8. LEASES

Adoption of ASC 842

As discussed in Note 1, on November 1, 2019, the Company adopted the provisions of ASC 842 using the modified retrospective approach, which applies the provisions of ASC 842 upon adoption, with no change to prior periods. This adoption resulted in the Company recognizing initial right of use assets and lease liabilities of approximately $23.6 million at November 1, 2019. The adoption did not have a significant impact on the Company’s statement of operations.

Upon the initial adoption of ASC 842, the Company elected the following practical expedients allowable under the guidance: not to reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases; not to reassess the lease classification for any expired or existing leases; not to reassess initial direct costs for any existing leases. Additionally, the Company elected the short-term lease exemption policy, applying the requirements of ASC 842 to only long-term (greater than one year) leases.

The Company leases rail cars for its facility to transport ethanol and dried distillers’ grains to its end customers. Operating lease right of use assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate, unless an implicit rate is readily determinable, as the discount rate for each lease in determining the present value of lease payments. For the three months ended April 30, 2020, the Company’s weighted average discount rate was 4.87%. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease or contains a lease at inception. The Company’s leases have remaining terms of approximately one to seven years. For the six months ended April 30, 2020, the weighted average remaining lease term was four years.

The Company elected to use a portfolio approach for lease classification, which allows for an entity to group together leases with similar characteristics provided that its application does not create a material difference when compared to accounting for the leases at a contract level. For railcar leases, the Company elected to combine the railcars within each rider and account for each rider as an individual lease.

The following table summarizes the remaining annual maturities of the Company’s operating lease liabilities as of April 30, 2020:



2021	$	4,537,800
2022		4,348,300
2023		4,251,000
2024		3,759,000
2025		3,163,800
Thereafter		4,194,550
Totals		24,254,450
Less: Amount representing interest		3,080,567
Lease liabilities	$	21,173,883

For the three and six months ended April 30, 2020, GFE recorded operating lease costs for these leases of approximately $638,000 and $1,279,000, respectively, in cost of goods sold in the Company’s statement of operations, which approximates the cash paid for the period.

For the three and six months ended April 30, 2020, HLBE recorded operating lease costs for these leases of approximately $490,000 and $1,021,000, respectively, in cost of goods sold in the Company’s statement of operations, which approximates the cash paid for the period.