a cornerstone of our future research and
development efforts. To-date, we have announced several important customer wins for this product line and our pipeline
of opportunities is growing. As such, we anticipate that fiscal 2018 will be the break-out year for sales of our HEIGHTS
products. We also expect incremental fiscal 2018 revenue contributions from our recently introduced series of compact
high-power GaN SSPAs, which are ideal for transportable and mobile applications as well as tactical communications.
Additionally, sales of our SSPAs used in airborne, in-flight connectivity applications are expected to remain strong.

Sales of our satellite earth station products and technologies in our Commercial Solutions segment are also expected to
benefit from increased sales to the U.S. government. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, the U.S. Space and Naval
Warfare  System  Command,  in  support  of  the  Program  Executive  Office  for  Command,  Control,  Communications,
Computer and Intelligence, publicly announced its intention to sole-source a five year, indefinite delivery / indefinite
quantity ("IDIQ") contract to procure our SLM-5650B satellite modems and upgrade kits. There are over eight-hundred
older generation modems currently utilized by multiple Navy programs and our new modems and related upgrade kits
will meet critical Navy requirements. We believe no other competitor responded to the Navy’s Request for Proposal
("RFP") and we are expecting to receive a contract award in fiscal 2018, with related shipments occurring in the latter
part of the second half of fiscal 2018.

• We continue to invest in and upgrade our Commercial Solutions segment’s enterprise technology solutions (such as our
location and messaging platforms) and safety and security technology solutions (such as our wireless and next generation
911 ("NG911") platforms). These technologies have been deployed around the U.S., are used by wireless carriers to
provide Short-Message-Service ("SMS") texts to end-customers and are also used to communicate with 911 public safety
answering points ("PSAPs"). We are currently pursuing a number of large multi-year, multi-million dollar NG911 and
enterprise and trusted location-based technology solutions opportunities.  Although the size and timing of these contract
awards are difficult to predict, we are confident that fiscal 2018 will benefit from one or more NG911 awards.

• We believe we are seeing benefits of our tactical shift in strategy in our Government Solutions segment away from bidding
on large commodity service contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche solutions with higher margins. Our
field-proven technologies and support services are ideally suited to meet the U.S. DoD’s C4ISR needs and we are actively
pursuing many opportunities.  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, we achieved a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 1.26
and  booked  a  number  of  important  orders,  including:  (i)  a  $14.5  million  contract  modification  from  the  Defense
Information Systems Agency ("DISA") which exercised an option under an existing contract that enables us to continue
to  provide  Ku  satellite  bandwidth  and  support  services  for  the  U.S.  Marine  Corps'  ("USMC")  Tactical  Satellite
Communications Network; (ii) an $8.6 million contract modification to provide enhanced communications infrastructure
for U.S. forces in the Central Command Area of Responsibility; (iii) $6.9 million in orders for our cyber-training solutions;
and  (iv)  $4.1  million  in  orders  for  high-power  amplifiers  and  control  components  from  multiple  domestic  original
equipment manufacturers.  Fiscal 2018 is expected to reflect sales and operating income contributions from these orders.
In addition to these funded orders, we were named a final awardee on a ten-year, $2.5 billion IDIQ contract commonly
referred to as “Complex Commercial SATCOM Solutions” (or “CS3”) from the General Services Administration, which
allows U.S. federal agencies to purchase end-to-end, turnkey solutions which incorporate commercial satellite solutions.
Over time, we would expect to secure new orders from the CS3 contract.

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•

•

•

Our Government Solutions segment’s strategy to focus efforts on supporting the U.S. Army on a possible next generation
Blue Force Tracking ("BFT") program appears to be gaining ground.  During the third quarter of fiscal 2017, we received
a new $42.7 million five-year contract to provide the U.S. Army with continued BFT-1 sustainment support, for which
we have received $7.7 million of funding to-date. We were also awarded a sole-source firm-fixed price IDIQ contract to
provide BFT-1 aviation transceivers to the Defense Logistics Agency ("DLA") and have received $4.2 million of funded
orders to-date. We believe that the U.S. Army has a requirement for a next generation system (referred to commonly as
"BFT-3") and, based on our recent interactions with the U.S. Army, we are becoming increasingly optimistic that we will
be able to participate in future BFT program awards.

Our Government Solutions segment has also responded to a large multi-million dollar competitive solicitation from the
U.S. Army to provide sustainment services to its AN/TSC-198 family of communication systems that are commonly
referred to as “SNAP” (“Secret Internet Protocol Router (“SIPR”) and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router (“NIPR”)
Access Point) Very Small Aperture Terminals (“VSATs”). We are the incumbent on this program. The U.S. Army is
expected to announce the winner of this solicitation shortly. We believe this decision will largely be based on lowest price
and believe we have appropriately and responsibly bid on this program.  As such, we are optimistic that the U.S. Army
will select us to continue to perform this important work. Sales in fiscal 2017 for this program were $32.4 million and,
as of July 31, 2017, we had $26.0 million in our backlog related to this contract, for which we expect to perform work
on during fiscal 2018.

Our Government Solutions segment is also preparing to respond to an expected large multi-year RFP for the supply of
new troposcatter communications equipment to replace hundreds of the U.S. DoD’s AN/TRC-170 terminals. A draft RFP
has been circulated to prospective vendors and we believe a final proposal will be issued sometime in fiscal 2018. Although
an award of this program would likely not affect fiscal 2018 revenue, we would expect it to make significant contributions
to revenue in subsequent years.

Based on the anticipated timing of shipments and performance related to orders currently in our backlog and the timing of expected 
new orders, net sales and Adjusted EBITDA for our first and second quarters of fiscal 2018 are expected to be lower than the 
comparable operating quarters in fiscal 2017. Given the straight-line amortization expense associated with intangible assets with 
finite lives, we expect to report an operating loss in both the first and second quarters of fiscal 2018, with each of the third and 
fourth fiscal 2018 quarters achieving operating profits. Our fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 is expected to be the peak quarter for 
both net sales and Adjusted EBITDA. 

In view of the positive signs we are seeing and broad opportunities for future growth across all of our businesses, on September 27, 
2017, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, payable on November 17, 2017 to stockholders of 
record at the close of business on October 18, 2017. Future dividends remain subject to compliance with financial covenants under 
our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, as well as Board approval. 

Our Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018 depends, in large part, on the receipt of and performance on orders from our customers, 
and could be adversely impacted if business conditions deteriorate or our current or prospective customers materially postpone, 
reduce or even forgo purchases of our products and services. 

Our historical results prior to February 23, 2016 do not include TCS.  Given the integration of TCS into our business and the joint 
marketing of our products, historical sales patterns and mix trends are not relevant. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of 
sales, margins, operating income and Adjusted EBITDA contributions between TCS and Comtech legacy products will not be 
meaningful and you should not rely on period-to-period comparisons as an indicator of future performance.

Additional information related to our Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018 is included in the below section entitled “Comparison of 
Fiscal 2017 and 2016.” 

Comparison of Fiscal 2017 and 2016 

Net Sales. Consolidated net sales were $550.4 million and $411.0 million for fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively, representing an 
increase of $139.4 million, or 33.9%. As TCS was acquired on February 23, 2016, fiscal 2017 includes a full year of TCS operations 
as compared to fiscal 2016 which only included approximately five months. The year-over-year increase in net sales was driven 
by incremental sales of $147.1 million from TCS products lines. Net sales by operating segment are discussed below.

55

Commercial Solutions
Net sales in our Commercial Solutions segment were $330.9 million for fiscal 2017, as compared to $249.0 million for fiscal 
2016, an increase of $81.9 million, or 32.9%. The year-over-year increase in net sales reflects incremental sales of $82.3 million 
from TCS product lines (which include enterprise technology solutions such as our location and messaging platforms and safety 
and security technology solutions such as our wireless and next generation 911 ("NG911") platforms). Our Commercial Solutions 
segment represented 60.1% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2017 as compared to 60.6% for fiscal 2016.  

Our book-to-bill ratio (a measure defined as bookings divided by net sales) in this segment for fiscal 2017 was 0.89. We believe 
that improving  market conditions observed in recent months and the receipt of several large anticipated orders will result in a 
book-to-bill ratio over 1.00 in this segment for fiscal 2018.

Net sales of our satellite earth station products in fiscal 2017 were lower than fiscal 2016. Although market conditions in fiscal 
2017 for our international satellite earth station customers improved and related sales to these customers increased, sales and 
bookings from our U.S. government customers in fiscal 2017 were significantly lower as compared to fiscal 2016. We attribute 
this decline to delays in awarding and/or funding certain programs and a lull in ordering that resulted from political and budget 
uncertainty.  During the second half of fiscal 2017, we saw a noticeable improvement in sales to U.S. government customers and 
we believe that this trend is continuing into fiscal 2018. In particular, we anticipate second half revenue and operating income 
contributions from an expected sole-source IDIQ contract award from the Navy for our SLM-5650B satellite modems and upgrade 
kits. We expect that fiscal 2018 net sales will also benefit from recent new product introductions such as our HEIGHTS networking 
platform. On the basis of opportunities in our pipeline and feedback received from current and prospective customers, we believe 
fiscal 2018 will be a break-out year for HEIGHTS. 

Net sales in fiscal 2017 of both enterprise technology solutions and safety and security technology solutions were higher than 
fiscal 2016, primarily due to the contribution of twelve months of TCS operations as compared to only five months in fiscal 2016. 
Overall market conditions for these products remain favorable. We are currently bidding on a number of large opportunities and 
although the extent and timing of these contract awards are difficult to predict, we expect that fiscal 2018 will benefit from one 
or more of these opportunities. Sales of these solutions in fiscal 2018 are expected to be higher than in fiscal 2017.

Overall, we expect fiscal 2018 net sales in our Commercial Solutions segment to be higher than fiscal 2017. Bookings, sales and 
profitability in our Commercial Solutions segment can fluctuate from period-to-period due to many factors, including changes in 
the general business environment. As such, period-to-period comparisons of our results may not be indicative of a trend or future 
performance.

Government Solutions
Net sales in our Government Solutions segment were $219.5 million for fiscal 2017 as compared to $162.0 million for fiscal 2016, 
an increase of $57.5 million or 35.5%.  The year-over-year increase in net sales primarily reflects incremental sales of $64.8 million 
from TCS product lines (which include our advanced communication solutions such as field support, space components and cyber-
training). Our Government Solutions segment represented 39.9% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2017, as compared to 39.4%
for fiscal 2016. 

Our book-to-bill ratio (a measure defined as bookings divided by net sales) in this segment for fiscal 2017 was approximately 
1.00. We are seeing tangible benefits of our tactical shift in strategy away from bidding on large commodity service contracts and 
toward pursuing contracts for our niche solutions with higher margins. Although the timing of large contract awards makes it 
difficult to predict our book-to-bill ratio in any given period, we are targeting a book-to-bill ratio slightly over 1.00 in this segment 
for fiscal 2018.

Net  sales  of  legacy  Comtech  products  (which  include  over-the-horizon  microwave  system  products,  high-power  broadband 
amplifiers and BFT-1 sustainment support services) were, in the aggregate, lower in fiscal 2017 than in fiscal 2016, primarily as 
a result of lower BFT-1 related sales. Net sales for fiscal 2017 and 2016 include $6.7 million and $10.0 million, respectively, of 
sales related to a BFT-1 intellectual property license contract which expired on March 31, 2017. Going forward, the U.S. Army 
does not have an obligation to pay us additional BFT-1 intellectual property license fees.

56

Consistent with our tactical shift in strategy in our Government Solutions segment away from bidding on large commodity service 
contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche solutions with higher margins, as well as the absence of $6.7 million of 
BFT-1 intellectual property license fees, fiscal 2018 net sales in our Government Solutions segment are expected to be lower than 
in fiscal 2017. In future years, we would expect revenue to increase from such levels. Recent contract awards that will contribute 
to fiscal 2018 net sales include: (i) a $23.8 million order from an international space agency; (ii) a $14.5 million contract to continue 
to provide Ku satellite bandwidth and support services for the USMC's Tactical Satellite Communications Network;  (iii) an $8.6 
million contract modification to provide enhanced communications infrastructure for U.S. forces in the Central Command Area 
of Responsibility; (iv) initial funding of $7.7 million for BFT-1 sustainment support and a related order of $4.2 million for BFT-1 
aviation transceivers; (v) $6.9 million in orders for our cyber-training solutions; and (vi) $4.1 million in orders for high-power 
amplifiers  and  control  components  from  multiple  domestic  original  equipment  manufacturers.  In  addition,  our  pipeline  of 
opportunities heading into fiscal 2018 includes pending proposals on several large multi-year contracts, including a potential 
renewal of existing sustainment and retrofit services related to the U.S. Army’s AN/TSC-198 family of communication systems 
that are commonly referred to as “SNAP.”  In addition to the aforementioned programs, we expect to win various new programs 
that will provide revenue and operating income contributions in fiscal 2018 and beyond.  

Bookings, sales and profitability in our Government Solutions segment can fluctuate dramatically from period-to-period due to 
many factors, including unpredictable funding, deployment and technology decisions by our U.S. and international government 
customers. As such, period-to-period comparisons of our results may not be indicative of a trend or future performance.

Geography and Customer Type
Sales by geography and customer type, as a percentage of related sales, for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017 and 2016 are as 
follows:

U.S. government
Domestic
Total U.S.

International
Total

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2016
2017
Commercial Solutions

2017
2016
Government Solutions

15.1%
54.4%
69.5%

30.5%
100.0%

25.0%
40.6%
65.6%

34.4%
100.0%

59.2%
15.5%
74.7%

25.3%
100.0%

65.0%
11.6%
76.6%

23.4%
100.0%

2017

2016

Consolidated
32.7%
38.9%
71.6%

28.4%
100.0%

40.8%
29.2%
70.0%

30.0%
100.0%

Sales to U.S. government customers include sales to the U.S. DoD, intelligence and civilian agencies, as well as sales directly to 
or through prime contractors. Domestic sales include sales to U.S. state and local governments. International sales include sales 
to U.S. companies for inclusion in products that are sold to international customers. 

As a result of the TCS acquisition, we believe that domestic net sales, as a percentage of our consolidated net sales, will continue 
to be higher than in periods prior to the TCS acquisition, due to the inclusion in consolidated net sales of safety and security 
technology solutions (such as 911 call routing) which are primarily sold to U.S. customers.

Gross Profit. Gross profit was $218.2 million and $171.2 million for fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively, representing an increase
of $47.0 million. This increase in gross profit dollars was driven by higher consolidated net sales as discussed above. Gross profit, 
as a percentage of consolidated net sales decreased from 41.7% for fiscal 2016 to 39.6% for fiscal 2017. This decrease is attributable 
to overall product mix changes resulting primarily from the TCS acquisition, in particular, the inclusion of net sales related to TCS 
government  solutions,  which  have  historically  had  lower  gross  margins  than  Comtech’s  legacy  products.  Gross  profit,  as  a 
percentage of related segment net sales is further discussed below.

Our Commercial Solutions segment's gross profit, as a percentage of related segment net sales, for fiscal 2017 was higher than in 
fiscal 2016. This increase was primarily driven by the inclusion of net sales related to TCS commercial solutions during fiscal 
2017, which had higher gross margins than Comtech's legacy products. Gross margin, as a percentage of related net sales for 
Comtech’s legacy products, also increased primarily due to overall mix changes. We expect our gross profit, as a percentage of 
related segment net sales, for fiscal 2018, to be comparable to the percentage achieved in fiscal 2017.

57

Our Government Solutions segment's gross profit, as a percentage of related segment net sales, for fiscal 2017 was significantly 
lower than in fiscal 2016. This decrease was primarily driven by the inclusion of net sales related to TCS government solutions 
during fiscal 2017, which have significantly lower gross margins than Comtech's legacy products. Gross profit in this segment, 
for fiscal 2017 and 2016 includes $6.7 million and $10.0 million, respectively, related to a prior BFT-1 intellectual property license 
contract which expired on March 31, 2017. Going forward, the U.S. Army does not have an obligation to pay us additional BFT-1 
intellectual property license fees.  Given the absence of BFT-1 intellectual property license fees in fiscal 2018, we expect our gross 
profit, as a percentage of related segment net sales, to be lower than the percentage achieved in fiscal 2017. Over-time, we believe 
the implementation of our strategy of shifting our Government Solutions segment away from bidding on large commodity service 
contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche solutions will result in higher gross margins in this segment.

Included in consolidated cost of sales for fiscal 2017 and 2016 are provisions for excess and obsolete inventory of $2.9 million
and $2.8 million, respectively. As discussed in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results 
of Operations - Critical Accounting Policies - Provisions for Excess and Obsolete Inventory," we regularly review our inventory 
and record a provision for excess and obsolete inventory based on historical and projected usage assumptions. 

Because our consolidated gross profit, as a percentage of consolidated net sales, depends on the volume of sales, sales mix and 
related gross profit for each individual segment, it is inherently difficult to forecast. Nevertheless, based on expected bookings 
and expected timing of our performance on orders and the absence of the BFT-1 intellectual property license fees, we currently 
expect our consolidated gross profit, as a percentage of consolidated net sales, for fiscal 2018 to be slightly lower than the percentage 
we achieved in fiscal 2017.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses were $116.1 million and $94.9
million for fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively, representing an increase of $21.2 million. The increase in spending is primarily 
attributable to incremental expenses associated with the increased size of our business as a result of the TCS acquisition which 
was  partially  offset  by  $5.5  million  of  favorable  adjustments  related  to  a  recovery  of  legal  expenses  from  a  third  party  and 
adjustments related to reserves associated with the TCS acquisition that were no longer required. As a percentage of consolidated 
net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses were 21.1% and 23.1% for fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively. This decrease 
in percentage is primarily due to higher consolidated net sales during fiscal 2017, the aforementioned $5.5 million of favorable 
adjustments, and the benefit of cost reduction actions previously initiated.

Amortization of stock-based compensation expense recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses was $7.1 million in 
fiscal 2017 as compared to $3.4 million in fiscal 2016. This increase is primarily related to the type and timing of stock-based 
awards. In fiscal 2017, we paid certain annual incentive compensation awards in the form of share units whereas in fiscal 2016, 
such annual incentives were paid in cash. The benefit of this change resulted in lower overall company-wide compensation expense 
of approximately $1.3 million in fiscal 2017.

Based  on  our  current  spending  plans,  we  expect  fiscal  2018  selling,  general  and  administrative  expenses,  as  a  percentage  of 
consolidated net sales, to be comparable to fiscal 2017. 

Research and Development Expenses.  Research and development expenses were $54.3 million and $42.2 million for fiscal 2017
and 2016, respectively, representing an increase of $12.1 million, or 28.7%. The increase in spending is primarily attributable to 
incremental expenses associated with the TCS product lines.  As a percentage of consolidated net sales, research and development 
expenses were 9.9% and 10.3% for fiscal 2017 and 2016.

For fiscal 2017 and 2016, research and development expenses of $44.7 million and $33.8 million, respectively, related to our 
Commercial Solutions segment, and $8.9 million and $8.0 million, respectively, related to our Government Solutions segment. 
The remaining research and development expenses of $0.7 million and $0.4 million in fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively, related 
to the amortization of stock-based compensation expense.

Whenever  possible,  we  seek  customer  funding  for  research  and  development  to  adapt  our  products  to  specialized  customer 
requirements. During fiscal 2017 and 2016, customers reimbursed us $27.1 million and $17.4 million, respectively, which is not 
reflected in the reported research and development expenses, but is included in net sales with the related costs included in cost of 
sales.

Based on our current spending plans, we expect fiscal 2018 research and development expenses, as a percentage of consolidated 
net sales, to be comparable to fiscal 2017.

58

Amortization of Intangibles.  Amortization relating to intangible assets with finite lives was $22.8 million (of which $17.7 million 
was for the Commercial Solutions segment and $5.1 million was for the Government Solutions segment) for fiscal 2017 and $13.4
million (of which $10.6 million was for the Commercial Solutions segment and $2.8 million was for the Government Solutions 
segment) for fiscal 2016. The significant increase in amortization of intangibles is a result of our acquisition of TCS on February 
23, 2016.  As certain intangibles became fully amortized in fiscal 2017, we anticipate amortization of intangibles in fiscal 2018, 
in dollars, to be lower than in fiscal 2017.

Settlement of Intellectual Property Litigation. As discussed further in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (14)
(b) Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and Final Settlements" included in "Part II - Item 8 -
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," during fiscal 2017, we recorded favorable adjustments to operating income of
$12.0 million, net of estimated legal fees, to reflect lower losses than originally estimated for TCS intellectual property matters
which were settled during fiscal 2017. There were no comparable adjustments in fiscal 2016.

Acquisition Plan Expenses. Acquisition plan expenses during fiscal 2016 were $21.3 million and primarily consist of transaction 
costs related to our acquisition of TCS on February 23, 2016, as discussed further in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 
- Note (2) Acquisition" included in "Part II - Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."  There were no comparable
expenses during fiscal 2017.

Operating Income (Loss). Operating income for fiscal 2017 was $37.0 million as compared to a loss of $0.6 million for fiscal 
2016. Operating income by reportable segment is shown in the table below:

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

($ in millions)

Commercial
Solutions

Operating income (loss)

$ 33.2

$ 23.3

$

Government
Solutions
9.4

$ 23.0

$

Percentage of related net sales

10.0%

9.3%

4.3%

14.2%

Unallocated
(5.6) $
NA

Consolidated

(46.8) $ 37.0

NA

6.7%

$

(0.6)
NA

The increase in our Commercial Solutions segment’s operating income, in dollars, is primarily due to an increase in this segment's 
net sales during fiscal 2017, substantially offset by incremental amortization of intangibles associated with the TCS acquisition. 
The increase in operating income, as a percentage of related segment net sales, is primarily due to increased operating income 
contribution from Comtech's legacy products. We expect fiscal 2018 operating income, in dollars and as a percentage of related 
segment net sales, to increase as compared to fiscal 2017.

The decrease in our Government Solutions segment’s operating income, in dollars, was primarily driven by lower operating income 
contribution from TCS's government solutions' net sales (which includes the impact of incremental amortization of intangibles 
associated with the TCS acquisition) and lower operating income contribution from Comtech’s legacy products. The decrease in 
operating income, as a percentage of related segment net sales, is primarily due to the inclusion of TCS government solutions' net 
sales and operating results, including the impact of incremental amortization of intangibles associated with the TCS acquisition. 
As a result of our ongoing tactical shift in strategy in our Government Solutions segment away from bidding on large commodity 
service contracts and toward pursuing contracts for our niche solutions with higher margins and the absence of BFT-1 intellectual 
property license fees in fiscal 2018, we anticipate operating income, in dollars, to be slightly lower than fiscal 2017.  Given our 
focus on higher margins, anticipated orders we expect to receive, as well as the benefit of cost reduction actions previously taken, 
we expect operating income, as a percentage of related segment net sales, to be comparable to fiscal 2017. 

Unallocated operating expenses for fiscal 2017 were $5.6 million. During fiscal 2017, unallocated operating expenses were offset 
by a number of items throughout the fiscal year, which aggregated $18.8 million. Such items include: (i) a $12.0 million favorable 
adjustment related to the settlement of certain TCS intellectual property matters, as discussed above; (ii)  $5.5 million of favorable 
adjustments which related to a recovery of legal expenses from a third party and reserves associated with the TCS acquisition that 
were no longer required; and (iii) a $1.3 million benefit associated with our decision (which is further described below) to pay 
certain fiscal 2017 incentive compensation awards in the form of share units. Unallocated operating expenses for fiscal 2016 were 
$46.8 million and included $21.3 million of acquisition plan expenses, as discussed above.  Excluding the $18.8 million and $21.3 
million amounts, unallocated operating expenses for fiscal 2017 and 2016 would have been $24.4 million and $25.5 million, 
respectively. 

59

Unallocated expenses for fiscal 2017 and 2016 include amortization of stock-based compensation of $8.5 million and $4.1 million, 
respectively.  The increase in fiscal 2017 related to our decision to pay certain fiscal 2017 non-equity incentive awards in the form 
of fully vested share units, whereas in fiscal 2016 our non-equity incentive awards were settled in cash. Although this change 
resulted in higher amortization of stock-based compensation in fiscal 2017 as compared to fiscal 2016, the overall impact of this 
decision resulted in lower company-wide compensation expense of approximately $1.3 million for fiscal 2017. Our Business 
Outlook for Fiscal 2018 assumes the continuation of this practice. Based on the type of awards currently outstanding and awards 
expected to be issued in future periods, total amortization of stock-based compensation is expected to be higher in fiscal 2018 
than in fiscal 2017. 

Our Business Outlook for Fiscal 2018 does not assume any similar unallocated operating expense offsets discussed above and 
will reflect the full year impact of cost reduction actions taken in fiscal 2017. Although we expect sales growth on a consolidated 
basis in fiscal 2018, our unallocated operating expenses in fiscal 2018 are expected to be comparable to the $24.4 million amount 
discussed above for fiscal 2017.

Excluding the $18.8 million of favorable adjustments described above, consolidated operating income for fiscal 2017 would have 
been $18.2 million, or 3.3% of consolidated net sales. Based on expected sales growth, our consolidated operating income (in 
dollars) in fiscal 2018 is anticipated to be higher than the $18.2 million and we are targeting to achieve operating income, as a 
percentage of consolidated net sales, in the range of approximately 4.0% to 5.0%. In addition, based on the continued amortization 
of intangible assets with finite lives and the timing of expected sales, we expect an operating loss in both the first and second 
quarters of fiscal 2018, with each of the third and fourth fiscal 2018 quarters achieving operating profits.

Interest Expense and Other.  Interest expense was $11.6 million and $7.8 million for fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively. Interest 
expense for both periods primarily reflects interest on our Secured Credit Facility, as amended. Based on the type, terms, amount 
of outstanding debt (including capital leases) and current interest rates, we estimate that our effective interest rate (including 
amortization of deferred financing costs) will approximate 5.0% in fiscal 2018. Our actual cash borrowing rate (which excludes 
the amortization of deferred financing costs) currently approximates 4.1%.

Interest Income and Other.  Interest income and other for both fiscal 2017 and 2016 was nominal. All of our available cash and 
cash equivalents are currently invested in bank deposits and money market deposit accounts which, at this time, are currently 
yielding a blended annual interest rate of approximately 0.56%. 

Provision for Income Taxes. The provision for income taxes was $9.7 million for fiscal 2017 as compared to a tax benefit of $0.5
million during fiscal 2016.  Our effective tax rate was 37.9% for fiscal 2017, as compared to 5.5% for fiscal 2016.

Excluding discrete tax items for fiscal 2017, our effective tax rate was 35.75%. Our effective tax rate excluding discrete tax items 
for fiscal 2016 was 18.0%.  The increase from 18.0% to 35.75% is principally attributable to the non-deductibility of certain 
transaction costs relating to the acquisition of TCS, which were incurred during fiscal 2016. 

During fiscal 2017, we recorded a net discrete tax expense of $0.5 million, primarily related to the finalization of certain tax 
deductions in connection with the filing of our federal and state income tax returns for fiscal 2016, offset, in part, by the reversal 
of tax contingencies no longer required due to the settlement of the fiscal 2014 federal income tax audit and the expiration of 
applicable statutes of limitation. During fiscal 2016, we recorded a net discrete tax expense of approximately $1.0 million, primarily 
related to the establishment of tax contingencies for uncertain tax positions relating to the payment of certain expenses associated 
with the TCS acquisition, offset, in part, by the reversal of tax contingencies no longer required due to the expiration of applicable 
statutes of limitation; and the passage of legislation that included the permanent retroactive extension of the federal research and 
experimentation credit from December 31, 2014.   

Our federal income tax returns for fiscal 2015 and 2016 are subject to potential future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audits. 
None of our state income tax returns prior to fiscal 2013 are subject to audit. TCS’s federal income tax returns for calendar years 
2013 through 2015 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016 are subject to potential future IRS audits. None 
of TCS’s state income tax returns prior to calendar year 2012 are subject to audit. Future tax assessments or settlements could 
have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

Based on our expected fiscal 2018 business outlook, and excluding the impact of any potential discrete tax items, our fiscal 2018 
estimated effective tax rate is expected to approximate 34.75%.

Net Loss (Income). During fiscal 2017, consolidated net income was $15.8 million as compared to a consolidated net loss of $7.7
million during fiscal 2016. 

60

Adjusted EBITDA. Our Adjusted EBITDA, a Non-GAAP financial measure, represents earnings before income taxes, interest 
(income) and other expense, interest expense, amortization of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangibles, depreciation 
expense, settlement of intellectual property litigation and acquisition plan expenses. These items, while periodically affecting our 
results, may vary significantly from period-to-period and may have a disproportionate effect in a given period, thereby affecting 
the comparability of our results. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our management in assessing the Company's operating 
results. Although closely aligned, the Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA is different than the Consolidated EBITDA (as 
such term is defined in our Secured Credit Facility, as amended) utilized for financial covenant calculations and also may differ 
from the definition of EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA used by other companies (including TCS prior to our acquisition) and, 
therefore, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also a measure 
frequently  requested  by  the  Company's  investors  and  analysts. We  believe  that  investors  and  analysts  may  use  our Adjusted 
EBITDA, along with other information contained in our SEC filings, in assessing our performance and comparability of our results 
with other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA (both in dollars and as a percentage of related net sales) for both fiscal 2017 and 2016 are shown in the table 
below (numbers in the table may not foot due to rounding):

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

($ in millions)

Net income (loss)

Income taxes

Interest (income) and other

expense

Interest expense

Amortization of stock-based

compensation

Amortization of intangibles

Depreciation

Settlement of intellectual

property litigation

Acquisition plan expenses

Commercial
Solutions

Government
Solutions

$ 32.9

0.3

(0.1)

0.2

—

17.7

9.9

—

—

22.8

0.1

0.1

0.3

—

10.6

7.1

—

—

40.9

9.4

—

—

—

—

5.1

2.9

—

—

23.0

—

—

—

—

2.8

2.0

—

—

17.5

27.8

Unallocated
(26.5)
9.4

(53.5) $ 15.8
(0.5)
9.7

Consolidated

0.1

11.4

8.5

—

1.5

(12.0)
—
(7.6)
NA

(0.2)
7.5

4.1

—

0.8

(0.1)
11.6

8.5

22.8

14.4

—

(12.0)
21.3
—
(20.7) $ 70.7

(7.7)
(0.5)

(0.1)
7.8

4.1

13.4

9.8

—

21.3

48.1

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 60.9

Percentage of related net sales

18.4%

16.4%

8.0%

17.2%

NA

12.8%

11.7%

The increase in consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, in dollars and as a percentage of consolidated net sales, during fiscal 2017 as 
compared to fiscal 2016 is primarily attributable to earnings contributions associated with the TCS acquisition, period-to-period 
changes in sales mix and gross margin contributions and lower unallocated expenses during fiscal 2017, all of which are discussed 
above. The increase in our Commercial Solutions segment's Adjusted EBITDA, in dollars and as a percentage of related segment 
net sales, was primarily attributable to an increase in this segment's net sales and higher gross margins, as discussed above.  The 
decrease in our Government Solutions segment's Adjusted EBITDA, in dollars and as a percentage of related segment net sales, 
was primarily driven by the inclusion of net sales related to TCS government solutions, which have historically had significantly 
lower gross margins than Comtech’s legacy products, as discussed above.

Looking forward, we anticipate that our strong growth prospects will drive an increase in revenue as compared to fiscal 2017. In 
addition, despite the absence of $6.7 million of BFT-1 intellectual property license fee in fiscal 2018, we are targeting Adjusted 
EBITDA in a range comparable to the $70.7 million we achieved in fiscal 2017. If market conditions continue to strengthen, 
enabling us to achieve all of our fiscal 2018 business goals, we expect Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2018 to exceed the $70.7 million 
achieved in fiscal 2017. We expect that fiscal 2018 Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of consolidated net sales, will be comparable 
to fiscal 2017.

61

Comparison of Fiscal 2016 and 2015 

Net Sales. Consolidated net sales were approximately $411.0 million and $307.3 million for fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively, 
representing  an  increase  of  $103.7  million,  or  33.7%.  The  year-over-year  increase  in  net  sales  reflects  incremental  sales  of 
approximately $151.4 million as a result of the TCS acquisition, partially offset by lower sales of legacy Comtech products. Net 
sales by operating segment are further discussed below.

Commercial Solutions
Net sales in our Commercial Solutions segment were approximately $249.0 million for fiscal 2016, as compared to $203.7 million 
for fiscal 2015, an increase of $45.3 million, or 22.2%. The period-over-period increase reflects incremental sales of approximately 
$73.0 million as a result of the TCS acquisition, partially offset by significantly lower sales of Comtech legacy products. Our 
Commercial Solutions segment represented 60.6% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016 as compared to 66.3% for fiscal 2015.

Sales of Comtech legacy products in fiscal 2016, most notably our satellite earth station products, were impacted by challenging 
international business conditions.  

During fiscal 2016, our Commercial Solutions segment benefited from sales of application solutions (such as our location and 
messaging based platforms) and safety and security technology solutions (such as wireless and NG911 platforms) that we now 
offer as a result of the TCS acquisition. In connection with our TCS integration plans, during fiscal 2016 we initiated a strategy 
to cross-share technology across each of our respective product lines. We also began jointly marketing our products to facilitate 
future growth. These strategies, over time, will result in historical sales patterns and mix trends becoming less relevant. As a result, 
period-to-period comparisons of sales of legacy Comtech or TCS brands will not be meaningful.

Bookings, sales and profitability in our Commercial Solutions segment can fluctuate from period-to-period due to many factors, 
including changes in the general business environment. As such, period- to-period comparisons of our results may not be indicative 
of a trend or future performance.

Government Solutions
Net sales in our Government Solutions segment were $162.0 million for fiscal 2016 as compared to $103.6 million for fiscal 2015, 
an increase of $58.4 million or 56.4%.  The period-over-period increase in sales reflects incremental sales of approximately $78.4 
million as a result of the TCS acquisition, partially offset by lower sales of Comtech legacy products. Our Government Solutions 
segment represented 39.4% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, as compared to 33.7% for fiscal 2015.

The decrease in Comtech legacy sales in fiscal 2016 was driven by significantly lower comparative net sales of over-the-horizon 
microwave  products,  partially  offset  by  increased  sales  of  high-power  broadband  amplifiers  and  BFT-1  sustainment  support 
services. Sales of our over-the-horizon microwave system products were significantly lower when compared to the prior year, as 
our two large multi-year contracts to design and supply over-the-horizon microwave systems and equipment for a North African 
government are nearing completion. Sales in both comparative periods include $10.0 million of revenue related to our annual 
BFT-1 intellectual property license fee. During fiscal 2016, we received $20.0 million of funded orders to continue to provide 
BFT-1 sustainment support services to the U.S. Army through March 31, 2017. The U.S. Army will have a limited non-exclusive 
right to use our intellectual property after March 31, 2017 for no additional license fee.

Our Government Solutions segment benefited in fiscal 2016 from a variety of new advanced communication solutions that we 
now  offer  as  a  result  of  the TCS  acquisition. These  solutions  include  field  support,  space  components  and  cyber-training.  In 
connection with our TCS integration plans, in fiscal 2016 we initiated a strategy to cross-share technology across product lines. 
We also began jointly marketing our products to facilitate future growth. These strategies, over time, will result in historical sales 
patterns and mix trends becoming less relevant. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of sales of legacy Comtech or TCS 
brands will not be meaningful.

Bookings, sales and profitability in our Government Solutions segment can fluctuate dramatically from period-to-period due to 
many factors, including unpredictable funding, deployment and technology decisions by the U.S. government. As such, period- 
to-period comparisons of our results may not be indicative of a trend or future performance.

62

Geography and Customer Type
Sales by geography and customer type, as a percentage of related sales, for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015 are as 
follows:

U.S. government
Domestic
Total U.S.

International
Total

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2016
2015
Commercial Solutions

2016
2015
Government Solutions

25.0%
40.6%
65.6%

34.4%
100.0%

29.3%
15.9%
45.2%

54.8%
100.0%

65.0%
11.6%
76.6%

23.4%
100.0%

33.2%
7.9%
41.1%

58.9%
100.0%

2016

2015

Consolidated
40.8%
29.2%
70.0%

30.0%
100.0%

30.6%
13.2%
43.8%

56.2%
100.0%

Sales to U.S. government customers include sales to the U.S. DoD, intelligence and civilian agencies, as well as sales directly to 
or through prime contractors. Domestic sales include sales to U.S. state and local governments. International sales include sales 
to U.S. companies for inclusion in products that are sold to international customers.

As a result of the TCS acquisition, we believe that international sales as a percentage of our consolidated revenue in future periods 
will be significantly lower than it was in the past. This expected change is driven by the inclusion in consolidated net sales of 
safety and security technology solutions (such as 911 call routing) which are primarily sold to U.S. customers.

Gross Profit. Gross profit was $171.2 million and $138.9 million for fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively, representing an increase 
of $32.3 million. This increase in gross profit dollars was driven by higher consolidated net sales resulting from the TCS acquisition, 
partially offset by lower sales of Comtech legacy products. Gross profit, as a percentage of consolidated net sales decreased from 
45.2% for fiscal 2015 to 41.7% for fiscal 2016. This decrease is primarily attributable to overall product mix changes resulting 
primarily from the TCS acquisition, in particular, the inclusion of sales related to TCS government solutions, which have historically 
had lower gross margins than Comtech's legacy products. Gross profit, as a percentage of related segment sales is further discussed 
below.

Our Commercial Solutions segment's gross profit, as a percentage of related segment net sales, for fiscal 2016 was higher as 
compared to fiscal 2015. This increase is primarily driven by the inclusion of sales related to TCS commercial products, which 
had higher gross margins than Comtech's legacy products. 

Our Government Solutions segment's gross profit, as a percentage of related segment net sales, for fiscal 2016, was lower as 
compared to fiscal 2015. This decrease was driven, in part, by the inclusion of sales of TCS government solutions, which had 
significantly lower gross margins than our legacy over-the-horizon microwave ("troposcatter") product line, high-power broadband 
amplifiers and our mobile data communications products. Additionally, during fiscal 2016, we experienced a significant drop in 
sales and related gross margins of our over-the-horizon microwave systems products, as a result of two large international contracts 
that were nearing completion. Gross profit in both periods includes $10.0 million related to our annual BFT-1 intellectual property 
license.

Included in consolidated cost of sales for both fiscal 2016 and 2015 are provisions for excess and obsolete inventory of $2.8 
million. As discussed in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - 
Critical Accounting Policies - Provisions for Excess and Obsolete Inventory," we regularly review our inventory and record a 
provision for excess and obsolete inventory based on historical and projected usage assumptions. 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses were $94.9 million and $62.7 million 
for fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively, representing an increase of $32.2 million. The increase in spending is primarily attributable 
to incremental expenses associated with the increase in the size of our business as a result of the TCS acquisition. As a percentage 
of consolidated net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses were 23.1% and 20.4% for fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively. 

Amortization of stock-based compensation expense recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses was $3.4 million in 
fiscal 2016 as compared to $3.5 million in fiscal 2015. This amortization is not allocated to our two reportable operating segments. 
This decrease is primarily related to changes in the timing of grants for certain stock-based awards.

63

Our selling, general and administrative expenses for fiscal 2016 reflect a benefit of $0.4 million relating to a change in the fair 
value  of  a  contingent  liability  in  connection  with  TCS  intellectual  property  legal  matters,  which  are  discussed  in  "Notes  to 
Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (14)(b) Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and Final Settlements" included in "Part II, 
Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Form 10-K.

Research and Development Expenses.  Research and development expenses were $42.2 million and $35.9 million for fiscal 2016 
and 2015, respectively, representing an increase of $6.3 million, or 17.5%. The increase in spending is primarily attributable to 
incremental expenses associated with the TCS product lines, partially offset by lower spending as a result of cost reduction activities 
and  the  completion  of  several  research  and  development  projects. As  a  percentage  of  consolidated  net  sales,  research  and 
development expenses were 10.3% and 11.7% for fiscal 2016 and 2015.

For fiscal 2016 and 2015, research and development expenses of $33.8 million and $29.7 million, respectively, related to our 
Commercial Solutions segment, and $8.0 million and $5.6 million, respectively, related to our Government Solutions segment. 
The remaining research and development expenses of $0.4 million and $0.6 million in fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively, related 
to the amortization of stock-based compensation expense, which is not allocated to our two reportable operating segments.

Whenever  possible,  we  seek  customer  funding  for  research  and  development  to  adapt  our  products  to  specialized  customer 
requirements. During fiscal 2016 and 2015, customers reimbursed us $17.4 million and $9.2 million, respectively, which is not 
reflected in the reported research and development expenses, but is included in net sales with the related costs included in cost of 
sales.

Acquisition Plan Expenses. As discussed throughout this and prior SEC filings, we had embarked on a focused acquisition plan 
which culminated with the closing of the acquisition of TCS on February 23, 2016. During fiscal 2016, we incurred approximately 
$21.3 million of expenses related to this acquisition plan. These expenses include significant amounts associated with the TCS 
acquisition primarily for: (i) change-in-control payments, (ii) severance, (iii) professional fees for financial and legal advisors for 
both Comtech and TCS. We also incurred other expenditures such as $9.6 million associated with establishing a $400.0 million 
Secured Credit Facility which has been capitalized and will be expensed in future periods. There were no comparable expenses 
in fiscal 2015.

Amortization of Intangibles.  Amortization relating to intangible assets with finite lives was $13.4 million and $6.2 million for 
fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively. The significant increase in amortization of intangibles is a result of our acquisition of TCS.

Operating (Loss) Income.  Operating loss for fiscal 2016 was approximately $0.6 million as compared to operating income of 
$34.1  million  for  fiscal  2015.  Excluding  $21.3  million  of  expenses  related  to  our  acquisition  plan,  which  culminated  in  the 
acquisition of TCS, operating income for fiscal 2016 would have been $20.7 million, or 5.0% of consolidated net sales. Operating 
income for fiscal 2015, as a percentage of net sales was 11.1%. Consolidated operating income (both in dollars and a percentage 
of consolidated net sales) was directly impacted by the TCS acquisition (including incremental amortization of intangibles) and 
by changes in segment operating income contributions as shown in the table below: 

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

($ in millions)

Commercial
Solutions

Government
Solutions

Operating income (loss)

$ 23.3

$ 20.7

$ 23.0

$ 30.0

$

Percentage of related net sales

9.3%

10.2%

14.2%

29.0%

Unallocated
(46.8) $
NA

Consolidated

(16.7) $ (0.6)

$ 34.1

NA

(0.1)%

11.1%

Our  Commercial  Solutions  segment’s  operating  income,  in  dollars,  reflects  incremental  contribution  associated  with  TCS 
commercial solutions sales that were more than offset by significantly lower comparative net sales of Comtech's legacy products. 
The decrease in operating income as a percentage of our Commercial Solutions segment’s net sales is primarily due to incremental 
selling, general and administrative expenses and amortization of intangibles associated with the acquisition of TCS.

Our  Government  Solutions  segment’s  operating  income,  in  dollars,  reflects  incremental  contribution  associated  with  TCS 
government solution sales, partially offset by significantly lower comparative net sales of Comtech’s legacy products, in particular, 
lower  sales  of  our  over-the-horizon  microwave  system  products.  The  decrease  in  operating  income  as  a  percentage  of  our 
Government Solutions segment’s net sales is primarily due to the inclusion of sales of TCS government solutions which had 
significantly lower gross margins than Comtech’s legacy government solutions products.

64

Unallocated operating expenses, which are included in the above table, were $46.8 million and $16.7 million for fiscal 2016 and 
2015, respectively. Fiscal 2016 unallocated expenses include $21.3 million of expense related to our focused acquisition plan, the 
large majority of which related to activities which resulted in our acquisition of TCS on February 23, 2016. Total amortization of 
stock-based compensation expense (including amounts recorded in cost of sales, selling, general and administrative expenses and 
research and development expenses), which is classified as unallocated operating expenses was $4.1 million for fiscal 2016 as 
compared to $4.4 million in fiscal 2015. 

Interest Expense and Other.  Interest expense was $7.8 million and $0.5 million for fiscal 2016 and 2015, respectively. Interest 
expense during fiscal 2016 primarily reflects interest on our $400.0 million Secured Credit Facility related to the TCS acquisition. 

Interest Income and Other.  Interest income and other for both fiscal 2016 and 2015 was nominal. All of our available cash and 
cash equivalents are currently invested in bank deposits which are currently yielding a blended annual interest rate of approximately 
0.43%.

Provision for Income Taxes. During fiscal 2016, we recorded a tax benefit of approximately $0.5 million as a result of our current 
period operating loss. This tax benefit compared to a tax expense of $10.8 million during fiscal 2015. 

Our effective tax rate of 5.5% for fiscal 2016 reflects a net discrete tax expense of approximately $1.0 million, primarily related 
to the establishment of tax contingencies for uncertain tax positions relating to the payment of certain expenses associated with 
the TCS acquisition, offset, in part, by the reversal of tax contingencies no longer required due to the expiration of applicable 
statutes  of  limitation;  and  the  passage  of  legislation  that  included  the  permanent  retroactive  extension  of  the  research  and 
experimentation credit from December 31, 2014. 

Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2015 of 31.6% reflects a discrete tax benefit of approximately $1.0 million, primarily related to 
(i) the passage of legislation that included the retroactive extension of the research and experimentation credit from December 31,
2013 to December 31, 2014; (ii) the finalization of certain tax deductions in connection with the filing of certain foreign fiscal
2014 income tax returns; and (iii) the reversal of tax contingencies no longer required due to the expiration of applicable statutes
of limitation. Excluding discrete tax items for fiscal 2016, our effective tax rate would have been 18.0%. This rate was impacted
by the non-deductibility of certain transaction costs related to the acquisition of TCS. Excluding discrete tax items for fiscal 2015,
our effective tax rate would have been 34.5%. The TCS acquisition significantly impacted our geographical sales mix and has a
different spending profile than our legacy business.

Our federal income tax returns for fiscal 2015 and 2016 are subject to potential future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audits. 
None of our state income tax returns prior to fiscal 2013 are subject to audit. TCS’s federal income tax returns for calendar years 
2013 through 2015 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016 are subject to potential future IRS audits. None 
of TCS’s state income tax returns prior to calendar year 2012 are subject to audit. Future tax assessments or settlements could 
have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

Net Loss (Income). During fiscal 2016, consolidated net loss was $7.7 million as compared to the consolidated net income of 
$23.2 million that we achieved in fiscal 2015. The net loss during fiscal 2016 is largely attributable to the acquisition plan expenses 
related to the TCS acquisition and the impact of all of the other aforementioned items discussed above.

65

Adjusted EBITDA. Our Adjusted EBITDA, a Non-GAAP financial measure, represents earnings before income taxes, interest 
(income) and other expense, interest expense, amortization of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangibles, depreciation 
expense, acquisition plan expenses or strategic alternatives analysis expenses and other. These items, while periodically affecting 
our results, may vary significantly from period to period and may have a disproportionate effect in a given period, thereby affecting 
the comparability of results. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our management in assessing the Company's operating results. 
Although closely aligned, the Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA is different than the Consolidated EBITDA (as such 
term is defined in our Secured Credit Facility, as amended) utilized for financial covenant calculations and also may differ from 
the definition of EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA used by other companies (including TCS prior to our acquisition) and, therefore, 
may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also a measure frequently 
requested by the Company's investors and analysts. The Company believes that investors and analysts may use our Adjusted 
EBITDA, along with other information contained in our SEC filings, in assessing our performance and comparability of our results 
with other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA (both in dollars and as a percentage of related net sales) for both fiscal 2016 and 2015 are shown in the table 
below (numbers in the table may not foot due to rounding):

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

($ in millions)

Net income (loss)

Income taxes

Interest (income) and other
expense

Interest expense

Amortization of stock-based
compensation

Amortization of intangibles

Depreciation

Acquisition plan expenses

Strategic alternatives analysis

Commercial
Solutions

$ 22.8

0.1

0.1

0.3

—

10.6

7.1

—

—

20.5

(0.1)

0.1

0.3

—

6.2

5.3

—

—

Government
Solutions

23.0

30.0

—

—

—

—

2.8

2.0

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1.2

—

—

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 40.9

32.2

27.8

31.2

Percentage of related net sales

16.4%

15.8%

17.2%

30.2%

Unallocated
(53.5)
(0.5)

(27.3)
10.9

Consolidated
(7.7)
(0.5)

$ 23.2

10.8

(0.2)
7.5

4.1

—

0.8

21.3

—
(20.7)
NA

(0.5)
0.2

(0.1)
7.8

(0.4)
0.5

4.4

—

—

—

0.6
(11.7)
NA

4.1

13.4

9.8

21.3

—

4.4

6.2

6.5

—

0.6

48.1

$ 51.8

11.7%

16.8%

The decrease in consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, in dollars, during fiscal 2016 as compared to fiscal 2015, is primarily attributable 
to  earnings  contributions  associated  with  the  TCS  acquisition  being  more  than  offset  by  lower  earnings  contributions  from 
Comtech's legacy business. Please refer to Note (13) "Segment Information" in our "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements"
for the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

66

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our cash and cash equivalents decreased to $41.8 million at July 31, 2017 from $66.8 million at July 31, 2016, a decrease of $25.0 
million. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents during fiscal 2017 was driven by the following:

•

•

•

Net cash provided by operating activities was $66.7 million for fiscal 2017 as compared to $15.0 million for fiscal 2016.
The period-over-period increase in cash flow from operating activities is attributable to overall changes in net working
capital requirements, the timing of billings and payments and the inclusion of full fiscal-year operating results from the
TCS business in fiscal 2017. Net cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2016 reflects significant acquisition plan
expenses associated with our TCS acquisition.

Net cash used in investing activities for fiscal 2017 was $8.2 million as compared to $286.2 million for fiscal 2016. The
period-over-period decrease in net cash used in investing activities is primarily due to the payment of $280.5 million
related to the acquisition of TCS in February 2016, net of cash acquired.

Net cash used in financing activities was $83.5 million for fiscal 2017 as compared to net cash provided of $187.1 million
for fiscal 2016. During fiscal 2017, we made $26.5 million of net payments under our Revolving Loan Facility and $33.6
million of principal repayments related to our Term Loan Facility. During fiscal 2016, $83.9 million of net proceeds were
received from borrowings under our Revolving Loan Facility, $250.0 million of proceeds were received from borrowings
under our Term Loan Facility and $95.0 million of net proceeds were received from a public offering of our common
stock which occurred in June 2016. These proceeds were partially offset by a payment of $134.1 million for debt assumed
in connection with the acquisition of TCS and $77.4 million of principal repayments related to our Term Loan Facility.
During fiscal 2017 and 2016, we paid $3.6 million and $1.8 million, respectively, of principal repayments related to our
capital lease obligations and $1.1 million and $9.5 million, respectively, of financing costs associated with the Secured
Credit Facility, as amended. During fiscal 2017 and 2016, we also paid $18.9 million and $19.4 million, respectively, in
cash dividends to our stockholders.

Our investment policy relating to our cash and cash equivalents is intended to minimize principal loss while at the same time 
maximize the income we receive without significantly increasing risk. To minimize risk, we generally invest our cash and cash 
equivalents in money market mutual funds (both government and commercial), certificates of deposit, bank deposits, and U.S. 
Treasury securities. Many of our money market mutual funds invest in direct obligations of the U.S. government, bank securities 
guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, certificates of deposit and commercial paper and other securities issued 
by other companies. While we cannot predict future market conditions or market liquidity, we believe our investment policies are 
appropriate  in  the  current  environment.  Ultimately,  the  availability  of  our  cash  and  cash  equivalents  is  dependent  on  a  well-
functioning liquid market.

The Secured Credit Facility is discussed below and in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (8) Secured Credit 
Facility" included in "Part II - Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

As of July 31, 2017, our material short-term cash requirements primarily consist of: (i) fiscal 2018 mandatory principal repayments 
of $15.5 million associated with the Term Loan Facility and related interest payments of approximately $4.8 million, (ii) estimated 
interest payments for fiscal 2018 for our Revolving Loan Facility, (iii) capital lease obligations and operating lease commitments, 
(iv) our ongoing working capital needs, including income tax payments, and (v) accrued quarterly dividends.

In June 2016, we sold 7.1 million shares of our common stock in a public offering at a price of $14.00 per share, resulting in 
proceeds to us of $95.0 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions. As of July 31, 2017 and September 27, 2017, an 
aggregate registered amount of $75.0 million under our existing Shelf Registration Statement filed with the SEC remains available 
for sale of various types of securities, including debt. 

As of July 31, 2017 and September 27, 2017, we were authorized to repurchase up to an additional $8.7 million of our common 
stock, pursuant to our current $100.0 million stock repurchase program. Our stock repurchase program has no time restrictions 
and repurchases may be made in open-market or privately negotiated transactions and may be made pursuant to SEC Rule 10b5-1 
trading plans.  There were no repurchases of our common stock during fiscal 2017 and 2016. 

67

On October 6, 2016, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.30 per common share, which was paid on November 22, 
2016. On December 7, 2016, March 8, 2017 and June 7, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common 
share, which were paid on February 17, 2017, May 19, 2017 and August 18, 2017, respectively. On September 27, 2017, our Board 
of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, payable on November 17, 2017 to stockholders of record at the close 
of business on October 18, 2017. The Board of Directors is currently targeting fiscal 2018 quarterly dividend payments of $0.10 
per common share. Future dividends remain subject to compliance with financial covenants under our Secured Credit Facility, as 
amended, as well as Board approval.

Our material long-term cash requirements primarily consist of: (i)  mandatory interest payments and principal repayments pursuant 
to our Secured Credit Facility, as amended; (ii)  payments relating to our capital lease obligations and operating lease commitments; 
and (iii) cash payments of approximately $2.2 million related to our 2009 Radyne-related restructuring plan, including accreted 
interest as discussed in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (7) Radyne Acquisition-Related Restructuring Plan"
included in "Part II - Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

In August 2016, AT&T, a distributor of a small TCS product line that we refer to as our 911 call handling software solution, 
informed us that they do not believe TCS met certain contractual specifications related to performance and usability and had 
requested a refund of certain payments made by them. We have entered into settlement negotiations with AT&T and expect to 
issue refunds of $5.5 million over the course of thirty-six months once the settlement is finalized. Our Consolidated Balance Sheet 
as of July 31, 2017 includes accrued costs of $5.5 million related to this contingent liability. 

We continue to receive (and approve on a limited basis) requests from our customers for higher credit limits and longer payment 
terms. We also continue to monitor our accounts receivable credit portfolio and have not had material negative customer credit 
experiences historically.

We have historically met both our short-term and long-term cash requirements with funds provided by a combination of cash and 
cash equivalent balances, cash generated from operating activities and cash generated from financing transactions. Based on our 
anticipated level of future sales and operating income, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalent balances, our cash 
generated from operating activities and amounts potentially available under the Revolving Loan Facility under our Secured Credit 
Facility, as amended, will be sufficient to meet both our currently anticipated short-term and long-term operating cash requirements. 

Although it is difficult in the current economic and credit environment to predict the terms and conditions of financing that may 
be available in the future, should our short-term or long-term cash requirements increase beyond our current expectations, we 
believe that we would have sufficient access to credit from financial institutions and/or financing from public and private debt 
and equity markets.

Secured Credit Facility
On February 23, 2016, in connection with our acquisition of TCS, we entered into a $400.0 million secured credit facility (the 
"Secured Credit Facility") with a syndicate of lenders. The Secured Credit Facility, as amended June 6, 2017 (the “June 2017 
Amendment”), comprises a senior secured term loan A facility of $250.0 million (the “Term Loan Facility”) and a secured revolving 
loan facility of up to $150.0 million, including a $25.0 million letter of credit sublimit (the “Revolving Loan Facility”), and, 
together, with the Term Loan Facility, matures on February 23, 2021. The proceeds of these borrowings were primarily used to 
finance our acquisition of TCS, including the repayment of certain existing indebtedness of TCS. The Term Loan Facility requires 
mandatory  quarterly  repayments.  During  the  fiscal  year  ended  July 31,  2017,  we  repaid  $33.6  million  principal  amount  of 
borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, including $22.5 million paid in connection with the June 2017 Amendment to reduce 
the balloon or final payment of the Term Loan Facility, discussed further below. Under the Revolving Loan Facility, we had 
outstanding balances ranging from $31.9 million to $84.9 million during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017. During the fiscal 
year ended July 31, 2016, the Company repaid $97.4 million of principal amount under the Secured Credit Facility, primarily 
using the net proceeds received from a public offering of our common stock in June 2016, as discussed further above and in "Notes 
to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (17) "Stockholders’ Equity."

68

The Revolving Loan Facility is primarily used for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company and its 
subsidiaries, including the issuance of letters of credit. Borrowings under the Secured Credit Facility, pursuant to terms defined 
in the Secured Credit Facility, shall be either (i) Alternate Base Rate ("ABR") borrowings, which bear interest from the applicable 
borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to (x) the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the Federal Funds 
Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 0.50% per annum and (c) the Adjusted LIBO Rate on such day (or, if such day is not a 
business day, the immediately preceding business day) plus 1.00% per annum (provided that if the LIBO Rate is less than 1.00%, 
then the LIBO Rate shall be deemed to be 1.00%), plus (y) the Applicable Rate, or (ii) Eurodollar borrowings, which bear interest 
from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to (x) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such interest period (provided 
that if the LIBO Rate is less than 1.00%, then the LIBO Rate shall be deemed to be 1.00%) plus (y) the Applicable Rate. The 
Applicable Rate is determined based on a pricing grid that is dependent upon our leverage ratio as of the end of each fiscal quarter. 
The Secured Credit Facility contains customary representations, warranties and affirmative covenants and customary negative 
covenants, subject to negotiated exceptions, on (i) liens, (ii) investments, (iii) indebtedness, (iv) significant corporate changes, 
including mergers and acquisitions, (v) dispositions, (vi) restricted payments, including stockholder dividends, and (vii) certain 
other restrictive agreements. The Secured Credit Facility also contains certain financial covenants and customary events of default 
(subject to grace periods, as appropriate), such as payment defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy and 
insolvency, the occurrence of a defined change in control and the failure to observe the negative covenants and other covenants 
related to the operation of our business. 

The June 2017 Amendment is expected to result in increased operating and acquisition flexibility and simplify the calculations 
of our financial covenants. The June 2017 Amendment resulted in, among other things, that the:

(i) Consolidated  EBITDA  definition  more  closely  aligns  with  our Adjusted  EBITDA  metric  by  eliminating  favorable

adjustments to operating income related to settlements of TCS intellectual property matters;

(ii) Leverage Ratio is calculated on a “gross” basis using the quotient of Total Indebtedness (excluding unamortized deferred
financing costs) divided by our TTM Consolidated EBITDA. The prior Leverage Ratio was calculated on a “net” basis
but did not include a reduction for any cash or cash equivalents above $50.0 million;

(iii) Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio includes a deduction for all cash dividends, regardless of the amount of our cash and cash
equivalents and the related allowable Quarterly Dividend Amount, as defined, will now align with our current quarterly
dividend target of $0.10 per common share;

(iv) Balloon or final payment of the Term Loan Facility, which is not due until February 23, 2021, was reduced by $22.5
million through increased borrowings from the Revolving Loan Facility, which does not expire until February 23, 2021;
and

(v) Leverage Ratios will be adjusted, in certain conditions, to provide for additional flexibility for us to make acquisitions.

In connection with the June 2017 Amendment, there were no changes to: (i) the committed borrowing capacity; (ii) the maturity 
date; or (iii) interest rates payable (except that the interest rate pricing grid will now be based on the new Leverage Ratio). Also, 
the June 2017 Amendment did not result in an extinguishment for accounting purposes (as such term is defined in ASC 470 
“Debt”);  instead,  the  June  2017 Amendment  was  accounted  for  as  a  debt  modification. As  a  result,  deferred  financing  costs 
(including incremental fees for the June 2017 Amendment) will continue to be amortized over the remaining maturity term of the 
Secured Credit Facility. 

As of July 31, 2017, our Leverage Ratio was 2.84x TTM Consolidated EBITDA compared to the maximum allowable Leverage 
Ratio of 3.75x TTM Consolidated EBITDA. In fiscal 2018, the maximum allowable Leverage Ratio will decrease each quarter 
until reaching 3.00x TTM Consolidated EBITDA in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, with no further reductions thereafter. Our 
Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio as of July 31, 2017 was 1.95x compared to the minimum required Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 
1.25x and will not change for the remaining term of the Secured Credit Facility, as amended. Given our expected future business 
performance, we anticipate maintaining compliance with the terms and financial covenants in our Secured Credit Facility, as 
amended, for the foreseeable future. 

The  obligations  under  the  Secured  Credit  Facility,  as  amended,  are  guaranteed  by  certain  of  our  domestic  subsidiaries  (the 
"Subsidiary Guarantors"). As collateral security for amounts outstanding under our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, and the 
guarantees thereof, we and our Subsidiary Guarantors have granted to an administrative agent, for the benefit of the lenders, a lien 
on, and first priority security interest in, substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets.

69

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings set forth for such terms in the Secured Credit Facility, dated as 
of February 23, 2016, and the First Amendment of the Secured Credit Facility, dated as of June 6, 2017, both of which have been 
documented and filed with the SEC.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of July 31, 2017, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K.

Commitments
In the normal course of business, other than as discussed below, we routinely enter into binding and non-binding purchase obligations 
primarily covering anticipated purchases of inventory and equipment. We do not expect that these commitments, as of July 31, 
2017, will materially adversely affect our liquidity. 

At July 31, 2017, cash payments due under long-term obligations (including estimated interest expense on our Secured Credit 
Facility), excluding purchase orders that we entered into in our normal course of business, are as follows:

Secured Credit Facility - principal payments
Secured Credit Facility - interest payments
Operating lease commitments
Capital lease obligations
Net contractual cash obligations

Obligations Due by Fiscal Years or Maturity Date (in thousands)

Total
196,485
23,284
45,622
4,304
269,695

$

$

2018

15,494
7,331
12,374
2,494
37,693

2019
and
2020

35,415
12,798
15,856
1,810
65,879

2021
and
2022
145,576
3,155
9,538
—
158,269

After
2022

—
—
7,854
—
7,854

As discussed further in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (8) Secured Credit Facility" included in "Part II — 
Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," on June 6, 2017, we entered into the June 2017 Amendment to our 
Secured Credit Facility. In connection with this amendment, the balloon or final payment of the Term Loan Facility, which is not 
due until February 23, 2021, was reduced by $22.5 million through increased borrowings from the Revolving Loan Facility which 
is not required to be repaid in full until February 23, 2021.

As discussed further in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (17) Stockholders’ Equity" included in "Part II - Item 
8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," on September 27, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10
per common share, payable on November 17, 2017 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 18, 2017. Future
dividends remain subject to compliance with financial covenants under our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, as well as Board
approval.

At July 31, 2017, we have approximately $3.9 million of standby letters of credit outstanding under our Secured Credit Facility, 
as amended, related to our guarantees of future performance on certain customer contracts. Such amounts are not included in the 
above table.

In the ordinary course of business, we include indemnification provisions in certain of our customer contracts. Pursuant to these 
agreements, we have agreed to indemnify, hold harmless and reimburse the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by 
the indemnified party, including but not limited to losses related to third-party intellectual property claims. It is not possible to 
determine the maximum potential amount under these agreements due to a history of nominal claims in the Comtech legacy 
business  and  the  unique  facts  and  circumstances  involved  in  each  particular  agreement. As  discussed  further  in  "Notes  to
Consolidated Financial Statements - Note (14) Commitments and Contingencies," TCS is a party to one indemnification matter 
and we are incurring ongoing legal expenses in connection with this matter. Our insurance policies may not cover the cost of 
defending indemnification claims or providing indemnification. As a result, pending or future claims asserted against us by a party 
that we have agreed to indemnify could result in legal costs and damages that could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated 
results of operations and financial condition.

We have change in control agreements, severance agreements and indemnification agreements with certain of our executive officers 
and certain key employees. All of these agreements may require payments by us, in certain circumstances, including, but not 
limited to, a change in control of our Company or an involuntary termination of employment without cause. 

70

Our consolidated balance sheet at July 31, 2017 includes total liabilities of $8.7 million for uncertain tax positions, including 
interest, any or all of which may result in a cash payment. The future payments related to uncertain tax positions have not been 
presented in the table above due to the uncertainty of the amounts and timing of any potential cash settlement with the taxing 
authorities.

71

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

We are required to prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board 
("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") which is the source for all authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting 
principles, which is commonly referred to as "GAAP."  The FASB ASC is subject to updates by the FASB, which are known as 
Accounting Standards Updates ("ASUs").  

As further discussed in "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Note (1)(n) Adoption of Accounting Standards and Updates" 
included in "Part II - Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," during fiscal 2017, we adopted:

• FASB ASU No. 2014-12, which requires that a performance target which affects vesting and that could be achieved
after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. Our adoption of this FASB ASU did not impact
our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2014-15, which provides guidance about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is a
substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures.
Our adoption of this ASU did not impact our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU  No.  2015-11,  which  simplifies  the  guidance  on  the  subsequent  measurement  of  inventory  other  than
inventory measured using the last-in, first out or the retail inventory method. This ASU requires in-scope inventory to
be subsequently measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value, the latter of which is defined as the estimated
selling  price  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  less  reasonably  predictable  costs  of  completion,  disposal  and
transportation. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or
disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2016-06, which clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call (put) options, that can
accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments, are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. An entity
performing the assessment under the amendments in this ASU is required to assess the embedded call (put) options
solely in accordance with the Derivatives Implementation Group’s four-step decision sequence. Our early adoption of
this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2016-07, which eliminates the requirement to retroactively adopt the equity method of accounting for
an investment as a result of an increase in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence. Our early adoption of
this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2016-17, which amends the consolidation guidance on how a reporting entity (that is the single decision
maker of a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”)) should treat indirect interests in the entity held through related parties that
are under common control with the reporting entity when determining whether it is the primary beneficiary of that
VIE. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU  No.  2016-18,  which  requires  that  amounts  generally  described  as  restricted  cash  and  restricted  cash
equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period
total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our
consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2017-01, which clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist
entities  with  evaluating  whether  transactions  should  be  accounted  for  as  acquisitions  (or  disposals)  of  assets  or
businesses.  Our  early  adoption  of  this ASU  did  not  have  any  impact  on  our  consolidated  financial  statements  or
disclosures.

• FASB ASU No. 2017-04, which simplifies the measurement of goodwill impairment by eliminating Step Two from
the goodwill impairment test. Instead, impairment will be measured using the excess amount that a reporting unit's
carrying value exceeds its fair value; however, any loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill
allocated to that reporting unit. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial
statements or disclosures.

72

In addition, the following FASB ASUs have been issued and incorporated into the FASB ASC and have not yet been adopted by 
us as of July 31, 2017:

•

•

•

FASB ASU No. 2014-09 "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)," issued in May 2014, which replaces
numerous requirements in U.S. GAAP, including industry specific requirements, and provides a single revenue recognition
model for contracts with customers. The core principle of the new standard is that a company should record revenue to
depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the
company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In August 2015, FASB ASU No. 2015-14 "Revenue
from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date" was issued to defer the effective date of
FASB ASU No. 2014-09 by one year. As a result, FASB ASU No. 2014-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2017 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2018), including interim reporting periods within those fiscal
years  and  can  be  adopted  either  retrospectively  to  each  prior  reporting  period  presented,  or  as  a  cumulative-effect
adjustment as of the date of adoption. Early adoption is permitted only as of fiscal years beginning after December 15,
2016 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2017), including interim reporting periods within those fiscal years. In
March  2016, April  2016,  May  2016  and  February  2017,  FASB ASU  Nos.  2016-08  "Revenue  from  Contracts  with
Customers  (Topic  606):  Principal  Versus  Agent  Considerations  (Reporting  Revenue  Gross  Versus  Net),"  2016-10
"Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing," 2016-12
"Revenue  from  Contracts  with  Customers  (Topic  606):  Narrow-Scope  Improvements  and  Practical  Expedients"  and
2017-05 "Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying
the  Scope  of Asset  Derecognition  Guidance  and Accounting  for  Partial  Sales  of  Nonfinancial Assets"  were  issued,
respectively, to clarify certain implementation matters related to the new revenue standard. The effective dates for these
ASUs coincide with the effective date of FASB ASU 2014-09. Because of the broad scope of this new standard, it could
impact our net sales and operating income across our two operating segments as well as related business processes and
IT systems.  We have formed a project team to perform a detailed evaluation of the operational impact of this new ASU,
which transition approach to use and the overall impact of these ASUs on our consolidated financial statements and
disclosures. This evaluation is ongoing and is expected to be completed shortly before our first quarter of fiscal 2019.

FASB ASU No. 2016-01, issued January 2016, which addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation
and disclosure of financial instruments, such as: amending the initial and subsequent measurement requirements for
certain equity investments; eliminating the disclosure requirements related to the methods and significant assumptions
used to estimate the fair value of financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet; requiring the
use of the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes; and requiring
separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset or
liability on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements. This ASU is effective for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2017 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2018), including interim periods within those
fiscal years and should be applied by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning
of the fiscal year of adoption, except for the provisions related to equity securities without readily determinable fair values
which are to be adopted prospectively. Under certain circumstances, early adoption is permitted. We are evaluating the
impact of this ASU on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

FASB ASU No. 2016-02, issued in February 2016, which requires lessees to recognize the following for all leases (with
the exception of short-term leases): (i) a lease liability, which is a lessee's obligation to make lease payments arising from
a lease, initially measured at the present value of the lease payments; and (ii) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that
represents the lessee's right to use a specified asset for the lease term. Under the new guidance, lessor accounting is largely
unchanged. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (our fiscal year beginning on August
1, 2019), including interim periods within those fiscal years and should be applied with a modified retrospective approach.
Early adoption is permitted. We are evaluating the impact of this ASU on our consolidated financial statements and
disclosures.

73

•

•

•

•

•

•

FASB ASU No. 2016-09, issued in March 2016, which amends several aspects of the accounting for and reporting of
share-based payment transactions, including: the recognition of excess tax benefits and shortfalls in the income statement;
the classification of excess tax benefits as an operating activity in the statement of cash flows; the timing of recognizing
forfeitures; permitting the withholding of statutory taxes up to the maximum rate in the applicable jurisdictions; and the
classification of cash paid by an employer, when withholding shares for tax withholdings, as a financing activity. The
amendments related to this ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 (our fiscal year beginning
on August  1,  2017),  and  interim  periods  within  those  fiscal  years  and  should  be  applied  either  retrospectively  or
prospectively,  as  applicable.  Our  adoption  of  this ASU,  on August  1,  2017,  did  not  have  a  material  impact  on  our
consolidated financial statements and the changes in presentation required by this ASU will be reflected commencing in
fiscal 2018. See "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Note (11) Stock-Based Compensation" included in "Part
II - Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for further information regarding our adoption of this ASU.

FASB ASU No. 2016-13, issued in June 2016, which requires the measurement of expected credit losses for financial
assets held at the reporting date to be based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable
forecasts. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 (our fiscal year beginning on August
1, 2020), including interim periods within those fiscal years. All entities may adopt the amendments in this ASU earlier
as of the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Except for
a prospective transition approach required for debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment had been
recognized  before  the  effective  date,  an  entity  will  apply  the  amendments  in  this ASU  through  a  cumulative-effect
adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective (that
is,  on  a  modified-retrospective  approach).  We  are  evaluating  the  impact  of  this ASU  on  our  consolidated  financial
statements and disclosures.

FASB ASU No. 2016-15, issued in August 2016, which amends the guidance on the following cash flow related issues:
debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; settlement of zero-coupon and similar type debt instruments; contingent
consideration payments made after a business combination; proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims (including
those related to certain life insurance policies); distributions received from equity method investees; beneficial interests
in securitization transactions; and cash receipts or payments with more than one class of cash flows. This ASU is effective
for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2018), and interim periods
within those fiscal years and shall be applied using the retrospective transition method to each period presented. Early
adoption is permitted; however, all of the amendments must be adopted in the same period. We are evaluating the impact
of this ASU on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

FASB ASU No. 2016-16, issued in October 2016, which eliminates a prior exception and now requires an entity to
recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory (for example, intellectual
property and property, plant and equipment) when the transfer occurs. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning
after December 15, 2017 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2018), and interim periods within those fiscal years and
shall be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings
as of the beginning of the period of adoption. Early adoption is permitted. We are evaluating the impact of this ASU on
our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

FASB ASU No. 2017-09, issued in May 2017, which provides guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions
of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in ASC Topic 718. This ASU is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (our fiscal year beginning on August 1, 2018) and early
adoption is permitted, including adoption in any interim period for which financial statements have not yet been issued.
This ASU  should  be  applied  prospectively  to  an  award  modified  on  or  after  the  adoption  date  of  this ASU. We  are
evaluating the impact of this ASU on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

FASB ASU No. 2017-11, issued in July 2017, which provides guidance on the accounting for certain financial instruments
with embedded features that result in the strike price of the instrument or embedded conversion option being reduced on
the basis of the pricing of future equity offerings (commonly referred to as "down round" features). This ASU is effective
for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018 (our fiscal year beginning
on August 1, 2019) and early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. This ASU should be applied
retrospectively in accordance with the provisions of the ASU. We are evaluating the impact of this ASU on our consolidated
financial statements and disclosures.

74

ITEM 7A.  QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Our earnings and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in interest rates primarily from borrowings under our 
Secured Credit Facility, as amended. Based on the amount of outstanding debt under our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, a 
hypothetical change in interest rates by 10% would change interest expense by $0.8 million over a one-year period. Although we 
do not currently use interest rate derivative instruments to manage exposure to interest rate changes, we may choose to do so in 
the future in connection with our Secured Credit Facility, as amended.

Our earnings and cash flows are also subject to fluctuations due to changes in interest rates on our investment of available cash 
balances. As of July 31, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents of $41.8 million, which consisted of cash and highly-liquid money 
market deposit accounts. Many of these investments are subject to fluctuations in interest rates, which could impact our results. 
Based on our investment portfolio balance as of July 31, 2017, a hypothetical change in interest rates of 10% would have a nominal 
impact on interest income over a one-year period. Ultimately, the availability of our cash and cash equivalents is dependent on a 
well-functioning liquid market. 

ITEM 8.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, Consolidated Financial Statements, Notes to Consolidated Financial 
Statements and Related Financial Schedule are listed in the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedule annexed 
hereto.

ITEM 9.  CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

ITEM 9A.  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

As of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and 
operation of our disclosure controls and procedures was carried out by us under the supervision and with the participation of our 
management, including our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and Chief Financial Officer. Based on that evaluation, 
our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and 
procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by the report to provide reasonable assurance that the information 
required to be disclosed by us in reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, 
summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated 
to management, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. A system of controls, no matter how well 
designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the system of controls are met, and no evaluation 
of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been 
detected.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 
13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process 
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements 
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. All internal control systems, no matter how 
well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable 
assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to 
future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of 
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management  assessed  the  effectiveness  of  our  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  as  of  July 31,  2017.  In  making  this 
assessment, we used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission ("COSO") 
in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessment, we determined that, as of July 31, 2017, our internal 
control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.

75

Deloitte and Touche LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, has performed an audit of our internal control over 
financial reporting as of July 31, 2017 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by 
the COSO. This audit is required to be performed in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight 
Board (United States). Our independent auditors were given unrestricted access to all financial records and related data. Deloitte’s 
audit reports appear on pages F-2 and F-3 of this annual report.

Changes In Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We acquired TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. ("TCS") on February 23, 2016 and have integrated TCS into our existing internal 
controls over financial reporting. Except for any changes and related enhancements in internal controls related to TCS, there have 
been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange 
Act that occurred during our fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2017, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially 
affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Not applicable.

ITEM 9B.  OTHER INFORMATION

76

PART III

ITEM 10.  DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Certain information concerning directors and officers is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting 
of Stockholders (the "Proxy Statement") which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no more than 120 days 
after the close of our fiscal year.

ITEM 11.  EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Information regarding executive compensation is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission no more than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year.

ITEM 12.  SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Information  regarding  securities  authorized  for  issuance  under  equity  compensation  plans  and  certain  information  regarding 
security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement, which will 
be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no more than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year.

ITEM 13.  CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS,
AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Information regarding certain relationships and related transactions is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement, which 
will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no more than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year.

ITEM 14.  PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

Information regarding principal accountant fees and services is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement, which will be 
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no more than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year.

77

PART IV

ITEM 15.  EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a)

(1) The Registrant’s financial statements together with a separate index are annexed hereto.

(2) The Financial Statement Schedule listed in a separate index is annexed hereto.

(3) Exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K are listed below.

Exhibit
Number
3(a)(i)

Description of Exhibit
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant

Incorporated By
Reference to Exhibit
Exhibit 3(a)(i) to the Registrant’s 2006 
Form 10-K 

3(a)(ii)

Third Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant, as of 
September 26, 2017 

10(a)(1)*

Sixth Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated 
November 18, 2016, between the Registrant and Fred Kornberg

Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Form 10-Q, 
filed December 7, 2016

10(a)(2)* Amendment to Sixth Amended and Restated Employment 

Agreement, dated June 6, 2017, between the Registrant and Fred 
Kornberg

Exhibit 10.7 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

10(a)(3)*

Lease agreement, dated September 23, 2011, on the Melville, 
New York Facility

Exhibit 10(s) to the Registrant's 2011 Form 
10-K

10(b)*

2001 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Appendix B to the Registrant’s Proxy 
Statement, filed November 3, 2000

10(c)*

2000 Stock Incentive Plan, Amended and Restated, Effective 
November 18, 2016

Appendix A to the Registrant’s Proxy 
Statement, filed November 21, 2016

10(d)(1)*

Form of Stock Option Agreement pursuant to the 2000 Stock 
Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(f)(7) to the Registrant’s 2005 
Form 10-K

10(d)(2)*

Form of Stock Option Agreement for Non-employee Directors 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(f)(8) to the Registrant’s 2006
Form 10-K

10(e)(1)*

Form of Performance Share Agreement pursuant to the 2000 
Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(s) to the Registrant’s 2012 Form
10-K

10(e)(2)*

Form of Performance Share Agreement (eligible for dividend 
equivalents) (Auto Deferral) pursuant to the 2000 Stock 
Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(z) to the Registrant's 2013 Form
10-K

10(e)(3)*

Form of Performance Share Agreement (eligible for dividend 
equivalents) (Elective Deferral) pursuant to the 2000 Stock 
Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(aa) to the Registrant's 2013
Form 10-K

10(f)(1)*

Form of Long-Term Performance Share Award Agreement 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2014

Exhibit 10(ab) to the Registrant's 2014 
Form 10-K

10(f)(2)*

Form of Long-Term Performance Share Award Agreement 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2017

Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant's Form 8-K,
filed June 7, 2017

10(g)(1)*

Form of Restricted Stock Agreement for Employees pursuant to 
the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(y) to the Registrant’s 2016 Form 
10-K

78

Exhibit
Number
10(g)(2)*

Description of Exhibit
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement for Non-employee Directors 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Incorporated By
Reference to Exhibit
Exhibit 10(ab) to the Registrant’s 2016 
Form 10-K

10(h)(1)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Employees 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2017

10(h)(2)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Employees 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2016

Exhibit 10(z) to the Registrant’s 2016 Form 
10-K

10(h)(3)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Employees 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2013

Exhibit 10(w) to the Registrant's 2013
Form 10-K

10(h)(4)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Non-employee 
Directors pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Form 10-Q,
filed June 7, 2012

10(h)(5)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (eligible for dividend 
equivalents) for Non-employee Directors pursuant to the 2000 
Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(aa) to the Registrant’s 2016 
Form 10-K

10(h)(6)*

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (eligible for dividend 
equivalents) for Non-employee Directors pursuant to the 2000 
Stock Incentive Plan - 2013

Exhibit 10(x) to the Registrant's 2013 Form
10-K

10(i)(1)*

Form of Stock Unit Agreement for Non-employee Directors 
pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Form 10-Q,
filed June 7, 2012

10(i)(2)*

Form of Stock Unit Agreement (eligible for dividend equivalents) 
for Non-employee Directors pursuant to the 2000 Stock 
Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10(v) to the Registrant's 2013 Form
10-K

10(j)(1)*

Form of Share Unit Agreement (eligible for dividend equivalents) 
for Employees pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan

Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Form 10-Q, 
filed December 9, 2013

10(j)(2)*

Form of Share Unit Agreement (eligible for dividend equivalents) 
for Employees pursuant to the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan - 2017

10(k)*

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and 
the Named Executive Officers and Certain Other Executive 
Officers

Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Form 8-K, filed 
on March 8, 2007

10(l)(1)*

Form of Change-in-Control Agreement (Tier 2) between the 
Registrant and Named Executive Officers (other than the CEO) 
and Certain Other Executive Officers 

Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

10(l)(2)*

Form of Change-in-Control Agreement (Tier 2) between the 
Registrant and Named Executive Officers (other than the CEO) 
and Certain Other Executive Officers (California Employees)

Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

10(l)(3)*

10(l)(4)*

Form of Change-in-Control Agreement (Tier 2) between the 
Registrant and Named Executive Officers (other than the CEO) 
and Certain Other Executive Officers (Divisional/Subsidiary 
Presidents)

Form of Change-in-Control Agreement (Tier 2) between the 
Registrant and Named Executive Officers (other than the CEO) 
and Certain Other Executive Officers (California Divisional/
Subsidiary Presidents)

Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

79

Exhibit
Number
10(l)(5)*

10(m)*

Description of Exhibit
Form of Change-in-Control Agreement (Tier 3) between the 
Registrant and Certain Non-Executive Officers

Incorporated By
Reference to Exhibit
Exhibit 10.6 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed June 7, 2017

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 22, 2015, 
among Comtech Telecommunications Corp., Typhoon 
Acquisition Corp. and TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.

Exhibit 2.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K,
filed November 23, 2015

10(n)(1)*

Credit Agreement, dated as of February 23, 2016, among 
Comtech Telecommunications Corp., the lenders party thereto 
and Citibank N.A., as administrative agent and issuing bank

Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, 
filed February 29, 2016

10(n)(2)*

First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of June 6, 2017, 
among Comtech Telecommunications Corp., the lenders party 
thereto and Citibank N.A., as administrative agent and issuing 
bank

Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K,
filed June 7, 2017

10(o)(1)*

Transition Agreement, dated September 28, 2016, between the 
Registrant and Stanton D. Sloane

Exhibit 10(ac) to the Registrant’s 2016
Form 10-K

21

Subsidiaries of the Registrant

23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

31.1

31.2

32.1

32.2

Certification of President, CEO and Chairman pursuant to 
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification of President, CEO and Chairman pursuant to 
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document

101.PRE

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

101.DEF

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

80

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused 
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURES

September 27, 2017
(Date)

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.

By:  /s/Fred Kornberg
Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board
Chief Executive Officer and President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons 
on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Fred Kornberg
Fred Kornberg

Chairman of the Board
Chief Executive Officer and President
(Principal Executive Officer)

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Michael D. Porcelain
Michael D. Porcelain

Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Edwin Kantor
Edwin Kantor

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Ira S. Kaplan
Ira S. Kaplan

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Robert G. Paul
Robert G. Paul

Director

Director

Director

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Dr. Yacov A. Shamash
Dr. Yacov A. Shamash

Director

September 27, 2017
(Date)

/s/Lawrence J. Waldman
Lawrence J. Waldman

Director

81

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedule

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms

Consolidated Financial Statements:

Balance Sheets as of July 31, 2017 and 2016

Statements of Operations for each of the years in the three-year period ended July 31, 
2017

Statements of Stockholders' Equity for each of the years in the three-year period ended 
July 31, 2017

Statements of Cash Flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended July 31, 
2017

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Additional Financial Information Pursuant to the Requirements of Form 10-K:

Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts and Reserves

Schedules not listed above have been omitted because they are either not applicable or the required
information has been provided elsewhere in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

Page
F- 2

F- 4

F- 5

F- 6

F- 7

F- 9

S- 1

F- 1

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of 
Comtech Telecommunications Corp.
Melville, New York

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  balance  sheets  of  Comtech  Telecommunications  Corp.  and  subsidiaries  (the 
"Company") as of July 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows 
for each of the three years in the period ended July 31, 2017. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the 
Index at Item 15. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. 
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits. 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements 
are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in 
the  financial  statements.  An  audit  also  includes  assessing  the  accounting  principles  used  and  significant  estimates  made  by 
management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis 
for our opinion.

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company 
as of July 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended 
July 31, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, 
such financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, present 
fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the 
Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of July 31, 2017, based on the criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated 
Framework  (2013)  issued  by  the  Committee  of  Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the  Treadway  Commission  and  our  report  dated 
September 27, 2017 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Jericho, New York
September 27, 2017 

F- 2

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Comtech Telecommunications Corp.
Melville, New York

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and subsidiaries (the "Company") 
as of July 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of 
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal 
control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in 
the accompanying Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion 
on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those 
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over 
financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over 
financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness 
of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. 
We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company's principal 
executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company's board of directors, 
management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation 
of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal 
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable 
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance 
that  transactions  are  recorded  as  necessary  to  permit  preparation  of  financial  statements  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted 
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of 
management  and  directors  of  the  company;  and  (3)  provide  reasonable  assurance  regarding  prevention  or  timely  detection  of 
unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper 
management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. 
Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject 
to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the 
policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of July 31, 
2017, based on the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring 
Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the 
consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule as of and for the year ended July 31, 2017 of the Company and 
our report dated September 27, 2017 expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements and financial 
statement schedule.

Jericho, New York
September 27, 2017 

F- 3

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Balance Sheets
As of July 31, 2017 and 2016

Assets

2017

2016

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, net
Inventories, net
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Total current assets

Property, plant and equipment, net
Goodwill
Intangibles with finite lives, net
Deferred financing costs, net
Other assets, net

Total assets

Current liabilities:

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

Accounts payable
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
Dividends payable
Customer advances and deposits
Current portion of long-term debt
Current portion of capital lease obligations
Interest payable

Total current liabilities

Non-current portion of long-term debt, net
Non-current portion of capital lease obligations
Income taxes payable
Deferred tax liability, net
Customer advances and deposits, non-current
Other liabilities

Total liabilities
Commitments and contingencies (See Note 14)
Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock, par value $.10 per share; shares authorized and unissued 2,000,000
Common  stock,  par  value  $.10  per  share;  authorized  100,000,000  shares;  issued 
38,619,467 shares and 38,367,997 shares at July 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively

Additional paid-in capital
Retained earnings

Less:

Treasury stock, at cost (15,033,317 shares at July 31, 2017 and 2016)

Total stockholders’ equity
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

41,844,000
124,962,000
60,603,000
13,635,000
241,044,000

32,847,000
290,633,000
261,871,000
3,065,000
2,603,000
$ 832,063,000

$

29,402,000
68,610,000
2,343,000
25,771,000
15,494,000
2,309,000
282,000
144,211,000

176,228,000
1,771,000
2,515,000
17,306,000
7,227,000
2,655,000
351,913,000

66,805,000
150,967,000
71,354,000
14,513,000
303,639,000

38,667,000
287,618,000
284,694,000
3,309,000
3,269,000
921,196,000

33,462,000
98,034,000
7,005,000
29,665,000
11,067,000
3,592,000
1,321,000
184,146,000

239,969,000
4,021,000
2,992,000
9,798,000
5,764,000
4,105,000
450,795,000

—

—

3,862,000
533,001,000
385,136,000
921,999,000

3,837,000
524,797,000
383,616,000
912,250,000

(441,849,000)
480,150,000
$ 832,063,000

(441,849,000)
470,401,000
921,196,000

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

F- 4

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Fiscal Years Ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 

Net sales

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Expenses:

Selling, general and administrative

Research and development

Amortization of intangibles

Settlement of intellectual property litigation

Acquisition plan expenses

2017

2016

2015

$ 550,368,000

411,004,000

307,289,000

332,183,000

239,767,000

168,405,000

218,185,000

171,237,000

138,884,000

116,080,000

54,260,000

22,823,000
(12,020,000)
—

94,932,000

42,190,000

13,415,000

—

21,276,000

62,680,000

35,916,000

6,211,000

—

—

181,143,000

171,813,000

104,807,000

Operating income (loss)

37,042,000

(576,000)

34,077,000

Other expenses (income):

Interest expense and other

Interest income and other

11,629,000
(68,000)

7,750,000
(134,000)

479,000
(405,000)

Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

25,481,000

9,654,000

(8,192,000)
(454,000)

34,003,000

10,758,000

Net income (loss)

Net income (loss) per share:

Basic

Diluted

$

$

$

15,827,000

(7,738,000)

23,245,000

0.68

0.67

(0.46)
(0.46)

1.43

1.42

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic

23,433,000

16,972,000

16,203,000

Weighted average number of common and common equivalent

shares outstanding – diluted

23,489,000

16,972,000

16,418,000

Dividends declared per issued and outstanding common share as

of the applicable dividend record date

$

0.60

1.20

1.20

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

F- 5

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COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Fiscal Years Ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income (loss)

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating 

activities:

Depreciation and amortization of property, plant and equipment

Amortization of intangible assets with finite lives

Amortization of stock-based compensation

Amortization of deferred financing costs

Settlement of intellectual property litigation

Change in fair value of contingent liability

(Gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

Provision for allowance for doubtful accounts

Provision for excess and obsolete inventory

2017

2016

2015

$

15,827,000

(7,738,000)

23,245,000

14,354,000

22,823,000

8,506,000

1,977,000

(12,020,000)

—

(126,000)

497,000

9,830,000

13,415,000

4,117,000

795,000

—

(359,000)

(21,000)

907,000

6,525,000

6,211,000

4,363,000

65,000

—

—

3,000

764,000

2,900,000

2,780,000

2,813,000

Excess income tax benefit from stock-based award exercises

(82,000)

(28,000)

(148,000)

Deferred income tax expense (benefit)

9,056,000

(3,241,000)

(2,365,000)

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of business acquisition:

Accounts receivable

Inventories

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

Other assets

Accounts payable

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

Customer advances and deposits

Other liabilities, non-current

Interest payable

Income taxes payable

Net cash provided by operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Payments for business acquisition, net of cash acquired

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities:

Repayment of long-term debt under Term Loan Facility

Net (payments) borrowings under Revolving Loan Facility

Cash dividends paid

Repayment of principal amounts under capital lease obligations

Payment of deferred financing costs

Payment of issuance costs related to equity offering

Proceeds from issuance of employee stock purchase plan shares

Excess income tax benefit from stock-based award exercises

Borrowings of long-term debt under Term Loan Facility

Proceeds received from equity offering

Required payments for debt assumed for business acquisition

Proceeds from exercises of stock options

Repurchases of common stock

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

F- 7

25,508,000

7,812,000

(956,000)

666,000

5,806,000

8,280,000

2,112,000

(86,000)

(15,132,000)

(3,446,000)

543,000

(39,000)

(4,472,000)

(1,255,000)

(3,194,000)

(22,058,000)

(13,465,000)

(815,000)

(2,431,000)

(1,442,000)

(1,039,000)

1,355,000

66,655,000

(6,397,000)

1,631,000

(882,000)

1,292,000

(931,000)

(29,000)

(892,000)

1,662,000

14,970,000

21,726,000

(8,150,000)

(5,667,000)

(3,362,000)

—

(280,535,000)

—

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(286,202,000)

(3,362,000)

(33,567,000)

(77,353,000)

(26,500,000)

83,904,000

—

—

(18,872,000)

(19,406,000)

(19,426,000)

(3,592,000)

(1,085,000)

(626,000)

694,000

82,000

—

—

—

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(9,464,000)

(476,000)

676,000

28,000

250,000,000

95,029,000

(134,101,000)

—

—

—

917,000

148,000

—

—

—

—

1,439,000

—
(83,466,000)

—
187,084,000

(4,989,000)
(21,911,000)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (continued)
Fiscal Years Ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

$

(24,961,000)

(84,148,000)

(3,547,000)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

66,805,000

150,953,000

154,500,000

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

$

41,844,000

66,805,000

150,953,000

2017

2016

2015

(Continued)

Supplemental cash flow disclosure

Cash paid (received) during the year for:

Interest

Income taxes, net

Non-cash investing and financing activities:

Capital lease obligations incurred (excluding the effect of business
acquisition)

Accrued fixed asset additions

Cash dividends declared but unpaid (including accrual of dividend
equivalents)

Issuance of restricted stock

Accrued issuance costs related to equity offering

Accrued deferred financing costs

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

10,424,000

(758,000)

5,307,000

3,678,000

117,000

11,441,000

68,000

373,000

1,221,000

346,000

—

—

2,616,000

7,462,000

5,164,000

14,000

—

—

—

636,000

155,000

—

—

—

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

F- 8

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(1) Summary of Significant Accounting and Reporting Policies

(a)  Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and 
its subsidiaries ("Comtech," "we," "us," or "our"), all of which are wholly-owned. All significant intercompany balances 
and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

(b)  Nature of Business

We  design,  develop,  produce  and  market  innovative  products,  systems  and  services  for  advanced  communications 
solutions.  We conduct our business through two reportable operating segments: Commercial Solutions and Government 
Solutions.

Our business is highly competitive and characterized by rapid technological change. Our growth and financial position 
depends on our ability to keep pace with such changes and developments and to respond to the sophisticated requirements 
of an increasing variety of electronic equipment users, among other things. Many of our competitors are substantially 
larger, and have significantly greater financial, marketing and operating resources and broader product lines than us. A 
significant technological or sales breakthrough by others, including smaller competitors or new companies, could have 
a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, certain of our customers have technological capabilities in our 
product areas and could choose to replace our products with their own.

International sales expose us to certain risks, including barriers to trade, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates 
(which may make our products less price competitive), political and economic instability, availability of suitable export 
financing, export license requirements, tariff regulations, and other United States ("U.S.") and foreign regulations that 
may apply to the export of our products, as well as the generally greater difficulties of doing business abroad. We attempt 
to reduce the risk of doing business in foreign countries by seeking contracts denominated in U.S. dollars, advance or 
milestone payments, credit insurance and irrevocable letters of credit in our favor.

(c)  Revenue Recognition

Revenue is generally recognized when the earnings process is complete, upon shipment or customer acceptance. Revenue 
from  contracts  relating  to  the  design,  development  or  manufacture  of  complex  electronic  equipment  to  a  buyer’s 
specification or to provide services relating to the performance of such contracts is generally recognized in accordance 
with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 605-35 "Revenue 
Recognition  -  Construction-Type  and  Production-Type  Contracts"  ("FASB ASC  605-35").  We  primarily  apply  the 
percentage-of-completion method and generally recognize revenue based on the relationship of total costs incurred to 
total projected costs, or, alternatively, based on output measures, such as units delivered or produced. Profits expected to 
be realized on such contracts are based on total estimated sales for the contract compared to total estimated costs, including 
warranty costs, at completion of the contract. These estimates are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the lives 
of the contracts, and adjustments to profits resulting from such revisions are made cumulative to the date of the change. 
Provision for anticipated losses on uncompleted contracts is made in the period in which such losses become evident. 
Long-term, U.S. government, cost-reimbursable type contracts are also specifically covered by FASB ASC 605-35.

We have historically demonstrated an ability to estimate contract revenues and expenses in applying the percentage-of-
completion method of accounting. However, there exist inherent risks and uncertainties in estimating future revenues and 
expenses, particularly on larger or longer-term contracts. Changes to such estimates could have a material effect on our 
consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Revenues recognized in excess of amounts billable under long-term contracts accounted for under the percentage-of-
completion  method  are  recorded  as  unbilled  receivables  in  the  accompanying  consolidated  balance  sheets.  Unbilled 
receivables are billable upon various events, including the attainment of performance milestones, delivery of hardware, 
submission of progress bills based on time and materials, finalization of indirect rates or completion of the contract. We 
do not recognize revenue, or record unbilled receivables, until we receive fully funded orders.

F- 9

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

In fiscal 2017, 75.2% and 24.8% of our consolidated U.S. government net sales were derived from firm fixed-price and 
cost-reimbursable type contracts, respectively. Under firm fixed-price contracts, we perform for an agreed-upon price 
and we can derive benefits from cost savings, but bear the risk of cost overruns. Our cost-reimbursable type contracts 
typically provide for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred plus a negotiated fee. Cost-plus-incentive-fee orders 
typically provide for sharing with the U.S. government savings accrued from orders performed for less than the target 
costs and costs incurred in excess of targets up to a negotiated ceiling price (which is higher than the target cost), and for 
the supplier to carry the entire burden of costs exceeding the negotiated ceiling price.

Most government contracts have termination for convenience clauses that provide the customer with the right to terminate 
the contract at any time. Historically, we have not experienced material contract terminations or write-offs of unbilled 
receivables. We address customer acceptance provisions in assessing our ability to perform our contractual obligations 
under long-term contracts. Historically, we have been able to perform on our long-term contracts. 

Revenues from contracts that contain multiple elements that are not accounted for under the percentage-of-completion 
method  are  accounted  for  in  accordance  with  FASB  ASC  605-25  "Revenue  Recognition  —  Multiple  Element 
Arrangements" as amended by FASB Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2009-13 "Revenue Recognition (Topic 
605): Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements - a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force," which, 
among other things, requires revenue to be allocated to each element based on the relative selling price method.

Adoption of New Revenue Standard

On August 1, 2018 (our first quarter of fiscal 2019), we are required to adopt FASB ASU No. 2014-09 "Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)," which replaces numerous requirements in U.S. GAAP, including industry specific 
requirements, and provides a single revenue recognition model for contracts with customers. The core principle of the 
new standard is that a company should record revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers 
in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or 
services. In March 2016, April 2016, May 2016 and February 2017, FASB ASU Nos. 2016-08 "Revenue from Contracts 
with Customers (Topic 606): Principal Versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross Versus Net)," 2016-10 
"Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing," 2016-12 
"Revenue  from  Contracts  with  Customers  (Topic  606):  Narrow-Scope  Improvements  and  Practical  Expedients"  and 
2017-05 "Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying 
the  Scope  of Asset  Derecognition  Guidance  and Accounting  for  Partial  Sales  of  Nonfinancial Assets"  were  issued, 
respectively, to clarify certain implementation matters related to the new revenue standard. The effective dates for these 
ASUs  coincide  with  the  effective  date  of  FASB  ASU  2014-09.  FASB  ASU  No.  2014-09  can  be  adopted  either 
retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented, or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption.

Because of the broad scope of this new standard, it could impact our net sales and operating income across our two 
operating segments as well as related business processes and IT systems.  We have formed a project team to perform a 
detailed evaluation of the operational impact of this new ASU, which transition approach to use and the overall impact 
of these ASUs on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures. This evaluation is ongoing and is expected to be 
completed shortly before our first quarter of fiscal 2019.

(d)  Cash and Cash Equivalents

Our cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash 
and have insignificant risk of change in value as a result of changes in interest rates. Our cash and cash equivalents, as 
of July 31, 2017 and 2016, amounted to $41,844,000 and $66,805,000, respectively, and primarily consist of bank deposits 
and money market deposit accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Cash equivalents are carried 
at cost, which approximates fair value.

(e)  Inventories

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value, the latter of which is defined as the estimated 
selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. 
Our inventories are reduced to their estimated net realizable value by a charge to cost of sales in the period such excess 
costs are determined. Our inventories are principally recorded using either average or standard costing methods. 

F- 10

 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Work-in-process (including our contracts-in-progress) and finished goods inventory reflect all accumulated production 
costs, which are comprised of direct production costs and overhead, and is reduced by amounts recorded in cost of sales 
as the related revenue is recognized. Indirect costs relating to long-term contracts, which include expenses such as general 
and  administrative,  are  charged  to  expense  as  incurred  and  are  not  included  in  our  cost  of  sales  or  work-in-process 
(including our contracts-in-progress) and finished goods inventory.

(f)  Long-Lived Assets

Our machinery and equipment, which are recorded at cost, are depreciated or amortized over their estimated useful lives 
(three to eight years) under the straight-line method. Capitalized values of properties and leasehold improvements under 
leases are amortized over the life of the lease or the estimated life of the asset, whichever is less.

Goodwill represents the excess cost of a business acquisition over the fair value of the net assets acquired. In accordance 
with FASB ASC 350 "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other" goodwill is not amortized. We periodically, at least on an annual 
basis in the first quarter of each fiscal year, review goodwill, considering factors such as projected cash flows and revenue 
and earnings multiples, to determine whether the carrying value of the goodwill is impaired. If the goodwill is deemed 
to be impaired, the difference between the carrying amount reflected in the consolidated financial statements and the 
estimated fair value is recognized as an expense in the period in which the impairment occurs. We define our reporting 
units to be the same as our operating segments.

We performed our annual goodwill impairment assessment for fiscal 2018 on August 1, 2017 (the start of our first quarter 
of fiscal 2018).  See Note (15) "Goodwill" for more information. Unless there are future indicators that the fair value of 
a reporting unit is more likely than not less than its carrying value, such as a significant adverse change in our future 
financial performance, our next impairment assessment for goodwill will be performed and completed in the first quarter 
of fiscal 2019. Any impairment charges that we may record in the future could be material to our results of operations 
and financial condition.

We assess the recoverability of the carrying value of our other long-lived assets, including identifiable intangible assets 
with finite useful lives, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may 
not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of such assets based upon the expectations of undiscounted cash flows 
from such assets. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows were less than the carrying amount of the 
asset, a loss would be recognized for the difference between the fair value and the carrying amount.

(g)  Research and Development Costs

We  charge  research  and  development  costs  to  operations  as  incurred,  except  in  those  cases  in  which  such  costs  are 
reimbursable under customer funded contracts. In fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, we were reimbursed by customers for such 
activities in the amount of $27,050,000, $17,432,000 and $9,229,000, respectively. These amounts are not reflected in 
the reported research and development expenses in each of the respective periods, but are included in net sales with the 
related costs included in cost of sales in each of the respective periods. 

(h)  Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for 
the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets 
and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and 
liabilities are  measured  using  the  enacted tax  rates  expected to  apply  to  taxable  income in  the  years  in  which  those 
temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change 
in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

F- 11

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

We determine the uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns in accordance with the 
provisions of FASB ASC 740-10-25 "Income Taxes" which prescribes a two-step evaluation process for tax positions. 
The first step is recognition based on a determination of whether it is more-likely-than-not that a tax position will be 
sustained upon examination, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical 
merits of the position. The second step is to measure a tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold. The 
tax position is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate 
settlement. If a tax position does not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the benefit of that position is 
not recognized in the financial statements. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions 
in income tax expense.

(i)  Earnings Per Share

Our basic earnings per share ("EPS") is computed based on the weighted average number of common shares (including 
vested but unissued stock units, share units, performance shares and restricted stock units ("RSUs")), outstanding during 
each respective period. Our diluted EPS reflects the dilution from potential common stock issuable pursuant to the exercise 
of equity-classified stock-based awards, if dilutive, outstanding during each respective period. Pursuant to FASB ASC 
260  "Earnings  Per  Share,"  equity-classified  stock-based  awards  that  are  subject  to  performance  conditions  are  not 
considered  in  our  diluted  EPS  calculations  until  the  respective  performance  conditions  have  been  satisfied.    When 
calculating our diluted earnings per share, we consider (i) the amount an employee must pay upon assumed exercise of 
stock-based awards; (ii) the amount of stock-based compensation cost attributed to future services and not yet recognized; 
and (iii) the amount of excess tax benefits, if any, that would be credited to additional paid-in capital assuming exercise 
of in-the-money stock-based awards. This excess tax benefit is the amount resulting from a tax deduction for compensation 
in excess of compensation expense recognized for financial reporting purposes.

Our basic and diluted EPS calculations for fiscal 2017 and 2016 include the impact of common shares issued from a 
public offering in June 2016.  There were no purchases of our common stock during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017
and 2016. Weighted-average basic and diluted shares outstanding for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2015 reflect a reduction 
of 64,000 shares as a result of the repurchase of our common shares during the period. See Note (17) "Stockholders’ 
Equity" for more information.

Weighted average stock options, RSUs and restricted stock outstanding of 1,986,000, 2,350,000 and 570,000 shares for 
fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, were not included in our diluted EPS calculation because their effect would 
have been anti-dilutive.

Our EPS calculations exclude 228,000, 147,000 and 119,000 weighted average performance shares outstanding for fiscal 
2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, as the performance conditions have not yet been satisfied. However, the compensation 
expense related to these awards is included in net income (loss) (the numerator) for EPS calculations for each respective 
period.

The following table reconciles the numerators and denominators used in the basic and diluted EPS calculations:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

Numerator:

Net income (loss) for basic calculation

Numerator for diluted calculation

$ 15,827,000

$ 15,827,000

(7,738,000)
(7,738,000)

23,245,000

23,245,000

Denominator:

Denominator for basic calculation

23,433,000

16,972,000

16,203,000

Effect of dilutive securities:

Stock-based awards

56,000

—

215,000

Denominator for diluted calculation

23,489,000

16,972,000

16,418,000

F- 12

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(j)  Fair Value Measurements and Financial Instruments

Using the fair value hierarchy described in FASB ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” we valued our 
cash and cash equivalents using Level 1 inputs that were based on quoted market prices.

We believe that the carrying amounts of our other current financial assets (such as accounts receivable) and other current 
liabilities  (including  accounts  payable,  accrued  expenses  and  the  current  portion  of  our  Secured  Credit  Facility) 
approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities.

The fair value of the non-current portion of our Secured Credit Facility as of July 31, 2017 approximates its carrying 
amount due to its variable interest rate and pricing grid that is dependent upon our leverage ratio as of the end of each 
fiscal quarter. We believe the fair value of our non-current portion of capital lease obligations, which currently has a 
blended interest rate of 5.60%, would not be materially different than its carrying value as of July 31, 2017.

As of July 31, 2017 and 2016, other than the financial instruments discussed above, we had no other significant assets 
or liabilities included in our Consolidated Balance Sheets recorded at fair value, as such term is defined by FASB ASC 
820.

(k)  Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the 
United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of 
assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the consolidated financial statements 
and the reported amounts of net sales and expenses during the reported period. We make significant estimates in many 
areas  of  our  accounting,  including  but  not  limited  to  the  following:  long-term  contracts,  stock-based  compensation,
intangible  assets  including  goodwill,  provision  for  excess  and  obsolete  inventory,  allowance  for  doubtful  accounts, 
warranty obligations and income taxes. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

(l)  Comprehensive Income

In accordance with FASB ASC 220 "Comprehensive Income" we report all changes in equity during a period, except 
those  resulting  from  investment  by  owners  and  distribution  to  owners,  for  the  period  in  which  they  are  recognized. 
Comprehensive income is the total of net income and all other non-owner changes in equity (or other comprehensive 
income)  such  as  unrealized  gains/losses  on  securities  classified  as  available-for-sale,  foreign  currency  translation 
adjustments and minimum pension liability adjustments. Comprehensive income (loss) was the same as our net income 
(loss) in fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015.

(m)  Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to previously reported consolidated financial statements to conform to the fiscal 
2017 presentation. 

(n)   Adoption of Accounting Standards and Updates

We are required to prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with the FASB ASC which is the source 
for all authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which are commonly referred to as "GAAP." The 
FASB ASC is subject to updates by the FASB, which are known as Accounting Standard Updates ("ASUs").  During 
fiscal 2017, we adopted:

•  FASB ASU No. 2014-12, which requires that a performance target which affects vesting and that could be achieved 
after the requisite service period be treated as a performance condition. Our adoption of this FASB ASU did not impact 
our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2014-15, which provides guidance about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is a 
substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. 
Our adoption of this ASU did not impact our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

F- 13

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

•  FASB ASU  No.  2015-11,  which  simplifies  the  guidance  on  the  subsequent  measurement  of  inventory  other  than 
inventory measured using the last-in, first out or the retail inventory method. This ASU requires in-scope inventory to 
be subsequently measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value, the latter of which is defined as the estimated 
selling  price  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  less  reasonably  predictable  costs  of  completion,  disposal  and 
transportation. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or 
disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2016-06, which clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call (put) options, that can 
accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments, are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. An entity 
performing the assessment under the amendments in this ASU is required to assess the embedded call (put) options 
solely in accordance with the Derivatives Implementation Group’s four-step decision sequence. Our early adoption of 
this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2016-07, which eliminates the requirement to retroactively adopt the equity method of accounting for 
an investment as a result of an increase in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence. Our early adoption of 
this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2016-17, which amends the consolidation guidance on how a reporting entity (that is the single decision 
maker of a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”)) should treat indirect interests in the entity held through related parties that 
are under common control with the reporting entity when determining whether it is the primary beneficiary of that 
VIE. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

•  FASB ASU  No.  2016-18,  which  requires  that  amounts  generally  described  as  restricted  cash  and  restricted  cash 
equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period 
total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our 
consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2017-01, which clarifies the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist 
entities  with  evaluating  whether  transactions  should  be  accounted  for  as  acquisitions  (or  disposals)  of  assets  or 
businesses.  Our  early  adoption  of  this ASU  did  not  have  any  impact  on  our  consolidated  financial  statements  or 
disclosures.

•  FASB ASU No. 2017-04, which simplifies the measurement of goodwill impairment by eliminating Step Two from 
the goodwill impairment test. Instead, impairment will be measured using the excess amount that a reporting unit's 
carrying value exceeds its fair value; however, any loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill 
allocated to that reporting unit. Our early adoption of this ASU did not have any impact on our consolidated financial 
statements or disclosures.

F- 14

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(2) Acquisition

On  February 23,  2016,  we  completed  the  acquisition  of TeleCommunication  Systems,  Inc.  ("TCS"),  pursuant  to  the 
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 22, 2015 (the “Merger Agreement”), among Comtech, TCS and 
Typhoon Acquisition Corp., a Maryland corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Comtech (“Merger Sub”).    

TCS is a leading provider of commercial solutions such as public safety systems and enterprise application technologies 
and government solutions such as command and control (also known as Command, Control, Communications, Computers, 
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (“C4ISR”) applications). The TCS acquisition resulted in Comtech entering 
complementary markets and expanding our domestic and international commercial offerings. TCS is now a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Comtech.

The acquisition has an aggregate purchase price for accounting purposes of $340,432,000 (also referred to as the transaction 
equity value) and an enterprise value of $423,629,000. The fair value of consideration transferred in connection with the 
TCS acquisition was $280,535,000 in cash, which is net of $59,897,000 of cash acquired. We funded the acquisition 
(including transaction and merger related expenditures) and repaid $134,101,000 of debt assumed in connection with the 
acquisition by redeploying a significant amount of our combined cash and cash equivalents, with the remaining funds 
coming from a $400,000,000 Secured Credit Facility (the "Secured Credit Facility"), which is discussed further in Note 
(8) "Secured Credit Facility."

We have incurred transaction and merger related expenditures which include significant amounts primarily for: (i) change-
in-control payments, (ii) severance, (iii) costs associated with establishing our Secured Credit Facility, and (iv) professional 
fees for financial and legal advisors for both Comtech and TCS. There were no such transaction and merger related 
expenses during fiscal 2017. For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, acquisition plan expenses were $21,276,000 and 
primarily related to the TCS acquisition. Additional transaction and merger related expenditures were either accounted 
for by TCS prior to being acquired by Comtech or  were capitalized  by us (such as deferred financing costs) or recorded 
as  a  reduction  to  additional  paid-in  capital  (such  as  issuance  costs  related  to  our  June  2016  equity  offering)  on  our 
Consolidated Balance Sheet. 

Our consolidated financial results include net sales from TCS operations of $298,476,000 and $151,365,000, respectively, 
for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017 and 2016.

We have accounted for the TCS acquisition under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with FASB ASC 
805 "Business Combinations." The purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, based on 
their  fair  value  at  February 23,  2016,  pursuant  to  the  business  combination  accounting  rules.  Acquisition-related 
transaction costs are not included as components of consideration transferred but are expensed in the period incurred.  

F- 15

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The following table summarizes the final estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in connection 
with the TCS acquisition:

      Shares of TCS common stock purchased

      Stock-based awards settled

Aggregate purchase price at fair value

Allocation of aggregate purchase price:

      Cash and cash equivalents

      Current assets

      Deferred tax assets, net, non-current

      Property, plant and equipment

      Other assets, non-current

      Current liabilities (excluding interest accrued on debt)

      Debt (including interest accrued)

      Capital lease obligations

      Other liabilities

Net tangible assets at fair value

Purchase Price
Allocation

$ 318,605,000

21,827,000

$ 340,432,000

$

59,897,000

115,913,000

85,490,000

25,689,000

2,641,000
(123,956,000)
(134,101,000)
(8,993,000)
(9,156,000)
13,424,000

$

Identifiable intangible assets, deferred taxes and goodwill:

Estimated Useful Lives

      Customer relationships and backlog

$ 223,100,000 21 years

      Trade names

      Technology

      Deferred tax liabilities

      Goodwill

20,000,000 10 to 20 years

35,000,000 5 to 15 years

(104,371,000)
153,279,000 Indefinite

Allocation of aggregate purchase price

$ 340,432,000

The purchase price allocation shown in the above table includes the final estimated fair value of contingent liabilities 
associated with TCS's intellectual property matters and the warranty obligations for TCS's 911 call handling software, 
which are discussed in more detail in Note (14)(b) "Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings, Other Matters 
and Final Settlements" and Note (6) "Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities," respectively. These estimated 
fair values reflect market participant assumptions, as required by FASB ASC 805 "Business Combinations" and do not 
reflect our settlement position or amounts we actually have paid or may pay in the future.

The acquired identifiable intangible assets are being amortized on a straight-line basis, which we believe approximates 
the pattern in which the assets are utilized, over their estimated useful lives. The fair value of technologies and trade 
names was based on the discounted capitalization of royalty expense saved because we now own the assets. The estimated 
fair value of customer relationships and backlog was primarily based on the value of the discounted cash flows that the 
related intangible asset could be expected to generate in the future. Among the factors contributing to the recognition of 
goodwill, as a component of the purchase price allocation, were synergies in products and technologies and the addition 
of  a  skilled,  assembled  workforce.  This  goodwill  has  been  assigned  to  our  Government  Solutions  and  Commercial 
Solutions segments based on specific identification and, while generally not deductible for income tax purposes, certain 
goodwill related to previous business combinations by TCS will be deductible for income tax purposes.

F- 16

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The unaudited pro forma financial information in the table below for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 is presented as 
if  Comtech's  acquisition  of  TCS  had  occurred  on August  1,  2014,  and  combines  Comtech’s  historical  statement  of 
operations for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 (which includes TCS's results of operations since the acquisition date 
of February 23, 2016) with TCS's historical statement of operations for the trailing five months ended December 31, 2015 
and TCS's historical statement of operations for the stub period beginning January 1, 2016 and ended February 23, 2016. 
TCS's historical statement of operations for the trailing five months ended December 31, 2015 was derived by taking 
TCS's historical results of operations for the calendar year ended December 31, 2015 and deducting TCS's historical 
results of operations for the seven months ended July 31, 2015.

The unaudited pro forma financial information in the table below for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2015 is presented as 
if  Comtech's  acquisition  of  TCS  had  occurred  on August  1,  2014,  and  combines  Comtech's  historical  statement  of 
operations for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2015 with TCS's historical statement of operations for the trailing twelve 
months ended July 31, 2015. TCS's historical statement of operations for the trailing twelve months ended July 31, 2015 
was derived by taking TCS's historical results of operations for the calendar year ended December 31, 2014, deducting 
TCS's historical results of operations for the seven months ended July 31, 2014 and adding TCS's historical results of 
operations for the seven months ended July 31, 2015.

Net sales

Net loss

Basic net loss per share

Diluted net loss per share

(Unaudited)

For the Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2016

2015

$ 611,241,000
(30,750,000)
(1.81)
(1.81)

$ 664,315,000
(13,299,000)
(0.82)
(0.82)

The pro forma financial information is not indicative of the results of operations that would have been achieved if the 
acquisition and cash paid had taken place as of August 1, 2014. The pro forma financial information includes adjustments 
for:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The elimination of historical sales between Comtech and TCS of $8,601,000 and $293,000 for the fiscal years ended 
July 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The reduction to capitalized software amortization of $2,566,000 and $3,529,000 for the fiscal years ended July 31, 
2016 and 2015, respectively, related to the difference between the historical value and the estimated fair value of 
TCS's capitalized software.

The elimination of acquisition plan expenses of $36,212,000 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016 and additions 
of $35,890,000 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2015, due to the assumption that all of the acquisition plan expenses 
were incurred on August 1, 2014. 

The incremental amortization expense of $7,113,000 and $15,662,000 for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 
2015, respectively, associated with the increase in acquired other intangible assets.

The increase in interest expense of $2,339,000 and $7,915,000 for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and July 31, 
2015, respectively, due to the assumed August 1, 2014 repayment of TCS's legacy debt and related new borrowings 
under our Secured Credit Facility which was utilized to partially fund the TCS acquisition.

The reduction to interest income of $577,000 and $705,000 for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015, 
respectively, due to the assumed cash payments relating to the TCS acquisition.

The related increase or decrease to the provision for income taxes, based on Comtech’s effective tax rate for the 
respective periods.

F- 17

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(3) Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consist of the following at July 31, 2017 and 2016:

Billed receivables from commercial and international customers

$

71,404,000

Unbilled receivables from commercial and international customers

Billed receivables from the U.S. government and its agencies

Unbilled receivables on U.S government and its agencies

24,668,000

18,497,000

11,693,000

2017

2016

90,185,000

19,333,000

21,465,000

21,013,000

Total accounts receivable

Less allowance for doubtful accounts

Accounts receivable, net

126,262,000

151,996,000

1,300,000

1,029,000

$ 124,962,000

150,967,000

Unbilled receivables relate to contracts-in-progress for which revenue has been recognized but we have not yet billed 
the customer for work performed.  We had $118,000 of retainage included in unbilled receivables at both July 31, 2017
and 2016, and management estimates that substantially all of the unbilled receivables at July 31, 2017 will be billed and 
collected within one year. Of the unbilled receivables from commercial and international customers at July 31, 2017 and 
2016, approximately $2,995,000 and $6,070,000, respectively, relates to a large over-the-horizon microwave system 
contract with our large U.S. prime contractor customer (all of which related to our North African country end-customer). 

As of July 31, 2017 and 2016, the U.S. government (and its agencies) represented 23.9% and 27.9%, respectively, of 
total  accounts  receivable. There  were  no  other  customers  which  accounted  for  greater  than  10.0%  of  total  accounts 
receivable at both July 31, 2017 or 2016. 

As of July 31, 2016, 10.5% of our total accounts receivable related to our North African country end customers. 

(4) Inventories

Inventories consist of the following at July 31, 2017 and 2016:

Raw materials and components

Work-in-process and finished goods

Total inventories

Less reserve for excess and obsolete inventories

Inventories, net

2017

$

50,569,000

26,053,000

76,622,000

16,019,000

$

60,603,000

2016

54,723,000

32,829,000

87,552,000

16,198,000

71,354,000

At  July 31,  2017  and  2016,  the  amount  of  inventory  directly  related  to  long-term  contracts  (including  contracts-in-
progress) was $2,148,000 and $2,896,000, respectively.

At July 31, 2017 and 2016, $1,718,000 and $1,428,000, respectively, of the inventory balance above related to contracts 
from third party commercial customers who outsource their manufacturing to us.

F- 18

 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(5) Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consist of the following at July 31, 2017 and 2016:

Machinery and equipment

Leasehold improvements

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

2017

2016

$ 146,459,000

137,595,000

13,624,000

13,784,000

160,083,000

151,379,000

127,236,000

112,712,000

Property, plant and equipment, net

$

32,847,000

38,667,000

Depreciation  and  amortization  expense  on  property,  plant  and  equipment  amounted  to  $14,354,000,  $9,830,000  and 
$6,525,000 for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

(6) Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following at July 31, 2017 and 2016:

Accrued wages and benefits

Accrued legal costs

Accrued warranty obligations

Accrued acquisition-related costs

Accrued contract costs

Accrued commissions and royalties

Other

2017

$

19,622,000

8,402,000

17,617,000

—

8,644,000

3,600,000

10,725,000

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

$

68,610,000

2016

23,394,000

32,469,000

15,362,000

2,119,000

8,348,000

3,473,000

12,869,000

98,034,000

Accrued legal costs as of July 31, 2017 and 2016 include $4,120,000 and $28,112,000, respectively, related to estimated 
costs associated with certain TCS intellectual property matters. Included in the accrued legal costs as of July 31, 2017
are amounts payable for one TCS intellectual property matter settlement that has been finalized and an estimate of legal 
expenses and potential settlement costs related to one unresolved matter. The accrued potential settlement costs do not 
reflect the final amounts we may actually pay. Ongoing legal costs associated with defending the remaining legacy TCS 
intellectual  property  matter  and  its  ultimate  resolution  could  vary  and  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  future 
consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows. TCS intellectual property matters are discussed in 
more detail in Note (14)(b) "Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and Final Settlements."

Accrued contract costs represent direct and indirect costs on contracts as well as estimates of amounts owed for invoices 
not yet received from vendors or reflected in accounts payable.

Accrued warranty obligations relate to estimated liabilities for warranty coverage that we provide to our customers. We 
generally provide warranty coverage for some of our products for a period of at least one year from the date of delivery. 
We record a liability for estimated warranty expense based on historical claims, product failure rates and other factors. 
Some of our product warranties are provided under long-term contracts, the costs of which are incorporated into our 
estimates of total contract costs. 

Accrued warranty obligations include $9,909,000 of warranty obligations for a TCS 911 call handling software solution 
that  was  licensed  to  customers  prior  to  our  acquisition  of TCS. This  amount  reflects  a  consideration  of  contractual 
obligations as well as an estimate of future costs to resolve software issues.

F- 19

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Changes in our product warranty liability during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:

Balance at beginning of year

Provision for warranty obligations

Adjustment to TCS pre-acquisition contingent liability

Charges incurred

Balance at end of year

2017

$

15,362,000

5,394,000

4,200,000
(7,339,000)
17,617,000

$

2016

8,638,000

4,264,000

7,419,000
(4,959,000)
15,362,000

(7) Radyne Acquisition-Related Restructuring Plan

In connection with our August 1, 2008 acquisition of Radyne, we adopted a restructuring plan for which we recorded 
$2,713,000 of estimated restructuring costs. Of this amount, $613,000 related to severance for Radyne employees which 
was paid in fiscal 2009. The remaining estimated amounts relate to facility exit costs and were determined as follows:

Total non-cancelable lease obligations
Less: Estimated sublease income
Total net estimated facility exit costs
Less: Interest expense to be accreted
Present value of estimated facility exit costs

At August 1, 2008
12,741,000
$
8,600,000
4,141,000
2,041,000
2,100,000

$

Our total non-cancelable lease obligations were based on the actual lease term which runs from November 1, 2008 through 
October 31, 2018. We estimated sublease income based on (i) the terms of a fully executed sublease agreement that expired 
on October 31, 2015, and (ii) our assessment of future uncertainties relating to the commercial real estate market. Based 
on our assessment of commercial real estate market conditions, we currently believe that it is not probable that we will 
be able to sublease the facility for the remaining lease term. As such, in accordance with grandfathered accounting standards 
that were not incorporated into the FASB's ASC, we recorded these costs, at fair value, as assumed liabilities as of August 1, 
2008, with a corresponding increase to goodwill.

As of July 31, 2017, the amount of the acquisition-related restructuring reserve is as follows:

Cumulative
Activity Through
July 31, 2017

Present value of estimated facility exit costs at August 1, 2008

$

Cash payments made

Cash payments received

Accreted interest recorded

Liability as of July 31, 2017

Amount recorded as accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the
Consolidated Balance Sheet

Amount recorded as other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet

$

2,100,000
(10,588,000)
8,600,000

1,829,000

1,941,000

1,535,000

406,000

As of July 31, 2016, the present value of the estimated facility exit costs was $3,327,000. During the fiscal year ended 
July 31, 2017, we made cash payments of $1,575,000. Interest accreted for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017, 2016
and 2015 was $189,000, $278,000 and $279,000, respectively, and is included in interest expense for each respective 
fiscal period.

F- 20

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Future cash payments associated with our restructuring plan are summarized below:

Future lease payments to be made
Interest expense to be accreted in future periods
Total remaining payments

As of

July 31, 2017

$

$

1,941,000
212,000
2,153,000

TCS 
In connection with our February 23, 2016 acquisition of TCS, we continue to implement a tactical shift in strategy in our 
Government Solutions segment and have initiated certain cost reduction actions. To date, we have incurred an immaterial 
amount of severance and retention costs related to our shift in strategy.

(8) Secured Credit Facility

On February 23, 2016, in connection with our acquisition of TCS, we entered into a $400,000,000 secured credit facility 
(the "Secured Credit Facility") with a syndicate of lenders. The Secured Credit Facility, as amended June 6, 2017 (the 
“June 2017 Amendment”), comprises a senior secured term loan A facility of $250,000,000 (the "Term Loan Facility") 
and  a  secured  revolving  loan  facility  of  up  to  $150,000,000,  including  a  $25,000,000  letter  of  credit  sublimit  (the 
"Revolving Loan Facility") and, together, with the Term Loan Facility, matures on February 23, 2021.  The proceeds of 
these borrowings were primarily used to finance our acquisition of TCS, including the repayment of certain existing 
indebtedness of TCS. The Term Loan Facility requires mandatory quarterly repayments. During the fiscal year ended 
July 31, 2017, we repaid $33,567,000 principal amount of borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, including a payment 
of $22,500,000 paid in connection with the June 2017 amendment to reduce the balloon or final payment of the Term 
Loan Facility, discussed further below. Under the Revolving Loan Facility, we had outstanding balances ranging from 
$31,904,000 to $84,904,000 during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017. During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, the 
Company repaid $97,352,000 of principal amount under the Secured Credit Facility, primarily using the net proceeds 
received from a public offering of our common stock in June 2016, as discussed further in Note (17) "Stockholders’ 
Equity."

As of July 31, 2017 and 2016 amounts outstanding under our Secured Credit Facility, net, were as follows:

Term Loan Facility

Less unamortized deferred financing costs related to Term Loan Facility

     Term Loan Facility, net

Revolving Loan Facility

Amount outstanding under Secured Credit Facility, net

Less current portion of long-term debt

Non-current portion of long-term debt

2017

$

139,080,000

4,763,000

134,317,000

57,405,000

191,722,000

15,494,000

$

176,228,000

2016

172,647,000

5,515,000

167,132,000

83,904,000

251,036,000

11,067,000

239,969,000

Interest expense, including amortization of deferred financing costs, recorded during fiscal 2017 and 2016 related to the 
Secured Credit Facility was $11,106,000 and $6,933,000, respectively and reflects a blended interest rate of approximately 
4.90% and 5.00% in fiscal 2017 and 2016, respectively. Interest expense, recorded during fiscal 2015 was $198,000 and 
related to our $100,000,000 committed revolving credit facility that expired on October 31, 2014. 

At July 31, 2017, we had $3,850,000 of standby letters of credit outstanding under our Secured Credit Facility related to 
our guarantees of future performance on certain customer contracts and no outstanding commercial letters of credit.

F- 21

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The Revolving Loan Facility is primarily used for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company 
and its subsidiaries, including the issuance of letters of credit. Borrowings under the Secured Credit Facility, pursuant to 
terms defined in the Secured Credit Facility, shall be either (i) Alternate Base Rate ("ABR") borrowings, which bear 
interest from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum equal to (x) the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on 
such day, (b) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 0.50% per annum and (c) the Adjusted LIBO 
Rate on such day (or, if such day is not a business day, the immediately preceding business day) plus 1.00% per annum 
(provided that if the LIBO Rate is less than 1.00%, then the LIBO Rate shall be deemed to be 1.00%), plus (y) the 
Applicable Rate, or (ii) Eurodollar borrowings, which bear interest from the applicable borrowing date at a rate per annum 
equal to (x) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for such interest period (provided that if the LIBO Rate is less than 1.00%, then the 
LIBO Rate shall be deemed to be 1.00%) plus (y) the Applicable Rate. The Applicable Rate is determined based on a 
pricing grid that is dependent upon our leverage ratio as of the end of each fiscal quarter. The Secured Credit Facility 
contains customary representations, warranties and affirmative covenants and customary negative covenants, subject to 
negotiated exceptions, on (i) liens, (ii) investments, (iii) indebtedness, (iv) significant corporate changes, including mergers 
and  acquisitions,  (v)  dispositions,  (vi)  restricted  payments,  including  stockholder  dividends,  and  (vii)  certain  other 
restrictive agreements. The Secured Credit Facility also contains certain financial covenants and customary events of 
default (subject to grace periods, as appropriate), such as payment defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, 
bankruptcy and insolvency, the occurrence of a defined change in control and the failure to observe the negative covenants 
and other covenants related to the operation of our business. 

The June 2017 Amendment is expected to result in increased operating and acquisition flexibility and simplify the 
calculations of our financial covenants. The June 2017 Amendment resulted in, among other things, that the:

(i)  Consolidated EBITDA definition more closely aligns with our Adjusted EBITDA metric by eliminating favorable 

adjustments to operating income related to settlements of TCS intellectual property matters;

(ii)  Leverage Ratio is calculated on a “gross” basis using the quotient of Total Indebtedness (excluding unamortized 
deferred financing costs) divided by our TTM Consolidated EBITDA. The prior Leverage Ratio was calculated 
on a “net” basis but did not include a reduction for any cash or cash equivalents above $50,000,000; 

(iii) Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio includes a deduction for all cash dividends, regardless of the amount of our cash 
and cash equivalents and the related allowable Quarterly Dividend Amount, as defined, will now align with our 
current quarterly dividend target of $0.10 per common share;

(iv)  Balloon or final payment of the Term Loan Facility, which is not due until February 23, 2021, was reduced by 
$22,500,000 through increased borrowings from the Revolving Loan Facility, which does not expire until February 
23, 2021; and 

(v)  Leverage  Ratios  will  be  adjusted,  in  certain  conditions,  to  provide  for  additional  flexibility  for  us  to  make 

acquisitions.

In connection with the June 2017 Amendment, there were no changes to: (i) the committed borrowing capacity; (ii) the 
maturity date; or (iii) interest rates payable (except that the interest rate pricing grid will now be based on the new Leverage 
Ratio). Also, the June 2017 Amendment did not result in an extinguishment for accounting purposes (as such term is 
defined in ASC 470 “Debt”); instead, the June 2017 Amendment was accounted for as a debt modification. As a result, 
deferred financing costs (including incremental fees for the June 2017 Amendment) will continue to be amortized over 
the remaining maturity term of the Secured Credit Facility. 

As of July 31, 2017, our Leverage Ratio was 2.84x TTM Consolidated EBITDA compared to the maximum allowable 
Leverage Ratio of 3.75x TTM Consolidated EBITDA. In fiscal 2018, the maximum allowable Leverage Ratio will decrease 
each quarter until reaching 3.00x TTM Consolidated EBITDA in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, with no further reductions 
thereafter. Our Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio as of July 31, 2017 was 1.95x compared to the minimum required Fixed 
Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.25x and will not change for the remaining term of the Secured Credit Facility, as amended. 
Given our expected future business performance, we anticipate maintaining compliance with the terms and financial 
covenants in our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, for the foreseeable future. 

F- 22

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The obligations under the Secured Credit Facility, as amended, are guaranteed by certain of our domestic subsidiaries 
(the  "Subsidiary  Guarantors"). As  collateral  security  for  amounts  outstanding  under  our  Secured  Credit  Facility,  as 
amended, and the guarantees thereof, we and our Subsidiary Guarantors have granted to an administrative agent, for the 
benefit of the lenders, a lien on, and first priority security interest in, substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets.

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings set forth for such terms in the Secured Credit Facility, 
dated as of February 23, 2016, and the First Amendment of the Secured Credit Facility, dated as of June 6, 2017, both 
of which have been documented and filed with the SEC.

(9) Capital Lease Obligations

We lease certain equipment under capital leases, the majority of which we assumed in connection with our acquisition of TCS. 
As of July 31, 2017 and 2016 the net book value of the leased assets which collateralize the capital lease obligations was 
$5,419,000 and $8,698,000, respectively, and consisted primarily of machinery and equipment. As of July 31, 2017, our capital 
lease obligations reflect a blended interest rate of approximately 5.60%. Our capital leases generally contain provisions whereby 
we can purchase the equipment at the end of the lease for a one dollar buyout. Depreciation of leased assets is included in 
depreciation expense.

Future minimum payments under capital lease obligations consisted of the following at July 31, 2017:

Fiscal 2018

Fiscal 2019

Fiscal 2020

Fiscal 2021 and beyond

Total minimum lease payments

Less: amounts representing interest

Present value of net minimum lease payments

Current portion of capital lease obligations

Non-current portion of capital lease obligations

$

$

2,494,000

1,492,000

318,000

—

4,304,000

224,000

4,080,000

2,309,000

1,771,000

(10) Income Taxes

Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes consists of the following:

U.S.

Foreign

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2017

23,732,000

1,749,000

25,481,000

$

$

2016
(7,666,000)
(526,000)
(8,192,000)

2015

33,425,000

578,000

34,003,000

F- 23

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The provision for (benefit from) income taxes included in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations 
consists of the following:

Federal – current

Federal – deferred

State and local – current

State and local – deferred

Foreign – current

Foreign – deferred

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2017

$

(441,000)

8,399,000

2016

2,297,000
(2,930,000)

2015

12,367,000
(2,342,000)

608,000

659,000

413,000

16,000

408,000
(310,000)

81,000

—
(454,000)

931,000
(25,000)

(173,000)
—

10,758,000

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

$

9,654,000

The provision for (benefit from) income taxes differed from the amounts computed by applying the U.S. Federal 
income tax rate as a result of the following:

Computed “expected” tax
expense

Increase (reduction) in income

taxes resulting from:

State and local income
taxes, net of Federal
benefit

Nondeductible stock-based

compensation

Domestic production
activities deduction

Research and

experimentation credits

Acquisition-related tax

contingencies

Nondeductible transaction

costs

Foreign income taxes

Other

Provision for (benefit from)
income taxes

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

$ 8,919,000

35.0% (2,867,000)

35.0% 11,901,000

35.0%

1,257,000

78,000

4.9

0.3

23,000

(0.3)

720,000

2.1

68,000

(0.8)

86,000

0.2

(269,000)

(1.1)

(198,000)

2.4

(1,030,000)

(3.0)

(919,000)

(3.6)

(1,106,000)

13.5

(793,000)

(2.3)

—

—

—

—

(151,000)

(0.6)

739,000

3.0

1,962,000

(24.0)

—

—

1,279,000

289,000

96,000

(15.6)
(3.5)
(1.2)

—
(372,000)
246,000

—
(1.1)
0.7

$ 9,654,000

37.9%

(454,000)

5.5% 10,758,000

31.6%

F- 24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and liabilities 
at July 31, 2017 and 2016 are presented below:

Deferred tax assets:

Inventory and warranty reserves

Compensation and commissions

Federal, state and foreign research and experimentation
credits

Stock-based compensation

Acquisition-related contingent liabilities

Federal and state NOLs

Other

Less valuation allowance

Total deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities:

Plant and equipment

Intangibles

Total deferred tax liabilities

Net deferred tax (liabilities) assets

$

2017

2016

$

7,854,000

3,807,000

8,383,000

5,842,000

16,286,000

7,767,000

4,687,000

19,880,000

11,416,000
(8,633,000)
63,064,000

16,364,000

5,743,000

12,929,000

25,760,000

10,885,000
(9,624,000)
76,282,000

(1,309,000)
(79,061,000)
(80,370,000)
(17,306,000)

(1,882,000)
(84,198,000)
(86,080,000)
(9,798,000)

We provide for income taxes under the provisions of FASB ASC 740 "Income Taxes." FASB ASC 740 requires an asset 
and  liability  based  approach  in  accounting  for  income  taxes.  In  assessing  the  realizability  of  deferred  tax  assets, 
management  considers  whether  it  is  more  likely  than  not  that  some  portion  or  all  of  them  will  not  be  realized.  If 
management determines that it is more likely than not that some or all of its deferred tax assets will not be realized, a 
valuation allowance will be recorded against such deferred tax assets.

At  July 31,  2017,  we  had  approximately  $48,986,000  of  U.S.  Federal  net  operating  loss  carryforwards  reflected  in 
deferred tax assets. Of the total loss carryforwards, approximately $46,933,000, which were generated by TCS in calendar 
2013 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016, are usable at a rate of approximately $23,910,000
per year and will begin to expire in 2033.  Approximately $1,589,000 is the remaining net operating loss carryforwards 
acquired in an acquisition by TCS in 2001, which are usable at the rate of $1,401,000 per year and will expire in 2021 
if unused at that time. The remaining U.S. Federal net operating loss carryforwards generated in fiscal year 2016 of 
approximately $464,000 will expire in 2036.  

At July 31, 2017, we had Federal alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards of approximately $2,652,000, which 
are available to offset future regular Federal taxes. We have Federal research and experimentation credits of approximately 
$9,769,000  that  will  begin  to  expire  in  2019.  The  timing  and  manner  in  which  we  may  utilize  net  operating  loss 
carryforwards and tax credits in future tax years will be limited by the amounts and timing of future taxable income and 
by the application of the ownership change rules under Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code.

We  have  state  net  operating  loss  carryforwards  available  of  approximately  $2,735,000  which  expire  through  2036, 
utilization of which will be limited in a manner similar to the Federal net operating loss carryforwards. We believe that 
it is more likely than not that the benefit from certain state net operating loss carryforwards will not be realized.  In 
recognition of this risk, we have provided a valuation allowance of approximately $1,553,000 on the deferred tax assets 
relating  to  these  state  net  operating  loss  carryforwards.    We  have  state  research  and  experimentation  credits  of 
approximately $5,540,000 expiring through 2036.  We believe that it is more likely than not that the benefit from certain 
research and experimentation credits will not be realized.  In recognition of this risk, we have provided a valuation 
allowance of approximately $5,472,000 on the deferred tax assets relating to these state credits.

F- 25

 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

At July 31, 2017 and 2016, our foreign deferred tax assets relating to research and experimentation credits have been 
offset by a valuation allowance as they may not be utilized in a future period. Our foreign earnings and profits are 
insignificant and, as such, we have not recorded any deferred tax liability on unremitted foreign earnings. 

We must generate approximately $169,100,000 of taxable income in the future to fully utilize our net deferred tax assets 
as of July 31, 2017. Management believes it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate 
sufficient taxable income to realize the net deferred tax assets. In addition, at July 31, 2017, we had a hypothetical 
additional paid-in capital ("APIC") pool related to stock-based compensation of $16,267,000. On August 1, 2017, we 
adopted FASB ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-
Based Payment Accounting, which amends the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions to require 
recognition of the tax effects resulting from the settlement of stock-based awards as income tax expense or benefit in 
the income statement in the reporting period in which they occur. The adoption of this ASU is discussed in more detail 
in Note (11) "Stock-Based Compensation."

At July 31, 2017 and 2016, total unrecognized tax benefits were $8,681,000 and $9,171,000, respectively, including 
interest  of  $95,000  and  $63,000,  respectively. At  July 31,  2017,  $2,515,000  of  our  unrecognized  tax  benefits  were 
recorded as non-current income taxes payable in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The remaining unrecognized tax 
benefits of $6,166,000 were presented as an offset to the associated non-current deferred tax assets in our Consolidated 
Balance Sheet.  At July 31, 2016, $2,992,000 of our unrecognized tax benefits were recorded as non-current income 
taxes payable in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The remaining unrecognized benefit of $6,179,000 was presented as 
an offset to the associated non-current deferred tax assets in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Of the total unrecognized 
tax benefits, $7,727,000 and $8,261,000 at July 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, net of the reversal of the Federal benefit 
recognized as a deferred tax asset relating to state reserves, would positively impact our effective tax rate, if recognized. 
Unrecognized tax benefits result from income tax positions taken or expected to be taken on our income tax returns for 
which a tax benefit has not been recorded in our financial statements. We do not expect that there will be any significant 
changes to our total unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months.

Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties relating to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. The following 
table summarizes the activity related to our unrecognized tax benefits for fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015 (excluding 
interest):

2017

2016

2015

Balance at beginning of period

$

9,108,000

Increase related to current period

Increase related to prior periods

Expiration of statute of limitations

Decrease related to prior periods

Balance at end of period

$

587,000

86,000
(404,000)
(791,000)
8,586,000

2,728,000

2,487,000

4,490,000
(580,000)
(17,000)
9,108,000

2,703,000

410,000

144,000
(468,000)
(61,000)
2,728,000

Our federal income tax returns for fiscal 2015 and 2016 are subject to potential future Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") 
audits. None of our state income tax returns prior to fiscal 2013 are subject to audit. TCS’s federal income tax returns 
for calendar years 2013 through 2015 and the tax period from January 1, 2016 to February 23, 2016 are subject to 
potential future IRS audits. None of TCS’s state income tax returns prior to calendar year 2012 are subject to audit. 
Future tax assessments or settlements could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations and 
financial condition.

F- 26

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(11) Stock-Based Compensation

Overview

We issue stock-based awards to certain of our employees and our Board of Directors pursuant to our 2000 Stock Incentive 
Plan, as amended, (the "Plan") and our 2001 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "ESPP") and recognize related stock-
based  compensation  in  our  consolidated  financial  statements.  The  Plan  provides  for  the  granting  to  employees  and 
consultants of Comtech (including prospective employees and consultants): (i) incentive and non-qualified stock options, 
(ii) restricted stock units ("RSUs"), (iii) RSUs with performance measures (which we refer to as "performance shares"), 
(iv) restricted stock, (v) stock units (reserved for issuance to non-employee directors) and share units (reserved for issuance 
to employees) (collectively, "share units") and (vi) stock appreciation rights ("SARs"), among other types of awards. Our 
non-employee  directors  are  eligible  to  receive  non-discretionary  grants  of  stock-based  awards,  subject  to  certain 
limitations. The aggregate number of shares of common stock which may be issued, pursuant to the Plan, may not exceed 
9,462,500. Stock options granted may not have a term exceeding ten years or, in the case of an incentive stock award 
granted to a stockholder who owns stock representing more than 10.0% of the voting power, no more than five years. We 
expect to settle all outstanding awards under the Plan and ESPP with the issuance of new shares of our common stock.

As of July 31, 2017, we had granted stock-based awards pursuant to the Plan representing the right to purchase and/or 
acquire an aggregate of 7,895,947 shares (net of 3,724,297 expired and canceled awards), of which an aggregate of 
5,209,875 have been exercised or converted into common stock. 

As of July 31, 2017, the following stock-based awards, by award type, were outstanding:

Stock options
Performance shares
RSUs and restricted stock
Share units
Total

July 31, 2017

1,855,875
252,089
292,260
285,848
2,686,072

Our ESPP provides for the issuance of up to 800,000 shares of our common stock. Our ESPP is intended to provide our 
eligible employees the opportunity to acquire our common stock at 85% of fair market value at the date of issuance. 
Through July 31, 2017, we have cumulatively issued 698,739 shares of our common stock to participating employees in 
connection with our ESPP.

Stock-based compensation for awards issued is reflected in the following line items in our Consolidated Statements of 
Operations:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

Cost of sales

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Research and development expenses

Stock-based compensation expense
before income tax benefit

Estimated income tax benefit

Net stock-based compensation expense

$

2017

$

760,000

7,071,000

675,000

8,506,000
(3,065,000)
5,441,000

2016

296,000

3,407,000

414,000

4,117,000
(1,434,000)
2,683,000

2015

245,000

3,507,000

611,000

4,363,000
(1,523,000)
2,840,000

Stock-based compensation for equity-classified awards is measured at the date of grant, based on an estimate of the fair 
value of the award and is generally expensed over the vesting period of the award.  At July 31, 2017, unrecognized stock-
based compensation of $6,569,000, net of estimated forfeitures of $759,000, is expected to be recognized over a weighted 
average period of 2.7 years. Total stock-based compensation capitalized and included in ending inventory at July 31, 2017
and 2016 was $12,000 and $51,000, respectively. There are no liability-classified stock-based awards outstanding as of 
July 31, 2017 or 2016.

F- 27

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Stock-based compensation expense, by award type, is summarized as follows:

Stock options

Performance shares

ESPP

RSUs and restricted stock

Share units

Stock-based compensation expense before income tax

benefit

Estimated income tax benefit

Net stock-based compensation expense

$

$

162,000

829,000

4,508,000

8,506,000
(3,065,000)
5,441,000

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
2016
2,353,000

2017
1,400,000

1,607,000

1,374,000

2015
2,842,000

890,000

206,000

397,000

28,000

163,000

227,000

—

4,117,000
(1,434,000)
2,683,000

4,363,000
(1,523,000)
2,840,000

ESPP stock-based compensation expense primarily relates to the 15% discount offered to participants in the ESPP.  

The estimated income tax benefit as shown in the above table was computed using income tax rates expected to apply 
when the awards are settled. Such deferred tax asset was recorded net as part of our non-current deferred tax liability in 
our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2017 and 2016. The actual income tax benefit recognized for tax reporting 
is based on the fair market value of our common stock at the time of settlement and can significantly differ from the 
estimated income tax benefit recorded for financial reporting. 

The following table reconciles the actual income tax benefit recognized for tax deductions relating to the settlement of 
stock-based awards to the excess income tax benefit reported as a cash flow from financing activities in our Consolidated 
Statements of Cash Flows:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

Actual income tax benefit recorded for the tax deductions relating to the 

settlement of stock-based awards

$

372,000

196,000

1,108,000

Less: Tax benefit initially recognized on settled stock-based awards vesting 
subsequent to the adoption of accounting standards that require us to 
expense stock-based awards

290,000

168,000

960,000

Excess income tax benefit from settled equity-classified stock-based awards 
recorded as an increase to additional paid-in capital and reported as a 
cash inflow from financing activities in our Consolidated Statements 
of Cash Flows

$

82,000

28,000

148,000

During  fiscal  2017,  2016  and  2015,  we  recorded  $670,000,  $283,000  and  $354,000,  respectively,  of  a  reduction  to 
additional paid-in capital and accumulated hypothetical tax benefits, which represent net income tax shortfalls recognized 
from the settlement of stock-based awards and the reversal of unrealized deferred tax assets associated with certain vested 
equity-classified stock-based awards that expired during each of the respective periods. 

F- 28

 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Stock Options 

The following table summarizes the Plan's activity:

Outstanding at July 31, 2014
Granted
Expired/canceled
Exercised
Outstanding at July 31, 2015
Granted
Expired/canceled
Exercised
Outstanding at July 31, 2016
Expired/canceled
Outstanding at July 31, 2017

Exercisable at July 31, 2017

Awards
(in Shares)

2,132,896
416,525
(46,400)
(383,338)
2,119,683
552,806
(396,610)
(19,200)
2,256,679
(400,804)
1,855,875

1,261,529

Vested and expected to vest at July 31, 2017

1,799,732

Weighted 
Average
Exercise Price
28.17
$
33.78
30.20
27.61
29.33
27.15
28.99
27.24
28.87
30.15
28.60

$

$

$

28.55

28.58

Weighted 
Average
Remaining 
Contractual
Term (Years)

Aggregate
Intrinsic Value

5.56

4.84

5.51

$

$

$

—

—

—

Stock options outstanding as of July 31, 2017 have exercise prices ranging from $20.90 - $33.94. There were no stock 
options granted or exercised during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017. The total intrinsic value relating to stock options 
exercised during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015 was $32,000 and $2,279,000, respectively. Stock options 
granted during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015 had exercise prices equal to the fair market value of our 
common stock on the date of grant, a contractual term of five or ten years and a vesting period of three or five years. 

During fiscal 2016 and 2015, at the election of certain holders of vested stock options, 19,200 and 333,338 stock options, 
respectively, were net settled upon exercise. As a result, 706 and 49,086 net shares of our common stock were issued, 
after reduction of shares retained to satisfy the exercise price and minimum statutory tax withholding requirements, during 
the fiscal years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The estimated per-share weighted average grant-date fair value of stock options granted during fiscal 2016 and 2015 was 
$5.50 and $6.12, respectively, which was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, and included the 
following weighted average assumptions:

Expected dividend yield
Expected volatility
Risk-free interest rate
Expected life (years)

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,

2016

2015

4.46%
34.44%
1.52%
5.15

3.55%
28.19%
1.61%
5.44

F- 29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Expected dividend yield is the expected annual dividend as a percentage of the fair market value of our common stock 
on the date of grant, based on our Board's annual dividend target at the time of grant. We estimate expected volatility by 
considering the historical volatility of our stock and the implied volatility of publicly-traded call options on our stock.  
The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for an instrument which 
closely  approximates  the  expected  term. The  expected  term  is  the  number  of  years  we  estimate  that  awards  will  be 
outstanding  prior  to  exercise  and  is  determined  by  employee  groups  with  sufficiently  distinct  behavior  patterns. 
Assumptions used in computing the fair value of stock-based awards reflect our best estimates, but involve uncertainties 
relating to market and other conditions, many of which are outside of our control. Estimates of fair value are not intended 
to predict actual future events or the value ultimately realized by recipients of stock-based awards.

Performance Shares, RSUs, Restricted Stock and Share Unit Awards

The following table summarizes the Plan's activity relating to performance shares, RSUs, restricted stock and share units:

Outstanding at July 31, 2014

Granted

Converted to common stock

Forfeited

Outstanding at July 31, 2015
Granted
Converted to common stock
Forfeited
Outstanding at July 31, 2016
Granted
Converted to common stock
Forfeited
Outstanding at July 31, 2017

Vested at July 31, 2017

Vested and expected to vest at July 31, 2017

Awards
(in Shares)

180,097

$

66,294
(18,422)
(3,804)
224,165
71,605
(16,439)
(62,118)
217,213
705,241
(61,462)
(30,795)
830,197

531,885

802,715

$

$

$

Weighted 
Average
Grant Date 
Fair Value

Aggregate
Intrinsic Value

26.20

33.96

27.79

32.47

28.26
27.45
26.35
27.62
28.32
14.31
26.63
17.13
16.95

$ 14,943,546

18.51

$

9,573,930

16.96

$ 14,448,867

The total intrinsic value relating to fully-vested awards converted into our common stock during the fiscal years ended 
July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $1,039,000, $660,000 and $654,000 respectively.

Performance shares granted to employees prior to fiscal 2014 generally vest over a 5.3 year period, beginning on the date 
of grant once pre-established performance goals were attained, and are convertible into shares of our common stock at 
the time of vesting, on a one-for-one basis for no cash consideration. The performance shares granted to employees since 
fiscal 2014 principally vest over a three-year performance period, if pre-established performance goals are attained, or 
as specified pursuant to the Plan and related agreements. As of July 31, 2017, the number of outstanding performance 
shares included in the above table, and the related compensation expense prior to consideration of estimated pre-vesting 
forfeitures, assume achievement of the pre-established goals at a target level. 

RSUs and restricted stock granted to non-employee directors have a vesting period of three years and are convertible into 
shares of our common stock generally at the time of termination, on a one-for-one basis for no cash consideration, or 
earlier under certain circumstances. RSUs granted to employees have a vesting period of five years and are convertible 
into shares of our common stock generally at the time of vesting, on a one-for-one basis for no cash consideration. 

F- 30

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Share units are vested when issued and are convertible into shares of our common stock generally at the time of termination, 
on a one-for-one basis for no cash consideration, or earlier under certain circumstances. Cumulatively through July 31, 
2017, 744 share units granted have been converted into common stock. On July 31, 2017, 278,089 fully vested share units 
were granted to certain employees in lieu of fiscal 2017 non-equity incentive compensation. In fiscal 2016, our non-
equity incentives were settled in cash. These share units will be convertible into shares of our common stock on the one-
year anniversary of the grant date.

The fair value of performance shares, RSUs, restricted stock and share units is determined using the closing market price 
of our common stock on the date of grant, less the present value of any estimated future dividend equivalents such awards 
are not entitled to receive and an applicable estimated discount for post vesting restrictions. RSUs and performance shares 
granted in fiscal 2012 are not entitled to dividend equivalents. RSUs, performance shares and restricted stock granted 
since fiscal 2013 are entitled to dividend equivalents unless forfeited before vesting occurs; however, performance shares 
granted in fiscal 2013 were not entitled to such dividend equivalents until our Board of Directors determined that the pre-
established performance goals were met. Share units granted prior to fiscal 2014 are not entitled to dividend equivalents. 
Share units granted since fiscal 2014 are entitled to dividend equivalents while the underlying shares are unissued.

Dividend equivalents are subject to forfeiture, similar to the terms of the underlying stock-based awards, and are payable 
in cash generally at the time of conversion of the underlying shares into our common stock. During fiscal 2017, 2016 and 
2015, we accrued $273,000, $155,000 and $224,000, respectively, of dividend equivalents and paid out $176,000, $23,000
and $15,000, respectively. Such amounts were recorded as a reduction to retained earnings. As of July 31, 2017 and 2016, 
accrued dividend equivalents were $554,000 and $457,000, respectively. 

Cash payments to remit employees' minimum statutory tax withholding requirements related to the net settlement of 
stock-based awards for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $262,000, $105,000 and $473,000, 
respectively, which is reported as a cash outflow from operating activities in the accrued expenses and other current 
liabilities line item in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for each respective period. 

Subsequent Events

In the first quarter of fiscal 2018, our Board of Directors authorized the issuance of 305,734 stock-based awards of which 
99,620  were  performance  shares  and  206,114  were  restricted  stock  units. Total  unrecognized  compensation  expense 
related to such awards, net of estimated forfeitures and assuming achievement of the pre-established performance goals 
at a target level, approximated $5,328,000. 

Also  on  August  1,  2017,  we  adopted  FASB  ASU  2016-09  “Compensation  -  Stock  Compensation  (Topic  718): 
Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2016-09”), which amended several aspects of the 
accounting and reporting of share-based payment transactions, including:

Excess tax benefits and shortfalls - ASU 2016-09 requires that all tax effects related to share-based awards to be recognized 
in the statement of operations. ASU 2016-09 also removes the prior requirement to delay recognition of excess tax benefits 
until it reduces current taxes payable; instead, we are now required to recognize excess tax benefits as discrete items in 
the interim period in which they occur, subject to normal valuation allowance considerations.  As ASU 2016-09 eliminates 
the concept of accumulated hypothetical tax benefits, excess tax benefits and shortfalls will no longer be recognized in 
stockholders’ equity.  As a result, ASU 2016-09 is expected to result in future volatility of our income tax expense (as the 
future tax effects of share-based awards will be dependent on the price of our common stock at the time of settlement).  
Due to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, on a prospective basis, excess income tax benefits from the settlement of share-
based awards will be presented in our Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows as a cash inflow from operating activities.  
Such amounts for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $82,000, $28,000 and $148,000, respectively, and were reported as 
a cash outflow from operating activities and cash inflow from financing activities.  

F- 31

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Diluted earnings per share - When calculating our diluted earnings per share prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, in 
addition to considering the amount an employee must pay upon assumed exercise of stock-based awards and the amount 
of stock-based compensation cost attributed to future services and not yet recognized, the assumed proceeds also included 
the amount of excess tax benefits, if any, that would have been credited to additional paid-in capital assuming exercise 
of in-the-money stock-based awards.  Effective with our adoption of ASU 2016-09 in the first quarter of fiscal 2018, 
excess tax benefits are to be excluded from the calculation on a prospective basis.  As a result, the denominator for our 
diluted calculations could increase in the future as compared to prior calculations.

Forfeitures - As permitted by ASU 2016-09, we elected to continue to estimate forfeitures of share-based awards.

Statutory Tax Withholding Requirements - When net settling share-based awards as a means to meet tax withholding 
requirements, ASU 2016-09 now allows entities to withhold an amount up to the employees’ maximum individual tax 
rate in the relevant jurisdiction, without resulting in liability classification of the award. To qualify, we must have at least 
some withholding obligation.  This aspect of adopting ASU 2016-09 did not have any material impact on us. However, 
with respect to cash payments that we make to taxing authorities on behalf of employees for such shares withheld, on a 
retrospective basis in future financial statements that include a statement of cash flows, we are required to present such 
payments as a cash outflow from financing activities. Payments for share-based award tax withholding requirements for 
fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $262,000, $105,000 and $473,000, respectively, and were previously presented as a 
cash outflow from operating activities. 

(12) Customer and Geographic Information

Sales by geography and customer type, as a percentage of consolidated net sales, are as follows:

Fiscal Years Ended July 31,
2016

2015

2017

United States
U.S. government
Domestic

Total United States

International
North African country
Other international

Total International

32.7%
38.9%
71.6%

1.8%
26.6%
28.4%

40.8%
29.2%
70.0%

3.6%
26.4%
30.0%

30.6%
13.2%
43.8%

13.8%
42.4%
56.2%

Sales to U.S. government customers include the Department of Defense ("DoD") and intelligence and civilian agencies, 
as well as sales directly to or through prime contractors. Domestic sales include sales to U.S. state and local governments.

International sales for fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 (which include sales to U.S. domestic companies for inclusion in 
products that will be sold to international customers) were $156,483,000, $123,474,000 and $172,651,000, respectively.

For fiscal 2017 and 2016, except for the U.S. government, no other customer or individual country (including sales to 
U.S. domestic companies for inclusion in products that will be sold to a foreign country) represented more than 10% of 
consolidated net sales. Sales to a U.S. prime contractor customer represented approximately 13.5% of consolidated net 
sales for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2015. Almost all of these sales related to our North African country end-customer. 

(13) Segment Information

Reportable operating segments are determined based on Comtech’s management approach. The management approach, 
as defined by FASB ASC 280 "Segment Reporting" is based on the way that the chief operating decision-maker ("CODM") 
organizes the segments within an enterprise for making decisions about resources to be allocated and assessing their 
performance. Our CODM, for purposes of FASB ASC 280, is our Chief Executive Officer and President.

F- 32

 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Our Commercial Solutions segment serves commercial customers and smaller government customers, such as state and 
local governments, that require advanced communications technologies to meet their needs. This segment also serves 
certain  large  government  customers  (including  the  U.S.  government)  when  they  have  requirements  for  off-the-shelf 
commercial equipment. Commercial solutions products include satellite earth station communications equipment such 
as  modems  and  traveling  wave  tube  amplifiers,  public  safety  technologies  including  those  that  are  utilized  in  next 
generation 911 systems and enterprise technologies such as trusted location and text-messaging platforms.

Our Government Solutions segment serves large U.S. and foreign government end-users that require mission critical 
technologies and systems. Government solutions products include command and control technologies (such as remote 
sensing tracking systems, rugged solid state drives, land mobile products, and quick deploy satellite systems), troposcatter 
technologies systems (such as digital troposcatter multiplexers, digital over-the-horizon modems, troposcatter systems, 
and frequency converter systems), and RF power and switching technologies products (such as solid-state high-power 
narrow  and  broadband  amplifiers,  enhanced  position  location  reporting  system  ("EPLRS")  amplifier  assemblies, 
identification friend or foe amplifiers, and amplifiers used in the counteraction of improvised explosive devices).

Our  CODM  primarily  uses  a  metric  that  we  refer  to  as Adjusted  Earnings  Before  Interest, Taxes,  Depreciation  and 
Amortization  ("Adjusted  EBITDA")  to  measure  an  operating  segment’s  performance  and  to  make  decisions  about 
resources to be allocated. Our Adjusted EBITDA metric does not consider any allocation of the following: income taxes, 
interest  (income)  and  other  expense,  interest  expense,  amortization  of  stock-based  compensation,  amortization  of 
intangibles, depreciation expense, settlement of intellectual property litigation, acquisition plan expenses or strategic 
alternatives analysis expenses and other. These items, while periodically affecting our results, may vary significantly 
from period to period and may have a disproportionate effect in a given period, thereby affecting the comparability of 
results. Our Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our management in assessing the Company's operating results. Although 
closely aligned, the Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA is different than the Consolidated EBITDA (as such term 
is defined in our Secured Credit Facility) utilized for financial covenant calculations and also may differ from the definition 
of EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA used by other companies (including TCS prior to our acquisition) and, therefore, may 
not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Operating segment information, along with a reconciliation of segment net income (loss) and consolidated net income 
(loss) to Adjusted EBITDA is presented in the tables below:

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2017

Net sales

Operating income (loss)

Net income (loss)

     Provision for income taxes

     Interest (income) and other expense

     Interest expense

     Amortization of stock-based compensation

     Amortization of intangibles

     Depreciation

     Settlement of intellectual property litigation

Adjusted EBITDA

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

$

$

$

$

Commercial
Solutions

Government
Solutions

$ 330,867,000

219,501,000

33,234,000

9,393,000

32,871,000

9,421,000

Unallocated

Total

— $ 550,368,000
(5,585,000) $ 37,042,000

9,396,000

(26,465,000) $ 15,827,000
9,654,000
(68,000)
11,629,000

11,410,000

74,000

—
(34,000)
6,000

—

8,506,000

8,506,000

5,125,000

—

22,823,000

2,938,000

1,478,000
— (12,020,000)

14,354,000
(12,020,000)
(7,621,000) $ 70,705,000

258,000
(108,000)
213,000

—

17,698,000

9,938,000

—

60,870,000

17,456,000

Total assets at July 31, 2017

$ 606,436,000

185,234,000

40,393,000

$ 832,063,000

F- 33

7,007,000

1,046,000

97,000

$

8,150,000

 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2016

Net sales

Operating income (loss)

Net income (loss)

     Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

     Interest (income) and other expense

     Interest expense

     Amortization of stock-based compensation

     Amortization of intangibles

     Depreciation

     Acquisition plan expenses

Adjusted EBITDA

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Long-lived assets acquired in connection with

the TCS acquisition

$

$

$

$

Commercial
Solutions

Government
Solutions

$ 248,955,000

162,049,000

23,255,000

23,006,000

22,785,000

23,018,000

72,000

109,000

289,000

—

10,592,000

7,073,000

—

—
(11,000)
(1,000)
—

2,823,000

2,006,000

—

40,920,000

27,835,000

Unallocated

Total

— $ 411,004,000
(576,000)

(46,837,000) $

(53,541,000) $
(526,000)
(232,000)
7,462,000

4,117,000

—

751,000

21,276,000
(20,693,000) $

(7,738,000)
(454,000)
(134,000)
7,750,000

4,117,000

13,415,000

9,830,000

21,276,000

48,062,000

4,614,000

978,000

75,000

$

5,667,000

$ 367,865,000

82,860,000

4,359,000

$ 455,084,000

Total assets at July 31, 2016

$ 631,936,000

226,865,000

62,395,000

$ 921,196,000

Net sales

Operating income (loss)

Net income (loss)

     (Benefit from) provision for income taxes

     Interest (income) and other expense

     Interest expense

     Amortization of stock-based compensation

     Amortization of intangibles

     Depreciation
     Strategic alternatives analysis expenses and

other

Adjusted EBITDA

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2015

Commercial
Solutions

Government
Solutions

Unallocated

Total

$ 203,674,000

103,615,000

— $ 307,289,000

$

$

$

$

20,733,000

30,004,000

(16,660,000) $

34,077,000

20,502,000
(142,000)
92,000

281,000

—

6,211,000

5,250,000

30,033,000

—
(30,000)
—

—

—

1,242,000

(27,290,000) $
10,900,000
(467,000)
198,000

4,363,000

—

33,000

23,245,000

10,758,000
(405,000)
479,000

4,363,000

6,211,000

6,525,000

—

—

32,194,000

31,245,000

585,000
(11,678,000) $

585,000

51,761,000

2,233,000

1,063,000

66,000

$

3,362,000

Total assets at July 31, 2015

$ 233,965,000

95,314,000

144,598,000

$ 473,877,000

F- 34

 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Unallocated  expenses  result  from  corporate  expenses  such  as  executive  compensation,  accounting,  legal  and  other 
regulatory compliance related costs and also includes all of our amortization of stock-based compensation. In addition, 
during fiscal 2017, unallocated expenses also reflect the favorable adjustments to operating income related to the settlement 
of certain legacy TCS intellectual property matters. During fiscal 2016, unallocated expenses include acquisition plan 
expenses, most of which related to the February 23, 2016 acquisition of TCS. Unallocated expenses for fiscal 2015 include 
expenses related to our strategic alternatives analysis, which we concluded in December 2014.

Interest expense in fiscal 2017 and 2016 includes $11,106,000 and $6,933,000, respectively, related to our Secured Credit 
Facility and includes the amortization of deferred financing costs.  See Note (8) "Secured Credit Facility" for further 
discussion of such debt.  Interest expense for fiscal 2015 includes interest on a committed $100,000,000 secured revolving 
credit facility that expired on October 31, 2014 and amortization of deferred financing costs. 

Intersegment sales in fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 by the Commercial Solutions segment to the Government Solutions 
segment were $12,492,000, $6,266,000 and $6,165,000, respectively.  There were nominal sales by the Government 
Solutions segment to the Commercial Solutions segment for these fiscal periods.

Unallocated assets at July 31, 2017 consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, income taxes receivable, corporate 
property, plant and equipment and deferred financing costs. Substantially all of our long-lived assets are located in the 
U.S. and all intersegment sales are eliminated in consolidation and are excluded from the tables above.

(14) Commitments and Contingencies

(a) Operating Leases

At July 31, 2017, future minimum lease payments, net of subleases, under non-cancelable operating lease agreements 
are as follows:

Fiscal Year:

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Thereafter

Total

$

12,374,000

9,114,000

6,742,000

5,316,000

4,222,000

7,854,000

$

45,622,000

Lease  expense  charged  to  operations  was  $13,270,000,  $9,100,000  and  $5,363,000  in  fiscal  2017,  2016  and  2015, 
respectively. 

We lease our Melville, New York production facility from a partnership controlled by our President, CEO and Chairman. 
Lease payments made in fiscal 2017 were $617,000. The current lease provides for our use of the premises as they exist 
through December 2021 with an option for an additional 10 years. The annual rent of the facility for calendar year 2018 
is $635,000 and is subject to customary adjustments. We have a right of first refusal in the event of a sale of the facility.

F- 35

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(b) Legal Proceedings, Other Matters and Final Settlements 

Legacy TCS Intellectual Property Matter - Vehicle IP
In December 2009, Vehicle IP, LLC ("Vehicle IP") filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the 
District of Delaware (the "District Court"), seeking monetary damages, fees and expenses and other relief from, among 
others, our customer Verizon Wireless ("Verizon"), based on the VZ Navigator product, and TCS is defending Verizon 
against Vehicle IP. In 2013, the District Court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the basis that 
the products in question did not infringe plaintiff’s patent. Plaintiff appealed that decision and, in 2014, the U.S. Court 
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court's claim construction, overturned the District Court's grant 
of summary judgment of noninfringement, and remanded the case for further proceedings. Fact discovery and expert 
discovery has closed.  Substantive settlement conversations have occurred but, to date, the parties have been unable to 
reach a settlement. As discussed in Note (6) “Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities," we have accrued certain 
legal and settlement costs related to the Vehicle IP matter. The accrued settlement costs related to this matter do not reflect 
the final amounts we actually may pay, if any. 

On May 30, 2017, we received positive news that the District Court issued a supplemental claim construction order in 
our favor.  As a result, the plaintiff agreed to file a joint status report to the District Court that requested that the District 
Court cancel the trial date (which was scheduled for July 2017). On July 28, 2017, the parties entered into a stipulation 
that  the  defendants’  accused  products  do  not  infringe  Vehicle  IP’s  patent  under  the  District  Court’s  current  revised 
construction  of  the  disputed  patent  claim  term  and  requested  that  the  District  Court  therefore  enter  a  judgment  of 
noninfringement. On August 18, 2017, the court entered such a judgment of noninfringment. As expected, following the 
judgment, Vehicle IP filed a notice of appeal on August 29, 2017.

Vehicle IP's opening brief on appeal of the District Court's claim construction is currently due October 31, 2017. An 
appellate ruling may take a year or so to be issued. If the District Court's current claim construction is ultimately upheld 
at the appellate level, it is possible that we may not have to go to trial or pay any monetary damages.

Ongoing legal expenses associated with defending this matter and its ultimate resolution could vary and have a material 
adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows in future periods.

Other Matters 
In October 2014, we disclosed to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) that 
we learned during a self-assessment of our export transactions that a shipment of modems sent to a Canadian customer 
by Comtech EF Data Corp. was incorporated into a communication system, the ultimate end user of which was the Sudan 
Civil Aviation Authority. The sales value of this equipment was approximately $288,000. OFAC regulations prohibit U.S. 
persons from doing business directly or indirectly with Sudan. In late 2015, OFAC issued an administrative subpoena 
seeking further information about the disclosed transaction. We have responded to the subpoena, including alerting OFAC 
to Comtech’s repair of three modems for a customer in Lebanon who may have rerouted the modems from Lebanon to 
Sudan without the required U.S. licensing authorization. We are not able to predict when OFAC will complete its review, 
nor whether it will take any action against us, which could include civil and criminal penalties. If OFAC determines that 
we  have  violated  U.S.  trade  sanctions,  we  may  suffer  reputational  harm.  Even  though  we  take  precautions  to  avoid 
engaging in transactions that may violate U.S. trade sanctions, those measures may not be effective in every instance.

There are certain other pending and threatened legal actions which arise in the normal course of business. Although the 
ultimate outcome of litigation is difficult to accurately predict, we believe that the outcome of these other pending and 
threatened actions will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

F- 36

 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

Final Settlements of Certain TCS Intellectual Property Matters and Mississippi Lawsuit
During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017, we entered into final settlements of certain legacy TCS intellectual property 
matters and a separate lawsuit filed in Mississippi. The settlement of these matters and their impact on our consolidated 
financial statements are described below:

TracBeam - On January 30, 2017, we entered into a final settlement of a legacy TCS patent infringement litigation 
matter which resulted in a lower loss than originally estimated. The final settlement resolved litigation in the 
U.S.  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Texas  (“Eastern  District  Court”)  in  which  TracBeam,  LLC 
("TracBeam") asserted a patent infringement claim and sought damages, fees and expenses and other relief from, 
among others, TCS’s customers T-Mobile US, Inc. and T-Mobile USA, Inc. (together, "T-Mobile"), based on 
the defendants’ E911 service and locator products. TCS was defending T-Mobile against TracBeam.The final 
settlement required that we make two cash payments in fiscal 2017. On a GAAP basis, the final settlement 
resulted in a favorable $9,979,000 contribution, net of estimated legal fees, to operating income for fiscal 2017. 
In addition to the final settlement, during fiscal 2017, TCS settled its claims against a prior owner of the TCS 
assets that were the subject of the TracBeam infringement claim and we received cash settlement proceeds that 
were recorded as a reduction of selling, general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2017. As a result, our total 
net cash outflow related to the final resolution of the entire TracBeam matter was immaterial. 

CallWave - In 2012, CallWave Communication LLC ("CallWave") brought a patent infringement lawsuit in the 
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware seeking damages, fees and expenses and other relief from, among 
others, Verizon Wireless and certain of its affiliates (collectively, "Verizon"), based on Verizon's VZ Family 
Locator and VZ Navigator products, and TCS had previously agreed to indemnify Verizon subject to certain 
conditions. During fiscal 2017, a final settlement was entered into between TCS and CallWave and, on a GAAP 
basis, the resolution of this matter resulted in a favorable $2,041,000 contribution, net of estimated legal fees, 
to operating income for fiscal 2017. Cash payments related to this final settlement are immaterial and principally 
occurred during fiscal 2017. 

Mississippi Lawsuit - A family in Mississippi sued Verizon Wireless in June 2016 and TCS in July 2016 in the 
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, for damages resulting from allegations that their 
911 calls were improperly routed during an emergency. Both TCS and Verizon denied the allegations. During 
fiscal 2017, a final settlement was reached on terms that had no impact on our consolidated financial statements 
and the case was dismissed. 

(c) Employment Change of Control and Indemnification Agreements

We have an employment agreement with our CEO and President. The employment agreement generally provides for an 
annual salary and bonus award. We have also entered into change of control agreements with certain of our executive 
officers  and  certain  key  employees. All  of  these  agreements  may  require  payments  by  us,  in  certain  circumstances, 
including, but not limited to, a change in control of our Company. 

(15) Goodwill

The following table represents the amount of goodwill by reportable operating segment, including the changes in the 
net carrying value of goodwill for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017 and 2016: 

Balance as of July 31, 2016

Commercial
Solutions
$ 229,273,000

Government
Solutions

Total

58,345,000

$ 287,618,000

Additions resulting from TCS acquisition

2,167,000

848,000

3,015,000

Balance as of July 31, 2017

$ 231,440,000

59,193,000

$ 290,633,000

F- 37

 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

See Note (2) "Acquisition" for further discussion of the TCS acquisition. The additions to goodwill resulting from the 
TCS acquisition in fiscal 2017 were primarily related to the finalization of: (i) the estimated fair value of TCS's 911 call 
handling software warranty obligations; (ii) TCS's income tax returns for the pre-acquisition period which began January 
1, 2016 and ended February 23, 2016 and calendar year 2015; (iii) revisions to the estimated fair value of certain fixed 
assets; and (iv) the related adjustments to deferred income taxes. These measurement period adjustments were recorded 
to reflect final determinations of estimated fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed in connection 
with the TCS acquisition based on facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date.

In accordance with FASB ASC 350 "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other" we perform a goodwill impairment analysis at 
least annually (in the first quarter of each fiscal year), unless indicators of impairment exist in interim periods. If we fail 
the quantitative assessment of goodwill impairment ("quantitative assessment"), pursuant to our adoption of FASB ASU 
No. 2017-04 in fiscal 2017, we would be required to recognize an impairment loss equal to the amount that a reporting 
unit's carrying value exceeded its fair value; however, any loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill 
allocated to that reporting unit. 

On August 1, 2017 (the first day of our fiscal 2018), we performed our annual quantitative assessment using market 
participant assumptions to determine if the fair value of each of our reporting units with goodwill exceeded its carrying 
value. In making this assessment, we considered, among other things, expectations of projected net sales and cash flows, 
assumptions impacting the weighted average cost of capital, trends in trading multiples of comparable companies, changes 
in our stock price and changes in the carrying values of our reporting units with goodwill. We also considered overall 
business conditions. 

In performing the quantitative assessment, we estimated the fair value of each of our reporting units using a combination 
of the income and market approaches. The income approach, also known as the discounted cash flow ("DCF") method, 
utilizes the present value of cash flows to estimate fair value. The future cash flows for our reporting units were projected 
based on our estimates, at that time, of future revenues, operating income and other factors (such as working capital and 
capital expenditures). For purposes of conducting our impairment analysis, we assumed revenue growth rates and cash 
flow projections that are below our actual long-term expectations. The discount rates used in our DCF method were based 
on a weighted-average cost of capital ("WACC") determined from relevant market comparisons, adjusted upward for 
specific reporting unit risks (primarily the uncertainty of achieving projected operating cash flows). A terminal value 
growth rate was applied to the final year of the projected period and reflected our estimate of stable, perpetual growth. 
We then calculated a present value of the respective cash flows for each reporting unit to arrive at an estimate of fair value 
under the income approach. Under the market approach, we estimated a fair value based on comparable companies' market 
multiples of revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and factored in a control premium. 
Finally, we compared our estimates of fair values to our August 1, 2017 total public market capitalization and assessed 
implied control premiums based on our common stock price of $18.47 as of August 1, 2017. 

Based on our quantitative evaluation, we determined that our Commercial Solutions and Government Solutions reporting 
units had estimated fair values in excess of their carrying values of at least 17.8% and 52.9%, respectively, and concluded 
that our goodwill was not impaired and that neither of our two reporting units was at risk of failing the quantitative 
assessment. However, in order to sensitize our goodwill impairment test, we performed a second analysis using only the 
income approach and concluded that neither reporting units' goodwill was impaired or at risk of failing the quantitative 
assessment. It is possible that, during fiscal 2018 or beyond, business conditions (both in the U.S. and internationally) 
could deteriorate from the current state, our current or prospective customers could materially postpone, reduce or even 
forgo purchases of our products and services to a greater extent than we currently anticipate or our common stock price 
could decline. A significant decline in our customers' spending that is greater than we anticipate or a shift in funding 
priorities may also have a negative effect on future orders, sales, income and cash flows and we might be required to 
perform an interim quantitative assessment during fiscal 2018 or beyond. If assumed net sales and cash flow projections 
are not achieved in future periods or our common stock price significantly declines from current levels , our Commercial 
Solutions and Government Solutions reporting units could be at risk of failing the quantitative assessment and goodwill 
and intangibles assigned to the respective reporting units could be impaired. 

F- 38

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

In any event, we are required to perform the next annual goodwill impairment analysis on August 1, 2018 (the start of 
our fiscal 2019). If our assumptions and related estimates change in the future, or if we change our reporting unit structure 
or other events and circumstances change (e.g., a sustained decrease in the price of our common stock (considered on 
both absolute terms and relative to peers)), we may be required to record impairment charges when we perform these 
tests, or in other future periods. In addition to our impairment analysis of goodwill, we also review net intangible assets 
with finite lives when an event occurs indicating the potential for impairment. We believe that the carrying values of our 
net intangible assets were recoverable as of July 31, 2017. Any impairment charges that we may record in the future could 
be material to our results of operation and financial condition.

(16) Intangible Assets

Intangible assets with finite lives as of July 31, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:

Weighted Average
Amortization Period

Gross Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

Net Carrying
Amount

July 31, 2017

Customer relationships

Technologies

Trademarks and other

Total

20.3

12.3

16.4

$

249,831,000

41,923,000

$ 207,908,000

82,370,000

28,894,000

48,623,000

8,678,000

33,747,000

20,216,000

$

361,095,000

99,224,000

$ 261,871,000

July 31, 2016

Weighted Average
Amortization Period
20.3
12.3
16.3

Customer relationships
Technologies
Trademarks and other
Total

Gross Carrying
Amount
249,831,000
82,370,000
28,894,000
361,095,000

$

$

Accumulated
Amortization

28,497,000
42,860,000
5,044,000
76,401,000

Net Carrying
Amount
$ 221,334,000
39,510,000
23,850,000
$ 284,694,000

The weighted average amortization period in the above table excludes fully amortized intangible assets. 

Amortization expense for the years ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $22,823,000, $13,415,000 and $6,211,000, 
respectively. 

Intangible assets at July 31, 2017 and 2016, and the associated amortization expense for the fiscal years ended July 31, 
2017 and 2016, include the impact of the TCS acquisition which closed on February 23, 2016 and which is further 
discussed in Note (2) "Acquisition."

The estimated amortization expense consists of the following for the fiscal years ending July 31: 

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

$ 21,075,000

17,155,000

17,155,000

16,196,000

14,955,000

F- 39

 
 
 
 
 
 
COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(17) Stockholders’ Equity

Sale of Common Stock
In June 2016, the Company sold 7,145,000 shares of its common stock in a public offering at a price of $14.00 per share, 
resulting in proceeds to the Company of $95,029,000, net of underwriting discounts and commissions. As of July 31, 
2017  and  September 27,  2017,  an  aggregate  registered  amount  of  $74,970,000  under  the  Company's  existing  Shelf 
Registration Statement filed with the SEC remains available for sale of various types of securities, including debt. During 
the fiscal year ended July 31, 2016, the Company recorded $1,112,000 of total issuance costs related to this common 
stock offering, $959,000 of which was a reduction to the additional paid-in capital included in the Consolidated Balance 
Sheet as of July 31, 2016. 

Stock Repurchase Program
As of July 31, 2017 and September 27, 2017, we were authorized to repurchase up to an additional $8,664,000 of our 
common stock, pursuant to our current $100,000,000 stock repurchase program. Our stock repurchase program has no 
time restrictions and repurchases may be made in open-market or privately negotiated transactions and may be made 
pursuant to SEC Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. There were no repurchases made during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2017
or 2016. 

Dividends
Since  September  2010,  we  have  paid  quarterly  dividends  pursuant  to  an  annual  targeted  dividend  amount  that  was 
established by our Board of Directors. On October 6, 2016, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.30 per 
common share, which was paid on November 22, 2016. On December 7, 2016, March 8, 2017 and June 7, 2017, our 
Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, which were paid on February 17, 2017, May 19, 2017
and August 18, 2017, respectively.  

On September 27, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.10 per common share, payable on November 17, 
2017 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 18, 2017. 

Future dividends remain subject to compliance with financial covenants under our Secured Credit Facility, as amended, 
as well as Board approval.

F- 40

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Continued

(18) Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data

The following is a summary of unaudited quarterly operating results.  Our historical results prior to February 23, 2016 do 
not include TCS; as such, you should not rely on period-to-period comparisons as an indicator of future performance as 
these comparisons may not be meaningful.

Fiscal 2017

Net sales

Gross profit

Net (loss) income

Diluted (loss) income

per share

Fiscal 2016

Net sales

Gross profit

Net income (loss)

Diluted income (loss)

per share

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Total

$ 135,786,000

139,028,000

127,792,000

147,762,000

$ 550,368,000

52,108,000

(2,489,000)

53,204,000

52,461,000

60,412,000

218,185,000

6,585,000

4,417,000

7,314,000

15,827,000

(0.11)

0.28

0.19

0.31

0.67

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Total

$

64,117,000

70,323,000

124,187,000

152,377,000

$ 411,004,000

28,202,000

1,439,000

29,438,000

2,476,000

51,391,000
(14,355,000)

62,206,000

2,702,000

171,237,000
(7,738,000)

0.09

0.15

(0.89)

0.14

(0.46) *

Fiscal 2015

Net sales

Gross profit

Net income

Diluted income per share

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Total

$

76,391,000

35,325,000

5,225,000

0.32

81,802,000

37,875,000

7,585,000

0.46

71,633,000

32,308,000

4,960,000

0.30

77,463,000

$ 307,289,000

33,376,000

138,884,000

5,475,000

23,245,000

0.34

1.42

* The per share information is computed independently for each quarter and the full year based on the respective weighted average 
number of common shares outstanding. Therefore, income per share information for the full fiscal year may not equal the total of 
the quarters within the year.

F- 41

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Schedule II

COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES

Valuation and Qualifying Accounts and Reserves

Fiscal Years Ended July 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 

Column A

Column B

Column C Additions

Column D  

Column E

Balance at
beginning of
period

Charged to
cost and
expenses

Charged to
other 
accounts
- describe

Transfers
(deductions)
- describe

Balance at
end of
period

Description

Allowance for doubtful
accounts receivable:

Year ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

$ 1,029,000

1,206,000

627,000

497,000

907,000

764,000

(A)

(A)

(A)

Inventory reserves:

Year ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

$ 16,198,000

16,904,000

16,309,000

2,900,000

2,780,000

2,813,000

(C)

(C)

(C)

—

—

—

—

—

—

(226,000)
(1,084,000)
(185,000)

(B)

(B)

(B)

$ 1,300,000

1,029,000

1,206,000

(3,079,000)
(3,486,000)
(2,218,000)

(D)

(D)

(D)

$ 16,019,000

16,198,000

16,904,000

Valuation allowance for
deferred tax assets:

Year ended July 31,

2017

2016

2015

$ 9,624,000

4,442,000

2,958,000

324,000

524,000

1,484,000

(E)

(E)

(E)

121,000

4,658,000

(F)

(F)

(1,436,000)
—

—

—

(F)

$ 8,633,000

9,624,000

4,442,000

(A)  Provision for doubtful accounts.
(B)  Write-off of uncollectible receivables.
(C)  Provision for excess and obsolete inventory.
(D)  Write-off of inventory.
(E)  Change in valuation allowance.
(F)  Acquisition related valuation allowance charged to (deducted) from goodwill.

S- 1

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
[ This page intentionally left blank. ]

 
CORPORATE INFORMATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Fred Kornberg (1) (5)
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer 
and President

Edwin Kantor (1) (3) (4)
Lead Independent Director
Chairman of S2K Partners LLC

Ira Kaplan (3) (4) (5)
Private Investor 

Robert G. Paul (2) (4)
Private Investor

Dr. Yacov A. Shamash (2) (5)
Vice President of Economic 
Development at Stony Brook University

Lawrence J. Waldman (1) (2) (3)
Senior Advisor
First Long Island Investors, LLC

(1) Executive Committee 

(2) Audit Committee

(3) Executive Compensation Committee

(4) Nominating and Governance Committee

(5) Science and Technology Committee

CORPORATE MANAGEMENT
Fred Kornberg
President and Chief Executive Officer

Michael D. Porcelain
Senior Vice President; 
Chief Financial Officer

SUBSIDIARY MANAGEMENT
John Branscum
Senior Vice President;
President of Comtech Xicom Technology, Inc.
and Comtech EF Data Corp. 

Richard L. Burt
Senior Vice President; 
President of Comtech Systems, Inc. 

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC 
ACCOUNTANTS 
Deloitte & Touche LLP 
Jericho, New York

MARKET FOR COMMON STOCK
Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ 
Stock Market LLC  under the stock symbol CMTL

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT
American Stock Transfer and Trust Co.
6201 15th Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11219

COMMON STOCK PRICE RANGE

Michael Atcheson
President of Command and Control Technologies

Lynne Houserman
President of Safety and Security Technologies

Fiscal Year Ended July 31, 2017
First Quarter  
Second Quarter  
Third Quarter  
Fourth Quarter  

High   

Low

$  13.84 
12.81  
15.25  
19.80 

$  9.84
9.52
10.53
13.75

Michael V. Hrybenko
President of Comtech PST Corp. 

Jay F. Whitehurst
President of Enterprise Technologies

INVESTOR RELATIONS AND 
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Visit us at www.comtechtel.com or call (631) 962-7000. A copy 
of the Form 10-K Annual Report, exhibits and other reports as 
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission are available 
to  shareholders.  Requests  for  information  should  be  made  by 
submitting  an  email  to  info@comtechtel.com  or  by  writing  to 
us at Comtech Telecommunications Corp., Attention: Corporate 
Secretary, 68 South Service Road, Suite 230, Melville, NY 11747. 

    
                    
68 South Service Road, Suite 230
Melville, New York 11747
Tel: (631) 962-7000 • Fax: (631) 962-7001
www.comtechtel.com