Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Organization

McGrath RentCorp and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Company”) is a California corporation organized in 1979. The Company is a diversified business to business rental company with three rental products; relocatable modular buildings, electronic test equipment and liquid and solid containment tanks and boxes. Although the Company’s primary emphasis is on equipment rentals, sales of equipment occur in the normal course of business. The Company is comprised of four business segments: its modular building division (“Mobile Modular”), its electronic test equipment division (“TRS-RenTelco”), its containment solutions for the storage of hazardous and non-hazardous liquids and solids division (“Adler Tanks”) and its classroom manufacturing division selling modular classrooms in California (“Enviroplex”).

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of McGrath RentCorp and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Revenue Recognition

Rental revenue from operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Rental billings for periods extending beyond period end are recorded as deferred income and are recognized when earned. Rental related services revenue is primarily associated with relocatable modular building leases and consists of billings to customers for modifications, delivery, installation, building, additional site-related work, and dismantle and return delivery. Revenue from these services is an integral part of the negotiated lease agreement with customers and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Revenues associated with liquid and solid containment solutions consists of billings for delivery, removal and cleaning of the tanks and boxes. These revenues are recognized in the period performed.

Sales revenue is recognized upon delivery and installation of the equipment to customers. Certain leases are accounted for as sales-type leases. For these leases, sales revenue and the related accounts receivable are recognized upon delivery and installation of the equipment and the unearned interest is recognized over the lease term on a basis which results in a constant rate of return on the unrecovered lease investment.

Other revenue is recognized when earned and primarily includes interest income on sales-type leases, rental income on facility rentals and certain logistics services.

Sales taxes charged to customers are reported on a net basis and are excluded from revenues and expenses.

Depreciation of Rental Equipment

Rental equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis for financial reporting purposes and on an accelerated basis for income tax purposes. The costs of major refurbishment of relocatable modular buildings and portable storage containers are capitalized to the extent the refurbishment significantly adds value to, or extends the life of the equipment. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred.

The estimated useful lives and residual values of the Company’s rental equipment used for financial reporting purposes are as follows:

Relocatable modular buildings	18 years, 50% residual value
Relocatable modular accessories	3 to 18 years, no residual value
Portable storage containers	25 years, 62.5% residual value
Electronic test equipment and accessories	1 to 8 years, no residual value
Liquid and solid containment tanks and boxes and accessories	10 to 20 years, no residual value

Costs of Rental Related Services

Costs of rental related services are primarily associated with relocatable modular building leases and consist of costs for services to be provided under the negotiated lease agreement for delivery, installation, modifications, skirting, additional site-related work, and dismantle and return delivery. Costs related to these services are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Costs of rental related services associated with liquid and solid containment solutions consists of costs of delivery, removal and cleaning of the tanks and boxes. These costs are recognized in the period the service is performed.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company evaluates the carrying value of rental equipment and identifiable definite lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or circumstances have occurred that would indicate the carrying amount may not be fully recoverable. A key element in determining the recoverability of long-lived assets is the Company’s outlook as to the future market conditions for its rental equipment. If the carrying amount is not fully recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized to reduce the carrying amount to fair value. The Company determines fair value based upon the condition of the rental equipment and the projected net cash flows from its rental and sale considering current market conditions. Goodwill and identifiable indefinite lived assets are evaluated for potential impairment annually or when circumstances indicate potential impairment may have occured. Impairment losses, if any, are determined based upon the estimated fair value of the asset. There were no impairments of long-lived assets during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Other Direct Costs of Rental Operations

Other direct costs of rental operations include direct labor, supplies, repairs, insurance, property taxes, license fees and certain modular lease costs charged to customers in the negotiated rental rate, which are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales in the Consolidated Statements of Income includes the carrying value of the equipment sold and all direct costs associated with the sale.

Warranty Reserves

Sales of new relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, electronic test equipment and related accessories and liquid and solid containment tanks and boxes not manufactured by the Company are typically covered by warranties provided by the manufacturer of the products sold. The Company typically provides limited 90-day warranties for certain sales of used rental equipment and one-year warranties on equipment manufactured by Enviroplex. Although the Company’s policy is to provide reserves for warranties when required for specific circumstances, the Company has not found it necessary to establish such reserves to date as warranty costs have not been significant.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is recognized on a straight-line basis for financial reporting purposes, and on an accelerated basis for income tax purposes. Depreciation expenses for property, plant and equipment is included in “Selling and Administrative Expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred.

Property, plant and equipment consist of the following:

(dollar amounts in thousands)	Estimated Useful Life In Years		December 31,
			2012			2011
Land		Indefinite	$	35,371		$	30,466
Land Improvements		20 – 50		38,708			38,470
Buildings		30		20,522			18,853
Furniture, Office and Computer Equipment		3 – 10		26,496			24,942
Machinery and Service Equipment		5 – 20		16,186			13,000
				137,283			125,731
Less Accumulated Depreciation				(39,301	)		(31,712	)
				97,982			94,019
Construction In Progress				3,049			683
				$101,031			$94,702

Construction in progress at December 31, 2012 consisted primarily of costs related to acquisition of land and land improvements. Construction in progress at December 31, 2011 consisted primarily of costs related to information technology projects.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Total advertising expenses were $2.5 million, $2.1 million and $1.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability approach. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded based on the differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities at the tax rates in effect when these differences are expected to reverse.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Purchase prices of acquired businesses have been allocated to the assets and liabilities acquired based on the estimated fair values on the respective acquisition dates. Based on these values, the excess purchase prices over the fair value of the net assets acquired were allocated to goodwill and other intangible assets. Goodwill and intangible assets consists primarily of intangible assets of $37.2 million from the 2008 acquisition of Adler Tanks. Intangible assets related to customer relationships are amortized over eleven years. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, goodwill and trade name intangible assets which have indefinite lives totaled $33.4 million.

The Company assesses potential impairment of its goodwill and intangible assets when there is evidence that events or circumstances have occurred that would indicate the recovery of an asset’s carrying value is unlikely. The Company also assesses potential impairment of its goodwill and intangible assets on an annual basis regardless of whether there is evidence of impairment. If indicators of impairment were to be present in intangible assets used in operations and future discounted cash flows were not expected to be sufficient to recover the assets’ carrying amount, an impairment loss would be charged to expense in the period identified. The amount of an impairment loss would be recognized as the excess of the asset’s carrying value over its fair value. Factors the Company considers important, which may cause impairment include, among others, significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired asset, negative industry or economic trends, and significant underperformance relative to historical or projected operating results.

The impairment review of the Company’s goodwill and indefinite lived assets is performed by first assessing qualitative factors 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. In the first step, the fair value of the reporting unit is compared to its carrying value to determine if the goodwill and intangible assets are impaired. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that unit, then goodwill and intangible assets are not impaired and no further testing is required. If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit were to exceed its fair value, then the second step is performed in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and intangible assets and an impairment loss is recorded for an amount equal to the difference between the implied fair value and the carrying value of the goodwill and intangible assets.

The Company conducted its annual impairment analysis in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. The impairment analysis did not result in an impairment charge for the fiscal years ended 2012, 2011 or 2010. Determining the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. The Company based its fair value estimates on assumptions that it believes are reasonable but are uncertain and subject to changes in market conditions.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) is computed as net income divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is computed assuming conversion of all potentially dilutive securities including the dilutive effects of stock options, unvested restricted stock awards and other potentially dilutive securities. The table below presents the weighted-average common stock used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share:

(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
Weighted-average common stock for calculating basic earnings per share		24,759		24,349		23,944
Effect of potentially dilutive securities from equity-based compensation		397		411		345
Weighted-average common stock for calculating diluted earnings per share		25,156		24,760		24,289

The following securities were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share as their effect would have been anti-dilutive:

(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
Options to purchase common stock		1,049		1,131		1,066

Accounts Receivable and Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company’s accounts receivable consist of amounts due from customers for rentals, sales, financed sales and unbilled amounts for the portion of Mobile Modular end-of-lease services earned, which were negotiated as part of the lease agreement. Unbilled receivables related to end-of-lease services, which consists of dismantle and return of buildings, were $17.4 million at December 31, 2012 and $17.2 million at December 31, 2011. The Company sells primarily on 30-day terms, individually performs credit evaluation procedures on its customers on each transaction and will require security deposits from its customers when a significant credit risk is identified. The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts in amounts equal to the estimated losses expected to be incurred in the collection of the accounts receivable. The estimated losses are based on historical collection experience in conjunction with an evaluation of the current status of the existing accounts. Customer accounts are written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts when an account is determined to be uncollectable. The allowance for doubtful accounts activity was as follows:

(in thousands)	2012			2011
Beginning Balance, January 1	$	1,500		$	1,700
Provision for doubtful accounts		4,263			1,755
Write-offs, net of recoveries		(2,763	)		(1,955	)
Ending Balance, December 31	$	3,000		$	1,500

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of trade accounts receivable. From time to time, the Company maintains cash balances in excess of the Federal Deposits Insurance limits.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company believes that the carrying amounts for cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and notes payable approximate their fair values except for fixed rate debt included in notes payable which has an estimated fair value of $106.0 million and $107.0 million compared to the recorded value of $100.0 million as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The estimates of fair value of the Company’s fixed rate debt are based on the borrowing rates currently available to the Company for bank loans with similar terms and average maturities.

Foreign Currency Transactions

The Company’s Canadian subsidiary, TRS-RenTelco Inc., a British Columbia corporation, functions as a branch sales office for TRS-RenTelco in Canada. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses of the Company’s Canadian subsidiary are reported in the results of operations in the period in which they occur. Currently, the Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge its economic exposure with respect to assets, liabilities and firm commitments as the foreign currency transactions and risks to date have not been significant.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company measures stock-based compensation expense based on grant date fair value and recognizes that expense in earnings over the service period of each award. The Company utilizes the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of employee stock-based compensation at the date of grant, which requires the use of accounting judgment and financial estimates, including estimates of the expected term option holders will retain their vested stock options before exercising them, the estimated volatility of the Company’s stock price over the expected term and the expected number of options that will be forfeited prior to the completion of their vesting requirements. Application of alternative assumptions could produce significantly different estimates of the fair value of stock-based compensation amounts recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the non-cash stock-based compensation expense included in Selling and Administrative Expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Income was $3.9 million, $5.2 million and $4.2 million, before provision for income taxes, respectively. The Company recorded a tax benefit of approximately $1.5 million, $2.0 million and $1.6 million related to the aforementioned stock-based compensation expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the stock-based compensation expenses, net of taxes, reduced net income by $2.4 million, $3.2 million and $2.6 million, respectively or $0.09, $0.13, and $0.11 per diluted share for each period, respectively.

The fair value of each option granted was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the following weighted average assumptions:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Expected term (in years)		5.0			5.0			5.2
Expected volatility		52.1	%		51.6	%		51.2	%
Expected dividend yields		3.2	%		3.4	%		3.8	%
Risk-free interest rates		0.8	%		2.0	%		2.2	%

The Company monitors option exercise behavior to determine the appropriate homogenous groups for estimation purposes. Currently, the Company’s option activity is separated into two categories: directors and employees. The expected term of the options represents the estimated period of time until exercised and is based on historical experience, giving consideration to the option terms, vesting schedules and expectations of future employee behavior. Expected stock volatility is based on historical stock price volatility of the Company and the risk-free interest rates are based on U.S. Treasury yields in effect on the date of the option grant for the estimated period the options will be outstanding. The expected dividend yield is based upon the current dividend annualized as a percentage of the grant exercise price.

The weighted average grant date fair value per share was $10.28, $9.68 and $8.12 during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions in determining reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each period presented. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The most significant estimates included in the financial statements are the future cash flows and fair values used to determine the recoverability of the rental equipment and identifiable definite lived intangible assets carrying value, the various assets’ useful lives and residual values, and the allowance for doubtful accounts.

Comprehensive Income

Comprehensive income is equivalent to net income for all periods presented.