Collectors Universe Inc (CLCT) SEC Quarterly Report (10-Q) for Q1 2016

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

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 website, if any, every interactive data file required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (section 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 whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a "smaller reporting company". See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):

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APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE ISSUERS:

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1 – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.     Financial Statements

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In Thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In Thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Continued)

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(UNAUDITED)

Forward-Looking Statements

The discussion in this Item 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this "Report") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "1934 Act"). Those Sections of the 1933 Act and 1934 Act provide a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their expected future financial performance so long as they provide cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause their actual results to differ from projected or anticipated results. Other than statements of historical fact, all statements in this Report and, in particular, any projections of or statements as to our expectations or beliefs concerning our future financial performance or financial condition or as to trends in our business or in our markets, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often include the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project," or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Our actual financial performance in future periods may differ significantly from the currently expected financial performance set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this Report due to the risks to which our business is subject and other circumstances or occurrences which are not presently predictable and over which we do not have control. Consequently, the forward-looking statements and information contained in this Report are qualified in their entirety by, and readers of this Report are urged to read the risk factors that are described in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 (the "Fiscal 2015 10-K"), which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on August 27, 2015, and the section, entitled "Factors that Can affect our Results of Operations or Financial Position," below in this Item 2.

Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements that are contained or recent trends that we describe in this Report, which speak only as of the date of this Report, or to make predictions about our future financial performance based solely on our historical financial performance. We also disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this Report or in our Fiscal 2015 10-K or any of our other prior filings with the SEC, except as may be required by applicable law or applicable NASDAQ rules.

Our Business

Collectors Universe, Inc. ("we", "us", "our", or the "Company") provides authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value coins, trading cards, event tickets, autographs, and sports and historical memorabilia. We believe that our authentication and grading services add value to these collectibles by providing dealers and collectors with a high level of assurance as to the authenticity and quality of the collectible they seek to buy or sell; thereby enhancing their marketability and providing increased liquidity to the dealers, collectors and consumers that own, buy and sell such collectibles.

We principally generate revenues from the fees paid for our authentication and grading services. To a lesser extent, we generate revenues from other related services which consist of: (i) revenues from sales of advertising placed and commissions earned on our websites; (ii) sales of printed publications and collectibles price guides and sales of advertising in our publications; (iii) sales of membership subscriptions in our Collectors Club, which is designed primarily to attract interest in high-value collectibles among new collectors; (iv) sales of subscriptions to our CCE dealer-to-dealer Internet bid-ask market for coins that have been authenticated and graded (or "certified") and through December 31, 2015 to our CoinFacts ™ website, which offers a comprehensive one-stop source for historical U.S. numismatic information and value-added content; and (v) the management and operation of collectibles trade shows and conventions. We also generate revenues from sales of our collectibles inventory, which is comprised primarily of collectible coins that we have purchased under our coin grading warranty program; however, such product sales are neither the focus nor an integral part of our on-going revenue generating activities.

Overview of Three and Nine Months ended March 31, 2016 Operating Results

The following table sets forth comparative financial data for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

The service revenues of $17.3 million and operating income of $4.4 million earned in the third quarter of fiscal 2016, represented record quarterly operating results for the business.

Service revenues increased by 8.0% in this year's third quarter as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015. That increase, included increases of 8.4% in our coin business and 9.1% in our cards and autographs business, and represented record quarterly revenues for both those businesses. Services revenue for the nine months ended March 31, 2016, declined by 3.9%, as compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2015 and primarily reflected reductions in our modern business, due to of the absence of commemorative coin revenues in first half of the current year. The revenue changes are discussed in more detail under Net Revenues below.

As set out in the table above, operating income was $4.4 million and $9.3 million for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, respectively, as compared to $3.7 million and $9.3 million in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015. Operating income in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 reflects: (i) a warranty benefit of $0.7 million, ( See Critical Accounting Policies: Warranty Costs ) (ii) increased losses attributable to Collectors.com of $0.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively, and (iii) lower non-cash stock- based compensation expense of $0.3 million and $1.4 million, respectively, ( s ee Critical Accounting Policies: Restricted Stock Awards ).

These, as well as other factors affecting our operating results in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, are described in more detail below. See "Factors that Can Affect our Operating Results and Financial Position" and "Results of Operations for the Three and Nine Months Ended March 31, 2016, as compared to the Three and Nine Months Ended March 31, 2015".

Factors That Can Affect our Operating Results and Financial Position

Factors That Can Affect our Revenues and Gross Profit Margins . Authentication and grading fees accounted for approximately 86% of our service revenues in the nine months ended March 31, 2016. The amount of those fees and our gross profit margins are primarily driven by the volume and mix of coin and collectibles sales and purchase transactions by collectibles dealers and collectors, because our authentication and grading services generally facilitate sales and purchases of coins and other high value collectibles by providing dealers and collectors with a high level of assurance as to the authenticity and quality of the collectibles they seek to sell or buy. Consequently, dealers and collectors most often submit coins and other collectibles to us for authentication and grading at those times when they are in the market to sell or buy coins and the other high-value collectibles, that we authenticate and grade.

In addition, our coin authentication and grading and revenues are impacted by the volume of modern coin submissions, which can be volatile, primarily depending on the timing and size of modern commemorative and other coin marketing programs by the United States Mint and by customers or dealers who specialize in sales of such coins.

Our authentication and grading revenues and gross profit margins are affected by (i) the volume and mix of authentication and grading submissions among coins and trading cards; (ii) in the case of coins and trading cards, the turnaround times requested by our customers, because we charge higher fees for faster service times; and (iii) the mix of authentication and grading submissions between vintage or "classic" coins and trading cards, on the one hand, and modern coins and trading cards, on the other hand, because dealers generally request faster turnaround times for vintage or classic coins and trading cards than they do for modern submissions, as vintage or classic collectibles generally are of significantly higher value than modern coins and trading cards; and (iv) as discussed above, the volume and timing of marketing programs for modern coins. Furthermore, because a significant proportion of our costs of revenues are relatively fixed in nature in the short term, our gross profit margin is also affected by the overall volume of collectibles that we authenticate and grade in any period.

Our revenues and gross profit margin are also affected by the number of coin authentication and grading submissions we receive at collectibles trade shows where we provide on-site authentication and grading services to show attendees, because show attendees typically request higher priced same-day turnaround for the coins they submit to us for authentication and grading at those shows. The number of trade show submissions varies from period to period depending upon a number of factors, including the number and the timing of the shows in each period and the volume of collectible coins that are bought and sold at those shows by dealers and collectors. In addition, the number of such submissions and, therefore, the revenues and gross profit margin we generate from the authentication and grading of coins at trade shows can be impacted by dealer and collector sentiment arising from short-term changes in the prices of gold that may occur around the time of shows, because short-term changes in gold prices can affect the willingness of dealers and collectors to sell and purchase coins at the shows.

Five of our coin authentication and grading customers accounted, in the aggregate, for approximately 19% and 14% of our total net revenues in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016. As a result, the loss of any of those customers, or a significant decrease in the volume of grading submissions from any of them to us, could cause our net revenues to decline and, therefore, could adversely affect our results of operations.

The following tables provide information regarding the respective numbers of coins, trading cards and autographs that we authenticated and graded in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, and their estimated values, which are the amounts at which those coins and trading cards were declared for insurance purposes by the dealers and collectors who submitted them to us for grading and authentication:

(1)      Consists of trading card units authenticated and graded by our PSA trading card authentication and grading business and autographs certified by our PSA/DNA autograph authentication and grading business.

Impact of Economic Conditions on our Financial Performance. As discussed above, our operating results are affected by the number of collectibles transactions by collectibles dealers and collectors which, in turn, is primarily affected by (i) the cash flows generated by collectibles dealers and their confidence about future economic conditions, which affect their willingness and the ability of such dealers to purchase collectibles for resale; (ii) the availability and cost of borrowings because collectibles dealers often rely on borrowings to fund their purchases of collectibles, (iii) the disposable income available to collectors and their confidence about future economic conditions, because high-value collectibles are generally purchased with disposable income; (iv) prevailing and anticipated rates of inflation and the strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar, and uncertainties regarding the strength of the economy in the United States, Western Europe and China, because conditions and uncertainties of this nature often lead investors and consumers to purchase or invest in gold and silver coins as a hedge against inflation or reductions in the purchasing power of the U.S. currency; and as an alternative to investments in government bonds and other treasury instruments; and (v) the performance and volatility of the gold and other precious metals markets, which can affect the level of purchases and sales of collectible coins, because investors and consumers will often increase their purchases of gold coins, as well as other hard assets if they believe that the market prices of those assets will increase. As a result, the volume of collectibles transactions and, therefore, the demand for our authentication and grading services, generally increase during periods characterized by increases in disposable income and the availability of lower cost borrowings, on the one hand, or increases in inflation or in gold prices, economic uncertainties and declines in business and consumer confidence or a weakening of the U.S. dollar on the other hand. By contrast, collectibles transactions and, therefore, the demand for our services generally decline during periods characterized by economic downturns or recessions, declines in consumer and business confidence, an absence of inflationary pressures, or periods of stagnation or a downward trend in the market prices of gold. However, these conditions can sometimes counteract each other as it is not uncommon, for example, for investors to shift funds from gold to other investments during periods of economic growth and growing consumer and business confidence and from stocks and other investments to gold during periods of economic uncertainties and decreases in disposable income and consumer and business confidence.

Fact ors That Can Affect our Liquidity and Financial Position . A substantial number of our authentication and grading customers pay our authentication and grading fees when they submit their collectibles to us for authentication and grading or prior to the shipment of the collectible back to them. As a result, historically, we have been able to rely on internally generated cash and have never incurred borrowings to fund our continuing operations. We currently expect that internally generated cash flows and current cash and cash equivalent balances will be sufficient to fund our continuing operations at least during the next 12 months.

In addition to the operating performances of our businesses, and in particular our coin business, our overall financial position can also be affected by the dividend policy adopted by the Board of Directors from time to time, the Company's decisions to invest in and to fund the acquisition of established and/or early stage businesses and any capital raising activities or stock repurchases. In addition, our financial position is impacted by the Company's tax position. As previously disclosed, the Company has fully utilized all of its federal net operating loss carry forwards and other tax attributes, and therefore we pay federal income taxes at a rate of approximately 35% of taxable income on an annual basis. The Company continues to have net operating losses and other tax credits available for state income tax purposes in California, which should allow us to pay taxes at minimum levels in California for the foreseeable future.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Except as discussed below, during the nine months ended March 31, 2016 there were no changes in our critical accounting policies or estimates which are described in Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. Readers of this report are urged to read that Section of the Annual Report for a more complete understanding and detailed discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates.

Warranty Costs

We offer a limited warranty covering the coins and trading cards that we authenticate and grade. Under the warranty, if any collectible coin or trading card that was previously authenticated and graded by us is later submitted to us for re-grading and either (i) receives a lower grade upon that re-submittal or (ii) is determined not to have been authentic, we will offer to purchase the collectible or, in the alternative, at the customer's option, pay the difference in value of the item at its original grade, as compared with its lower grade. However, this warranty is voided if the collectible, upon re-submittal to us, is not in the same tamper-resistant holder in which it was placed at the time we last graded it. We accrue for estimated warranty costs based on historical trends and related experience and monitor the adequacy of our warranty reserves on an ongoing basis. In the third quarter fiscal 2016, the Company performed a detailed analysis of our coin warranty payments and related reserve requirements. Due to improved operational systems, we were able to better match warranty payments to the periods in which the coins were originally authenticated and graded by us. We concluded that, although there is no time limitation on our warranty obligation, the majority of our warranty claims arise within five years of the coin being authenticated and graded by us. Therefore, we deemed it appropriate to reduce our warranty reserve to $869,000 at March 31, 2016, which reduced the warranty expense recognized in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 by $656,000 as compared to the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015. Furthermore, our improved systems allows us to accrue for estimated warranty costs for coins more precisely and in future quarters we will accrue warranty costs, at a rate per coin that reflects the nature of the coin (i.e. vintage or modern) and our related warranty payment experience.

Goodwill

We test the carrying value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually on their respective acquisition anniversary dates, or more frequently if indicators of impairment are determined to exist. When testing for impairment, in accordance with Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-08, we consider qualitative factors, and where determined necessary, we proceed to the two-step goodwill impairment test. When applying the two-step impairment test, we apply a discounted cash flow model or an income approach in determining a fair value that is used to estimate the fair value of the reporting unit on a total basis, which is then compared to the carrying value of the reporting unit. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the reporting unit, no impairment of goodwill exists as of the measurement date. However, if the fair value is less than the carrying value, then there is the possibility of goodwill impairment and further testing and re-measurement of goodwill is required.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2015, we completed the annual goodwill impairment assessment with respect to the goodwill acquired in our fiscal year 2006 purchases of CCE and CoinFacts. We assessed qualitative factors, including the significant excess of their fair values over carrying value in prior years, and any material changes in the estimated cash flows of the reporting units, and determined that it was more likely than not that the fair values of CCE and CoinFacts were greater than their respective carrying values, including goodwill, and therefore, it was not necessary to proceed to the two-step impairment test.

Stock-Based Compensation

We recognize stock-based compensation attributable to service-based equity grants over the service period based on the grant date fair value. For performance-based equity grants with financial performance goals, we begin recognizing compensation expense based on the grant date fair value when it becomes probable that we will achieve the financial performance goals.

Restricted Stock Awards

In connection with the Company's Long-Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP") adopted by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors in fiscal 2013 and as previously disclosed in our Fiscal 2015 10-K, we did not achieve Performance Goal #2 in fiscal 2015 but nevertheless we still consider it probable that we will achieve that goal prior to the expiration of the Company's LTIP in fiscal 2018. Therefore, we are accruing the remaining stock-based compensation expense for Performance Goal #2 on a prospective basis, through the expected later vesting date.

At this time, it is considered too early to determine if it is probable that the Company will achieve additional Performance Goals beyond Performance Goal #2 in fiscal 2016 or future periods. We will continue to reassess at each reporting date whether it has become probable that any additional performance goals will be achieved. If, additional shares are expected to vest, additional stock-based compensation expense will be recognized based on the expected vesting period.

Stock-based compensation for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 was $159,000 and $449,000, respectively, as compared to $438,000 and $1,803,000 for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015, respectively. The reductions of $279,000 and $1,354,000 in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 as compared to respective periods of the prior year, primarily related to lower stock-based compensation expense recognized for LTIP related shares due to (i) the Threshold and Performance Goal #1 shares being fully vested at June 30, 2015 whereas in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015, expense of $113,000 and $338,000, respectively was recognized and (ii) lower expense of $148,000 and $928,000 in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, respectively, required to be recognized for the Performance Goal #2 shares, as it was originally expected that Performance Goal #2 would be achieved in fiscal 2015.

Results of Operations for the Three and Nine Months Ended March 31, 2016 as compared to the Three and Nine Months Ended March 31, 2015

Net Revenues

Net revenues consist primarily of fees that we generate from the authentication and grading of high-value collectibles, including coins, trading cards and autographs, and related special inserts, if applicable. To a lesser extent, we generate collectibles related service revenues (which we refer to as "other related revenues") from advertising and commissions earned on our websites and in printed publications and collectibles price guides; subscription revenues related to our CCE (dealer-to-dealer Internet bid-ask market for certified coins), CoinFacts (through December 31, 2015) and Collectors Club memberships; and fees earned from promoting, managing and operating collectibles trade shows. Net revenues also include, to a significantly lesser extent, revenues from the sales of products, which consist primarily of coins that we purchase under our coin authentication and grading warranty policy. We do not consider such product sales to be an integral part of our ongoing revenue generating activities.

The following table sets forth the information regarding our net revenues for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the increases (decreases) in net revenues in our larger markets (which are inclusive of revenues from our other related services) and in the number of units authenticated and graded in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

In the three months ended March 31, 2016, our total service revenues increased by $1,280,000, or 8.0%, to a quarterly record of $17,267,000 and comprised an increase of $1,440,000, or 10.5%, in authentication and grading fees partially offset by a decrease of $160,000, or 7.1%, in other related service revenues. The increase in authentication and grading fees was attributable to a $1,120,000, or 10.8% increase in coin fees and a $320,000, or 9.5%, increase in cards and autograph fees.

In the nine months ended March 31, 2016, our total service revenues decreased by $1,789,000, or 3.9%, to $44,515,000 and comprised a decrease of $1,691,000, or 4.2%, in authentication and grading fees and a decrease of $98,000 or 1.6%, in other related service revenues. The decrease in authentication and grading fees was attributable to a $2,067,000, or 6.9% decrease in coin fees partially offset by a $376,000, or 3.7%, increase in cards and autograph fees.

The increase in our coin fees of $1,120,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2016, as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015, was attributable to a record number of coins authenticated and graded in the quarter and resulted in record quarterly fees generated for modern coins and from our China and France operations. In the third quarter of fiscal 2016 as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2015: (i) world fees increased by $732,000 or 74.5%, as a result of the record quarterly revenues generated from our operations in China and France, where fees increased by 167% and 114%, respectively, (ii) trade shows fees increased by $499,000, or 34.4% reflecting increased average fees generated per show (iii) modern fees (inclusive of special inserts) increased by $189,000 or 4.1% resulting from a 44% increase in the number of units authenticated and graded in the quarter, we believe driven by the previously disclosed more competitive pricing programs that we introduced on January 1, 2016 and (iv) vintage fees decreased by $300,000 or 8.9% due to the absence in this year's third quarter of fees earned from the authentication and grading of one customer's coin collection that benefited last year's second and third quarters.

The decrease of $2,067,000 in coin fees in the nine months ended March 31, 2016, as compared to the same period of the prior year, reflects the previously disclosed reduction in coin fees in the first half of the year, partially offset by the improved performance in the third quarter, as discussed above. In the nine months ended March 31, 2016, modern coin grading fees decreased by $2,592,000, or 22.7%, vintage fees decreased by $597,000 or 6.1% whereas trade show fees increased by $798,000, or 16.5% and world fees increased by $324,000 or 8.3%.

As discussed above under "Factors That Can Affect our Revenues and Gross Profit Margin", and "Impact of Economic Conditions on our Financial Performance", the level of modern coin and trade show revenues can be volatile.

Revenues from our trading cards and autographs business increased by 9.1% in the third quarter, and by 3.7% in the nine months ended March 31, 2016 and represented record quarterly and nine month revenues from that business. Our cards and autographs business has achieved quarter-on-quarter revenue growth for 22 out of the last 23 quarters.

As previously disclosed, our third fiscal quarter is typically our seasonally strongest quarter of the year, due to the release of Gold and Silver Eagles by the US Mint in that quarter. Following the record revenues earned in the third quarter, we continue to see strong momentum in the business in the early part of the fourth quarter, although, it remains uncertain as to the level of revenue the company will achieve in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.

Despite the reduction in our coin authentication and grading revenues in the nine months ended March 31, 2016, our coin business represented approximately 66% of total service revenues in the nine months of the current year, as compared to 69% of total service revenues for the same period of the prior year, and reflects the continued importance of our coin authentication and grading business to our overall financial performance.

The reduction in other related services in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, reflects the Company's decision to eliminate, effective January 2016, the subscriptions fees that we had previously charged customers to access our CoinFacts website and therefore, to allow free access to this numismatic and value added content to all dealers and collectors. We believe that allowing free access to this information will generate more knowledgeable dealers and collectors over time, which should benefit our business and we believe will more than offset the short-term reduction in revenues, arising from this decision.

Gross Profit

Gross profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of revenues from net revenues. Gross profit margin is gross profit stated as a percent of net revenues. The costs of authentication and grading revenues consist primarily of labor to authenticate and grade collectibles, production costs, credit card fees, warranty expense and occupancy, security and insurance costs that directly relate to providing authentication and grading services. Cost of revenues also includes printing, other direct costs of the revenues generated by our other non-grading related services and the costs of product revenues, which represent the carrying value of the inventory of products (primarily collectible coins acquired pursuant to our coin warranty program) that we sold and any inventory related reserves, considered necessary.

Set forth below is information regarding our gross profit in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

As indicated in the above table, our services gross profit margins were 64.0% and 63.2% for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, respectively, as compared to 63.3% and 64.0% for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015. As discussed under our Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates: Warranty Costs , in the third quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company reduced its warranty reserve which benefited cost of revenues by $656,000 in both the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 as compared to the same respective periods of fiscal 2015. Excluding the warranty benefit, our services gross profit would have been 60.2% and 61.8% for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, respectively, which reflects in the third quarter, the more competitive pricing we introduced, effective January 1, 2016, for modern coins as discussed under Net Revenues above. In addition, as discussed in prior reports, there can be variability in the services gross profit margin due to the mix of revenues in any period. During the three years ended June 30, 2015, our quarterly services gross profit varied between 59% and 64%.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

Selling and marketing expenses include advertising and promotions costs (including costs associated with Collectors.com), trade-show related expenses, customer service personnel costs, business development incentives, depreciation and outside services. Set forth below is information regarding our selling and marketing expenses in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

Selling and marketing expenses decreased by $153,000 and $458,000 in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, respectively, as compared to the same respective periods of the prior year and included (i) decreased business development costs of $368,000 in the third quarter and $775,000 in the nine months, primarily reflecting lower incentives due to the resignation of our Vice President of Business Development (ii) increased international travel costs of $75,000 in the third quarter to support our overseas operations and decreased trade show costs of $128,000 in the nine months, due to fewer domestic trade shows in the current period and (iii) increased selling and marketing expenses of $158,000 in the third quarter and $534,000 in the nine months for Collectors.com.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative ("G&A") expenses are comprised primarily of compensation paid to general and administrative personnel, including executive management, finance and accounting and information technology personnel, non-cash stock-based compensation, facilities management costs, depreciation, amortization and other miscellaneous expenses, and G&A expenses of Collectors.com. Set forth below is information regarding our G&A expenses in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, (in thousands):

G&A expenses increased by $349,000 in this year's third quarter but decreased by $925,000 in the nine months ended March 31, 2016, as compared to the same respective periods of fiscal 2015 and included (i) lower G&A non-cash stock based compensation of $274,000 in the third quarter and $1,337,000 in the nine months, as discussed under Critical Acc ounting Policies and Estimates: Stock-Based Compensation and Restricted Stock Award , (ii) higher G&A costs for Collectors.com of $236,000 in the third quarter and $615,000 in the nine months (iii) higher legal and litigation related fees incurred of $254,000 in the third quarter whereas for the nine months we incurred lower fees of $235,000, due to the completion of two lawsuits during the first half of fiscal 2015 and (iv) higher IT related outside services of $153,000 in the nine months of the current year.

Stock-Based Compensation

As discussed in Note 1, Stock-Based Compensation Expense to the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this report, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense (in thousands), as follows:

See Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates: Stock-Based Compensation and Restricted Stock Awards for a discussion of the changes in stock-based compensation in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 as compared to the same period in the prior year.

The following table sets forth unrecognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense totaling $558,000 related to unvested stock-based awards at March 31, 2016 and represents the expense expected to be recognized through fiscal year 2019, on the assumption that the holders of the equity awards will remain in the Company's service through fiscal 2019 and the Company will achieve Performance Goal #2 by June 30, 2017. The amounts do not include the costs or effects of (i) possible grant of additional stock-based compensation awards in the future or, (ii) the cost of achieving any additional Financial Performance Goals under the Company's LTIP (in thousands):

Income Tax Expense

The income tax provisions in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016, were determined based on estimated annual effective tax rates of approximately 38% and 39%, respectively as compared to 40% and 39% in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2015, respectively.

Discontinued Operations

The income (losses) from discontinued operations (net of income taxes) for both the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, related to the Company's obligations for its New York City facilities, formerly occupied by our discontinued jewelry businesses, offset by royalty income realized from our discontinued currency business in the three and nine months ended March 31, 2016.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash and Cash Equivalent Balances

Historically, we have been able to rely on internally generated funds, rather than borrowings, as our primary source of funds to support our operations, because many of our authentication and grading customers pay our fees at the time they submit their collectibles to us for authentication and grading or prior to the shipment of their collectibles back to them.

At March 31, 2016, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $12,581,000, as compared to cash and cash equivalents of $17,254,000 at June 30, 2015.

Cash Flows

Cash Flows from Continuing Operations . During the nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, our operating activities from continuing operations generated cash of $6,332,000 and $7,842,000, respectively. The lower cash provided by operating activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2016 primarily, reflected lower operating income before non-cash stock based compensation and working capital changes.

Cash Flows of Discontinued Operations . Discontinued operations used cash of $331,000 and $471,000 in the nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily related to payments for our obligations for the New York facilities, formerly occupied by our discontinued jewelry businesses partially offset by royalty income from our discontinued currency business.

Cash g enerated or used by Investing Activities . Investing activities used cash of $1,683,000 and $1,032,000 in the nine months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In the nine months ended March 31, 2016 we used $1,113,000 for capital expenditures and $615,000 for capitalized software for Collectors.com. In the nine months ended March 31, 2015, we used of $622,000 net, for capital expenditures, $200,000 for the purchase of the business assets of IQ and $250,000 for capitalized software.

Cash used in Financing Activities . In the nine months ended March 31, 2016, financing activities used cash of $8,991,000 to fund cash dividends paid to our stockholders. In the nine months ended March 31, 2015 financing activities used $8,919,000 of which $8,415,000 was used to fund dividends to our stockholders and $504,000 was used for the repurchase of common stock to satisfy employee tax withholdings, on the vesting of restricted shares.

Outstanding Financial Obligations

Continuing Operations . The following table sets forth the amounts of our financial obligations, consisting primarily of rent expense, and sublease income, under operating leases for our continuing operations, in each of the years indicated below (in thousands):

Discontinued Operations . At December 31, 2015, one of the facility obligations, related to our discontinued jewelry businesses, expired. The following table sets forth our expected remaining minimum base payment obligation with respect to the remaining facility. The obligation, which is payable in monthly installments is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2017.

With the exception of facility obligations for continuing and discontinued operations, we do not have any material financial obligations, such as long-term debt, capital leases or purchase obligations.

Dividends. Our current dividend policy calls for us to pay quarterly cash dividends of $0.35 per share of common stock to our stockholders, for an expected total annual cash dividend of $1.40 per common share.

The declaration of cash dividends in the future, pursuant to our current dividend policy, is subject to determination each quarter by the Board of Directors based on a number of factors, including the Company's financial performance (and in particular the on-going performance to the Company's coin business), its available cash resources, its cash requirements and alternative uses of cash that the Board may conclude would represent an opportunity to generate a greater return on investment for the Company. For these reasons, as well as others, there can be no assurance that the Board of Directors will not decide to reduce the amount, or suspend or discontinue the payment, of cash dividends in the future.

Share Buyback Program . In December 2005, our Board of Directors approved a common stock buyback program that authorized up to $10,000,000 of stock repurchases in open market or privately negotiated transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC rules, when opportunities to make such repurchases, at attractive prices, become available. At March 31, 2016, we continued to have $3.7 million available under this program. However, no open market repurchases of common stock have been made under this program since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

Future Uses and Sources of Cash . We plan to use our cash resources, consisting of available cash and cash equivalent balances, together with internally generated cash flows, (i) to introduce new collectibles related services and initiatives (including Collectors.com); for our existing customers and other collectibles customers (ii) to fund the international expansion of our business; (iii) to fund working capital requirements; (iv) fund acquisitions; (v) to fund the payment of cash dividends; (vi) to pay the remaining obligations for the facility formerly occupied by our discontinued jewelry businesses; and (vii) for other general corporate purposes which may include additional repurchases of common stock under our stock buyback program.

Although we have no current plans to do so, we also may seek borrowings or credit facilities and we may issue additional shares of our stock to finance the growth of our collectibles businesses. However, there is no assurance that we would be able to obtain such borrowings or raise additional capital on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2015, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-16, on Business Combinations and Simplifying the Accounting for measurement-period adjustments. Under this guidance an acquirer is required to recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The guidance requires that the acquirer record, in the same period's financial statements, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. In addition, the guidance requires an entity to present separately on the face of the income statement or disclose in the notes, the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods thereafter.

In November 2015, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-17, on Income Taxes and the Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes. Under this updated guidance, deferred tax assets and liabilities are required to be classified as noncurrent asset or liabilities in the Company's balance sheet. The guidance is effective for financial years beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within those annual periods. Earlier adoption is permitted and the updated guidance, may be applied either prospectively or retrospectively. The Company plans to implement this guidance at June 30, 2016 and will retrospectively restate its comparable balance sheet at June 30, 2015 at that time. Had the Company adopted this guidance as of March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively, deferred tax assets of $1,599,000 classified as part of current assets would have been reclassified to noncurrent deferred tax assets, such that noncurrent deferred tax assets would have been increased from $1,945,000 to $3,544,000 at both March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015 and total current assets at March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015 would have been reduced to $19,289,000 and $22,273,000, respectively. There would have been no change to total assets at March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015 arising from this guidance.

In February 2016, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02 on Accounting for Leases. The core principle of this guidance is that a lessee should recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. A lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. If a lessee makes this election, it should recognize lease expense for such leases generally on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The adoption of this guidance is expected have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statement and related disclosures. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted.

In March 2016, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 Compensation–Stock Compensation: Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. Under this updated guidance all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies, should be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement. The tax effects of exercised or vested awards should be treated as discrete items in the reporting period in which they occur. An entity should recognize excess tax benefits regardless of whether the benefit reduces taxes payable in the current period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 5, 2016 and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted.