Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) provides a discussion of our results of operations and financial position for the year ended December 31, 2020. A discussion of our results of operations and financial position for the year ended December 31, 2019 is included in Part II–Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020, which discussion is incorporated herein by reference. The MD&A should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, “Mistras,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Mistras Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The MD&A includes the following sections:
• Forward-Looking Statements
• Overview
• Note about Non-GAAP Measures
• Consolidated Results of Operations
• Liquidity and Capital Resources
• Critical Accounting Estimates
• Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). Such forward-looking statements include those that express plans, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events and they are subject to risks and uncertainties known and unknown that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of Item 1 of this Annual Report.
At the time of this report, the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have a negative impact on us and our key markets and is causing significant economic disruption worldwide. Our discussion below is qualified by the unknown impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have on our business and the economy in general, including the duration of the health risk the COVID-19 pandemic will cause and the resulting economic disruption.
Overview
The Company is a leading "OneSource™" multinational provider of integrated technology-enabled asset protection solutions, helping to maximize the safety and operational uptime for civilization’s most critical industrial and civil assets.
Backed by an innovative, data-driven asset protection portfolio, proprietary technologies, and decades-long legacy of industry leadership, the Company leads clients in the oil and gas, aerospace and defense, power generation, infrastructure, and manufacturing industries towards achieving and maintaining operational excellence. By supporting these organizations that help fuel our vehicles and power our society; inspecting components that are trusted for commercial, defense, and space craft; and building real-time monitoring equipment to enable safe travel across bridges, the Company helps the world at large.
The company’s core capabilities also include non-destructive testing (“NDT”) field inspections enhanced by advanced robotics, laboratory quality control and assurance testing, sensing technologies and NDT equipment, asset and mechanical integrity engineering services, and light mechanical maintenance and access services. The Company enhances value for its clients by integrating asset protection throughout supply chains and centralizing integrity data through a suite of Industrial IoT-connected digital software and monitoring solutions.
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Our operations consist of three reportable segments: Services, International, and Products and Systems.
• Services provides asset protection solutions predominantly in North America, with the largest concentration in the United States, followed by Canada, consisting primarily of NDT, inspection, mechanical and engineering services that are used to evaluate the structural integrity and reliability of critical energy, industrial and public infrastructure and commercial aerospace components. PCMS software and pipeline related software and data analysis solutions are included in this segment.
• International offers services, products and systems similar to those of the other segments to select markets within Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America, but not to customers in China and South Korea, which are served by the Products and Systems segment.
• Products and Systems designs, manufactures, sells, installs and services the Company’s asset protection products and systems, including equipment and instrumentation, predominantly in the United States.
Given the role our solutions play in enhancing the safe and efficient operation of infrastructure, we have historically provided a
majority of our solutions to our customers on a regular, recurring basis. We perform these services largely at our customers’ facilities, while primarily servicing our aerospace customers at our network of state-of-the-art, in-house laboratories. These solutions typically include NDT and inspection services, and can also include a wide range of mechanical services, including heat tracing, pre-inspection insulation stripping, coating applications, re-insulation, engineering assessments and long-term condition-monitoring. Under this business model, many customers outsource their inspection to us on a “run and maintain” basis. We have established long-term relationships as a critical solutions provider to many of the leading companies with asset-intensive infrastructure in our target markets. These markets include oil and gas (downstream, midstream, upstream and petrochemical), commercial aerospace and defense, power generation (fossil, nuclear, alternative, renewable, and transmission and distribution), public infrastructure, chemicals, transportation, primary metals and metalworking and research and engineering institutions.
We have focused on providing our advanced asset protection solutions to our customers using proprietary, technology-enabled software and testing instruments, including those developed by our Products and Systems segment. We have made numerous acquisitions in an effort to grow our base of experienced, certified personnel, expand our service lines and technical capabilities, increase our geographical reach, complement our existing offerings, and leverage our fixed costs. We have increased our capabilities and the size of our customer base through the development of applied technologies and managed support services, organic growth and the integration of acquired companies. These acquisitions have provided us with additional service lines, technologies, resources and customers which we believe enhance our advantages over our competition.
We believe long-term growth can be realized in all of our target markets. Our level of business and financial results are impacted by world-wide macro- and micro-economic conditions generally, as well as those within our target markets. Among other things, we expect the timing of our oil and gas customers inspection spend to be impacted by oil price fluctuations.
2020 Developments
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to infect the population throughout the United States and most other parts of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant volatility in domestic and international markets. There is on-going uncertainty around the breadth and duration of business disruptions related to COVID-19, as well as its impact on the U.S. and international economies. In addition, oil prices have dropped significantly, and airline traffic has experienced a significant decline. In response to various factors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and, in the case of the oil and gas market, other macroeconomic events, companies within the oil and gas and aerospace industries (including our customers) have reduced
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spending and/or slowed down (or temporarily ceased) production. This, in turn, resulted in decreases in awards of new contracts or adjustments, reductions, suspensions or cancellations of existing contracts.
The COVID-19 pandemic, significant volatility in oil prices and decreased traffic in the aerospace industry have adversely affected our workforce and operations, as well as the operations of our customers, suppliers and contractors. These negative factors have also resulted in significant volatility and uncertainty in the markets in which we operate. To successfully navigate through this unprecedented period, we continue to focus on the following key priorities:
• Ensuring the health and safety of our employees and those of our customers and suppliers;
• Maintaining business continuity and financial strength and stability; and
• Serving our customers as they provide essential products and services to the world.
While we cannot fully assess the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic or the significant volatility in oil prices will continue to have on our operations at this time, there are certain impacts that we have identified:
• The financial market volatility that resulted from COVID-19 and the drop in oil prices required that we reassess the goodwill we had recorded related to various prior acquisitions under the guidance of ASC 350 during the first quarter of 2020. We determined that the fair values of various reporting units were less than their carrying values (including goodwill). As a result, we recorded an impairment charge related to goodwill of approximately $77.1 million during the first quarter of 2020. See Note 8-Goodwill to the consolidated financial statements.
• These same events required that we reassess the tangible and intangible assets recorded under the guidance of ASC 360 during the first quarter of 2020. We determined that the fair values of certain asset groups were less than their carrying values (excluding goodwill). As a result, we recorded impairment charges related to intangible assets of approximately $28.8 million and a right-of-use asset of approximately $0.2 million during the first quarter of 2020. See Note 9-Intangible Assets and Note 17-Leases to the consolidated financial statements.
To respond to the economic downturn resulting from the factors discussed above, in March 2020 we initiated a cost reduction and efficiency program. As part of this program, our named executive officers took voluntarily temporary salary reductions ranging from 25% to 45% of their base salary. In addition, we instituted a reduction for certain other salaried employees, at lower percentages, and suspended our voluntary match under our sponsored savings plans for our U.S. and Canadian employees. These reductions became effective at the beginning of the second quarter of 2020 and, except for the salary reductions for certain lower salaried employees, continued through the end of the third quarter of 2020. In addition, our non-employee directors voluntarily agreed to a $3,750 reduction in their second and third quarter 2020 director's fee payments. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2020, all salary and director fees reductions were removed and pay levels were returned to first quarter levels on a prospective basis, though certain other cost reduction measures have remained in place.
We are currently unable to predict with certainty the overall impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and volatility in oil prices may have on our business, results of operations, liquidity or in other ways which we cannot yet determine. We will continue to monitor market conditions and respond accordingly. Refer to Item 1A. Risk Factors in Part I of this 2020 Annual Report.
Note about Non-GAAP Measures
The Company prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In this MD&A under the heading "Income (loss) from Operations", the non-GAAP financial performance measure "Income (loss) before special items" is used for each of our three segments, the Corporate segment and the Total Company, with tables reconciling the measure to a financial measure under GAAP. This presentation excludes from "Income (loss) from Operations" (a) transaction expenses related to acquisitions, such as professional fees and due diligence costs, (b) the net changes in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration liabilities, (c) impairment charges, (d) reorganization and other costs, which includes items such as severance, labor relations matters and asset and lease termination costs and (e) other special items. These adjustments
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have been excluded from the GAAP measure because these expenses and credits are not related to our or any individual segment's core business operations. The acquisition related costs and special items can be a net expense or credit in any given period. Our management uses this non-GAAP measure as a measure of operating performance and liquidity to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations. We believe investors and other users of our financial statements benefit from the presentation of this non-GAAP measure in evaluating our performance. Income (loss) before special items excludes the identified adjustments, which provides additional tools to compare our core business operating performance on a consistent basis and measure underlying trends and results in our business. Income (loss) before special items is not used to determine incentive compensation for executives or employees, nor is it a replacement for the reported GAAP financial performance and/or necessarily comparable to the non-GAAP financial measures of other companies.
Consolidated Results of Operations
Year ended December 31, 2020 vs. Year ended December 31, 2019
The following table summarizes our consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
For the year ended December 31,
2020 2019
($ in thousands)
Revenues $ 592,571 $ 748,586
Gross profit 178,531 217,297
Gross profit as a % of Revenue 30.1 % 29.0 %
Income (loss) from operations (101,217) 24,137
Income (loss) from operations as a % of Revenue (17.1) % 3.2 %
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes (114,172) 10,439
Net income (loss) (99,466) 6,080
Net income (loss) attributable to Mistras Group, Inc. $ (99,461) $ 6,060
Revenues
Revenues by segment for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
For the year ended December 31,
2020 2019
($ in thousands)
Revenues
Services $ 476,164 $ 595,130
International 107,556 144,271
Products and Systems 16,449 18,583
Corporate and eliminations (7,598) (9,398)
$ 592,571 $ 748,586
Revenue was $592.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of $156.0 million, or 20.8%, compared with the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in revenue across all our segments was primarily the result of the impact of COVID-19, which disrupted the timing of projects or deferral of purchases for many of our customers. The decrease primarily was driven by the Services segment, which experienced a revenue decrease of $119.0 million, or 20.0%, driven by double-digit organic decline. The International segment revenues decreased 25.4% due predominantly to the double-digit organic decline. The Products and Systems segment decreased 11.5%, driven by lower sales volume.
Revenues from oil and gas customers comprised 57% and 58% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Revenues from aerospace and defense customers comprised 12% and 13% of total revenue for the years
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ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company's top ten customers comprised approximately 32% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to 34% for the year ended December 31, 2019, with no customer accounting for 10% or more of total revenue in either twelve month period.
Gross Profit
Gross profit by segment for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was as follows:
For the year ended December 31,
2020 2019
($ in thousands)
Gross profit
Services $ 141,084 $ 165,513
% of segment revenue 29.6 % 27.8 %
International 31,046 43,145
% of segment revenue 28.9 % 29.9 %
Products and Systems 6,826 8,639
% of segment revenue 41.5 % 46.5 %
Corporate and eliminations (425) —
$ 178,531 $ 217,297
% of total revenue 30.1 % 29.0 %
Gross profit decreased $38.8 million, or 17.8%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019, with a sales decrease of $156.0 million, or 20.8%. COVID-19, the significant drop in oil prices and a decrease in aerospace production have had a significant unfavorable impact on sales volume; however, gross profit margin improved due primarily to better employee utilization and, to a lesser extent, the favorable impact of mix of sales driven by the Services segment. Gross profit margin was 30.1% and 29.0% for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Services segment gross profit margins had a year-on-year increase of 180 basis points to 29.6% for the year ended December 31, 2020, due primarily to better employee utilization, favorable mix of sales on lower sales volume and Canadian wage subsidies. International segment gross margins had a year-on-year decrease of 100 basis points to 28.9% for the year ended December 31, 2020, due primarily to lower levels of employee utilization and sales mix. Products and Systems segment gross margins decreased by 500 basis points for the year ended December 31, 2020 to 41.5%, driven by unfavorable sales mix.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was as follows:
For the year ended December 31,
2020 2019
($ in thousands)
Operating Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses $ 157,157 $ 168,621
Impairment charges 106,062 —
Bad debt provision for troubled customers, net of recoveries — 3,038
Pension withdrawal expense — 848
Legal settlement and litigation charges, net (220) —
Research and engineering 2,892 3,045
Depreciation and amortization 13,520 16,733
Acquisition-related expense, net 337 875
Operating expenses increased $86.6 million, or 44.8%, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 due predominantly to impairment charges of $106.1 million in 2020 as more fully described in Note 8-Goodwill, Note 9-Intangible Assets and Note 17-Leases to the consolidated financial statements. Amortization expense
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decreased from prior year due to a lower net carrying amount of intangible assets as a result of the 2020 impairment charges. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $11.5 million, or 6.8% for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 primarily due to the Company's cost reduction and efficiency program initiated during the first quarter of 2020 in response to COVID-19 as more fully described in 2020 Developments under the Overview of this section. Transactional foreign exchange expense, which is included within selling, general and administrative expenses, was approximately $3.6 million higher in 2020 as compared to 2019, due to volatility in certain foreign currencies.
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Income (Loss) from Operations
The following table shows a reconciliation of segment income (loss) from operations to income (loss) before special items (unaudited) for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
For the year ended December 31,
2020 2019
($ in thousands)
Services:
Income (loss) from operations (GAAP) $ (44,222) $ 49,593
Pension withdrawal expense — 848
Impairment charges 86,200 —
Bad debt provision for troubled customers, net of recoveries — 3,018
Reorganization and other costs 141 302
Legal settlement and litigation charges, net 81 —
Acquisition-related expense (benefit), net 337 541
Income before special items (unaudited, non-GAAP) $ 42,537 $ 54,302
International:
Income (loss) from operations (GAAP) $ (21,855) $ 5,856
Impairment charges 19,862 —
Reorganization and other costs 1,290 266
Bad debt provision for troubled customers, net of recoveries — 20
Income (loss) before special items (unaudited, non-GAAP) $ (703) $ 6,142
Products and Systems:
Loss from operations (GAAP) $ (936) $ (529)
Reorganization and other costs 5 218
Loss before special items (unaudited, non-GAAP) $ (931) $ (311)
Corporate and Eliminations:
Loss from operations (GAAP) $ (34,204) $ (30,783)
Legal settlement and litigation charges, net (301) —
Loss on debt modification 645 —
Reorganization and other costs 177 104
Acquisition-related expense (benefit), net — 334
Loss before special items (unaudited, non-GAAP) $ (33,683) $ (30,345)
Total Company:
Income (loss) from operations (GAAP) $ (101,217) $ 24,137
Pension withdrawal expense — 848
Impairment charges 106,062 —
Bad debt provision for troubled customers, net of recoveries — 3,038
Legal settlement and litigation charges, net (220) —
Loss on debt modification 645 —
Reorganization and other costs 1,613 890
Acquisition-related expense (benefit), net 337 875
Income before special items (unaudited, non-GAAP) $ 7,220 $ 29,788
See section Note about Non-GAAP Measures in this report for an explanation of the use of non-GAAP measurements.
Total Company income from operations (GAAP) decreased by $125.4 million, or 519.3% compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. Total Company income (loss) before special items (non-GAAP) decreased by $22.6 million or 75.8%
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compared with the year ended December 31, 2019. Operating expenses, excluding special items (non-GAAP), as a percentage of revenue, was 28.9% for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to 25.0% for the year ended December 31, 2019. The COVID-19 outbreak and volatility in oil prices has adversely affected our workforce and operations, as well as the operations of our customers, suppliers and contractors and was the primary reason for the impairment charges. Income before special items as a percentage of revenue decreased by 280 basis points to 1.2% for the year ended December 31, 2020 from 4.0% for the year ended December 31, 2019. These negative factors have resulted in significant volatility and uncertainty in the markets in which we operate. We are currently unable to predict or determine the overall impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and change in oil prices may have on our business, results of operations, or liquidity. Refer to Item 1A. Risk Factors in Part I of this annual report for further discussion.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was $13.0 million and $13.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The decrease was due to lower average level of borrowings on our Credit Agreement attributable primarily to payments on borrowings for the acquisition completed during the fourth quarter of 2018, partially offset by an increase in the base borrowing rate effected during the second quarter as a result of the May 2020 amendment to our Credit Agreement.
Income Taxes
Our effective income tax rate was approximately 12.9% for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to 41.8% for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in effective tax rate was primarily driven by the impact of the non-deductible goodwill impairment partially offset by the benefit from the carryback of the current year domestic net operating loss, along with a decrease in the impact on our effective tax rate of nondeductible share based compensation, and foreign rate changes.
On March 27, 2020, the United States enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act is an approximately $2 trillion emergency economic stimulus package in response to the Coronavirus outbreak, which among other things contains numerous income tax provisions. Some of these tax provisions are effective retroactively for years ending before the date of enactment. The CARES Act provides a five-year carryback of net operating losses generated in years 2018 through 2020. As the statutory federal income tax rate applicable to certain years within the carryback period is 35%, carryback to those years of our estimated 2020 annual federal tax loss provides a tax benefit in excess of the current federal statutory rate of 21%, resulting in an increased income tax benefit of $1.9 million. We project that the income tax effects of the CARES Act will result in a cash refund of $4.8 million in 2021 of taxes paid in prior years.
On December 27, 2020, the United States enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, (the "Appropriations Act") an additional stimulus package providing financial relief for individuals and small business. The Appropriations Act contains a variety of tax provisions, including full expensing of business meals in 2021 and 2022, and expansion of the employee retention tax credit. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows, but does not expect it to have a material impact.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law on March 11, 2021. This act, among other things, provides economic relief provisions to individuals and funding to certain businesses and programs. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows, but does not expect it to have a material impact.
On June 28, 2019, the Canadian province of Alberta enacted the Job Creation Tax Cut which reduced the Alberta corporate income tax rate from 12% to 11% starting in 2019 with further annual reductions to 10% in 2020, 9% in 2021, and 8% in 2022. This rate reduction had a favorable impact of approximately $1.9 million on our net deferred tax liabilities in this jurisdiction in 2019. As part of Alberta’s Recovery plan associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta accelerated the decrease in income tax rates from 10% in 2020 to 8% effective July 1, 2020. The accelerated tax rate reduction did not have a material impact on our net deferred tax liabilities but did reduce current taxes.
Income tax expense varies as a function of pre-tax income and the level of non-deductible expenses, such as certain amounts of meals and entertainment expense, valuation allowances, and other permanent differences. It is also affected by discrete items that may occur in any given year but are not consistent from year to year. Our effective income tax rate may fluctuate over the next few years due to many variables including the amount and future geographic distribution of our pre-tax income, changes resulting from our acquisition strategy, and increases or decreases in our permanent differences.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
The Company has funded its operations from cash provided from operations, bank borrowings and lease financings. Management believes that the Company's existing cash and cash equivalents, anticipated cash flows from operating activities, and available borrowings under our credit agreement will be more than sufficient to meet anticipated cash needs over the next 12 months. The Company generated operating cash flow of $67.8 million and $59.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Capital expenditures for the purchase of property, plant and equipment and of intangible assets was $15.8 million and $22.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Cash Flows Table
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
For the year ended December 31,
($ in thousands) 2020 2019
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities $ 67,802 $ 59,110
Investing activities (14,969) (25,280)
Financing activities (44,169) (44,137)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 2,080 (221)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents $ 10,744 $ (10,528)
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $67.8 million, an increase of $8.7 million from the prior year. The increase was primarily attributable to movements in working capital driven by the increase in net accounts receivable collections of $19.0 million offset by less net income.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $15.0 million, a decrease of $10.3 million from the prior year as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Company used $7.1 million less of cash for purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets in 2020 compared to 2019. In 2019, the Company used $4.2 million for acquisitions, net of dispositions.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Net cash used by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $44.2 million, compared to $44.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2020, net repayment of debt was approximately $0.4 million higher compared to 2019. In addition, for the year ended December 31, 2020 we incurred $1.2 million and $1.5 million of additional acquisition-related contingent consideration and financing costs compared to 2019, respectively offset by $2.7 million less taxes paid related to net share settlement of share-based awards.
Cash Balance and Credit Facility Borrowings
The terms of our Credit Agreement as modified and described in Note 11-Long-Term Debt of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report, under the heading "Senior Credit Facility", the provisions of which are incorporated herein.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling $25.8 million and available borrowing capacity of up to $50.4 million under our existing Credit Agreement. Borrowings of $210.1 million and letters of credit of $4.3 million were outstanding under the Credit Agreement at December 31, 2020. We finance our operations primarily through our existing cash
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balances, cash collected from operations, bank borrowings and lease financing. We believe these sources are sufficient to fund our operations for the foreseeable future. See 11-Long-Term Debt to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.
As of December 31, 2020, we were in compliance with the terms of the Credit Agreement and will continuously monitor our compliance with the covenants contained in the Credit Agreement.
Liquidity and Capital Resources Outlook
Future Sources of Cash
We expect our future sources of cash to include cash flow generated from our operating activities and borrowings under our Credit Agreement. Our revolving credit facility is available for cash advances required for working capital and for letters of credit to support our operations. Acquisitions, if any, are funded through available cash and borrowings under the Credit Agreement.
Future Uses of Cash
We expect our future uses of cash will primarily be for repayment of debt, international expansion, purchases or manufacture of field-testing equipment to support growth, additional investments in technology and software products and the replacement of existing assets and equipment used in our operations. We often make purchases to support new sources of revenues, particularly in our Services segment. In addition, we annually fund a certain amount of replacement equipment, including a portion of our fleet vehicles. We historically spend approximately 2% to 3% of our total revenues on capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, and expect to fund these expenditures through a combination of cash and lease financing. Our cash capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, for each of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were approximately 2.7% and 3.1% of revenues, respectively. However, the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will negatively impact our cash flow and our uses of cash, particularly if we experience a material reduction in our revenues due to ongoing actions taken to combat the spread of the virus. We continue to take steps to reduce spending and preserve cash.
As a result of restrictions in our credit agreement, as amended, we do not expect to make any acquisitions in 2021 other than small acquisitions with the banks’ approval. We acquired one company during each of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, for an aggregate cash outlay of $144.2 million. In some cases, additional equipment will be needed to upgrade the capabilities of these acquired companies. In addition, our future capital spending may increase as we pursue growth opportunities. Other investments in infrastructure, training and software may also be required to match our growth, but we plan to continue using a disciplined approach to building our business. In addition, we will use cash to fund our operating leases, finance leases, long-term debt repayments and various other obligations as they arise.
We also expect to use cash to support our working capital requirements for our operations, particularly in the event of further growth and due to the impacts of seasonality on our business. Our future working capital requirements will depend on many factors, including the rate of our revenue growth, our introduction of new solutions and enhancements to existing solutions and our expansion of sales and marketing and product development activities. To the extent that our cash and cash equivalents and future cash flows from operating activities are insufficient to fund our future activities, we may need to raise additional funds through bank credit arrangements, or public or private equity, or debt financings. We also may need to raise additional funds in the event we determine in the future to effect one or more acquisitions of businesses, technologies or products that will complement our existing operations. In the event additional funding is required, we may not be able to obtain bank credit arrangements or effect an equity or debt financing on acceptable terms.
Contractual Obligations
We generally do not enter into long-term minimum purchase commitments. Our principal commitments, in addition to those related to our long-term debt discussed below, consist of obligations under facility leases for office space and equipment leases and contingent consideration obligations in connection with our acquisitions.
The following table summarizes our outstanding contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020:
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($ in thousands) Total 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Thereafter
Long-term debt (1)
$ 220,216 $ 10,678 $ 11,551 $ 194,191 $ 1,282 $ 799 $ 1,715
Finance lease obligations (2)
16,337 5,353 4,087 3,194 2,261 688 754
Right-of-use obligations (2)
56,440 12,588 10,495 8,907 7,042 5,150 12,258
Contingent consideration obligations (3)
1,640 1,300 340 — — — —
Purchase commitments (4)
1,250 1,250 — — — —
Total $ 295,883 $ 31,169 $ 26,473 $ 206,292 $ 10,585 $ 6,637 $ 14,727
________________________________
(1) Consists primarily of the principal portion of borrowings from our senior credit facility in connection with our acquisitions and includes the current portion outstanding.
(2) Includes minimum lease payments over the remaining terms of the leases.
(3) Fair value of payments deemed reasonably likely to occur in connection with our acquisitions.
(4) Consists of the remaining portion of a three-year cumulative agreement to purchase products from the buyer associated with the sale of a subsidiary.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles requires that we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company has established policies and control procedures intended to ensure that estimation methods, including any judgments made as part of such methods, are well-controlled, independently reviewed and applied consistently from period to period. The accounting policies that we believe require more significant estimates and assumptions include: revenue recognition, long-lived assets and goodwill. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience, known or expected trends and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ significantly from these estimates, which may cause our future results to be significantly affected.
We believe that the following critical accounting policies comprise the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The majority of the Company's revenues are derived from providing services on a time and material basis and are short-term in nature. The Company accounts for revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.
Performance Obligations
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer, and is the unit of account in ASC Topic 606. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The majority of our contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and is, therefore, not distinct. The Company provides highly integrated and bundled inspection services to its customers. Some of our contracts have multiple performance obligations, most commonly due to the contract providing both goods and services. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using our best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. The primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is a relative selling price based on price lists.
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Contract modifications are not routine in the performance of our contracts. Generally, when contracts are modified, the modification is to account for changes in scope to the goods and services that are provided. In most instances, contract modifications are for goods or services that are distinct, and, therefore, are accounted for as a separate contract.
Our performance obligations are satisfied over time as work progresses or at a point in time. The majority of our revenue recognized over time as work progresses is related to our service deliverables, which includes providing testing, inspection and mechanical services to our customers. Revenue is recognized over time based on time and material incurred to date which best portrays the transfer of control to the customer. The Company also utilizes an available practical expedient that provides for revenue to be recognized in an amount that corresponds directly with the value to the customer of the entity’s performance completed to date. Fixed fee arrangements are determined based on expected labor, material, and overhead to be consumed on fulfillment of such services. Revenue is recognized on a cost-to-cost method tracked on an input basis.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a point in time is related to product sales when the customer obtains control of the asset, which is generally upon shipment to the customer. Contract costs include labor, material and overhead.
The Company expects any significant remaining performance obligations to be satisfied within one year.
Contract Estimates
The majority of our revenues are short-term in nature. The Company has many Master Service Agreements (MSAs) that specify an overall framework and terms of contract when the Company and customers agree upon services or products to be provided. The actual contracting to provide services or furnish products are triggered by a work order, purchase order, or some similar document issued pursuant to a MSA which sets forth the scope of services and/or identifies the products to be provided. From time-to-time, the Company may enter into long-term contracts, which can range from several months to several years. Revenue on such long-term contracts is recognized as work is performed based on total costs incurred to date in relation to the total estimated costs for the performance of the contract at completion. This includes contract estimates of costs to be incurred for the performance of the contract. Cost estimation is based upon the professional knowledge and experience of our project managers, engineers and financial professionals. Factors that are considered in estimating the work to be completed include the availability of materials, the effect of any delays in our project performance and the recoverability of any claims. Whenever revisions of estimates, contract costs and/or contract values indicate that the contract costs will exceed estimated revenues, thus creating a loss, a provision for the total estimated loss is recorded in that period.
Long-Lived Assets
We perform a review of long-lived assets (or asset groups) for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. If an indication of impairment is present, we compare the estimated undiscounted future cash flows to be generated by the asset (or asset group) to its carrying amount. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset (or asset group), we record an impairment loss equal to the excess of the asset’s carrying amount over its fair value. We estimate fair value based on valuation techniques such as a discounted cash flow analysis or a comparison to fair values of similar assets. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had $92.7 million and $98.6 million in net property, plant and equipment, respectively, and $68.6 million and $109.5 million in intangible assets, net, respectively. See Note 9-Intangible Assets to the consolidated financial statements for the 2020 impairment charge.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess purchase price of acquired businesses over the fair values attributed to underlying net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets. We test goodwill for impairment at a “reporting unit” level (which for the Company is represented by (i) our Services segment, (ii) our Products and Systems segment, and (iii) the European component of our International segment and (iv) the Brazilian component of our International segment). Our annual impairment test is conducted on the first day of our fourth quarter, which is October 1.
In testing for goodwill impairment, we have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances lead to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, we conclude that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing a quantitative impairment test is not necessary. If we conclude otherwise, we are required to perform a quantitative impairment test.
As a result of our adopting ASU 2017-04, impairment will be recorded in the amount that fair value is less than carrying value, as the ASU eliminated step two of the goodwill quantitative impairment process. We consider the income and market approaches to estimating the fair value of our reporting units, which requires significant judgment in evaluation of economic
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and industry trends, estimated future cash flows, discount rates and other factors. Sustained declines in our stock price and related market capitalization could impact key assumptions in the overall estimated fair values of its reporting units and could result in non-cash impairment charges that could be material to our consolidated balance sheet or results of operations.
During the first quarter of 2020, our market capitalization declined significantly compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Over the same period, the equity value of the Company’s peer group, and the overall U.S. stock market also declined significantly amid market volatility. In addition, oil prices had dropped significantly. These declines were driven in large part by the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and other macroeconomic events such as the geopolitical tensions between OPEC and Russia. Based on these factors, we concluded that multiple triggering events occurred and, accordingly, an interim quantitative goodwill impairment test was performed for each reporting unit as of March 31, 2020.
Based upon the results of the interim quantitative goodwill impairment test during the first quarter of 2020, we recorded an aggregate impairment charge of $77.1 million, which included $57.2 million in the services reporting unit within the Services segment, and $19.3 million in the European reporting unit and $0.6 million in the Brazilian reporting unit, both within the International segment.
We elected to perform a qualitative assessment of goodwill on October 1, 2020. Our qualitative assessment considered relevant events and circumstances occurring since our interim quantitative goodwill impairment test performed as of March 31, 2020. Specifically, we considered changes in macroeconomic conditions, industry and market conditions, our internal forecasts of future revenue and expenses, our stock price, any significant events affecting the Company and actual changes in the carrying values of our net assets. After considering all positive and negative evidence for the assessment as of October 1, 2020, we concluded that it was not more likely than not that our carrying values exceeded fair values and as such, no additional impairment was indicated.
Additionally, as of December 31, 2020, there are no indicators of an impairment. See Note 8-Goodwill t o the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding the 2020 impairment charge.
Acquisitions
We allocate the purchase price of acquired businesses to their identifiable tangible assets and liabilities as well as identifiable intangible assets, such as customer relationships, technology, non-compete agreements and trade names. Allocations are based on estimated fair values of assets and liabilities, which reflects assumptions that would be made by typical market participants if they were to buy or sell each asset on an individual asset basis. Certain estimates and judgments are required in the application of the fair value techniques, including estimates of the respective acquisitions' future performance and related cash flows, selection of a discount rate and economic lives, and use of Level 3 measurements as defined in Accounting Standards Update ("ASC") 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure. Deferred taxes are recorded for any differences between the assigned values and tax bases of assets and liabilities. We typically engage third-party valuation experts to assist in determining the fair values for both identifiable tangible and intangible assets. The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to each class of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as asset lives, could materially impact our results of operations. See Note 7-Acquisitions and Disposition to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For information about recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 1-Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Practices to the consolidated financial statements.