Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jan. 28, 2012

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Accounting Policies

1. Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation - Dycom Industries, Inc. ("Dycom" or the "Company") is a leading provider of specialty contracting services. These services are provided throughout the United States and include engineering, construction, maintenance and installation services to telecommunications providers, underground facility locating services to various utilities including telecommunications providers, and other construction and maintenance services to electric and gas utilities and others. Dycom also provides services in Canada.

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the results of Dycom and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly-owned.  All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated and the financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring accruals that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of such statements. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). However, the financial statements do not include all of the financial information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Additionally, the results of operations for the three and six months ended January 28, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements for the entire year ended July 30, 2011 included in the Company's 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on September 2, 2011.

On November 19, 2010, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Communication Services, Inc. ("Communication Services"). On December 23, 2010, the Company acquired the outstanding common stock of NeoCom Solutions, Inc. ("NeoCom"). The operating results of the businesses acquired by the Company are included in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements from their respective acquisition dates. See Note 3 for further discussion of these acquisitions.

Accounting Period - The Company uses a fiscal year ending on the last Saturday in July.

Debt issuance and tender offer - On January 21, 2011, Dycom Investments, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, issued $187.5 million aggregate principal amount of 7.125% senior subordinated notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes") in a private placement.  In January 2011 a portion of the net proceeds was used to fund the Company's purchase of $86.96 million aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 8.125% senior subordinated notes due 2015 (the "2015 Notes") at a price of 104.313% of the principal amount. The purchase was made pursuant to a cash tender offer for any and all of the Company's $135.35 million in aggregate principal amount of outstanding 2015 Notes. In addition, proceeds of the issuance of the 2021 Notes were used to fund the Company's redemption in February 2011 of the remaining $48.39 million outstanding aggregate principal amount of 2015 Notes at a price of 104.063% of the principal amount. During the three months ended January 29, 2011, the Company recognized debt extinguishment costs of $4.0 million, comprised of tender premiums and legal and professional fees associated with the tender offer and $1.7 million for the write-off of deferred debt issuance costs related to the transaction. During the quarter ending April 30, 2011, as a result of the redemption in February 2011, the Company recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of approximately $2.6 million related to the call premium and write-off of debt issuance costs for the 2015 Notes redeemed. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the debt issuance and tender offer.

Use of Estimates - The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. For the Company, key estimates include: recognition of revenue for costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, the fair value of goodwill, the assessment of impairment of intangibles and other long-lived assets, income taxes, accrued insurance claims, asset lives used in computing depreciation and amortization, allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation expense for performance-based stock awards, and accruals for contingencies, including legal matters. At the time they are made, the Company believes that such estimates are fair when considered in conjunction with the consolidated financial position and results of operations taken as a whole. However, actual results could differ from those estimates and such differences may be material to the financial statements.

Restricted Cash - As of January 28, 2012 and July 30, 2011, the Company had approximately $4.1 million and $4.7 million in restricted cash, respectively, which is held as collateral in support of the Company's insurance obligations. Restricted cash is included in other current assets and other assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheets and changes in restricted cash are reported in cash flows used in investing activities in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

Comprehensive Income (Loss) - During the three and six months ended January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011, the Company did not have any material changes in its equity resulting from non-owner sources. Accordingly, comprehensive income (loss) approximated the net income (loss) amounts presented for the respective period's operations.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments - Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures ("ASC Topic 820"), defines and establishes a measurement framework for fair value and expands disclosure requirements. ASC Topic 820 requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value are classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories: (1) Level 1 - Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; (2) Level 2 - Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data; and (3) Level 3 - Unobservable inputs not corroborated by market data which require the reporting entity's own assumptions. The Company's financial instruments consist primarily of cash and equivalents, restricted cash, accounts and other receivables, income taxes receivable and payable, accounts payable and certain accrued expenses, and long-term debt. The carrying amounts of these items approximate fair value due to their short maturity, except for the Company's outstanding 2021 Notes. The Company determined that the fair value of the 2021 Notes at January 28, 2012 was $191.0 million based on quoted market prices as compared to a carrying value of $187.5 million. 

Segment Information - The Company operates in one reportable segment as a specialty contractor, providing engineering, construction, maintenance and installation services to telecommunications providers, underground facility locating services to various utilities including telecommunications providers, and other construction and maintenance services to electric and gas utilities and others. All of the Company's operating segments have been aggregated into one reporting segment due to their similar economic characteristics, nature of services and production processes, type of customers, and service distribution methods. The Company's services are provided by its various subsidiaries throughout the United States and in Canada. One of the Company's operating segments earned revenues from contracts in Canada of approximately $2.5 million and $6.2 million during the three and six months ended January 28, 2012, respectively, and $1.4 million and $3.2 million during the three and six months ended January 29, 2011, respectively. The Company had no material long-lived assets in the Canadian operations at January 28, 2012 or July 30, 2011.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-08, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment ("ASU 2011-08"). ASU 2011-08 permits entities testing for goodwill impairment to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test described in ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. ASU 2011-08 does not change how goodwill is calculated or assigned to reporting units, nor does it revise the requirement to assess goodwill at least annually for impairment. ASU 2011-08 is effective for goodwill impairment tests performed in interim and annual periods for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not intend to early adopt this guidance and the adoption is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-09, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosures about an Employer's Participation in a Multiemployer Plan ("ASU 2011-09"). ASU 2011-09 requires enhanced disclosures about an employer's participation in a multiemployer pension plan to address transparency concerns from various users of financial statements.   Such disclosures include, but are not limited to, the amount of employer contributions made to each significant plan and to all plans in the aggregate, as well as a description of the nature and effect of any changes affecting comparability for each period in which a statement of operations is presented. Additionally, ASU 2011-09 requires disclosure of the nature of the plan benefits, a qualitative description of the extent to which the employer could be responsible for the obligations of the plan, including benefits earned by employees during employment with another employer and other quantitative information to help users understand the financial information for each significant plan. ASU 2011-09 is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011, with retrospective application for all prior periods presented. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.