Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Stock-Based Compensation

v3.7.0.1
Stock-Based Compensation
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Share-based Compensation [Abstract]  
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based Compensation:
Employee Stock Incentive Plans
The Westell Technologies, Inc. 2015 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (the 2015 Plan) was approved at the annual meeting of stockholders on September 16, 2015. The 2015 Plan replaced the Westell Technologies, Inc. 2004 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2004 Plan). If any award granted under the 2015 Plan or the 2004 Plan is canceled, terminates, expires, or lapses for any reason, any shares subject to such award will again be available for the grant of an award under the 2015 Plan. Shares subject to an award will not be made available again for issuance under the Plan if such shares are: (a) shares delivered to or withheld by the Company to pay the grant or purchase price of an award, or (b) shares delivered to or withheld by the Company to pay the withholding taxes related to an award. Any awards or portions thereof that are settled in cash and not in shares will not be counted against the foregoing Share limit. There are a total of 5,442,953 shares available for issuance under the 2015 Plan as of March 31, 2017. The stock options, restricted stock awards, and RSUs awarded granted under the 2015 Plan vest in equal annual installments over 3 years for employees and 1 year for independent directors. The stock options, restricted stock awards, and RSUs awarded under the 2004 Plan vest in equal annual installments over 4 years. PSUs earned vest over the performance period, as described below. Certain awards provide for accelerated vesting if there is a change in control (as defined in the 2015 Plan), or when provided within individual employment contracts. During the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company completed the early adoption of ASU 2016-09 described in Note 2, and made the policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The Company issues new shares of stock for awards under the 2015 Plan.
Stock-Based Compensation
Total stock-based compensation is reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows:
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
(in thousands)
2017
 
2016
Cost (benefit) of revenue
$
34

 
$
(5
)
Sales and marketing
482

 
221

Research and development
163

 
310

General and administrative
915

 
739

Stock-based compensation
1,594

 
1,265

Income tax benefit

 

Total stock-based compensation, after taxes
$
1,594

 
$
1,265


Stock Options
Stock options that have been granted by the Company have an exercise price that is equal to the reported value of the Company’s stock on the grant date. The Company’s options have a contractual term of 7 or 10 years. Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period for the award.
The Company uses the Black-Scholes model to estimate the fair value of employee stock options on the date of grant. That model employs parameters for which the Company has made estimates according to the assumptions noted below. Expected volatilities were based on historical volatilities of the Company’s stock. The expected option lives represent the period of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding based on historical trends. The risk-free interest rates were based on the United States Treasury yield curve for the expected term at the time of grant. The dividend yield was based on expected dividends at the time of grant, which has always been zero.
The Company recorded expense of $0.3 million and $0.2 million the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to stock options. There were no options exercised in fiscal years 2017 and 2016.
Option activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 is as follows:
 
Shares
 
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price Per
Share
 
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (in
years)
 
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value(1)
(in thousands)
Outstanding on March 31, 2016
1,847,500

 
$
1.42

 
 
 
 
Granted
1,512,250

 
$
1.06

 
 
 
 
Exercised

 
$

 
 
 
 
Forfeited
(1,391,876
)
 
$
1.19

 
 
 
 
Expired
(518,292
)
 
$
1.52

 
 
 
 
Outstanding on March 31, 2017
1,449,582

 
$
1.22

 
5.4
 
$
39

Exercisable on March 31, 2017
302,955

 
$
1.81

 
3.7
 
$
0

(1) The intrinsic value for the stock options is calculated based on the difference between the exercise price of the underlying awards and the Westell Technologies’ closing stock price as of the reporting date.
As of March 31, 2017, there was $0.3 million of pre-tax stock option compensation expense related to non-vested awards not yet recognized, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.0 years.
The fair value of each option was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Input assumptions:
 
 
 
Expected volatility
50
%
 
48
%
Risk-free interest rate
1.1
%
 
1.3
%
Expected life
4 years

 
4 years

Expected dividend yield
0
%
 
0
%
Output weighted-average grant date fair value
$0.42
 
$0.46

Restricted Stock
Vesting of restricted stock is subject to continued employment with the Company. During fiscal years 2017 and 2016, non-employee directors received grants of 115,000 and 110,000 shares with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $0.60 and $1.18, respectively. The Company recognizes compensation expense restricted stock on a straight-line basis over the vesting periods for the award based on the market value of Westell Technologies stock on the date of grant.
The following table sets forth restricted stock activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017:
 
Shares
 
Weighted-Average
Grant Date Fair
Value
Non-vested as of March 31, 2016
217,500

 
$2.07
Granted
115,000

 
$0.60
Vested
(195,000
)
 
$1.94
Forfeited

 
$0.00
Non-vested as of March 31, 2017
137,500

 
$1.03
The Company recorded $0.0 million and $0.2 million of expense in the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to restricted stock. As of March 31, 2017, there was $0.1 million of pre-tax unrecognized compensation expense, related to non-vested restricted stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.7 years. The total intrinsic fair value of shares vested was $0.1 million during the both the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017 and 2016.
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
In fiscal years 2017 and 2016, there were 1,881,505 and 1,502,500 shares with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $0.99 and $1.21, respectively, of RSUs awarded to certain key employees. These awards convert into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis upon vesting. The Company recognizes compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting for the award based on the market value of Westell Technologies stock on the date of grant.
The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million and $0.9 million for RSUs in fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively. As of March 31, 2017, there was approximately $1.2 million of pre-tax unrecognized compensation expense related to the RSUs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.9 years. The total intrinsic fair value of RSUs vested during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, was $0.5 million and $0.3 million, respectively.
The following table sets forth the RSUs activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017:
 
Shares
 
Weighted-Average
Grant Date Fair
Value
Non-vested as of March 31, 2016
1,843,375

 
$1.59
Granted
1,881,505

 
$0.99
Vested
(725,377
)
 
$1.64
Forfeited
(1,503,959
)
 
$1.29
Non-vested as of March 31, 2017
1,495,544

 
$1.12

Performance-based RSUs (PSUs)
During fiscal year 2017, 225,000 and 262,324 PSUs were granted to the Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other key employees, respectively. The PSUs granted to the CEO contained vesting criteria based upon achievement of certain performance goals (either by reducing quarterly operating expenses in the third or fourth quarter to a certain level or achieving profitability in the third or fourth quarter on a non-GAAP basis) tied to the cost savings plan approved by the Board and the PSUs granted to employees had similar targets but required meeting such performance targets in both the third and fourth quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Compensation Committee reviewed the financial results for the third quarter determined that all 225,000 PSUs issued to the CEO met the performance standard and vested during the fourth quarter in fiscal year 2017. The PSUs granted to key employees have also been earned based upon the achievement of the performance goals, but have a continued employment provision and will vest one year from the grant date. Upon vesting, the PSUs convert into shares of Class A Common Stock of the Company on a one-for-one basis.
For PSUs granted prior to fiscal year 2017, the PSUs vest in annual increments based on the achievement of pre-established Company performance goals and continued employment. The number of PSUs earned, if any, can range from 0% to 200% of the target amount, depending on actual performance for four fiscal years following the grant date. Upon vesting, the PSUs convert into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis. The Company recognizes compensation expense using the accelerated attribution model based on the market value of Westell Technologies stock on the date of grant.
In fiscal year 2015, certain executives were granted a total of 217,500 PSUs at target. The performance targets in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015 for the fiscal year 2015 grants were not achieved and therefore no shares were earned in the first three measurement periods.
In fiscal year 2014, certain executives were granted a total of 285,000 PSUs at target. The performance in fiscal year 2014 measured against the first performance target resulted in the executives earning 94% of the PSUs. The targets in the remaining three performance measurement period in fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017, were not achieved and therefore no additional PSUs were earned in those periods.
The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $0.2 million and $0.0 million for PSUs in fiscal years 2017 and 2016, respectively. As of March 31, 2017, there was approximately $75,000 of pre-tax unrecognized compensation expense related to the PSUs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.6 years. The total intrinsic fair value of PSUs vested during fiscal years 2017 and 2016 was $197,000 and $31,000, respectively.
The following table sets forth the PSUs activity for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017:
 
Shares
 
Weighted-Average
Grant Date Fair
Value
Non-vested as of March 31, 2016
64,075

 
$3.29
Granted
487,324

 
$0.48
Vested
(236,713
)
 
$0.59
Forfeited
(10,472
)
 
$3.43
Non-vested as of March 31, 2017
304,214

 
$0.89