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Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

2.	SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

Basis of Consolidation and Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements are expressed in United States Dollars and include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries over which the Company exercises control as of the financial statement date. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates all of its estimates, including those related to business combinations, allowance for credit losses, inventories, property and equipment (including depreciation and valuation), goodwill, intangible assets (including amortization), revenue recognition, share-based compensation, income taxes, and litigation and other contingencies. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and short-term, highly-liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased. At times, the Company will have outstanding checks in excess of related bank balances (“book overdraft”). If this occurs, the amount of the book overdraft will be reclassified to accounts payable, and changes in the book overdraft will be reflected as a component of operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The Company had no book overdraft as of December 31, 2024 and $1.8 million as of December 31, 2023.

Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses

Trade receivables are reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets net of an allowance for credit losses. The Company provides an allowance for credit losses to reduce trade receivables to their estimated net realizable value equal to the amount expected to be collected, resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments or from contract disputes. The amount of the allowance for credit losses is based on historical experience, customer specific circumstances, and current economic conditions. The Company will write down or write off a receivable account once the account is deemed uncollectible.

Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities

Contract assets primarily represent revenue earned over time but not yet billable based on the terms of the contracts. These amounts will be billed based on the terms of the contracts, which can include certain milestones, partial shipments, or completion of the contracts. Payment terms of amounts billed vary based on the customer, but are typically due within 30 days of invoicing. Contract liabilities represent advance billings on contracts, typically for purchased steel.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value. The cost of raw material inventories of steel is either on a specific identification basis or on an average cost basis. The cost of substantially all other raw material inventories, as well as work-in-process and supplies, is either on an average cost basis or at standard cost. The cost of finished goods uses the first-in, first-out method of accounting.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred, and costs of new equipment and buildings, as well as costs of expansions or refurbishment of existing equipment and buildings, including interest where applicable, are capitalized. Depreciation and amortization are determined by the units of production method for most equipment and by the straight-line method for the remaining assets based on the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Estimated useful lives by major classes of property and equipment are as follows: Land improvements (15 – 30 years); Buildings (20 – 40 years); Leasehold improvements (5 – 30 years); and Machinery and equipment (3 – 30 years). Depreciation expense calculated under the units of production method may be less than, equal to, or greater than depreciation expense calculated under the straight-line method due to variances in production levels. Upon disposal, costs and related accumulated depreciation of the assets are removed from the accounts and resulting gains or losses are reflected in operating expenses. The Company leases certain equipment under long-term finance leases, which are being amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of its useful life or the lease term, if no purchase option exists. A finance lease that contains a purchase option that the Company is reasonably certain will be exercised is amortized over its useful life.

The Company assesses impairment of property and equipment whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying values of the asset or asset group(s) may not be recoverable. The asset group is the lowest level at which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets or liabilities. The recoverable value of a long-lived asset group is determined by estimating future undiscounted cash flows using assumptions about the expected future operating performance of the Company.

Leases

The Company has entered into various equipment and property leases. Certain lease agreements include renewals and/or purchase options set to expire at various dates, and certain lease agreements include rental payments adjusted periodically for inflation. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; costs for these leases are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. When the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate of return, the Company uses its revolving loan borrowing rate in determining the present value of lease payments. Some of the Company’s lease agreements contain non-lease components, which are accounted for separately.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in conjunction with an acquisition. Goodwill is reviewed for impairment annually, or whenever events occur or circumstances change that indicate goodwill may be impaired. During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company changed the date of its annual impairment test of goodwill from December 31 to November 30. The change in the impairment test date lessens resource constraints that exist in connection with the Company’s year-end close and financial reporting process and provides for additional time to complete the required impairment testing. This change did not represent a material change to the Company’s method of applying an accounting principle, and therefore did not delay, accelerate, or avoid an impairment charge.

In testing goodwill for impairment, the Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances indicate that it is more-likely-than-not (more than 50%) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. When performing a qualitative assessment, the Company evaluates factors such as industry and market conditions, cost factors, overall financial performance, and other relevant entity specific events and changes. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, or if the Company chooses not to perform the qualitative assessment, then a quantitative assessment is performed to determine the reporting unit’s fair value. If the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, then an impairment loss is recognized for the amount of the excess of the carrying amount over the reporting unit’s fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist primarily of customer relationships, trade names and trademarks, and patents recorded as the result of acquisition activity. Intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from 10 to 21 years.

Workers Compensation

The Company is self-insured and maintains high deductible policies for losses and liabilities associated with workers compensation claims. Losses are accrued based upon the Company’s estimates of the aggregate liability for claims incurred using historical experience and certain actuarial assumptions followed in the insurance industry. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, workers compensation reserves recorded were $1.9 million and $2.2 million, respectively, of which $0.5 million and $1.3 million, respectively, were included in Accrued liabilities and $1.4 million and $0.9 million, respectively, were included in Other long-term liabilities.

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 includes accrued bonus of $9.6 million and $5.2 million, respectively, accrued vacation of $3.8 million and $3.5 million, respectively, and accrued sales tax of $2.6 million and $5.3 million, respectively.

Derivative Instruments

In the normal course of business, the Company is exposed to interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Consistent with the Company’s strategy for financial risk management, the Company has established a program that utilizes foreign currency forward contracts and interest rate swaps to offset the risks associated with the effects of these exposures. The Company utilizes cash flow hedge accounting treatment for qualifying foreign currency forward contracts and interest rate swaps. Instruments that do not qualify for cash flow hedge accounting treatment are remeasured at fair value on each balance sheet date and resulting gains and losses are recognized in earnings.

Share Repurchases

All shares reacquired in connection with the Company’s share repurchase program are retired and treated as authorized and unissued shares.

Pension Benefits

The Company has two defined benefit pension plans that have been frozen since 2001. The Company funds these plans to cover current plan costs plus amortization of the unfunded plan liabilities. To record these obligations, management uses estimates relating to investment returns, mortality, and discount rates.

Foreign Currency Transactions

The functional currency of the Company, including its Mexican operations, is the United States dollar. Monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured at current exchange rates and non-monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured at historical exchange rates. Revenue and expenses related to monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured at average exchange rates and at historical exchange rates for the revenue and expenses related to non-monetary assets and liabilities.

Transaction gains (losses) from foreign currency forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges are included in Accumulated other comprehensive loss as a separate component of Stockholders’ equity. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, net foreign currency transaction gains (losses) of ($0.4) million, $0.4 million, and $0.5 million, respectively, were recognized in earnings.

Revenue Recognition

The Company manufactures water infrastructure steel pipe products, which are generally made to custom specifications for installation contractors serving projects funded by public water agencies, as well as precast and reinforced concrete products. Generally, each of the Company’s contracts with its customers contains a single performance obligation, as the promise to transfer products is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contract and, therefore, is not distinct. The Company generally does not recognize revenue on a contract until the contract has approval and commitment from both parties, the contract rights and payment terms can be identified, the contract has commercial substance, and its collectability is probable.

SPP revenue for water infrastructure steel pipe products is recognized over time as the manufacturing process progresses because of the Company’s right to payment for work performed to date plus a reasonable profit on cancellations for unique products that have no alternative use to the Company. Revenue is measured by the costs incurred to date relative to the estimated total direct costs to fulfill each contract. Contract costs include all material, labor, and other direct costs incurred in satisfying the performance obligations. The cost of steel material is recognized as a contract cost when the steel is introduced into the manufacturing process. Changes in job performance, job conditions, and estimated profitability, including those arising from contract change orders, contract penalty provisions, foreign currency exchange rate movements, changes in raw materials costs, and final contract settlements may result in revisions to estimates of revenue, costs, and income, and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined. Provisions for losses on uncompleted contracts, included in Accrued liabilities, are estimated by comparing total estimated contract revenue to the total estimated contract costs and a loss is recognized during the period in which it becomes probable and can be reasonably estimated.

Precast revenue for water infrastructure concrete pipe and precast concrete products is recognized at the time control is transferred to customers which is generally at the time of shipment, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for the products. All variable considerations that may affect the total transaction price, including contractual discounts, returns, and credits, are included in net sales. Estimates for variable consideration are based on historical experience, anticipated performance, and management’s judgment. The Company’s contracts do not contain significant financing.

Share-based Compensation

The Company recognizes the compensation cost of employee and director services received in exchange for awards of equity instruments based on the grant date estimated fair value of the awards. The Company estimates the fair value of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance share awards (“PSAs”) using the value of the Company’s stock on the date of grant. Share-based compensation cost is recognized over the period during which the employee or director is required to provide service in exchange for the award and, as forfeitures occur, the associated compensation cost recognized to date is reversed. For awards with performance-based payout conditions, the Company recognizes compensation cost based on the probability of achieving the performance conditions, with changes in expectations recognized as an adjustment to earnings in the period of change. Any recognized compensation cost is reversed if the conditions are ultimately not met.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are recorded using an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the expected future income tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements or income tax returns. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred income tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. The determination of the provision for income taxes requires significant judgment, the use of estimates, and the interpretation and application of complex tax laws. The provision for income taxes primarily reflects a combination of income earned and taxed in the various United States federal, state, local, and to a lesser extent, foreign jurisdictions. Jurisdictional tax law changes, increases or decreases in permanent differences between book and tax items, accruals or adjustments of accruals for unrecognized income tax benefits or valuation allowances, and the change in the mix of earnings from these taxing jurisdictions all affect the overall effective income tax rate.

The Company records income tax reserves for federal, state, local, and international exposures relating to periods subject to audit. The development of reserves for these exposures requires judgments about tax issues, potential outcomes and timing, and is a subjective estimate. The Company assesses income tax positions and records income tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting dates. For those income tax positions where it is more-likely-than-not that an income tax benefit will be sustained, the Company has recorded the largest amount of income tax benefit with a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement with a tax authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more-likely-than-not that an income tax benefit will be sustained, no income tax benefit has been recognized in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Accumulated other comprehensive loss includes unrealized gains and losses on derivative instruments related to the effective portion of cash flow hedges and unrecognized actuarial gains and losses of the defined benefit pension plans, both net of the related income tax effect.

Net Income per Share

Basic net income per share is computed by dividing the net income by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is computed by giving effect to all dilutive potential shares of common stock, including RSUs and PSAs, assumed to be outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. Performance-based PSAs are considered dilutive when the related performance conditions have been met assuming the end of the reporting period represents the end of the performance period. In periods with a net loss, all potential shares of common stock are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as the impact would be antidilutive.

Net income per basic and diluted weighted-average common share outstanding was calculated as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	*Year Ended December 31,*
	*2024*		*2023*		*2022*

Net income	$	34,206	$	21,072	$	31,149

Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding		9,916		9,991		9,914
Effect of potentially dilutive common shares (1)		150		90		98
Diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding		10,066		10,081		10,012

Net income per common share
Basic	$	3.45	$	2.11	$	3.14
Diluted	$	3.40	$	2.09	$	3.11

(1)

There were no antidilutive shares for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, or 2022.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of trade receivables, foreign currency forward contracts, interest rate swaps, and deferred compensation plan assets. Trade receivables generally represent a large number of customers, including municipalities, manufacturers, distributors, and contractors, dispersed across a wide geographic base. As of December 31, 2024, one customer had a balance in excess of 10% of total accounts receivable, and a different customer had a balance in excess of 10% of total accounts receivable as of December 31, 2023. Foreign currency forward contracts and interest rate swaps are with a high-quality financial institution. The Company’s deferred compensation plan assets, included in Other assets, are invested in a diversified portfolio of stock and bond mutual funds.

Recent Accounting and Reporting Developments

Accounting Changes

In March 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023‑01 “Leases (Topic 842): Common Control Arrangements” (“ASU 2023‑01”) which requires leasehold improvements associated with common control leases be (1) amortized by the lessee over the useful life of the leasehold improvements to the common control group as long as the lessee controls the use of the underlying asset through a lease and (2) accounted for as a transfer between entities under common control through an adjustment to equity if, and when, the lessee no longer controls the use of the underlying asset. The Company adopted ASU 2023‑01 on January 1, 2024 and the impact was not material to its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023‑07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures” (“ASU 2023‑07”) which requires disclosure of incremental segment information, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses, on an annual and interim basis for all public entities. The Company adopted ASU 2023‑07 for its 2024 annual reporting and applied ASU 2023‑07 retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Recent Accounting Standards

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023‑06, “Disclosure Improvements: Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC’s Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative” (“ASU 2023‑06”) which incorporates certain Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure requirements into the Accounting Standards Codification. The amendments will be applied prospectively and are effective when the SEC removes the related requirements from Regulations S‑X or S‑K. Any amendments the SEC does not remove by June 30, 2027 will not be effective. As the Company is currently subject to Regulations S‑X and S‑K, it does not expect a material impact to its consolidated financial statements or disclosures from adoption of this guidance.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023‑09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures” (“ASU 2023‑09”) which improves the transparency, effectiveness, and comparability of income tax disclosures and allows investors to better assess, in their capital allocation decisions, how an entity’s worldwide operations and related tax risks and tax planning and operation opportunities affect its income tax rate and prospects for future cash flows. ASU 2023‑09 will be applied prospectively, and will be effective for the Company’s 2025 annual reporting, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements, other than additional disclosures in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, “Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220‑40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses” (“ASU 2024‑03”) which requires public business entities to disclose additional information about specific expense categories in the notes to financial statements. ASU 2024‑03 is required to be applied prospectively, and will be effective for the Company’s 2027 annual reporting and for interim periods beginning in 2028. Early adoption and retrospective application are permitted. The Company does not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements, other than additional disclosures in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.