Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

6 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Bond commitments

In the ordinary course of business, predominantly in our Architectural Services and Architectural Framing Systems Segments, we are required to provide surety or performance bonds that commit payments to our customers for any non-performance. At August 31, 2024, $1.2 billion of these types of bonds were outstanding, of which $366.0 million is in our backlog. These bonds have expiration dates that align with completion of the sales order or contract. We have never been required to make payments under surety or performance bonds with respect to our existing businesses.

Warranty and project-related contingencies

We reserve estimated exposures on known claims, as well as on a portion of anticipated claims, for product warranty and rework cost, based on historical product liability claims as a ratio of sales. Claim costs are deducted from the accrual when paid. Factors that could have an impact on these accruals in any given period include changes in manufacturing quality, changes in product mix, and any significant changes in sales volume.


	Six Months Ended
(In thousands)	August 31, 2024
Balance at beginning of period	$	21,362
Additions charged to costs and expenses	5,967

Deductions from reserve, net of recoveries	(6,585)
Balance at end of period	$	20,744

Additionally, we are subject to project management and installation-related contingencies as a result of our fixed-price material supply and installation service contracts, primarily in our Architectural Services Segment and in certain parts of our Architectural Framing Systems Segment. We manage the risk of these exposures through contract negotiations, proactive project management and insurance coverages.

Letters of credit

At August 31, 2024, we had $42.5 million of ongoing letters of credit as discussed in Note 5.

Purchase obligations

Purchase obligations for raw material commitments and capital expenditures totaled $14.2 million as of August 31, 2024.

New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions

We have two outstanding NMTC arrangements which help to support operational expansion. Proceeds received from investors on these transactions are included within other non-current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. The NMTC arrangements are subject to 100 percent tax credit recapture for a period of seven years from the date of each respective transaction. Upon the termination of each arrangement, these proceeds will be recognized in earnings in exchange for the transfer of tax credits. The direct and incremental costs incurred in structuring these arrangements have been deferred and are included in other non-current assets in our consolidated balance sheets. These costs will be recognized in conjunction with the recognition of the related proceeds on each arrangement. During the construction phase or for working capital purposes for each project, we are required to hold cash dedicated to fund each project, which is classified as restricted cash in our consolidated balance sheets. As a result of the structure of these transactions, variable-interest entities were created. As the other investors in these programs do not have a material interest in the entities' underlying economics, we include 100% of the results of the variable-interest entities in our consolidated financial statements.

The table below provides a summary of estimated benefits related to our outstanding NMTC transactions (in thousands):


Inception date	Termination date	Deferred Benefit		Deferred costs		Net benefit
May 2022(1)	August 2025	$	6,052	$	1,604	$	4,448
September 2018	September 2025	$	3,198	$	1,031	$	2,167
Total		$	9,250	$	2,635	$	6,615

(1) Continuation of the August 2018 NMTC financing transaction

Litigation

The Company is a party to various legal proceedings incidental to its normal operating activities. In particular, like others in the construction supply and services industry, the Company is routinely involved in various disputes and claims arising out of construction projects, sometimes involving significant monetary damages or product replacement. We have in the past and are currently subject to product liability and warranty claims, including certain legal claims related to a commercial sealant product formerly incorporated into our products. In December 2022, the claimant in an arbitration of one such claim was awarded $20 million. The Company has appealed the award and believes, after taking into account all currently available information, including the advice of counsel and the likelihood of available insurance coverage, that this award will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The Company is also subject to litigation arising out of areas such as employment practices, workers compensation and general liability matters. Although it is very difficult to accurately predict the outcome of any such proceedings, facts currently available indicate that no matters will result in losses that would have a material adverse effect on the results of operations, cash flows or financial condition of the Company.