Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Alpha Pro Tech, Inc. and Alpha ProTech Engineered Products, Inc. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Events that occurred after December 31, 2023, through the date on which these financial statements were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) were considered in the preparation of these financial statements.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses for the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Periods Presented

All amounts have been rounded to the nearest thousand with the exception of the per share data. The Company qualified as a smaller reporting company at the measurement date for determining such qualification during 2023. According to the disclosure requirements for smaller reporting companies, the Company has included balance sheets as of the end of the two most recent years and statements of income, comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two most recent years.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Investments

Investments are classified as available-for-sale in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company does not have any investments in securities that are classified as held-to-maturity or trading. Available-for-sale investments are carried at their fair values using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities, with realized and unrealized gains and losses reported in net income. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. Investments that the Company intends to hold for more than one year are classified as long-term investments in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoice amount and do not bear interest. The allowance for credit losses is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of expected credit losses in the Company’s existing accounts receivable; however, changes in circumstances relating to accounts receivable may result in a requirement for additional allowances in the future. The Company pools accounts receivable based on risk characteristics, which include type of customer and age of open receivable balance. The allowance for each credit losses pool is estimated based on historical write-off experience and known conditions, adjusted for management’s reasonable and supportable expectations of future conditions. Account balances are charged against the allowance when management determines that the probability for collection of an account balance is remote. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had recorded an allowance for credit losses on accounts receivable of $35,000. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts on accounts receivable of $45,000.

Inventories

Inventories include freight-in, materials, labor and overhead costs and are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value.  Allowances are recorded for slow-moving, obsolete or unusable inventories. The Company assesses inventories for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable products and writes down the difference between the cost of the inventories and the estimated net realizable values based upon assumptions about future sales and supplies on-hand. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had recorded an allowance for excess and obsolete inventories of $292,000 and $152,000, respectively.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Costs to develop internal use software are charged to expense as incurred until the preliminary project stage has been completed and application development begins. The Company discontinues capitalization upon entering the post-implementation stage and expenses ongoing maintenance and support costs. Property and equipment are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the respective useful lives of the assets or the related lease terms as follows:

Buildings (in years)	25
Machinery and equipment (in years)	5	-	15
Office furniture and equipment (in years)	2	-	7
Leasehold improvements (in years)	4	-	5
Software (in years)	5

Expenditures for renewals and betterments are capitalized, whereas costs of maintenance and repairs are charged to operations in the period incurred.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The Company accounts for goodwill and definite-lived intangible assets in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. Goodwill is not amortized, but rather is tested annually for impairment. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their useful lives (see Note 6). The Company’s patents and trademarks are recorded at cost and are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives of 5-17 years.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The estimated fair values of financial instruments are determined based on relevant market information and cannot be determined with precision. The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in its business circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. If it is determined that the undiscounted future net cash flows are not sufficient to recover the carrying values of the assets, an impairment loss is recognized for the excess of the carrying values over the fair values of the assets. The Company believes that the future undiscounted net cash flows to be received from its long-lived assets exceed the assets’ carrying values and, accordingly, the Company has not recognized any impairment losses for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Revenue Recognition

Net sales includes revenue from products and shipping and handling charges, net of estimates for product returns and any related sales incentives. Our customer contracts have a single performance obligation: transfer control of products to customers. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for transferring control of products. All revenue is recognized when we satisfy our performance obligations under the applicable contract. We recognize revenue in connection with transferring control of the promised products to the customer, with revenue being recognized at the point in time when the customer obtains control of the products, which is generally when title passes to the customer upon delivery to a third party carrier for FOB shipping point arrangements and to the customer for FOB destination arrangements, at which time a receivable is created for the invoice sent to the customer. Shipping and handling activities are performed prior to the customer obtaining control of the goods, and are accounted for as fulfillment activities and are not a promised good or service. Shipping and handling charges billed to customers are included in revenue. Shipping and handling costs, associated with the distribution of the Company’s product to the customers, are recorded in cost of goods sold and are recognized when control of the product is transferred to the customer, which is generally when title passes to the customer upon delivery to a third-party carrier for FOB shipping point arrangements and to the customer for FOB destination arrangements. We estimate product returns based on historical return rates and estimate rebates based on contractual agreements. Using probability assessments, we estimate sales incentives expected to be paid over the term of the contract. Sales taxes and value added taxes in foreign and domestic jurisdictions that are collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities are accounted for on a net basis and, therefore, are excluded from net sales. The Company manufactures certain private label goods for customers and has determined that control does not pass to the customer at the time of manufacture, based upon the nature of the private labelling. The Company has determined as of December 31, 2023, that it had no material contract assets, and concluded that its contract liabilities (primarily rebates) had the right of offset against customer receivables. See Note 15 of these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for information on revenue disaggregated by type and by geographic region.

Shipping and Handling Costs

The costs of shipping products to distributors are recorded in cost of goods sold.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company maintains the 2020 Incentive Plan under which the Company may grant incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other equity-based compensation to employees and non-employee directors. Stock options have been granted with exercise prices at or above the fair market value of the underlying shares of common stock on the date of grant. Options vest and expire according to terms established at the grant date. Restricted stock and restricted stock units have been granted, and the fair market value of these awards equals the closing stock price on the date of grant.

The Company accounts for share-based awards in accordance with ASC 718, Stock Compensation. ASC 718 requires companies to record compensation expense for the value of all outstanding and unvested share-based awards, including employee stock options.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, there were 46,400 and 19,600 stock options granted, respectively, under the Company’s stock option plan. The Company recognized $25,000 and $43,000 in stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to outstanding options. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, 227,000 and 21,772 restricted stock equity awards, respectively, were granted under the 2020 Incentive Plan and the compensation expense associated with these awards was $145,000 and $104,000 in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred income tax assets unless it is more likely than not that such assets will be realized. The Company’s policy is to record any interest and penalties assessed by the Internal Revenue Service as a component of the provision for income taxes. The Company provides allowances for uncertain income tax positions when it is more likely than not that the position will not be sustained upon examination by the tax authority.

Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and in various state and foreign jurisdictions.

Earnings Per Common Share

The following table provides a reconciliation of both net income and the number of shares used in the computation of “basic” earnings per common share (“EPS”), which utilizes the weighted average number of common shares outstanding without regard to potential common shares, and “diluted” EPS, which includes all potential common shares which are dilutive for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
Net income (numerator)	$	4,189,000	$	3,282,000
Shares (denominator):
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding		11,856,356		12,713,533
Add: Dilutive effect of common stock options		-		67,471
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding		11,856,356		12,781,004
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$	0.35	$	0.26
Diluted	$	0.35	$	0.26

Translation of Foreign Currencies

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate prevailing at the transaction date. Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies at each period end are translated at the exchange rate in effect at that date. Transaction gains or losses on foreign currencies are reflected in selling, general and administrative expenses and were not material for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The Company does not have a material foreign currency exposure in regards to purchase agreements with companies in Asia and Mexico as the agreements are in U.S. dollars. In addition, all sales transactions are in U.S. dollars. The Company has a foreign currency exposure with respect to its Canadian branch office. The foreign currency exposure is not material due to the fact that the Company does not manufacture products in Canada. The exposure primarily relates to payroll expenses in the Company’s administrative branch office in Canada. The Company also has potentially material foreign currency exposure in regards to its equity in its unconsolidated affiliate in India. The Company’s unconsolidated affiliate operations are in India; therefore, U.S. GAAP requires the Company to adjust the value of its investment for changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company determines the functional currency of its joint venture based upon the primary currency used to generate and expend cash, which is the currency of the country in which the joint venture is located. For joint ventures with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the investment in that joint venture is translated into U.S. dollars using period-end exchange rates. The resulting foreign currency translation losses are deferred as accumulated other comprehensive loss (“AOCL”) and reclassified to earnings only upon sale or liquidation of that business. The foreign currency translations reduced the balance of equity in unconsolidated affiliated by $1,437,000 and $1,489,000 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the loss was recorded in AOCL.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses. Such costs were not material for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Advertising Costs

The Company expenses advertising and promotional costs as incurred. These costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses and were $60,000 and $102,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Loss Contingencies

The outcomes of legal proceedings and claims brought against the Company are subject to uncertainty. An estimated loss from a loss contingency such as a legal proceeding or claim is accrued if it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In determining whether a loss should be accrued, we evaluate, among other factors, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and the ability to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of loss.

Fair Value Measurements

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with U.S. GAAP, clarifies the definition of fair value within that framework and expands disclosures about the use of fair value measurements. On a quarterly basis, the Company measures at fair value certain financial assets using a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels.

This hierarchy requires the Company to minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to use observable market data, if available, when determining fair value. There were no fair values of the Company’s financial assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

New Accounting Standards

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. These amendments address investor requests for enhanced transparency regarding income tax information. Specifically, they improve income tax disclosures related to rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 becomes effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This ASU improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant expenses, and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, on a retrospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on the consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected credit loss model and requires a financial asset measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. Public business entities classified as smaller reporting companies were required to apply the provision of ASU 2016-13 with annual reporting periods after December 15, 2022. The Company adopted Topic 326 effective January 1, 2023, which did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Management periodically reviews new accounting standards that are issued. Management has not identified any other new standards that it believes merit further discussion at this time.