SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

3.	SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company provides compensation benefits to certain key employees under several share-based plans providing for performance-accelerated restricted shares (restricted shares), and to non-employee directors under a non-employee directors compensation plan.

Performance-Accelerated Restricted Share Awards

Compensation expense related to the restricted share awards was $1.1 million and $1.2 million for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. There were 337,325 non-vested shares outstanding as of December 31, 2017.

Non-Employee Directors Plan

Compensation expense related to the non-employee director grants was $0.3 million and $0.2 million for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

The total share-based compensation cost that has been recognized in the results of operations and included within selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) was $1.4 million and $1.4 million for the three -month periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The total income tax benefit recognized in results of operations for share-based compensation arrangements was $0.4 million and $0.5 million for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, there was $5.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to share-based compensation arrangements. That cost is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 1.3 years.