SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION |
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PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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Filed by the Registrant X |
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant _ |
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Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
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Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-11(c) or Section 240.14a-12 |
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Butler National Corporation |
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(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter) |
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(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other than the Registrant) |
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Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box): |
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No fee required |
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i) (1) and 0-11. |
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a) (2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing. |
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BUTLER NATIONAL CORPORATION |
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To the Shareholders of Butler National Corporation: |
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Notice is hereby given that the 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Butler National Corporation (the "Company") will be held at the Best Western Country Inn and Suites, 506 North 14th, Dodge City, Kansas, on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, at 11:00 a.m., for the following purposes: |
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1. To elect two (2) directors to serve office for the term of three (3) years or until a successor is elected and qualified. |
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The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on February 23, 2010, as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting. |
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By Order of the Board of Directors, CHRISTOPHER J. REEDY, |
Olathe, Kansas |
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TO ASSURE YOUR REPRESENTATION AT THE MEETING, PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN YOUR PROXY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND IN PERSON. SHAREHOLDERS WHO ATTEND THE MEETING MAY REVOKE THEIR PROXIES AND VOTE IN PERSON IF THEY DESIRE. |
BUTLER NATIONAL CORPORATION |
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Important notice regarding the availability of Proxy materials. The Proxy statement and proxy card are available to view or download at www.butlernational.com/proxy.htm |
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GENERAL Any proxy may be revoked at any time before it is voted by written notice to the Secretary, by receipt of a proxy properly signed and dated subsequent to an earlier proxy, or by revocation of a written proxy by request in person at the Annual Meeting; but if not so revoked, the shares represented by such proxy will be voted. The mailing of this proxy statement to our shareholders commenced on or about March 1, 2010. Our corporate offices are located at 19920 W. 161st Street, Olathe, Kansas 66062 and our telephone number is (913) 780-9595. We have outstanding only one class of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share ("Common Stock"), as of the record date 55,997,031 shares were issued of which 55,718,458 shares were outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Each share is entitled to one vote. Shareholders may not cumulate votes in the election of directors. Only shareholders of record at the close of business on February 23, 2010, will be entitled to vote at the meeting. The presence in person or by proxy of the holders of 35% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. The shares represented by the enclosed proxy will be voted if the proxy is properly signed and received prior to the meeting. |
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VOTING |
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SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS The Butler National Corporation 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders is expected to be held on or about October 5, 2010, and proxy materials in connection with that meeting are expected to be mailed on or about September 1, 2010. Shareholder proposals prepared in accordance with the proxy rules must be received by the Company on or before May 4, 2010. Shareholder Communications to the Board. Shareholders may contact an individual director, the Board as a group, or a specified Board committee or group, including non-employee directors as a group, by the following means: Mail: Butler National Corporation 19920 W. 161st Street Olathe, KS 66062 Attn: Board of Directors Each communication should specify the applicable addressee or addressees to be contacted as well as the general topic of communication. The Company will initially receive and process communications before forwarding them to the addressee. The Company generally will not forward to the directors a shareholder communication that it determines to be primarily commercial in nature or relates to an improper or irrelevant topic, or that requests general information about the Company. |
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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT |
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Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership (1) |
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Clark D. Stewart |
3,101,819(2) |
5.6% |
R. Warren Wagoner |
3,655,074(3) |
6.6% |
(1) Unless otherwise indicated by footnote, nature of beneficial ownership of securities is direct, and beneficial ownership as shown in the table arises from sole voting power and sole investment power. |
The following table sets forth, with respect to our Common Stock (the only class of voting securities), (i) shares beneficially owned by all directors and named executive officers of Butler National Corporation, and (ii) total shares beneficially owned by directors and officers as a group, as of April 30, 2009. |
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Amount and Nature of |
See Note |
Percent of Class |
David B. Hayden |
1,357,225 |
2.4% |
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Christopher J. Reedy |
260,747 |
0.5% |
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Clark D. Stewart |
3,101,819 |
(2) |
5.6% |
R. Warren Wagoner |
3,655,074 |
(3) |
6.6% |
Angela D. Shinabargar |
131,092 |
0.2% |
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(2) Includes 886,429 shares, which may be acquired by Mr. Stewart pursuant to the exercise of stock options, which are exercisable. (3) Includes 12,143 shares, which may be acquired by Mr. Wagoner pursuant to the exercise of stock options, which are exercisable. (4) Includes 898,572 shares for all directors and executive officers as a group, which may be acquired pursuant to the exercise of stock options, which are exercisable. The Company does not have any equity compensation plans which have not been approved by the stockholders. |
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DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT |
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DIRECTORS: The names and ages of the directors, their principal occupations for at least the past five years are set forth below, based on information furnished by the directors. |
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Name of Nominee and Director and Age |
Served Since |
Principal Occupation for Last Five Years and Other Directorships |
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Clark D. Stewart |
1989 |
President of our Company from September 1, 1989 to present. |
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R. Warren Wagoner |
1986 |
Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Company since August 30, 1989. |
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David B. Hayden |
1996 |
Co-owner and President of Kings Avionics, Inc. since 1974. |
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(n1) Audit Committee |
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Mr. David B. Hayden is a Class II Director. The term of office for Class II Directors is until fiscal year end 2011.
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R. Warren Wagoner |
57 |
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
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Clark D. Stewart |
69 |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
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Christopher J. Reedy |
43 |
Vice President & Secretary |
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Angela Shinabargar |
45 |
Chief Financial Officer |
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Clark D. Stewart was President of Tradewind Industries, Inc., a manufacturing company, from 1979 to 1985. From 1986 to 1989, Mr. Stewart was Executive Vice President of RO Corporation. In 1980, Mr. Stewart became President of Tradewind Systems, Inc. He became our President and CEO in September of 1989. Christopher J. Reedy worked for Colantuono & Associates, LLC from 1997 to 2000 in the area of aviation, general business and employment counseling, and from 1995 to 1997 with the Polsinelli, White firm. He was involved in aviation product development and sales with Bendix/King, a division of Allied Signal, Inc. from 1988 through 1993. Mr. Reedy joined the Company in November 2000. Angela Shinabargar was the controller of A&M products, a subsidiary of First Brands Corporation from 1995 to 1998. From 1998 to 2000 Ms. Shinabargar was a Senior Business Systems Analyst for Black & Veatch of Kansas City; the largest privately held engineering firm in the United States. Ms. Shinabargar was the CFO of Peerless Products, Inc. a manufacturer of customized windows from 2000 to 2001. Ms. Shinabargar joined us in October of 2001 as Chief Financial Officer. |
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS: Our compensation programs are designed to support our business goals and promote both short-term and long-term growth. This section of the proxy statement explains how our compensation programs are designed and operate in practice with respect to our listed officers. Our listed officers are the CEO, CFO, and three most highly compensated executive officers in a particular year. The "Executive Compensation" section presents compensation earned by the listed officers for fiscal years ending April 30, 2009, 2008 and 2007. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors determines the compensation for Butler National's executive officers. Our executive officers have the broadest job responsibilities and policy-making authority in the company. The Committee reviews and determines all components of executive officers' compensation, including making individual compensation decisions and reviewing and revising the executive officer compensation plans, programs, and guidelines as appropriate. The Committee also consults with management regarding non-executive employee compensation programs. Our Compensation Philosophy The core element of our overall compensation philosophy is the alignment of pay and performance. Total compensation varies with individual performance and Butler National's performance in achieving financial and non-financial objectives. Our equity plans are designed to ensure that executive compensation is aligned with the long-term interests of our stockholders. The Committee and our management believe that compensation should help to recruit, retain, and motivate the employees that the company will depend on for current and future success. The Committee and our management also believe that the proportion of "at risk" compensation (variable cash compensation and equity) should rise as an employee's level of responsibility increases. This philosophy is reflected in the following key design priorities that govern compensation decisions:
Each element of compensation reflects one or more of these design priorities. In most cases, our employees, including executive officers, are employed at will, without employment agreements, severance payment arrangements (except as required by local law), or payment arrangements that would be triggered by a "change in control" of Butler National. Retirement plan programs are broad-based; Butler National does not provide special retirement plans or benefits solely for executive officers. Total compensation for the majority of our employees including executive officers, includes two or more of the following components:
The Compensation Committee and management continue to believe that a similar method of compensating all employees with cash, equity and retirement benefits supports a culture of fairness, collaboration, and egalitarianism. |
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PAY COMPONENT |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
Base Salary |
Described in detail in separate paragraph above titled Base Salary. |
Annual and Semiannual Incentive Cash Payments |
Paid as discretionary cash bonuses to individual employees for outstanding performance of a task. |
Equity Grants |
Since 2003 we have elected not to award equity grants. |
Employee Stock Purchase Plan |
Any employee may purchase the Company stock at the fair market value at the date of purchase without broker or issue fees. The stock is restricted and not considered a stock reward. We have the 1981 Employee Stock Purchase plan. No shares have been purchased under this plan since 1988. |
Retirement Benefits |
We pay the required federal and state retirement contributions, the required unemployment contributions and match the employee's contribution to their account in the Butler National Corporation 401(k) plan. |
Health and Welfare Benefits |
Employees electing to participate in the various insurance plans offered by the Company receive a payment for a share of the health, dental, vision and life insurance costs for the employee. |
Name |
YR |
Salary |
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Stock Awards |
Option Awards and Stock Appreciation Rights |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) |
Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings($) |
All Other |
Total ($)(2) |
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Clark D. Stewart, CEO (Contract back pay) |
09 |
367,633 |
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34,582 |
402,215 |
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R. Warren Wagoner |
09 |
228,984 161,010 |
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20,702 |
249,686 |
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Christopher J. Reedy |
09 |
178,418 |
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21,205 |
199,623 |
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Angela D. Shinabargar |
09 |
123,583 |
20,000 |
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10,386 |
153,969 |
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Name |
Year |
Airplane and Automobile Usage |
Health Benefits |
Memberships |
Matching Contributions to 401(k) (3) |
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Clark D. Stewart |
2009 |
7,200 |
4,381 |
9,201 |
13,800 |
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R. Warren Wagoner |
2009 |
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7,087 |
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13,615 |
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Christopher J. Reedy |
2009 |
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2,824 |
7,516 |
10,865 |
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Angela D. Shinabargar |
2009 |
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1,660 |
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8,726 |
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(1) All Other Compensation includes the amounts in the tables above. (3) Includes catch-up contribution made by the employee and matched by the Company. |
OPTION GRANTS, EXERCISES AND HOLDINGS |
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No options were granted to any named executive officer in the last fiscal year. |
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The following table provides information with respect to the named executive officers concerning options exercised and unexercised options held as of the end of the our last fiscal year: |
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Aggregated Option Exercises in Last Fiscal Year |
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Value of Unexercised |
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Number of Shares Acquired |
Value |
Exercisable/ |
Exercisable/ |
Clark D. Stewart, |
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R. Warren Wagoner, |
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Christopher J. Reedy, |
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Angela D. Shinabargar, |
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David B. Hayden, |
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The unexercised options at April 30, 2009 listed in the table above have an exercise price of $0.90 and will expire on December 31, 2010. |
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COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS |
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Each non-officer director is entitled to a director's fee of $100 for meetings of the Board of Directors which he attends. Officer-directors are not entitled to receive fees for attendance at meetings. |
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EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGE-IN-CONTROL |
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On April 30, 2001, the Company extended the Employment Agreement through August 31, 2006 with Clark D. Stewart under the terms of which Mr. Stewart was employed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. On February 24, 2009 the Company extended the Employment Agreement with Mr. Stewart with the terms as currently provided including annual increases of 5% through December 31, 2020. In the event Mr. Stewart is terminated from employment with the Company other than "for cause," Mr. Stewart shall receive as severance pay an amount equal to the unpaid salary for the remainder of the term of the Employment Agreement. Mr. Stewart is also granted an automobile allowance of $600 per month which is reported by us as Salary Expense and to Mr. Stewart as Wages. Under the terms of the Employment Agreement with Mr. Stewart, the Company is obligated to pay company related expenses and salary. Included in accrued liabilities are $99,057 and $73,758 as of April 30, 2009, and 2008 respectively for amounts owed to our CEO for accrued compensation. |
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT The Audit Committee has also discussed with the independent auditors the matters required to be discussed by SAS No. 61, and received from the auditors disclosures regarding the auditors independence as required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1. Based upon the Audit Committees review of the audited financials, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited financials be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have assessed the independence of the members of the Audit Committee according to the definition of independence in Sections 303.01(B)(2)(a) and (3) of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing standards. Mr. Hayden is independent within the NYSE listing standard definition. Officers are not independent under the NYSE definition. The Audit Committee report is submitted by: David B. Hayden, Bradley K. Hoffman and Tad McMahon COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is comprised of Mr. Wagoner, Chairman of the Board, Mr. Stewart, CEO, President and Executive Board member, and Mr. Hayden, Board member. In the normal course of business, we purchased modifications services and avionics of approximately $74,442, $89,398, and $127,661 from a company partially owned by David Hayden, a director for the Company during fiscal 2009, 2008, and 2007 respectively. |
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND CHANGE-IN-CONTROL |
On April 30, 2001, the Company extended the Employment Agreement through August 31, 2006 with Clark D. Stewart under the terms of which Mr. Stewart was employed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. On February 24, 2009 the Company extended the Employment Agreement with Mr. Stewart with the terms as currently provided including annual increases of 5% through December 31, 2020. In the event Mr. Stewart is terminated from employment with the Company other than "for cause," Mr. Stewart shall receive as severance pay an amount equal to the unpaid salary for the remainder of the term of the Employment Agreement. Mr. Stewart is also granted an automobile allowance of $600 per month which is reported by us as Salary Expense and to Mr. Stewart as Wages. Under the terms of the Employment Agreement with Mr. Stewart, the Company is obligated to pay company related expenses and salary. Included in accrued liabilities are $99,057 and $73,758 as of April 30, 2009, and 2008 respectively for amounts owed to our CEO for accrued compensation. |
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT Performance Measures and Decision-Making Process for Fiscal Year 2009 The Committee set base salaries for executive officers for 2009 in April 2008, with payment beginning in April 2008. - The performance measures used by the Committee in determining executive compensation for fiscal year 2009 were: - the absolute one-year and multi-year company performance as measured by market share, revenue growth, profit from operations and total shareholder return; - one-year and multi-year performance on the same measures as compared with competitors in the comparator group; and - Company progress toward its strategic goals. To make its decisions on executive compensation, the Committee reviewed in detail each of the performance measures above and reviewed compensation market data. The Committee also reviewed the total compensation and benefits of the executive officers and considered the impact that their retirement, or termination under various other scenarios, would have on their compensation and benefits. The CEO provided the entire board of directors with an assessment of his own performance with respect to the performance measures listed above, which the board considered in its assessment of his performance for fiscal year 2008. The CEO reviewed the performance of the other executive officers (except the Chairman) with the Committee and made recommendations regarding the components of their compensation. Before making its compensation decisions, the Committee discussed levels of compensation for the Chairman, the CEO and the other executive officers with the full board of directors in an executive session. Determination of CEO Compensation In fiscal year 2008, Butler National Corporation reached projected levels of revenue, profit from operations, operating margin and operating cash flow. With regard to progress toward strategic goals, BNC improved its products and technology positions and strengthened its relationships with customers. Taking into account Company performance, both absolute and relative to competition, and the executive officers contribution to that performance, the Committee set its targeted compensation levels so as to be commensurate with that relative performance. The Committee made the following determinations for fiscal year 2009 with respect to each component of compensation for the CEO and his existing contract and the other executive officers: Base Salary - In keeping with its strategy, the Committee base salary decisions for fiscal year 2009 were generally intended to provide salaries somewhat lower than the median level of salaries for similarly situated executives of the comparator companies. Performance Bonus - In general, the Committee granted no annual performance awards Long-Term Compensation - The Committee granted no equity compensation. Compensation of the Chairman Because Mr. Wagoner was among the four most highly compensated executive officers in the Company, SEC rules require disclosure of his compensation. In making the determinations, the Committee considered his role as Chairman, his contribution to the Company performance and strategic direction, and the compensation of employee-chairmen of comparator companies. The Compensation Committee, which is composed solely of independent members of the Board of Directors, assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities with regard to compensation matters, and is responsible under its charter for determining the compensation of the Company's executive officers. The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K with management, including our CEO, Clark D. Stewart and our CFO, Angela D. Shinabargar. Based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K. Compensation Committee: Mr. David B. Hayden, Mr. Clark D. Stewart, Mr. R. Warren Wagoner |
STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH |
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ASSUMES DIVIDEND REINVESTED |
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The peer group consists of companies with similar market capitalization. The Custom Selected Stock List is made up of the following small cap securities selected by Research Data Group. as peer companies: Activeworlds Corp., Clinical Data Inc., Forward Industries, Inc.s, Hirsch Internat CP CL A, Interpharm Holdings. |
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PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES We retained Weaver & Martin, LLC to perform the review of our annual financial statements for the past fiscal year. The aggregate fees billed by Weaver & Martin, LLC for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2008, and the reviews of the financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for that fiscal year were $119,720. |
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Audit fees (a) |
$82,850 |
$93,185 |
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(a) Includes fees billed for professional services rendered in connection with the audit of the annual financial statements and for the review of the quarterly financial statements. |
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We did not receive any services from our auditors relating to financial information systems design and implementation during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2009. |
ELECTION OF DIRECTOR |
The number of directors constituting our Board of Directors has been fixed at five (5). The Board is comprised of the following three classes of directors that serve staggered three year terms. Class I consists of one director to be elected at the 2010 Annual Meeting. Class II consists of two directors, of which one is to be elected at the 2011 Annual Meeting. Class III consists of two directors to be elected at the 2009 Annual Meeting. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE "FOR" MR. STEWART AND MR. WAGONER FOR ELECTION AS DIRECTORS OF BUTLER NATIONAL CORPORATION. |
INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS |
We have engaged Weaver & Martin, LLC to audit our financial statements for the years ended April 30, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Weaver & Martin, LLC was able to express an opinion on the financial statements for the years ended April 30, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Representatives of Weaver & Martin, LLC are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and they will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will be available to respond to appropriate questions. |
OTHER MATTERS |
Management knows of no other matters that will be presented at the meeting. If any other matter arises at the meeting, it is intended that the shares represented by the proxies in the accompanying form will be voted in accordance with the judgment of the persons named in the proxy. CHRISTOPHER J. REEDY, Secretary |
BUTLER NATIONAL CORPORATION
PROXY CARD SOLICITED BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
For April 20, 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
The undersigned hereby appoints Christopher J. Reedy and Clark D. Stewart, or either of them, Proxies with full power of substitution to vote all shares of stock of Butler National Corporation of record in the name of the undersigned at the close of business on February 23, 2010, at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Butler National Corporation to be held on April 20, 2010 or any adjournment or adjournments hereby revoking all former proxies:
Important notice regarding the availability of Proxy materials. The Proxy statement and proxy card are available to view or download at www.butlernational.com/proxy.htm
(MUST BE SIGNED ON OTHER SIDE)
THE SHARE(S) REPRESENTED BY THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS MADE AND "FOR" SUCH PROPOSAL IF THERE ARE NO SPECIFICATIONS. NONE OF THE PROPOSALS ARE RELATED TO OR CONDITIONED ON THE APPROVAL OF ANY OTHER PROPOSAL.
Date: ______________________________________, 2010
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(Signature)
______________________________________
(Signature if jointly held)
Please sign name(s) exactly as shown at left. When signing as executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, give full title as such; when shares have been issued in names of two or more persons, all should sign. If a corporation, please sign full corporate name by the President or other authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in partnership name by an authorized person.