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GENERAL
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
GENERAL

1.

GENERAL

Nature of Operations

StoneMor Partners L.P. (the "Partnership") is a provider of funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States. As of June 30, 2019, the Partnership operated 321 cemeteries in 27 states and Puerto Rico, of which 291 were owned and 30 were operated under lease, management or operating agreements. The Partnership also owned and operated 90 funeral homes, including 42 located on the grounds of cemetery properties that the Partnership owns, in 17 states and Puerto Rico. As a percentage of revenue and assets, the Partnership’s major operations consist of its cemetery operations.

The Partnership’s cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, such as burial lots, lawn and mausoleum crypts, and cremation niches. Cemetery merchandise is comprised of burial vaults, caskets, grave markers and memorials and cemetery services, which include the installation of this merchandise and other service items. The Partnership sells these products and services both at the time of death, which is referred to as at-need, and prior to the time of death, which is referred to as pre-need.

The Partnership’s funeral home services include family consultation, the removal and preparation of remains, insurance products and the use of funeral home facilities for visitation and memorial services.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements, which are unaudited except for the balance sheet at December 31, 2018 which has been audited, have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim reporting. They do not include all disclosures normally made in financial statements contained in the Annual Reports on Form 10-K. In management’s opinion, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Partnership’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods disclosed have been made. These interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto presented in the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2019 may not necessarily be indicative of the results of operations for the full year ended December 31, 2019.

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of each of the Partnership’s 100% owned subsidiaries. These statements also include the accounts of the merchandise and perpetual care trusts in which the Partnership has a variable interest and is the primary beneficiary. The Partnership operates 30 cemeteries under long-term leases, operating agreements and management agreements. The operations of 16 of these managed cemeteries have been consolidated. On May 10, 2019, the Partnership terminated one of the management agreements and recorded a $2.1 million loss upon the termination, which is included in Other losses, net in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019

The Partnership operates 14 cemeteries under long-term leases and other agreements that do not qualify as acquisitions for accounting purposes. As a result, the Partnership did not consolidate all of the existing assets and liabilities related to these cemeteries. The Partnership has consolidated the existing assets and liabilities of the merchandise and perpetual care trusts associated with these cemeteries as variable interest entities, since the Partnership controls and receives the benefits and absorbs any losses from operating these trusts. Under the long-term leases, and other agreements associated with these properties, which are subject to certain termination provisions, the Partnership is the exclusive operator of these cemeteries and earns revenues related to sales of merchandise, services and interment rights and incurs expenses related to such sales, including the maintenance and upkeep of these cemeteries. Upon termination of these agreements, the Partnership will retain all of the benefits and related contractual obligations incurred from sales generated during the agreement period. The Partnership has also recognized the existing customer contract-related performance obligations that it assumed as part of these agreements.

Recapitalization Transactions

Series A Preferred Offering

On June 27, 2019, funds and accounts affiliated with Axar Capital, a related party and the largest holder of the Partnership’s outstanding common units of record, and certain other investors (individually a “Purchaser” and collectively the “Purchasers”) and the Partnership entered into the Series A Preferred Unit Purchase Agreement (the “Series A Purchase Agreement” and the transactions contemplated thereby, the “Preferred Offering”) pursuant to which the Partnership sold to the Purchasers an aggregate of 52,083,333 of the Partnership’s Series A Preferred Units (the “preferred units”) representing limited partner interests in the Partnership with certain rights, preferences and privileges as are set forth in the Partnership’s Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of June 27, 2019 (the “Third Amended Partnership Agreement”). The purchase price for the preferred units sold pursuant to the Series A Purchase Agreement was $1.1040 per preferred unit, reflecting an 8% discount to the liquidation preference of each preferred unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $57.5 million.

Senior Secured Notes

Concurrently with the closing of the Preferred Offering, discussed above, the Partnership completed a private placement of $385.0 million of 9.875%/11.500% Senior Secured PIK Toggle Notes due 2024 (the “Senior Secured Notes”) of the Partnership to certain financial institutions (the “Notes Offering,” and collectively with the Preferred Offering, the “Recapitalization Transactions”) pursuant to the terms of an Indenture dated June 2019 by and among the Partnership, Cornerstone Family Services of West Virginia Subsidiary, Inc. (“Cornerstone” and, collectively with the Partnership, the “Issuers”), certain direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Partnership (the “Guarantors”), the initial purchasers party thereto and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee (the “Indenture”). The net proceeds of the Recent Transactions were used to fully repay the then-outstanding senior notes due in June 2021, retire the Partnership’s revolving credit facility due in May 2020 and pay the associated transaction expenses, with the remaining balance reserved for general corporate purposes. The Partnership is to pay quarterly interest at either a fixed rate of 7.50% per annum in cash or, at their periodic option through January 30, 2022, a fixed rate of 7.50% per annum in cash plus a fixed rate of 4.00% per annum payable in kind. The Senior Secured Notes will require cash interest payments at 9.875% for all interest periods after January 30, 2022.

Proposed C-Corporation Conversion

On September 27, 2018, StoneMor GP LLC (the “general partner”) and the Partnership publicly announced a plan to convert from a master limited partnership structure to a more traditional C-Corporation structure. Accordingly, the general partner and the Partnership entered into a Merger and Reorganization Agreement (as amended to date, the “Merger Agreement”) with StoneMor GP Holdings and Hans Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the general partner, providing for a series of transactions and resulting in (i) the general partner converting into a Delaware corporation to be named “StoneMor Inc.,” and (ii) Hans Merger Sub merging with and into the Partnership (the “Merger”) with the Partnership surviving and with StoneMor Inc. as its sole general partner, in each case, pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement (collectively, the “C-Corporation Conversion”). At the consummation of the Merger, which is anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2020, the general partner will complete its transition to a new publicly traded Delaware corporation, StoneMor Inc.

Uses and Sources of Liquidity

The Partnership’s primary sources of liquidity are cash generated from operations and the remaining balance of the proceeds from the sale of the Senior Secured Notes. As a master limited partnership (“MLP”), the Partnership's primary cash requirements, in addition to normal operating expenses, are for capital expenditures, net contributions to the merchandise and perpetual care trust funds, debt service and cash distributions. In general, as part of its operating strategy, the Partnership expects to fund:

 

working capital deficits through available cash, including the remaining balance of the proceeds from the sale of the Senior Secured Notes, cash generated from operations and sales of underperforming properties;

 

expansion capital expenditures, net contributions to the merchandise and perpetual care trust funds and debt service obligations through available cash, cash generated from operations or asset sales. Amounts contributed to the merchandise trust funds will be withdrawn at the time of the delivery of the product or service sold to which the contribution relates (see "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" section below regarding revenue recognition), which will reduce the amount of additional borrowings or asset sales needed; and

 

any cash distributions the Partnership is permitted and determines to pay in accordance with its partnership agreement and maintenance capital expenditures through available cash and cash flows from operating activities.

While the Partnership relies heavily on its available cash and cash flows from operating activities to execute its operational strategy and meet its financial commitments and other short-term financial needs, the Partnership cannot be certain that sufficient capital will be generated through operations or be available to the Partnership to the extent required and on acceptable terms. The Partnership has experienced negative financial trends, including use of cash in operating activities, which, when considered in the aggregate, raise substantial doubt about the Partnership’s ability to continue as a going concern. These negative financial trends include:

 

the Partnership has continued to incur net losses for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and has an accumulated deficit and negative cash flow from operating activities as of June 30, 2019, due to an increased competitive environment, increased expenses due to the proposed C-Corporation Conversion and increases in professional fees and compliance costs; and

 

a decline in billings coupled with the increase in professional, compliance and consulting expenses tightened the Partnership's liquidity position and increased reliance on long-term financial obligations, which, in turn, eliminated the Partnership's ability to pay distributions.

During 2018 and 2019, the Partnership implemented (and will continue to implement) various actions to improve profitability and cash flows to fund operations. A summary of these actions is as follows:

 

sold an aggregate of 52,083,333 of the Partnership’s preferred units, representing limited partner interests in the Partnership, for an aggregate purchase price of $57.5 million and completed a private placement of $385.0 million of the Senior Secured Notes. The net proceeds of both transactions were used to fully repay the then-outstanding senior notes due in June 2021 and retire the Partnership’s revolving credit facility due in May 2020;

 

continue to manage recurring operating expenses and seek to limit non-recurring operating expenses over the next twelve-month period; and

 

identify and complete sales of certain assets to provide supplemental liquidity.

Based on the Partnership's forecasted operating performance, planned actions to improve profitability, cash flows and projected plans to file financial statements on a timely basis consistent with the debt covenants, the Partnership does not believe it is probable that the Partnership will breach the covenants under the Indenture for the next twelve-month period. However, there is no certainty that the Partnership's actual operating performance and cash flows will not be substantially different from forecasted results and no certainty the Partnership will not need amendments to the Indenture in the future and such amendments will be granted. Factors that could impact the significant assumptions used by the Partnership in assessing its ability to satisfy its financial covenants include the following:

 

operating performance not meeting reasonably expected forecasts;

 

failing to generate profitable sales;

 

investments in the Partnership's trust funds experiencing significant declines due to factors outside its control;

 

being unable to compete successfully with other cemeteries and funeral homes in the Partnership's markets;

 

the number of deaths in the Partnership's markets declining; and

 

the mix of funeral and cemetery revenues between burials and cremations.

If the Partnership's planned, implemented and not yet implemented actions are not completed or implemented and cash savings are not realized, or the Partnership fails to improve its operating performance and cash flows or the Partnership is not able to comply with the covenants under the Indenture, the Partnership may be forced to limit its business activities, limit its ability to implement further modifications to its operations or limit the effectiveness of some actions that are included in its forecasts, amend its Indenture and/or seek other sources of capital, and the Partnership may be unable to continue as a going concern. Additionally, a failure to generate additional liquidity could negatively impact the Partnership's access to inventory or services that are important to the operation of the Partnership's business. Given the Partnership's level of cash and cash equivalents, to preserve capital resources and liquidity, the Board of Directors of the General Partner concluded that it was not in the best interest of unitholders to pay distributions to unitholders after the first quarter of 2017. In addition, the Indenture effectively prohibits the Partnership from making distributions to unitholders. Any of these events may have a material adverse effect on the Partnership's results of operations and financial condition. The ability of the Partnership to continue as a going concern is dependent upon achieving the action plans noted above. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 were prepared on the basis of a going concern, which contemplates that the Partnership will be able to realize assets and discharge liabilities in the normal course of business. Accordingly, they do not give effect to adjustments, if any, that would be necessary should the Partnership be required to liquidate its assets.  

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Refer to Note 1 to the Partnership’s audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which was filed with Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 3, 2019, for the complete summary of significant accounting policies.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions as described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. These estimates and assumptions may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. As a result, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Partnership considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less from the time they are acquired to be cash equivalents. Cash and Cash Equivalents was $41.9 million and $18.1 million as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.

Restricted Cash

Cash that is restricted from withdrawal or use under the terms of certain contractual agreement is recorded as restricted cash. Restricted cash was $20.1 million as of June 30, 2019, related to cash collateralization of letters of credit that were existing under the Partnership’s retired credit facilities and that were issued to secure the Partnership’s credit card program. There was no restricted cash as of December 31, 2018.

Revenues

The Partnership's revenues are derived from contracts with customers through sale and delivery of death care products and services. Primary sources of revenue are derived from (1) cemetery and funeral home operations generated both at the time of death (“at-need”) and prior to the time of death (“pre-need”), which are classified on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations as Interments, Merchandise and Services, (2) investment income, which includes income earned on assets maintained in perpetual care and merchandise trusts related to sales of cemetery and funeral home merchandise and services occurring prior to the time of death that are required to be maintained in the trust by state law and (3) interest earned on pre-need installment contracts. Investment income is presented within Investment and other for Cemetery revenue and Services for Funeral home revenue. Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in a contract with a customer and is net of any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. Pre-need contracts are price guaranteed, providing for future merchandise and services at prices prevailing when the agreements are signed. The Partnership recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer. Sales taxes assessed by a governmental authority are excluded from revenue.

Deferred Revenues

Revenues from the sale of services and merchandise as well as any investment income from the merchandise trusts is deferred until such time that the services are performed or the merchandise is delivered. In addition, for amounts deferred on new contracts and investment income and unrealized gains on our merchandise trusts, deferred revenues include deferred revenues from pre-need sales that were entered into by entities prior to the Partnership’s acquisition of those entities or the assets of those entities. The Partnership provides for a profit margin for these deferred revenues to account for the projected future costs of delivering products and providing services on pre-need contracts that the Partnership acquired through acquisition. These revenues and their associated costs are recognized when the related merchandise is delivered or services are performed and are presented on a gross basis on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance

The Partnership sells pre-need cemetery contracts whereby the customer enters into arrangements for future merchandise and services prior to the time of need. These sales are usually made using interest-bearing installment contracts not to exceed 60 months. The interest income is recorded as revenue when the interest amount is considered realizable and collectible, which typically coincides with cash payment. Interest income is not recognized until payments are collected in accordance with the contract. At the time of a pre-need sale, the Partnership records an account receivable in an amount equal to the total contract value less unearned finance income and any cash deposit paid, net of an estimated allowance for customer cancellations. The Partnership recognizes an allowance for cancellation of these receivables based upon its historical experience, which is recorded as a reduction in accounts receivable and a corresponding offset to deferred revenues. The Partnership recognizes an allowance for cancellation of receivables related to recognized contracts as an offset to revenue. Management evaluates customer receivables for impairment based upon its historical experience, including the age of the receivables and the customers’ payment histories

Leases

The Partnership leases a variety of assets throughout its organization, such as office space, funeral homes, warehouses and equipment. The Partnership has both operating and finance leases. The Partnership’s operating leases primarily include office space, funeral homes and equipment. The Partnership’s finance leases primarily consist of vehicles and certain IT equipment.  The Partnership determines whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception of the arrangement based on the facts and circumstances in each contract. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet and the Partnership recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For lease agreements with an initial term in excess of 12 months, the Partnership records the lease liability and Right of Use (“ROU”) asset at commencement date based upon the present value of the sum of the remaining minimum rental payments, which exclude executory costs. Certain adjustments to the ROU asset may be required for items such as initial direct costs paid or incentives received.

Certain leases provide the Partnership with the option to renew for additional periods, with renewal terms that can extend the lease term for periods ranging from 1 to 30 years. Where leases contain escalation clauses, rent abatements and/or concessions, the Partnership applies them in the determination of lease expense. The exercise of lease renewal options is at the Partnership’s sole discretion, and the Partnership is only including the renewal option in the lease term when the Partnership can be reasonably certain that the Partnership will exercise the additional options.

As most of the Partnership’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Partnership uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Partnership evaluates the term of the lease, type of asset and its weighted average cost of capital to determine its incremental borrowing rate used to measure the ROU asset and lease liability.

The Partnership calculates operating lease expense ratably over the lease term plus any reasonably assured renewal periods. The Partnership considers reasonably assured renewal options, fixed escalation provisions and residual value guarantees in its calculation. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the lease term or asset life, which may include renewal periods where the renewal is reasonably assured, and are included in the determination of straight-line rent expense. The depreciable life of assets and leasehold improvements are generally limited by the expected lease term.  

The Partnership’s leases also typically have lease and non-lease components, which are generally accounted for separately and not included in the measurement of the ROU asset and lease liability.

Net Loss per Common Unit

Basic net loss attributable to common limited partners per unit is computed by dividing net loss attributable to common limited partners, which is determined after the deduction of the general partner’s interest, by the weighted average number of common limited partner units outstanding during the period. Net loss attributable to common limited partners is determined by deducting net loss attributable to participating securities, if applicable, and net loss attributable to the general partner’s units. The general partner’s interest in net loss is calculated on a quarterly basis based upon its units and incentive distributions to be distributed for the quarter, with a priority allocation of net income to the general partner’s incentive distributions, if any, in accordance with the partnership agreement and the remaining net loss allocated with respect to the general partner’s and limited partners’ ownership interests.    

The Partnership presents net loss per unit under the two-class method for MLP, which considers whether the incentive distributions of an MLP represent a participating security when considered in the calculation of earnings per unit under the two-class method. The two-class method considers whether the partnership agreement contains any contractual limitations concerning distributions to the incentive distribution rights that would impact the amount of earnings to allocate to the incentive distribution rights for each reporting period. If distributions are contractually limited to the incentive distribution rights’ share of currently designated available cash for distributions, as defined under the partnership agreement, undistributed earnings in excess of available cash should not be allocated to the incentive distribution rights. Under the two-class method, management believes the partnership agreement contractually limits cash distributions to available cash; therefore, undistributed earnings in excess of available cash are not allocated to the incentive distribution rights.

The following is a reconciliation of net loss allocated to the common limited partners for purposes of calculating net loss attributable to common limited partners per unit (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Net loss

 

$

(34,398

)

 

$

(17,017

)

 

$

(56,932

)

 

$

(34,940

)

Less: Incentive distribution right (“IDR”) payments to general partner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss to allocate to general and limited partners

 

 

(34,398

)

 

 

(17,017

)

 

 

(56,932

)

 

 

(34,940

)

General partner’s interest excluding IDRs

 

 

(357

)

 

 

(177

)

 

 

(592

)

 

 

(364

)

Net loss attributable to common limited partners

 

$

(34,041

)

 

$

(16,840

)

 

$

(56,340

)

 

$

(34,576

)

Diluted net loss attributable to common limited partners per unit is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to common limited partners, less income allocable to participating securities, by the sum of the weighted average number of common limited partner units outstanding and the dilutive effect of unit awards, as calculated by the treasury stock or if converted methods, as applicable. These awards consist of common units that are contingently issuable upon the satisfaction of certain vesting conditions and common units issuable upon the exercise of certain unit appreciation rights awards under the terms of the Partnership’s long-term incentive plans.

The following table sets forth the reconciliation of the Partnership’s weighted average number of common limited partner units used to compute basic net loss attributable to common limited partners per unit with those used to compute diluted net loss attributable to common limited partners per unit (in thousands):

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Weighted average number of common limited partner units—basic

 

 

39,329

 

 

 

37,958

 

 

 

39,115

 

 

 

37,958

 

Plus effect of dilutive incentive awards(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of common limited partner units—diluted

 

 

39,329

 

 

 

37,958

 

 

 

39,115

 

 

 

37,958

 

 

(1)

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the diluted weighted average number of limited partner units outstanding presented on the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations does not include 201,995 and 203,433 units, respectively, as their effects would be anti-dilutive. In addition, all outstanding Preferred Units are exempt for purposes of calculating the diluted weighted average number of common limited partner units, as their conversion is not based on meeting a contingency derived from the Partnership’s unit price. The Preferred Units are convertible upon the completion of the Rights Offering, which is anticipated to occur early in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the diluted weighted average number of limited partner units outstanding presented on the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations does not include 560,839 units, as their effects would be anti-dilutive.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Leases

The Partnership adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”), and subsequently-issued related ASUs, using the modified retrospective approach, as of January 1, 2019. The core principle of ASU 2016-02 is that all leases create an asset and a liability for lessees and recognition of those lease assets and lease liabilities represents an improvement over previous GAAP, which did not require lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized for most leases or disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. In addition, the new standard offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases.

ASU 2016-02 provides for certain practical expedients when adopting the guidance. The Partnership elected the package of practical expedients allowing the Partnership to not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases, the lease classification for any expired or existing leases or initial direct costs for any expired or existing leases. The Partnership did not apply the hindsight practical expedient. The Partnership applied the land easements practical expedient allowing the Partnership to not assess whether any expired or existing land easements are or contain leases, if they were not previously accounted for as leases under the existing leasing guidance. Instead, the Partnership will continue to apply its existing accounting policies to historical land easements. The Partnership elected to apply the short-term lease exception; therefore, the Partnership did not record a ROU asset or corresponding lease liability for leases with a term of twelve months or less and instead recognized a single lease cost allocated over the lease term, generally on a straight-line basis. The Partnership is separating lease components from non-lease components, as it did not elect the applicable practical expedient. The Partnership has excluded maintenance, taxes and insurance costs from the calculation of the initial lease liability in the transition. Non-lease components are accounted for separately from the lease, recorded as maintenance, taxes and insurance and expensed as incurred.

The Partnership adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2019 and as a result of the adoption, the Partnership recorded:

 

a $1.1 million reclassification from Intangible assets to Other assets for below market lease intangibles;

 

a $0.1 million and $0.2 million reclassification from Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and Other long-term liabilities, respectively, to Other assets for a deferred gain on a sale leaseback transaction;

 

a $0.3 million and $3.5 million reclassification from Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and Other long-term liabilities, respectively, to Other assets for a rent incentive;

 

a $15.3 million increase to Other assets for operating lease right-of-use assets; and

 

a $2.2 million and $13.1 million increase to Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and Other long-term liabilities, respectively, for operating lease liabilities.

The foregoing adjustments resulted in the creation of a net ROU asset of $12.3 million and operating lease liability of $15.3 million as of the adoption date.  

In connection with the adoption of these new lease standards, the Partnership implemented internal controls to ensure that its contracts are properly evaluated to determine applicability under ASU 2016-02 and that the Partnership properly applies ASU 2016-02 in accounting for and reporting on all its qualifying leases.

Stock Compensation

In June 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2018-07, Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, to simplify the accounting for share-based payments to nonemployees by aligning it with the accounting for share-based payments to employees. This amendment is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Partnership adopted this standard effective January 1, 2019. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, as the Partnership has only issued shares to employees or nonemployee directors and has previously recognized its nonemployee directors share-based payments in line with its recognition of share-based payments to employees, using the grant-date fair value of the equity instruments issued, amortized over the requisite service period.

Presentation

In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of partners’ deficit for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of shareholders’ equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. The final rule was effective on November 5, 2018; as such, the Partnership used the new presentation of a condensed consolidated statement of Partners' deficit within its interim financial statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the six months ended June 30, 2019.

Recently Issued Accounting Standard Updates - Not Yet Effective

Credit Losses

In June 2016, FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Credit Losses (Topic 326) ("ASU 2016-13"). The core principle of ASU 2016-13 is that all assets measured at amortized cost basis should be presented at the net amount expected to be collected using historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts as a basis for credit loss estimates, instead of the probable initial recognition threshold used under current GAAP. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (“ASU 2018-09”), which clarified that receivables arising from operating leases are not within the scope of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 326-20, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses-Measured at Amortized Cost, and should be accounted for in accordance with ASC 842. In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments (“ASU 2019-04”), which include clarifications to the amendments issued in ASU 2016-13. In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-05, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326), which provides entities that have certain instruments within the scope of ASC 326-20 with an option to irrevocably elect the fair value option in ASC 825, Financial Instruments, upon adoption of ASU 2016-13. Each of these amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early application is permitted. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of these amendments upon their effective date of January 1, 2020, using the modified-retrospective method, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

Variable Interest Entities

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities (“ASU 2018-17”). The core principle of ASU 2018-17 is that indirect interests held through related parties in common control arrangements should be considered on a proportional basis for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests. ASU 2018-17 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of these amendments upon their effective date of January 1, 2020 retrospectively and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

Fair Value Measurement

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (“ASU 2018-13”). This standard removed, modified and added disclosure requirements from ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. ASU 2018-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Partnership does not expect the adoption of this standard to have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements, as this standard primarily addresses disclosure requirements for Level 3 fair value measurements. Currently, the Partnership’s only Level 3 fair value instruments are its assets held for sale, which do not represent a material amount on its consolidated balance sheets.