Note 12 - Geographic And Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2013

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

12.           GEOGRAPHIC AND SEGMENT INFORMATION

Net sales by geographic location as a percentage of total consolidated net sales were as follows:

	Fiscal Year Ended August 31,
	2013			2012
Inside the U.S.A. to unaffiliated customers		70.7	%		64.0	%
Outside the U.S.A. to:
Joint ventures in which the Company is a shareholder directly and indirectly		13.4	%		12.1	%
Unaffiliated customers		15.9	%		23.9	%
		100.0	%		100.0	%

Net sales by geographic location are based on the location of the customer.

Fees for services provided to joint ventures by geographic location as a percentage of total fees for services provided to joint ventures during fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2012 were as follows:

	Fiscal 2013		% of Total Fees for Services Provided to Joint Ventures in Fiscal 2013			Fiscal 2012			% of Total Fees for Services Provided to Joint Ventures in Fiscal 2012
China*	$	2,063,369		28.1	%	$	—			0.0	%
Germany		1,004,958		13.7	%		994,347			21.5	%
Japan		723,977		9.8	%		1,022,386			22.1	%
Thailand		621,807		8.4	%		—			0.0	%
Poland		525,282		7.1	%		456,837			9.9	%
France		496,897		6.8	%		517,708			11.2	%
Sweden		415,547		5.7	%		587,069			12.7	%
Korea**		393,307		5.3	%		—			0.0	%
Finland		321,256		4.4	%		491,988			10.6	%
United Kingdom		236,125		3.2	%		309,938			6.7	%
India		—		0.0	%		(192,758	)		(4.1	)%
Other		550,455		7.5	%		435,398			9.4	%
	$	7,352,980		100.0	%	$	4,622,912			100.0	%

*Joint venture owned by NTI Asean.

**Joint venture owned by NTI Asean as of August 31, 2013, but not as of August 31, 2012.  NTI Asean results are not included on the consolidated financial statements for the year ended August 31, 2012. (See Note 2)

The following table sets forth the Company’s net sales for fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2012 by segment:

	Fiscal 2013		Fiscal 2012		$ Change			%  Change
ZERUST® net sales	$	20,457,198	$	20,971,275	$	(514,077	)		(2.5	)%
Natur-Tec® net sales		2,044,666		1,810,378		234,288			12.9	%
	$	22,501,864	$	22,781,653	$	(279,789	)		(1.2	)%

The following table sets forth the Company’s cost of goods sold for fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2012 by segment:

	Fiscal 2013		% of Product Sales*			Fiscal 2012		% of Product Sales*
Direct cost of goods sold
ZERUST®	$	11,408,604		55.8	%	$	10,748,865		51.3	%
Natur-Tec®		1,731,398		84.7	%		1,585,731		87.6	%
Indirect cost of goods sold		2,333,210		—			2,194,190		—
	$	15,473,212		68.8	%	$	14,528,785		63.8	%

* The percent of segment sales is calculated by dividing the direct cost of sales for each individual segment category by the net sales for each segment category.

The Company’s management utilizes product net sales and direct and indirect cost of goods sold for each product in reviewing the financial performance of a product type.  Further allocation of Company expenses or assets, aside from amounts presented in the tables above, is not utilized in evaluating product performance, nor does such allocation occur for internal financial reporting.

Sales to the Company’s joint ventures are included in the foregoing geographic and segment information, however, sales by the Company’s joint ventures to other parties are not included.  The foregoing geographic and segment information represents only sales and cost of goods sold recognized directly by the Company.

The geographical distribution of key financial statement data is as follows:

	At August 31, 2013		At August 31, 2012
Brazil	$	1,419,543	$	1,610,389
North America	$	47,634,406	$	40,267,238
Total assets	$	49,053,949	$	41,877,627

	At August 31, 2013		At August 31, 2012
Brazil	$	2,394,486	$	4,543,982
North America		20,107,378		18,237,671
Total net sales	$	22,501,864	$	22,781,653

	At August 31, 2013			At August 31, 2012
Brazil	$	(273,246	)	$	1,513,891
North America		5,238,222			3,055,878
Total operating income	$	4,964,976		$	4,569,769

Total assets located in Brazil primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents, customer receivables and inventory.  Total assets are periodically reviewed to assure the net realizable value from the estimated future production based on forecasted sales exceeds the carrying value of the assets.