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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | Note 1—Summary of significant accounting policies: Nature of our business. Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI) is primarily a holding company. We operate through our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, including NL Industries, Inc., Kronos Worldwide, Inc., CompX International Inc., Tremont LLC, Basic Management, Inc. (“BMI”) and The LandWell Company (“LandWell”). Kronos (NYSE: KRO), NL (NYSE: NL), and CompX (NYSE American: CIX) each file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In January 2018, we sold Waste Control Specialists LLC (“WCS”), see Note 3. Organization. We are majority owned by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Contran Corporation (“Contran”), which owns approximately 92% of our outstanding common stock at December 31, 2018. All of Contran's outstanding voting stock is held by a family trust established for the benefit of Lisa K. Simmons and Serena Simmons Connelly and their children, for which Ms. Simmons and Ms. Connelly are co-trustees, or is held directly by Ms. Simmons and Ms. Connelly or entities related to them. Consequently, Ms. Simmons and Ms. Connelly may be deemed to control Contran and us. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we,” “us” or “our” refer to Valhi, Inc. and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole. Management’s estimates. The preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at each balance sheet date and the reported amounts of our revenues and expenses during each reporting period. Actual results may differ significantly from previously-estimated amounts under different assumptions or conditions. Principles of consolidation. Our Consolidated Financial Statements include the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Valhi and our majority-owned and wholly-owned subsidiaries. We eliminate all material intercompany accounts and balances. Changes in ownership are accounted for as equity transactions with no gain or loss recognized on the transaction unless there is a change in control. See Note 3. Foreign currency translation. The financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries are translated to U.S. dollars. The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is generally the local currency of the country. Accordingly, we translate the assets and liabilities at year-end rates of exchange, while we translate their revenues and expenses at average exchange rates prevailing during the year. We accumulate the resulting translation adjustments in stockholders’ equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of related deferred income taxes and noncontrolling interest. We recognize currency transaction gains and losses in income. Derivatives and hedging activities. We recognize derivatives as either an asset or liability measured at fair value in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. We recognize the effect of changes in the fair value of derivatives either in net income or other comprehensive income (loss), depending on the intended use of the derivative. See Note 19. Cash and cash equivalents. We classify bank time deposits and government and commercial notes and bills with original maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents. Restricted cash and cash equivalents. We classify cash and cash equivalents that have been segregated or are otherwise limited in use as restricted. Such restrictions principally include amounts pledged as collateral with respect to performance obligations or letters of credit required by regulatory agencies for various environmental remediation sites, cash held in escrow under various hold-back agreements with third-party homebuilders associated with our Real Estate Management and Development Segment, cash pledged under debt agreement covenants and cash held in trust by our insurance brokerage subsidiary pending transfer to the applicable insurance or reinsurance carrier. To the extent the restricted amount relates to a recognized liability, we classify the restricted amount as current or noncurrent according to the corresponding liability. To the extent the restricted amount does not relate to a recognized liability, we classify restricted cash as a current asset. Restricted cash and cash equivalents classified as a current asset are presented separately on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, and restricted cash and cash equivalents classified as a noncurrent asset are presented as a component of other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, as disclosed in Note 7. Marketable securities and securities transactions. We carry marketable debt and equity securities at fair value. ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value and (with certain exceptions) this framework is generally applied to all financial statement items required to be measured at fair value. The standard requires fair value measurements to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:
| • | Level 1—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;
| • | Level 2—Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the assets or liability; and
| • | Level 3—Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.
We classify all of our marketable securities as available-for-sale. Prior to 2018, any unrealized gains or losses on the securities were recognized through other comprehensive income, net of deferred income taxes. Beginning on January 1, 2018 with the adoption of ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, all of our marketable equity securities will continue to be carried at fair value as noted above, but any unrealized gains or losses on the securities are now recognized in Marketable equity securities on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 19. We base realized gains and losses upon the specific identification of the securities sold. Accounts receivable. We provide an allowance for doubtful accounts for known and estimated potential losses arising from our sales to customers based on a periodic review of these accounts. Inventories and cost of sales. We state inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value. We generally base inventory costs for all inventory categories on average cost that approximates the first-in, first-out method. Inventories include the costs for raw materials, the cost to manufacture the raw materials into finished goods and overhead. Depending on the inventory’s stage of completion, our manufacturing costs can include the costs of packing and finishing, utilities, maintenance, depreciation, shipping and handling, and salaries and benefits associated with our manufacturing process. We allocate fixed manufacturing overhead costs based on normal production capacity. Unallocated overhead costs resulting from periods with abnormally low production levels are charged to expense as incurred. As inventory is sold to third parties, we recognize the cost of sales in the same period the sale occurs. We periodically review our inventory for estimated obsolescence or instances when inventory is no longer marketable for its intended use, and we record any write-down equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and its estimated net realizable value based on assumptions about alternative uses, market conditions and other factors. Land held for development. Land held for development relates to BMI and LandWell, for which we gained a controlling interest prior to 2016. The primary asset of LandWell is certain real property in Henderson, Nevada some of which we are developing for residential lots in a master planned community. Land held for development was recorded at the estimated acquisition date fair value based on a value per developable acre at the time of purchase. Development costs, including infrastructure improvements, real estate taxes, capitalized interest and other costs, some of which may be allocated, are capitalized during the period incurred. We allocate costs to each parcel sold on a pro-rata basis associated with the relevant development activity, and the costs allocated to parcels expected to be sold within one year are presented separately in current assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As land parcels are sold, costs of land sales, including land and development costs, are allocated based on specific identification, relative sales value, square footage or a combination of these methods. All sales and marketing activities and general overhead are charged to selling, general and administrative expense as incurred. Investment in TiO2 manufacturing joint venture. We account for our investment in a 50%-owned manufacturing joint venture by the equity method. Distributions received from such investee are classified for statement of cash flow purposes using the “nature of distribution” approach under ASC Topic 230. See Note 7. Goodwill and other intangible assets; amortization expense. Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of individual net assets acquired in business combinations. Goodwill is not subject to periodic amortization. We amortize other intangible assets by the straight-line method over their estimated lives and state them net of accumulated amortization. We evaluate goodwill for impairment, annually, or when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We evaluate other intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. See Note 8. Property and equipment; depreciation expense. We state property and equipment at acquisition cost, including capitalized interest on borrowings during the actual construction period of major capital projects. In 2016, 2017 and 2018 we capitalized $1.0 million, $2.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively, of interest costs. We compute depreciation of property and equipment for financial reporting purposes (including mining equipment) principally by the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
Asset |  | Useful lives
Buildings and improvements |  | 10 to 40 years
Machinery and equipment |  | 3 to 20 years
Mine development costs |  | Units-of-production
We use accelerated depreciation methods for income tax purposes, as permitted. Upon the sale or retirement of an asset, we remove the related cost and accumulated depreciation from the accounts and recognize any gain or loss in income currently. We expense expenditures for maintenance, repairs and minor renewals as incurred that do not improve or extend the life of the assets, including planned major maintenance. We have a governmental concession with an unlimited term to operate our ilmenite mines in Norway. Mining properties consist of buildings and equipment used in our Norwegian ilmenite mining operations. While we own the land and ilmenite reserves associated with the mining operations, such land and reserves were acquired for nominal value and we have no material asset recognized for the land and reserves related to our mining operations. We perform impairment tests when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We consider all relevant factors. We perform the impairment test by comparing the estimated future undiscounted cash flows (exclusive of interest expense) associated with the asset or asset group to the asset’s net carrying value to determine if a write-down to fair value is required. Long-term debt. We state long-term debt net of any unamortized original issue premium, discount or deferred financing costs (other than deferred financing costs associated with revolving credit facilities, which are recognized as an asset). We classify amortization of deferred financing costs and any premium or discount associated with the issuance of indebtedness as interest expense, and compute amortization by either the interest method or the straight-line method over the term of the applicable issue. Employee benefit plans. Accounting and funding policies for our defined benefit pension and defined contribution retirement plans are described in Note 11. We also provide certain postretirement benefits other than pensions (OPEB), consisting of health care and life insurance benefits, to certain U.S. and Canadian retired employees, which are not material. See Note 10. Income taxes. We and our qualifying subsidiaries are members of Contran’s consolidated U.S federal income tax group (the “Contran Tax Group”). We and certain of our qualifying subsidiaries also file consolidated income tax returns with Contran in various U.S. state jurisdictions. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, we are jointly and severally liable for the federal income tax liability of Contran and the other companies included in the Contran Tax Group for all periods in which we are included in the Contran Tax Group. See Note 17. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, we are a party to a tax sharing agreement which provides that we compute our tax provision for U.S. income taxes on a separate-company basis using the tax elections made by Contran. Pursuant to the tax sharing agreement, we make payments to or receive payments from Contran in amounts we would have paid to or received from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the applicable state tax authority had we not been a member of the Contran Tax Group. We made net cash payments for income taxes to Contran of $10.7 million in 2016 and $38.9 million in 2017 and received $5.8 million in cash payment for income taxes from Contran in 2018. We recognize deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the income tax and financial reporting carrying amounts of assets and liabilities, including investments in our subsidiaries and affiliates who are not members of the Contran Tax Group and undistributed earnings of our Chemicals Segment’s non-U.S. subsidiaries which are not deemed to be permanently reinvested. At December 31, 2018, we continue to assert indefinite reinvestment as it relates to our outside basis difference attributable to our Chemicals Segment’s investments in non-U.S. subsidiaries, other than post-1986 undistributed earnings of our Chemicals Segment’s European subsidiaries and all undistributed earnings of our Chemicals Segment’s Canadian subsidiary, which are not subject to permanent reinvestment plans. It is currently not practical for us to determine the amount of the unrecognized deferred income tax liability related to our investments in our Chemicals Segment’s non-U.S. subsidiaries which are permanently reinvested due to the complexities associated with our organizational structure, changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017 Tax Act) enacted on December 22, 2017, and the U.S. taxation of such investments in the states in which we operate. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities for each tax-paying jurisdiction in which we operate are netted and presented as either a noncurrent deferred income tax asset or liability, as applicable. We periodically evaluate our deferred tax assets in the various taxing jurisdictions in which we operate and adjust any related valuation allowance based on the estimate of the amount of such deferred tax assets that we believe does not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition criteria. We account for the tax effects of a change in tax law as a component of the income tax provision related to continuing operations in the period of enactment, including the tax effects of any deferred income taxes originally established through a financial statement component other than continuing operations (i.e. other comprehensive income). Changes in applicable income tax rates over time as a result of changes in tax law, or times in which a deferred income tax asset valuation allowance is initially recognized in one year and subsequently reversed in a later year, can give rise to “stranded” tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income in which the net accumulated income tax (benefit) remaining in accumulated other comprehensive income does not correspond to the then-applicable income tax rate applied to the pre-tax amount which resides in accumulated other comprehensive income. As permitted by GAAP, our accounting policy is to remove any such stranded tax effect remaining in accumulated other comprehensive income, by recognizing an offset to our provision for income taxes related to continuing operations, only at the time when there is no remaining pre-tax amount in accumulated other comprehensive income. For accumulated other comprehensive income related to currency translation, this would occur only upon the sale or complete liquidation of one of our Chemicals Segment’s non-U.S. subsidiaries. For defined pension benefit plans and OPEB plans, this would occur whenever one of our subsidiaries which previously sponsored a defined benefit pension or OPEB plan had terminated such a plan and had no future obligation or plan asset associated with such a plan. We record a reserve for uncertain tax positions where we believe it is more-likely-than-not our position will not prevail with the applicable tax authorities. The amount of the benefit associated with our uncertain tax positions that we recognize is limited to the largest amount for which we believe the likelihood of realization is greater than 50%. We accrue penalties and interest on the difference between tax positions taken on our tax returns and the amount of benefit recognized for financial reporting purposes. We classify our reserves for uncertain tax positions in a separate current or noncurrent liability, depending on the nature of the tax position. See Note 14. Environmental remediation and related costs. We record liabilities related to environmental remediation and related costs when estimated future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust these accruals as further information becomes available to us or as circumstances change. We generally do not discount estimated future expenditures to their present value due to the uncertainty of the timing of the ultimate payout. We recognize any recoveries of remediation costs from other parties when we deem their receipt to be probable. We expense any environmental remediation related legal costs as incurred. At December 31, 2017, we had not recognized any material receivables for recoveries and at December 31, 2018 we had accrued insurance recoveries of $15.0 million. See Note 18. Revenue recognition. Chemicals and Component Products Segments - Our sales involve single performance obligations to ship our products pursuant to customer purchase orders. In some cases, the purchase order is supported by an underlying master sales agreement, but our purchase order acceptance generally evidences the contract with our customer by specifying the key terms of product and quantity ordered, price and delivery and payment terms. Effective January 1, 2018 with the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), see Note 12, we record revenue when we satisfy our performance obligations to our customers by transferring control of our products to them, which generally occurs at point of shipment or upon delivery. Such transfer of control is also evidenced by transfer of legal title and other risks and rewards of ownership (giving the customer the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the benefits of, the product), and our customers becoming obligated to pay us and such payment being probable of occurring. In certain arrangements we provide shipping and handling activities after the transfer of control to our customer (e.g. when control transfers prior to delivery). In such arrangements shipping and handling are considered fulfillment activities, and accordingly, such costs are accrued when the related revenue is recognized. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, we recorded sales when our products were shipped and title and other risks and rewards of ownership had passed to the customer, which was generally at the time of shipment (although in some instances shipping terms were FOB destination point, for which we did not recognize revenue until the product was received by our customer). Revenue is recorded in an amount that reflects the net consideration we expect to receive in exchange for our products. Prices for our products are based on terms specified in published list prices and purchase orders, which generally do not include financing components, noncash consideration or consideration paid to our customers. As our standard payment terms are less than one year, we have elected the practical expedient under ASU 2014-09 and we have not assessed whether a contract has a significant financing component. We state sales net of price, early payment and distributor discounts as well as volume rebates (collectively, variable consideration). Variable consideration, to the extent present, is recognized as the amount to which we are most-likely to be entitled, using all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available to us, and only to the extent that a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized is not probable of occurring in a future period. Differences, if any, between estimates of the amount of variable consideration to which we will be entitled and the actual amount of such variable consideration have not been material in the past. We report any tax assessed by a governmental authority that we collect from our customers that is both imposed on and concurrent with our revenue-producing activities (such as sales, use, value added and excise taxes) on a net basis (meaning we do not recognize these taxes either in our revenues or in our costs and expenses). Frequently, we receive orders for products to be delivered over dates that may extend across reporting periods. We invoice for each delivery upon shipment and recognize revenue for each distinct shipment when all sales recognition criteria for that shipment have been satisfied. As scheduled delivery dates for these orders are within a one year period, under the optional exemption provided by ASU 2014-09, we do not disclose sales allocated to future shipments of partially completed contracts. Real Estate Management and Development Segment – Revenues from our Real Estate Management and Development Segment are generally not material. Our sales involve providing utility services, among other things, to an industrial park located in Henderson, Nevada and we are responsible for the delivery of water to the city of Henderson and various other users through a water distribution system we own. These sales involve single performance obligations and we record revenue when we satisfy our performance obligations to our customers generally after the service is performed and our customers become obligated to pay us and such payment being probable of occurring. Revenue is recorded in an amount that reflects the net consideration we expect to receive in exchange for our services. Prices for our products are based on contracted rates and do not include financing components, noncash consideration or consideration paid to our customers. As our standard payment terms are less than one year, we have elected the practical expedient under ASC 606 and we have not assessed whether a contract has a significant financing component. Our revenues also are related to efforts to develop certain real estate in Henderson, Nevada, including approximately 2,100 acres zoned for residential/planned community purposes and approximately 400 acres zoned for commercial and light industrial use. Contracts for land sales are negotiated on an individual basis, involve single performance obligations, and generally require us to complete property development and improvements after title passes to the buyer and we have received all or a substantial portion of the selling price. We recognize land sales revenue associated with the residential/planned community over time using cost based input methods. Land sales associated with the residential/planned community have variable consideration components which are based on a percentage of the builder’s ultimate selling price of residential housing unit to their customer (generally 3.5% of such sales price). The amount we recognize when a parcel is sold to a home builder is the amount to which we are most-likely to be entitled, using all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available to us, and only to the extent that a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized is not probable of occurring in a future period. By recognizing revenue over time using cost based input methods, revenues (including variable consideration) and profits are recognized in the same proportion of our progress towards completion of our contractual obligations, with our progress measured by costs incurred as a percentage of total costs estimated to be incurred relative to the parcels sold. Estimates of total costs expected to be incurred require significant management judgment, and the amount of revenue and profits that have been recognized to date are subject to revisions throughout the development period. The impact on the amount of revenue recognized resulting from any future change in the estimate of total costs estimated to be incurred would be accounted for prospectively in accordance with GAAP. We record estimated deferred revenue on the amount to which we are most-likely to be entitled and deferred revenue is recognized into revenue as the housing units are sold. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, we did not include variable consideration in the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition. Selling, general and administrative expenses; shipping and handling costs; advertising costs; research and development costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses include costs related to marketing, sales, distribution, shipping and handling, research and development, legal, environmental remediation and administrative functions such as accounting, treasury and finance, and includes costs for salaries and benefits not associated with our manufacturing process, travel and entertainment, promotional materials and professional fees. Shipping and handling costs of our Chemicals Segment were approximately $90 million in 2016, $101 million in 2017 and $105 million in 2018. Shipping and handling costs of our Component Products and Waste Management Segments are not material. We expense advertising and research and development costs as incurred. Advertising costs were approximately $1 million in each of 2016, 2017 and 2018. Research, development and certain sales technical support costs were approximately $13 million in 2016, $19 million in 2017, and $16 million in 2018.

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