SEGMENT INFORMATION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Human Nutrition & Health

The Company's Human Nutrition & Health ("HNH") segment provides human grade choline nutrients and mineral amino acid chelated products through this segment for wellness applications. Choline is recognized to play a key role in the development and structural integrity of brain cell membranes in infants, processing dietary fat, reproductive development and neural functions, such as memory and muscle function. The Company's mineral amino acid chelates, specialized mineral salts, and mineral complexes are used as raw materials for inclusion in premier human nutrition products. Proprietary technology has been combined to create an organic molecule in a form the body can readily assimilate. Sales growth for human nutrition applications is reliant on differentiation from lower-cost competitive products through scientific data, intellectual property and customer perceptions of brand value. Consequently, the Company makes investments in such activities for long-term value differentiation. This segment also serves the food and beverage industry for beverage, bakery, dairy, confectionary, and savory manufacturers. The Company partners with our customers from ideation through commercialization to bring on-trend beverages, baked goods, confections, dairy and meat products to market. The Company's expertise in trends analysis and product development, combined with manufacturing capabilities in customized spray dried and emulsified powders, blended lipid systems, liquid flavor delivery systems, juice and dairy bases, chocolate systems, as well as ice cream bases and variegates makes the Company a one-stop solutions provider for beverage and dairy product development needs. Additionally, this segment provides microencapsulation solutions to a variety of applications in food, pharmaceutical and nutritional ingredients to enhance performance of nutritional fortification, processing, mixing, and packaging applications and shelf-life. Major product applications are baked goods, refrigerated and frozen dough systems, processed meats, seasoning blends, confections, and nutritional supplements. The Company also creates cereal systems for ready-to-eat cereals, grain-based snacks, and cereal based ingredients.

Animal Nutrition & Health

The Company’s Animal Nutrition & Health (“ANH”) segment provides nutritional products derived from its microencapsulation and chelation technologies in addition to basic choline chloride. For ruminant animals, the Company’s microencapsulated products boost health and milk production, delivering nutrient supplements that are biologically available, providing required nutritional levels. The Company’s proprietary chelation technology provides enhanced nutrient absorption for various species of production and companion animals and is marketed for use in animal feed throughout the world. ANH also manufactures and supplies choline chloride, an essential nutrient for monogastric animal health, predominantly to the poultry, pet and swine industries. Choline, which is manufactured and sold in both dry and aqueous forms, plays a vital role in the metabolism of fat. In poultry, choline deficiency can result in reduced growth rates and perosis in young birds, while in swine production choline is a necessary and required component of gestating and lactating sow diets for both liver health and prevention of leg deformity.

Sales of value-added encapsulated products are highly dependent on overall industry economics as well as the Company's ability to leverage the results of university and field research on the animal health and production benefits of our products. Management believes that success in the commodity-oriented basic choline chloride marketplace is highly dependent on the Company’s ability to maintain its strong reputation for excellent product quality and customer service. The Company continues to drive production efficiencies in order to maintain its competitive-cost position to effectively compete in a competitive global marketplace.

Specialty Products

Ethylene oxide, at the 100% level, is sold as a sterilant gas, primarily for use in the health care industry. It is used to sterilize a wide range of medical devices because of its versatility and effectiveness in treating hard or soft surfaces, composites, metals, tubing and different types of plastics without negatively impacting the performance of the device being sterilized. The Company’s 100% ethylene oxide product is distributed in uniquely designed, recyclable, double-walled, stainless steel drums to assure compliance with safety, quality and environmental standards as outlined by the EPA and the DOT. The Company’s inventory of these specially built drums, along with its two filling facilities, represents a significant capital investment. Contract sterilizers and medical device manufacturers are principal customers for this product. The Company also sells single use canisters with 100% ethylene oxide for use in sterilizing re-usable devices typically processed in autoclave units in hospitals. As a fumigant, ethylene oxide blends are highly effective in killing bacteria, fungi, and insects in spices and other seasoning materials.

Propylene oxide is marketed and sold as a fumigant to aid in the control of insects and microbiological spoilage; and to reduce bacterial and mold contamination in certain shell and processed nut meats, processed spices, cacao beans, cocoa powder, raisins, figs and prunes. The Company distributes its propylene oxide product primarily in recyclable, single-walled, carbon steel cylinders according to standards outlined by the EPA and the DOT. Its inventory of these cylinders also represents a significant capital investment. Propylene oxide is also sold to customers seeking smaller (as opposed to bulk) quantities and whose requirements include utilization

in various chemical synthesis applications, such as increasing paint durability and manufacturing specialty starches and textile coatings.

The Company’s micronutrient agricultural nutrition business sells chelated minerals primarily into high value crops. The Company has a unique and patented two-step approach to solving mineral deficiency in plants to optimize health, yield and shelf-life. First, the Company determines optimal mineral balance for plant health. The Company then has a foliar applied Metalosate product range, utilizing patented amino acid chelate technology. Its products quickly and efficiently deliver mineral nutrients. As a result, the farmer/grower gets healthier crops that are more resistant to disease and pests, larger yields and healthier food for the consumer with extended shelf life for produce being shipped long distances.

Industrial Products

Certain derivatives of choline chloride are manufactured and sold into industrial applications predominately as a component for hydraulic fracturing of shale natural gas wells. The Company’s products offer an attractive, effective and more environmentally responsible alternative than other clay stabilizers. Industrial grade choline bicarbonate is completely chloride free and the Company's choline chloride reduces the amount of chlorides released into the environment up to 75% when compared to potassium chloride. The Industrial Products segment also includes the manufacture and sale of methylamines. Methylamines are a primary building block for the manufacture of choline products and are produced at its Italian operation and sold for a wide range of industrial applications in Europe.

Business Segment Assets:



	2018		2017
Human Nutrition & Health	$	702,692	$	719,010
Animal Nutrition & Health	136,810		118,418
Specialty Products	59,558		63,141
Industrial Products	22,822		18,471
Other Unallocated	59,473		44,596
Total	$	981,355	$	963,636

Other unallocated assets consist of certain cash, receivables, prepaid expenses, equipment and leasehold improvements, net of accumulated depreciation, and deferred income taxes, which the Company does not allocate to its individual business segments.

Business Segment Net Sales:



	2018		2017		2016
Human Nutrition & Health	$	341,237	$	315,796	$	297,134
Animal Nutrition & Health	175,693		157,688		161,119
Specialty Products	75,808		73,355		70,126
Industrial Products	50,941		47,951		24,825
Total	$	643,679	$	594,790	$	553,204

Business Segment Earnings Before Income Taxes:



	2018			2017			2016
Human Nutrition & Health	$	48,490		$	44,010		$	38,156
Animal Nutrition & Health	26,673			22,292			28,686
Specialty Products	25,361			24,949			22,862
Industrial Products	9,013			6,413			1,949
Transaction and integration costs	(1,786		)	(2,496		)	(815		)
Indemnification settlement	—			2,087			—
Interest and other income, net	(8,721		)	(8,767		)	(7,904		)
Total	$	99,030		$	88,488		$	82,934

Transaction and integration costs were primarily related to the aforementioned definitive agreement (see Note 2), one immaterial acquisition completed in each of 2018 and 2017, and the acquisition of Albion International, Inc. in 2016.

Depreciation/Amortization:



	2018		2017		2016
Human Nutrition & Health	$	33,594	$	33,384	$	33,796
Animal Nutrition & Health	5,606		5,618		7,243
Specialty Products	4,092		4,097		3,787
Industrial Products	694		806		850
Total	$	43,986	$	43,905	$	45,676

Capital Expenditures:



	2018		2017		2016
Human Nutrition & Health	$	8,881	$	20,580	$	14,470
Animal Nutrition & Health	6,021		4,424		6,577
Specialty Products	2,356		1,306		1,286
Industrial Products	1,912		1,216		701
Total	$	19,170	$	27,526	$	23,034