Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Related Data (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 02, 2019

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the balances of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Apogee, we, us, our or the Company) after elimination of intercompany balances and transactions. We consolidate variable interest entities related to our New Market Tax Credit transactions as it has been determined that the Company is the primary beneficiary of those entities' operations (refer to Note 10 for more information).

Fiscal Year

Fiscal year

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to the last day of February, or as determined by the Board of Directors. Fiscal 2019 and 2018 each consisted of 52 weeks, while fiscal 2017 consisted of 53 weeks.

Accounting Estimates

Accounting estimates

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

Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents

Highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less are included in cash equivalents and are stated at cost, which approximates fair value

Inventories

Inventories, which consist primarily of purchased glass and aluminum, are valued at lower of cost or market using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment (PP&E) is recorded at cost. Significant improvements and renewals that extend the useful life of the asset are capitalized. Repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. When an asset is retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any related gains or losses are included in selling, general and administrative expenses. Long-lived assets to be held and used, such as PP&E, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis, based on estimated useful lives of 10 to 25 years for buildings and improvements; 3 to 15 years for machinery and equipment; and 3 to 7 years for office equipment and furniture.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost over the net tangible and identified intangible assets of acquired businesses. We evaluate goodwill for impairment annually at our year-end, or more frequently if impairment indicators exist. This year we elected to bypass the qualitative assessment process and to proceed directly to comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units to carrying value, including goodwill. If the fair value exceeds the carrying value, goodwill impairment is not indicated. Each of our nine business units represents a reporting unit for the goodwill impairment analysis. We have followed a consistent discounted cash flow methodology to evaluate goodwill in all periods presented.

We base our determination of fair value on a discounted cash flow methodology that involves significant judgment and projections of future performance. Assumptions about future revenues and expenses, capital expenditures and changes in working capital are based on the annual operating plan and long-term business plan for each reporting unit. These plans take into consideration numerous factors, including historical experience, anticipated future economic conditions and growth expectations for the industries and end markets in which we participate. Growth rates for revenues and operating profits vary for each reporting unit. The discount rate assumption for each reporting unit takes into consideration our assessment of risks inherent in the future cash flows of our business and an estimated weighted-average cost of capital.

Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are tested for impairment annually at our year-end, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired. If the carrying amount of an indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. Fair value is measured using the relief-from-royalty method. This method assumes the trade name or mark has value to the extent that the owner is relieved of the obligation to pay royalties for the benefits received from them. This method requires us to estimate the future revenue from the related asset, the appropriate royalty rate, and the weighted average cost of capital. The assessment of fair value involves significant judgment and projections about future performance.

Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized based on estimated useful lives ranging from 18 months to 20 years and are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

Self-Insurance

We obtain commercial insurance to provide coverage for potential losses in areas such as employment practices, workers' compensation, directors and officers, automobile, architect's and engineer's errors and omissions, product rework and general liability. A substantial portion of this risk is retained on a self-insured basis through our wholly-owned insurance subsidiary. We establish a reserve for estimated ultimate losses on reported claims and those incurred but not yet reported utilizing actuarial projections. Reserves are classified within accrued or long-term self-insurance reserves based on expectations of when the estimated loss will be paid.

Additionally, we maintain a self-insurance reserve for health insurance programs offered to eligible employees, included within accrued self-insurance reserves. The reserve includes an estimate for losses on reported claims as well as for amounts incurred but not yet reported, based on historical trends.

Warranty

Warranty and project-related contingencies

We are subject to claims associated with our products and services, principally as a result of disputes with our customers involving the performance or aesthetics of our architectural products and services. We reserve estimated exposures on known claims, as well as on a portion of anticipated claims for product warranty and rework costs, based on historical product liability claims as a ratio of sales. We also reserve for estimated exposures on other claims as they are known and reasonably estimable. Reserves are included in other current and non-current liabilities based on the estimated timing of dispute resolution.

Foreign Currency

Foreign currency

Local currencies are considered the functional currencies for our subsidiaries outside of the United States. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated at the exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated using average monthly exchange rates. Translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets.

Derivatives and hedging activities

We periodically enter into forward purchase foreign currency contracts, generally with an original maturity date of less than one year, to hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk. All derivative instruments within the scope of ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, are recorded on the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. All hedging instruments that qualify for hedge accounting are designated and effective as hedges. Instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting are marked to market with changes recognized in current earnings. Cash flows from derivative instruments are classified in the statements of cash flows in the same category as the cash flows from the items subject to designated hedge or undesignated (economic) hedge relationships.We do not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading purposes and are not a party to leveraged derivatives.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue recognition

On March 4, 2018, we adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and as a result, made updates to our significant accounting policy for revenue recognition. We generate revenue from the design, engineering and fabrication of architectural glass, curtainwall, window, storefront and entrance systems, and from installing those products on commercial buildings. We also manufacture value-added glass and acrylic products. Due to the diverse nature of our operations and various types of contracts with customers, we have businesses that recognize revenue over time and businesses that recognize revenue at a point in time.

During fiscal 2019, approximately 44 percent of our total revenue is recognized at the time products are shipped from our manufacturing facilities, which is when control is transferred to our customer, consistent with past practices. These businesses do not generate contract-related assets or liabilities. Variable consideration associated with these contracts and orders, generally related to early pay discounts or volume rebates, is not considered significant.

We also have three businesses which operate under long-term, fixed-price contracts, representing approximately 34 percent of our total revenue in the current year. This includes one business which changed revenue recognition practices due to the adoption of the new guidance, moving from recognizing revenue at shipment to an over-time method of revenue recognition. The contracts for these businesses have a single, bundled performance obligation, as these businesses generally provide interrelated products and services and integrate these products and services into a combined output specified by the customer. The customer obtains control of this combined output, generally integrated window systems or installed window and curtainwall systems, over time. We measure progress on these contracts following an input method, by comparing total costs incurred to-date to the total estimated costs for the contract, and record that proportion of the total contract price as revenue in the period. Contract costs include materials, labor and other direct costs related to contract performance. We believe this method of recognizing revenue is consistent with our progress in satisfying our contract obligations.

Due to the nature of the work required under these long-term contracts, the estimation of total revenue and costs incurred throughout a project is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. It is common for these contracts to contain potential bonuses or penalties which are generally awarded or charged upon certain project milestones or cost or timing targets, and can be based on customer discretion. We estimate variable consideration at the most likely amount to which we expect to be entitled. We include estimated amounts in the transaction price to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. Our estimates of variable consideration and determination of whether to include estimated amounts in the transaction price are based largely on our assessments of anticipated performance and all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available to us.

Long-term contracts are often modified to account for changes in contract specifications and requirements of work to be performed. We consider contract modifications to exist when the modification, generally through a change order, either creates new or changes existing enforceable rights and obligations, and we evaluate these types of modifications to determine whether they may be considered distinct performance obligations. In many cases, these contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct from the existing contract, due to the significant integration service provided in the context of the contract. Therefore, these modifications are accounted for as part of the existing contract. The effect of a contract modification on the transaction price and our measure of progress is recognized as an adjustment to revenue, generally on a cumulative catch-up basis.

Typically, under these fixed-price contracts, we bill our customers following an agreed-upon schedule based on work performed. Because the progress billings do not generally correspond to our measurement of revenue on a contract, we generate contract assets when we have recognized revenue in excess of the amount billed to the customer. We generate contract liabilities when we have billed the customer in excess of revenue recognized on a contract.

Finally, we have one business, making up approximately 22 percent of our total revenue in the current year, that recognizes revenue following an over-time output method based upon units produced. The customer is considered to have control over the products at the time of production, as the products are highly customized with no alternative use, and we have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed over the production period. We believe this over-time output method of recognizing revenue reasonably depicts the fulfillment of our performance obligations under our contracts. Previously, this business recognized revenue at the time of shipment. Billings still occur upon shipment. Therefore, contract assets are generated for the unbilled amounts on contracts when production is complete. Variable consideration associated with these orders, generally related to early pay discounts, is not considered significant.

As outlined within the new accounting guidance, we elected several practical expedients in our transition to ASC 606:


•	We have made an accounting policy election to account for shipping and handling activities that occur after control of the related goods transfers to the customer as fulfillment activities, instead of assessing such activities as performance obligations.


•	We have made an accounting policy election to exclude from the transaction price all sales taxes related to revenue-producing transactions that are collected from the customer for a government authority.


•	We generally expense incremental costs of obtaining a contract when incurred because the amortization period would be less than one year. These costs primarily relate to sales commissions and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses.


•	We have not adjusted contract price for a significant financing component, as we expect the period between when our goods and services are transferred to the customer and when the customer pays for those goods and services to be less than a year.

Revenue excludes sales taxes as the Company considers itself a pass-through conduit for collecting and remitting sales taxes.

Shipping and Handling

Shipping and handling

Amounts billed to a customer in a sales transaction related to shipping and handling are reported as revenue. Costs incurred by the Company for shipping and handling are reported as cost of sales.

Research and Development

Research and development

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and were $19.5 million, $14.0 million and $8.6 million for fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Of these amounts, $6.5 million, $1.5 million and $2.2 million, respectively, were focused primarily upon design of custom window and curtainwall systems in accordance with customer specifications and are included in cost of sales.

Advertising

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred within selling, general and administrative expenses, and were $1.5 million in fiscal 2019, $1.4 million in fiscal 2018 and $1.1 million in fiscal 2017.

Income Taxes

Income taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based upon the future tax consequences of temporary differences between financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. See Note 13 for additional information regarding income taxes.

Subsequent Events

Subsequent events

We have evaluated subsequent events for potential recognition and disclosure through the date of this filing. Subsequent to the end of the year, we purchased 437,671 shares of stock under our authorized share repurchase program, at a total cost of $16.2 million.

New Accounting Standards

Adoption of new accounting standards

We adopted the new guidance in ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, using the modified retrospective transition method applied to those contracts which were not complete as of March 4, 2018, the beginning of our fiscal year 2019. Prior period amounts were not adjusted and therefore continue to be reported in accordance with the accounting guidance and our accounting policies in effect for those periods.

Representing the cumulative effect of adopting ASC 606, we recorded a $3.0 million increase to the opening balance of retained earnings as of March 4, 2018. For the three- and twelve-month periods ending March 2, 2019, the application of the new accounting guidance had the following impact on our consolidated financial statements:



	Three Months Ended March 2, 2019						Twelve Months Ended March 2, 2019
In thousands	As reported			Without adoption of ASC 606			As reported		Without adoption of ASC 606
Net sales	$	346,255		$	339,673		$	1,402,637	$	1,382,274
Cost of sales	301,976			297,945			1,109,072		1,094,747
Gross profit	44,279			41,728			293,565		287,527
Selling, general and administrative expenses	59,057			58,726			226,281		225,286
Operating income (loss)	$	(14,778	)	$	(16,998	)	$	67,284	$	62,241

Income tax expense (benefit)	$	(5,062	)	$	(5,713	)	$	12,968	$	11,850
Net earnings (loss)	(12,083		)	(13,653		)	45,694		41,769

							March 2, 2019
							As reported		Without adoption of ASC 606
Inventories							$	78,344	$	89,676
Costs and earnings on contracts in excess of billings							55,095		19,515
Billings on contracts in excess of costs and earnings							21,478		21,022
Other current liabilities							83,159		81,467
Retained earnings							367,597		363,672

These changes are primarily a result of the transition of certain of our businesses from recognizing revenue at the time of shipment to over-time methods of revenue recognition.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, we also adopted ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows, and ASU 2016-18, Restricted Cash. Both standards provide guidance for presentation of certain topics within the statement of cash flows, including presenting restricted cash within cash and cash equivalents, and they have been applied retrospectively for comparability across all periods. The adoption of these standards did not have a significant impact on our consolidated statements of cash flows.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, we elected to early adopt ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. This standard permits a company to reclassify the disproportionate income tax effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on items within accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI") to retained earnings. The FASB refers to these amounts as “stranded tax effects.” As a result of this adoption, we reclassified income tax effects of $0.7 million resulting from tax reform from AOCI to retained earnings following a portfolio approach. These stranded tax effects are derived from the deferred tax balances on our pension obligations as a result of the lower U.S. federal corporate tax rate.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. Among other areas, the new guidance changes the current accounting related to the classification and measurement of certain equity investments and changes certain disclosures associated with the fair value of financial instruments. Most notably, ASU 2016-01 requires that equity investments be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income as opposed to other comprehensive income. For equity investments considered to be without a readily determinable fair value (and which do not qualify for the net asset value practical expedient), entities will be permitted to elect a measurement alternative and measure the investment at cost less impairment plus or minus observable price changes (in orderly transactions). We adopted ASU 2016-01 in our fiscal year 2019, which did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, equity or cash flows as we have historically held limited amounts of equity investments, and we have not elected the fair value option with respect to material financial liabilities.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. This ASU changes how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension and/or other postretirement benefit plans present the net periodic benefit cost in the income statement. Under the new standard, only the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost would be included in operating expenses while all other net periodic benefit costs components would be reported outside of operating income. We adopted this standard in fiscal 2019 and as a result, costs of $0.5 million were included within other expense in our consolidated results of operations. The components of our net periodic defined benefit pension costs are presented in Note 9.

Accounting standards not yet adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which provides for comprehensive changes to lease accounting. The standard requires that a lessee recognize a lease obligation liability and a right-to-use asset for virtually all leases of property, plant and equipment, subsequently amortized over the lease term.

We adopted this standard in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, following the modified retrospective application approach. We are substantially complete with our implementation efforts, which have included identification and analysis of our lease portfolio, analysis and evaluation of the new reporting and disclosure requirements of the new guidance, and an evaluation of our lease-related processes and internal controls. The adoption of this standard will result in reflecting a right-of-use asset and lease liability on our consolidated balance sheet in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 of approximately $50 million. In adopting the new standard, we elected the package of practical expedients, as well as the practical expedient not to separate nonlease components from lease components. We do not expect this standard to have a significant impact on our consolidated results of operations, consolidated statements of cash flows, our liquidity, or on our debt covenant compliance under our current agreements. We have identified new and updated existing internal controls and process to support measurement, recognition and disclosure under this new standard, but such changes were not deemed to be material to our overall system of internal controls.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which revises guidance for the accounting for credit losses on financial instruments within its scope. The new standard introduces an approach, based on expected losses, to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments and modifies the impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities. This ASU is effective for our fiscal year 2021. Entities are required to apply the standard’s provisions as a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. We are currently assessing this ASU’s impact on our consolidated financial statements.