Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of operations: Modine Manufacturing Company (“Modine” or the “Company”) specializes in providing innovative thermal management solutions to diversified global markets and customers. The Company is a leading provider of engineered heat transfer systems and high-quality heat transfer components for use in on- and off-highway original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) vehicular applications. In addition, the Company is a global leader in thermal management technology and solutions for sale into a wide array of commercial, industrial, and building heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (“HVAC&R”) markets. The Company’s primary product groups include i) powertrain cooling and engine cooling; ii) coils, coolers, and coatings; and iii) heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Sale of AIAC Air Conditioning South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Sale of AIAC Air Conditioning South Africa (Pty) Ltd.: During fiscal 2019, the Company completed the sale of its AIAC Air Conditioning South Africa (Pty) Ltd. business, which was reported within the Building HVAC Systems segment, for a selling price of $0.5 million. As a result of this transaction, the Company recorded a loss of $1.7 million, which included the write-off of accumulated foreign currency translation losses of $0.8 million. The Company reported this loss on the loss on sale of assets line of the consolidated statements of operations. Annual net sales attributable to this disposed business were less than $2.0 million.

Acquisition of Luvata HTS

Acquisition of Luvata HTS: On November 30, 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of multiple companies held by Luvata Heat Transfer Solutions II AB, a company incorporated in Sweden. Combined, these acquired companies represented the Luvata Heat Transfer Solutions (“Luvata HTS”) business. See Note 2 for additional information.

Basis of presentation

Basis of presentation: The Company prepares its consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States. These principles require management to make certain estimates and assumptions in determining assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. Actual amounts could differ materially from those estimates.

Consolidation principles

Consolidation principles: The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Modine Manufacturing Company and its majority-owned or Modine-controlled subsidiaries. The Company eliminates intercompany transactions and balances in consolidation.

The Company accounts for investments in non-consolidated affiliated companies in which its ownership is 20 percent or more using the equity method. The Company states these investments at cost, plus or minus a proportionate share of undistributed net earnings. The Company includes Modine’s share of the affiliate’s net earnings in other income and expense. See Note 13 for additional information.

Revenue recognition

Revenue recognition: The Company recognizes revenue based upon consideration specified in a contract and as it satisfies performance obligations by transferring control over its products to its customers, which may be at a point in time or over time. The majority of the Company’s revenue is recognized at a point in time, based upon shipment terms. A portion of the Company’s revenue is recognized over time, based upon estimated progress towards satisfaction of the contractual performance obligations. See Note 3 for additional information.

Shipping and handling costs

Shipping and handling costs: The Company records shipping and handling costs incurred upon the shipment of products to its customers in cost of sales, and related amounts billed to these customers in net sales.

Trade accounts receivable

Trade accounts receivable: The Company records trade receivables at the invoiced amount. Trade receivables do not bear interest if paid according to the original terms. The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated uncollectible receivables based upon historical experience or specific customer economic data. The Company recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of $1.6 million and $2.3 million at March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, representing its estimated uncollectible receivables. The Company enters into supply chain financing programs from time to time to sell accounts receivable, without recourse, to third-party financial institutions. Sales of accounts receivable are reflected as a reduction of accounts receivable on the consolidated balance sheets and the proceeds are included in cash flows from operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. During fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, the Company sold $85.1 million, $65.8 million, and $55.4 million, respectively, of accounts receivable to accelerate cash receipts. During fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, the Company recorded a loss on the sale of accounts receivable of $0.6 million, $0.4 million, and $0.3 million, respectively, in the consolidated statements of operations.

Warranty

Warranty: The Company provides product warranties for specific product lines and accrues for estimated future warranty costs in the period in which the sale is recorded. The Company records warranty expense, within cost of sales, based upon historical and current claims data or based upon estimated future claims. Accrual balances, which are recorded within other current liabilities, are monitored and adjusted if it is probable that expected claims will differ from previous estimates. See Note 16 for additional information.

Tooling costs

Tooling costs: The Company accounts for production tooling costs as a component of property, plant and equipment when it owns title to the tooling and amortizes the capitalized cost to cost of sales over the estimated life of the asset, which is generally three years. At March 31, 2019 and 2018, Company-owned tooling totaled $24.2 million and $22.4 million, respectively. In certain instances, tooling is customer-owned. At the time customer-owned tooling is completed and customer acceptance is obtained, the Company records tooling revenue and related production costs within net sales and cost of sales, respectively, in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company accounts for unbilled customer-owned tooling costs as a receivable within other current assets when the customer has guaranteed reimbursement to the Company. No significant arrangements exist where customer-owned tooling costs were not accompanied by guaranteed reimbursement. At March 31, 2019 and 2018, cost reimbursement receivables related to customer-owned tooling totaled $11.6 million and $10.7 million, respectively.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation: The Company recognizes stock-based compensation using the fair value method. Accordingly, compensation expense for stock options, restricted stock and performance-based stock awards is calculated based upon the fair value of the instruments at the time of grant, and is recognized as expense over the respective vesting periods. See Note 5 for additional information.

Research and development

Research and development: The Company expenses research and development costs as incurred within selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses. During fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, research and development costs charged to operations totaled $69.8 million, $65.8 million, and $64.4 million, respectively.

Translation of foreign currencies

Translation of foreign currencies: The Company translates assets and liabilities of foreign subsidiaries and equity investments into U.S. dollars at the period-end exchange rates, and translates income and expense items at the monthly average exchange rate for the period in which the transactions occur. The Company reports resulting translation adjustments within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within shareholders’ equity. The Company includes foreign currency transaction gains or losses in the statement of operations within other income and expense.

Derivative instruments

Derivative instruments: The Company enters into derivative financial instruments from time to time to manage certain financial risks. The Company enters into forward contracts to reduce exposure to changing future purchase prices for aluminum and copper and into foreign currency exchange contracts to hedge specific foreign currency-denominated assets and liabilities as well as forecasted transactions. The Company designates certain derivative financial instruments as cash flow hedges for accounting purposes. These instruments are used to manage financial risks and are not speculative. See Note 19 for additional information.

Income taxes

Income taxes: The Company determines deferred tax assets and liabilities based upon the difference between the amounts reported in the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company establishes a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset, or portion thereof, will not be realized. See Note 8 for additional information.

Earnings per share

Earnings per share: The Company calculates basic earnings per share based upon the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, while the calculation of diluted earnings per share includes the dilutive effect of potential common shares outstanding during the period. The calculation of diluted earnings per share excludes potential common shares if their inclusion would have an anti-dilutive effect. Certain outstanding restricted stock awards provide recipients with a non-forfeitable right to receive dividends declared by the Company. Therefore, these restricted stock awards are included in computing earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method. See Note 9 for additional information.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents: The Company considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Under the Company’s cash management system, cash balances at certain banks are funded when checks are presented for payment. To the extent checks issued, but not yet presented for payment, exceed the balance on hand at the specific bank against which they were written, the Company reports the amount of those checks within accounts payable in the consolidated balance sheets.

Short-term investments

Short-term investments: The Company invests in time deposits with original maturities of more than three months but no more than one year. The Company records these short-term investments at cost, which approximates fair value, within other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company’s short-term investments totaled $4.3 million and $5.7 million, respectively.

Inventories

Inventories: The Company values inventories using a first-in, first-out or weighted-average basis, at the lower of cost and net realizable value.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment: The Company records property, plant and equipment at cost. For financial reporting purposes, the Company computes depreciation using the straight-line method over the expected useful lives of the assets. The Company charges maintenance and repair costs to operations as incurred. The Company capitalizes costs of improvements. Upon the sale or other disposition of an asset, the Company removes the cost and related accumulated depreciation from the accounts and includes the gain or loss in the consolidated statements of operations. Capital expenditures of $17.9 million, $15.8 million, and $12.5 million were accrued within accounts payable at March 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Goodwill

Goodwill: The Company does not amortize goodwill; rather, it tests for impairment annually unless conditions exist that would require a more frequent evaluation. The Company performs an assessment of the fair value of its reporting units for goodwill impairment testing based upon, among other things, the present value of expected future cash flows. The Company performed its goodwill impairment test as of March 31, 2019, which did not result in an impairment charge. See Note 15 for additional information.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Impairment of long-lived assets: The Company reviews long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be fully recoverable. In these instances, the Company compares the undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated from the asset with its carrying value. If the asset’s carrying value exceeds expected future cash flows, the Company measures and records an impairment loss, if any, as the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value. The Company estimates fair value using a variety of valuation techniques, including discounted cash flows, market values and comparison values for similar assets.

Assets held for sale

Assets held for sale: The Company considers assets to be held for sale when management approves and commits to a formal plan to actively market the asset for sale at a reasonable price in relation to its fair value, the asset is available for immediate sale in its present condition, an active program to locate a buyer and other actions required to complete the sale have been initiated, the sale of the asset is expected to be completed within one year and it is unlikely that significant changes will be made to the plan. Upon designation as held for sale, the Company records the carrying value of the assets at the lower of its carrying value or its estimated fair value, less costs to sell, within other noncurrent assets. The Company ceases to record depreciation expense at the time of designation as held for sale. The carrying value of assets held for sale totaled $1.1 million and $1.7 million at March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Deferred compensation trusts

Deferred compensation trusts: The Company maintains deferred compensation trusts to fund future obligations under its non-qualified deferred compensation plans. The trusts’ investments in third-party debt and equity securities are presented within other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

Self-insurance reserves

Self-insurance reserves: The Company retains a portion of the financial risk for certain insurance coverage, including property, general liability, workers compensation, and employee healthcare, and therefore maintains reserves that estimate the impact of unreported and under-reported claims that fall below various stop-loss limits and deductibles under its insurance policies. The Company maintains reserves for the estimated settlement cost of known claims, as well as estimates of incurred but not reported claims. The Company charges costs of claims, including the impact of changes in reserves due to claim experience and severity, to operations. The Company reviews and updates the amount of its insurance-related reserves on a quarterly basis.

Environmental liabilities

Environmental liabilities: The Company records liabilities for environmental assessments and remediation activities in the period in which its responsibility is probable and the costs can be reasonably estimated. The Company records environmental indemnification assets from third parties, including prior owners, when recovery is probable. To the extent that the required remediation procedures change, or additional contamination is identified, the Company’s estimated environmental liabilities may also change. See Note 20 for additional information.

Supplemental cash flow information

Supplemental cash flow information:

	Years ended March 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Interest paid	$	22.3	$	23.4	$	15.4
Income taxes paid		22.2		20.1		12.7

New Accounting Guidance

New Accounting Guidance:

Stock-based Compensation

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued new guidance to simplify several aspects of accounting for stock-based payment transactions. The Company adopted this guidance beginning in its first quarter of fiscal 2018. The Company elected to account for forfeitures in the period in which they occur and recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity. In addition, the Company prospectively adopted the guidance requiring all excess tax benefits or deficiencies to be recognized as income tax expense or benefit when share-based awards are settled. The provisions of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. As a result of adopting this new guidance, the Company recorded a $0.4 million increase to both deferred tax assets and equity as of April 1, 2017.

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the FASB issued new guidance that outlines a comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. The core principle of the new guidance is that companies are to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new guidance also includes a cohesive set of disclosure requirements intended to provide users of financial statements with comprehensive information about revenue arising from contracts with customers. The Company adopted this new guidance for fiscal 2019 using the modified-retrospective transition method.

The Company assessed customer contracts and evaluated contractual provisions in light of the new guidance. Through its evaluation process, the Company identified a limited number of customer contracts that provide an enforceable right to payment for customized products, which require revenue recognition prior to the product being shipped to the customer. As a result of its adoption of the new guidance, the Company recorded an increase of $0.7 million to retained earnings as of April 1, 2018, along with related balance sheet reclassifications. The increase to retained earnings represented $3.0 million of net sales that, had the new guidance been in effect, the Company would have recognized as of March 31, 2018. See Note 3 for additional information regarding revenue recognition.

Income Taxes: Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory

In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to income tax accounting for intercompany asset transfers. This new guidance requires companies to recognize the income tax effects of intercompany asset transfers other than inventory at the transaction date. The income tax effects of these transfers were previously deferred. The Company adopted this new guidance for fiscal 2019 using the modified-retrospective transition method. Upon adoption, the Company recorded a decrease to retained earnings of $8.3 million as of April 1, 2018.

Statement of Cash Flows: Restricted Cash

In November 2016, the FASB issued new guidance that requires restricted cash to be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning and ending balances presented within the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted this new guidance for fiscal 2019 using the retrospective transition method. As a result, all prior period information has been recast to be comparable to the new presentation requirements. See Note 10 for information regarding the Company’s restricted cash.

Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

In February 2018, the FASB issued new guidance related to the accounting for certain stranded income tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) resulting from tax reform legislation that was enacted in the U.S. in December 2017. This guidance is effective for the Company as of April 1, 2019 and provides the option to reclassify stranded income tax effects to retained earnings. The Company has determined it will not reclassify stranded income tax effects upon adoption, and therefore, this guidance will not impact its consolidated financial statements.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued new comprehensive lease accounting guidance that supersedes existing lease accounting guidance and requires balance sheet recognition for most leases. The Company will adopt this guidance effective April 1, 2019 using a modified-retrospective transition method, under which it expects to elect not to adjust comparative periods. The Company intends to elect the package of practical expedients permitted under the new guidance, and, as a result, the Company has not reassessed the classification of existing leases or initial direct costs thereof, or whether existing contracts contain leases. In addition, the Company plans to elect accounting policies to not record short-term leases on the balance sheet and to not separate lease and non-lease components. The Company does not intend to elect the hindsight practical expedient.

The Company has completed its assessment of its global lease portfolio and is in the process of finalizing the testing of its new lease accounting software solution and implementing new processes and controls to account for leases in accordance with the new guidance. The Company’s most significant leases represent leases of real estate, such as manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and office buildings. In addition, the Company leases certain manufacturing and IT equipment and vehicles. Upon adoption of this new guidance, the Company expects to recognize $60.0 to $70.0 million of right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities on its consolidated balance sheet. The Company does not expect the adoption will have a material impact on its consolidated statements of operations or consolidated statements of cash flows.

The cumulative effects on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, as of April 1, 2018, resulting from the adoption of new accounting guidance were as follows:

			Adjustments Due to New Accounting Guidance
	Balance as of March 31, 2018		Revenue Recognition			Intra-entity Transfers of Assets			Balance as of April 1, 2018
ASSETS
Inventories	$	191.3	$	(2.0	)	$	-		$	189.3
Other current assets		70.1		3.0			(8.3	)		64.8
Deferred income taxes		96.9		(0.2	)		-			96.7

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Deferred income taxes	$	9.9	$	0.1		$	-		$	10.0
Retained earnings		394.9		0.7			(8.3	)		387.3