Bankruptcy Warning in Radio Shack 10-Q $RSH

This morning's 10-Q:

We have experienced losses for the past two years that continued to accelerate into the second quarter of fiscal 2015, primarily attributed to a prolonged downturn in our business. Our ability to generate cash from operations depends in large part on the level of demand for our products and services. We continue to face an uncertain business environment and face a number of fundamental challenges in our mobility business due to consumer interest in handsets available in the market today, aggressive price competition on these products andintense wireless carrier marketing activities. Our retail business also faces the challenge of revamping our product assortment to anticipate and meet our customers’ needs and wants to produce profitable operating margins. We believe these challenging market conditions will continue for the third quarter and possibly the balance of the year.

Given our negative cash flows from operations and in order to meet our expected cash needs for the next twelve months and over the longer term, we will be required to obtain additional liquidity sources, consolidate our store base and possibly restructure our debt and other obligations. We are exploring alternatives and are engaged in discussions with third parties as well as our key financial stakeholders, including our existing lenders, bondholders, shareholders and landlords, in an effort to create a long-term solution. Alternatives include the sale of the company, partnership through a recapitalization and investment agreement, as well as both in and out-of-court restructuring. We presently anticipate announcing a recapitalization alternative, in the near term, which may be our most likely course of action, but we are continuing to evaluate all of our alternatives to restructure existing debt terms and other arrangements to provide additional liquidity. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully implement a long-term solution.

If acceptable terms of a sale or partnership or out-of court restructuring cannot be accomplished, we may not have enough cash and working capital to fund our operations beyond the very near term, which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. As a result, we may be required to seek to implement an in-court proceeding under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Code”). If we commence a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, we will attempt to arrange a “pre-packaged” or “pre-arranged” bankruptcy filing. In a “pre-packaged bankruptcy”, we would make arrangements with new and existing creditors for additional liquidity facilities and the restructuring of our existing debt terms, before presenting these arrangements to the bankruptcy court for approval. In the absence of a “pre-packaged” bankruptcy, we would consider a “pre-arranged” bankruptcy filing, in which we would reach agreement on the material terms of a plan of reorganization with key creditors prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case. An in-court restructuring proceeding would cause a default on our debt with our current lenders.

We anticipate that in the near term we will seek to pursue one of the alternatives described above which may include a restructuring of existing debt terms and other arrangements to provide additional liquidity. As part of the various alternatives, we may begin a program to close a number of underperforming stores and other measures to make reductions in our cost structure. However, the actual number of store closures could vary considerably depending on the specific restructuring alternative implemented. Absent an agreed upon restructuring plan, the store closure program would require consent from our lenders.

There can be no assurance that any of these efforts will be successful. Each of the foregoing alternatives may have materially adverse effects on our business and on the market price of our securities. In the event the restructuring alternatives described above are not achievable, we would likely be required to liquidate under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.

I was surprised that they weren't able to announce some sort of recapitalization package with earnings.

I've never seen a company expound on the difference between "pre-packaged" and "pre-arranged" bankruptcy like that either.