SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

12. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

SHARE-BASED PLANS

As of December 31, 2024, we had share-based awards outstanding under the following plans: (1) the 2017 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2017 Director LTIP”), (2) the 2024 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2024 Director LTIP”) and (3) the 2021 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2021 Employee LTIP”).

On September 12, 2024, our shareholders approved the 2024 Director LTIP. The 2024 Director LTIP replaces the 2017 Director LTIP. Beginning September 12, 2024, we permanently ceased issuing any additional shares under the 2017 Director LTIP. The maximum aggregate number of shares that may be issued as restricted shares under the 2024 Director LTIP is 300,000 shares.

These share-based plans define fair market value as the closing sales price of a share of common stock as quoted on any established stock exchange for such date or the most recent trading day preceding such date if there were no trades on such date.

RESTRICTED STOCK ACTIVITY

For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, we granted 729 restricted shares of our stock under the 2017 Director LTIP, 6,628 restricted shares of our stock under the 2024 Director LTIP, and 121,097 restricted shares of our stock under the 2021 Employee LTIP. For the nine months ended December 31, 2023, we granted 13,120 shares of our stock under the 2017 Director LTIP, and 152,865 restricted shares of our stock under the 2021 Employee LTIP. A summary of our restricted stock activity is as follows:

	Number of Shares			Weighted Average Grant-date Fair Value
Nonvested April 1, 2024		308,411		$	55.02
Granted		128,454		$	74.01
Vested		(158,221	)	$	53.51
Forfeited		(2,858	)	$	59.33
Nonvested December 31, 2024		275,786		$	64.77

PERFORMANCE STOCK UNITS

Beginning with the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, we granted Performance Stock Units (“PSUs”) to our executive officers under our 2021 Employee LTIP. The PSUs will vest based on the achievement of certain performance goals at the end of a three-year performance period. The PSUs represent the right to receive shares of our common stock at the time of vesting. The total number of PSUs that vest range from 0% to 200% of the target number of PSUs based on our achievement of certain performance targets.

The following table provides a summary of the nonvested PSUs for the nine months ended December 31, 2024:

	Number of units		Weighted Average Grant-date Fair Value
Nonvested April 1, 2024		15,120	$	61.17
Granted		19,415	$	78.54
Vested		-	$	-
Forfeited		-	$	-
Nonvested December 31, 2024		34,535	$	70.94

EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

We provide eligible employees the opportunity to purchase shares of our stock through the 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). Under this plan, eligible employees may purchase up to an aggregate of 2.50 million shares of our stock. Employees in this plan contribute part of their earnings over a six-month offering period. At the end of each offering period, employees purchase our shares using their contributions at a discount off the lesser of the closing market price on the first or the last trading day of each offering period. During the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, we issued 58,064 shares at a weighted average price of $62.61 per share and 70,715 shares at a weighted average price of $42.69 per share, respectively, under the ESPP. As of December 31, 2024, there were 2.37 million shares remaining under the ESPP.

COMPENSATION EXPENSE

The following table provides a summary of our total share-based compensation expense, including for restricted stock awards, PSUs, our ESPP, and the related income tax benefit for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Nine Months Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2024			2023
Equity-based compensation expense	$	2,933		$	2,526		$	8,385		$	7,145
Income tax benefit		(736	)		(733	)		(2,247	)		(1,986	)

We recognized the income tax benefit as a reduction to our provision for income taxes. As of December 31, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock was $13.0 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 30 months.

We also provide our employees with a contributory 401(k) profit sharing plan (the “401(k) plan”), to which we may contribute from time to time at our sole discretion. Employer contributions to the 401(k) plan are always fully vested. Our estimated contribution expense to the 401(k) plan for the three months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, were $1.5 million and $1.0 million, respectively. For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, our estimated contribution expense for the plan was $4.2 million and $3.6 million, respectively.