Summary of significant accounting policies

Organization-AZZ incorporated (the “Company” “AZZ” or “We”) operates primarily in the United States of America and Canada and has recently begun operating, through the acquisition of Aquilex SRO as described in Note 15 below, in Brazil, Poland and the Netherlands. Information about the Company's operations by segment is included in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements.

Basis of consolidation—The consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of estimates—The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Concentrations of credit risk—Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade accounts receivable.

The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents with various financial institutions. These financial institutions are located throughout the United States and Canada and the Company policy is designed to limit exposure to any one institution. The Company performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of those financial institutions that are considered in the Company’s banking relationships. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk related to cash and cash equivalents. The majority of cash equivalents are invested in Treasury Funds.

Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade accounts receivable are limited due to the Company’s diversity by virtue of two operating segments, the number of customers, and the absence of a concentration of trade accounts receivable in a small number of customers. The Company performs continuous evaluations of the collectability of trade accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts based upon historical losses, economic conditions and customer specific events. After all collection efforts are exhausted and an account is deemed uncollectible, it is written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company’s balances written off, net of recoveries, in fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 were approximately $344,000, $183,000 and $327,000, respectively. Collateral is usually not required from customers as a condition of sale.

Revenue recognition—The Company recognizes revenue for the Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment upon transfer of title and risk to customer or based upon the percentage-of-completion method of accounting for electrical products built to customer specifications under long-term contracts. We typically recognize revenue for the Galvanizing Services Segment at completion of the service unless we specifically agree with the customer to hold its material for a predetermined period of time after the completion of the galvanizing process and, in that circumstance, we invoice and recognize revenue upon shipment. Customer advanced payments presented in the balance sheets arise from advanced payments received from our customers prior to shipment of the product and are not related to revenue recognized under the percentage of completion method. The extent of progress for revenue recognized using the percentage of completion method is measured by the ratio of contract costs incurred to date to total estimated contract costs at completion. Contract costs include direct labor and material and certain indirect costs. Selling, general and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred.

Provisions for estimated losses, if any, on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are able to be determined. The assumptions made in determining the estimated cost could differ from actual performance resulting in a different outcome for profits or losses than anticipated.

Cash and cash equivalents—For purposes of reporting cash flows, cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits with banks and all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less.

Inventories—Cost is determined principally using a weighted-average method for the Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment and the first-in-first-out (FIFO) method for the Galvanizing Services Segment.

Property, plant and equipment—For financial reporting purposes, depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets as follows:



Buildings and structures	10-25 years
Machinery and equipment	3-15 years
Furniture and fixtures	3-15 years
Automotive equipment	3 years

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred; renewals and betterments that significantly extend the useful life of the asset are capitalized.

Long-lived assets, intangible assets and goodwill—Purchased intangible assets included on the balance sheets are comprised of customer lists, backlogs, engineering drawings and non-compete agreements. Such intangible assets are being amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from two to fifteen years. The Company records impairment losses on long-lived assets, including identifiable intangible assets, when events and circumstances indicate that the assets might be impaired and the undiscounted projected cash flows associated with those assets are less than their carrying amount. In those situations, impairment loss on a long-lived asset is measured based on the excess of the carrying amount of the asset over the asset’s fair value. For goodwill, the Company performs an annual impairment test on December 31st each year or as indicators are present. The test is calculated using the anticipated future cash flows after tax from our operating segments. Based on the present value of the future cash flows, we determine whether impairment may exist. A significant change in projected cash flows or cost of capital for future years could result in an impairment of goodwill in future years. Variables impacting future cash flows include, but are not limited to, the level of customer demand for and response to products and services we offer to the power generation market, the electrical transmission and distribution markets, the general industrial market and the hot dip galvanizing market; changes in economic conditions of these various markets; raw material and natural gas costs and availability of experienced labor and management to implement our growth strategies. As of February 28, 2013, no impairment of long-lived assets, intangible assets or goodwill was determined.

Debt issue costs—Debt issue costs, included in other assets, are amortized using the effective interest rate method over the term of the debt.

Income taxes—Income tax expense is based on the asset and liability method. Under this method of accounting, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on differences between financial accounting and income tax basis of assets and liabilities using presently enacted tax rates and laws.

Stock-based compensation—The Company has granted stock options, stock appreciation rights or restricted stock units for a fixed number of shares to employees and directors. A discussion of stock-based compensation can be found in Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Financial instruments —Fair value is an exit price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Hierarchy Levels 1, 2, or 3 are terms for the priority of inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. Hierarchy Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Hierarchy Level 2 inputs are inputs other than quoted prices included with Level 1 that are directly or indirectly observable for the asset or liability. Hierarchy Level 3 inputs are inputs that are not observable in the market.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents and long-term debt. For fiscal 2013 and 2012 the fair value of our outstanding notes, as described in Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, was approximately $206.9 million and $223.8 million, respectively. These fair values were determined using the discounted cash flow at the market rate as well as the applicable market interest rates classified as Level 2 inputs. During fiscal 2013 a principal payment was made in the amount of $14.3 million related to the $100 million unsecured Senior Notes due March 31, 2018, which accounts for a portion of the decrease in fair value for the compared periods in conjunction with lower projected interest rates.

Derivative financial instruments—From time to time, the Company uses derivatives to manage interest rate risk. The Company’s policy is to use derivatives for risk management purposes only, which includes maintaining the ratio between the Company’s fixed and floating rate debt obligations that management deems appropriate, and prohibits entering into such contracts for trading purposes. The Company enters into derivatives only with counterparties (primarily financial institutions) which have substantial financial wherewithal to minimize credit risk. As the result of the recent global financial crisis, a number of financial institutions have failed or required government assistance, and counterparties considered substantial may develop credit risk. The amount of gains or losses from the use of derivative financial instruments has not been and is not expected to be material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. As of February 28, 2013, the Company had no derivative financial instruments.

Warranty reserves—Within other accrued liabilities, a reserve has been established to provide for the estimated future cost of warranties on a portion of the Company’s delivered products. Management periodically reviews the reserves, and adjustments are made accordingly. A provision for warranty on products is made on the basis of the Company’s historical experience and identified warranty issues. Warranties cover such factors as non-conformance to specifications and defects in material and workmanship.

The following is a roll-forward of amounts accrued for warranties (in thousands):



Balance at February 28, 2010	$	2,797
Warranty costs incurred	(2,821		)
Additions charged to income	2,510
Balance at February 28, 2011	$	2,486
Warranty costs incurred	(2,394		)
Additions charged to income	1,578
Balance at February 29, 2012	$	1,670
Warranty costs incurred	(2,026		)
Additions charged to income	2,429
Balance at February 28, 2013	$	2,073

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)—Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources and includes all changes in equity during a period except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners.

On January 21, 2011, we entered into an additional Note Purchase Agreement, (the “2011 Agreement”) and incurred fixed rate, long-term indebtedness of $125 million in relation to the 2011 Agreement. See note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. In anticipation of the issuance of Senior Notes thereunder, we entered into a treasury lock hedging transaction with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML) in order to eliminate the variability of cash flows on the forecasted fixed rate coupon of the debt during the pre-issuance period. The hedging transaction settled during the Company’s third fiscal quarter of fiscal 2011, and the Company received a payment from BAML in the amount of $834,416 resulting therefrom. The notional value of the hedge was $75 million and qualified for hedge accounting as a cash flow hedge. The gain on the settlement was recorded as a component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income and will be amortized to interest expense over the life of the 10 year loan. Amortization for interest expense was recorded in the amount of $83,442 for fiscal 2012 and 2013.

Accumulated other comprehensive income also includes foreign currency translation adjustments from our Canadian subsidiaries consisting of Blenkhorn and Sawle, Galvan, Galvcast and G3.

Foreign Currency Translation—The local currency is the functional currency for the Company’s Canadian operations. Related assets and liabilities are translated into United States dollars at exchange rates existing at the balance sheet date, and revenues and expenses are translated at weighted-average exchange rates. The foreign currency translation adjustment is recorded as a separate component of shareholders’ equity and is included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Long-Term Contingent Liability— In connection with our acquisition of NLI, we may be obligated to make an additional payment of up to $20 million based on the future financial performance of the NLI business. The net present value of this additional payment, which is subject to the terms and conditions of the asset purchase agreement we entered into in connection with this acquisition was $8.5 million as of February 28, 2013, and is reflected as a long-term liability. The net present value was calculated by determining a probability of potential payout which was then discounted by the cost of money over the life of the agreement. The change in fair value of the liability from the acquisition date to the end of fiscal 2013 of $0.2 million was charged to results of operations. The fair value measurement of the liability is considered to be Level 3 according to the fair value hierarchy.