Nortech Systems Inc: Form 10-Q for the period ended Mar 31, 2026

Overview

We are a Minnesota, United States based full-service global EMS contract manufacturer in the Medical Device, Medical Imaging, Aerospace and Defense and Industrial markets offering a full range of value-added engineering, technical and manufacturing services and support including project management, design, testing, prototyping, manufacturing, supply chain management and post-market services. Our products are complex electromedical and electromechanical products including medical devices, wire and cable assemblies, printed circuit board assemblies, complex higher-level assemblies and other box builds for a wide range of industries. As of December 31, 2025, we have facilities in Minnesota: Bemidji, Mankato, Milaca and Maple Grove. We closed our facility in Blue Earth, Minnesota in December 2024 and sold this facility in July 2025. We also have facilities in Monterrey, Mexico and Suzhou, China.

Our net sales are derived from complex designed products built to the customers’ specifications. The products we manufacture are engineered and designed products that require sophisticated manufacturing support. Quality, on-time delivery, and reliability are of upmost importance. Our goal is to expand and diversify our customer base by focusing on sales and marketing efforts that fit our value-added service, early engagement design, and development strategy. We continue to focus on lean manufacturing initiatives, quality and on-time delivery improvements to increase asset utilization, reduce lead times and provide competitive pricing.

Our strategic investments have positioned us to capitalize on growth opportunities in the medical markets and improve our competitiveness by expanding our global footprint. Our industrial and defense markets are focused on improving our asset utilization and profitability while transforming to a value added, solution-sell business model that supports early engagement, design for manufacturability and rapid prototyping.

All dollar amounts are stated in thousands of U.S. dollars.

Results of Operations

Net Sales. Net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 were $30,316 and $26,895, respectively, a comparative period increase of $3,421 or 12.7%. Net sales in the three months ended March 31, 2026 were positively impacted in Aerospace and Defense from the receipt of customer approvals for products transferred from our Blue Earth facility to our Bemidji facility during 2025 as well as manufacturing and plant utilization efficiencies gained related to our 2025 facility optimization. The following is a summary of net sales by our major industry markets:

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• Medical Device: Net sales to our medical customers increased $841, or 10.4%, in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with the same period in 2025. The increase was primarily due to the ramp up of production post our 2025 facility optimization.
• Medical Imaging: Net sales to our Medical Imaging customers increased $1,288, or 15.0%, in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with the same period in 2025. The increase was primarily due to higher sales volume to existing customers.
• Industrial: Net sales to our industrial customers remained relatively flat with a decrease of $63, or 0.9%, in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with the same period in 2025.
• Aerospace and Defense: Net sales to our aerospace and defense customers increased $1,355, or 41.2%, in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with the same period in 2025. The increase primarily relates to the positive impact from receipt of customer approvals for products transferred from our Blue Earth facility to our Bemidji facility.

Backlog. Our 90-day shipment backlog as of March 31, 2026 was $31,475, an increase of 15.3% from $27,288 at the beginning of the quarter, and a 17.7% increase from March 31, 2025. Our 90-day backlog consists of firm purchase orders we expect to ship in the next 90 days, with any remaining amounts to be shipped within 180 days.

Our total order backlog as of March 31, 2026, was $90,802, representing a 17.4% increase from $77,343 at the beginning of the quarter and a 32.9% increase compared to the same period in the prior year; this year over year growth was primarily driven by an increase in Aerospace and Defense orders.

90-day shipment and total backlog by our major industry markets are as follows:

The 90-day and total backlog as of March 31, 2026 includes orders already recognized in net sales and included in the contract asset value of $16,010.

Operating Costs and Expenses.

Net sales, cost of goods sold, gross profit, and operating costs were as follows:

(1) Gross margin percentage is defined as gross profit as a percentage of net sales.

(2) Basis points change in gross margin percentage.

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Gross profit and gross margin percentage. Gross margin percentage was 15.5% and 11.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, respectively. The increase in gross margin percentage was the result of improved plant utilization primarily from our restructuring activities and higher sales on a fixed cost base.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses, as measured as a percentage of net sales, were 4.4% for both the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses, as measured as a percentage of net sales, were 9.9% and 10.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. This decrease as a percentage of net sales was primarily the result of higher sales on a fixed cost base.

Restructuring charges. Restructuring charges were $0 and $266 in the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. During the first quarter of 2025, we incurred $235 of severance charges for a February 2025 reduction in force to align staffing to our forecasted net sales and $31 of expenses related to our closed Blue Earth facility.

Operating income (loss). Operating income was $47 for the three months ended March 31, 2026 or 0.2% of net sales and operating loss was $(1,613) or (6.0)% of net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The improvement was primarily driven by higher gross margin percentage, which increased operating income by $1,234, and higher net sales, which contributed an additional $390.

Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $256 and $214 for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. This increase was driven by the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs of $88 associated with our prior financing arrangement that was refinanced in the period. Refer to “Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further discussion of financing arrangements.

Income taxes. Our effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 was 84% and 28%, respectively. The primary drivers of the change in the effective tax rate were differences in pretax book income (loss) by jurisdiction and taxes on foreign entities.

Cash Flow Operating Results

The following is a summary of cash flow results:

Operating Activities. Cash used in operating activities was $1,561 in the first three months of 2026, compared with $2,930 in the same prior-year period. Significant changes in operating assets and liabilities affecting cash flows during these periods included:

• Cash used by accounts receivable and contract assets was $1,648 in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with cash used of $426 in the same prior-year period. This use of cash is largely due to timing of customer shipments and cash collections in both periods and by an increase in contract assets in the current year period to support future customer shipments.
• Cash used by inventory was $2,610 in the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared with cash provided of $487 in the prior-year period. The increase in the current-year period cash usage was the result of normal timing variances of inventory purchases and timing of product shipments.
• Cash provided by changes in accounts payable was $1,917 in the current-year period as compared with cash used of $1,441 in the same prior-year period, primarily related to the timing of cash payments.

Investing Activities. Cash used in investing activities was $228 in the first three months of 2026, compared with $268 in the same prior-year period, both due from the purchases of property and equipment.

Financing Activities. Cash provided by financing activities was $2,336 in the first three months of 2026 and $3,446 in the same prior-year period. The cash provided by financing activities in both periods resulted from the line of credit advances for working capital and operations as well as the term loan borrowing in the first three months of 2026.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We believe that our existing financing arrangements, anticipated cash flows from operations, and cash on hand will be sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital expenditures and debt repayments for the next year from the date of this filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On March 20, 2026, the Company entered into a new Credit and Security Agreement with Associated Bank, National Association, which provides for a revolving credit facility of up to $15,000, subject to a borrowing base based on eligible accounts receivable and inventory in the United States of America (“U.S.”), and a $2,200 term loan (the “Associated Facility”). The Associated Facility includes a sublimit of $1,500 for letters of credit and is secured by substantially all of our assets in the U.S. The Associated Facility matures in March 2029. The Company is required to pay a 25-basis point fee per annum, paid monthly, on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility. The term loan requires monthly principal payments of $37 plus interest. Borrowings under the Associated Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at a defined base rate derived from the Bank’s prime rate, or at one-month or three-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate, referred to as SOFR, plus 2.00% in the case of revolving credit borrowings, and plus 2.25% in the case of the term loan. At March 31, 2026, the revolving credit facility and term loan accrued interest at 8.52% and 8.00%, respectively. At March 31, 2026, there was $7,196 outstanding under the revolving credit facility and $3,500 of unused availability. Borrowings under the Associated Facility may be prepaid at any time without penalty. The Associated Facility does not contain prepayment premiums, make-whole provisions, or other features that would require separate accounting as embedded derivatives.

The Associated Facility contains customary affirmative and negative covenants that restrict or limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens, make investments, sell assets, pay dividends or engage in certain transactions without lender consent. This agreement also requires us to comply with financial covenants, including maintaining a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.10 to 1.00, which measures the ratio of EBITDA, as defined to exclude certain other non-cash items, and less unfunded capital expenditures, to fixed charges such as interest as well as debt and capital lease principal payments. The Company was in compliance with all covenants under the Associated Facility as of March 31, 2026.

The Associated Facility agreement includes broad and customary events of default such as non-payment of obligations, breaches of representations or covenants, unauthorized liens, insolvency events, material adverse changes, cross-defaults to other significant indebtedness, and change-of-control triggers. Additional events include unsatisfied judgments, loss of lender lien priority, defaults under material business agreements, impairment of key intellectual property, destruction of collateral, and certain ERISA, hedging, or legal compliance violations. Upon an event of default, including the lender’s determination that a material adverse event has occurred, as defined by the Associated Facility agreement, the lender may accelerate all obligations, terminate the commitments, and exercise its full rights and remedies against the collateral.

Our ability to comply with these covenants depends in part on our ability to generate sufficient EBITDA and operating cash flow. If our EBITDA or cash flows declines due to any factor, we may not remain in compliance with our financial covenants under the Associated Facility.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have not engaged in any off-balance sheet activities as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K.

Forward-Looking Statements

Those statements in the foregoing report that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The factors identified above are believed to be important factors (but not necessarily all of the important factors) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by us. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed herein could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included in this Form 10-Q are expressly qualified in their entirety by the forgoing cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement (or its associated cautionary language) whether as a result of new information or future events.

Please refer to forward-looking statements and risks as previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In accordance with Rule 13a-15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our management evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and Rule 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act). These controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s Exchange Act reports is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely manner, and (2) accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based upon their evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures as of the date of the evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recently completed fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

We are affected by the risks specific to us as well as factors that affect all businesses operating in a global market. The significant factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results or could cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations are described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended under the heading “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors.” There have been no material changes in the risk factors from those disclosed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.