Unit Based Awards

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

UNIT BASED AWARDS

The Partnership recognizes compensation cost related to unit-based awards to both employees and non-employees in its consolidated financial statements in accordance with certain provisions of ASC 718. Amounts recognized in selling, general, and administrative expense in the consolidated financial statements with respect to these plans are as follows:



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Employees	$	1,226	$	1,098	$	534
Non-employee directors	198		126		116
Total unit-based compensation expense	$	1,424	$	1,224	$	650

All of the Partnership's outstanding awards at December 31, 2019 met the criteria to be treated under equity classification.

Long-Term Incentive Plans

The Partnership's general partner has a long term incentive plan for employees and directors of the general partner and its affiliates who perform services for the Partnership.

On May 26, 2017, the unitholders of the Partnership approved the Martin Midstream Partners L.P. 2017 Restricted Unit Plan. The plan currently permits the grant of awards covering an aggregate of 3,000,000 common units, all of which can be awarded in the form of restricted units. The plan is administered by the compensation committee of the general partner’s board of directors (the "Compensation Committee").

A restricted unit is a unit that is granted to grantees with certain vesting restrictions, which may be time-based and/or performance-based. Once these restrictions lapse, the grantee is entitled to full ownership of the unit without restrictions. The Compensation Committee may determine to make grants under the plan containing such terms as the Compensation Committee shall determine under the plan. With respect to time-based restricted units ("TBRU's"), the Compensation Committee will determine the time period over which restricted units granted to employees and directors will vest. The Compensation Committee may also award a percentage of restricted units with vesting requirements based upon the achievement of specified pre-established performance targets ("Performance Based Restricted Units" or "PBRU's"). The performance targets may include, but are not limited to, the following: revenue and income measures, cash flow measures, net income before interest expense and income tax expense ("EBIT"), net income before interest expense, income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), distribution coverage metrics, expense measures, liquidity measures, market measures, corporate sustainability metrics, and other measures related to acquisitions, dispositions, operational objectives and succession planning objectives. PBRU's are earned only upon our achievement of an objective performance measure for the performance period. PBRU's which vest are payable in common units. Unvested units granted under the 2017 LTIP may or may not participate in cash distributions depending on the terms of each individual award agreement.

The restricted units issued to directors generally vest in equal annual installments over a four-year period.

On February 11, 2019, the Partnership issued 5,648 TBRU's to each of the Partnership's three independent directors under the 2017 LTIP. These restricted common units vest in equal installments of 1,412 units on January 24, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

On March 1, 2018, the Partnership issued 301,550 TBRU's and 317,925 PBRU's to certain employees of Martin Resource Management Corporation. The TBRU's vest in equal installments over a three-year service period. The PBRU's will vest at the conclusion of a three-year performance period based on certain performance targets. In addition, the PBRU's awarded on March 1, 2018 that are achieved will only vest if the grantee is employed by Martin Resource Management Corporation on March 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2019, the Partnership is unable to ascertain if certain performance conditions will be achieved and, as such, has not recognized compensation expense for the vesting of the units. The Partnership will record compensation expense for the vested portion of the units once the achievement of the performance condition is deemed probable.

The restricted units are valued at their fair value at the date of grant which is equal to the market value of common units on such date. A summary of the restricted unit activity for the year ended December 31, 2019 is provided below:



	Number of Units			Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value Per Unit
Non-vested, beginning of year	624,125			$	13.78
Granted (TBRU)	16,944			$	12.45
Vested	(107,762		)	$	13.82
Forfeited	(154,288		)	$	13.90
Non-Vested, end of year	379,019			$	13.91

Aggregate intrinsic value, end of year	$	1,527

A summary of the restricted units’ aggregate intrinsic value (market value at vesting date) and fair value of units vested (market value at date of grant) during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 is provided below:



	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Aggregate intrinsic value of units vested	$	1,351	$	1,195	$	143
Fair value of units vested	$	1,551	$	2,250	$	208

As of December 31, 2019, there was $1,753 of unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested time-based restricted units. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.5 years.