Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Goodwill (Notes)

v3.3.1.900
Goodwill (Notes)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Goodwill [Line Items]  
Goodwill Disclosure [Text Block]
Goodwill
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the years ended December 31, 2015 and January 3, 2015 are as follows: 
 
Specialty Chemicals Segment
 
Metals Segment
 
Total
Balance at December 28, 2013
$
1,354,730

 
$
15,897,948

 
$
17,252,678

Acquisition of Specialty

 
5,997,523

 
5,997,523

Balance at January 3, 2015
1,354,730

 
21,895,471

 
23,250,201

Specialty inventory adjustment

 
(2,318,187
)
 
(2,318,187
)
Reduction due to the finalization of Specialty's beginning balance sheet

 
(2,419,035
)
 
(2,419,035
)
Impairment charge

 
(17,158,249
)
 
(17,158,249
)
Balance at December 31, 2015
$
1,354,730

 
$

 
$
1,354,730



Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net assets of businesses acquired.

During the second quarter 2015, the Company finalized the purchase price allocation for the Specialty acquisition relating to two matters. Additional information was obtained surrounding the proper lifespan of Specialty's steel pipe. As a result, the fair value of the inventory increased and goodwill decreased by approximately $2,318,000. Additionally, the Company adjusted the earn-out liability to the former owner of Specialty by approximately $2,419,000.

Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually in the fourth quarter and whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. The evaluation of goodwill impairment involves using either a qualitative or quantitative approach as outlined in ASC Topic 350. The Company completed its annual goodwill impairment evaluation using the two-step quantitative analysis during the fourth quarter of 2015.

In the first step of the analysis, the Company compared the estimated value of each reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. The fair value of the reporting units was determined based on discounted cash flow methodologies. The fair value of all reporting units exceeded the carrying value. However, the Company noted substantial compression of the Company's stock price during 2015 resulting in a significant gap between the market capitalization of the Company, which has been increased by an estimated control premium of 35 percent, compared to the fair value of the Company determined using the discounted cash flow methodologies mentioned previously. As a result, invested equity, which is market capitalization plus interest rate debt, was allocated to each reporting unit and compared to the respective net assets. This step indicated sufficient cushion ($26,573,000) in the Specialty Chemicals Segment to support the recorded goodwill but indicated potential impairment of the goodwill recorded for the Metals Segment. Therefore, the second step of the analysis was performed where the implied fair value of goodwill was determined for the Specialty and Palmer reporting units. BRISMET was not included in the Step 2 analysis since it does not have any goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill represents the excess of fair value of the reporting unit over the fair value amounts assigned to all of the tangible and intangible assets of the reporting unit as if it were to be acquired in a business combination. Any amount remaining after this allocation represents the implied fair value of goodwill. The implied fair value of the respective reporting units' goodwill was then compared to the carrying value of the goodwill and any excess of carrying value over the implied fair value represents the non-cash impairment charge. The results of the second step analysis showed that the implied fair value of goodwill was zero for the Palmer and Specialty reporting units. Therefore, in 2015, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $17,158,000 for the Palmer and Specialty operations. As a result of the goodwill impairment charge, there is no goodwill remaining within the Metals Segment, and goodwill remaining on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2015 is $1,355,000 for the Specialty Chemicals Segment.

The impairment of the Specialty and Palmer reporting units was primarily driven by the significant compression of the Company's stock price as a result of temporary business declines being experienced in the Metals Segment. These declines primarily related to lower oil prices that caused significantly reduced demand for Palmer and Specialty's products and, secondarily, related to lowered nickel surcharges which affected both pounds shipped and selling prices for the BRISMET reporting unit. Other companies in the oil and gas sector are similarly affected as a result of declining commodity prices. As discussed above, this compression resulted in a significant gap between the fair value of the Company based on the discounted cash flow analysis and the market capitalization of the Company as of December 31, 2015. The valuation of goodwill for the second step of the goodwill impairment analysis is considered a Level 3 fair value measurement, which means that the valuation of the assets and liabilities reflect the Company's own assumptions about the assumptions that the market participants would use in pricing the assets and liabilities.

Goodwill impairment tests in prior years indicated that goodwill was not impaired for any of the Company's reporting units.