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Contingencies and Litigation
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Contingencies and Litigation [Abstract]  
Contingencies and Litigation
Note 20:
Contingencies and Litigation

Market Risk
The Company sells a broad range of products that provide thermal solutions to customers operating primarily in the automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, and commercial, industrial, and building HVAC&R markets.  The Company operates in diversified markets as a strategy for offsetting the risk associated with a downturn in any one or more of the markets it serves.  The Company pursues new market opportunities after careful consideration of the potential associated risks and benefits.  However, the risk associated with market downturns is still present.

Credit Risk
The Company invests excess cash primarily in investment quality, short-term liquid debt instruments.  Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of accounts receivable.  The Company sells a broad range of products that provide thermal solutions to customers operating throughout the world.  In fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, two VTS segment customers each accounted for ten percent or more of the Company’s total sales.  Sales to the Company’s top ten customers were 50 percent, 48 percent, and 54 percent of total sales in fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.  At March 31, 2019 and 2018, 38 percent and 36 percent, respectively, of the Company’s trade accounts receivable were due from the Company’s top ten customers.  These customers operate primarily in the automotive, commercial vehicle, off-highway, data center cooling and commercial air conditioning markets, which are influenced by similar market and general economic factors.  Collateral or advanced payments are generally not required.  The Company has not experienced significant credit losses to customers in the markets served.

The Company manages credit risk through its focus on the following:


Cash and investments – reviewing cash deposits and short-term investments to ensure banks have credit ratings acceptable to the Company and that short-term investments are maintained in secured or guaranteed instruments;

Accounts receivable – performing periodic customer credit evaluations and actively monitoring their financial condition and applicable business news;

Pension assets – ensuring that investments within pension plans provide appropriate diversification, monitoring of investment teams, ensuring that portfolio managers adhere to the Company’s investment policies and directives, and ensuring that exposure to high risk investments is limited; and

Insurance – ensuring that insurance providers maintain financial ratings that are acceptable to the Company.

Counterparty Risk
The Company manages counterparty risk through its focus on the following:


Customers – performing thorough reviews of customer credit reports and accounts receivable aging reports by internal credit committees;

Suppliers – maintaining a supplier risk management program and utilizing industry sources to identify and mitigate high risk situations; and

Derivatives – ensuring that counterparties to derivative instruments maintain credit ratings that are acceptable to the Company.

Environmental
The Company has recorded environmental investigation and remediation accruals related to soil and groundwater contamination at manufacturing facilities in the United States, one of which the Company currently owns and operates, and at its former manufacturing facility in the Netherlands, along with accruals for lesser environmental matters at certain other facilities in the United States and Brazil.  These accruals generally relate to facilities where past operations followed practices and procedures that were considered acceptable under then-existing regulations, or where the Company is a successor to the obligations of prior owners, and current laws and regulations require investigative and/or remedial work to ensure sufficient environmental compliance.  The accruals for these environmental matters totaled $18.9 million and $16.7 million at March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.  As additional information becomes available, the Company will re-assess the liabilities related to these matters and revise the estimated accruals, if necessary.  Based upon currently available information, the Company believes the ultimate outcome of these matters, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position.  However, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable outcomes could occur, including significant monetary damages.

Other Litigation
In the normal course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries are named as defendants in various lawsuits and enforcement proceedings by private parties, governmental agencies and/or others in which claims are asserted against Modine.  In the opinion of management, the liabilities, if any, which may ultimately result from such lawsuits or proceedings are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.