Segment Reporting

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting

The Company distributes and performs processing on both metals and plastics. Although the distribution processes are similar, the customer markets, supplier bases and types of products are different. Additionally, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, the chief operating decision-maker, reviews and manages these two businesses separately. As such, these businesses are considered reportable segments and are reported accordingly. Neither of the Company’s reportable segments has any unusual working capital requirements.

In its Metals segment, the Company’s marketing strategy focuses on distributing highly engineered specialty grades and alloys of metals as well as providing specialized processing services designed to meet very precise specifications. Core products include alloy, aluminum, stainless, nickel, titanium and carbon. Inventories of these products assume many forms such as plate, sheet, extrusions, round bar, hexagon bar, square and flat bar, tubing and coil. Depending on the size of the facility and the nature of the markets it serves, service centers are equipped as needed with bar saws, plate saws, oxygen and plasma arc flame cutting machinery, trepanning machinery, boring machinery, honing equipment, water-jet cutting, stress relieving and annealing furnaces, surface grinding equipment, CNC machinery and sheet shearing equipment. This segment also performs various specialized fabrications for its customers through pre-qualified subcontractors that thermally process, turn, polish, cut-to-length and straighten alloy and carbon bar.

The Company’s Plastics segment consists exclusively of a wholly-owned subsidiary, TPI. The Plastics segment stocks and distributes a wide variety of plastics in forms that include plate, rod, tube, clear sheet, tape, gaskets and fittings. Processing activities within this segment include cut-to-length, cut-to-shape, bending and forming according to customer specifications. The Plastics segment’s diverse customer base consists of companies in the retail (point-of-purchase), automotive, marine, office furniture and fixtures, safety products, life sciences applications, and general manufacturing industries. TPI has locations throughout the upper northeast and midwest regions of the U.S. and one facility in Florida from which it services a wide variety of users of industrial plastics.

On March 11, 2016, the Company entered into an asset purchase agreement with an unrelated third-party for the sale of TPI. TPI represents the entirety of the the Company's Plastics segment and therefore, the Company will only have one reporting segment, the Metals segment, going forward. As of December 31, 2015, TPI did not meet the criteria to be classified as held for sale and accordingly its results are presented with continuing operations and the segment information presented below. The terms of the sale are discussed fully in Note 15 - Subsequent Events to the consolidated financial statements.

The accounting policies of all segments are the same as described in Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements. Management evaluates the performance of its business segments based on operating income.

The Company operates primarily in North America. No activity from any individual country outside the United States is material, and therefore, foreign activity is reported on an aggregate basis. Net sales are attributed to countries based on the location of the Company’s subsidiary that is selling direct to the customer. Company-wide geographic data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:

	2015		2014		2013
Net sales
United States	$	554,943	$	736,236	$	817,714
All other countries	215,815		243,601		235,352
Total	$	770,758	$	979,837	$	1,053,066
Long-lived assets
United States	$	59,603	$	58,278	63,667
All other countries	11,790		14,557		13,027
Total	$	71,393	$	72,835	76,694

Segment information as of and for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 is as follows:

	Net Sales		Operating (Loss)      Income (b)			Total      Assets (b)		Capital Expenditures		Depreciation & Amortization
2015
Metals segment	$	637,936	$	(177,087	)	$	404,936	$	7,171	$	23,317
Plastics segment	132,822		6,422			57,027		1,079		1,537
Other (a)	—		(11,009		)	35,690		—		—
Consolidated	$	770,758	$	(181,674	)	$	497,653	$	8,250	$	24,854
2014
Metals segment	$	841,672	$	(98,673	)	$	612,261	$	11,184	$	24,380
Plastics segment	138,165		6,354			60,970		1,167		1,664
Other (a)	—		(10,520		)	37,443		—		—
Consolidated	$	979,837	$	(102,839	)	$	710,674	$	12,351	$	26,044
2013
Metals segment	$	918,298	$	(20,489	)	$	707,233	$	10,181	$	24,579
Plastics segment	134,768		4,278			57,373		1,423		1,609
Other (a)	—		(8,379		)	41,879		—		—
Consolidated	$	1,053,066	$	(24,590	)	$	806,485	$	11,604	$	26,188

^(a) “Other” – Operating loss includes the costs of executive, legal and elements of the finance department, which are shared by both the Metals and Plastics segments. The “Other” category’s total assets consist of the Company’s investment in joint venture.

^(b) During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company changed its method of accounting for U.S metals inventories, which were previously accounted for under LIFO method, to the average cost method. The change was applied retrospectively to the prior year financial information presented. See Note 1 for discussion of this accounting change and its related impact.

Below are reconciliations of segment data to the consolidated loss before income taxes:

	2015			2014			2013
Operating loss (a)	$	(181,674	)	$	(102,839	)	$	(24,590	)
Interest expense, net	41,980			40,548			40,542
Loss on extinguishment of debt	—			—			2,606
Other expense, net	6,306			4,323			1,924
Loss before income taxes and equity in earnings (losses) of joint venture (a)	(229,960		)	(147,710		)	(69,662		)
Equity in earnings (losses) of joint venture	(1,426		)	7,691			6,987
Consolidated loss before income taxes (a)	$	(231,386	)	$	(140,019	)	$	(62,675	)

^(a) During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company changed its method of accounting for U.S metals inventories, which were previously accounted for under LIFO method, to the average cost method. The change was applied retrospectively to the prior year financial information presented. See Note 1 for discussion of this accounting change and its related impact.