Note 5 - Property and Equipment

9 Months Ended

Feb. 28, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

5.    PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consists of the following (in thousands):

	As of
	February 28, 2014			May 31, 2013
Land	$	286			301
Buildings and improvements		2,891			3,034
Leasehold improvements		20,461			20,170
Capital work-in-progress		6,791			5,139
Furniture and fixtures		3,618			3,282
Machinery, equipment and instruments		85,324			75,388
		119,371			107,314
Less accumulated depreciation		(43,409	)		(30,933	)
Property and equipment, net	$	75,962		$	76,381

Depreciation expense was $4.5 million and $13.2 million in the three months and nine months ended February 28, 2014, and was $5.3 million and $15.4 million in the three months and nine months ended February 28, 2013. The estimated useful lives of the Company’s instrument equipment assets were reevaluated during the first quarter of fiscal 2014. The evaluation indicated that the actual lives of our instrument equipment were longer than the estimated useful lives used for depreciation purposes in the Company’s financial statements. As a result, the Company changed its estimates of the useful lives of its instrument equipment to better reflect the estimated periods during which these assets will remain in service. The estimated useful lives of these assets increased from approximately 5 years to 10 years. This change was effective June 1, 2013. The effect of this change in estimate was a reduction in depreciation expense of $1.6 million and $4.7 million for the three months and nine months ended February 28, 2014. On an annual basis, the effect of this change is expected to decrease depreciation expense by approximately $6.3 million. Depreciation expense is primarily included in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations.