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Contingencies and Guaranty
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingencies and Guaranty Contingencies and Guaranty
Contingent Liabilities 
In February 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with SDG&E to sell 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum throughout SDG&E’s California service territory, including San Diego and Imperial Counties and portions of Orange County (the “SDG&E Agreement”), for a total payment of $50.0 million. The SDG&E Agreement will support SDG&E’s deployment of a PLTE network for its California service territory, with a population of approximately 3.6 million people. Delivery of the relevant 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband licenses by county to SDG&E commenced in Fiscal 2023 and is scheduled for completion before the end of fiscal year 2024. The total payment of $50.0 million is comprised of an initial payment of $20.0 million, received in February 2021 and the remaining payments which are due as the Company delivers the relevant cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband licenses to SDG&E. As the Company is required to refund payments it has received from SDG&E in the event of termination or non-delivery of the specific county’s full 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum, it recorded the payments as contingent liability on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. A reduction in the contingent liability and a gain or loss on the sale of spectrum will be recognized for each county once the Company delivers the full cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband license(s) to SDG&E.
In September 2022, the Company transferred to SDG&E 1.4 x 1.4 MHz cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband license related to Imperial County and received a milestone payment of $0.2 million. In September 2023, the Company transferred to SDG&E the San Diego County broadband license and received a milestone payment of $25.2 million net of delivery delay adjustments of $1.1 million. In December 2023, the Company transferred to SDG&E the remainder of the cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband license related to Imperial County and received a milestone payment of $0.2 million. This resulted in the recognition of a gain on the sale of spectrum and derecognition of the contingent liability associated with San Diego County and Imperial County of $19.2 million. See Note 6 Intangible Assets for further discussion on the sale of intangible assets.
Subsequent to the derecognition of the contingent liability related to the delivery of San Diego County and Imperial County licenses, the remaining contingent liability related to SDG&E of $1.0 million for Orange County was classified as a short-term liability due to the expected timing of delivery.
LCRA Refund Obligation
In April 2023, the Company entered into the LCRA Agreement for a total payment of $30.0 million, to be paid through fiscal year 2026 pursuant to the terms of the agreement. During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, the Company received $15.0 million in milestone payments, of which $7.5 million was deposited in an escrow account. The remaining payments are due as the Company delivers the relevant cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband licenses to LCRA. As the Company is required to refund the deposit it has received from LCRA in the event of termination or non-delivery of the specific county’s full cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum, it recorded the payments as contingent liability on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. A reduction in the contingent liability and a gain or loss on the sale of spectrum will be recognized for each county once the Company delivers the full cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband license(s) to LCRA. See Note 5 Escrow Deposits for further discussion on the escrow deposit.
Xcel Energy Guaranty
In October 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with Xcel Energy providing Xcel Energy dedicated long-term usage of the Company’s 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum for a term of 20 years throughout Xcel Energy’s service territory in eight states the Xcel Energy Agreement. In connection with Xcel Energy Agreement, the Company entered into a guaranty agreement, under which the Company guaranteed the delivery of the relevant 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband licenses in Xcel Energy’s service territory in eight states along with other commercial obligations. In the event of default or non-delivery of the specific territory’s 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum, the Company is required to refund payments it has received. In addition, to the extent Anterix has performed any obligations, the Company’s liability and remaining obligations under the Xcel Energy Agreement will extend only to the remaining unperformed obligations. The Company recorded $67.1 million in deferred revenue in connection with the prepayments received as of March 31, 2024. The Company commenced delivery of the relevant cleared 900 MHz Broadband Spectrum and the associated broadband leases in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 and will continue through 2029. As of March 31, 2024, the maximum potential liability of future undiscounted payments under this agreement is approximately $65.2 million.
Litigation
In addition to commitments and obligations in the ordinary course of business as reflected in the lease footnote above, the Company may be subject, from time to time, to various claims and pending and potential legal actions arising out of the normal conduct of its business. The Company assesses contingencies to determine the degree of probability and range of possible loss for potential accrual in its financial statements. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable and unfavorable resolutions could occur, assessing litigation contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgments about future events. When evaluating contingencies, the Company may be unable to provide a meaningful estimate due to a number of factors, including the procedural status of the matter in question, the presence of complex or novel legal theories and/or the ongoing discovery and development of information important to the matters. In addition, damage amounts claimed in litigation against it may be unsupported, exaggerated or unrelated to possible outcomes, and as such are not meaningful indicators of its potential liability.
The Company regularly reviews contingencies to determine the adequacy of its accruals and related disclosures. During the period presented, the Company has not recorded any accrual for loss contingencies associated with any claims or legal proceedings; determined that an unfavorable outcome is probable or reasonably possible; or determined that the amount or range of any possible loss is reasonably estimable. However, the outcome of legal proceedings and claims brought against the Company is subject to significant uncertainty. Therefore, although management considers the likelihood of a material adverse outcome to be remote, if one or more of these legal matters were resolved against the Company in a reporting period, the Company’s consolidated financial statements for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected.
Pandemic and Macroeconomic Conditions
Recent macroeconomic events, inflation, and geopolitical matters, have increased operating costs or resulted in delays in customer contracting or impacted the availability of equipment necessary for the deployment of the Company’s target customers’ planned PLTE projects. The Company continues to closely monitor these risks. Although difficult to quantify, the Company believes the current macroeconomic environment, including inflation, may have an adverse effect on the Company’s target customers’ businesses, which may harm the Company’s commercialization efforts and negatively impact the Company’s revenues and liquidity. If the Company is not able to control its operating costs or if the Company’s commercialization efforts are slowed or negatively impacted, continued periods of high inflation could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition.