Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Basis of Presentation

The interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited; however, in the opinion of management, they have been prepared in accordance with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The December 31, 2017 financial position data included herein was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on August 8, 2018 but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP in audited financial statements. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, including the accompanying notes, contained in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on August 8, 2018.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (all of which are of a normal, recurring nature) which management considers necessary for a fair statement of financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the interim periods presented. The results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results which may be expected for any other interim period or for the full year.

New Accounting Standards

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) . The Company adopted ASU 2014-09 and its related amendments (collectively known as ASC 606) effective on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. Please see Note 3 "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" for the required disclosures related to the impact of adopting this standard and a discussion of the Company's updated policies related to revenue recognition.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Payments, clarifying guidance on the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 on January 1, 2018 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715). This standard requires an entity to report the service cost component in the same line item as other compensation costs. The other components of net (benefit) cost, including our annual mark-to-market remeasurement, will be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-07 on January 1, 2018 changed the presentation of benefit expenses, but did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The components of the net (benefit) cost are shown in Note 4, "Retirement Plans and Postretirement Benefits." The following table summarizes the adjustments made to conform prior period classifications to the new guidance:



	For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2017									For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017
	(dollars in thousands)
	As Reported			Effect of Accounting Change			As Adjusted			As Reported		Effect of Accounting Change			As Adjusted
Cost of Sales	$	120,684		$	(201	)	$	120,483		$	330,973	$	(603	)	$	330,370
Research and development	1,338			(9		)	1,329			3,110		(27		)	3,083
Selling and administrative expenses	13,322			(29		)	13,293			37,200		(82		)	37,118
Other (income) expense, net	(643		)	239			(404		)	3,610		712			4,322



	For the Year Ended December 31, 2017								For the Year Ended December 31, 2016
	(dollars in thousands)
	As Reported		Effect of Accounting Change			As Adjusted			As Reported			Effect of Accounting Change			As Adjusted
Cost of Sales	$	462,848	$	206		$	463,054		$	466,990		$	1,212		$	468,202
Research and development	2,951		505			3,456			2,399			135			2,534
Selling and administrative expenses	49,479		3,027			52,506			57,784			731			58,515
Other (income) expense, net	1,634		(3,738		)	(2,104		)	(2,188		)	(2,078		)	(4,266		)

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Under this new guidance, a company will now recognize most leases on its balance sheet as lease liabilities with corresponding right-of-use assets. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company plans to adopt ASU No. 2016-02 on January 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach with the option of not restating comparative prior periods presented in the financial statements. Under this method, we will recognize the effects of applying ASC 842 as a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings as of the effective date of adoption of January 1, 2019. The Company has compiled its lease inventory and is currently completing its evaluation of the contracts. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). This guidance was issued to simplify the accounting for goodwill impairment. The guidance removes the second step of the goodwill impairment test, which requires that a hypothetical purchase price allocation be performed to determine the amount of impairment, if any. Under this new guidance, a goodwill impairment charge will be based on the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. The guidance will become effective on a prospective basis for the Company on January 1, 2020 with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard on its results of operations.

The Company adopted ASC 606 on January 1, 2018. The adoption of ASC 606 represents a change in accounting principle that will more closely align revenue recognition with the delivery of the Company's goods and will provide financial statement readers with enhanced disclosures. The reported results for 2018 reflect the application of ASC 606 guidance while the reported results for 2017 were prepared under the guidance of ASC 605, Revenue Recognition (ASC 605), which is also referred to herein as the "previous revenue guidance".

Financial Statement Impact of Adopting ASC 606

The Company adopted ASC 606 effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. Under this method, we could elect to apply the cumulative effect method to either all contracts as of the date of initial application or only to contracts that are not complete as of that date. We elected to apply the modified retrospective method to contracts that are not complete as of the date of initial application. The cumulative effect of applying the new guidance to all contracts with customers that were not completed as of January 1, 2018 was to be recorded as an adjustment to accumulated deficit as of the adoption date. As a result of using the modified retrospective method, there were no adjustments that were made to accounts on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2018.

Impact of the adoption of ASC 606 on accounting policies

In accordance with ASC 606, revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for these goods.

To achieve this core principle, the following five steps are performed: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy a performance obligation.

The Company sells the majority of its products directly to steel manufacturers located in various jurisdictions. The Company’s contracts consist of longer-term take-or-pay sales contracts of graphite electrodes with terms of up to five years and short-term purchase orders (deliveries within one year). Collectability is assessed based on the customer’s ability and intention to pay, reviewing a variety of factors including the customer’s historical payment experience and published credit and financial information pertaining to the customer. Additionally, for multi-year contracts, we may require the customer to post a bank guarantee, guarantee of a parent, a letter of credit or a significant pre-payment.

The promises of delivery of graphite electrodes represent the distinct performance obligations of our contracts. A small portion of our sales consist of deliveries of by-products of the manufacturing processes, such as graphite powders, naphta and gasoil.

Given their nature, the Company’s performance obligations are satisfied at a point in time when control of the products has been transferred to the customer. In most cases, control transfer is deemed to happen at the delivery point of the products defined under the incoterms, usually at time of loading the truck or the vessel. The Company has elected to treat the transportation activity as a fulfilment activity instead of as a distinct performance obligation, and outbound freight cost is accrued when the product delivery promises are satisfied.

The transaction price is determined based on the consideration to which the Company will be entitled in exchange for transferring goods to the customer. 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 are excluded from the transaction price.

Variable consideration is included in the transaction price if, in the Company’s judgment, it is probable that a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. The Company’s contracts and customary practices involve few rebates or discounts. The Company provides a limited warranty on its products and may issue credit notes or replace products free of charge for valid quality claims; historically, quality claims have been insignificant and the Company records appropriate accruals for the estimated credit notes based on the historical statistical experience. Certain contracts provide for limited rebates when deliveries are late versus committed dates. These rebates are accrued for based on historical statistics of late deliveries on the contracts to which those terms apply.

Contracts that contain multiple distinct performance obligations require an allocation of the transaction price to each performance obligation based on a relative stand-alone selling price basis. The Company regularly reviews market conditions and internally approved pricing guidelines to determine stand-alone selling prices for the different types of its customer contracts. The stand-alone prices as known at contract inception are utilized as the basis to allocate the transaction price to the distinct performance obligations. The allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations remains unchanged if stand-alone selling prices change after contract inception.

The Company expenses sales commissions as earned as their amortization period would not extend beyond the year in which they are incurred. These costs are recorded within selling and administrative expense.