Business Segments

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business Segments

(G) Business Segments

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise that engage in business activities that earn revenues, incur expenses and prepare separate financial information that is evaluated regularly by our chief operating decision maker in order to allocate resources and assess performance. During the quarter ended June 30, 2014, we changed our segment presentation to reflect Oil and Gas Proppants, which had been included in Concrete and Aggregates, as a reportable segment.  We have adjusted the prior segment presentation to reflect this change for comparative purposes.

We operate in five business segments: Cement, Gypsum Wallboard, Recycled Paperboard, Oil and Gas Proppants and Concrete and Aggregates. These operations are conducted in the U.S. and include the mining of limestone and the manufacture, production, distribution and sale of portland cement (a basic construction material which is the essential binding ingredient in concrete), the mining of gypsum and the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboard, the manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters, the sale of readymix concrete and the mining and sale of aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel) and sand used in hydraulic fracturing (“frac sand”). The products that we manufacture, distribute and sell are basic materials with broad application as construction products, building materials, and basic materials used for oil and natural gas extraction.  Our construction productions are used in residential, industrial, commercial and infrastructure construction and include cement, concrete and aggregates.  Our building materials are sold into similar markets and include gypsum wallboard.  Our basic materials used for oil and natural gas extraction include frac sand and oil well cement.

We operate six cement plants, sixteen cement distribution terminals, five gypsum wallboard plants, including the plant idled in Bernalillo, N.M., a gypsum wallboard distribution center, a recycled paperboard mill, seventeen readymix concrete batch plant locations, four aggregates processing plant locations, two frac sand processing facilities, three frac sand drying facilities and four frac sand trans-load locations. In addition to the four trans-load locations in operation at March 31, 1015, we opened a trans-load location during the first quarter of fiscal 2016 in Kenedy, Texas, and we expect to open a second trans-load location in Fowlerton, Texas during the second quarter of fiscal 2016. The principal markets for our cement products are Texas, northern Illinois (including Chicago), the central plains, the Rocky Mountains, northern Nevada, and northern California. Gypsum wallboard and recycled paperboard are distributed throughout the continental U.S, with the exception of the northeast. Concrete and aggregates are sold to local readymix producers and paving contractors in the Austin, Texas area, north of Sacramento, California and the greater Kansas City, Missouri area, while frac sand is currently sold into shale deposits across the United States.

We conduct one of our six cement plant operations, Texas Lehigh Cement Company LP in Buda, Texas, through a Joint Venture. For segment reporting purposes only, we proportionately consolidate our 50% share of the Joint Venture’s revenues and operating earnings, which is consistent with the way management reports the segments within the Company for making operating decisions and assessing performance.

We account for intersegment sales at market prices. The following table sets forth certain financial information relating to our operations by segment:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2015			2014			2013
	(dollars in thousands)
Revenues -
Cement	$	488,644		$	438,224		$	304,125
Gypsum Wallboard		437,514			387,016			306,529
Paperboard		142,690			130,178			121,930
Oil and Gas Proppants		81,381			19,557			—
Concrete and Aggregates		107,892			96,908			56,287
		1,258,121			1,071,883			788,871
Less: Intersegment Revenues		(65,533	)		(62,094	)		(49,987	)
Less: Joint Venture Revenues		(126,220	)		(111,393	)		(96,322	)
	$	1,066,368		$	898,396		$	642,562

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2015		2014		2013
	(dollars in thousands)
Intersegment Revenues -
Cement	$	9,598	$	8,952	$	2,850
Paperboard		55,060		52,119		46,393
Concrete and Aggregates		875		1,023		744
	$	65,533	$	62,094	$	49,987
Cement Sales Volumes (M tons) -
Wholly-Owned		3,744		3,580		2,390
Joint Venture		1,055		1,013		913
		4,799		4,593		3,303

		For the Years Ended March 31,
		2015			2014			2013
		(dollars in thousands)
Operating Earnings -
Cement	$		117,527		$	89,486		$	46,228
Gypsum Wallboard			145,871			114,852			69,712
Paperboard			31,512			23,610			25,200
Oil and Gas Proppants			(2,546	)		(4,890	)		(1,253	)
Concrete and Aggregates			6,736			212			(5,388	)
Other, net			3,201			1,368			21
Sub-Total			302,301			224,638			134,520
Corporate General and Administrative			(30,751	)		(24,552	)		(23,918	)
Acquisition, Litigation and Other Expense			(6,880	)		—			(10,683	)
Earnings Before Interest and Income Taxes			264,670			200,086			99,919
Interest Expense, net			(11,743	)		(18,282	)		(15,823	)
Earnings Before Income Taxes		$	252,927		$	181,804		$	84,096
Cement Operating Earnings -
Wholly-Owned		$	72,560		$	51,675		$	13,721
Joint Ventures			44,967			37,811			32,507
		$	117,527		$	89,486		$	46,228
Capital Expenditures -
Cement		$	27,086		$	12,226		$	15,583
Gypsum Wallboard			7,129			4,825			2,682
Paperboard			1,888			3,354			804
Oil and Gas Proppants			61,484			34,264			—
Concrete and Aggregates			13,851			4,572			33,932
Other, net			135			249			10
		$	111,573		$	59,490		$	53,011
Depreciation , Depletion and Amortization -
Cement		$	31,839		$	31,829		$	20,658
Gypsum Wallboard			20,092			20,981			21,045
Paperboard			8,251			8,716			8,824
Oil and Gas Proppants			8,839			1,707			—
Concrete and Aggregates			5,533			5,205			5,212
Corporate and Other			1,745			1,583			1,111
		$	76,299		$	70,021		$	56,850

	As of March 31,
	2015		2014		2013
	(dollars in thousands)
Identifiable Assets
Cement	$	777,956	$	762,578	$	756,158
Gypsum Wallboard		403,279		412,566		425,866
Paperboard		123,519		125,045		129,226
Oil and Gas Proppants		455,572		92,199		48,929
Concrete and Aggregates		96,610		87,364		87,054
Other, net		25,655		31,777		29,000
	$	1,882,591	$	1,511,529	$	1,476,233

Segment operating earnings, including the proportionately consolidated 50% interest in the revenues and expenses of the Joint Venture, represent revenues less direct operating expenses, segment depreciation, and segment selling, general and administrative expenses. We account for intersegment sales at market prices. Corporate assets consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, general office assets and miscellaneous other assets.

The basis used to disclose Identifiable Assets, Capital Expenditures and Depreciation, Depletion conforms with the equity method, and is similar to how we disclose these accounts in our Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

The segment breakdown of goodwill at March 31, 2015 and 2014 is as follows:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2015		2014
	(dollars in thousands)
Cement	$	8,359	$	8,359
Gypsum Wallboard		116,618		116,618
Paperboard		7,538		7,538
	$	132,515	$	132,515