ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Our Corporate History and Background
The Company was incorporated in the State of Nevada on September 23, 2010, under the name Recursos Montana S.A. The Company's principal activity was as a pre-exploration stage company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties then owned by the Company. During this time, the Company was deemed a "shell company" in the pre-exploration stage and was ultimately unable to commence exploration activities.
On February 2, 2015, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement with Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc., whereby the Company acquired 100% of Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc. issued and outstanding common stock in exchange for shares of the Company's common stock equal 51% of the issued and outstanding common stock and cash consideration to Tanaris in the aggregate amount of $350,000. Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc. was the owner of certain rights in connection with the marketing and sale of smart lithium-ion batteries and battery technologies for various industrial vehicles markets and related applications. On March 6, 2015, the Company amended its Articles of Incorporation to change its name to Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc.
On April 25, 2016, Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc., a Nevada corporation entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the "Share Exchange Agreement") with Hammer Fiber Optics Investments, Ltd., a Delaware corporation ("HFOI"), and the controlling stockholders of HFOI (the "HFOI Shareholders"). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company acquired 20,000,000 shares of common stock of HFOI from the HFOI shareholders (the "HFOI Shares") and in exchange the Company issued to the HFOI Shareholders 50,000,000 (post-Merger) restricted shares of its common stock (the "HMMR Shares"). As a result of the Share Exchange Agreement, HFOI became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Hammer Fiber Optics Investments, Ltd. was formed in the State of Delaware on June 13, 2014.
On April 13, 2016, our board of directors approved a Plan of Merger (the "Plan of Merger") under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Section 92A.180 to merge (the "Merger") with our wholly-owned subsidiary Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp., a Nevada corporation, to effect a name change from Tanaris Power Holdings, Inc. to Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp. The transaction was accounted for as a reverse merger. The Plan of Merger also provided for a 1 for 1,000 exchange ratio for shareholders of both the Company and Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp., which had the effect of a 1 for 1,000 reverse split of our common stock. Articles of Mergerwere filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada on April 13, 2016 and, on April 14, 2016, this corporate action was submitted to FINRA for its review and approval.
On May 3, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") approved the merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary, Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp. Accordingly, thereafter the Company's name was changed and our shares of common stock began trading on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) under our new ticker symbol "HMMR" as of May 27, 2016.
On September 11, 2018, our board of directors approved stock purchase agreements with 1stPoint Communications LLC and its subsidiaries, Endstream Communications LLC, Open Data Centers LLC and Shelcomm Inc. for the acquisition of all of the equity of the entities. 1stPoint and its subsidiaries possess CLEC licenses in Florida, New York State, and a nationwide CMRS (Commercial Mobile Radio Services) license. The companies operate a data center facility in Piscataway, New Jersey. The acquisition of 1stPoint Communications, LLC, Open Data Centers, LLC and Shelcomm, Inc. closed on November 1, 2018. The acquisition of Endstream Communications, LLC closed on December 17, 2018.
On January 29, 2019 our board of directors approved a stock purchase agreement with American Network, Inc to acquire all of its equity. The acquisition of American Network, Inc closed on September 1, 2019.
As of April 30, 2020 our board of directors approved the discontinuation of the operations of Open Data Centers LLC. The operations of Open Data Centers, LLC were discontinued effective April 30, 2020 and the Company shut down its operations in its Piscataway, NJ data center.
On October 19, 2021 our board of directors approved a name change from Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp to Hammer Technology Holdings Corp.
On October 25, 2021 our board of directors approved a share exchange agreement with Telecom Financial Services Limited ("TFS") for the acquisition one hundred percent (100%) of its stock. TFS owns the intellectual property critical to the operations of the company's financial technology business unit as well as certain key supplier, marketing and operating agreements. The acquisition of TFS closed on January 3, 2022. TFS has been renamed HammerPay [USA] Ltd.
Current Operations
Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings Corp(OTCQB:HMMR) is a company focused on sustainable shareholder value investing in both financial services technology and wireless telecommunications infrastructure.
Hammer's financial technologies business is focused on providing digital stored value technology via its HammerPay mobile payments platform to enable digital commerce between consumers and branded merchants across the developing world, ensuring Swift, Safe and Secure encrypted remittances and banking transactions.
Hammer's "Everything Wireless" go to market strategy for its telecommunications business includes the development of high speed fixed wireless service for residential, small business and enterprise clients using its wireless fiber platform, Hammer Wireless AIR®, mobility networks including 4G5G//LTE, Over-the-Top services such as voice, SMS and collaboration services and hosting services.
Employees
We currently have seventeen employees, fifteen of which are full time employees and two are part time.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider each of the risks and uncertainties described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as any amendments or updates reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC. We believe these risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results and could materially and adversely affect our business operations, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Further, additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our results and business operations.
Risks Associated with Our Business
Our operations and financial performance could be negatively impacted, if the markets for our products do not develop and expand as we anticipate.
The markets for our products and services are characterized by rapidly changing technologies, evolving industry or regulatory standards and new product introductions. Our success is dependent on the successful introduction of new products and services, or upgrades of current products and services, and our ability to compete with new technologies. The following factors related to our products, services and markets, if they do not continue as in the recent past, could have an adverse impact on our operations:
- our ability to source criticalmaterials such as optical fiber and cable and hardware and equipment, at competitive prices;
- our ability to develop new products in response to government regulations and laws;
- our ability to secure and retain adequate spectrum to facilitate ongoing operations and deployment of our services beyond our present geographic footprint.
We rely on contract manufacturing of our products. Our inability to secure production sources meeting our quality, cost, working conditions and other requirements, or failures by our contractors to perform, could harm our sales and reputation.
We source many of our materials from international manufacturers. As a result, we must locate and secure production that meets our demands. We depend on our manufacturers to maintain adequate financial resources and maintain sufficient development and manufacturing capacity. We do not have material long-term contracts with any of our manufacturers, and these manufacturers generally may unilaterally terminate their relationship with us at any time. Our dependence on contract manufacturers could subject us to a number of risks if these manufacturers do not meet our quality, cost, working conditions and other requirements or if they fail to materially perform, any of which could seriously harm our sales and reputation. Further, if we need to place greater demands on our current manufacturers due to increased customer demands, or seek additional or replacement manufacturers, we may be unable to do so on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all.
Violation of labor laws and practices by our manufacturers and suppliers could harm our business.
We require our manufacturers and suppliers to operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. While the Company promotes ethical business practices, we do not control our manufacturers or suppliers or their labor practices. The violation of labor or other laws by any of our manufacturers or suppliers, or divergence of their labor practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the local markets, could interrupt or otherwise disrupt the shipment of our products, harm the value of our trademarks, damage our reputation or expose us to potential liability for their wrongdoings.
A privacy breach could damage our reputation and our relationship with our customers, expose the Company to litigation risk and adversely affect our business.
As part of our normal course of business, we collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential customer information. Despite security measures we have in place, our facilities and systems may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other similar events. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information could severely damage our reputation and our relationships with our customers, expose the Company to risks of litigation and liability and adversely affect our business.
Our Articles of Incorporation exculpates our officers and directors from certain liability to our Company or our stockholders.
Our Articles of Incorporation contain a provision limiting the liability of our officers and directors for their acts or failures to act, except for acts involving intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law. This limitation on liability may reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors and may discourage or deter our stockholders from suing our officers and directors based upon breaches of their duties to our Company.
Our directors and named executive officers are also our principal stockholders, as such they will be able to exert significant influence over matters submitted to stockholders for approval, which could delay or prevent a change in corporate control or result in the entrenchment of management or the Board of Directors, possibly conflicting with the interests of other stockholders.
Our directors and named executive officers are also our principal stockholders as such they exert significant influence in determining the outcome of corporate actions requiring stockholder approval and otherwise control of our business. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or entrenching management or the Board of Directors, which could conflict with the interests of our other stockholders and, consequently, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
The Company's independent auditors have issued a going concern opinion.
The Company's ability to remain a going concern is highly dependent on its ability to raise sufficient debt and/or equity capital, among other things. No assurance can be given that the company will be successful in these efforts.
Information technology dependency and security vulnerabilities could lead to reduced revenue, liability claims, or competitive harm.
The Company is increasingly dependent on sophisticated information technology and infrastructure. Any significant breakdown, intrusion, interruption or corruption of these systems or data breaches could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We use electronic information technology (IT) in our manufacturing processes and operations and other aspects of our business. Despite our implementation of security measures, our IT systems are vulnerable to disruptions from computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access, cyber-attack and other similar disruptions. A material breach in the security of our IT systems could include the theft of our intellectual property or trade secrets. Such disruptions or security breaches could result in the theft, unauthorized use or publication of our intellectual property and/or confidential business information, harm our competitive position, reduce the value of our investment in research and development and other strategic initiatives, or otherwise adversely affect our business. We have, from time to time, experienced incidents related to our IT systems, and expect that such incidents will continue, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, systems failures and disruptions. We have measures and defenses in place against unauthorized access, but we may not be able to prevent, immediately detect, or remediate such events.
Business disruptions could affect our operating results
A significant portion of our development activities and certain other critical business operations are concentrated in a few geographic areas. A major earthquake, fire or other catastrophic event that results in the destruction or disruption of any of our critical facilities could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our future financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
If we cannot attract more customers to purchase our products, we may not be able to increase or sustain our revenues.
Our future success will depend on our ability to attract additional customers. The growth of our customer base could be adversely affected by:
- customer unwillingness to implement our products and services;
- any delays or difficulties that we may incur in completing the development and introduction of our products or product enhancements or service enhancements;
- the overall satisfaction of our customers;
- new product and service introductions by our competitors;
- any failure of our products to perform as expected; or
- any difficulty we may incur in meeting customers' expectations.
Fluctuations in the economy affect the telecommunications industry, including broadband and Internet and may decrease demand for various products and services. Such a decrease may have an adverse effect on the demand in the fiber optic sector and negatively impact the growth of our customer base.
Foreign Currency
We transact business in various foreign currencies including the Euro and the Leone. In general, the functional currency of a foreign operation is the local country's currency. Consequently, revenues and expenses of operations outside the United States are translated into UDS Dollars using the weighted-average exchange rates on the period end date and assets and liabilities of operations outside the United States are translated into US Dollars using the change rate on the balance sheet dates. The effects of foreign currency translation adjustments are included in the stockholders' equity as a component of the AOCL in the accompanying financial statements.
Internal Controls
We have determined that our internal controls are ineffective due to the small staff of the company. Although we have implemented internal systems and controls to minimize the potential for risk and business loss, a breakdown of internal controls could affect our ability to conduct normal business operations and, as a result, our future financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Securities
Our stock price may be volatile, which may result in losses to our shareholders.
The stock markets have experienced significant price and trading volume fluctuations, and the market prices of companies listed on the OTCQB quotation system in which shares of our common stock are listed, have been volatile in the past and have experienced sharp share price and trading volume changes. The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely in response to many factors, including the following, some of which are beyond our control:
- variations in our operating results;
- changes in expectations of our future financial performance, including financial estimates by securities analysts and investors;
- changes in operating and stock price performance of other companies in our industry;
- additions or departures of key personnel; and
- future sales of our common stock.
Domestic and international stock markets often experience significant price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations, as well as general economic and political conditions unrelated to our performance, may adversely affect the price of our common stock.
Our common shares may become thinly traded and you may be unable to sell at or near ask prices, or at all.
We cannot predict the extent to which an active public market for trading our common stock will be sustained. The trading price of our common shares has historically been sporadically or "thinly-traded" meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near ask prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent.This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community who generate or influence sales volume. Even if we came to the attention of such persons, those persons tend to be risk-averse and may be reluctant to follow, purchase, or recommend the purchase of shares of an unproven company such as ours until such time as we become more seasoned and viable. As a consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without an adverse effect on share price. We cannot provide any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for our common stock will develop or be sustained, or that current trading levels will be sustained.
The market price for our common stock is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively small company, which could lead to wide fluctuations in our share price. You may be unable to sell your common stock at or above your purchase price if at all, which may result in substantial losses to you.
Shareholders should be aware that, according to SEC Release No. 34-29093, the market for penny stocks can be negatively affected from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (1) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (2) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (3) boiler room practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (4) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differential and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (5) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, along with the resulting inevitable collapse of those prices and with consequent investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities. The occurrence of these patterns or practices could increase the volatility of our share price.
We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends to our common shareholders.
We presently do not anticipate that we will pay dividends on any of our common stock in the foreseeable future. If payment of dividends does occur at some point in the future, it would be contingent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements, and general financial condition. The payment of any common stock dividends will be within the discretion of our Board of Directors. We presently intend to retain any earnings after paying the interest for the preferred stock, if any, to implement our business plan; accordingly, we do not anticipate the declaration of any dividends for common stock in the foreseeable future.
Volatility in our common share price may subject us to securities litigation.
The market for our common stock is characterized by significant price volatility as compared to seasoned issuers, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than a seasoned issuer for the indefinite future. In the past, plaintiffs have often initiated securities class action litigation against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. We may, in the future, be the target of similar litigation. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and liabilities and could divert management's attention and resources.
The elimination of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under Nevada law and the existence of indemnification rights of our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenditures by our company and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.
Our Articles of Incorporation contain a specific provision that eliminates the liability of our directors and officers for monetary damages to our company and shareholders. Further, we are prepared to give such indemnification to our directors and officers to the extent provided for by Nevada law. We may also have contractual indemnification obligations under our employment agreements with our officers. The foregoing indemnification obligations could result in our company 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 our company 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 shareholders against our directors and officers even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit our company and shareholders.
Our business is subject to changing regulations related to corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of noncompliance.
Because our common stock is publicly traded, we are subject to certain rules and regulations of federal, state and financial market exchange entities charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded. These entities, including the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the United States Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), have issued requirements and regulations and continue to develop additional regulations and requirements in response to corporate scandals and laws enacted by Congress, most notably the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our efforts to comply with these regulations have resulted in, and are likely to continue resulting in, increased general and administrative expenses and diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. Because new and modified laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices.