UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
x Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013
or
o Transition Report Pursuant to Section 12 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
For the transition period from to .
Commission file number 1-10776
Calgon Carbon Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
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25-0530110 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
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(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
400 Calgon Carbon Drive |
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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15205 |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
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(Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (412) 787-6700
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
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Name of each exchange on which registered |
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share |
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New York Stock Exchange |
Rights to Purchase Series A Junior Participating |
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New York Stock Exchange |
Preferred Stock (pursuant to Rights Agreement dated as of January 27, 2005) |
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer x |
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Accelerated filer o |
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Non-accelerated filer o |
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Smaller reporting company o |
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x
As of February 20, 2014, there were outstanding 53,730,499 shares of Common Stock, par value of $0.01 per share.
The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2013 was $887,660,043.72. The closing price of the Companys common stock on June 30, 2013, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange was $16.68.
The following documents have been incorporated by reference:
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Form 10-K Part Number |
Proxy Statement filed pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with registrants |
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III |
Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 7, 2014 |
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Forward-Looking Information Safe Harbor
This Annual Report contains historical information and forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements typically contain words such as expect, believes, estimates, anticipates, or similar words indicating that future outcomes are uncertain. Statements looking forward in time, including statements regarding future growth and profitability, price increases, cost savings, broader product lines, enhanced competitive posture and acquisitions, are included in this Annual Report pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Calgon Carbon Corporations (the Company) actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. Further, the Company operates in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the Companys control. Some of the factors that could affect future performance of the Company are changes in, or delays in the implementation of, regulations that cause a market for our products, acquisitions, higher energy and raw material costs, costs of imports and related tariffs, labor relations, availability of capital and environmental requirements as they relate both to our operations and our customers, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, borrowing restrictions, validity of patents and other intellectual property, and pension costs. In the context of the forward-looking information provided in this Annual Report, please refer to the discussions of risk factors and other information detailed in, as well as the other information contained in this Annual Report. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made and the Company does not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required to do so by the Federal securities laws of the United States.
In reviewing any agreements incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, please remember such agreements are included to provide information regarding the terms of such agreements and are not intended to provide any other factual or disclosure information about the Company. The agreements may contain representations and warranties by the Company, which should not in all instances be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties should those statements prove to be inaccurate. The representation and warranties were made only as of the date of the relevant agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in such agreement and are subject to more recent developments. Accordingly, these representations and warranties alone may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time.
The Company
Calgon Carbon Corporation (the Company) is a global leader in the manufacture, supply, reactivation, and application of activated carbons and the manufacture of ballast water treatment (BWT), ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection, and advanced ion-exchange (IX) technologies. These technologies are applied by customers around the world for the treatment of drinking water, wastewater, ballast water, air emissions, and a variety of industrial and commercial manufacturing processes.
The Company was organized as a Delaware corporation in 1967.
Products and Services
The Company offers a diverse range of products, services, and equipment specifically developed for the purification, separation, and concentration of liquids, gases, and other media through its three reportable business segments: Activated Carbon and Service, Equipment, and Consumer. The Activated Carbon and Service segment manufactures and markets granular and powdered activated carbon for use in more than 700 distinct market applications that remove organic compounds from water, air, and other liquids and gases. The Service aspect of this segment consists of carbon reactivation and the leasing, monitoring and maintenance of carbon adsorption equipment (explained below). The Equipment segment provides solutions to customers air and water purification problems through the design, fabrication, installation and sale of equipment systems that utilize a combination of the Companys enabling technologies: carbon adsorption, UV light (for BWT, drinking water, and wastewater), and advanced IX technologies. The Consumer segment supplies activated carbon cloth for use in medical, military, and industrial applications.
For further information, refer to Note 19 to the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Activated Carbon and Service. The sale of activated carbon is the principal component of the Activated Carbon and Service business segment. The Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of granular activated carbon products and sells more than 100 types of granular, powdered, and pelletized activated carbons made from coal, wood or coconut. Activated carbon is a porous material that removes organic compounds from liquids and gases by a process known as adsorption. In adsorption, undesirable organic molecules contained in a liquid or gas are attracted and bound to the surface of the pores of the activated carbon as the liquid or gas is passed through.
The primary raw material used in the production of the Companys activated carbons is bituminous coal, which is crushed, sized and then processed in rotary kilns followed by high temperature furnaces. This heating process is known as activation and develops the pore structure of the carbon. Through adjustments in the activation process, pores of the required size and number are developed for a particular purification application. The Companys technological expertise in adjusting the pore structure in the activation process has been one of a number of factors enabling the Company to develop many special types of activated carbon available in several particle sizes. The Company also markets activated carbons from other raw materials, including coconut shell and wood.
The Company produces and sells a broad range of activated, impregnated or acid washed carbons in granular, powdered or pellet form. Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) particles are irregular in shape and generally used in fixed filter beds for continuous flow purification processes. Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) is carbon that has been pulverized into powder and is often used in batch purification processes, in municipal water treatment applications and for flue gas emissions control. Pelletized activated carbons are extruded particles, cylindrical in shape, and are typically used for gas phase applications due to the low pressure drop, high mechanical strength, and low dust content of the product.
Another important component of the Activated Carbon and Service business segment is the optional services that the Company makes available to purchasers of its products and systems. The Company offers a variety of treatment services for customers including carbon supply, equipment leasing, installation and demobilization, transportation, and spent carbon reactivation. Other services include feasibility testing, process design, performance monitoring, and major maintenance of Company-owned adsorption equipment.
Spent carbon reactivation and re-supply is a key focus of the Companys service business. In the reactivation process, the spent GAC is subjected to high temperature remanufacturing conditions that destroy the adsorbed organics and ensure that the activated carbon is returned to usable quality. The Company is permitted to handle and reactivate spent carbons containing hazardous and non-hazardous organic compounds.
The Companys custom reactivation process for U.S. municipal drinking water treatment plants is specially tailored to meet the unique demands of the drinking water industry. Activated carbon reactivation for use in drinking water treatment facilities in the United States must adhere to requirements of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard B605. Perhaps the most important requirement of this standard is the reactivator must return to the municipality/water provider its own activated carbon that has been reactivated. Unlike industrial activated carbon reactivation practiced by a number of carbon companies, where carbons from different customers can be co-mingled and reactivated as a pooled material, drinking water carbons are kept carefully segregated. This means that a drinking water providers activated carbon is kept separate not only from industrial customers carbons, but from other drinking water providers carbons as well, to avoid any potential cross-contamination. The Company maintains the integrity of each drinking water providers carbon, and its potable reactivation facilities and procedures strictly adhere to AWWA B605. The Companys Blue Lake, California, Columbus, Ohio, North Tonawanda, New York, and Gila Bend, Arizona plants have received certification from the National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF) under NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components - Health Effects for custom reactivated carbon for potable water applications. NSF International is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to protecting and improving public health and the environment. Spent municipal potable carbons reactivated at the Blue Lake, Columbus, North Tonawanda, and Gila Bend plants are certified per NSF/ANSI Standard 61 which is the nationally recognized measure to evaluate the health effects for components and materials that contact drinking water.
The Companys carbon reactivation is conducted at numerous locations throughout the world. Granular carbon reactivation is valuable to a customer for both environmental and economic reasons, allowing them to re-use carbon cost effectively without purchasing expensive new carbon and, at the same time, protecting natural resources. The Company provides reactivation/recycling services in packages ranging from a fifty-five gallon drum to truckload quantities.
Transportation services are offered via bulk activated carbon deliveries and spent carbon returns through the Companys private fleet of trailers, capable of transporting both hazardous and non-hazardous material. The Company will arrange transportation for smaller volumes of activated carbon in appropriate containers and small returnable equipment through a network of less-than-truckload carriers.
Sales for the Activated Carbon and Service segment were $482.3 million, $485.8 million, and $486.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.
Equipment. Along with providing activated carbon products, the Company has developed a portfolio of standardized, pre-engineered, adsorption systemsfor both liquid and vapor applicationswhich can be quickly delivered and easily installed at treatment sites. Liquid phase equipment systems are used for potable water treatment, process purification, wastewater treatment, groundwater remediation, and de-chlorination. Vapor phase equipment systems are used to control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, off gases from air strippers, and landfill gas production.
The proprietary ISEP® (Ionic Separator) continuous ion exchange units are used for the purification and recovery of many products in the food, pharmaceutical, mining, chemical, and biotechnology industries. The ISEP® Continuous Separator units perform ion exchange separations using countercurrent processing. The ISEP® and CSEP® (chromatographic separator) systems are currently used at over 400 installations worldwide in more than 40 applications in industrial settings, as well as in selected environmental applications including perchlorate and nitrate removal from drinking water.
More than 30 years ago, a predecessor of the Company introduced an advanced UV oxidation process to remediate contaminated groundwater. In 1998, the Companys scientists invented a UV disinfection process that could be used to inactivate Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other similar pathogens in surface water, rendering them harmless to humans. The UV light alters the DNA of pathogens, killing them or making it impossible for the pathogens to reproduce and infect humans. In combination with hydrogen peroxide, UV light is effective in destroying many contaminants common in groundwater remediation applications. The Company is a leader in the marketplace for innovative UV technologies with the Sentinel® line designed to protect municipal drinking water supplies from pathogens, the C3 Series open-channel
wastewater disinfection product line for municipal wastewater disinfection, and Rayox® UV advanced oxidation equipment for treatment of contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane, MTBE, and Vinyl Chloride in groundwater, process water, and industrial wastewater.
UV oxidation equipment can also be combined with activated carbon to provide effective solutions for taste and odor removal in municipal drinking water and for water reuse. Backed by years of experience and extensive research and development, the Company can recommend the best solution for taste and odor problems, whether using activated carbon, UV oxidation, or both. The Company also offers a low cost, non-chemical solution utilizing activated carbon called Peroxcarb for quenching excess peroxide upon completion of the advanced oxidation processes.
In January 2010, the Company purchased Hyde Marine, Inc. (Hyde Marine). More than a decade ago, Hyde Marine began developing a combination filtration/UV disinfection solution to fight the spread of non-indigenous aquatic organisms. Invasion of non-native species via ballast water was described by authorities as one of the greatest threats to the worlds waterways and marine environment.
The Hyde GUARDIAN® System was developed as an easy-to-use, cost-effective, and chemical-free ballast water management solution. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) type approved system meets the needs of ship owners committed to operating their vessels in a responsible, sustainable, and economic way through its proven reliability, flexible design, and low operating costs. The robust design includes an efficient, auto-backflushing filter, which removes sediment and larger plankton, and a powerful UV disinfection system that destroys or inactivates the smaller organisms and bacteria.
Sales for the Equipment segment were $54.9 million, $66.1 million, and $46.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.
Consumer. The primary product offered in the Consumer segment is carbon cloth. Carbon cloth, which is activated carbon in cloth form, is manufactured in the United Kingdom and sold to the medical, military, and specialty markets. First developed in the 1970s, activated carbon cloth was originally used in military clothing and masks to protect wearers against nuclear, biological and chemical agents. Today, Zorflex® activated carbon cloth can be used in numerous additional applications, including sensor protection, filters for ostomy bags, wound dressings, conservation of artifacts, and respiratory masks.
Sales for the Consumer segment were $10.7 million, $10.5 million, and $8.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.
Markets
The Company participates in six primary markets: Potable Water, Industrial Process, Environmental Water, Environmental Air, Food, and Specialty Markets. Potable Water applications include municipal drinking water treatment as well as point of entry and point of use devices. Applications in the Industrial Process Market include catalysis, product recovery and purification of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as process water treatment. The major sub segments for the two Environmental markets include wastewater treatment, groundwater remediation, ballast water treatment, VOC removal from vapors, and mercury control in flue gas streams. Food applications include brewing, bottling, and sweetener purification. Medical, personal protection (military and industrial), automotive, consumer, and precious metals applications comprise the Specialty Market.
Potable Water Market. The Company sells activated carbons, equipment, custom reactivation services, ion exchange technology, and UV technologies to municipalities for the treatment of potable water. The activated carbon adsorption technology is used to remove disinfection by-products precursors, pesticides and other dissolved organic material to meet or exceed current regulations and to remove tastes and odors to make the water acceptable to the public. The Company also sells to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of home water purification systems. Granular and powdered activated carbon products are sold in this market and in many cases the granular carbon functions both as the primary filtration media as well as an adsorption media to remove contaminants from the water. Ion exchange resins are sold in both fixed beds and continuous counter-current operations to meet strict regulatory guidelines for perchlorate in water. UV advanced oxidation systems are sold for the destruction of waterborne contaminants, and UV disinfection systems are sold for the inactivation of pathogens in surface water.
Industrial Process Market. In industrial processing, the Companys products are used either for purification, separation or concentration of customers products in the manufacturing process. The Company sells a wide range of activated carbons to the chemical, petroleum refining, and process industries for the purification of organic and inorganic chemicals, amine, soda ash, antibiotics, and vitamins. Activated carbon products and services are also used to decolorize chemicals such as hydrochloric acid. Further, activated carbon is used in treatment of natural gas, and other high purity gases to remove unwanted contamination. The liquefied natural gas industry uses activated carbons to remove mercury compounds that would otherwise corrode process equipment. Activated carbons are also sold for gasoline vapor recovery equipment.
Environmental Water and Air Markets. The Company offers its products and services to assist private industries in meeting the stringent environmental requirements imposed by various government entities. Products used for wastewater and ballast water treatment, the cleanup of contaminated groundwater, surface impoundments, and accidental spills comprise a significant need in this market. The Company provides products and services employing both activated carbon adsorption and UV technologies for emergency and temporary cleanup services as well as for permanent installations.
The Companys reactivation/recycle service is an especially important element if the customer has contaminants that are hazardous organic chemicals. Reactivation protects the environment and eliminates the customers expense and difficulty in securing disposal options (such as landfills) for hazardous organic chemicals.
Activated carbon is also used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and refining industries for purification of air discharge to remove contaminants such as benzene, toluene, and other volatile organics. In addition, reduction of mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants is a significant market for the Company. As a response to this market opportunity, the Company has made significant investments at its Catlettsburg, Kentucky plant, which included enhancements to one of its production lines and pulverization equipment to produce FLUEPAC® powdered activated carbons to serve the needs of coal-fired power plants.
The Companys Rayox® System is an industry staple for the destruction of groundwater pollutants such as 1,4-dioxane, MTBE and vinyl chlorate. Rayox® is also used for the removal of alcohol, phenol and acetone in process water and total organic compound (TOC) reduction in wastewater treatment.
The Hyde Marine ballast water treatment system is a fully automated system that can be integrated into a ships ballast control system. The compact design can be skid mounted for new construction or can be made modular for easy installation in crowded machinery spaces on existing vessels. The Hyde GUARDIAN® and Hyde GUARDIAN Gold Systems are complete ballast water management solutions for a variety of vessels including cruise ships, cargo and container ships, offshore supply vessels, and military vessels.
Food Market. Sweetener manufacturers are the principal purchasers of the Companys products in the food industry. The Companys specialty acid-washed activated carbon products are used in the purification of dextrose and high fructose corn syrup. Activated carbons are also sold for use in the purification of cane sugar. Other food processing applications include de-colorization and purification of many different foods and beverages and for purifying water, liquids and gases prior to usage in brewing and bottling. Continuous ion-exchange systems are also used in this market for the production of lysine and vitamin E as well as purification of dextrose and high fructose corn syrup.
Specialty Market. The Company is a major supplier of specialty activated carbons to manufacturers of gas masks supplied to the United States and European military as well as protective respirators and collective filters for first responders and private industry. The markets for collective filters for military equipment, indoor air quality, and air containment in incineration and nuclear applications are also serviced.
Additional industries using activated carbons include precious metals producers to recover gold and silver from low-grade ore. The Companys activated carbon cloth product is used in medical and other specialty applications.
Sales and Marketing
In the United States, the Company operates primarily through a direct sales force. In some markets and technologies, the Company also sells through agents and distributors. In Canada and in Latin America, the Company maintains offices in Markham, Ontario; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Mexico City, Mexico and sells primarily through agent/distributor relationships.
In the Asia Pacific Region, the Company maintains offices in Singapore; Tokyo, Japan; Osaka, Japan; Suzhou, China; and Taipei, Taiwan, and uses direct sales as well as agents and distributors to manage sales.
In Europe, the Company has sales offices in Feluy, Belgium; Ashton-in-Makerfield, United Kingdom; Houghton le-Spring, United Kingdom; Beverungen, Germany; and Gothenburg, Sweden, and operates through a direct sales force. The Company also has a network of agents and distributors that conduct sales in certain countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
All offices can play a role in sales of products or services from any of the Companys segments. Geographic sales information can be found in Note 19 to the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report. Also refer to Risk Factors included in Item 1A.
Over the past three years, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of the total sales of the Company in any year.
Backlog
The Company had a sales backlog of $22.3 million and $33.3 million as of January 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, in the Equipment segment. The $11.0 million decrease was due to an approximate $6.0 million and $5.0 decline in traditional UV and traditional carbon adsorption systems, respectively, as a result of revenue recognized for four large customers that was not replaced. The Company expects to carry approximately $6.2 million of the 2014 backlog into 2015 and $0.3 million into 2016.
Competition
With respect to the production and sale of activated carbon related products, the Company has a major global presence, and has several competitors in the worldwide market. Norit, a subsidiary of Cabot Corporation, Mead/Westvaco Corporation, a United States company and Evoqua Water Technologies (formerly Siemens Water Technologies), a United States company, are the primary competitors. Chinese producers of coal-based activated carbon and certain East Asian producers of coconut-based activated carbon participate in the market on a worldwide basis and sell principally through numerous resellers. Competition in activated carbons, carbon equipment and services is based on quality, performance, and price. Other sources of competition for the Companys activated carbon services and systems are alternative technologies for purification, filtration, and extraction processes that do not employ activated carbons.
A number of other smaller competitors engage in the production and sale of activated carbons in local markets, but do not compete with the Company on a global basis. These companies compete with the Company in the sale of specific types of activated carbons, but do not generally compete with a broad range of products in the worldwide activated carbon business. For example, ADA Carbon Solutions, owned by Energy Capital Partners, competes with the Company in the market for the removal of mercury from coal-fired power plant flue gas.
The Company competes with several small regional companies for the sale of its reactivation services and carbon equipment in the United States, Europe, Japan, and China.
The Companys UV technologies product line has primary competition from Trojan Technologies, Inc., a Canadian company owned by Danaher Corporation, a United States company, and Xylem Inc, headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., a United States company.
Hyde Marines ballast water treatment competition utilizing UV and filtration includes Panasia of Busan, Korea, Alfa Lavel of Sweden and Optimarin of Norway. As of December 31, 2013, there are 14 IMO Type Approved treatment systems that utilize UV.
Raw Materials
The principal raw material purchased by the Company for its Activated Carbon and Service segment is bituminous coal from mines primarily in the United States usually purchased under long-term and annual supply contracts, as well as spot purchases.
The Company purchases natural gas from various suppliers for use in its Activated Carbon and Service segment production facilities. In both the United States and Europe, substantially all natural gas is purchased pursuant to various annual and multi-year contracts with natural gas companies.
The Company also sources significant quantities of coal tar pitch, which is used as a binder in the carbon manufacturing process. The Company purchases pitch from various suppliers in North America, Germany, and China under annual supply contracts and spot purchases.
The Company buys various metals and acids that are used within the activated carbon production process to enhance the performance of certain products. These materials are bought under multi-year and annual contracts, as well as on a spot basis.
The purchase of key equipment components and fabrications are coordinated through agreements with various suppliers for Hyde Marine, UV and the carbon equipment markets.
The Company does not presently anticipate any significant problems in obtaining adequate supplies of its raw materials or equipment components.
Research and Development
The Companys primary research and development (R&D) activities are conducted at a research center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with additional facilities in the United Kingdom and Japan. The Pittsburgh facility is used for the evaluation of experimental activated carbon and equipment and application development. Experimental systems are also designed and evaluated at this location.
The principal goals of the R&Ds research program are to improve the Companys position as a technological leader in solving customers problems with its products, services and equipment; develop new products and services; and provide technical support to customers and operations of the Company.
Research programs include new and improved methods for manufacturing and utilizing new and enhanced activated carbons such as the commercial sales of numerous products for mercury removal from flue gas, including a proprietary second generation sulfur tolerant carbon with commercial sales.
The UV Technologies (UVT) Division performs R&D to continuously advance the application of UV technologies to pathogens as well as new and emerging contaminants. Additionally, UVT R&D is devoted to continual product advancement for reduction of life cycle cost to the customer and to ensure compliance with U.S. and international regulations. This includes R&D work on Advanced Oxidation for treatment of taste and odor compounds (MIB and Geosmin), nitrosamines, pesticide/herbicides and pharmaceutical/personal care products.
For ballast water treatment, Hyde Marine has active R&D for continued ballast treatment efficacy testing in multiple marine environments and new product development to extend the range, usability and end application. As an example, the Hyde GUARDIAN® has achieved ATEX Certification from the registrar Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for installation in hazardous areas.
Research and development expenses were $6.0 million, $8.0 million, and $7.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.
Patents and Trade Secrets
The Company possesses a substantial body of technical knowledge and trade secrets and owns 80 United States patent applications and/or patents as well as 197 patent applications and/or patents in other countries. The issued United States and foreign patents expire in various years from 2014 through 2031.
The technology embodied in these patents, trade secrets, and technical knowledge applies to all phases of the Companys business including production processes, product formulations, and application engineering. The Company considers this body of technology important to the conduct of its business.
Regulatory Matters
United States:
Big Sandy Plant: By letter dated January 22, 2007, the Company received from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 a report of a hazardous waste facility inspection performed by the EPA and the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KYDEP) as part of a Multi Media Compliance Evaluation of the Companys Big Sandy Plant in Catlettsburg, Kentucky that was conducted on September 20 and 21, 2005. Accompanying the report was a Notice of Violation (NOV) alleging multiple violations of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and corresponding EPA and KYDEP hazardous waste regulations as well as the Clean Water Act (CWA).The alleged violations mainly concerned the Companys hazardous waste spent activated carbon regeneration facility. The Company accrued $2.0 million as its estimate of potential loss related to this matter as of December 31, 2010 and later reduced that accrual by $0.2 million in each of the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, respectively.
In the fall of 2013, the Company, the EPA and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) signed and delivered a consent decree. On October 28, 2013, the consent decree was lodged with the Federal District Court in Kentucky. On December 27, 2013, the DOJ filed a motion with the Court to enter the consent decree. The Court ordered the consent decree effective on January 29, 2014.
As part of the consent decree, the Company paid a civil penalty of $1.6 million on February 24, 2014, but makes no admissions of any violations. The Company will be required under the consent decree to conduct testing of the portion of stockpiled material dredged from onsite wastewater treatment lagoons that has not previously been tested in accordance with a pre-approved work plan and will install two ground water monitoring wells at the Companys permitted solid waste landfill where some lagoon solids had previously been disposed. The consent decree provides that EPA and DOJ agree that such landfill is to be considered a non-hazardous facility and regulated by KYDEP. Finally, the Company will not be required to close or retrofit any of the wastewater treatment lagoons as RCRA hazardous waste management units and may continue to use them in their current manner. The Company will be subject to daily stipulated penalties for any failure to conduct the required testing of the previously untested stockpile or to install and sample the landfill wells in accordance with the EPA-approved protocols and schedules. The Company has also recognized net costs of approximately $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 related primarily to the required ongoing testing and sampling.
Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site. In June 2007, the Company received a Notice Letter from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) stating that the NYSDEC had determined that the Company is a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) at the Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site in Niagara Falls, New York (the Site). The Notice Letter requested that the Company and other PRPs develop, implement and finance a remedial program for Operable Unit #1 at the Site. Operable Unit #1 consists of overburden soils and overburden and upper bedrock groundwater. The Company has joined a PRP group (the PRP Group) and has executed a Joint Defense Agreement with the group members. In August 2008, the Company and over 100 PRPs entered into a Consent Order with the NYSDEC for additional site investigation directed toward characterization of the Site to better define the scope of the remedial project. The Company contributed monies to the PRP Group to help fund the work required under the Consent Order. The additional site investigation required under the Consent Order was initiated in 2008 and completed in the spring of 2009. A final report of the site investigation was submitted to the NYSDEC in October 2009 and revised in September 2010. By letter dated October 10, 2010, the NYSDEC approved the report and terminated the Consent Order. The PRP Group was issued a Significant Industrial User Permit by the Niagara Falls Water Board (NFWB) in November 2010. The permit allows the shallow ground water flow from the Site to continue to be naturally captured by the adjacent sewer tunnels with subsequent treatment of the ground water at the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In March 2013, the Company, along with over thirty other PRPs, entered into a consent decree with the NYSDEC pursuant to which the work plan for the remedial program was agreed upon. The cleanup has begun and is essentially complete. The PRP Group has spent approximately $7.3 million for the remediation thus far. The PRP Group estimates that approximately $1.8 million of additional costs remain, but has almost $1.2 million of funds available to apply against the final costs. The Company does not anticipate that it will suffer any material loss with respect to this matter.
Waterlink. In conjunction with the February 2004 purchase of substantially all of Waterlink Inc.s (Waterlink) operating assets and the stock of Waterlinks U.K. subsidiary, environmental studies were performed on Waterlinks Columbus, Ohio property by environmental consulting firms that provided an identification and characterization of certain areas of contamination. In addition, these firms identified alternative methods of remediating the property and prepared cost evaluations of the various alternatives. The Company concluded from the information in the studies that a loss at this property is probable and recorded the liability. At December 31, 2013 the balance recorded as a component of accounts payable and accrued liabilities and accrued pension and other liabilities was $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively. At December 31, 2012 the balance recorded as a component of accrued pension and other liabilities was $1.4 million. Liability estimates are based on an evaluation of, among other factors, currently available facts, existing technology, presently enacted laws and regulations, and the remediation experience of experts in groundwater remediation. It is possible that a further change in the estimate of this obligation will occur as remediation progresses. The Company incurred $0.6 million, $0.6 million, and $0.7 million of environmental remediation costs for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively. A $1.3 million reduction of the liability was recorded in the Activated Carbon and Service segment for the year ended December 31, 2011 related to a change in the estimate of the obligation that occurred during the year. The change in estimate was as a result of a more definitive environmental assessment and review of the current technology available to the Company to remediate the property. Remediation activities are ongoing and are currently expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Europe and Asia:
The Company is also subject to various environmental health and safety laws and regulations at its facilities in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan. These laws and regulations address substantially the same issues as those applicable to the Company in the United States. The Company believes it is presently in substantial compliance with these laws and regulations.
Employee Relations
As of December 31, 2013, the Company employed 1,112 persons on a full-time basis, 799 of whom were salaried and non-union hourly production, office, supervisory and sales personnel. The United Steelworkers represent 254 hourly personnel in the United States. The current contracts with the United Steelworkers expire on July 31, 2014, at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania facility, February 14, 2016 at the Columbus, Ohio facility and June 9, 2017 at the Companys Catlettsburg, Kentucky facility. The 59 hourly personnel at the Companys Belgian facility are represented by two national labor organizations with contracts that expired on July 31, 2013 and are in the process of being renegotiated. The Company also has hourly employees at three non-union United Kingdom facilities, five non-union United States facilities one each located in Arizona, Mississippi, and New York and two in Pennsylvania, as well as at two non-union China facilities.
Copies of Reports
The periodic and current reports of the Company filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after the same are filed with or furnished to the SEC, at the Companys website at www.calgoncarbon.com. All other filings with the SEC are available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
Copies of Corporate Governance Documents
The following Company corporate governance documents are available free of charge at the Companys website at www.calgoncarbon.com and such information is available in print to any shareholder who requests it by contacting the Secretary of the Company at 400 Calgon Carbon Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.
· Corporate Governance Guidelines
· Audit Committee Charter
· Compensation Committee Charter
· Governance Committee Charter
· Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
· Code of Ethical Business Conduct Supplement for Chief Executive and Senior Financial Officers
· Director Orientation and Continuing Education Policy
Risks relating to our business
Delays in enactment of new state or federal regulations could restrict our ability to reach our strategic growth targets and lower our return on invested capital.
Our strategic growth initiatives are reliant upon more restrictive environmental regulations being enacted for the purpose of making water and air cleaner and safer. Examples include regulation of mercury emissions, drinking water disinfection by-products, and ship ballast water. If stricter regulations are delayed or are not enacted or enacted but subsequently repealed or amended to be less strict, or enacted with prolonged phase-in periods, our sales growth targets could be adversely affected and our return on invested capital could be reduced.
For example, on December 16, 2011, the EPA published the Mercury and Air Toxic Standard. The final rule has a three year compliance schedule for most power plants. Litigation is pending which could defer implementation of mercury reduction regulation for years or indefinitely. The EPA could also grant extensions which could defer implementation of the regulations. The Company is unable to predict with certainty when and how the outcome of these complex legal, regulatory and legislative proceedings will affect demand for its products.
Also, the Hyde GUARDIAN® ballast water treatment system developed and sold by our Hyde Marine, Inc. subsidiary received type approval from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2009. However, the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, which would mandate the use of IMO approved ballast water treatment systems for ships in international traffic, has yet to be ratified. Similarly, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has recently published regulations for the regulation of ballast water in U.S waters. The Company and other ballast water treatment system manufactures have received Alternate Management System designation from the USCG but this is a temporary designation. The USCG has not yet approved any ballast water treatment system, including the Hyde GUARDIAN® ballast water treatment system, under its new regulations. Any delay in the implementation of the USCG regulations could have an adverse affect on the Companys anticipated growth.
Increases in U.S. and European imports of Chinese or other foreign manufactured activated carbon could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
We face pressure and competition in our U.S. and European markets from brokers of low cost imported activated carbon products, primarily from China. We believe we offer the market technically superior products and related customer support. However, in some applications, low cost imports have become accepted as viable alternatives to our products because they have been frequently sold at less than fair value in the market. If the markets in which we compete experience an increase in these imported low cost carbons, especially if sold at less than fair value, we could see declines in net sales. In addition, the sales of these low cost activated carbons may make it more difficult for us to pass through raw material price increases to our customers.
In response to a petition from the U.S. activated carbon industry filed in March 2006, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties starting in October 2006. The DOC announcement was based on extensive economic analysis of the operations and pricing practices of the Chinese producers and exporters. The DOC announcement required U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require importers of steam activated carbon from China to post a provisional bond or cash deposit in the amount of the duties. The anti-dumping duties are intended to offset the amount by which the steam activated carbon from China is sold at less than fair value in the U.S.
Annual reviews of duties occur in April of the year following the twelve month period then completed. The significant anti-dumping duties originally imposed by the DOC, and the affirmative decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC), has had an adverse impact on the cost of Chinese manufactured activated carbon imported into the U.S. However, the anti-dumping duties could be further reduced or eliminated in the future which could adversely affect demand or pricing of our product.
Our financial results could be adversely affected by an interruption of supply or an increase in coal prices.
We use bituminous coal as the main raw material in our activated carbon production process. Based upon our current projected usage and price, we estimate that our 2014 coal costs in the United States will be approximately $26.8 million excluding the cost of transportation to our carbon manufacturing facilities. We have various annual and multi-year contracts in place for the supply of our coal that expire at various intervals from 2014 to 2018 and cover approximately 80% of our expected 2014 tonnage. Interruptions in coal supply caused by mine accidents, labor disputes, transportation delays, breach of supplier contractual obligations, floods or other events for other than a temporary period could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet customer demand. We use very specific high quality metallurgical coals for many of our products. Our inability to obtain these high-quality coals at competitive prices in a timely manner due to changing market conditions with limited high-quality suppliers could also have an adverse affect on our financial results. In addition, increases in the prices we pay for coal under our supply contracts could adversely affect our financial results by significantly increasing production costs. Based upon the current estimated usage and price of coal in 2014, a hypothetical 10% increase in the price of coal, excluding transportation costs, that is not covered by our supply contracts, would result in $0.4 million of additional pre-tax expense to us. We may not be able to pass through raw material price increases to our customers.
A planned or unplanned shutdown at one of our production facilities could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
We operate multiple facilities and source product from strategic partners who operate facilities which are close to water or in areas susceptible to floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. An unplanned shutdown at any of our or our strategic partners facilities for more than a temporary period as a result of a hurricane, typhoon, earthquake, flood or other natural disaster, or as a result of fire, explosions, war, terrorist activities, political conflict or other hostilities, or as a result of unforeseen mechanical problems, could significantly affect our ability to meet our demand requirements, thereby resulting in lost sales and profitability in the short-term or eventual loss of customers in the long-term. In addition, a prolonged planned shutdown of any of our production facilities due to a change in the business conditions could result in impairment charges that could have an adverse impact on our financial results.
Our required capital expenditures may exceed estimates.
Our capital expenditures were $30.3 million in 2013 and are forecasted to be approximately $85.0 million in 2014. Future capital expenditures may be significantly higher and may vary substantially if we are required to undertake certain actions to comply with new regulatory requirements or compete with new technologies. We may not have the capital to undertake the capital investments. If we are unable to do so, we may not be able to effectively compete.
Significant stockholders or potential stockholders may attempt to effect changes at the Company or acquire control over the Company, which could adversely affect the Companys results of operations and financial condition.
Stockholders of the Company may from time to time engage in proxy solicitations, advance stockholder proposals or otherwise attempt to effect changes or acquire control over the Company. Campaigns by stockholders to effect changes at publicly traded companies are sometimes led by investors seeking to increase short-term stockholder value through actions such as financial restructuring, increased debt, special dividends, stock repurchases or sales of assets or the entire company. Responding to proxy contests and other actions by activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupting the Companys operations and diverting the attention of the Companys Board of Directors and senior management from the pursuit of business strategies. As a result, stockholder campaigns could adversely affect the Companys results of operation and financial condition.
Encroachment into our markets by competitive technologies could adversely affect our financial results.
Activated carbon is utilized in various applications as a cost-effective solution to solve customer problems. If other competitive technologies, such as membranes, ozone and UV, are advanced to the
stage in which such technologies could cost effectively compete with activated carbon technologies, we could experience a decline in net sales, which could adversely affect our financial results.
Our industry is highly competitive. If we are unable to compete effectively with competitors having greater resources than we do, our financial results could be adversely affected.
Our activated carbon business faces significant competition principally from Cabot Norit, Mead/Westvaco Corporation and Evoqua Water Technologies, as well as from Chinese and European activated carbon producers and East Asian producers of coconut-based activated carbon. Our UV technology products face significant competition principally from Trojan Technologies, Inc., which is owned by Danaher Corporation, and Xylem. Our competitors include major manufacturers and diversified companies, a number of which have revenues and capital resources exceeding ours, which they may use to develop more advanced or more cost-effective technologies, increase market share or leverage their distribution networks. We could experience reduced net sales as a result of having fewer resources than these competitors.
Our international operations are subject to political and economic risks for conducting business in corrupt environments.
We conduct business in developing countries, and we are focusing on increasing our sales in regions such as South America, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, which are less developed, have less stability in legal systems and financial markets, and are generally recognized as potentially more corrupt business environments than the United States and therefore, present greater political, economic and operational risks. We emphasize compliance with the law and have policies in place, procedures and certain ongoing training of employees with regard to business ethics and key legal requirements such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act (UKBA) and all applicable export control laws and regulations of the United States and other countries (the Export Regulations); however, there can be no assurances that our employees will adhere to our code of business conduct, other Company policies, the FCPA, the UKBA or the Export Regulations. If we fail to enforce our policies and procedures properly or maintain internal accounting practices to accurately record our international transactions or if we violate any of these laws or regulations, we may be subject to severe criminal or civil sanctions and penalties, including fines, debarment from export privileges and loss of authorizations needed to conduct aspects of our international business. We could incur significant costs for investigation, litigation, fees, settlements and judgments which, in turn, could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to innovate new products or applications could adversely affect our ability to meet our strategic growth targets.
Part of our strategic growth and profitability plans involve the development of new products or new applications for our current products in order to replace more mature products or markets that have seen increased competition. If we are unable to develop new products or applications, our financial results could be adversely affected.
Our inability to successfully negotiate new collective bargaining agreements upon expiration of the existing agreements could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
We have collective bargaining agreements in place at four production facilities covering approximately 28% of our full-time workforce as of December 31, 2013. Those collective bargaining agreements expire through 2017, with one having expired on July 31, 2013 that we continue to negotiate. Any work stoppages as a result of disagreements with any of the labor unions or our failure to renegotiate any of the contracts as they expire could disrupt production and significantly increase product costs as a result of less efficient operations caused by the resulting need to rely on temporary labor.
Our business is subject to a number of global economic risks.
Financial markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia continue to experience disruption, including, among other things, volatility in security prices, diminished liquidity and credit availability, rating downgrades of certain investments and declining valuations of others. Governments have taken actions intending to address these market conditions that include restricted credit and declines in values of certain assets.
An economic downturn in the businesses or geographic areas in which we sell our products could reduce demand for our products and result in a decrease in sales volume that could have a negative impact on our results of operations. Continued volatility and disruption of financial markets in the United States, Europe and Asia could limit our customers ability to obtain adequate financing or credit to purchase our products or to maintain operations, and result in a decrease in sales volumes that could have a negative impact on our results of operations.
Our international operations expose us to political and economic uncertainties and risks from abroad, which could negatively affect our results of operations.
We have manufacturing facilities and sales offices in Europe, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom which are subject to economic conditions and political factors within the respective countries which, if changed in a manner adverse to us, could negatively affect our results of operations and cash flow. Political risk factors include, but are not limited to, taxation, nationalization, inflation, currency fluctuations, foreign exchange restrictions, increased regulation and quotas, tariffs and other protectionist measures. Approximately 76% of our sales in 2013 were generated by products sold in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe while the remaining sales were generated in other areas of the world, such as Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Our European and Japanese activated carbon businesses are sourced from both the United States and China, which subjects these businesses to foreign exchange transaction risk.
Our virgin activated carbon is produced primarily in the United States. We also source significant quantities of activated carbon in China. Produced and sourced activated carbons are provisioned to all of our global operations. Sales of these carbons are typically denominated in U.S. dollars yet are ultimately sold in other currencies thereby creating foreign currency exchange transaction risk. We generally execute foreign currency derivative contracts of not more than eighteen months in duration to cover a portion of our known or projected foreign currency exposure. However, those contracts do not protect us from longer-term trends of a strengthening U.S. dollar, which could significantly increase our cost of activated carbon delivered to our European and Japanese markets, and we may not be able to offset these costs by increasing our prices.
Environmental compliance and remediation and potential climate change could result in substantially increased capital requirements and operating costs.
Our production facilities are subject to environmental laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate or maintain properties. Costs may be incurred in complying with such laws and regulations. Each of our domestic production facilities require permits and licenses issued by local, state and federal regulators which regulate air emissions, water discharges, and solid waste handling. These permits are subject to renewal and, in some circumstances, revocation. International environmental requirements vary and could have substantially lesser requirements that may give competitors a competitive advantage. Additional costs may be incurred if environmental remediation measures are required. In addition, the discovery of contamination at any of our current or former sites or at locations at which we dispose of waste may expose us to cleanup obligations and other damages. In addition, there is currently vigorous debate over the effect of CO² gas releases and the effect on climate change. Many of our activities create CO² gases. Should legislation or regulation be enacted, it could have a material adverse effect upon our ability to expand our operations or perhaps continue to operate as we currently do.
We have operations in multiple foreign countries and, as a result, are subject to foreign exchange translation risk, which could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
We conduct significant business operations in several foreign countries. Of our 2013 net sales, approximately 50% were sales to countries other than the United States, and 2013 net sales denominated in non-U.S. dollars represented approximately 45% of our overall net sales. We conduct business in the local currencies of each of our foreign subsidiaries or affiliates. Those local currencies are then translated into U.S. dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. The exchange rates between some of these currencies and the U.S. dollar in recent years have fluctuated significantly and may continue to do so in the future. Changes in exchange rates, particularly the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, could significantly reduce our sales and profitability from
foreign subsidiaries or affiliates from one period to the next as local currency amounts are translated into fewer U.S. dollars.
Our financial results could be adversely affected by shortages in energy supply or increases in energy costs outside the United States.
The price for and availability of energy resources could be volatile as it is affected by political and economic conditions that are outside our control. We utilize natural gas as a key component in our activated carbon reactivation manufacturing process at each of our major facilities outside the United States. If shortages of, or restrictions on the delivery of natural gas occur, production at our non-domestic activated carbon reactivation facilities would be reduced, which could result in missed deliveries or lost sales. We also have exposure to fluctuations in energy costs as they relate to the transportation and distribution of our products. We may not be able to pass through natural gas and other fuel price increases to our customers.
Our business includes capital equipment sales which could have extreme fluctuations due to the cyclical nature of that type of business.
Our Equipment segment represented approximately 10% of our 2013 net sales. This business generally has a long project life cycle from bid solicitation to project completion and often requires customers to make large capital commitments well in advance of project execution. In addition, this business is usually affected by the general health of the overall economy. As a result, sales and earnings from the Equipment segment could be volatile.
Our products could infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may cause us to pay unexpected litigation costs or damages or prevent us from selling our products.
Although it is our intention to avoid infringing or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others, our products may infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others. We may be subject to legal proceedings and claims, including claims of alleged infringement by us of the patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming, regardless of the merits of any claim.
If we were to discover or be notified that our products potentially infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others, we may need to obtain licenses from these parties or substantially re-engineer our products in order to avoid infringement. We might not be able to obtain the necessary licenses on acceptable terms, or at all, or be able to re-engineer our products successfully. Moreover, if we are sued for infringement and lose the suit, we could be required to pay substantial damages and/or be enjoined from using or selling the infringing products. Any of the foregoing could cause us to incur significant costs and prevent us from selling our products.
Declines in the operating performance of one of our business segments could result in an impairment of the segments goodwill.
As of December 31, 2013, we had consolidated goodwill of approximately $26.6 million recorded in our business segments, primarily from our Activated Carbon and Service and Equipment segments. We test our goodwill on an annual basis or when an indication of possible impairment exists in order to determine whether the carrying value of our assets is still supported by the fair value of the underlying business. To the extent that it is not, we are required to record an impairment charge to reduce the asset to fair value. A decline in the operating performance of any of our business segments could result in a goodwill impairment charge which could have a material effect on our financial results.
Our pension plans are currently underfunded, and we expect to be subject to increases in pension contributions to our defined benefit pension plans, thereby restricting our cash flow.
We sponsor various pension plans in the United States and Europe that are underfunded and require significant cash payments. We contributed $2.8 million and $2.1 million to our U.S. Pension plans and $1.9 million and $1.8 million to our European pension plans in 2013 and 2012, respectively. We currently expect to contribute approximately $1.4 million to our U.S. pension plans to meet minimum funding requirements, in accordance with our funding policy, and $1.6 million to our European pension plans in 2014. An economic downturn would negatively impact the fair value of our pension assets which could
result in increased funding requirements of our pension plans. If our cash flow from operations is insufficient to fund our worldwide pension liability, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or seek additional capital.
The funding status of our pension plans is determined using many assumptions, such as inflation, investment rates, mortality, turnover and interest rates, any of which could prove to be different than projected. If the performance of the assets in our pension plans does not meet our expectations, or if other actuarial assumptions are modified, or not realized, we may be required to contribute more to our pension plans than we currently expect. For example, an approximate 25-basis point decline in the funding target interest rate under Section 430 of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 for minimum funding requirements, would increase our minimum required funding policy contributions to our U.S. pension plans by approximately $1.5 million to $1.8 million over the next three fiscal years. This amount reflects the provisions of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) affecting pension plan funding.
Our pension plans in the aggregate are underfunded by approximately $15 million as of December 31, 2013 (based on the actuarial assumptions used for Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 715 Compensation Retirement Benefits, purposes and comparing our projected benefit obligation to the fair value of plan assets) and required a certain level of mandatory contributions as prescribed by law. Our U.S. pension plans, which were underfunded by approximately $2.5 million as of December 31, 2013, are subject to ERISA. In the event our U.S. pension plans are terminated for any reason while the plans are less than fully funded, we will incur a liability to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation that may be equal to the entire amount of the underfunding at the time of the termination. In addition, changes in required pension funding rules that were affected by the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 have significantly increased our funding requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our cash flow and require us to reduce or delay our capital expenditures or seek additional capital. Refer to Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Our stockholder rights plan and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt of our Company.
Our stockholder rights plan and certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our stockholders. These include provisions:
· providing for a board of directors with staggered, three-year terms;
· requiring super-majority voting to affect certain amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws;
· limiting the persons who may call special stockholders meetings;
· limiting stockholder action by written consent;
· establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholders meetings; and
· allowing our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval.
These provisions, alone or in combination with each other, may discourage transactions involving actual or potential changes of control, including transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices to holders of our common stock, or could limit the ability of our stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interest.
The security of our information technology systems could be compromised, which could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Increased global information technology security requirements, threats and sophisticated and targeted computer crime pose a risk to the security of our systems, networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data. Despite our efforts to protect sensitive information and confidential and personal data, our facilities and systems may be vulnerable to security breaches. This could lead to negative publicity, theft, modification or destruction of proprietary information or key information, manufacture of defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments:
None
The Company owns twelve production facilities, two of which are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and one each in the following locations: Catlettsburg, Kentucky; Pearlington, Mississippi; Blue Lake, California; Columbus, Ohio; Feluy, Belgium; Grays, United Kingdom; Suzhou, China; Tipton, United Kingdom; Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan and Gila Bend, Arizona. The Company leases two production facilities in Findlay Township, Pennsylvania and one production facility in each of the following locations: Houghton le-Spring, United Kingdom; Ashton-in-Makerfield, United Kingdom; Tianjin, China and North Tonawanda, New York. The Company owns three warehouses, one of which is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the others are in La Louviere and Feluy, Belgium. The Company also leases 49 warehouses, service centers, and sales office facilities. Of these, twenty-eight are located in the United States, five in each China and Japan, two in Canada and one each in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, France, Denmark, Hong Kong and Brazil. Four of the United States facilities are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and one each in the following locations: Downingtown, Pennsylvania; Rutland, Massachusetts; Rockdale, Illinois; Santa Fe Springs, California; Marlton, New Jersey; Stockton, California; Tempe, Arizona; Kenova, West Virginia; Ontario, California; Schenley, Pennsylvania; South Point, Ohio; Muncy, Pennsylvania; Steubenville, Ohio; Ironton, Ohio; Troutdale, Oregon; Port Bienville, Mississippi; Sulphur, Louisiana; Westlake, Ohio, and Wilmington, Delaware as well as two in Houston, Texas and three in Huntington, West Virginia. Two of the China facilities are located in each Shanghai and Tianjin and one in Beijing. The Canadian facilities are located in Markham and St. Catherines, Ontario. The facility in Denmark is located in Kolding. The United Kingdom facility is located in Ashton-in-Makerfield. The Swedish facility is located in Gothenburg. The facility in Germany is located in Beverungen. The Taiwan facility is located in Taipei. The facility in France is located in Paris. In Japan, the Company leases five facilities, one each in Tokyo, Osaka, Okayama, Kitakiashu and Chiba. The Brazilian facility is located in Sao Paulo. The Companys 20% owned joint venture, Calgon Carbon (Thailand) Co. Ltd., leases one facility in Nakornrachasima, Thailand.
The Catlettsburg, Kentucky plant is the Companys largest facility, with plant operations occupying approximately 50 acres of a 226-acre site. This plant, which serves the Activated Carbon and Service segment, produces granular and powdered activated carbons and acid washed granular activated carbons and reactivates spent granular activated carbons.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania carbon production plant occupies a four-acre site and serves the Activated Carbon and Service segment. Operations at the plant include the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons, the impregnation of granular activated carbons and the grinding of granular activated carbons into powdered activated carbons. The plant also has the capacity to finish coal-based or coconut-based specialty activated carbons.
The Pearlington, Mississippi plant occupies a site of approximately 100 acres. The plant has one production line that produces granular and powdered activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
The Columbus plant occupies approximately 27 acres in Columbus, Ohio. Operations at the plant include the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons, impregnation of activated carbon, crushing activated carbon to fine mesh, acid and water washing, filter-filling, and various other value added processes to granular activated carbon for the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
The Blue Lake plant, located near the city of Eureka, California, occupies approximately two acres. The primary operation at the plant includes the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment. The plant is currently idled.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Equipment and Assembly plant is located on Neville Island and is situated within a 16-acre site that includes a 300,000 square foot building. The Equipment and Assembly plant occupies 85,000 square feet with the remaining space used as a centralized warehouse for carbon inventory. The plant, which serves the Equipment and Activated Carbon and Service segments, manufactures and assembles fully engineered carbon equipment for purification, concentration and separation systems. This plant also serves as the east coast staging and refurbishment point for carbon service equipment.
The Findlay Township, Pennsylvania Engineered Solutions plants consist of a 44,000 square foot production facility and a 16,691 square foot production facility located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The facilities are adjacent properties and the primary focus is the manufacture of UV, Ion Exchange (ISEP®) and Hyde GUARDIAN® equipment, including mechanical
and electrical assembly, controls systems integration and validation testing of equipment. This location also serves as the Pilot Testing facility for Process Development, as well as the spare parts distribution center for UV, ISEP® and Hyde GUARDIAN® systems. This plant serves the Equipment segment.
In 2009, the Company entered into a lease with the City of North Tonawanda, New York for use of an existing activated carbon reactivation furnace located at the citys wastewater treatment facility. This unit was renovated and retrofitted for the Company to use for reactivating spent activated carbon from food grade and potable water system customers for the Activated Carbon and Service segment. While it is ready for use, it is not operational.
The Feluy plant occupies a site of approximately 38 acres located 30 miles south of Brussels, Belgium. Operations at the plant include both the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons and the grinding of granular activated carbons into powdered activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
The Grays plant occupies a three-acre site near London, United Kingdom. Operations at the plant include the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
The Ashton-in-Makerfield plant occupies a 1.6 acre site, 20 miles west of Manchester, United Kingdom. Operations at the plant include the impregnation of granular activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment. The plant also has the capacity to finish coal-based or coconut-based activated carbons.
The Houghton le-Spring plant, located near the city of Newcastle, United Kingdom, occupies approximately two acres. Operations at the plant include the manufacture of woven and knitted activated carbon textiles and their impregnation and lamination for the Consumer segment.
The Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan plant, that serves the Activated Carbon and Service segment, occupies a site of approximately six acres and has two production lines for carbon reactivation.
The Tianjin, China plant is licensed to export activated carbon products. It occupies approximately eight acres. This plant finishes, sizes, tests, and packages activated carbon products for the Activated Carbon and Service segment for distribution both inside China and for export.
The Suzhou, China plant occupies approximately 11 acres and is a reactivation facility that serves the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
In October of 2011, the Company purchased a plant in which it will reactivate spent granular activated carbon to serve the Activated Carbon and Service segment in Tipton, Dudley, United Kingdom. The Company is currently making plant renovations and upgrades for reactivating spent granular activated carbon. The plant is not currently operational.
The Gila Bend, Arizona facility occupies a 20 acre site. Operations at the plant include the reactivation of spent granular activated carbons for the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
The Company believes that the plants and leased facilities are adequate and suitable for its current operating needs.
The Company is involved in various legal proceedings, lawsuits and claims, including employment, product warranty and environmental matters of the nature considered normal to its business. It is the Companys policy to accrue for amounts related to the legal matters when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the loss amount is reasonably estimable. Management believes that the ultimate liabilities, if any, resulting from such lawsuits and claims will not materially affect the consolidated financial position or liquidity of the Company, but an adverse outcome could be material to the results of operations in a particular period in which a liability is recognized.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
Item 5. Market for Registrants Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters, and Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities:
Common Shares and Market Information
Common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol CCC. There were 1,470 registered shareholders at December 31, 2013.
Quarterly Common Stock Price Ranges and Dividends
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2013 |
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2012 |
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Fiscal Quarter |
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High |
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Low |
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Dividend |
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High |
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Low |
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Dividend |
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First |
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18.71 |
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14.20 |
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16.99 |
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14.37 |
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Second |
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18.66 |
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16.21 |
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14.95 |
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13.08 |
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Third |
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19.14 |
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16.67 |
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15.76 |
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12.70 |
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Fourth |
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21.00 |
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18.62 |
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14.45 |
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11.86 |
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The Company did not declare or pay any dividends in 2013 and 2012. Dividend declaration and payout are at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Future dividends will depend on the Companys earnings, cash flows, and capital investment plans to pursue long-term growth opportunities.
The information appearing in Item 12 of Part III below regarding common stock issuable under the Companys equity compensation plan is incorporated herein by reference.
Shareholder Return Performance Graph
The following performance graph and related information shall not be deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such filing.
The graph below compares the yearly change in cumulative total shareholder return of the Companys common stock with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poors (S&Ps) 500 Stock Composite Index and a Peer Group. The Company believes that its core business consists of purifying air, water and other products. As such, the Company uses a comparative peer group benchmark. The companies included in the group are Clarcor, Inc., Donaldson Co. Inc., Esco Technologies Inc., Flanders Corp., Lydall, Inc., and Pall Corp.
Comparison of Five-Year Cumulative Total Return*
Among Calgon Carbons Common Stock, S&P 500 Composite Index, and Peer Group
Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities
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(d) Maximum Number |
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(c) Total Number of |
|
(or Approximate |
| ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares Purchased |
|
Dollar Value) |
| ||
|
|
(a) Total |
|
|
|
as Part of Publicly |
|
of Shares that May |
| ||
|
|
Number |
|
(b) Average |
|
Announced |
|
Yet be Purchased |
| ||
|
|
of Shares |
|
Price Paid |
|
Repurchase Plans |
|
Under the Plans or |
| ||
Period |
|
Purchased |
|
Per Share |
|
or Programs(1) |
|
Programs |
| ||
October 1 October 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
November 1 November 30, 2013 |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
December 1 December 31, 2013 |
|
146,800 |
|
$ |
20.37 |
|
146,800 |
|
$ |
147,009,451 |
|
(1)In December 2013, the Companys Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $100 million of its common stock resulting in a total remaining availability of $150 million excluding the November 19, 2012 authorization and accelerated share repurchase. There is no expiration date for this program. In December 2013, the Company repurchased approximately $3.0 million of its common stock on the open market.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data:
FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY OF SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Calgon Carbon Corporation
(Dollars in thousands except per share data) |
|
2013 |
|
2012(2) |
|
2011(4) |
|
2010 |
|
2009(7) |
| |||||
Income Statement Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Net sales |
|
$ |
547,939 |
|
$ |
562,255 |
|
$ |
541,472 |
|
$ |
482,341 |
|
$ |
411,910 |
|
Net income |
|
$ |
45,713 |
|
$ |
23,272 |
|
$ |
39,224 |
|
$ |
34,850 |
|
$ |
39,159 |
|
Net income per common share, basic |
|
$ |
0.85 |
|
$ |
0.41 |
|
$ |
0.70 |
|
$ |
0.62 |
|
$ |
0.72 |
|
Net income per common share, diluted |
|
$ |
0.84 |
|
$ |
0.41 |
|
$ |
0.69 |
|
$ |
0.61 |
|
$ |
0.69 |
|
Cash dividends declared per common share |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Balance Sheet Data (at year end): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Total assets |
|
$ |
590,078 |
|
$ |
577,769 |
|
$ |
552,990 |
|
$ |
501,563 |
|
$ |
425,718 |
|
Long-term debt |
|
$ |
32,114 |
(1) |
$ |
44,408 |
(3) |
$ |
1,103 |
(5) |
$ |
3,721 |
(6) |
$ |
|
|
(1) Excludes $2.2 million of debt which is classified as current. Refer to Note 7 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual report for further information.
(2) Includes $10.2 million of restructuring charges and $1.7 million of multi-employer pension charges (Refer to Notes 2 and 12 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report for further information). Also includes a $1.7 million charge related to an agreement with the Companys former Chief Executive Officer.
(3) Excludes $19.6 million of debt which is classified as current. Refer to Note 7 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report for further information.
(4) Includes a full year of the Calgon Carbon Japan acquisition which was not reported on a consolidated basis until March 31, 2010 and $3.3 million of net earnings related to a reversal of net uncertain tax positions. Also includes a $2.2 million, pre-tax, employee separation charge.
(5) Excludes $26.3 million of debt which is classified as current.
(6) Excludes $24.6 million of debt which is classified as current.
(7) Includes a $0.9 million, pre-tax, loss on debt extinguishment and $4.8 million of net earnings related to a reduction of the valuation allowance associated with foreign tax credits.
Item 7. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations:
Overview
The Company reported net income of $45.7 million or $0.84 per diluted share for 2013, as compared to net income of $23.3 million or $0.41 per diluted share for 2012. Sales declined $14.3 million or 2.5% in 2013, including a negative impact of foreign currency translation of $11.6 million.
The Company achieved significant improvement in profitability despite a challenging sales environment in certain markets and the negative impact of a strong U.S. dollar. The Company also utilized its balance sheet to increase value by conducting an open market share repurchase program. In addition, the Companys Board of Directors approved $85.0 million for 2014 capital spending that should increase carbon production capacity and reduce costs.
Results of Operations
2013 Versus 2012
Consolidated net sales decreased $14.3 million or 2.5% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The total negative impact of foreign currency translation on consolidated net sales was $11.6 million.
Net sales for the Activated Carbon and Service segment decreased $3.5 million or 0.7% from 2012. The decrease was primarily due to a $9.3 million decline in the Environmental Air market primarily as a result of lower pricing on a single contract for powder activated carbon for mercury removal from electric generating units in the Americas region which totaled $11.7 million. Also contributing to the decline was the $11.5 million negative impact of foreign currency translation. Partially offsetting these declines was the impact of the Companys 2013 price increases, primarily in the Americas region, of $6.6 million as well as higher volume for certain activated carbon products and services in the following markets: Industrial Process of 11%, Environmental Water of 9%, and Potable Water of 7%. The increase in volume for the Industrial Process market was primarily due to higher demand in the Americas and Europe. The increase in the Environmental Water market was related to increased demand as a result of a higher level of environmental remediation projects that were primarily in the U.S. The increase in the Potable Water market was principally as a result of compliance with disinfection byproduct regulations in the U.S.
Net sales in the Equipment segment decreased $11.1 million or 16.8% from 2012. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales of ballast water treatment business of $15.5 million. The 2012 period included $12.6 million in sales for four large ballast water treatment system contracts that the Company was not able to equal in 2013 given the effects of delayed ratification of the International Maritime Organization ballast water treatment regulations and other U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency related issues. Also contributing to the decline was $2.9 million of lower sales of ion exchange systems due to lower demand. Partially offsetting these decreases was an increase in sales of both traditional carbon adsorption and traditional ultraviolet disinfection systems of $5.2 million and $3.3 million, respectively. The increase in sales for traditional carbon adsorption systems was due to higher demand from municipal drinking water customers for compliance with disinfection byproduct regulations. The increase in sales for traditional ultraviolet systems was a result of one large contract that was awarded in December of 2012 for the supply of the Companys Sentinel® systems to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Foreign currency translation effects in the Equipment segment were not significant.
Net sales in the Consumer segment increased $0.3 million or 2.6% from 2012. The increase was primarily due to higher demand for activated carbon cloth. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of $0.1 million for the Consumer segment.
Net sales less cost of products sold (excluding depreciation), as a percent of net sales, was 33.0% in 2013 compared to 30.2% in 2012, an increase of 2.8 percentage points. The increase was in the Activated Carbon and Service segment and included the benefits of several of the initiatives related to the Companys cost improvement program. The Company benefited by approximately $5.5 million from cost improvements as a result of the expansion of its Pearl River manufacturing facility. The results of the Companys ongoing product rationalization initiative, which reduced its SKUs by 45%, resulted in approximately $2.6 million of cost savings in 2013. The Company also benefited from a reduction in warehousing costs of approximately $1.0 million as a result of its world-wide effort to consolidate its storage needs. In addition to these initiatives, the impact of price increases, including $6.6 million in the Americas also contributed favorably to 2013 as did the $0.4 million settlement on an insurance claim related to Hurricane Isaac (Refer to Note 17 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). The 2012 period included additional costs of $3.4 million related to the Companys Pearl River facility as a result of delays in a capital project,
maintenance issues, and the impact of Hurricane Isaac. The 2012 period also included a $1.7 million write-off of obsolete inventory. Higher coal and coal-related costs also negatively impacted 2012 and were the result of manufacturing costs related to trials of new and different coal types. These trials were necessitated by the termination of a coal contract with a former supplier that occurred during the second quarter of 2012. Partially offsetting the favorability in the Activated Carbon and Service segment in 2013 was an $11.7 million negative impact from pricing related to the aforementioned single contract for mercury removal effective the end of 2012. Both the Equipment and Consumer segments were comparable to 2012. The Companys cost of products sold excludes depreciation; therefore it may not be comparable to that of other companies.
Depreciation and amortization increased by $2.6 million or 9.9% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The increase was due primarily to increased depreciation related to the Companys new Gila Bend, Arizona facility that was placed into service in the second quarter of 2013 as well as for capital improvements at the Companys Pearl River virgin carbon manufacturing facility that were completed in January 2013.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $8.4 million or 9.8% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The decrease was principally due to a decline in employee related expenses of $6.1 million which includes a $2.8 million favorable impact related to a multi-employer pension plan (Refer to additional discussion in Note 12 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). Also contributing to the decline were decreased U.S. healthcare costs of $1.3 million resulting from favorable claims experience in 2013 and other medical benefit program modifications. Employee travel costs also declined by $1.2 million as a result of the Companys cost improvement initiatives. On a segment basis, selling, general and administrative expenses for the Activated Carbon and Service segment declined approximately $8.1 million primarily as a result of the items discussed above. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the Equipment and Consumer segments did not materially fluctuate as compared to 2012.
Research and development expenses decreased $2.0 million or 24.8% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The decrease was due to lower advanced product testing costs related to both mercury removal from flue gas and the use of activated carbon in ultra capacitors.
The Company recorded $0.5 million of restructuring charges in 2013 related to headcount reductions in the Activated Carbon and Service segment. These charges were offset by a pre-tax gain of $0.6 million for the sale of the Companys activated carbon manufacturing facility in Datong, China. The Company recorded $10.2 million of restructuring charges in 2012 which primarily consist of $5.8 million of termination benefits related to a reduction in headcount and a $3.6 million impairment charge for the permanent closure of the Companys Datong, China activated carbon production facility (Refer to additional discussion in Note 2 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). These restructuring charges are within the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
Litigation and other contingencies were comparable in 2013 versus 2012.
Other expense net decreased $1.1 million or 45.0% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The decrease is primarily as a result of $0.5 million decline in an earn-out liability related to a 2010 acquisition.
The provision for income taxes for 2013 was $21.5 million as compared to $14.1 million in 2012. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2013 was 32.0% compared to 37.7% for the year ended December 31, 2012. The 2013 tax rate decreased approximately 5% from the 2012 effective tax rate primarily due to net tax benefits related to the 2013 sale of the Companys Datong, China facility. The 2013 tax rate was reduced 1.2% from the 2012 tax rate due to a state tax credit. Excluding the impact of the aforementioned sale, the 2013 tax rate was negatively impacted by 0.5% related to the mix of income before income tax provision throughout foreign jurisdictions as compared to 2012.
2012 Versus 2011
Consolidated net sales increased $20.8 million or 3.8% in 2012 as compared to 2011. The total negative impact of foreign currency translation on consolidated net sales was $7.5 million.
Net sales for the Activated Carbon and Service segment decreased $0.7 million or 0.2% from 2011. Sales growth in Europe of $7.0 million, primarily in the Potable Water market, was offset by a $7.4 million negative impact of foreign currency translation. Net sales in the Equipment segment increased $19.8 million or 42.7% from 2011. The increase was primarily due to higher revenue recognized for ultraviolet light systems, principally ballast water treatment, which increased 71%. Foreign currency translation effects in the Equipment segment were not significant. Net sales in the Consumer segment increased $1.7 million or 19.7% from 2011. The increase was primarily due to higher demand for activated carbon cloth. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of $0.1 million for the Consumer segment.
Net sales less cost of products sold (excluding depreciation), as a percent of net sales, was 30.2% in 2012 compared to 32.7% in 2011. The 2.5 percentage point decrease was primarily in the Activated Carbon and Service segment. This decline was due to $3.4 million of higher plant maintenance costs primarily as a result of one additional planned major maintenance activity in 2012 as well as significant maintenance costs at the Companys Pearl River facility related to delays in a capital project, maintenance issues, and the impact of Hurricane Isaac. Also contributing to the decline were higher coal and coal-related costs of approximately $3.6 million. Of this amount, coal price increases were $1.5 million and coal related manufacturing issues resulting from the utilization of new and different coal types resulted in increased costs of $2.1 million. In addition, the Companys labor costs also increased by approximately $4.0 million. Both the Equipment and Consumer segments were comparable to 2011. The Companys cost of products sold excludes depreciation; therefore it may not be comparable to that of other companies.
Depreciation and amortization increased by $2.0 million or 8.1% in 2012 as compared to 2011. The increase is primarily related to increased depreciation related to the Companys reactivation facility in Suzhou, China of $0.8 million that was placed into service during 2012. Also contributing to the increase was increased depreciation of $1.0 million related to capital improvements at the Companys Feluy, Belgium and Catlettsburg, Kentucky facilities that were placed into service in 2011 and 2012.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $2.6 million or 2.9% in 2012 as compared to 2011. The decrease was principally due to a decline in legal expense of $2.1 million as a result of fewer legal matters in 2012 and the positive impact of foreign exchange of $1.0 million. Partially offsetting this decrease was a $1.7 million multi-employer pension plan charge (Refer to additional discussion in Note 12 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). The 2011 period included $1.0 million of costs related to the Companys former PreZerve product line. On a segment basis, selling, general and administrative expenses for both the Activated Carbon and Service and Equipment segments were comparable versus 2011. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined approximately $1.0 million for the Consumer segment due to the above mentioned costs related to the former PreZerve product line.
Research and development expenses were comparable in 2012 versus 2011.
The Company recorded $10.2 million of restructuring charges in 2012 which primarily consist of $5.8 million of termination benefits related to a reduction in headcount and a $3.6 million impairment charge for the permanent closure of the Companys Datong, China activated carbon production facility (Refer to additional discussion in Note 2 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). These restructuring charges are within the Activated Carbon and Service segment.
Litigation and other contingencies were comparable in 2012 versus 2011.
Other expense net increased $1.2 million or 89.5% in 2012 as compared to 2011. The increase is primarily as a result of $0.4 million of foreign exchange losses due to un-hedged positions. In addition, the 2011 period included $0.4 million of additional license income in the Companys Equipment Segment.
The provision for income taxes for 2012 was $14.1 million as compared to $17.2 million in 2011. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2012 was 37.7% compared to 30.4% for the year ended December 31, 2011. The 2012 tax rate increased over the 2011 effective tax rate primarily due to the valuation allowance recorded in 2012 and the uncertain tax position reversal that occurred in 2011. The Company will permanently close its Datong, China facility. The Company has net operating losses and other deferred tax assets related to the Datong facility which it may no longer realize. Therefore, the Company recorded a valuation allowance against these deferred tax assets which increased the
2012 tax rate approximately 1.5% over the 2011 tax rate. Additionally, the Companys 2011 tax rate was reduced from the U.S. statutory rate by 5.8% related primarily to the expiration of the statute of limitations on uncertain tax positions.
Working Capital and Liquidity
Cash flows provided by operating activities were $66.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 as compared to $72.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The $5.9 million decrease was due to unfavorable working capital changes which, in total, were $9.3 million and were primarily related to accounts payable and inventory. These unfavorable changes were partially offset by the additional net income in 2013 versus 2012 as well as lower employee benefit plan provisions of $3.0 million. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $72.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 as compared to $53.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. The $19.7 million increase was due to favorable working capital changes which were primarily related to inventory.
The Company recorded proceeds from the sale of a business of $0.6 million related to the March 2013 sale of its activated carbon manufacturing facility in Datong, China.
Credit Agreement
On November 6, 2013, the Company entered into a new U.S. Credit Agreement (Credit Agreement). The Credit Agreement replaces the Companys Prior U.S. Credit Facility (Prior Credit Facility). The Credit Agreement provides for a senior unsecured revolving credit facility (Revolver) in an amount up to $225.0 million which expires on November 6, 2018. The Company may request that the Revolver be extended for up to two additional one-year periods. A portion of the Revolver not in excess of $75.0 million shall be available for standby or letters of credit for trade, $15.0 million shall be available for swing loans, and $50.0 million shall be available for loans or letters of credit in certain foreign denominated currencies. The Company may have the option to increase the Revolver in an amount not to exceed $75.0 million with the consent of the Lenders. Availability under the Revolver is conditioned upon various customary conditions. Total availability under the Revolver at December 31, 2013 was $196.6 million after considering outstanding letters of credit and borrowings.
The Credit Agreement also provides for senior unsecured delayed draw term loans (Delayed Draw Term Loans) in an aggregate amount up to $75.0 million which expires on November 6, 2020. The Delayed Draw Term Loans are available for two years from the Closing Date. The Company may only request a maximum of three Delayed Draw Term Loans with a minimum borrowing of $15.0 million and no amount repaid may be re-borrowed. Total availability under the Delayed Draw Term Loan at December 31, 2013 was $75.0 million.
A quarterly nonrefundable commitment fee is payable by the Company based on the unused availability under the Revolver and the undrawn portion of the Delayed Draw Term Loans and is currently equal to 0.15%.
The interest rate on amounts owed under the Revolver and Delayed Draw Term Loans will be, at the Companys option, either (i) a fluctuating Base Rate based on the highest of (A) the prime rate announced from time to time by the Agent, (B) the daily federal funds open rate plus 0.50% and (C) a daily LIBOR rate plus 1.00%, (ii) a rate based on the published rated offered by leading banks in the London interbank deposit market (or other foreign country for non-Euro or U.S. denominated currencies) divided by a number equal to 1.00 minus the applicable LIBOR Reserve Percentage comparable borrowings and reserve requirements prescribed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States, in each case, plus an applicable margin based on the Companys leverage ratio as set forth in the Credit Agreement. The interest rate per annum on outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2013 ranged from 1.17% to 3.25%.
The Company incurred issuance costs of $0.7 million for the Credit Agreement which were deferred and are being amortized over the term of the Revolver and Delayed Draw Term Loan facilities.
Total outstanding borrowings under the Revolver were $26.3 million at December 31, 2013 and are shown as long-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet. There were no outstanding borrowings under the Delayed Draw Term Loan at December 31, 2013. The borrowings and repayments are presented on a gross basis within the Companys consolidated statement of cash flows.
Certain of the Companys Domestic Subsidiaries unconditionally guarantee all indebtedness and obligations related to borrowings under the Credit Agreement. The Companys obligations under the Credit Agreement are unsecured.
The Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants for credit facilities of this type. The Company is permitted to pay dividends so long as there remains $50.0 million of availability under the Credit Agreement and debt is less than or equal to 2.75x earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In addition, the Credit Agreement includes limitations on the Company and its subsidiaries with respect to indebtedness, additional liens, disposition of assets or subsidiaries, and transactions with affiliates. The Company must comply with certain financial covenants including minimum interest coverage ratio and maximum leverage ratio as defined within the Credit Agreement. The Company was in compliance with all such covenants as of December 31, 2013. The Credit Agreement also provides for customary events of default, including failure to pay principal or interest when due, breach of representations and warranties, certain insolvency or receivership events affecting the Company and its subsidiaries and a change in control of the Company. If an event of default occurs, the Lenders will be under no further obligations to make loans or issue Letters of Credit. Upon the occurrence of certain events of default, all outstanding obligations of the Company automatically will become immediately due and payable, and other events of default will allow the Agent to declare all or any portion of the outstanding obligations of the Company to be immediately due and payable.
Prior Credit Facility
The Companys Prior Credit Facility was terminated on November 6, 2013 and as a result, approximately $0.1 million of the previously deferred issuance costs were written off. The Prior Credit Facility was due to expire on May 8, 2014 and contained a revolving credit capacity of $125.0 million.
Availability under the Prior Credit Facility was dependent upon various customary conditions. A quarterly nonrefundable commitment fee was payable by the Company based on the unused availability under the Amended Credit Agreement and was equal to 0.25%. Total availability under the Prior Credit Facility at December 31, 2012 was $122.8 million after considering outstanding letters of credit and borrowings.
The interest rate on amounts owed under the Prior Credit Facility were, at the Companys option, either (i) a fluctuating base rate based on the highest of (A) the prime rate announced from time to time by the lenders, (B) the rate announced by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on that day as being the weighted average of the rates on overnight federal funds transactions arranged by federal funds brokers on the previous trading day plus 3.00% or (C) a daily LIBOR rate plus 2.75%, or (ii) LIBOR-based borrowings in one, two, three, or six month increments at the applicable LIBOR rate plus 1.25%. A margin could have been added to the applicable interest rate based on the Companys leverage ratio. The interest rate per annum on outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2012 ranged from 1.25% to 1.50%.
Total outstanding borrowings under the Prior Credit Facility were $44.3 million at December 31, 2012 and are shown as long-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet. The borrowings and repayments are presented on a gross basis within the Companys consolidated statement of cash flows.
The Prior Credit Facility contained customary affirmative and negative covenants for credit facilities of this type, including limitations on the Company and its subsidiaries with respect to indebtedness, liens, guaranties, loans and investments, dividends, mergers and acquisitions, dispositions of assets and transactions with affiliates. The Company had to comply with certain financial covenants including a minimum interest coverage ratio, maximum leverage ratio, and minimum net worth, as defined within the Prior Credit Facility. The Prior Credit Facility also provided for customary events of default, including failure to pay principal or interest when due, failure to comply with covenants, the fact that any representation or warranty made by the Company was false or misleading in any material respect, certain insolvency or receivership events affecting the Company and its subsidiaries and a change in control of the Company. If an event of default occurred, the lenders were under no further obligation to make loans or issue letters of credit. Upon the occurrence of certain events of default, all outstanding obligations of the Company automatically would have become immediately due and payable, and other events of default would allow the lenders to declare all or any portion of the outstanding obligations of the Company to be immediately due and payable.
Japanese Loans
Calgon Carbon Japan (CCJ) maintains a Term Loan Agreement (the Japanese Term Loan) and a Working Capital Loan Agreement (the Japanese Working Capital Loan). The Company is jointly and severally liable as the guarantor of CCJs
obligations and the Company permitted CCJ to grant a security interest and continuing lien in certain of its assets, including inventory and accounts receivable, to secure its obligations under both loan agreements.
The Japanese Term Loan provided for a principal amount of 722.0 million Japanese Yen, or $7.7 million at inception. This loan matured on March 31, 2013 and was repaid. CCJ signed an agreement on May 10, 2013 to renew the Japanese Term Loan, which provides for borrowings up to 1.0 billion Japanese Yen, and bears interest based on the Uncollateralized Overnight Call Rate plus 0.6%, which totaled 0.7% per annum at December 31, 2013. This loan matures on May 10, 2017. The borrowings and repayments are presented on a gross basis within the Companys consolidated statements of cash flows. At December 31, 2013, CCJ had 600 million Japanese Yen or $5.7 million outstanding and recorded as long-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet. At December 31, 2012, CCJ had 82.0 million Japanese Yen or $1.0 million outstanding and recorded as short-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet.
The Japanese Working Capital Loan provides for borrowings up to 1.5 billion Japanese Yen, and bears interest based on the Short-term Prime Rate, which was 1.475% per annum at December 31, 2013. This loan matured on March 31, 2013 and was renewed until March 31, 2014. Borrowings and repayments under the Japanese Working Capital Loan have generally occurred in short term intervals, as needed, in order to ensure adequate liquidity while minimizing outstanding borrowings. The borrowings and repayments are presented on a gross basis within the Companys consolidated statements of cash flows. At December 31, 2013, CCJ had 200 million Japanese Yen or $1.9 million outstanding and recorded as short-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet. At December 31, 2012, CCJ had 1.6 billion Japanese Yen or $18.6 million outstanding and recorded as short-term debt within the consolidated balance sheet.
Share Repurchases
In November 2012, the Companys Board of Directors authorized an accelerated share repurchase of Company common stock under a share repurchase program (the Program). On November 20, 2012, the Company paid a purchase price of $50 million and initially received 3,276,002 shares upon inception of the Program. The actual number of shares that the Company repurchased under the Program was determined based on a discount to the arithmetic mean of the volume-weighted average prices (VWAP) of the Companys common stock for each observation date over the course of applicable calculation period which ended on September 30, 2013. The actual number of shares repurchased was 340,334 shares less than the number of shares previously delivered, and as a result, the Company sold back that many shares to the counterparty in the form of a private placement of unregistered securities. The Companys outstanding common shares used to calculate earnings per share were reduced by the number of repurchased shares pursuant to the Program as they are delivered to the Company, and the $50 million purchase price was recorded as a reduction in stockholders equity upon its payment. The Company increased its diluted shares outstanding to reflect the 340,334 shares that were sold back in the form of the private placement (Refer to additional discussion in Note 10 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report). During the period January 1, 2014 through February 12, 2014, the Company repurchased an additional 781,900 shares at a total cost of $15.9 million. Subsequent to these repurchases, the Companys remaining authorization to repurchase its common stock is approximately $131.1 million.
In December 2013, the Companys Board of Directors approved an increase in the overall value of shares authorized for repurchase under its share repurchase program (the Program) to $150 million, excluding the November 2012 accelerated share repurchase. Subsequently, the Company initiated an open market share repurchase program whereby 146,800 shares were repurchased in 2013 at an average price per share of $20.37. These repurchases were funded primarily from operating cash flows and the shares are initially held as treasury stock (Refer to additional discussion in Note 10 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report).
Contractual Obligations
The Company is obligated to make future payments under various contracts such as debt agreements, lease agreements, and unconditional purchase obligations. At December 31, 2013, the weighted average effective interest rate applicable to the Companys borrowings was approximately 2.5%. The Companys long-term borrowings totaled $32.1 million at December 31, 2013. In accordance with its funding policy, the Company is also required to make minimum funding contributions to its pension plans which are estimated at $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2014. The following table represents the significant contractual cash obligations and other commercial commitments of the Company as of December 31, 2013.
|
|
Payments due by period |
| |||||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) |
|
Total |
|
Less than 1 year |
|
1-3 years |
|
3-5 years |
|
More than 5 years |
| |||||
Short-term debt |
|
$ |
2,172 |
|
$ |
2,172 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
Long-term debt |
|
32,114 |
|
|
|
|
|
32,114 |
|
|
| |||||
Interest |
|
1,947 |
|
428 |
|
807 |
|
712 |
|
|
| |||||
Operating leases |
|
19,621 |
|
6,878 |
|
7,461 |
|
3,639 |
|
1,643 |
| |||||
Unconditional purchase obligations(1) |
|
138,782 |
|
41,772 |
|
55,249 |
|
39,597 |
|
2,164 |
| |||||
Total contractual cash obligations |
|
$ |
194,636 |
|
$ |
51,250 |
|
$ |
63,517 |
|
$ |
76,062 |
|
$ |
3,807 |
|
(1)Primarily for the purchase of raw materials, transportation, and information systems services.
The long-term tax payable of $4.1 million, pertaining to the tax liability related to the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, has been excluded from the above table due to the fact that the Company is unable to determine the period in which the liability will be resolved.
The Company does not have any special-purpose entities.
The Company maintains qualified defined benefit pension plans (the Qualified Plans), which cover certain non-union and union employees in the United States and Europe. The Companys pension expense for all pension plans approximated $2.5 million (including a $1.1 million reduction in a multi-employer plan and a $0.3 million pension settlement charge) and $6.8 million (including a $1.4 million pension settlement charge and a $1.7 million multi-employer plan charge) for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The Company expects to record $0.6 million of pension benefit in 2014.
The fair value of the Companys Qualified Plan assets has increased from $116.4 million at December 31, 2012 to $129.4 million at December 31, 2013. The Pension Protection Act, passed into law in August 2006, prescribes a new methodology for determining the minimum amount that must be contributed to defined benefit pension plans which began in 2008. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company funded its Qualified Plans with $4.7 million in contributions. The Company expects that it will be required, in accordance with its funding policy, to fund the Qualified Plans with approximately $3.0 million in contributions for the year ending December 31, 2014. The Company may make additional contributions to its Qualified Plans in 2014 beyond the required funding. Additional voluntary contributions would be dependent upon, among other things, the Companys ongoing operating results and liquidity.
The Company did not declare or pay any dividends in 2013. Dividend declaration and payout are at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Future dividends will depend on the Companys earnings, cash flows, capital investment plans to pursue long-term growth opportunities, and share repurchases, if any.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company does not have any off-balance sheet financing arrangements except for the operating leases and unconditional purchase obligations disclosed above.
Capital Expenditures and Investments
Capital expenditures were $30.3 million in 2013, $60.7 million in 2012, and $72.1 million in 2011. Expenditures for 2013 included $26.0 million for improvements to manufacturing facilities including approximately $8.6 million related to the final construction of the Gila Bend, Arizona facility. Expenditures for 2012 included $50.5 million for improvements to manufacturing facilities including approximately $13.4 million related to the construction of the Gila Bend, Arizona facility and $13.4 million related to the capacity expansion at the Pearlington, Mississippi facility. Expenditures for 2011 included $61.0 million for improvements to manufacturing facilities including approximately $22.8 million related to the capacity expansion at the Feluy, Belgium facility and $10.2 million related to the construction of the Suzhou, China facility. Capital expenditures for 2014 are currently projected to be approximately $85.0 million. The aforementioned expenditures are expected to be funded by operating cash flows, cash on hand, and borrowings.
Proceeds for sales of property, plant and equipment were not significant in 2013 or 2012.
Proceeds from the sale of business were $0.6 million in 2013 and related to the sale of the Companys activated carbon manufacturing facility in Datong, China (Refer to Note 2 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report).
The Company received $1.7 million and $0.9 million in 2013 and 2012, respectively, of proceeds related to government grants in both the U.S. and Europe. In 2011, the Company received a one-time government grant of approximately $2.2 million related to the construction of its Suzhou, China reactivation facility. (Refer to Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report).
Cash and cash equivalents include $27.6 million and $16.0 million held by the Companys foreign subsidiaries at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Generally, cash and cash equivalents held by foreign subsidiaries are not readily available for use in the United States without adverse tax consequences. The Companys principal sources of liquidity are its cash flows from its operating activities or borrowings directly from its lines of credit. The Company does not believe the level of its non-U.S. cash position will have an adverse effect on working capital needs, planned growth, repayment of maturing debt, or benefit plan funding. The Company currently expects that cash from operating activities plus cash balances and available external financing will be sufficient to meet its cash requirements for the next twelve months. The cash needs of each of the Companys reporting segments are principally covered by the segments operating cash flow on a standalone basis. Any additional needs will be funded by cash on hand or borrowings under the Companys Revolving Credit Facility, Delayed Draw Term Loan, Japanese Working Capital Loan, or other credit facilities. Specifically, the Equipment and Consumer segments historically have not required extensive capital expenditures; therefore, the Company believes that operating cash flows, cash on hand, and borrowings will adequately support each of the segments cash needs.
Other
Carbon Imports
General Anti-Dumping Background: On March 8, 2006, the Company and another U.S. producer of activated carbon (collectively the Petitioners) formally requested that the United States Department of Commerce investigate unfair pricing of certain thermally activated carbon imported from the Peoples Republic of China.
On March 2, 2007, the Commerce Department published its final determination (subsequently amended) finding that imports of the subject merchandise from China were being unfairly priced, or dumped, and that anti-dumping duties should be imposed to offset the amount of the unfair pricing. Following a finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission that the domestic industry was injured by unfairly traded imports of activated carbon from China, an anti-dumping order imposing these tariffs was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce and was published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2007. All imports from China remain subject to the order. Importers of subject activated carbon from China are required to make cash deposits of estimated anti-dumping duties at the time the goods are entered into the United States customs territory. Final assessment of duties and duty deposits are subject to revision based on annual retrospective reviews conducted by the Commerce Department.
The Company is a domestic producer, exporter from China (through its wholly-owned subsidiary Calgon Carbon (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.), and a U.S. importer of the activated carbon that is subject to the anti-dumping order. As such, the Companys involvement in the Commerce Departments proceedings is both as a domestic producer (a petitioner) and as a foreign exporter (a respondent).
The Companys role as an importer, which has in the past (and may in the future) required it to pay anti-dumping duties, results in a contingent liability related to the final amount of tariffs that are ultimately assessed on the imported product following the Commerce Departments annual review of relevant shipments and calculation of the anti-dumping duties due. The amount of estimated anti-dumping tariffs payable on goods imported into the United States is subject to review and retroactive adjustment based on the actual amount of dumping that is found on entries made during a given annual period. As a result of proceedings before the Commerce Department that concluded in November 2013, the Company is currently required to post a duty of $0.073 per pound when importing activated carbon from Calgon Carbon (Tianjin) into the United States. As noted above, however, the Companys ultimate assessment rate and future cash deposit rate on such imports could change in the future, as a result of on-going proceedings before the Commerce Department.
As part of its standard process, the Commerce Department conducts annual reviews of sales made to the first unaffiliated U.S. customer, typically over the prior 12-month period. These reviews will be conducted for at least five years
subsequent to a determination in February 2013 finding that the anti-dumping duty order should remain in effect, and can result in changes to the anti-dumping tariff rate (either increasing or reducing the rate) applicable to any foreign exporter. Revision of tariff rates has two effects. First, it will alter the actual amount of tariffs that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) will collect for the period reviewed, by either collecting additional duties above those deposited with Customs by the importer at the time of entry or refunding a portion of the duties deposited at the time of importation to reflect a decline in the margin of dumping. If the actual amount of tariffs owed increases, Customs will require the U.S. importer to pay the difference, plus interest. Conversely, if the tariff rate decreases, any difference will be refunded by Customs to the U.S. importer with interest. Second, the revised rate becomes the cash deposit rate applied to future entries, and can either increase or decrease the amount of duty deposits an importer will be required to post at the time of importation.
There have been six periods of review since the tariffs began. Periods of Review I and II related to the periods that ended on March 31, 2008 and 2009, respectively, and are final and not subject to further review or appeal.
Period of Review III: On April 1, 2010, the Commerce Department published a formal notice allowing parties to request a third annual administrative review of the anti-dumping duty order covering the period April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010 (POR III). On October 31, 2011, the Commerce Department published the results of its review of POR III. Based on the POR III results, the Companys ongoing duty deposit rate was adjusted to zero. The Company recorded a receivable of $1.1 million reflecting expected refunds for duty deposits made during POR III as a result of the announced decrease in the POR III assessment rate. The Commerce Department continued to assign cooperative respondents involved in POR III a deposit rate of $0.127 per pound. In early December 2011, several separate rate respondents appealed the Commerce Departments final results of POR III. On August 15, 2013 the Court of International Trade (the Court) issued its opinion in the appeal of the POR III review results. The Court remanded the case back to the Commerce Department to reconsider certain surrogate values selected by the Department to value raw materials consumed by the respondents to produce steam activated carbon in China. The Court also instructed the Department to reconsider the separate rate applied to the non-responding companies and the use of per-unit rates for one respondent.
On January 9, 2014, the Commerce Department filed its remand redetermination with the U.S. Court of International Trade. In its redetermination, the Commerce Department continued to calculate a zero duty for imports of steam activated carbon entered into the United States by the Company during POR III. In addition, the Commerce Department revised its earlier determination and assigned a zero margin as a separate rate to several Chinese producers/exporters of steam activated carbon to the United States that were not subjected to an individual investigation. Those separate rate exporters had previously been assigned a margin of approximately $0.127 per pound. The Company plans to contest this aspect of the Commerce Departments redetermination and will be submitting comments to the Court of International Trade in that regard. A decision from the Court addressing the Commerce Departments redetermination is expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2014.
Period of Review IV: On April 1, 2011, the Commerce Department published a formal notice allowing parties to request a fourth annual administrative review of the anti-dumping duty order covering the period April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 (POR IV). On November 9, 2012, the Commerce Department published the final results of its review of POR IV. Specifically, the Commerce Department calculated anti-dumping margins for the mandatory respondents it examined ranging from $0.20 per pound (Jacobi Carbons AB and its affiliates) to $0.96 per pound (Ningxia Guanghua Cherishmet Activated Carbon Co., Ltd. and its affiliates), and it calculated an anti-dumping margin of $0.47 per pound for the cooperative, separate rate respondents whose shipments of activated carbon to the United States were not individually reviewed. The Commerce Department also calculated a zero anti-dumping margin for Datong Juqiang Activated Carbon Co., Ltd. The Company, as a Chinese exporter and a U.S. importer, elected not to participate as a respondent in this administrative review. By not participating as a respondent in the review, the Companys tariff deposits made at a rate of 14.51% during POR IV became final and are not subject to further adjustment. The Companys ongoing deposit rate continued to be zero, as a result of the company-specific rate calculated in POR III. Appeals challenging the Commerce Departments final results for POR IV were commenced before the U.S. Court of International Trade by Jacobi Carbons AB, Ningxia Guanghua Cherishment Activated Carbon Co., Ltd. and its affiliates; Tangshan Solid Carbon Co., Ltd.; Carbon Activated Corporation and Car Go Worldwide, Inc.; and Shanxi Industry Technology Trading Co., Ltd. The Company expects a decision from the Court on these appeals during the first quarter of 2014. Irrespective of whether the Court directs further analysis by the Commerce Department or affirms the agencys determination, the Company expects that this litigation will not directly impact its operations.
Period of Review V: On April 2, 2012, the Commerce Department published a formal notice allowing parties to request a fifth annual administrative review of the anti-dumping duty order covering the period April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012 (POR V). On November 26, 2013, the Commerce Department published the final results of its review of POR V. The Commerce Department calculated final antidumping duty margins for the two mandatory respondents, Jacobi Carbons AB and Ningxia Huahui Activated Carbon Co., of $0.01/lb. and $0.18/lb., respectively. Based on these antidumping margins, the Commerce Department calculated a margin of $0.07/lb. for cooperative exporters that were not individually reviewed but were found eligible to receive a separate rate. Albemarle Corporation, which was determined by the Commerce Department to be a domestic wholesaler of activated carbon, requested a review of Calgon Carbon (Tianjin). As a result, Calgon Carbon (Tianjin) was assigned the separate rate respondent margin of $0.07/lb.
On December 26, 2013, Albemarle Corporation and Ningxia Huahui Activated Carbon Co., Ltd. filed a summons with the U.S. Court of International Trade commencing a challenge of the Commerce Departments final results for POR V. On January 30, 2014 Albemarle Corporation and Ningxia Huahui Activated Carbon Co., Ltd elected not to pursue their appeal challenging the final results of the fifth administrative review. Because there is no further litigation challenging the final results of the fifth administrative review, U.S. Customs will proceed to liquidate the affected entries, assessing antidumping duties at the rates calculated in the final results.
Sunset Review: In March 2012, the Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) initiated proceedings as part of a five-year sunset review to evaluate whether the anti-dumping order should be continued for an additional five years. The Company, and two other U. S. producers of activated carbon, participated in the review to support continuation of the anti-dumping order for an additional five years. The Company maintained that the continuation of the anti-dumping order was appropriate as the Commerce Department has determined that Chinese producers and exporters have continued and, absent continuation of the anti-dumping order, will in the future continue to sell activated carbon in the United States at unfairly low prices. This is demonstrated by the positive anti-dumping duty margins and deposit rates determined during the various annual reviews conducted by the Commerce Department since the anti-dumping order took effect in April 2007. The Company asserted that the disciplining effect of the order played an important role in maintaining fair market pricing of the activated carbon market overall. Without the anti-dumping order in place, the Company argued that Chinese producers and exporters would resume or increase dumping of certain thermally activated carbon in the United States. Since the anti-dumping order was published, the Company has reduced its imports of covered activated carbon products from China and has increased production of activated carbon in the United States. On June 6, 2012, the Commerce Department published in the Federal Register its final results in an expedited sunset review, and determined that absent continuation of the anti-dumping order dumping of Chinese activated carbon in the United States would be likely to continue or recur. As a result, it determined the order should be continued for an additional five years.
On June 4, 2012 the ITC voted unanimously to conduct a full review of the anti-dumping order. As a result, the agency utilized a process similar to its original injury investigation, where the agency distributed detailed questionnaires to gather information for its investigation from domestic producers, foreign producers, U.S. importers, and purchasers, and conducted a hearing on December 18, 2012. The Company and the two other U.S. producers of activated carbon, as well as a U.S. importer of activated carbon, participated in the hearing. Based on the information gathered by the agency during its review, the ITC reached a unanimous affirmative determination on February 8, 2013, voting to continue the anti-dumping order for an additional five years. The Commerce Department published a notice in the Federal Register on March 18, 2013, stating that the anti-dumping order will be continued for an additional five years.
Period of Review VI: On April 2, 2013, the Commerce Department published a formal notice allowing parties to request a sixth annual administrative review of the anti-dumping duty order covering the period April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013 (POR VI). Requests for an administrative review were submitted to the Commerce Department in April 2013. On June 26, 2013, the Commerce Department announced its selection of Jacobi Carbons AB and Ningxia Guanghua Cherishmet Activated Carbon Co., Ltd. (and its affiliates) as the two mandatory respondents for POR VI. Albemarle Corporation has requested a review of Calgon Carbon (Tianjin) for POR VI. The analysis of POR VI began in the third quarter of 2013 and the preliminary results of the Commerce Departments review of POR VI are anticipated to be announced in late April or early May of 2014.
Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions: Pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA) of 2000 (repealed effective February 8, 2006), as an affected domestic producer, the Company is eligible to apply for a share of the distributions of certain tariffs collected on imports of subject merchandise from China that entered
the United States from October 11, 2006 to September 30, 2007. As a result, the Company is eligible to receive a distribution of duties collected on imports of certain activated carbon that entered the United States during a portion of POR I. In June 2013, June 2012, and July 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008, the Company applied for such distributions which are typically made in the fourth quarter of each calendar year. There were no additional amounts received by the Company for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010. In November 2009 and December 2008, the Company received distributions of approximately $0.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively, which reflected 59.57% of the total amount of duties then available and distributed by Customs in connection with the anti-dumping order on certain activated carbon from China.
CDSOA distributions related to POR I imports were on hold while the POR I final results for certain exporters were under appeal. All POR I appeals were subsequently resolved and Customs issued liquidation instructions in October 2011 for activated carbon entries affected by the appeal process involving POR I. The Company received $1.8 million in December 2012 related to the CDSOA distributions of which $1.5 million was reflected within the Companys statement of comprehensive income for the year ended December 31, 2012.
In December 2013, the Company received $0.1 million in connection with the CDSOA distributions for fiscal year 2013. This amount was equal to 59.57 percent of the duties distributed by CBP under the anti-dumping order on certain thermally activated carbon from China. The Company does not anticipate any further material CDSOA distributions in future years.
Critical Accounting Policies
Management of the Company has evaluated the accounting policies used in the preparation of the financial statements and related footnotes and believes the policies to be reasonable and appropriate. The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions regarding uncertainties that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Management uses historical experience and all available information to make these judgments and estimates, and actual results will inevitably differ from those estimates and assumptions that are used to prepare the Companys financial statements at any given time. Despite these inherent limitations, management believes that Managements Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and the financial statements and related footnotes provide a meaningful and fair perspective of the Company.
The following are the Companys critical accounting policies impacted by managements judgments, assumptions, and estimates. Management believes that the application of these policies on a consistent basis enables the Company to provide the users of the financial statements with useful and reliable information about the Companys operating results and financial condition.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue and related costs when goods are shipped or services are rendered to customers provided that ownership and risk of loss have passed to the customer, the price to the customer is fixed or determinable, and collection is reasonably assured. Revenue for major equipment projects is recognized under the percentage of completion method. The Companys major equipment projects generally have a long project life cycle from bid solicitation to project completion. The nature of the contracts are generally fixed price with milestone billings. The Company recognizes revenue for these projects based on the fixed sales prices multiplied by the percentage of completion. In applying the percentage of completion method, a projects percent complete as of any balance sheet date is computed as the ratio of total costs incurred to date divided by the total estimated costs at completion. As changes in the estimates of total costs at completion and/or estimated total losses on projects are identified, appropriate earnings adjustments are recorded during the period that the change or loss is identified. The Company has a history of making reasonably dependable estimates of costs at completion on contracts that follow the percentage of completion method; however, due to uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is possible that actual project costs at completion could vary from their estimates. The principal components of costs include material, direct labor, subcontracts, and allocated indirect costs. Indirect costs primarily consist of administrative labor and associated operating expenses, which are allocated to the respective projects on actual hours charged to the project utilizing a standard hourly rate.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquired business over the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Identifiable intangible assets acquired in business combinations are recorded based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. In accordance with guidance within Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 350 Intangibles Goodwill and Other, goodwill and identifiable intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization but must be evaluated for impairment. None of the Companys identifiable intangible assets other than goodwill have indefinite lives.
The Company has elected to perform the annual impairment test of its goodwill, as required, on December 31 of each year by initially comparing the fair value of each of the Companys reporting units to their related carrying values. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, the Company performs an additional step to determine the implied fair value of the goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by first allocating the fair value of the reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities of the unit and then computing the excess of the units fair value over the amounts assigned to the assets and liabilities. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, such excess represents the amount of goodwill impairment, and the Company recognizes such impairment accordingly. Fair values are estimated using discounted cash flow and other valuation methodologies that are based on projections of the amounts and timing of future revenues and cash flows, assumed discount rates and other assumptions as deemed appropriate. The Company also considers such factors as historical performance, anticipated market conditions, operating expense trends and capital expenditure requirements. The Company has six reporting units for purposes of goodwill evaluation. These reporting units consist of (1) the Activated Carbon and Service segment which is segregated into two regional reporting units, the Americas and Europe, (2) the Equipment segment which is segregated by technology (a) traditional carbon adsorption, (b) ultra violet light, (c) ion exchange, and (3) the Consumer segment which includes the charcoal cloth reporting unit. The fair value of the Companys reporting units substantially exceeds the carrying value of its goodwill at December 31, 2013.
The Companys identifiable intangible assets other than goodwill have finite lives. Certain of these intangible assets, such as customer relationships, are amortized using an accelerated methodology while others, such as patents, are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. In addition, intangible assets with finite lives are evaluated for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable, as prescribed by ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment.
Pensions
The Company maintains Qualified Plans which cover certain union and non-union employees in the United States and Europe. Pension expense, which totaled $2.5 million in 2013 (including a $1.1 million reduction in a multi-employer pension plan) and $6.8 million in 2012 (including a $1.4 million U.S. pension settlement charge and a $1.7 million multi-employer pension charge), is calculated based upon a number of actuarial assumptions, including expected long-term rates of return on the Companys Qualified Plans assets, which range from 4.91% to 7.75%. In developing the expected long-term rate of return assumption, the Company evaluated input from its investment advisors, including their review of asset class return expectations as well as long-term inflation assumptions. The Company also considered historical returns on asset classes, investment mix, and investment manager performance. The expected long-term return on the U.S. Qualified Plans assets is based on an asset allocation assumption of approximately 52% with equity securities, 43% with fixed-income securities, and 5% with other investments. The European Qualified Plans assets are based on an asset allocation assumption of approximately 34% with equity securities, 52% with fixed-income securities, and 14% with other investments. The Company regularly reviews its asset allocation and periodically rebalances its investments to the targeted allocation when considered appropriate. The Company will continue to evaluate its actuarial assumptions, including its expected rate of return, at least annually, and will adjust as necessary.
The discount rate that the Company utilizes for its Qualified Plans to determine pension obligations is based on a review of long-term bonds that receive one of the two highest ratings given by a recognized rating agency. The discount rate determined on this basis has increased from a range of 3.92% to 3.95% at December 31, 2012 to a range of 3.92% to 4.88% at December 31, 2013. The Company estimates that it will record a pension benefit for the Qualified Plans that will approximate $0.6 million in 2014. Future actual pension expense will depend on future investment performance, funding levels, changes in discount rates and various other factors related to the populations participating in its Qualified Plans.
A sensitivity analysis of the projected incremental effect of a hypothetical one percent change in the significant assumptions used in the pension calculations is provided in the following table:
|
|
Hypothetical Rate Increase (Decrease) |
| ||||||||||
|
|
U.S. Plans |
|
European Plans |
| ||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) |
|
(1%) |
|
1% |
|
(1%) |
|
1% |
| ||||
Discount rate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Pension liabilities at December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
14,402 |
|
$ |
(12,600 |
) |
$ |
8,371 |
|
$ |
(6,532 |
) |
Pension costs for the year ended December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
983 |
|
$ |
(1,274 |
) |
$ |
322 |
|
$ |
(129 |
) |
Indexation(1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Pension liabilities at December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
(3,161 |
) |
$ |
4,196 |
|
Pension costs for the year ended December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
(182 |
) |
$ |
351 |
|
Expected return on plan assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Pension costs for the year ended December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
859 |
|
$ |
(859 |
) |
$ |
261 |
|
$ |
(262 |
) |
Compensation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Pension liabilities at December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
(939 |
) |
$ |
939 |
|
$ |
(730 |
) |
$ |
1,007 |
|
Pension costs for the year ended December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
(235 |
) |
$ |
235 |
|
$ |
(148 |
) |
$ |
204 |
|
(1) Pension indexation related to the Companys German Qualified Plan is regulated by German pension law. The law dictates that a pension that is already in payment must be adjusted for inflation every 3 years which is measured by the published German price index for the same time interval. Pension indexation related to the Companys UK Chemviron Plan is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the UK . For this plan, the index is capped at 5% per annum for pensions accrued prior to April 6, 2005 and is capped at 2.5% per annum for pensions accrued after April 5, 2005. For purposes of the Companys Sutcliffe Speakman plan, the indexation is fixed at 3% per annum for pensions accrued prior to 1997 and in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) for pensions accrued after 1996. For those pensions accrued from 1997 to July 31, 2005, the index is subject to a minimum of 3% per annum and a maximum of 5% per annum. For those pensions accrued after July 31, 2005, the index is capped at 2.5% per annum.
Income Taxes
During the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Significant judgment is required in determining the Companys annual effective tax rate and in evaluating tax positions. The Company utilizes guidance within ASC 740 Income Taxes regarding the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. This guidance contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement.
Although the Company believes it has adequately reserved for its uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. The Company adjusts these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, the refinement of an estimate, or a lapse of a tax statute. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as the related penalties and net interest.
The Company is subject to varying statutory tax rates in the countries where it conducts business. Fluctuations in the mix of the Companys income between countries will result in changes to the Companys overall effective tax rate.
The Company recognizes benefits associated with foreign and domestic net operating loss and credit carryforwards when the Company believes that it is more likely than not that its future taxable income in the relevant tax jurisdictions will be sufficient to enable the realization of the tax benefits. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had recorded total deferred tax assets of $32.8 million, of which $5.5 million represents tax benefits resulting from $1.1 million of unused foreign tax credits, $2.0 million of net operating losses, $1.6 million of state tax credits, and a capital loss carryover of $0.8 million. Approximately $0.8 million of the $2.0 million of operating loss carryovers will expire in 2017 and 2018. State operating loss carryforwards of $0.9 million, net, expire from 2014 to 2033 of which approximately 88% will not expire before 2020.
The Company periodically reviews the need for a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets and recognizes these deferred tax assets to the extent that realization is more likely than not. Based upon a review of earnings history and trends, forecasted earnings and the relevant expiration of carryforwards, the Company believes that the valuation allowances provided are appropriate. At December 31, 2013, the Company has recorded a valuation allowance of approximately $1.0 million related to a domestic capital loss carryover and a state tax credit.
Approximately 86% of the Companys deferred tax assets, or $28.2 million, represent temporary differences associated with pensions, accruals, and inventories. Approximately 82% of the Companys deferred tax liabilities of $39.1
million at December 31, 2013 relate to property, plant and equipment. These temporary differences will reverse in the future due to the natural realization of temporary differences between annual book and tax reporting. The Company believes that the deferred tax liabilities generally will impact taxable income of the same character (ordinary income), timing, and jurisdiction as the deferred tax assets.
Litigation
The Company is involved in various asserted and unasserted legal claims. An estimate is made to accrue for a loss contingency relating to any of these legal claims if it is probable that a liability was incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Because of the subjective nature inherent in assessing the outcome of legal claims and because the potential that an adverse outcome in a legal claim could have a material impact on the Companys legal position or results of operations, such estimates are considered to be critical accounting estimates. Legal fees associated with defending these various lawsuits and claims are expensed when incurred. The Company will continue to evaluate all legal matters as additional information becomes available. Reference is made to Note 17 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report for a discussion of litigation and contingencies.
Long-Lived Assets
The Company evaluates long-lived assets under the provisions of ASC 360 Property, Plant, and Equipment, which addresses financial accounting and reporting for the impairment of long-lived assets, and for disposal of long-lived assets. For assets to be held and used, the Company groups a long-lived asset or assets with other assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. An impairment loss for an asset group reduces only the carrying amounts of a long-lived asset or assets of the group being evaluated. The loss is allocated to the long-lived assets of the group on a pro-rata basis using the relative carrying amounts of those assets, except that the loss allocated to an individual long-lived asset of the group does not reduce the carrying amount of that asset below its fair value whenever that fair value is determinable without undue cost and effort. Estimates of future cash flows used to test the recoverability of a long-lived asset group include only the future cash flows that are directly associated with and that are expected to arise as a direct result of the use and eventual disposition of the asset group.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In January 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU No. 2013-01, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets or Liabilities, or ASU No. 2013-01. ASU 2013-01 clarifies the scope of ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, or ASU 2011-11. ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of its financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position. Entities are required to disclose both gross and net information for these instruments. Both ASU 2013-01 and ASU 2011-11 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. Please refer to Note 16 for the required annual disclosure.
In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-02, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, or ASU No. 2013-02. ASU 2013-02 requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income. For amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. ASU 2013-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. Please refer to Note 14 and the Companys consolidated statements of comprehensive income for required annual disclosure.
In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-04, Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date, or ASU No. 2013-04. ASU 2013-04 requires an entity to measure obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date, as the sum of the amount the reporting entity agreed
to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors and any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. ASU 2013-04 also requires the nature and amount of the obligation as well as other information about those obligations to be disclosed. ASU 2013-04 is effective for fiscal and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013 and should be applied retrospectively. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-10, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (or Overnight Index Swap Rate) as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes, or ASU No. 2013-10. ASU 2013-10 permits the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (OIS) to be used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes, in addition to U.S. Treasury and LIBOR. ASU 2013-10 also removes the restriction on using different benchmark rates for similar hedges. ASU 2013-10 is effective prospectively for qualifying new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013. The adoption of this ASU has not had a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-11, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists, or ASU No. 2013-11. ASU 2013-11 requires that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. To the extent one of these items is not available at the reporting date; the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. ASU 2013-11 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013 and should be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
Outlook
Activated Carbon and Service
The Company continues to estimate that for the period 2012 through 2017, the world-wide activated carbon market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 10.8%. The Companys activated carbon and service sales volume for 2013 increased over 2012. Sales volume growth has come from several sources including the ongoing impacts of environmental regulations as discussed below. These regulations are expected to lead to volume increases in 2014 and more significant volume increases in future years. To meet the expected increase in activated carbon demand, the Company recently completed the expansion of its Pearl River facility by 20% - adding 8 million pounds of production per year. In addition, a similar project to expand one of the Companys three virgin production lines at its Big Sandy facility will commence in 2014. Other sources of capacity include increased utilization of the Companys activated carbon reactivation capacity in all three of its regions (Americas, Europe and Asia); operational improvements at the Companys virgin carbon manufacturing facilities due to new capital investments; a third-party plant efficiency study to be completed in the first half of 2014; an ongoing product rationalization project that has provided a reduction in SKUs of 45%; and, the sale of outsourced carbons. Finally, the Company continues to evaluate other opportunities for virgin activated carbon expansion including a new facility or a significant expansion of one of the Companys existing facilities. Impediments to growth in 2014 could include an economic slowdown in any or all of the regions served and, in the future, could also include impacts from delays in environmental regulations further discussed below.
The Company believes that fair pricing for activated carbon in the United States of America is being achieved via the application of a tariff imposed on Chinese steam activated carbon. Under the anti-dumping rules, importers of steam activated carbon from China are potentially required to pay anti-dumping duties. The Commerce Department conducts reviews in order to determine whether changes (increases or decreases) should be made to the anti-dumping tariff rate applicable to any foreign exporter. These retrospective reviews occur annually while the anti-dumping duty order (the order) is in effect (the current order is scheduled to expire in March 2017). The Companys most recent price increase was announced in February 2013. Because of existing contracts, outstanding bids and other factors, it typically takes approximately 12 months for the full effect of a price increase to be realized.
Raw material costs for production in 2014 are expected to decline compared to 2013. The most significant raw material cost is coal. The quantity of coal consumed varies based on the overall production levels achieved as well as the
mix of products manufactured during the year. The Company expects its total cost of coal to decrease in 2014 as a result of lower pricing achieved in its two recently signed, five-year coal contracts. These contracts represent approximately 70% of the Companys current annual coal requirements. As of December 31, 2013, the Company has approximately 80% of its 2014 anticipated coal requirements under contract or in inventory.
The Company continues to make research and development expenditures primarily related to its advanced FLUEPAC® products. These products were introduced to significantly reduce the amount of powdered activated carbon (PAC) required for mercury removal from coal-fired power plant flue gas when compared to competing products. PAC is recognized today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the leading abatement technology for mercury removal from coal-fired power plant flue gas. The current U.S. driver of sales to coal-fired power plants is state regulations. However, on December 21, 2011, the U.S. EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) requiring mercury and other substances to be removed from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants. The final MATS regulation was published in the Federal Register on February 16, 2012 and became effective on April 16, 2012. Compliance with MATS will generally be required three years from the effective date (April 2015). Exceptions for newly installed equipment and/or reliability critical paths could potentially delay implementation for applicable power plants up to an additional two years. As of December 31, 2013, the Company believes that approximately 170 units have been granted a one-year extension by at least 20 different states. The Company cannot predict when the other MATS legal challenges will be resolved.
In addition to MATS, the EPA has promulgated mercury removal regulations related to industrial boilers and cement manufacturers. Compliance dates for cement manufacturers and industrial boilers are currently September 9, 2015 and January 31, 2016, respectively. The Company suspects that these regulations could continue to be challenged and that compliance implementation for MATS or for these other mercury removal regulations may be delayed. There are also mercury removal regulations for the flue gas of coal-fired power plants in effect for certain Canadian provinces.
The Company believes that mercury removal could become the largest U.S. market for activated carbon and has made great strides in establishing itself as a market leader. The Company estimates that the current annual demand for mercury removal in North America is 120 million to 150 million pounds and may grow to as much as 380 million to 765 million pounds by 2016. However, today the North American activated carbon supply capacity for this market is greater than current demand. As a result, pricing in this market has deteriorated. The Company expects this trend to continue in the near future until compliance with MATS draws nearer. The Company believes its advanced products for mercury which have carbon usage rates of 50% to 70% less than alternative products, are important to its ongoing success in this market.
Compliance with other proposed emissions regulations such as the EPAs Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and Carbon Pollution Standards (CPS) could significantly impact the amount of carbon utilized by electric utilities for compliance with MATS. In September 2013, the EPA released a Carbon Pollution Standards proposal for new electric generating units. The standards for new units will have little impact on activated carbon usage in the future; however, the EPA is planning to propose CPS for existing electric generating units in June of 2014. The Company anticipates that the CPS for existing units could have a negative impact on future activated carbon demand for electric generators. In addition, a federal appeals court vacated CSAPR and a replacement or modified rule is not expected to be promulgated by the EPA for at least three years. Additional hearings are expected that will further clarify or modify these rules, their implementation dates, and requirements. The Company believes the majority of U.S. electric utilities are awaiting further resolution of MATS, the Carbon Pollution Standards proposal for existing electric generating units, and a final determination as it relates to CSAPR before implementing an integrated treatment approach to more broadly address how to invest in pollution control equipment across their power plant fleet. In addition, long-term lower natural gas costs will likely also impact this market as electric generation facilities could shift production from coal to natural gas. Plant closures and/or wet scrubbing equipment installations would reduce the amount of carbon used for mercury removal. In addition, wide-spread adoption of the Companys advanced mercury removal products could also reduce the pounds of activated carbon needed. Adverse market conditions coupled with a strong adoption of the Companys advanced mercury removal carbons, could significantly reduce the eventual market volume opportunity to a level below the low end of aforementioned forecasted demand of 380 million to 765 million pounds. However, in that case, the Company could expect to increase its share of this market.
In addition to mercury regulations in North America, China has announced plans for mercury removal from its coal-fired power plants. The plans, as announced, stipulate levels of mercury removal that would not likely result in large activated carbon sales. However, trials will purportedly be conducted to establish removal requirements.
The need for municipal drinking water utilities to comply with the EPAs Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (the DBP Rule) is another growth driver for the Company. Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) are compounds that form when natural occurring organic materials in drinking water sources react with the chemicals used to disinfect the water. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is recognized by the EPA as a best available control technology (BACT) for the reduction of DBPs. The EPA promulgated the DBP Rule in 2006, and requires water utilities to be in compliance with the rule in a phased manner between 2012 and 2015. The Company currently estimates that this regulation may increase the annual demand for GAC by municipal water utilities in the United States to more than 70 million pounds by 2015. This market also provides an opportunity for the Companys service business by converting customers from the use of virgin carbon to reactivated carbon. The Companys reactivation facilities in Arizona, California, New York, and Ohio have all received certification from the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International. This certification verifies that potable custom reactivated carbon is safe for reuse in municipal water treatment applications.
During the second quarter of 2011, the city of Phoenix, Arizona selected the Company to reactivate for a ten-year period approximately 11 million pounds of spent activated carbon, used to prevent the formation of DBPs. The contract with Phoenix included the construction of a reactivation facility in Gila Bend, Arizona. The reactivation facility, owned and operated by the Company, serves as a regional center, providing custom reactivation services for other municipalities in the Southwestern U.S. that utilize GAC to treat their drinking water, including two additional cities in Arizona whose representatives served on the selection panel and have also entered into ten year contracts with us for reactivation services.
In Europe, the Company was awarded a multi-year contract by a large water provider in the United Kingdom (UK), similar to its contract with the city of Phoenix. The Company will supply virgin carbon and reactivation services for up to a ten year period and plans to restart and upgrade its Tipton plant in the UK for that purpose. The planned upgrades are estimated to require $9.5 million of capital expenditures and will be completed in stages. This plant, having a current estimated annual capacity of approximately 11 million pounds, will begin undergoing equipment modifications and a significant capacity expansion during 2014 and is planned to return to operation in late 2014 with the additional capacity and planned upgrades completed in 2015.
China also announced that it will commit billions of dollars to water and wastewater improvements.
Equipment
The Companys equipment business is somewhat cyclical in nature and depends on both regulations and the general health of the overall economy. The Company believes that U.S. demand for its ultraviolet light (UV) systems will continue, as smaller municipalities must meet implementation deadlines through 2015 for EPA regulations to treat for Cryptosporidium in drinking water. Worldwide firm bid opportunities for UV systems for the municipal market remained somewhat slow in 2013. However, UV remains the technology of choice for controlling Cryptosporidium and Giardia under the U.S. EPA LT2 regulations, and smaller communities will need to implement over the coming years.
The Company also believes that demand for its ballast water treatment systems will continue to grow. The U.S. Coast Guard issued its ballast water treatment rule on March 23, 2012 (Coast Guard Rule). The Coast Guard Rule addresses the transportation of potentially harmful organisms through ballast water and ultimately requires U.S. Type Approval for treatment systems used in U.S. waters. Ships wishing to release ballast water into U.S. waters must operate an acceptable treatment system on all ships built after December 1, 2013; on medium sized ships after their first dry-dock after January 1, 2014; and, on small and large ships after their first dry-dock after January 1, 2016. The Coast Guard Rules discharge limits match the numerical limits proposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) but the Coast Guard is more prescriptive as to testing methodology than is the IMO. The only test method currently referenced in the Coast Guard Rule cannot measure the effectiveness of UV based systems like the Companys Hyde GUARDIAN® and the other best selling systems. The Coast Guard in conjunction with the EPA is considering alternate test methods used by other nations to approve UV based ballast water treatment systems. Hyde Marine and other ballast water treatment system manufacturers whose technology includes the use of ultraviolet light, routinely used in the disinfection of drinking water, are working with the Coast Guard and the EPA in an effort to clarify the criteria in the Coast Guard Rule.
In 2012, the Coast Guard approved NSF International (NSF), located in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the first Independent Laboratory to work with manufacturers in the Type Approval process for ballast water treatment systems. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) AS, located in Hovik, Norway, became the second entity to achieve the status of an Independent Laboratory (IL) in June 2013. The ILs are just gearing up to work with manufacturers on testing for US Type Approval a
process that is expected to take up to three years. In the interim, ships may discharge ballast water in U.S. ports for a period of five years if they operate a ballast water treatment system that has been designated as an Alternate Management System (AMS) by the Coast Guard. To qualify for this status, the equipment supplier must possess an international Type Approval, and must demonstrate to the Coast Guard that the equipment performs at least as well as ballast water exchange. The Company was granted AMS status for its Hyde GUARDIAN® ballast water treatment system effective April 15, 2013.
In 2004, the IMO adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWMC) which, like the Coast Guard Rule, addresses the transportation of potentially harmful organisms through ballast water. The regulations requiring ballast water treatment will become effective one year after 30 countries representing 35% of the worlds shipping tonnage ratify the BWMC. The BWMC has now been signed by 38 countries representing 30.4% of the worlds current shipping tonnage. The BWMC is expected to be phased in over a ten-year period and, coupled with the Coast Guard Rule, will require more than 64,000 vessels to install ballast water treatment systems. The Company believes that the total ballast water treatment market will approximate $28 billion after ratification of the BWMC.
The Hyde GUARDIAN® system, which employs filtration and ultraviolet light technology to filter and disinfect ballast water, offers cost, safety, and technological advantages. Hyde GUARDIAN® has received Type Approval from Lloyds Register on behalf of the U.K. Maritime and Coast Guard Agency which confirms compliance with the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention. Hyde GUARDIAN® has also received Class Society Type Approval from Lloyds Register (LR), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and Russian Maritime Registry of Shipping (RS). The strategic acquisition of Hyde Marine has provided the Company immediate entry into a global, regulation driven market with major long-term growth potential. To date, most of the Hyde GUARDIAN® systems sold have been for new ship builds but long term, most of Hydes sales will be for systems retrofitted into existing ships. During 2012 and 2013, the number of new ship builds was significantly lower than in prior years and the retrofit market for ballast water equipment has yet to ramp up owing to the delay in ratification of the IMO BWMC. This has resulted in a decline in Hyde GUARDIAN® orders. During 2013, the Company sold 64 ballast water treatment systems. During 2012 and 2011, the Company sold 68 and 82 ballast water treatment systems, respectively. Subsequent to the January 2010 acquisition of Hyde Marine, the Company has sold over 300 systems valued at approximately $67 million.
Backlog for the Equipment segment as of December 31, 2013, was $19.4 million while backlog at December 31, 2012 was $31.9 million. The decrease in backlog from year-end 2012 is primarily due to the temporary decline in Hyde Marines backlog as new ship builds remain below historical levels and the retrofit market is only beginning to develop.
Consumer
Sales of activated carbon cloth increased $0.3 million or 2.6% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The Company believes this business will grow modestly again in 2014 due to increased demand in its primary markets - medical and defense.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk:
Commodity Price Risk
In the normal course of its business, the Company is exposed to market risk or price fluctuations related to the production of activated carbon products. Coal and natural gas, which are significant to the manufacturing of activated carbon, have market prices that fluctuate regularly. Based on the estimated 2014 usage and price of coal and natural gas not under contract as of January 1, 2014, a hypothetical 10% increase (or decrease) in the price of coal and natural gas, would result in the pre-tax loss (or gain) of $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively.
To mitigate the risk of fluctuating prices, the Company has entered into long-term contracts to hedge the purchase of a percentage of the estimated need of coal and natural gas at fixed prices. The future commitments under these long-term contracts, which provide economic hedges, are disclosed within Note 9 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report. The fair value of the cash-flow hedges for natural gas is disclosed in Note 16 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Interest Rate Risk
The Companys net exposure to interest rate risk consists primarily of borrowings under its U.S. and Japanese borrowing arrangements described within Note 7 of the Companys consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report. The Companys U.S. Credit Facility bears interest at rates that are based off of the prime rate, LIBOR, or Fed Funds rate, plus a margin rate based on the Companys leverage ratio. At December 31, 2013, the Company had $26.3 million of borrowings under the U.S. Credit Facility agreement. The Companys Japanese Credit Facility and Japanese loan agreements also bear interest at variable rates. At December 31, 2013, the Company had $7.6 million of borrowings under the various Japanese credit agreements. A hypothetical one percentage point increase in the interest rates on the December 31, 2013 outstanding balances under the Companys variable rate borrowing arrangements would cause annual interest expense to increase by $0.3 million.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
The Company is subject to risk of price fluctuations related to anticipated revenues and operating costs, firm commitments for capital expenditures, and existing assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. The Company enters into foreign currency forward exchange contracts and purchases options to manage these exposures. A hypothetical 10% strengthening (or weakening) of the U.S. dollar against the British Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Mexican Peso, Brazilian Real, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, Singapore Dollar, Danish Krone, Swedish Krona, and Euro at December 31, 2013 would result in a pre-tax loss (or gain) of approximately $1.9 million. The foreign currency forward exchange contracts purchased during 2013 have been accounted for according to Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 815 Derivatives and Hedging.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data:
Responsibility for Financial Statements
Management is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements included in this Annual Report. The Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and include amounts that are based on the best estimates and judgments of management.
Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Companys internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance concerning the reliability of the financial data used in the preparation of the Companys financial statements, as well as reasonable assurance with respect to safeguarding the Companys assets from unauthorized use or disposition. However, no matter how well designed and operated, an internal control system can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.
Management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013. In making this evaluation, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992). Managements evaluation included reviewing the documentation of our controls, evaluating the design effectiveness of controls, and testing their operating effectiveness. Based on this evaluation, management believes that, as of December 31, 2013, the Companys internal controls over financial reporting were effective.
The effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013, has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, who also audited our consolidated financial statements. Deloitte & Touche LLPs attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting appears on the next page.
Changes in Internal Control
In the fourth quarter of 2013, there have been no changes to our internal control over financial reporting that occurred that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
INTERNAL CONTROLS REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Calgon Carbon Corporation
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Calgon Carbon Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Companys management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Companys internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A companys internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the companys principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the companys board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A companys internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the companys assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013, based on the criteria established in Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 of the Company and our reports dated February 28, 2014 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial statement schedule.
/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP |
|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|
February 28, 2014 |
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Calgon Carbon Corporation
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Calgon Carbon Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, shareholders equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Calgon Carbon Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2013, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Companys internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013, based on the criteria established in Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 28, 2014, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Companys internal control over financial reporting.
/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP |
|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|
February 28, 2014 |
|
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Calgon Carbon Corporation
|
|
Year Ended December 31 |
| |||||||
(Dollars in thousands except per share data) |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
|
2011 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Net sales |
|
$ |
547,939 |
|
$ |
562,255 |
|
$ |
541,472 |
|
Cost of products sold (excluding depreciation) |
|
366,962 |
|
392,382 |
|
364,384 |
| |||
Depreciation and amortization |
|
28,938 |
|
26,320 |
|
24,337 |
| |||
Selling, general and administrative expenses |
|
76,958 |
|
85,345 |
|
87,926 |
| |||
Research and development expenses |
|
6,037 |
|
8,025 |
|
7,930 |
| |||
Restructuring (Note 2) |
|
(129 |
) |
10,211 |
|
|
| |||
Litigation and other contingencies (Note 17) |
|
284 |
|
111 |
|
(337 |
) | |||
|
|
479,050 |
|
522,394 |
|
484,240 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Income from operations |
|
68,889 |
|
39,861 |
|
57,232 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Interest income |
|
136 |
|
35 |
|
467 |
| |||
Interest expense |
|
(462 |
) |
(80 |
) |
|
| |||
Other expense net |
|
(1,364 |
) |
(2,480 |
) |
(1,309 |
) | |||
Income before income tax provision |
|
67,199 |
|
37,336 |
|
56,390 |
| |||
Income tax provision (Note 13) |
|
21,486 |
|
14,064 |
|
17,166 |
| |||
Net income |
|
45,713 |
|
23,272 |
|
39,224 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax (Note 14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Foreign currency translation |
|
(305 |
) |
1,197 |
|
(1,123 |
) | |||
Derivatives |
|
424 |
|
854 |
|
756 |
| |||
Employee benefit plans |
|
15,268 |
|
(5,061 |
) |
(9,076 |
) | |||
Total other comprehensive income (loss) |
|
15,387 |
|
(3,010 |
) |
(9,443 |
) | |||
Total comprehensive income |
|
$ |
61,100 |
|
$ |
20,262 |
|
$ |
29,781 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Basic net income per common share |
|
$ |
0.85 |
|
$ |
0.41 |
|
$ |
0.70 |
|
Diluted net income per common share |
|
$ |
0.84 |
|
$ |
0.41 |
|
$ |
0.69 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Weighted average shares outstanding, in thousands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Basic |
|
53,898 |
|
56,305 |
|
56,243 |
| |||
Diluted |
|
54,671 |
|
56,836 |
|
56,994 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Calgon Carbon Corporation
|
|
December 31 |
| ||||
(Dollars in thousands except per share data) |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
| ||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Assets |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Current assets: |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
32,942 |
|
$ |
18,161 |
|
Receivables, net of allowance for losses of $1,328 and $1,362 |
|
96,996 |
|
101,918 |
| ||
Revenue recognized in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts |
|
8,090 |
|
14,680 |
| ||
Inventories |
|
109,517 |
|
107,166 |
| ||
Deferred income taxes current |
|
20,787 |
|
17,317 |
| ||
Other current assets |
|
13,118 |
|
13,964 |
| ||
Total current assets |
|
281,450 |
|
273,206 |
| ||
Property, plant and equipment, net |
|
266,849 |
|
262,993 |
| ||
Intangibles, net |
|
5,602 |
|
7,388 |
| ||
Goodwill |
|
26,552 |
|
27,030 |
| ||
Deferred income taxes long-term |
|
3,791 |
|
3,558 |
| ||
Other assets |
|
5,834 |
|
3,594 |
| ||
Total assets |
|
$ |
590,078 |
|
$ |
577,769 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Liabilities and Shareholders Equity |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
|
$ |
57,213 |
|
$ |
76,214 |
|
Restructuring reserve |
|
535 |
|
3,226 |
| ||
Billings in excess of revenue recognized on uncompleted contracts |
|
5,406 |
|
3,865 |
| ||
Payroll and benefits payable |
|
14,144 |
|
10,114 |
| ||
Accrued income taxes |
|
2,726 |
|
2,666 |
| ||
Short-term debt |
|
2,172 |
|
19,565 |
| ||
Total current liabilities |
|
82,196 |
|
115,650 |
| ||
Long-term debt |
|
32,114 |
|
44,408 |
| ||
Deferred income taxes long-term |
|
30,902 |
|
12,379 |
| ||
Accrued pension and other liabilities |
|
28,361 |
|
54,035 |
| ||
Total liabilities |
|
173,573 |
|
226,472 |
| ||
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 9 and 17) |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Shareholders equity: |
|
|
|
|
| ||
Common shares, $.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 57,232,050 and 56,450,632 shares issued |
|
572 |
|
564 |
| ||
Additional paid-in capital |
|
170,320 |
|
168,599 |
| ||
Retained earnings |
|
316,224 |
|
270,511 |
| ||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
|
(1,140 |
) |
(16,527 |
) | ||
|
|
485,976 |
|
423,147 |
| ||
Treasury stock, at cost, 6,242,326 and 6,415,176 shares |
|
(69,471 |
) |
(71,850 |
) | ||
Total shareholders equity |
|
416,505 |
|
351,297 |
| ||
Total liabilities and shareholders equity |
|
$ |
590,078 |
|
$ |
577,769 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Calgon Carbon Corporation
|
|
Year Ended December 31 |
| |||||||
(Dollars in thousands) |
|
2013 |
|
2012 |
|
2011 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Cash flows from operating activities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Net income |
|
$ |
45,713 |
|
$ |
23,272 |
|
$ |
39,224 |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Depreciation and amortization |
|
28,938 |
|
26,320 |
|
24,337 |
| |||
Employee benefit plan provisions |
|
2,451 |
|
5,431 |
|
2,026 |
| |||
Stock-based compensation |
|
3,128 |
|
2,434 |
|
2,577 |
| |||
Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation |
|
|
|
|
|
143 |
| |||
Deferred income tax expense |
|
4,935 |
|
443 |
|
13,354 |
| |||
Restructuring (Note 2) |
|
(129 |
) |
10,211 |
|
|
| |||
Restructuring cash payments (Note 2) |
|
(3,140 |
) |
(1,616 |
) |
|
| |||
Changes in assets and liabilities net of effects from |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Decrease (increase) in receivables |
|
1,805 |
|
(828 |
) |
(6,371 |
) | |||
(Increase) decrease in inventories |
|
(5,269 |
) |
10,320 |
|
(15,041 |
) | |||
Decrease (increase) in revenue in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts and other current assets |
|
8,380 |
|
(5,715 |
) |
(2,296 |
) | |||
(Decrease) increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
|
(14,235 |
) |
4,201 |
|
7,680 |
| |||
Pension contributions |
|
(4,717 |
) |
(3,913 |
) |
(8,087 |
) | |||
Other items net |
|
(1,082 |
) |
2,117 |
|
(4,526 |
) | |||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
66,778 |
|
72,677 |
|
53,020 |
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Cash flows from investing activities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Proceeds from sale of business net of cash (Note 2) |
|
642 |
|
|
|
|
| |||
Capital expenditures |
|
(30,271 |
) |
(60,680 |
) |
(72,101 |
) | |||
Government grants received |
|
1,709 |
|
947 |
|
2,189 |
| |||
Cash pledged for collateral |
|
|
|
|
|
(21 |
) | |||
Cash released from collateral |
|
|
|
1,152 |
|
|
| |||
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
(27,920 |
) |
(58,581 |
) |
(69,933 |
) | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Cash flows from financing activities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Japanese Revolving credit facility borrowings short-term (Note 7) |
|
4,925 |
|
10,546 |
|
179,550 |
| |||
Japanese Revolving credit facility repayments short-term (Note 7) |
|
(19,142 |
) |
(12,792 |
) |
(178,874 |
) | |||
U.S. Revolving credit facility borrowings long-term (Note 7) |
|
113,047 |
|
125,550 |
|
|
| |||
U.S. Revolving credit facility repayments long-term (Note 7) |
|
(131,047 |
) |
(81,300 |
) |
|
| |||
Proceeds of debt obligations |
|
10,476 |
|
|
|
373 |
| |||
Reductions of debt obligations |
|
(5,876 |
) |
(3,202 |
) |
(3,034 |
) | |||
Treasury stock purchased |
|
(3,334 |
) |
(577 |
) |
(422 |
) | |||
Common stock issued |
|
4,066 |
|
1,601 |
|
2,074 |
| |||
Accelerated share repurchase (Note 10) |
|
|
|
(50,000 |
) |
|
| |||
Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation |
|
|
|
|
|
(143 |
) | |||
Net cash used in financing activities |
|
(26,885 |
) |
(10,174 |
) |
(476 |
) | |||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash |
|
2,808 |
|
665 |
|
(3,029 |
) | |||
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
|
14,781 |
|
4,587 |
|
(20,418 |
) | |||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year |
|
18,161 |
|
13,574 |
|
33,992 |
| |||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year |
|
$ |
32,942 |
|
$ |
18,161 |
|
$ |
13,574 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
Calgon Carbon Corporation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
|
|
Common |
|
|
|
Additional |
|
|
|
Other |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
|
|
Shares |
|
Common |
|
Paid-In |
|
Retained |
|
Comprehensive |
|
|
|
Treasury Stock |
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
(Dollars in thousands) |
|
Issued |
|
Shares |
|
Capital |
|
Earnings |
|
Income (Loss) |
|
Sub-Total |
|
Shares |
|
Amount |
|
Total |
| |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2010 |
|
58,989,578 |
|
$ |
590 |
|
$ |
169,284 |
|
$ |
208,015 |
|
$ |
(4,074 |
) |
$ |
373,815 |
|
3,070,720 |
|
$ |
(30,851 |
) |
$ |
342,964 |
|
2011 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
Net income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
39,224 |
|
|
|
39,224 |
|
|
|
|
|
39,224 |
| |||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax (Note 14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9,443 |
) |
(9,443 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(9,443 |
) | |||||||
Employee and director stock plans |
|
392,058 |
|
4 |
|
4,790 |
|
|
|
|
|
4,794 |
|
|
|
|
|
4,794 |
| |||||||
Treasury stock purchased |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,699 |
|
(422 |
) |
(422 |
) | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2011 |
|
59,381,636 |
|
$ |
594 |
|
$ |
174,074 |
|
$ |
247,239 |
|
$ |
(13,517 |
) |
$ |
408,390 |
|
3,100,419 |
|
$ |
(31,273 |
) |
$ |
377,117 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
Net income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23,272 |
|
|
|
23,272 |
|
|
|
|
|
23,272 |
| |||||||
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax (Note 14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3,010 |
) |
(3,010 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(3,010 |
) | |||||||
Employee and director stock plans |
|
344,998 |
|
3 |
|
4,492 |
|
|
|
|
|
4,495 |
|
|
|
|
|
4,495 |
| |||||||
Accelerated share repurchase (Note 10) |
|
(3,276,002 |
) |
(33 |
) |
(9,967 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(10,000 |
) |
3,276,002 |
|
(40,000 |
) |
(50,000 |
) | |||||||
Treasury stock purchased |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
38,755 |
|
(577 |
) |
(577 |
) | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2012 |
|
56,450,632 |
|
$ |
564 |
|
$ |
168,599 |
|
$ |
270,511 |
|
$ |
(16,527 |
) |
$ |
423,147 |
|
6,415,176 |
|
$ |
(71,850 |
) |
$ |
351,297 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
Net income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
45,713 |
|
|
|
45,713 |
|
|
|
|
|
45,713 |
| |||||||
Other comprehensive income, net of tax (Note 14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,387 |
|
15,387 |
|
|
|
|
|
15,387 |
| |||||||
Employee and director stock plans |
|
441,084 |
|
4 |
|
7,438 |
|
|
|
|
|
7,442 |
|
|
|
|
|
7,442 |
| |||||||
Accelerated share repurchase (Note 10) |
|
340,334 |
|
4 |
|
(5,717 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(5,713 |
) |
(340,334 |
) |
5,713 |
|
|
| |||||||
Share repurchase (Note 10) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
146,800 |
|
(2,991 |
) |
(2,991 |
) | |||||||
Treasury stock purchased |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,684 |
|
(343 |
) |
(343 |
) | |||||||
Balance, December 31, 2013 |
|
57,232,050 |
|
$ |
572 |
|
$ |
170,320 |
|
$ |
316,224 |
|
$ |
(1,140 |
) |
$ |
485,976 |
|
6,242,326 |
|
$ |
(69,471 |
) |
$ |
416,505 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Calgon Carbon Corporation
1. Summary of Accounting Policies
Operations
Calgon Carbon Corporation (the Company) is a global leader in services and solutions for purifying water and air, food, beverage, and industrial process streams. The Companys operations are principally conducted in three business segments: Activated Carbon and Service, Equipment, and Consumer. Each of these segments includes the production, design and marketing of products and services specifically developed for the purification, separation and concentration of liquids and gases. The Activated Carbon and Service segment relies on activated carbon as a base material, while the Equipment segment relies on a variety of methods and materials which involve other products in addition to activated carbon. The Consumer segment brings the Companys purification technologies directly to the consumer in the form of products and services. The Companys largest markets are in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The Company also has markets in Africa, Canada, India, Latin America, and in other parts of Asia.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries. Investments in business entities in which the Company does not have control, but has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies, are accounted for under the equity method. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.
Foreign Currency
Substantially all assets and liabilities of the Companys international operations are translated at year-end exchange rates; income and expenses are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the year. Translation adjustments represent other comprehensive income or loss and are accumulated in a separate component of shareholders equity, net of tax effects. Transaction gains and losses are included in Other expense-net.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue and related costs are recognized when goods are shipped or services are rendered to customers provided that ownership and risk of loss have passed to the customer, the price to the customer is fixed or determinable, and collection is reasonably assured. Revenue for major equipment projects is recognized under the percentage of completion method. The Companys major equipment projects generally have a long project life cycle from bid solicitation to project completion. The nature of the contracts are generally fixed price with milestone billings. The Company recognizes revenue for these projects based on the fixed sales prices multiplied by the percentage of completion. In applying the percentage of completion method, a projects percent complete as of any balance sheet date is computed as the ratio of total costs incurred to date divided by the total estimated costs at completion. As changes in the estimates of total costs at completion and/or estimated total losses on projects are identified, appropriate earnings adjustments are recorded during the period that the change or loss is identified. The Company has a history of making reasonably dependable estimates of costs at completion on contracts that follow the percentage of completion method; however, due to uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is possible that actual project costs at completion could vary from estimates. The principal components of costs include material, direct labor, subcontracts, and allocated indirect costs. Indirect costs primarily consist of administrative labor and associated operating expenses, which are allocated to the respective projects on actual hours charged to the project utilizing a standard hourly rate.
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. The amount of allowance recorded is primarily based upon a periodic review of specific customer transactions that remain outstanding at least three months beyond their respective due dates.
Inventories
Inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market. Inventory costs are primarily determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment is recorded at cost. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Depreciation for financial reporting purposes is computed on the straight-line method over the estimated service lives of the assets, which are from 15 to 30 years for land improvements and buildings, 5 to 15 years for furniture, machinery and equipment, 5 to 10 years for customer capital, 5 years for vehicles, and 5 to 10 years for computer hardware and software. Expenditures for new facilities and improvements that substantially extend the capacity or useful life of an asset are capitalized.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquired business over the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Identifiable intangible assets acquired in business combinations are recorded based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. In accordance with guidance within Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, goodwill and identifiable intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization but must be evaluated for impairment. None of the Companys identifiable intangible assets other than goodwill have indefinite lives.
The Company has elected to perform the annual impairment test of its goodwill, as required, on December 31 of each year by initially comparing the fair value of each of the Companys reporting units to their related carrying values. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, the Company performs an additional step to determine the implied fair value of the goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by first allocating the fair value of the reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities of the unit and then computing the excess of the units fair value over the amounts assigned to the assets and liabilities. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, such excess represents the amount of goodwill impairment, and the Company recognizes such impairment accordingly. Fair values are estimated using discounted cash flows and other valuation methodologies that are based on projections of the amounts and timing of future revenues and cash flows, assumed discount rates and other assumptions as deemed appropriate. The Company also considers such factors as historical performance, anticipated market conditions, operating expense trends and capital expenditure requirements.
The Companys identifiable intangible assets other than goodwill have finite lives. Certain of these intangible assets, such as customer relationships, are amortized using an accelerated methodology while others, such as patents, are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. In addition, intangible assets with finite lives are evaluated for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable, as prescribed by guidance within ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment.
Long-Lived Assets
The Company evaluates long-lived assets under the provisions of ASC 360 Property, Plant, and Equipment, which addresses financial accounting and reporting for the impairment of long-lived assets and for long-lived assets to be disposed of. For assets to be held and used, the Company groups a long-lived asset or assets with other assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. An impairment loss for an asset group reduces only the carrying amounts of a long-lived asset or assets of the group being evaluated. The loss is allocated to the long-lived assets of the group on a pro-rata basis using the relative carrying amounts of those assets, except that the loss allocated to an individual long-lived asset of the group does not reduce the carrying amount of that asset below its fair value whenever that fair value is determinable without undue cost and effort. Estimates of future cash flows to test the recoverability of a long-lived asset group include only the future cash flows that are directly associated with and that are expected to arise as a direct result of the use and eventual disposition of the asset group. The future cash flow estimates used by the Company exclude interest charges.
Income Taxes
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences of temporary differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities. If it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recognized. The Company assesses its ability to realize deferred tax assets based on normalized historical performance and on projections of future taxable income in the relevant tax jurisdictions. Normalized historical performance for purposes of this assessment includes adjustments for those income and expense items that are unusual and non-recurring in nature and are not expected to affect results in future periods. Such unusual and non-recurring items include the effects of legal fees or settlements associated with specific litigation matters and restructuring costs. The Companys projections of future taxable income considers known events, such as the passage of
legislation or expected occurrences, and do not reflect a general growth assumption. The Companys estimates of future taxable income are reviewed annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that such projections should be modified.
The Company utilizes guidance within ASC 740 Income Taxes regarding the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. This guidance prescribes recognition and measurement standards for a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. According to this guidance, the evaluation of a tax position is a two step process. The first step is the determination of whether a tax position should be recognized in the financial statements. The benefit of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return is to be recognized only if the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the tax authorities based upon the technical merits of the position. In step two, for those tax positions which should be recognized, the measurement of a tax position is determined as being the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.
No provision is made for U.S. income taxes on the undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries of $77.4 million because these earnings are intended to be indefinitely reinvested outside the United States. These earnings would become subject to income tax if they were remitted as dividends, were loaned to the Company or a U.S. affiliate, or if the Company were to sell its ownership interest in the subsidiaries. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred U.S. income tax liability on these indefinitely reinvested unremitted earnings is not practicable.
Pensions
Accounting for pensions involves estimating the cost of benefits to be provided well into the future and attributing that cost over the time period each employee works. To accomplish this, extensive use is made of assumptions about inflation, investment returns, mortality, turnover and discount rates. These assumptions are reviewed annually. In determining the expected return on plan assets, the Company evaluates long-term actual return information, the mix of investments that comprise plan assets and future estimates of long-term investment returns. In determining the discount rates for pension obligations, the Company evaluates long-term corporate bonds that receive one of the two highest ratings given by a recognized rating agency.
Net Income per Common Share
Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus all potential dilutive common shares outstanding during the period. Potential dilutive common shares are determined using the treasury stock method. Under the treasury stock method, exercise of options is assumed at the beginning of the period when the average stock price during the period exceeds the exercise price of outstanding options and common shares are assumed issued. The proceeds from exercise are assumed to be used to purchase common stock at the average market price during the period. The incremental shares to be issued are considered to be the potential dilutive common shares outstanding.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid, short-term investments made with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.
Derivative Instruments
The Company applies ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. ASC 815 establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts and for hedging activities. Derivative financial instruments are occasionally utilized by the Company to manage risk exposure to movements in foreign exchange rates or the prices of natural gas. The Company enters into derivative financial instruments with high credit quality counterparties and diversifies its positions among such counterparties. In addition, various master netting arrangements are in place with counterparties to facilitate settlement of gains and losses on these contracts. Changes in the value of the derivative financial instruments are measured at the balance sheet date and recognized in current earnings or other comprehensive income depending on whether the derivative is designated as part of a hedge transaction and meets certain other criteria. The Company does not hold derivative financial instruments for trading purposes.
Contingencies
The Company from time to time is subject to various legal proceedings, lawsuits and claims, including employment, product warranty and environmental matters of the nature considered normal to its business. It is the Companys policy to accrue for amounts related to the legal matters when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the loss amount is reasonably estimable. Estimates are developed through consultation with legal counsel involved in the defense and are based upon an analysis of probable results, assuming a combination of litigation and settlement strategies. Legal fees associated with defending these various lawsuits and claims are expensed when incurred.
Government Grants
The Companys policy for accounting for government grants, including non-monetary grants at fair value, is to recognize them only when there is reasonable assurance that (a) the Company will comply with the conditions attached to the grants and (b) the grants will be received. A grant will be recognized as income over the period necessary to match it to the related costs, for which it is intended to compensate, on a systematic basis. Grants related to assets are presented by deducting them from the assets carrying amount. A grant related to income will be deducted from the related expense.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of 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 reported 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.
Labor Agreements
Collective bargaining agreements cover approximately 28% of the Companys labor force at December 31, 2013. Approximately 5% of the Companys labor force is operating under a collective bargaining agreement that expired on July 31, 2013 as the Company continues to work towards obtaining a new agreement. The Companys other collective bargaining agreements expire during 2014 and 2017. Approximately 5% of the Companys labor force is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that expires in 2014.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company applies ASC 718, Compensation Stock Compensation. In accordance with guidance within ASC 718, compensation expense for stock options is recorded over the vesting period using the fair value on the date of grant, as calculated by the Company using the Black-Scholes model. For time vested restricted stock awards, the nonvested restricted stock grant date fair value, which is the market price of the underlying common stock, is expensed over the vesting period. For certain performance based stock awards, the initial grant date fair value of the performance stock awards that vest subject to a market condition is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model and is expensed on a straight-line basis over the performance period. For certain performance based stock awards that vest subject to a performance condition, the initial grant date fair value is the market price of the underlying common stock. This fair value is expensed on a straight-line basis over the performance period when it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. The Companys stock-based compensation plans are more fully described in Note 11.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and customer receivables. The Company places its cash with financial institutions and invests in low-risk, highly liquid instruments. With respect to customer receivables, the Company believes that it has no significant concentration of credit risk as no single customer accounted for more than 10 percent of gross annual revenues as of December 31, 2013. The Company closely monitors the credit risk associated with its customers and to date has not experienced material losses.
Concentration of Deposit Risk
From time to time, the Company could have cash deposited with financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. On November 9, 2010 the FDIC issued a Final Rule implementing section 343 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that provided for unlimited insurance coverage of noninterest-bearing transaction accounts. For the periods December 31, 2011 through December 31, 2012, all noninterest-bearing transaction accounts were fully insured, regardless of the balance of the account, at all FDIC-insured institutions. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had no cash deposits with U.S. financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. However, the Companys foreign subsidiaries held cash and cash equivalents of $27.6 million and $16.0 million at December 31, 2013
and 2012, respectively. Generally, cash and cash equivalents held by foreign subsidiaries are not readily available for use in the United States without adverse tax consequences.
Fair Value
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy distinguishes between (1) market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from independent sources (observable inputs) and (2) an entitys own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available in the circumstances (unobservable inputs). The fair value hierarchy consists of three broad levels, which gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:
· Level 1 Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
· Level 2 Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly; and
· Level 3 Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entitys own assumptions.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments Excluding Derivative Instruments
The Companys financial instruments, excluding derivative instruments, consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term debt as well as accounts receivable and accounts payable. The fair value of the cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable approximates their carrying value because of the short-term maturity of the instruments. Refer to Note 7 for a discussion of the fair value of the Companys short and long-term debt.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In January 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU No. 2013-01, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets or Liabilities, or ASU No. 2013-01. ASU 2013-01 clarifies the scope of ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, or ASU 2011-11. ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of its financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position. Entities are required to disclose both gross and net information for these instruments. Both ASU 2013-01 and ASU 2011-11 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. Please refer to Note 16 for the required annual disclosure.
In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-02, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, or ASU No. 2013-02. ASU 2013-02 requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income. For amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. ASU 2013-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. Please refer to Note 14 and the Companys consolidated statements of comprehensive income for required annual disclosure.
In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-04, Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date, or ASU No. 2013-04. ASU 2013-04 requires an entity to measure obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date, as the sum of the amount the reporting entity agreed to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors and any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. ASU 2013-04 also requires the nature and amount of the obligation as well as other information about those obligations to be disclosed. ASU 2013-04 is effective for fiscal and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013 and should be applied retrospectively. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-10, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (or Overnight Index Swap Rate) as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes, or ASU No. 2013-10. ASU 2013-10 permits the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (OIS) to be used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes, in addition to U.S. Treasury and LIBOR. ASU 2013-10 also removes the restriction on using different benchmark rates for similar hedges. ASU 2013-10 is effective prospectively for qualifying new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013. The adoption of this ASU has not had a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU, No. 2013-11, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists, or ASU No. 2013-11. ASU 2013-11 requires that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. To the extent one of these items is not available at the reporting date; the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. ASU 2013-11 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013 and should be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
2. Restructuring Charges
During the third quarter of 2012, the Company adopted a worldwide strategy to reduce costs and realign the organization structure in response to the global economic slowdown, rising raw material and maintenance costs, and delays in implementation of environmental regulations, which created a challenging business environment for the Company. As a part of this strategy, the Company permanently closed, and later sold, its Datong, China manufacturing facility, temporarily idled a reactivation facility in Blue Lake, California, and reduced headcount. The Company also consolidated operations at certain locations and evaluated non-core businesses for potential divestiture.
The Company recorded $(0.1) million and $10.2 million of restructuring (income) charges as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which were all within the Activated Carbon and Service segment. In 2013, the Company recorded a pre-tax gain of $0.6 million for the sale of its activated carbon manufacturing facility in Datong, China. The gain on sale was comprised of the release of foreign currency translation adjustments of $1.0 million which was partially offset by a $0.4 million charge for the write-off of goodwill. The 2012 restructuring charges included impairment charges of $3.6 million for the permanent closure of the Datong facility as well as $0.4 million for the closure of a warehouse in Belgium. The Company also recorded termination benefits, including early retirement obligations, as a result of the worldwide reduction of headcount of $4.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. In addition, the Company incurred a $1.4 million pension settlement charge as a result of lump sum pension distributions for those participants in the early retirement program for the year ended December 31, 2012.
The following table summarizes the restructuring plan and the activity in the restructuring reserve for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012:
(Thousands, except no. of employees) |
|
Employee |
|
Asset |
|
Gain on |
|
Other |
|
Total |
|
Employees |
| |||||
Restructuring charges |
|
$ |
5,777 |
|
$ |
4,000 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
434 |
|
$ |
10,211 |
|
120 |
|
Payments |
|
(1,182 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(434 |
) |
(1,616 |
) |
(53 |
) | |||||
Pension settlement |
|
(1,369 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,369 |
) |
|
| |||||
Non-cash charges |
|
|
|
(4,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(4,000 |
) |
|
| |||||
Accrual at December 31, 2012 |
|
3,226 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3,226 |
|
67 |
| |||||
Restructuring charges |
|
357 |
|
|
|
(578 |
) |
92 |
|
(129 |
) |
4 |
| |||||
Payments |
|
(3,048 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(92 |
) |
(3,140 |
) |
(67 |
) | |||||
Non-cash charges |
|
|
|
|
|
578 |
|
|
|
578 |
|
|
| |||||
Accrual at December 31, 2013 |
|
$ |
535 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|