Item 1A. Risk Factors
Columbus McKinnon is subject to a number of risks that could negatively affect our business, financial condition or results from business operations or cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected or indicated in any forward-looking statement. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating your investment in us. The risks and uncertainties described below are those that we have identified as material, but are not the only risks and uncertainties facing Columbus McKinnon. This list is not all-inclusive or necessarily in order of importance. Our business could also be affected by additional risks that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial.
Business Risks
Our business is cyclical and is affected by industrial economic and macroeconomic conditions.
Many of the end-users of our products are in highly cyclical industries, such as manufacturing, power generation and distribution, commercial construction, oil and gas exploration and refining, transportation, agriculture, logging, and mining that are sensitive to changes in general economic conditions. Their demand for our products, and thus our results of operations, is cyclical and directly related to the level of production in their facilities, which changes as a result of changes in general macroeconomic conditions, including, among others, movements in interest rates, inflation, changes in currency exchange rates and higher fuel and other energy costs, and other factors beyond our control, and is vulnerable to economic downturns. Decreased capital and maintenance spending by these customers could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our products and our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In particular, higher interest rates could result in decreased demand for our products from end-users, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations, and concurrently result in higher interest expense related to borrowings under our credit facilities. In addition, inflation can also result in higher interest rates and negatively impact our results of operation. During an inflationary period, the costs of capital will often increase, and the purchasing power of our end users’ cash resources will decline, which can negatively affect demand from our customers. Current or future efforts by the government to stimulate the economy may increase the risk of significant inflation, which could have a direct and indirect adverse impact on our business and results of operations.If there is deterioration in the general economy or in the industries we serve, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, even if demand for our products improves, it is difficult to predict whether any improvement represents a long-term improving trend or the extent or timing of improvement. There can be no assurance that historically improving cycles are representative of actual future demand.In addition, the cyclical nature of our business could at times also adversely affect our liquidity and ability to borrow under our New Revolving Credit Facility (as defined herein) and limits our ability to make accurate long-term predictions about the performance of our Company.
Our business, particularly with respect to our material handling and precision conveyance products, is highly competitive and subject to consolidation of competitors. Increased competition could reduce our sales, earnings, and profitability.
The principal markets that we serve within the material handling and precision conveyance industries are fragmented and highly competitive. Competition is based primarily on customer service and support as well as product availability, performance, functionality, brand reputation, reliability, and price. Our competition in the markets in which we participate comes from companies of various sizes, some of which have greater financial and other resources than we do. Increased competition could force us to lower our prices or to offer additional services at a higher cost to us, which could reduce our gross margins and net income.
The greater financial resources or the lower amount of debt of certain of our competitors may enable them to commit larger amounts of capital in response to changing market conditions. Certain competitors may also have the ability to develop product or service innovations that could put us at a disadvantage. In addition, through consolidation, some of our competitors have achieved substantially greater market penetration in certain of the markets in which we operate than we have been able to achieve. If we are unable to compete successfully against other manufacturers of material handling equipment and precision conveyors, we could lose customers and our revenues may decline. There can also be no assurance that customers will continue to regard our products favorably, that we will be able to develop new products or product developments that appeal to customers, that we will be able to improve or maintain our profit margins on sales to our customers or that we will be able to continue to compete successfully in our core markets.
Our growth strategy depends on successful integration of acquisitions.
Acquisitions are a key part of our growth strategy. Our historical growth has depended, and our future growth is likely to depend, on our ability to successfully execute our acquisition strategy, and the successful integration of acquired businesses into our existing business. Such a strategy involves the potential risks inherent in assessing the value, strengths, weaknesses,
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contingent or other liabilities, and potential profitability of acquisition candidates and in integrating the operations of acquired companies. Furthermore, the price we pay for any business acquired may overstate the value of that business or otherwise be too high. In addition, any acquisitions of businesses with foreign operations or sales may increase our exposure to risks inherent in doing business outside the United States.
We intend to continue to seek additional acquisition opportunities in accordance with our acquisition strategy, both to expand into new markets and to enhance our position in existing markets throughout the world. If we are unable to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our existing business or expand into new markets, our sales and earnings growth could be reduced. Inherent in connection with any acquisition is the risk of transitioning company cultures and facilities and the corresponding risk of management and employee turnover. In addition, the focus on the integration of operations of acquired entities may divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operation of our businesses. The failure to efficiently and effectively achieve such transitions could increase our costs and decrease our profitability. Furthermore, the failure to achieve the anticipated synergies of our recent significant acquisitions or recognize the anticipated market opportunities or integration from our recent acquisitions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our future operating results may be affected by price fluctuations and trade tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other raw materials purchased to manufacture our products. We may not be able to pass on increases in raw material costs to our customers.
The primary raw materials used in our chain, forging and crane building operations are steel, aluminum, and other raw materials such as motors, electrical and electronic components, castings and machined parts and components. The industries that produce these critical components and materials are also themselves highly cyclical and at times pricing and availability can be volatile due to a number of factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions, inflation, labor costs, competition, import duties, tariffs, and currency exchange rates. This volatility can significantly affect our raw material costs. In an environment of increasing raw material prices and trade tariffs, competitive conditions will determine how much of the price increases we can pass on to our customers. In the future, to the extent we are unable to pass on any steel, aluminum, or other raw material price increases to our customers, our profitability could be adversely affected.
Our results of operations could materially suffer if we are unable to obtain sufficient pricing for our products and service to meet our profitability expectations.
If we are unable to obtain favorable pricing for our products and services in a timely manner, our revenues and profitability could materially suffer. For example, current conditions in our supply chain have resulted in rapid increases in the prices for the raw materials we use. Furthermore, the prices we are able to charge for our products and services are affected by a number of other factors, including:
•general economic and political conditions;
•our customers' desires to reduce their costs;
•the competitive environment;
•our ability to accurately estimate our costs, including our ability to estimate the impact of inflation on our costs over long-term contracts; and
•the procurement practices of our customers.
Our inability to pass increased prices along to our customers in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
If critical components or raw materials used to manufacture our products become scarce or unavailable, then we may incur delays in manufacturing and delivery of our products, which has damaged, and could continue to damage, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Due to increased demand across a range of industries, the global supply chain for certain critical components and raw materials used in the manufacture of our products has experienced significant constraints in recent periods. Particularly, the markets for motors, computer chips, and other components are experiencing increased demand, creating substantial uncertainty regarding the availability of key components and raw materials used to manufacture our products. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to and exacerbated these constraints. This constrained supply environment has adversely affected, and could further affect, availability, lead times and cost of components and raw material, and has impacted, and could continue to impact, our ability to respond to accelerated or quick-turn delivery requests from customers, or meet customer demand and product delivery dates for our end customers where we cannot timely secure adequate supply of these components and raw materials. Moreover, if any of our suppliers become financially unstable, or otherwise unable or unwilling to provide us with raw materials or components, we may have to find new suppliers. It may take several months to locate alternative suppliers, if required, or to redesign our products to accommodate components from different suppliers. We cannot predict if we will be able to obtain
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replacement components within the timeframes that we require at an acceptable cost, if at all. In addition, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant delays in receiving shipments of key component and raw materials and in shipping our completed products to customers. We have incurred, and may continue to incur, additional shipping and delivery costs to seek to expedite the delivery of critical components and raw materials.
In an effort to mitigate these risks, in some cases, we have incurred higher costs to secure available inventory, or have extended or placed non-cancellable purchase commitments with suppliers, which introduces inventory risk if our forecasts and assumptions prove inaccurate. While we may attempt to recover the increased costs through price increases to our customers, we may be unable to mitigate the effect on our results of operations. We have also multi-sourced and pre-ordered components and raw materials inventory in some cases in an effort to reduce the impact of the adverse supply chain conditions we have experienced. Despite our attempts to mitigate the impact on our business, these constrained supply conditions are expected to adversely impact our costs of goods sold. Limits on manufacturing availability or capacity or delays in production or delivery of components or raw materials for our suppliers could further delay or inhibit our ability to obtain supply of components and raw materials and produce finished goods. These supply chain constraints and their related challenges could result in shortages, increased material costs or use of cash, engineering design changes, and delays in new product introductions, each of which could adversely impact our growth, gross margin and financial results. These types of negative financial impacts on our business may become more acute as supply chain pressures increase.
Our backlog is subject to modification, termination or reduction of orders, which could negatively impact our sales.
Our backlog is comprised of the portion of firm signed purchase orders or other written contractual commitments received from customers that we have not recognized as sales. The dollar amount of backlog as of March 31, 2023 was $309 million. Our backlog can be significantly affected by the timing of orders for large projects, and the amount of our backlog at March 31, 2023 is not necessarily indicative of future backlog levels or the rate at which backlog will be recognized as sales. Although modifications and terminations of our orders may be partially offset by cancellation fees, customers can, and sometimes do, terminate or modify these orders. We cannot predict whether cancellations will accelerate or diminish in the future. Cancellations of purchase orders, indications that the customers will not perform under their existing purchase orders or contracts or reductions of product quantities in existing contracts could substantially and materially reduce our backlog and, consequently, our future sales. Our failure to replace canceled orders could negatively impact our sales and results of operations.
We rely in large part on independent distributors for sales of our products.
For the most part, we depend on independent distributors to sell our products and provide service and aftermarket support to our end-user customers. Distributors play a significant role in determining which of our products are stocked at their locations, and hence are most readily accessible to aftermarket buyers, and the price at which these products are sold. Almost all of the distributors with whom we transact business offer competitive products and services to our end-user customers. For the most part, we do not have written agreements with our distributors. The loss of a substantial number of these distributors or an increase in the distributors' sales of our competitors' products to our ultimate customers could materially reduce our sales and profits.
Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract, develop, engage and retain qualified employees.
Because of the complex nature of many of our products and services, we are generally dependent on an educated and highly skilled workforce, including our engineering talent and our sales professionals. Failure to attract, develop, engage and retain qualified employees, whether as a result of an insufficient number of qualified applicants, difficulty in recruiting new employees, or inadequate resources to train, integrate and retain qualified employees, could impair our ability to execute our business strategy, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The importance of recruiting and retaining qualified employees has only become more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic as labor shortages have occurred in many of the regions in which we have operations. Low rates of unemployment in key geographic areas in which we operate may lead to high rates of turnover and loss of critical talent, which could in turn lead to higher labor costs.
Financial Risks
Changes in the method of determining the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), or the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect interest rates.
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On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021, although on November 30, 2020 it announced that it had extended the period in which it will continue to publish certain LIBOR tenors, including three-month LIBOR, to December 31, 2024. It is unclear if at that time LIBOR will cease to exist or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after December 31, 2024, or whether different benchmark rates used to price indebtedness will develop. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of market participants convened by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has recommended the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), a rate calculated based on repurchase agreements backed by treasury securities, as its recommended alternative benchmark rate to replace LIBOR. At this time, it is not known whether or when SOFR or other alternative reference rates will attain market traction as replacements for LIBOR. Any new benchmark rate will likely not replicate LIBOR exactly. The interest rate on the Company’s Term Loan B (as defined herein) and New Revolving Credit Facility have a variable component that is based on LIBOR. The phase-out of LIBOR may negatively impact the terms of our outstanding indebtedness. In addition, the overall financial market may be disrupted as a result of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR. Disruption in the financial market could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity.
In connection with the completion of the acquisitions of Dorner and Garvey, our indebtedness has increased significantly. We expect to incur additional indebtedness with the acquisition of montratec expected to close on May 31, 2023. Our indebtedness could limit our cash flow available for operations and our flexibility.
In connection with the completion of the acquisition of Dorner and Garvey, our indebtedness has increased significantly. In connection with the Dorner acquisition, we incurred debt of $450,000,000 under the Term Loan B, following our equity offering of $207,000,000 in May 2021. Additionally, in connection with the completion of the Garvey acquisition, the Company incurred another $75,000,000 of Term Loan B indebtedness through the exercise of an accordion feature under the terms of our First Lien Facilities Credit Agreement. As of March 31, 2023, we had approximately $100,000,000 available for borrowing under the New Revolving Credit Facility (before deducting approximately $15,104,000 of letters of credit outstanding as of March 31, 2023). Further, our potential fiscal 2024 acquisition of montratec has increased our indebtedness.
The degree to which we are leveraged could have important consequences to our shareholders, including the following:
•we may have greater difficulty satisfying our obligations with respect to our indebtedness;
•we must dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, reducing the funds available for our operations;
•our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes may be impaired;
•we may be limited in our ability to make additional acquisitions or pay dividends on our common stock;
•our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the markets in which we compete may be limited;
•we may be at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors with less indebtedness;
•inability to comply with covenants in, and potential for default under, our debt instruments
•we may be rendered more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•we may be unable to pay off in full or refinance any of our indebtedness at maturity;
•our credit ratings may be downgraded; and
•we are exposed to increased interest rate risk given that a portion of our indebtedness obligations are at variable interest rates.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to sell assets, seek additional capital or seek to restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. We may be unable to consummate those asset sales to raise capital or sell assets at prices that we believe are fair and proceeds that we do receive may be inadequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.
Furthermore, we may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of our debt instruments do not fully prohibit us from doing so. This could further exacerbate the risks that we face.
Our operations outside the U.S. pose certain risks that may adversely impact sales and earnings.
We have operations and assets located outside of the United States, primarily in China, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Malaysia and Russia. In addition, we import a portion of our hoist product line from Asia and sell our products to distributors located in approximately 50 countries. In our fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, approximately 39% of our net sales were derived from non-U.S. markets. These non-U.S. operations are subject to a number of special risks, in addition to the risks of our U.S. business, differing protections of intellectual property, trade barriers, labor unrest, geopolitical conflicts, exchange
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controls, regional economic uncertainty, differing (and possibly more stringent) labor regulation, risk of governmental expropriation, U.S. and foreign customs and tariffs, political and economic instability in the jurisdictions in which we operate, foreign receivables collection risk, current and changing regulatory environments, difficulty in obtaining distribution support, difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations, differences in the availability, and terms of financing, political instability and risks of increases in taxes. Also, in some foreign jurisdictions, we may be subject to laws limiting the right and ability of entities organized or operating therein to pay dividends or remit earnings to affiliated companies unless specified conditions are met. These factors may adversely affect our future profits.
Part of our strategy is to expand our worldwide market share and reduce costs by strengthening our international distribution capabilities and sourcing components in lower cost countries, such as China, Mexico, Hungary and Malaysia. Implementation of this strategy may increase the impact of the risks described above, and we cannot assure you that such risks will not have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Other risks of doing business in international markets include the increased risks and burdens of complying with different legal and regulatory standards, difficulties in managing and staffing foreign operations, recruiting and retaining talented direct sales personnel, limitations on the repatriation of funds and fluctuations of foreign exchange rates, varying levels of internet technology adoption and infrastructure and our ability to enforce contracts and our intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. Additionally, there are risks associated with fundamental changes to international markets, such as those that may occur as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In addition, in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has imposed, and is likely to impose material additional, financial and economic sanctions and export controls against Russia and certain Russian organizations and individuals, with similar actions either implemented or planned by the European Union and the U.K. and other jurisdictions. While the Company’s business operations relating to Russia constitute an immaterial part of the Company’s overall business, we may decide to, or be required to, exit from our operations in Russia in their entirety, which could result in a loss of revenues from our Russian operations (approximately $167,000 for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023) or may necessitate the need to incur a bad debt reserve or an asset write-off related to our Russian operations. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the current Russian invasion of Ukraine will not draw military intervention from other countries or further retaliation from Russia, which, in turn, could lead to a much larger conflict. If such escalation should occur, supply chain, trade routes and markets currently served by the Company could be adversely affected. In addition, a further escalation could disrupt the supply of oil and natural gas in Europe, impacting our ability to operate our European manufacturing facilities, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect the Company’s business operations and financial performance.
In addition, our success in international expansion could be limited by barriers to international expansion such as adverse tax consequences and export controls. If we cannot manage these risks effectively, the costs of doing business in some international markets may be prohibitive or our costs may increase disproportionately to our revenue.
We are subject to currency fluctuations from our sales outside the U.S.
Our products are sold in many countries around the world. Thus, a portion of our revenues (approximately $367,025,000 in our fiscal year ended March 31, 2023) are generated in foreign currencies, including principally the Euro, the British Pound, the Canadian Dollar, the South African Rand, the Brazilian Real, the Mexican Peso, and the Chinese Yuan, and while much of the costs incurred to generate those revenues are incurred in the same currency, a portion is incurred in other currencies. Since our financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars, changes in currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and other currencies have had, and will continue to have, a currency translation impact on our earnings. Currency fluctuations may impact our financial performance in the future.
We are subject to debt covenant restrictions.
Our Term Loan B and New Revolving Credit Facility contain a financial leverage covenant, which will only be tested if any extensions of credit (other than letters of credit) are outstanding under the New Revolving Credit Facility at the end of any fiscal quarter, and other restrictive covenants. A significant decline in our operating income or cash generating ability could cause us to violate our leverage covenant in our bank credit facilities. Other material adverse changes in our business could also cause us to be in default of our debt covenants. Any breach of any such covenants or restrictions would result in a default under such agreement that could result in our being unable to borrow under our bank credit facilities and would permit the lenders to declare all borrowings under such agreement to be immediately due and payable and, through cross-default provisions, could entitle other lenders to accelerate their loans to us. In such an event, the Company would need to modify or restructure all or a portion of its indebtedness. Depending on prevailing economic conditions at the time, the Company might find it difficult to modify or restructure the debt on attractive terms, or at all.
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Legal Risks
Our products involve risks of personal injury and property damage, which exposes us to potential liability.
Our business exposes us to possible claims for personal injury or death, property damage or economic loss resulting from the products that we selland to potential warranty, contractual or other claims. These product liability risks are inherent in the design, manufacture and sale of our products. Our products are complex and may contain defects, errors, or experience failures or unsatisfactory performance, due to any number of issues, including issues in materials, design, fabrication, packaging and/or use within a system or item of equipment. Further, because of the complexity of our products, defects or errors might only be detected when the products are in use. As a result, we could experience material product liability or warranty costs in the future and incur significant costs to defend ourselves against associated claims. Development of new products increases complexity and adds risk to manufacturing reliability, and increases the likelihood of product defects or errors.In addition, defects in our products could result in failure to achieve market acceptance, a shifting of business to our competitors, and litigation or regulatory action against us, and could harm our reputation or the reputation of the various brands under which we sell our products, our relationships with customers and our ability to attract new customers, as well as the perceptions of our brands. Other potential adverse impacts of product defects include shipment delays, write-offs of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, and losses on unfavorable purchase commitments.
We maintain insurance through a combination of self-insurance retentions and excess insurance coverage. We monitor claims and potential claims of which we become aware and establish accrued liability reserves for the self-insurance amounts based on our liability estimates for such claims. We cannot give any assurance that existing or future claims will not exceed our estimates for self-insurance or the amount of our excess insurance coverage. In addition, we cannot give any assurance that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms or that our insurers would not require us to increase our self-insurance amounts. Claims brought against us that are not covered by insurance or that are in excess of insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our results, financial condition, or liquidity. In addition, warranty and certain other claims are not typically covered by insurance.
In addition, like many industrial manufacturers, we are also involved in asbestos-related litigation. In continually evaluating costs relating to our estimated asbestos-related liability, we review, among other things, the incidence of past and recent claims, the historical case dismissal rate, the mix of the claimed illnesses and occupations of the plaintiffs, our recent and historical resolution of the cases, the number of cases pending against us, the status and results of broad-based settlement discussions, and the number of years such activity might continue. Based on this review, we estimate our share of liability to defend and resolve probable asbestos related personal injury claims. This estimate is highly uncertain due to the limitations of the available data and the difficulty of forecasting with any certainty the numerous variables that can affect the range of the liability. We continue to study the variables in light of additional information in order to identify trends that may become evident and to assess their impact on the range of liability that is probable and estimable. We believe that the potential additional costs for claims will not have a material effect on the financial condition of the Company or its liquidity, although the effect of any future liabilities recorded could be material to earnings in a future period. See Note 16 to our March 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
As indicated above, our self-insurance coverage is provided through our captive insurance subsidiary. The reserves of our captive insurance subsidiary are subject to periodic adjustments based upon actuarial evaluations, which adjustments impact our overall results of operations and financial condition. These periodic adjustments can be favorable or unfavorable.
We are subject to various environmental laws, which may require us to expend significant capital, incur substantial cost and could lower our margins.
Our operations and facilities are subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign requirements relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharges of pollutants in the air and water, the generation, management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Increased public awareness and concern regarding climate change and other ESG matters at numerous levels of government in various jurisdictions may lead to additional international, national, regional and local legislative and regulatory responses, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly. We have made, and will continue to make, expenditures to comply with such requirements. Violations of, or liabilities under, environmental laws and regulations, or changes in such laws and regulations (such as the imposition of more stringent standards for discharges into the environment), could result in substantial costs to us, including operating costs and capital expenditures, fines and civil and criminal sanctions, third party claims for property damage or personal injury, clean-up costs, or costs relating to the temporary or permanent discontinuance of operations. Certain of our facilities have been in operation for many years, and we have remediated contamination at some of our facilities. Over time, we and other predecessor operators of such facilities have generated, used, handled, and disposed of hazardous and other regulated wastes. Additional environmental liabilities could exist, including clean-up obligations at these locations or other sites at which
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materials from our operations were disposed, which could result in substantial future expenditures that cannot be currently quantified and which could reduce our profits or have an adverse effect on our financial condition, operations, or liquidity.
We may face claims of infringement on the intellectual property of others, or others may infringe upon our intellectual property.
Our future success depends in part on our ability to prevent others from infringing on our proprietary rights, as well as our ability to operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others. We may be required at times to take legal action to protect our proprietary rights and, despite our best efforts, we may be sued for infringing on the intellectual property rights of others. Intellectual property-related litigation is costly and, even if we prevail, the cost of such litigation could adversely affect our financial condition. In addition, we could be adversely affected financially should we be judged to have infringed upon the intellectual property of others.
We rely on subcontractors or suppliers to perform their contractual obligations.
Some of our contracts involve subcontracts with other companies upon which we rely to perform a portion of the services we must provide to our customers. There is a risk that we may have disputes with our subcontractors, including disputes regarding the quality and timeliness of work performed by our subcontractor or customer concerns about the subcontractor. Failure by our subcontractors to satisfactorily provide on a timely basis the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed upon services may materially and adversely impact our ability to perform our obligations as the prime contractor. A delay in our ability to obtain components and equipment parts from our suppliers may affect our ability to meet our customers' needs and may have an adverse effect upon our profitability.
General Risks
Adverse changes in global economic conditions may negatively affect our industry, business, and results of operations.
Our industry is affected by changes in economic conditions outside our control, which can result in a general decrease in product demand from our customers. Such economic developments, like inflationary pressures in the U.S. and elsewhere, the China trade wars and the war in Ukraine may affect our business in a number of ways. Reduced demand may drive us and our competitors to offer products at promotional prices, which would have a negative impact on our profitability. In addition, the tightening of credit in financial markets may adversely affect the ability of our customers and suppliers to obtain financing for significant purchases and operations and could result in a decrease in, or cancellation of, orders for our products. If demand for our products slows down or decreases, we will not be able to maintain our revenue and we may run the risk of failing to satisfy the financial and other restrictive covenants to which we are subject under our existing indebtedness. Reduced revenue as a result of decreased demand may also reduce our planned growth and otherwise hinder our ability to improve our performance in connection with our long-term strategy.
Climate change, or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change, may materially adversely affect our financial condition and business operations.
Climate change resulting from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could present risks to our future operations from natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, droughts or flooding. Such extreme weather conditions could pose physical risks to our facilities and disrupt operation of our supply chain and may impact operational costs. The impacts of climate change on global water resources may result in water scarcity, which could in the future impact our ability to access sufficient quantities of water in certain locations and result in increased costs. Furthermore, the potential physical impacts of climate change on our customers, and therefore on our operations, are speculative and highly uncertain, and would be particular to the circumstances developing in various geographical regions.
Concern over climate change will likely result in new legal or regulatory requirements designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Further, our customers and the markets we serve may impose emissions reduction or other environmental standards and requirements. These requirements could result in a need to change our manufacturing processes or product offerings, or undertake other activities which may require us to incur additional expense. In addition, we may experience increased compliance burdens and operational costs and raw material sourcing, manufacturing operations and the distribution of our products may be adversely affected. Moreover, we may not be able to timely meet these requirements due to the required level of capital investment or technological advancement. While we have been committed to continuous improvements to meet anticipated regulations and preferences, there can be no assurance that our commitments will be successful, that our products will be accepted by the market, that proposed regulations will not have a negative competitive impact or that economic returns will reflect our investments in new product development. There also continues to be a lack of
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consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. These factors may impact the demand for our products, obsolescence of certain products and adversely affect our results of operations. A failure, or perceived failure, to respond to investor or customer expectations related to ESG concerns in areas such as climate change and supply chain management could materially adversely affect our business and reputation.
Our business operations may be adversely affected by information technology systems interruptions or intrusion.
We depend on various information technology systems throughout our Company to administer, store, and support multiple business activities, including to process the data we collect, store and use in connection with our business. If these systems are damaged, cease to function properly, or are subject to cyber-security attacks, such as those involving unauthorized access, malicious software and/or other intrusions, we could experience production downtimes, operational delays, other detrimental impacts on our operations or ability to provide products and services to our customers, the compromising of confidential or otherwise protected information, destruction or corruption of data, security breaches, other manipulation or improper use of our systems or networks, financial losses from remedial actions, loss of business or potential liability, and/or damage to our reputation. Our information technology systems may be damaged or cease to function properly due to any number of causes, such as catastrophic events, power outages and security breaches (including destructive malware such as ransomware) resulting in unauthorized access or cyber-attacks. As the breadth and complexity of our information technology systems continue to grow, including as a result of the increasing reliance on, and use of, mobile technologies and cloud-based services, the risk of security incidents and cyberattacks has increased. While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee training, technical security controls, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks, products, and services remain potentially vulnerable to known or unknown cybersecurity threats, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, cybersecurity threats are constantly expanding and evolving, becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, increasing the difficulty of detecting and defending against them and maintaining effective security measures and protocols.
We are also subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States, Europe and around the world, as well as contractual obligations, regarding data privacy, security and protection. These laws and regulations continue to evolve, are increasing in complexity and number and increasingly conflict among the various countries in which we operate, which has resulted in greater compliance risk and cost for us. Any failure or perceived failure by us, or any third parties with which we do business, to comply with our posted privacy policies, changing consumer expectations, evolving laws, rules and regulations, industry standards, or contractual obligations to which we or such third parties are or may become subject, may result in actions or other claims against us by governmental entities or private actors, the expenditure of substantial costs, time and other resources or the incurrence of significant fines, penalties or other liabilities. In addition, any such action, particularly to the extent we were found to be guilty of violations or otherwise liable for damages, could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our liability insurance, which includes cyber insurance, might not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security incidents, cyberattacks and other related incidents.
We operate in many different jurisdictions, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal policies mandate compliance with these anti-corruption laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-corruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, we cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures always will protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Our continued expansion outside the U.S., including in developing countries, could increase the risk of such violations in the future. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
We depend on our management team and the loss of any member could adversely affect our operations.
Our success is dependent on the management and leadership skills of our management team, including our senior team. The loss of any of these individuals or an inability to attract, retain, and maintain additional personnel could prevent us from implementing our business strategy. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our existing management personnel or to attract additional qualified personnel when needed.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
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Item 2. Properties
We maintain our corporate headquarters in Buffalo, New York (an owned property) and, as of March 31, 2023, conducted our principal manufacturing at the following facilities:
Location Products/Operations SquareFootage Owned orLeased
1 Künzelsau, Germany Hoists 345,000 Leased
2 Wadesboro, NC Hoists 180,000 Owned
4 Charlotte, NC Actuators and Rotary Unions 146,000 Leased
5 Menomonee Falls, WI Power control systems 144,000 Leased
Tennessee forging operation:
6 Chattanooga, TN Forged attachments 81,000 Owned
7 Chattanooga, TN Forged attachments 59,000 Owned
8 Hartland, WI Precision Conveyors 125,000 Leased
9 Wuppertal, Germany Hoists 124,000 Leased
10 Kissing, Germany Hoists, winches, and actuators 107,000 Leased
12 Hangzhou, China Hoists 82,000 Owned
13 Brighton, MI Overhead light rail workstations 71,000 Leased
14 Hammonton, NJ Accumulation Tables 58,000 Leased
15 Chester, England Plate clamps 56,000 Owned
16 Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico Hoists 54,000 Owned
17 Bayan Lepas, Malaysia Precision Conveyors 40,000 Leased
18 Jülich, Germany Precision Conveyors 29,000 Owned
19 Szekesfehervar, Hungary Textiles and textile strappings 24,000 Leased
20 Zapopan, Mexico Precision Conveyors 20,000 Leased
In addition, we have a total of 47 sales offices, distribution centers, and warehouses. We believe that our properties have been adequately maintained, are in generally good condition and are suitable for our business as presently conducted. We also believe our existing facilities provide sufficient production capacity for our present needs and for our anticipated needs in the foreseeable future. Upon the expiration of our current leases, we believe that either we will be able to secure renewal terms or enter into leases for alternative locations at market terms.
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Item 3. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we are named a defendant in legal actions arising out of the normal course of business. We are not a party to any pending legal proceeding other than ordinary, routine litigation incidental to our business. We do not believe that any of our pending litigation will have a material impact on our business. We maintain comprehensive general product liability insurance against risks arising out of the use of our products sold to customers through our wholly owned New York State captive insurance subsidiary of which we are the sole policy holder. The per occurrence limits on the self-insurance for general and product liability coverage were $2,000,000 from inception through fiscal 2003 and $3,000,000 for fiscal 2004 and thereafter. In addition to the per occurrence limits, our coverage is also subject to an annual aggregate limit, applicable to losses only. These limits range from $2,000,000 to $6,000,000 for each policy year from inception through fiscal 2023. We obtain additional insurance coverage from independent insurers to cover potential losses in excess of these limits.
Like many industrial manufacturers, we are also involved in asbestos-related litigation. In continually evaluating costs relating to our estimated asbestos-related liability, we review, among other things, the incidence of past and recent claims, the historical case dismissal rate, the mix of the claimed illnesses and occupations of the plaintiffs, our recent and historical resolution of the cases, the number of cases pending against us, the status and results of broad-based settlement discussions, and the number of years such activity might continue. Because this liability is likely to extend over many years, management believes that the potential additional costs for claims will not have a material effect on the financial condition of the Company or its liquidity, although the effect of any future liabilities recorded could be material to earnings in a future period.
See Note 16 to our March 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K for more information on our matters involving litigation.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not Applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Security Holder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "CMCO." As of April 30, 2023, there were 333holders of record of our common stock.
During fiscal 2023, the Company declared quarterly cash dividends totaling $8,014,000. On March 21, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.07 per common share. The dividend was paid on May 15, 2023 to shareholders of record as of May 5, 2023 and totaled approximately $2,005,000.
Our First Lien Facilities Credit Agreement allows for the declaration and payment of dividends, subject to specified limitation as set forth in our First Lien Facilities Credit Agreement. We expect to continue to pay dividends in fiscal 2024 at our historical rates.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table presents information with respect to purchases of common stock of the Company made during the three months ended March 31, 2023 by the Company:
1The Company publicly announced on March 26, 2019 that its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase authorization for up to $20 million of shares of common stock of Columbus McKinnon Corporation, with no expiration. As of March 31, 2023, approximately $19 million of shares of common stock of the Company remains available repurchase under the current authorization plan. There were no repurchases made in the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
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PERFORMANCE GRAPH
The Performance Graph shown below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock based on its market price, with the total return of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the Dow Jones U.S. Diversified Industrials Index. The comparison of total return assumes that a fixed investment of $100 was invested on March 31, 2018 in our common stock and in each of the foregoing indices and further assumes the reinvestment of dividends. The stock price performance shown on the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.
This Performance Graph shall not be deemed "filed" with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or incorporate by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This section should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
The Company is a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of intelligent motion solutions, including motion control products, technologies, automated systems and services, that efficiently and ergonomically move, lift, position and secure materials. Our key products include hoists, crane components, precision conveyors, actuators, rigging tools, light rail workstations, and digital power and motion control systems. These are highly relevant, professional-grade solutions that solve customers’ critical material handling requirements.
Founded in 1875, we have grown to our current size and leadership position through organic growth and acquisitions. We developed our leading market position over our 148-year history by emphasizing technological innovation, manufacturing excellence and superior customer service. In accordance with our strategic framework, we are building out our business system ("CMBS") and growth framework to be market-led, customer-centric, and operationally excellent with our people and values at the core. We believe this will transform Columbus McKinnon into a top-tier Intelligent Motion Solutions company. We expect our strategy will enhance shareholder value by growing sales, expanding EBITDA margins and increasing our return on invested capital ("ROIC").
Our revenue base is geographically diverse with approximately 39% derived from customers outside the U.S. for the year ended March 31, 2023. We believe this diversity balances the impact of changes that occur in local economies, as well as benefits the Company by providing access to growing emerging markets. We monitor both U.S. and Eurozone Industrial Capacity Utilization statistics as well as the ISM Production Index as indicators of anticipated demand for our products. In addition, we continue to monitor the potential impact of other global and U.S. trends including, industrial production, trade tariffs, raw material cost inflation, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, and activity of end-user markets around the globe.
From a strategic perspective, we are investing in new products as we focus on our greatest opportunities for growth. We maintain a strong North American market share with significant leading market positions in hoists, lifting and sling chain, forged attachments, actuators, and digital power and motion control systems for the material handling industry. We seek to maintain and enhance our market share by focusing our sales and marketing activities toward select North American and global market sectors including general industrial, energy, automotive, heavy OEM, entertainment, and construction and infrastructure.
In fiscal 2022, the Company completed its acquisitions of Dorner and Garvey. Dorner is a leading supplier to the stable life sciences, food processing, and consumer packaged goods markets as well as the high growth industrial automation and e-commerce sectors. Garvey is a leading accumulation systems solutions company providing unique, patented systems for the automation of production processes whose products complement those of Dorner. The acquisitions of Dorner and Garvey accelerate the Company’s shift to intelligent motion.
In April 2023, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire montratec GmbH ("montratec"), a leading automation solutions company that designs and develops intelligent automation and transport systems for interlinking industrial production and logistics processes. montratec product offerings complement both Dorner and Garvey, and further the Company's shift to intelligent motion and serve as a platform to expand capabilities in advanced, higher technology automation solutions.
Regardless of the economic climate and point in the economic cycle, we constantly explore ways to increase operating margins as well as further improve our productivity and competitiveness. We have specific initiatives to reduce quote lead-times, improve on-time deliveries, reduce warranty costs, and improve material and factory productivity. The initiatives are being driven by the implementation of our business operating system, CMBS. We are working to achieve these strategic initiatives through business simplification, operational excellence, and profitable growth initiatives. We believe these initiatives will enhance future operating margins.
Our principal raw materials and components purchases were approximately $365 million in fiscal 2023 (or 61% of Cost of product sold) and include steel, consisting of rod, wire, bar, structural, and other forms of steel; electric motors; bearings; gear reducers; castings; steel and aluminum enclosures and wire harnesses; electro-mechanical components; and standard variable drives and controls. These commodities are all available from multiple sources. We purchase most of these raw materials and components from a limited number of strategic and preferred suppliers under agreements which are negotiated on a company-wide basis through our global purchasing group. Currently, as a result of global inflation, we are experiencing higher raw material costs and availability issues for select raw materials and components. To date, we have raised prices to our customers
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to cover these increased raw material costs and are working with our supply base to prioritize shipments and improve availability of key components.
We operate in a highly competitive and global business environment. We see a variety of opportunities in our markets and geographies, including trends toward automation and increasing labor productivity and the expansion of market opportunities in Asia and other emerging markets. While we execute our long-term growth strategy, we are supported by our strong free cash flow as well as our liquidity position and flexible debt structure.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion is a comparison between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 results. For a discussion of our results of operations for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021, please refer to Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on May 25, 2022.
Fiscal 2023Compared to Fiscal 2022
Fiscal 2023 sales were $936,240,000, an increase of 3.3%, or $29,685,000 compared with fiscal 2022 sales of $906,555,000. Sales for the fiscal year were positively impacted by $22,436,000 of incremental sales from the Garvey acquisition as well as price increases of $46,987,000. Offsetting these increases were $9,154,000 in decreased sales volume and unfavorable foreign currency translation of $30,584,000.
Gross profit was $342,099,000 and $315,730,000 or 36.5% and 34.8% of net sales in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. The fiscal 2023 increase in gross profit of $26,369,000 or 8.4% is the result of the $22,614,000 of price increases net of material inflation, $9,521,000 in gross profit as a result of the acquisition of Garvey, $7,663,000 of prior year acquisition amortization for inventory step up, backlog and integration costs that did not reoccur, $2,850,000 from a prior year product liability settlement which did not reoccur, $1,606,000 of prior year business realignment costs that did not reoccur, $674,000 of decreased product liability costs, and $629,000 of decreased tariffs offset by $5,019,000 of decreased productivity net of other cost changes and $3,365,000 from lower sales volumes. The translation of foreign currencies had a $10,804,000 unfavorable impact on gross profit for the year ended March 31, 2023.
Selling expenses were $102,528,000 and $99,187,000, or 11.0% and 10.9% of net sales in fiscal years 2023 and 2022. Selling expense increased $2,417,000 as a result of the Garvey acquisition, $2,250,000 as the result of increased business realignment costs, and $2,744,000 from increased travel and trade show expenses. Foreign currency translation had a $4,095,000 favorable impact on selling expenses.
General and administrative expenses were $94,794,000 and $102,128,000 or 10.1% and 11.3% of net sales in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was due to a net decrease of $8,960,000 in acquisition and deal integration costs and a decrease of $1,495,000 in stock-based compensation expense. The decrease in stock-based compensation expense was the result of the performance condition not being fully met on the Company's fiscal 2021 performance shares. Partially offsetting these decreases were $1,989,000 of higher general and administrative expenses incurred by the Garvey acquisition including the accrual of additional contingent consideration as discussed in Note 3 of the financial statements and $1,667,000 of higher net business realignment costs. Foreign currency translation had a $2,220,000 favorable impact on general and administrative expenses for the year ended March 31, 2023.
Research and development expenses were $20,935,000 and $15,351,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. As a percentage of consolidated net sales, research and development expenses were 2.2% and 1.7% in fiscal 2023 and 2022. The increase in research and development expenses was due to additional spending to achieve strategic goals related to new product development.
Amortization of intangibles were $26,001,000 and $25,283,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively, with the increase related to new intangible assets recorded from the Garvey acquisition.
Interest and debt expense was $27,942,000 and $20,126,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase is related to higher interest rates, as well as increased borrowings to finance the Garvey acquisition.
The Company incurred $14,803,000 in Cost of debt refinancing in 2022. As described in Note 12 to our March 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements, this was a result of the Dorner acquisition and related refinancing during fiscal 2022. There were no similar expenses incurred in fiscal 2023.
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Investment income of $315,000 and $46,000, in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to earnings on marketable securities held in the Company’s wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary and the Company's equity method investment in EMC, described in Note 7 to our March 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements.
Foreign currency exchange resulted in a gain of $2,189,000 and a loss $1,574,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. This favorable change was due to the recent strengthening of the Euro in comparison to the U.S. Dollar.
Other income was $2,072,000 in fiscal 2023 and $1,122,000 in fiscal 2022. As described in Note 13, the increase in Other income is primarily related to a tax indemnification reimbursement received from STAHL's former owners in accordance with the share purchase agreement.
Income tax expense as a percentage of income from continuing operations before income tax expense was 35.0% and 22.9% in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. Typically these percentages vary from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% due to varying effective tax rates at the Company's foreign subsidiaries and the jurisdictional mix of income for these subsidiaries.
In fiscal 2023, the rate was unfavorably impacted 3 percentage points due to settlement of income tax assessments related to tax periods prior to the Company’s acquisition of Stahl Cranesystems GmbH (“STAHL"). In accordance with the tax indemnification clause of the share purchase agreement, the Company received full reimbursement from STAHL’s prior owner which was recorded as a gain in Other (income) expense, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The tax rate also reflects an unfavorable impact of 2 percentage points due to the recording of a U.S. state tax valuation allowance. The valuation allowance primarily relates to changes in the Company’s expectations regarding its ability to more likely than not utilize certain state net operating losses prior to their expiration. The tax rate was also unfavorably affected by non-deductible compensation and U.S. taxes on foreign earnings. These increased the rate by 2 percentage points each.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash totaled $133,426,000 and $115,640,000, at March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Cash flow from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $83,636,000 and $48,881,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. In fiscal 2023, net income of $48,429,000 and non-cash adjustments to net income of $61,111,000 were the largest contributors. Of the non-cash adjustments, $41,947,000 was depreciation and amortization and $10,425,000 was stock-based compensation. Net working capital increases reduced operating cash flows by $12,092,000, which included an increase of $9,087,000 in inventories as the Company increased inventory due to continuing supply chain constraints and a $13,964,000 decrease in accounts payable as the Company purchased less inventory in the final month of fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. This was partially offset by an increase in accrued liabilities of $9,150,000. The increase in accrued liabilities is primarily related to an increase in customer down payments. In addition non-current liabilities decreased by $13,689,000. The decrease in non-current liabilities primarily consists of $8,872,000 in cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities in fiscal 2023.
Cash flow from investing activities
Net cash used for investing activities was $13,932,000 and $554,311,000 in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively. In fiscal 2023, the most significant uses of cash in investing activities was $12,632,000 in capital expenditures and $1,616,000 related to a working capital adjustment for the Garvey acquisition described in Note 3 of the financial statements.
Cash flow from financing activities
Net cash used for financing activities was $49,987,000 in fiscal 2023 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $420,700,000 in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2023, the most significant uses of cash were $40,550,000 in the repayment of debt and $8,008,000 in dividend payments.
We believe that our cash on hand, cash flows, and borrowing capacity under our First Lien Facilities (as defined below) will be sufficient to fund our ongoing operations and debt obligations, and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months. This belief is dependent upon successful execution of our current business plan and effective working capital utilization. No material restrictions exist in accessing cash held by our non-U.S. subsidiaries. Additionally, we expect to meet our U.S. funding needs without repatriating non-U.S. cash and incurring incremental U.S. taxes. As of March 31, 2023, $74,694,000 of cash and cash equivalents were held by foreign subsidiaries.
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As discussed in Note 3 of the financial statements, the Company announced in April 2023 that it entered into an agreement to acquire montratec. The acquisition is expected to close on May 31, 2023. To finance the montratec acquisition, the Company expanded its New Revolving Credit Facility by $75 million. The Company has drawn on the expanded New Revolving Credit facility to initially fund the acquisition on May 31, 2023. In addition, the Company plans to raise approximately $50 million in additional debt by June 30, 2023 through the securitization of certain of the Company's U.S. customer accounts receivable balances. The Company intends to use these proceeds to partially repay borrowings under its New Revolving Credit Facility. Please refer to Note 3 of the financial statements for additional information related to the montratec acquisition.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
In addition to keeping our current equipment and plants properly maintained, we are committed to replacing, enhancing and upgrading our property, plant and equipment to support new product development, improve productivity and customer responsiveness, reduce production costs, increase flexibility to respond effectively to market fluctuations and changes, meet environmental requirements, enhance safety and promote ergonomically correct work stations. Our capital expenditures for fiscal 2023 and 2022 were $12,632,000 and $13,104,000, respectively. Excluded from fiscal 2023 capital expenditures is $624,000 and $329,000, in property, plant and equipment purchases included in accounts payable at March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We expect capital expenditure spending in fiscal 2024 to range from $30,000,000 to 40,000,000. The increase in expected capital expenditures is related to investments to create a machining center of excellence.
INFLATION AND OTHER MARKET CONDITIONS
Our costs are affected by inflation in the U.S. economy and, to a lesser extent, in non-U.S. economies including those of Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Asia-Pacific. We do not believe that general inflation has had a material effect on our results of operations over the periods presented despite rising inflation due to our ability to pass on rising costs through price increases. We are currently experiencing higher raw material, freight, and logistics costs than we have seen in recent years, which we have been able to recover with pricing actions. In the future, we may not be able to pass on these cost increases to our customers.
SEASONALITY AND QUARTERLY RESULTS
Quarterly results may be materially affected by the timing of large customer orders, periods of high vacation and holiday concentrations, legal settlements, gains or losses in our portfolio of marketable securities, restructuring charges, favorable or unfavorable foreign currency translation, divestitures and acquisitions. Therefore, the operating results for any particular fiscal quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for any subsequent fiscal quarter or for the full fiscal year.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We continually evaluate the estimates and their underlying assumptions, which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of our assets and liabilities. Actual results inevitably will differ from those estimates. If interpreted differently under different conditions or circumstances, changes in our estimates could result in material changes to our reported results. We have identified below the accounting policies involving estimates that are critical to our financial statements. Other accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 of our consolidated financial statements.
Insurance Reserves. Our accrued general and product liability reserves as described in Note 16 to consolidated financial statements involve actuarial techniques including the methods selected to estimate ultimate claims, and assumptions including emergence patterns, payment patterns, initial expected losses, and increased limit factors. These actuarial estimates are subject to a high degree of uncertainty due to a variety of factors, including extended lag time in the reporting and resolution of claims, trends or changes in claim settlement patterns, insurance industry practices, and legal interpretations. Changes to these estimates could result in material changes to the amount of expense and liabilities recorded in our financial statements. Further, actual costs could differ significantly from the estimated amounts. Adjustments to estimated reserves are recorded in the period in which the change in estimate occurs. Other insurance reserves such as workers compensation and group health insurance are based on actual historical and current claim data provided by third party administrators or internally maintained.
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment testing. Our goodwill balance of $644,629,000 as of March 31, 2023 is subject to impairment testing. We test goodwill for impairment at least annually, as of the end of February, and more frequently whenever events occur or circumstances change that indicate there may be impairment. These events or
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circumstances could include a significant long-term adverse change in the business climate, poor indicators of operating performance, or a sale or disposition of a significant portion of a reporting unit.
We test goodwill at the reporting unit level, which is one level below our operating segment. We identify our reporting units by assessing whether the components of our operating segment constitute businesses for which discrete financial information is available and segment management regularly reviews the operating results of those components. We also aggregate components that have similar economic characteristics into single reporting units (for example, similar products and / or services, similar long-term financial results, product processes, classes of customers, or in circumstances where the components share assets or other resources and have other economic interdependencies). We have three reporting units, Duff-Norton, Rest of Products and Precision Conveyance, and have goodwill totaling $9,699,000, $306,988,000, and $327,942,000, respectively, at March 31, 2023. The Precision Conveyance group was new in fiscal 2022 with the acquisitions of Dorner and Garvey (refer to Note 3).
Annual Goodwill Impairment Test
When we evaluate the potential for goodwill impairment, we assess a range of qualitative factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for our products and services, regulatory and political developments, entity specific factors such as strategy, and changes in key personnel and overall financial performance. If, after completing this assessment, it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, we proceed to a quantitative impairment test. We also proceed to the quantitative model when economic or other business factors indicate that the fair value of our reporting units may have declined since our last quantitative test. We performed the qualitative assessment as of February 28, 2023 and determined the quantitative test should be performed for the Rest of Products, Precision Conveyance, and Duff Norton due to volatility in our stock price and changes in our business during fiscal 2023. We also performed sensitivities and other analysis and determined that goodwill is not impaired as of March 31, 2023.
In order to perform the quantitative impairment tests for the Rest of Products, Precision Conveyance and Duff Norton reporting units, we use the discounted cash flow method to estimate fair value. The discounted cash flow method incorporates various assumptions, the most significant being projected revenue growth rates, EBITDA margins and cash flows, and the weighted-average cost of capital. Management projects discounted cash flows based on each reporting unit’s current business, expected developments and operational strategies over a five to seven-year period. In estimating the terminal growth rate, we consider our historical and projected results, as well as the economic environment in which the reporting unit operates. The weighted-average cost of capital utilized for each reporting unit reflect management’s assumptions of marketplace participants’ cost of capital and risk assumptions, both specific to the reporting unit and overall in the economy.
Rest of Products Reporting Unit
Testing goodwill for impairment under the quantitative method described above requires us to estimate fair value of the reporting unit using significant estimates and judgmental factors. The compound annual growth rate for revenue during the first seven years of our projections was approximately 6.73% for the Rest of Products reporting unit. The terminal value was calculated assuming a projected growth rate of 3.0% after seven years. These rates reflect our estimate of long-term growth into perpetuity and approximates the long-term gross domestic product growth expected on a global basis as well as our normal annual price increases. The estimated weighted-average cost of capital for the reporting unit was determined to be 11.8% for the Rest of Products reporting unit. This was estimated based upon an analysis of similar companies and their debt to equity mix, their related volatility and the size of their market capitalization. We also consider any additional risk of the Rest of Products reporting unit achieving its forecast, and adjust the weighted-average cost of capital applied when determining the reporting unit’s estimated fair value. Future changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the results of our goodwill impairment tests. For example, a decline in the terminal growth rate by 50 basis points would decrease fair market value by $15,100,000 and an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital by 50 basis points would result in a decrease in fair market value by $29,000,000 for the Rest of Products reporting unit. Even with such changes, the fair value of the reporting unit would be greater than its net book value as of February 28, 2023, therefore indicating no impairment.
Precision Conveyance
Testing goodwill for impairment under the quantitative method described above requires us to estimate fair value of the reporting unit using significant estimates and judgmental factors. The compound annual growth rate for revenue during the first seven years of our projections was approximately 9.82% for the Precision Conveyance reporting unit. This reflects the higher expected growth rates on our conveyor business compared to our other businesses. The terminal value was calculated assuming a projected growth rate of 3.0% after seven years. These rates reflect our estimate of long-term growth into perpetuity and approximate the long-term gross domestic product growth expected on a global basis as well as our normal annual price
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increases. The estimated weighted-average cost of capital for the reporting units was determined to be 13.2% for the Precision Conveyance reporting unit. This was estimated based upon an analysis of similar companies and their debt to equity mix, their related volatility and the size of their market capitalization. We also consider any additional risk of the Precision Conveyance reporting unit achieving its forecast, and adjust the weighted-average cost of capital applied when determining the reporting unit’s estimated fair value. Future changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the results of our goodwill impairment tests. For example, a decline in the terminal growth rate by 50 basis points would decrease fair market value by $9,300,000 and an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital by 50 basis points would result in a decrease in fair market value by $16,600,000 for the Precision Conveyance reporting unit. Even with such changes, the fair value of the reporting unit would be greater than its net book value as of February 28, 2023, therefore indicating no impairment.
Duff-Norton Reporting Unit
Testing goodwill for impairment under the quantitative method described above requires us to estimate fair value of the reporting unit using significant estimates and judgmental factors. The compound annual growth rate for revenue during the first five years of our projections was approximately 9.14% for the Duff-Norton reporting unit. The terminal value was calculated assuming a projected growth rate of 3.5% after five years. These rates reflect our estimate of long-term growth into perpetuity and approximate the long-term gross domestic product growth expected on a global basis as well as our normal annual price increases. The estimated weighted-average cost of capital for the reporting units was determined to be 10.4% for the Duff-Norton reporting unit. This was estimated initially based on the Company's consolidated weighted-average cost of capital and increased for additional market risk. We also consider any additional risk of the Duff-Norton reporting unit achieving its forecast, and adjust the weighted-average cost of capital applied when determining the reporting unit’s estimated fair value. Future changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the results of our goodwill impairment tests. For example, a decline in the terminal growth rate by 50 basis points would decrease fair market value by $8,900,000 and an increase in the weighted-average cost of capital by 50 basis points would result in a decrease in fair market value by $12,200,000 for the Duff-Norton reporting unit. Even with such changes, the fair value of the reporting unit would be greater than its net book value as of February 28, 2023, therefore indicating no impairment.
We further test our indefinite-lived intangible asset balance of $46,338,000 consisting of trademarks for acquisitions prior to fiscal 2023 on an annual basis for impairment. The methodology used to value trademarks is the relief from royalty method. The recorded book value of these trademarks in excess of the calculated fair value results in impairment. The key estimate used in this calculation consists of an overall royalty rate applied to the sales covered by the trademark. After performing this analysis, we determined that the fair value of these trademarks exceeded their book values, and as such, no other impairment was recorded.
Effects of New Accounting Pronouncements
Information regarding the effects of new accounting pronouncements is included in Note 21 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as interest rates. We are exposed to various market risks, including commodity prices for raw materials, foreign currency exchange rates, and changes in interest rates. We may enter into financial instrument transactions, which attempt to manage and reduce the impact of such changes. We do not enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
Commodity Price Risk
Our costs are affected by inflation in the U.S. economy and, to a lesser extent, in non-U.S. economies including those of Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Asia-Pacific. Generally, as we experience fluctuations in our costs, we reflect these increases in costs as price increases to our customers with the goal of being margin neutral. We are currently experiencing higher raw material, freight, and logistics costs than we have seen in recent years, which we have been able to recover with pricing actions. Further, increases in U.S. employee benefits costs such as health insurance and workers compensation insurance have exceeded general inflation levels. In the future, we may be further affected by inflation that we may not be able to pass these increased costs on as price increases to our customers. However, we have been successful in the past, and we expect to be successful in the future, in instituting price increases to pass on these material cost increases. The Company is exposed to trade tariffs with China. The Company monitors the impact of tariffs and actively works to mitigate this impact through material productivity actions and pricing strategies.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
In fiscal 2023, 39% of our net sales were from manufacturing plants and sales offices in foreign jurisdictions. We manufacture our products in the United States, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Mexico, and Malaysia and sell our products in over 100 countries. Our results of operations could be affected by factors such as changes in foreign currency rates or weak economic conditions in foreign markets. With our fiscal year 2017 acquisition of STAHL, we have an increased presence in the United Arab Emirates, with total assets of approximately $5,718,000. Our operating results are exposed to fluctuations between the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar, European currencies, the South African Rand, the Mexican Peso, the Brazilian Real, and the Chinese Yuan. For example, when the U.S. dollar weakens against the Euro, the value of our net sales and net income denominated in Euros increases when translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our consolidated results. We are also exposed to foreign currency fluctuations in relation to purchases denominated in foreign currencies. Our foreign currency risk is mitigated since the majority of our foreign operations’ net sales and the related expense transactions are denominated in the same currency, which reduces the impact of a significant change in foreign exchange rates on net income. For example, a 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to our most significant foreign currency exposures would have had an impact of approximately $4,488,000 on our income from operations. In addition, the majority of our export sale transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars.
The Company has a cross currency swap agreement that is designated as a cash flow hedge to hedge changes in the value of an intercompany loan to a foreign subsidiary due to changes in foreign exchange rates. This intercompany loan is related to the acquisition of STAHL. As of March 31, 2023, the notional amount of this derivative was $115,780,000, and the contract matures on March 31, 2028. During fiscal 2022, the Company modified the cross currency swap by extending it to fiscal year 2028, matching the intercompany loan. The Company has concluded that the transaction to modify the cross currency swap, as well as the modified swap, maintained hedge accounting. The modified cross currency swap is considered to have an other than insignificant financing element. As such, its cash flows are classified within financing activities in the Statement of Cash Flows. From its March 31, 2023 balance of AOCL, the Company expects to reclassify approximately $126,000 out of AOCL, and into foreign currency exchange loss (gain), during the next 12 months based on the contractual payments due under this intercompany loan.
The Company has foreign currency forward agreements that are designated as cash flow hedges to hedge a portion of forecasted inventory purchases denominated in foreign currencies. As of March 31, 2023, the notional amount of these derivatives was $5,743,000, and all contracts mature by March 31, 2024. From its March 31, 2023 balance of AOCL, the Company expects to reclassify approximately $68,000 out of AOCL during the next 12 months based on the expected sales of the goods purchased.
Interest Rate Risk
The Company's policy is to maintain a capital structure that is comprised of 50-70% of fixed rate long-term debt and 30-50% of variable rate long-term debt. The Company has three interest rate swap agreements in which the Company receives interest at a variable rate and pays interest at a fixed rate. The third interest rate swap agreement was entered into in fiscal 2022 as a result of the additional debt incurred from the Dorner and Garvey acquisitions. These interest rate swap agreements are designated as cash flow hedges to hedge changes in interest expense due to changes in the variable interest rate of the senior secured term
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loan. The amortizing interest rate swaps mature by February 28, 2025 and had a total notional amount of $273,591,000 as of March 31, 2023. The effective portion of the changes in fair values of the interest rate swaps is reported in AOCL and will be reclassified to interest expense over the life of the swap agreements. From its March 31, 2023 balance of AOCL, the Company expects to reclassify approximately $5,450,000 out of AOCL, and into interest expense, during the next 12 months.
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Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplemental Data.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Columbus McKinnon Corporation
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2023:
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 33
Consolidated Balance Sheets 36
Consolidated Statements of Operations 37
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 38
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity 39
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 40
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
1 Description of Business 41
2 Accounting Principles and Practices 41
3 Acquisitions & Disposals 45
4 Revenue & Receivables 47
5 Fair Value Measurements 51
6 Inventories 54
7 Marketable Securities and Other Investments 54
8 Property, Plant, and Equipment 55
9 Goodwill and Intangible Assets 55
10 Derivative Instruments 58
11 Accrued Liabilities and Other Non-current Liabilities 60
13 Pensions and Other Benefit Plans 63
14 Employee Stock Ownership Plan ("ESOP") 68
15 Earnings per Share and Stock Plans 68
16 Loss Contingencies 73
19 Business Segment Information 82
20 Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss 84
21 Effects of New Accounting Pronouncements 86
Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts. 87
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Columbus McKinnon Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Columbus McKinnon Corporation (the Company) as of March 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2023, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at March 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated May 25, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
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Valuation of Goodwill for the Precision Conveyance Reporting Unit
Product Liabilities and Related Legal Costs
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/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Buffalo, New York
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share data)
ASSETS
Current assets:
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt and finance lease obligations 40,604 40,551
Shareholders’ equity:
Treasury Stock (1,001) —
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (38,043) (49,899)
See accompanying notes.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended March 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)
Cost of debt refinancing — 14,803 —
Investment (income) loss, net (315) (46) (1,693)
Foreign currency exchange loss (gain), net (2,189) 1,574 941
Dividends declared per common share $ 0.28 $ 0.25 $ 0.24
See accompanying notes.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
See accompanying notes.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except share data)
Dividends declared — — — (5,745) — (5,745)
Change in foreign currency translation adjustment — — — — 12,583 12,583
Change in derivatives qualifying as hedges, net of tax of $(8) — — — — 96 96
Stock compensation - directors — — 540 — — 540
Stock compensation expense — — 7,482 — — 7,482
Dividends declared — — — (7,119) — (7,119)
Change in foreign currency translation adjustment — — — — (6,302) (6,302)
Change in derivatives qualifying as hedges, net of tax of $(39) — — — — 77 77
Stock compensation - directors — — 959 — — 959
Dividends declared — — — (8,014) — (8,014)
Change in foreign currency translation adjustment — — — — (4,273) (4,273)
Stock compensation - directors — — 1,194 — — 1,194
Stock compensation expense — — 9,231 — — 9,231
See accompanying notes.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Year ended March 31,
Operating activities: (In thousands)
Deferred income taxes and related valuation allowance (300) (1,969) (8,704)
Net loss (gain) on sale of real estate, investments and other (54) 136 (1,594)
Loss (gain) on hedging instruments (438) 853 —
Cost of debt refinancing — 14,803 —
Loss on retirement of fixed asset 175 — —
Non-cash pension settlement expense (See Note 13) — — 19,038
Gain on sale of building (See Note 3) (232) (375) (2,638)
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sales of marketable securities 3,651 4,434 5,111
Proceeds from sale of building, net of transaction costs 373 461 5,453
Proceeds from insurance reimbursement — 482 100
Dividend received from equity method investment 313 324 587
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets — — 446
Purchase of businesses, net of cash acquired (See Note 3) (1,616) (539,778) —
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities (13,932) (554,311) (5,548)
Financing activities:
Borrowings under line-of-credit agreements — — 25,000
Payments under line-of-credit agreements — — (25,000)
Purchases of treasury stock (1,001) — —
Fees paid for revolver extension — — (826)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt — 725,000 —
Proceeds from equity offering — 207,000 —
Fees related to debt and equity offering — (26,184) —
Cash inflows from hedging activities 24,495 19,417 —
Cash outflows from hedging activities (24,221) (20,206) —
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (1,931) (2,007) 4,524
Supplementary cash flows data:
Restricted cash presented in Other assets $ 250 $ 250 $ 250
See accompanying notes.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
1. Description of Business
Columbus McKinnon Corporation (the "Company") is a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer, and marketer of intelligent motion solutions that efficiently and ergonomically move, lift, position, and secure materials. Key products include hoists, crane components, precision conveyor systems, accumulation tables, rigging tools, light rail workstations, and digital power and motion control systems. The Company is focused on commercial and industrial applications that require the safety and quality provided by its superior design and engineering know-how. The Company’s targeted market verticals include general industrial, construction and infrastructure, mining, oil & gas, energy, aerospace, transportation, automotive, heavy equipment manufacturing, and entertainment.
The Company’s products are sold globally, principally to third party distributors and crane builders through diverse distribution channels and, to a lesser extent, directly to end-users. During fiscal 2023, approximately 61% of sales were to customers in the United States.
2. Accounting Principles and Practices
Advertising
Costs associated with advertising are expensed as incurred and are included in Selling expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Advertising expenses were $2,342,000, $2,410,000, and 999,000 in fiscal 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers as cash equivalents all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less.
Concentrations of Labor
Approximately 6% of the Company’s employees are represented by two separate U.S. collective bargaining agreements which expire in May 2024 and September 2024. We also have various labor agreements with our non-U.S. employees that we negotiate from time to time.
Consolidation
These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its global subsidiaries; all significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Equity Method Investment
The Company has an investment in Eastern Morris Cranes Company Limited ("EMC"), a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whose principal activity is to manufacture various electrical overhead traveling cranes. This investment represents a minority ownership interest that is accounted for under the equity method of accounting since the Company has significant influence over the investee. As a result, the Company records its portion of the gains and losses incurred by this entity in Investment (income) loss in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Foreign Currency Translations
The Company translates foreign currency financial statements as described in Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 830, “Foreign Currency Matters.” Under this method, all items of income and expense are translated to U.S. dollars at average exchange rates during the year. All assets and liabilities are translated to
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
U.S. dollars at the year-end exchange rate. Gains or losses on translations are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet. The functional currency is the foreign currency in which the foreign subsidiaries conduct their business. Gains and losses from foreign currency transactions are reported in foreign currency exchange loss (gain).
Goodwill
Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist, in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 350-20-35-1. Goodwill impairment is deemed to exist if the net book value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value. The fair value of a reporting unit is determined using a discounted cash flow methodology. The Company’s reporting units are determined based upon whether discrete financial information is available and reviewed regularly, whether those units constitute a business, and the extent of economic similarities and interdependencies between those reporting units for purposes of aggregation. The Company’s reporting units identified under ASC Topic 350-20-35-33 are at the component level, or one level below the reporting segment level as defined under ASC Topic 280-10-50-10 “Segment Reporting – Disclosure.” As of March 31, 2023, the Company’s one segment is subdivided into three reporting units. An impairment charge is recorded if the carrying value is greater than the reporting unit's fair value.
When the Company evaluates the potential for goodwill impairment, it assesses a range of qualitative factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for its products and services, regulatory and political developments, entity specific factors such as strategy and changes in key personnel, and overall financial performance. If, after completing this assessment, it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value or if economic or other business factors indicate that the fair value of our reporting units may have declined since our last quantitative test, the Company performs a quantitative test.
In order to perform the quantitative impairment tests for the Rest of Products, Precision Conveyance and Duff Norton reporting units, the Company uses the discounted cash flow method to estimate fair value. The discounted cash flow method incorporates various assumptions, the most significant being projected revenue growth rates, EBITDA margins and cash flows, the terminal growth rate, and the weighted-average cost of capital. The Company projects discounted cash flows based on each reporting unit's current business, expected developments, and operational strategies over a five to seven-year period. In estimating the terminal growth rates, the Company considers its historical and projected results, as well as the economic environment in which its reporting units operate. The weighted-average cost of capital utilized for each reporting unit reflect the Company's assumptions of marketplace participants' cost of capital and risk assumptions, both specific to the reporting unit and overall in the economy.
The Company performed its qualitative assessment as of February 28, 2023 and determined that the quantitative goodwill impairment test was required for the Rest of Products, Duff-Norton and Precision Conveyance reporting units. Based on results of the quantitative impairment test for the reporting units, the Company determined the fair value was not less than its carrying value. Refer to Note 5 for valuation techniques and significant inputs and Note 9 for further discussion of goodwill and intangibles.and intangible assets.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company assesses impairment of its long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 360 “Property, Plant, and Equipment.” This statement requires long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and purchased intangibles subject to amortization, to be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset group may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset group to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group over its remaining useful life. If the carrying amount of an asset group exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized equal to the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the asset group. The fair values are determined in accordance with ASC 820.
In assessing long-lived assets for an impairment loss, assets are grouped with other assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. Asset grouping requires a significant amount of judgment. Accordingly, facts and circumstances will influence how asset groups are determined for impairment testing. In assessing long-lived assets for impairment, management considered the Company’s product line
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
portfolio, customers and related commercial agreements, labor agreements and other factors in grouping assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are independent. The Company considers projected future undiscounted cash flows, trends and other factors in its assessment of whether impairment conditions exist. While the Company believes that its estimates of future cash flows are reasonable, different assumptions regarding such factors as future production volumes, customer pricing, economics, and productivity and cost initiatives, could significantly affect its estimates. In determining fair value of long-lived assets, management uses management estimates, discounted cash flow calculations, and appraisals where necessary. There were no indicators of impairment related to long-lived assets in the current year.
Intangible Assets
At acquisition, the Company estimates and records the fair value of purchased intangible assets which primarily consist of trade names, customer relationships, and technology. The fair values are estimated based on management’s assessment as well as independent third party appraisals. Such valuations may include a discounted cash flow of anticipated revenues resulting from the acquired intangible asset.
Amortization of intangible assets with finite lives is recognized over their estimated useful lives using an amortization method that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible assets are consumed or otherwise realized. The straight line method is used for customer relationships. As a result of the negligible attrition rate in our customer base, the difference between the straight line method and attrition method is not considered significant. The estimated useful lives for our intangible assets range from 1 to 25 years.
Similar to goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets (including trademarks on our acquisitions) are tested for impairment on an annual basis. When the Company evaluates the potential for impairment of intangible assets, it assesses a range of qualitative factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic conditions, industry conditions, the competitive environment, changes in the market for its products and services, regulatory and political developments, entity specific factors such as strategy and changes in key personnel, and overall financial performance. If, after completing this assessment, it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is greater than its carrying value, we conclude that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is not impaired. If, after completing this assessment, it is determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying value or if economic or other business factors indicate that the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets may have declined since our last quantitative test, the Company performs a new quantitative test. The methodology used to value trademarks is the relief from royalty method. The recorded book value of these trademarks in excess of the calculated fair value triggers an impairment. The key estimate used in this calculation consists of an overall royalty rate applied to the sales covered by the trademark. After performing a qualitative assessment we determined that economic factors indicate that the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets may have declined since our last quantitative test. We performed the quantitative test as of February 28, 2023 and determined that the trademarks were not impaired. Refer to Note 9 for further details.
Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Cost of approximately 37% of inventories at March 31, 2023 and 35% at March 31, 2022 have been determined using the LIFO (last-in, first-out) method. Costs of other inventories have been determined using the FIFO (first-in, first-out) or average cost method. FIFO cost approximates replacement cost. Costs in inventory include components for direct labor and overhead costs.
Marketable Securities
The Company’s marketable securities, which consist of equity and fixed income securities, are recorded at fair value. Under ASU 2016-01 all equity investments (including certain fixed income securities) in unconsolidated entities are measured at fair value through earnings. Therefore, gains and losses on marketable securities are realized within Investment (income) loss on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Estimated fair value is based on published trading values at the balance sheet dates. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. Interest and dividend income are also included in Investment (income) loss on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
The marketable securities are carried as long-term assets since they are held for the settlement of the Company’s general and products liability insurance claims filed through CM Insurance Company, Inc., a wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary. The marketable securities are not available for general working capital purposes.
Property, Plant, and Equipment
Property, plant, and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated principally using the straight-line method over their respective estimated useful lives (buildings and building equipment—15 to 40 years; machinery and equipment—3 to 18 years). When depreciable assets are retired, or otherwise disposed of, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in operating results.
Research and Development
Consistent with prior periods, the Company continues to account for research and development expenses in accordance with the provisions of ASC 730 and are expensed as incurred.
Revenue Recognition, Accounts Receivable, and Concentration of Credit Risk
The Company adopted ASC 606, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," in fiscal 2019. Revenue from contracts with customers for standard products is recognized when legal title and significant risk and rewards has transferred to the customer, which is generally at the time of shipment. This is the point in time when control is deemed to transfer to the customer. The Company also sells custom engineered products and services which are contracts that are typically completed within one quarter but can extend beyond one year in duration. The Company generally recognizes revenue for customer engineered products upon satisfaction of its performance obligation under the contract which typically coincides with project completion which is when the products and services are controlled by the customer. Control is typically achieved at the later of when legal title and significant risk and rewards have transferred to the customer or the customer has accepted the asset. For both standard products and custom engineered products, the transaction price is based upon the price stated in either the purchase order or contract. Refer to Note 4 for further details.
Additionally, the Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition, but generally does not require collateral to support customer receivables. The credit risk is controlled through credit approvals, limits, and monitoring procedures. Accounts receivables are reported at net realizable value and do not accrue interest. The Company establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon factors surrounding the credit risk of specific customers, historical trends, and other factors. Accounts receivable are charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts once all collection efforts have been exhausted. The Company does not routinely permit customers to return product. However, sales returns are permitted in specific situations and typically include a restocking charge or the purchase of additional product. As a result of ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments," effective in fiscal 2021, the Company has updated its existing allowance for doubtful accounts policy to comply with the new standard.
Shipping and Handling Costs
Shipping and handling costs are a component of cost of products sold.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company records stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC Topic 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation.” This standard requires all equity-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations based on the grant date fair value of the award. Stock compensation expense is included in Cost of products sold, Selling, and General and administrative expense depending on the nature of the service of the employee receiving the award. The Company uses a straight-line method of attributing the value of stock compensation expense, subject to minimum levels of expense, based on vesting. See Note 15 for further discussion of stock-based compensation.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
Leases
All leases are reviewed for operating or finance classification at their inception. As described in Note 18, the Company adopted ASC 842, "Leases," effective April 1, 2019 whereas leases with terms greater than twelve months are recorded on the balance sheet as a right-of-use ("ROU") asset and corresponding lease liability. Refer to Note 18 for further details.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Warranties
The Company offers warranties for certain products it sells. The specific terms and conditions of those warranties vary depending upon the product sold and the country in which the Company sold the product. As noted in Note 4 to the financial statements, the Company offers standard warranties which are typically 12 months in duration for standard products and 24 to 36 months for custom engineered products. These are assurance-type warranties that do not qualify as separate performance obligations under ASC 606. The Company estimates the costs that may be incurred under its standard warranties, based largely upon actual warranty repair costs history, and records a liability in the amount of such costs in the month that revenue is recognized. The resulting accrual balance is reviewed during the year. Factors that affect the Company’s warranty liability include the number of units sold, historical and anticipated rate of warranty claims, and cost per claim.Changes in the Company’s product warranty accrual are as follows:
Balance at beginning of year $ 2,173 $ 3,328
Accrual for warranties issued 1,199 1,274
Foreign currency translation (56) 109
3. Acquisitions & Disposals
Acquisitions
On April 7, 2021, the Company completed its acquisition of Dorner Mfg. Corp. ("Dorner") for $481,012,000. Dorner, headquartered in Hartland, WI, is a leading automation solutions company providing unique, patented technologies in the design, application, manufacturing and integration of high-precision conveying systems. The acquisition of Dorner accelerates the Company’s shift to intelligent motion and serves as a platform to expand capabilities in advanced, higher technology automation solutions. Dorner is a leading supplier to the life sciences, food processing, and consumer packaged goods markets as well as the faster growing industrial automation and e-commerce sectors.
The results of Dorner included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition are Net sales and Income from operations of $132,014,000 and $12,451,000 for the year ended March 31, 2022. Dorner's Income from operations for the year ended March 31, 2022 includes $218,000 in integration related severance costs, which have been included in General and administrative expenses and acquisition related inventory amortization of $2,981,000, which has been included in Cost of products sold.
In addition, the Company incurred acquisition integration and deal expenses in the amount of $8,908,000 in the year ended March 31, 2022, which are included in General and administrative expenses. The Company also incurred $970,000 in costs related to a transaction bonus that was paid 45 days after the acquisition date to key personnel of which $521,000 has been recorded as part of Cost of products sold, $350,000 has been recorded as part of Selling expenses, $74,000 has been recorded as part of General and administrative expenses, and $25,000 has been recorded as part of Research and development expenses in
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
the year ended March 31, 2022. In addition, the Company incurred immaterial acquisition and deal costs in the year ended March 31, 2023.
To finance the Dorner acquisition, on April 7, 2021 the Company entered into a $750,000,000 credit facility ("First Lien Facilities") with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("JPMorgan Chase Bank"), PNC Capital Markets LLC ("PNC"), and Wells Fargo Securities LLC ("Wells Fargo"). The First Lien Facilities consist of a revolving facility (the “New Revolving Credit Facility”) in an aggregate amount of $100,000,000 and a $650,000,000 First Lien Term Facility ("Bridge Facility"). Proceeds from the Bridge Facility were used, among other things, to finance the purchase price for the Dorner acquisition, pay related fees, expenses and transaction costs, and refinance the Company's borrowings under its prior Term Loan and Revolver (as defined below). See Note 12, Debt,for further details on the Company's new debt agreement and subsequent equity offering.
The purchase price has been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the date of acquisition. The excess consideration of$287,141,000 has been recorded as goodwill as of March 31, 2022. The identifiable intangible assets acquired include customer relationships of $137,000,000, technology of $45,000,000, and trade names of $8,000,000. The weighted average life of the acquired identifiable intangible assets subject to amortization was estimated at 15 years at the time of acquisition. Approximately $8,000,000 of goodwill arising as a result of the acquisition is deductible for tax purposes.
The assignment of purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is as follows (in thousands):
Property, plant, and equipment, net 26,104
Other assets 658
Other liabilities (896)
Finance lease liabilities (14,582)
Deferred and other taxes, net (35,689)
See Note 5 for assumptions used in determining the fair values of the intangible assets acquired.
On December 1, 2021, the Company completed its acquisition of Garvey Corporation ("Garvey") for $67,347,000 including $907,000 in cash acquired, after an adjustment for working capital finalized in fiscal 2023 for $1,616,000, and subject to a $2,000,000 contingent payment that only becomes payable if (a) the EBITDA target set forth in the Purchase Agreement for the twelve-month period commencing on the month immediately following closing is achieved and (b) a specific current executive of Garvey remains employed with Garvey until at least March 31, 2023. During the December 31, 2022 quarter, the EBITDA target measurement period was completed. Garvey's actual EBITDA exceeded the projected EBITDA as of the opening Balance Sheet. As such, the Company recorded an adjustment for $1,230,000 which increased the contingent consideration liability and general and administrative expenses during December 2022. As both targets were met at March 31, 2023, the Company will pay the contingent consideration in early fiscal 2024. The Company financed the acquisition by borrowing $75,000,000 utilizing the Accordion feature under its existing Term Loan B, discussed in Note 12.
Garvey is a leading accumulation systems solutions company providing unique, patented systems for the automation of production processes whose products complement those of Dorner.
The transaction was accounted for using the acquisition method and, accordingly, the results of the acquired business have been included in the Company's results of operations from the acquisition date. As the Company has determined that the acquisition is not material to its existing operations, certain disclosures, including pro forma financial information, have not been included. In connection with the acquisition, the Company incurred $376,000 of integration and deal expenses, which are included in General and administrative expenses in the year ended March 31, 2022. In addition, the Company incurred immaterial acquisition and deal costs in the year ended March 31, 2023.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
The purchase price has been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the date of acquisition. The excess consideration of $40,832,000 has been recorded as goodwill, a decrease of $384,000 from March 31, 2022 relating to an adjustment for the contingent payment of $2,000,000 to reclassify it as part of Prepaid expenses and other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and an increase of $1,616,000related to the working capital adjustment. The identifiable intangible assets acquired include customer relationships of $8,200,000, engineered drawings of $4,670,000, trademarks of $3,610,000, patent of $2,440,000, backlog of $2,100,000 and non-compete agreement of $330,000. The weighted average life of the acquired identifiable intangible assets subject to amortization was estimated at 10 years at the time of acquisition. All of the goodwill arising as a result of the acquisition is deductible for tax purposes.
The assignment of purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is as follows (in thousands):
Working Capital 1,709
Property, plant, and equipment, net 3,072
Other liabilities (1,905)
Acquisitions - subsequent to March 31, 2023
On April 26, 2023, the Company announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire montratec, a leading automation solutions company that designs and develops intelligent automation and transport systems for interlinking industrial production and logistics processes. montratec provides its modular, intelligent monorail transport systems for the electric vehicle (EV), semiconductor, electronics, life sciences, aerospace and other industries. The all-cash transaction is expected to be valued at approximately $110,000,000 million at closing using current exchange rates plus an earnout in an amount expected not to exceed $14,000,000 million based on EBITDA performance. The transaction is expected to close by May 31, 2023, subject to typical closing conditions requirements.
Acquisition expenses incurred by the Company were immaterial through March 31, 2023 and have been recorded in General and administrative expenses.
To finance the montratec acquisition, the Company expanded its New Revolving Credit Facility by $75 million. The Company has drawn on the expanded New Revolving Credit facility to initially fund the acquisition on May 31, 2023. In addition, the Company plans to raise approximately $50 million in additional debt by June 30, 2023 through the securitization of certain of the Company's U.S. customer accounts receivable balances. The Company intends to use these proceeds to partially repay borrowings under its New Revolving Credit Facility.
Disposals
As part of its operations strategy, the Company is consolidating its manufacturing footprint. In fiscal 2020 the Company announced its plans to consolidate its hoist manufacturing facility in Lisbon, Ohio with its Wadesboro, North Carolina and Damascus, Virginia facilities in fiscal 2021. The Lisbon, Ohio consolidation was completed during the third quarter of fiscal 2021. During fiscal 2022, the Company sold its former manufacturing facility in Lisbon, Ohio for $461,000. This resulted in a gain of $375,000 which is included in Cost of products sold on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
4. Revenue & Receivables
Revenue Recognition:
The core principle under ASC 606 is for revenue to be recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve this core principle, the Company applies the following five steps:
1) Identifying contracts with customers
A contract with a customer exists when (i) the Company enters into an enforceable contract with a customer that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods or services to be transferred and identifies the related payment terms, (ii) the contract has commercial substance, and (iii) the Company determines that collection of substantially all consideration for goods and services that are transferred is probable based on the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration.
2) Identify the performance obligations in the contract
Performance obligations promised in a contract are identified based on the products and services that will be transferred to the customer that are both capable of being distinct, whereby the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other available resources, and are distinct in the context of the contract, whereby the transfer of the good or service is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. To the extent a contract includes multiple promised goods and services, the Company must apply judgment to determine whether promised goods and services are capable of being distinct and distinct in the context of the contract. If these criteria are not met, the promised goods and services are accounted for as a combined performance obligation.
3) Determine the transaction price
The transaction price is determined based on the consideration to which the Company will be entitled in exchange for transferring products and services to the customer. To the extent the transaction price includes variable consideration, the Company estimates the amount of variable consideration that should be included in the transaction price utilizing either the expected value method or the most likely amount method depending on the nature of the variable consideration. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price if, in the Company’s judgment, it is probable that a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. Any estimates, including the effect of the constraint on variable consideration, are evaluated at each reporting period for any changes. In applying this guidance, the Company also considers whether any significant financing components exist.
4) Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract
If the contract contains a single performance obligation, the entire transaction price is allocated to the single performance obligation. Contracts that contain multiple performance obligations require an allocation of the transaction price to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis unless the transaction price is variable and meets the criteria to be allocated entirely to a performance obligation or to a distinct service that forms part of a single performance obligation.
5) Recognize revenue when or as the Company satisfies a performance obligation
The Company determines whether it satisfies performance obligations either over time or at a point in time. Revenue is recognized over time if either 1) the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided by the entity’s performance, 2) the entity’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer controls as the asset is created or enhanced, or 3) the entity’s performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to the entity and the entity has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. If the entity does not satisfy a performance obligation over time, the related performance obligation is satisfied at a point in time by transferring the control of a promised good or service to a customer. Examples of control are using the asset to produce goods or services, enhancing the value of other assets, settling liabilities, and holding or selling the asset. For over time recognition, ASC 606 requires the Company to select a single revenue recognition method for the performance obligation that faithfully depicts the Company’s performance in transferring control of
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
the goods and services. The guidance allows entities to choose between either an input method or an output method to measure progress toward complete satisfaction of a performance obligation.
Performance obligations
The Company has contracts with customers for standard products and custom engineered products and determines when and how to recognize revenue for each performance obligation based on the nature and type of contract following the five steps above.
Revenue from contracts with customers for standard products is recognized when legal title and significant risk and rewards has transferred to the customer, which is generally at the time of shipment. This is the point in time when control is deemed to transfer to the customer. The Company sells standard products to customers utilizing purchase orders. Payment terms for these types of contracts generally require payment within 30 to 60 days. Each standard product is deemed to be a single performance obligation and the amount of revenue recognized is based on the negotiated price. The transaction price for standard products is based on the price reflected in each purchase order. Sales incentives are offered to customers who purchase standard products and include offers such as volume-based discounts, rebates for priority customers, and discounts for early cash payments. These sales incentives are accounted for as variable consideration included in the transaction price. Accordingly, the Company reduces revenue for these incentives in the period which the sale occurs and is based on the most likely amount method for estimating the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive. These sales incentive estimates are updated each reporting information as additional information becomes available.
The Company also sells custom engineered products and services which are contracts that are typically completed within one quarter but can extend beyond one year in duration. For custom engineered products, the transaction price is based upon the price stated in the contract. Variable consideration has not been identified as a significant component of transaction price for custom engineered products and services. The Company generally recognizes revenue for custom engineered products upon satisfaction of its performance obligation under the contract which typically coincides with project completion which is when the products and services are controlled by the customer. Control is typically achieved at the later of when legal title and significant risk and rewards have transferred to the customer or the customer has accepted the asset. These contracts often require either up front or installment payments. These types of contracts are generally accounted for as one performance obligation as the products and services are not separately identifiable. The promised services (such as inspection, commissioning, and installation) are essential in order for the delivered product to operate as intended on the customer’s site and the services are therefore highly interrelated with product functionality.
For most custom engineered products contracts, the Company determined that while there is no alternative use for the custom engineered products, the Company does not have an enforceable right to payment (which must include a reasonable profit margin) for performance completed to date in order to meet the over time revenue recognition criteria. Therefore, revenue is recognized at a point in time (when the contract is complete). For custom engineered products contracts that contain an enforceable right to payment (including reasonable profit margin) the Company satisfies the performance obligation over time and recognizes revenue based on the extent of progress towards completion of the performance obligation. The cost-to-cost measure of progress is an appropriate measure of progress toward satisfaction of performance obligations as this measure most accurately depicts the progress of work performed and transfer of control to the customers. Under the cost-to-cost measure of progress, the extent of progress toward completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. Revenues are recognized proportionally as costs are incurred.
Sales and other taxes collected with revenue are excluded from revenue, consistent with the previous revenue standard. Shipping and handling costs incurred prior to shipment are considered activities required to fulfill the Company’s promise to transfer goods, and do not qualify as a separate performance obligation. Additionally, the Company offers standard warranties which are typically 12 months in duration for standard products and 24 to 36 months for custom engineered products. These types of warranties are included in the purchase price of the product and are deemed to be assurance-type warranties which are not accounted for as a separate performance obligation. Other performance obligations included in a contract (such as drawings, owner’s manuals, and training services) are immaterial in the context of the contract and are not recognized as a separate performance obligation.
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
Reconciliation of contract balances
The Company records a contract liability when cash is received prior to recording revenue. Some standard contracts require a down payment while most custom engineered contracts require installment payments. Installment payments for the custom engineered contracts typically require a portion due at inception while the remaining payments are due upon completion of certain performance milestones. For both types of contracts, these contract liabilities, referred to as customer advances, are recorded at the time payment is received and are included in Accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. When the related performance obligation is satisfied, the contract liability is released into revenue.
The following table illustrates the balance and related activity for customer advances in fiscal 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):
Customer advances (contract liabilities)
Additional customer advances received 67,721 51,850
Other revenue recognized from customer advances (40,444) (43,569)
Customer advances recorded from Dorner and Garvey acquisitions — 14,750
(1) Other includes the impact of foreign currency translation
Revenue was recognized prior to the right to invoice the customer which resulted in a contract asset balance in the amount of $2,944,000 and $2,410,000 as of March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022, respectively. Contract assets are included in Prepaid expenses and other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Remaining Performance Obligations
As of March 31, 2023, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) was approximately $14,524,000. We expect to recognize approximately 31% of these sales over the next twelve months.
Disaggregated revenue
In accordance with ASC 606, the Company is required to disaggregate revenue into categories that depict how economic factors affect the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows. The following table illustrates the disaggregation of revenue by product grouping for the years ending March 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):
Year Ended March 31,
Industrial products include: manual chain hoists, electrical chain hoists, rigging/clamps, industrial winches, hooks, shackles, and other forged attachments. Crane solutions products include: wire rope hoists, drives and controls, crane kits and
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
components, and workstations. Engineered products include: linear and mechanical actuators, lifting tables, rail projects, and actuations systems. Precision conveyor products include: low profile, flexible chain, large scale, sanitary and vertical elevation conveyor systems, as well as pallet system conveyors and accumulation systems. The All other product grouping includes miscellaneous revenue.
Practical expedients
Incremental costs to obtain a contract incurred by the Company primarily relate to sales commissions for contracts with a duration of one year or less. Therefore, these costs are expensed as incurred and are recorded in Selling Expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an expected length of one year or less are not disclosed. Further, revenue from contracts with customers do not include a significant financing component as payment is generally expected within one year from when the performance obligation is controlled by the customer.
Accounts Receivable:
Effective April 1, 2020, the Company adopted “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (“ASU 2016-13”). Under ASU 2016-13, the Company is required to remeasure expected credit losses for financial instruments held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable forecasts. In addition to these factors, the Company establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon the credit risk of specific customers, historical trends, and other factors. Accounts receivable are charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts once all collection efforts have been exhausted. Due to the short-term nature of such accounts receivable, the estimated amount of accounts receivable that may not be collected is based on aging of the accounts receivable balances.
The following table illustrates the balance and related activity for the allowance for doubtful accounts that is deducted from accounts receivable to present the net amount expected to be collected in the year ending March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022 (in thousands):
Allowance for doubtful accounts 2023 2022
Less uncollectible accounts written off, net of recoveries (3,056) (1,955)
Allowance recorded from acquisitions — 227
(1) Other includes the impact of foreign currency translation
5. Fair Value Measurements
ASC Topic 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” establishes the standards for reporting financial assets and liabilities and nonfinancial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis (at least annually). Under these standards, fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e. the "exit price") in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
ASC Topic 820-10-35-37 establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company's assumptions about the valuation techniques that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best
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COLUMBUS McKINNON CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
information available in the circumstances. The hierarchy is separated into three levels based on the reliability of inputs as follows:
Level 1 - Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, valuation of these products does not entail a significant degree of judgment.
Level 2 - Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly, involving some degree of judgment.
Level 3 - Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. The degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3.
The availability of observable inputs can vary and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including the type of asset/liability, whether the asset/liability is established in the marketplace, and other characteristics particular to the transaction. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.
Fair value is a market-based measure considered from the perspective of a market participant rather than an entity-specific measure. Therefore, even when market assumptions are not readily available, assumptions are required to reflect those that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.
The Company primarily uses readily observable market data in conjunction with internally developed discounted cash flow valuation models when valuing its derivative portfolio and, consequently, the fair value of the Company’s derivatives is based on Level 2 inputs. The carrying amount of the Company's annuity contract is recorded at net asset value of the contract and, consequently, its fair value is based on Level 2 inputs and is included in other assets on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company uses quoted prices in an inactive market when valuing its Term Loan and, consequently, the fair value is based on Level 2 inputs.
The following table provides information regarding financial assets and liabilities measured or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis:
Fair value measurements at reporting date using
Description At March31, 2023 (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3)
Assets/(Liabilities)Measured at fair value:
Derivative assets (liabilities):
Foreign exchange contracts 97 — 97 —
Disclosed at fair value:
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - (Continued)
(tabular amounts in thousands, except share data)
Fair value measurements at reporting date using
Description At March31, 2022 (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3)
Assets/(Liabilities)Measured at fair value:
Derivative assets (liabilities):
Foreign exchange contracts (217) — (217) —
Disclosed at fair value:
The Company did not have any non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized at fair value on a recurring basis.
At March 31, 2023, the Term Loan and New Revolving Credit Facility have been recorded at carrying value which approximates fair value.
Market gains, interest, and dividend income on marketable securities are recorded in investment (income) loss. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recorded in foreign currency exchange (gain) loss or other comprehensive income (loss), to the extent that the derivative qualifies as a hedge under the provisions of ASC Topic 815. Interest and dividend income on marketable securities are measured based upon amounts earned on their respective declaration dates.
Fiscal 2023 Non-Recurring Measurements
The fair value of the net assets of the Company’s Rest of Products, Precision Conveyor and Duff-Norton reporting units were calculated on a non-recurring basis. These measurements have been used to test goodwill for impairment on an annual basis under the provisions of ASC Topic 350-20-35-1 “Intangibles, Goodwill and Other – Goodwill Subsequent Measurement.”
The Fiscal 2023 goodwill impairment test consisted of determining the fair values of the Rest of Products, Precision Conveyor and Duff-Norton reporting units on a quantitative basis. The fair value for the Company’s reporting units cannot be determined using readily available quoted Level 1 inputs or Level 2 inputs that are observable in active markets. Therefore, the Company used a weighted discounted cash flow and market-based valuation model to estimate the fair value using Level 3 inputs. To estimate the fair values of the Rest of Products, Precision Conveyor and Duff-Norton reporting units, the Company used significant estimates and judgmental factors. The key estimates and factors used in the discounted cash flow valuation include revenue growth rates and profit margins based on internal forecasts and the weighted-average cost of capital used to discount future cash flows. The estimates used are disclosed below:
Compound annual growth rate 6.73 % 9.82 % 9.14 %
Terminal value growth rate 3.0 % 3.0 % 3.5 %
Weighted-average cost of capital 11.8 % 13.2 % 10.4 %