EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 7623
Filing Year: 2024
Filename: 7623_10-K_2024_0001437749-24-005855.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. BUSINESS.
General
Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., a Delaware corporation (“we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company”), began operations as a farm equipment manufacturer in 1956. Since that time, we have become a worldwide manufacturer of agricultural equipment and specialized modular science and agricultural buildings. Our principal manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters is located in Armstrong, Iowa.
We have organized our business into two operating segments. Management separately evaluates the financial results of each segment because each is a strategic business unit offering different products and requiring different technology and marketing strategies. Our Agricultural Products segment manufactures and distributes farm equipment under the Art’s-Way name. Our Modular Buildings segment manufactures modular buildings for various uses, commonly animal containment and research laboratories, through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc., an Iowa corporation. During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company ceased operations of its Tools business, which in previous periods, was reported in consolidated numbers as the Company's third operating segment. The remaining components of the Tools segment are reported in discontinued operation for the twelve months ended November 30, 2023 and has been modified retrospectively to be reported in discontinued operations for the twelve months ended November 30, 2022. For detailed financial information relating to segment reporting, see Note 18 “Segment Information” to our financial statements in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report.
Corporate information about Art’s-Way can be found on our website, http://www.artsway-mfg.com/ while information on our agriculture products can be found on http://www.artsway.com/. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The Exchange Act requires us to file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. These materials may be obtained electronically by accessing the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Business of Our Segments
Agricultural Products
Our Agricultural Products segment, which accounted for 74.2% of our net revenue in the 2023 fiscal year and 81.5% of our net revenue in the 2022 fiscal year, is located primarily in Armstrong, Iowa. This segment manufactures a variety of specialized farm machinery under our own label, including portable and stationary animal feed processing equipment and related attachments used to mill and mix feed grains into custom animal feed rations; a line of forage equipment consisting of forage boxes, bale processors, running gear, and dump boxes; a line of manure spreaders; sugar beet harvesting equipment; and a line of dirt work equipment. We sell our labeled products through independent farm equipment dealers throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. We also provide after-market service parts that are available to keep our branded equipment operating to the satisfaction of the end user of our products.
Modular Buildings
Our Modular Buildings segment, which accounted for 25.8% of our net revenue in the 2023 fiscal year and 18.5% of our net revenue in the 2022 fiscal year, is located in Monona, Iowa. This segment produces, sells and leases modular buildings, which are custom-designed to meet the specific research needs of our customers. The buildings we commonly produce range from basic swine buildings to complex containment research laboratories. Our focus is providing research facilities for academic research institutions, government research and diagnostic centers, public health institutions and private research and pharmaceutical companies, as those are our primary market sectors. We provide services from start to finish by designing, manufacturing, delivering and installing these facilities to meet customers’ critical requirements. In addition to selling these facilities, we also offer a lease option to customers in need of temporary facilities.
Our Principal Agricultural Products
Arthur Luscombe built the first PTO powered grinder mixer on his farm near Dolliver, Iowa. The product’s ability to tackle even the most demanding workload made it an overwhelming success - and secured Luscombe’s reputation as a farmer, entrepreneur and independent thinker who did things his way. Over the years our Agricultural Products segment has grown through developing several new products and with acquisitions. We take pride in our manure spreaders, forage equipment, bale processors, dirt work equipment, sugar beet harvesting equipment and feed mills. We provide limited OEM parts to some of the industry’s leading manufacturers.
Feed mills. There’s no one better than Art’s Way when it comes to processing feed. Stationary mills for livestock feeding or breweries, portable units for small operations and large grinder mixers for the modern feeding operation have our customers’ backs day in and day out. Hammer mills provide faster processing and easily changing micron size or roller mills offer more consistency. We offer the most complete lineup of equipment in feed processing.
Manure spreaders. The X Series spreaders have a unique vertical beater placement combined with guillotine slop gate controls to create the best spread pattern in the industry. Flared sides and densilite flooring provide easy loading and material movement. Backed by our limited lifetime warranty on the apron chain, customers can depend on this rugged machine. The upgraded rate control option powered by Raven is the only unit in the industry to have completely automatic spreading capabilities with apron speed and slop gate control.
Forage. The 2100 series are user-friendly forage boxes in different lengths and unload configurations. It is the only box in its class to offer 100% in-cab controls. Tube side stakes and corrugated sides give users confidence when side-by-side with competitor models. The 9016-HD High Dump cart boasts the largest capacity in the industry at 40,000 pounds.
Bale processors. Spread large round or square bales in the same machine attached to a skid steer, telehandler, or tractor with the patented TOP-SPREAD loader mounted spreader. The compact size fits into barns and alleyways and is easy to maneuver. On a construction site, cover roadsides or fresh seeding quickly from the seat of a skid steer.
Dirt work equipment. Level out and shape fields with the single blade or folding land planes featuring our patented floating hitch design. Reduce erosion by eliminating water pockets, furrows, and implement scars in the field. Shape yards or work sites with standard or rear steer graders that follow closely behind the tractor for leveling in smaller spaces.
Sugar beet harvesting equipment. We are proud to offer the best sugar beet cleaning in the industry during muddy harvest conditions with our patented grab roll bed. Our 12-row harvester has been improved with an automatic leveling system add-on for consistent digging across the field. The defoliator cleanly removes the leaves off the beets prior to digging them up for harvest. The leaves are incorporated back into the soil to provide nutrients for next year’s crop.
Product Distribution and Markets
We distribute goods for our Agricultural Products segment primarily through a network of approximately 600 U.S. and Canadian independent dealers, as well as overseas dealers in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom, whose customers require specialized agricultural machinery. We have sales representation in 48 states and seven Canadian provinces. Our dealers sell our products to various agricultural and commercial customers. We also maintain a local sales force in our Armstrong, Iowa facility to provide oversight services for our distribution network, communicate with end users, and recruit and train dealers on the uses of our products. Our local service parts staff is available to help customers and dealers with their service parts needs. Our Modular Buildings segment typically sells products customized to the end-user’s requirements directly to the end-user.
We currently export products to nine foreign countries. We have been shipping grinder mixers abroad since 2006 and have exported portable rollermills as well. We continue to strengthen these relationships and intend to develop new international markets. Our international sales accounted for 3.1% of consolidated sales during the 2023 fiscal year compared to 4.5% in the 2022 fiscal year.
Backlog. The Company’s backlog of orders vary on a daily basis. The Company’s Agricultural Products segment had a net backlog of approximately $4,364,000 as of February 1, 2024 compared to $9,366,000 on February 1, 2023. The Company saw a decline in orders on its fall early order program for the first time in three years. The Company believes high interest rates are affecting how much risk the dealers are willing to take on stock inventory. While the Company believes farmers are still going to be creating strong demand in 2024, the Company believes it is going to have to be more speculative with its products and have more inventory on hand. The Company’s Modular Buildings segment had approximately $6,170,00 of backlog as of February 1, 2024, compared to $4,985,000 on that date in 2023. The Modular Buildings segment contracted a $5,300,000 research project in December 2023, which is expected to be mostly completed in fiscal 2024. The Company also has two other large research projects with a combined contract price over $6,000,000 that it is expected to land in fiscal 2024. The Company expects that its order backlogs will continue to fluctuate as orders are received, filled, or canceled, and, due to dealer discount arrangements it may enter into from time to time. Accordingly, these figures are not necessarily indicative of future revenue.
Recent Product Developments
In 2023, we continued to make product improvements that improve manufacturability and to meet our customer’s evolving needs. We worked on the development of a chicken litter variation for our manure spreaders, a sonar leveling system for our defoliators, performed redesign work on our commercial forage box and also took steps to improve the design of our grinder mixers for manufacturability and cost savings.
Our Modular Buildings segments complete projects based on customer specifications and did not engage in specific product development during the 2023 fiscal year.
Competition
Each of our segments have competitive strengths described below. In addition to individual competitive strengths, the barrier to entry for competitors in our industries is high.
Agricultural Products
Our Agricultural Products segment competes in a highly competitive agricultural equipment industry. We compete with larger manufacturers and suppliers that have broader product offerings and significant resources at their disposal; however, we believe that our competitive strengths allow us to compete effectively in our market.
Management believes that grain and livestock producers, as well as those who provide services to grain and livestock operations, are the primary purchasers of agricultural equipment. Many factors influence a buyer’s choice for agricultural equipment. Any one or all factors may be determinative, but they include brand loyalty, the relationship with dealers, product quality and performance, product innovation, product availability, parts and warranty programs, price, and customer service.
While our larger competitors may have resources greater than ours, we believe we compete effectively in the farm equipment industry by serving smaller markets in specific product areas rather than directly competing with larger competitors across an extensive range of products. Our Agricultural Products segment caters to niche markets in the agricultural industry. We do not have a direct competitor that has the same product offerings that we do. Instead, each of our product lines competes with similar products of many other manufacturers. Some of our product lines face greater competition than others, but we believe that our products are competitively priced with greater diversity than most competitor product lines. Other companies produce feed processing equipment, sugar beet harvesting and defoliating equipment, grinders, and other products similar to ours; therefore, we focus on providing the best product available at a reasonable price. Overall, we believe our products are competitively priced with above average quality and performance, in a market where price, product performance, and quality are principal elements.
In addition, in order to capitalize on brand recognition for our Agricultural Products segment, we have numerous product lines produced under our own label. We also provide aftermarket service parts which are available to keep our branded and OEM-produced equipment operating to the satisfaction of the customer. We sell products to customers in the United States and nine foreign countries through a network of approximately 600 independent dealers in the United States and Canada, as well as overseas dealers in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.
We believe that our competitive pricing, product quality and performance, network of worldwide and domestic distributors, and strong market share for many of our products allow us to compete effectively in the agricultural products market.
Modular Buildings
We expect continued competition from our Modular Buildings segment’s existing competitors, which include conventional design/build firms, as well as competition from new entrants into the modular building market. To some extent, we believe barriers to entry in the modular building industry limit the competition we face in the industry. Barriers to entry in the market consist primarily of access to capital, access to a qualified labor pool, and the bidding process that accompanies many jobs in the health and education markets. Despite these barriers, manufacturers who have a skilled work force and adequate production facilities could adapt their manufacturing facilities to produce modular structures.
We believe the competitive strength of our Modular Buildings segment is our ability to design and produce high-tech modular buildings more quickly than conventional design/build firms. Conventional design/build construction may take two to five years, while our modular laboratories can be delivered in as little as six months. As one of the few companies in the industry to supply turnkey modular buildings and laboratories, we believe we provide high-quality buildings at reasonable prices that meet our customers’ time, flexibility, and security expectations.
Raw Materials, Principal Suppliers, and Customers
Raw materials for our various segments are acquired from domestic and foreign sources and normally are readily available. We saw lead times increase on raw materials in 2022 as labor shortages from the COVID-19 pandemic left many of our suppliers understaffed. Lead times remained heightened during most of fiscal 2023 and began to soften near the end of fiscal 2023. We rely on foreign suppliers and foreign markets for materials and components for some of our products. However, these suppliers are not principal suppliers and there are alternative sources for these materials.
We do not typically rely on sales to one customer or a small group of customers. During the 2023 fiscal year, one customer accounted for just more than 12% consolidated net revenues from continuing operations.
Intellectual Property
We maintain manufacturing rights on several products, which cover unique aspects of design. We also have trademarks covering product identification. We believe our trademarks and licenses help us to retain existing business and secure new relationships with customers. The duration of these rights ranges from 5 to 10 years, with options for renewal. We currently have no pending applications for intellectual property rights.
We have a licensing and royalty agreement with Spreader, LLC to produce a loader mounted spreader in exchange for royalty payments until December 2027.
Government Relationships and Regulations; Environmental Compliance
Our Modular Buildings segment must design, manufacture, and install its modular buildings in accordance with state building codes, and we have been able to achieve the code standards in all instances. In addition, we are subject to various federal, state, and local laws and regulations pertaining to environmental protection and the discharge of materials into the environment. We do not expect that the cost of complying with these regulations will have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.
Employees
As of November 30, 2023, we employed 93 employees in our Agricultural Products segment including two on a part-time basis, and 31 employees in our Modular Buildings segment, two on a part-time basis. These numbers do not necessarily represent peak employment during the 2023 fiscal year.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide disclosure pursuant to this Item.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide disclosure pursuant to this Item.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. PROPERTIES.
Our executive offices, as well as the primary production and warehousing facilities for our Agricultural Products segment, are located in Armstrong, Iowa. These facilities were constructed after 1965 and remain in fair condition. The facilities in Armstrong contain approximately 249,000 square feet of usable space. We have engaged in several building improvement projects during the last several years including most recently updating our office spaces and employee break room in 2021, new shop and office boilers and roofing improvements in 2022 and remodeling our production facility bathrooms in fiscal 2023. In addition, we own approximately 30 acres of land west of Armstrong, on which the factory and inventory storage space is situated for our Agricultural Products segment.
Our facility in Monona, Iowa was constructed by us in 2007, which houses the manufacturing for our Modular Buildings segment. The facility was custom-designed to meet our production needs. It has approximately 50,000 square feet of useable space and accommodates a sprinkler system and crane. We own a second building to the east with approximately 12,000 square feet of space which is used as our weld shop for building frames.
Our facility in Canton, OH was purchased in connection with the acquisition of certain assets of Ohio Metal Working Products Company in September 2013. The building contains approximately 39,000 square feet of usable space and is in good condition. The purchased land is approximately 4.50 acres and was used by our Tools segment. This property is currently listed for sale at market value.
All of our owned real property is subject to mortgages granted to Bank Midwest as security for our long-term debt and our line of credit. See “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Liquidity and Capital Resources” for more information.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
From time to time in the ordinary course of business, we may be named as a defendant in legal proceedings incidental to the business, including without limitation, workers’ compensation claims, tort claims, or contractual disputes. We are not currently involved in any material legal proceedings, directly or indirectly, and we are not aware of any claims pending or threatened against us or any of the directors that could result in the commencement of material legal proceedings.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.’
Market Information
Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the symbol “ARTW.”
Stockholders
We have two classes of stock, undesignated preferred stock and $0.01 par value common stock. No shares of preferred stock have been issued or are outstanding. As of February 14, 2023 we had 73 common stock stockholders of record, which number does not include stockholders who hold our common stock in street name.
Dividends
We did not pay a dividend during the 2023 or 2022 fiscal years. We expect that the payment of and the amount of any future dividends will depend on our financial condition at that time.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
None.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Company
There were no purchases of common stock by the Company made in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
Equity Compensation Plans
For information on our equity compensation plans, refer to Item 12, “SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.”

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. RESERVED

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion, which focuses on our results of operations, contains forward-looking information and statements. Actual events or results may differ materially from those indicated or anticipated, as discussed in the section entitled “Forward Looking Statements.” The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should also be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes to financial statements contained in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report.
Financial Condition
Our Agricultural Products segment continued its profitability for the third straight year in fiscal 2023. Our Modular Buildings segment added a strong financial performance for fiscal 2023. Our consolidated revenues from continued operations increased 18.1% year on year and we had $1,531,000 of income from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended November, 30 2023.
We finished the year ended November 30, 2023 with approximately $763,000 of consolidated net income from continued operations and saw our working capital increase by approximately $824,000.
We expect to have access to capital as needed throughout fiscal 2024 from the collection of receivables, sale of inventory, the expected receipt of approximately $1.2 million of gross proceeds from a filed Employee Retention Credit and the potential sale of our Ohio real estate. Due to the timing of filing an ERC claim after the IRS announced a moratorium on processing applications, and uncertainty surrounding the nature and timing of the claim approval and subsequent payment process, recognition of the claim is deferred until payment is received. Accordingly the claim has not been recorded in receivables, assets, or income. On November 30, 2023 we had $1,086,480 available on our line of credit and $2,337,903 of excess collateral towards our borrowing base. Our working capital remained strong at approximately $5,690,000 in fiscal 2023 with a current ratio of 1.61. Our banking relationship remains positive and we expect it to only strengthen as our balance sheet continues to improve through the retirement of debt. We believe that our current cash and financing arrangements will provide sufficient cash to finance operations for the next 12 months. We expect to continue to rely on cash from financing activities to supplement our cash flows from operations in order to meet our liquidity and capital expenditure needs in the near future.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to our financial statements in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report. Critical accounting policies are those that we believe are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require our most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.
We believe that the following represents the most critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, and cost is determined using the standard costing method, which approximates costs determined on the first-in, first-out basis. Management monitors the carrying value of inventories using inventory control and review processes that include, but are not limited to, sales forecast review, inventory status reports, and inventory reduction programs. We record inventory write downs to net realizable value based on expected usage information for raw materials and historical selling trends for finished goods. If the assumptions made by management do not occur, we may need to record additional write downs.
Revenue Recognition
In accordance with ASC 606, revenue is measured based on consideration specified in a contract with a customer and recognized when we satisfy the performance obligation specified in each contract.
Our revenues primarily result from contracts with customers. The major sources of revenue for the Agricultural Products segment are farm equipment and service parts related to farm equipment. The Agricultural Products segment generally executes short-term contracts that contain a single performance obligation - the delivery of product to the common carrier. We recognize revenue for the production and sale of farm equipment and service parts upon shipment of the goods. Shipment of the goods is the point in time when risk of ownership and title pass to the customer. All sales are made to authorized dealers whose application for dealer status has been approved and who have been informed of general sales policies. Any changes in our terms are documented in the most recently published price lists. Pricing is fixed and determinable according to our published equipment and parts price lists. Title to all equipment and parts sold pass to the customer upon delivery to the carrier and is not subject to a customer acceptance provision. Proof of the passing of title is documented by the signing of the delivery receipt by a representative of the carrier. Post shipment obligations are limited to any claim with respect to the condition of the equipment or parts. The Agricultural Products segments typically require payment in full 30 days after the ship date. To take advantage of program discounts, some customers pay deposits up front. Any deposits received are considered unearned revenue and increase contract liabilities.
In certain circumstances, upon the customer’s written request, we may recognize revenue when production is complete, and the goods are ready for shipment. At the customer’s request, we will bill the customer upon completing all performance obligations, but before shipment. The customer dictates that we ship the goods per its direction from our manufacturing facility, as is customary with this type of agreement, in order to minimize shipping costs. The written agreement with the customer specifies that the goods will be delivered on a schedule to be determined by the customer, with a final specified delivery date, and that we will segregate the goods from our inventory, such that they are not available to fill other orders. This agreement also specifies that the customer is required to purchase all goods manufactured under this agreement. Title of the goods will pass to the customer when the goods are complete and ready for shipment, per the customer agreement. At the transfer of title, all risks of ownership have passed to the customer, and the customer agrees to maintain insurance on the manufactured items that have not yet been shipped. We have operated using bill and hold agreements with certain customers for many years, with consistent satisfactory results for both the customers and us. The credit terms on this agreement are consistent with the credit terms on other sales. All risks of loss are shouldered by the customer, and there are no exceptions to the customer’s commitment to accept and pay for these manufactured goods. Revenues recognized when goods were ready for shipment in fiscal 2023 were approximately $3,110,000 compared to $1,010,000 in fiscal 2022.
The Modular Buildings segment is in the construction industry with its major source of revenue arising from modular building sales. Sales of modular buildings are generally recognized using input methods to measure progress towards the satisfaction of a performance obligation using the percentage of completion method. Revenue and gross profit are recognized as work is performed based on the relationship between actual costs incurred and total estimated costs at completion. Contract costs consist of direct costs on contracts, including labor, materials, and amounts payable to subcontractors and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as equipment costs, insurance and employee benefits. Contract cost is recorded as incurred, and revisions in contract revenues and cost estimates are reflected in the accounting period when known. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined. Contract losses are recognized when current estimates of total contract revenue and contract cost indicate a loss. Estimated contract costs include any and all costs appropriately allocable to the contract. The provision for these contract losses will be the excess of estimated contract costs over estimated contract revenues. Changes in job performance, job conditions and estimated profitability, including those changes arising from contract change orders, penalty provisions and final contract settlements may result in revisions to costs and income and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined. We use significant judgements in determining estimated contract costs and completion percentages throughout the life of the project. Stock modular building sales also occur and are recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation is fulfilled through substantial completion. Substantial completion is achieved through customer acceptance of the completed building. The Modular Buildings segment executes contracts with customers that can be short- or long-term in nature. These contracts can have multiple performance obligations and revenue from these can be recognized over time or at a point in time depending on the nature of the contracts. Payment terms for the Modular Buildings segment vary by contract, but typically utilize money down and progress payments throughout the life of the contract. The payment terms of the Modular Buildings segment have the most impact on our contract receivables, contract assets and contract liabilities. Project invoicing from the Modular Buildings segment increases contract receivables and has an effect on contract liabilities through billings in excess of costs, estimated gross profit and customer deposits. The balance of contract assets is typically made up of the balance of costs and estimated gross profit in excess of billings. Costs and profit in excess of amounts billed are classified as current assets and billings in excess of cost and profit are classified as current liabilities.
The Agricultural Products segment offers variable consideration in the form of discounts depending on participation in yearly early order programs. This variable consideration is allocated to the transaction price of all products in a sales arrangement and is not contingent on future outcomes. The Agricultural Products segment does not offer rebates or credits. The Modular Buildings segment does not offer discounts, rebates or credits.
Our returns policy allows for new and saleable parts to be returned, subject to inspection and a restocking charge, which is included in net sales. Whole goods are not returnable. Shipping costs charged to customers are included in net sales. Freight costs incurred are included in cost of goods sold. Customer deposits consist of advance payments from customers, in the form of cash, for revenue to be recognized in the following year.
For information on product warranty as it applies to ASC 606, refer to Note 9 “Product Warranty” contained in our financial statements in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report.
Results of Operations
Fiscal Year Ended November 30, 2023 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended November 30, 2022
Our consolidated net sales from continuing operations totaled $30,281,000 for the 2023 fiscal year, which represents a 18.1% increase from our consolidated net sales of $25,646,000 for the 2022 fiscal year. We increased revenue in both our Agricultural Products and Modular Building segments in fiscal 2023. Our consolidated gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 28.3% in the 2023 fiscal year compared to 27.1% of net sales in the 2022 fiscal year. Our consolidated operating expenses from continuing operations increased by 11.4%, from $6,334,000 in the 2022 fiscal year to $7,053,000 in the 2023 fiscal year. The majority of our corporate general and administrative expenses are borne by our Agricultural Products segment, including costs to be public. The Agricultural Products segment represented $5,920,000 of our total consolidated operating expenses, while our Modular Buildings segment represented $1,133,000.
Our consolidated operating income from continuing operations for the 2023 fiscal year was $1,531,000 compared to operating income of $605,000 for the 2022 fiscal year. Our Agricultural Products segment had operating income of $664,000, and our Modular Buildings segment had operating income of $867,000.
Consolidated net income for the 2023 fiscal year was $267,000 compared to net income of $98,000 in the 2022 fiscal year.
Our effective tax rate for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years was 29.8% and 16.4%, respectively. The primary driver for the increase in effective tax rate was due to add backs related to differences in restricted stock values at grant and vest date and non-deductible meals expense.
Agricultural Products. Our Agricultural Products segment’s net sales for the 2023 fiscal year were $22,467,000 compared to $20,912,000 during the 2022 fiscal year, an increase of $ 1,555,000, or 7.4%. Commodity prices in the agricultural market remained strong for the majority of fiscal 2023, and our production execution on our pent up backlog led to the increase in sales in fiscal 2023. Incoming orders began to slow near the end of fiscal 2023 as supply chains in our industry began to catch up to demand.
Gross profit percentage for the 2023 fiscal year was 29.3% compared to 30.8% for the 2022 fiscal year. We saw component prices and manufacturing overhead continue to increase from inflationary forces in fiscal 2023. This, coupled with product mix was the primary driver for the decrease in gross profit percentage. We doubled the number of unit sales on our manure spreaders in fiscal 2023, as we added smaller unit options to our manure spreader line. A large portion of our sales increase was related to the manure spreader line which has a lower profit margin to stay competitive with other industry leaders. We continued to make steps to drive production efficiency in fiscal 2023, most notably with the creation of new fixturing to weld a higher volume of parts in our robotic weld cells. We have identified additional ways to improve our profit margin through automation and continue to make that a focus in fiscal 2024.
Our Agricultural Products segment’s operating expenses for the 2023 fiscal year were $5,920,000 compared to $5,239,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, an increase of $681,000, or 13.0%. Our selling expense accounted for approximately $200,000 of this increase, which included additional commissions in fiscal 2023, from increased sales and more sales in territories represented by our independent reps and increased advertising spend in fiscal 2023 to generate more product interest about our products and to reach new geographic areas. Our general and administrative expenses increased approximately $461,000 from fiscal 2022. This was due in part to ERP conversion expenses included training, data conversion and post implementation support. The new ERP is expected to improve our financial reporting, material resource planning and overall administrative efficiency. We also added a Human Resources manager to our team this fiscal year, which added to the increased general and administrative expense. Our costs of being public, most notably, audit fees also increased in fiscal 2023. Our engineering expenses increased approximately $19,000 from fiscal 2022 due to some consulting work to increase robotic weld cell activity. Total income from operations for our Agricultural Products segment during the 2023 fiscal year was $664,000 compared to $1,205,000 for the 2022 fiscal year. Inflationary forces on components, manufacturing overhead, product mix with lesser profit margin compared to fiscal 2022 and increased operating expenses as discussed above were primary drivers of less operating income for fiscal 2023. We continue to strive for improvements that will improve our product margins and improve manufacturability. We took additional steps in fiscal 2023 to increase our operational effectiveness including product quality and efficiency initiatives with upgraded equipment and new internal programs.
Modular Buildings. Our Modular Buildings segment’s net sales for the 2023 fiscal year were $7,814,000 compared to $4,734,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, an increase of $3,080,000, or 65.1%. We saw an increase in agricultural sales in fiscal 2023 from the continued strength of the agricultural market and also landed a large research product that drove up sales. Our Modular Building segment's gross profit for the 2023 fiscal year was 25.6% compared to 10.5% during the 2022 fiscal year. Sales volume played a key factor in increasing our gross profit for fiscal 2023. We also increased our billing rates to combat rising labor and overhead costs from fiscal 2022 that led to better margins in fiscal 2023. Operating expenses for the 2023 fiscal year were $1,133,000 compared to $1,095,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, an increase of $38,000, or 3.5%. This increase was primarily due to increased selling expenses from additional commissions paid on an increase in agricultural building sales. Total income from operations from our Modular Buildings segment during the 2023 fiscal year was $867,000 compared to operating loss of $600,000 in the 2022 fiscal year. We took steps in fiscal 2023 to improve our project management team to increase profitability on projects and to provide better service to our customers. We believe our brand and sales lead funnel is providing us with increased sales potential in fiscal 2024.
Discontinued Operations. On June 7, 2023 we announced we would be discontinuing our Tools segment with the last day of normal operations on July 14, 2023. There were no employees as of November 30, 2023. One employee remained employed by the Tools segment through October 2, 2023 to oversee the liquidation process, mainly the sale of remaining inventory and auctioning off machinery and equipment. Our discontinued operations generated approximately $661,000 from operating activities for the twelve months ended November 30, 2023, which includes the liquidation of inventory and receivables and approximately $76,000 from investing activities from the sale of equipment. The Company real estate is listed for sale at market value in the Canton, Ohio area. We estimate approximately $2,000,000 in net proceeds on the sale of this real estate based on market value of comps in the area. Our Tools segment had sales of $2,031,000 for the twelve months ended November 30, 2023 and $2,753,000 for the twelve months ended November 30, 2022. Management believes the liquidation of the Tools segment will allow for investment in technological advances that improve efficiency and margins in the Agricultural Products segments, our largest revenue source.
Trends and Uncertainties
We are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that may affect our short-term or long-term liquidity, sales revenues, and operations. Similar to other farm equipment manufacturers, we are affected by items unique to the farm industry, including fluctuations in farm income resulting from the change in commodity prices, crop damage caused by weather and insects, government farm programs, interest rate fluctuations, and other unpredictable variables. Other uncertainties include our OEM customers and the decisions they make regarding their current supply chain structure, inventory levels, and overall business conditions. Management believes that our business is dependent on the farming industry for the bulk of our sales revenues. As such, our business tends to reap the benefits of increases in farm net income, as farmers tend to purchase equipment in lucrative times and forgo purchases in less profitable years. Direct government payment over the past few years and costs of agricultural production are increasing; further increases in the value of production will benefit our business, while any future decreases in the value of production will decrease farm net income and may negatively affect our financial results.
As with other farm equipment manufacturers, we depend on our network of dealers to influence customers’ decisions, and dealer influence is often more persuasive than a manufacturer’s reputation or the price of the product.
Seasonality
Sales of our agricultural products are seasonal; however, we have tried to decrease the impact of this seasonality through the development of beet harvesting machinery, as the peak periods for these products occur at different times.
Our modular building sales are somewhat seasonal, and we believe that this is due to the budgeting and funding cycles of the universities that commonly purchase our modular buildings. We believe that this cycle can be offset by building backlogs of inventory, by increasing sales to other public and private sectors and by creating repeatable business opportunities.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our main source of funds during the 2023 fiscal year was cash generated by financing activities. Income from continuing operations, sale of inventory and property, plant and equipment of our discontinued operations and the use of our line of credit were used to fund our operating and investing activities. A large increase in receivables consumed cash in 2023 as we used extended terms to increase our sales in fiscal 2023. We also consumed significant cash increasing our inventory to stay ahead of supply chain delays. We expect to be driving these inventory levels down in fiscal 2024 as many of our vendor lead times are returning to pre pandemic levels. We used approximately $841,000 in fiscal 2023 for purchases of property, plant and equipment, primarily facility upgrades and manufacturing equipment to improve operational efficiency. We expect our primary capital needs for fiscal 2024 to be operating expenses. We also expect to use cash in fiscal 2024 to acquire additional equipment that improves automation and efficiency in our manufacturing process. These additions will help us drive out costs to improve product margins and be more competitive in our industry. We expect to receive approximately $1,200,000 of net proceeds from the Employee Retention Credit in fiscal 2024 and estimate expected net proceeds of approximately $2,000,000 upon sale of our Ohio real estate, which we expect will be used to retire a significant portion of our debt and fund capex needs as discussed above. Due to the timing of filing an ERC claim after the IRS announced a moratorium on processing applications, and uncertainty surrounding the nature and timing of the claim approval and subsequent payment process, recognition of the claim is deferred until payment is received. Accordingly the claim has not been recorded in receivables, assets, or income.
We have a Bank Midwest credit facility consisting of a $5,000,000 revolving line of credit and a $500,000 reserve line of credit, pursuant to which we had borrowed a combined $4,413,520, with $1,086,480 remaining, as of November 30, 2023, and two term loans, which had outstanding principal balances of $2,080,718 and $336,858 as of November 30, 2023. The revolving line of credit is being used for working capital purposes. We also have three Economic Injury Disaster Loans provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration with an aggregate principal balance of $482,078 as of November 30, 2023. $160,599 of the EIDL balance is tied to our discontinued operation and is expected to be paid upon liquidation of the real estate.
Our loans require us to comply with various covenants, including maintaining certain financial ratios and obtaining prior written consent from Bank Midwest for any investment in, acquisition of, or guaranty relating to another business or entity. We were out of compliance with our debt to worth ratio covenant in place under the Bank Midwest loans as of November 30, 2023. Bank Midwest has issued a waiver for the noncompliance as of November 30, 2023.
For additional information about our financing activities, please refer to Note 9 “Loan and Credit Agreements” to our financial statements in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report.
The following table represents our working capital and current ratio as of the end of the past two fiscal years:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Current Assets
$ 15,085,494
$ 14,133,429
Current Liabilities
9,395,023
9,267,289
Working Capital
$ 5,690,471
$ 4,866,140
Current Ratio
1.61
1.53
We believe that our current cash and financing arrangements will provide sufficient cash to finance operations for the next 12 months. We expect to continue to rely on cash from financing activities to supplement our cash flows from operations in order to meet our liquidity and capital expenditure needs in the near future. We expect to continue to be able to procure financing upon reasonable terms.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide disclosure pursuant to this Item.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders
Art's-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Armstrong, Iowa
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of November 30, 2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of November 30, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and
(2) involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter, or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Valuation of Inventories
As discussed in Note 4 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, the gross inventories balance was $12,614,410, and the balance net of reserves was $11,031,362 as of November 30, 2023. The Company values its inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost being determined using the standard costing method, which approximates First-In, First-Out. The Company adjusts the value of inventory for slow-moving and obsolete inventory based on expected usage information for raw materials and historical selling trends for finished goods. As disclosed by management, if these factors are less favorable than those projected, additional inventory adjustments may be required.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to valuation of inventories is a critical audit matter are the significant assumptions and complex judgments by management when determining the future salability of the inventory and its net realizable value. These assumptions and judgments include the assessment of the net realizable value by inventory category considering retention periods, future usage, and market demand for products, which in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence related to management’s methods, calculations, and assumptions.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
●
Gaining an understanding of management’s processes, controls, and methodology to develop the estimates.
●
Evaluating the reasonableness of assumptions used by management in forming the forecasted inventory usage and future salability, including examining historical accuracy of the Company’s prior estimates by considering subsequent sales and write-off activity.
●
Testing the completeness, accuracy, and relevance of the underlying data used in management’s estimate.
●
Testing the mathematical accuracy and computation related to the application of the methodology to specific inventory items and categories.
/s/ Eide Bailly LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2006.
Denver, Colorado
February 28, 2024
ART’S-WAY MANUFACTURING CO., INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Assets
Current assets:
Cash
$ 4,014 $ 5,055
Accounts receivable-customers, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $32,137 and $33,288 in 2023 and 2022, respectively
3,432,216 2,466,790
Inventories, net
11,031,362 9,606,708
Cost and profit in excess of billings
289,282 450,906
Other current assets
296,662 333,287
Current assets of discontinued operations
31,958 1,270,683
Total current assets
15,085,494 14,133,429
Property, plant, and equipment, net
5,060,595 4,945,225
Assets held for lease, net
145,494 400,325
Deferred income taxes, net
2,503,213 2,605,395
Other assets
583,752 474,714
Other assets of discontinued operations
1,023,566 1,389,226
Total assets
$ 24,402,114 $ 23,948,314
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 2,256,502 $ 2,510,463
Customer deposits
416,044 825,413
Billings in excess of cost and profit
351,289 328,041
Income taxes payable
5,000 3,500
Accrued expenses
1,399,232 1,161,761
Line of credit
4,413,520 3,924,500
Current portion of finance lease liabilities
257,454 142,893
Current portion of long-term debt
109,193 94,808
Current liabilities of discontinued operations
186,789 275,910
Total current liabilities
9,395,023 9,267,289
Long-term liabilities
Long-term portion of operating lease liabilities
13,774 22,426
Long-term portion of finance lease liabilities
722,200 475,411
Long-term debt, excluding current portion
2,629,862 2,743,383
Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations
- 289,168
Total liabilities
12,760,859 12,797,677
Commitments and Contingencies (Notes 8, 9 and 10)
Stockholders’ equity:
Undesignated preferred stock - $0.01 par value. Authorized 500,000 shares in 2023 and 2022; issued and outstanding 0 shares in 2023 and 2022.
- -
Common stock - $0.01 par value. Authorized 9,500,000 shares in 2023 and 2022; issued 5,106,922 in 2023 and 5,013,671 in 2022
51,069 50,137
Additional paid-in capital
4,838,425 4,547,172
Retained earnings
7,021,253 6,754,284
Treasury stock, at cost (94,256 shares in 2023 and 64,574 shares in 2022)
(269,492 ) (200,956 )
Total stockholders’ equity
11,641,255 11,150,637
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$ 24,402,114 $ 23,948,314
See accompanying Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and notes to consolidated financial statements.
ART’S-WAY MANUFACTURING CO., INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Years Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Sales
$ 30,280,957 $ 25,646,152
Cost of goods sold
21,697,075 18,707,496
Gross profit
8,583,882 6,938,656
Expenses:
Engineering
598,065 580,537
Selling
2,132,101 1,904,573
General and administrative
4,322,475 3,848,828
Total expenses
7,052,641 6,333,938
Income from operations
1,531,241 604,718
Other income (expense):
Interest expense
(590,005 ) (404,188 )
Other
147,512 240,414
Total other income (expense)
(442,493 ) (163,774 )
Income from continuing operations before income taxes
1,088,748 440,944
Income tax expense
325,959 66,823
Income from continuing operations
762,789 374,121
Discontinued Operations
Loss from discontinued operations before income taxes
(708,313 ) (323,944 )
Income tax benefit
(212,493 ) (47,620 )
(Loss) on discontinued operations
(495,820 ) (276,324 )
Net Income
$ 266,969 $ 97,797
Net income per share - Basic:
Continuing Operations
$ 0.15 $ 0.08
Discontinued Operations
(0.10 ) (0.06 )
Net income per share
$ 0.05 $ 0.02
Net income per share - Diluted:
Continuing Operations
$ 0.15 $ 0.08
Discontinued Operations
(0.10 ) (0.06 )
Net income per share
$ 0.05 $ 0.02
Weighted average outstanding shares used to compute basic net income per share
5,002,238 4,707,384
Weighted average outstanding shares used to compute diluted net income per share
5,002,238 4,707,384
See accompanying Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and notes to consolidated financial statements.
ART’S-WAY MANUFACTURING CO., INC.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity
Years Ended November 30, 2023 and 2022
Common Stock
Additional
Treasury Stock
Number of
paid-in
Retained
Number of
shares
Par value
capital
earnings
shares
Amount
Total
Balance, November 30, 2021
4,583,504 $ 45,835 $ 3,760,649 $ 6,656,487 44,532 $ (108,524 ) $ 10,354,447
Stock based compensation
110,167 1,102 286,619 - 20,042 (92,432 ) 195,289
Common stock purchase agreement
320,000 3,200 499,904 - - - 503,104
Net Income
- - - 97,797 - - 97,797
Balance, November 30, 2022
5,013,671 50,137 4,547,172 6,754,284 64,574 (200,956 ) 11,150,637
Stock based compensation
93,251 932 291,253 - 29,682 (68,536 ) 223,649
Net Income
- - - 266,969 - - 266,969
Balance, November 30, 2023
5,106,922 $ 51,069 $ 4,838,425 $ 7,021,253 94,256 $ (269,492 ) $ 11,641,255
See accompanying Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and notes to consolidated financial statements.
ART’S-WAY MANUFACTURING CO., INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Cash flows from operations:
Net income from continuing operations
$ 762,789 $ 374,121
Net loss from discontinued operations
$ (495,820 ) $ (276,324 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Stock based compensation
292,185 287,721
Decrease in obsolete inventory reserves
(126,707 ) (204,997 )
Gain on disposal of property, plant, and equipment
(92,495 ) (154,112 )
Depreciation and amortization expense
804,820 661,018
Accrued interest on deferred debt payments
- 16,917
Decrease in allowance for doubtful accounts
(1,151 ) (3,489 )
Deferred income taxes
102,182 16,491
Changes in assets and liabilities:
(Increase) decrease in:
Accounts receivable
(964,275 ) (83,669 )
Inventories
(1,297,947 ) (1,077,041 )
Other assets
44,117 2,735
Increase (decrease) in:
Accounts payable
(253,961 ) 934,160
Contracts in progress, net
184,872 (226,342 )
Customer deposits
(409,369 ) 551,857
Income taxes payable
1,500 (2,000 )
Accrued expenses
237,471 133,251
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities - continuing operations
(715,969 ) 1,226,621
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities - discontinued operations
660,775 (274,900 )
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
(55,194 ) 951,721
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment
(841,784 ) (1,669,481 )
Net proceeds from sale of assets
286,815 403,504
Net cash used in investing activities - continuing operations
(554,969 ) (1,265,977 )
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities - discontinued operations
101,457 (77,870 )
Net cash used in investing activities
(453,512 ) (1,343,847 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
Net change in line of credit
489,020 (150,030 )
Proceeds from finance lease obligations
397,536 -
Principal payments on finance lease obligations
(184,881 ) (88,251 )
Proceeds from term debt
- 350,000
Repayment of term debt
(99,136 ) (94,365 )
Proceeds from common stock purchase agreement
- 545,529
Cost of equity issuance
- (42,425 )
Repurchases of common stock
(68,536 ) (92,432 )
Net cash provided by financing activities - continuing operations
534,003 428,026
Net cash used in financing activities - discontinued operations
(26,338 ) (33,503 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
507,665 394,523
Net increase (decrease) in cash
(1,041 ) 2,397
Cash at beginning of period
5,055 2,658
Cash at end of period
$ 4,014 $ 5,055
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the period for:
Interest
$ 606,747 $ 421,241
Income taxes
3,646 2,365
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Right-of-use (ROU) assets acquired (included in other assets)
$ 134,544 $ 698,153
Less: Cash proceeds received under Manufacturing 4.0 grant applied to ROU Assets
- (224,513 )
Total (ROU) assets acquired (included in other assets)
$ 134,544 $ 473,640
Amortization of operating lease ROU assets (included in other assets)
$ 12,375 $ 12,862
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash financing activities:
Market value of commitment shares issued under purchase agreement
$ - $ 160,000
See accompanying Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and notes to consolidated financial statements.
Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
(a)
Nature of Business
Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (the “Company”) is primarily engaged in the fabrication and sale of specialized farm machinery in the agricultural sector of the United States. Primary product offerings include portable and stationary animal feed processing equipment; hay and forage equipment; sugar beet harvesting equipment; dirt work equipment and manure spreaders. The Company sells its labeled products through independent farm equipment dealers throughout the United States. The Company also provides after-market service parts that are available to keep its branded and OEM-produced equipment operating to the satisfaction of the end user of the Company’s products.
The Company’s Modular Buildings segment is primarily engaged in the construction of modular laboratories and animal housing facilities through the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc. Buildings commonly produced range from basic swine buildings to complex containment research laboratories. This segment also provides services relating to the design, manufacturing, delivering, installation, and renting of the building units that it produces.
During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company ceased operations of its Tools business, Ohio Metal Working Products/Art's Way, which in previous periods, was reported in the consolidated numbers as the Company's third operating segment.
(b)
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries for the 2023 fiscal year, which includes Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc. and Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way, Inc, which is presented separately as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. All inter-company accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.
(c)
Cash Concentration
The Company maintains several different accounts at one bank, and balances in these accounts could periodically exceed the federally insured limits. However, management believes the risk of loss to be low.
(d)
Customer Concentration
During the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, one customer accounted for more than approximately 12% and 11%, respectively, of consolidated revenues from continuing operations.
(e)
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable are carried at original invoice amount less an estimate made for doubtful accounts based on a review of all outstanding amounts on a monthly basis. Management determines the allowance for doubtful accounts by identifying troubled accounts and by using historical experience applied to an aging of accounts. Accounts receivable are written-off when deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of accounts receivable previously written-off are recorded when received. Accounts receivable are generally considered past due 60 days past invoice date, with the exception of international sales which primarily are sold with 180 day terms backed by export insurance.
The Company began offering floorplan terms in its Agricultural Products segment during its Fall 2021 early order program to incentivize customers to stock farm equipment on their lots during the 2022 fiscal year and continued to offer this program for fiscal 2023. Floorplan terms allow customers to pay the Company at the earliest of retail date or 180 days. The Company had approximately $1,920,000 in accounts receivable at November 30, 2023 that was part of its floorplan program on extended terms compared to $1,033,000 for the year ended November 30, 2022.
Trade receivables due from customers are uncollateralized customer obligations due under normal trade terms requiring payment within 30 days from the invoice date. Trade receivables are stated at the amount billed to the customer. The Company charges interest on overdue customer account balances at a rate of 1.5% per month. Payments of trade receivables are allocated to the specific invoices identified on the customer’s remittance advice or, if unspecified, are applied to the earliest unpaid invoices.
(f)
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, and cost is determined using the standard costing method which approximates costs determined on the first-in, first-out basis. Management monitors the carrying value of inventories using inventory control and review processes that include, but are not limited to, sales forecast review, inventory status reports, and inventory reduction programs. The Company records inventory write downs to net realizable value based on expected usage information for raw materials and historical selling trends for finished goods. Additional write downs may be necessary if the assumptions made by management do not occur.
(g)
Property, Plant, and Equipment
Property, plant, and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation of plant and equipment is provided using the straight-line method, based on the estimated useful lives of the assets which range from three to forty years.
Property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. Conditions that would necessitate an impairment assessment include a significant decline in the observable market value of an asset, a significant change in the extent or manner in which an asset is used, or any other significant adverse change that would indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets may not be recoverable.
For property, plant and equipment used in operations, including lease assets and assets held for lease, impairment losses are only recorded if the asset’s carrying amount is not recoverable through its undiscounted, probability-weighted future cash flows. We measure the impairment loss based on the difference between the carrying amount and estimated fair value.
(h)
Leases
Lessee. The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception of a contract. The nature of the Company’s leases at this time is shop machinery and office equipment, mainly copiers, with terms of 12 to 60 months. Operating and finance leases are included in other assets as lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets while current operating lease liabilities are included in accrued expenses. The short-term portion of finance leases along with long-term portions of operating and finance lease liabilities are presented on the face of the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company generally uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the estimated rate of interest for collateralized borrowing over a similar term of the lease payments at commencement date. The lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Operating lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term while finance lease ROU assets are amortized on a straight-line basis and interest expense is recorded over the lease term.
The Company has copier lease agreements with lease and non-lease components and has elected the practical expedient not to separate lease and non-lease components for this asset class. The Company has also elected not to recognize lease liabilities and ROU assets for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less. The Company recognizes variable costs that depend on usage in profit or loss as they are incurred.
The components of operating leases on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2022 were as follows:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Operating lease right-of-use assets (other assets)
$ 22,427 $ 31,527
Current portion of operating lease liabilities (accrued expenses)
$ 8,653 $ 9,101
Long-term portion of operating lease liabilities
13,774 22,426
Total operating lease liabilities
$ 22,427 $ 31,527
The Company's continuing operations recorded $17,459 of operating lease expense in the year ended November 30, 2023 compared to $17,366 in the same period of fiscal 2022, including variable costs tied to usage. The Company’s operating leases carry a weighted average lease term of 30 months and have a weighted average discount rate of 4.75%.
Future maturities of operating lease liabilities as of November 30, 2023 are as follows:
Year Ending November 30,
9,532
9,532
4,766
Total lease payments
23,829
Less imputed interest
(1,402 )
Total operating lease liabilities
22,427
The components of finance leases on the Consolidated Balance Sheets on November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2022 were as follows:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Finance lease right-of-use assets (net of amortization in other assets)
$ 511,367 $ 396,220
$ 511,367 $ 396,220
Current portion of finance lease liabilities
$ 257,454 $ 142,893
Long-term portion of finance lease liabilities
722,200 475,411
Total finance lease liabilities
$ 979,654 $ 618,304
The Company received grant funds from the Iowa Economic Development’s Manufacturing 4.0 program in prior years for the purchase of assets. These funds have reduced the right-of-use asset account for the proceeds and will reduce amortization over the life of the asset.
Future maturities of finance lease liabilities as of November 30, 2023 are as follows:
Year Ending November 30,
$ 302,714
248,050
246,466
213,481
82,147
Total lease payments
1,092,858
Less imputed interest
(113,204 )
Total finance lease liabilities
$ 979,654
The weighted average lease term of the Company’s finance leases are 45 months while the weighted average rate of finance leases is 5.19%. The Company's continuing operations incurred $129,891 of amortization expense from ROU assets related to finance leases in fiscal 2023 compared to $110,426 in fiscal 2022.
Lessor. The Company's lessor arrangements primarily include contracts for temporary building rentals or permanent building financing for our Modular Buildings segment. The Company classifies its leases at inception as operating, direct financing or sales-type leases. A lease is classified as a sales-type lease if at least one of the following criteria is met: (1) the lease transfers ownership of the underlying asset to the lessee, (2) the lease grants the lessee an option to purchase the underlying asset that the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise, (3) the lease term is for a major part of the remaining economic life of the underlying asset, (4) the present value of the sum of the lease payments equals or exceeds substantially all of the fair value of the underlying assets, or (5) the underlying asset is of such a specialized nature that it is expected to have no alternative use to the lessor at the end of the lease term. Furthermore, when none of the above criteria is met, a lease is classified as a direct financing lease if both of the following criteria are met: (1) the present value of the of the sum of the lease payments and any residual value guaranteed by the lessee that is not already reflected in the lease payments equals or exceeds the fair value of the underlying asset and (2) it is probable that the lessor will collect the lease payments plus any amount necessary to satisfy a residual value guarantee. A lease is classified as an operating lease if it does not qualify as a sales-type or direct financing lease. Currently, the Company classifies all of its lessor arrangements as operating leases.
See note 7 Assets Held for Lease for more information.
(i)
Income Taxes
Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and operating losses. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is entirely dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and tax planning strategies in making this assessment.
The Company classifies interest and penalties to be paid on an underpayment of taxes as income tax expense. The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various states and previously in Canada. The Company is no longer subject to Canadian, U.S. federal or state income tax examinations by tax authorities for years ended before November 30, 2020.
(j)
Revenue Recognition
The Company’s revenues primarily result from contracts with customers. The major sources of revenue for the Agricultural Products are farm equipment and service parts related to farm equipment. The Agricultural Products segment generally executes short-term contracts that contain a single performance obligation - the delivery of product to the common carrier. The Company recognizes revenue for the production and sale of farm equipment and service parts upon shipment of the goods. Risk of ownership and title pass to the customer upon shipment of the goods. All sales are made to authorized dealers whose application for dealer status has been approved and who have been informed of general sales policies. Any changes in the Company’s terms are documented in the most recently published price lists. Pricing is fixed and determinable according to the Company’s published equipment and parts price lists. Title to all equipment and parts sold passes to the customer upon delivery to the carrier and is not subject to a customer acceptance provision. Proof of the passing of title is documented and retained by the Company. Post shipment obligations are limited to any claim with respect to the condition of the equipment or parts. The Agricultural Products segment typically requires payment in full 30 days after the ship date. To take advantage of program discounts, some customers pay deposits up front. Any deposits received increase contract liabilities.
In certain circumstances, upon the customer’s written request, the Company may recognize revenue when production is complete, and the goods are ready for shipment. At the customer’s request, the Company will bill the customer upon completing all performance obligations, but before shipment. The customer dictates that the Company ship the goods per the customer’s direction from the Company’s manufacturing facility, as is customary with this type of agreement, in order to minimize shipping costs. The written agreement with the customer specifies that the goods will be delivered on a schedule to be determined by the customer, with a final specified delivery date, and that the Company will segregate the goods from its inventory, such that they are not available to fill other orders. This agreement also specifies that the customer is required to purchase all goods manufactured under this agreement. Title of the goods will pass to the customer when the goods are complete and ready for shipment, per the customer agreement. At the transfer of title, all risks of ownership have passed to the customer, and the customer agrees to maintain insurance on the manufactured items that have not yet been shipped. The Company has operated using bill and hold agreements with certain customers for many years, with consistent satisfactory results for both the customer and the Company. The credit terms on these agreements are consistent with the credit terms on all other sales. All risks of loss are shouldered by the customer, and there are no exceptions to the customer’s commitment to accept and pay for these manufactured goods. Revenues recognized at the completion of production in the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years were approximately $3,110,000 and $1,010,000 respectively.
The Modular Buildings segment is in the construction industry with its major source of revenue arising from modular building sales. Sales of modular buildings are generally recognized using input methods to measure progress towards the satisfaction of a performance obligation using the percentage of completion method. Revenue and gross profit are recognized as work is performed based on the relationship between actual costs incurred and total estimated costs at completion. Contract costs consist of direct costs on contracts, including labor, materials, amounts payable to subcontractors and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as equipment costs, insurance and employee benefits. Contract cost is recorded as incurred, and revisions in contract revenues and cost estimates are reflected in the accounting period when known. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined. Contract losses are recognized when current estimates of total contract revenue and contract cost indicate a loss. Estimated contract costs include any and all costs appropriately allocable to the contract. The provision for these contract losses will be the excess of estimated contract costs over estimated contract revenues. Changes in job performance, job conditions and estimated profitability, including those changes arising from contract change orders, penalty provisions and final contract settlements may result in revisions to costs and income and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined. The Company uses significant judgements in determining estimated contract costs and completion percentages throughout the life of the project. Stock modular building sales also occur and are recognized at a point in time when the performance obligation is fulfilled through substantial completion. Substantial completion is achieved through customer acceptance of the completed building. The Modular Buildings segment executes contracts with customers that can be short- or long-term in nature. These contracts can have multiple performance obligations and revenue from these can be recognized over time or at a point in time depending on the nature of the contracts. Payment terms for the Modular Buildings segment vary by contract, but typically utilize money down and progress payments throughout the life of the contract. The payment terms of the Modular Buildings segment have the most impact on the Company’s contract receivables, contract assets and contract liabilities. Project invoicing from the Modular Buildings segment increases contract receivables and has an effect on contract liabilities through billings in excess of costs, estimated gross profit and customer deposits. The balance of contract assets is typically made up of the balance of costs and estimated gross profit in excess of billings. Costs and profit in excess of amounts billed are classified as current assets and billings in excess of cost and profit are classified as current liabilities.
The Agricultural Products segment offers variable consideration in the form of discounts depending on participation in yearly early order programs. This variable consideration is allocated to the transaction price of all products in a sales arrangement and is not contingent on future outcomes. The Agricultural Products segment does not offer rebates or credits. The Modular Buildings segment does not offer discounts, rebates or credits.
The Company’s returns policy allows for new and saleable parts to be returned, subject to inspection and a restocking charge, which is included in net sales. Whole goods are not returnable. Shipping costs charged to customers are included in net sales. Freight costs incurred are included in cost of goods sold. Customer deposits consist of advance payments from customers, in the form of cash, for revenue to be recognized in the following year.
For information on product warranty as it applies to ASC 606, refer to Note 9 “Product Warranty.”
(k)
Disaggregation of Revenue
The following table displays revenue by reportable segment from external customers, disaggregated by major source. The Company believes disaggregating by these categories depicts how the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.
Twelve Months Ended November 30, 2023
Agricultural
Modular Buildings
Total
Farm equipment
$ 19,188,000 $ - $ 19,188,000
Farm equipment service parts
2,886,000 - 2,886,000
Modular buildings
- 7,590,000 7,590,000
Modular building lease income
- 112,000 112,000
Other
393,000 112,000 505,000
$ 22,467,000 $ 7,814,000 $ 30,281,000
Twelve Months Ended November 30, 2022
Agricultural
Modular Buildings
Total
Farm equipment
$ 17,825,000 $ - $ 17,825,000
Farm equipment service parts
2,575,000 - 2,575,000
Modular buildings
- 4,550,000 4,550,000
Modular building lease income
- 62,000 62,000
Other
512,000 122,000 634,000
$ 20,912,000 $ 4,734,000 $ 25,646,000
The Company began offering floorplan terms in its Agricultural Products segment during its Fall 2021 early order program to incentivize customers to stock farm equipment on their lots during the 2022 fiscal year and continued to offer this program for fiscal 2023. Floorplan terms allow customers to pay the Company at the earliest of retail date or 180 days. This program has an effect on the timing of the Company’s fiscal 2023 cash flows compared with historical cash flows.
(l)
Contract Receivables, Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities
The following table provides information about contract receivables, contract assets, and contract liabilities from contracts with customers included on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Receivables
$ 3,432,000 $ 2,466,790
Assets
289,000 451,000
Liabilities
767,000 1,153,000
The amount of revenue recognized in fiscal year 2023 that was included in a contract liability at November 30, 2022 was approximately $1,153,000 compared to $558,000 for the prior year. The beginning balance of contract receivables, assets and liabilities at December 1, 2021 was $2,380,000; $177,000 and $558,000, respectively. The change in contract receivables reflected above results from contract billings for all three segments as performance obligations are met. The decrease in contract assets on November 30, 2023 is due to progress on construction contracts and the reduction of construction costs in excess of billings in the Modular Buildings segment. Contract liabilities include customer deposits and billings in excess of cost and profit on the consolidated balance sheets. Contract liabilities have decreased due to the fulfillment of customer deposits received on the Agricultural Products segment as part of our 2022 fall early order program that offers cash discounts for equipment deposits.
The Company will utilize the practical expedient exception for these contracts and will report only on performance obligations greater than one year. As of November 30, 2023, and November 30, 2022, the Company has no performance obligations with an original expected duration greater than one year.
(m)
Software Development Costs
The Company capitalizes costs related to software developed or obtained for internal use in accordance with the ASC 350-40, Internal-Use Software (“ASC 350-40”). The following illustrates the various stages and related processes of computer software development in accordance with ASC 350-40:
Preliminary project stage: (a) conceptual formulation of alternatives; (b) evaluation of alternatives; (c) determination of existence of needed technology; and (d) final selection of alternatives. Internal and external costs incurred during the preliminary project stage are expensed as incurred.
Application development stage: (a) design of chosen path, including software configuration and software interfaces; (b) coding; installation to hardware; and (c) testing, including parallel processing phase. Internal and external costs incurred to develop internal-use computer software during the application development stage are capitalized. Data Conversion costs are expensed as incurred.
Post-implementation-operation stage: (a) training; and (b) application maintenance. Internal and external costs incurred during the post-implementation-operation stage are expensed as incurred.
Certain costs incurred are considered enhancements, modifications to existing internal-use software that result in additional functionality. Enhancements normally require new software specifications and may also require a change to all or part of the existing software specifications. When this additional functionality is determinable, the related costs are capitalized. Otherwise, costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalization of internal-use software costs ceases when a computer software project is substantially complete and ready for its intended use.
The Company moved to an updated cloud based version of its QAD ERP system in the third fiscal quarter of 2023. Since the software is a cloud computing arrangement, the Company accounts for the software as a service contract while the costs related to implementation still fall under ASC 350-40 for internal use software and are capitalized. Because the agreement is considered a service contract, the implementation costs are amortized over the original service contract period and any automatic renewal period and are included in operating costs with the service contract. The Company had approximately $183,000 of capitalized costs in other current assets to be amortized as operating expense over the service agreement period through May 31, 2025. The Company amortized approximately $30,000 of implementation costs in the twelve months ended November 30, 2023. The Company expensed approximately $26,000 of non capitalizable implementation costs twelve months ended November 30, 2022 compared to approximately $58,000 twelve months ended November 30, 2023.
(m)
Research and Development
Research and development costs are expensed when incurred. Such costs approximated $204,000 and $193,000 for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, respectively. Research and development costs are included in engineering expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(n)
Advertising
Advertising costs are expensed when incurred. Such costs approximated $229,000 and $190,000 for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, respectively. Advertising costs are included in selling expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(o)
Net Income Per Share of Common Stock
Basic net income per share has been computed on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted net income per share of common stock has been computed on the basis of the weighted average number of shares outstanding plus equivalent shares of common stock assuming exercise of stock options. Potential shares of common stock that have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e., those that increase income per share or decrease loss per share) are excluded from the calculation of diluted net income per share of common stock.
Basic and diluted income per common share have been computed based on the following as of November 30, 2023 and 2022:
For the Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Numerator for basic and diluted net income per share:
Net income from continuing operations
$ 762,789 $ 374,121
Net loss from discontinued operations
(495,820 ) (276,324 )
Net Income
$ 266,969 $ 97,797
Denominator:
For basic net income per share - weighted average common shares outstanding
5,002,238 4,707,384
Effect of dilutive stock options
- -
For diluted net income per share - weighted average common shares outstanding
5,002,238 4,707,384
Net income per share - Basic:
Continuing Operations
$ 0.15 $ 0.08
Discontinued Operations
(0.10 ) (0.06 )
Net income per share
$ 0.05 $ 0.02
Net income per share - Diluted:
Continuing Operations
$ 0.15 $ 0.08
Discontinued Operations
(0.10 ) (0.06 )
Net income per share
$ 0.05 $ 0.02
(p)
Stock Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation expense reflects the fair value of stock-based awards measured at the grant date and recognized over the relevant vesting period. The Company estimates the fair value of each stock-based award on the measurement date using the Black-Scholes option valuation model which incorporates assumptions as to stock price volatility, the expected life of the options, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. Restricted stock is valued at market value at the day of grant.
(q)
Use of Estimates
Management has made a number of estimates and assumptions related to the reported amount of assets and liabilities, reported amount of revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities to prepare these financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
(r)
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” ASU 2016-13 adds a current expected credit loss (“CECL”) impairment model to U.S. GAAP that is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. Modified retrospective adoption is required with any cumulative-effect adjustment recorded to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. ASU 2016-13 is effective for smaller reporting entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within the year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-13 in fiscal year 2024. The Company does not expect the application of the CECL impairment model to have a significant impact on its allowance for uncollectible amounts for accounts receivable.
(2)
Discontinued Operations
On June 7, 2023, the Company announced that it would be discontinuing the operations of its Tools segment in order to focus its efforts and resources on the business segments that have historically been more successful and that are expected to present greater opportunities for meaningful long-term stockholder returns. A large portion of this segment's assets were disposed of in the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2023. The primary asset of this business, the real estate, is currently listed for sale. The company is working to finish liquidation over the next two fiscal quarters. The cessation of operations and liquidation of the Tools segment represents a strategic shift as a unique business unit of the Company. In accordance with Accounting Standard Code Topic 360, the Company has reclassified Tools as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
The components of discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets are as follows:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Accounts receivables
$ - $ 255,508
Inventory
18,013 1,004,844
Other current assets
13,945 10,331
Current assets of discontinued operations
$ 31,958 $ 1,270,683
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Property, plant, and equipment, net
$ 1,023,566 $ 1,233,692
Other assets
- 155,534
Other assets of discontinued operations
$ 1,023,566 $ 1,389,226
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Accounts payable
$ 3,539 $ 120,503
Accrued salaries, wages, and commissions
- 81,026
Current portion of long-term debt
160,599 2,870
Other current liabilities
22,651 71,511
Current liabilities of discontinued operations
$ 186,789 $ 275,910
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Long-term portion of operating lease liabilities
$ - $ 1,590
Long-term portion of finance lease liabilities
- 126,720
Long-term debt, excluding current portion
- 160,858
Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations
$ - $ 289,168
The components of discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations are as follows:
Tools
Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Sales
$ 2,030,714 $ 2,753,485
Cost of goods sold
2,122,287 2,385,409
Gross profit (loss)
(91,573 ) 368,076
Expenses:
Engineering
- -
Selling
156,682 263,578
General and administrative
413,857 376,536
Total expenses
570,539 640,114
Income from operations
(662,112 ) (272,038 )
Other income (expense):
Interest expense
(61,516 ) (49,684 )
Other
15,315 (2,222 )
Total other expense
(46,201 ) (51,906 )
Income before income taxes
(708,313 ) (323,944 )
Income tax benefit
(212,493 ) (47,620 )
Net Income
$ (495,820 ) $ (276,324 )
The reportable segment information of discontinued operations is as follows:
Tools
Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Revenue from external customers
$ 2,031,000 $ 2,754,000
Gross Profit
$ (92,000 ) $ 368,000
Income (loss) from operations
$ (662,000 ) $ (272,000 )
Income (loss) before tax
$ (708,000 ) $ (324,000 )
Total Assets
$ 1,056,000 $ 2,660,000
Capital expenditures (1)
$ 16,000 $ 244,000
Depreciation & Amortization
$ 135,000 $ 146,000
(1) FY 2022 capital expenditures include $166,000 of finance leased assets.
(3)
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
A summary of the Company’s activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:
Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Balance, beginning
33,288 32,147
Provision (recovery) charged to expense
(1,151 ) (3,092 )
(Less amounts charged-off)/Recovery
- 4,233
Balance, ending
$ 32,137 $ 33,288
(4)
Inventories
Major classes of inventory are:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Raw materials
$ 8,860,296 $ 8,174,519
Work in process
281,760 371,125
Finished goods
3,472,354 2,622,142
Total Gross Inventory
$ 12,614,410 $ 11,167,786
Less: Reserves
(1,583,048 ) (1,561,078 )
Net Inventory
$ 11,031,362 $ 9,606,708
(5)
Contracts in Progress
Amounts included in the consolidated financial statements related to uncompleted contracts are as follows:
Cost and Profit in
Billings in Excess of
Excess of Billings
Costs and Profit
November 30, 2023
Costs
$ 839,161 $ 3,228,941
Estimated earnings
299,230 1,421,112
1,138,391 4,650,053
Less: amounts billed
(849,109 ) (5,001,342 )
$ 289,282 $ (351,289 )
November 30, 2022
Costs
$ 848,516 $ 731,490
Estimated earnings
293,094 138,568
1,141,610 870,058
Less: amounts billed
(690,704 ) (1,198,099 )
$ 450,906 $ (328,041 )
The amounts billed on long-term contracts are due 30 days from invoice date. All amounts billed are expected to be collected within the next 12 months. Retainage included in accounts receivable was $28,082 and $4,087 as of November 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(6)
Property, Plant, and Equipment
Major classes of property, plant, and equipment are:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Land
$ 70,503 $ 70,503
Buildings and improvements
7,332,416 7,079,047
Construction in Progress
- 354,494
Manufacturing machinery and equipment
10,386,044 10,668,224
Trucks and automobiles
576,704 546,815
Furniture and fixtures
115,059 115,059
18,480,726 18,834,142
Less accumulated depreciation
(13,420,131 ) (13,888,917 )
Property, plant and equipment
$ 5,060,595 $ 4,945,225
Depreciation and amortization expense for continuing operations totaled $804,820 and $661,018 for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, respectively. These totals include amortization of right-of-use assets on finance leases as discussed in Note 1 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” section (h) “Leases” above.
(7)
Assets Held for Lease
Major components of assets held for lease are:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Modular Buildings
$ 145,494 $ 400,325
Total assets held for lease
$ 145,494 $ 400,325
The Company’s Modular Buildings segment enters into leasing arrangements with customers from time-to-time. The Company had four buildings in assets held for lease for the year ending November 30, 2023 and five buildings for the year ended November 30, 2022.
One modular building held for lease was sold in fiscal 2023 for $278,915 compared to two modular buildings sold in fiscal 2022 for $383,904. The Company recognized a gain on the sale of assets held for lease of approximately of $114,156 in fiscal 2023 compared to a gain $150,069 in fiscal 2022.
Rents recognized in sales were related to the leasing of modular buildings as a part of the normal course of business operations of the Modular Buildings segment. There were $111,669 of rents recognized from assets held for lease included in sales on the Consolidated Statements of Operations during the 2023 fiscal year compared to $61,534 in the 2022 fiscal year.
The future minimum lease receipts from assets held for lease on November 30, 2023 are as follows:
Year Ending November 30,
Amount
$ 159,010
59,500
Total
$ 218,510
(8)
Accrued Expenses
Major components of accrued expenses are:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Accrued salaries, wages, and commissions
$ 805,908 $ 674,682
Accrued warranty expense
295,113 192,301
Other
298,211 294,778
$ 1,399,232 $ 1,161,761
(9)
Product Warranty
The Company offers warranties of various lengths to its customers depending on the specific product and terms of the customer purchase agreement. The average length of the warranty period is one year from the date of purchase. The Company’s warranties require it to repair or replace defective products during the warranty period at no cost to the customer. Product warranty is included in the price of the product and provides assurance that the product will function in accordance with agreed-upon specifications. It does not represent a separate performance obligation under ASC 606. The Company records a liability for estimated costs that may be incurred under its warranties. The costs are estimated based on historical experience and any specific warranty issues that have been identified. Although historical warranty costs have been within expectations, there can be no assurance that future warranty costs will not exceed historical amounts. The Company periodically assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liability and adjusts the balance as necessary.
Changes in the Company’s product warranty liability included in accrued expenses for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years are as follows:
For the Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Balance, beginning
$ 192,301 $ 201,850
Settlements / adjustments
(330,951 ) (349,889 )
Warranties issued
433,763 340,340
Balance, ending
$ 295,113 $ 192,301
(10)
Loan and Credit Agreements
Bank Midwest Revolving Lines of Credit and Term Loans
The Company maintains a $5,000,000 revolving line of credit (the “Line of Credit”) and a $500,000 revolving line of credit (the “Reserve Line of Credit”) with Bank Midwest. The Reserve Line of Credit expires on March 30, 2024 and was used for additional working capital. On November 30, 2023, the combined balance of the Line of Credit and Reserve Line of Credit was $4,413,520 with $1,086,480 remaining available, as may be limited by the borrowing base calculation. The Line of Credit borrowing base is an amount equal to 75% of accounts receivable balances (discounted for aged receivables), plus 50% of net inventory, less any outstanding loan balance on the Line of Credit. On November 30, 2023, the Line of Credit and Reserve Line of Credit were not limited by the borrowing base calculation. Any unpaid principal amount borrowed on the Line of Credit accrues interest at a floating rate per annum equal to 1.25% above the Wall Street Journal rate published in the money rates section of the Wall Street Journal. The interest rate floor is set at 4.25% per annum and the current interest rate is 9.75% per annum. The Line of Credit was most recently renewed on March 29, 2023. The Line of Credit matures on March 30, 2024 and requires monthly interest-only payments. The unpaid principal amount borrowed on the Reserve Line of Credit accrued interest at a floating rate per annum equal to 1.25% above the Wall Street Journal rate published in the money rates section of the Wall Street Journal with a current rate of 9.75% per annum. The Line of Credit is governed by the terms of a Promissory Note, dated March 29, 2023, entered into between the Company and Bank Midwest. The Reserve Line of Credit is governed by the terms of a Promissory Note, dated August 30, 2023, entered into between the Company and Bank Midwest with an original expiration date of November 30, 2023 and was extended to March 30, 2024 with a change in terms agreement dated November 30, 2023.
The Company carries a $2,600,000 term loan with Bank Midwest due October 1, 2037 (the “Term Loan”). The Term Loan accrues interest at a rate of 7.00%. The interest rate may only be adjusted by Bank Midwest once every five years. Monthly payments of $19,648 in principal and interest are required on the Term Loan. The Term Loan is also guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), which required an upfront guarantee fee of $62,400 and requires an annual fee of 0.5% of the unpaid balance. As part of the USDA guarantee requirements, shareholders owning more than 20% are required to personally guarantee a portion of the Term Loan, in an amount equal to their stock ownership percentage. The J. Ward McConnell Jr. Living Trust, the estate of the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and a shareholder owning more than 20% of the Company’s outstanding stock, is guaranteeing approximately 38% of the Term Loan, for an annual fee of 2% of the personally guaranteed amount. The initial guarantee fee will be amortized over the life of the Term Loan, and the annual fees and personally guaranteed amounts are expensed monthly. The Term Loan is governed by the terms of a Promissory Note, dated September 28, 2017, entered into between the Company and Bank Midwest.
The Company also carries a Roof Term Loan (the “Roof Term Loan”) of $350,000 with Bank Midwest entered into on May 17, 2022 with a maturity date of May 15, 2027. The Roof Term Loan’s proceeds were used to fix sections of the Armstrong facility’s roof. The Roof Term Loan requires 59 regular payments of $2,972 and an estimated balloon payment of $269,517 on the maturity date of May 15, 2027. Any unpaid principal amount borrowed on the Roof Term Loan accrues interest at a fixed rate of 7.00%. The Roof Term Loan is governed by the terms of a Promissory Note, dated May 17, 2022, and a Change of Terms agreement dated March 30, 2023, entered into between the Company and Bank Midwest.
In connection with the Line of Credit, the Company, Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc. and Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc. each entered into a Commercial Security Agreement with Bank Midwest, dated September 28, 2017, pursuant to which each granted to Bank Midwest a first priority security interest in certain inventory, equipment, accounts, chattel paper, instruments, letters of credit and other assets to secure the obligations of the Company under the line of credit. Each of Art’s-Way Scientific, Inc. and Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc. also agreed to guarantee the obligations of the Company pursuant to the Line of Credit, as set forth in Commercial Guaranties, each dated September 28, 2017.
To further secure the Line of Credit, the Company granted Bank Midwest a mortgage on its Canton, Ohio property held by Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc. The Term Loan is secured by a mortgage on the Company’s Armstrong, Iowa and Monona, Iowa properties. Each mortgage is governed by the terms of a separate Mortgage, dated September 28, 2017, and each property is also subject to a separate Assignment of Rents, dated September 28, 2017.
If the Company or its subsidiaries (as guarantors pursuant to the Commercial Guaranties) commits an event of default with respect to the promissory notes and fails or is unable to cure that default, Bank Midwest may immediately terminate its obligation, if any, to make additional loans to the Company and may accelerate the Company’s obligations under the promissory notes. Bank Midwest shall also have all other rights and remedies for default provided by the Uniform Commercial Code, as well as any other applicable law and the various loan agreements. In addition, in an event of default, Bank Midwest may foreclose on the mortgaged property.
Compliance with Bank Midwest covenants is measured annually on November 30 with the exception of the Company's working capital requirement, which is measured monthly. The terms of the Bank Midwest loan agreements require the Company to maintain a minimum of $4,000,000 of monthly working capital. Additionally, a maximum debt to worth ratio of 1 to 1 must be maintained, with a minimum of 40% tangible balance sheet equity, with variations subject to mutual agreement. The Company is also required to maintain a minimum debt service coverage ratio of 1.25, with a 0.10 tolerance. The Company also must receive bank approval for purchases or sales of equipment over $100,000 annually and maintain reasonable salaries and owner compensation. The Company received the necessary approvals for purchases of equipment over $100,000 for the twelve months ended November 30, 2023. The Company was out of compliance with its debt to worth ratio by ten percentage points on the Bank Midwest loans as of November 30, 2023. Bank Midwest issued a waiver forgiving the noncompliance, and in turn waived the event of default. The next measurement date is November 30, 2024 for all covenants except the monthly working capital requirement.
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans
In June of 2020, the Company executed the standard loan documents required for securing loans offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration under its Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) assistance program in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business. Two loans were executed on June 18, 2020 with principal amounts of $150,000 each, with a third loan being executed on June 24, 2020 with a principal amount of $150,000. Proceeds from these EIDLs are being used for working capital purposes. Interest accrues at the rate of 3.75% per annum and will accrue from the date of inception. Installment payments, including principal and interest, are due monthly beginning December 18, 2022 (thirty months from the date of the EIDLs) and December 24, 2022 in the amount of $731 per EIDL. The balance of principal and interest is payable 30 years from the date of the EIDL. The EIDLs are secured by a security interest on all of the Company’s assets. Each EIDL is governed by the terms of a separate Promissory Note, dated either June 18, 2020 or June 24, 2020, as applicable, entered into by the Company or the applicable subsidiary.
A summary of the Company’s term debt is as follows:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Bank Midwest loan payable in monthly installments of $19,648 including interest at 7.00%, due October 1, 2037
2,080,718 2,165,554
Bank Midwest loan payable in monthly installments of $2,972 including interest at 7.00%, due May 15, 2027
336,858 344,932
U.S. Small Business Administration loan payable in monthly installments of $731 including interest at 3.75% beginning December 18, 2022, due June 18, 2050
160,583 163,793
U.S. Small Business Administration loan payable in monthly installments of $731 including interest at 3.75% beginning December 18, 2022, due June 18, 2050
160,599 163,728
U.S. Small Business Administration loan payable in monthly installments of $731 including interest at 3.75% beginning December 24, 2022, due June 24, 2050
160,896 163,912
Total term debt
$ 2,899,654 $ 3,001,919
Less term debt of discontinued operations
$ 160,599 163,728
Term debt, continuing operations
2,739,055 2,838,191
Less current portion of term debt
109,193 94,808
Term debt, excluding current portion
$ 2,629,862 $ 2,743,383
A summary of the minimum maturities of term debt follows for the years ending November 30:
Year
Amount
$ 109,529
117,360
125,714
417,424
127,799
2029 and thereafter
1,841,229
$ 2,739,055
(11)
Related Party Transactions
During the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, the Company did not recognize any revenues from transactions with a related party, and no amounts in accounts receivable balances were due from a related party. From time to time, the Company purchases various supplies from related parties, which are companies in which Marc McConnell, the Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, has an ownership interest and also serves as President. J. Ward McConnell Jr.’s estate, the J. Ward McConnell, Jr. Living Trust, is paid a monthly fee to guarantee a portion of the Company’s term debt in accordance with the USDA guarantee obtained on the Company’s term debt. In the 2023 fiscal year, the Company recognized $16,102 of expense for transactions with related parties, compared to $23,880 in the 2022 fiscal year. As of November 30, 2023, accrued expenses contained a balance of $1,339 owed to a related party compared to $1,348 on November 30, 2022.
(12)
Employee Benefit Plans
The Company sponsors a defined contribution 401(k) savings plan which covers substantially all full-time employees who meet eligibility requirements. Participating employees may contribute as salary reductions any amount of their compensation up to the limit prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code. The Company makes a 50% matching contribution to employees up to 3% of eligible compensation. The Company's continuing operations recognized an expense of $112,297 and $103,919 related to this plan during the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, respectively.
(13)
Equity Incentive Plan
On February 25, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) authorized and approved the Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”). The 2020 Plan was approved by the stockholders on April 30, 2020. The 2020 Plan replaced the Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”) and added an additional 500,000 shares to the number of shares reserved for issuance pursuant to equity awards. No further awards will be made under the 2011 Plan or other prior plans. Awards to directors and executive officers under the 2020 Plan are governed by the forms of agreement approved by the Board. Stock options or other awards granted prior to February 25, 2020 are governed by the applicable prior plan and the forms of agreement adopted thereunder.
The 2020 Plan permits the plan administrator to award nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance awards, and stock appreciation rights to employees (including officers), directors, and consultants. The Board has approved a director compensation policy pursuant to which non-employee directors are automatically granted restricted stock awards of 1,000 shares of fully vested common stock annually or initially upon their election to the Board and another 1,000 shares of fully vested common stock on the last business day of each fiscal quarter.
Shares issued under the 2020 Plan for the years ended November 30, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:
For the Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Shares issued to directors (immediate vesting)
25,000 25,000
Shares issued to directors, employees, and consultants (three-year vesting)
82,250 94,500
Unvested shares forfeit upon termination
(13,999 ) (9,333 )
Total shares issued
93,251 110,167
Book and tax stock-based compensation expense for the years ended November 30, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:
For the Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Stock-based compensation expense
292,185 287,721
Treasury share repurchase expense
(68,536 ) (92,432 )
Stock-based compensation expense net of treasury repurchases
223,649 195,289
For the Twelve Months Ended
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Tax deductions from stock-based compensation expense
232,723 314,306
Stock-based compensation expense reflects the fair value of stock-based awards measured at the grant date and recognized over the relevant vesting period. The Company estimates the fair value of each stock-based option award on the measurement date using the Black-Scholes option valuation model which incorporates assumptions as to stock price volatility, the expected life of the options, risk-free interest rate, and dividend yield. Expected volatility is based on historical volatility of the Company’s stock and other factors. The Company uses historical option exercise and termination data to estimate the expected term the options are expected to be outstanding. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The expected dividend yield is calculated using historical dividend amounts and the stock price at the option issuance date. No stock options were granted during the years ended November 30, 2023 or 2022.
The following is a summary of activity under the plans as of November 30, 2023 and 2022, and changes during the years then ended:
2023 Option Activity
Weighted Average
Weighted Average
Remaining
Aggregate
Options
Shares
Exercise Price
Contractual Term
Intrinsic Value
Options O/S at beginning of period
12,000 $ 5.75
Granted
- $ -
Exercised
- $ - -
Options Expired or Forfeited
(4,000 ) $ 6.40
Options O/S at end of Period
8,000 $ 5.43 0.90 -
Options Exer. At end of the Period
8,000 $ 5.43 0.90 -
2022 Option Activity
Weighted Average
Weighted Average
Remaining
Aggregate
Options
Shares
Exercise Price
Contractual Term
Intrinsic Value
Options O/S at beginning of period
22,000 $ 5.93
Granted
- $ -
Exercised
- $ - -
Options Expired or Forfeited
(10,000 ) $ 6.15
Options O/S at end of Period
12,000 $ 5.75 1.40 -
Options Exer. At end of the Period
12,000 $ 5.75 1.40 -
(14)
Common Stock Purchase Agreement
On March 29, 2022, Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Alumni Capital LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Alumni Capital”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell, and Alumni Capital agreed to purchase, upon request of the Company in one or more transactions, a number of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”) providing aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of up to $3,000,000 (the “Maximum”). The Purchase Agreement expired on June 30, 2023.
Among other limitations, unless otherwise agreed upon by Alumni Capital, each sale of shares was to be limited to 50,000 shares and further limited to no more than the number of shares that would result in the beneficial ownership by Alumni Capital and its affiliates, at any single point in time, of more than 9.99% of the then-outstanding shares of Common Stock. Alumni Capital would purchase the shares of Common Stock under the Agreement at a discount ranging from 3-5% of the lowest traded price of the Common Stock in the five business days preceding the Company delivering notice of the required purchase of shares to Alumni Capital.
In exchange for Alumni Capital entering into the Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 20,000 shares of Common Stock to Alumni Capital upon execution of the Purchase Agreement (the “Initial Commitment Shares”) and issued another 20,000 shares in connection with the first closing under the Purchase Agreement (with the Initial Commitment Shares, the “Commitment Shares”). Alumni Capital represented to the Company, among other things, that it was an “accredited investor” (as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)). The Company shares of Common Stock, including the Commitment Shares, are being offered and sold under the Purchase Agreement in reliance upon an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated thereunder. The securities sold may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
The Purchase Agreement provided that the Company file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the resale of the shares issued to Alumni Capital. Alumni Capital’s obligation to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Purchase Agreement is conditioned upon, among other things, the registration statement being declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) April 27, 2022 which was declared effective on August 9, 2022 by the SEC.
The Company incurred approximately $203,000 of expense related to equity issuance in the twelve months ended November 30, 2022 in the form of 40,000 commitment shares valued at approximately $160,000, attorney fees for the negotiation and execution of the Purchase Agreement and the preparation and filing of the registration statement. These equity issuance costs reduced proceeds received under the common stock purchase agreement in additional paid in capital.
Below is a summary of shares purchased by Alumni Capital under this agreement which has since expired:
Date
Shares
Share price net of discount
Proceeds
7/25/2022
50,000 $ 2.07 $ 103,305
8/3/2022
50,000 $ 1.98 $ 98,940
8/15/2022
50,000 $ 2.00 $ 99,910
8/23/2022
65,000 $ 1.99 $ 129,253
9/23/2022
65,000 $ 1.76 $ 114,120
Total
280,000 $ 545,528
(15)
Income Taxes
Total income tax expense for the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years consists of the following:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Current expense
$ 11,284 $ 2,712
Deferred expense
102,182 16,491
Total income tax expense
113,466 19,203
Income tax benefit - discontinued operations
(212,493 ) (47,620 )
Income tax expense - continuing operations
$ 325,959 $ 66,823
The reconciliation of the statutory Federal income tax rate is as follows:
November 30, 2023
November 30, 2022
Statutory federal income tax rate
21.0 % 21.0 %
State taxes (net of federal)
4.9 -
Permanent Differences and Other
3.9 (4.6 )
29.8 % 16.4 %
The primary driver for the increase in effective tax rate was due to add backs related to differences in restricted stock values at grant and vest date and non-deductible meals expense.
Tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets (liabilities) on November 30, 2023 and 2022 are presented as approximate amounts below:
November 30
Deferred tax assets
Accrued expenses
$ 106,356 $ 93,022
Inventory capitalization
155,705 167,671
NOL and tax credit carryforward
1,773,588 1,920,818
Asset reserves
539,848 521,114
Total deferred tax assets
$ 2,575,497 $ 2,702,625
Deferred tax liabilities
Property, plant, and equipment
$ (72,284 ) $ (97,230 )
Total deferred tax liabilities
$ (72,284 ) $ (97,230 )
Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)
$ 2,503,213 $ 2,605,395
In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. The Company has net operating losses amounting to approximately $4,496,000 and tax credit carryforward amounting to approximately $109,000 for its U.S. operations that will expire on November 30, 2036, 2037, 2038, 2039 and 2040. The Company has another $4,995,000 of net operating losses that can be carried forward indefinitely. Management believes that the Company will be able to utilize the U.S. net operating losses and credits before their expiration.
(16)
Disclosures About the Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of a financial instrument is defined as the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing parties. On November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2022, the carrying amount approximated fair value for cash, accounts receivable, operating and finance leases, accounts payable, notes payable to bank, and other current and long-term liabilities. The carrying amounts of current assets and liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments. The fair value of the Company’s term loans payable also approximates recorded value because the interest rates charged under the loan terms are not substantially different from current interest rates.
(17)
Litigation and Contingencies
Various legal actions and claims can arise in the normal course of business that may be pending against the Company. In the opinion of management, the Company has recorded adequate provisions, if any, in the accompanying financial statements for any pending legal actions and other claims.
(18)
Segment Information
There are two reportable segments: Agricultural Products and Modular Buildings. The Agricultural Products segment fabricates and sells farming products as well as replacement parts for these products in the United States and worldwide. The Modular Buildings segment produces modular buildings for animal containment and various laboratory uses.
The accounting policies applied to determine the segment information are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. Management evaluates the performance of each segment based on profit or loss from operations before income taxes.
Approximate financial information with respect to the reportable segments is as follows.
Twelve Months Ended November 30, 2023
Agricultural Products
Modular Buildings
Consolidated
Revenue from external customers
$ 22,467,000 $ 7,814,000 $ 30,281,000
Gross profit
$ 6,584,000 $ 2,000,000 $ 8,584,000
Income (loss) from operations
$ 664,000 $ 867,000 $ 1,531,000
Income (loss) before tax
$ 140,000 $ 949,000 $ 1,089,000
Total Assets
$ 20,754,000 $ 2,593,000 $ 23,347,000
Capital expenditures (1)
$ 682,000 $ 195,000 $ 877,000
Depreciation & Amortization
$ 521,000 $ 284,000 $ 805,000
Twelve Months Ended November 30, 2022
Agricultural Products
Modular Buildings
Consolidated
Revenue from external customers
$ 20,912,000 $ 4,734,000 $ 25,646,000
Gross profit
$ 6,444,000 $ 495,000 $ 6,939,000
Income (loss) from operations
$ 1,205,000 $ (600,000 ) $ 605,000
Income (loss) before tax
$ 923,000 $ (482,000 ) $ 441,000
Total Assets
$ 18,459,000 $ 2,829,000 $ 21,288,000
Capital expenditures (2)
$ 1,969,000 $ 232,000 $ 2,201,000
Depreciation & Amortization
$ 468,000 $ 193,000 $ 661,000
(1)
FY 2023 capital expenditures include finance leased assets of $118,000 in the Agricultural Products segment and $17,000 in the Modular Buildings segment.
(2)
FY 2022 capital expenditures include finance leased assets of $532,000 in the Agricultural Products segment.
(19)
Subsequent Events
Management evaluated all other activity of the Company and concluded that no subsequent events have occurred that would require recognition in the consolidated financial statements or disclosure in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The persons serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and Rule 15d-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period subject to this report. Based on this evaluation, the persons serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of November 30, 2023. Our management has concluded that the consolidated financial statements included in this report present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the persons serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on this evaluation, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of November 30, 2023.
This report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to rules of the SEC that permit us to provide only management’s report in this report.
Limitations on Controls
Our management, including the persons serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. In addition, the design of any system of controls is based in part on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and controls may become inadequate if conditions change. There can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Changes to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the three months ended November 30, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
The information required by Item 10 is incorporated by reference to the sections entitled “Questions and Answers about the 2024 Annual Meeting and Voting,” “Election of Directors,” “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports,” “Corporate Governance,” and “Executive Officers” in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The information required by Item 11 is incorporated by reference to the sections entitled “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation” in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The information required by Item 12 is incorporated by reference to the sections entitled “Security Ownership of Principal Stockholders,” “Security Ownership of Directors and Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
The information required by Item 13 is incorporated by reference to the sections entitled “Corporate Governance” and “Certain Transactions and Business Relationships” in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The information required by Item 14 is incorporated by reference to the section entitled “Independent Registered Public Accountant Firm” in our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(A)
Financial Statements. The following financial statements are included in “Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA” of this report:
Report of Eide Bailly, LLP (PCAOB ID 286) on Consolidated Financial Statements as of November 30, 2023 and 2022
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of November 30, 2023 and 2022
Consolidated Statements of Operations for each of the years ended November 30, 2023 and 2022
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for each of the years ended November 30, 2023 and 2022
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for each of the years ended November 30, 2023 and 2022
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(B) Financial Statement Schedules.
Not applicable.
(C) Exhibits.
Exhibit No.
Description
3.1
Conformed Certificate of Incorporation of Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2020.
3.2
Conformed Bylaws of Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc.- incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2020.
4.1
Description of the Registrant’s Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2019.
10.1*
Director Compensation Policy - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended February 28, 2018.
10.2*
Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 4, 2020).
10.3*
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 4, 2020).
10.4*
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 4, 2020).
10.5*
Form of Incentive Stock Option Award under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 4, 2020).
10.6*
Form of Non-Qualified Option Award under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 4, 2020).
10.7*
Employment Agreement between the Company and Michael Woods, dated February 1, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended February 29, 2020.
10.8*
Offer Letter between the Company and David King, dated March 5, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 11, 2020.
10.9*
Employment Agreement between the Company and David A. King, effective March 30, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended February 29, 2020.
10.10
Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 29, 2022, by and between Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. and Alumni Capital LP. - incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 4, 2022.
10.11
Promissory Note, between Bank Midwest and Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.12
Promissory Note (Term Loan), between Bank Midwest and Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated May 13, 2022 - incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 23, 2022.
10.13 Promissory Note, between Bank Midwest and Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated March 28, 2023 - incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 31, 2023.
10.14 Change in Terms Agreement between the Company and Bank Midwest, dated March 29, 2023 - incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 31, 2023.
10.15 Promissory Note, between Bank Midwest and Art's-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. dated August 30, 2023 - incorporated by reference to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 31, 2023.
10.16 Change in Terms Agreement between the Company and Bank Midwest, dated November 30, 2023 - incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed December 4, 2023.
10.17
Commercial Guaranty, by Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017
10.18
Commercial Guaranty, by Art’s-Way Scientific Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.19
Commercial Security Agreement, between Bank Midwest and Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.20
Commercial Security Agreement, between Bank Midwest and Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.21
Commercial Security Agreement, between Bank Midwest and Art’s-Way Scientific Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.22
Open-End Mortgage (3620 Progress Street ND, Canton, OH 44705), by Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.23
Mortgage (556 Highway 9 and 203 West Oak Street, Armstrong & Monona, Iowa, 50514/55215), by Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.24
Modification of Mortgage (3620 Progress Street ND, Canton, OH 44705), by Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc., dated March 30, 2018 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended February 28, 2018.
10.25
Assignment of Rents (3620 Progress Street ND, Canton, OH 44705), by Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.26
Assignment of Rents (556 Highway 9 and 203 West Oak Street, Armstrong & Monona, Iowa, 50514/55215), by Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated September 28, 2017 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.15 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 29, 2017.
10.27
Promissory Note, between the Small Business Administration and Art’s-Way Scientific Inc., dated June 18, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2020.
10.28
Promissory Note, between the Small Business Administration and Ohio Metal Working Products/Art’s-Way, dated June 18, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2020
10.29
Promissory Note, between the Small Business Administration and Art’s-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., dated June 24, 2020 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2020.
21.1
List of Subsidiaries - filed herewith.
23.1
Consent of independent registered public accounting firm - filed herewith.
24.1
Power of Attorney (included on the “Signatures” page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K).
31.1
Certificate pursuant to 17 CFR 240 13(a)-14(a) - filed herewith.
31.2
Certificate pursuant to 17 CFR 240 13(a)-14(a) - filed herewith.
32.1
Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 - filed herewith.
32.2
Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 - filed herewith.
The following materials from this report, formatted in iXBRL (Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language) are filed herewith: (i) consolidated balance sheets, (ii) consolidated statement of operations, (iii) consolidated statements of cash flows, and (iv) the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
(*) Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.