Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

As previously reported, the Company had monitored the performance of its wholesale nutrient business, within the Plant Nutrient segment, throughout 2016. During the third quarter of 2016, the Company reported that the wholesale business was under pressure due to an uncertain outlook for future crop prices and decreased domestic demand for fertilizer. The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment analysis during the fourth quarter of 2016, which resulted in an excess of fair value over carrying value of 8% for the wholesale nutrient reporting unit. During the first quarter of 2017, the Company's assessment of the business did not indicate the presence of any goodwill impairment triggering events.

During the second quarter of 2017, the Company identified certain factors that we considered important in assessing the requirement to perform an interim impairment evaluation for the wholesale nutrient reporting unit. First, current year actual results were significantly below historical and expected operating results. Second, the nutrient industry's future outlook continued to reflect depressed margins and minimal growth, driven by an oversupply of base nutrients, low crop prices and low farmer income. After considering these items, the Company determined that an interim goodwill impairment assessment was required, as well as an impairment assessment for our definite-lived intangible and other long-lived assets. No impairment was recognized for definite-lived intangibles and other long-lived assets.

Upon early adoption of ASU No. 2017-04, the Company now uses a one-step quantitative approach that compares the business enterprise value ("BEV") of each reporting unit with its carrying value. The BEV was computed based on both an income approach (discounted cash flows) and a market approach. The income approach uses a reporting unit's estimated future cash flows, discounted at the weighted average cost of capital of a hypothetical third-party buyer. The market approach estimates fair value by applying cash flow multiples to the reporting unit's operating performance. The multiples are derived from comparable publicly traded companies with similar operating and investment characteristics to the reporting unit. Any excess of the carrying value of the goodwill over the BEV will be recorded as an impairment loss. The calculation of the BEV is based on significant unobservable inputs, such as price trends, customer demand, material costs and discount rates, and are classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

The discounted cash flow model used for the income approach assumed discrete period revenue growth through 2021 that was reflective of market opportunities, changes in product mix, and cyclical trends within the wholesale nutrient business. In the terminal year, the Company assumed a long-term earnings growth rate of 2.0 percent that is believed to be appropriate given the current industry-specific expectations. As of the valuation date, the Company utilized a weighted-average cost of capital of 10.1 percent, which reflects the relative risk and time value of money. The testing resulted in a $42.0 million impairment charge for goodwill associated with the Wholesale reporting unit.

With the estimated fair value of the reporting unit now equaling its carrying value as of June 30, 2017, the Wholesale reporting unit has a risk of future impairment to the remaining goodwill balance of $17.8 million. A deterioration in operating performance significantly below current expectations, including changes in projected future revenue, profitability and cash flow, as well as higher working capital, interest rates, or cost of capital, could have a negative effect on the fair value of the reporting unit. It is also possible the Company's performance meets current expectations but is still unable overcome the general trends in the business and/or macro-economic factors in the time frame forecast, which could impact the long-term discount rate values used in estimating fair value, causing the estimated fair value of the reporting unit to fall below its carrying value. This would result in recording another impairment to the goodwill of the wholesale business.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by reportable segment for the six months ended June 30, 2017 are as follows:



(in thousands)	Grain		Plant Nutrient			Rail		Total
Balance as of January 1, 2017	$	—	$	59,767		$	4,167	$	63,934
Acquisitions	1,171		—			—		1,171
Impairments	—		(42,000		)	—		(42,000		)
Balance as of June 30, 2017	$	1,171	$	17,767		$	4,167	$	23,105

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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