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Investments | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Investments [Abstract] |
Investments | Investments: Investments include our share of unconsolidated joint ventures, nonmarketable securities and marketable equity securities. The following table details our investment balances at December 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):
|  | December 31,
|  | 2017 |  | 2016
Joint ventures |  | $ | 499,756 |  |  | $ | 429,794 |
Nonmarketable securities |  | 3,655 |  |  | 169 |
Marketable equity securities |  | 30,653 |  |  | 27,570 |
Total |  | $ | 534,064 |  |  | $ | 457,533 |
Our ownership positions in significant unconsolidated investments are shown below:
|  |  | December 31,
|  |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2015
* |  | Windfield Holdings Pty. Ltd. - a joint venture with Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries, Inc., that mines lithium ore and produces lithium concentrate | 49 | % |  | 49 | % |  | 49 | %
* |  | Nippon Aluminum Alkyls - a joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. that produces aluminum alkyls | 50 | % |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
* |  | Magnifin Magnesiaprodukte GmbH & Co. KG - a joint venture with Radex Heraklith Industriebeteiligung AG that produces specialty magnesium hydroxide products(a) | — | % |  | — | % |  | 50 | %
* |  | Nippon Ketjen Company Limited - a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Limited that produces refinery catalysts | 50 | % |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
* |  | Eurecat S.A. - a joint venture with Axens Group for refinery catalysts regeneration services | 50 | % |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
* |  | Fábrica Carioca de Catalisadores S.A. - a joint venture with Petrobras Quimica S.A. - PETROQUISA that produces catalysts and includes catalysts research and product development activities | 50 | % |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
(a) | On February 1, 2016, we sold our investment in Magnifin as part of the sale of the minerals-based flame retardants and specialty chemicals business. Refer to Note 3, “Divestitures,” for additional information.
Our investment in the significant unconsolidated joint ventures above amounted to $479.1 million and $404.6 million as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and the amount included in Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax) in the consolidated statements of income totaled $86.8 million, $56.8 million and $25.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As further described in Note 24, “Segment and Geographic Area Information,” Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax) for the year ended December 31, 2015 was reduced by $27.1 million related to the utilization of the inventory markup to fair value in connection with the acquisition of Rockwood. Undistributed earnings attributable to our significant unconsolidated investments represented approximately $127.5 million and $99.4 million of our consolidated retained earnings at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. All of the unconsolidated joint ventures in which we have investments are private companies and accordingly do not have a quoted market price available. The following summary lists our assets, liabilities and results of operations for our significant unconsolidated joint ventures presented herein (in thousands):
|  | December 31,
|  | 2017 |  | 2016
Summary of Balance Sheet Information: |  |  |  |
Current assets |  | $ | 503,043 |  |  | $ | 383,203 |
Noncurrent assets |  | 1,041,519 |  |  | 913,643 |
Total assets |  | $ | 1,544,562 |  |  | $ | 1,296,846 |
Current liabilities |  | $ | 133,670 |  |  | $ | 138,474 |
Noncurrent liabilities |  | 405,662 |  |  | 319,801 |
Total liabilities |  | $ | 539,332 |  |  | $ | 458,275 |
|  | Year Ended December 31,
|  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2015
Summary of Statements of Income Information: |  |  |  |  |  |
Net sales |  | $ | 687,561 |  |  | $ | 590,980 |  |  | $ | 560,376 |
Gross profit |  | $ | 353,577 |  |  | $ | 267,241 |  |  | $ | 253,569 |
Income before income taxes |  | $ | 267,805 |  |  | $ | 189,016 |  |  | $ | 157,501 |
Net income |  | $ | 184,777 |  |  | $ | 126,872 |  |  | $ | 111,491 |
We have evaluated each of the unconsolidated investments pursuant to current accounting guidance and none qualify for consolidation. Dividends received from our significant unconsolidated investments were $38.1 million, $42.1 million and $58.1 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the carrying amount of our investments in unconsolidated joint ventures differed from the amount of underlying equity in net assets by approximately $13.8 million and ($6.8) million, respectively. These amounts represent the differences between the value of certain assets of the joint ventures and our related valuation on a U.S. GAAP basis. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively, remained to be amortized over the remaining useful lives of the assets with the balance of the difference representing primarily our share of the joint ventures’ goodwill. The Company holds a 49% equity interest in Windfield Holdings Pty. Ltd. (“Windfield”), which we acquired in the Rockwood acquisition. With regards to the Company’s ownership in Windfield, the parties share risks and benefits disproportionate to their voting interests. As a result, the Company considers Windfield to be a variable interest entity (“VIE”). However, the Company does not consolidate Windfield as it is not the primary beneficiary. The carrying amount of our 49% equity interest in Windfield, which is our most significant VIE, was $355.2 million and $288.6 million at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. The Company’s aggregate net investment in all other entities which it considers to be VIE’s for which the Company is not the primary beneficiary was $8.7 million and $8.8 million at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Our unconsolidated VIE’s are reported in Investments in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not guarantee debt for, or have other financial support obligations to, these entities, and its maximum exposure to loss in connection with its continuing involvement with these entities is limited to the carrying value of the investments. Included in the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2015, is a return of capital from Windfield of $98.0 million. As part of the original Windfield joint venture agreement, Tianqi Lithium Corporation (“Tianqi”) was granted an option to purchase from 20% to 30% of the equity interests in Rockwood Lithium GmbH, a wholly-owned German subsidiary of Albemarle, and its subsidiaries. In February 2017, Albemarle and Tianqi terminated the option agreement, and as a result, we will retain 100% of the ownership interest in Rockwood Lithium GmbH and its subsidiaries. Following the termination of the option agreement, the $13.1 million fair value of the option agreement originally recorded in Noncontrolling interests was reversed and recorded as an adjustment to Additional paid-in capital. The Company holds a 50% equity interest in Jordan Bromine Company Limited (“JBC”), reported in the Bromine Specialties segment. The Company consolidates this venture as it is considered the primary beneficiary due to its operational and financial control. We maintain a Benefit Protection Trust (the “Trust”) that was created to provide a source of funds to assist in meeting the obligations of our Executive Deferred Compensation Plan (“EDCP”), subject to the claims of our creditors in the event of our insolvency. Assets of the Trust, in conjunction with our EDCP, are accounted for as trading securities in accordance with authoritative accounting guidance. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of mutual fund investments and are marked-to-market on a monthly basis through the consolidated statements of income. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, these marketable securities amounted to $25.5 million and $22.0 million, respectively. Our 50%-owned SOCC joint venture in Saudi Arabia, included in our Lithium and Advanced Materials segment, experienced a net loss, which affected our equity in income from unconsolidated investments by approximately $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, indicating the carrying value potentially may be impaired. As a result, we assessed the recoverability of the investment in this venture as of December 31, 2017. As of December 31, 2017, the carrying amount of our equity interest in SOCC was $4.5 million. Based on our assessment, we concluded not to record any impairment of the investment carrying value as of December 31, 2017.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for equity method investments and joint ventures. Equity method investments are investments that give the investor the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of an investee. Joint ventures are entities owned and operated by a small group of businesses as a separate and specific business or project for the mutual benefit of the members of the group. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2196965 + Details
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