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Background and Basis of Presentation (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations for interim reporting. In the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature necessary to state fairly the financial position and results of operations have been included. The results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Other than the update to our accounting policies described in Note 3, the Company has continued to follow the accounting policies set forth in those consolidated financial statements.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards | Recently Adopted Accounting Standards In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued amendments related to hedge accounting. The amendments expand hedge accounting for non-financial and financial risk components and revise the measurement methodologies to better align with an entity’s risk management activities. Separate presentation of hedge ineffectiveness is eliminated to provide greater transparency of the full impact of hedging by requiring presentation of the results of the hedged item and hedging instrument in a single financial statement line item. In addition, the amendments reduce complexity by simplifying the manner in which assessments of hedge effectiveness may be performed. The new guidance is effective for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, and the guidance should be applied prospectively for the amended presentation and disclosure requirements, and through a cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings for any cash flow and net investment hedges existing at the date of adoption. The Company early adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2018. The Company’s cash flow hedges in place at the date of adoption yielded an immaterial amount of ineffectiveness; therefore, the Company did not reflect an adjustment to beginning retained earnings upon adoption. The amended presentation and disclosure requirements are reflected under the new guidance in Note 13 to these condensed consolidated financial statements. In May 2017, the FASB issued guidance to clarify which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. Under the new guidance, an entity should account for the effects of a change in a share-based payment award using modification accounting unless the fair value, vesting conditions and classification as either a liability or equity are all the same with respect to the award immediately prior to modification and the modified award itself. The new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years, and the new guidance should be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after the adoption date. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2018 as required, with no impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In March 2017, the FASB issued guidance to improve the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost (collectively, “pension costs”). Under current GAAP, there are several components of pension costs which are presented net to arrive at pension costs as included in the income statement and disclosed in the notes. As part of this amendment to the existing guidance, the service cost component of pension costs will be bifurcated from the other components and included in the same line items of the income statement as compensation costs are reported. The remaining components will be reported together below operating income on the income statement, either as a separate line item or combined with another line item on the income statement and disclosed. Additionally, with respect to capitalization to inventory, fixed assets, etc., only the service cost component will be eligible for capitalization upon adoption of the guidance. The new guidance is effective for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The amendments should be applied retrospectively upon adoption with respect to the presentation of the service and other cost components of pension costs in the income statement, and prospectively for the capitalization of the service cost component in assets. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2018 as required. Prior to the adoption of the guidance, the Company reflected its pension costs within cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations, depending on whether the costs were associated with employees involved in manufacturing or back office support functions. Under the new guidance, the service cost component of the Company’s pension costs remained in the same line items of the condensed consolidated statements of operations, but the remaining components are now reported as part of nonoperating income in the other (income) expense, net line item of the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Although the guidance requires retrospective application upon adoption, a practical expedient permits the Company to use the amounts disclosed in its pension and other post-retirement benefit plan note as its basis of estimation for the prior comparative periods. The Company utilized the practical expedient, and $172 and $504 of a net pension benefit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, was reclassified to other (income) expense, net. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the amount of pension costs included in other (income) expense, net was a net benefit of $803 and $2,572, respectively. In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance that clarifies the definition of a business and provides revised criteria and a framework to determine whether an integrated set of assets and activities is a business. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2018 as required, with no impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements upon adoption. In November 2016, the FASB issued guidance which clarifies the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on the statement of cash flows. The updates in the guidance require that the statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts. The updates also require a reconciliation between cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash presented on the balance sheet to the total of the same amounts presented on the statement of cash flows. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those years, and the new guidance should be applied retrospectively to each period presented. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2018 as required. As of September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company had $1,333 and $2,300, respectively, of restricted cash included in prepaid and other current assets on its condensed consolidated balance sheets related to its New Market Tax Credit financing arrangements as well as other small restricted cash balances. Changes in the Company’s restricted cash balances prior to the adoption of the new guidance were reflected within cash flows from investing activities in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The prior comparative period in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of cash flows has been updated to conform to the new guidance. See Note 20 to these condensed consolidated financial statements for supplemental cash flow disclosures. In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance which clarifies the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows, including debt prepayment or extinguishment costs and distributions from equity method investees. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, and the new guidance should be applied retrospectively to each period presented. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2018 as required. There was no impact to the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The Company applied the new guidance to the term loan refinancing that occurred during the nine months ended September 30, 2018; see Note 12 to these condensed consolidated financial statements for further information on the debt refinancing transaction. There were no other items in the new guidance which necessitated a change in the Company’s reporting in its condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 or 2017. In May 2014, the FASB issued accounting guidance (with subsequent targeted amendments) to significantly enhance comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. The core principle of the guidance is that revenue recognized from a transaction or event that arises from a contract with a customer should reflect the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for goods or services provided. To achieve that core principle, the new guidance sets forth a five-step revenue recognition model that will need to be applied consistently to all contracts with customers, except those that are within the scope of other topics in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). Also required are enhanced disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenues and cash flows from contracts with customers. The enhanced disclosures include qualitative and quantitative information about contracts with customers, significant judgments made in applying the revenue guidance, and assets recognized related to the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract. For public companies, the new requirements are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company reviewed its key revenue streams and assessed the underlying customer contracts within the framework of the new guidance. The Company evaluated the key aspects of its revenue streams for impact under the new guidance and performed a detailed analysis of its customer agreements to quantify the changes under the guidance. The Company concluded that the guidance did not have a material impact on its existing revenue recognition practices upon adoption on January 1, 2018. The Company implemented the guidance under the modified retrospective transition method of adoption. Comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. The impact of adoption of the new revenue recognition guidance was immaterial for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, and there was no transition adjustment required upon adoption. See Note 3 to these condensed consolidated financial statements for additional disclosures required by the new guidance. Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which will align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement (i.e., a hosting arrangement) that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. Capitalized implementation costs related to a hosting arrangement that is a service contract will be amortized over the term of the hosting arrangement, beginning when the module or component of the hosting arrangement is ready for its intended use. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including all interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the new guidance would have on its consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The guidance eliminates certain disclosure requirements, including the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year and the effects of a one-percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates. The guidance also requires additional disclosure of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period. The guidance is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2020 with early adoption permitted, and is required to be applied on a retrospective basis to all periods presented. The Company will modify its benefit plan disclosures in accordance with the new guidance upon adoption, and the guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance which modifies certain disclosure requirements over fair value measurements. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including all interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company believes that the new guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. In June 2018, the FASB issued guidance which conforms the accounting for the issuance of all share-based payments using the same accounting model. Previously, the accounting for share-based payments to non-employees was covered under a different framework than those made to employees. Under the new guidance, awards to both employees and non-employees will essentially follow the same model, with small variations related to determining the term assumption when valuing a non-employee award as well as a different expense attribution model for non-employee awards. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the new guidance would have on its consolidated financial statements. In February 2018, the FASB issued guidance which will permit entities to make an election to reclassify income tax effects stranded in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to retained earnings as a result of tax reform legislation enacted by the U.S. government on December 22, 2017. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted in any interim period for which the financial statements have not yet been issued. Prior to the enactment of the tax reform legislation on December 22, 2017, the Company had amounts recorded in AOCI related to its domestic pension, postretirement and supplementary benefit plans and cash flow hedging relationships that were based on pre-enactment tax rates. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements. If the Company makes the election to reclassify the stranded income tax effects from AOCI, it may do so using one of two transition methods: restrospectively, or at the beginning of the period of adoption. In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance which eliminates the second step from the traditional two-step goodwill impairment test. Under current guidance, an entity performed the first step of the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount; if an impairment loss was indicated, the entity computed the implied fair value of goodwill to determine whether an impairment loss existed, and if so, the amount to recognize. Under the new guidance, an impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value (the Step 1 test), with no further testing required. Any impairment loss recognized is limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance is effective for public companies that are Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) registrants for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company will apply the guidance prospectively to goodwill impairment tests subsequent to the adoption date. In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance that affects loans, trade receivables and any other financial assets that have the contractual right to receive cash. Under the new guidance, an entity is required to recognize expected credit losses rather than incurred losses for financial assets. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company believes that the new guidance will not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance (with subsequent targeted amendments) that modifies the accounting for leases. Under the new guidance, a lessee will recognize assets and liabilities for most leases (including those classified under existing GAAP as operating leases, which based on current standards are not reflected on the balance sheet), but will recognize expenses similar to current lease accounting. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition method. The Company can choose to apply the new guidance at the beginning of the earliest period presented in the financial statements, or at the date of adoption, with a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The Company has operating lease agreements for which it expects to recognize right of use assets and corresponding liabilities on its balance sheet upon adoption of the new guidance. The Company has prepared a detailed plan to implement the new guidance, gathered the information related to its current lease population, and is assessing its leases in the context of the new framework. The Company is working with a vendor to implement a lease management system which will assist in delivering the required accounting changes. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements, business processes, systems and control environment. The Company does not plan to implement the guidance prior to the required adoption date of January 1, 2019, and the Company plans to initially apply the transition requirements of the guidance at the date of adoption. Revenue Recognition Model In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as the Company fulfills its obligations under its agreements, the Company performs the following steps: (i) identification of the contract with the customer; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations, including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies each performance obligation. The Company identifies a contract when an agreement with a customer creates legally enforceable rights and obligations, which occurs when a contract has been approved by both parties, the parties are committed to perform their respective obligations, each party’s rights and payment terms are clearly identified, commercial substance exists and it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration to which it is entitled. Evidence of a contract between the Company and its customers may take the form of a master service agreement (“MSA”), a MSA in combination with an underlying purchase order, a combination of a pricing quote with an underlying purchase order or an individual purchase order received from a customer. The Company and certain of its customers enter into MSAs that establish the terms, including prices, under which orders to purchase goods may be placed. In cases where the MSA contains a distinct order for goods or contains an enforceable minimum quantity to be purchased by the customer, the Company considers the MSA to be evidence of a contract between the Company and its customer as the MSA creates enforceable rights and obligations. In cases where the MSA does not contain a distinct order for goods, the Company’s contract with a customer is the purchase order issued under the MSA. Customers of the Company may also negotiate orders via pricing quotes, which typically detail product pricing, delivery terms and payment information. When a customer procures goods under this method, the Company considers the combination of the pricing quote and the purchase order to create enforceable rights and obligations. Absent either a MSA or pricing quote, the Company considers an individual purchase order to create enforceable rights and obligations. The Company identifies a performance obligation in a contract for each promised good that is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract and for which the customer can benefit from the good. The majority of the Company’s contracts have a single performance obligation, which is the promise to transfer individual goods to the customer. The Company has certain contracts that include multiple performance obligations under which the purchase price for each distinct performance obligation is defined in the contract. These distinct performance obligations may include stand-ready provisions, which are arrangements to provide a customer assurance that they will have access to output from the Company’s manufacturing facilities, or monthly reservations of capacity fees. The Company considers stand-ready provisions and reservation of capacity fees to be performance obligations satisfied over time. Revenues related to stand-ready provisions and reservation of capacity fees are recognized on a ratable basis throughout the contract term and billed to the customer on a monthly basis. As described above, the Company’s MSAs with its customers may outline prices for individual products or contract provisions. MSAs in the Company’s performance chemicals and refining services product groups may contain provisions whereby raw materials costs are passed-through to the customer per the terms of their contract. The Company’s exposure to fluctuations in raw materials prices is limited, as the majority of pass-through contract provisions reset based on fluctuations in the underlying raw material price. MSAs in the Company’s refining services product group also contain take-or-pay arrangements, whereby the customer would incur a penalty in the form of a shortfall volume fee. Currently there is no history in which customers fail to meet the contractual minimum. Revenue from product sales are recorded at the net sales price, which includes estimates of variable consideration for which reserves are established and which result from discounts, returns or other allowances that are offered within contracts between the Company and its customers. The Company recognizes revenues when performance obligations under the terms of a contract with its customer are satisfied, which generally occurs at a point in time by transferring control of a product to the customer. The Company determines the point in time when a customer obtains control of a product and the Company satisfies the performance obligation by considering factors including when the Company has a right to payment for the product, the customer has legal title to the product, the Company has transferred possession of the product, the customer has assumed the risks and rewards of ownership of the product and the customer has accepted the product. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring goods. The Company does not have any significant payment terms as payment is received at, or shortly after, the point of sale. Contract Assets and Liabilities A contract asset is a right to consideration in exchange for goods that the Company has transferred to a customer when that right is conditional on something other than the passage of time. A contract liability exists when the Company receives consideration in advance of performance obligations. Other than trade accounts receivable and customer return accruals, the Company has not recorded any additional contract assets or contract liabilities on its condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2018. Practical Expedients and Accounting Policy Elections The Company has elected to use certain practical expedients and has made certain accounting policy elections as permitted under the new revenue recognition guidance. Certain of the Company’s contracts with customers are based on an individual purchase order; thus, the duration of these contracts are for one year or less. The Company has made an accounting policy election to omit certain disclosures related to remaining performance obligations for contracts which have an initial term of one year or less. When the Company performs shipping and handling activities after the transfer of control to the customer (e.g. when control transfers prior to delivery), they are considered fulfillment activities as opposed to separate performance obligations, and the Company recognizes revenue upon the transfer of control to the customer. Accordingly, the costs associated with these shipping and handling activities are accrued when the related revenue is recognized under the Company’s policy election. The Company expenses incremental costs of obtaining a contract as incurred if the expected amortization period of the asset that the Company would have recognized is one year or less. Sales, value added and other taxes the Company collects concurrent with revenue producing activities are excluded from revenues.
Fair Value Measurement | Restoration plan assets The fair values of the Company’s restoration plan assets are determined through quoted prices in active markets. Restoration plan assets are assets held in a Rabbi trust to fund the obligations of the Company’s defined benefit supplementary retirement plans and include various stock and fixed income mutual funds. See Note 15 to these condensed consolidated financial statements regarding defined supplementary retirement plans. The Company’s restoration plan assets are included in other long-term assets on its condensed consolidated balance sheets. Gains and losses related to these investments are included in other expense, net in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Unrealized gains and losses associated with the underlying stock and fixed income mutual funds were immaterial as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. Derivative contracts Derivative assets and liabilities can be exchange-traded or traded over-the-counter (“OTC”). The Company generally values exchange-traded derivatives using models that calibrate to market transactions and eliminate timing differences between the closing price of the exchange-traded derivatives and their underlying instruments. OTC derivatives are valued using market transactions and other market evidence whenever possible, including market-based inputs to models, model calibration to market transactions, broker or dealer quotations or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency. When models are used, the selection of a particular model to value an OTC derivative depends on the contractual terms of, and specific risks inherent in, the instrument as well as the availability of pricing information in the market. The Company generally uses similar models to value similar instruments. Valuation models require a variety of inputs, including contractual terms, market prices and rates, forward curves, measures of volatility, and correlations of such inputs. For OTC derivatives that trade in liquid markets, such as forward contracts, swaps and options, model inputs can generally be corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means, and model selection does not involve significant management judgment. The Company has interest rate caps, natural gas swaps and cross currency swaps that are fair valued using Level 2 inputs. In addition, the Company applies a credit valuation adjustment to reflect credit risk which is calculated based on credit default swaps. To the extent that the Company’s net exposure under a specific master agreement is an asset, the Company utilizes the counterparty’s default swap rate. If the net exposure under a specific master agreement is a liability, the Company utilizes a default swap rate comparable to PQ Group Holdings. The credit valuation adjustment is added to the discounted fair value to reflect the exit price that a market participant would be willing to receive to assume the Company’s liabilities or that a market participant would be willing to pay for the Company’s assets.

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