General information and significant accounting policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

1.3. Basis of preparation

The accompanying unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements, which include the accounts of ASC and its subsidiaries, have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. All subsidiaries are 100% directly or indirectly owned by ASC. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated on consolidation. These unaudited condensed interim consolidated statements and the accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2015.

These unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the annual financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows as at and for the periods presented.

The consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 has been derived from the audited financial statement at that date, but does not include all of the footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.

Summary of significant accounting policies

1.4. Summary of significant accounting policies

Except as detailed under Section 1.6 below, there have been no changes in the Company’s significant accounting policies for the three months ended March 31, 2016 as compared to the significant accounting policies described in the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Share based payments

1.5. Share based payments

The Company may grant share-based payment awards, such as restricted stock units or stock appreciation rights, as incentive-based compensation to certain employees and directors. The Company measures the cost of such awards using the grant date fair value of the award and recognizes that cost, net of estimated forfeitures, over the requisite service period, which generally equals the vesting period. If the award contains a market condition, such conditions are included in the determination of the fair value of the stock unit. Once the fair value has been determined, the associated expense is recognized in the consolidated statement of operations over the requisite service period. For additional information, please see Note 7 (“Stock appreciation rights”).

Recent accounting pronouncements

1.6. Recent accounting pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (‘‘FASB’’) issued Accounting Standards Update (‘‘ASU’’) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASU 2014-09, a standard that will supersede virtually all of the existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP and is effective for the Company for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is not permitted. The standard establishes a five-step model that will apply to revenue earned from a contract with a customer. The standard’s requirements will also apply to the sale of some non-financial assets that are not part of the entity’s ordinary activities (e.g., sales of property or plant and equipment). Extensive disclosures will be required, including disaggregation of total revenue, information about performance obligations, changes in contract asset and liability account balances between periods and key judgments and estimates. Management is in the process of assessing the effect of this new standard.

In August 2014, the FASB issued new guidance on determining when and how to disclose going-concern uncertainties in the financial statements. The new standard requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date that the financial statements are issued or available to be issued. An entity must provide certain disclosures if conditions or events raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. This guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not currently expect the adoption of this guidance to have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Interest — Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. The update simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring that debt issuance costs be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of debt liability. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the amendments in this update. This update is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and is to be applied retrospectively. Ardmore chose to adopt this standard update early, and has presented deferred finance fees as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the applicable debt liabilities as at December 31, 2015, with comparatives as at December 31, 2014 restated accordingly.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 Leases, a standard which will replace previous topics on lease accounting. The revised guidance will require lessees to recognize on their balance sheet a right of use asset and corresponding liability in respect of all material lease contracts. Ardmore currently recognizes on its balance sheet those leases classified as capital leases. Those leases that are currently accounted for as operating leases will have to be reviewed and potentially included on Ardmore’s balance sheet in accordance with the new guidance. This guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2019 and a modified retrospective approach is required for leases that exist or are entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the financial statements. Management is in the process of assessing the full effect of this new standard.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (Topic 718). The new update will require all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. It will also allow an employer to repurchase more of an employee’s shares than it can today for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting and to make a policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is permitted in any annual or interim period for which financial statements have not been issued or made available for issuance, but all of the guidance must be adopted in the same period. Management is in the process of assessing the effect of this new standard.

Financial instruments

1.7. Financial instruments

The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and trade payables reported in the consolidated balance sheet are reasonable estimates of their fair values due to their short-term nature. The fair values of long-term debt approximate the recorded values due to the variable interest rates payable.