Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Background and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

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Background and Basis of Presentation (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation
On August 17, 2015, the Company, PQ Holdings Inc. (“PQ Holdings”), Eco Services Operations LLC (“Eco Services”), certain investment funds affiliated with CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC (now known as CCMP Capital Advisors, LP; “CCMP”), and stockholders of PQ Holdings and Eco Services entered into a reorganization and transaction agreement pursuant to which the companies consummated a series of transactions to reorganize and combine the businesses of PQ Holdings and Eco Services (the “Business Combination”), under a new holding company, PQ Group Holdings Inc. The Business Combination was consummated on May 4, 2016.
In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”), Eco Services is the accounting predecessor to PQ Group Holdings. Certain investment funds affiliated with CCMP held a controlling interest position in Eco Services prior to the Business Combination. In addition, certain investment funds affiliated with CCMP owned a non-controlling interest in PQ Holdings prior to the Business Combination and the merger with Eco Services constituted a change in control under the PQ Holdings credit agreements and bond indenture that were in place at the time of the Business Combination. Therefore, Eco Services is deemed to be the accounting acquirer. These condensed consolidated financial statements are the continuation of Eco Services’ business prior to the Business Combination.
The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations for interim reporting. In the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature necessary to state fairly the financial position and results of operations have been included. The results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s prospectus dated September 28, 2017, as filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
In October 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance which eliminates the deferral of the tax effects of intra-entity transfers of an asset other than inventory. Previous GAAP prohibited the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset had been sold to an outside party which has resulted in diversity in practice and increased complexity within financial reporting. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company early adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2017. The guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In March 2016, the FASB issued guidance that includes targeted improvements to the accounting for employee stock-based compensation. The updates in the guidance include changes in the income tax consequences, balance sheet classification and cash flow statement reporting of stock-based payment transactions. The guidance also includes certain modifications applicable only to nonpublic entities. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those years. The Company adopted this new guidance as required on January 1, 2017, with no material impact upon adoption to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. On a prospective basis from the adoption date, the Company will record all tax effects related to stock-based compensation through the statement of operations, and all tax-related cash flows resulting from stock-based award payments will be reported as operating activities in the statement of cash flows. The Company made an accounting policy election under the new guidance to account for forfeitures of stock-based compensation awards as they occur.
In July 2015, the FASB issued new guidance that changes the measurement principle for inventory from the lower of cost or market to the lower of cost or net realizable value. The amendments in this guidance do not apply to inventory that is measured using LIFO or the retail inventory method; rather, the amendments apply to all other inventory, which includes inventory that is measured using FIFO or average cost. Within the scope of this new guidance, an entity should measure inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is defined as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation, which is consistent with existing GAAP. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2017 as required. The guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In August 2017, the FASB issued amendments intended to better align hedge accounting with an entities risk management activities. The amendments expand hedge accounting for non-financial and financial risk components and revise the measurement methodologies to better align with an entities risk management activities. Separate presentation of hedge ineffectiveness is eliminated to provide greater transparency of the full impact of hedging by requiring presentation of the results of the hedged item and hedging instrument in a single financial statement line item. In addition, the amendments reduce complexity by simplifying the manner in which assessments of hedge effectiveness may be performed. The new guidance is effective for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, and the new guidance should be applied prospectively to the presentation and disclosure guidance. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.
In May 2017, the FASB issued guidance to clarify which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. Under the new guidance, an entity should not account for the effects of a change in a share-based payment award using modification accounting unless the fair value, vesting conditions and classification as either a liability or equity are all the same with respect to the award immediately prior to modification and the modified award itself. The new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, and the new guidance should be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after the adoption date. Based on the Company’s existing policies regarding the application of modification accounting to its share-based payment awards, the Company does not believe that the new guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In March 2017, the FASB issued guidance to improve the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost (collectively, “pension costs”). Under current GAAP, there are several components of pension costs which are presented net to arrive at pension costs as included in the income statement and disclosed in the notes. As part of this amendment to the existing guidance, the service cost component of pension costs will be bifurcated from the other components and included in the same line item of the income statement as compensation costs are reported. The remaining components will be reported together below operating income on the income statement, either as a separate line item or combined with another line item on the income statement and disclosed. Additionally, with respect to capitalization to inventory, fixed assets, etc., only the service cost component will be eligible for capitalization upon adoption of the guidance. The new guidance is effective for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments should be applied retrospectively upon adoption with respect to the presentation of the service and other cost components of pension costs in the income statement, and prospectively for the capitalization of the service cost component in assets. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.
In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance which eliminates the second step from the traditional two-step goodwill impairment test. Under current guidance, an entity performed the first step of the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount; if an impairment loss was indicated, the entity computed the implied fair value of goodwill to determine whether an impairment loss existed, and if so, the amount to recognize. Under the new guidance, an impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value (the Step 1 test), with no further testing required. Any impairment loss recognized is limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The new guidance is effective for public companies that are SEC registrants for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. All entities are required to apply the guidance prospectively to goodwill impairment tests subsequent to adoption of the standard. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.
In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance which clarifies the definition of a business and provides revised criteria and a framework to determine whether an integrated set of assets and activities is a business. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.
In November 2016, the FASB issued guidance which clarifies the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on the statement of cash flows. The updates in the guidance require that the statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts. The updates also require a reconciliation between cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash presented on the balance sheet to the total of the same amounts presented on the statement of cash flows. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted, and the new guidance should be applied retrospectively to each period presented. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements. As of September 30, 2017, the Company had $1,645 of restricted cash included in prepaid and other current assets on its balance sheet related to its New Market Tax Credit financing arrangements as well as other small restricted cash balances.
In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance which clarifies the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows, including debt prepayment or extinguishment costs and distributions from certain equity method investees. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, and the new guidance should be applied retrospectively to each period presented. The Company is evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.
In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance that amends the accounting for leases. Under the new guidance, a lessee will recognize assets and liabilities for most leases (including those classified under existing GAAP as operating leases, which based on current standards are not reflected on the balance sheet), but will recognize expenses similar to current lease accounting. For public companies, the new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance must be adopted using a modified retrospective transition and provides for certain practical expedients. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the new guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements. The Company has operating lease agreements for which it expects to recognize right of use assets and corresponding liabilities on its balance sheet upon adoption of the new guidance. A complete discussion of these leases is included in the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 in Note 20, Commitments and Contingent Liabilities.
In May 2014, the FASB issued accounting guidance (with subsequent targeted amendments) that will significantly enhance comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. The core principle of the guidance is that revenue recognized from a transaction or event that arises from a contract with a customer should reflect the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for goods or services provided. To achieve that core principle, the new guidance sets forth a five-step revenue recognition model that will need to be applied consistently to all contracts with customers, except those that are within the scope of other topics in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). Also required are enhanced disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenues and cash flows from contracts with customers. The enhanced disclosures include qualitative and quantitative information about contracts with customers, significant judgments made in applying the revenue guidance, and assets recognized related to the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract. For public companies, the new requirements are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company is reviewing its key revenue streams and assessing the underlying customer contracts within the framework of the new guidance. The Company has evaluated the key aspects of its revenue streams for impact under the new guidance and is currently performing a detailed analysis of its customer agreements to quantify the potential changes under the guidance. The Company believes that the guidance will not have a material impact on its existing revenue recognition practices, but there are new robust disclosure requirements that will have an impact on the Company’s reporting. The Company anticipates adopting the new guidance in the first quarter of 2018 as required, and expects to implement the guidance under the modified retrospective transition method of adoption.
Fair Value Measurement
Restoration plan assets
The fair values of the Company’s restoration plan assets are determined through quoted prices in active markets. Restoration plan assets are assets held in a Rabbi trust to fund the obligations of the Company’s defined benefit supplementary retirement plans and include various stock and fixed income mutual funds. See Note 15 to these condensed consolidated financial statements regarding defined supplementary retirement plans.
Derivative contracts
Derivative assets and liabilities can be exchange-traded or traded over-the-counter (“OTC”). The Company generally values exchange-traded derivatives using models that calibrate to market transactions and eliminate timing differences between the closing price of the exchange-traded derivatives and their underlying instruments. OTC derivatives are valued using market transactions and other market evidence whenever possible, including market-based inputs to models, model calibration to market transactions, broker or dealer quotations or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency. When models are used, the selection of a particular model to value an OTC derivative depends on the contractual terms of, and specific risks inherent in, the instrument as well as the availability of pricing information in the market. The Company generally uses similar models to value similar instruments. Valuation models require a variety of inputs, including contractual terms, market prices and rates, forward curves, measures of volatility, and correlations of such inputs. For OTC derivatives that trade in liquid markets, such as forward contracts, swaps and options, model inputs can generally be corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means, and model selection does not involve significant management judgment.
The Company has interest rate caps and natural gas caps and swaps that are fair valued using Level 2 inputs. In addition, the Company applies a credit valuation adjustment to reflect credit risk which is calculated based on credit default swaps. To the extent that the Company’s net exposure under a specific master agreement is an asset, the Company utilizes the counterparty’s default swap rate. If the net exposure under a specific master agreement is a liability, the Company utilizes a default swap rate comparable to PQ Group Holdings. The credit valuation adjustment is added to the discounted fair value to reflect the exit price that a market participant would be willing to receive to assume the Company’s liabilities or that a market participant would be willing to pay for the Company’s assets.