Basis of Presentation (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Harsco Corporation (the "Company") has prepared these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all information and disclosure required by U.S. GAAP for annual financial statements. The December 31, 2018 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet information contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q was derived from the 2018 audited consolidated financial statements.  The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are of a normal recurring nature) that are necessary for a fair statement are reflected in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. 

Additionally, in May 2019, the former Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment was rebranded as the Harsco Environmental Segment.

Acquisition of Clean Earth

On June 28, 2019, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of CEHI Acquisition Corporation and Subsidiaries ("Clean Earth"), a leader in processing specialty waste and hazardous and non-hazardous waste from Compass Diversified Holdings for approximately $628 million in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. See Note 3, Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information.

Segment Reporting

The Company reports information about operating segments using the "management approach," which is based on the way management organizes and reports the segments within the enterprise for making operating decisions and assessing performance. The Company's reportable segments are identified based upon differences in products, services and markets served. The Company has determined that the operations of Clean Earth represent a separate reportable segment.

Discontinued Operations

In May 2019, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Harsco Industrial Air-X-Changers ("AXC") business to Chart Industries, Inc. for $592 million in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments and announced the Company's intent to divest the remainder of the businesses in the Harsco Industrial Segment, Harsco Industrial IKG ("IKG") and Harsco Industrial Patterson-Kelley ("PK"). The Company completed the sale of AXC on July 1, 2019 and the sale of the remaining businesses is expected to occur within one year. Additionally, these disposals represent a strategic shift and accelerate the transformation of the Company's portfolio of businesses into a leading provider of environmental solutions and services. As a result of these disposals (i) the carrying value of assets and liabilities of the Harsco Industrial Segment have been classified as Assets-held-for-sale and Liabilities of assets-held-for-sale on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets; (ii) the operating results of the Harsco Industrial Segment, costs directly related to the disposals and an allocation of interest expense associated with mandatory debt repayments required as a result of the disposals have been reflected in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as discontinued operations for all periods presented; and (iii) all disclosures have been updated to reflect these changes. See Note 3, Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information.

Recently Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Recently Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Standards

The following accounting standards have been adopted in 2019:

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted changes issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) related to accounting for leases. The changes introduce a lessee model that brings most leases onto the balance sheet. The changes also align many of the underlying principles of the new lessor model with those in the FASB’s new revenue recognition standard. Furthermore, the changes address other concerns related to the current lease model such as eliminating the requirement in current guidance for an entity to use bright-line tests in determining lease classification. The changes also require lessors to increase the transparency of their exposure to changes in value of their residual assets and how they manage that exposure. The Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition, which among other items, allowed the carry forward of the historical lease classification. The Company has elected to apply the transition requirements at the January 1, 2019 effective date and therefore, comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under U.S. GAAP in effect for those periods. The changes had a significant impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets upon adoption and the Company recorded Right-of-use ("ROU") assets and lease liabilities of $34.0 million and $34.2 million, respectively. The difference between the ROU assets and lease liabilities was recorded primarily as adjustments to other assets and liabilities where prepaid rent and deferred expenses were previously recorded. Additionally, the Company's accounting for finance leases remained consistent. The changes did not have an impact on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations or Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The discount rates used to calculate the ROU assets and lease liabilities as of the effective date were based on the remaining lease terms as of the effective date. See Note 6, Leases, for additional information.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted changes issued by the FASB which expand and refine hedge accounting for both financial and non-financial risk components, aligns the recognition and presentation of the effects of hedging instruments and hedged items in the financial statements and includes certain targeted improvements to ease the application of current guidance related to the assessment of hedge effectiveness. Upon adoption, the Company’s recognition model for the excluded component was modified from a mark-to-market approach to an amortization approach for hedging relationships. Hedging relationships entered into on or after January 1, 2019 will be under the amortization approach while those entered into before

January 1, 2019 will continue to be recognized under the mark-to-market approach. As such, there was no effect of applying this election reflected as an adjustment to Accumulated other comprehensive loss with a corresponding adjustment to the opening balance of Retained earnings. Presentation and disclosure amendments are required to be applied prospectively. Other than required expanded disclosures, the adoption of these changes did not have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted changes issued by the FASB which allow entities to reclassify stranded income tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings in the consolidated financial statements. Under the Tax Act, deferred taxes were adjusted to reflect the reduction of the historical corporate income tax rate to the newly enacted corporate income tax rate, which left the tax effects on items within accumulated other comprehensive income stranded at historical tax rates. The adoption of these changes resulted in the Company reclassifying approximately $21 million of stranded income tax effects into Retained earnings.

The following accounting standards have been issued and become effective for the Company at a future date:

In June 2016, the FASB issued changes, as amended, which update the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses rather than incurred losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments, including trade receivables. This may result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. The changes become effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Management has not yet completed the assessment of the impact of the new standard on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued changes that remove the second step of the annual goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. The changes provide that the amount of goodwill impairment will be equal to the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. All other goodwill impairment guidance remains largely unchanged. The same one-step impairment test will be applied to goodwill at all reporting units, even those with zero or negative carrying amounts. Entities will be required to disclose the amount of goodwill at reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts. The changes become effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. Management has determined that these changes will not have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements. However, should the Company be required to record a goodwill impairment charge in future periods, the amount recorded may differ compared to any amounts that might be recorded under current practice.

In August 2018, the FASB issued changes which modify the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The amendments in this update remove the requirement to disclose the amount of, and reasons for, transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy; the policy for timing of transfers between levels; and the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements. The changes require disclosure of changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period included in other comprehensive income (loss) for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements held at the end of the reporting period and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements. The changes become effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. Other than required expanded disclosures, the adoption of these changes will not have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued changes which modify the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other post-retirement plans. The changes remove the requirements to disclose: amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year; the amount and timing of plan assets expected to be returned to the employer; and the effects of a one-percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates. The update also requires disclosure of an explanation of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period. The changes become effective for the Company on January 1, 2021. Management does not believe these changes will have a material impact on its condensed consolidated financial statements.