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LEUCADIA NATIONAL CORP - 10-K - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
(Edgar Glimpses Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
The purpose of this section is to discuss and analyze the Company's consolidated
financial condition, liquidity and capital resources and results of
operations. This analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements, related footnote disclosures and "Cautionary Statement for
Forward-Looking Information," which appear in Part I and elsewhere in this
Report.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
The Company's investment portfolio, equity and results of operations can be
significantly impacted by the changes in market values of certain securities,
particularly during times of increased volatility in security prices. Changes in
the market values of publicly traded available for sale securities are reflected
in other comprehensive income (loss) and equity. However, changes in the market
prices of investments for which the Company has elected the fair value option,
declines in the fair values of equity securities that the Company deems to be
other than temporary, and declines in the fair values of debt securities related
to credit losses are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations and
equity. JHYH also owns public securities with changes in market values reflected
in its earnings. Since the Company accounts for JHYH on the equity method of
accounting, it records its share of JHYH's earnings in the consolidated
statement of operations which increases the Company's exposure to volatility in
the public securities markets.
The Company's largest publicly traded available for sale equity security with
changes in market values reflected in other comprehensive income (loss) is
Inmet. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the market value of the
Company's investment in the common shares of Inmet increased from $708,193,000
to $823,757,000. The market value of the Company's investment in Jefferies, for
which the fair value option was elected, increased during the year with
unrealized gain reflected in operations as a component of income related to
associated companies. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company
recognized an unrealized gain related to its investment in Jefferies of
$279,589,000.
Liquidity
Leucadia National Corporation is a holding company whose assets principally
consist of the stock of its direct subsidiaries, cash and cash equivalents and
other non-controlling investments in debt and equity securities. The Company
continuously evaluates the retention and disposition of its existing operations
and investments and investigates possible acquisitions of new businesses in
order to maximize shareholder value. Accordingly, further acquisitions,
divestitures, investments and changes in capital structure are possible. Its
principal sources of funds are its available cash resources, liquid investments,
public and private capital market transactions, repayment of subsidiary
advances, funds distributed from its subsidiaries as tax sharing payments,
management and other fees, and borrowings and dividends from its subsidiaries,
as well as dispositions of existing businesses and investments.
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In addition to cash and cash equivalents, the Company also considers investments
classified as current assets and investments classified as non-current assets on
the face of its consolidated balance sheet as being generally available to meet
its liquidity needs. Securities classified as current and non-current
investments are not as liquid as cash and cash equivalents, but they are
generally easily convertible into cash within a relatively short period of
time. As of December 31, 2012, the sum of these amounts aggregated
$3,566,534,000. However, since $561,641,000 of this amount is pledged as
collateral pursuant to various agreements, is subject to trading restrictions,
represents investments in non-public securities or is held by subsidiaries that
are party to agreements that restrict the Company's ability to use the funds for
other purposes, the Company does not consider those amounts to be available to
meet its liquidity needs. The $3,004,893,000 that is available is comprised of
cash and short-term bonds and notes of the U.S. Government and its agencies,
U.S. Government-Sponsored Enterprises and other publicly traded debt and equity
securities (including the Inmet common shares). The Company's available
liquidity, and the investment income realized from cash, cash equivalents and
marketable securities is used to meet the Company's short-term recurring cash
requirements, which are principally the payment of interest on its debt and
corporate overhead expenses.
The holding company's only long-term cash requirement is to make principal
payments on its long-term debt ($958,131,000 principal outstanding as of
December 31, 2012), of which $401,909,000 is due in 2013, $97,581,000 is due in
2014 and $458,641,000 is due in 2015. Historically, the Company has used its
available liquidity to make acquisitions of new businesses and other
investments, but, except as disclosed in this Report, the timing of any future
investments and the cost cannot be predicted.
From time to time in the past, the Company has accessed public and private
credit markets and raised capital in underwritten bond financings. The funds
raised have been used by the Company for general corporate purposes, including
for its existing businesses and new investment opportunities. The Company's
senior debt obligations are rated four levels below investment grade by Moody's
Investors Services, two levels below investment grade by Fitch Ratings and one
level below investment grade by Standard & Poor's. Ratings issued by bond rating
agencies are subject to change at any time. The bond rating agencies are
reviewing the Company's ratings pending completion of the Jefferies Merger;
however, based on the Company's conversations with the agencies it expects its
ratings will be increased after the transaction closes.
During 2012, the Company sold its remaining common shares of Fortescue for net
cash proceeds of $659,416,000, which resulted in the recognition of a net
securities gain of $543,713,000. The Company also received $202,221,000 from
Chichester (net of $22,469,000 in withholding taxes) in payment of interest due
on the FMG Note for the period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. During
the fourth quarter of 2012, Chichester redeemed the FMG Note for aggregate cash
consideration of $715,000,000, resulting in the recognition of a pre-tax gain of
$526,184,000, and the parties agreed to settle all pending litigation and
disputes without any additional payment. As a result, the Company will no
longer receive interest payments on the FMG Note.
In May 2012, the Company invested an additional $50,000,000 in Sangart, which
increased its ownership interest to approximately 97.2%. The Company has not
provided any commitment to provide Sangart any additional funds in the future.
In September 2012, Mueller repurchased the Company's entire investment in
Mueller for aggregate cash consideration of $427,337,000. The Mueller common
shares were originally acquired at a cost of $408,558,000.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------In September 2012, the Company sold its small Caribbean-based telecommunications
provider for aggregate consideration of $27,509,000, net of working capital
adjustments.
In October 2012, the Company sold Keen for cash consideration of $100,000,000
and a four-year interest bearing promissory note issued by the purchaser which
was valued at $37,500,000. The Company also retained Keen's net working capital,
principally customer receivables and trade payables.
In February 2009, the Board of Directors authorized the Company, from time to
time, to purchase its outstanding debt securities through cash purchases in open
market transactions, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Such
repurchases, if any, depend upon prevailing market conditions, the Company's
liquidity requirements and other factors; such purchases may be commenced or
suspended at any time without notice.
In November 2012, the Board of Directors increased the number of the Company's
common shares that the Company is authorized to purchase. Such purchases may be
made from time to time in the open market, through block trades or
otherwise. Depending on market conditions and other factors, such purchases may
be commenced or suspended at any time without notice. During the three year
period ended December 31, 2012, the only common shares acquired by the Company
were in connection with the exercise of stock options. As of February 14, 2013,
the Company is authorized to repurchase 25,000,000 common shares.
The Company and certain of its subsidiaries have substantial NOLs and other tax
attributes. The amount and availability of the NOLs and other tax attributes are
subject to certain qualifications, limitations and uncertainties. In order to
reduce the possibility that certain changes in ownership could impose
limitations on the use of the NOLs, the Company's certificate of incorporation
contains provisions which generally restrict the ability of a person or entity
from acquiring ownership (including through attribution under the tax law) of
five percent or more of the common shares and the ability of persons or entities
now owning five percent or more of the common shares from acquiring additional
common shares. The restrictions will remain in effect until the earliest of (a)
December 31, 2024, (b) the repeal of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code
(or any comparable successor provision) or (c) the beginning of a taxable year
to which certain tax benefits may no longer be carried forward. For more
information about the NOLs and other tax attributes, see Note 19 of Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Jefferies Merger
At closing, the Company expects to issue approximately 117,698,000 common shares
in exchange for Jefferies publicly held common stock, and the Company will issue
a new series of 3.25% Convertible Cumulative Preferred Stock ($125,000,000 at
mandatory redemption value) in exchange for Jefferies outstanding 3.25% Series A
Convertible Cumulative Preferred Stock. In addition, each outstanding stock
option to purchase shares of Jefferies common stock, each restricted share of
Jefferies common stock and each restricted stock unit of Jefferies common stock
will be converted at the Exchange Ratio into an award of options, restricted
shares or restricted stock units of the Company, with all such awards subject to
the same terms and conditions, including, without limitation, vesting and, in
the case of performance-based restricted stock units, performance being measured
at existing targets. Following the transaction, 35.2% of the Company's common
shares will be owned by Jefferies' stockholders (excluding the Jefferies common
stock owned by the Company and including Jefferies vested restricted stock
units) and Jefferies will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The
Company will not assume or guarantee any of Jefferies' outstanding debt
securities, but Jefferies' 3.875% Convertible Senior Debentures due 2029
($345,000,000 principal amount outstanding) will become convertible into common
shares of the Company. As specified in the indenture governing the debentures,
the debentures are not currently convertible nor will they be after consummation
of the merger. However, after giving effect to the Jefferies Merger, if the
debentures were currently convertible, the conversion price would be $45.93 per
common share of the Company.
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The merger will be accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. The
aggregate purchase price will be equal to the sum of the fair value of the
Company's common shares issued at closing, the fair value of employee stock
based awards attributable to periods prior to closing, the fair value of the
Jefferies common stock owned by the Company and the redemption value of the new
series of preferred shares issued by the Company at closing, which represents
its fair value. The fair values of the Jefferies common stock owned by the
Company and the common shares and employee stock based awards issued by the
Company will be determined by using market prices at closing. Based on current
market prices the aggregate purchase price would be approximately
$4,800,000,000; including the Company's investment in JHYH, the aggregate
investment in Jefferies would be approximately $5,100,000,000.
The completion of the merger is subject to satisfaction or waiver of customary
closing conditions, including approval by the Company's shareholders (by the
vote of a majority of the shares cast, assuming a majority of shares outstanding
are voted), approval by the Jefferies' stockholders (by the vote of a majority
of the outstanding shares) and the receipt of opinions that the merger will
qualify for federal income tax purposes as a "reorganization" within the meaning
of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The
completion of the merger is not conditioned on receipt of financing by the
Company. The transaction is expected to close promptly after shareholder
approval is received from both companies; shareholder meetings are scheduled to
occur on February 28, 2013.
Jefferies will be the Company's largest investment, and will continue to operate
as a full-service global investment banking firm in its current form. Jefferies
will retain a credit rating that is separate from the Company's credit
rating. Jefferies' existing long-term debt will remain outstanding and Jefferies
intends to remain an SEC reporting company, regularly filing annual, quarterly,
and periodic financial reports. Jefferies has historically reported its balance
sheet on an unclassified basis while the Company has historically reported a
classified balance sheet, with assets and liabilities separated between current
and non-current. However, after giving consideration to the nature of Jefferies
business and the impact the inclusion of its balance sheet will have on the
Company's consolidated balance sheet, upon completion of the merger the Company
will report its consolidated balance sheet on an unclassified basis, and the
Company's consolidated balance sheet captions will be generally based on
Jefferies captions.
Upon consummation of the Jefferies Merger, Jefferies current Chief Executive
Officer and current Executive Committee Chairman will become the Company's new
Chief Executive Officer and new President, respectively. In connection with
presentations made to credit rating agencies with respect to the Jefferies
Merger, Jefferies senior management advised the agencies that, after the
Jefferies Merger, the Company's management would target specific concentration,
leverage and liquidity principles in the future, expressed in the form of
certain ratios and percentages, although there is no legal requirement to do
so. These targets and calculations of the Company's actual ratios and
percentages are detailed below at December 31, 2012 (dollars in thousands):
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Total equity $ 6,767,635
Less, investment in Jefferies (1,077,172 )
Less, investment in JHYH (351,835 )
Equity excluding Jefferies 5,338,628
Less, the Company's two largest investments:
National Beef (860,080 )
Inmet, net of tax (709,606 )
Equity in a stressed scenario $ 3,768,942
Balance sheet amounts:
Available liquidity, per above $ 3,004,893
Parent company debt (see Note 13 of Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements) $ 954,941
Maximum ratio of parent company debt to stressed equity:
Target .50 x
Actual .25 x
Minimum ratio of available liquidity to parent company debt:
Target 1.0 x
Actual 3.1 x
In addition, Jefferies management has indicated that the Company's largest
single investment will be not more than 20% of equity excluding Jefferies
(currently National Beef), and that the next largest investment will be no more
than 10% of equity excluding Jefferies, in each case measured at the time such
investment was made.
The Company will distribute the common shares of Crimson to its shareholders on
February 25, 2013. The distribution was a condition to the Jefferies Merger. As
a result, during the first quarter of 2013, the Company will record a dividend
of approximately $197,000,000.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
As discussed above, the Company has historically relied on its available
liquidity to meet its short-term and long-term needs, and to make acquisitions
of new businesses and investments. Except as otherwise disclosed herein, the
Company's operating businesses do not generally require significant funds to
support their operating activities, and the Company does not depend on positive
cash flow from its operating segments to meet its liquidity needs. The
components of the Company's operating businesses and investments change
frequently as a result of acquisitions or divestitures, the timing of which is
impossible to predict but which often have a significant impact on the Company's
consolidated statements of cash flows in any one period. Further, the timing and
amounts of distributions from investments in associated companies may be outside
the control of the Company. As a result, reported cash flows from operating,
investing and financing activities do not generally follow any particular
pattern or trend, and reported results in the most recent period should not be
expected to recur in any subsequent period.
Net cash of $221,857,000 and $9,084,000 was provided by operating activities
in 2012 and 2011, respectively. The change in operating cash flows reflects
funds provided by National Beef of $141,358,000, which was acquired on December
30, 2011, interest payments received from Chichester ($202,221,000 in 2012 and
$171,718,000 in 2011, net of withholding taxes), lower interest payments,
premiums paid to redeem debt ($17,138,000 in 2012 and $6,352,000 in 2011) and
greater income tax payments. Premier generated funds of $27,637,000 and
$26,516,000 during 2012 and 2011, respectively; the Company's manufacturing
segments generated funds of $27,435,000 and $12,819,000 during 2012 and 2011,
respectively; and Keen, a discontinued operation, generated funds of $14,019,000
and $23,446,000 during 2012 and 2011, respectively. Funds used by Sangart, a
development stage company, increased to $42,612,000 during 2012 from $39,396,000
during 2011. During 2012, distributions from associated companies principally
include earnings distributed by Berkadia ($37,561,000), Jefferies ($4,351,000),
JHYH ($5,223,000), Mueller ($23,925,000) and the Garcadia companies
($18,440,000). During 2011, distributions from associated companies principally
include earnings distributed by Berkadia ($23,636,000), Jefferies ($7,789,000)
and Garcadia ($5,654,000). Net gains related to real estate, property and
equipment, and other assets in 2012 include $526,184,000 from the redemption of
the FMG Note, and in 2011 include a gain of $81,848,000 on forgiveness of debt
related to the Myrtle Beach project. Funds provided by operating activities
include $5,663,000 and $4,690,000 in 2012 and 2011, respectively, from funds
distributed by Empire Insurance Company ("Empire"), a discontinued operation.
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Net cash of $9,084,000 and $431,266,000 was provided by operating activities
in 2011 and 2010, respectively. The change in operating cash flows reflects
interest payments received from Chichester ($171,718,000 in 2011 and
$154,930,000 in 2010, net of withholding taxes), greater income tax payments,
lower interest payments and the proceeds received from the sale of AmeriCredit
Corp. ("ACF") in excess of the cost of the investment in 2010
($404,700,000). Premier generated funds of $26,516,000 and $26,524,000 during
2011 and 2010, respectively; the Company's manufacturing segments generated
funds of $12,819,000 and $28,333,000 during 2011 and 2010, respectively; and
Keen generated funds of $23,446,000 and $7,311,000 during 2011 and 2010,
respectively. Funds used by Sangart increased to $39,396,000 during 2011 from
$23,757,000 during 2010. During 2011, distributions from associated companies
principally include earnings distributed by Berkadia ($23,636,000), Jefferies
($7,789,000) and the Garcadia companies ($5,654,000). In 2010, distributions
from associated companies principally include ACF, earnings distributed by
Berkadia ($29,000,000) and Jefferies ($14,575,000). Net gains related to real
estate, property and equipment, and other assets in 2011 include a gain of
$81,848,000 on forgiveness of debt related to the Myrtle Beach project, and in
2010 a gain of $383,369,000 on the sale of Las Cruces. Funds provided by
operating activities include $4,690,000 and $11,640,000 in 2011 and 2010,
respectively, from funds distributed by Empire.
Net cash of $407,321,000 was provided by investing activities in 2012,
principally reflecting the $715,000,000 in proceeds received from the redemption
of the FMG Note, as compared to net cash flow used for investing activities of
$175,297,000 and $208,718,000 in 2011 and 2010, respectively. The increase in
acquisitions of property, equipment and leasehold improvements during 2012
principally reflects capital expenditures at National Beef ($43,498,000). During
2011, proceeds from disposals of real estate, property and equipment, and other
assets include $12,040,000 from the sale of certain of Keen's rigs, and in 2010
include the sale of Las Cruces ($149,910,000). In 2012, acquisitions, net of
cash acquired, relates to Conwed Plastic's acquisition of certain assets of a
lightweight netting business. In 2011, acquisitions, net of cash acquired,
primarily relates to the Company's acquisition of National Beef ($932,835,000)
and Seghesio Family Vineyards ($86,018,000). Proceeds from disposal of
discontinued operations, net of expenses and cash of operations sold in 2012
principally includes Keen ($104,185,000) and a small Caribbean-based
telecommunications provider ($26,957,000); in 2011 principally includes the
telecommunications operations of STi Prepaid, LLC ("STi Prepaid"), which was
sold during 2010 ($10,644,000); and in 2010 principally includes the property
management and services operations of ResortQuest International, LLC
("ResortQuest") ($52,135,000), a shopping center ($17,064,000) and STi Prepaid
($9,819,000). Investments in associated companies include Linkem ($23,709,000)
in 2012; Jefferies ($167,753,000), Mueller ($408,558,000), Linkem ($88,575,000)
and the Garcadia companies ($32,400,000) in 2011; and Berkadia ($292,544,000),
Las Cruces ($2,687,000), Jefferies ($17,998,000) and ACF ($7,236,000) in
2010. Capital distributions and loan repayment from associated companies include
Berkadia ($34,981,000), Mueller ($406,539,000), Jefferies ($17,401,000) and the
Garcadia companies ($11,976,000) in 2012; Berkadia ($283,530,000), JHYH
($8,710,000), Jefferies ($8,326,000) and the Garcadia companies ($10,382,000) in
2011; and ACF ($425,842,000), Berkadia ($44,544,000), JHYH ($17,077,000) and the
Garcadia companies ($8,778,000) in 2010.
Net cash of $651,708,000 and $106,637,000 was used for financing activities in
2012 and 2011, respectively, as compared to net cash provided by financing
activities of $64,664,000 in 2010. Issuance of long-term debt primarily reflects
the increase in repurchase agreements of $16,358,000 and $202,539,000 for 2011
and 2010, respectively, and in 2011, $75,947,000 borrowed by National Beef under
its revolving credit facility. Immediately after the Company's acquisition of
its interest in National Beef, National Beef borrowed funds to redeem the
interest of its chief executive officer pursuant to pre-existing put rights.
Reduction of debt for 2012 includes redemptions of $423,140,000 principal amount
of the Company's 7 1/8% Senior Notes due 2017, $88,204,000 principal amount of
the Company's 8.65% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures due 2027
and $4,836,000 principal amount of the Company's 7% Senior Notes due in August
2013; a decrease in repurchase agreements of $25,774,000; and repayments under
National Beef's term loans and bank credit facility of $29,727,000. Reduction of
debt for 2011 includes $19,275,000 in full satisfaction of the Myrtle Beach real
estate project's non-recourse indebtedness, $32,881,000 on the maturity of debt
of a subsidiary that was collateralized by certain of the Company's corporate
aircraft, $8,500,000 for the repayment of Keen's line of credit and $82,531,000
in the aggregate for the buyback of $21,359,000 principal amount of the
Company's 8 1/8% Senior Notes due 2015, $54,860,000 principal amount of the
Company's 7 1/8% Senior Notes due 2017 and $1,350,000 principal amount of the
Company's 8.65% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures due
2027. Reduction of debt for 2010 includes $10,226,000 for repayment of debt by a
subsidiary, and $80,859,000 in the aggregate for the buyback of $5,500,000
principal amount of the 7 3/4% Senior Notes, $27,200,000 principal amount of the
7% Senior Notes, $20,000,000 principal amount of the 8 1/8% Senior Notes,
$22,000,000 principal amount of the 7 1/8% Senior Notes, and $2,146,000
principal amount of the 8.65% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest
Debentures. Purchase of interest in subsidiary by noncontrolling interest for
2011 represents the acquisition of a minority interest in National Beef by its
chief executive officer immediately after the Company acquired its
interest. Issuance of common shares reflects the exercise of employee stock
options for all periods.
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Current liabilities includes $391,705,000 and $417,479,000 at December 31, 2012
and 2011, respectively, relating to repurchase agreements of one of the
Company's subsidiaries. These fixed rate repurchase agreements have a weighted
average interest rate of approximately 0.4%, mature in January 2013 and are
secured by non-current investments with a carrying value of $406,828,000 at
December 31, 2012. They are used solely to fund a portion of the purchase price
of a segregated portfolio of mortgage pass-through certificates issued by U.S.
Government agencies (GNMA) and by U.S. Government-Sponsored Enterprises (FHLMC
or FNMA). The securities purchased are generally adjustable rate certificates,
secured by seasoned pools of securitized, highly rated residential mortgages,
and the certificates acquired generally represent all of the certificates issued
by the securitization.
The Company's senior note indentures contain covenants that restrict its ability
to incur more Indebtedness or issue Preferred Stock of Subsidiaries unless, at
the time of such incurrence or issuance, the Company meets a specified ratio of
Consolidated Debt to Consolidated Tangible Net Worth, limit the ability of the
Company and Material Subsidiaries to incur, in certain circumstances, Liens,
limit the ability of Material Subsidiaries to incur Funded Debt in certain
circumstances, and contain other terms and restrictions all as defined in the
senior note indentures. The Company has the ability to incur substantial
additional indebtedness or make distributions to its shareholders and still
remain in compliance with these restrictions. If the Company is unable to meet
the specified ratio, the Company would not be able to issue additional
Indebtedness or Preferred Stock, but the Company's inability to meet the
applicable ratio would not result in a default under its senior note
indentures. The senior note indentures do not restrict the payment of
dividends. Certain of the debt instruments of subsidiaries of the Company
require that collateral be provided to the lender; principally as a result of
such requirements, the assets of subsidiaries which are subject to limitations
on transfer of funds to the Company were $2,198,605,000 at December 31, 2012.
As shown below, at December 31, 2012, the Company's contractual cash obligations
totaled $2,269,742,000.
Payments Due by Period (in thousands)
Less than 1
Contractual Cash Obligations Total Year 1-3Years 4-5 Years After 5 Years
Indebtedness, including current
maturities,
and repurchase agreements $ 1,753,590 $ 832,228 $ 636,134 $ 283,228 $ 2,000
Estimated interest expense on
debt 155,515 68,948 81,638 4,901 28
Cattle commitments 117,371 117,371 - - -
Planned funding of pension
obligations 81,544 7,860 73,684 - -
Operating leases, net
of sublease income 93,190 20,783 33,275 11,167 27,965
Asset purchase obligations 19,062 6,373 7,892 2,542 2,255
Other 49,470 17,385 7,652 5,222 19,211
Total Contractual Cash
Obligations $ 2,269,742 $ 1,070,948 $ 840,275 $ 307,060 $ 51,459
The estimated interest expense on debt includes interest related to variable
rate debt which the Company determined using rates in effect at December 31,
2012. Amounts related to the Company's pension liability ($81,544,000) are
included in the table in the less than 1 year period ($7,860,000) and the
remainder in the 1-3 years period; however, the exact timing of those cash
payments is uncertain. The above amounts do not include liabilities for
unrecognized tax benefits as the timing of payments, if any, is uncertain. Such
amounts aggregated $15,800,000 at December 31, 2012; for more information, see
Note 19 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
When the Company sold its former telecommunications subsidiary, WilTel
Communications Group, LLC ("WilTel") in 2005, WilTel's defined benefit pension
plan was not transferred in connection with the sale. At December 31, 2012, the
Company had recorded a liability of $81,544,000 on its consolidated balance
sheet for WilTel's unfunded defined benefit pension plan obligation. This amount
represents the difference between the present value of amounts owed to former
employees of WilTel (referred to as the projected benefit obligation) and the
market value of plan assets set aside in segregated trust accounts. Since the
benefits in this plan have been frozen, future changes to the unfunded benefit
obligation are expected to principally result from benefit payments, changes in
the market value of plan assets, differences between actuarial assumptions and
actual experience and interest rates.
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The Company expects to make substantial contributions to the segregated trust
account for the WilTel defined benefit pension plan in the future to reduce its
plan liabilities although the timing after 2013 is uncertain. The Company
expects to contribute $7,860,000 to WilTel's defined benefit pension plan in
2013. The tax deductibility of contributions is not a primary consideration,
principally due to the availability of the Company's NOLs to otherwise reduce
taxable income.
As of December 31, 2012, certain amounts for the WilTel plan are as follows
(dollars in thousands):
Projected benefit obligation $ 275,858
Funded status - balance sheet liability at December 31, 2012 81,544
Deferred losses included in other comprehensive income (loss) 118,176
Discount rate used to determine the projected benefit obligation 3.85 %
Calculations of pension expense and projected benefit obligations are prepared
by actuaries based on assumptions provided by management. These assumptions are
reviewed on an annual basis, including assumptions about discount rates,
interest credit rates and expected long-term rates of return on plan assets. The
timing of expected future benefit payments was used in conjunction with the
Citigroup Pension Discount Curve to develop a discount rate that is
representative of the high quality corporate bond market.
This discount rate will be used to determine pension expense in 2013. Holding
all other assumptions constant, a 0.25% change in this discount rate would
affect pension expense by $467,000 and the benefit obligation by $9,925,000.
The deferred losses included in other comprehensive income (loss) primarily
result from differences between the actual and assumed return on plan assets and
changes in actuarial assumptions, including changes in discount rates and
changes in interest credit rates. Deferred losses are amortized to expense if
they exceed 10% of the greater of the projected benefit obligation or the market
value of plan assets as of the beginning of the year; such amount aggregated
$90,060,000 at December 31, 2012. A portion of these excess deferred losses will
be amortized to expense during 2013 based on an amortization period of twelve
years.
The assumed long-term rates of return on plan assets are based on the
investment objectives of the plan, which are more fully discussed in Note 20 of
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
At December 31, 2012, the Company's off-balance sheet arrangements consist of
guarantees and letters of credit. Pursuant to an agreement that was entered into
before the Company sold CDS Holding Corporation ("CDS") to HomeFed in 2002, the
Company agreed to provide project improvement bonds for the San Elijo Hills
project. These bonds, which are for the benefit of the City of San Marcos,
California and other government agencies, are required prior to the commencement
of any development at the project. CDS is responsible for paying all third party
fees related to obtaining the bonds. Should the City or others draw on the bonds
for any reason, CDS and one of its subsidiaries would be obligated to reimburse
the Company for the amount drawn. At December 31, 2012, the amount of
outstanding bonds was $1,789,000, almost all of which expires in 2014.
Subsidiaries of the Company have outstanding letters of credit aggregating
$29,463,000 at December 31, 2012, principally to secure various obligations. The
majority of these letters of credit expire during 2013 and the remainder expire
no later than 2016.
During 2009, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway provided Berkadia with a
five-year, $1 billion secured credit facility, which was used to fund
outstanding mortgage loans and servicer advances, purchase mortgage servicing
rights and for working capital needs. In 2011, Berkadia fully repaid the amount
outstanding under its secured credit facility with funds generated by commercial
paper sales of an affiliate of Berkadia. Effective as of December 31, 2011, the
secured credit facility was terminated. All of the proceeds from the commercial
paper sales are used by Berkadia to fund new mortgage loans, servicer advances,
investments and other working capital requirements. Repayment of the commercial
paper is supported by a $2,500,000,000 surety policy issued by a Berkshire
Hathaway insurance subsidiary and corporate guaranty, and the Company has agreed
to reimburse Berkshire Hathaway for one-half of any losses incurred. As of
December 31, 2012, the aggregate amount of commercial paper outstanding was
$2,470,000,000.
39
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Critical Accounting Estimates
The Company's discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of
operations are based upon its consolidated financial statements, which have been
prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements
requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts in the financial statements and disclosures of contingent assets and
liabilities. On an on-going basis, the Company evaluates all of these estimates
and assumptions. The following areas have been identified as critical accounting
estimates because they have the potential to have a significant impact on the
Company's financial statements, and because they are based on assumptions which
are used in the accounting records to reflect, at a specific point in time,
events whose ultimate outcome won't be known until a later date. Actual results
could differ from these estimates.
Income Taxes - The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its net
deferred tax asset to the net amount that is more likely than not to be
realized. If in the future the Company determines that it is more likely than
not that the Company will be able to realize its net deferred tax asset in
excess of its net recorded amount, an adjustment to increase the net deferred
tax asset would increase income in such period. If in the future the Company
were to determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its
recorded net deferred tax asset, an adjustment to decrease the net deferred tax
asset would be charged to income in such period. The Company is required to
consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, and to weight the
evidence when determining whether a valuation allowance is required and the
amount of such valuation allowance. Generally, greater weight is required to be
placed on objectively verifiable evidence when making this assessment, in
particular on recent historical operating results.
During 2010, the Company realized significant gains from the sale of certain
investments, recorded significant unrealized gains in the fair values of other
investments and began to experience modest improvement in the operating results
in some business segments. Additionally, the Company's cumulative taxable income
for recent years became a positive amount, reflecting the realized gains on the
sales of ACF and Las Cruces during the fourth quarter of 2010. With this recent
positive evidence the Company gave greater weight to its revised projections of
future taxable income, which consider significant unrealized gains in its
investment portfolio, and to its long-term historical ability to generate
significant amounts of taxable income when assessing the amount of its required
valuation allowance. As a result, the Company was able to conclude that it is
more likely than not that it will have future taxable income sufficient to
realize a significant portion of the Company's net deferred tax asset;
accordingly, $1,157,111,000 of the deferred tax valuation allowance was reversed
as a credit to income tax expense on December 31, 2010. In addition to its
projections of future taxable income, the Company is relying upon the sale of
investments that have unrealized gains before the NOLs expire and the
corresponding reversal of related deferred tax liabilities to realize a portion
of its net deferred tax asset.
The Company's estimate of future taxable income considers all available
evidence, both positive and negative, about its operating businesses and
investments, included an aggregation of individual projections for each
significant operating business and investment, estimated apportionment factors
for state and local taxing jurisdictions and included all future years that the
Company estimated it would have available NOLs (until 2029). The Company
believes that its estimate of future taxable income is reasonable but inherently
uncertain, and if its current or future operations and investments generate
taxable income different than the projected amounts, further adjustments to the
valuation allowance are possible. In addition to the reversal of deferred tax
liabilities related to unrealized gains, the Company will need to generate
approximately $3,600,000,000 of future U.S. pre-tax income to fully realize its
net deferred tax asset. The current balance of the deferred tax valuation
allowance principally reserves for NOLs of certain subsidiaries that are not
available to offset income generated by other members of the Company's
consolidated tax return group.
The Company also records reserves for contingent tax liabilities based on the
Company's assessment of the probability of successfully sustaining its tax
filing positions.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets - The Company evaluates its long-lived assets
for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate, in
management's judgment, that the carrying value of such assets may not be
recoverable. When testing for impairment, the Company groups its long-lived
assets 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 (or asset group). The determination of whether an asset
group is recoverable is based on management's estimate of undiscounted future
cash flows directly attributable to the asset group as compared to its carrying
value. If the carrying amount of the asset group is greater than the
undiscounted cash flows, an impairment loss would be recognized for the amount
by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its estimated fair
value.
40
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One of the Company's real estate subsidiaries (MB1) had been the owner and
developer of a mixed use real estate project located in Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina. The project was comprised of a retail center with approximately
346,000 square feet of retail space, 41,000 square feet of office space and 195
residential apartment rental units. The acquisition and construction costs were
funded by capital contributed by the Company and nonrecourse indebtedness that
was collateralized by the real estate. MB1's indebtedness matured during 2009,
but it was not repaid since MB1 did not have sufficient funds and the Company
was under no obligation to provide the funds to MB1 to pay off the loan. The
Company recorded an impairment charge of $67,826,000 during 2009.
During the second quarter of 2010, MB1 entered into an agreement with its
lenders under which, among other things, MB1 agreed not to interfere with or
oppose foreclosure proceedings and the lenders agreed to release MB1 and various
guarantors of the loan. A receiver was put in place at the property, foreclosure
proceedings commenced and an auction of the property was conducted; however, the
Company was informed during the fourth quarter of 2010 that the highest bidder
for the property failed to close. In December 2010, the Company was invited to
make a bid for the property, with the condition that a foreclosure sale to the
Company must close as soon as possible without any due diligence period, which
new bidders for the property would require. A subsidiary of the Company offered
$19,275,000 for the property (including net working capital amounts); the offer
was accepted and the foreclosure sale closed on January 7, 2011.
As a result of the failure of the initial buyer to purchase the property and the
subsequent sale to the Company in 2011, the Company concluded that the carrying
value of the property was further impaired at December 31, 2010; accordingly,
the Company recorded an additional impairment charge in 2010 of $47,074,000 to
reflect the property at its fair value of $18,094,000. At closing in 2011, MB1
was released from any remaining liability under the bank loan ($100,524,000
outstanding at December 31, 2010); accordingly, the remaining balance due after
payment of the purchase price ($81,848,000) was recognized in other income in
2011.
The Company recorded impairment charges in selling, general and other expenses
for various other real estate projects of $4,171,000 in 2012 and $2,357,000 in
2010; and $1,449,000 in 2010 in the corporate segment for one of its corporate
aircraft that was later sold.
Recent economic conditions have adversely affected most of the Company's
operations and investments. A worsening of current economic conditions could
cause a decline in estimated future cash flows expected to be generated by the
Company's operations and investments. If future undiscounted cash flows are
estimated to be less than the carrying amounts of the asset groups used to
generate those cash flows in subsequent reporting periods, particularly for
those with large investments in intangible assets and property and equipment
(for example, beef processing, manufacturing, gaming entertainment, real estate
and certain associated company investments), impairment charges would have to be
recorded.
Impairment of Equity Method Investments - The Company evaluates equity method
investments for impairment when operating losses or other factors may indicate a
decrease in value which is other than temporary. For investments in investment
partnerships that are accounted for under the equity method, the Company obtains
from the investment partnership financial statements, net asset values and other
information on a quarterly basis and annual audited financial statements. On a
quarterly basis, the Company also makes inquiries and discusses with investment
managers whether there were significant procedural, valuation, composition and
other changes at the investee. Since these investment partnerships record their
underlying investments at fair value, after application of the equity method the
carrying value of the Company's investment is equal to its share of the
investees' underlying net assets at their fair values. Absent any unusual
circumstances or restrictions concerning these investments, which would be
separately evaluated, it is unlikely that any additional impairment charge would
be required.
41--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For equity method investments in operating businesses, the Company considers a
variety of factors including economic conditions nationally and in their
geographic areas of operation, adverse changes in the industry in which they
operate, declines in business prospects, deterioration in earnings, increasing
costs of operations and other relevant factors specific to the
investee. Whenever the Company believes conditions or events indicate that one
of these investments might be significantly impaired, the Company will obtain
from such investee updated cash flow projections and impairment analyses of the
investee assets. The Company will use this information and, together with
discussions with the investee's management, evaluate if the book value of its
investment exceeds its fair value, and if so and the situation is deemed other
than temporary, record an impairment charge.
Impairment of Securities - Declines in the fair value of equity securities
considered to be other than temporary and declines in the fair values of debt
securities related to credit losses are reflected in net securities gains
(losses) in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company evaluates its
investments for impairment on a quarterly basis.
The Company's determination of whether a security is other than temporarily
impaired incorporates both quantitative and qualitative information; GAAP
requires the exercise of judgment in making this assessment, rather than the
application of fixed mathematical criteria. The various factors that the Company
considers in making its determination are specific to each investment. For
publicly traded debt and equity securities, the Company considers a number of
factors including, but not limited to, the length of time and the extent to
which the fair value has been less than cost, the financial condition and near
term prospects of the issuer, the reason for the decline in fair value, changes
in fair value subsequent to the balance sheet date, the ability and intent to
hold investments to maturity, and other factors specific to the individual
investment. For investments in private equity funds and non-public securities,
the Company bases its determination upon financial statements, net asset values
and/or other information obtained from fund managers or investee companies.
The Company recorded impairment charges for securities in the consolidated
statement of operations of $2,461,000, $3,586,000 and $2,474,000 for 2012, 2011
and 2010, respectively. The Company's assessment involves a high degree of
judgment and accordingly, actual results may differ significantly from the
Company's estimates and judgments.
Business Combinations - At acquisition, the Company allocates the cost of a
business acquisition to the specific tangible and intangible assets acquired and
liabilities assumed based upon their fair values. Significant judgments and
estimates are often made by the Company's management to determine these values,
and may include the use of appraisals, consideration of market quotes for
similar transactions, use of discounted cash flow techniques or consideration of
other information the Company believes to be relevant. The finalization of the
purchase price allocation will typically take a number of months to complete,
and if final values are significantly different from initially recorded amounts
adjustments to prior periods may be required. Any excess of the cost of a
business acquisition over the fair values of the net assets and liabilities
acquired is recorded as goodwill, which is not amortized to expense. If the fair
values of the net assets and liabilities acquired are greater than the purchase
price, the excess is treated as a bargain purchase and recognized in
income. Recorded goodwill of a reporting unit is required to be tested for
impairment on an annual basis, and between annual testing dates if events or
circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a
reporting unit below its net book value. At December 31, 2012, the book value of
goodwill was $24,195,000 and was not impaired.
Subsequent to the finalization of the purchase price allocation, any adjustments
to the recorded values of acquired assets and liabilities would be reflected in
the Company's consolidated statement of operations. Once final, the Company is
not permitted to revise the allocation of the original purchase price, even if
subsequent events or circumstances prove the Company's original judgments and
estimates to be inaccurate. In addition, long-lived assets recorded in a
business combination like property and equipment, intangibles and goodwill may
be deemed to be impaired in the future resulting in the recognition of an
impairment loss. The assumptions and judgments made by the Company when
recording business combinations will have an impact on reported results of
operations for many years into the future.
42
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In December 2011, the Company acquired 78.9% of National Beef and it became a
consolidated subsidiary of the Company. The allocation of the purchase price
included $444,030,000 to property, equipment and leasehold improvements,
$811,019,000 to amortizable intangible assets, $14,991,000 to goodwill,
$237,952,000 to net working capital accounts, $328,267,000 to long-term debt and
$304,356,000 to redeemable non-controlling interests.
To assist the Company's management in its determination of the fair value of
National Beef's property and equipment, identifiable intangible assets and
equity value, the Company engaged an independent valuation and appraisal
firm. The methods used by the Company's management to determine the fair values
included estimating National Beef's business enterprise value through the use of
a discounted cash flow analysis. Property and equipment asset valuations
included an analysis of depreciated replacement cost and current market
prices. The Company considered several factors to determine the fair value of
property and equipment, including local market conditions, recent market
transactions, the size, age, condition, utility and character of the property,
the estimated cost to acquire replacement property, an estimate of depreciation
from use and functional obsolescence and the remaining expected useful life of
the assets.
Amounts allocated to product inventories were principally based on quoted
commodity prices on the acquisition date. For other components of working
capital, the historical carrying values approximated fair values. National
Beef's long-term debt principally consists of its senior credit facility payable
to its bank group, which was renegotiated in June 2011. In December 2011, the
lenders consented to the acquisition as required by the credit facility, and to
certain other amendments to the facility's covenants; the pricing of the credit
facility remained the same. In addition to these factors, the Company also
analyzed changes in market interest rates from June 2011 and concluded that the
principal amount due under the credit facility approximated its fair value on
the acquisition date.
The fair value of certain pre-existing redeemable noncontrolling interests was
the amount paid to redeem such interests immediately after the Company's
acquisition of its controlling interest in National Beef. The fair value of
other redeemable noncontrolling interests was determined based upon the purchase
price paid by the Company for its interest.
Use of Fair Value Estimates - Under GAAP, fair value is defined as the amount
that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an
orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (the
exit price), and may be based on observable or unobservable inputs. Observable
inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or
liability based on market data obtained from independent sources. Unobservable
inputs reflect assumptions made by the Company that market participants would
use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information
available in the circumstances. GAAP also establishes a hierarchy to prioritize
and categorize fair value measurements based on the transparency of inputs as
follows:
Level 1: Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities as of the reporting date.
Level 2: Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which
are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date. The
nature of these financial instruments include cash instruments for which quoted
prices are available but traded less frequently, derivative instruments whose
fair value have been derived using a model where inputs to the model are
directly observable in the market, or can be derived principally from or
corroborated by observable market data, and instruments that are fair valued
using other financial instruments, the parameters of which can be directly
observed.
Level 3: Instruments that have little to no pricing observability as of the
reporting date. These financial instruments are measured using management's best
estimate of fair value, where the inputs into the determination of fair value
require significant management judgment or estimation.
43
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Substantially all of the Company's investment portfolio is classified as
available for sale securities, which are carried at estimated fair value in the
Company's consolidated balance sheet. The estimated fair values are principally
based on publicly quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs), which can rise or fall
in reaction to a wide variety of factors or events, and as such are subject to
market-related risks and uncertainties. The Company has a segregated portfolio
of mortgage pass-through certificates issued by U.S. Government-Sponsored
Enterprises (FHLMC or FNMA) and by U.S. Government agencies (GNMA), which are
carried on the balance sheet at their estimated fair value of $601,418,000 at
December 31, 2012. Although the markets that these types of securities trade in
are generally active, market prices are not always available for the identical
security. The fair value of these investments are based on observable market
data including benchmark yields, reported trades, issuer spreads, benchmark
securities, bids and offers. These estimates of fair value are considered to be
Level 2 inputs, and the amounts realized from the disposition of these
investments has not been significantly different from their estimated fair
values.
The Company also has a segregated portfolio of non-agency mortgage-backed
securities which are carried on the balance sheet at their estimated fair value
of $36,580,000 at December 31, 2012. Although these securities trade in brokered
markets, the market for these securities is sometimes inactive. The fair values
of these investments are based on bid and ask prices, quotes obtained from
independent market makers and pricing services. These estimates of fair values
are also considered to be Level 2 inputs.
Contingencies - The Company accrues for contingent losses when the contingent
loss is probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Estimates
of the likelihood that a loss will be incurred and of contingent loss amounts
normally require significant judgment by management, can be highly subjective
and are subject to significant change with the passage of time as more
information becomes available. Estimating the ultimate impact of litigation
matters is inherently uncertain, in particular because the ultimate outcome will
rest on events and decisions of others that may not be within the power of the
Company to control. The Company does not believe that any of its current
litigation will have a significant adverse effect on its consolidated financial
position, results of operations or liquidity; however, if amounts paid at the
resolution of litigation are in excess of recorded reserve amounts, the excess
could be significant in relation to results of operations for that
period. During 2012, the Company accrued $20,000,000 for losses it estimates are
probable in connection with the Sykes action discussed above. The Company will
continue to evaluate the adequacy of its accrual as the case develops and more
information becomes available. The recognition of increases to its estimated
loss in future periods is possible.
Results of Operations
Substantially all of the Company's operating businesses sell products or
services that are impacted by general economic conditions in the U.S. and to a
lesser extent internationally. Poor general economic conditions have reduced the
demand for products or services sold by the Company's operating subsidiaries
and/or resulted in reduced pricing for products or services. Troubled industry
sectors, like the residential real estate market, have had an adverse direct
impact not only on the Company's real estate segments, but have also had an
adverse indirect impact on some of the Company's other operating segments,
including manufacturing and gaming entertainment. The discussions below
concerning revenue and profitability by segment consider current economic
conditions and the impact such conditions have had and may continue to have on
each segment; however, should general economic conditions worsen the Company
believes that all of its businesses would be adversely impacted.
A summary of results of continuing operations for the Company for the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
44
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2012 2011 2010
Income (loss) from continuing operations before
income taxes and income (losses) related to
associated companies:
Beef Processing $ 59,048 $ - $ -
Manufacturing:
Idaho Timber 6,397 (3,787 ) 547
Conwed Plastics 11,453 5,916 8,803
Gaming Entertainment 13,209 12,616 (2,159 )
Domestic Real Estate (11,895 ) 80,919 (54,935 )
Medical Product Development (44,963 ) (42,696 ) (25,443 )
Other Operations (44,814 ) (24,374 ) (17,487 )
Corporate 978,085 648,861 473,614
Total consolidated income from continuing
operations before income taxes and income
(losses) related to associated companies 966,520 677,455 382,940
Income (losses) related to associated companies
before income taxes 420,008 (612,362 ) 375,021
Total consolidated income from
continuing operations before income taxes 1,386,528 65,093 757,961
Income taxes:
Income from continuing operations before
income (losses) related to associated companies (376,494 ) (270,316 ) 1,136,968
Associated companies (143,729 ) 218,321 5,745
Total income taxes (520,223 ) (51,995 ) 1,142,713
Income from continuing operations $ 866,305 $ 13,098 $ 1,900,674
Beef Processing Services
As more fully discussed above, National Beef was acquired in December 2011. A
summary of results of operations for National Beef for the year ended December
31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012
Revenues and other income $ 7,480,934
Expenses:
Cost of sales 7,269,912
Interest 12,431
Salaries and incentive compensation 26,889
Depreciation and amortization 83,063
Selling, general and other expenses 29,591
7,421,886
Income before income taxes $ 59,048
National Beef's profitability is dependent, in large part, on the spread between
its cost for live cattle, the primary raw material for its business, and the
value received from selling boxed beef and other products. Because National Beef
operates in a large and liquid commodity market, it does not have much influence
over the price it pays for cattle or the selling price it receives for the
products it produces. National Beef's profitability typically fluctuates
seasonally as well as cyclically, with relatively higher margins in the spring
and summer months and during times of cattle herd expansion.
45
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The USDA regularly reports market values for cattle, beef, offal and other
products produced by ranchers, farmers and beef processors. Generally, National
Beef expects its profitability to improve as the ratio of the USDA comprehensive
boxed beef cutout (a weekly reported measure of the total value of all USDA
inspected beef primal cuts, grind and trim produced from fed cattle) to the USDA
5-area weekly average slaughter cattle price increases and for profitability to
decline as the ratio decreases. The ratio during 2012 was the lowest ratio for
the corresponding periods during the past ten years. Due in part to the
declining U.S. cattle herd, which has been exacerbated by drought conditions
across key cattle raising areas, during this period average cattle prices
increased to record levels; however, National Beef's per head revenue did not
increase as much as its per head cost for cattle, resulting in reduced margins.
During 2012, revenues from beef processing operations increased compared to the
pre-acquisition periods, principally due to price increases. However, gross
margins declined due to the lower trending cutout ratio described
above. Depreciation and amortization expenses include $45,248,000 of
amortization expenses related to identifiable intangible assets recorded at the
date of acquisition.
The drought across much of the country caused prices for corn, hay and certain
other cattle feedstuffs to increase and pastures to wither; as such some cattle
producers reduced and continue to reduce the size of their cow herds. National
Beef's profitability is primarily dependent upon the spread between what it pays
for fed cattle and the price it receives for its products, along with the
efficiency of its processing facilities. The drought contributed to a decline in
the beef cow herd and affected the supply of fed cattle; this caused the price
National Beef pays for fed cattle to increase more than it can pass along in the
form of higher selling prices for its products, resulting in reduced
profitability.
National Beef has received notice from Walmart that it intends to discontinue
using National Beef as a provider of its case-ready products in 2013. National
Beef has two case-ready processing facilities, one of which is completely
dedicated to Walmart's business and the other substantially so dedicated, with
an aggregate book value of $45,727,000 at December 31, 2012. Total case-ready
revenues were approximately 7% of National Beef consolidated revenues during
2012, but as a value-added product, case-ready products have historically
constituted a higher percentage of National Beef's gross margin. Since 2008,
case-ready products have represented from 10% to 26% of National Beef's total
gross margin, and are at the higher end of that range in 2012 due, in part, to
reduced gross margin from other National Beef products. During the first quarter
of 2013, the two case-ready facilities will begin to operate at reduced levels,
resulting in an approximate 50% reduction in the number of personal employed at
the facilities. In connection with the reduction in the labor force, National
Beef will record a charge estimated to be approximately $2,900,000 during the
first quarter of 2013.
National Beef is currently pursuing replacement business for its case-ready
facilities; however, it may not be able to fully replace the operating cash flow
generated by these facilities in the near future, if at all. The Company has
evaluated National Beef's tangible and intangible assets for impairment and has
concluded that they are not impaired; its evaluation included an estimate of
expected future cash flows to be generated by the case-ready facilities from
prospective customers who have not, as yet, committed to purchase case-ready
products from National Beef. If National Beef is unsuccessful in securing any
new case-ready business, the Company does not believe it will need to record any
impairment to its intangible assets or goodwill. However, if National Beef
concludes its best course of action is to close one or both case-ready
facilities, impairment charges may be recorded if the fair value of those
facilities on a held for sale basis is less than the book value.
Manufacturing - Idaho Timber
A summary of results of operations for Idaho Timber for the three years in the
period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
46
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2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 163,513 $ 159,026 $ 172,908
Expenses:
Cost of sales 144,193 150,651 159,689Salaries and incentive compensation 5,901 5,390 5,938
Depreciation and amortization
4,148 4,136 4,138
Selling, general and other expenses 2,874 2,636 2,596
157,116 162,813 172,361
Income (loss) before income taxes $ 6,397 $ (3,787 ) $ 547
Idaho Timber's revenues reflect a 10% decrease in shipment volume and a 14%
increase in average selling prices during 2012 as compared to 2011. Idaho
Timber's revenues for 2011 decreased as compared to 2010; shipment volume and
average selling prices decreased 6% and 2%, respectively. Shipment volume
continues to reflect the depressed state of the U.S. housing market. The decline
in shipment volume also reflects business that was not pursued during periods of
higher raw material cost in 2012, which would have resulted in too narrow a
spread between expected selling prices and the material cost. While housing
starts increased during 2012 as compared to 2011, they remain low by historical
standards. Idaho Timber believes that stringent mortgage-lending standards and
high unemployment will continue to impact housing starts and Idaho Timber's
revenues.
Raw material costs, the largest component of cost of sales (approximately 79% of
cost of sales), principally reflect this lower shipment volume during the three
year period. Raw material cost per thousand board feet increased approximately
5% during 2012 as compared to 2011. Raw material cost per thousand board feet
was largely unchanged in 2011 as compared to 2010. The difference between Idaho
Timber's selling price and raw material cost per thousand board feet (spread) is
closely monitored, and the rate of change in pricing and cost is not necessarily
the same. Idaho Timber's spread increased approximately 61% in 2012 as compared
to 2011; the spread in 2011 decreased approximately 14% as compared to 2010.
Manufacturing - Conwed Plastics
A summary of results of operations for Conwed Plastics for the three years in
the period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 89,357 $ 85,961 $ 87,073
Expenses:
Cost of sales 65,641 65,312 64,614Salaries and incentive compensation 6,376 6,092 6,493
Depreciation and amortization
280 301 327
Selling, general and other expenses 5,607 8,340 6,836
77,904 80,045 78,270
Income before income taxes $ 11,453 $ 5,916 $ 8,803
Conwed Plastics' revenues increased in 2012 as compared to 2011 primarily due to
greater revenue in the erosion control market related to its third quarter
acquisition of a lightweight netting business as well as a new customer in
Europe. Revenues in 2012 also reflect declines in the packaging market
principally due to the sale of Conwed Plastics' Mexican plant in 2011, and in
the consumer products market due to certain customers carrying excess inventory
into the current year and some of its products no longer being used in certain
of its customers' products.
47--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conwed Plastics' revenues decreased in 2011 as compared to 2010, primarily
reflecting declines in the housing, construction and filtration markets. The
ongoing slump in the domestic housing and construction industries unfavorably
impacted Conwed Plastics' revenues in 2011, and the drop in filtration product
revenues in 2011 reflects greater sales during 2010 related to the 2010 gulf oil
spill. In addition, revenues in some markets declined due to tighter inventory
control by certain customers, loss of customers to competitors and general
economic conditions. The turf, erosion control and agricultural markets reflect
increased revenues during 2011, principally due to increases in market share and
new customers.
The primary raw material in Conwed Plastics' products is a polypropylene resin,
which is a byproduct of the oil refining process, whose price has historically
fluctuated with the price of oil. Conwed Plastics' polypropylene resin costs
were lower in 2012 as compared to 2011. The volatility of oil and natural gas
prices along with current general economic conditions worldwide make it
difficult to predict future raw material costs. The increase in gross margin
during 2012 as compared to 2011 was primarily due to lower resin costs, changes
in the product mix and greater sales volume. Gross margins declined in 2011 as
compared to 2010 due to higher resin costs and changes in product mix.
Selling, general and other expenses in 2011 include losses of $1,404,000 related
to the loss of a major customer and the sale of the plant in Mexico, and
$634,000 of severance costs and professional fees related to employment matters.
Gaming Entertainment
A summary of results of operations for Premier for the three years in the period
ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 119,339 $ 117,238 $ 114,809
Expenses:
Direct operating expenses 88,127 84,795 83,075
Interest - 33 244Salaries and incentive compensation 2,487 2,460 2,459
Depreciation and amortization
12,882 16,785 16,657
Selling, general and other expenses 2,634 549 14,533
106,130 104,622 116,968
Income (loss) before income taxes $ 13,209 $ 12,616 $ (2,159 )
Premier's gaming revenues increased slightly during 2012 as compared to 2011,
principally due to higher slot machine revenue. Gaming revenues for the entire
Biloxi market were largely unchanged in 2012 as compared to the prior
year. Premier's gaming revenues increased 3% in 2011 as compared to 2010,
principally due to slot machine revenue, which increased due to customer loyalty
programs and enhancements, offset in part by a larger amount of table game
payouts. During 2011, overall gaming revenues for the entire Biloxi market
declined slightly as compared to 2010.
The increase in direct operating expenses during 2012 as compared to 2011
primarily reflects greater costs for marketing and promotions, food and
beverage, contract labor, employee benefits and insurance. The increase in
direct operating expenses in 2011 as compared to 2010 primarily reflects greater
marketing and promotional costs.
48
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Depreciation and amortization expense decreased during 2012 as compared to 2011
principally due to certain assets becoming fully depreciated.
Selling, general and other expenses during 2012 include a charge of $568,000
relating to Hurricane Isaac, primarily for cleanup and repairs. Selling, general
and other expenses for 2010 include a loss for the award of $11,200,000,
including interest, to the former holders of Premier's bond debt as a result of
a decision by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
Mississippi. Premier filed a notice of appeal of the Bankruptcy Court's decision
and no amounts were paid while the appeal was pending. In 2011, Premier entered
into an agreement to settle the litigation with its former noteholders for
$9,000,000. As a result, Premier reduced the liability for the award and
credited selling, general and other expenses for $2,241,000 in 2011. All
litigation with respect to Premier's chapter 11 restructuring has been settled.
Domestic Real Estate
A summary of results of operations for the domestic real estate segment for the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 10,925 $ 96,501 $ 17,075
Expenses:
Interest - 34 2,034
Depreciation and amortization 3,582 3,461 6,163Other operating expenses, including impairment
charges described below 19,238 12,087 63,813
22,820 15,582 72,010
Income (loss) before income taxes $ (11,895 ) $ 80,919 $ (54,935 )
Pre-tax results for the domestic real estate segment are largely dependent upon
the performance of the segment's operating properties, the current status of the
Company's real estate development projects and non-recurring gains or losses
recognized when real estate assets are sold. As a result, pre-tax results for
this segment for any particular period is not predictable and does not follow
any consistent pattern.
The Company did not have any major real estate sales during the last three
years. Revenues and other income in 2010 include a gain of $1,200,000 for the
favorable settlement of an insurance claim and a lawsuit.
Revenues and other income in 2011 period include a gain on forgiveness of debt
of $81,848,000 related to the Myrtle Beach project. As is more fully discussed
above, in January 2011 a subsidiary of the Company paid $19,275,000 to the
lenders of the Myrtle Beach project in full satisfaction of the project's
non-recourse indebtedness, which had a balance of $100,524,000 at December 31,
2010. The Company had previously recorded impairment charges for this project
aggregating $114,900,000 (including $47,074,000 in 2010).
Other operating expenses include impairment charges for real estate projects of
$4,171,000 and $2,357,000 in 2012 and 2010, respectively, in addition to charges
related to the Myrtle Beach project. In 2012, operating expenses also include
additional commissions at the Myrtle Beach project and a charge for the value of
certain land that was contributed by this project.
49
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Although there has been some recent improvement, residential property sales
volume, prices and new building starts have remained low in many U.S. markets
compared to historical standards, including markets in which the Company has
real estate projects. The slowdown in residential sales was exacerbated by
turmoil in the mortgage lending and credit markets, resulting in stricter
lending standards and reduced liquidity for prospective home buyers. The Company
has deferred its development plans for certain of its real estate development
projects, and is not actively soliciting bids for its fully developed
projects. The Company intends to wait for market conditions to improve before
marketing certain of its projects for sale.
Medical Product Development
A summary of results of operations for Sangart for the three years in the period
ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 377 $ 378 $ 123
Expenses:Salaries and incentive compensation 13,973 12,415 9,710
Depreciation and amortization
853 845 870
Selling, general and other expenses 30,514 29,814 14,986
45,340 43,074 25,566
Loss before income taxes $ (44,963 ) $ (42,696 ) $ (25,443 )
Sangart's selling, general and other expenses include research and development
costs of $17,580,000, $22,130,000 and $5,428,000 for the years ended December
31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Research and development costs in 2011
include $10,000,000 related to a new patent license. Sangart's research and
development costs exclusive of the new patent license increased in 2012 as
compared to 2011, primarily due to increased clinical trial activity related to
a larger Phase 2 clinical study of MP4OX in trauma patients. The increase in
research and development costs in 2011 primarily related to preparation for and
commencement of this larger Phase 2 clinical study, as well as the new patent
license.
Sangart's results reflect charges (reductions) to selling, general and other
expenses of $(4,447,000) and $261,000 in 2011 and 2010, respectively, related to
share-based awards previously granted to a former officer. The fair value of
these share-based awards increased during 2010 but declined during 2011;
accordingly, in 2011 Sangart reduced the liability and credited selling, general
and other expenses. Salaries and incentive compensation expense increased in
2012 and 2011 principally due to higher headcount.
Sangart is a development stage company that does not have any revenues from
product sales. Sangart recently completed a Phase 2 clinical trial of MP4OX in
316 trauma patients. The primary efficacy goal of the study was not met, as the
MP4OX treated group did not show a statistically significant improvement in the
number of patients discharged and alive after 28 days as compared to the control
group that received normal standard of care treatment. But clinically
significant improvements were observed in some other measures of efficacy and no
significant safety concerns were identified. Sangart is now evaluating plans for
its next clinical trial of MP4OX in trauma patients. Sangart also recently
completed a Phase 1b clinical trial of its MP4CO product in sickle cell disease
patients not currently in crisis. Study results are considered to be successful
and capable of supporting Sangart's plans to conduct a Phase 2 clinical study
involving sickle cell disease patients in crisis. If this Phase 2 study was to
be successful, Sangart would then have to conduct a Phase 3 clinical study in
sickle cell patients. Completing these studies will take several years at
substantial cost and until they are successfully completed, if ever, Sangart
will not be able to request marketing approval and generate revenues from sales
in either the trauma or the sickle cell disease markets.
50
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In addition to obtaining requisite regulatory approvals for the manufacture and
sale of MP4 products, including approval of a manufacturing facility which has
yet to be built, Sangart would have to create sales, marketing and distribution
capabilities prior to any commercial launch, either directly or in partnership
with a service provider. In recent years, substantially all of the funding
needed for MP4 development has come from the Company. Significant additional
funding will be needed prior to regulatory approval and commercial launch; the
Company is not committed to provide such funding and Sangart is currently
exploring potential external sources of funding and support. The Company is
unable to predict when, if ever, it will report operating profits for this
segment.
Other Operations
A summary of results of operations for other operations for the three years in
the period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income $ 69,620 $ 69,038 $ 67,119
Expenses:
Interest - 1 12Salaries and incentive compensation 9,705 8,930 8,445
Depreciation and amortization
5,588 5,605 4,094
Selling, general and other expenses 99,141 78,876 72,055
114,434 93,412 84,606
Loss before income taxes $ (44,814 ) $ (24,374 ) $ (17,487 )
Revenues and other income for 2012 and 2011 include $9,640,000 and $14,592,000,
respectively, of increased revenues at the winery operations; substantially all
of the 2012 increase and $9,628,000 of the 2011 increase results from the
acquisition of Seghesio Family Vineyards in the second quarter of 2011. As
discussed above, the Company's winery operations will be distributed to
shareholders in February 2013. Other income for 2011 and 2010 includes
$5,366,000 and $11,143,000, respectively, with respect to government grants to
reimburse the Company for certain of its prior expenditures related to energy
projects; such amounts were not significant in 2012. Revenues and other income
for 2012 and 2011 also reflect $5,079,000 and $2,303,000, respectively, of less
income from purchased delinquent credit card receivables, and for 2011
$4,540,000 of less income from a property rental business.
Selling, general and other expenses for 2012 include a charge of $20,000,000 for
estimated potential losses related to a legal proceeding, which is discussed in
Item 3, above. Selling, general and other expenses include $33,235,000,
$33,606,000 and $26,776,000 for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, related to
the investigation and evaluation of energy projects (principally professional
fees and other costs). Selling, general and other expenses for 2010 also reflect
$4,326,000 for other operations' portion of a settlement charge in connection
with the termination and settlement of the Company's frozen defined benefit
pension plan, and a $3,000,000 charge for a settlement with certain insurance
companies. The change in selling, general and other expenses for 2012 and 2011
as compared to the prior year also reflects $2,138,000 and $12,152,000,
respectively, of greater costs at the winery operations, and for 2011 $1,412,000
of lower costs at the property rental business. Selling, general and other
expenses also include charges of $1,513,000 in 2010 at the winery operations to
reduce the carrying amount of wine inventory.
51
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Corporate
A summary of results of operations for corporate for the three years in the
period ended December 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):
2012 2011 2010
Revenues and other income (including net
securities gains) $ 1,259,624 $ 906,480 $ 744,337
Expenses:
Interest 80,150 111,672 121,285
Salaries and incentive compensation 95,726 41,425 60,464
Depreciation and amortization 19,727 23,296 20,979
Selling, general and other expenses 85,936 81,226 67,995
281,539 257,619 270,723
Income before income taxes $ 978,085 $ 648,861 $ 473,614
Net securities gains for Corporate aggregated $590,581,000, $641,480,000 and
$179,494,000 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010,
respectively. Net securities gains include gains of $543,713,000, $628,197,000
and $94,918,000 for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, resulting from the sale
of the Company's investment in the common shares of Fortescue, and in 2010
include a gain of $66,200,000 from the sale of the Company's investment in
LPH. Net securities gains are net of impairment charges of $2,461,000,
$3,586,000 and $2,474,000 during 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The
Company's decision to sell securities and realize security gains or losses is
generally based on its evaluation of an individual security's value at the time,
the prospect for changes in its value in the future and/or the Company's
liquidity needs. The decision could also be influenced by the status of the
Company's tax attributes. The timing of realized security gains or losses is not
predictable and does not follow any pattern from year to year.
Investment income declined $23,564,000 in 2012 as compared to 2011, principally
due to decreased cash dividends of $12,462,000 paid on Fortescue's common shares
and less investment income due to a smaller amount of fixed income
securities. Investment income increased $23,008,000 in 2011 as compared to 2010,
principally due to cash dividends of $13,726,000 paid on Fortescue's common
shares and greater investment income due to a larger amount of fixed income
securities.
Other income, which increased $427,607,000 in 2012 as compared to 2011 and
decreased $322,851,000 in 2011 as compared to 2010, includes $116,809,000,
$214,455,000 and $149,257,000 for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, related to
Fortescue's Pilbara iron ore and infrastructure project in Western
Australia. Other income in 2012 includes a gain of $526,184,000 recognized on
redemption of the FMG Note. Depreciation and amortization expenses include
prepaid mining interest amortization related to the FMG Note of $6,942,000,
$11,800,000 and $9,943,000 for 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, which was
being amortized over time in proportion to the amount of ore produced. Other
income in 2010 includes a gain on the sale of Las Cruces to Inmet of
$383,369,000.
The decrease in interest expense primarily reflects the repurchases of certain
of the Company's debt securities during each of the last three years.
For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, salaries and incentive
compensation includes accrued incentive bonus expenses of $71,238,000,
$8,390,000 and $45,948,000, respectively, of which $37,028,000, $(2,059,000) and
$21,400,000, respectively, related to the Company's Senior Executive Annual
Incentive Bonus Plan. Bonus accruals under the Senior Executive Annual Incentive
Bonus Plan are based on a percentage of pre-tax profits as defined in the
plan. Other Corporate incentive bonuses are discretionary and not determined
based on any mathematical formula. The Company recorded share-based compensation
expense relating to grants made under the Company's senior executive warrant
plan and the fixed stock option plan of $14,305,000, $23,019,000 and $4,067,000
in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The change in share-based compensation
expense in 2012 and 2011 as compared to the prior year was principally due to
the warrants granted under the Company's senior executive warrant plan in the
second quarter of 2011, which were issued and vested 20% upon shareholder
approval in the second quarter of 2011.
52
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Selling, general and other expenses include expenses related to the repurchase
of certain of the Company's debt securities of $24,154,000, $6,352,000 and
$5,138,000 in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Selling, general and other
expenses include costs for the investigation of investment opportunities and
fees due for consummated transactions of $5,539,000, $18,820,000 and $3,377,000
in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, including $14,834,000 related to the
acquisition of National Beef in 2011. Selling, general and other expenses for
2010 include $8,403,000 for Corporate's portion of the defined benefit pension
plan settlement charge and an impairment charge of $1,449,000 for a corporate
aircraft. Selling, general and other expenses for 2012 and 2011 also reflect
$2,003,000 of less severance expense and $1,342,000 of greater severance
expense, respectively; $932,000 and $1,029,000 of higher corporate aircraft
expense, respectively; and for 2011 $1,326,000 of increased insurance expense.
Income Taxes
As discussed above, the income tax provision for 2010 reflects a credit of
$1,157,111,000 as a result of the reversal of a portion of the valuation
allowance for the net deferred tax asset. The Company adjusted the valuation
allowance since it believes it is more likely than not that it will have future
taxable income sufficient to realize a substantial portion of the net deferred
tax asset. The tax provision for 2012, 2011 and 2010 also includes state and
foreign income taxes of $42,540,000, $32,256,000 and $20,743,000, respectively.
The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 provided
taxpayers a special election for extended net operating loss carryback benefits,
and with respect to any net operating loss for which the election was made,
eliminated the limitation that applies to using the NOL to reduce alternative
minimum taxable income. In 2010, the Internal Revenue Service provided
additional guidance with respect to application of the law, and the Company made
the election with respect to its 2008 NOL. As a result, approximately
$830,000,000 of the NOLs referred to above can be used to fully offset federal
minimum taxable income, and no federal regular or minimum income tax would be
payable on such income. During 2010, the Company reversed deferred federal
minimum tax liabilities which had been recorded in prior periods of $11,594,000
to income related to associated companies and $22,678,000 to accumulated other
comprehensive income.
The income tax provision reflects the reversal of tax reserves aggregating
$600,000 for the year ended December 31, 2010 as a result of the expiration of
the applicable statute of limitations and the favorable resolution of various
state and federal income tax contingencies.
Associated Companies
Income (losses) related to associated companies includes the following for the
years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):
53
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2012 2011 2010
Jefferies $ 301,341 $ (668,282 ) $ 157,873
Mueller 30,018 (6,093 ) -
ACF - - 183,572
Berkadia 38,026 29,033 16,166
Garcadia companies 31,738 19,996 14,424
JHYH 33,938 11,211 20,053
Linkem (18,890 ) (2,243 ) -
HomeFed 1,891 1,410 1,108
Las Cruces - - (16,159 )
Other 1,946 2,606 (2,016 ) Income (losses) related to associated
companies before income taxes 420,008 (612,362 ) 375,021
Income tax (expense) benefit (143,729 ) 218,321 5,745
Income (losses) related to associated
companies, net of taxes $ 276,279 $ (394,041 ) $ 380,766
The Company elected the fair value option to account for its investments in
Jefferies, Mueller and ACF, with changes in market values reflected directly in
earnings. The Company sold its investment in Mueller in 2012 and ACF in 2010.
The Company owns approximately 31.4% of HomeFed, a California real estate
development company, which it acquired in 2002. The Company's share of HomeFed's
reported earnings fluctuates with the level of real estate sales activity at
HomeFed's development projects.
The Company's equity investment in Las Cruces was sold in 2010.
Discontinued Operations
Oil and Gas Drilling Services
In October 2012, the Company sold Keen, recorded a pre-tax loss on sale of
discontinued operations of $18,045,000 ($11,729,000 after taxes) and classified
its historical operating results as a discontinued operation. Pre-tax income
(losses) of Keen were $(5,344,000), $3,533,000 and $(13,937,000) for the years
ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Domestic Real Estate
In August 2010, the Company sold its operating retail shopping center in Long
Island, New York and recorded a pre-tax and after tax gain on sale of
discontinued operations of $4,526,000. The Company has not classified this
business' historical results of operations or its assets and liabilities as
discontinued operations because such amounts were not significant.
Property Management and Services
In September 2010, the Company sold ResortQuest, recognized a pre-tax and after
tax gain on sale of discontinued operations of $35,367,000 and classified its
historical operating results as a discontinued operation. Pre-tax income of
ResortQuest was $13,552,000 for the year ended December 31, 2010.
54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telecommunications
In October 2010, the Company sold STi Prepaid, recognized a pre-tax and
after-tax gain on sale of discontinued operations of $21,104,000 and classified
its historical operating results as a discontinued operation. During 2011,
additional final payments were received from the buyer and the Company
recognized a gain from discontinued operations of $9,669,000. Pre-tax income of
STi Prepaid was $1,863,000 for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Other Operations
During 2012, the Company sold its small Caribbean-based telecommunications
provider for aggregate consideration of $27,509,000, net of working capital
adjustments, and recognized a pre-tax gain on sale of discontinued operations of
$11,696,000 ($7,602,000 after taxes). The Company has not classified this
business' historical results of operations or its assets and liabilities as
discontinued operations because such amounts were not significant.
In 2010 the Company classified its power production business that burns waste
biomass to produce electricity as a held for sale discontinued operation and
recorded a charge of $25,321,000 to reduce the carrying amount of the business
to its fair value. Pre-tax income (losses) of this business, including the
impairment charge, were $414,000, $(3,722,000) and $(36,917,000) for the years
ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Other
During the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Company received
distributions of $5,663,000, $4,690,000 and $11,640,000, respectively, from
Empire, a subsidiary of the Company that had been classified as a discontinued
operation in 2001 and fully written-off. For income tax purposes, the payments
are treated as non-taxable distributions paid by a subsidiary.
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