Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Revenue Recognition Revenue from Contract Customers (Notes)

v3.22.1
Revenue Recognition Revenue from Contract Customers (Notes)
6 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2022
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]
Note 2. Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Nature of Goods and Services
The Company generates its revenue under two principal activities, which are discussed below:
Product Sales: Sales of tools, heavy-lifting solutions, and rope and cable solutions are recorded when control is transferred to the customer (i.e., performance obligation has been satisfied). For the majority of the Company’s product sales, revenue is recognized at a point in time when control of the product is transferred to the customer, which generally occurs when the product is shipped from the Company to the customer. For certain other products that are highly customized and have a limited alternative use, and for which the Company has an enforceable right of reimbursement for performance completed to date, revenue is recognized over time. We consider the input measure (efforts-expended or cost-to-cost) or output measure as a fair measure of progress for the recognition of over-time revenue associated with these custom products. For a majority of the Company’s custom products, machine hours and labor hours (efforts-expended measurement) are used as a measure of progress.
Service & Rental Sales: Service contracts consist of providing highly trained technicians to perform bolting, technical services, machining and joint-integrity work for our customers. These revenues are recognized over time as our customers simultaneously receive and consume the benefits provided by the Company. We consider the input measure (efforts-expended or cost-to-cost) or output measure as a fair measure of progress for the recognition of over-time revenue associated with service contracts. For a majority of the Company’s service contracts, labor hours (efforts-expended measurement) is used as the measure of progress when it is determined to be a better depiction of the transfer of control to the customer due to the timing and pattern of labor hours incurred. Revenue from rental contracts (less than a year and non-customized products) is generally recognized ratably over the contract term, depicting the customer’s consumption of the benefit related to the rental equipment.
Disaggregated Revenue and Performance Obligations
The Company disaggregates revenue from contracts with customers by reportable segment and product line and by the timing of when goods and services are transferred. See Note 12, "Segment Information" for information regarding our revenue disaggregation by reportable segment and product line.
The following table presents information regarding revenues disaggregated by the timing of when goods and services are transferred (in thousands):
Three Months Ended February 28, Six Months Ended February 28,
2022 2021 2022 2021
Revenues recognized at point in time $ 104,919  $ 90,726  $ 205,092  $ 177,506 
Revenues recognized over time 31,680  29,928  62,410  62,578 
Total $ 136,599  $ 120,654  $ 267,502  $ 240,084 
Contract Balances
The Company's contract assets and liabilities are as follows (in thousands):
February 28, 2022 August 31, 2021
Receivables, which are included in accounts receivable, net $ 113,460  $ 103,233 
Contract assets, which are included in other current assets 2,965  8,551 
Contract liabilities, which are included in other current liabilities 3,653  3,410 
Receivables: The Company performs its obligations under a contract with a customer by transferring goods or services in exchange for consideration from the customer. The Company typically invoices its customers as soon as control of an asset is transferred and a receivable for the Company is established. Accounts receivable, net is recorded at face amount of customer receivables less an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for expected losses as a result of customers’ inability to make required payments. Management evaluates the aging of customer receivable balances, the financial condition of its customers, historical trends and the time outstanding of specific balances to estimate the amount of receivables that may not be collected in the future and records the appropriate provision. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $7.4 million and $4.2 million at February 28, 2022 and August 31, 2021, respectively. As indicated in the "Concentration of Credit Risk" section below, the Company continues to negotiate terms to secure payment with an agent whose continued payment delinquency has created a concentration of credit risk. The Company recorded through bad debt expense (included in "Selling, general and administrative expenses" in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations) an additional reserve of $2.4 million in the three months ended February 28, 2022 based on the updated consideration of the factors listed below. The allowance for doubtful accounts for this particular agent as of February 28, 2022 represents management's best estimate of the amount probable of collection and considers various factors with respect to this matter, including, but not limited to, (i) the lack of payment by the agent in the nine-month period ended February 28, 2022, (ii) our due diligence on balances due to the agent from its end customers related to sales of our services and products and the known markup on those sales from the agent to end customer, (iii) the status of ongoing negotiations with the agent to secure payments and (iv) legal recourse available to secure payment. Actual collections from the agent may differ from the Company's estimate.
Contract Assets: Contract assets relate to the Company’s rights to consideration for work completed but not billed as of the reporting date on contracts with customers. The contract assets are transferred to receivables when the rights become unconditional. The Company has contract assets on contracts that are generally long-term and have revenues that are recognized over time.
Contract Liabilities: As of February 28, 2022, the Company had certain contracts where there were unsatisfied performance obligations and the Company had received cash consideration from customers before the performance obligations were satisfied. The majority of these contracts relate to longer term customer contracts (project durations of greater than three months) and are recognized over time. The Company estimates that the $3.7 million will be recognized in net sales from satisfying those performance obligations within the next twelve months, with an immaterial amount recognized in periods after.
Concentration of Credit Risk: The Company sells products and services through distributors and agents. In certain jurisdictions, those third parties represent a significant portion of our sales in their respective country which can pose a concentration of credit risk if these larger distributors or agents are not timely in their payments. As of February 28, 2022, the Company was exposed to a concentration of credit risk as a result of the continued payment delinquency of one of our agents with whom we continue to negotiate a plan to secure payments. This agent's accounts receivable, prior to consideration of the allowance for doubtful accounts, represent 10.2% of the Company's outstanding accounts receivable.
Timing of Performance Obligations Satisfied at a Point in Time: The Company evaluates when the customer obtains control of the product based on shipping terms, as control will transfer, depending upon such terms, at different points between the Company's manufacturing facility or warehouse and the customer’s location. The Company considers control to have transferred upon shipment or delivery because (i) the Company has a present right to payment at that time; (ii) the legal title has been transferred to the customer; (iii) the Company has transferred physical possession of the product to the customer; and (iv) the customer has significant risks and rewards of ownership of the product.
Variable Consideration: The Company estimates whether it will be subject to variable consideration under the terms of the contract and includes its estimate of variable consideration in the transaction price based on the expected value method when it is deemed probable of being realized based on historical experience and trends. Types of variable consideration may include rebates, incentives and discounts, among others, which are recorded as a reduction to net sales at the time when control of a performance obligation is transferred to the customer.
Practical Expedients & Exemptions: The Company elected to expense the incremental cost to obtaining a contract when the amortization period for such contracts would be one year or less. The Company does not disclose the value of unperformed obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and    (ii) contracts for which it recognizes revenue at the amount to which it has the right to invoice for services performed.