Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION:

The interim consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. These interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are unaudited. They do not contain all disclosures which would be required in a full set of financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). In the opinion of management, the unaudited financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 are presented on a basis consistent with the audited financial statements and contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to provide a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for the full year. The consolidated balance sheet data for 2018 was derived from the audited financial statements in the Company's 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP.

The results of operations of the foreign entities are maintained in the local currency of the respective subsidiary and translated into United States dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in the consolidated financial statements. As a result, any appreciation or depreciation of these currencies against the United States dollar will impact the Company's results of operations.

The interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2018 included in the Company's 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

During the process of preparing the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company determined that there was an error in and revised its statement of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, which resulted in the following offsetting adjustments: an increase of $33.0 million in principal payments on revolving line-of-credit, long-term debt and capital lease obligations, representing cash outflows from financing activities, and an increase of $33.0 million in proceeds from revolving line-of-credit and long-term debt, representing cash inflows from financing activities. There was no effect on any other section of the Company's statement of cash flows, and this revision had no impact on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2018 or the Company's consolidated statements of operations or comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. The Company does not consider this revision material to any previously issued consolidated financial statements.

When comparing the Company's results of operations from one reporting period to another, it is important to consider that the Company has historically experienced fluctuations in revenues and expenses due to acquisitions and divestitures, changing economic conditions, fluctuations in commodity prices, competitive forces, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, rail network issues and congestion, the ability to attract and retain skilled workers, one-time freight moves, fuel price fluctuations, customer plant expansions and shutdowns, sales of property and equipment, derailments and weather-related conditions, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, high winds, droughts, heavy snowfall, unseasonably hot or cold weather, freezing and flooding, among other factors. In periods when these events occur, the Company's results of operations are not easily comparable from one period to another. Finally, certain of the Company's railroads have commodity shipments that are sensitive to general economic conditions, global commodity prices and foreign exchange rates, such as steel products, iron ore, paper products, lumber and forest products and agricultural products, as well as product specific market conditions, such as the availability of lower priced alternative sources of power generation (coal) and energy commodity price differentials (crude oil and natural gas liquids) or congestion at ports (intermodal). Other shipments are relatively less affected by economic conditions and are more closely affected by other factors, such as winter weather (salt) and seasonal rainfall (agricultural products). As a result of these and other factors, the Company's results of operations in any reporting period may not be directly comparable to the Company's results of operations in other reporting periods.