XML 74 R16.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.4.0.8

Accrued Liabilities | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Oct. 31, 2013
Payables and Accruals [Abstract] |
Accrued Liabilities | Note 9. Accrued Liabilities Accrued liabilities at October 31, 2013 and 2012 consisted of the following:
|  | 2013 |  | 2012
Accrued payroll and employee benefits (1) |  | $ | 4,647 |  |  | $ | 3,907 |
Accrued contract and operating costs (2) |  | 87 |  |  | 39 |
Reserve for product warranty costs (3) |  | 860 |  |  | 2,317 |
Reserve for service agreement costs (4) |  | 4,186 |  |  | 7,222 |
Reserve for B1200 repair and upgrade program and modules due POSCO Energy (5) |  | 7,267 |  |  | 4,753 |
Accrued taxes, legal, professional and other (6) |  | 4,865 |  |  | 2,027 |
|  | $ | 21,912 |  |  | $ | 20,265 |
(1) | Balance relates to amounts owed to employees for compensation and benefits as of the end of the period.
(2) | Balance includes estimated losses accrued on product sales contracts.
(3) | Activity in the reserve for product warranty costs during the year ended October 31, 2013 and 2012 included additions for estimates of potential future warranty obligations of $1.2 million and $3.1 million, respectively, on contracts in the warranty period and reserve reductions related to actual warranty spend and reversals to income of $0.3 million and $1.9 million, respectively, as contracts progress through the warranty period or are beyond the warranty period.
(4) | The Company provides for reserves on all SA agreements when the estimated future stack replacement and service costs exceed the remaining unrecognized contract value. Our reserve estimates are performed on a contract by contract basis and include cost assumptions based on what we anticipate the service requirements will be to fulfill obligations for each contract. As of October 31, 2013, our reserve on SA contracts totaled $3.7 million compared to $5.0 million as of October 31, 2012. If minimum output falls below the contract requirement, we may be subject to performance penalties and/ may be required to repair or replace the customer’s fuel cell stack. An estimate is not recorded for a potential performance guarantee liability until a performance issue has occurred on a particular power plant. At that point, the actual power plant’s output is compared against the minimum output guarantee and a reserve is recorded. The Company has provided a reserve for performance guarantees based on historical fleet performance which totaled $0.5 million and $2.2 million as of October 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
(5) | During fiscal year 2011, the Company incurred an obligation to repair and upgrade a select group of 1.2 megawatt (MW) fuel cell modules produced between 2007 and early 2009. The repair and upgrade obligation was based on events that occurred and knowledge obtained concerning the performance of this select group of modules. The program commenced in fiscal year 2011 and with the exception of providing replacement modules to POSCO Energy, was concluded during fiscal year 2012. The Company recorded an initial charge of approximately $8.8 million which was recorded as cost of product sales and revenues on the consolidated statements of operations. The increase in the reserve as of October 31, 2013 compared to the prior year is a result of an incremental charge due to the terms of the Master Service Agreement with POSCO Energy requiring us to provide three replacement modules due to POSCO Energy.
(6) | Balance includes accrued sales, use and payroll taxes as well as estimated legal, professional and other expense estimates as of the end of the period.

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for accounts payable and accrued liabilities at the end of the reporting period. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 19 -Subparagraph a -Article 5 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(a),20,24) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 20, 24 -Article 5 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AccountsPayableAndAccruedLiabilitiesDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PayablesAndAccrualsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration