B. Significant Accounting Policies

Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable

Cabot recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the price is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. Cabot generally is able to ensure that products meet customer specifications prior to shipment. If the Company is unable to determine that the product has met the specified objective criteria prior to shipment or if title has not transferred because of sales terms, the revenue is considered “unearned” and is deferred until the revenue recognition criteria are met.

Shipping and handling charges related to sales transactions are recorded as sales revenue when billed to customers or included in the sales price.

The following table shows the relative size of the revenue recognized in each of the Company’s reportable segments:


	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	June 30						June 30
	2013			2012			2013			2012
Reinforcement Materials		55	%		63	%		57	%		65	%
Performance Materials		27	%		30	%		27	%		29	%
Advanced Technologies		8	%		7	%		6	%		6	%
Purification Solutions		10	%		N/A			10	%		N/A

Cabot derives the substantial majority of its revenues from the sale of products in Reinforcement Materials and Performance Materials. Revenue from these products is typically recognized when the product is shipped and title and risk of loss have passed to the customer. The Company offers certain of its customers cash discounts and volume rebates as sales incentives. The discounts and volume rebates are recorded as a reduction in sales at the time revenue is recognized and are estimated based on historical experience and contractual obligations. Cabot periodically reviews the assumptions underlying its estimates of discounts and volume rebates and adjusts its revenues accordingly.

Revenue in Advanced Technologies, excluding the Specialty Fluids Business, is typically recognized when the product is shipped and title and risk of loss have passed to the customer. Depending on the nature of the contract with the customer, a portion of the segment’s revenue may be recognized using performance based methods. Revenue associated with an Elastomer Composites agreement is accounted for as a multiple element arrangement and recognized ratably over the term of the agreement limited by the cumulative amounts that become due under the terms of the contract. The agreement stipulates certain milestone payments to be received by Cabot upon the achievement of multiple development and technical milestones, as well as quarterly royalty payments through fiscal year 2022.

A significant portion of the revenue in the Specialty Fluids Business, included in Advanced Technologies, arises from the rental of cesium formate. This revenue is recognized throughout the rental period based on the contracted rental terms. Customers are also billed and revenue is recognized, typically at the end of the job, for cesium formate product that is not returned. The Company also generates revenues from cesium formate sold outside of a rental process and revenue is recognized upon delivery of the fluid.

Revenue in Purification Solutions is typically recognized when the product is shipped and title and risk of loss have passed to the customer. For major activated carbon injection systems projects, revenue is recognized using the percentage-of-completion method.

Cabot maintains allowances for doubtful accounts based on an assessment of the collectability of specific customer accounts, the aging of accounts receivable and other economic information on both a historical and prospective basis. Customer account balances are charged against the allowance when it is probable the receivable will not be recovered. Changes in the allowance during the first nine months of fiscal 2013 and 2012 were immaterial. There is no off-balance sheet credit exposure related to customer receivable balances.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation of property, plant and equipment is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives. The depreciable lives for buildings, machinery and equipment, and other fixed assets are twenty to twenty-five years, ten to twenty-five years, and three to twenty-five years, respectively. The cost and accumulated depreciation for property, plant and equipment sold, retired, or otherwise disposed of are removed from the Consolidated Balance Sheets and resulting gains or losses are included in earnings in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are charged to expenses as incurred. Expenditures for major renewals and betterments, which significantly extend the useful lives of existing plant and equipment, are capitalized and depreciated.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company changed the estimated depreciable lives of certain machinery and equipment from ten to twenty-five years to reflect the Company’s experience. The change was accounted for as a change in estimate. The change increased Income from continuing operations by $2 million ($0.03 per diluted common share) for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Based on the current asset base, the Company expects the change will increase Income from continuing operations by $9 million ($0.14 per diluted common share) over a twelve month period.

Intangible Assets and Goodwill

The Company records tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. Amounts paid for an acquisition are allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. Goodwill is comprised of the purchase price of business acquisitions in excess of the fair value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized but is reviewed for impairment annually, or when events or changes in the business environment indicate that the carrying value of the reporting unit may exceed its fair value. A reporting unit, for the purpose of the impairment test, is at or below the operating segment level, and constitutes a business for which discrete financial information is available and regularly reviewed by segment management. The separate businesses included within Performance Materials and Advanced Technologies are considered separate reporting units. Goodwill balances relative to these segments are recorded in the Fumed Metal Oxides reporting unit within Performance Materials and the Security Materials reporting unit within Advanced Technologies. The annual review is performed as of May 31.

The Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value amount and as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. Alternatively, the Company may elect to proceed directly to the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an initial qualitative assessment identifies that it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, an additional quantitative evaluation is performed under the two-step impairment test. If based on the quantitative evaluation the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the Company performs an analysis of the fair value of all assets and liabilities of the reporting unit. If the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is determined to be less than its carrying amount, an impairment is recognized for the difference. The fair value of a reporting unit is based on discounted estimated future cash flows. The assumptions used to estimate fair value include management’s estimates of future growth rates, operating cash flows, capital expenditures, and discount rates over an estimate of the remaining operating period at the reporting unit level. Should the fair value of any of the Company’s reporting units decline because of reduced operating performance, market declines, or other indicators of impairment, or as a result of changes in the discount rate, charges for impairment may be necessary. The future growth in the Purification Solutions business, which had $462 million of goodwill at June 30, 2013, is highly dependent on the growth in the mercury removal products and services portion of this business. This growth relies upon the adoption and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, particularly those that would require U.S. based coal fired electrical utilities to reduce the quantity of air pollutants they release, including mercury, to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that become effective in April 2015.

The Company uses assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. The determination of the fair value of intangible assets requires the use of significant judgment with regard to (i) assumptions used in the valuation model; and (ii) determination of the intangible assets’ useful lives. The Company estimates the fair value of identifiable acquisition-related intangible assets principally based on projections of cash flows that will arise from these assets. The projected cash flows are discounted to determine the present value of the assets at the dates of acquisition. The Company reviews definite-lived intangible assets for impairment when indication of potential impairment exists, such as a significant reduction in cash flows associated with the assets. Actual cash flows arising from a particular intangible asset could vary from projected cash flows which could imply different carrying values from those established at the dates of acquisition and which could result in impairment of such asset. The Company evaluates indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually or when events occur or circumstances change that may reduce the fair value of the asset below its carrying amount. The Company may first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test or bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed directly to performing the quantitative impairment test. The quantitative impairment test is based on discounted estimated future cash flows. The assumptions used to estimate fair value include management’s estimates of future growth rates and discount rates over an estimate of the remaining operating period at the unit of accounting level. The annual review is performed as of May 31. Cabot’s intangible assets are primarily comprised of trademarks, customer relationships, patented and unpatented technology and other intellectual property. Finite lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives.

Income Tax in Interim Periods

The Company records its tax provision or benefit on an interim basis using an estimated annual effective tax rate. This rate is applied to the current period ordinary income or loss to determine the income tax provision or benefit allocated to the interim period. Losses from jurisdictions for which no benefit can be recognized and the income tax effects of unusual or infrequent items are excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate and are recognized in the impacted interim period.

Valuation allowances are provided against the future tax benefits that arise from the deferred tax assets in jurisdictions for which no benefit can be recognized. The estimated annual effective tax rate may be significantly impacted by nondeductible expenses and the Company’s projected earnings mix by tax jurisdiction. Adjustments to the estimated annual effective income tax rate are recognized in the period when such estimates are revised.

Inventory Valuation

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. The cost of all carbon black inventories in the U.S. is determined using the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method. Had the Company used the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method instead of the LIFO method for such inventories, the value of those inventories would have been $53 million and $52 million higher as of June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively. The cost of Specialty Fluids inventories is determined using the average cost method. The cost of other U.S. and non-U.S. inventories is determined using the FIFO method.

Cabot reviews inventory for both potential obsolescence and potential declines in anticipated selling prices. In this review, the Company makes assumptions about the future demand for and market value of the inventory, and based on these assumptions estimates the amount of any obsolete, unmarketable, slow moving or overvalued inventory. Cabot writes down the value of these inventories by an amount equal to the difference between the cost of the inventory and its estimated market value.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company adopted guidance that resulted in the addition of separate, but consecutive statements of comprehensive income.