15. Contingencies

Legal

The Company from time to time is involved in various legal actions arising in the normal course of business. Management, after reviewing with legal counsel all of these actions and proceedings, believes that the aggregate losses, if any, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Potential Impact of Economic Conditions in China

Due to our operations in China, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by economic, political, legal and social conditions in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of other countries in many respects, including with respect to the level of development, growth rate, amount of government involvement, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While China’s economy has experienced significant growth over the past several decades, its growth rate has declined in recent years and may continue to decline. Deteriorating economic conditions in China generally have led to lower demand for our products in China and thus lower revenues and net income for our subsidiaries in China and the Company overall. A continuation of China’s current economic conditions or a further slowdown in the economic growth, an economic downturn, a recession, or other adverse economic conditions in China is likely to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations in future quarters.

In addition, China’s export limitations on Germanium and Gallium, two materials that are commonly used in infrared optical components, are becoming increasingly disruptive to our business with adverse impacts. The initial restrictions imposed in July 2023 required all international customers to provide an end user statement for approval before receiving an export license. Following that announcement, supply of Germanium was disrupted, though not completely stopped. This also resulted in significant price increases in the cost of Germanium material. Following these restrictions we proactively canceled a number of customer orders for Germanium, to reduce our exposure in case of a supply disruption.

Then, in December 2024, China imposed additional restrictions applicable to exports to the United States, including a prohibition on exports of dual-use items to U.S. military users or for military uses and a policy under which exports of specified gallium- and germanium-related dual-use items to the United States would generally not be licensed. In November 2025, China suspended the latter U.S.-specific restriction through November 27, 2026. However, the underlying export-license requirements remain in effect, the restrictions applicable to U.S. military users and military end uses remain in place, and China may reinstate, extend, or modify its U.S.-specific restrictions.

As a purchaser of Germanium, we cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to obtain adequate supplies of Germanium, or that the timing or costs of obtaining such raw materials will be acceptable to us. We have taken proactive steps to minimize the orders we accept for Germanium products and therefore minimize our exposure to this risk, and are actively working with our customers to redesign their systems to use our BlackDiamond materials instead of Germanium-based materials. Additionally, we are actively collaborating with our customers to ensure those redesigned systems are tested and qualified as replacements for legacy Germanium-based systems. In some cases, such as complex defense and airborne systems, the re-qualification of such redesigned systems is a lengthy process that can take up to two years. In other systems such as commercial systems and also some specific defense systems, this is a faster process, that takes several months.

Beginning in February 2025, the U.S. imposed additional tariffs on imports from China, and China imposed retaliatory tariffs and other measures on certain goods imported from the U.S. Since that time, the United States and China have increased, reduced, suspended, replaced, and otherwise modified various tariff and non-tariff measures, including through bilateral negotiations. We utilize a number of strategies intended to mitigate the impact of tariffs and other trade restrictions. However, given the uncertainty regarding the current tariffs, as well as the potential for additional trade actions by the U.S. or other countries in the future, any future impact on our operations and financial results is uncertain and these impacts could be more significant than those we have experienced in the past. Further, we can provide no assurance that the strategies we implemented to mitigate the impact of such tariffs or other trade actions will continue to be successful. To the extent that our supply chain, costs, sales, or profitability are negatively affected by the tariffs or other trade actions, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Impact of Ongoing Wars

In February 2022, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine. This war has led to ongoing sanctions on Russia, which have had continuing impacts on our supply chain of raw materials, particularly Germanium. Separately, Israel declared war on Hamas in October 2023. Initially, this resulted in a temporary increase in our sales, as Israel worked to replace electro-optical systems that in some cases use our materials. Our sales to customers in this region have since stabilized, however, it is still possible that this war could have a negative impact on our business as a result of the overall economic impact in Israel. In addition to the significant defense related market in Israel, we also serve many commercial related applications and work with commercial companies in Israel, and the business of those customers may be negatively impacted by the war over time. Given the dynamic nature of this situation, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact of either the Russian-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Hamas war on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows into the foreseeable future.