Business Description and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Business Description and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Business Description and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1.    Business Description and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Servotronics, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) design, manufacture and market servo-control components and other advanced technology products for aerospace, military and medical applications.  The Company was incorporated in New York in 1959.  In 1972, the Company was merged into a wholly owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, thereby changing the Company’s state of incorporation from New York to Delaware. The Company’s shares currently trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) American under the symbol SVT.

Until 2023, the Company had operated historically under two business segments: Advanced Technology Group (“ATG”) and Consumer Products Group (“CPG”), which had been strategic business segments that offered different products and services.  Operations in ATG include the servo-control components (i.e., torque motors, control valves, etc.), and the CPG operations included the design, manufacture and marketing of a variety of cutlery products for use by consumers and government agencies.  During 2023, the Company’s Management made the strategic decision to sell certain assets of The Ontario Knife Company (“OKC”) and divest the CPG business segment.  This divestiture represented a strategic shift, as the Company has realigned its corporate and management reporting structure to focus soley on aerospace and now organizes its business in a single reportable segment.  This segment structure reflects the financial information and reports used by our management, specifically the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Servotronics, Inc. (the active legal entity under the ATG segment), OKC, (the legal entity under the CPG business segment) and other, inactive, wholly-owned subsidiaries.  All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.  The Company derives its primary sales revenue from domestic customers, although a portion of finished products are for foreign end use.  As communicated in the June 30, 2023 10-Q filing, the Company executed an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) with a third party to sell certain assets of OKC, which closed on August 1, 2023.  Accordingly, the sale of assets and results of operations for OKC are presented as a “Loss from Discontinued Operation, net of tax” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and assets and liabilities are reflected as “Assets and Liabilities related to Discontinued Operation” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The “Loss from Discontinued Operation, net of tax” is included in the “net loss” on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss, and the cash used in operating activities and provided by investing activities from the discontinued operation are included in the “Discontinued Operation” section of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The 2022 financial information included in the aforementioned Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Operations were reclassified to conform with the discontinued operation presentation. Amounts for all periods discussed below reflect the results of operations, financial condition and cash flows from the Company’s continuing operations, unless otherwise noted. Refer to Note 2 “Discontinued Operation and Assets and Liabilities Related to Discontinued Operation”, for further discussion.

Cash and Restricted Cash

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and restricted cash to the amounts in the statement of cash flows:

	Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2023		2022
Cash	$	95	$	3,812
Restricted cash		150		—
Total cash and restricted cash	$	245	$	3,812

The Company considers cash to include all currency and coin owned by the Company as well as all deposits in the bank including checking and savings accounts. The restricted cash of $150,000 as of December 31, 2023 (no outstanding balance as of December 31, 2022) represents collateral with a financial institution.

Accounts Receivable

The Company grants credit to substantially all of its customers and carries its accounts receivable at original invoice amount less an allowance for credit losses. On a periodic basis, the Company evaluates its accounts receivable and establishes an allowance for credit losses based on history of past write-offs, collections, and current credit conditions. The allowance for credit losses amounted to approximately $121,000 and $116,000 as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022,respectively. The Company does not accrue interest on past due receivables.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues are recognized at the time of shipment of goods, transfer of title and customer acceptance, as required. Revenue transactions generally consist of a single performance obligation to transfer contracted goods and are not accounted for under industry-specific guidance.  Purchase orders generally include specific terms relative to quantity, item description, specifications, price, customer responsibility for in-process costs, delivery schedule, shipping point, payment and other standard terms and conditions of purchase.  Service revenue, principally representing repairs, are recognized at the time of shipment of goods.

Revenue is recognized at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring goods and services to a customer. The Company determines revenue recognition using the following five steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognize revenue when the company satisfies a performance obligation.

Revenue excludes taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction and collected by the Company from a customer (e.g., sales and use taxes). Revenue includes payments for shipping activities that are reimbursed by the customer to the Company.

Performance obligations are satisfied as of a point in time. Performance obligations are supported by contracts with customers, providing a framework for the nature of the distinct goods, services or bundle of goods and services. The timing of satisfying the performance obligation is typically indicated by the terms of the contract. As a significant portion of the Company’s revenue is recognized at the time of shipment, transfer of title and customer acceptance, there is no significant judgment applied to determine the timing of the satisfaction of performance obligations or transaction price. Shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer obtains control of the promised goods are considered fulfillment activities.

The timing of satisfaction of the Company’s performance obligations does not significantly vary from the typical timing of payment. The Company generally receives payment for these contracts within the payment terms negotiated and agreed upon by each customer contract.

Warranty and repair obligations are assessed on all returns. Revenue is not recorded on any warranty returns. The Company warrants its products against design, materials and workmanship based on an average of twenty-seven months. The Company determines warranty reserves needed based on actual average costs of warranty units shipped and current facts and circumstances. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 under the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 460-1-50 Product Warranties, the Company has recorded a warranty reserve of approximately $542,000 and $581,000, respectively. Revenue is recognized on repair returns, covered under a customer contract, at the contractual price upon shipment to the customer.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost includes all costs incurred to bring each product to its present location and condition. Market provisions in respect of lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments and inventory determined to be slow moving are applied to the gross value of the inventory through a reserve of approximately $587,000 and $602,000 at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Pre-production and start-up costs are expensed as incurred.

The purchase of suppliers’ minimum economic quantities of material such as steel, etc. may result in a purchase of quantities exceeding two years of customer requirements. Also, in order to maintain a reasonable and/or agreed to lead time or minimum stocking requirements, certain larger quantities of other product support items may have to be purchased and may result in over one year’s supply. These amounts are not included in the inventory reserve discussed above.

Shipping and Handling Costs

Shipping and handling costs are classified as a component of cost of goods sold.

Property, Plant,and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment is carried at cost; expenditures for new facilities and equipment and expenditures which substantially increase the useful lives of existing plant and equipment are capitalized; expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Upon disposal of properties, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective accounts and any profit or loss on disposition is included in income.

Depreciation is provided on the basis of estimated useful lives of depreciable properties, primarily by the straight-line method for financial statement purposes and by accelerated methods for income tax purposes. Depreciation expense includes the amortization of right-of-use (“ROU”) assets accounted for as finance leases. The estimated useful lives of depreciable properties are generally as follows:

Buildings and improvements	5-40 years
Machinery and equipment	5-20 years
Tooling	3-5 years

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as operating loss and credit carryforwards. The Company and its subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax returns, combined New York, Texas, California and Connecticut state income tax returns and a separate Arkansas state income tax return.

The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to uncertain tax positions and income tax matters in income tax expense.  The Company did not have any accrued interest or penalties included in its Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2023 or December 31, 2022, and did not recognize any interest and/or penalties in its Consolidated Statements of Operations during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. The Company did not have any material uncertain tax positions or unrecognized tax benefits or obligations as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.  The 2020 through 2023 federal and 2019 through 2023 state tax returns remain subject to examination by the respective taxing authorities.

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

Income tax refunded for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 amounted to approximately $146,000 and $811,000, respectively. Income taxes paid were approximately $2,000 and $175,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Interest paid was approximately $366,000 and $240,000 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Contributions to the employee stock ownership plan are determined annually by the Company according to plan formula.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable based on undiscounted future operating cash flow analyses. If an impairment is determined to exist, any related impairment loss is calculated based on fair value. Impairment losses on assets to be disposed of, if any, are based on the estimated proceeds to be received, less costs of disposal.

The Company’s strategic decision to sell certain assets of OKC in 2023 resulted in the classification of a discontinued operation and triggered an impairment of OKC’s real property in accordance with ASC 360 - 10 - 45 - 9 Impairment or Disposal of Long - Lived Assets. Refer to Note 2, “Discontinued Operation and Assets and Liabilities Related to Discontinued Operation”, for further discussion. No additional impairment of long - lived assets exists as of December 31, 2023, which primarily includes the Company’s tangible real (land and building) and personal (machinery & equipment) properties.

Use of Estimates

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

Reclassifications

Certain balances, as previously reported, were reclassified to classifications adopted in the current period.

Effective January 1, 2023, research and development costs, certain insurance expenses and other costs of approximately $1,892,000 were reclassed primarily from cost of goods sold to selling, general and administrative expenses. Accordingly, approximately $1,475,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022 was reclassified from cost of goods sold to selling, general and administrative expenses. There was no impact to the Consolidated Statement of Operations due to the reclassification.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Concentration of Credit Risks

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risks principally consist of cash accounts in financial institutions. Although the accounts exceed the federally insured deposit amount, management assesses the risk of nonperformance by the financial institutions to be low.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amount of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses are reasonable estimates of their fair value due to their short maturity. Based on variable interest rates and the borrowing rates currently available to the Company for loans similar to its asset - based line of credit the fair value approximates its carrying amount.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Effective January 1, 2023, the Company adopted the Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) which creates a new credit impairment standard for financial assets measured at amortized cost and available-for-sale debt securities. The ASU requires financial assets measured at amortized cost (including loans, trade receivables and held-to-maturity debt securities) to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, through an allowance for credit losses that are expected to occur over the remaining life of the asset, rather than incurred losses. The measurement of credit losses for newly recognized financial assets (other than certain purchased assets) and subsequent changes in the allowance for credit losses are recorded in the statement of operations as the amounts expected to be collected change. The Company evaluated the accounting standards update related to the ASU 2016 - 13 Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) and determined that the pronouncement does not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows for the Company.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023 - 09 “Income Taxes (Topics 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures” to expand the disclosure requirements for income taxes, specifically related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. ASU 2023 - 09 is effective for the Company's annual periods beginning January 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential effect that the updated standard will have on its financial statement disclosures.