Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 03, 2011

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

• Basis of Presentation

        The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc. ("Griffin") include the accounts of Griffin's real estate division ("Griffin Land") and Griffin's wholly-owned subsidiary, Imperial Nurseries, Inc. ("Imperial"). All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

• Business Segments

        Griffin is engaged in the real estate and landscape nursery businesses. Griffin's real estate division, Griffin Land, builds, leases and manages commercial and industrial properties and plans residential subdivisions on its land in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Imperial, Griffin's subsidiary in the landscape nursery segment, is engaged in growing plants in containers which are sold principally to independent retail garden centers, rewholesalers, mass merchandisers, home centers and landscape contractors.

• Fiscal Year

        Griffin's fiscal year ends on the Saturday nearest November 30. Fiscal year 2011 contained 53 weeks and ended on December 3, 2011. Fiscal years 2010 and 2009 each contained 52 weeks and ended on November 27, 2010 and November 28, 2009, respectively.

• Cash and Cash Equivalents

        Cash equivalents are composed of highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase, and are recorded at fair value. At both December 3, 2011 and November 27, 2010, $175 of the cash and cash equivalents included on Griffin's consolidated balance sheets were held in the form of money market funds invested in U.S. Treasury obligations.

• Investments

        Griffin's investment in the common stock of Centaur Media plc ("Centaur Media") is accounted for as an available-for-sale security under Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") ASC 320-10, whereby increases or decreases in the fair value of this investment, net of income taxes, along with the effect of changes in the foreign currency exchange rate, net of income taxes, are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss).

        Griffin's investment in Shemin Nurseries Holding Corp. ("SNHC") is accounted for under the cost method of accounting for investments and is included in other assets on Griffin's consolidated balance sheets (see Note 9).

• Inventories

        Griffin's inventories are stated at the lower of cost, using the average cost method, or market. Nursery stock includes certain inventories that will not be sold within one year. It is industry practice to include such inventories in current assets. Abnormal costs of idle facility expenses, freight, handling costs and spoilage are treated as period costs.

• Stock-Based Compensation

        Griffin accounts for stock options in accordance with FASB ASC 718, "Share-Based Payment" and FASB ASC 505-50, "Equity—Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees." For stock options that have graded vesting features, Griffin recognizes compensation cost over the requisite service period separately for each tranche of the award as though they were, in substance, multiple awards. Griffin determines its accumulated windfall tax benefits using the short-cut method.

• Property and Equipment

        Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation is recorded over the estimated useful asset lives on a straight-line basis for financial reporting purposes and principally on accelerated methods for tax purposes. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred.

        Upon disposal of property and equipment, the accounts are reduced by the related costs and accumulated depreciation. The resulting gains or losses are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations.

• Real Estate Assets

        Real estate assets are recorded at cost, except when real estate assets are acquired that meet the definition of a business combination in accordance with FASB ASC 805-10, they are recorded at fair value. Interest, property taxes, insurance and other costs directly related to a project are capitalized during the construction period of major facilities and land improvements. The capitalized costs are recorded as part of the asset to which they relate and are amortized over the asset's useful life. Depreciation is determined on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful asset lives for financial reporting purposes and principally on accelerated methods for tax purposes. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred.

        Griffin classifies a property as "held for sale" when all of the following criteria for a plan of sale have been met: (1) management, having the authority to approve the action, commits to a plan to sell the property; (2) the property is available for immediate sale in its present condition, subject only to terms that are usual and customary; (3) an active program to locate a buyer and other actions required to complete the plan to sell, have been initiated; (4) the sale of the property is probable and is expected to be completed within one year or the property is under a contract to be sold; (5) the property is being actively marketed for sale at a price that is reasonable in relation to its current fair value; and (6) actions necessary to complete the plan of sale indicate that it is unlikely that significant changes to the plan will be made or that the plan will be withdrawn. When all of these criteria have been met, the property is classified as "held for sale." When a property classified as held for sale has separate cash inflows and outflows, its operations, including any interest expense directly attributable to it, are classified as a discontinued operation in Griffin's consolidated statement of operations, and amounts for all prior periods presented are reclassified from continuing operations to discontinued operations. Depreciation of assets ceases upon designation of a property as "held for sale."

• Postretirement Benefits

        Griffin accounts for postretirement benefits in accordance with FASB ASC 715-10, "Compensation—Retirement Benefits." This guidance requires an employer to recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan (other than a multiemployer plan) as an asset or liability in its statement of financial position and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through other comprehensive income. This guidance also requires an employer to measure the funded status of a plan as of the date of its year-end statement of financial position, with limited exceptions.

• Impairment of Investments in Long-Lived Assets

        Griffin reviews annually, as well as when conditions may indicate, its long-lived assets to determine if there are indicators of impairment, such as a prolonged vacancy in one of its properties. If indicators of impairment are present, Griffin evaluates the carrying value of the assets in relation to the operating performance and expected future undiscounted cash flows or the estimated fair value based on expected future cash flows of the underlying assets. Griffin would reduce the carrying value of a long-lived asset to its fair value if that asset's fair value is determined to be less than its carrying value.

        Griffin also reviews annually, as well as when conditions may indicate, the recoverability of its development costs, including expected remediation costs on projects that are included in real estate assets. To the extent that the carrying value exceeds the fair value of a project, including development costs, an impairment loss would be recorded.

        There were no impairment losses recorded in the fiscal years ended December 3, 2011, November 27, 2010 and November 28, 2009.

• Revenue and Gain Recognition

        In the landscape nursery business, sales and the related costs of sales are recognized upon shipment of products. Sales returns are not material. All amounts billed to customers for shipping and handling are included in net sales and the costs of shipping and handling are included in costs of sales.

        In the real estate business, revenue includes rental revenue from Griffin Land's commercial and industrial properties and proceeds from property sales other than those that are reported as a discontinued operation. Rental revenue is accounted for on a straight line basis over the applicable lease term in accordance with the Lease Topic, FASB ASC 840-10, "Leases." Gains on property sales are recognized in accordance with the Property, Plant, and Equipment—Real Estate Sales Topic, FASB ASC 360-20, based on the specific terms of each sale. When the percentage of completion method is used to account for a sale of real estate, costs included in determining the percentage of completion include the costs of the land sold, allocated master planning costs, selling and transaction costs and estimated future costs related to the land sold.

• Income Taxes

        Griffin provides for income taxes utilizing the asset and liability method, and records deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities as measured by the tax rates that are anticipated to be in effect when these differences reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established when it is necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to amounts for which realization is more likely than not. Griffin and its subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return.

        Griffin evaluates each tax position taken in its tax returns and recognizes a liability for any tax position deemed less likely than not to be sustained under examination by the relevant taxing authorities. Griffin has analyzed its federal and significant state filing positions with respect to FASB ASC 740-10, "Income Taxes." Griffin's federal income tax return for fiscal 2009 has been examined by the Internal Revenue Service and the return was accepted as filed. Examinations of Griffin's fiscal 2009, fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007 New York state income tax returns and Griffin's fiscal 2007 Connecticut state income tax return are currently being performed. The periods subject to examination for Griffin's significant state return, which is Connecticut, are fiscal 2007 through fiscal 2010. Griffin believes that its income tax filing positions will be sustained on examination and does not anticipate any adjustments that would result in a material change on its financial statements. As a result, no accrual for uncertain income tax positions has been recorded pursuant to FASB ASC 740-10.

        Griffin's policy for recording interest and penalties, related to uncertain tax positions, is to record such items as part of its provision for federal and state income taxes.

• Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

        Griffin accounts for intangible assets in accordance with FASB ASC 350-10 "Intangibles—Goodwill and Other." Griffin does not have any goodwill on its balance sheet. Griffin's other intangible assets consist of: (i) the value of in-place leases; and (ii) the value of the associated relationships with tenants. These intangible assets were recorded in connection with Griffin's acquisitions of real estate assets. Amortization of the value of in-place leases, included in costs related to rental revenue, is on a straight-line basis over the lease terms. Amortization of the value of customer relationships with tenants, included in costs related to rental revenue, is on a straight-line basis over the lease terms and anticipated renewal periods. These intangible assets are included in other assets on Griffin's consolidated balance sheets, and as nonfinancial assets measured on a nonrecurring basis, were not subject to FASB ASC 820-10, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures" as of December 3, 2011.

• Environmental Matters

        Environmental expenditures related to land are expensed or capitalized as appropriate, depending upon their future economic benefit. Expenditures that relate to an existing condition caused by past operations, and that do not have future economic benefit, are expensed. Expenditures that create future benefit or contribute to future revenue generation are capitalized. Liabilities related to future remediation costs are recorded when environmental assessments and/or cleanups are probable, and the costs can be reasonably estimated. There were no liabilities recorded related to environmental assessments of Griffin's land holdings as of December 3, 2011 and November 27, 2010.

• Interest Rate Swap Agreements

        As of December 3, 2011, Griffin is a party to two interest rate swap agreements to hedge interest rate exposures. Griffin does not use derivatives for speculative purposes. Griffin applied FASB ASC 815-10, "Derivatives and Hedging," ("ASC 815-10") which establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. ASC 815-10 requires Griffin to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. The changes in the fair values of the interest rate swap agreements are assessed in accordance with ASC 815-10 and reflected in the carrying values of the interest rate swap agreements on Griffin's consolidated balance sheet. The estimated fair values are based primarily on projected future swap rates.

        Griffin applies cash flow hedge accounting to its interest rate swap agreements that are designated as hedges of the variability of future cash flows from floating rate liabilities based on the benchmark interest rates. The change in fair values of Griffin's interest rate swap agreements are recorded as components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) ("AOCI") in stockholders' equity, to the extent they are effective. Any ineffective portions of the change in fair value of this instrument would be recorded as interest expense.

• Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations

        Griffin accounts for its conditional asset retirement obligations in accordance with FASB ASC 410-10, "Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations," which requires an entity to recognize a liability for the fair value of a conditional asset retirement obligation if the fair value can be reasonably estimated even though uncertainty exists about the timing and/or method of settlement. The conditional asset retirement obligations relate principally to tobacco barns and other structures on Griffin's land holdings that contain asbestos, primarily in roofing materials. These structures remain from the tobacco growing operations of former affiliates of Griffin, are not material to Griffin's operations and do not have any book value.

• Fair Value of Financial Instruments

        The amounts included in the financial statements for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values because of the short-term maturity of these instruments. The amounts included in the financial statements for short-term investments are carried at their fair values in accordance with FASB ASC 320-10, "Investments—Debt and Equity Securities." The fair values of Griffin's other financial instruments are discussed in Note 4.

• Treasury Stock

        Treasury stock is recorded at cost as a reduction of stockholders' equity on Griffin's consolidated balance sheets.

• Income (Loss) Per Share

        Basic income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. The calculation of diluted income (loss) per common share reflects adjusting Griffin's outstanding shares assuming the exercise of all potentially dilutive Griffin stock options.

• Risks and Uncertainties

        Griffin's future results of operations involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could affect Griffin's future operating results and cause actual results to vary materially from historical results include, but are not limited to, the geographical concentration of Griffin Land's real estate holdings, the effect of weather on the landscape nursery business, credit risk and market risk.

        Griffin Land's real estate holdings are mostly concentrated in the Hartford, Connecticut area. The market and economic challenges experienced by the U.S. economy as a whole or the local economic conditions in the markets in which Griffin holds properties may affect Griffin Land's real estate business. Griffin's results of operations, financial condition or ability to expand may be adversely affected as a result of: (i) unfavorable financial changes to Griffin Land's tenants which may result in tenant defaults under leases; (ii) significant job losses impacting the demand for rental space causing market rental rates and property values to be negatively impacted; (iii) the ability of Griffin to borrow on terms and conditions that it finds acceptable; and (iv) possibly reduced values of Griffin Land's properties potentially limiting its ability to obtain debt financing collateralized by its properties or limiting the proceeds from such potential financings.

        Imperial's inventory and sales are subject to risk from adverse weather conditions, such as drought or excessive rain and disease. The landscape nursery business is highly seasonal, with the majority of sales occurring in the spring (Griffin's fiscal second quarter). Adverse weather during the peak spring selling season could impact landscape nursery sales.

        Griffin Land and Imperial conduct business based on periodic evaluations of their customers' financial condition. Imperial does not require collateral from its customers. Griffin Land does obtain security deposits from certain tenants. These evaluations require significant judgment and are based on multiple sources of information such as historical bad debt experiences, industry and geographic concentrations of credit risk, current economic trends and changes in customer payment terms. Although no single customer of Imperial accounted for more than 10% of Imperial's total net sales in fiscal 2011, fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2009, Imperial's ten largest customers, including mass merchandisers, accounted for 20%, 25% and 24% of Imperial's total net sales in fiscal 2011, fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2009, respectively. Management expects that a small number of customers will continue to account for a significant portion of Imperial's net sales over the next several years. A significant amount of sales to independent garden centers are made through cooperative buying organizations. In fiscal 2011, approximately 23% of Imperial's net sales were made through buying cooperatives, with 15% of Imperial's total net sales made through one buying cooperative. The loss of one of Imperial's larger customers or the inability to collect accounts receivable from one of Imperial's larger customers or a large buying cooperative could have an adverse effect on Imperial.

        Griffin does not use derivatives for speculative purposes. Griffin applies FASB ASC 815-10, which established accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. This accounting guidance required Griffin to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in its consolidated balance sheets and to measure those instruments at fair value. The estimated fair value is based primarily on projected future swap rates.

        Griffin applies cash flow hedge accounting to its interest rate swap agreements designated as hedges of the variability of future cash flows from floating rate liabilities due to the benchmark interest rates. Changes in the fair value of these interest rate swaps are recorded as a component of AOCI in stockholders' equity, to the extent they are effective. Amounts recorded to AOCI are then reclassified to interest expense as interest on the hedged borrowing is recognized. Any ineffective portion of the change in fair value of these instruments would be recorded to interest expense.

        Griffin's cash equivalents generally consist of overnight investments that are not significantly exposed to interest rate risk.

• Reclassifications

        Certain prior year balances have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation.

• Use of Estimates

        The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and revenue and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Griffin's significant estimates include the allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, inventory reserves, classification and valuation of investments, impairment evaluation of long-lived assets, deferred income taxes, derivative financial instruments, revenue and gain recognition, and assumptions used in determining stock compensation.

• Recent Accounting Pronouncements

        In January 2010, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2010-06, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures," which requires new disclosures and provides clarification of existing disclosures about fair value measurements. More specifically, this update requires: (a) an entity to disclose separately the amounts of significant transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 fair value measurements and to describe the reasons for the transfers; and (b) information about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements to be presented separately in the reconciliation for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 inputs). This guidance clarifies existing disclosure requirements for the level of disaggregation used for classes of assets and liabilities measured at fair value and requires disclosures about the valuation techniques and inputs used to measure fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements using Level 2 and Level 3 inputs. The update was effective for Griffin in the 2011 second quarter, except for the disclosure requirements related to the purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the rollforward activity of Level 3 fair value measurements. Those disclosure requirements will be effective for Griffin in fiscal 2012. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on Griffin's consolidated financial statements.

        In May 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-04, "Fair Value Measurement," which aligns disclosures related to fair value between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The standards update includes changes to the wording used to describe many of the requirements in U.S. GAAP for measuring fair value and changes to the disclosure of information about fair value measurements. More specifically, the changes clarify the intent of the FASB regarding the application of existing fair value measurements and disclosures as well as changing some particular principles or requirements for measuring fair value or for disclosing information about fair value measurements. This update will be effective for Griffin in the 2012 second quarter. Griffin is evaluating the impact that the application of this update will have on its consolidated financial statements.

        In June 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, "Comprehensive Income," which amends the presentation of comprehensive income and facilitates the convergence of U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The new guidance allows an entity to present components of net income and other comprehensive income in one continuous statement, referred to as the statement of comprehensive income, or in two separate, but consecutive statements. This new guidance eliminates the current option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of changes in equity. While the new guidance changes the presentation of comprehensive income, there are no changes to the components that are recognized in net income or other comprehensive income under current accounting guidance. This new guidance will be effective for Griffin in the 2012 second quarter. The adoption of this guidance will affect the presentation of the consolidated statements of operations and the consolidated statements of changes in stockholders' equity but will not have a material effect on Griffin's financial position or results of operations.