Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2018

The accompanying unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related information in this Quarterly Report include the accounts of Platform and all of its controlled subsidiaries, and have been prepared on a basis that is substantially consistent with the accounting principles applied in the Company’s 2017 Annual Report. In the opinion of management, these unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments that are normal, recurring and necessary for a fair presentation of the Company's financial position, results of operations and cash flows for interim periods, but are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018. These unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes thereto included in the Company’s 2017 Annual Report.

Basis of Presentation

The process of preparing the Company’s unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements requires the use of estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, net sales and expenses. These estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, future expectations and other factors as well as assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates and judgments are reviewed on an ongoing basis and revised as necessary. Actual amounts may differ materially from these estimates.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) - In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," as a new FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 606. The core principle of the guidance is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. The new guidance requires expanded disclosure of qualitative and quantitative information about the Company's revenues from contracts with customers.

The new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements since the timing and pattern of revenue recognition predominantly continued to be recognized as the Company’s performance obligation to ship or deliver its products was completed and the transfer of control passes to the customer in accordance with the new standard. The Company adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. See Note 3, Significant Accounting Policies, to the Company's unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report for more information.

Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, "Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments." This ASU was issued to reduce diversity in practice with respect to how certain cash receipts and cash payments are classified and presented in the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2018 and retrospectively reported its 2017 results for the following items:

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Off-balance sheet arrangements within the Agricultural Solutions segment, whereby the Company sells trade receivables to third parties without recourse and receives beneficial interests for a portion of these receivables, the proceeds of which were previously reported as “Cash flows from operating activities” in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, $27.7 million of beneficial interests from the sale of trade receivables were reclassified as non-cash activity, with cash receipts of approximately $2.4 million reclassified from "Cash flows from investing activities" in the applicable Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.


•	For the six months ended June 30, 2017, cash payments for debt prepayments and debt extinguishment costs of $5.3 million were reclassified from "Cash flows from operating activities" to "Cash flows from financing activities" in the applicable Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

Leases (Topic 842) - In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases.” This ASU requires lessees to recognize most leases in their balance sheets, but to record expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to current accounting. For lessors, the guidance modifies the classification criteria and the accounting for sales-type and direct financing leases. As currently issued, the guidance is effective as of January 1, 2019 on either a modified retrospective or cumulative-effect-approach basis. The Company is currently in the process of implementing a system and processes in conjunction with the review of its lease agreements to support the required disclosures upon adoption.

Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) - In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities.” This ASU improves the financial reporting of hedge relationships by updating hedging designation and measurement guidance. The update also simplifies the application of existing hedge accounting guidance related to assessing hedge effectiveness. The guidance is effective prospectively as of January 1, 2019, and is applied to contracts in existence at the date of adoption, with its effects required to be reflected as of January 1 of the year of adoption. The Company is evaluating the impact of this ASU.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue either upon shipment or delivery of product depending on when it is reasonably assured that both title and the risks and rewards of ownership have been passed on to the customer, and the Company's performance obligations have been fulfilled and collectability is reasonably assured. Estimates for sales rebates, incentives and discounts, as well as sales returns and allowances, are accounted for as reductions of revenue when the earnings process is complete. Sales rebates, incentives and discounts are typically earned by customers based on annual sales volume targets, which vary by each segment. The Company records an estimate for these accruals based on contract terms and its historical experience with similar programs. An estimate for future expected sales returns is recorded based on historical experience with product returns; however, changes to these estimates may be required if the historical data used in the calculation differ from actual experience. Differences between estimated expense and actual costs are typically immaterial and are recognized in earnings in the period such differences are determined. Variable consideration for volume discounts, rebates and returns are recorded as contract liabilities and settled with the customer in accordance with the terms of the applicable contract, typically when annual program requirements are achieved by the customer.

On a limited and discretionary basis, the Company allows certain distributors within its Agricultural Solutions segment extensions of credit on a portion of the sales to them during a purchasing cycle which remain in the distributor’s inventory. The extension of credit is not a right to return, and distributors must pay unconditionally when the extended credit period expires.

Remaining performance obligations relate to contracts with a duration of less than one year, in which the Company has the right to invoice the customer at the time the performance obligation is satisfied for the amount of revenue recognized at that time. Accordingly, the Company has elected the practical expedient available under ASC Topic 606 not to disclose remaining performance obligations under its contracts. The Company has also elected the practical expedient to expense incremental costs for obtaining contracts with terms of less than one year.

Within the Agricultural Solutions segment, certain contracts with customers provide distribution rights for certain AIs registered with local government authorities and owned by the Company. These contracts typically require the Company to provide the AI at stated prices to the customer over the contract term. Revenue related to the upfront license fees in these contracts is recognized over time using a time elapsed input method since the license fees for the distributions rights is considered symbolic intellectual property. In these contracts, typically, the customer will simultaneously receive and consume the benefit from the entity’s performance of providing access to its intellectual property as the performance occurs.

Equity Securities

Equity securities that have readily determinable fair values are classified as available for sale and are carried at fair value. Unrealized holding gains and losses are recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as "Other (expense) income." Equity securities which do not have readily determinable fair values are recorded at cost and are evaluated whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying values of such investments may be impaired. Equity securities are included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as "Other assets."