UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended October 3, 2021

☐ TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ___ until ___

Commission File Number 000-54114

OPTEX SYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (972) 764-5700

Securities Registered under Section 12(b) of the Act

None

Securities Registered under Section 12(g) of the Act

Common Stock, par value $.001 per share

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the issuer (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the 4,984,863 shares of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the closing price on the OTCQB on March 28, 2021 was $9,172,148.

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

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This Annual Report on Form 10-K by Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. (“Optex Systems Holdings,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), in particular Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements contained in this Report on Form 10-K that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. When used in this Report on Form 10- K and other reports, statements, and information we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”), in our press releases, presentations to securities analysts or investors, or in oral statements made by or with the approval of an executive officer, the words or phrases “believes,” “may,” “will,” “expects,” “should,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “will likely result,” “estimates,” “projects” or similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events, including, but not limited to, any statements regarding our assumptions about financial performance; backlog; follow-on orders; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; supply chain challenges; the continuation of historical trends; the sufficiency of our cash balances for future liquidity and capital resource needs; the expected impact of changes in accounting policies on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows; anticipated problems and our plans for future operations; and the economy in general or the future of the defense industry.

We caution that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond our control, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in “Item 1A Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and you are urged to review that section. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete list of all potential risks or uncertainties.

We do not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. You should carefully evaluate such statements in light of factors described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PART I

Item 1 Description of Business

Background

Current Line of Business

We manufacture optical sighting systems and assemblies, primarily for Department of Defense applications. Our products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams and Bradley fighting vehicles, light armored and armored security vehicles and have been selected for installation on the Stryker family of vehicles. We also manufacture and deliver numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies. Our products consist primarily of build-to-customer print products that are delivered both directly to the armed services and to other defense prime contractors. Less than 1% of our revenue is related to the resale of products substantially manufactured by others. In this case, the product would likely be a simple replacement part of a larger system previously produced by us.

We continue to field new product opportunities from both domestic and international customers. We believe that given continuing unrest in multiple global hot spots, the need for precision optics continues to increase. Most of these requirements are for observation and situational awareness applications; however, we continue to see requests for higher magnification and custom reticles in various product modifications. The basic need to protect the soldier while providing information about the mission environment continues to be the primary driver for these requirements.

Recent Events

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement for Danny Schoening

The Company entered into an amended and restated employment agreement with Danny Schoening dated December 1, 2021. The term of the agreement commenced as of December 1, 2021 and the current term ends on November 30, 2022. Mr. Schoening’s base salary is $296,031 per annum. Mr. Schoening will be eligible for a performance bonus based upon a rolling three-year operating plan adopted by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). The bonus will be based on operating metrics decided annually by our Board and tied to such three-year plan. The target bonus equates to 30% of Mr. Schoening’s base salary. Our Board will have discretion in good faith to alter the performance bonus upward or downward by 20%. The amended and restated employment agreement also served to amend Mr. Schoening’s Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) Agreement, dated January 2, 2019, by changing the third and final vesting date for the restricted stock units granted under such agreement. For additional information on the amended and restated employment agreement, please see “Item 11. Executive Compensation – Employment Agreements - Danny Schoening,” which disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.

Renewal of Employment Agreement for Karen Hawkins

On February 1, 2021, the employment agreement for Karen Hawkins, CFO, auto-renewed for an additional 18-month period, expiring on June 30, 2022. The contract automatically renews for subsequent 18-month periods unless Ms. Hawkins or the Company give notice of termination at least 90 days before the end of the term then in effect.

Stock & Warrant Repurchases

On June 8, 2020 the Company announced authorization for a $1 million stock repurchase program. As of September 27, 2020 there were 105,733 shares held in treasury purchased under the June 2020 stock repurchase program. The Company purchased a total of 519,266 shares under the program through April 2021, which were subsequently cancelled in June 2021.

On September 22, 2021 the Company announced authorization for an additional $1 million stock repurchase program.

During the twelve months ended October 3, 2021, there were 449,088 common shares repurchased through the repurchase programs at a cost of $869 thousand. As of October 3, 2021, there were 35,555 shares held in treasury purchased under the September 2021 stock repurchase program. The shares authorized to be repurchased under the repurchase program may be purchased from time to time at prevailing market prices, through open market or in negotiated transactions, depending upon market conditions and subject to Rule 10b-18 as promulgated by the SEC.

July 2021 Ransomware Attack

On July 13, 2021, the Company experienced a ransomware attack. Information regarding the attack was communicated to the appropriate U.S. government officials. The Company isolated the source of the attack and restored normal operations with no material day-to-day impact to the Company or the Company’s ability to access its data. As part of our normal disaster recovery procedures, we were able to restore our systems with clean back-ups. Sensitive data may have been breached, but we did not uncover any evidence of comprised data. We did not communicate with the attackers and engaged a third-party recovery and monitoring service to assist with the investigation and prevention of future attacks. Subsequent to the event, we have enhanced our IT security to minimize future occurrences.

Recent Orders

Products

Our products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams and Bradley, and Stryker families of fighting vehicles, as well as light armored and armored security vehicles. We also manufacture and deliver numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies. We deliver our products both directly to the federal government and to prime contractors.

On August 31, 2020, the Company announced it is now offering mil-spec quality High Efficiency Anti-Reflective Coatings for Infrared applications in both the military and commercial markets. These coatings are manufactured at the Applied Optics Center (AOC) Division of Optex Systems, Inc. in Dallas, Texas. During the twelve months ended October 3, 2021, AOC booked new orders of $199 thousand for the new products and an additional order of $52 thousand during October 2021. We anticipate continued revenue growth from the new offering in the current fiscal year.

We deliver high volume products, under multi-year contracts, to large defense contractors and government customers. Increased emphasis in the past several years has been on new opportunities to promote and deliver our products in foreign military sales, where U.S.-manufactured, combat and wheeled vehicles, are supplied (and upgraded) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense. We have a reputation for quality and credibility with our customers as a strategic supplier. We also anticipate the opportunity to integrate some of our night vision and optical sights products into commercial applications.

Specific product categories by product line include:

Contracts

Some of our contracts may allow for government contract financing in the form of contract progress payments pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-16, “Progress Payments”. Subject to certain limitations, this clause provides for government payment of up to 90% of incurred program costs prior to product delivery for small businesses like us. To the extent any contracts allow for progress payments and the respective contracts would result in significant preproduction cash requirements for design, process development, tooling, material or other resources which could exceed our current working capital or line of credit availability, we intend to utilize this benefit to minimize any potential negative impact on working capital prior to receipt of payment for the associated contract deliveries.

Our government contracts allow for Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.243-1 which entitles the contractor to an “equitable adjustment” for contract or statement of work changes effecting cost or time of performance. In essence, an equitable price adjustment request is a request for a contract price modification (generally an increase) that allows for the contractor to be “made whole” for additional costs incurred which were necessitated by some modification of the contract effort. This modification may come from an overt change in U.S. Government requirements or scope, or it may come from a change in the conditions surrounding the contract (e.g., differing site conditions or late delivery of U.S. Government-furnished property) which result in statement of work additions, deletions, part substitutions, schedule or other changes to the contract which impact the contractor’s overall cost to complete.

Each contract with our customers has specific quantities of material that need to be purchased, assembled, and then shipped. Prior to bidding for a contract, we contact potential sources of material and receive qualified quotations for each material. In some cases, the entire volume is given to a single supplier and in other cases, the volume might be split between several suppliers. If a contract has a single source supplier and that supplier fails to meet their obligations (e.g., quality, delivery), then we would attempt to find an acceptable alternate supplier, and if successful, we would then renegotiate contractual deliverables (e.g., specifications, delivery or price). As of November 22, 2021, approximately 1% of our material requirements are single-sourced across 9 suppliers representing approximately 8% of our active supplier order values. Single-sourced component requirements span across all of our major product lines. Of these single sourced components, we have material contracts (purchase orders) with firm pricing and delivery schedules in place with each of the suppliers to supply the parts necessary to satisfy our current contractual needs. See “Item 1.A. Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Our Business – Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business” for a description of certain supplier risks we face, which description is incorporated herein by reference.

Approximately 83% of our contracts contain termination clauses for convenience. In the event these clauses should be invoked by our customer, future revenues against these contracts could be affected, however these clauses allow for a full recovery of any incurred contract costs plus a reasonable fee up through and as a result of the contract termination. We are currently unaware of any pending terminations on our existing contracts.

In some cases, contract awards may be issued that are subject to renegotiation at a date (up to 180 days) subsequent to the initial award date. Generally, these subsequent negotiations have had an immaterial impact (zero to 5%) on the contract price of the affected contracts. Currently, none of our awarded contracts are subject to renegotiation.

We are subject to, and must comply with, various governmental regulations that impact, among other things, our revenue, operating costs, profit margins and the internal organization and operation of our business. The material regulations affecting our U.S. government business are summarized in the table below.

We are responsible for full compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Upon award, the contract may identify certain regulations that we need to meet. For example, a contract may allow progress billing pursuant to specific FAR clauses incorporated into the contract. Other contracts may call for specific first article acceptance and testing requirements. The FAR will identify the specific regulations that we must follow based on the type of contract awarded and contains guidelines and regulations for managing a contract after award, including conditions under which contracts may be terminated, in whole or in part, at the government’s convenience or for default. These regulations also subject us to financial audits and other reviews by the government of our costs, performance, accounting and general business practices relating to our government contracts, which may result in adjustment of our contract-related costs and fees and, among other things and impose accounting rules that define allowable and unallowable costs governing our right to reimbursement under certain contracts.

First Article Testing and Acceptance requirements consist of specific steps which could be comprehensive and time consuming. The dimensions and material specifications of each piece of the assembly must be verified, and some products may have in excess of 100 assembled parts. Once the individual piece parts are verified to be compliant to the specification, the assembly processes are documented and verified. A sample of the production (typically three units) is verified to meet final performance specifications. Once the units meet the final performance specification, they are then subjected to accelerated life testing, a series of tests which simulate the lifetime use of the product in the field. This consists of exposing the units to thermal extremes, humidity, mechanical shock, vibration, and other physical exposure tests. Once completed, the units undergo a final verification process to ensure that no damage has occurred as a result of the testing and that they continue to meet the performance specification. All of the information and data is recorded into a final first article inspection and test report and submitted to the customer along with the test units for final approval. First Article Acceptance and Testing is generally required on new contracts/product awards but may also be required on existing products or contracts where there has been a significant gap in production, or where the product has undergone significant manufacturing process, material, tooling, equipment or product configuration changes.

We are also subject to laws, regulations and executive orders restricting the use and dissemination of information deemed classified for national security purposes and the exportation of certain products and technical data as covered by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). In order to import or export items listed on the U.S. Munitions List, we are required to be registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls office. The registration is valid for one year, and the registration fees are established based on the number of license applications submitted the previous year. We currently have an approved and current registration on file with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls office. Once the registration is approved, each import/export license must be filed separately. License approval requires the company to provide proof of need, such as a valid contract or purchase order requirement for the specific product or technical data requested on the license and requires a detailed listing of the items requested for export/import, the end-user, the end-user statement, the value of the items, consignees/freight forwarders and a copy of a valid contract or purchase order from the end-user. The approval process for the license can vary from several weeks to six months or more. The licenses we currently use are the Department of State licenses: DSP-5 (permanent export), DSP-6 (license revisions) and DSP-73 (temporary export) and Department of Commerce: BIS-711 (export).

The aforementioned licenses are valid for 48 months from date that each license is issued. A summary of our active ITAR licenses is presented below (updated as of November 17, 2021):

These licenses are subject to termination if a licensee is found to be in violation of the Arms Export Control Act or the ITAR requirements. If a licensee is found to be in violation, in addition to a termination of its licenses, it can be subject to fines and penalties by the government.

Our contracts may also be governed by the Truth in Negotiation Act (TINA) requirements where certain of our contracts or proposals exceed the TINA threshold ($2 million for awards after June 30, 2018), and/or are deemed as sole source, or non-competitive awards, covered under this act. For these contracts, we must provide a vast array of cost and pricing data in addition to certification that our pricing data and disclosure materials are current, accurate and complete upon conclusion of the negotiation. Due to the additional disclosure and certification requirements, if a post contract award audit were to uncover that the pricing data provided was in any way not current, accurate or complete as of the certification date, we could be subjected to a defective pricing claim adjustment with accrued interest. We have no history of defective pricing claim adjustments and have no outstanding defective pricing claims pending. Additionally, as a result of this requirement, contract price negotiations may span from two to six months and can result in undefinitized or not to exceed ceiling priced contracts subject to future downward negotiations and price adjustments. Currently, we do not have any undefinitized contracts subject to further price negotiation.

Our failure to comply with applicable regulations, rules and approvals or misconduct by any of our employees could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, the loss of security clearances, the loss of our U.S. government contracts or our suspension or debarment from contracting with the U.S. government generally, any of which could have a material adverse effect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We are currently in compliance with all applicable regulations and do not have any pending claims as a result of noncompliance.

The terms of our material contracts as of November 17, 2021, are as follows:

Market Opportunity — U.S. Military

During the twelve months ended October 3, 2021, approximately 86% of our business was in support of U.S. military products. The chart below was derived from public government spending sources and depicts total U.S. military spending from 2011 through 2020 and estimated spending through 2026. The purpose of including this chart is to provide the reader with historical trend data and projected U.S. military defense and procurement spending over time. For fiscal year 2022, the total projected military spending is estimated at $729.5 billion, an overall increase of 1.7% over estimated 2021 spending. The chart below also depicts increased spending through 2026 of 9.0% from the current estimated fiscal year 2021 level. Military procurement spending, a subset of total military spending, depicts an overall decline of 13.3 billion, or 9.7% in fiscal year 2022 as compared to the estimated spending in fiscal year 2021.

Military spending was negatively impacted by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA 2011), which was passed in August 2011. The BCA 2011 mandated a $917.0 billion reduction in discretionary spending over the succeeding decade, and $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over a nine-year period to be split between defense and non-defense programs beginning in January 2013. During the years 2015-2019 Congress enacted additional legislative budget measures which eased the strict spending caps set forth in sequestration of the BCA 2011 through the 2021 fiscal budget year.

On February 9, 2018, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018), a budget stop gap resolution which lifted the sequestration limits on military spending by $165 billion through fiscal year 2019. On August 2, 2019, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (BBA 2019) was signed into law. The BBA 2019 raises the budget caps for both defense and nondefense for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021, the final two years of the BCA 2011 discretionary cap period. The 2019 bill increases the defense base budget by $171 billion over the BCA 2011 and sets limits on the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Emergency Funding of $141 billion over the two-year period. Under the current law, there are no caps on defense and nondefense discretionary spending for fiscal year 2022 and beyond.

As of December 14, 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (2022 NDAA) has not yet been passed by Congress. The Chart below depicts the estimated funding levels from the U.S. Department of Defense based on the FY2022 budget request.

Source: Government Publishing Office, U.S. Budget Historical Tables, FY 2022, Table 3.2 Outlays by function and sub function, 1962-2026.

The table below depicts the U.S. Department of Defense budget request for fiscal year 2022 for major ground system programs. The total fiscal year 2022 budget request for major ground system programs decreased by 14.2% from the fiscal year 2021 levels and by 16.3% from the fiscal year 2020 levels. Although it is difficult to directly tie the budget request to specific components provided by Optex Systems, we provide periscopes, collimator assemblies, vision blocks and laser interface filters to the U.S. armed forces on almost all of the ground system platforms categorized below.

Source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, “Program Acquisition Cost by Weapon System, United States Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request”, May 2021.

The 2022 Department of Defense Budget indicates an overall decrease in ground system vehicle program spending in the fiscal year 2021 and the 2022 appropriation budget years. There is generally a six to eighteen-month delay between U.S. defense budget requests and program delivery orders related to our products from government agencies and our prime defense customers. In addition, DoD budget requests are often changed throughout the congressional NDAA Budgeting and Budget appropriations process. The DoD budget requests exclude any foreign military sales as they are funded separately from the annual NDAA budgets. We are carefully watching the projected trends in both DoD military spending and FMS as defense allocation priorities change, as well as challenges which are presented from the current pandemic, global recession, and changes in political climate to ascertain any potential impact to the company’s future revenue.

The Applied Optics Center supports numerous other military platforms outside of the ground system vehicles budget such as infantry rifle scopes, night vision monoculars, infantry and navy binoculars, night goggles, and infrared aircraft filters. The Applied Optics Center has seen a substantial increase in orders from new and existing customers in support of the other platforms, which we expect to offset the impact of the ground systems reductions to their base revenue.

Market Opportunity — Foreign Military

Our products directly support FMS combat vehicles globally, including Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, South America, and Israel. We have increased efforts to promote our proven military products, as well as newly improved product solutions directly to foreign military representatives and domestic defense contractors supporting the FMS initiatives.

In addition, we have partnered with G&H for the supply of acrylic-based sighting system technology to meet European customer requirements for a total package single-technology source supply. Some foreign customers desire the reduced weight and cost savings provided by acrylic based periscopes when compared directly to glass-based periscopes. Our partnership will allow us to deliver this technology through ITAR licenses directly to them or their customers. G&H designs and manufactures periscopes and sighting systems for armored fighting vehicles under the Kent Periscopes brand. With a strong footprint in Europe and Asia, G&H supplies glass-based products for both periscope external viewing and system sensor-based imaging by commanders, drivers, and gunners.

We are currently under contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) to refurbish a small quantity of their Night Vision Rifle Scopes. If this initial quantity meets their requirements, we expect substantial follow on orders to refurbish a major portion of their current inventory.

We are also exploring possibilities to adapt some of our products for commercial use in those markets that demonstrate potential for solid revenue growth, both domestically and internationally.

Market Opportunity — Commercial

Our products are currently sold to military and related government markets. We believe there may be opportunities to commercialize various products we presently manufacture to address other markets. Our initial focus will be directed in three product areas.

Customer Base

We serve customers in four primary categories: as prime defense contractor (Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime, DLA Warren, DLA Aviation, U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps), as defense subcontractor (General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Elbit Systems, BAE, Sig Sauer, and ADS Inc.), as a military supplier to foreign governments (Israel, Australia, South America and Canada) and also as a commercial optical assembly supplier (Nightforce Optics, Cabela’s, Amazon). During the twelve months ended October 3, 2021, we derived approximately 86% of our gross business revenue from six major customers: U.S. government agencies (28%), four major defense contractors, (27%, 11%, 5%, and 5%), and one commercial customer (10%). We have approximately 98 discrete contracts for items that are utilized in vehicles, optical product lines and as spare parts. Due to the high percentage of prime and subcontracted U.S. defense revenues, large customer size and the fact that there are multiple contracts with each entity, which are not interdependent, we are of the opinion that this provides us with a fairly well diversified revenue pool.

Marketing Plan

We believe we are well positioned to service both U.S. and foreign military needs by our focus on delivering products that satisfy the following factors important to the U.S. military:

Potential Entrants — Low Risk to us. In order to enter this market, potential competitors must overcome several barriers to entry. The first hurdle is that an entrant would need to prove to the government agency in question the existence of a government approved accounting system for larger contracts. Second, the entrant would need to develop the processes required to produce the product. Third, the entrant would then need to produce the product and submit successful test requirements (many of which require lengthy government consultation for completion). Finally, in many cases, the customer has an immediate need and therefore cannot wait for this qualification cycle and therefore must issue the contracts to existing suppliers. Given the expense of development and qualification testing, the barrier to entry is high for new competitors.

Buyers — Medium Risk to us. In most cases the buyers (usually government agencies or defense contractors) have two fairly strong suppliers. It is in their best interest to keep at least two, and therefore, in some cases, the contracts are split between suppliers. In the case of larger contracts, the customer can request an open book policy on costs and expects a reasonable margin to have been applied.

Substitutes — Low Risk to us. We have both new vehicle contracts and replacement part contracts for the same product. Three combat vehicles have a long history of service in the U.S. Army. The first M-1 Abrams Tank entered service with the Army in 1980; the M-2/M-3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle in 1981; and the Stryker Combat Vehicle in 2001. Under current Army modernization plans, the Army envisions all three vehicles in service with Active and National Guard forces beyond FY2028. Optex Systems provides periscopes and optical sighting systems in support of all three vehicle platforms. Since the early 2010s, the U.S. Army has been upgrading its outdated Bradley design with the Operation Desert Storm-Situational Awareness model and since 2012, upgrading the underbelly armor to improve mine and improvised explosive device resistance. Since it was first fielded in 1980, the Abrams tank has undergone near-continuous upgrades and improvements. The Abrams is the principal battle tank of the United States Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and since 2007, Australia. On average, there has been a new improvement package every seven years. The Army is currently upgrading the Abrams with a System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3), with additional upgrades in development. Additionally, the US Army has announced contracts to produce 742 Stryker DVH vehicles, redesigned (dual v-hulled vehicles) to be more resistant to land mines, as retrofits and as new production vehicles. The Abrams, Bradley and Striker vehicles are the only production tanks currently in production by the government. We believe that this, in conjunction with the 30-year life span, supports our expectation that they will continue to be used through 2040.

Suppliers — Low to Medium Risk to Optex Systems Holdings. The suppliers of standard processes (e.g., casting, machining and plating) need to be very competitive to gain and/or maintain contracts. Those suppliers of products that use top secret clearance processes have a slight advantage; however, there continues to be multiple avenues of supply and therefore only moderate power.

Consistent with our marketing plan and business model, the AOC acquisition strengthened our overall position by decreasing the bargaining power of their suppliers through the backwards integration of a key supplier and created additional barriers of entry for potential competitors.

The following matrix reflects the current focus of our four basic approaches for sales and development:

Operations Plan

Our operations plan can be broken down into three distinct areas: material management, manufacturing space planning and efficiencies associated with economies of scale.

Materials Management

The largest portion of our costs is materials. We have completed the following activities in order to demonstrate continuous improvement:

Future continuous improvement opportunities include installation and training of shop floor control module within the ERP system and organizational efficiencies of common procurement techniques among buyers.

Manufacturing Space Planning

We currently lease 93,967 square feet of manufacturing space (see “Properties”). Our current facilities are sufficient to meet our immediate production needs without excess capacity. As our processes are primarily labor driven, we are able to easily adapt to changes in customer demand by adjusting headcounts, overtime schedules and shifts in line with production needs. In the event additional floor space is required to accommodate new contracts, Optex has the option to lease adjacent floor space at the current negotiated lease cost per square foot. Consistent with the space planning, we will drive economies of scale to reduce support costs on a percentage of sales basis. These cost reductions can then be either passed through directly to the bottom line or used for business investment.

Our manufacturing process is driven by the use of six sigma techniques and process standardization. Initial activities in this area have been the successful six sigma projects in several production areas which have led to improved output and customer approval on the aesthetics of the work environment. In addition, we use many tools including 5S programs, six sigma processes, and define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) problem solving techniques to identify bottlenecks within the process flow, reduce cost and improve product yields. Successful results can then be replicated across the production floor and drive operational improvements.

Economies of Scale

Plant efficiencies fluctuate as a function of program longevity, complexity and overall production volume. Our internal processes are primarily direct labor intensive and can be more easily adapted to meet fluctuations in customer demand; however, our material purchases, subcontracted operations and manufacturing support costs are extremely sensitive to changes in volume. As our volume increases, our support labor, material and scrap costs decline as a percentage of revenue as we are able to obtain better material pricing, and scrap, start up and support labor (fixed) costs and they are spread across a higher volume base. On the contrary, as production volumes decline, our labor and material costs per unit of production generally increase. Additional factors that contribute to economies of scale relate to the longevity of the program. Long running, less complex programs (e.g., periscopes) do not experience as significant of an impact on labor costs as production volumes change, as the associated workforce is generally less skilled and can be ramped quickly as headcounts shift. Our more complex thin laser filter coatings, Howitzer and thermal day/night programs are more significantly impacted by volume changes as they require a more highly-skilled workforce and ramp time is longer as the training is more complex. We continually monitor customer demand over a rolling twelve-month window and in order to anticipate any changes in necessary manpower and material which allows us to capitalize on any benefits associated with increased volume and minimize any negative impact associated with potential declines in product quantities.

Intellectual Property

We utilize several highly specialized and unique processes in the manufacture of our products. While we believe that these trade secrets have value, it is probable that our future success will depend primarily on the innovation, technical expertise, manufacturing and marketing abilities of our personnel. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets or that our non-disclosure agreements will provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or other disclosure. The confidentiality agreements that are designed to protect our trade secrets could be breached, and we might not have adequate remedies for the breach. Additionally, our trade secrets and proprietary know-how might otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others. We possess three utility patents and two design patents.

Our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources, may have applied for or obtained, or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make and sell some of our products. Although we believe that our products do not infringe on the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us or that such claims will not be successful.

The following patents generally expire 20 years after issuance.

On July 13, 2021, we filed for a new patent, currently under review with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

On June 18, 2019 we were issued U.S. Patent No. 10,324,298 titled “Offset Image Wedge with Dual Capability and Alignment Technique”. The invention relates to an offset image wedge for use on a bore-sighted rifle mounted directly onto the scope via a clamp mounting device. The wedge allows for a dual image which can be aligned in the field and provides the user with a choice of either a bore-sighted image or an offset image without removing the wedge.

On July 11, 2017, we were issued U.S. Patent No. D791,852 S, for our Red Tail Digital Spotting Scope. We have a retail sales relationship with Cabela’s Inc. and Amazon, to distribute these scopes. They are currently the only digital spotting scope offered by Cabela’s. Our Red Tail Digital Spotting Scopes also received a favorable review from Trigger Magazine in 2017.

In May 2015, we announced the issuance to us of U.S. Patent No. 13,792,297 titled “ICWS Periscope”. This invention improves previously accepted levels of periscope performance that, in turn, improve soldier’s safety.

In December 2013, Optex Systems, Inc. was issued U.S. Patent No. 23,357,802 titled “Multiple Spectral Single Image Sighting System Using Single Objective Lens Set.” The technology platform, designed for our DDAN program, is applicable to all ground combat vehicles used by the US and foreign militaries. This invention presents a single image to both day and night sensors using precision optics, which in turn allows the user to individually observe day, night, or day and night simultaneously. In addition, it has proven to be especially useful in light transition points experienced at dusk and dawn. We are in production and currently delivering sighting systems with this advanced technology, a significant upgrade in the goal of supporting our customers as they modernize the worldwide inventory of aging armored vehicles. This technology is applicable to many sighting systems, and it has already been designed for implementation on the Light Armored Vehicles, the Armored Security Vehicle, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, and the M60 Main Battle Tank. Digital Day and Night technology has advanced the capabilities of these installed weapon systems and is the first in a series of patents we have applied for to protect our Intellectual Property portfolio in support of the warfighters who use these systems.

In May 2012, we purchased a perpetual, non-exclusive license, with a single up-front license fee of $200,000 to use Patent 7,880,792 “Optical and Infrared Periscope with Display Monitor” owned by Synergy International Optronics, LLC. We believe the purchase of the license agreement may allow us to extend and expand our market potential for the M113APC vehicle type which has the highest number of commonly used armored vehicles in the world. The current estimated active M113 APC worldwide inventory is over 80,000 units. This licensing of this patent allows us to develop additional products for this vehicle type, including the M17 Day/Thermal and M17 Day/Night periscopes. We are actively marketing the new periscopes internationally and completed our first international shipment utilizing this technology in March 2014. We continue to prototype these products and demonstrate them to potential customers.

Competition

The markets for our products are competitive. We compete primarily on the basis of our ability to design and engineer products to meet performance specifications set by our customers. Our customers include military and government end users as well as prime contractors that purchase component parts or subassemblies, which they incorporate into their end products. Product pricing, quality, customer support, experience, reputation and financial stability are also important competitive factors.

There are a limited number of competitors in each of the markets for the various types of products that we design, manufacture and sell. At this time, we consider our primary competitors for the Optex, Richardson site to be Kent Periscopes and Synergy International Optronics, LLC. The Applied Optics Center thin film and laser coatings products compete primarily with Materion-Barr, Artemis and Alluxa.

Our competitors are often well entrenched, particularly in the defense markets. Some of these competitors have substantially greater resources than we do. While we believe that the quality of our technologies and product offerings provides us with a competitive advantage over certain manufacturers, some of our competitors have significantly more financial and other resources than we do to spend on the research and development of their technologies and for funding the construction and operation of commercial scale plants.

We expect our competitors to continue to improve the design and performance of their products. We cannot assure investors that our competitors will not develop enhancements to, or future generations of, competitive products that will offer superior price or performance features, or that new technology or processes will not emerge that render our products less competitive or obsolete. Increased competitive pressure could lead to lower prices for our products, thereby adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, competitive pressures may force us to implement new technologies at a substantial cost, and we may not be able to successfully develop or expend the financial resources necessary to acquire new technology. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully in the future.

Employees and Human Capital

We had 84 full time equivalent employees as of October 3, 2021 and 87 employees as of December 13, 2021, which include a small temporary work force to handle peak loads as needed. We are in compliance with local prevailing wage, contractor licensing and insurance regulations, and have good relations with our employees, who are not currently unionized. We use outside consultants for various services. We have not experienced any work stoppages and are not a party to a collective bargaining agreement. Management considers labor relations to be good.

We are dedicated to preserving operational excellence and remaining an employer of choice. We provide and maintain a work environment that is designed to attract, develop and retain top talent through offering our employees an engaging work experience that contributes to their career development. We recognize that our success is based on the collective talents and dedication of those we employ, and we are highly invested in their success. We value our employees and believe that employee loyalty and enthusiasm are key elements of our operating performance.

Internet Address

The Company maintains an internet website at the following address: www.optexsys.com. The information on the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 1A Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Prospective investors should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included or referred to in this Annual Report, before purchasing shares of our common stock. There are numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent us from achieving our goals. The risks described below are not the only risks we face. If any of these risks actually materializes, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors in our common stock could lose all or part of their investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not exclusive and are intended to reflect the material risks that are specific to us, our industry and companies that have securities trading on an over-the-counter market.

Risks Related to our Business

Low unemployment and tight labor markets may adversely affect our labor costs and our ability to hire and retain a sufficient workforce required to meet the backlog and customer demands. If we are not able to maintain a sufficient workforce and attract and retain additional personnel as required, we may not be able to implement our business plan and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We compete with several other large defense contractors, as well as homebuilding, industrial manufacturing and warehousing industries within the immediate area of our manufacturing facilities for both lower and higher skill level manufacturing employees. The limited supply of available workers for hire, combined with increasing competition among other local industries may result in increased production costs associated with higher wages, employee bonuses, overtime premiums and enhanced employee benefits in addition to cost increases associated with employee recruitment, employee turnover, training and learning curve inefficiencies. We may be unable to fill the labor positions required to meet our customer demands in a timely or cost-effective manner which would impede our ability to meet current or increasing production levels in line with our customer expectations and adversely affect our ability to grow revenue or maintain our current margin levels.

Our ability to fulfill our backlog may have an effect on our long-term ability to procure contracts and fulfill current contracts.

Our ability to fulfill our backlog may be limited by our ability to devote sufficient financial and human capital resources and limited by available material supplies. Disruptions in our supply chain driven by Covid-19, transportation delays, combined with inflationary pressures and tight labor market conditions could impede our ability to meet customer requirements. If we do not fulfill our backlog in a timely manner, we may experience delays in product delivery which would postpone receipt of revenue from those delayed deliveries. Additionally, if we are consistently unable to fulfill our backlog, this may be a disincentive to customers to award large contracts to us in the future until they are comfortable that we can effectively manage our backlog.

Our historical operations depend on government contracts and subcontracts. We face risks related to contracting with the federal government, including federal budget issues and fixed price contracts.

Future general political and economic conditions, which cannot be accurately predicted, may directly and indirectly affect the quantity and allocation of expenditures by federal agencies. Even the timing of incremental funding commitments to existing, but partially funded, contracts can be affected by these factors. Therefore, cutbacks or re-allocations in the federal budget could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Obtaining government contracts may also involve long purchase and payment cycles, competitive bidding, qualification requirements, delays or changes in funding, budgetary constraints, political agendas, extensive specification development, price negotiations and milestone requirements. In addition, our government contracts are primarily fixed price contracts, which may prevent us from recovering costs incurred in excess of budgeted costs. Fixed price contracts require us to estimate the total project cost based on preliminary projections of the project’s requirements. The financial viability of any given project depends in large part on our ability to estimate such costs accurately and complete the project on a timely basis. Some of those contracts are for products that are new to our business and are thus subject to unanticipated impacts to manufacturing costs. Even if our estimates are reasonable at the time made, prices of materials are subject to unanticipated adverse fluctuation. In the event our actual costs exceed fixed contractual costs of our product contracts, we will not be able to recover the excess costs which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We examine these contracts on a regular basis and accrue for anticipated losses on these contracts, if necessary. As of October 3, 2021, there was $51 thousand in accrued loss provisions for loss contracts or cost overruns.

Approximately 83% of our contracts contain termination clauses for convenience. In the event these clauses should be invoked by our customer, future revenues against these contracts could be affected, however these clauses allow for a full recovery of any incurred contract costs plus a reasonable fee up through and as a result of the contract termination. We are currently unaware of any pending terminations on our existing contracts.

In some cases, contract awards may be issued that are subject to renegotiation at a date (up to 180 days) subsequent to the initial award date. Generally, these subsequent negotiations have had an immaterial impact (zero to 5%) on the contract price of the affected contracts. Currently, none of our awarded contracts are subject to renegotiation.

We have sought to minimize the adverse impact from the slower pace of U.S. military orders on our results of operations by seeking to obtain foreign military orders, expanding our customer base as well as seeking new commercial business. We do not expect these markets to completely mitigate the negative impact of lower U.S. defense spending.

If we fail to scale our operations appropriately in response changes in demand, we may be unable to meet competitive challenges or exploit potential market opportunities, and our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Significant fluctuations in customer demand place a significant strain on our management personnel, infrastructure and resources. To implement our current business and product plans, we need to appropriately manage our cost base, as well as train, manage and motivate our workforce, while continuing to maintain our critical operational and financial systems and our manufacturing and service capabilities. All of these endeavors require substantial management effort and potential capital. If we are unable to effectively manage our operations to our customer demand levels, we may be unable to scale our business quickly enough to meet competitive challenges or exploit potential market opportunities, and our current or future business could be materially and adversely affected.

We do not have employment agreements with our key personnel, other than our Chief Executive and Financial Officers, and our management has minimal unencumbered equity ownership in us. If we are not able to retain our key personnel or attract additional key personnel as required, we may not be able to implement our business plan and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We depend to a large extent on the abilities and continued participation of our executive officers and other key employees. The loss of any key employee could have a material adverse effect on our business. We currently have only two employment agreements, with our Chief Executive Officer which renews on an annual basis and currently expires on November 30, 2022, and our Chief Financial Officer which expires on June 30, 2022, with renewable terms each 18 months thereafter. We do not presently maintain “key man” insurance on any other key employees. Our management also has minimal unencumbered ownership interest in us, thus limiting their direct stake in our outcome. We believe that experienced personnel will continue to be required to implement our business plan. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we cannot assure you that they will be available when required, or that we will have the ability to attract and retain them. In addition, due to our small size, we do not presently have depth of staffing in our executive, operational and financial management areas in order to have an effective succession plan should the need arise. Thus, in the event of the loss of one or more of our management employees, our results of operations could be vulnerable to challenges associated with recruiting additional key personnel, if such recruiting efforts are not successful in a timely manner.

Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business.

We expect recent supply chain disruptions driven by the pandemic, combined with raw material shortages, labor shortages, transportation delays and inflationary pressures, to continue throughout 2022. These conditions have strained our suppliers and extended supplier delivery lead times, affecting their ability to sustain operations. We anticipate market wide material shortages for paint and resin products as well as critical epoxies and chemicals used in our manufacturing process. In addition, we are seeing substantial increases in the costs of aluminum, steel and acrylic commodities.

We have selectively single-sourced some of our material components in order to mitigate excess procurement costs associated with significant tooling and startup costs. Furthermore, because of the nature of government contracts, we are often required to purchase selected items from U.S. government approved suppliers, which may further limit our ability to utilize multiple supply sources for these key components.

To the extent any of these single sourced or government approved suppliers may have disruptions in deliveries due to production, quality, or other issues, we may also experience related production delays or unfavorable cost increases associated with retooling and qualifying alternate suppliers. The impact of delays resulting from disruptions in supply for these items could negatively impact our revenue, our reputation with our customers, and our results of operations. In addition, significant price increases from single-source suppliers could have a negative impact on our profitability to the extent that we are unable to recover these cost increases on our fixed price contracts.

Each contract has a specific quantity of material which needs to be purchased, assembled, and shipped. Prior to bidding on a contract, we contact potential sources of material and receive qualified quotations for this material. In some cases, the entire volume is given to a single supplier and in other cases; the volume might be split between several suppliers. If a contract has a single source supplier and that supplier fails to meet their obligations (e.g., quality, delivery), then we would seek to find an alternate supplier and bring this information back to the final customer. Contractual deliverables would then generally be re-negotiated (e.g., specifications, delivery, price. As of November 22, 2021, approximately 1% of our material requirements are single-sourced across 9 suppliers representing approximately 8% of our active supplier order value. Single-sourced component requirements span across all of our major product lines.

We consider it a material financial or schedule risk if we believe it will take us at least three months to identify and qualify a suitable replacement for specialized single source suppliers. In the table below, we identify those specialized single source suppliers with respect to which we face such a material risk and the product lines supported by those materials utilized by us as of November 22, 2021.

The defense technology supply industry is subject to technological change and if we are not able to keep up with our competitors and/or they develop advanced technology as response to our products, we may be at a competitive disadvantage.

The market for our products is generally characterized by technological developments, evolving industry standards, changes in customer requirements, frequent new product introductions and enhancements, short product life cycles and severe price competition. Our competitors could also develop new, more advanced technologies in reaction to our products. Currently accepted industry standards may change. Our success depends substantially on our ability, on a cost-effective and timely basis, to continue to enhance our existing products and to develop and introduce new products that take advantage of technological advances and adhere to evolving industry standards. An unexpected change in one or more of the technologies related to our products, in market demand for products based on a particular technology or of accepted industry standards could materially and adversely affect our business. We may or may not be able to develop new products in a timely and satisfactory manner to address new industry standards and technological changes, or to respond to new product announcements by others. In addition, new products may or may not achieve market acceptance.

Unexpected warranty and product liability claims could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The possibility of future product failures could cause us to incur substantial expense to repair or replace defective products. We warrant the quality of our products to meet customer requirements and be free of defects for twelve months subsequent to delivery. We establish reserves for warranty claims based on our historical rate of returned shipments against these contracts. There can be no assurance that this reserve will be sufficient if we were to experience an unexpectedly high incidence of problems with our products. Significant increases in the incidence of such claims may adversely affect our sales and our reputation with consumers. Costs associated with warranty and product liability claims could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on the proper function, availability and security of information technology systems to operate our business and a cyber-attack or other breach of these systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We rely on information technology systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information in our day-to-day operations. Similar to other companies, the size and complexity of our information technology systems makes them vulnerable to a cyber-attack, malicious intrusion, breakdown, destruction, loss of data privacy, or other significant disruption. Our information systems require an ongoing commitment of significant resources to maintain, protect, and enhance existing systems and develop new systems to keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology, evolving systems and regulatory standards.

On July 13, 2021, we experienced a ransomware attack. While we do not expect that attack to have material adverse consequences, similar attacks, if not caught and effectively addressed in a timely manner, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure by us to maintain or protect our information technology systems and data integrity, including from cyber-attacks, intrusions or other breaches, could result in the unauthorized access to personally identifiable information, theft of intellectual property or other misappropriation of assets, or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. Any of these events may cause us to have difficulty preventing, detecting, and controlling fraud, be subject to legal claims and liability, have regulatory sanctions or penalties imposed, have increases in operating expenses, incur expenses or lose revenues as a result of a data privacy breach or theft of intellectual property, or suffer other adverse consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may face risks as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We may be at risk as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Risks that could affect our business include the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the demand for our products; actions by governments, businesses and individuals taken in response to the pandemic; the length of time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of its reoccurrence; the timing required to develop and implement effective treatments and achieve acceptable vaccination rates in the event of future outbreaks; the eventual impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to the pandemic on global and regional economies; and the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

The pandemic has caused several program delays throughout the defense supply chain as a result of plant shutdowns, employee illnesses, travel restrictions, remote work arrangements and similar supplier issues. Due to the significant level of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and its impact to our customers and the defense supply chain, we are unable to ascertain the impact further delays in contract awards and customer orders may have on our fiscal year 2022 revenues.

We derive almost all of our revenue from a small number of customers and the loss of any of these customers could have a material adverse effect on our revenues.

For the year ended October 3, 2021, the Company’s consolidated revenues were derived from U.S. government agencies (28%), four U.S. defense contractors (27%, 11%, 5%, and 5%), one major commercial customer (10%) and all other customers (14%). Approximately 90% of total Company revenue is generated from domestic customers and 10% is derived from foreign customers, primarily Canada. In particular, a decision by one of our major defense contract customers, U.S. government agencies, or major commercial customers to cease issuing contracts to us could have a significant material impact on our business and results of operations given that they represent over 86% of our gross business revenue. There can be no assurance that we could replace these customers on a timely basis or at all.

We have approximately 81 discrete contracts with major defense contractors and the U.S. Government (primarily Defense Logistics Agencies (DLA)), and other prime U.S. defense contractors. If they choose to terminate these contracts, we are entitled to fully recover all contractual costs and reasonable profits incurred up to or as a result of the terminated contract.

We only possess five patents and rely primarily on trade secrets to protect our intellectual property.

We utilize several highly specialized and unique processes in the manufacture of our products, for which we rely solely on trade secrets to protect our innovations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets or that our non-disclosure agreements will provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or other disclosure. The non-disclosure agreements that are designed to protect our trade secrets could be breached, and we might not have adequate remedies for the breach.

It is also possible that our trade secrets will otherwise become known or independently developed by our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources than us, and these competitors may have applied for or obtained, or may in the future apply for or obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make and sell some of our products. Although based upon our general knowledge (and we have not conducted patent searches), we believe that our products do not infringe on the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties; however, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us or that such claims will not be successful.

We anticipate that we may need to raise additional capital in the future beyond any cash flow from our existing business; additional funds may not be available on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.

We anticipate we may have to raise additional capital in the future to finance our future working capital needs. We cannot assure you that any additional capital will be available on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. Future equity or debt financings may be difficult to obtain. If we are not able to obtain additional capital as may be required, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We anticipate that our capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

Even if available, financings may involve significant costs and expenses, such as legal and accounting fees, diversion of management’s time and efforts, and substantial transaction costs. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be unable to finance our operations, develop or enhance our products, expand our sales and marketing programs, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures.

Risks Related to Our Stock

Our common stock is currently quoted on an Over-The-Counter Market, which affects the liquidity of our common stock and may affect its stock price.

Our common stock is quoted on OTCQB under the trading symbol “OPXS”. Trading in our common stock has been very limited and we cannot make any assurances that the trading volume will increase, or, if and when it increases, that it will be sustained at any level. Over-the-counter markets are generally considered to be less efficient than, and not as broad as, a stock exchange.

Our share price could decrease as a result of this limited liquidity or otherwise, and our share price is likely to be highly volatile. Specifically, stockholders may have difficulties reselling significant numbers of shares of common stock at any particular time, and may not be able to resell their shares of common stock at or above the price paid for such shares. As a result, stockholders may be required to hold shares of common stock for an indefinite period of time. In addition, sales of substantial amounts of common stock could lower the prevailing market price of our common stock.

Furthermore, our ability to raise additional capital is impaired because of the less liquid nature of the over-the-counter markets. We may not be able to complete an equity financing on acceptable terms, or at all. In that context, investors should consider that not having the common stock listed on a national securities exchange makes us ineligible to use shorter and less costly filings, such as Form S-3, to register our securities for sale. While we may use Form S-1 to register a sale of our stock to raise capital or complete acquisitions, doing so would cause us to incur higher transaction costs and adversely impact our ability to raise capital or complete acquisitions of other companies in a timely manner. In addition, if we are able to complete equity financings, the dilution from any equity financing while our shares are quoted on an over-the-counter market could be greater than if we were to complete a financing while our common stock were listed on a national securities exchange.

Finally, if we cease to qualify for quotation on OTCQB, our common stock may be forced to trade on the “pink sheets,” and the market for resale of our common stock would be extremely limited. In that case, holders of our common stock may find it more difficult to dispose of, or to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of, our common stock, and the market value of our common stock may decline as a result.

We are subject to penny stock rules, which discourages broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock.

The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate “penny stock” that restricts transactions involving our shares of common stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Exchange Act. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. “Penny stocks” generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exclusions. As long as we are not listed on a securities exchange or Nasdaq, our shares of common stock constitute “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers in connection with effecting transactions in “penny stocks” may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares and impede their sale in the secondary market.

A U.S. broker-dealer selling penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or “accredited investor” must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the penny stock regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the penny stock market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the penny stock held in a customer’s account and information with respect to the limited market in penny stocks.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. The FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

Furthermore, transfers of our common stock may require broker-dealers to submit notice filings and pay fees in certain states, which may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock.

You should also be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for penny stocks has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) “boiler room” practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses.

General Risk Factors

Changes in current economic conditions may adversely affect our ability to continue operations.

Changes in current economic conditions may cause a decline in business, consumer and defense spending and capital market performance, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Our ability to raise funds, which could be required for business continuity or expansion of our operations, may be adversely affected by current and future economic conditions, such as a reduction in the availability of credit, financial market volatility and economic recession.

In the future, we may look to acquire other businesses in our industry and the acquisitions will require us to use substantial resources.

In the future, we may decide to pursue acquisitions of other businesses in our industry. In order to successfully acquire other businesses, we would be forced to spend significant resources for both acquisition and transactional costs, which could divert substantial resources in terms of both financial and personnel capital from our current operations. Additionally, we might assume liabilities of the acquired business, and the repayment of those liabilities could have a material adverse impact on our cash flow. Furthermore, when a new business is integrated into our ongoing business, it is possible that there would be a period of integration and adjustment required which could divert resources from ongoing business operations.

The elimination of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under Delaware law and the existence of indemnification rights to our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenditures by us and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.

We provide indemnification to our directors and officers to the extent provided by Delaware law. The foregoing indemnification obligation could result in our incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against directors and officers, which we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resultant costs may also discourage us from bringing a lawsuit against directors and officers for breaches of their fiduciary duties and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our stockholders against our directors and officers even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders.

Our stock price is speculative, and there is a risk of litigation.

The trading price of our common stock has in the past and may in the future be subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors such as the following:

Fluctuations in the price of our common stock may expose us to the risk of securities class action lawsuits. Although no such lawsuits are currently pending against us and we are not aware that any such lawsuit is threatened to be filed in the future, there is no assurance that we will not be sued based on fluctuations in the price of our common stock. Defending against such suits could result in substantial cost and divert management’s attention and resources. In addition, any settlement or adverse determination of such lawsuits could subject us to significant liability.

Item 2 Properties

We are headquartered in Richardson, TX and lease approximately 93,967 combined square feet of facilities between Richardson, Texas and Dallas, Texas. We operate with a single shift, and capacity could be expanded by adding a second shift.

We renewed the lease on our 49,100 square foot, Richardson, Texas facility, effective as of January 11, 2021, for eighty-six (86) months, commencing on April 1, 2021 and ending on May 31, 2028. Our Applied Optics Center, is located in Dallas, Texas with leased premises consisting of approximately 44,867 square feet of space. The Applied Optics Center lease was renewed on January 11, 2021 for eighty-six (86) months, commencing on November 1, 2021 and ending on December 31, 2028. The Applied Optics Center amendment provides for a five-year renewal option at the end of the lease term at the greater of the then “prevailing rental rate” or the then current base rent rate.

Item 3 Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings, including pending opposition proceedings involving patents that arise in the ordinary course of business. There are no matters pending that we expect to have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures

None.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market information

Our common stock is currently quoted on the OTCQB Marketplace under the symbol “OPXS”. Trading in our common stock has historically lacked consistent volume, and the market price has been volatile. Over-the-counter market quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

On December 13, 2021, the closing price for our common stock as reported on the OTCQB was $1.89 per share.

Securities outstanding and holders of record

On December 13, 2021, there were approximately 80 shareholders of record for our common stock and 8,523,704 shares of our common stock issued and 8,462,310 common shares outstanding.

Dividends

We have in the past paid dividends but we have no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

On January 2, 2021, the Company issued 58,392 common shares to directors and officers, net of tax withholding of $44 thousand, in settlement of 83,000 restricted stock units which vested on January 1, 2021. The issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration afforded by Rule 506(b) under the Securities Act as an issuance to accredited investors.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The table below sets forth information with respect to purchases made by or on behalf of the Company or any “affiliated purchaser” (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act) of its common shares during the three months ended October 3, 2021.

Item 6. Reserved

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes that are set forth in our financial statements elsewhere in this Annual Report.

This management’s discussion and analysis reflects information known to management as of our fiscal year end, October 3, 2021, and the date of filing. This MD&A is intended to supplement and complement our audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended October 3, 2021, prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). You are encouraged to read our financial statements in conjunction with this MD&A. The financial information in this MD&A has been prepared in accordance with GAAP, unless otherwise indicated. In addition, we use non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental indicators of our operating performance and financial position. We use these non-GAAP financial measures internally for comparing actual results from one period to another, as well as for planning purposes. We will also report non-GAAP financial results as supplemental information, as we believe their use provides more insight into our performance. When a non-GAAP measure is used in this MD&A, it is clearly identified as a non-GAAP measures and reconciled to the most closely corresponding GAAP measure.

The following discussion highlights the principal factors that have affected our financial condition and results of operations as well as our liquidity and capital resources for the periods described. This discussion contains forward-looking statements. Please see “Special cautionary statement concerning forward-looking statements” and “Risk factors” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these forward-looking statements. The operating results for the periods presented were not significantly affected by inflation.

All references in the following section to 2020 or 2021 with respect to our financial position and results of operations are to our fiscal years ended September 27, 2020 or October 3, 2021, respectively.

Background

Optex Systems, Inc. manufactures optical sighting systems and assemblies, primarily for Department of Defense applications. Its products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams and Bradley fighting vehicles, light armored and armored security vehicles and have been selected for installation on the Stryker family of vehicles. Optex Systems, Inc. (Delaware) also manufactures and delivers numerous periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies. Optex Systems, Inc. (Delaware) products consist primarily of build-to-customer print products that are delivered both directly to the armed services and to other defense prime contractors. Less than 1% of our revenue is related to the resale of products substantially manufactured by others. In this case, the product would likely be a simple replacement part of a larger system previously produced by Optex Systems, Inc. (Delaware).

We are both a prime and sub-prime contractor to the Department of Defense. Sub-prime contracts are typically issued through major defense contractors such as General Dynamics Land Systems, Raytheon Corp., BAE, ADS Inc. and others. We are also a military supplier to foreign governments such as Israel, Australia and NAMSA and South American countries and as a subcontractor for several large U.S. defense companies serving foreign governments.

By way of background, the Federal Acquisition Regulation is the principal set of regulations that govern the acquisition process of government agencies and contracts with the U.S. government. In general, parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation are incorporated into government solicitations and contracts by reference as terms and conditions effecting contract awards and pricing solicitations.

Many of our contracts are prime or subcontracted directly with the Federal government and, as such, are subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 49.5, “Contract Termination Clauses” and more specifically Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses 52.249-2 “Termination for Convenience of the Government Fixed-Price)”, and 49.504 “Termination of fixed-price contracts for default”. These clauses are standard clauses on our prime military contracts and generally apply to us as subcontractors. It has been our experience that the termination for convenience is rarely invoked, except where it is mutually beneficial for both parties. We are currently not aware of any pending terminations for convenience or for default on our existing contracts.

In the event a termination for convenience were to occur, Federal Acquisition Regulation clause 52.249-2 provides for full recovery of all contractual costs and profits reasonably occurred up to and as a result of the terminated contract. In the event a termination for default were to occur, we could be liable for any excess cost incurred by the government to acquire supplies from another supplier similar to those terminated from us. We would not be liable for any excess costs if the failure to perform the contract arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the company as defined by Federal Acquisition Regulation clause 52.249-8.

In addition, some of our contracts allow for government contract financing in the form of contract progress payments pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-16, “Progress Payments”. Subject to certain limitations, this clause provides for government payment of up to 90% of incurred program costs prior to product delivery for small businesses like us. To the extent our contracts allow for progress payments, we intend to utilize this benefit, thereby minimizing the working capital impact on Optex Systems Holdings for materials and labor required to complete the contracts.

Recent Developments and Material Trends

Refer to “Item 1. Business – Market Opportunity: U.S. Military” for a description of current trends in U.S. government military spending and its potential impact on Optex, which may be material, including particularly the tables included in that section, all of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Refer to Item 1.A. Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business - Certain of our products are dependent on specialized sources of supply potentially subject to disruption which could have a material, adverse impact on our business” for a description of recent supply chain disruptions, which have strained our suppliers and extended supplier delivery lead times, affecting their ability to sustain operations. We anticipate market wide material shortages for paint and resin products as well as critical epoxies and chemicals used in our manufacturing process. In addition, we are seeing substantial increases in the costs of aluminum, steel and acrylic commodities.

Refer to “Item 1. Business Recent Events” of this report for updated information on new orders, board changes, executive and board compensation and stock and warrant repurchases.

Results of Operations

Segment Information

We have presented the operating results by segment to provide investors with an additional tool to evaluate our operating results. Management of Optex Systems Holdings uses the selected financial measures by segment internally to evaluate its ongoing segment operations and to allocate resources within the organization accordingly. Segments are determined based on differences in products, location, internal reporting and how operational decisions are made. Management has determined that the Optex Systems, Richardson plant (to which we refer below as the Optex Systems segment or Optex Systems), and the Applied Optics Center, Dallas plant, which was acquired on November 3, 2014 (to which we refer below as the Applied Optics Center segment or Applied Optics Center), are separately managed, organized, and internally reported as separate business segments. The table below provides a summary of selective statement of operations data by operating segment for the years ended October 3, 2021 and September 27, 2020 reconciled to the Audited Consolidated Results of Operations as presented in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.

Results of Operations Selective Financial Info

(Thousands)

Our total external sales revenues decreased by $7.7 million in 2021, or 29.6% compared to 2020 revenue levels. The Optex Systems segment realized a $5.4 million decrease and the Applied Optics Center segment realized a decrease of $2.3 million in external revenue compared to the prior year period. Intersegment revenues decreased by $0.6 million to $1.1 million in 2021 from $1.7 million in 2020. Intersegment revenues relate primarily to coated filters provided by the Applied Optics Center to Optex Systems in support of the Optex Systems periscope line.

Gross margin decreased $3.6 million and the gross margin percentage decreased by 9.7 points from 23.5% in 2020 to 13.8% in 2021. The Optex Systems gross margin decreased by $1.8 million in 2021 compared to 2020 and the gross margin percentage decreased to 16.0% in 2021 as compared to a gross margin percentage of 21.6% in 2020. The Applied Optics Center gross margin decreased by $1.7 million and the gross margin percentage decreased by 14.5 points from 22.9% in 2020 to 8.4% in 2021. The erosion in the gross margin percentage between years is primarily driven by lower revenue across both segments, changes in product mix toward less profitable product groups, and unfavorable manufacturing overhead adjustments on reduced production volume.

During the years ended 2021 and 2020, Applied Optics Center absorbed $0.7 million of fixed general and administrative costs incurred by Optex Systems for support services. These expenses cover accounting, executive, human resources, information technology, board fees and other corporate expenses paid by Optex Systems and shared across both operating segments.

Operating income decreased by $3.4 million, in 2021 to a loss of $(0.5) million, as compared to the prior year operating income of $2.9 million. The decrease in operating income is primarily attributable to lower revenue and lower gross margin during the year partially offset by slightly lower general and administrative costs of $0.2 million as compared to the prior year.

Income before taxes decreased $0.3 million, to $2.0 million in 2021 from a prior year income before taxes of $2.4 million. The decrease in income before taxes year over year is primarily due to decreased operating income of $3.4 million, offset by an increase in income for non-cash related changes to the fair value of warrants of $3.0 million.

Backlog

Backlog as of October 3, 2021 was $27.3 million as compared to a backlog of $16.3 million as of September 27, 2020, representing an increase of 67.5%. The following table depicts the current expected delivery by quarter of all contracts awarded as of October 3, 2021. The increased backlog was primarily within our Applied Optics Center segment.

(Millions)

During fiscal year 2021, Optex Systems Holdings received new orders totaling $29.2 million, a 65.9% increase, as compared to new orders of $17.6 million during the prior year. The 2021 orders consist of $7.6 million in support of our periscope product line, $19.6 million attributable to the Applied Optics Center and $1.2 million attributable to sighting systems and support, and $0.8 million in other products.

During the eighteen months through October 3, 2021, we experienced a reduction in new orders and ending customer backlog in our Optex Richardson segment. We attribute the lower orders to a combination of factors including a COVID-19 driven slow-down of contract awards for both U.S. military sales and foreign military sales (FMS), primarily during the second half of fiscal year 2020, combined with significant shifting in defense spending budget allocations in US military sales and FMS away from Army ground system vehicles toward other military agency applications. In addition, the pandemic has caused several program delays throughout the defense supply chain as a result of plant shutdowns, employee illnesses, travel restrictions, remote work arrangements and similar supplier chain issues. Our Applied Optics Center segment experienced a significant decline in orders during the second half of fiscal year 2020, however during the last twelve months, the segment has seen a sizable increase in new orders as a result of increased military spending in Army infantry optical equipment and an increased customer base.

Optex Systems - Richardson:

During the twelve months ended October 3, 2021, backlog for our Optex Richardson segment decreased by 16.7%, or 2.2 million to $11.0 million, as compared to the prior year ending backlog of $13.2 million.

Backlog for our periscope product line has increased 5.7% or $0.3 million to $5.6 million, from our 2020 fiscal year end level of $5.3 million. Our total periscope contract awards for fiscal 2021 totaled $7.6 million as compared to $6.2 million in the fiscal year 2020, an increase of $1.4 million, or 22.6% from the prior year.

Sighting Systems backlog decreased by $1.2 million or 41.4% from $2.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $1.7 million as of the end of fiscal year 2021. The decrease in backlog is primarily attributable shipments against several of our long running Commander Weapon Sighting Systems “CWSS”, Digital Day and Night Sighting Systems “DDAN” contracts awarded during the prior years. During 2021, we booked $1.2 million in new orders, an increase of $0.2 million from the prior year orders of $1.0 million.

Howitzer backlog decreased by $0.2 million, or 8.0%, from $2.5 million to $2.3 million, on shipments against our Aiming Circle XM10 contract for optical assemblies which was awarded in fiscal year 2020. During the year, there were no new orders for howitzer assemblies as compared to $2.3 million in the prior year.

Our backlog in other product groups decreased by $1.1 million or 44.0% from $2.5 million in 2020 to $1.4 million in 2021 on shipments against our long running Muzzle Reference Sensor Collimator Assembly “MRS” contracts. During 2021, we booked new orders of $0.8 million as compared to the prior year orders of $2.7 million.

The Optex Systems Richardson segment, currently has seven open US Government IDIQ type military contracts for periscopes with substantial unspent funding which covers government base year and option year requirement periods into 2025, in addition to a significant pricing proposal in process for sighting system support with an expected award during the next six months.

Applied Optics Center – Dallas

The Applied Optics Center backlog increased by $13.2 million, or 425.8%, for the year ended October 3, 2021, from $3.1 million in 2020 to $16.3 million in 2021. New orders for the Applied Optics Center during the 2021 fiscal year were $19.6 million as compared to the fiscal year 2020 orders of $5.4 million, an increase of $14.2 million or 263.0%. We are seeing increases in demand and proposal activity for both laser coated filters and optical assemblies and anticipate additional order bookings for both our commercial and military products for deliveries beginning in fiscal year 2022. On August 2, 2021, the Company announced a contract award of $8.4 million with a new customer as part of a twenty-four-month purchase order for laser filter units and on September 21, 2021, the Company announced a $3 million commercial order for optical devices.