Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Description of Business

Description of Business

EnerSys (the “Company”) and its predecessor companies have been manufacturers of industrial batteries for over 100 years. EnerSys is a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. The Company manufactures markets and distributes industrial batteries and related products such as chargers, power equipment and battery accessories, and provides related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries.

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and any partially owned subsidiaries that the Company has the ability to control. Control generally equates to ownership percentage, whereby investments that are more than 50% owned are generally consolidated, investments in affiliates of 50% or less but greater than 20% are generally accounted for using the equity method, and investments in affiliates of 20% or less are accounted for using the cost method. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Company also consolidates certain subsidiaries in which the noncontrolling interest party has within its control the right to require the Company to redeem all or a portion of its interest in the subsidiary. The redeemable noncontrolling interests are reported at their estimated redemption value. Any adjustment to the redemption value impacts retained earnings but does not impact net income or comprehensive income. Noncontrolling interests which are redeemable only upon future events, the occurrence of which is not currently probable, are recorded at carrying value.

Foreign Currency Translation

Foreign Currency Translation

Results of foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates during the periods. The assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates as of the balance sheet dates. Gains or losses resulting from translating the foreign currency financial statements are accumulated as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) in EnerSys’ stockholders’ equity and noncontrolling interests.

Transaction gains and losses resulting from exchange rate changes on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the applicable subsidiary are included in the Consolidated Statements of Income, within “Other (income) expense, net”, in the year in which the change occurs.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue when the earnings process is complete. This occurs when risk and title transfers, collectibility is reasonably assured and pricing is fixed and determinable. Shipment terms are either shipping point or destination and do not differ significantly between the Company’s business segments. Accordingly, revenue is recognized when risk and title are transferred to the customer. Amounts invoiced to customers for shipping and handling are classified as revenue. Taxes on revenue producing transactions are not included in net sales.

The Company recognizes revenue from the service of its reserve power and motive power products when the respective services are performed.

Accruals are made at the time of sale for sales returns and other allowances based on the Company’s historical experience.

Freight Expense

Freight Expense

Amounts billed to customers for outbound freight costs are classified as sales in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Costs incurred by the Company for outbound freight costs to customers, inbound and transfer freight are classified in cost of goods sold.

Warranties

Warranties

The Company’s products are warranted for a period ranging from one to twenty years for reserve power batteries and for a period ranging from one to seven years for motive power batteries. The Company provides for estimated product warranty expenses when the related products are sold. The assessment of the adequacy of the reserve includes a review of open claims and historical experience.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that subject the Company to potential concentration of credit risk consist principally of short-term cash investments and trade accounts receivable. The Company invests its cash with various financial institutions and in various investment instruments limiting the amount of credit exposure to any one financial institution or entity. The Company has bank deposits that exceed federally insured limits. In addition, certain cash investments may be made in U.S. and foreign government bonds, or other highly rated investments guaranteed by the U.S. or foreign governments. Concentration of credit risk with respect to trade receivables is limited by a large, diversified customer base and its geographic dispersion. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and requires collateral, such as letters of credit, in certain circumstances.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of customers to make required payments. The allowance is based on management’s estimate of uncollectible accounts, analysis of historical data and trends, as well as reviews of all relevant factors concerning the financial capability of its customers. Accounts receivable are considered to be past due based on how payments are received compared to the customer’s credit terms. Accounts are written off when management determines the account is uncollectible.

Inventories

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. The cost of inventory consists of material, labor, and associated overhead.

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment are recorded at cost and include expenditures that substantially increase the useful lives of the assets. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows: 10 to 33 years for buildings and improvements and 3 to 15 years for machinery and equipment.

Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Interest on capital projects is capitalized during the construction period.

Business Combinations

Business Combinations

The purchase price of an acquired company is allocated between tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed from the acquired business based on their estimated fair values, with the residual of the purchase price recorded as goodwill. The results of operations of the acquired businesses are included in the Company’s operating results from the dates of acquisition.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and indefinite-lived trademarks are tested for impairment at least annually and whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that a possible impairment may have been incurred. Goodwill is tested for impairment by determining the fair value of the Company’s reporting units. These estimated fair values are based on financial projections, certain cash flow measures, and market capitalization. The indefinite-lived trademarks are tested for impairment by comparing the carrying value to the fair value based on current revenue projections of the related operations, under the relief from royalty method. Any excess carrying value over the amount of fair value is recognized as impairment. Any impairment would be recognized in full in the reporting period in which it has been identified.

Finite-lived assets such as customer relationships, patents, and non-compete agreements are amortized over their estimated useful lives, generally over periods ranging from 3 to 20 years. The Company reviews the carrying values of these assets for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable based on undiscounted estimated cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. The Company continually evaluates the reasonableness of the useful lives of these assets.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews the carrying values of its property and equipment for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable based on undiscounted estimated cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. The factors considered by the Company in performing this assessment include current operating results, trends and other economic factors. In assessing the recoverability of the carrying value of the property and equipment, the Company must make assumptions regarding future cash flows and other factors. If these estimates or the related assumptions change in the future, the Company may be required to record an impairment loss for these assets.

Environmental Expenditures

Environmental Expenditures

The Company records a loss and establishes a reserve for environmental remediation liabilities when it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability exists and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. Reasonable estimates involve judgments made by management after considering a broad range of information including: notifications, demands or settlements that have been received from a regulatory authority or private party, estimates performed by independent engineering companies and outside counsel, available facts existing and proposed technology, the identification of other potentially responsible parties, their ability to contribute and prior experience. These judgments are reviewed quarterly as more information is received and the amounts reserved are updated as necessary. However, the reserves may materially differ from ultimate actual liabilities if the loss contingency is difficult to estimate or if management’s judgments turn out to be inaccurate. If management believes no best estimate exists, the minimum probable loss is accrued.

Derivative Financial Instruments

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company utilizes derivative instruments to mitigate volatility related to interest rates, lead prices and foreign currency exposures. The Company does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The Company recognizes derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets and measures those instruments at fair value. Changes in the fair value of those instruments are reported in AOCI if they qualify for hedge accounting or in earnings if they do not qualify for hedge accounting. Derivatives qualify for hedge accounting if they are designated as hedge instruments and if the hedge is highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flows of the asset or liability hedged. Effectiveness is measured on a regular basis using statistical analysis and by comparing the overall changes in the expected cash flows on the lead and foreign currency forward contracts with the changes in the expected all-in cash outflow required for the lead and foreign currency purchases. This analysis is performed on the initial purchases quarterly that cover the quantities hedged. Accordingly, gains and losses from changes in derivative fair value of effective hedges are deferred and reported in AOCI until the underlying transaction affects earnings.

The Company has commodity, foreign exchange and interest rate hedging authorization from the Board of Directors and has established a hedging and risk management program that includes the management of market and counterparty risk. Key risk control activities designed to ensure compliance with the risk management program include, but are not limited to, credit review and approval, validation of transactions and market prices, verification of risk and transaction limits, portfolio stress tests, sensitivity analyses and frequent portfolio reporting, including open positions, determinations of fair value and other risk management metrics.

Market risk is the potential loss the Company and its subsidiaries may incur as a result of price changes associated with a particular financial or commodity instrument. The Company utilizes forward contracts, and swaps as part of its risk management strategies, to minimize unanticipated fluctuations in earnings caused by changes in commodity prices, interest rates and/or foreign currency exchange rates. All derivatives are recognized on the balance sheet at their fair value, unless they qualify for Normal Purchase Normal Sale.

Credit risk is the potential loss the Company may incur due to the counterparty’s non-performance. The Company is exposed to credit risk from interest rate, foreign currency and commodity derivatives with financial institutions. The Company has credit policies to manage their credit risk, including the use of an established credit approval process, monitoring of the counterparty positions and the use of master netting agreements.

The Company has elected to offset net derivative positions under master netting arrangements. The Company does not have any positions involving cash collateral (payables or receivables) under a master netting arrangement as of March 31, 2013 and 2012.

The Company does not have any credit-related contingent features associated with its derivative instruments.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate carrying value due to their short maturities.

The fair value of the Company’s $350,000 senior secured revolving credit facility (“2011 Credit Facility”), the 75,000 Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”) credit facility (“China Term Loan”), the 273,780 Indian Rupee (“INR”) term loan (“India Term Loan”) and short-term debt approximate their carrying value, as they are variable rate debt and the terms are comparable to market terms as of the balance sheet dates and are classified as Level 2.

The fair value amounts of the Company’s $172,500 senior unsecured 3.375% convertible notes (“Convertible Notes”) represent the trading values of the Convertible Notes which is based upon quoted market prices and are classified as Level 2.

Fair value is 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 (an exit price). The Company and its subsidiaries use, as appropriate, a market approach (generally, data from market transactions), an income approach (generally, present value techniques and option-pricing models), and/or a cost approach (generally, replacement cost) to measure the fair value of an asset or liability. These valuation approaches incorporate inputs such as observable, independent market data and/or unobservable data that management believes are predicated on the assumptions market participants would use to price an asset or liability. These inputs may incorporate, as applicable, certain risks such as nonperformance risk, which includes credit risk.

Lead contracts, foreign currency contracts and interest rate contracts generally use an income approach to measure the fair value of these contracts, utilizing readily observable inputs, such as forward interest rates (e.g., London Interbank Offered Rate—“LIBOR”) and forward foreign currency exchange rates (e.g., GBP and euro) and commodity prices (e.g., London Metals Exchange), as well as inputs that may not be observable, such as credit valuation adjustments. When observable inputs are used to measure all or most of the value of a contract, the contract is classified as Level 2. Over-the-counter (OTC) contracts are valued using quotes obtained from an exchange, binding and non-binding broker quotes. Furthermore, the Company obtains independent quotes from the market to validate the forward price curves. OTC contracts include forwards, swaps and options. To the extent possible, fair value measurements utilize various inputs that include quoted prices for similar contracts or market-corroborated inputs.

When unobservable inputs are significant to the fair value measurement, a contract is classified as Level 3. The Company did not have any Level 3 positions at March 31, 2013 or March 31, 2012. Additionally, Level 2 fair value measurements include adjustments for credit risk based on the Company’s own creditworthiness (for net liabilities) and its counterparties’ creditworthiness (for net assets). The Company assumes that observable market prices include sufficient adjustments for liquidity and modeling risks. The Company did not have any contracts that transferred between Level 2 and Level 3 as well as Level 1 and Level 2.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance, which requires deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized using enacted tax rates to measure the effect of temporary differences between book and tax bases on recorded assets and liabilities. FASB guidance also requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance, if it is more likely than not some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be recognized.

The Company evaluates on a quarterly basis its ability to realize deferred tax assets by assessing its valuation allowance and by adjusting the amount of such allowance, if necessary. The factors used to assess the likelihood of realization are forecasts of future taxable income and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net deferred tax assets.

In accordance with FASB guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, the Company evaluates tax positions to determine whether the benefits of tax positions are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit based on the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount of the benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. For tax positions that are not more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, the Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit. If the more likely than not threshold is not met in the period for which a tax position is taken, the Company may subsequently recognize the benefit of that tax position if the tax matter is effectively settled, the statute of limitations expires, or if the more likely than not threshold is met in a subsequent period.

Deferred Financing Fees

Deferred Financing Fees

Debt issuance costs that are incurred by the Company in connection with the issuance of debt are deferred and amortized to interest expense over the life of the underlying indebtedness, adjusted to reflect any early repayments.

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans

The Company accounts for retirement plans in accordance with FASB guidance on employers’ accounting for defined benefit pension plans, which requires an entity to recognize in its statement of financial position an asset for a defined benefit postretirement plan’s overfunded status or a liability for a plan’s underfunded status, and to measure a defined benefit postretirement plan’s assets and obligations that determine its funded status as of the balance sheet date.

The Company uses certain assumptions in the calculation of the actuarial valuations of its defined benefit plans. These assumptions include discount rate, rates of increase in compensation levels and expected long-term rates of return of plan assets. If actual results are less favorable than those projected by the Company, additional expense may be required.

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for the award of an equity instrument based on the grant-date fair value of the award, with such cost recognized over the applicable vesting period.

Market Share Units

The fair value of the market share units is estimated at the date of grant using a binomial lattice model with the following assumptions: a risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, time to maturity and expected volatility. These units vest and are settled in common stock on the third anniversary of the date of grant. Market share units are converted into between zero and two shares of common stock for each unit granted at the end of a three-year performance cycle. The conversion ratio is calculated by dividing the average closing share price of the Company’s common stock during the ninety calendar days immediately preceding the vesting date by the average closing share price of the Company’s common stock during the ninety calendar days immediately preceding the grant date, with the resulting quotient capped at two. This quotient is then multiplied by the number of market share units granted to yield the number of shares of common stock to be delivered on the vesting date. The Company recognizes compensation expense using the straight-line method over the life of the market share units.

Restricted Stock Units

The fair value of restricted stock units is based on the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. These awards generally vest, and are settled in common stock, at 25% per year, over a four-year period from the date of grant. The Company recognizes compensation expense using the straight-line method over the life of the restricted stock units.

Stock Options

The fair value of the options granted is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model utilizing assumptions based on historical data and current market data. The assumptions include expected term of the options, risk-free interest rate, expected volatility, and dividend yield. The expected term represents the expected amount of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding, based on historical and forecasted exercise behavior. The risk-free rate is based on the rate at the grant date of zero-coupon U.S. Treasury Notes with a term equal to the expected term of the option. Expected volatility is estimated using historical volatility rates based on historical weekly price changes. The Company’s dividend yield is based on historical data. The Company recognizes compensation expense using the straight-line method over the vesting period of the options.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per common share (“EPS”) are computed by dividing net earnings attributable to EnerSys stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that would occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. At March 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company had outstanding stock options, restricted stock units, market share units and Convertible Notes, which could potentially dilute basic earnings per share in the future.

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting

FASB guidance defines that a segment for reporting purposes is based on the financial performance measures that are regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker to assess segment performance and to make decisions about a public entity’s allocation of resources. Based on this guidance, the Company reports its segment results based upon the three geographical regions of operations.

• Americas, which includes North and South America, with segment headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA,

• EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with segment headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and

• Asia, which includes Asia, Australia and Oceania, with segment headquarters in Singapore.

New Accounting Pronouncements

New Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income” requiring entities to present net income and other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements and eliminated the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of shareholders’ equity. This guidance became effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and did not have an impact on its financial statements other than the change in presentation.

In February 2013, the FASB finalized the disclosure requirements on how entities should present financial information about reclassification adjustments from accumulated other comprehensive income in ASU No. 2013-02, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income”. The standard requires that companies present either in a single note or parenthetically on the face of the financial statements, the effect of significant amounts reclassified from each component of accumulated other comprehensive income based on its source and the income statement line items affected by the reclassification. If a component is not required to be reclassified to net income in its entirety, companies would instead cross-reference to the related footnote for additional information. The disclosures required by this amendment are effective for public entities for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2012.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.