EDAP EDAP TMS SA

Item 3. Key Information

Selected Financial Data

The following table sets forth selected consolidated financial data for the periods indicated. This information is qualified by and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the Notes thereto included in Part III of this annual report, as well as Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.’’ The selected balance sheet data as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the selected income statement data for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 set forth below have been derived from our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report. Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To date, we have not been required, and presently are not required under French law, to prepare consolidated financial statements under French GAAP or IFRS, nor have we done so.

RISK FACTORS

In addition to the other information contained in this annual report, the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating us and our business. These statements are intended to highlight the material risk factors that may cause actual financial, business, research or operating results to differ materially from expectations disclosed in this annual report. See also factors disclosed under “Cautionary statement on forward-looking information”.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Worldwide contagious, epidemic diseases may impact our international activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Epidemic, contagious and even pandemic diseases, such as the current coronavirus, which started in China in December 2019 and has spread throughout Europe and around the world, is expected to impact the development of our business worldwide as we have taken the previously announced steps of requiring the majority of our employees to work remotely, maintaining minimum supply chain activity and curtailing all business travel. Further, from April 1, 2020, our facility in Lyon, France has been closed with only minimal staff to expedite shipments of disposals at planned intervals. The pandemic may result in further postponement and/or cancelation of the sale and installation of new devices and disposables in hospitals or clinics situated in an infected area. These occurrences could also prevent us from servicing our installed base of devices and we have noted cancelations of treatments in certain circumstances. The pandemic could also result in the postponement of clinical trials using our devices. An outbreak of a contagious disease could also negatively affect hospital admission rates and disrupt our global business, including our ability to manufacture and distribute our devices, for example due to quarantine measures. Although we are monitoring the impact across our businesses of the recent coronavirus outbreak which has already caused disruption of our activities, the severity of the operational and financial impact will depend on how long and widespread the disruption proves to be. Finally, we cannot predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our customers, suppliers and other business partners, and the financial conditions of these actors; however, any material effect on these parties could adversely impact us. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this section, any of which could have a material effect on us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently.

We have a history of operating losses and although we achieved profitability in 2019, it is uncertain whether we can maintain profitability in the future.

Although we achieved operational profitability in 2019, we have incurred operating losses in 2018 and 2017 and in each previous fiscal year prior to 2015, since 1998. We expect that our marketing, selling and research and development expenses will increase as we attempt to further develop and commercialize our lithotripsy and particularly our HIFU devices. We may not, however, generate a sufficient level of revenue to offset these expenses and may not be able to adjust spending in a timely manner to respond to any unanticipated decline in revenue. We cannot guarantee that we will realize sufficient revenue to sustain profitability in the future. See Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.’’

Our future revenue growth and income depend, among other things, on the success of our HIFU technology.

We depend on the success of our HIFU technology for future revenue growth and net income. In particular, we are dependent on the successful development and commercialization of other product lines, such as medical devices based on HIFU particularly but not limited to the Focal One, to generate significant additional revenues, achieve, and sustain profitability in the future. Our Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (“ESWL”) line of products competes in a mature market that has experienced overall declining unit sales prices in recent years.

Although we are particularly dependent on the success of our HIFU technology to grow our business, other revenues, generated by our Urology Devices and Services (“UDS”) division and directly linked to the distribution of other complementary products on behalf of medical companies, continue to increase significantly and contribute to our revenue growth. While we believe that our UDS division can successfully pursue the marketing of its worldwide distribution platform, any termination of distribution commitments from such medical third parties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. See “—Item 4, “Information on the Company—UDS Division— UDS Division Sales and Distribution of Products.”

We utilize distributors for our sales abroad, which subjects us to a number of risks that could harm our business.

We have developed strategic relationships with a number of distributors for sales and service of our devices in certain foreign countries where we are not directly represented by a subsidiary. If these relationships are terminated and not replaced, our revenues and/or ability to market or service our devices in the related territories could be adversely affected. Our distributors’ actions may affect our ability to effectively market our devices in certain foreign countries if, for example, a distributor holds the regulatory authorizations in such countries and causes, by action or inaction, the suspension of such regulatory authorizations or sanctions for non-compliance. It may be difficult, expensive, and time consuming for us to re-establish reputation, market access or regulatory compliance in such case. Moreover, our distributors must be in compliance with anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials or to customers and we may not be able to trace or be kept informed of such corruption. In addition, we may be named as a defendant in lawsuits against our distributors related to sales or service of our devices performed by these distributors. See our risk factor below: “We face a significant risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products results in personal injury or death.”

We operate in a highly regulated industry and our future success depends on obtaining and maintaining government regulatory approval of our products, which we may not receive or be able to maintain or which may be delayed for a significant period of time.

Government regulation significantly impacts the development and marketing of our products, particularly in the United States, EU and Japan. We are regulated in each of our major markets with respect to preclinical and clinical testing, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, sale, marketing, advertising and promotion of our products. To market and sell products, we are required to obtain approval or clearance from the relevant regulatory agencies, including the FDA with respect to the United States. The regulatory agencies may not act favorably or quickly in their review of our submissions, or we may encounter significant difficulties in our efforts to obtain their clearance or approval, or to maintain our existing approvals, all of which could delay or preclude the sale of new or existing products in the related territories. In the European Union, the regulation of medical devices is being updated by the European Medical Device Regulation (“MDR”) effective as of May 26, 2020, following the expiration of the three-year transition period, imposing stricter requirements on the conformity assessment and the commercialization of our products. An MDR compliance action plan is currently being performed in preparation of MDR enforcement within the expected timelines. We are implementing regulatory actions to ensure our HIFU & ESWL devices may be distributed on the European and international market after May 2020.

The process of applying for regulatory approval is often lengthy and requires the expenditure of substantial resources. Further, there can be no assurance that we will receive the required approvals for our products from the required regulatory authorities or, if we do receive the required approvals, that we will receive them on a timely basis, on the conditions and for the indications we seek, or that we will otherwise be able to satisfy the conditions of such approval, if any.

Even if regulatory approval to market a product is granted, it may include limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements can result in fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions. Regulatory policy may change and additional government regulations may be established that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our products. Any delay, failure to receive regulatory approval or the loss of previously received approvals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For more information on the regulation of our business, see Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—Government Regulation’’ and “Information on the Company—HIFU Division—HIFU Division Clinical and Regulatory Status.”

Moreover, we may also be required to abandon previous strategies for regulatory approval, despite having made significant financial and time investments, or refocus our efforts on alternative regulatory strategies, resulting in increased costs and efforts of management, without any guarantee of success, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, we are also subject to healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to physician payment transparency, privacy and regulations. These regulations include, but are not limited to (i) the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which governs the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protects the security and privacy of protected health information; (ii) the U.S. federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act (the “Sunshine Act”), which requires manufacturers of medical devices for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) information related to payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians, (iii) two main sets of laws enacted in France about transparency requirements: “The French Anti-Gift Law” which regulates the provision of gifts, discounts and other incentives to physicians and the “Bertrand law” which imposes disclosure obligations on companies relating to benefits and remunerations granted to, and agreements concluded with, physicians. Any failure to comply with these regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Finally, changes to regulatory policies or the adoption of additional statutes or regulations that affect our business could impose substantial additional costs or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our clinical trials related to products using HIFU technology may not be successful and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals necessary for commercialization of all of our HIFU products.

Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any of our devices under development, we must demonstrate through preclinical testing and clinical trials that the device is safe and effective for use in each indication. Product development, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials is a long, expensive and uncertain process, and is subject to delays and failures at any stage. We or the relevant regulatory authorities may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time and regulating agencies may even refuse to grant exemptions to pursue clinical trials. The results from preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not predict the results that will be obtained in large-scale clinical trials. Companies can suffer significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier trials. Furthermore, data obtained from a trial can be insufficient to demonstrate that our products are safe, effective, and marketable. The commencement, continuation or completion of any of our clinical trials may be delayed or halted, or inadequate to support approval of an application to regulatory authorities for numerous reasons including, but not limited to:

The data we collect from our current clinical trials, our preclinical studies and other clinical trials may not be sufficient to support requested regulatory approval. Additionally, certain regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to prove safety or efficacy, and may require us to pursue additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, which would increase costs and could further delay the approval of our products. If we are unable to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our products in our clinical trials, we will be unable to obtain regulatory approval to market our products.

Our robotic HIFU devices that have not received regulatory approval may not prove to be effective or safe in clinical trials or may not be approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities. If our HIFU devices do not prove to be effective and safe in clinical trials to the satisfaction of the relevant regulatory authorities, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The commercial success of our products depends on whether procedures performed by those products are eligible for reimbursement approved by national health authorities and third-party payers.

Our success depends, among other things, on the extent to which reimbursement can be obtained from healthcare payers for procedures performed with our products. In the United States, we are dependent upon favorable decisions by CMS for Medicare reimbursement, individual managed care organizations, private insurers and other payers. These decisions may be revised from time to time, which could negatively affect reimbursement for procedures performed using our devices. In May 2017, CMS granted a C-code for the use of HIFU for prostate tissue ablation, effective July 1^st, 2017. This C-code covers hospital practical fees and remains temporary. In May 2019, the American Medical Association’s CPT Editorial Panel accepted our request to establish a new Category 1 CPT code that will facilitate reimbursement for the ablation of malignant prostate tissue with HIFU. The CPT specific code description selected by the panel is “Ablation of malignant prostate tissue, transrectal with high intensity focused ultrasound guidance.” The establishment of a CPT code allows for reimbursement for both the technical fee as well as additional reimbursement to the surgeon. We are currently in discussion with private insurers to advance on the reimbursement of HIFU procedures for prostate tissue ablation. Outside the United States, and in particular in the European Union and Japan, third-party reimbursement is generally conditioned upon decisions by national health authorities. In the European Union, there is no harmonized procedure for obtaining reimbursement and, consequently, we must seek regulatory approval in each Member State. Procedures performed with our HIFU devices are not reimbursed in the European Union with the exception of Italy, Germany, in the United Kingdom (where procedures are partially reimbursed by either public healthcare systems or private insurers) and in France under certain conditions. In 2014, the French healthcare government authorities announced the reimbursement of prostate cancer treatment procedures using HIFU as part of a specific process (“Forfait Innovation”) to further validate breakthrough therapies and to accelerate their related reimbursement process based on clinical trials and data registries. HIFU patients are still being treated and entered into the dedicated registry. Under this specific process, French healthcare government authorities will review the clinical data gathered following this decision in view of granting definitive reimbursement for HIFU. However, we cannot guarantee that a definitive reimbursement code will finally be granted.

Lithotripsy procedures currently are reimbursed by public healthcare systems in the European Union, in Japan and in the United States. However, a decision in any of those countries to modify reimbursement policies for these procedures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations. For example, in April 2016, the Japanese authorities decided to stop reimbursing lithotripters’ disposables (electrodes) necessary to perform a lithotripsy procedure. This decision had and will have a material effect on our current and future sales of lithotripsy disposables in Japan.

We cannot assure investors that additional reimbursement approvals will be obtained in the near future. If reimbursement for our products is unavailable, limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, and if we fail to establish or maintain a certain level of reimbursement or full reimbursement from healthcare payers or governments and private healthcare payers’ policies change, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

HIFU technology may not be adopted by the medical community and may never become a standard of care.

Our robotic HIFU devices represent new therapies for the conditions that they are designed to treat. Notwithstanding any positive clinical results that our HIFU devices may have achieved or may achieve in the future in terms of safety and efficacy and any marketing approvals that we have obtained or may obtain in the future, there can be no assurance that such products will gain adoption by the medical community. Physician adoption depends, among other things, on evidence of the cost effectiveness of a therapy as compared to existing therapies and on adequate reimbursement from healthcare payers. Furthermore, acceptance by patients depends in part on physician recommendations, as well as other factors, including the degree of invasiveness, the rate and severity of complications and other side effects associated with the therapy as compared to other therapies.

If our robotic HIFU devices do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, health care payers and the medical community and never become a standard of care, we may not generate or maintain positive cash flows and we may not become profitable or be able to sustain profitability. If we do achieve market acceptance of our products, we may not be able to sustain it or otherwise achieve it to a degree, which would support the ongoing viability of our operations.

Our cash flow is highly dependent on demand for our products.

Our cash flow has historically been subject to significant fluctuations over the course of any given financial year due to cyclical demand for medical devices, and the resulting annual and quarterly fluctuations in trade and other receivables and inventories. This has in the past resulted in significant variations in working capital requirements and operating cash flows. Since we anticipate relying on cash flow from operating activities to meet our liquidity requirements, a decrease in the demand for our products, or the inability of our customers or distributors to meet their financial obligations to us, would reduce the funds available to us. In the future, our liquidity may be constrained and our cash flows may be uncertain, negative or significantly different from period to period. Our future cash flow will be affected by increased expenses in clinical trials, sales efforts as well as marketing campaigns and promotional tools, particularly to implement our expanded U.S. and global strategy following the FDA clearance of Ablatherm, and Focal One, while there is no assurance that this will result in an increase in the demand for our products and services. Our future cash flow may also be affected by the decrease in revenues directly linked to delay and postponing of treatments and sales projects due to COVID-19 crisis. It may also be affected by the increase in expenses linked to the management of the COVID-19 virus.

Competition in the markets in which we operate is intense and is expected to increase in the future.

Competition in the markets in which we operate is intense and is expected to increase in the future. In each of our main businesses, we face competition both directly from other manufacturers of medical devices that apply the same technologies that we use, as well as indirectly from existing or emerging therapies for the treatment of urological disorders.

In the markets that we target for our robotic HIFU products, competition comes from new market entrants and alternative therapies, as well as from current manufacturers of robotic medical devices. In the HIFU market, our devices, in particular the Ablatherm and the Focal One, compete with all current treatments for localized tumors, including surgery, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and cryotherapy. Other energies addressing prostate cancer ablation are also currently being developed such as electroporation and microwave. Other companies working with HIFU technology for the minimally invasive treatment of tumors include SonaCare Medical, a U.S. company that markets a device called the Sonablate for the ablation of prostatic tissue. Sonablate was approved by the FDA for commercialization in the U.S. in October 2015. Profound Medical, a Canadian company, is developing transurethral ultrasound therapy for prostate cancer. Profound Medical acquired Philips Healthcare’s HIFU activity, integrating the development of HIFU devices addressing uterine fibroids, breast tumors and drug delivery activated by HIFU. Insightec, an Israeli company owned mainly by General Electric, Elbit Medical Imaging and Koch Industries, has developed a device using HIFU technology to treat uterine fibroids, painful bone tumors and brain disorders. Theraclion, a French company licensed by EDAP to use of some of our HIFU patents, is currently marketing the Echopulse HIFU device to treat thyroid tumors, benign breast tumors and varicose veins. Haifu, a Chinese company, is developing HIFU products addressing various types of cancers. In addition, we believe that because ESWL has long been the standard treatment for urinary tract calculus disease, competition in that market comes principally from current manufacturers of lithotripters, including Wolf, Storz and Dornier. See Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—HIFU Division— HIFU Competition’’ and Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—UDS Division.’’

Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, research, marketing, sales, distribution and other resources than we have and may have more experience in developing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting new medical devices. In addition, our future success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain a leading position in technological innovation, and we cannot assure investors that we will be able to develop new products or enhance our current ones to compete successfully with new or existing technologies. Rapid technological development by competitors may result in our products becoming obsolete before we recover a significant portion of the research, development and commercialization expenses incurred with respect to those products.

We also face competition for our maintenance and service contracts. Larger hospitals often utilize their in-house maintenance departments instead of contracting with equipment manufacturers like us to maintain and repair their medical equipment. In addition, third-party medical equipment maintenance companies increasingly compete with equipment manufacturers by offering broad repair and maintenance service contracts to hospitals and clinics. This increased competition for medical devices and maintenance and service contracts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our manufacturing operations are highly regulated and failure to comply with those regulations would harm our business.

Our manufacturing operations must comply with regulations established by regulatory agencies in the United States, the European Union and other countries, and in particular with the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (‘‘CGMP’’) mandated by the FDA and European Union standards for quality assurance and manufacturing process control. Since such standards may change, we may not, at all times, comply with all applicable standards and, as a result would be unable to manufacture our products for commercial sale. Our manufacturing facilities are subject to inspection by regulatory authorities at any time. If any inspection by the regulatory authorities reveals deficiencies in manufacturing, we could be required to take immediate remedial actions, suspend production or close the current and future production facilities, which would disrupt our manufacturing processes. Accordingly, failure to comply with these regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on a single site to manufacture our products, and any interruption of operations could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Most of our manufacturing currently takes place in a single facility located in Vaulx-en-Velin, on the outskirts of Lyon, France. In the event of a significant interruption in the operations of our sole facility for any reason, such as fire, flood or other natural disaster or pandemic diseases such the COVID-19 virus necessitating quarantine implementation or a failure to obtain or maintain required regulatory approvals, we would have no other means of manufacturing our products until we were able to restore the manufacturing capabilities at our facility or develop alternative facilities, which could take considerable time and resources and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Since mid-March 2019, we have taken the previously announced steps of requiring the majority of our employees to work remotely, maintaining minimum supply chain activity and curtailing all business travel. If we are unable to manufacture a sufficient or consistent supply of our products or products we are developing, or if we cannot do so efficiently, our revenue, business and financial prospects would be adversely affected.

For certain components or services, we depend on a single supplier who, due to events beyond our control may fail to deliver sufficient supplies to us or increase the cost of items supplied, which would interrupt our production processes or negatively impact our results of operations.

We purchase the majority of the components used in our products from a number of suppliers, but rely on a single supplier for some key components. In addition, we rely on single suppliers for certain services. If the supply of these components or services were interrupted for any reason, our manufacturing and marketing of the affected products would be delayed. These delays could be extensive, especially in situations where a component substitution would require regulatory approval. In addition, such suppliers could decide unilaterally to increase the price of supplied items and therefore cause additional charges for the Company. We expect to continue to depend upon our suppliers for the foreseeable future. Failure to obtain adequate supplies of components or services in a timely manner and at the agreed price could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may have difficulties in attracting and recruiting highly qualified experts in software, design and development of high technology devices such as our HIFU and ESWL products

Our devices require highly qualified individuals as well as high-level of expertise and experience in design, software, mechanics and electronics. We are highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and engineers to develop our devices. In addition, the learning curve required to master our systems is lengthy and, if we do not find qualified experts and engineers, we may not be able to meet our development schedule and obtain market approval in due time, which in time may delay market introduction of new products. Failure to recruit and attract experts in a timely manner may have a material adverse effect on our development, business, financial condition and results of operations.

New device developments and introductions may adversely impact our financial results.

From time to time, we develop and introduce new devices with enhanced features and extended capabilities, targeting new clinical applications or improving existing approaches. The success of new device introductions depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, timely and successful research and development, regulatory clearances or approvals, pricing, competition, market and consumer acceptance, the manufacturing and supply costs, and the risk that new devices may have quality or other defects in the early stages of introduction.

We invest in various research and development projects to expand our product offerings. Our research and development efforts are critical to our success, and our research and development projects may not be successful. We may be unable to develop and market new products successfully, and the products we invest in and develop may not be well-received by customers or meet our expectations. Our research and development investments may not generate significant operating income or contribute to our future operating results for several years, and such contributions may not meet our expectations or even cover the costs of such investments.

If we fail to effectively develop new products, obtain regulatory clearances or approval and manage new product introductions in the future, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely impacted.

Our gross profit margins may vary overtime and could adversely impact our financial results.

Our gross profit margins may be adversely impacted by various factors, including but not limited to: changes in product mix, in business models (sales of devices, treatment procedures or leases), introduction of new devices which may generate lower margins than our existing products, changes in manufacturing and labor costs, sale prices, market conditions.

If we fail to actively reduce or mitigate the potential negative impact of the above factors our gross profit margins, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Intellectual property rights are essential to protect our medical devices, and any dispute with respect to these rights could be costly and have an uncertain outcome.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to develop proprietary products and technologies and to establish and protect the related intellectual property rights, without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties. The validity and scope of claims covered in medical technology patents involve complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, the outcome of such claims may be highly uncertain. The medical device industry has been characterized by extensive patents and other intellectual property rights litigation. From time to time we may receive letters from third parties drawing our attention to their patent rights. Our products, including our HIFU devices, may be subject to litigation involving claims of patent infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights of third parties. The defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits, patent opposition proceedings and related legal and administrative proceedings are both costly and time consuming and may result in a significant diversion of effort and resources by our technical and management personnel. An adverse determination in any such litigation or proceeding to which we become a party could subject us to significant liability to third parties, require us to seek licenses from third parties and pay ongoing royalties, require us to redesign certain products or subject us to injunctions preventing the manufacture, use or sale of the affected products. In addition to being costly, drawn-out litigation to defend or prosecute intellectual property rights could cause our customers or potential customers to defer or limit their purchase or use of our products until the litigation is resolved. See Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—HIFU Division—HIFU Division Patents and Intellectual Property’’ and Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—UDS Division—UDS Division Patents and Intellectual Property.’’

We own patents covering several of our technologies and have additional patent applications pending in the United States, the European Union, Japan and elsewhere. The process of seeking patent protection can be long and expensive and there can be no assurance that our patent applications will result in the issuance of patents. We also cannot assure investors that our current or future patents are or will be sufficient to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage to us. Our patents or patent applications could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented in the future. Failure to maintain or obtain necessary patents, licenses or other intellectual property rights from third parties on acceptable terms or the invalidation or cancellation of material patents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Litigation may be necessary to enforce patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Our competitors, many of which have substantial resources and have made substantial investments in competing technologies, may apply for and obtain patents that will interfere with our ability to make, use or sell certain products, including our HIFU devices, either in the United States or in foreign markets.

We also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how, which we seek to protect through non-disclosure agreements with employees, consultants and other parties. It is possible, however, that those non-disclosure agreements will be breached, that we will not have adequate remedies for any such breach, or that our trade secrets will become known to, or independently developed by, competitors. Litigation may be necessary to protect trade secrets or know-how owned by us. In addition, effective copyright and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in certain countries.

The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations.

We face a significant risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products results in personal injury or death.

Our products are designed to be used in the treatment of severe affections and conditions. Despite the use of our products, patients may suffer personal injury or death, and we may, as a result, face significant product liability claims. We maintain separate product liability insurance policies for the United States and Canada and for the other markets in which we sell our products. Product liability insurance is expensive and there can be no assurance that it will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In addition, our insurance may not cover certain product liability claims or our liability for any claims may exceed our coverage limits. A product liability claim or series of claims brought against us with respect to uninsured liabilities or in excess of our insurance coverage, or any claim or product recall that results in significant cost to or adverse publicity against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, if any of our products prove to be defective, we may be required to recall or redesign the product which could result in costly corrective actions and harm to our business reputation, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity threats and incidents.

In the conduct of our business, we collect, use, transmit and store data on information technology systems. This data includes confidential information belonging to us, our customers and other business partners, as well as personally identifiable information of individuals. We also store data related to our clinical trials on our information technology systems. We also rely in part on the reliability of certain tested third parties' cybersecurity measures, including firewalls, virus solutions and backup solutions. Cybersecurity incidents, such as breaches of data security, disruptions of information technology systems and cyber threats, may result in business disruption, the misappropriation, corruption or loss of confidential information and critical data (ours or that of third parties), reputational damage, litigation with third parties, diminution in the value of our investment in research and development, data privacy issues and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs. Like many companies, we may experience certain of these incidents given that the external cyber-attack threat continues to grow. Moreover, we devote significant resources to network security, data encryption and other measures to protect our systems and data from unauthorized access or misuse, including meeting certain information security standards that may be required by our customers, all of which increases cybersecurity protection costs. We have not experienced any significant or material cybersecurity threats or incidents through the date of this annual report. As these threats, and government and regulatory oversight of associated risks, continue to grow, we may be required to expend additional resources to enhance or expand upon the security measures we currently maintain.

There can be no assurance that our efforts or those of our third-party service providers to implement adequate security and control measures would be sufficient to protect against breakdowns, service disruption, data deterioration or loss in the event of a system malfunction, or prevent data from being stolen or corrupted in the event of a cyber-attack, security breach, industrial espionage attacks or insider threat attacks which could result in financial, legal, business or reputational harm. Future cybersecurity breaches or incidents or further increases in cybersecurity protection costs may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The expansion of social media platforms and new technologies present risks and challenges for our business and reputation.

We increasingly rely on social media and new technologies to communicate about our products and technologies. The use of these media requires specific attention. Unauthorized communications, such as press releases or posts on social media, purported to be issued by the Company, may contain information that is false or otherwise damaging and could have an adverse impact on our stock price. Negative or inaccurate posts or comments about the Company, our business, directors or officers on any social networking website could seriously damage our reputation. In addition, our employees and partners may use social media and mobile technologies inappropriately, which may give rise to liability for the Company, or which could lead to breaches of data security, loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property or public disclosure of sensitive information, including information about our employees, clinical trials or customers. Such uses of social media, mobile technologies, or information technology more generally could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our French and international operations expose us to additional costs and legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have significant French and international operations. We have direct distribution channels in over fifty countries outside of France, our country of incorporation, and through our foreign subsidiaries. Compliance with complex foreign and French laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These regulations include, among others, U.S. laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other U.S. federal laws and regulations established by the Office of Foreign Asset Control, laws such as the UK Bribery Act 2010 or other local laws, which prohibit corrupt payments to governmental officials or certain payments or remunerations to customers. We have adopted a Code of Ethics that requires employees to comply with applicable laws and regulations and particularly with Article 8 of law n°2016-1691 (known as Sapin II law). In accordance with Sapin II law, we have implemented a whistle-blowing policy. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include, among others, data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, “Know Your Customer” requirements, import and trade restrictions, export requirements.

Given the high level of complexity of these laws, there is a risk that we may inadvertently breach some provisions, for example, through fraudulent or negligent behavior of individual employees, our failure to comply with certain formal documentation requirements, or otherwise. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these challenges. We have a dispersed international sales organization, and this structure makes it more difficult for us to ensure that our international selling operations comply with our global policies and procedures.

Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Violations of laws and regulations also could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, or our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In May 2018, the new EU data protection framework, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) took effect. The GDPR significantly increases the level of data protection and imposes a greater compliance burden on companies. In particular, it now also treats clinical data as personal data, requiring us or our subcontractors to implement more extensive procedures in the collection and processing of clinical trial data. Furthermore, the GDPR significantly increases the level of sanctions for non-compliance. The European Union data protection authorities have the power to impose administrative fines of up to a maximum of €20 million or 4% of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. We believe that the regulation did not have a material impact on our business or the way our technologies operate. However, due to the small size of the Company, we may not be able to adequately document all data collection, to obtain related consents in due time, to adequately protect private collected data or to react in due time to address an individual request linked to the GDPR application.

We sell our products in many parts of the world and, as a result, our business is affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk because the mix of currencies in which our costs are denominated is different from the mix of currencies in which we earn our revenue. In 2019, approximately 74% of our total costs of sales and operating expenses were denominated in euro, while approximately 51% of our sales were denominated in currencies other than euro (primarily the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen). Our operating profitability could be materially adversely affected by large fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the euro and other currencies. For instance, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar or the Japanese yen against the euro would have a negative effect on our revenues, which may not be offset by an equal reduction in operating expenses and would therefore negatively impact operating profitability. From time to time we enter into foreign exchange forward sale contracts to hedge against fluctuations in the exchange rates of the principal foreign currencies in which our receivables are denominated (in particular, the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen), but there can be no assurance that such hedging activities will limit the effect of movements in exchange rates on our results of operations. As of December 31, 2019, we had no outstanding hedging instruments. In addition, since any dividends that we may declare will be denominated in euro, exchange rate fluctuations will affect the U.S. dollar equivalent of any dividends received by holders of ADSs. For more information concerning our exchange rate exposure, see Item 11. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”

Our results of operations have fluctuated significantly from quarter to quarter in the past and may continue to do so in the future, as we experience long and variable product sales cycles which are long and seasonal

Our results of operations have fluctuated in the past and are expected to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter depending upon numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the timing and results of clinical trials, changes in healthcare reimbursement policies, cyclicality of demand for our products, changes in pricing policies by us or our competitors, new product announcements by us or our competitors, customer order deferrals in anticipation of new or enhanced products offered by us or our competitors, product quality problems and exchange rate fluctuations. Furthermore, because our main products have relatively high unit prices, the amount and timing of individual orders can have a substantial effect on our results of operations in any given quarter.

The sales cycle of our products is lengthy as our products are high value capital items for our customers that purchase generally requires the approval of management or Boards of hospitals, purchasing groups and government authorities if applicable. In addition, some sales are subject to public tender offer processes and approvals which could happen to be lengthy and as a result, hospitals may delay their purchase orders according to their timelines and budget allocation. It is difficult to predict the exact timing for closing product sales directly linked to the length of capital expenditure cycles. Historically, our sales of products have tended to be stronger during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.

Our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by the adverse economic, geo-political and financial developments.

The current geo-political, economic and financial environment has affected the level of public and private spending in the healthcare sector generally. A cautious or negative outlook may cause our customers to further delay or cancel investment in medical equipment, which would adversely affect our revenues.

In addition, we rely on the credit market to secure dedicated lease financings to fund the development of our Revenue-Per-Procedure (“RPP”) business model related to the sale of treatments’ procedures. Due to the limited availability of lending, we may be unable to access sufficient lease financing. Without lease financing, we may be unable to continue the development of our RPP model or we may need to fund such activity out of our existing working capital. Similarly, some of our clients rely on lease financing to finance their purchases of equipment. Limited availability of lease financing facilities may also affect their purchasing decisions and may adversely impact our equipment sales.

The United Kingdom (the “UK”) held a referendum in 2016 in which voters approved an exit from the European Union (the “EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit.” On March 29, 2017, the UK formally notified the EU of its intention to withdraw pursuant to Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The EU and UK have negotiated a withdrawal agreement, which was ratified by the British Parliament on January 9, 2020. The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020There will then be a transition period with negotiations between UK and EU to determine future relationship between the UK and EU countries. It is possible that there will be greater restrictions on imports and exports (i.e. custom duties) between the UK and EU countries, increased regulatory complexities (in particular in terms of approval of devices), and economic and political uncertainty in the region. We sell devices and spare parts in the UK and need to regularly maintain and service our installed base of equipment. Such restrictions on imports and exports may have a significant impact on our business in the UK. This impact will depend on the trade negotiations and the length of the transition period.

We have been and we may in the future be the target of securities class action or other litigation, which could be costly and time consuming to defend.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because innovative life sciences and medical device companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years.

Any litigation, if instituted, could cause us to incur substantial costs and our management resources may be diverted to defending such litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting and, if we fail to remediate adequately this material weakness and achieve an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately. In addition, the trading price of our securities may be adversely affected by a related negative market reaction.

As a publicly traded company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant continuing costs, including accounting fees and staffing costs, to maintain compliance with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. As of December 31, 2019, as part of our internal control over financial reporting and following the re-assessment of the material weakness reported in our Annual Report on 20-F for 2018 under item 15, we have reviewed our remediation plan and found that although we have implemented certain new controls during 2019, some of these controls were not considered as sufficiently robust. Also, part of the remediation plan was delayed due to IT staff shortage. As such, we considered that the 2018 material weakness was not fully remediated. Based on this evaluation, management identified a material weakness in our 2019 internal control over financial reporting with respect to this not fully executed 2018 remediation plan. Execution was found deficient as it related to the implementation of IT program development changes and more specifically the logging of change requests, the tracking of application change validations, the acceptance testing documentation and a lack of segregation of duties upon IT changes implementation due to small size of our IT structure and organization.

Although we have started additional remediation actions to close this material weakness, we may not be able, or our auditors may find that we have not been able, to fully address the identified deficiencies and consistently execute on the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting in a satisfactory manner.

Furthermore, the ongoing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may place a strain on our systems and resources. Our management is required to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of each year-end, and we are required to disclose management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, including any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Our internal control over financial reporting has been designed to provide our management and Board of Directors with reasonable assurance regarding the preparation and fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements. On an on-going basis, we are reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control procedures. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, and as our business develops, additional resources and management oversight may be required.

Additional procedures were performed for year-end 2019 to demonstrate that no inappropriate use of our IT occurred as of December 31, 2019, and that this material weakness did not result in a material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 or restatement of any prior period previously reported by the Company.

Any failure to complete our assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, to remediate any material weaknesses that we have identified or may identify in the future, any failure to implement new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Any failure to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting and provide accurate financial statements may subject us to litigation, render future financings more difficult or expensive, and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decrease substantially. Inferior controls and procedures could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which may give rise to a class action and have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of the periodic management evaluations of our internal controls and, in the case of a failure to remediate any material weaknesses that we have identified or may identify in the future, would adversely affect the annual auditor attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that are required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Securities

Our securities may be affected by volume fluctuations, and may fluctuate significantly in price, causing you to lose some or all of your investment.

Our ADSs are currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Market. The average daily trading volume of our ADSs in 2019 was 177,251, the high and low bid price of our ADSs for the last two financial years ended on December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, was $5.42 and $1.78, and $4.25 and $1.35, respectively. Our ADSs have experienced, and are likely to experience in the future, significant price and volume fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs without regard to our operating performance. For example, average daily trading volume of our ADSs in December 2018 was 90,875 as opposed to 120,648 for the same period of 2019. The price of our securities and our ADSs in particular, may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, including changes in our business, operations and prospects, and factors beyond our control, including regulatory considerations, results of clinical trials of our products or those of our competitors, developments in patents and other proprietary rights, general market and economic conditions and results of operations being below analysts’ or investors’ expectations. Any downward pressure on the price of ADSs caused by the sale of ADS’s could also encourage short sales by third parties. In a short sale, a prospective seller borrows shares from a shareholder or broker and sells the borrowed shares. The prospective seller hopes that the share price will decline, at which time the seller can purchase shares at a lower price for delivery back to the lender. The seller profits when the share price declines because it is purchasing shares at a price lower than the sale price of the borrowed shares. Such sales could place downward pressure on the price of our ADSs by increasing the number of ADSs being sold, which could further contribute to any decline in the market price of our ADSs.

These broad market and industry factors may adversely affect the market price of our ADSs, regardless of our operating performance. If you invest in our ADSs, you could lose some or all of your investment.

In addition, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. Any additional litigation, if instituted, causes and could cause us to incur substantial costs and our management resources are and could be diverted to defending such litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We may issue additional securities that may be dilutive to our existing shareholders.

On June 28, 2019, our shareholders adopted resolutions allowing the Board of Directors to issue new shares in an aggregate maximum amount of 10 million shares in order to meet any fundraising opportunities that may be necessary to finance the Company’s development. On June 28, 2019, our shareholders also adopted a resolution allowing the Board of Directors to issue 1 million new shares under the form of subscription options to motivate and reward teams dedicated to successfully implementing our U.S. and worldwide expansion plans. As of December 31, 2019, no additional shares were issued nor options allocated as authorized under this Plan.

The issuance of additional ordinary shares, including any additional ordinary shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of preferential subscription rights that may not be available to all of our shareholders, would reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power of the then-existing shareholders.

We are subject to different corporate disclosure standards that may limit the information available to holders of our ADSs.

As a foreign private issuer, we are not required to comply with the notice and disclosure requirements under the Exchange Act relating to the solicitation of proxies for shareholder meetings. Although we are subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the periodic disclosure required of foreign private issuers under the Exchange Act is more limited than the periodic disclosure required of U.S. issuers. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information about us than is regularly published by or about other public companies in the United States.

We currently do not intend to pay dividends, and cannot assure shareholders that we will make dividend payments in the future.

We have never paid any dividend on our shares and do not anticipate paying any dividends for the foreseeable future. Thereafter, declaration of dividends on our shares will depend upon, among other things, future earnings, if any, the operating and financial condition of our business, our capital requirements, general business conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant. See Item 8, “Financial Information—Dividends and Dividend Policy.”

Judgments of U.S. courts, including those predicated on the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States, may not be enforceable in French courts.

An investor in the United States may find it difficult to:

Holders of ADSs have fewer rights than shareholders and must act through the Depositary to exercise those rights.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as shareholders and accordingly, cannot exercise rights of shareholders against us. The Bank of New York Mellon, as Depositary (the “Depositary”), is the registered shareholder of the deposited shares underlying the ADSs, and therefore holders of ADSs will generally have to exercise the rights attached to those shares through the Depositary. We have used and will continue to use reasonable efforts to request that the Depositary notify the holders of ADSs of upcoming votes and ask for voting instructions from them. If a holder fails to return a voting instruction card to the Depositary by the date established by it for receipt of such voting instructions, or if the Depositary receives an improperly completed or blank voting instruction card, or if the voting instructions included in the voting instruction card are illegible or unclear, then such holder will be deemed to have instructed the Depositary to vote its shares and the Depositary shall vote such shares in favor of any resolution proposed or approved by our Board of Directors and against any resolution not so proposed or approved.

Preferential subscription rights may not be available for U.S. persons.

Under French law, shareholders have preferential rights to subscribe for cash issuances of new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares on a pro rata basis. U.S. holders of our securities may not be able to exercise preferential subscription rights for their shares unless a registration statement under the Securities Act is effective with respect to such rights or an exemption from the registration requirements imposed by the Securities Act is available. We may, from time to time, issue new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares (such as warrants) at a time when no registration statement is in effect and no Securities Act exemption is available. If so, U.S. holders of our securities will be unable to exercise their preferential rights and their interests will be diluted. We are under no obligation to file any registration statement in connection with any issuance of new shares or other securities.

For holders of ADSs, the Depositary may make these rights or other distributions available to holders after we instruct it to do so and provide it with evidence that it is legal to do so. If we fail to do this and the Depositary determines that it is impractical to sell the rights, it may allow these rights to lapse. In that case, the holders of ADSs will receive no value for them.

Holders of our ADSs may be exposed to increased transaction costs as a result of proposed European financial transaction taxes.

On February 14, 2013, the EU Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive (the "Draft Directive") on a common financial transaction tax (the "FTT"). According to the Draft Directive, the FTT should have been implemented and should have entered into effect in 10 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, and Slovenia, each a “Participating Member State”). In March of 2016, Estonia indicated its withdrawal from enhanced cooperation.

Pursuant to the Draft Directive, the FTT was to be payable on financial transactions provided at least one party to the financial transaction was established or deemed established in a Participating Member State and there was a financial institution established or deemed established in a Participating Member State which was a party to the financial transaction, or was acting in the name of a party to the transaction. Under the Draft Directive, the FTT should not have applied, however, to (inter alia) primary market transactions referred to in Article 5(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1287/2006, including the activity of underwriting and subsequent allocation of financial instruments in the framework of their issue. The rates of the FTT were to be fixed by each Participating Member State but for transactions involving financial instruments other than derivatives would have amounted to at least 0.1 per cent of the taxable amount. The taxable amount for such transactions would have been generally determined by reference to the consideration paid or owed in return for the transfer. The FTT would have been payable by each financial institution established or deemed established in a Participating Member State which was either a party to the financial transaction, or acting in the name of a party to the transaction or where the transaction had been carried out on its account. Where the FTT due had not been paid within the applicable time limits, each party to a financial transaction, including persons other than financial institutions, would have become jointly and severally liable for the payment of the FTT due.

The Draft Directive has not been adopted. The FTT proposal is still subject to negotiation between the Participating Member States and therefore may be changed at any time. In this respect, a new FTT proposal was submitted in December 2019. Under this new proposal, the FTT would be imposed at a 0.2 per cent rate on the purchase of shares in domestically listed companies with a market capitalization in excess of €1.0 billion, and would also apply to depositary receipts issued domestically and abroad and which are backed by shares in these companies.

Moreover, once a final agreement on such FTT proposal will be reached (the "FTT Directive"), it will need to be implemented into the respective domestic laws of the Participating Member States and the domestic provisions implementing the FTT Directive might deviate from the FTT Directive itself. See Item 10, "Additional Information - Certain Income Tax Considerations."

Prospective holders should therefore note, in particular, that any sale, purchase, or exchange of the Shares or ADSs could become subject to the FTT at a minimum rate of 0.1 per cent. The holder may be liable to itself pay this charge or reimburse a financial institution for the charge, and / or may affect the value of the Shares or ADSs.

In any case, prospective holders should consult their own advisers in relation to the consequences of the FTT associated with subscribing for, purchasing, holding and disposing of ADSs.