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Operating Segments
 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Operating Segments
OPERATING SEGMENTS
Universal’s operations involve selecting, procuring, processing, packing, storing, shipping, and financing leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products throughout the world. Through various operating subsidiaries located in tobacco-growing countries around the world and significant ownership interests in unconsolidated affiliates, the Company processes and/or sells flue-cured and burley tobaccos, dark air-cured tobaccos, and oriental tobaccos. Flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos are used principally in the manufacture of cigarettes, and dark air-cured tobaccos are used mainly in the manufacture of cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. A substantial portion of the Company’s revenues are derived from sales to a limited number of large, multinational cigarette manufacturers.
The principal approach used by management to evaluate the Company’s performance is by geographic region, although the dark air-cured and oriental tobacco businesses are each evaluated on the basis of their worldwide operations. Oriental tobacco operations consist principally of a 49% interest in an affiliate, and the performance of those operations is evaluated based on the Company’s equity in the pretax earnings of that affiliate. Under this structure, the Company has the following primary operating segments: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Dark Air-Cured, Oriental, and Special Services. North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia are primarily involved in flue-cured and/or burley leaf tobacco operations for supply to cigarette manufacturers. The Dark Air-Cured group supplies dark air-cured tobacco principally to manufacturers of cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products, and the Oriental business supplies oriental tobacco to cigarette manufacturers. From time to time, the segments may trade in tobaccos that differ from their main varieties, but those activities are not significant to their overall results. Special Services includes the Company's laboratory services business, which provides physical and chemical product testing and smoke testing for customers, its food ingredients business, as well as its liquid nicotine joint venture.
The five regional operating segments serving the Company’s cigarette manufacturer customer base share similar characteristics in the nature of their products and services, production processes, class of customer, product distribution methods, and regulatory environment. Based on the applicable accounting guidance, four of the regions – South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia – are aggregated into a single reporting segment, “Other Regions”, because they also have similar economic characteristics. North America is reported as an individual operating segment because its economic characteristics differ from the other regions, generally because its operations require lower working capital investments for crop financing and inventory. The Dark Air-Cured, Oriental and Special Services segments, which have dissimilar characteristics in some of the categories mentioned above, are reported together as “Other Tobacco Operations” because each is below the measurement threshold for separate reporting.
Universal incurs overhead expenses related to senior management, sales, finance, legal, and other functions that are centralized at its corporate headquarters, as well as functions performed at several sales and administrative offices around the world. These overhead expenses are allocated to the various operating segments, generally on the basis of tobacco volumes planned to be purchased and/or processed. Management believes this method of allocation is representative of the value of the related services provided to the operating segments. The Company evaluates the performance of its segments based on operating income after allocated overhead expenses, plus equity in the pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates.
Reportable segment data as of, or for, the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, is as follows:
 
Sales and Other Operating Revenues
 
Operating Income
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
North America
$
416,438

 
$
361,827

 
$
305,028

 
$
35,151

 
$
31,147

 
$
31,060

Other Regions (1) 
1,422,991

 
1,538,971

 
1,739,781

 
143,349

 
143,596

 
125,839

Subtotal
1,839,429

 
1,900,798

 
2,044,809

 
178,500

 
174,743

 
156,899

Other Tobacco Operations (2) 
231,789

 
219,575

 
226,992

 
9,984

 
11,325

 
10,326

Segment total
2,071,218

 
2,120,373

 
2,271,801

 
188,484

 
186,068

 
167,225

Deduct: Equity in pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates (3) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(5,774
)
 
(5,422
)
 
(7,137
)
Restructuring and impairment costs (4)  
 
 
 
 
 
 
(4,359
)
 
(2,389
)
 
(4,890
)
Add: Other income (5) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
—

 
3,390

 
12,676

Consolidated total
$
2,071,218

 
$
2,120,373

 
$
2,271,801

 
$
178,351

 
$
181,647

 
$
167,874

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Segment Assets
 
Goodwill
 
March 31,
 
March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
North America
$
357,406

 
$
364,003

 
$
281,449

 
$
—

 
$
—

 
$
—

Other Regions (1) 
1,465,109

 
1,548,517

 
1,607,846

 
97,159

 
97,318

 
97,372

Subtotal
1,822,515

 
1,912,520

 
1,889,295

 
97,159

 
97,318

 
97,372

Other Tobacco Operations (2) 
300,890

 
318,657

 
297,180

 
1,644

 
1,713

 
1,713

Segment and consolidated totals
$
2,123,405

 
$
2,231,177

 
$
2,186,475

 
$
98,803

 
$
99,031

 
$
99,085

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Depreciation and Amortization
 
Capital Expenditures
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
North America
$
4,626

 
$
4,314

 
$
4,284

 
$
4,202

 
$
2,282

 
$
5,814

Other Regions (1) 
26,106

 
29,187

 
28,827

 
21,619

 
25,122

 
39,303

Subtotal
30,732

 
33,501

 
33,111

 
25,821

 
27,404

 
45,117

Other Tobacco Operations (2) 
5,238

 
4,143

 
4,213

 
9,809

 
19,749

 
13,268

Segment and consolidated totals
$
35,970

 
$
37,644

 
$
37,324

 
$
35,630

 
$
47,153

 
$
58,385

(1) 
Includes South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia regions, as well as inter-region eliminations.
(2) 
Includes Dark Air-Cured, Oriental, and Special Services, as well as intercompany eliminations. Sales and other operating revenues, goodwill, depreciation and amortization, and capital expenditures include limited amounts or no amounts for Oriental because the business is accounted for on the equity method and its financial results consist principally of equity in the pretax earnings of the unconsolidated affiliate. The investment in the unconsolidated affiliate is included in segment assets and was approximately $78.1 million, $81.8 million, and $74.9 million, at March 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.
(3) 
Equity in pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates is included in segment operating income (Other Tobacco Operations segment), but is reported below consolidated operating income and excluded from that total in the consolidated statements of income.
(4) 
Restructuring and impairment costs are excluded from segment operating income, but are included in consolidated operating income in the consolidated statements of income (see Note 2).
(5) 
Other income in fiscal year 2016 represents a gain from remeasuring to fair value the Company's original 50% ownership in Procesadora Unitab, S.A., a tobacco processing joint venture in Guatemala, upon acquiring the 50% interest held by the Company's joint venture partner (See Note 13). Other income in fiscal year 2015 represents the reversal of a valuation allowance on IPI excise tax credits in Brazil (See Note 13).
Geographic data as of, or for, the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, is presented below. Sales and other operating revenues are attributed to individual countries based on the final destination of the shipment. Long-lived assets generally consist of net property, plant, and equipment, goodwill, and other intangibles.
Geographic Data
Sales and Other Operating Revenues
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Belgium
$
320,735

 
$
371,580

 
$
336,396

United States
320,731

 
275,147

 
290,950

Germany
123,649

 
155,180

 
170,338

China
137,855

 
135,032

 
174,872

Netherlands
91,266

 
121,767

 
113,297

Russia
84,784

 
109,559

 
126,652

All other countries
992,198

 
952,108

 
1,059,296

Consolidated total
$
2,071,218

 
$
2,120,373

 
$
2,271,801

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Long-Lived Assets
 
March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
United States
$
85,145

 
$
84,072

 
$
70,929

Brazil
134,074

 
133,727

 
135,980

Mozambique
50,311

 
53,069

 
55,733

All other countries
146,698

 
154,090

 
141,893

Consolidated total
$
416,228

 
$
424,958

 
$
404,535