UNITED STATES


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549




FORM 20–F




 ̈
REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934




OR




x
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934




For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010




OR




 ̈
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934




For the transition period from   to




OR




 ̈
SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934




Date of event requiring this shell company report _____________





Commission file number 000-31215




MIND C.T.I. LTD.


(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter


and translation of Registrant’s name into English)




ISRAEL


(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)




Industrial Park, Building #7, Yoqneam, 20692, Israel


(Address of principal executive offices)




Aviram Cohen


c/o MIND C.T.I. Ltd.


Industrial Park, Building #7


Yoqneam, 20692, Israel


Tel:  +972-4-9936666


investor@mindcti.com




(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)




Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.




Title of each class
Name of each exchange on which registeredOrdinary Shares,nominal value NIS 0.01 per share
Nasdaq Global Market








Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.




None


(Title of Class)




Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.


None


(Title of Class)




Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.




As of December 31, 2010, the Registrant had outstanding 18,494,918 Ordinary Shares, nominal value NIS 0.01 per share.




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


o Yes  xNo





If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.


o Yes  xNo





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.




xYes ̈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).


oYes oNo





Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):


Large accelerated filer  ̈
Accelerated filer  ̈
Non-accelerated filer x





Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:


U.S. GAAP x
International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board  ̈
Other   ̈





If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.


o o




If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ̈ Yes x  No











Unless the context requires otherwise, “MIND”, “us”, “we” and “our” refer to MIND C.T.I. Ltd. and its subsidiaries.




FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS




Statements in this Annual Report concerning our business outlook or future economic performance; anticipated revenues, expenses or other financial items; introductions and advancements in development of products, and plans and objectives related thereto; and statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined under the United States Federal Securities Laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those set forth under “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report as well as those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.




PART I




Item 1.
Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers




Not applicable.




Item 2.
Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable




Not applicable.




Item 3.
Key Information




A.
Selected Financial Data




Except as otherwise indicated, all financial statements and other financial information included in this Annual Report are presented solely under U.S. GAAP.





The following table presents selected consolidated financial data as of and for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2010. The selected consolidated financial data presented below are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for these periods, and should be read in conjunction with these financial statements and the related notes thereto. Our audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009 and 2010 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010 and the related notes thereto are hereby incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011. You should read the selected financial data in conjunction with Item 5 “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.”





3




Years ended December 31,2006


2007


2008


2009


2010(In US $ thousands, except share and per share data)Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:Total revenues

$
20,060


$
18,447


$
19,473


$
17,574


$
19,886Gross profit


14,385



12,663



13,347



11,161



13,719Operating income (loss)


2,504



1,258



(2,294
)


2,169



4,995Auction Rate Securities Settlement


-



-



-



18,500



-Impairment of Auction Rate Securities


-



(15,187
)


(4,172
)


(941
)


-Other Financial income (expenses) – net


(222
)


2,082



568



256



49Net income (loss)


909



(11,955
)


(6,423
)


19,787



4,856Earnings (loss) per ordinary share:Basic

$
0.04


$
(0.55
)

$
(0.30
)

$
1.04


$
0.26Diluted

$
0.04


$
(0.55
)

$
(0.30
)

$
1.04


$
0.26Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computation of earnings per ordinary share – in thousands:Basic


21,515



21,586



21,473



19,012



18,467Diluted


21,546



21,586



21,473



19,012



18,613







As of December 31,2006


2007


2008


2009


2010(In US $ thousands)Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:Cash and cash equivalents

$
4,771


$
12,390


$
9,722


$
15,995


$
17,582Working capital


28,926



13,441



9,668



15,315



18,119Total assets


53,791



37,726



24,002



28,951



30,461Share capital and additional paid-in capital


59,926



57,934



53,796



39,159



35,687Treasury Shares


-



-



1,631



2,800



2,800Total shareholders’ equity


47,859



31,809



18,434



22,687



23,983







4




B.
Capitalization and Indebtedness




Not applicable.




C.
Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds




Not applicable.




D.
Risk Factors




We believe that the occurrence of any one or some combination of the following factors would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.




Risks Relating to Our Business




If we experience loss of one or more existing customers, we may suffer a decrease in revenues, reputation and profitability.




A significant part of our revenues is derived from maintenance agreements and managed services agreements. We have through the years sold niche solutions to large customers that may decide to unify the various solutions they have into one platform and dismantle niche solutions in the process, ours included. Small services providers may be acquired by larger carriers and replace our solutions with the buyer’s existing billing platform, as occurred with one of our customers in 2010.  If one or more customers cease using our solutions or services due to replacements or any other reason, our profitability would be seriously harmed and our business and results of operations would suffer.




Adverse economic conditions have adversely affected, and may further adversely affect, our business and financial results.




The turmoil in the global financial and credit markets in recent years has caused liquidity problems for many financial institutions and adversely affected general economic conditions, as well as the telecommunications market in particular. Many new and small service providers have failed and existing service providers have been reducing or delaying expenditures on new equipment and applications, which has reduced our sales and adversely affected our results of operations. A continuation of adverse economic conditions may further reduce our sales and could result in additional pressure on the price of our products, both of which would have a material adverse effect on our operating results. A continuation of such conditions could also have a number of follow-on effects on our business, including (i) a negative impact on our liquidity, financial condition and share price, which may impact our ability to raise capital in the market, obtain financing and other sources of funding in the future on terms favorable to us, and (ii) a decrease in asset values that are deemed to be other than temporary, which may result in impairment losses.




If we are unable to compete effectively in the marketplace, we may suffer a decrease in market share, revenues and profitability.




Competition in our industry is intense and we expect competition to increase. We compete both with established global billing companies such as Amdocs (after the acquisition of Sigvalue Technologies by Amdocs), Comverse (after the acquisition of the Global Software Services division of CSG Systems International by Comverse) and Oracle Corporation (after the acquisition of Portal Software by Oracle) as well as with local billing companies. Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical, sales, marketing and other resources and greater name recognition than we do. Some of our competitors, mainly the ones that focus on specific markets, have a lower cost structure and compete with us on pricing. New competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to compete effectively against current or future competitors or that competitive pressure will not harm our financial results.





5




Our business may be negatively affected by exchange rate fluctuations.




Although the majority of our revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars, approximately 34% of our expenses are incurred in New Israeli Shekel, or NIS, and approximately 32% of our expenses are incurred in Euro. As a result, we may be negatively affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates between the Euro or the NIS and the U.S. dollar. We cannot predict any future trends in the rate of inflation in Israel or the rate of devaluation or appreciation of the NIS or of the Euro against the U.S. dollar. If the U.S. dollar cost of our operations in Israel and/or Romania increases, our U.S. dollar-measured results of operations will be adversely affected. In addition, some of our revenues are denominated in Euro and some are denominated in Great Britain Pound, or GBP. As a result, our U.S. dollar-measured results of operations will be adversely affected by devaluation in the GBP or Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. We may choose to limit these exposures by entering into hedging transactions. However, hedging transactions may not enable us to avoid exchange-related losses, and our business may be harmed by exchange rate fluctuations.




If we fail to attract and retain qualified personnel we will not be able to implement our business strategy or operate our business effectively.




Our products require sophisticated research and development, sales and marketing, software programming and technical customer support. Our success depends on our ability to attract, train, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel within each of these areas of expertise. Qualified personnel in these areas are in great demand and are likely to remain a limited resource for the foreseeable future. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain the skilled employees we require. In addition, the resources required to retain such personnel may adversely affect our operating margins. The failure to retain qualified personnel may harm our business.  In particular, we maintain a large technical and support center in Jassy, Romania and have encountered many attempts from other technology companies to recruit our employees after we have trained them. If this phenomenon continues and increases, we may be forced to raise the salaries of our Romanian employees and our results of operations will be harmed.




Because a substantial majority of our revenues are generated outside of Israel, our results of operations could suffer if we are unable to manage international operations effectively.




In both 2009 and 2010, approximately 95% of our revenues, were generated outside of Israel. Our sales outside of Israel are made in more than 40 countries. We currently have sales and support offices located in Silver Spring, Maryland in the U.S. and in Reading, U.K. In addition, we have a technical and support team in Jassy, Romania. We may establish additional facilities in other parts of the world, either through acquisitions or internal expansion based on market needs. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our ability to penetrate some international markets may be limited due to different technical standards, protocols and requirements for our products in different markets. We cannot be certain that our investments in establishing facilities in other countries will produce desired levels of revenue. In addition, conducting our business internationally subjects us to a number of risks, including:




·
staffing and managing foreign operations;




·
increased risk of collection;




6




·
potentially adverse tax consequences;
  ·
the burden of compliance with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations;
  ·
burdens that may be imposed by tariffs and other trade barriers; and
  ·
political and economic instability.




Because some of our customers require a lengthy approval process before they order our products, our sales process is often subject to delays that may decrease our revenues and seriously harm our business.




In 2010, we derived 79% of our revenues from the sale of software and related services to telecommunications service providers. Before we can sell our software to some of these customers, they conduct a lengthy and complex approval and purchasing process. The following factors, among others, affect the length of the approval process:




·
the time required for our customers to determine and announce their specifications;
  ·
the time required for the customer to receive the internal approvals necessary in order for it to commit significant resources towards acquisition of the billing solution;
  ·
the build-up of the customer's network infrastructure; and
  ·
the timely release of new versions of products comprising enhanced functionality, specifically requested by the customer.




Additional delays in product approval may decrease our revenues and could seriously harm our business and results of operations.




Our backlog, revenues and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter.




Our backlog, revenues and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to a number of factors, including the following:




·
the timing of orders and/or deliveries for our software may be delayed as customers typically order and/or implement our billing and customer care software only after other vendors have provided the network infrastructure, a process that is subject to delay. It is therefore difficult for us to predict the timing of orders and/or revenue recognition;
  ·
the ability of our customers to expand their operations and increase their subscriber base, including their ability to obtain financing;
  ·
potential termination of long-term contracts by our customer due to lack of financing, internal changes or any other reason; and
  ·
changes in our pricing policies or competitive pricing by our competitors .





7





Due to all of the foregoing, we cannot predict revenues for any future quarter with any significant degree of accuracy. Accordingly, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results are not necessarily meaningful and you should not rely upon them as indications of future performance. In future quarters, our operating results may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors, and as a result, the price of our ordinary shares may fall.




The customer base for our wireline and wireless billing and customer care products is characterized by small to medium size telephony carriers. If this market segment fails to grow, the demand for our billing and customer care software would diminish substantially.




Our traditional wireline and wireless billing and customer care products target small to medium size telephony carriers. Our growth in this field depends on continued growth of these traditional telephony carriers. We cannot be certain that small to medium size telephony carriers will be able to successfully compete with large telephony carriers in existing markets or will successfully develop in new and emerging markets. If this market segment fails to grow, the demand for our billing and customer care software would diminish substantially and our business would suffer. In addition, there may never be significant demand for new billing and customer care software by providers of telecom services.




From time to time, our software and the systems into which it is installed contain undetected errors. This may cause us to experience a significant decrease in market acceptance and use of our software products and we may be subject to warranty and other liability.




From time to time, our software, as well as the systems into which it is integrated, contain undetected errors. Because of this integration, it can be difficult to determine the source of the errors. Also, from time to time, hardware systems we resell contain certain defects or errors. As a result, and regardless of the source of the errors, we could experience one or more of the following adverse results:




·
diversion of our resources and the attention of our personnel from our research and development efforts to address these errors;
  ·
negative publicity and injury to our reputation that may result in loss of existing or future customers; and
  ·
loss of or delay in revenue and loss of market share.




In addition, we may be subject to claims based on errors in our software or mistakes in performing our services. Our licenses and agreements generally contain provisions such as disclaimers of warranties and limitations on liability for special, consequential and incidental damages, designed to limit our exposure to potential claims. However, not all of our contracts contain these provisions and we cannot assure you that the provisions that exist will be enforceable. In addition, while we maintain product liability and professional indemnity insurance, we cannot assure you that this insurance will provide sufficient, or any, coverage for these claims. A product liability or professional indemnity claim, whether or not successful, could adversely affect our business by damaging our reputation, increasing our costs, and diverting the attention of our management team.




8




We may expand our business through acquisitions that could result in diversion of resources and extra expenses, and which may involve other risks that could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.




We may pursue acquisitions of business, products and technologies, or the establishment of joint venture arrangements, that could expand our business. The negotiation of potential acquisitions or joint ventures as well as the integration of an acquired or jointly developed business, technology or product could cause diversion of management's attention from the day-to-day operation of our business. This could impair our relationships with our employees, customers, distributors, resellers and marketing allies. Future acquisitions could result in:




·
potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities;
  ·
the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities;
  ·
amortization of intangible assets;
  ·
changes in our business model and margins;
  ·
research and development write-offs; and
  ·
other acquisition-related expenses.


In addition, we have limited experience with respect to negotiating an acquisition and operating an acquired business. If future acquisitions disrupt our operations, our business may suffer.




We depend on a limited number of key personnel who would be difficult to replace. If we lose the services of these individuals, our business will be harmed.




Because our market is new and evolving, the success of our business depends in large part upon the continuing contributions of our senior management. Specifically, continued growth and success largely depend on the managerial and technical skills of Monica Iancu, our President and Chief Executive Officer and one of our founders, and other members of senior management. Because the demand for highly qualified senior personnel exceeds the supply of this type of personnel, it will be difficult to replace members of our senior management if one or more of them were to leave us. If either Mrs. Iancu or other members of the senior management team are unable or unwilling to continue their employment with us, our business will be harmed.




Our success depends on our ability to continually develop and market new and more technologically advanced products and enhancements.




The market for our products and the services they are used to support is characterized by:




·
rapid technological advances like the development of new standards for communications protocols;
  ·
frequent new service offerings and enhancements by our customers, such as value-added IP-based services and new rating plans; and
  ·
changing customer needs.




We believe that our future success will largely depend upon our ability to continue to enhance our existing products and successfully develop and market new products on a cost-effective and timely basis. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in developing and marketing new products that respond adequately to technological change. Our failure to do so would have a material adverse effect on our ability to market our own products.




9




If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property or become subject to a claim of infringement, our business may be materially adversely affected.




Our success and ability to compete depend substantially upon our internally developed or acquired technology. Any misappropriation of our technology could seriously harm our business. In order to protect our technology and products, we rely on a combination of trade secret, copyright and trademark law. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our software or technology or to develop software with the same functionality. Policing unauthorized use of our products is difficult and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect our intellectual property rights as fully as in the United States.




If anyone asserts a claim against us relating to proprietary technology or information, we might seek to license his intellectual property or to develop non-infringing technology. We might not be able to obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms or on any terms. Alternatively, our efforts to develop non-infringing technology could be unsuccessful. Our failure to obtain the necessary licenses or other right or to develop non-infringing technology could prevent us from selling our software and could therefore seriously harm our business.




Breaches in the security of the data collected by our systems could adversely affect our reputation and hurt our business.




Customers rely on third-party security features to protect privacy and integrity of customer data. Our products may be vulnerable to breaches in security due to failures in the security mechanisms, the operating system, the hardware platform or the networks linked to the platform. All our solutions provide web access to information, presenting additional security issues for our customers. Security vulnerabilities could jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through the computer systems of our customers. A party that is able to circumvent our security mechanisms could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in the operations of our customers. Security breaches could damage our reputation and product acceptance would be significantly harmed, which would cause our business to suffer.




We are subject to ongoing costs and risks associated with complying with extensive corporate governance and disclosure requirements.





As an Israeli company subject to U.S. federal securities laws, we spend a significant amount of management time and resources to comply with laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, SEC regulations, Nasdaq listing rules and the Israeli Companies Law.  In connection with our compliance with Section 404 and the other applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time, and we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff, to assure that we continue to comply with these requirements. There is no guarantee that these efforts will result in management assurance that our internal control over financial reporting is adequate in future periods.  If our internal controls are found to be ineffective in future periods, it could harm our operations, financial reporting or financial results.





10





Risks Relating to the Market of our Ordinary Shares




Our share price has fluctuated and could continue to fluctuate significantly.




The market for our ordinary shares, as well as the prices of shares of other technology companies, has been volatile. The price of our ordinary shares has fluctuated significantly since our initial public offering in August 2000. A number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause the market price of our ordinary shares to fluctuate significantly, such as:




·
fluctuations in our quarterly revenues and earnings and those of our publicly held competitors;
  ·
shortfalls in our operating results from the levels forecast by securities analysts;
  ·
public announcements concerning us or our competitors;
  ·
changes in pricing policies by us or our competitors;
  ·
market conditions in our industry; and
  ·
the general state of the securities market (particularly the technology sector).




We do not control these matters and any of them may adversely affect our business internationally. In addition, trading in shares of companies listed on the Nasdaq Global Market in general and trading in shares of technology companies in particular has been subjected to extreme price and volume fluctuations that have been unrelated or disproportionate to operating performance. These broad market and industry factors may depress our share price, regardless of our actual operating results.




Substantial sales of our ordinary shares could adversely affect our share price.




Sales of a substantial number of our ordinary shares could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares. Given the likely volatility that exists for our ordinary shares, such sales could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline.




As of June 1, 2011, we had 18,724,918 outstanding ordinary shares, which were freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the federal securities laws unless held by our “affiliates”, as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As of June 1, 2011, there were outstanding options to purchase a total of 597,200 ordinary shares, of which 435,200 were vested. We have filed registration statements on Form S-8 covering all of the ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options under our stock option plans, at which time these shares will be immediately available for sale in the public market, subject to the terms of the related options.





11




Risks Relating to Our Location in Israel




Potential political, economic and military instability in Israel may harm our operating results.




We are organized under the laws of the State of Israel and a substantial portion of our assets and our principal operations, are located in Israel. Accordingly, our operations, financial position and operating results are directly influenced by economic, political and military conditions in and relating to Israel. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a condition of hostility, varying in degree and intensity, has led to security and economic problems for Israel. Since October 2000, there has been a high level of violence between Israel and the Palestinians which has strained Israel’s relationship with its Arab citizens, Arab countries and, to some extent, with other countries around the world. Recent political events in various countries in the Middle East have shaken the stability of those countries and could lead to a deterioration in their relations with Israel. In addition, Iran has threatened to attack Israel and is widely believed to be developing nuclear weapons. Iran is also believed to have a strong influence among extremist groups in the region, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This situation may potentially escalate in the future to violent events which may affect Israel and us. Any armed conflicts or political instability in the region could negatively affect business conditions and harm our results of operations. We cannot predict the effect on the region of the increase in the degree of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Furthermore, several countries and trade groups restrict business with Israel and Israeli companies, and additional countries and trade groups may restrict doing business with Israel and Israeli companies for political reasons. These restrictive laws and policies may seriously harm our operating results, financial condition or the expansion of our business. In addition, the current situation in Israel could adversely affect our operations if our customers and/or strategic allies believe that instability in the region could affect our ability to fulfill our commitments.




We currently participate in or receive tax benefits from government programs. These programs require us to meet certain conditions and these programs and benefits may be terminated or reduced in the future.




We receive tax benefits under Israeli law for capital investments, the Law for Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959, as amended, or the Investments Law, that are designated as “Approved Enterprises”. To maintain our eligibility for these tax benefits, we must continue to meet several conditions including making required investments in fixed assets. If we fail to comply with these conditions in the future, the tax benefits received could be cancelled. The termination or reduction of the tax benefits under the Investments Law could seriously harm our business, financial condition and operating results. For more information about Approved Enterprises, see Item 10.E “Taxation – Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959” and Note 8 to our financial statements, which are incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011.




Because we have received grants from the Office of the Chief Scientist, we are subject to on-going restrictions that limit the transferability of our funded technology and of our right to manufacture outside of Israel any products developed with such technology, and certain of our large shareholders are required to undertake to observe such restrictions.




We have received grants in the past from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. According to Israeli law, generally, any products developed with grants from the Office of the Chief Scientist are required to be manufactured in Israel, unless we obtain prior approval of a governmental committee. In addition, we are prohibited from transferring out of Israel the know-how developed with these grants, without the prior approval of a governmental committee. Approval is not required for the sale or export of any products resulting from the funded know-how. Any shareholder who becomes a controlling shareholder of our company or any non-Israeli who becomes a direct holder of 5% or more of our outstanding ordinary shares will be required to notify the Office of the Chief Scientist and to undertake to observe the law governing the grant programs of the Office of the Chief Scientist, the principal restrictions of which are described above in this paragraph.





12




It may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us, our officers and directors or to assert U.S. securities laws claims in Israel.




We are incorporated in the State of Israel. Substantially most of our executive officers and directors are nonresidents of the United States, and a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. We have been informed by our legal counsel in Israel that it may be difficult to bring original actions in Israel to enforce civil liabilities under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on a violation of U.S. securities laws because Israel is not the most appropriate forum to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is little binding case law in Israel addressing these matters.




Subject to specified time limitations and legal procedures, under the rules of private international law currently prevailing in Israel, Israeli courts may enforce a United States final judgment in a civil matter, including judgments based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws and including a monetary or compensatory judgment in a non-civil matter, provided that:




·
the judgment is enforceable in the state in which it was given;
  ·
adequate service of process has been effected and the defendant has had a reasonable opportunity to present his arguments and evidence;
  ·
the judgment and the enforcement thereof are not contrary to the law, public policy, security or sovereignty of the State of Israel;
  ·
the judgment was not obtained by fraud and does not conflict with any other valid judgment in the same matter between the same parties; and
  ·
an action between the same parties in the same matter is not pending in any Israeli court at the time the lawsuit is instituted in the United States court.




Therefore, it may be difficult for a shareholder, or any other person or entity, to collect a judgment obtained in the United States against us or any of these persons, or to effect service of process upon these persons in the United States.




Provisions of Israeli law and our articles of association may delay, prevent or make difficult a change of control and therefore may depress the price of our stock.




Some of the provisions of our articles of association and Israeli law could, together or separately:




·
discourage potential acquisition proposals;
  ·
delay or prevent a change in control; and
  ·
limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for our ordinary shares.




In particular, our articles of association provide that our board of directors will be divided into three classes that serve staggered three-year terms and authorize our board of directors to adopt protective measures to prevent or delay a coercive takeover, including without limitation the adoption of a “Shareholder Rights Plan”. In addition, Israeli corporate law regulates mergers and acquisitions of shares through tender offers, requires approvals for transactions involving significant shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to these types of transactions. See Item 10.B “Memorandum and Articles of Associations- Mergers and Acquisitions under Israeli Law.” Furthermore, Israeli tax law treats stock-for-stock acquisitions between an Israeli company and a foreign company less favorably than does U.S. tax law. For example, Israeli tax law may subject a shareholder who exchanges his ordinary shares for shares in another corporation to taxation prior to the sale of the shares received in such stock-for stock swap.




13




Item 4.
Information on the Company




A.
History and Development of the Company.




General




Our name is MIND C.T.I. Ltd. for both legal as well as commercial purposes. We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel on April 6, 1995 as a company with limited liability, and we are subject to the Israeli Companies Law, 1999 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Our principal executive offices are located at Industrial Park, Building 7, Yoqneam 20692, Israel. Our telephone number is +972 4 993 6666. Our agent in the United States is MIND Software Inc. and its principal offices are located at 12520 Prosperity Drive, Suite 220, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA.




Important Events in the Development of the Company




In July 2003, our board of directors adopted our dividend policy and in October 2010 our board of directors updated this policy slightly. Under the old policy, subject to specific board approval and applicable law, we declare a dividend distribution once per year, in the amount of our net income from the previous year. The new policy changes only the amount to be distributed, the new amount being equal to our EBITDA plus financial income (expenses) minus taxes on income. Since 2003, we have distributed yearly dividends eight times, as well as one special dividend of $0.80 per share, distributed in December 2009. We intend to continue to distribute cash dividends based on factors that include our cash position and activities.




During 2005, we completed the acquisition of Sentori Inc., which is now named MIND Software Inc., a U.S. leading provider of customer care and billing solutions to rural wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, mainly in the United. We plan to continue to support the Sentori product with new maintenance releases, as well as customization requests.




In October 2007, we acquired the U.K. based Omni Consulting Company Limited, (Abacus Billing). Omni, which is now named MIND Software Limited, provides billing and customer care software solutions in a service bureau mode, mainly to European carriers, using web-enabled daily reporting and billing.




In the three years period ended December 31, 2009, we recorded financial write-offs in the aggregate amount of $20.3 million related to the auction rate security held by us. In September 2009, we announced a material increase in financial income resulting mainly from the $18.5 million cash settlement of our arbitration claim related to this security.




In January 2011, we issued to EastLink (a new customer in Canada) a warrant to purchase 924,545 ordinary shares of MIND at an exercise price of $2.48 per share (equal to the average closing price per share of MIND's ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Stock Market during the 30 trading day period immediately preceding the date of the issuance thereof).  The Warrant is exercisable from time to time for a period of 18 months following the date of issuance thereof.





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Principal Capital Expenditures




During 2008, 2009 and 2010, the aggregate cash amount of our capital expenditures were $0.4 million, $0.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively. These expenditures were principally for the purchase of property and other equipment. We currently have no material commitments for capital expenditures.




B. Business Overview




Overview




We develop, manufacture and market real-time and off-line billing and customer care software for various types of communication providers, including traditional wireline and wireless, voice over IP, or VoIP, and broadband IP network operators, WiMAX operators, cable operators, 3G operators and mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs.




Our convergent billing and customer care solution supports multiple services, including voice, data and content services as well as both prepaid and postpaid payment models in a single platform. Prepaid subscribers can enjoy the full range of services offered by the provider, with their special bundles, rating plans and limits. The prepaid solution authorizes each service and controls each session in real time, taking care that the balance is not exceeded. Postpaid subscribers, including credit-limited and non-limited, retail or business customers, represent the loyal and the higher average revenue per user, or ARPU, market. All services used by a postpaid subscriber appear in a single bill, which includes all charges, including one-time, recurring and usage-related charges. Our billing solution is unique as it includes our own integrated real-time mediation product that provides interfaces with IP, Intelligent Networks, or IN, and traditional telecommunication equipment.




The latest version of our billing and customer care solution includes a powerful workflow engine to support the creation and execution of business processes such as order management, trouble ticket and debt collection. It also includes an integral point of sale solution that covers all dealer, store and cashier management and sales processes. The MIND solution introduces multi-layered architecture supporting real-time distributed processing, achieving performance, scalability and high availability. It uses an open architecture, including Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Document Oriented Architecture (DOA), thus enabling fast and seamless integration with other systems and third party applications. The MIND solution is built using standardized best-of-breed object-oriented technologies such as Java and XML, and it is J2EE compatible as it is powered by a commercial application server.




We also provide professional services, primarily to our billing and customer care customers, consisting of installation, turnkey project implementation services, customer support, training and maintenance services, customization and project management. Our professional services also include enhanced support options, known as managed services, which are mainly offered to customers in the United States and Europe and are performed from our offices. These managed services include performing day to day billing operational tasks.





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In addition to our billing and customer care solutions, we offer call management systems used by organizations for call accounting, telecom expense management, traffic analysis and fraud detection. Our enterprise software product has been installed in over 16,000 locations throughout the world, for traditional telephony, for IP switches and hybrid networks. Our latest product, PhonEX-ONE, delivers one unified solution for all voice communication expenses including traditional, IP and mobile telephony. The flexible and scalable architecture of PhonEX-ONE meets the needs of large enterprises, supporting an unlimited number of extensions and sites, it introduces full functionality through a web browser, based on Microsoft SQL database and enhanced by the advanced ASP.NET technology.




Our Market Opportunity




Billing and Customer Care Industry




Billing and customer care are critical to telecommunications service providers as they enable them to track and bill for usage, manage revenues and customer relations, and launch, deploy and charge new services, marketing programs and rate plans. The need for comprehensive billing solutions is driven by the market trend that requires service providers to introduce new services, to be innovative in creating new product offerings and to optimize business processes for maximum efficiency. We provide tier 2 and tier 3 service providers with flexible, easy to deploy, convergent and scalable billing solutions.




From time to time, telecommunications service providers initiate searches for billing solutions to replace existing ones in order to offer additional services, reduce costs and improve service.




Also, from time to time, new providers surface and introduce new offering to the market or try to attract a specific targeted customer base. They build new infrastructure or resell traffic and initiate searches for billing solutions, mostly in a managed service model.




An additional market opportunity is the trend towards all-IP networks, offering multiple next generation services. New billing solutions are required to enable the new services, and we are well positioned to support this need. As a pioneer in VoIP billing since 1997, we have the experience and the solution portfolio that is proven to be capable of delivering these technically demanding projects for all-IP networks.




Mobile Market




A niche in the mobile market in which we see opportunities is the rural mobile carriers market in the United States. We have a number of such carriers as customers and we are focused on delivering solutions that address this particular market.  The Sentori acquisition, with its existing mobile customer base, provided the required presence to build upon and enhance our position in this specific market.




Voice over IP Industry




Many service providers are moving towards networks in which IP-based equipment will carry a large proportion, if not all, of their traffic. These next generation networks, or NGNs, offer cost savings over traditional switched networks, as well as the potential to offer new services like VoIP. We have a strong reputation in areas such as mediation and VoIP billing, and our products are designed to work with NGNs.




Providers of multiple IP-based services typically require billing and customer care products that can handle authentication, authorization and accounting needs in real-time in order to determine the types of services to which the subscriber is entitled, as well as any applicable limits to the availability of the services. This real-time functionality is particularly important for prepaid billing plans. Finally, billing and customer care software products need to be easily adaptable to changes in the size and configuration of an IP provider's system, to new products and services and to enable rapid growth in subscriber base. Our proven solutions cover all these needs, as described below.





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Our Billing and Customer Care Solution




We develop, market and support real-time and off-line, scalable billing and customer care software, including mediation and rating, for providers of voice, data and content services that are designed to meet their complex, mission-critical provisioning, authentication, authorization, accounting and reporting needs. Our billing and customer care software provides our customers with the following benefits:




·
Real-Time Solution. Service providers require a system that enables authentication, authorization and accounting and, if needed, cut-off, all in real-time. We believe that the MIND solution is one of the few billing and customer care products that offers real-time functionality for both prepaid and postpaid billing plans, and that has a real-time rating engine able to support rating of voice, data and content services simultaneously;
  ·
Mediation and Service Fulfillment. IP and traditional networks that can offer voice, data, video and content services are based on various network elements each of which generates billable information. We believe that the MIND solution is one of the few billing and customer care products that provide real-time collection and correlation of various events from multiple sources that relate to the same session and convert them into billable records. In addition, the MIND solution enables end-to-end automated flow for service creation and activation, meaning that from the order for service handled by the customer care representative until the service activation, the activities that need to be completed are automatically fulfilled by MIND;
  ·
Scalability. Our billing solutions are designed to be easily adapted to changes in the size and configuration of a service provider's network. They enable the network of a service provider to grow from accommodating a small number of subscribers to a large number of subscribers, primarily through the addition of hardware. This feature allows a service provider to expand its infrastructure and its subscriber base without the need to redesign or replace its billing and customer care software. The scalability of our software is important since many service providers begin with a relatively small subscriber base and experience rapid growth. For example, we designed and provided a billing and customer care solution for China Unicom, which started offering Voice over IP services in 1999. When China Unicom first deployed our software in May 1999, it was capable of supporting one million users. Our software was upgraded to support five million users in November 1999, 20 million users in June 2000 and 30 million users in June 2001. Increases in the potential number of users have been, and future increases will be, accomplished without the need to modify or replace our installed software;
  ·
Improved Time to Market. Our billing solutions are modular, extensible software products based on software architecture designed for easy adaptability and implementation. These features allow each of our customers to tailor our products to meet their individual needs in terms of the number of subscribers serviced and the variety of services provided. In addition our products can be customized relatively quickly, enabling our customers to improve their time to market as they initially implement their networks and, later, as they add and modify the services they provide.





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Our Strategy




Our objective is to be a leader in the market for convergent billing and customer care software for tier 2 and tier 3 service providers and to maintain and increase profitability. We believe that the strategic acquisitions, of Sentori in August 2005 and of Omni in October 2007 strengthened our presence in the U.S. and European markets.




As we increase our focus on end-to-end billing solutions for tier 2 and tier 3 service providers, projects are now generally more complex in nature, with revenue recognized over longer periods. These factors typically extend the recognition period of both license and service revenue streams and have some balance sheet impacts. We consider this a normal and expected development for our business as it grows and matures. We have built a professional services team to support the growth in services offered to customers. Our long-term business model contemplates that licenses, maintenance and services will each represent 30-40% of revenues and gross margins will be 60-70%. The key elements of our strategy to become a leader in the market for convergent billing and customer care software for tier 2 and tier 3 service providers include:




·
Leverage our brand name recognition and technical expertise. We were one of the first to provide billing and customer care software for IP telephony, introducing MIND-iPhonEX in 1997. We believe that our early position in the market and our reputation for offering high quality, reliable billing and customer care software has provided us with significant brand name recognition among Voice over IP providers. The acquired Sentori customer base has provided us with brand name recognition in the U.S. mobile market. We intend to leverage our reputation, brand name and recognition in the wireline and wireless markets;
  ·
Enhance alliances with industry leaders. We have established cooperative relationships with leading manufacturers of telecommunications and hardware equipment and system integrators. We team with these industry leaders in marketing activities, as well as in the research and development and implementation stages of product development and enhancement. Our alliances allow us to broaden our marketing capabilities significantly, support new features offered by equipment vendors as these features are introduced to the market, and maintain our technology leadership over our competitors. We intend to continue to leverage these alliances in order to solidify and expand our market presence;
  ·
Maintain and expand our technological expertise. We believe that our reputation in the market is due in large part to our technological expertise. We make significant investments in our research and development to continually enhance our products to meet the changing needs in the telecom industry. We intend to continue our commitment to technology, both to enhance our existing products and to develop new products for growing markets; and
  ·
Expand professional services opportunities. As our projects are of larger scale and as convergent service offerings become more complex, our customers increasingly require consulting services, especially for customization, as well as for project management, installation and training, technical support and maintenance. This provides us with the opportunity to increase our revenue base from existing customers. We have begun to capitalize on this opportunity and, as a result, fees from providing professional services have increased.





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Our Products and Services




Billing and Customer Care Solutions




Our billing solutions include real-time and off-line mediation, provisioning, rating, billing and customer care products for voice, data, video and content services that meet the mission-critical needs of convergent IP, Wireline and Wireless service providers and is interoperable with the telecommunications equipment of major manufacturers.




Our highly functional and adaptable products enable our customers to quickly deploy new services as well as to rapidly grow and add new services. Our solutions support both prepaid billing plans, in which customers prepay for the services, or postpaid billing plans, in which customers pay for the services after using them, on the basis of either limited or unlimited credit lines. The key functionalities of our solutions are as follows:




·
Mediation.Our mediation platform provides real-time and batch event collection interfacing with the voice, content, data, service delivery and routing network elements. It incorporates an intelligent processing engine to correlate, aggregate, merge and filter raw events into a single valuable usage event;
  ·
Provisioning. Provisioning involves setting up the ability of a subscriber to use services. The customer database includes information regarding customers' personal data, identification parameters and the services provided. This information can be provided in real time or on demand to any external system, such as network elements and legacy billing solutions. The data provided includes service parameters such as enabled features and quantitative limits;
  ·
Authentication. Our real-time mediation module authenticates subscribers who connect to the network to use the service. Authentication is based on a number of methods, including user codes, passwords and caller line identification. The identification information is passed to the system, where the subscriber is authenticated and then permitted to use the service;
  ·
Authorization. Our systems authorize a particular usage, among other ways, by reviewing the type of service to determine whether the service is permitted or by reviewing the existing balance, pre-rating the service, using the rating engine described below and calculating the resulting cut-off parameters, if any, of the call or data session. Multiple parallel sessions are supported using our Balance manager, implementing quota allocation logic;
  ·
Accounting. When each session is completed, the rating engine described below is used to determine the amount to be charged to the subscriber and update the balance of the account in real-time. In addition, the usage detail records are stored for invoicing and reporting;


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·
Interconnect Billing. The networks operated by our customers are typically interconnected with the networks of other telecommunications service providers. Interconnecting providers need to charge other providers for carrying each other's services over their networks. Our billing solutions generate reports that enable providers to bill for traffic and services that are being transported across their networks by other providers;
  ·
Roaming. Our solutions support the ability to provide services to visiting subscribers, on the one hand, and to roam both prepaid and postpaid subscribers in other networks, on the other hand. Our billing system provides the ability to define and manage the required roaming contract terms and the applicable tariff plan (IOT) for each roaming partner;
  ·
Virtual Providers. MIND offers a solution that enables a carrier to have resellers of traffic under different brand names, while it is still managed from the same billing platform, as a separated entity known as Virtual Provider. This model enables the carriers that own the networks, to lease its network equipment and its billing system to other providers.
  ·
Multiple Services and Products Support. Our billing solutions allow service providers to take advantage of their convergent networks by providing their customers with advanced voice, data, content and video services. The MIND Product Catalog allows service providers to bundle groups of services into tailor-made packages for which they can offer special rates, discounts and promotions. There are different classes of customers with respect to the availability, bandwidth, and quality of service requirements for these services. Our billing solutions offer an easy way to define these services, combine them into products, and rate each service and product differently;
  ·
Rating. Our billing solutions include a real-time and flexible rating engine that allows service providers to offer subscribers a wide variety of billing plans. This flexibility also allows service providers to set different tariff parameters. For example, our billing and customer care software can support different rates for various content and video streaming services and for different customer groups, rates based on the day of the week and time of the day and rates based on the origin and destination of the call. International service providers may define rates in different currencies using the product's multi-currency functionality. An unlimited number of free-unit and money-bundle is supported. Voucher based payment models are supported;
  ·
Invoicing. Our billing solutions include a high-capacity invoice server that handles all stages of invoice generation. It supports multiple billing cycles and bill production on demand. The invoice includes the customer details and information, such as usage details, monthly recurring charges, discounts and taxes, which are gathered throughout the billing period. This module creates the original bills to be printed locally or exported to bill printing service bureaus, using a customizable invoice layout.





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·
Account Receivables (A/R).MINDBill manages all A/R activities, monitors the A/R status online and ensures a continuous cash flow. Multiple payment methods are supported by the system: cash, cheque, credit and debit cards, vouchers and more. MINDBill includes a flexible open API for payments interfaces to banks and credit card clearing houses. MINDBill has pre-integrated interfaces with major financial institutions, banks, clearinghouses and credit bureaus. The A/R includes the management of deposits life cycle, including payments and refunds, is easily done. Disputes can be managed and solved, resulting in the appropriate adjustments. MINDBill identifies the ageing debt for every open invoice according to the company policy for classifying to 30-60-90 days and initiating the built in debt collection process.
  ·
Collection procedures.The MINDBill collection facility provides flexibility in defining the collection policy using different collection paths. The solution provides full monitoring and control of the collection treatment (dunning process). It identifies customers with past due debts and ensures that they are handled in accordance with the company policy. This increases efficiency through the automation of the majority of the collection functions, and helps maximizing the success ratio. Automating the collection process utilizing the built in work flow engine enables operators to monitor the account receivables and ensure the collection of the entire revenue. All of this is achieved with operational efficiency streamlining the business processes that is fully integrated within the customer suit.
  ·
Subscriber Web Interface. Our billing solutions include a user-friendly subscriber web interface that allows subscribers to resolve billing inquiries themselves. Individual customers can obtain real time information about their account, including details of calls made that have not yet been invoiced, like the time, destination, length and cost of each call. The subscriber can also browse invoices, call details and payment history records. This feature is convenient for subscribers and efficient for service providers as it reduces service costs;
  ·
Customer Support Representative Web Interface. Our billing solutions include a user-friendly customer support representative web interface that allows operators of the system to perform customer care from any location. This feature is of particular significance to service providers who have remote operations centers and are required to provide support of their system in more than one location;
  ·
Point of Sale (POS).The POS is aimed mostly at the wireless retail market, enabling operators to offer their products and services in retail stores and manage the process within our enhanced solutions. POS is fully integrated into MIND Billing and Customer Care solutions, allowing operators to seamlessly offer services and accessories for new and existing customers and even to non-subscribers. POS integrates with external systems, such as credit card clearinghouses, external taxation engines and address validation systems. POS includes two modules working together:
  ·
Resource Management Module –a comprehensive inventory system that supports the operator’s chain of warehouses as well as his stores. It automates the management and tracking of the equipment sold to subscribers. The solution keeps track and manages the equipment by serial number, status, and location, providing the flow management from purchase orders, through the reception of the items shipped, the distribution of the items to the stores and the allocation of the items to the customers. It also supports inventory management functions such as on-hand-counts and catalogue management.


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·
Sales Module– an easy to use cashier station that supports all service activations, phone and accessory sales through one interface on a single receipt. The Sales module enables all payment methods such as cash, check and credit card. It provides full control of the cashier devices such as cash drawer, credit card swipe, bar code reader and ribbon printer. Sales module interacts with the Resource Management module to show the sales clerk available items for sale in the store warehouse, to assign sold items to customer accounts and to enable track of items, such as returns and repairs.
 
 ·
Business Processes Environment.Customer care and billing processes are one of the most significant practices to drive business performance. These processes are fundamental for bringing innovative and competitive ways of delivering products and services to market. MIND’s automated business processes engine allows operators to meet the challenges they confront in today’s business environment. The business processes workflow implemented by the engine provides business intelligence behind day-to-day operations. The engine also automates the interaction with network elements and third party software. This is done in accordance with a uniquely defined set of business rules determined by the customer.MIND is offering in its deployments tailored, fully automated, order management processes, trouble tickets and debt collection processes.
 
 The flexible and robust account creation order management process handles the orders from the customer’s contact, through registration, package selection, provisioning and activation. The order management process involves different users from various departments (such as supervisor approval of the contract and technician test), integration with external legacy systems (such as inventory), interaction with third party services (such as address validation) and more. MINDBill uses its inherent workflow capabilities to tailor an order management process that meets the operator’s business model;
  ·
Call Management and Traffic Analysis Reports (CMS module). The CMS module allows service providers to generate reports and graphic analyses of usage activity. These reports contain information regarding peak hours, usage loads to different destinations, the number of sessions per minute for a specific gateway or group of gateways, the duration of sessions and other parameters. These features enable service providers to analyze subscriber behavior and use the information to improve their marketing and business development strategies. In addition, the traffic analyses reports assist service providers in planning the growth and development of their networks;
  ·
Fraud Detection. Our billing solutions include a fraud detection tool that enables detection of “stolen” calls and telephone misuse. It detects, locates and warns of any suspicious activity by activating alarms. It is easily customized to suit the needs of each service provider and allows a provider to build fraud inquiries based on a defined set of parameters. When these specific parameters are violated, alarms at four different alarm levels may be activated. Different actions may be implemented at each level. For instance, the operator may be alerted to possible fraud via e-mail, fax, pager, audio or visual alarms.


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Enterprise Software




Our enterprise products, known as PhonEX, MEIPS (our solution for IP switches) and PhonEX-ONE, are used by corporations for telecom expense management, call accounting, traffic analysis and fraud detection. PhonEX and MEIPS are call management systems that collect, record and store all call information in a customized database. The systems:




·
allow customers to generate near real-time reports on the enterprise's telephone use;




·
produce sophisticated reports and graphics for easy and effective analysis of call activity; and




·
allow customers to allocate telephone expenses to specific departments, individual clients or projects.




These functions allow organizations to more effectively manage their telecommunications resources. The systems are easy to install and configure, user-friendly and compatible with any switchboard system, traditional or IP. The systems perform call management and traffic analysis as well as fraud management in the same manner as our billing solutions. In addition, the systems are multi-lingual and multi-currency, which means that reports can be generated in any currency defined in the system, or in two currencies simultaneously.




PhonEX-ONE, delivers one unified solution for management of all telecom expenses, including traditional voice, IP voice and data, and mobile telephony. The flexible and scalable architecture of PhonEX-ONE meets the needs of large enterprises, supporting an unlimited number of extensions and sites.PhonEX-ONE provides tools to monitor, budget and manage voice traffic in order to achieve maximum control over telecommunication expenses. Some of its major advantages are:




·
Fully web based solution.The PhonEX-ONE fully web-based solution enables managers and users to conveniently access their telecom expenses management system anytime and from anywhere, using a web browser without decreasing their control over the traffic;




·
User centric. The PhonEX-ONE user-centric architecture provides a consolidated solution for the collection, analysis, reporting, and managing of all the telecommunication and data traffic expenses;




·
Dashboard. A visual representation of the most significant information regarding calls, a useful tool that helps administrators to get a quick and relevant image of the general system activity. The Dashboard can quickly provide - through its graphical and non-graphical monitors - a snapshot over the outgoing and incoming calls, traffic and exceptions as well as several top requested reports;




·
Multi-site solution.  The PhonEX-ONE scales to support large multi-site organizations using voice and data equipment from multiple vendors. PhonEX-ONE supports complex hierarchies on which any employee can be associated to any branch of the organization and under a separate matrix to any corporate department;




·
ASP.NET and MS-SQL database. PhonEX-ONE is designed using the Microsoft .Net technology and has extensive configuration capabilities using XML files with server – client interaction;




·
Certification by IP switch vendors. PhonEX-ONE is interoperable and certified on a timely manner with new releases of IP switch vendors, including Cisco and Microsoft;
  ·
Enhanced security.PhonEX-ONE security management includes user authentication, security group restrictions, event log monitoring and encryption methodology of data base entries. This management tool enables a secure and easy control over the system;




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·
Modulararchitecture supporting high scalability. The PhonEX-ONE’s scalable system architecture supports an unlimited number of sites and extensions;




·
Guard and Alerter.The PhonEX-ONE Guard and Alerter provide sophisticated tools for fraud prevention, alerting on phone misuse, budget surpass, possible toll fraud or other abnormal behaviors within the organization; and




·
Multilingual and multicurrency. The built in support of multiple languages and multiple currencies enables telecom expense management for multinational organizations.




We intend to further develop and market these products as the emerging market for Voice over IP systems for enterprises grows.




Professional Services




We provide professional services to our customers, consisting primarily of project management, customization, installations, customer support, training and maintenance services. As our projects become more complex, more customers require customization services to add specialized features to their systems. We typically incorporate additional or specialized features developed for a particular customer into future versions of our products. We also offer enhanced support options, called managed services, which are mainly offered to customers in the United States and Europe and are performed from our offices. The managed services include performing day to day billing operational tasks. The managed services contracts are usually for a term of three to five years and are paid on a monthly basis.




Technology




Our software products are based on an open architecture, which was developed using industry standard application server programming interfaces that enables it to readily integrate with other software applications. These application program interfaces create an object-oriented, multi-layered architecture that supports a distributed environment. Our object-oriented technology enables the design and implementation of software utilizing reusable business objects rather than complex procedural codes. Our layered architecture organizes these business objects to optimize the interface between the user and the application. We implement our software in a distributed configuration. This allows various modules to be installed on different servers to support the system’s scalability and security. We believe that our technology allows us to offer products with the following benefits:




·
fast integration and interoperability with telecommunications equipment of major manufacturers, legacy systems and external software;




·
modular architecture that allows our products to be easily scalable and enables us to customize our software relatively quickly;





·
reliable products that support high availability of the service for mission-critical applications. Our automatic fail-over mechanism ensures minimal loss of service in case of a component failure; and




·
security at all levels of the architecture. Each user of the system may be assigned to different security groups. Service providers are therefore able to determine and audit access to the system. In addition, firewalls can be installed to prevent unauthorized access to the system.




Our software products are based on multiple-tier architecture, consisting of the following tiers:




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·
Client Application Tier: This is the top tier graphic user interface between the user and the application. It includes client applications for customer registration, customer care and billing administration. In addition, it includes Web service interfaces that enable external applications to interact with the business tier;




·
Business Object Tier: This tier includes the business logic and rules of the system. This tier manages accounts, services, events and tariffs. It includes an object request broker that facilitates the transfer of information requested by the client application tier from the database tier;




·
Database Tier: This tier includes the Oracle database server and management software where the actual billing and customer care information is stored.




Sales and Marketing




Sales




Billing and Customer Care Solutions




We conduct our sales and marketing activities primarily directly as well as through our marketing alliances with leading network equipment vendors and systems integrators. These marketing allies and resellers provide us with a global extension of our direct sales force and are a significant source of leads and referrals. We also engage in joint marketing activities with our allies, including joint responses to requests for proposals, sharing booths in trade shows, distributing each others’ marketing information and cross links and references to web sites. We believe that these relationships also help validate our technology and facilitate broad market acceptance of our software.




Our contracts with our marketing allies, distributors and resellers are non-exclusive, do not contain minimum sales or marketing performance requirements and may be terminated at any time with notice.




Enterprise Software




We conduct our sales and marketing activities primarily directly, by our sales force located in the MIND offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as through appointed distributors and resellers through out the world. We engage with our system integrators and PBX equipment vendors for global marketing activities and responses to tenders.




Marketing




Our marketing programs are focused on creating awareness, interest and preference for our products and services. We engage in a variety of marketing activities, including:




·
participating in industry trade shows and special events;




·
conducting ongoing public and press relations programs; and




·
conducting training seminars for vendors and system integrators.


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Principal Markets




The following table shows our revenues for each of the past three years classified by activity and geographic region.




Years ended December 31,

(in thousands of US $)2008


2009


2010The Americas (total)


7,874



7,713



9,137Sale of Licenses


2,859



3,003



2,719Services


5,015



4,710



6,418Asia Pacific and Africa (total)


777



719



1,907Sale of Licenses


261



324



910Services


516



395



997Europe (total)


9,861



8,319



7,789Sale of Licenses


2,867



2,498



2,564Services


6,994



5,821



5,225Israel (total)


961



823



1,053Sale of Licenses


204



310



360Services


757



513



693Total


19,473



17,574



19,886Sale of Licenses


6,191



6,135



6,553Services


13,282



11,439



13,333





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Customers




Billing and Customer Care Solutions




Our billing and customer care solutions have been installed for a large base of customers worldwide, including:




·
traditional telecommunications service providers that also offer IP services including VoIP or/and data, such as China United Telecommunications Corp. (China Unicom), Romtelecom S.A., Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) and Sri Lanka Telecom;




·
traditional wireline telephony providers, such as Moldtelecom, and SMTC;




·
wireless telephony providers, such as KDDI America, Inc., Mobi PCS, Inc., and Revol;




·
cable providers that also offer voice services , such as Megacable and EastLink;




·
3rd generation (3G) mobile operators that provide broadband mobile IP services, such as H3G Italy; and




·
MVNOs, such as Viaero.




Enterprise Software




Our enterprise software has been installed at over 16,000 locations throughout the world, for customers that include international banking firms, government agencies and other small to very large organizations.




Competition




Billing and Customer Care Solutions




Competition in the market for billing and customer care software is intense and we expect competition to continue to be strong. We compete with many local companies and worldwide companies such as Amdocs (after the acquisition of Sigvalue Technologies by Amdocs), Comverse (after the acquisition of the Global Software Services division of CSG Systems International by Comverse) and Oracle Corporation (after the acquisition of Portal Software by Oracle).




We believe that our competitive advantage is based on:




·
our ability to rapidly deploy a complete turn-key product based solution;




·
our solutions’ functionality, which includes billing, customer care, point-of-sale, mediation, provisioning, rating for multiple services and prepaid IP functionality;




·
our proven platform and our many years of wireless and IP experience to satisfy customer requirements; and




·
our flexibility to meet customer requirements in a short time frame.




Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical, sales, marketing and other resources and greater name recognition than we do. Some of our competitors have lower cost structure and compete with us on pricing. Current and potential competitors have established, and may establish in the future, cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties to increase their ability to address the needs of prospective customers. Accordingly, new competitors or alliances among competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share and their solutions could achieve greater market acceptance than our solutions.




27




Enterprise Software




Our main competitors in the market for enterprise software products include Avotus Corporation and Veramark Technologies, Inc. To compete effectively, companies must be able to offer adequate technical support and ongoing product development and customization services. In addition, multinational companies prefer call accounting systems that can be installed at their various offices throughout the world, and therefore require call accounting products that are multilingual and support the local telecommunication requirements. The principal factors upon which we compete are customer support, ease of use, compatibility with major switchboard systems and IP switches and the multi-lingual and multi-currency nature of our system.




Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist




Under the Israeli Law for the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development, 1984, or the Research and Development Law, research and development programs which meet specified criteria and are approved by the Office of the Chief Scientist are eligible for grants of up to 50% of certain approved expenditures, in exchange for the payment of royalties from the sale of products (and any ancillary services) incorporating or based upon know-how developed in accordance with such programs, until the repayment in full of the dollar linked amount of the grants received. We have received grants in the past from the Office of the Chief Scientist and have repaid them.




Even after repayment in full of royalty obligations, the Research and Development Law prohibits the transfer of the funded know-how outside of Israel without the prior approval of the Office of the Chief Scientist. Further, the Research and Development Law generally requires that the manufacture of products incorporating or based upon funded know-how be performed in Israel.




The Research and Development Law contains reporting requirements with respect to certain changes in the ownership of a grant recipient. The Research and Development Law requires the grant recipient and its controlling shareholders and interested parties to notify the Office of the Chief Scientist of any change in control of the recipient or a change in the holdings of the means of control of the recipient that results in a non-Israeli becoming an interested party directly in the recipient and requires the new interested party to undertake to the Office of the Chief Scientist to comply with the provisions of the Research and Development Law. For this purpose, "control" is defined as the ability to direct the activities of a company other than any ability arising solely from serving as an officer or director of the company. A person is presumed to have control if such person holds 50% or more of the means of control of a company. "Means of control" refers to voting rights and the right to appoint directors or the chief executive officer. An "interested party" of a company includes a holder of 5% or more of its outstanding share capital or voting rights, its chief executive officer and directors, someone who has the right to appoint its chief executive officer or at least one director, and a company with respect to which any of the foregoing interested parties owns 25% or more of the outstanding share capital or voting rights or has the right to appoint 25% or more of the directors. Accordingly, any non-Israeli who acquires directly 5% or more of our ordinary shares will be required to notify the Office of the Chief Scientist that it has become an interested party and to sign an undertaking to comply with the Research and Development Law.





28




C.
Organizational Structure




Set forth below is a list of our significant subsidiaries:




·
MIND Software Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, incorporated in the United Kingdom;




·
MIND Software Inc. (formerly Sentori Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary, incorporated in the State of Delaware;




·
MIND Software SRL., a wholly owned subsidiary, incorporated in Romania; and




·
Dirot Comp SRL., a wholly owned subsidiary, incorporated in Romania.




D.
Property, Plant and Equipment




Our headquarters are located in Yoqneam, Israel, approximately 50 miles north of Tel Aviv. We lease approximately 15,000 square feet at our Yoqneam headquarters. We also lease 2,100 square feet of office space in Silver Spring, Maryland, approximately 757 square feet in Reading, U.K. and 24,000 square feet in Jassy, Romania. The office in Maryland is used primarily for supporting our customers in the United States, while the office in Jassy is used primarily for software development and for customer support. The office in Maryland is the group’s headquarters in the Americas.





Item 4A.
Unresolved Staff Comments





Not applicable.




Item 5.
Operating and Financial Review and Prospects




The following discussion and analysis is based on and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011.




Overview




We were incorporated in Israel in 1995 and started providing our enterprise software products in that year. In 1997, we introduced our billing and customer care software for Voice over IP. We have enhanced our billing solutions since then to support multiple IP services, wireless and wireline carriers and multiple play (voice, data and content) service providers. In 2010, 79% of our revenues were derived from providing our billing and customer care software and 21% were derived from providing our enterprise software. In 2010, license fees represented 33% of our revenues and services represented 67%.  In 2008, no customer accounted for 10% or more of our total revenues. In 2009, one customer accounted for approximately 11% of our total revenues. In 2010, no customer accounted for 10% or more of our total revenues. We expect to continue to derive sizeable revenues from a small number of changing customers.




In August 2005, we acquired Sentori Inc., a leading provider of billing and customer care solutions to tier 3 and tier 2 wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, mainly in the United States and the Caribbean. In October 2007, we acquired the U.K.-based Omni Consulting Company Limited, which provides billing and customer care software solutions in a service bureau mode, mainly to European carriers.


29





In 2008, we experienced growth in revenue over 2007 driven by the acquisition of Omni in the fourth quarter of 2007, which strengthened our presence in the United Kingdom. In 2009, we experienced a decrease in revenue driven primarily by the low number of new deals signed in 2008, which resulted in lower revenue recognition in 2009. In 2010, we experienced an increase in revenues over 2009 primarily driven by four new deals signed in 2009 for which the revenues were recognized mainly in 2010.




In 2007, we recorded a $15.2 million impairment charge with respect to our holding of an auction rate security (the “Security”) in the principal amount of $20.3 million. In 2008, we recorded a $4.2 million impairment charge with respect to the Security, and in 2009 we recorded an additional $0.9 million impairment charge with respect to the Security. The carrying value of the Security as of December 31, 2009 was nil.




In 2009, we recognized financial income of $18.5 million due to a settlement with the investment firm that purchased the auction rate security for us. See below under Item 5.B - “Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Item 11 – “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for more information.




In July 2003, we adopted a dividend policy, according to which we declare, subject to specific board approval and applicable law, a dividend distribution once per year, in the amount of our net income from the previous year. In October 2010, our board of directors updated this policy slightly.  The new policy changes only the amount to be distributed, the new amount being equal to our EBITDA plus financial income (expenses) minus taxes on income. Additionally the board approved dividend distributions in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 that were subject to approvals from an Israeli Court in accordance with Section 303 of the Israeli Companies Law due to the fact that we did not have sufficient retained earnings. Since 2003, we distributed cash dividends of approximately $2.37 per share to our shareholders: $0.14 per share in 2003, $0.13 per share in 2004, $0.24 per share in 2005, $0.14 per share in 2006, $0.20 per share in 2007, $0.20 per share in 2008, $0.80 per share in 2009,  $0.20 per share in 2010 and $0.32 per share in 2011. The board decision to approve the annual distribution is based, among other factors, on our cash position at that time, potential acquisitions and future cash needs. The board may decide to discontinue the dividend distribution in whole or in part at any time.




In September 2008, our board of directors authorized a plan for the repurchase of up to 2,100,000 of our ordinary shares in the open market, in an amount in cash of up to $2.8 million. As of December 31, 2008, we had repurchased 2,100,000 ordinary shares under the program at a total purchase price of approximately $1.6 million, after getting an approval by an Israeli court in accordance to the Israeli Companies Law. In February 2009, our board of directors authorized additional repurchase transactions of our shares in the total amount of $1.2 million pursuant to the 2008 repurchase plan. In November 2009, our board of directors authorized an additional plan for the repurchase of our shares in an amount of up to $1.8 million. In January 2010, we applied for and in March 2010 we received Israeli court approval to repurchase our shares in the total amount of up to $1.8 million. As of both December 31, 2009 and 2010, we purchased an aggregate amount of 3,165,092 ordinary shares at a total purchase price of $2.8 million.





30




Revenues. We are paid license fees by our customers for the right to use our products, based on (1) traffic volume, which is measured by factors such as minutes per month, number of lines used, number of data sources and number of subscribers, and (2) the functionality of the system based on application modules that are added to the software. In relation to our professional services, other than maintenance services and managed services, we mainly quote a fixed price based on the type of service offered, estimated direct labor costs and the expenses that we will incur to provide these services. Fees for maintenance services are based on a fixed percentage of the license fee and are paid annually, quarterly or monthly. Fees for managed services are primarily based on the number of subscribers or customers business volume and are paid monthly.




We primarily use two business models when we sell our solutions, the license model and the managed services model. In the license model, the customer pays a one-time implementation fee, a one-time license fee for a perpetual license limited by the traffic metrics chosen by the customer, and additional fees to expand the chosen traffic metrics limitation. In addition, we are paid maintenance fees to renew periodically the maintenance agreement at the customer discretion. In the managed services model, the customer pays a one-time implementation fee, a monthly fee that includes a periodic license (right to use), maintenance and services fees, calculated by the metrics chosen by the customer (mainly, number of subscribers).




We provide a revenue breakdown for our billing and customer care software and our enterprise call management software. We believe that this information provides a better understanding of our performance and allows investors to make a more informed judgment about our business.




Cost of Revenues. The cost of revenues consists primarily of direct labor costs and overhead expenses related to software installation and maintenance. Cost of revenues also includes, among other things, software license fees to third parties, primarily Oracle, hardware, amortization of intangible assets, packaging and shipping costs.




Research and Development Expenses. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of compensation, overhead and related costs for research and development personnel and depreciation of testing and other equipment. Research and development costs related to software products are expensed as incurred until the “technological feasibility” of the product has been established. Because of the relatively short time period between “technological feasibility” and product release, no software development costs have been capitalized. We expect to continue to make substantial investments in research and development.




Selling and Marketing Expenses.Our selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of compensation, overhead and related costs for sales and marketing personnel, the operation of international sales offices, sales commissions, marketing programs, public relations, promotional materials, travel expenses, trade shows and exhibition expenses.




General and Administrative Expenses.Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation, overhead and related costs for executives and administrative personnel, professional fees, insurance, provisions for doubtful accounts and other general corporate expenses.




Financial Income (Expenses), Net. Our financial income (expenses), net consists mainly of interest earned on bank deposits and long term investments, gains and losses from the conversion of monetary balance sheet items denominated in non-dollar currencies into U.S. dollars, net of financing costs, and bank charges. In 2008 and 2009 the financial income (expenses) consisted mainly of impairments of our auction rate security and income that was recognized due to the settlement relating to such security in 2009.




Taxes on Income.See "—Corporate Tax Rate" below.


31




A.
Operating Results




The following discussion of our results of operations for 2008, 2009 and 2010, including the percentage data in the following table, is based upon our statements of operations contained in our financial statements for those periods, and the related notes thereto, which are incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011:




Years ended December 31,2008


2009


2010Revenues


100.0%



100.0%



100.0%Cost of revenues


31.5



36.5



31.0Gross profit


68.5



63.5



69.0Research and development expenses


31.6



25.3



20.4Selling, general and administrative expenses:Selling and marketing expenses


17.0



12.6



10.7General and administrative expenses


12.7



13.2



7.8Impairment of goodwill and intangible asset


18.9



-



5.0Operating income  (loss)


(11.7)



12.4



25.1Financial income (expenses) – net


(18.6)



101.3



0.2Income (loss) before taxes on income


(30.3)



113.7



25.3Taxes on income


(2.7)



(1.1)



0.9Net income (loss)


(33.0)



112.6



24.4




Comparison of 2008, 2009 and 2010




Revenues




Years ended December 31,

($ in millions)


% Change


% Change2008


2009


2010


2009 vs. 2008


2010 vs. 2009License sales


6.2



6.1



6.6



(1.6)



8.2Professional services


13.3



11.5



13.3



(13.5)



15.7Total revenues


19.5



17.6



19.9



(9.7)



13.1




Revenues in 2009 decreased in comparison to 2008 by 9.7%. The decrease was primarily attributed to the decrease in new orders received in 2008, which resulted in lower revenue recognition in 2009. Revenues in 2010 increased in comparison to 2009 by 13.1%. The increase was primarily attributed to four new deals signed in 2009 for which the revenues were recognized mainly in 2010. Revenues from our billing and customer care product solutions for service providers decreased from $16.3 million in 2008 to $15.1 million in 2009 and increased to $15.7 million in 2010. Revenues from our enterprise products decreased from $3.2 million in 2008 to $2.5 million in 2009. The decrease was primarily attributed to the delay in the completion of the implementation of one large new order received in 2009. Revenues from our enterprise products increased to $4.2 million in 2010.  The increase was primarily attributed to the large deal signed in 2009 for which the revenues were recognized mainly in 2010 and improved sales of our enterprise products globally.





32





Revenues from professional services as a percentage of total revenues decreased from 68% in 2008 to 65% in 2009 and increased to 67% in 2010.




The following table presents the geographic distribution of our revenues:




Years ended December 31,2008


2009


2010The Americas


40.5%



43.9%



45.9%Asia Pacific and Africa


4.0



4.1



9.6Europe


50.6



47.3



39.2Israel


4.9



4.7



5.3Total


100.0%



100.0%



100.0%




Our sales in Europe as a percentage of revenues decreased from 50.6% in 2008 to 47.3% in 2009 and to 39.2% in 2010 mainly due to loss of managed services customers that were clients of Omni. Accordingly, our sales in the Americas as a percentage of revenues increased from 40.5% in 2008 to 43.9% in 2009 and to 45.9% in 2010.




Cost of Revenues




Years ended December 31,

($ in millions)


% Change


% Change2008


2009


2010


2009 vs. 2008


2010 vs. 2009Total cost of revenues


6.1



6.4



6.2



4.9



(3.1)




The increase in our cost of revenues in 2009 compared with 2008 was due to one time additional charges to cost of revenues in the amount of $0.8 million driven by the cancellation of projects for three of our managed-services customers which went out of business (see below on deferred revenue cancellation with regards to these projects), partially offset by the decrease in payroll-related costs. The cost of revenues in 2010 increased by $0.6 million compared with 2009 cost of revenues net of the one time additional charges in 2009 above mentioned. The increase was primarily due to the increase in our revenues.




Gross profit as a percentage of revenues decreased from 68.5% in 2008 to 63.5% in 2009 and increased to 69.0% in 2010. The decrease in 2009 was due to the increase in cost of revenues as described above, partially offset by the cancellation of deferred revenue in the amount of $0.5 million related to the cancelled projects which had not been recognized in the past. The gross profit in 2010 was almost flat compared to 2008 and the increase when compared to 2009 was due to the singularity of the multiple cancellations that occurred in 2009.




33




Operating Expenses




Years ended December 31,

($ in millions)


% Change


% Change2008


2009


2010


2009 vs. 2008


2010 vs. 2009Research and development


6.2



4.4



4.0



(29.0)



(9.1)Selling and marketing


3.3



2.2



2.1



(33.3)



(4.5)General and administrative


2.5



2.3



1.6



(8.0)



(30.4)Impairment of goodwill and another intangible asset


3.7



-



1.0


NA


NATotal operating expenses


15.7



8.9



8.7



(43.3)



(2.2)




Research and Development.We make substantial investment in research and development to maintain our advanced technology and add functionality to our products.  The decrease in our research and development expenses in 2009 by 29.0% and in 2010 by 9.1% was primarily due to the decrease in the cost attributable to payroll and related expenses of our employees engaged in research and development resulting from a decrease in headcount in this department. Research and development expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased from 31.6% in 2008 to 25.3% in 2009 as the expense decreased by 29%, offset by the decrease in revenue. Research and development expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased from 25.3% in 2009 to 20.4% in 2010 as the expense decreased by 9.1% and our revenue increased.




Selling and Marketing Expenses. Selling and marketing expenses decreased from $3.3 million in 2008 to $2.2 million in 2009 as a result of steps we took to reduce cost and expense due to the global economic crisis, as well as a reduction in sales commissions attributable to the decrease in revenue in 2009. Selling and marketing expenses stayed almost flat from $2.2 million in 2009 to $2.1 million in 2010. Selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased from 17.0% in 2008 to 12.6% in 2009 as a result of the deliberate expense decrease and decreased to 10.7% in 2010 as the revenue increased and the cost stayed almost flat as mentioned above.




General and Administrative Expenses.General and administrative expenses decreased from $2.5 million in 2008 to $2.3 million in 2009 and to $1.6 million in 2010. The decrease in 2009 in comparison to 2008 was mainly the result of the reimbursement of legal fees received in 2009 as part of the auction rate securities settlement. See Item 5.B “Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Item 11 “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for more information. The decrease in 2010 in comparison to 2009 was mainly as a result of a successful collection of one customer's debt in 2010 which was recorded as a doubtful account in 2009.





Impairment of Goodwill and another Intangible Asset.During 2008, following impairment tests for the value of goodwill and other intangible assets, we recorded an impairment charge of $3.7 million, out of which $2.3 million relate to the business we acquired from Omni and $1.4 million relate to the Sentori acquisition. According to the impairment tests performed in 2009, no impairment was required. According to the impairment tests performed in 2010, we decided to write off the remaining balances of the goodwill and other intangible assets related to the Omni acquisition and recorded impairment charges of approximately $1.0 million.


34





Financial Expenses.In 2008, financial expenses consisted of an impairment of our auction rate security in the amount of $4.2 million offset mainly by financial income from interest. In 2009, financial income amounted to $17.8 million due to income in the amount of $18.5 million that was recorded from the settlement relating to our auction rate security. The income was offset mainly by an impairment of our auction rate security in the amount of $0.9 million. See Item 5.B “Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Item 11 “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for more information. In 2010, financial expenses consisted of interest income incurred mainly on short-term bank deposits in the amount of $98 thousands, offset by negative currency exchange rate fluctuations and bank charges in the amount of $49 thousands.




Corporate Tax Rate





The general corporate tax rate in Israel was 27% for the 2008 tax year, 26% for the 2009 tax year and 25% for the 2010 tax year. Following an amendment to the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance that came into effect on January 1, 2009, the corporate tax rate was expected to decrease as follows: 24% for the 2011 tax year, 23% for the 2012 tax year, 22% for the 2013 tax year, 21% for the 2014 tax year, 20% for the 2015 tax year and 18% for the 2016 tax year and thereafter.  However, the finance committee of the Israeli parliament recently approved a proposal, which if enacted into law by the Israeli parliament, would delay the decrease in the corporate tax rate so that the corporate tax rate will continue to be 24% for the 2012 tax year, and the decrease in the tax rate will recommence in the 2013 tax year (for which the rate will be 23%) and until the 2017 tax year (for which the rate will be 18%). Israeli companies are generally subject to capital gains tax at the corporate tax rate. Our expected effective tax rate, however, was 2% in 2008, 2% in 2009 and 15% in 2010.  We experienced the lower expected effective tax rates in 2008, 2009 and 2010 primarily because of tax reductions to which we are entitled under Israel’s Law for Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959, pursuant to which substantially all of our facilities have been granted “approved enterprise”.





Recently, new legislation amending the Investment Law was adopted. Under this new legislation, a uniform corporate tax rate will apply to all qualifying income of certain Industrial Companies (requirement of a minimum export of 25% of the company's total turnover), as opposed to the current law's incentives, which are limited to income from Approved Enterprises during their benefits period. Under the new law, the uniform tax rate will be 10% in areas in Israel designated as Development Zone A and 15% elsewhere in Israel during 2011-2012, 7% and 12.5%, respectively, in 2013-2014, and 6% and 12%, respectively thereafter. The profits of these Industrial Companies will be freely distributable as dividends, subject to a 15% withholding tax (or lower, under an applicable tax treaty).





Under the transition provisions of the new legislation, recently we filed a request to apply the new benefits under the 2011 Amendment. We do not expect the new law to have material ramifications on the tax payable in respect of our Israeli operations.





We cannot assure you that such tax benefits will be available for us in the future at their current levels or at all. For more information about the taxes to which we are subject, see below under Item 10.E “Taxation”.





35





Critical Accounting Policies





To improve understanding of our financial statements, it is important to obtain some degree of familiarity with our critical or principal accounting policies. These policies are described in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, which are incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011. We review our accounting policies annually to ensure that the financial statements developed, in part, on the basis of these accounting policies provide complete, accurate and transparent information concerning the financial condition of our company. As part of this process, we reviewed the selection and application of our critical accounting policies and financial disclosures as of December 31, 2010, and we believe that the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of our company as of that date.




In preparing our financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting policies in the United States of America, our management must often make estimates and assumptions which may affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures as of the date of the financial statements and during the reporting period. Some of those judgments can be subjective and complex, and consequently actual results may differ from those estimates. For any given individual estimate or assumption made by our management, there may be alternative estimates or assumptions which are also reasonable. However, we believe that given the facts and circumstances before our management at the time of making the relevant judgments, estimates or assumptions, it is unlikely that applying any such other reasonable judgment would cause a material adverse effect on the consolidated results of operations, financial position or liquidity for the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements




We are also subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from estimates and assumptions, such as changes in the economic environment, competition, customer claims, foreign exchange, taxation and governmental programs. Certain of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions are discussed under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements” and in Item 3.D “Risk Factors”.




We consider our most significant accounting policies to be those discussed below:




Revenue Recognition.We apply the provisions of Statement of ASC 985-605, "Revenue Recognition" (formerly SOP No. 97-2) and ASC 605-35, "Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts" (formerly SOP No. 81-1), as follows:




i)
Sales of licenses: Revenue from sale of products is recognized when delivery has occurred, persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collection is probable. If collection is not considered probable, revenue is recognized when the fee is collected. We generally do not grant a right of return on products sold to customers.




ii)
Services:The services we provide consist of implementation, training, hardware installation, maintenance, support and project management. All services are priced on a fixed price basis and are recognized ratably over the period in which the services are provided except services which are recognized under the percentage-of-completion method as described below.





Products are mainly supplied with maintenance for a period of one year from delivery. When revenue on sale of the products is recognized, we defer a portion of the sales price and recognize it as maintenance revenue ratably over the above period. The portion of the sales price that is deferred is determined based on the fair value of the service as priced in transactions in which we render maintenance solely. Where vendor specific objective evidence for fair value cannot be determined, the entire sale is being recognized over the maintenance period. Where the services are considered essential to the functionality of the software products, both the software product revenue and the revenue related to the integration and implementation services are recognized under the percentage-of-completion method in accordance with ASC 605-35. We generally determine the percentage-of-completion by comparing the labor performed to date to the estimated total labor required to complete the project. When the estimate indicates that a loss will be incurred, such loss is recorded in the period identified. Significant judgments and estimates are involved in determining the percent complete of each contract. Different assumptions could yield materially different results.


36




iii)
Managed Services: Revenues from managed services include a monthly fee for services and for right of use and are recorded as service revenues and license revenues, respectively. The monthly fee is based mainly on number of subscribers or customer’s business volume and the agreements include a minimum monthly charge. These revenues are recognized on a monthly basis. Where installation services are sold together with a managed services contract, the installation services are recognized over the entire contract term, commencing with the deployment finalization.





Provision for Doubtful Accounts.The provision for doubtful accounts is for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. We regularly evaluate the adequacy of this provision by taking into account variables such as past experience, age of the receivable balance, and current economic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay. The use of different estimates or assumptions could produce different provision balances. If collection is not probable at the time the transaction is consummated, we do not recognize revenue until cash collection. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional provision for doubtful accounts may be required.




Impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. We test our goodwill for impairment using a fair value approach at the reporting unit level, on an annual basis, or more frequently if events or circumstances occur that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value.





The goodwill impairment test is a two-step test. In the first step, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying value. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that reporting unit, goodwill is not impaired and we are not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, we must perform the second step in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and compare it to the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. The activities in the second step include valuing the tangible and intangible assets and liabilities of the impaired reporting unit based on their fair value and determining the fair value of the impaired reporting unit’s goodwill based upon the residual of the summed identified tangible and intangible assets and liabilities.




In performing our impairment tests related to goodwill, we determine the fair value of our reporting units using the discounted cash flow approach. The discounted cash flow approach uses a reporting unit’s projections of estimated operating results and cash flows and applies a weighted-average cost of capital that reflects current market conditions. The evaluation of goodwill requires us to use significant judgments and estimates, including but not limited to projected future revenues and expenses, changes in operating margins, cash flows, and estimates of future capital expenditures. Our estimates may differ from actual results due to, among other things, economic conditions, changes to our business model, or changes in operating performance. Significant differences between these estimates and actual results could result in future impairment charges and could materially affect our future financial results.


37





We perform annual testing for impairment of the goodwill during the third quarter of each year. As of September 30, 2010 the fair value of the reporting unit - Sentori exceeded its carrying value by 110%.




Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements.




Recently issued accounting pronouncements are described in note 1 paragraph to the consolidated financial statements, which are incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011.




Our Functional Currency




The currency of the primary economic environment in which we operate is the U.S. dollar with the exception of our U.K. subsidiary. In 2010, approximately 95% of our revenues were derived from sales outside Israel, the majority of which were denominated in U.S. dollars. In addition, most of our marketing costs are incurred outside Israel, primarily in U.S. dollars. Transactions and balances originally denominated in U.S. dollars are presented at their original amounts. Balances in non-dollar currencies are remeasured into U.S. dollars using historical and current exchange rates for non-monetary and monetary balances, respectively. For non-dollar transactions and other items reflected in our income statements, the following exchange rates are used:




·
for transactions, exchange rates at the transaction dates or average rates; and




·
for other items (derived from non-monetary balance sheet items such as depreciation and amortization or similar items), historical exchange rates.




The resulting currency transaction gains or losses are reported as financial income or expenses as appropriate.




The functional currency of our U.K. subsidiary is the Great British Pound. We consolidate this subsidiary’s financial results into our financial statements, based on translation into U.S. dollars in accordance with ASC 830, “Foreign Currency Matters” (formerly SFAS No. 52). Assets and liabilities are translated at year-end exchange rates, while operating results items are translated at periodically average exchange rates during the year. Differences resulting from translation are presented in shareholders’ equity.




Impact of Foreign Currency Fluctuations on Results of Operations




The U.S. dollar cost of our operations is influenced by the extent to which any inflation in Israel is offset, on a lagging basis, or is not offset by the devaluation of the NIS in relation to the U.S. dollar. When the rate of inflation in Israel exceeds the rate of devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar, companies experience increases in the U.S. dollar cost of their operations in Israel. Unless offset by a devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar, inflation in Israel or weakening of the U.S. dollar in global markets will have a negative effect on our profitability as we receive payment in U.S. dollars for most of our sales while we incur a portion of our expenses, principally salaries and related personnel expenses, in NIS.




38





The following table presents information about the rate of inflation in Israel, the rate of devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar, and the rate of inflation of Israel adjusted for the devaluation:




Years ended December 31,

Israeli

Inflation

Rate


Israeli

Devaluation

Rate


Israel Inflation

Adjusted for

Devaluation2006


(0.1
)


(8.2
)


8.12007


3.4



(9.0
)


12.42008


3.8



(1.1
)


4.92009


3.9



(0.7
)


4.62010


2.7



(6.0
)


8.7




We cannot assure you that we will not be materially and adversely affected in the future if inflation in Israel exceeds the devaluation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar or if the timing of the devaluation lags behind inflation in Israel.




A devaluation of the NIS in relation to the U.S. dollar has the effect of reducing the U.S. dollar amount of any of our expenses or liabilities which are payable in NIS, unless these expenses or payables are linked to the U.S. dollar. This devaluation also has the effect of decreasing the U.S. dollar value of any asset, which consists of NIS or receivables payable in NIS, unless the receivables are linked to the U.S. dollar. Conversely, any increase in the value of the NIS in relation to the U.S. dollar has the effect of increasing the U.S. dollar value of any unlinked NIS assets and the U.S. dollar amounts of any unlinked NIS liabilities and expenses. Because exchange rates between the NIS and the U.S. dollar fluctuate continuously, exchange rate fluctuations and especially larger periodic devaluations will have an impact on our profitability and period-to-period comparisons of our results. The effects of foreign currency re-measurements are reported in our consolidated financial statements in current operations.




B.
Liquidity and Capital Resources




Since our inception, we have financed our operations mainly through cash generated by operations. We supplemented this source by two private rounds of equity financing, the first in 1997 (with a follow-on in 1999) and the second in 2000 and our initial public offering in 2000, which raised total net proceeds in the amount of $44.3 million.




As of December 31, 2010, we had approximately $17.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, and our working capital was $18.1 million. In our opinion, our working capital is sufficient for our requirements for the foreseeable future.




Net Cash Provided by/Used in Operating Activities.  Net cash provided by operating activities in 2008 was $4.1 million, attributable to our net loss of $6.4 million and non-cash related items, net, in the amount of $9.5 million, and to a net decrease in operating assets and liabilities items in the amount of $1.0 million. Net cash provided by operating activities in 2009 was $6.3 million, attributable to our net income of $19.8 million, less $18.5 million income from our auction rate security settlement, to non-cash related items, net, in the amount of $2.0 million, and to a net decrease in assets and liabilities items in the amount of $3.0 million. Net cash provided by operating activities in 2010 was $6.3 million, attributable to our net income of $4.9 million, non-cash related items, net, in the amount of $1.8 million, and to a net increase in operating assets and liabilities in the amount of $0.4 million.




39





The increase in Net cash provided by operating activities of $2.2 million from 2008 to 2009 reflects an increase in our net income of $4.5 million, excluding the Auction Rate Securities impact, a decrease in trade receivables, prepaid expenses and deferred cost of revenues of $1.7 million, in the aggregate, offset by a decrease in impairments of goodwill and intangible asset of $3.7 million and decrease in depreciation and amortization of $0.3 million compared to 2008. The net cash provided by operating activities was $6.3 million in 2010 and remained almost flat in comparison to 2009.




Net Operating Working Capital




As of December 31, 2010, the net operating working capital was $18.1 million compared with $15.3 million as of December 31, 2009. The increase of $2.8 million was mainly due to an increase in cash position in the amount of $2.3 million. There was no material change in other operating assets and liabilities.




Cash Deposits




As of December 31, 2010, we had approximately $2.9 million in bank deposits with maturities of between three and twelve months.




We invested $20.3 million in an auction rate security, or the Security, which is secured by collateralized debt obligations. Consistent with our investment guidelines, the Security had a AAA credit rating at the time of the purchase. With the liquidity stress experienced in credit markets, the Security experienced multiple failed auctions and hence became illiquid.




According to an independent appraiser valuation, the estimated market value of the Security as of December 31, 2009, was determined to be de minimis, which reflects a $20.3 million decline in value of the principal investment and thus a complete impairment. We have concluded that this decline in value is other-than-temporary and hence recorded a $15.2 million impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2007, and a $4.2 million impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2008 and a $0.9 million impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2009.




In September 2009, further to a claim that was filed by us in an arbitration proceeding against the investment firm that had purchased the Security for our account, we reached a settlement according to which we received $18.5 million in cash as well as $0.4 million in reimbursement for our legal fees.




Net Cash Provided by/Used in Investing Activities. In 2008, our principal investment activity was mainly the use of $0.4 million for capital expenditures. In 2009, we received proceeds in the amount of $18.5 million as a result of the settlement relating to our auction rate security, and we invested $2.2 million in short-term bank deposits. In 2010, our principal investment activities were the increase of our investments in short-term bank deposits by $0.7 million and the use of $0.2 million for capital expenditures.





40





Net Cash Provided by/Used in Financing Activities. In 2008, our financing activities used $5.9 million due to a cash dividend of $4.3 million and the repurchase of shares in the amount of $1.6 million. In 2009, our financing activities used $16.0 million due to a cash dividend of $14.8 million and the repurchase of shares in the amount of $1.2 million. In 2010, our financing activities used $3.6 million due to a cash dividend of $3.7 million, offset by $0.1 million in proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options.




Capital Expenditures. In 2008 and 2009, the aggregate cash amount of our capital expenditures was $0.4 million in each of those years. In 2010, the aggregate cash amount of our capital expenditures was $0.2 million. These expenditures were principally for the purchase of property and other equipment. Although we have no material commitments for capital expenditures, we anticipate an increase in capital expenditures if we decide to construct a building for our office in Romania or if we purchase or merge with companies or purchase assets in order to obtain complementary technology and to expand our product offerings, customer base and geographical presence.




Cash Dividends.  Since 2003, we distributed aggregated cash dividends of approximately $2.37 per share to our shareholders: $0.14 per share in 2003, $0.13 per share in 2004, $0.24 per share in 2005, $0.14 per share in 2006, $0.20 per share in 2007, $0.20 per share in 2008, $0.80 per share in 2009, $0.20 per share in 2010 and $0.32 per share in 2011. For information about our dividend policy, please see Item 8 “Financial Information—Dividend Policy.”




Share Repurchase.As of December 31, 2010, we have repurchased an aggregate amount of 3,165,092 ordinary shares, for a total consideration of approximately $2.8 million. As of June 1, 2011, we have the authority to use additional $1.8 million for share repurchases.





C.
Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, etc.




We believe that significant investment in research and development is essential for maintaining and expanding our technological expertise in the market for billing and customer care software and to our strategy of being a leading provider of new and innovative convergent billing products. We work closely with our partners, customers and distribution channels, who provide significant feedback for product development and innovation.




We have invested significant time and resources to create a structured process for undertaking research and product development. We believe that the method that we use for our product development and testing is well suited for identifying market needs, addressing the activities required to release new products, and bringing development projects to market successfully. Our product development activities also include the release of new versions of our products. Although we expect to develop new products internally, we may, based upon timing and cost considerations, acquire or license technologies or products from third parties.




Our research and development personnel include engineers and software developers with experience in the development and design of billing and customer care software. As of December 31, 2010, our research and development department consisted of 202 employees out of a total of  311 employees.




D.
Trend Information




Our billing and customer care solutions target tier 2 and tier 3 service providers. The need for comprehensive billing solutions is driven by the market trend that requires service providers to introduce new services more rapidly, to be innovative in creating new product offers and to optimize business processes for maximum efficiency. In this environment, flexible and stable billing software is seen as business critical. If a system fails, or service quality is degraded, it can be highly detrimental to both a carrier’s ability to collect revenue and to its customer relations.




41





In our experience, the active markets lately are in the U.S. the rural mobile carriers that offer simple plans, mainly pay-as-you-go with either prepaid or pay-in-advance policies, the service providers worldwide that move towards IP networks and offer multiple services, and existing carriers that search for replacement of billing solutions as they diversify their offering and seek a convergent platform.




Integrating voice and data in enterprise switches (the IP private branch exchanges, or IP PBX's) is a trend in which we are participating. Our goal is to develop marketing and sales relationships with the vendors of IP PBX's such as Cisco Systems and Microsoft under which our enterprise software will be sold together with these vendors’ systems. This requires us to develop new sales channels with the distributors of IP PBX's. This process is time consuming and requires the investment of some resources to conclude the necessary agreements and to certify and train these new channel partners.




E.
Off-balance Sheet Arrangements




We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.




F.
Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations





Payment due by periodContractual Obligations

Total


Less than 1

year


1-3 years


3-5 years


More than

5 yearsLong-Term Debt Obligations


0



0



0



0



0Capital (Finance) Lease Obligations


0



0



0



0



0Operating Lease Obligations

$
627,000


$
400,000


$
227,000



0



0Purchase Obligations


0



0



0



0



0Other Long-Term Liabilities Reflected on our Balance Sheet under U.S. GAAP


0



0



0



0



0Total

$
627,000


$
400,000


$
227,000



0



0




42





Item 6.
Directors, Senior Management and Employees




A.
Directors and Senior Management




The following table sets forth certain information regarding our directors and executive officers as of the date of filing of this Annual Report:




Name

Age

PositionMonica Iancu

53

President, Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive OfficerAviram Cohen

34

Chief Financial OfficerDoron Segal

46

Vice President – Engineering and Chief Technology OfficerTal Shain

43

Vice President – Professional ServicesDanny Engle

42

Vice President – Sales for North AmericaAmnon Neubach

67

DirectorMihail Rotenberg

59

DirectorMenahem Shalgi

61

DirectorRimon Ben – Shaoul

66

Director




The background of each of our directors and executive officers is as follows:




Monica Iancu. Mrs. Iancu founded MIND and has been President, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of our company since inception. Mrs. Iancu holds a B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and a Masters Degree in Telecommunications (with expertise in Voice and Data Integration over the Ethernet) from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.




Aviram Cohen.  Mr. Cohen joined MIND as Controller in June 2006 and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2010. Before joining us, he served as an auditor and accountant at Ernst & Young, (Haifa, Israel) from 2002. Mr. Cohen is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. degree in Accounting and Economics from Haifa University.




Doron Segal. Mr. Segal has served as our Chief Technology Officer since October 2004 and as our Vice President of Engineering since July 2007. Prior thereto, he worked for eight years at Comverse, at which he held a number of positions including Assistant Vice President with responsibility for product requirement definition and product level design. Mr. Segal holds a M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Bar Ilan University and a B.Sc. degree in Physics, Mathematics & Computer Science from the Hebrew University.




Danny Engle. Mr. Engle is Vice President of North American Sales for MIND Software Inc. (formerly Sentori Inc.). Mr. Engle joined Sentori in 2003 as Director of Sales, and later became Sentori’s Vice President of North American Sales. Prior to joining Sentori, Mr. Engle was District Manager at Siebel Systems, a leading CRM solutions provider. Mr. Engle holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas.




TalShain. Mr. Shain joined us in June 1999 and has served as our Vice President of Professional Services since February 2006. Prior thereto, Mr. Shain served as our R&D Manager in Romania and Chief Architect. Mr. Shain holds a B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.





43




Amnon Neubach. Mr. Neubach has served as an external director of our company since February 2001. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Neubach served as Chairman of the Board of Pelephone Communications Ltd. Mr. Neubach served as an economic consultant to several companies in the private sector since 1997.  Currently Mr. Neubach serves as a director of Leumi Card Ltd. and Direct Insurance Ltd. Mr. Neubach also serves as a director on the boards of various privately held companies and is the Chairman of Mego Afek AC Ltd. and is the Chairman ofDanpel Ltd.Mr. Neubach holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Business Administration and an M.A. degree in Economics, both from Bar Ilan University.


Mihail Rotenberg. Mr. Rotenberg has served as a director of our company since May 2008. He is the founder of BreezeCOM Ltd., which merged to become Alvarion Ltd., a wireless broadband pioneer and the leading provider of WiMAX. Mr. Rotenberg served as the Chief Executive Officer of BreezeCOM from 1993 to 2000. From 2000 to 2005 Mr. Rotenberg served as President and CEO of Accessnet SA, a wireless internet service provider in Romania, which was sold in 2005 to Clearwire Inc. Mr. Rotenberg holds a Ph.D. degree from Polytechnic University, Bucharest, Romania.




Menahem Shalgi. Mr. Shalgi has served as an external director of our company since April 2005. Mr. Shalgi served at Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE:DOX) as Vice President of Business Development and M&A from 1998 to 2003 and as Vice President and Executive Account Manager from 1993 to 1998. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Shalgi served as the Chief Executive Officer of WIZTEC Ltd. Prior thereto, Mr. Shalgi served at Amdocs since 1985, at which he held a number of positions. Currently Mr. Shalgi is the chairman of Afterdox, an investment house in Israel and Mr. Shalgi also serves as the director of ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. Mr. Shalgi holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Statistics from Tel-Aviv University and a M.Sc. degree in Computer Sciences from Weizmann Institute for Science.


Rimon Ben-Shaoul.Mr. Ben-Shaoulhas served as an external director of our company since June 2010. Mr. Ben-Shaoulhas servedas the CEO of Polar Communications Ltd. since 2004. Mr. Ben-Shaoul has served as a member of the board of directors of NICE Systems Ltd. since 2001 and also serves as a director on the boards of several privately held companies. Mr. Ben-Shaoul is the Chairman of T.A.T Technologies Ltd. and of Grand Automotive Ltd. and served as a director on the boards of various Israeli and foreign privately and publically held companies. Mr. Ben-Shaoul served as a Class II director from 2002 to 2008. Mr. Ben-Shaoul holds an M.B.A. degree and a B.A. degree in Economics, both from Tel Aviv University.


B.
Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers




The aggregate direct remuneration paid to all persons who served in the capacity of director or executive officer during 2010 was approximately $1.2 million, including approximately $70,000 that was set aside for pension and retirement benefits. This does not include amounts expensed by us for automobiles made available to our officers or expenses, including business, travel, professional and business association dues and expenses, reimbursed to officers, and do not include equity based compensation expenses.




During 2010, we granted to our executive officers under our option plans options to purchase 120,000 ordinary shares at an average exercise price of $1.94 per share, which expire in 2015, and options to purchase 48,000 ordinary shares, at an exercise price of the par value of $0.003, which expire in 2015.




44




Our shareholders in a meeting held on April 7, 2005, resolved to grant each of our five directors (at that time) options to purchase 18,000 ordinary shares. The exercise price of the options is $3.82, which was equal to the per share closing price of our ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Global Market on the trading date immediately preceding the shareholders meeting approving the grant. The options vested in three equal annual installments on February 1, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and will expire on February 8, 2012. The shareholders also approved to pay each non-executive director an annual fee of $8,000 and a participation fee of $400 per meeting, which is the same amount of fees that was paid to our external directors until mid 2008. Pursuant to an amendment to the regulations under the Israeli Companies Law governing the compensation of external directors, on May 14, 2008, our Board of Directors resolved that, commencing on July 1, 2008, each of our external directors will be entitled to receive an annual fee of NIS 42,600 (approximately $12,500) and a participation fee of NIS 2,200 (approximately $650) per meeting, which is equal to the median rate for companies of our size set forth in the regulations. On June 16, 2008, our Board of Directors resolved that the remuneration of those external directors who will be classified by the Board as expert external director will be 20% more than the remuneration of the ordinary external directors. On May 15, 2011 our Board of Directors resolved that, subject to shareholder approval, each of our external directors will be entitled to receive an annual fee of NIS 53,500 (approximately $15,000) and a participation fee of NIS 2,820 (approximately $800) per meeting, which is equal to the maximum rate for companies of our size set forth in the regulations governing the compensation of external directors under the Israeli Companies Law. At the same time, the shareholders will also be requested to approve the same payment to each non-executive director and in addition our shareholders will be requested to approve that the remuneration of those external directors who will be classified by the Board as expert external directors will be 20% more than the remuneration of the ordinary external directors. On August 19, 2008, our Board of Directors resolved to classify Amnon Neubach, who qualifies as our accounting and financial expert, as expert external director.




C.
Board Practices




Board of Directors




Our board is divided into three classes of directors, denominated Class I, Class II and Class III. The term of Class I will expire in 2013, Class II in 2011, and Class III in 2012. Monica Iancu is a member of Class I, Mihail Rotenberg is a member of Class II and stands for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting, and currently there is no director who is a member of Class III. At each annual general meeting of shareholders, directors will be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast for a three-year term to succeed the directors whose terms then expire. There is no legal limit on the number of terms that may be served by directors who are not external directors. Our external directors are not members of any class.





45




The initial term of an external director is three years and may be extended for up to two additional terms of three years. Thereafter, an external director may be reelected by our shareholders for additional periods of up to three years each in certain circumstances described below. Mr. Neubach was re-elected to a fourth term as an external director on June 28, 2010. Mr. Menahem Shalgi was re-elected to a second term as an external director on August 18, 2008 and stands for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. Mr. Rimon Ben-Shaoul was elected to a first term as an external director on June 28, 2010. Under the Companies Law, our board of directors must determine the minimum number of directors having financial and accounting experience, as defined in the regulations, which our board of directors should have. In determining the number of directors required to have such expertise, the board of directors must consider, among other things, the type and size of the company and the scope and complexity of its operations. Our board of directors has determined that we require one director with the requisite financial and accounting expertise and that Mr. Amnon Neubach has such expertise.




External Directors




Under the Companies Law, companies incorporated under the laws of Israel whose shares are listed for trading on a stock exchange or have been offered to the public in or outside of Israel are required to appoint two external directors. External directors are required to possess professional qualifications as set out in regulations promulgated under the Companies Law. The Companies Law provides that a person may not be appointed as an external director (i) if the person or the person’s relative or affiliate has, as of the date of the person’s appointment to serve as an external director, or had, during the two years preceding that date, any affiliation with the company, a controlling shareholder thereof or their respective affiliates or (ii) in a company that does not have a 25% shareholder, if such person has an affiliation with any person who, at the time of appointment, is the chairman, the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer or a 5% shareholder of the company.


The term affiliation includes:




·
an employment relationship;




·
a business or professional relationship;




·
control; and




·
service as an office holder.




The Companies Law defines the term “office holder” of a company to include a director, the chief executive officer, the chief business manager, a vice president and any officer that reports directly to the chief executive officer.




No person can serve as an external director if the person's position or other business creates, or may create, conflict of interests with the person's responsibilities as an external director or may otherwise interfere with the person's ability to serve as an external director.




Until the lapse of two years from termination of office, a company or its controlling shareholder may not give any direct or indirect benefit to the former external director.





46





As mentioned above, the initial term of an external director is three years and may be extended for up to two additional terms of three years. Thereafter, an external director may be reelected by our shareholders for additional periods of up to three years each only if our audit committee and our board of directors confirm that, in light of the external director’s expertise and special contribution to the work of the board of directors and its committees, the reelection for such additional period is beneficial to us.




External directors are to be elected by a majority vote at a shareholders' meeting, provided that either:




·
at least a majority of the shares of non-controlling shareholders voted at the meeting vote in favor of the election; or




·
the total number of shares of non-controlling shareholders voted against the election of the external director does not exceed two percent of the aggregate voting rights in the company.




Reelection of an external director may be effected through one of the following mechanisms:




·
the board of directors proposed the reelection of the nominee and the election was approved by the shareholders by the majority required to appoint external directors for their initial term; or




·
a shareholder holding 1% or more of the voting rights proposed the reelection of the nominee, and the reelection is approved by a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders of the company, excluding the votes of controlling shareholders and those who have a personal interest in the matter as a result of their relations with the controlling shareholders, provided that the aggregate votes cast in favor of the reelection by such non-excluded shareholders constitute more than 2% of the voting rights in the company.




External directors may be removed from office only by the same percentage of shareholders as is required for their election, or by a court, and then only if the external directors cease to meet the statutory qualifications for their appointment or if they violate their duty of loyalty to the company. Each committee of a company's board of directors that exercises a power of the board of directors is required to include at least one external director, except for the audit committee, which is required to include all the external directors.




Audit Committee




Under the Companies Law, our board of directors is required to appoint an audit committee, comprised of at least three directors, including all of the external directors.  The members of the audit committee must satisfy certain independence standards under the Companies Law, and the chairman of the audit committee is required to be an external director.  Our audit committee consists of all our external directors and Mr. Mihail Rotenberg.




Under the Companies Law, the roles of the audit committee include examining flaws in the management of the company’s business, in consultation with the internal auditor and the company's independent accountants, suggesting remedial measures, approving specified related party transactions and assessing the company's internal audit system and the performance of its internal auditor.




47




The approval of the audit committee is required to effect specified actions and transactions with office holders, controlling shareholders and entities in which they have a personal interest. An audit committee may not approve an action or a transaction with related parties or with its office holders unless at the time of approval at least two external directors are serving as members of the audit committee and at least one of who was present at the meeting in which any approval was granted.




Under the Nasdaq rules, our audit committee assists the board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and integrity of our accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices and financial statements and the independence qualifications and performance of our independent auditors. Our audit committee also has the authority and responsibility to oversee our independent auditors, to recommend for shareholder approval the appointment and, where appropriate, replacement of our independent auditors and to pre-approve audit engagement fees and all permitted non-audit services and fees. We have adopted an audit committee charter, which sets forth the qualifications, powers and responsibilities of our audit committee.





Our audit committee also serves as (i) our compensation committee, authorized to determine the compensation of our executive officers, (ii) our nominations committee, authorized to recommend all director nominees for the selection of the board of directors, provided that no such recommendation is required in cases, if any, where the right to nominate a director legally belongs to a third party, and (iii) our qualified legal compliance committee, responsible for investigating reports, made by attorneys appearing and practicing before the SEC in representing us, of perceived material violations of U.S. federal or state securities laws, breaches of fiduciary duty or similar violations by us or any of our agents.




All the members of our audit committee are “independent directors” under the Nasdaq rules and meet the additional qualifications for membership on an audit committee.




Internal Auditor




Under the Companies Law, the board of directors must appoint an internal auditor proposed by the audit committee. The role of the internal auditor is to examine, inter alia, whether the company's actions comply with the law and orderly business procedure. The internal auditor must satisfy certain independence standards.  Doron Cohen C.P.A., of the accounting firm of Fahn – Kanne & Co. Grant Thornton Israel, serves as our internal auditor.




Fiduciary Duties of Office Holders




The Companies Law imposes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty on all office holders of a company. The duty of care requires an office holder to act with the level of care with which a reasonable office holder in the same position would have acted under the same circumstances. The duty of care includes a duty to use reasonable means to obtain:




·
information on the advisability of a given action brought for his approval or performed by him by virtue of his position; and




·
all other important information pertaining to these actions.




The duty of loyalty of an office holder includes a duty to:




·
refrain from any conflict of interest between the performance of his duties in the company and the performance of his other duties or his personal affairs;


48




·
refrain from any activity that is competitive with the company;




·
refrain from exploiting any business opportunity of the company to receive a personal gain for himself or others; and




·
disclose to the company any information or documents relating to a company's affairs which the office holder has received due to his position as an office holder.




Disclosure of Personal Interest of an Office Holder




The Companies Law requires that an office holder of a company disclose to the company any personal interest that he may have and all related material information known to him, in connection with any existing or proposed transaction by the company. The disclosure is required to be made promptly and in any event no later than the board of directors meeting in which the transaction is first discussed. If the transaction is an extraordinary transaction, the office holder must also disclose any personal interest held by:




·
the office holder's spouse, siblings, parents, grandparents, descendants, spouse's descendants and the spouses of any of these people; or




·
any corporation in which the office holder is a 5% or greater shareholder, director or general manager or in which he has the right to appoint at least one director or the general manager.




Under Israeli law, an extraordinary transaction is a transaction:





·
other than in the ordinary course of business;




·
otherwise than on market terms; or




·
that is likely to have a material impact on the company's profitability, assets or liabilities.




Approval of Related Party Transactions




Once an office holder complies with the above disclosure requirement, the board of directors may approve a transaction between the company and an office holder, or a third party in which an office holder has a personal interest. A transaction that is adverse to the company's interest may not be approved.




If the transaction is an extraordinary transaction or involves the compensation of an office holder, approval of both the audit committee and the board of directors is required. Under specific circumstances, shareholder approval may also be required.





49





Disclosure of Personal Interests of a Controlling Shareholder




Under the Companies Law, the disclosure requirements, which apply to an office holder, also apply to a controlling shareholder of a public company. A controlling shareholder is a shareholder who has the ability to direct the activities of a company, including a shareholder that owns 25% or more of the voting rights if no other shareholder owns more than 50% of the voting rights, but excluding a shareholder whose power derives solely from his or her position on the board of directors or any other position with the company. Extraordinary transactions with a controlling shareholder or in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest, and the engagement of a controlling shareholder as an office holder or employee, require the approval of the audit committee, the board of directors and the shareholders of the company, in that order. The shareholder approval must be by a majority of the shares voted on the matter, provided that either:




·
at least a majority of the shares of shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction and who vote on the matter vote in favor thereof; or




·
the shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction who vote against the transaction do not represent more than two percent of the voting rights in the company.




Shareholders generally have the right to examine any document in the company's possession pertaining to any matter that requires shareholder approval. If this information is made public in Israel or elsewhere, we will file the information with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.




For information concerning the direct and indirect personal interests of an office holder and principal shareholders in specified transactions with us, see Item 7.B “Related Party Transactions.”




Remuneration of Members of the Board of Directors




Under the Companies Law, no director may be paid any remuneration by the company for his services as director except as may be approved by our audit committee, board of directors and shareholders. Our external directors are entitled to consideration and reimbursement of expenses only as provided in regulations promulgated under the Companies Law and are otherwise prohibited from receiving any other consideration, directly or indirectly, in connection with their service as external directors. The compensation paid to our directors is described above in Item 6.B. Our directors are not entitled to benefits upon termination of service.




Executive Officers




Our executive officers are appointed by our board of directors and serve at the discretion of our board of directors. We maintain written employment agreements with our executive officers. Each agreement terminates upon 30 days’ written notice and provides for standard terms and conditions of employment. All of our executive officers have agreed not to compete with us for 12 months (or 24 months in the case of Monica Iancu) following the termination of their employment with us. Monica Iancu is entitled to severance pay upon termination of her employment by either her or us (other than by us for cause) and to receive, during each month of the six-month period following termination of her employment by us, or by her for cause, an amount of salary and benefits equal to her former monthly salary and other benefits. Under recent Israeli case law, the non-competition undertakings of employees may not be enforceable.




D.
Employees




The numbers and breakdowns of our employees as of the end of the past three years are set forth in the following table:




50




As of December 31,2008


2009


2010Approximate numbers of employees by geographic locationIsrael


67



64



58Romania


226



221



238United States


16



17



13United Kingdom


13



8



2Total workforce


322



310



311Approximate numbers of employees by category of activityGeneral and administration


20



19



14Research and development


195



183



202Professional services and customer support


90



87



80Sales and marketing


17



21



15Total workforce


322



310



311





We are subject to Israeli labor laws and regulations with respect to our Israeli employees. These laws principally concern matters such as paid annual vacation, paid sick days, length of the work day and work week, minimum wages, pay for overtime, insurance for work-related accidents, pension plans and severance payments upon the retirement or death of an employee or termination of employment under specified circumstances. The severance payments may be funded, in whole or in part, through Managers’ Insurance or a Pension Fund, as described below. The payments to the Managers’ Insurance fund or Pension Fund toward severance amount to 8.3% of wages. Furthermore, Israeli employees and employers are required to pay predetermined sums to the National Insurance Institute, which is similar to the U.S. Social Security Administration. Since January 1, 1995, these amounts also include payments for health insurance. The payments to the National Insurance Institute amount to approximately 17.4% of wages, of which the employee contributes approximately two-thirds and the employer contributes approximately one-third. Our general practice in Israel is to contribute funds on behalf of all of our employees to Managers’ Insurance or a Pension Fund. Each employee who agrees to participate in the Managers’ Insurance plan contributes 5.0% of his or her base salary and we contribute 13.3% or 13.8%. Each employee who agrees to participate in the Pension Fund contributes 5.0% or 7.0% of his or her base salary and we contribute 13.3% or 15.8%. Another savings plan we offer some of our employees, although not legally required, is known as the Advanced Studies Fund. Each employee who agrees to participate in the Advanced Studies fund contributes up to 2.5% of base salary and we contribute up to 7.5%.




Furthermore, by order of the Israeli Ministry of Labor and Welfare, all employers and employees are subject to provisions of collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut, Federation of Labor, and the Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations in Israel. These provisions principally concern cost of living increases, recreation pay, commuting expenses and other conditions of employment. We provide our employees with benefits and working conditions above the required minimums. Our employees are not represented by a labor union. To date, we have not experienced any work stoppages and our relationships with our employees are good.




E.
Share Ownership




As of June 1, 2011, Monica Iancu beneficially owned 3,872,000, or 20.7 %, of our ordinary shares. This includes vested options to acquire 18,000 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $3.82, which expire on February 8, 2012. None of our other directors or members of senior management beneficially owns 1% or more of our ordinary shares.





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We have established stock option plans to provide for the issuance of options to our directors, officers and employees. As these plans expired on December 31, 2010, our shareholders will be requested at our 2011 annual general meeting to adopt a new option plan. Under the new plan, options to purchase our ordinary shares may be issued from time to time to our directors, officers and employees at exercise prices and on other terms and conditions as determined by our board of directors. Our board of directors determines the exercise price and the vesting period of options granted. The new option plan, if approved, permits the issuance of options to acquire up to 1,800,000 ordinary shares.




As of June 1, 2011, options to purchase 1,521,745 ordinary shares were outstanding (out of which 597,200 were held by employees and directors) and options for 1,275,790 ordinary shares had been exercised. The options vest over three to five years, primarily commencing on the date of grant. Generally, options not previously exercised will expire approximately five to seven years after they are granted. Our board of directors elected the capital gains treatment afforded under Section 102 of the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], 1961, or the Tax Ordinance, in respect of options awarded under our Israeli option plan after January 1, 2003. Accordingly, gains derived from options awarded after January 1, 2003, and held by a trustee for at least two years from the end of the tax year in which they were awarded (or in some cases for 30 months from the date of grant), will generally be taxed as capital gains at a rate of 25%, and we will generally not be entitled to recognize an expense for the award of such options. For grants of options made on or after January 1, 2006, the aforesaid minimum holding period by the trustee is two years from the date of grant of the options.





On February 22, 2011, Monica Iancu adopted a Rule 10b5-1 Sales Plan in order to establish a systematic program by which Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is instructed to sell on NASDAQ up to 2,800,000 ordinary shares held by her pursuant to the guidelines set forth therein.




Item 7.
Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions




A.
Major Shareholders




The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of June 1, 2011, unless otherwise specified, by each person who is known to own beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding ordinary shares.




Name of

Beneficial Owners

Total Shares

BeneficiallyOwned


Percentage of

Ordinary Shares (1)Monica Iancu


3,872,000
(2)


20.7
%(1)





(1)
Based on 18,724,918 ordinary shares outstanding on June 1, 2011.


(2)
Includes 18,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of vested options





As of June 1, 2011, there were eight holders of record of our ordinary shares in the United States who collectively held less than 1% of our outstanding ordinary shares. In addition to this amount, there were also 14,773,646 shares held by the Depositary Trust Company in the United States. The number of record holders in the United States is not representative of the number of beneficial holders nor is it representative of where such beneficial holders are resident since many of these ordinary shares were held of record by brokers or other nominees.





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B.
Related Party Transactions




On February 28, 2011, we entered into a distribution agreement and a finder's fee agreement with Phonaris Ltd., a private Israeli company that develops a Smart-phone management solution, pursuant to which we will attempt to resell Phonaris’s future product.  We believe that this product will enhance our offering and strengthen our relationship with existing customers.  Mrs. Monica Iancu owns 6.5% of the share capital of Phonaris on a fully-diluted basis and her nephew is a founder thereof.  Mrs. Iancu sought and obtained the approval of our board of directors before she invested in Phonaris.  The foregoing agreements are on customary terms and conditions and were approved by our audit committee and board of directors, which confirmed that they are in our best interests.




C.
Interests of Experts and Counsel




Not applicable.




Item 8.
Financial Information




Financial Statements




See Item 18.




Legal Proceedings




On August 13, 2009, a class action securities lawsuit was filed against us, our Chairperson and CEO and two former officers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the plaintiffs have asserted claims for damages in an unspecified amount for, among other things, alleged misleading statements relating primarily to our investment in auction rate securities, on behalf of public investors who purchased our shares in the period from June 8, 2006 through February 27, 2008. We filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on January 29, 2010. On July 2, 2010, the court dismissed the complaint against all defendants without leave to amend and directed the clerk to close the case.





Dividend Policy




Our dividend policy was adopted in 2003, and in October 2010 our board of directors updated this policy slightly. The old policy called for us to distribute a cash dividend once in each calendar year, in the amount of our net income from the previous year. This policy commenced in 2004 with respect to our net income for 2003. The new policy changes only the amount to be distributed, the new amount being equal to our EBITDA plus financial income (expenses) minus taxes on income. Each dividend under the policy is subject to board approval and the requirements of applicable law. Our board of directors plans to declare the annual dividend when it approves the applicable year-end financial statements.




Item 9.
The Offer and Listing




A.
Offer and Listing Details




Our ordinary shares have been quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol MNDO since August 8, 2000 and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol MIND since July 11, 2002. On February 7, 2010, at our request, our ordinary shares were delisted from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.





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The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low closing prices of our ordinary shares as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market.The table contains actual prices in U.S. dollars, without adjustment for dividends paid on our ordinary shares.




Period

High


LowLast six months:May 2011


3.49



3.13April 2011


3.50



3.16March 2011


3.33



2.83February 2011


3.40



2.71January 2011


2.72



2.45December 2010


2.60



2.33Last nine quarters:Q1 2011


3.40



2.45Q4 2010


2.60



1.81Q3 2010


2.01



1.78Q2 2010


2.32



1.66Q1 2010


1.85



0.95Q4 2009


1.74



0.92Q3 2009


1.59



0.90Q2 2009


1.20



0.81Q1 2009


0.83



0.59Last five years:


2010


2.60



0.952009


1.74



0.592008


2.39



0.632007


3.05



2.212006


3.38



2.37




B.
Plan of Distribution




Not applicable.




C.
Markets




Our ordinary shares are quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol MNDO.




D.
Selling Shareholders




Not applicable.




E.
Dilution




Not applicable.




F.
Expenses of the Issue




Not applicable.





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Item 10.
Additional Information




A.
Share Capital




Not applicable.




B.
Memorandum and Articles of Associations




Objects and Purposes




We were first registered under Israeli law on April 6, 1995 as a private company, and on August 8, 2000 became a public company. Our registration number with the Israeli registrar of companies is 51-213448-7. The full details of our objects and purposes can be found in Section 2 of our Memorandum of Association filed with the Israeli registrar of companies. Among the objects and purposes stipulated are the following: “to engage in any kind of commercial and/or productive business and to engage in any action or endeavor which the company’s managers consider to be beneficial to the company.”




Transfer of Shares and Notices




Fully paid ordinary shares are issued in registered form and may be freely transferred pursuant to our articles of association unless such transfer is restricted or prohibited by another instrument. Unless otherwise prescribed by law, we will provide at least 21 calendar days' prior notice of any general shareholders meeting.




Election of Directors




The ordinary shares do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Thus, the holders of ordinary shares conferring more than 50% of the voting power have the power to elect all the directors, to the exclusion of the remaining shareholders. Our board is divided into three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms, in addition to our external directors, who are not members of any class.




Dividend and Liquidation Rights




Dividends on our ordinary shares may be paid only out of profits and other surplus, as defined in the Companies Law, as of our most recent financial statements or as accrued over a period of two years, whichever is higher, unless otherwise approved by a court order. Our board of directors is authorized to declare dividends, provided that there is no reasonable concern that the dividend will prevent us from satisfying our existing and foreseeable obligations as they become due. In the event of our liquidation, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors, our assets will be distributed to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion to their respective holdings. Dividend or liquidation right may be affected by the grant of preferential dividends or distribution rights to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future.




Voting, Shareholders' Meetings and Resolutions




Holders of ordinary shares have one vote for each ordinary share held on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders.




These voting rights may be affected by the grant of any special voting rights to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future.





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We have two types of general shareholders meetings: the annual general meetings and extraordinary general meetings. These meetings may be held either in Israel or in any other place the board of directors determines. An annual general meeting must be held in each calendar year, but not more than 15 months after the last annual general meeting. Our board of directors may convene an extraordinary meeting, from time to time, at its discretion and is required to do so upon the request of shareholders holding at least 5% of our ordinary shares.




The quorum required for an ordinary meeting of shareholders consists of at least two shareholders present in person or by proxy who hold or represent between them at least 25% of the outstanding voting shares, unless otherwise required by applicable rules. Nasdaq generally requires a quorum of 33-1/3%, but we have an exemption from that requirement and instead follow the generally accepted business practice for companies in Israel. A meeting adjourned for lack of a quorum generally is adjourned to the same day in the following week at the same time and place or any time and place as the Chairman may designate with the consent of the shareholders voting on the matter adjourned. At such reconvened meeting, the required quorum consists of any two members present in person or by proxy, unless otherwise required by applicable rules.




Under the Companies Law, unless otherwise provided in the articles of association or applicable law, all resolutions of the shareholders require a simple majority of the shares present, in person or by proxy, and voting on the matter. However, our articles of association require approval of 75% of the shares present and voting to remove directors or change the structure of our staggered board of directors.




We file annual reports on Form 20-F electronically with the SEC and post a copy on our website.




Duties of Shareholders




Under the Companies Law, each and every shareholder has a duty to act in good faith in exercising his rights and fulfilling his obligations towards the company and other shareholders and to refrain from abusing his power in the company, such as in voting in the general meeting of shareholders on the following matters:




·
any amendment to the articles of association;




·
an increase of the company's authorized share capital;




·
a merger; or




·
approval of certain actions and transactions which require shareholder approval.




In addition, each and every shareholder has the general duty to refrain from depriving rights of other shareholders. Furthermore, any controlling shareholder, any shareholder who knows that it possesses the power to determine the outcome of a shareholder vote and any shareholder that, pursuant to the provisions of the articles of association, has the power to appoint or to prevent the appointment of an office holder in the company or any other power toward the company is under a duty to act in fairness towards the company. The Companies Law does not describe the substance of this duty of fairness. These various shareholder duties, which typically do not apply to shareholders of U.S. companies, may restrict the ability of a shareholder to act in what the shareholder perceives to be its own best interests.





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Restrictions on Non-Israeli Residents




The ownership or voting of our ordinary shares by non-residents of Israel, except with respect to citizens of countries which are in a state of war with Israel, is not restricted in any way by our memorandum of association or articles of association or by the laws of the State of Israel.




Mergers and Acquisitions under Israeli Law




The Companies Law includes provisions that allow a merger transaction and requires that each company that is party to a merger approve the transaction by its board of directors and a vote of the majority of its shares, voting on the proposed merger at a shareholders’ meeting. For purposes of the shareholder vote, unless a court rules otherwise, the merger will not be deemed approved if a majority of the shares held by parties other than the other party to the merger, or by any person who holds 25% or more of the shares or the right to appoint 25% or more of the directors of the other party, vote against the merger. Upon the request of a creditor of either party of the proposed merger, the court may delay or prevent the merger if it concludes that there exists a reasonable concern that as a result of the merger, the surviving company will be unable to satisfy the obligations of any of the parties to the merger. In addition, a merger may not be completed unless at least (i) 50 days have passed from the time that a proposal of the merger has been filed by each party with the Israeli Registrar of Companies and (ii) 30 days have passed since the merger was approved by the shareholders of each party.




The Companies Law also provides that an acquisition of shares of public company must be made by means of tender offer if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser would become a 25% or more shareholder of the company and there is no 25% or more shareholder in the company. In addition, an acquisition of shares of a public company must be made by means of a tender offer if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser would become a 45% or more shareholder of the company and there is no 45% or more shareholder in the company. These requirements do not apply if the acquisition (i) is made in a private placement that received shareholder approval, (ii) was from a 25% shareholder of the company and resulted in the acquirer becoming a 25% shareholder of the company or (iii) was from a 45% shareholder of the company and resulted in the acquirer becoming a 45% shareholder of the company. The tender offer must be extended to all shareholders, but the offer or is not required to purchase more than 5% of the company's outstanding shares, regardless of how many shares are tendered by shareholders. The tender offer may be consummated only if (i) at least 5% of the company’s outstanding shares will be acquired by the offer and (ii) the number of shares tendered in the offer exceeds the number of shares whose holders objected to the offer.




If as a result of an acquisition of shares the acquirer will hold more than 90% of a company’s outstanding shares, the Companies Law requires that the acquisition be made by means of a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares. If as a result of a full tender offer the acquirer would own more than 95% of the outstanding shares, then all the shares that the acquirer offered to purchase will be transferred to it. The law provides for appraisal rights if any shareholder files a request in court within six months following the consummation of a full tender offer, although the acquirer may stipulate that any tendering shareholders forfeit their appraisal rights. If as a result of a full tender offer the acquirer would own 95% or less of the outstanding shares, then the acquirer may not acquire shares that will cause his shareholding to exceed 90% of the outstanding shares.




Finally, Israeli tax law treats stock-for-stock acquisitions between an Israeli company and a foreign company less favorably than does U.S. tax law. For example, Israeli tax law subjects a shareholder who exchanges his ordinary shares for shares in another corporation to taxation prior to the sale of the shares received in such stock-for-stock swap.


57




Modification of Class Rights




Our articles of association provide that the rights attached to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of such class), such as voting, rights to dividends and the like, may be varied by a shareholders resolution, subject to the approval of the holders of a majority of the issued shares of that class.




Board of Directors




According to the Companies Law and our articles of association, the oversight of the management of our business is vested in our board of directors. The board of directors may exercise all such powers and may take all such actions that are not specifically granted to our shareholders. As part of its powers, our board of directors may cause the company to borrow or secure payment of any sum or sums of money, at such times and upon such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, including the grants of security interests on all or any part of the property of the company.




A resolution proposed at any meeting of the board of directors shall be deemed adopted if approved by a majority of the directors present and voting on the matter. For additional information, please see Item 6.C “Board Practices”.




Exculpation of Office Holders




Under the Companies Law, an Israeli company may not exempt an office holder from liability for a breach of his duty of loyalty, but may exempt in advance an office holder from his liability to the company, in whole or in part, for a breach of his duty of care (except in connection with distributions) provided the articles of association of the company allow it to do so. Our articles allow us to exempt our office holders to the fullest extent permitted by law.




Insurance of Office Holders




Our articles of association provide that, subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, we may enter into a contract for the insurance of the liability of any of our office holders, with respect to an act performed in the capacity of an office holder for:




·
a breach of his duty of care to us or to another person;




·
a breach of his duty of loyalty to us, provided that the office holder acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to assume that his act would not prejudice our interests; or




·
a financial liability imposed upon him in favor of another person.




Indemnification of Office Holders




Our articles of association provide that we may indemnify an office holder against the following obligations and expenses imposed on or incurred by the office holder with respect to an act performed in the capacity of an office holder:




·
a financial obligation imposed on him in favor of another person by a court judgment, including a settlement or an arbitrator’s award approved by the court; such indemnification may be approved (i) after the liability has been incurred or (ii) in advance, provided that our undertaking to indemnify is limited to events that our board of directors believes are foreseeable in light of our actual operations at the time of providing the undertaking and to a sum or criterion that our board of directors determines to be reasonable under the circumstances;




58




·
reasonable litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, expended by the office holder as a result of an investigation or proceeding instituted against him by a competent authority, provided that such investigation or proceeding concluded without the filing of an indictment against him and either (A) concluded without the imposition of any financial liability in lieu of criminal proceedings or (B) concluded with the imposition of a financial liability in lieu of criminal proceedings but relates to a criminal offense that does not require proof of criminal intent; and




·
reasonable litigation expenses, including attorneys' fees, expended by the office holder or charged to him by a court in connection with:




·
proceedings we institute against him or instituted on our behalf or by another person;




·
a criminal charge from which he was acquitted; or




·
a criminal proceeding in which he was convicted of an offense that does not require proof of criminal intent.




Limitations on Exculpation, Insurance and Indemnification




The Companies Law provides that a company may not exculpate or indemnify an office holder, or enter into an insurance contract, which would provide coverage for any monetary liability incurred as a result of any of the following:




·
a breach by the office holder of his duty of loyalty unless, with respect to indemnification or insurance coverage, the office holder acted in good faith and had a reasonable basis to believe that the act would not prejudice the company;




·
a breach by the office holder of his duty of care if the breach was done intentionally or recklessly;




·
any act or omission done with the intent to derive an illegal personal benefit; or




·
any fine levied against the office holder.




In addition, under the Companies Law, indemnification of, and procurement of insurance coverage for, our office holders must be approved by our audit committee and our board of directors and, if the beneficiary is a director, by our shareholders.




We have agreed to exempt from liability and indemnify our office holders to the fullest extent permitted under the Companies Law. We have obtained directors and officers liability insurance for the benefit of our office holders.




C.
Material Contracts




None.


59




D.
Exchange Controls




There are currently no Israeli currency control restrictions on payments of dividends or other distributions with respect to our ordinary shares or the proceeds from the sale of the shares, except for the obligation of Israeli residents to file reports with the Bank of Israel regarding certain transactions. However, legislation remains in effect, pursuant to which currency controls can be imposed by administrative action at any time.




E.
Taxation




Israeli Tax Considerations




The following is a summary of the current tax structure applicable to companies in Israel, with special reference to its effect on us. Note that this tax structure and any resulting benefit may not apply for any income derived by our foreign subsidiaries, which subsidiaries may be taxed according to tax laws applicable to their country of residence. The following also contains a discussion of the material Israeli tax consequences to persons purchasing our ordinary shares. To the extent that the discussion is based on tax legislation, which has not been subject to judicial or administrative interpretation, we cannot assure you that the tax authorities or courts will accept the views expressed in the discussion in question.




Prospective purchasers of our ordinary shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the United States, Israeli or other tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of ordinary shares, including, in particular, the effect of any foreign, state or local taxes.




General Corporate Tax Structure




The general rate of corporate tax in Israel to which Israeli companies are subject is 25% for the 2010 tax year and 24% for the 2011 tax year. Following an amendment to the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance that came into effect on January 1, 2009, the corporate tax rate was expected to decrease as follows:  23% for the 2012 tax year, 22% for the 2013 tax year, 21% for the 2014 tax year, 20% for the 2015 tax year and 18% for the 2016 tax year and thereafter. However, the finance committee of the Israeli parliament recently approved a proposal, which if enacted into law by the Israeli parliament, would delay the decrease in the corporate tax rate so that the corporate tax rate will continue to be 24% for the 2012 tax year, and the decrease in the tax rate will recommence in the 2013 tax year (for which the rate will be 23%) and until the 2017 tax year (for which the rate will be 18%).  The general rate of capital gains tax in Israel to which Israeli companies are subject is the corporate tax rate. However, the effective tax rate payable by a company which derives income from an “Approved Enterprise” (as defined below) may be considerably less, as further discussed below.




Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959




General




The Law for Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959, or the Investments Law, as in effect until 2005, provided that upon application to the Investment Center of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the State of Israel, a proposed capital investment in eligible facilities may be designated as an “Approved Enterprise”. Please see discussion below regarding an amendment to the Investments Law that came into effect in 2005 and a reform of the Investments Law that came into effect in 2011.


60




Each certificate of approval for an Approved Enterprise relates to a specific investment program delineated both by its financial scope, including its capital sources, and by its physical characteristics, such as the equipment to be purchased and utilized pursuant to the program. The tax benefits derived from any such certificate of approval relate only to taxable income derived from the specific Approved Enterprise. Tax benefits under the Investments Law will also apply to income generated by a company from the grant of a usage right with respect to know-how developed by the Approved Enterprise, income generated from royalties, and income derived from a service which is auxiliary to such usage right of royalties, provided that such income is generated within the Approved Enterprise’s ordinary course of business. If a company has more than one approval or only a portion of its capital investments are approved, its effective tax rate is the result of a weighted combination of the applicable rates. The benefits under the Investments Law are usually not available with respect to income derived from products manufactured outside of Israel.




Taxable income of a company derived from an Approved Enterprise is subject to corporate tax at the maximum rate of 25%, rather than the regular corporate tax rate, for the benefit period. That income is eligible for further reductions in tax rates depending on the percentage of the foreign investment in the company's share capital (conferring rights to profits, voting and appointment of directors) and the percentage of its combined share and loan capital owned by non-Israeli residents (“foreign investment level”). The tax rate is:




·
20% if the foreign investment level is 49% or more but less than 74%;




·
15% if the foreign investment level is 74% or more but less than 90%; and




·
10% if the foreign investment level is 90% or more.




The lowest level of foreign investment during the tax year will be used to determine the relevant tax rate for that year. These tax benefits are granted for a limited period not exceeding seven years, or ten years for a company whose foreign investment level exceeds 25% from the first year in which the Approved Enterprise has taxable income.




The period of benefits may in no event, however, exceed the lesser of 12 years from the year in which production commenced and 14 years from the start of the year of receipt of Approved Enterprise status.




The Investments Law also provides that an Approved Enterprise is entitled to accelerated depreciation on its property and equipment that are included in an approved investment program.




The Alternative Route




A company owning an Approved Enterprise may elect to receive, in lieu of certain grants available to an Approved Enterprise, an alternative package of benefits. Under the alternative package, the company's undistributed income derived from an Approval Enterprise will be exempt from tax for a period of between two and ten years from the first year of taxable income, depending on the geographic location of the Approved Enterprise within Israel, and the company will be eligible for the tax benefits under the Investments Law for the remainder of the benefit period.




General Requirements by the Investment Center




The benefits available to an Approved Enterprise are conditional upon compliance with the conditions stipulated in the Investments Law and related regulations and the criteria set forth in the specific certificate of approval. In the event that a company violates these conditions, in whole or in part, it may be required to refund all or a portion of its tax benefits, linked to the Israeli consumer price index and interest. These conditions include:


61


·
adhering to the business plan contained in the application to the Investment Center;




·
financing at least 30% of the investment in property, plant and equipment with the proceeds of the sale of shares;




·
filing regular reports with the Investment Center with respect to the Approved Enterprise; and




·
obtaining the approval of the Investment Center for changes in the ownership of a company.




Our Approved Enterprises




Most of our manufacturing facilities in Yoqneam have been granted the status of Approved Enterprise. Since our manufacturing facilities are located in an area that was designated by the State of Israel as “Development Area A” at the time of the approval of our existing Approved Enterprise, and since we elected to receive the alternative package of benefits (involving waiver of investment grants), our income derived from each Approved Enterprise is tax exempt for a period of ten years commencing in the first year in which we earn taxable income from each Approved Enterprise. To date, we have one Approved Enterprise program. The period of tax benefits of the first approved enterprise, which commenced operations in 1995, expired at the end of 2004. The period of tax benefits in respect of the second approved enterprise entitled to the said benefits commenced in 2000 and expired at the end of 2009. We have applied for a third approved enterprise for which the period of tax benefits has not yet commenced.




Recently, we decided to implement the new legislation amending the Investment Law, previously adopted, while waiving benefits provided from the Approved Enterprise program under the Investment Law (see more details hereinafter).




Dividends Taxation




When dividends are distributed from the Approved Enterprise, they are generally considered to be attributable to the entire enterprise and their effective tax rate is a result of a weighted combination of the applicable tax rates. A company that has elected the alternative package of benefits is not obliged to distribute exempt retained profits, and may generally decide from which year’s profits to declare dividends. In the event that we pay a cash dividend from income that is derived from our Approved Enterprises pursuant to the alternative package of benefits, which income would otherwise be tax-exempt, we would be required to pay tax on the amount of income distributed as dividends at the rate which would have been applicable if we had not elected the alternative package of benefits, that rate is generally 10% to 25%, depending upon the extent of foreign investment in the company, and to withhold at source on behalf of the recipient of the dividend an additional 15% of the amount distributed.




In April 2008, December 2009, April 2010 and March 2011 we distributed to our shareholders approximately $4.3 million, $14.8 million, $3.7 million and $ 6.0 million. Since, at that time we had insufficient retained earnings, the dividend was distributed after obtaining an approval by an Israeli court in accordance with Section 303 of the Israeli Companies Law. Tax was withheld at a rate of 20%.


62




Amendment of the Investments Law




On April 1, 2005, an amendment to the Investments Law came into effect. Pursuant to the amendment, a company’s facility will be granted the status of “Approved Enterprise” only if it is proven to be an industrial facility (as defined in the Investments Law) that contributes to the economic independence of the Israeli economy and is a competitive facility that contributes to the Israeli gross domestic product. The amendment provides that the Israeli Tax Authority and not the Investment Center will be responsible for an Approved Enterprise under the alternative package of benefits, referred to as a Benefited Enterprise. A company wishing to receive the tax benefits afforded to a Benefited Enterprise is required to select the tax year from which the period of benefits under the Investment Law are to commence by simply notifying the Israeli Tax Authority within 12 months of the end of that year or on the date on which it is obligated to file the tax return for that year, whichever is earlier. In order to be recognized as owning a Benefited Enterprise, a company is required to meet a number of conditions set forth in the amendment, includingmaking a minimal investment in manufacturing assets for the Benefited Enterprise.




Pursuant to the amendment, a company with a Benefited Enterprise is entitled, in each tax year, to accelerated depreciation for the manufacturing assets used by the Benefited Enterprise and to certain tax benefits, provided that no more than 12 years have passed since the beginning of the year of commencement of benefits under the Investments Law. The tax benefits granted to a Benefited Enterprise, as they apply to us, are determined according one of the following new tax routes:




·
Similar to the currently available alternative route, exemption from corporate tax on undistributed income for a period of two to ten years, depending on the geographic location of the Benefited Enterprise within Israel, and a reduced corporate tax rate of 10 to 25% for the remainder of the benefits period, depending on the level of foreign investment in each year. Benefits may be granted for a term of from seven to ten years, depending on the level of foreign investment in the company. If the company pays a dividend out of income derived from the Benefited Enterprise during the tax exemption period, such income will be subject to corporate tax at the applicable rate (10%-25%). The company is required to withhold tax at the source at a rate of 15% from any dividends distributed from income derived from the Benefited Enterprise; and




·
A special tax route enabling companies owning facilities in certain geographical locations in Israel to pay corporate tax at the rate of 11.5% on income of the Benefited Enterprise. The benefits period is ten years. Upon payment of dividends, the company is required to withhold tax at source at a rate of 15% for Israeli residents and at a rate of 4% for foreign residents.




Generally, a company that is “abundant in foreign investment” (as defined in the Investments Law) is entitled to an extension of the benefits period by an additional five years, depending on the rate of its income that is derived in foreign currency.




The amendment changed the definition of “foreign investment” in the Investments Law so that instead of an investment of foreign currency in the company, the definition now requires a minimal investment of NIS 5 million by foreign investors. Furthermore, such definition now also includes the purchase of shares of a company from another shareholder, provided that the company’s outstanding and paid-up share capital exceeds NIS 5 million. Such changes to the aforementioned definition are retroactive from 2003.


63


The amendment applies to Approved Enterprise programs in which the year of commencement of benefits under the Investments Law is 2004 or later, unless such programs received approval from the Investment Center on or prior to March 31, 2005, in which case the provisions of the amendment will not apply.




Reform of the Investments Law - 2011





On December 29, 2010, the Israeli parliament approved an amendment to the Investments Law, effective as of January 1, 2011, which constitutes a reform of the incentives regime under such law. This amendment revises the objectives of the Investments Law to focus on achieving enhanced growth in the business sector, improving the Israeli industry’s competitiveness in international markets and creating employment and development opportunities in remote areas of Israel. The amendment allows enterprises meeting certain required criteria to enjoy grants as well as tax benefits. The amendment also introduces certain changes to the map of geographic development areas for purposes of the Investments Law, which will take effect in future years.





The amendment generally abolishes the previous tax benefit routes that were afforded under the Investments Law, specifically the tax-exemption periods previously allowed, and introduces new tax benefits for industrial enterprises meeting the criteria of the law, which include the following:


·
A reduced corporate tax rate for industrial enterprises, provided that more than 25% of their annual income is derived from export, which will apply to the enterprise’s entire preferred income so that in the tax years 2011-2012 the reduced tax rate will be 10% for preferred income derived from industrial facilities located in development area A and 15% for those located elsewhere in Israel, in the tax years 2013-2014 the reduced tax rate will be 7% for development area A and 12.5% for the rest of Israel, and in the tax year 2015 and onwards the reduced tax rate will be 6% for development area A and 12% for the rest of Israel.





·
The reduced tax rates will no longer be contingent upon making a minimum qualifying investment in productive assets.





·
A definition of “preferred income” was introduced into the Investments Law to include certain types of income that are generated by the Israeli production activity of a preferred enterprise.





·
A reduced dividend withholding tax rate of 15% will apply to dividends paid from preferred income to both Israeli and non-Israeli investors, with an exemption from such withholding tax applying to dividends paid to an Israeli company.





·
A special tax benefits route will be granted to certain industrial enterprises entitling them to a reduced tax rate of 5% for preferred income derived from industrial facilities located in development area A and 8% for those located elsewhere in Israel, provided certain threshold requirements are met and such enterprise can demonstrate its significant contribution to Israel’s economy and promotion of national market objectives.


64





The amendment will generally apply to preferred income produced or generated by a Preferred Company (as defined in the Investments Law) commencing from January 1, 2011. The amendment contains various transition provisions which allow, under certain circumstances, to apply the new regime to investment programs previously approved or elected under the Investments Law in its previous form.  Although this recent amendment took effect on January 1, 2011, the transitional provisions of its adoption also allow the company to defer its adoption to future years.




Recently, we filed a request to apply the new benefits under the 2011 Amendment.




Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxes), 1969




Under the Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxes), 1969, or the Industry Encouragement Law, a company qualifies as an “Industrial Company” if it is resident in Israel and at least 90% of its income in a given tax year, determined in NIS, exclusive of income from capital gains, interest and dividends, is derived from Industrial Enterprises owned by that company. An “Industrial Enterprise” is defined as an enterprise whose major activity in a particular tax year is industrial production activity.




Industrial Companies qualify (based on tax regulations) for accelerated depreciation rates for machinery, equipment and buildings used by an Industrial Enterprise. An Industrial Company owning an Approved Enterprise, as described above, may choose between the above depreciation rates and the depreciation rates available to Approved Enterprises.




Pursuant to the Industry Encouragement Law, an Industrial Company is also entitled to amortize the purchase price of know-how and patents over a period of eight years beginning with the year in which such rights were first used.




In addition, an Industrial Company is entitled to deduct over a three-year period expenses involved with the issuance and listing of shares on a stock exchange and has the right, under certain conditions, to elect to file a consolidated tax return with related Israeli Industrial Companies that satisfy conditions set forth in the law.




Eligibility for the benefits under the law is not subject to receipt of prior approval from any governmental authority. We believe that we currently qualify as an Industrial Company within the definition of the Industry Encouragement Law. However, the definition may be amended from time to time and the Israeli tax authorities, which reassess our qualifications annually, may determine that we no longer qualify as an Industrial Company. As a result of either of the foregoing, the benefits described above might not be available in the future.




Israeli Transfer Pricing Regulations





On November 29, 2006, Income Tax Regulations (Determination of Market Terms), 2006, promulgated under Section 85A of the Tax Ordinance, came into force (the “Transfer Pricing Regulations”). Section 85A of the Tax Ordinance and the Transfer Pricing Regulations generally require that all cross-border transactions carried out between related parties will be conducted on an arm’s length principle basis and will be taxed accordingly.


65


Capital Gains Tax on the Sale of our Ordinary Shares




General




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




Israeli Residents




Generally, the tax rate applicable to capital gains derived from the sale of shares, whether listed on a stock market or not, is 20% for Israeli individuals, unless such shareholder claims a deduction for financing expenses in connection with such shares, in which case the gain will generally be taxed at a rate of 25%. Additionally, if such shareholder is considered a “significant shareholder” at any time during the 12-month period preceding such sale, i.e., such shareholder holds directly or indirectly, including with others, at least 10% of any means of control in the company, the tax rate will be 25%. Israeli companies are subject to the corporate tax rate on capital gains derived from the sale of listed shares. However, the foregoing tax rates will not apply to individuals: (i) who are dealers in securities; or (ii) who acquired their shares prior to an initial public offering (that may be subject to a different tax arrangement).




The tax basis of shares acquired prior to January 1, 2003 will be determined in accordance with the average closing share price in the three trading days preceding January 1, 2003. However, a taxpayer may elect the actual adjusted cost of the shares as the tax basis provided he can provide sufficient proof of such adjusted cost.




Non-Residents of Israel




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




Furthermore, under the Tax Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the State of Israel with Respect to Taxes on Income, known as the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, a holder of ordinary shares who holds the ordinary shares as a capital asset and who qualifies as a U.S. resident within the meaning of the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty and who is entitled to claim the benefits afforded to such resident by the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty will be generally exempted from Israeli capital gains tax on the sale, exchange or disposition of ordinary shares unless: (i) the holder owned, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of our voting power at any time during the 12-month period before the sale, exchange or disposition; or (ii) the capital gains from such sale, exchange or disposition can be allocated to a permanent establishment in Israel.


66




In some instances where our shareholders may be liable to Israeli tax on the sale of their ordinary shares, the payment of the consideration may be subject to the withholding of Israeli tax at the source. However, such residents would be permitted to claim a credit for such taxes against U.S. federal income tax imposed with respect to such sale, exchange or disposition, subject to the limitations in U.S. laws applicable to foreign tax credits. The U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty does not relate to state or local taxes.




A non-resident of Israel who receives dividend income or that realizes capital gains derived from the sale of our ordinary shares, from which tax was withheld at the source, is generally exempted from the duty to file tax returns in Israel with respect to such income, provided such income was not derived from a business conducted in Israel by the taxpayer and the taxpayer has no other taxable sources of income in Israel.




Dividend Taxation




Income Taxes on Dividends Distributed by the Company to Israeli Residents




The distribution of dividend income to Israeli residents will generally be subject to income tax at a rate of 20% for individuals and will be exempt from income tax for corporations. The portion of dividends paid out of profits earned under an Approved Enterprise tax status of the Company, to both individuals and corporations, is subject to withholding tax at the rate of 15% (in excess of the corporate tax paid by the company when the dividend is paid of these profits – up to 25% tax).




In addition, if an Individual Israeli shareholder is considered a “significant shareholder” at any time during the 12-month period preceding such distribution, i.e., such shareholder holds directly or indirectly, including with others, at least 10% of any means of control in the company, the tax rate on the dividend (not source from Approved Enterprise income) will be 25%. The withholding tax by the Company on such dividend would remain 20%.





Income Taxes on Dividends Distributed by the Company to Non-Israeli Residents





Subject to the provisions of applicable tax treaties, dividend distributions from regular profits (non-Approved Enterprise) by the Company to a non-resident shareholder are generally subject to withholding tax of 20%. The portion of dividends paid out of profits earned under an Approved Enterprise tax status of the Company is subject to withholding tax at the rate of 15% (in excess of the corporate tax paid by the company when the dividend is paid of these profits – up to 25% tax).


Generally, under the U.S-Israel Tax Treaty the maximum rate of withholding tax on dividends paid to a shareholder who is a resident of the United States (as defined in the U.S. – Israel Tax Treaty) will be 25%. However, when a U.S. tax resident corporation is the recipient of the dividend, the withholding tax rate on a dividend out of regular (non-Approved Enterprise) profits may be reduced to 12.5% under the U.S-Israel Tax Treaty, where the following conditions are met:




(a)
the recipient corporation owns at least 10% of the outstanding voting rights of the Company for all of the period preceding the dividend during the Company’s current and prior taxable year; and


67





(b)
generally not more than 25% of the gross income of the paying corporation for its prior tax year consists of certain interest and dividend income.

Otherwise, the usual rates apply.




United States Federal Income Tax Considerations




Subject to the limitations described in the next paragraph, the following discussion describes the material United States federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of the ordinary shares to a U.S. holder.




A U.S. holder is:




·
an individual citizen or resident of the United States;




·
a corporation or another entity taxable as a corporation created or organized under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof;




·
an estate, the income of which is includable in gross income for United States federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or




·
a trust, if a United States court is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust.




Unless otherwise specifically indicated, this summary does not consider United States tax consequences to a person that is not a U.S. holder and considers only U.S. holders that will own the ordinary shares as capital assets.




This discussion is based on current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, referred to as the Code, current and proposed Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code, and administrative and judicial interpretations of the Code, all as in effect today and all of which are subject to change, possibly with a retroactive effect. This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to any particular U.S. holder based on the U.S. holder's particular circumstances, like the tax treatment of U.S. holders who are broker-dealers or who own, directly, indirectly or constructively, 10% or more of our outstanding voting shares, U.S. holders holding the ordinary shares as part of a hedging, straddle or conversion transaction, U.S. holders whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions and persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, who may be subject to special rules not discussed below. Additionally, the tax treatment of persons who hold the ordinary shares through a partnership or other pass through entity is not considered, nor are the possible application of U.S. federal estate or gift taxes or any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.




You are advised to consult your own tax advisor with respect to the specific tax consequences to you of purchasing, holding or disposing of the ordinary shares.




Distributions on the Ordinary Shares




Subject to the discussion below under “Passive Foreign Investment Company Status”, a distribution paid by us with respect to the ordinary shares to a U.S. holder will be treated as ordinary income to the extent that the distribution does not exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The amount of any distribution which exceeds these earnings and profits will be treated first as a non-taxable return of capital reducing the U.S. holder's tax basis in its ordinary shares to the extent thereof, and then as capital gain from the deemed disposition of the ordinary shares.


68




Dividends paid by us in NIS will be included in the income of U.S. holders at the dollar amount of the dividend, based upon the spot rate of exchange in effect on the date of the distributions. U.S. holders will have a tax basis in the NIS for U.S. federal income tax purposes equal to that U.S. dollar value. Any subsequent gain or loss in respect of the NIS arising from exchange rate fluctuations will be taxable as ordinary income or loss and will be U.S. source income or loss.




Subject to the limitations set forth in the Code, U.S. holders may elect to claim as a foreign tax credit against their U.S. federal income tax liability the Israeli income tax withheld from dividends received in respect of the ordinary shares. The limitations on claiming a foreign tax credit include among others, computation rules under which foreign tax credits allowable with respect to specific classes of income cannot exceed the U.S. federal income payable with respect each such class. In this regard, dividends paid by us will generally be foreign source “passive income” for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes or, in the case of a financial services entity, “financial services income.” U.S. holders that do not elect to claim a foreign tax credit may instead claim a deduction for the Israeli income tax withheld. The rules relating to foreign tax credits are complex, and you should consult your own tax advisor to determine whether and to what extent you would be entitled to this credit.




Disposition of Ordinary Shares




Subject to the discussion below under “Passive Foreign Investment Company Status”, upon the sale or exchange of the ordinary shares, a U.S. holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or exchange and the U.S. holder's tax basis in the ordinary shares. The gain or loss recognized on the sale or exchange of the ordinary shares generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder held the ordinary shares for more than one year at the time of the sale or exchange.




Gain or loss recognized by a U.S. holder on a sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares generally will be treated as U.S. source income or loss for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes.




Passive Foreign Investment Company Status




Generally, a foreign corporation is treated as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any tax year if, in such tax year, either (i) 75% or more of its gross income is passive in nature, referred to as the “Income Test”, or (ii) the average percentage of its assets during such tax year which produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (determined by averaging the percentage of the fair market value of its total assets which are passive assets as of the end of each quarter of such year) is 50% or more, referred to as the “Asset Test”.




There is no definitive method prescribed in the Code, U.S. Treasury Regulations or administrative or judicial interpretations thereof for determining the value of a foreign corporation’s assets for purposes of the Asset Test. However, the legislative history of the U.S. Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, referred to as the 1997 Act, indicates that for purposes of the Asset Test, “the total value of a publicly-traded foreign corporation's assets generally will be treated as equal to the sum of the aggregate value of its outstanding stock plus its liabilities”. It is unclear under current interpretations of the 1997 Act whether other approaches could be employed to determine the value of our assets. Based on application of the approach of the 1997 Act, there is a reasonable likelihood that we may not be deemed a PFIC starting 2003. A separate determination must be made each year as to whether we are a PFIC. As a result, our PFIC status may change.


69




If we are treated as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any year during a U.S. holder’s holding period of ordinary shares and the U.S. holder does not make a QEF election or a “mark-to-market“ election (both as described below), any gain recognized by the U.S. holder upon the sale of ordinary shares (or the receipt of certain distributions) would be treated as ordinary income. This income generally would be allocated over a U.S. holder’s holding period with respect to our ordinary shares. The amount allocated to prior years will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and an interest charge would be imposed on the amount of deferred tax on the income allocated to prior taxable years.




Although we generally will be treated as a PFIC as to any U.S. holder if we are a PFIC for any year during the U.S. holder’s holding period, if we cease to satisfy the requirements for PFIC classification, the U.S. holder may avoid the consequences of PFIC classification for subsequent years if he elects to recognize gain based on the unrealized appreciation in the ordinary shares through the close of the tax year in which we cease to be a PFIC. Additionally, if we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. holder who acquires ordinary shares from a decedent would be denied the normally available step-up in tax basis for these ordinary shares to fair market value at the date of death and instead would have a tax basis equal to the decedent’s tax basis in these ordinary shares.




A U.S. holder who beneficially owns shares of a PFIC must file Form 8621 (Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund) with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for each tax year in which he holds shares in a PFIC. This form describes any distributions received with respect to these shares and any gain realized upon the disposition of these shares.




For any tax year in which we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. holder may elect to treat his, her or its ordinary shares as an interest in a qualified electing fund, referred to as a QEF election. In that case, the U.S. holder would be required to include in income currently his proportionate share of our earnings and profits in years in which we are a PFIC regardless of whether distributions of our earnings and profits are actually distributed to the U.S. holder. Any gain subsequently recognized upon the sale by the U.S. holder of his ordinary shares, however, generally would be taxed as capital gain and the denial of the basis step-up at death described above would not apply.




A shareholder may make a QEF election with respect to a PFIC for any taxable year of the shareholder. A QEF election is effective for the year in which the election is made and all subsequent taxable years of the shareholder. Procedures exist for both retroactive elections and the filing of protective statements. A U.S. holder making the QEF election must make the election on or before the due date, as extended, for the filing of the shareholder’s income tax return for the first taxable year to which the election will apply.




A U.S. holder must make a QEF election by completing Form 8621 and attaching it to their U.S. federal income tax return, and must satisfy additional filing requirements each year the election remains in effect. We will provide to each shareholder, upon request, the tax information required to make a QEF election and to make subsequent annual filings.


70


As an alternative to a QEF election, a U.S. holder generally may elect to mark his ordinary shares to market annually, recognizing ordinary income or loss (subject to certain limitations) equal to the difference between the fair market value of his ordinary shares and the adjusted tax basis of his ordinary shares. Losses would be allowed only to the extent of net mark-to-market gain accrued under the election. If a mark-to-market election with respect to ordinary shares is in effect on the date of a U.S. holder’s death, the normally available step-up in tax basis to fair market value will not be available. Rather, the tax basis of the ordinary shares in the hands of a U.S. holder who acquired them from a decedent will be the lesser of the decedent’s tax basis or the fair market value of the ordinary shares.




The implementation of many aspects of the Code’s PFIC rules requires the issuance of regulations which in many instances have yet to be promulgated and which may have retroactive effect. We cannot be sure that any of these regulations will be promulgated or, if so, what form they will take or what effect they will have on the foregoing discussion.




Accordingly, and due to the complexity of the PFIC rules, U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding our status as a PFIC for each year and the eligibility, manner and advisability of making a QEF election or a mark-to-market election, and the effect of these elections on the calculation of the amount of foreign tax credit that may be available to a U.S. holder.




Backup Withholding




A U.S. holder may be subject to backup withholding at rate of 28% with respect to dividend payments and receipt of the proceeds from the disposition of the ordinary shares. Backup withholding will not apply with respect to payments made to certain exempt recipients, such as corporations and tax-exempt organizations, or if a U.S. holder provides a tax payer identification number (or certifies that he has applied for a taxpayer identification number), certifies that such holder is not subject to backup withholding or otherwise establishes an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. federal income tax liability of a U.S. holder, or alternatively, the U.S. holder may be eligible for a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules, in either case, provided that the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.




Non-U.S. Holders of Ordinary Shares




Except as provided below, a non-U.S. holder of ordinary shares except certain former U.S. citizens and long-term residents of the United States generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax on the receipt of dividends on, and the proceeds from the disposition of, an ordinary share, unless such item is effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a trade or business in the United States or, in the case of a resident of a country which has an income tax treaty with the United States, such item is attributable to a permanent establishment in the United States or, in the case of an individual, a fixed place of business in the United States. In addition, gain recognized by an individual non-U.S. holder will be subject to tax in the United States if the non-U.S. holder is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the sale and certain other conditions are met.




Non-U.S. holders will not be subject to information reporting or backup withholding with respect to the payment of dividends on ordinary shares unless the payment is made through a paying agent, or an office of a paying agent, in the United States. Non-U.S. holders generally will be subject to information reporting and, under regulations generally effective January 1, 2001, to backup withholding at a rate of 31% with respect to the payment within the United States of dividends on the ordinary shares unless the holder provides its taxpayer identification number, certifies to its foreign status, or otherwise establishes an exemption.


71




Non-U.S. holders generally will be subject to information reporting and backup withholding at a rate of 31% on the receipt of the proceeds from the disposition of the ordinary shares to, or through, the United States office of a broker, whether domestic or foreign, unless the holder provides a taxpayer identification number, certifies to its foreign status or otherwise establishes an exemption. Non-U.S. holders will not be subject to information reporting or backup withholding with respect to the receipt of proceeds from the disposition of the ordinary shares by a foreign office of a broker; provided, however, that if the broker is a U.S. person or a “U.S. related person,” information reporting (but not backup withholding) will apply unless the broker has documentary evidence in its records of the non-U.S. holder's foreign status or the non-U.S. holder certifies to its foreign status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. For this purpose, a “U.S. related person” is a broker or other intermediary that maintains one or more enumerated U.S. relationships. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. federal income tax liability of a U.S. holder, or alternatively, the U.S. holder may be eligible for a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules, in either case, provided that the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.




F.
Dividends and paying agents




Not applicable.




G.
Statement by Experts




Not applicable.




H.
Documents on Display




We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, applicable to foreign private issuers and fulfill the obligations with respect to such requirements by filing reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. You may read and copy any document we file, including any exhibits, with the SEC without charge at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material may be obtained by mail from the Public Reference Branch of the SEC at such address, at prescribed rates. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. Certain of our SEC filings are also available to the public at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.




You may request a copy of our SEC filings, at no cost, by e-mailing to investor@mindcti.com and upon said request copies will be sent by e-mail. A copy of each report submitted in accordance with applicable U.S. law is available for review at our principal executive offices.




I.
Subsidiary Information




Not applicable.




Item 11.          Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk




Market risk represents the risk of changes in the value of our financial instruments as a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.




The following table sets forth our consolidated balance sheet exposure with respect to change in foreign currency exchange rates as of December 31, 2010.


72




Currency

Current

Monetary Assets

(Liabilities)-net(In US $ thousands)NIS


(34)Euro


(19)Romanian Ron


(94)Other non-dollar currencies


648501




Our annual expenses paid in NIS are approximately $5.2 million. Accordingly, we estimate that a hypothetical increase of the value of the NIS against the U.S. dollar by 1% would result in an increase in our operating expenses by approximately $52,000 for the year ended December 31, 2010.




As of December 31, 2010, we did not hold any derivative financial instruments for either trading or non-trading purposes.




Item 12.          Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities




None.




PART II




Item 13.          Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies




Not applicable.




Item 14.          Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds




The effective date of our first registration statement, filed on Form F-1 under the Securities Act of 1933 (No. 333-12266) relating to the initial public offering of our ordinary shares, was August 7, 2000. Net proceeds to us were $29.9 million. From the time of receipt through December 31, 2010, the proceeds were used for acquisitions, investments in marketable securities and debentures, dividend payments and share repurchases.




Item 15T.       Controls and Procedures




Disclosure Controls and Procedures




We performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of December 31, 2010. The evaluation was performed with the participation of our senior management and under the supervision and with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. Based on this evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2010.


73


Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting





Our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act. Our internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and our board of directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation and fair presentation of published 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 assurances 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 decline.





Our management (with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer) conducted an evaluation, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(c) under the Securities Exchange Act, of the effectiveness, as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report, of our internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on the results of this evaluation, management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as at December 31, 2010 and concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2010.





Changes in Financial Control Over Financial Reporting




There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during 2010 that have materially affected, or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.




Item 16A.       Audit Committee Financial Expert




Our board of directors has designated Mr. Amnon Neubach as our “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC rules. Mr. Neubach qualifies as an "independent director" under the Nasdaq rules.




Item 16B.       Code of Ethics




In April 2004, our board of directors adopted our Code of Ethics, a code that applies to all of our directors and employees.




Item 16C.       Principal Accountant Fees and Services




In the annual meeting held in April 2009, our shareholders appointed Brightman Almagor Zohar, certified public accountants in Israel and a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, as our independent auditor until the close of next year’s annual general meeting,  in place of our previous independent auditor, Kesselman & Kesselman, certified public accountants in Israel and a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited. See Item 16F below.




Brightman Almagor Zohar billed the following fees to us for professional services in each of the last two fiscal years:


74




Years ended December 31,2010


2009Audit Fees

$
68,000


$
68,000Audit-Related Fees


0



0Tax Fees


0



0All Other Fees


0



0Total

$
68,000


$
68,000




Our audit committee’s policy is to approve each audit and non-audit service to be performed by our independent accountant before the accountant is engaged.




Item 16D.       Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees




Not applicable.




Item 16E.        Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers




In September 2008, our board of directors authorized a plan for the repurchase of up to 2,100,000 of our ordinary shares in the open market, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $2.8 million. As of December 31, 2008, we repurchased 2,100,000 ordinary shares under the plan at a total purchase price of approximately $1.6 million, after obtaining the approval of an Israeli court in accordance to the Israeli Companies Law. In February 2009, our board of directors authorized additional repurchase transactions of our shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1.2 million pursuant to the 2008 repurchase plan. In November 2009, our board of directors authorized an additional plan for the repurchase of our shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1.8 million. In January 2010 we applied for and in March 2010 we received Israeli court approval to repurchase our shares in the total amount of up to $1.8 million. Until now there were no share repurchases out of this amount. As of June 1, 2011, we have purchased an aggregate of 3,165,092 ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $2.8 million.




Item 16F.        Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant




At our annual general meeting held on April 6, 2009, our shareholders approved the recommendation of our audit committee and board of directors not to re-elect Kesselman & Kesselman, certified public accountants in Israel and a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, as our independent auditor and elected Brightman Almagor Zohar, certified public accountants in Israel and a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, in its place.




The reports on our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.


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During the two years ended December 31, 2008 and the subsequent interim period through April 6, 2009, there were no (i) disagreements between Kesselman & Kesselman and us on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures, which disagreements if not resolved to their satisfaction would have caused them to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreements in connection with its report or (ii) reportable events.




A letter from Kesselman & Kesselman is attached as Exhibit 15.2 to this Annual Report.




Prior to April 6, 2009, the date on which Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co. was appointed:




·
we did not consult with Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co. regarding either the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our financial statements;




·
neither a written report nor oral advice was provided to us by Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co. that they concluded was an important factor considered by us in reaching a decision as to the accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue; and




·
we did not consult Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co. regarding any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement or a reportable event.




Item 16G.
Corporate Governance




We follow the Companies Law, the relevant provisions of which are summarized in this annual report, rather than comply with the Nasdaq requirement relating to the quorum for shareholder meetings, as described in Item 10.B “Additional Information – Memorandum and Articles of Association – Voting, Shareholders' Meetings and Resolutions.”  In addition, we are exempt from Nasdaq’s requirement to send an annual report to shareholders prior to our annual general meetings. Instead, we file annual reports on Form 20-F electronically with the SEC and post a copy on our website.




PART III




Item 17.
Financial Statements




Not applicable.




Item 18.
Financial Statements




Our consolidated financial statements and related auditors’ report for the year ended December 31, 2010 are hereby incorporated into this Annual Report by reference to our Report on Form 6-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on  May 19, 2011.




Item 19.
Exhibits




The following exhibits are filed as part of this Annual Report:


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Exhibit No.

Exhibit1.1*

Memorandum of Association, as amended1.2

Articles of Association, as amended4.1**

MIND 1998 Share Option Plan4.2**

MIND 2000 Share Option Plan8

List of Subsidiaries11**

Code of Ethics and Business Conduct12.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a), as adopted pursuant to §302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act12.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a), as adopted pursuant to §302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act13.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act13.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act15.1

Consent of Houlihan Smith & Company15.2

Letter from Kesselman & Kesselman15.3***

Consolidated financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2010 and related auditors’ consent





*
Incorporated by reference to MIND C.T.I. Ltd.’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002.




**
Incorporated by reference to MIND C.T.I. Ltd.’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003.




***
Incorporated by reference to MIND C.T.I. Ltd.'s Report on Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2011.




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SIGNATURES




The Registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.




MIND CTI LTD./s/ Monica IancuBy:
MonicaIancuTitle: President & CEODate: June 20, 2011


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