UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549D.C.20549


FORM 10-Q


QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


For the quarterly period ended December 31, 20172020


OR


TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


For the transition period from____ to ____ .


Commission file number:1-34167


ePlusePlus inc.


(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Delaware
 
54-1817218
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


13595 Dulles Technology Drive, Herndon, VA20171-3413
(Address, including zip code, of principal executive offices)


Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 984-8400


Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.01 par valuePLUSNASDAQ Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes    No


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes    No


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):


Large accelerated filer 
Accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer ☐(do not check if smaller reporting company)
Smaller reporting company
Emerging growth company


If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes   No
The number of shares of common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2018 February 1, 2021,was 13,948,590.13,503,352.





TABLE OF CONTENTS

ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES


Part I. Financial Information: 
   
Item 1.
Financial Statements 
   
 5
   
 6
   
 7
   
 8
   
 10
   
 11
   
Item 2.2628
   
Item 3.4145
   
Item 4.4246
   
Part II. Other Information: 
   
Item 1.4346
   
Item 1A.4347
   
Item 2.4447
   
Item 3.4548
   
Item 4.4548
   
Item 5.4548
   
Item 6.4549
   
4650


2

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS


This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or “Exchange Act,” and are made in reliance upon the protections provided by such acts for forward-looking statements. Such statements are not based on historical fact but are based upon numerous assumptions about future conditions that may not occur. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “should,” “would,” “intend,” “estimate,” “will,” “potential,” “possible,” “could,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “project,” and similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Forward-looking statements are made based upon information that is currently available or management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects upon us, speak only as of the date hereof, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which we hereafter become aware. Actual events, transactions and results may materially differ from the anticipated events, transactions or results described in such statements. Our ability to consummate such transactions and achieve such events or results is subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the matters set forth below:


·national and international political instability fostering uncertainty and volatility in the global economy including exposure to fluctuation in foreign currency rates, and downward pressure on prices;
the duration and impact of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and has resulted in governmental authorities imposing numerous unprecedented measures to try to contain the virus that has impacted and may further impact our workforce and operations, the operations of our customers, and those of our respective vendors, suppliers, and partners;
·significant adverse changes in, reductions in, or loss of our largest volume customer or one or more of our large volume customers, or vendors;
the efficacy of the manufacture and distribution of vaccines for the COVID-19 virus:
·exposure to changes in, interpretations of, or enforcement trends in legislation and regulatory matters;
national and international political instability fostering uncertainty and volatility in the global economy including an economic downturn, an increase in tariffs or adverse changes to trade agreements, exposure to fluctuation in foreign currency rates, interest rates, and downward pressure on prices;
·the creditworthiness of our customers and our ability to reserve adequately for credit losses;
significant adverse changes in, reductions in, or loss of our largest volume customer or one or more of our large volume customers, or vendors;
·reduction of vendor incentives provided to us;
the creditworthiness of our customers and our ability to reserve adequately for credit losses;
·we offer a comprehensive set of solutions — integrating information technology (IT) product sales, third-party software assurance and maintenance, our advanced professional and managed services, our proprietary software, and financing, and encounter the following challenges, risks, difficulties and uncertainties:
loss of our credit facility or credit lines with our vendors may restrict our current and future operations;
omanaging a diverse product set of solutions in highly competitive markets with a number of key vendors;
uncertainty regarding the phase out of LIBOR may negatively affect our operating results;
oincreasing the total number of customers utilizing integrated solutions by up-selling within our customer base and gaining new customers;
oadapting to meet changes in markets and competitive developments;
omaintaining and increasing advanced professional services by retaining highly skilled, competent, personnel and vendor certifications;
oincreasing the total number of customers who utilize our managed services and professional services and continuing to enhance our managed services offerings to remain competitive in the marketplace;
operforming professional and managed services competently;
omaintaining our proprietary software and updating our technology infrastructure to remain competitive in the marketplace; and
oreliance on third parties to perform some of our service obligations to our customers;
·changes in the IT industry and/or rapid changes in product offerings, including the proliferation of the cloud, infrastructure as a service and software as a service;
·our dependency on continued innovations in hardware, software, and services offerings by our vendors and our ability to partner with them;
·future growth rates in our core businesses;
·failure to comply with public sector contracts or applicable laws;
·changes to or loss of members of our senior management team and/or failure to successfully implement succession plans;
·our dependence on key personnel to maintain certain customer relationships, and our ability to hire, train, and retain sufficient qualified personnel;
·our ability to implement comprehensive plans for the integration of sales forces, cost containment, asset rationalization, systems integration and other key strategies;
·a possible decrease in the capital spending budgets of our customers or a decrease in purchases from us;
·our contracts may not be adequate to protect us, and we are subject to audit in which we may not pass, and our professional and liability insurance policies coverage may be insufficient to cover a claim;
·disruptions or a security breach in our IT systems and data and audio communication networks;
3

·our ability to secure our customers’ electronic and other confidential information, and remain secure during a cyber-security attack;
·
our ability to raise capital, maintain or increase as needed our lines of credit with vendors or floor planning facility, or obtain debt for our financing transactions, or the effect of those changes on our common stock or its holders;price;
·our ability to realize our investment in leased equipment;
reliance on third parties to perform some of our service obligations to our customers;
·our ability to successfully perform due diligence and integrate acquired businesses;
changes in the Information Technology (“IT”) industry and/or rapid changes in product offerings, including the proliferation of the cloud, infrastructure as a service (“IaaS”), and software as a service (“SaaS”);
·the possibility of goodwill impairment charges in the future;
our dependency on continued innovations in hardware, software, and services offerings by our vendors and our ability to partner with them;
·our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and successfully defend any challenges to the validity of our patents or allegations that we are infringing upon any third party patents, and the costs associated with those actions, and, when appropriate, license required technology; and
future growth rates in our core businesses;
·significant changes in accounting standards including changes to the financial reporting of leases which could impact the demand for our leasing services, or misclassification of products and services we sell resulting in the misapplication of revenue recognition policies or inaccurate costs and completion dates for our services which could affect our estimates.
reduction of vendor incentives provided to us;

rising interest rates or the loss of key lenders or the constricting of credit markets;
the possibility of goodwill impairment charges in the future;
maintaining and increasing advanced professional services by recruiting and retaining highly skilled, competent personnel, and vendor certifications;
adapting to meet changes in markets and competitive developments;
increasing the total number of customers using integrated solutions by up-selling within our customer base and gaining new customers;
our ability to secure our own and our customers’ electronic and other confidential information, and remain secure during a cyber-security attack;
managing a diverse product set of solutions in highly competitive markets with a number of key vendors;
increasing the total number of customers who use our managed services and professional services and continuing to enhance our managed services offerings to remain competitive in the marketplace;
performing professional and managed services competently;
our ability to implement comprehensive plans for the integration of sales forces, cost containment, asset rationalization, systems integration, and other key strategies;

3

changes to or loss of members of our senior management team and/or failure to successfully implement succession plans;
exposure to changes in, interpretations of, or enforcement trends in legislation and regulatory matters;
domestic and international economic regulations uncertainty (e.g., tariffs, import and export regulations, and trade agreements);
our contracts may not be adequate to protect us, and we are subject to audit in which we may not pass, and our professional and liability insurance policies coverage may be insufficient to cover a claim;
failure to comply with public sector contracts, or applicable laws or regulations;
our dependence on key personnel to maintain certain customer relationships, and our ability to hire, train, and retain sufficient qualified personnel;
maintaining our proprietary software and updating our technology infrastructure to remain competitive in the marketplace;
disruptions or a security breach in our or our vendors’ IT systems and data and audio communication networks;
our ability to realize our investment in leased equipment;
our ability to successfully perform due diligence and integrate acquired businesses;
significant changes in accounting standards which could impact the demand for our leasing services, or misclassification of products and services we sell resulting in the misapplication of revenue recognition policies or inaccurate costs and completion dates for our services, which could affect our estimates; and
our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and successfully defend any challenges to the validity of our patents or allegations that we are infringing upon any third-party patents, and the costs associated with those actions, and, when appropriate, license required technology.

We cannot be certain that our business strategy will be successful or that we will successfully address these and other challenges, risks, and uncertainties. For a further list and description of various risks, relevant factors, and uncertainties that could cause future results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements, see Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections contained elsewhere in this report, as well as other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

4


PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION


Item 1.Financial Statements


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
 
 
As of
December 31, 2017
  
As of
March 31, 2017
 
ASSETS (in thousands, except per share data) 
       
Current assets:      
Cash and cash equivalents $76,105  $109,760 
Accounts receivable—trade, net  285,820   266,029 
Accounts receivable—other, net  30,690   24,987 
Inventories  51,295   93,557 
Financing receivables—net, current  74,598   51,656 
Deferred costs  24,740   7,971 
Other current assets  25,970   43,364 
Total current assets  569,218   597,324 
         
Financing receivables and operating leases—net  72,575   71,883 
Deferred tax assets—net  1,268   - 
Property, equipment and other assets  17,632   11,956 
Goodwill  76,546   48,397 
Other intangible assets—net  27,414   12,160 
TOTAL ASSETS $764,653  $741,720 
         
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY        
         
LIABILITIES        
         
Current liabilities:        
Accounts payable $125,850  $113,518 
Accounts payable—floor plan  107,761   132,612 
Salaries and commissions payable  20,568   18,878 
Deferred revenue  50,739   65,312 
Recourse notes payable—current  -   908 
Non-recourse notes payable—current  27,649   26,085 
Other current liabilities  26,116   19,179 
Total current liabilities  358,683   376,492 
         
Non-recourse notes payable—long term  3,840   10,431 
Deferred tax liability—net  -   1,799 
Other liabilities  18,518   7,080 
TOTAL LIABILITIES  381,041   395,802 
         
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES  (Note 8)        
         
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY        
         
Preferred stock, $.01 per share par value; 2,000 shares authorized; none outstanding  -   - 
Common stock, $.01 per share par value; 25,000 shares authorized;14,046 outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 14,161 outstanding at March 31, 2017
  142   142 
Additional paid-in capital  128,392   123,536 
Treasury stock, at cost  (14,165)  - 
Retained earnings  269,048   222,823 
Accumulated other comprehensive income—foreign currency translation adjustment  195   (583)
Total Stockholders' Equity  383,612   345,918 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $764,653  $741,720 


 December 31, 2020  March 31, 2020 
ASSETS      
Current assets:      
Cash and cash equivalents $86,463  $86,231 
Accounts receivable—trade, net  460,385   374,998 
Accounts receivable—other, net  34,355   36,570 
Inventories  81,304   50,268 
Financing receivables—net, current  126,692   70,169 
Deferred costs  28,939   22,306 
Other current assets  8,514   9,256 
Total current assets  826,652   649,798 
         
Financing receivables and operating leases—net  87,342   74,158 
Property, equipment and other assets  43,387   32,596 
Goodwill  126,945   118,097 
Other intangible assets—net  41,628   34,464 
TOTAL ASSETS $1,125,954  $909,113 
         
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY        
         
LIABILITIES        
         
Current liabilities:        
Accounts payable $159,175  $82,919 
Accounts payable—floor plan  177,084   127,416 
Salaries and commissions payable  33,197   30,952 
Deferred revenue  68,466   55,480 
Recourse notes payable—current  0   37,256 
Non-recourse notes payable—current  62,021   29,630 
Other current liabilities  31,095   22,986 
Total current liabilities  531,038   386,639 
         
Non-recourse notes payable—long term  6,312   5,872 
Deferred tax liability—net  3,763   2,730 
Other liabilities  39,832   27,727 
TOTAL LIABILITIES  580,945   422,968 
         
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 10)
  0   0 
         
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY        
         
Preferred stock, $0.01 per share par value; 2,000 shares authorized; NaN outstanding  0   0 
Common stock, $0.01 per share par value; 25,000 shares authorized; 13,503 outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 13,500 outstanding at March 31, 2020  145   144 
Additional paid-in capital  150,624   145,197 
Treasury stock, at cost, 993 shares at December 31, 2020 and 896 shares at March 31, 2020  (75,372)  (68,424)
Retained earnings  469,063   410,219 
Accumulated other comprehensive income—foreign currency translation adjustment  549   (991)
Total Stockholders' Equity  545,009   486,145 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $1,125,954  $909,113 

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

5


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)
  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2017  2016  2017  2016 
             
  (in thousands, except per share data) 
             
Net sales $342,569  $326,657  $1,080,571  $996,622 
Cost of sales  265,881   252,871   838,719   773,239 
Gross profit  76,688   73,786   241,852   223,383 
                 
Selling, general, and administrative expenses  57,134   50,160   168,138   149,821 
Depreciation and amortization  2,894   1,910   7,086   5,408 
Interest and financing costs  270   409   903   1,158 
Operating expenses  60,298   52,479   176,127   156,387 
                 
Operating income  16,390   21,307   65,725   66,996 
                 
Other income (expense)  (131)  -   (1)  380 
                 
Earnings before tax  16,259   21,307   65,724   67,376 
                 
Provision for income taxes  678   8,687   19,499   27,310 
                 
Net earnings $15,581  $12,620  $46,225  $40,066 
                 
Net earnings per common share—basic $1.12  $0.92  $3.34  $2.88 
Net earnings per common share—diluted $1.11  $0.91  $3.30  $2.86 
                 
Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic  13,851   13,791   13,845   13,891 
Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted  13,990   13,920   14,022   14,026 


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
             
Net sales            
Product $375,512  $378,569  $1,066,408  $1,077,667 
Services  52,092   50,422   149,308   144,261 
Total  427,604   428,991   1,215,716   1,221,928 
Cost of sales                
Product  297,514   293,209   827,111   832,135 
Services  31,939   32,086   92,935   90,427 
Total  329,453   325,295   920,046   922,562 
Gross profit  98,151   103,696   295,670   299,366 
                 
Selling, general, and administrative  65,390   73,090   201,746   209,400 
Depreciation and amortization  3,143   3,647   10,000   10,667 
Interest and financing costs  355   694   1,179   1,898 
Operating expenses  68,888   77,431   212,925   221,965 
                 
Operating income  29,263   26,265   82,745   77,401 
                 
Other income (expense)  813   997   1,095   912 
                 
Earnings before tax  30,076   27,262   83,840   78,313 
                 
Provision for income taxes  8,438   7,712   24,996   22,477 
                 
Net earnings $21,638  $19,550  $58,844  $55,836 
                 
Net earnings per common share—basic $1.62  $1.47  $4.41  $4.19 
Net earnings per common share—diluted $1.62  $1.46  $4.39  $4.16 
                 
Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic  13,332   13,320   13,342   13,329 
Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted  13,378   13,378   13,402   13,410 

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

6


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands)
  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2017  2016  2017  2016 
  (amounts in thousands) 
             
NET EARNINGS $15,581  $12,620  $46,225  $40,066 
                 
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME, NET OF TAX:                
                 
Foreign currency translation adjustments  75   (145)  778   (240)
                 
Other comprehensive income (loss)  75   (145)  778   (240)
                 
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME $15,656  $12,475  $47,003  $39,826 


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
             
NET EARNINGS $21,638  $19,550  $58,844  $55,836 
                 
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME, NET OF TAX:                
                 
Foreign currency translation adjustments  983   682   1,540   69 
                 
Other comprehensive income (loss)  983   682   1,540   69 
                 
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME $22,621  $20,232  $60,384  $55,905 

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

7


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)
  Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2017  2016 
  (in thousands) 
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:      
Net earnings $46,225  $40,066 
         
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:        
Depreciation and amortization  11,324   8,758 
Reserve for credit losses, inventory obsolescence and sales returns  286   926 
Share-based compensation expense  4,856   4,520 
Deferred taxes  (3,058)  - 
Payments from lessees directly to lendersoperating leases
  (1,325)  (1,831)
Gain on disposal of property, equipment and operating lease equipment  (7,555)  (3,742)
Gain on sale of financing receivables  (4,625)  (3,968)
Other  1   316 
Changes in:        
Accounts receivable—trade  (8,295)  (57,732)
Accounts receivable—other  (1,976)  (4,232)
Inventories  43,332   (77,422)
Financing receivables—net  (13,045)  17,797 
Deferred costs, other intangible assets and other assets  (26,188)  1,838 
Accounts payable  18,406   53,208 
Salaries and commissions payable, deferred revenue and other liabilities  (9,539)  51,200 
Net cash provided by operating activities $48,824  $29,702 
         
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:        
Proceeds from sale of property, equipment and operating lease equipment  9,967   6,380 
Purchases of property, equipment, software, and operating lease equipment  (6,298)  (7,300)
Purchases of assets to be leased or financed  (5,716)  (5,897)
Issuance of financing receivables  (138,160)  (114,671)
Repayments of financing receivables  59,029   44,091 
Proceeds from sale of financing receivables  64,103   39,857 
Cash used in acquisitions, net of cash acquired  (37,718)  (9,500)
Net cash used in investing activities $(54,793) $(47,040)

 Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Cash flows from operating activities:      
Net earnings $58,844  $55,836 
         
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:        
Depreciation and amortization  13,762   15,217 
Reserve for credit losses  1,920   504 
Share-based compensation expense  5,427   6,019 
Deferred taxes  1,033   (3)
Payments from lessees directly to lenders—operating leases  (25)  (44)
Gain on disposal of property, equipment, and operaing lease equipment  (408)  (614)
Changes in:        
Accounts receivable  (67,989)  (102,093)
Inventories-net  (28,340)  (10,429)
Financing receivables—net  (67,112)  (87,633)
Deferred costs and other assets  (15,865)  (18,424)
Accounts payable-trade  70,726   33,574 
Salaries and commissions payable, deferred revenue, and other liabilities  33,271   33,362 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  5,244   (74,728)
         
Cash flows from investing activities:
        
Proceeds from sale of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment  670   1,404 
Purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment  (4,227)  (7,209)
Cash used in acquisitions, net of cash acquired  (27,102)  (14,239)
Net cash used in investing activities  (30,659)  (20,044)
         
Cash flows from financing activities:        
Borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable  31,698   75,557 
Repayments of non-recourse and recourse notes payable  (41,870)  (9,854)
Repurchase of common stock  (6,948)  (13,692)
Repayments of financing of acquisitions  (556)  (5,763)
Net borrowings on floor plan facility  44,058   28,400 
Net cash provided by financing activities  26,382   74,648 
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  (735)  (137)
         
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents  232   (20,261)
         
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period  86,231   79,816 
         
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $86,463  $59,555 

8

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - continued

(in thousands)
  Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2017  2016 
  (in thousands) 
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:      
Borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable $39,365  $34,020 
Repayments of non-recourse and recourse notes payable  (27,269)  (5,412)
Repurchase of common stock  (13,399)  (30,493)
Payment of contingent consideration  -   (718)
Repayments of financing of acquisitions  (1,604)  - 
Net borrowings (repayments) on floor plan facility  (24,851)  (5,602)
Net cash used in financing activities  (27,758)  (8,205)
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  72   454 
         
Net Decrease in Cash and Cash Equivalents  (33,655)  (25,089)
         
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period  109,760   94,766 
         
Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period $76,105  $69,677 
         
Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:        
Cash paid for interest $421  $38 
Cash paid for income taxes $29,987  $23,381 
         
Schedule of Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities:        
Proceeds from sale of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment $3,463  $429 
Purchases of property, equipment, software, and operating lease equipment $(751 $(2,442)
Purchase of assets to be leased or financed $(7,225) $(12,700)
Issuance of financing receivables $(74,907) $(110,120)
Repayment of financing receivables $9,572  $16,454 
Proceeds from sale of financing receivables $83,954  $104,430 
Financing of acquisitions $(12,050) $- 
Borrowing of non-recourse and recourse notes payable $8,904  $33,651 
Repayments of non-recourse and recourse notes payable $(14,465) $(20,438)
Vesting of share-based compensation $12,010  $7,982 
Repurchase of common stock included in accounts payable $(766) $- 


 Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
      
Cash paid for interest $929  $1,721 
Cash paid for income taxes $21,257  $19,519 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities $4,460  $4,113 
         
Schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities:
        
Purchases of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment $(221) $(425)
Consideration for acquisitions $0  $(1,037)
Borrowing of non-recourse and recourse notes payable $77,289  $111,234 
Repayments of non-recourse and recourse notes payable $(25) $(44)
Vesting of share-based compensation $7,926  $8,990 
New operating lease assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations $1,097  $6,035 

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

9


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(in thousands)
  Common Stock  
Additional
Paid-In
  Treasury  Retained  
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
    
  Shares  Par Value  Capital  Stock  Earnings  Income  Total 
                      
Balance, April 1, 2017  14,161  $142  $123,536  $-  $222,823  $(583) $345,918 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  68   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Share-based compensation  -   -   4,856   -   -   -   4,856 
Repurchase of common stock  (183)  -   -   (14,165)  -   -   (14,165)
Net earnings  -   -   -   -   46,225   -   46,225 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   -   -   -   -   778   778 
                             
Balance, December 31, 2017  14,046  $142  $128,392  $(14,165) $269,048  $195  $383,612 


 Nine Months Ended December 31, 2020 
  Common Stock  
Additional
Paid-In
  Treasury  Retained  
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
    
  Shares  Par Value  Capital  Stock  Earnings  Income  Total 
Balance, March 31, 2020  13,500  $144  $145,197  $(68,424) $410,219  $(991) $486,145 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  91   1   0   0   0   0   1 
Share-based compensation  0   0   1,885   0   0   0   1,885 
Repurchase of common stock  (38)  0   0   (2,703)  0   0   (2,703)
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   17,360   0   17,360 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   37   37 
                             
Balance, June 30, 2020  13,553  $145  $147,082  $(71,127) $427,579  $(954) $502,725 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  8   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Share-based compensation  0   0   1,763   0   0   0   1,763 
Repurchase of common stock  (24)  0   0   (1,784)  0   0   (1,784)
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   19,846   0   19,846 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   520   520 
                             
Balance, September 30, 2020  13,537  $145  $148,845  $(72,911) $447,425  $(434) $523,070 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  1   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Share-based compensation  0   0   1,779   0   0   0   1,779 
Repurchase of common stock  (35)  0   0   (2,461)  0   0   (2,461)
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   21,638   0   21,638 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   983   983 
                             
Balance, December 31, 2020  13,503  $145  $150,624  $(75,372) $469,063  $549  $545,009 

  Nine Months Ended December 31, 2019 
  Common Stock  
Additional
Paid-In
  Treasury  Retained  
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
    
 
  Shares  Par Value  Capital  Stock  Earnings  Income  Total 
Balance, March 31, 2019  13,611  $143  $137,243  $(53,999) $341,137  $(271) $424,253 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  86   1   0   0   0   0   1 
Share-based compensation  0   0   1,919   0   0   0   1,919 
Repurchase of common stock  (188)  0   0   (13,455)  0   0   (13,455)
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   16,188   0   16,188 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   (263)  (263)
                             
Balance, June 30, 2019  13,509  $144  $139,162  $(67,454) $357,325  $(534) $428,643 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  7   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Share-based compensation  (3)  0   2,135   0   0   0   2,135 
Repurchase of common stock  0   0   0   (237)  0   0   (237)
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   20,098   0   20,098 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   (350)  (350)
                             
Balance, September 30, 2019  13,513  $144  $141,297  $(67,691) $377,423  $(884) $450,289 
Issuance of restricted stock awards  0   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Share-based compensation  0   0   1,965   0   0   0   1,965 
Repurchase of common stock  0   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Net earnings  -   0   0   0   19,550   0   19,550 
Foreign currency translation adjustment  -   0   0   0   0   682   682 
                             
Balance, December 31, 2019  13,513  $144  $143,262  $(67,691) $396,973  $(202) $472,486 

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

10


ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


1.ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES


DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS — Our company was founded in 1990 and is a Delaware corporation. ePlus inc. is sometimes referred to in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as "we," "our," "us," "ourselves,"“we,” “our,” “us,” “ourselves,” or "ePlus." ePlus inc. is a holding company that through its subsidiaries provides information technology solutions which enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes. We also provide consulting, professional and managed services and complete lifecycle management services including flexible financing solutions. We focus on middle marketselling to medium and large enterprises in North America, and the United Kingdom.Kingdom (“UK”), and other European countries.


BASIS OF PRESENTATION — The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of ePlus inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accounts of businesses acquired are included in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements from the dates of acquisition.


INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 20162019, were prepared by us without audit, and include all normal and recurring adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position, results of operations, changes in comprehensive income, and cash flows for such periods. Operating results for the three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 20162019 are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 20182021, or any other future period. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures required by the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S.US GAAP”) for annual financial statements. Our audited consolidated financial statements are contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 20172020 (“20172020 Annual Report”), which should be read in conjunction with these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.


USE OF ESTIMATES — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S.US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities atas of the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Estimates are used when accounting for items and matters including, but not limited to, revenue recognition, residual values, vendor consideration, lease classification, goodwill and intangible assets, reservesallowance for credit losses, inventory obsolescence, and the recognition and measurement of income tax assets and other provisions and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The notes to the consolidated financial statements contained in the 2017 Annual Report include additional discussion of the significant accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. There have been no material changes to our significant accounting policies and estimates during the nine months ended December 31, 2017.

STOCK SPLIT — On March 31, 2017, we completed a two-for-one stock split in the form of a stock dividend. References made to outstanding shares or per share amounts in the accompanying financial statements and disclosures have been retroactively adjusted for this stock split. The number of authorized shares reflected on the consolidated balance sheets was not affected by the stock split.


CONCENTRATIONS OF RISK — A substantial portion of our sales of product and services are products from sales of Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (“HPE”)which were 32% and HP, Inc. (collectively “Hewlett Packard companies”), and NetApp products, which represented approximately 39%, 5% and 7%, and 45%, 7%, and 5%, respectively,41% of our technology segment’s net sales for the three months ended December 31, 2020, and 2019, respectively, and 37% and 41% of our technology segment’s net sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Sales of Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard companies,2020, and NetApp represented approximately 45%, 6% and 6%, and 49%, 6% and 5%, respectively,2019, respectively.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — The significant accounting policies used in preparing these Consolidated Financial Statements were applied on a basis consistent with those reflected in our Consolidated Financial Statements for the three and nine monthsyear ended December March 31, 2016. Any2020, except for changes in our vendors’ ability to provide products or incentive programs could have a material adverse effect on our business, resultsfrom the adoption of operations and financial condition.
11

2.RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS NOT YET ADOPTED — In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which, along with amendments issued in 2015 and Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016 will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP and eliminate industry specific guidance. The core principle of the new guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue for the transfer of goods and services equal to an amount it expects to be entitled to receive for those goods and services. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, to defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 by one year. Including the one-year deferral, these updates become effective for us in our quarter ending June 30, 2018. The new guidance permits two methods of adoption: retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented (full retrospective method), or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized at the date of initial application (modified retrospective method).

We have established a cross-functional implementation team and utilized a bottom-up approach to analyze the impact of the standard on our arrangements by reviewing the current accounting policies and practices to identify potential differences that would result from applying the requirements of the new standard to our revenue contracts. Based on our analysis to date, we have reached the following tentative conclusions regarding the new standard and how we expect it to affect our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures:

·We will adopt the guidance in our quarter ending June 30, 2018. We currently prefer to adopt the standard using the full retrospective method; however, our ability to do so is dependent on many factors, including the completion of our analysis of information necessary to recast prior period financial statements. Based on these and other factors, we may decide to use the modified retrospective method.
·Substantially all of our revenue within our technology segment is contractual and is within the scope of ASU No. 2014-09, as amended. The majority of our revenues within our financing segment are scoped out of this update.
·
The majority of our revenues within our technology segment are derived from sales of third-party products, third-party software, third-party services, such as maintenance and software assurance, and sales of ePlus professional and managed services.
oWe recognize revenue on sales of third party product and third-party software on a gross basis upon delivery and we are still assessing whether we are acting as a principal or an agent in these transactions under the update.
o
We recognize sales of third party maintenance and software assurance on a net basis at the date of sale and sales of ePlus professional and managed services on a gross basis as the services are performed. We do not anticipate a material impact to our revenue recognition for these transactions under the update.
·We expect that our disclosures in our notes to our consolidated financial statements related to revenue recognition will be significantly expanded under the new standard.

Our analysis and evaluation of the new standard will continue through its effective date in our quarter ending June 30, 2018. A substantial amount of work remains to be completed due to the complexity of the new standard, the application of judgment and the requirement for the use of estimates in applying the new standard, as well as the volume of our customer portfolio and the related terms and conditions of our contracts that must be reviewed.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which will supersede the current U.S. GAAP on this topic. The core principle of this update is that a lessee should recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. This update requires adoption under the modified retrospective approach and becomes effective for us in our quarter ending June 30, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this update on our financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, -13,Financial Instruments- Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, as amended (“ASU 2016-13”). The updates to our accounting policies from adopting ASU 2016-13 are provided below.

ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES — We maintain an allowance for credit losses related to our accounts receivable and financing receivables. We record an expense in the amount necessary to adjust the allowance for credit losses to our current estimate of expected credit losses on financial assets. We estimate expected credit losses based on our internal rating of the customer’s credit quality, our historical credit losses, current economic conditions, and other relevant factors. Prior to providing credit, we assign an internal rating for each customer’s credit quality based on the customer’s financial status, rating agency reports and other financial information. We review our internal ratings for each customer at least annually or when there is an indicator of a change in credit quality, such as a delinquency or bankruptcy. We charge off uncollectable financing receivables when we stop pursuing collection.


11

2.RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

CREDIT LOSSES We adopted ASU 2016-13 on April 1, 2020. The amendments in this update replace the incurred loss impairment methodology in current US GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. This update requiresOur adoption under a modified retrospective approach and becomes effective for us in our quarter ending June 30, 2020. Early adoption is permitted beginning in our quarter ending June 30, 2019. We are currently evaluating the impact of this update, onincluding the cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings, is not significant to our financial statements. Refer to Note 7, “Allowance for Credit Losses” for additional information.

3.REVENUES

Contract balances

Accounts receivable – trade consists entirely of amounts due from contracts with customers. In addition, we had $24.4 million and $33.1 million of receivables from contracts with customers included within financing receivables as of December 31,2020, and March 31,2020, respectively. The following table provides the balance of contract liabilities from contracts with customers (in thousands):

 December 31, 2020  March 31, 2020 
Current (included in deferred revenue) $67,845  $54,486 
Non-current (included in other liabilities) $28,441  $16,395 

Revenue recognized from the beginning contract liability balance was $9.6 million and $36.5 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, respectively, and $15.9 million and $45.3 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2019, respectively.

Performance obligations

The following table includes revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations, primarily non-cancelable contracts for ePlus managed services, that are unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied at the end of the reporting period (in thousands).

Remainder of Year ending March 31, 2021 $13,381 
Year Ending March 31, 2022  30,971 
Year Ending March 31, 2023  15,062 
Year Ending March 31, 2024  6,821 
Year Ending March 31, 2025  700 
Year Ending March 31, 2026 and thereafter  184 
Total remaining performance obligations $67,119 

The table does not include the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and (ii) contracts where we recognize revenue at the amount that we have the right to invoice for services performed.

4.FINANCING RECEIVABLES AND OPERATING LEASES

Our financing receivables and operating leases consist primarily of leases of IT and communication equipment and notes receivable from financing customer purchases of third-party software, maintenance, and services. Our leases often include elections for the lessee to purchase the underlying asset at the end of the lease term. Occasionally, our leases provide the lessee a bargain purchase option.

 
The following table provides the profit recognized for sales-type leases at their commencement date, including modifications that are recognized on a net basis, for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 (in thousands):

  Three months ended December 31,  Nine months ended December 31, 
 2020  2019  2020  2019 
Net sales $4,182  $5,710  $22,000  $13,697 
Cost of sales  3,362   4,807   14,091   11,459 
Gross profit $820  $903  $7,909  $2,238 

12

3.FINANCING RECEIVABLES AND OPERATING LEASES

Our financing receivablesThe following table provides interest income in aggregate on our sales-type leases and lease income on our operating leases consist of assets that we finance for our customers, which we manage as a portfolio of investments. Equipment financed for our customers is accounted for as investments in direct financing, sales-type or operating leases in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 840, Leases. We also finance third-party software, maintenance,the three and services for our customers, which are classified as notes receivables. Our notes receivables are interest bearingnine months ended December 31, 2020, and are often due over a period of time that corresponds with the terms of the leased products.2019 (in thousands):


  Three months ended December 31,  Nine months ended December 31, 
 2020  2019  2020  2019 
Interest income on sales-type leases $1,956  $1,272  $6,059  $4,862 
Lease income on operating leases $3,623  $4,489  $11,361  $14,908 

FINANCING RECEIVABLES—NET


OurThe following tables provide a disaggregation of our financing receivables net consist of the following (in thousands) thousands):


December 31, 2017
 
Notes
Receivables
  
Lease-Related
Receivables
  
Total Financing
Receivables
 
Minimum payments $59,444  $73,022  $132,466 
Estimated unguaranteed residual value (1)  -   13,358   13,358 
Initial direct costs, net of amortization (2)  369   321   690 
December 31, 2020
 
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease
Receivables
  
Financing
Receivables
 
         
Gross receivables $111,321  $89,629  $200,950 
Unguaranteed residual value (1)  0   20,388   20,388 
Initial direct costs, net of amortization  464   0   464 
Unearned income  -   (6,034)  (6,034)  0   (12,133)  (12,133)
Reserve for credit losses (3)  (451)  (621)  (1,072)
Reserve for credit losses (2)  (1,280)  (1,088)  (2,368)
Total, net $59,362  $80,046  $139,408  $110,505  $96,796  $207,301 
Reported as:                        
Current $33,109  $41,489  $74,598  $74,585  $52,107  $126,692 
Long-term  26,253   38,557   64,810   35,920   44,689   80,609 
Total, net $59,362  $80,046  $139,408  $110,505  $96,796  $207,301 


(1)Includes estimated unguaranteed residual values of $7,753$12,314 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable.
(2)
Refer to Note 7, “Allowance for direct financingCredit Losses” for details.

March 31, 2020
 
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease
Receivables
  
Financing
Receivables
 
          
Minimum payments $55,417  $69,492  $124,909 
Estimated unguaranteed residual value (1)  0   21,862   21,862 
Initial direct costs, net of amortization  212   247   459 
Unearned income  0   (11,612)  (11,612)
Reserve for credit losses (2)  (798)  (610)  (1,408)
Total, net $54,831  $79,379  $134,210 
Reported as:            
Current $31,181  $38,988  $70,169 
Long-term  23,650   40,391   64,041 
Total, net $54,831  $79,379  $134,210 

(1)
Includes unguaranteed residual values of $14,972 thousand for sales type leases, which have been sold and accounted for as sales.
(2)Initial direct costs are shown net of amortization of $334 thousand.
(3)
For details on reserve for credit losses, referRefer to Note 5, “Reserves7, “Allowance for Credit Losses.”Losses” for details.


 
March 31, 2017
 
Notes
Receivables
  
Lease-Related
Receivables
  
Total Financing
Receivables
 
Minimum payments $48,524  $57,872  $106,396 
Estimated unguaranteed residual value (1)  -   18,273   18,273 
Initial direct costs, net of amortization (2)  279   341   620 
Unearned income  -   (5,913)  (5,913)
Reserve for credit losses (3)  (3,434)  (679)  (4,113)
Total, net $45,369  $69,894  $115,263 
Reported as:            
Current $23,780  $27,876  $51,656 
Long-term  21,589   42,018   63,607 
Total, net $45,369  $69,894  $115,263 
(1)Includes estimated unguaranteed residual values of $12,677 thousand for direct financing leases which have been sold and accounted for as sales.
(2)Initial direct costs are shown net of amortization of $510 thousand.
(3)
For details on reserve for credit losses, refer to Note 5, “Reserves for Credit Losses.”
13

The following table provides the future scheduled minimum lease payments for investments in sales-type leases as of  December 31,2020 (in thousands):

Remainder of the Year ending March 31, 2021 $40,211 
Year Ending March 31, 2022  24,111 
Year Ending March 31, 2023  16,337 
Year Ending March 31, 2024  5,992 
Year Ending March 31, 2025 and thereafter  2,978 
Total $89,629 

OPERATING LEASES—NET


Operating leases—net represents leases that do not qualify as direct financingsales-type leases. The components of the operating leases—net are as follows (in thousands):


 
December 31,
2020
  
March 31,
2020
 
 
December 31,
2017
  
March 31,
2017
       
Cost of equipment under operating leases $16,804  $16,725  $18,182  $21,276 
Accumulated depreciation  (9,039)  (8,449)  (11,449)  (11,159)
Investment in operating lease equipment—net (1) $7,765  $8,276  $6,733  $10,117 


(1)These totalsAmounts include estimated unguaranteed residual values of $2,077 thousand$2.6 million and $1,117 thousand$3.1 million as of December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017,2020, respectively.


The following table provides the future scheduled minimum lease rental payments for operating leases as of December 31,2020 (in thousands):

Remainder of the Year ending March 31, 2021 $625 
Year Ending March 31, 2022  2,007 
Year Ending March 31, 2023  1,456 
Year Ending March 31, 2024  479 
Year Ending March 31, 2025 and thereafter  37 
Total $4,604 

TRANSFERS OF FINANCIAL ASSETS


We enter into arrangements to transfer the contractual payments due under financing receivables and operating lease agreements, which are accounted for as sales or secured borrowings in accordance with ASC Topic 860, Transfers and Servicing. borrowings.

For transfers accounted for as a secured borrowing, the corresponding investments serve as collateral for non-recourse notes payable. As of  December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017,2020, we had financing receivables of $37.2$69.4 million and $33.1$34.6 million, respectively, and operating leases of $5.9$4.4 million and $6.6$6.7 million, respectively, which were collateral for non-recourse notes payable. See Note 7, "Notes9, “Notes Payable and Credit Facility."Facility.”


For transfers accounted for as sales, we derecognize the carrying value of the asset transferred plus any liability and recognize a net gain or loss on the sale, which are presented within net sales in the consolidated statement of operations. During the three months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized net gains of $1.2$3.0 million and $0.9$9.5 million, respectively, and total proceeds from these sales were $32.8$67.5 million and $55.8$246.0 million, respectively. DuringFor the nine monthsyear to date periods ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized net gains of $4.6$10.1 million and $4.1$17.0 million, respectively, and total proceeds from these sales were $166.9$259.2 million and $185.4$414.6 million, respectively.


For certain assignments of financial assets,When we retain a servicing obligation. For assignmentsobligations in transfers accounted for as sales, we allocate a portion of the proceeds to deferred revenues, which is recognized as we perform the services. As of both December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017,2020, we had deferred revenue of $0.5$0.4 million for servicing. servicing obligations.

In a limited number of suchtransfers accounted for as sales, we indemnified the assignee in the event that the lessee elected to early terminate the lease. As of December 31, 2017,2020, our maximumtotal potential future payments related to such guaranteesliability that could result from these indemnities is $0.6 million.immaterial. We believe the possibilitylikelihood of making any such payments to be remote.


4.5.LESSEE ACCOUNTING

We lease office space for periods up to 6 years. We recognize our right-of-use assets as part of property, equipment, and other assets. We recognize the current and long-term portions of our lease liability as part of other current liabilities and other liabilities, respectively. We recognized rent expense of $1.5 million and $1.6 million for the three months ending December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively, and $4.6 million and $4.7 million for the nine months ending December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively, as part of selling, general, and administrative expenses.

The following table provides supplemental information about the remaining lease terms and discount rates applied as of  December 31,2020, and March 31,2020:

Lease term and Discount Rate December 31, 2020  March 31, 2020 
Weighted average remaining lease term (months)  33   38 
Weighted average discount rate  3.8%  3.9%

The following table provides our future lease payments under our operating leases as of December 31, 2020 (in thousands):

 December 31, 2020 
Remainder of the year ending March 31, 2021 $967 
Year ending March 31, 2022  4,390 
Year ending March 31, 2023  3,166 
Year ending March 31, 2024  1,323 
Year ending March 31, 2025 and thereafter  917 
Total lease payments $10,763 
Less: interest  (530)
Present value of lease liabilities $10,233 

6.GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS


GOODWILL


The following table summarizes the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended December 31, 20172020 (in thousands):

 Nine months ended December 31, 2020 
  Goodwill  
Accumulated
Impairment
Loss
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
 
          
Beginning balance $126,770  $(8,673) $118,097 
Acquisitions  8,643   -   8,643 
Foreign currency translations  205   -   205 
Ending balance $135,618  $(8,673) $126,945 

Goodwill represents the premium paid over the fair value of the net tangible and 2016, (in thousands):

  Nine Months Ended December 31, 2017  Nine Months Ended December 31, 2016 
  Goodwill  
Accumulated
Amortization
/ Impairment
Loss
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
  Goodwill  
Accumulated
Amortization
/ Impairment
Loss
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
 
                   
Balance as of March 31 $57,070  $(8,673) $48,397  $50,824  $(8,673) $42,151 
Acquisitions  27,996   -   27,996   7,636   -   7,636 
Foreign currency translations  153   -   153   (315)  -   (315)
Balance as of December 31 $85,219  $(8,673) $76,546  $58,145  $(8,673) $49,472 

All of our goodwillintangible assets that are individually identified and separately recognized in business combinations. Our entire balance as of December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017 was assigned2020, relates to our technology reportable segment, which iswe also a singledetermined to be 1 reporting unit. See The carrying value of goodwill was $126.9 and $118.1 million as of December 31, 2020, and March 31, 2020, respectively. The increase in the balance during the nine months ended December 31, 2020, is due to our acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Systems Management and Planning, Inc. (“SMP”), and changes in foreign currency translation of $0.2 million. Refer to Note 15, "Business Combinations16", “Business Combinations” for additional information regarding our acquisitions.details.


We performedtest goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, as of the first day of our third fiscal quarter, and between annual tests if an event occurs, or circumstances change, that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. In our annual test for goodwill impairment for fiscal year 2018 as of October 1, 2017. We2020, we performed a qualitative assessment of goodwill and concluded that, more likely than not, the fair value of our technology reporting unit more likely than not, exceededcontinued to substantially exceed its respective carrying value as.

During the fourth quarter of October 1, 2017.

We performed our annual test forfiscal year 2020, we determined that the uncertainty associated with the economic environment stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic was a triggering event and we elected to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment for fiscal year 2017 as of October 1, 2016.test. We elected to bypassconcluded that the qualitative assessment of goodwill and estimate the fair value of our reporting units. The fair value of our technology reporting unit substantially exceeded its carrying value as of October 1, 2016.March 31, 2020. Our conclusions would not be impacted by a ten percent10percent change in our estimate of the fair value of the reporting unit.


OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS


Our
Our other intangible assets consist of the following aton December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 20172020 (in thousands):
 
  December 31, 2017  March 31, 2017 
  
Gross
Carrying
Amount
  
Accumulated
Amortization
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
  
Gross
Carrying
Amount
  
Accumulated
Amortization
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
 
                   
Customer relationships & other intangibles $41,777  $(16,792) $24,985  $23,373  $(12,553) $10,820 
Capitalized software development  4,908   (2,479)  2,429   3,649   (2,310)  1,339 
Total $46,685  $(19,271) $27,414  $27,022  $(14,863) $12,159 


 December 31, 2020  March 31, 2020 
  
Gross
Carrying
Amount
  
Accumulated
Amortization
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
  
Gross
Carrying
Amount
  
Accumulated
Amortization
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
 
                   
Customer relationships & other intangibles $77,307  $(39,371) $37,936  $63,006  $(33,000) $30,006 
Capitalized software development  10,537   (6,845)  3,692   10,385   (5,927)  4,458 
Total $87,844  $(46,216) $41,628  $73,391  $(38,927) $34,464 
Customer relationships and capitalized software development costs are amortized over an estimated useful life, which is generally between 3 to 8 years. Trade names and trademarks are amortized over an estimated useful life of 10 years.


Customer relationships and other intangibles increased for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 dueare generally amortized between 5 to business acquisitions by $18.4 million, of which $2.4 million is internally developed processes, $15.7 million is customer relationships, $0.2 million is due to foreign exchange translation, and $0.1 million in capitalized 10 years.Capitalizedsoftware development costs. is generally amortized over 5 years.

Total amortization expense for other intangible assets was $1.9$2.3 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020 and $4.2$2.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, and $3.4$7.3 million and $7.5 million for the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, respectively. The change in the gross carrying amount of other intangible asset is due to the addition of a customer relationship intangible asset of $14.3 million from our acquisition of SMP. Refer to Note 16, “Business Combinations” for details.


See Note 15, “Business Combinations” for additional information regarding acquired intangibles.

5.7.
RESERVESALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES


ActivityThe following table provides the activity in our reservesallowance for credit losses for the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016 were as follows2019 (in thousands):


 
Accounts
Receivable
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease-Related
Receivables
  Total  
Accounts
Receivable
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease
Receivables
  Total 
Balance April 1, 2017 $1,279  $3,434  $679  $5,392 
Balance April 1, 2020 $1,781  $798  $610  $3,189 
Provision for credit losses  165   37   106   308   866   570   484   1,920 
Write-offs and other  -   (3,020)  (164)  (3,184)  (46)  (88)  (6)  (140)
Balance December 31, 2017 $1,444  $451  $621  $2,516 
Balance December 31, 2020 $2,601  $1,280  $1,088  $4,969 


 
Accounts
Receivable
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease-Related
Receivables
  Total  
Accounts
Receivable
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease
Receivables
  Total 
Balance April 1, 2016 $1,127  $3,381  $685  $5,193 
Balance April 1, 2019 $1,579  $505  $530  $2,614 
Provision for credit losses  229   139   93   461   107   283   114   504 
Write-offs and other  (32)  (12)  -   (44)  (304)  0   (2)  (306)
Balance December 31, 2016 $1,324  $3,508  $778  $5,610 
Balance December 31, 2019 $1,382  $788  $642  $2,812 

15
16

Our reserves
The following table provides our allowance for credit losses and minimum payments associated with our notes receivables and lease-related receivables disaggregated based on the basis of our impairment method were as followsof March 31, 2020 (in thousands):


 December 31, 2017  March 31, 2017  March 31, 2020 
 
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease-
Related
Receivables
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease-
Related
Receivables
  
Notes
Receivable
  
Lease
Receivables
 
Reserves for credit losses:            
Allowance for credit losses:      
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $389  $621  $348  $556  $736  $610 
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment  62   -   3,086   123   62   0 
Ending balance $451  $621  $3,434  $679  $798  $610 
                        
Minimum payments:                        
Ending balance: collectively evaluated for impairment $59,382  $73,022  $45,438  $57,730  $55,005  $69,492 
Ending balance: individually evaluated for impairment  62   -   3,086   142   412   0 
Ending balance $59,444  $73,022  $48,524  $57,872  $55,417  $69,492 


We place receivables on non-accrual status when events, such as a customer’s declaring bankruptcy, occur that indicate a receivable will not be collectable. We charge off uncollectable financing receivables when we stop pursuing collection. As of March 31, 2017 we had a balance outstanding as of $3.2 million for a customer in bankruptcy which was fully reserved and on a non-accrual status. We wrote off this balance against the reserve for credit losses during the nine months ended December 31, 2017, after the bankruptcy case was substantially complete.

The age of the recorded minimum lease payments and net credit exposure associated withevaluate our investment in direct financing and sales-type leases that are past due disaggregated based on ourcustomers using an internally assigned credit quality rating (“CQR”) were as follows:

High CQR:This rating includes accounts with excellent to good business credit, asset quality and capacity to meet financial obligations. Loss rates in this category are generally less than 1%.

Average CQR:This rating includes accounts with average credit risk that are more susceptible to loss in the event of adverse business or economic conditions. Loss rates in this category are generally in the range of 2% to 10%.

Low CQR:This rating includes accounts that have marginal credit risk such that the customer’s ability to make repayment is impaired or may likely become impaired. The loss rates in this category in the normal course are generally in the range of 10% to 100%.

The following table provides the amortized cost basis of our financing receivables by CQR and by credit origination year as of December 31, 2017 and March 31, 20172020 (in thousands):


 
31-60
Days
Past
Due
  
61-90
Days
Past
Due
  
Greater
than 90
Days
Past
Due
  
Total
Past
 Due
  Current  
Unbilled
Minimum
Lease
Payments
  
Total
Minimum
Lease
Payments
  
Unearned
Income
  
Non-
Recourse
Notes
Payable
  
Net
Credit
Exposure
  Amortized cost basis by origination year ending March 31,          
                               2021  2020  2019  2018  2017  Total  
Transfers
(2)
  
Net
credit
exposure
 
December 31, 2017                            
                        
Notes receivable:                        
                                                      
High CQR $188  $90  $907  $1,185  $18,238  $30,496  $49,919  $(3,027) $(14,420) $32,472  $82,424  $6,952  $1,259  $856  $27  $91,518  $(60,295) $31,223 
Average CQR  30   36   216   282   124   22,697   23,103   (1,385)  (11,413)  10,305   14,922   3,945   576   36   0   19,479   (6,999)  12,480 
Low CQR  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   0   0   324   0   0   324   0   324 
Total $218  $126  $1,123  $1,467  $18,362  $53,193  $73,022  $(4,412) $(25,833) $42,777  $97,346  $10,897  $2,159  $892  $27  $111,321  $(67,294) $44,027 
                                                                        
March 31, 2017                                     
Lease receivables:                                
                                                                        
High CQR $379  $224  $230  $833  $406  $32,532  $33,771  $(2,362) $(12,924) $18,485  $39,177  $8,137  $2,273  $713  $299  $50,599  $(18,555) $32,044 
Average CQR  113   20   113   246   91   23,622   23,959   (1,556)  (13,353)  9,050   25,059   7,709   1,751   403   49   34,971   (4,792)  30,179 
Low CQR  -   -   142   142   -   -   142   (19)  -   123   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Total $492  $244  $485  $1,221  $497  $56,154  $57,872  $(3,937) $(26,277) $27,658  $64,236  $15,846  $4,024  $1,116  $348  $85,570  $(23,347) $62,223 
Total amortized cost (1) $161,582  $26,743  $6,183  $2,008  $375  $196,891  $(90,641) $106,250 

(1)
Unguaranteed residual values of $12,314 thousand that we retained after selling the related lease receivable and initial direct costs of notes receivable of $464 thousand are excluded from amortized cost.
(2)Transfers consist of receivables that have been transferred to third-party financial institutions on a non-recourse basis and receivables that are in the process of being transferred to third-party financial institutions.

16
17

The agefollowing table provides an aging analysis of the recordedour financing receivables as of December 31, 2020 (in thousands):

 
31-60
Days Past
Due
  
61-90
Days Past
Due
  
> 90
Days Past
Due
  
Total
Past Due
  Current  
Total
Billed
  
Unbilled
  
Amortized
Cost
 
Notes receivable $406  $2,264  $967  $3,637  $8,839  $12,476  $98,845  $111,321 
Lease receivables  4,272   1,832   1,295   7,399   3,584   10,983   74,587   85,570 
Total $4,678  $4,096  $2,262  $11,036  $12,423  $23,459  $173,432  $196,891 

The following table provides an aging analysis of our lease receivables by CQR as of March 31, 2020 (in thousands):

 
31-60
Days
Past
Due
  
61-90
Days
Past
Due
  
Greater
than 90
Days
Past
Due
  
Total
Past
Due
  Current  
Unbilled
Minimum
Lease
Payments
  
Total
Minimum
Lease
Payments
  
Unearned
Income
  
Non-
Recourse
Notes
Payable
  
Net
Credit
Exposure
 
                               
High CQR $951  $105  $922  $1,978  $1,181  $33,581  $36,740  $(4,766) $(19,823) $12,151 
Average CQR  46   107   112   265   1,106   31,381   32,752   (3,646)  (18,693)  10,413 
Low CQR  0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0 
Total $997  $212  $1,034  $2,243  $2,287  $64,962  $69,492  $(8,412) $(38,516) $22,564 

The following table provides an aging analysis of our notes receivable balance disaggregated basedby CQR as of March 31, 2020 (in thousands):

 
31-60
Days
Past
Due
  
61-90
Days
Past
Due
  
Greater
than 90
Days
Past Due
  
Total
Past
Due
  Current  
Unbilled
Notes
Receivable
  
Total
Notes
Receivable
  
Non-
Recourse
Notes
Payable
  
Net
Credit
Exposure
 
                            
High CQR $1,332  $2  $280  $1,614  $2,878  $29,057  $33,549  $(18,341) $15,208 
Average CQR  140   44   142   326   1,135   19,995   21,456   (16,636)  4,820 
Low CQR  63   0   152   215   0   197   412   0   412 
Total $1,535  $46  $574  $2,155  $4,013  $49,249  $55,417  $(34,977) $20,440 

Our financial assets on our internally assigned CQRnonaccrual status were not significant as follows asof December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017 (in thousands):2020.

  
31-60
Days
Past
Due
  
61-90
Days
Past
Due
  
Greater
than 90
Days
Past Due
  
Total
Past
Due
  Current  
Unbilled
Notes
 Receivable
  
Total
Notes
Receivable
  
Non-
Recourse
Notes
Payable
  
Net
Credit
Exposure
 
                            
December 31, 2017                           
                            
High CQR $4  $-  $833  $837  $2,071  $35,001  $37,909  $(21,971) $15,938 
Average CQR  1,086   4   599   1,689   8   19,776   21,473   (15,555)  5,918 
Low CQR  -   -   62   62   -   -   62   -   62 
Total $1,090  $4  $1,494  $2,588  $2,079  $54,777  $59,444  $(37,526) $21,918 
                                     
March 31, 2017                                 
                                     
High CQR $183  $663  $755  $1,601  $1,165  $23,359  $26,125  $(12,003) $14,122 
Average CQR  28   5   -   33   555   18,725   19,313   (13,732)  5,581 
Low CQR  -   -   3,086   3,086   -   -   3,086   -   3,086 
Total $211  $668  $3,841  $4,720  $1,720  $42,084  $48,524  $(25,735) $22,789 


We estimate losses on our net credit exposure to be between 0% - 5% for customers with highest CQR, as these customers are investment grade or the equivalent
18



6.8.PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES


Our property, equipment, other assets and liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):


  
December 31,
2017
  
March 31,
2017
 
Other current assets:
      
Deposits & funds held in escrow $14,819  $39,161 
Prepaid assets  10,429   3,388 
Other  722   815 
Total other current assets $25,970  $43,364 
         
Property, equipment and other assets
        
Property and equipment, net $8,013  $6,690 
Deferred costs  7,326   3,536 
Other  2,293   1,730 
Total other assets - long term $17,632  $11,956 

 
December 31,
2017
  
March 31,
2017
  
December 31,
2020
  
March 31,
2020
 
Other current liabilities:
      
Other current assets:      
Deposits & funds held in escrow $376  $926 
Prepaid assets  7,626   7,946 
Other  512   384 
Total $8,514  $9,256 
        
Property, equipment and other assets
        
Property and equipment, net $7,921  $7,153 
Deferred costs - non-current  20,650   10,957 
Right-of-use assets  9,986   13,066 
Other  4,830   1,420 
Total $43,387  $32,596 
        
Other current liabilities:
        
Accrued expenses $7,907  $7,450  $13,054  $10,024 
Accrued income taxes payable  170   1,761   2,249   406 
Contingent consideration  5,360   554 
Contingent consideration - current  0   220 
Short-term lease liability  4,292   4,815 
Other  12,679   9,414   11,500   7,521 
Total other current liabilities $26,116  $19,179 
Total $31,095  $22,986 
                
Other liabilities:
        
Other liabilities:
        
Deferred revenue $10,064  $4,704  $28,708  $16,693 
Contingent consideration long-term  7,765   1,500 
Long-term lease liability  5,941   8,326 
Other  689   876   5,183   2,708 
Total other liabilities - long term $18,518  $7,080 
Total $39,832  $27,727 
17

As of December 31, 2017 we had current and long-term contingent consideration liability balance of $5.4 and $7.8 million, respectively, of which $10.0 million relates to a recent acquisition. For details on the contingent consideration liability, refer to Note 15, “Business Combinations.”

As of December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017 we had customer deposits and funds held in escrow of $14.8 million and $39.2 million, respectively. These balances relate to financial assets that were sold to third-party banks. In conjunction with those sales, a portion of the proceeds were placed in escrow and will be released to us upon payment of outstanding invoices related to the underlying financing arrangements that were sold.

7.9.
CREDIT FACILITY AND NOTES PAYABLE AND CREDIT FACILITY


Credit Facility
Non-recourse and recourse obligations consist of the following (in thousands):

  
December 31,
2017
  
March 31,
2017
 
Recourse notes payable with interest rates ranging from 3.20% to 4.13% as of March 31, 2017.      
Current $-  $908 
         
Non-recourse notes payable secured by financing receivables and investment in operating leases with interest rates ranging from  2.00% to 8.45% December 31, 2017, and ranging from 2.00% to 7.75% as of March 31, 2017.        
Current $27,649  $26,085 
Long-term  3,840   10,431 
Total non-recourse notes payable $31,489  $36,516 

Principal and interest payments on non-recourse notes payable are generally due monthly in amounts that are approximately equal to the total payments due from the customer under the leases or notes receivable that collateralize the notes payable. The weighted average interest rate forWithin our non-recourse notes payable was 3.73%, as of both December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017. The weighted average interest rate for our recourse notes payable was 3.45%, as of March 31, 2017. Under recourse financing, in the event of a default by a customer, the lender has recourse to the customer, the assets serving as collateral, and us. Under non-recourse financing, in the event of a default by a customer, the lender generally only has recourse against the customer, and the assets serving as collateral, but not against us.

Our technology segment, through our subsidiary ePlus Technology, inc., finances and certain of its subsidiaries finance their operations with funds generated from operations, and with a credit facility with Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance, LLC (“WFCDF”). This facility provides short-term capital for our technology segment. There are two2 components of the WFCDF credit facility: (1) a floor plan component and (2) an accounts receivable component.

Under the floor plan component, we had outstanding balances of $107.8$177.1 million and $132.6$127.4 million as of December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017, respectively. Under2020, respectively, and are presented as accounts payable – floorplan. The fair value of the accounts receivable component, we had no outstanding balancesbalance under the credit facility was equal to its carrying value as of December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017.2020.


On July 27, 2017,May 15, 2020, we executed an amendment to the WFCDF credit facility which temporarily increasesthat increased the aggregate limit of the two2 components, from $250.0 millionexcept during a temporary uplift, to $325.0 million from the date of the agreement through October 31, 2017, and provides us$275 million. Additionally, we have an election beginning July 1 in each subsequent year to similarly temporarily increase the aggregate limit to $350 million for a period of not less than 30 days, provided that all such periods shall not exceed 150 days in the aggregate in any calendar year. Further, the amendment increased the limit on the accounts receivable component of the WFCDF credit facility to $100 million, changed the interest rate to two componentspercent (2.00%) plus the greater of one month LIBOR or seventy-five hundredths of one percent (0.75%), and modified certain restrictions on ePlus Technology, inc.’s ability to $325.0 million ending the earlierpay dividends to ePlus inc.

19


As of December 31, 2017,2020, the facility agreement had an aggregate limit of the two2 components of $250the credit facility was $275 million, and the accounts receivable component had a sub-limit of $30 million, which bears interest assessed at a rate$100 million. Our borrowing availability under the credit facility varies based upon the value of the One Month LIBOR plus tworeceivables and one half percent.inventory of ePlus Technology, inc., and certain of its subsidiaries. Under the accounts receivable component, we had 0 outstanding balance as of December 31, 2020 and $35 million outstanding as of March 31, 2020. The accounts receivable component is presented as recourse notes payable – current.
18


The WFCDF credit facility has full recourse to is secured by the assets of ePlus Technology, inc. and is securedcertain of its subsidiaries. Additionally, the credit facility requires a guaranty of $10.5 million by a blanket lien against all its assets, such as receivables and inventory. Availability under the facility may be limited by the asset value of equipment we purchase or accounts receivable, and may be further limited by certain covenants and terms and conditions of the facility. These covenants include but are not limited to a minimum excess availability of the facility and minimum earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of ePlus Technology, inc. We were in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2017. In addition, the

The credit facility restricts the ability of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries to transfer funds to its affiliates in the form of dividends, loans or advances with certain exceptions forpay dividends to ePlus inc. unless their available borrowing meets certain thresholds. As of December 31, 2020, their available borrowing met the threshold such that there were no restricted net assets of ePlus Technology, inc.

The credit facility also requires that financial statements of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries be provided within 45 days of each quarter and 90 days of each fiscal year end and also includesrequires that other operational reports be provided on a regular basis. Either party may terminate with 90 days’ advance notice. We are not, and do not believe that we are reasonably likely to be, in breach of the WFCDF credit facility. In addition, we do not believe that the covenants of the WFCDF credit facility materially limit our ability to undertake financing. In this regard, the covenants apply only to our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc. This credit facility is secured by the assets of only ePlus Technology, inc. and the guaranty as described below.


The facility provided by WFCDF requires a guaranty of $10.5 million by ePlus inc. The guaranty requires ePlus inc. to deliver its annual audited financial statements by certain dates. We have delivered the annual audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2017, as required. The loss of the WFCDF credit facility could have a material adverse effect on our future results as we currently rely on this facility and its components for daily working capital and liquidity for our technology segment and as an operational function of our accounts payable process.


Fair ValueRecourse Notes Payable


Recourse notes payable consist of borrowings that, in the event of default, the lender has recourse against us in addition to the assets serving as collateral.

As of March 31, 2020, we had $2.3 million of recourse borrowings that were collateralized by investments in notes receivable and leases. We had 0 recourse borrowings as of December 31, 2020. Our principal and interest payments are generally due monthly in amounts that equal to the total payments due from the customer under the leases or notes receivable that collateralize the notes payable. The weighted average interest rate for these borrowings was 2.55% as of March 31, 2020.

Non-recourse Notes Payable

Non-recourse notes payable consists of borrowings that, in the event of a default by a customer, the lender generally only has recourse against the customer, and the assets serving as collateral, but not against us. As of December 31, 20172020, and March 31, 2017,2020, we had $68.3 million and $35.5 million, respectively, of non-recourse borrowings that were collateralized by investments in notes and leases. Principal and interest payments are generally due monthly in amounts that are approximately equal to the fair value oftotal payments due from the customer under the leases or notes receivable that collateralize the notes payable. The weighted average interest rate for our long-term recourse and non-recourse notes payable approximated their carrying value.was 3.57% and 3.84%, as of December 31, 2020, and March 31, 2020, respectively.


8.10.COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES


Legal Proceedings


From time to time, we may be subject toinvolved in routine legal proceedings, as well as demands, claims and threatened litigation that arise in the ordinarynormal course of business. our business and that have not been fully resolved. The ultimate amount of liability, if any, for any claims of any type (either alone or in the aggregate) may materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. In addition, the opinionultimate outcome of any litigation is inherently uncertain. Any outcome, whether favorable or unfavorable, may materially and adversely affect us due to legal costs and expenses, diversion of management there was not at least a reasonable possibilityattention and other factors. We expense legal costs in the period incurred. We cannot assure that the Company may have incurred a material loss, or a material loss in excessadditional contingencies of a recorded accrual, with respect to losslegal nature or contingencies forhaving legal aspects will not be asserted legal and other claims. However, the outcome of legal proceedings and claims brought against us is subjectin the future, and these matters could relate to significant uncertainty. Therefore, although management considers the likelihoodprior, current or future transactions or events.

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9.11.EARNINGS PER SHARE


Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net earnings available to common shareholders by the basic weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net earnings available to common shareholders by the basic weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding plus common stock equivalents during each period.
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The following table provides a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used to calculate basic and diluted net income per common share as disclosed on our unaudited consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 20162019, respectively (in thousands, except per share data).


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
 2017  2016  2017  2016  2020  2019  2020  2019 
                        
Net earnings attributable to common shareholders - basic and diluted $15,581  $12,620  $46,225  $40,066  $21,638  $19,550  $58,844  $55,836 
                                
Basic and diluted common shares outstanding:
                                
Weighted average common shares outstanding — basic  13,851   13,791   13,845   13,891   13,332   13,320   13,342   13,329 
Effect of dilutive shares  139   129   177   135   46   58   60   81 
Weighted average shares common outstanding — diluted  13,990   13,920   14,022   14,026   13,378   13,378   13,402   13,410 
                                
Earnings per common share - basic $1.12  $0.92  $3.34  $2.88  $1.62  $1.47  $4.41  $4.19 
                                
Earnings per common share - diluted $1.11  $0.91  $3.30  $2.86  $1.62  $1.46  $4.39  $4.16 

10.12.
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY


Share Repurchase Plan


On August 15, 2017, May 24, 2019, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000 shares of our outstanding common stock over a 12-month period beginning May 28, 2019, and ending on August 19, 2017 through August 18, 2018. May 27, 2020. The plan authorized purchases to be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes.

On May 20, 2020, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000 shares of our outstanding common stock over a 12-month period beginning May 28, 2020, and ending on May 27, 2021. The former repurchase plan expired on August 18, 2017.authorized purchases to be made from time to time in the open market, or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to availability. Any repurchased shares will have the status of treasury shares and may be used, when needed, for general corporate purposes.


During the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, we purchased 125,60559,101 shares of our outstanding common stock at an average costa value of $77.88 per share for a total purchase price of $9.8$4.2 million under the share repurchase plan. Weplan; we also acquired 57,725purchased 37,640 shares of common stock at a value of $4.4$2.7 million to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.


During the nine months ended December 31, 2016,2019, we purchased 656,962149,044 shares of our outstanding common stock at an average costa value of $40.81 per share for a total purchase price of $26.8$10.7 million under the share repurchase plan. Weplan; we also purchased 59,47241,817 shares of common stock at a value of $2.6$3.0 million to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock.



11.13.SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION


Share-Based Plans


As of December 31, 2017,2020, we had share-based awards outstanding under the followingplans: (1) the 2008 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2008 Director LTIP”), (2) the 2017 Non-Employee Director Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2017 Director LTIP”), and (3)(2) the 2012 Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan ("2012 Employee LTIP"). TheThese share-based plans define fair market value as the previous trading day's closing price when the grant date falls on a date the stock was not traded.

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Restricted Stock Activity


For the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, we granted 535 restricted shares under the 2008 Director LTIP, 5,3109,871 restricted shares under the 2017 Director LTIP, and 66,53089,873 restricted shares under the 2012 Employee LTIP. For the nine months ended December 31, 2016,2019, we granted 11,3848,646 restricted shares under the 20082017 Director LTIP, and 134,53885,132 restricted shares under the 2012 Employee LTIP. A summary of the restricted shares is as follows:


 Number of Shares  
Weighted Average
Grant-date Fair Value
  
Number of
Shares
  
Weighted
Average Grant-
date Fair Value
 
            
Nonvested April 1, 2017  371,689  $40.45 
Nonvested April 1, 2020  193,580  $73.74 
Granted  72,375  $80.25   99,744  $71.82 
Vested  (156,240) $38.52   (110,292) $70.01 
Forfeited  (4,108) $39.37   0  $0 
Nonvested December 31, 2017  283,716  $51.68 
Nonvested December 31, 2020  183,032  $74.94 

Upon each vesting period of the restricted stock awards, employees are subject to minimum tax withholding obligations. Under the 2012 Employee LTIP, we may purchase a sufficient number of shares due to the participant to satisfy their minimum tax withholding on employee stock awards. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, the Company had acquired 57,7252020, we withheld 37,640 shares of common stock at a value of $4.4$2.7 million, to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting of employees’ restricted stock, which was included in treasury stock.


Compensation Expense


We recognize compensation cost for awards of restricted stock with graded vesting on a straight linestraight-line basis over the requisite service period. There are no additional conditions for vesting other than service conditions. During the three months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized $1.7$1.8 million and $1.5$2.0 million respectively, of total share-based compensation expense.expense, respectively. During the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized $4.9$5.4 million and $4.5$6.0 million respectively, of total share-based compensation expense.expense, respectively. Unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock was $11.1$9.9 million as of December 31, 2017,2020, which will be fully recognized over the next thirty (30)30 months.


We also provide our employees with a contributory 401(k) profit sharing plan. Weplan, to which we may make contributionscontribute from time to the plan. These contributions are not required and whether or not we choose to make them is entirely withintime at our sole discretion. Our employerEmployer contributions to the plan are fully vested at all times. For the three months ended December 31, 20172020 and 2016, our2019, our estimated contribution expense for the plan was $0.5$0.9 million and $0.5$0.8 million, respectively. For the nine months ended December 31, 20172020 and 2016,2019, our estimated contribution expense for the plan was $1.6$2.2 million and $1.2$2.2 million, respectively.respectively.


12.14.INCOME TAXES

Income Taxes – Provision

Our provision for income tax expense was $0.7 million and $19.5 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, as compared to $8.7 million and $27.3 million for the same periods in the prior year. Our effective income tax rate for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, was 4.2% and 29.7%, respectively, compared to 40.8% and 40.5% for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, respectively. In the third quarter, the Company revised its estimated annual effective tax rate to reflect a change in the federal statutory rate from 35% to 21%, resulting from legislation that was enacted on December 22, 2017. The rate change is administratively effective at the beginning of our current fiscal year, using a blended rate for the annual period. As a result, the blended statutory tax rate for our current year is 31.5%. In addition, we recognized an estimated tax benefit in our tax provision for the period related to adjusting our deferred tax balance to reflect the new corporate tax rate. As a result, income tax expense reported for the first nine months was adjusted to reflect the effects of the change in the tax law and resulted in a decrease in income tax expense of $2.6 million during the third quarter. In addition we estimated the tax effect of originating items occurring in the fourth quarter that are expected to reverse at a rate of 21%. This resulted in an additional tax benefit of $0.8 million.
The accounting for the effects of the rate change on deferred tax balances is provisional and we will finalize these estimates during our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018. We re-measured certain deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21%. However, we are still analyzing certain aspects of the new tax law and refining our calculations, which could potentially affect the measurement of these balances or potentially give rise to new deferred tax amounts.
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Income Taxes – Uncertain Tax Positions


We account for our tax positions in accordance with ASCCodification Topic 740, Income Taxes. Under the guidance, we evaluate uncertain tax positions based on the two-step approach. The first step is to evaluate each uncertain tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained in an audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. For tax positions that are not likely of  being sustained upon audit, the second step requires us to estimate and measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

Our total gross unrecognized tax benefits recorded for uncertain income tax, and interest and penalties thereon, were negligible as of December 31, 2017,2020, and December 31, 2016.2019. We had no0 additions or reductions to our gross unrecognized tax benefits during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017.2020. We recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.


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13.15.FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS


We account for the fair values of our assets and liabilities in accordance with ASCCodification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure.The following table summarizes the fair value hierarchy of our financial instruments as of December 31, 20172020 and March 31, 20172020 (in thousands):


    Fair Value Measurement Using     Fair Value Measurement Using 
 
Recorded
Amount
  
Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
  
Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs (Level 2)
  
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
  
Recorded
Amount
  
Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
  
Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
  
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 
                        
December 31, 2017
            
December 31, 2020
            
Assets:            
Money market funds $5,134  $5,134  $0  $0 
                
March 31, 2020
                
Assets:                            
Money market funds $21,596  $21,596  $-  $-  $128  $128  $0  $0 
                                
Liabilities:                                
Contingent consideration $13,125  $-  $-  $13,125  $220  $0  $0  $220 
                
March 31, 2017
                
Assets:                
Money market funds $50,866  $50,866  $-  $- 
                
Liabilities:                
Contingent consideration $554  $-  $-  $554 

For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, we did 0t record significant adjustments to our liability for contingent consideration arising from a past business combination. In August 2020, we paid $219 thousand to fully satisfy the obligations of our contingent consideration arrangement.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2019, we recorded adjustments to operating expenses that increased the fair value of our liability for contingent consideration by $0.7 million, and $12.6 million due$1.5 million. There were 0 adjustments to business acquisitions. Foroperating expenses for the ninethree months ended December 31, 2017,2019. In September 2019, we made $0.6reached a settlement in full of one of our contingent consideration arrangements in the amount of $9.6 million, which was paid in paymentsOctober 2019. Additionally, in September 2019, we paid $0.5 million to satisfy thecertain current obligations in another of the contingent consideration arrangement from our earlier acquisition of Consolidated IT Services.these arrangements.


14.16.SEGMENT REPORTINGBUSINESS COMBINATIONS


Systems Management Planning (SMP)
Our operations are conducted through two operating segments that are also both reportable segments. Our technology segment includes sales of information technology products, third-party software, third-party maintenance, advanced professional and managed services and our proprietary software to commercial enterprises, state and local governments, and government contractors. Our financing segment consists of the financing of IT equipment, software and related services to commercial enterprises, state and local governments, and government contractors. We measure the performance of the segments based on operating income.
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Our reportable segment information was as follows (in thousands):

  Three Months Ended 
  December 31, 2017  December 31, 2016 
  Technology  Financing  Total  Technology  Financing  Total 
                   
Sales of product and services $330,953  $-  $330,953  $317,391  $-  $317,391 
Financing revenue  -   9,592   9,592   -   8,190   8,190 
Fee and other income  1,678   346   2,024   915   161   1,076 
Net sales  332,631   9,938   342,569   318,306   8,351   326,657 
                         
Cost of sales, product and services  264,487   -   264,487   251,729   -   251,729 
Direct lease costs  -   1,394   1,394   -   1,142   1,142 
Cost of sales  264,487   1,394   265,881   251,729   1,142   252,871 
                         
Selling, general, and administrative expenses  53,836   3,298   57,134   47,780   2,380   50,160 
Depreciation and amortization  2,893   1   2,894   1,908   2   1,910 
Interest and financing costs  -   270   270   -   409   409 
Operating expenses  56,729   3,569   60,298   49,688   2,791   52,479 
                         
Operating income $11,415  $4,975  $16,390  $16,889  $4,418  $21,307 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Statement of Cash Flow
                     
Depreciation and amortization $3,157  $1,422  $4,579  $1,941  $985  $2,926 
Purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment $2,018  $844  $2,862  $849  $3,282  $4,131 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Balance Sheet
                     
Total assets $595,584  $169,069  $764,653  $546,728  $189,950  $736,678 

  Nine Months Ended 
  December 31, 2017  December 31, 2016 
  Technology  Financing  Total  Technology  Financing  Total 
                   
Sales of product and services $1,045,792  $-  $1,045,792  $968,799  $-  $968,799 
Financing revenue  -   30,698   30,698   -   23,899   23,899 
Fee and other income  3,707   374   4,081   3,679   245   3,924 
Net sales  1,049,499   31,072   1,080,571   972,478   24,144   996,622 
                         
Cost of sales, product and services  834,873   -   834,873   769,780   -   769,780 
Direct lease costs  -   3,846   3,846   -   3,459   3,459 
Cost of sales  834,873   3,846   838,719   769,780   3,459   773,239 
                         
Selling, general, and administrative expenses  158,838   9,300   168,138   141,295   8,526   149,821 
Depreciation and amortization  7,084   2   7,086   5,400   8   5,408 
Interest and financing costs  -   903   903   -   1,158   1,158 
Operating expenses  165,922   10,205   176,127   146,695   9,692   156,387 
                         
Operating income $48,704  $17,021  $65,725  $56,003  $10,993  $66,996 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Statement of Cash Flow
                        
Depreciation and amortization $7,413  $3,911  $11,324  $5,494  $3,264  $8,758 
Purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment $4,064  $2,234  $6,298  $2,413  $4,887  $7,300 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Balance Sheet
                     
Total assets $595,584  $169,069  $764,653  $546,728  $189,950  $736,678 
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15.
BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

Integrated Data Storage, LLC acquisition

On September 15, 2017,December 31, 2020, our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc., acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Integrated Data Storage, LLC (“IDS”) thoughSMP, an asset purchase agreement. Headquarteredestablished provider of technology solutions and services in Oak Brook, ILupstate New York and with offices in downtown Chicago and Indianapolis, IDS is an advanced data center solutions provider focused on cloud enablement and managed services, including its proprietary IDS Cloud, which features enterprise-class technology infrastructure coupled with consulting services to support private, hybrid, and public cloud deployments.the Northeast. The acquisition expands enhances ePlus’ footprint across the region, broadens its technology solution offerings especially in the Midwestareas of collaboration and enhances its salessupporting virtual employees, and engineering capabilities in cloud services, disaster recoveryadds to ePlus’ set of commercial, enterprise and backup as a service, storage, data center,state, local, and professional services.education customers.


Our preliminary sum of total consideration transferred is $38.4was $27.1 million consisting of $29.8$29.3 million paid in cash at closing less $1.4$2.2 million in receivablesthat is due back to us asrelated to a working capital adjustment, plus an additional $10.0 million equal to the preliminary fair value of consideration, contingent on the acquiree’s business operations future gross profit. The contingent consideration was calculated using the Monte Carlo simulation model based on our projections of future gross profits. The maximum payout of the contingent consideration is $15.0 million paid over 3 years. adjustment. Our preliminary allocation of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is presented below (in thousands):

  
Acquisition
Date Amount
 
Accounts receivable and other assets $14,353 
Property and equipment  1,620 
Identified intangible assets  13,650 
Accounts payable and other current liabilities  (12,313)
Total identifiable net assets  17,310 
Goodwill  21,088 
Total purchase consideration $38,398 
Our sum for consideration transferred and our allocation of the purchase consideration is preliminary and subject to revision as additional information related to the fair value of assets and liabilities becomes available.
 
Acquisition Date
Amount
 
Accounts receivable $14,329 
Other assets  3,290 
Identified intangible assets  14,270 
Accounts payable and other current liabilities  (11,250)
Performance obligations  (2,180)
     
Total identifiable net assets  18,459 
Goodwill  8,643 
     
Total purchase consideration $27,102 


The identified intangible assets of $13.7$14.3 million consistconsists of customer relationships with an estimated useful life of 8seven years. The fair value of acquired receivables equals the gross contractual amounts receivable. We expect to collect all acquired receivables.


We recognized goodwill related to this transaction of $21.1$8.6 million, which was assigned to our technology reporting unit. The goodwill recognized in the acquisition is attributable to the acquired assembled workforce and expected synergies, none of which qualify for recognition as a separate intangible asset. The total amount of goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The amount of revenues and earnings of the acquiree since the acquisition date are not material. Likewise, the impact to the revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period throughas though the acquisition date had the acquisition date been April 1, 2017,2020, is not material.


OneCloud Consulting Inc. acquisitionAs of our filing date, our accounting for this business combination is incomplete in respect to determining the final consideration transferred and the fair value of assets acquired, and liabilities assumed.


ABS Technology

On May 17, 2017,August 23, 2019, our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc., acquired 100%certain assets and liabilities of the stock of OneCloud Consulting, Inc. (“OneCloud”). BasedABS Technology, a Virginia Beach, Virginia- headquartered solutions provider with deep expertise in Milpitas, CA, OneCloud is a versatile team of highly trained technology consultants, architects, developersmanaged services, networking, collaboration, and instructors. OneCloud enables its customers’ cloudsecurity solutions. ABS Technology enhances ePlus’ existing solutions portfolio and application strategy via professional services, technical educationmarket position in Richmond and software development. The acquisition provides us with additional ability to address customers’ needs in cloud-based solutions and infrastructure, including DevOps, OpenStack, and other emerging technologies, to our broad customer base.southern Virginia.


Our sum of total consideration we transferred was $10.0$15.3 million consisting of $7.9$13.8 million paid in cash at closing netplus $1.7 million that was paid primarily during the year ended March 31, 2020, upon the collection of cash acquired,certain accounts receivable, and $2.1less $0.2 million equalthat was repaid to the fair value of contingent consideration, calculated using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The maximum payout of the contingent consideration is $4.5 million paid over 3 years.
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us in December 2019 due to a working capital adjustment. Our allocation of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is presented below (in thousands):


 
Acquisition
Date Amount
  
Acquisition Date
Amount
 
   
Accounts receivable and other assets $488 
Accounts receivable $9,208 
Other assets  743 
Identified intangible assets  4,130   5,720 
Accounts payable and other current liabilities  (1,822)  (6,715)
Performance obligation  (1,140)
    
Total identifiable net assets  2,796   7,816 
Goodwill  7,189   7,461 
    
Total purchase consideration $9,985  $15,277 


The identified intangible assets of $4.1$5.7 million consist of customer relationships of $1.7 million with an estimated useful life of 8 years, and internally developed processesseven (7) years. The fair value of $2.4 million with an estimated useful life of 5 years.acquired receivables equals the gross contractual amounts receivable. We expect to collect all acquired receivables.


We recognized goodwill related to this transaction of $7.2$7.5 million, which was assigned to our technology reporting unit. The goodwill recognized in the acquisition is attributable to the acquired assembled workforce and expected synergies, none of which qualify for recognition as a separate intangible asset. The total amount of goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The amount of revenues and earnings of the acquiree since the acquisition date are not material. Likewise, the impact to the revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the current reporting period throughas though the acquisition date had the acquisition date been April 1, 2017,2019, is not material.

Consolidated
17.SEGMENT REPORTING

Our operations are conducted through 2 operating segments that are also both reportable segments. Our technology segment includes sales of IT Services acquisition

On December 6, 2016,products, third-party software, third-party maintenance, advanced professional and managed services, and our subsidiary ePlus Technology, inc., acquired certain assetsproprietary software to commercial enterprises, state and assumed certain liabilities of Consolidated IT Services. Consolidated IT Services’ business provides data center, unified communications, networking,local governments, and security solutions to a diverse set of domestic and international customers including commercial, enterprise, and state, local, and education (SLED) organizations in the upper Midwest. Acquiring Consolidated IT Services expanded our reach to the upper Midwest, a new geography for ePlus, and enables us to market our advanced technology solutions to their long-standing customer base.

The total purchase price is $13.1 million including $9.5 million paid in cash at closing and $4.0 million that will be paid in cash in equal quarterly installments over 2 years, less $0.4 million paid back to us as partgovernment contractors. Our financing segment consists of the final working capital adjustment. Our allocationfinancing of IT equipment, software, and related services to commercial enterprises, state and local governments, and government contractors. We measure the performance of the purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities is presented below (in thousands):segments based on operating income.


  
Acquisition
Date Amount
 
Accounts receivable and other current assets $7,491 
Property and equipment  1,045 
Identified intangible assets  4,090 
Accounts payable and other current liabilities  (5,786)
Total identifiable net assets  6,840 
Goodwill  6,227 
Total purchase consideration $13,067 
In the nine months ended December 31, 2017, we increased identified intangible assets and decreased goodwill by $280 thousand from the provisional amounts recorded as of March 31, 2017.

The identified intangible assets of $4.1 million consist entirely of customer relationships with an estimated useful life of 7 years.

We recognized goodwill related to this transaction of $6.2 million, which was assigned to our technology reporting unit. The goodwill recognized in the acquisition is attributable to the acquired assembled workforce and expected synergies, none of which qualify for recognition as a separate intangible asset. The total amount of goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The amount of revenues and earnings of the acquiree since the acquisition date are not material. Likewise, the impact to the revenue and earnings of the combined entity for the prior reporting period through the acquisition date had the acquisition date been April 1, 2016 is not material.
Our reportable segment information for the three- and nine-month periods ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 are summarized in the following tables (in thousands):

 Three Months Ended 
  December 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
  Technology  Financing  Total  Technology  Financing  Total 
                   
Sales                  
Product $363,478  $12,034  $375,512  $360,206  $18,363  $378,569 
Service  52,092   0   52,092   50,422   0   50,422 
Net sales  415,570   12,034   427,604   410,628   18,363   428,991 
                         
Cost of Sales                        
Product  295,310   2,204   297,514   290,980   2,229   293,209 
Service  31,939   0   31,939   32,086   0   32,086 
Total cost of sales  327,249   2,204   329,453   323,066   2,229   325,295 
Gross Profit  88,321   9,830   98,151   87,562   16,134   103,696 
                         
Selling, general, and administrative  62,377   3,013   65,390   67,759   5,331   73,090 
Depreciation and amortization  3,115   28   3,143   3,619   28   3,647 
Interest and financing costs  0   355   355   0   694   694 
Operating expenses  65,492   3,396   68,888   71,378   6,053   77,431 
                         
Operating income  22,829   6,434   29,263   16,184   10,081   26,265 
                         
Other income          813           997 
                         
Earnings before tax         $30,076          $27,262 
                         
Net Sales                        
Contracts with customers $411,175  $1,904  $413,079  $404,918  $1,689  $406,607 
Financing and other  4,395   10,130   14,525   5,710   16,674   22,384 
Net Sales $415,570  $12,034  $427,604  $410,628  $18,363  $428,991 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Statement of Cash Flow                        
                         
Depreciation and amortization $3,311  $991  $4,302  $3,691  $1,449  $5,140 
Purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment $959  $1  $960  $786  $1,535  $2,321 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Balance Sheet                        
                         
Total assets $887,684  $238,270  $1,125,954  $733,174  $219,434  $952,608 


 Nine Months Ended 
  December 31, 2020  December 31, 2019 
  Technology  Financing  Total  Technology  Financing  Total 
                   
Sales                  
Product $1,026,845  $39,563  $1,066,408  $1,032,620  $45,047  $1,077,667 
Service  149,308   0   149,308   144,261   0   144,261 
Net sales  1,176,153   39,563   1,215,716   1,176,881   45,047   1,221,928 
                         
Cost of Sales                        
Product  820,859   6,252   827,111   825,509   6,626   832,135 
Service  92,935   0   92,935   90,427   0   90,427 
Total cost of sales  913,794   6,252   920,046   915,936   6,626   922,562 
Gross Profit  262,359   33,311   295,670   260,945   38,421   299,366 
                         
Selling, general, and administrative  190,519   11,227   201,746   197,615   11,785   209,400 
Depreciation and amortization  9,916   84   10,000   10,555   112   10,667 
Interest and financing costs  266   913   1,179   0   1,898   1,898 
Operating expenses  200,701   12,224   212,925   208,170   13,795   221,965 
                         
Operating income  61,658   21,087   82,745   52,775   24,626   77,401 
                         
Other income          1,095           912 
                         
Earnings before tax         $83,840          $78,313 
                         
Net Sales                        
Contracts with customers $1,157,519  $3,892  $1,161,411  $1,163,184  $3,889  $1,167,073 
Financing and other  18,634   35,671   54,305   13,697   41,158   54,855 
Net Sales $1,176,153  $39,563  $1,215,716  $1,176,881  $45,047  $1,221,928 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Statement of Cash Flow                        
                         
Depreciation and amortization $10,444  $3,318  $13,762  $10,974  $4,243  $15,217 
Purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment $4,060  $167  $4,227  $3,461  $3,748  $7,209 
                         
Selected Financial Data - Balance Sheet                        
                         
Total assets $887,684  $238,270  $1,125,954  $733,174  $219,434  $952,608 

Technology Segment Disaggregation of Revenue

We analyze net sales for our technology segment by customer end market and by vendor, as opposed to discrete product and service categories, which are summarized for the three and nine month periods ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 in the tables below (in thousands):

 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
Customer end market:            
Technology $57,346  $77,841  $203,634  $251,523 
Telecom, Media & Entertainment  123,441   84,707   277,020   218,217 
Financial Services  60,610   56,395   154,763   149,241 
State and local government and educational institutions  50,703   55,908   197,758   198,964 
Healthcare  44,706   60,275   150,494   176,202 
All others  78,764   75,502   192,484   182,734 
Net sales  415,570   410,628   1,176,153   1,176,881 
                 
Less: Revenue from financing and other  (4,395)  (5,710)  (18,634)  (13,697)
                 
Revenue from contracts with customers $411,175  $404,918  $1,157,519  $1,163,184 

 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
Vendor            
Cisco Systems $132,290  $169,265  $433,388  $488,051 
NetApp  13,861   15,799   39,196   38,997 
HP Inc. & HPE  14,100   15,853   47,533   57,952 
Dell EMC  34,027   12,025   80,457   38,300 
Arista Networks  22,157   12,862   42,420   60,578 
Juniper Networks  29,781   27,419   68,076   58,843��
All others  169,354   157,405   465,083   434,160 
Net sales  415,570   410,628   1,176,153   1,176,881 
                 
Less: Revenue from financing and other  (4,395)  (5,710)  (18,634)  (13,697)
                 
Revenue from contracts with customers $411,175  $404,918  $1,157,519  $1,163,184 

Financing Segment Disaggregation of Revenue

We analyze our revenues within our financing segment based on the nature of the arrangement. Our revenues from contracts with customers within our financing segment consist entirely of proceeds from the sale of off-lease equipment.

Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations


This discussion is intended to further the reader’s understanding of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. It should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 (“20172020 Annual Report”).Report. These historical financial statements may not be indicative of our future performance. This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations may contain forward-looking statements, all of which are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risks described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our 20172020 Annual Report, and in Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Report.


EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW


Business Description


We are a leading solutions provider that delivers actionable outcomes for organizations by utilizing information technology (IT)using IT and consulting solutions to drive business agility and innovation. Leveraging world-classour engineering talent, we assess, plan, deliver, and secure solutions comprised of leading technologies and consumption models aligned with our customers’ needs. Our expertise and experience enables enable ePlus to craft optimized solutions that take advantage of the cost, scale and efficiency of private, public and hybrid cloud in an evolving market. We also provide consulting, staffing, professional, managed, IT staff augmentation, and complete lifecycle management services including flexible financing solutions.and solutions in the areas of security, cloud, networking, data center, collaboration and emerging technologies. We have been in the business of selling, leasing, financing, and managing information technologyIT and other assets for more than 2730 years.


Our primary focus is to deliver integrated technology solutions that address our customers’ Cloud, Security and Digital Infrastructurebusiness needs, forleveraging the appropriate technologies, both on-premise and in the cloud. Our Hybrid IT frameworkapproach is a lifecycle approach that includesto lead with advisory consulting assessment, architecture, testing, implementation, managed services, maintenanceto understand our customers’ needs, and periodic consultative reviews. In additionthen design, deploy and manage solutions aligned to cloud, our portfoliotheir objectives. Underpinning the broader areas of expertise includes software defined, security, IoT,Cloud, Security, Networking, Data Center and Collaboration are specific skills in orchestration and automation, application modernization, DevOps, data andmanagement, data visualization, analytics, mobility, hyper-converged infrastructure,network modernization, edge compute and other advanced and emerging technologies. We design, implement and manage an arrayThese solutions are comprised of IT solutionsclass-leading technologies from multiple leading IT vendors. We are an authorized reseller from over 1,000 vendors, but primarily from approximately 100 vendors, including Artistapartners such as Amazon Web Services, Arista Networks, Blue Coat, Check Point, Cisco Systems, Citrix, Commvault, Dell EMC, Extreme Networks, F5 Networks, Fortinet, Gigamon, HP Inc., HPE, Juniper Networks, Lenovo, Microsoft, NetApp, Nimble Storage,Nutanix, NVIDIA, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint, Pure Storage, Quantum,Qumulo, Rubrik, Splunk, Symantec and VMware, among many others. We possess top-level engineering certifications with a broad range of leading IT vendors that enable us to offer multi-vendor IT solutions that are optimized for each of our customers’ specific requirements. Our hosted, proprietary software solutions are focused on giving our customers more control over their IT supply chain, by automating and optimizing the procurement and management of their owned, leased, and consumption-based assets.


Our scale and financial resources have enabled us to continue investing in engineering and technology resources andto stay current with emerging technology trends. By delivering leading edge Hybrid IT solutions, Our expertise in core and emerging technologies, buttressed by our robust portfolio of consulting, professional, and managed services has enabled ePlus has becometo remain a trusted advisor tofor our customers. Our integrated technology solutions incorporate hardware, software, security and both managed and professional services. In addition, we offer a wide range of consumption options including leasing and financing for technology and other capital assets. We believe our lifecycle approach offering of integrated solutions, services, financing, and our proprietary supply chain software, isare unique in the industry. This broad portfolio enables us to deliver a unique customer experience that spans the continuum from fast delivery of competitively priced products, services, subsequent management and upkeep, through to end-of-life disposal services. This approach also permits usePlus to accommodatedeploy ever-more-sophisticated solutions enabling our customers’ business requirements and deliver ever-more-sophisticated hybrid IT solutions, thus solidifying our relationships and value.outcomes.


Our go-to-market strategy focuses primarily on diverse end-markets for middle market to large enterprises. For the twelve monthstrailing twelve-month period ended December 31, 2017,2020, the percentage of revenue by customer end market within our technology segment includes telecom, media and entertainment 23%, technology industry 25%18%, state and local government and educational institutions 17%(“SLED”) 16%, telecommunications, media and entertainmenthealthcare 14%, and financial services 16%, and healthcare 13%. The majority of our sales were generated within the United States;States (“US”); however, we have the ability to support our customers nationally and internationally, including a presencephysical locations in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”UK”), India and Singapore.India. Our technology segment accountedaccounts for 97% of our net sales, and 70%78% of our operating income, while our financing segment accountedaccounts for 3% of our net sales, and 30%22% of our operating income, for the nine months ended December 31, 2017.2020.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Our Business Operations

The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic continues to have widespread, rapidly evolving, and unpredictable impacts on global society, economies, financial markets, and business practices. Federal, state and local governments and public health authorities have required and may in the future require measures to contain the virus, including social distancing, travel restrictions, border closures, limitations on public gatherings, work from home, safety-related modifications to workplaces, supply chain logistical changes, and closure of non-essential businesses.

As COVID-19 impacts continue to expand across the country and globe, we have been adjusting our business activities for the safety of our employees and to best serve our customers in this rapidly evolving environment. We have implemented a flexible work from home strategy applicable to all offices and operational continuity plans to provide sufficient resources to continue supporting our customers. For employees who wish to return to the office, we have reopened our headquarters with limited capacity and required health and safety protocols in place. We plan to reopen our other offices using a phased approach but currently have not set a schedule to do so. Our configuration centers have remained open with our employees working in them following required health and safety protocols. In addition, we also have a procedure to review and approve employees’ business-related travel. Our managed service teams are distributed across the US with the ability to leverage technology to provide coverage while working from home. While we and many of our customers and vendor partners have restricted travel, we are leveraging video and other collaborative tools to continue to be responsive.

Our account relationship teams are actively engaging with our customers, to ensure they have the support needed in adjusting to changes in the business environment and government directives. In addition, we granted a limited number of customers temporary payment term extensions. Also, we are working closely with our vendor partners to address varying impacts on their supply chain to satisfy infrastructure needs. Certain of our vendor partners extended payment terms to us and our competitors.

We continue to execute against and adjust our business continuity plans to maximize our ability to support our employees and customers in concert with our partners. We have an internal resource page to support specific customer inquiries from security to collaboration to financing options. We remain committed to driving positive business outcomes.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business going forward will depend on numerous evolving factors we cannot reliably predict, including the duration and scope of the pandemic including the impact of various mutations; governmental, business, and individuals’ actions in response to the pandemic; the vaccine effectiveness, duration of the vaccination process, and demand by citizens to be inoculated; and the impact on economic activity including the possibility of recession or financial market instability. These factors may adversely impact business, and government spending on technology as well as our customers’ ability to pay for our products and services on an ongoing basis. This uncertainty also affects management’s accounting estimates and assumptions, which could result in greater variability in a variety of areas that depend on these estimates and assumptions. Refer to Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our 2020 Annual Report.

Key Business Metrics


Our management monitors a number of financial and non-financial measures and ratios on a regular basis in order to track the progress of our business. We believe that the most important of these measures and ratios include net sales, gross margin, gross margin on product and services, operating income margin, net earnings, net earnings per common share, Adjustedadjusted EBITDA, Adjustedadjusted EBITDA margin, Adjustedadjusted gross billings, of product and services, and non-GAAP net earnings per share. We use a variety of operating and other information to evaluate the operating performance of our business, develop financial forecasts, make strategic decisions, and prepare and approve annual budgets.


These key indicators include financial information that is prepared in accordance with U.S.US GAAP and presented in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as well as non-GAAP performance measurement tools. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance or financial position that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.SUS GAAP. Non-GAAP measures used by management may differ from similar measures used by other companies, even when similar terms are used to identify such measures.


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Our key business metrics for the three- and results from those metrics nine-month periods ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 are as follows,summarized in the following tables (dollars in thousands):


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
Consolidated 2020  2019  2020  2019 
Net sales $427,604  $428,991  $1,215,716  $1,221,928 
 2017  2016  2017  2016                 
            
Sales of products and services $330,953  $317,391  $1,045,792  $968,799 
                
Adjusted gross billings of product and services (1) $464,105  $432,407  $1,449,371  $1,317,188 
                
Gross profit $98,151  $103,696  $295,670  $299,366 
Gross margin  22.4%  22.6%  22.4%  22.4%  23.0%  24.2%  24.3%  24.5%
Gross margin, product and services  20.1%  20.7%  20.2%  20.5%
Operating income margin  4.8%  6.5%  6.1%  6.7%  6.8%  6.1%  6.8%  6.3%
                                
Net earnings $15,581  $12,620  $46,225  $40,066  $21,638  $19,550  $58,844  $55,836 
Net earnings margin  4.5%  3.9%  4.3%  4.0%  5.1%  4.6%  4.8%  4.6%
Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.11  $0.91  $3.30  $2.86  $1.62  $1.46  $4.39  $4.16 
                                
Non-GAAP: Net earnings (2) $13,574  $15,621  $44,013  $43,710 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted (2) $0.97  $1.12  $3.14  $3.12 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings (1) $23,929  $21,941  $66,606  $65,628 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted (1) $1.79  $1.64  $4.97  $4.89 
                                
Adjusted EBITDA (3) $19,284  $23,217  $72,811  $72,404 
Adjusted EBITDA margin (3)  5.6%  7.1%  6.7%  7.3%
Adjusted EBITDA (2) $34,395  $31,856  $98,670  $95,828 
Adjusted EBITDA margin  8.0%  7.4%  8.1%  7.8%
                                
Purchases of property and equipment used internally $2,018  $849  $4,064  $2,413  $959  $786  $4,060  $3,461 
Purchases of equipment under operating leases  844   3,282   2,234   4,887   1   1,535   167   3,748 
Total capital expenditures $2,862  $4,131  $3,436  $7,300  $960  $2,321  $4,227  $7,209 
                
Technology Segment                
Net sales $415,570  $410,628  $1,176,153  $1,176,881 
Adjusted gross billings (3) $587,825  $586,308  $1,735,283  $1,713,755 
                
Gross profit $88,321  $87,562  $262,359  $260,945 
Gross margin  21.3%  21.3%  22.3%  22.2%
                
Operating income $22,829  $16,184  $61,658  $52,775 
Adjusted EBITDA (2) $27,876  $21,687  $77,312  $70,895 
                
Financing Segment                
Net sales $12,034  $18,363  $39,563  $45,047 
                
Gross profit $9,830  $16,134  $33,311  $38,421 
                
Operating Income $6,434  $10,081  $21,087  $24,626 
Adjusted EBITDA (2) $6,519  $10,169  $21,358  $24,933 

(1)We define Adjusted gross billings of productNon-GAAP net earnings and services as our sales of product and servicesnon-GAAP net earnings per common share – diluted is based on net earnings calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, adjusted to exclude other income (expense), share based compensation, and acquisition and integration expenses, and the costs incurred related to sales of third party software assurance, subscription licenses, maintenance and services. We have provided below a reconciliation of Adjusted gross billings of product and services to Sales of product and services, which is the most directly comparable financial measure to this non-GAAP financial measure.tax effects.


We use Adjusted gross billings of product and servicesnon-GAAP net earnings per common share as a supplemental measure of our performance to gain insight into our operating performance. We believe that the volumeexclusion of other income (expense), share-based compensation, and acquisition-related amortization expense in calculating non-GAAP net earnings per common share provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business generatedand operating results by excluding items that management believes are not reflective of our technology segment,underlying operating performance. Accordingly, we believe that non-GAAP net earnings per common share provide useful information to investors and others to analyze the changes tounderstand and evaluate our accounts receivable and accounts payable. Ouroperating results. However, our use of Adjusted gross billings of product and servicesnon-GAAP information as analytical tools has limitations, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under U.S. GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate Adjusted gross billings of productsimilar non-GAAP net earnings and servicesnon-GAAP net earnings per common share or similarly titled measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as comparative measures.

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Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2017  2016  2017  2016 
Sales of products and services $330,953  $317,391  $1,045,792  $968,799 
Costs incurred related to sales of third party software assurance, maintenance and services  133,152   115,016   403,579   348,389 
                 
Adjusted gross billings of product and services $464,105  $432,407  $1,449,371  $1,317,188 


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
GAAP: Earnings before tax $30,076  $27,262  $83,840  $78,313 
Share based compensation  1,756   1,944   5,427   6,021 
Acquisition and integration expense  233   -   232   1,739 
Acquisition related amortization expense  1,986   2,421   6,386   6,953 
Other (income) expense  (813)  (997)  (1,095)  (912)
Non-GAAP: Earnings before provision for income taxes  33,238   30,630   94,790   92,114 
                 
GAAP: Provision for income taxes  8,438   7,712   24,996   22,477 
Share based compensation  493   553   1,621   1,736 
Acquisition and integration expense  65   -   65   506 
Acquisition related amortization expense  541   668   1,856   1,938 
Other (income) expense  (228)  (283)  (314)  (258)
Tax (expense) benefit on restricted stock  -   39   (40)  87 
Non-GAAP: Provision for income taxes  9,309   8,689   28,184   26,486 
                 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings $23,929  $21,941  $66,606  $65,628 
                 
GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.62  $1.46  $4.39  $4.16 
                 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.79  $1.64  $4.97  $4.89 

 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.62  $1.46  $4.39  $4.16 
                 
Share based compensation  0.10   0.10   0.29   0.32 
Acquisition and integration expense  0.01   -   0.01   0.09 
Acquisition related amortization expense  0.10   0.14   0.33   0.38 
Other (income) expense  (0.04)  (0.05)  (0.05)  (0.05)
Tax benefit on restricted stock  -   (0.01)  -   (0.01)
Total non-GAAP adjustments - net of tax  0.17   0.18   0.58   0.73 
                 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.79  $1.64  $4.97  $4.89 

(2)Non-GAAP net earnings per common share are based on net earnings calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, adjusted to exclude other income and acquisition related amortization expense, and related effects on income tax, the tax (benefit) expense recognized due to the vesting of shared based compensation,  the tax benefit associated with the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities at the new tax rates, as well as an adjustment to our tax expense in the prior year assuming a 31.5% effective annual income tax rate for U.S. operations due to changes in U.S. tax rates. We use Non-GAAP net earnings per common share as a supplemental measure of our performance to gain insight into our operating performance. We believe that the exclusion of these items in calculating Non-GAAP net earnings per common share provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business and operating results by excluding items that management believes are not reflective of our underlying operating performance. Accordingly, we believe that non-GAAP net earnings per common share provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results. However, our use of Non-GAAP net earnings per common share as analytical tools has limitations, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under U.S. GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate Non-GAAP net earnings per common share or similarly titled measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as comparative measures.

  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2017  2016  2017  2016 
GAAP: Earnings before tax $16,259  $21,307  $65,724  $67,376 
Acquisition related amortization expense  1,871   1,035   4,178   3,098 
Other (income) expense  131   -   1   (380)
Non-GAAP: Earnings before provision for income taxes  18,261   22,342   69,903   70,094 
                 
GAAP: Provision for income taxes  678   8,687   19,499   27,310 
Acquisition related amortization expense  547   267   1,421   956 
Other (income) expense  55   13   -   (144)
Remeasurement of deferred taxes  3,407   -   3,407   - 
Adjustment to FY17 US Federal tax rate to 31.5%  -   (2,252)  -   (2,252)
Tax benefit on restricted stock  -   6   1,563   514 
Non-GAAP: Provision for income taxes  4,687   6,721   25,890   26,384 
                 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings $13,574  $15,621  $44,013  $43,710 
                 
GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $1.11  $0.91  $3.30  $2.86 
Non-GAAP: Net earnings per common share - diluted $0.97  $1.12  $3.14  $3.12 
(3)We define Adjustedadjusted EBITDA as net earnings calculated in accordance with U.S GAAP, adjusted for the following: interest expense, depreciation and amortization, share based compensation, acquisition and integration expenses,provision for income taxes, and other income. income (expense). Segment adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating income calculated in accordance with GAAP, adjusted for interest expense, share based compensation, acquisition and integration expenses, and depreciation and amortization.We consider the interest on notes payable from our financing segment and depreciation expense presented within cost of sales, which includes depreciation on assets financed as operating leases, to be operating expenses. As such, they are not included in the amounts added back to net earnings in the Adjustedadjusted EBITDA calculation. We provide below a reconciliation of Adjustedadjusted EBITDA to net earnings, which is the most directly comparable financial measure to this non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA margin is our calculation of Adjustedadjusted EBITDA divided by net sales.
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We use Adjustedadjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance to gain insight into our operating performance. We believe that the exclusion of other income in calculating Adjustedadjusted EBITDA and Adjustedadjusted EBITDA margin provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business and operating results by excluding items that management believes are not reflective of our underlying operating performance. Accordingly, we believe that Adjustedadjusted EBITDA and Adjustedadjusted EBITDA margin provide useful information to investors and others in understandingto understand and evaluatingevaluate our operating results. However, our use of Adjustedadjusted EBITDA and Adjustedadjusted EBITDA margin as analytical tools has limitations, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under U.S. GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate Adjustedadjusted EBITDA and Adjustedadjusted EBITDA margin or similarly titled measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as a comparative measures.measure.


  
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
Consolidated
 2017  2016  2017  2016 
Net earnings $15,581  $12,620  $46,225  $40,066 
Provision for income taxes  678   8,687   19,499   27,310 
Depreciation and amortization  2,894   1,910   7,086   5,408 
Other (income) expense  131   -   1   (380)
Adjusted EBITDA $19,284  $23,217  $72,811  $72,404 
                 
Technology Segment
                
Operating income $11,415  $16,889  $48,704  $56,003 
Depreciation and amortization  2,893   1,908   7,084   5,400 
Adjusted EBITDA $14,308  $18,797  $55,788  $61,403 
                 
Financing Segment
                
Operating income $4,975  $4,418  $17,021  $10,993 
Depreciation and amortization  1   2   2   8 
Adjusted EBITDA $4,976  $4,420  $17,023  $11,001 

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Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
Consolidated 2020  2019  2020  2019 
Net earnings $21,638  $19,550  $58,844  $55,836 
Provision for income taxes  8,438   7,712   24,996   22,477 
Share based compensation  1,756   1,944   5,427   6,021 
Interest and financing costs  -   -   266   - 
Acquisition and integration expense  233   -   232   1,739 
Depreciation and amortization  3,143   3,647   10,000   10,667 
Other (income) expense  (813)  (997)  (1,095)  (912)
Adjusted EBITDA $34,395  $31,856  $98,670  $95,828 
                 
Technology Segment                
Operating income $22,829  $16,184  $61,658  $52,775 
Depreciation and amortization  3,115   3,619   9,916   10,555 
Share based compensation  1,699   1,884   5,240   5,826 
Interest and financing costs  -   -   266   - 
Acquisition and integration expense  233   -   232   1,739 
Adjusted EBITDA $27,876  $21,687  $77,312  $70,895 
                 
Financing Segment                
Operating income $6,434  $10,081  $21,087  $24,626 
Depreciation and amortization  28   28   84   112 
Share based compensation  57   60   187   195 
Adjusted EBITDA $6,519  $10,169  $21,358  $24,933 

(3)We define adjusted gross billings as our technology segment net sales calculated in accordance with US GAAP, adjusted to exclude the costs incurred related to sales of third-party maintenance, software assurance and subscription/SaaS licenses, and services. We have provided below a reconciliation of adjusted gross billings to technology segment net sales, which is the most directly comparable financial measure to this non-GAAP financial measure. The presentation of adjusted gross billings has been updated to align with net sales for our technology segment.

We use adjusted gross billings as a supplemental measure of our performance to gain insight into the volume of business generated by our technology segment, and to analyze the changes to our accounts receivable and accounts payable. Our use of adjusted gross billings as an analytical tool has limitations, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under US GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted gross billings or a similarly titled measure differently, which may reduce its usefulness as a comparative measure.

 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019  2020  2019 
Technology segment net sales $415,570  $410,628  $1,176,153  $1,176,881 
Costs incurred related to sales of third party maintenance, software assurance and subscription/Saas licenses, and services  172,255   175,680   559,130  $536,874 
Adjusted gross billings $587,825  $586,308  $1,735,283  $1,713,755 

Consolidated Results of Operations


During the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, net sales increased 4.9%decreased 0.3%, or $15.9$1.4 million, to $342.6$427.6 million, as compared to $429.0 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. Product sales for the three months ended December 31, 2020, decreased 0.8% to $375.5 million, a decrease of $3.1 million from $378.6 million in the same period in the prior year. Services sales during the three months ended December 31, 2020, increased 3.3% to $52.1 million, an increase of $1.7 million over prior year services sales of $50.4 million due to an increase in professional services. The decrease in net sales is due to a relative decrease in our financing segment net sales of $6.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020 as several large transactions were completed during the same period in the prior year. In the technology segment, we saw increases in net sales from customers in the telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, and smaller other categories of customers, which was partially offset by decreases in net sales from our technology, healthcare, and SLED customers, during the three months ended December 31, 2020, compared to the prior year period.

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For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, net sales decreased 0.5%, or $6.2 million, to $1.216 billion, compared to $1.222 billion in the same period in the prior fiscal year. Product sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, decreased 1.0%, or $11.3 million, to $1.066 billion compared to $1.078 billion in the same period in the prior year. Services sales during the nine months ended December 31, 2020, increased 3.5%, or $5.0 million, to $149.3 million compared to $326.7prior year services sales of $144.3 million. The decrease in net sales was due to several large financing segment transactions that were completed during the same period in the prior year, and due to reductions in demand from our customers in the technology and healthcare markets, which were almost entirely offset by increases in demand from our customers in the telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, and smaller other categories of customers, during the nine months ended December 31, 2020, compared to the prior year period.

Adjusted gross billings increased 0.3%, or $1.5 million, to $587.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, from $586.3 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, net sales2020, adjusted gross billings increased 8.4%1.3%, or $83.9$21.5 million, to $1,080.6$1.735 billion, from $1.714 billion for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The increase in adjusted gross billings for both the three and the nine-month period were from our customers in the telecom, media and entertainment, SLED, and smaller other categories of customers which was partially offset by decreases in demand from the technology, healthcare, and financial services.

Consolidated gross profit for the three months ended December 31, 2020, decreased $5.5 million, or 5.3%, to $98.2 million, compared with $103.7 million in the same period in the prior year. Consolidated gross margins were 23.0% for the three months ended December 31, 2020, which is a decrease of 120 basis points compared to $996.624.2% for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in margins was due to a reduction in financing segment gross profit caused by several large transactions in the three-month period of the prior year. There also was a shift in product mix, as we sold a higher proportion hardware and third-party licenses which are recognized on a gross basis and therefore have lower product margins, and a lower proportion of our product mix was from third-party maintenance, software assurance and subscription/SaaS licenses, and services, which are recorded on a net basis.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, consolidated gross profit decreased $3.7 million, or 1.2%, to $295.7 million, compared with $299.4 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year.

Adjusted Consolidated gross billings of product and services increased 7.3%, or $31.7 million to $464.1 million,margins were 24.3% for the threenine months ended December 31, 2017 from $432.4 million2020, a decrease of 20 basis points compared to 24.5% for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in gross margin for the nine-month period was due to a reduction in financing segment gross profit caused by several large transactions in the prior year.

Our operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2020, decreased $8.5 million, or 11.0%, to $68.9 million, as compared to $77.4 million for the prior year period. The majority of this decrease reflects reductions in selling, general, and administrative expense of $7.7 million, or 10.5%, to $65.4 million as compared to $73.1 million in the same period in the prior year, due in part to reductions in employee salaries and benefits, travel and entertainment, advertising and marketing, and general office related expenses. As of December 31, 2020, we had 1,586 employees, including 102 employees joining ePlus from our December 31, 2020 acquisition of Systems Management and Planning, Inc. (“SMP”), a decrease of 16 from 1,602 as of December 31, 2019.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, adjusted gross billings of product and services increased 10.0%2020, operating expenses decreased $9.0 million, or 4.1%, or $132.2to $212.9 million, as compared to $1,449.4$222.0 million from $1,317.2 million forin the same period in the prior fiscal year. Both the three month and nine month increase in demand was from commercial customers primarily in the technology, financial services and health care industries, partially offset by SLED and other industries.

Consolidated gross profit rose 3.9% to $76.7 million, compared with $73.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016. Consolidated gross margins were 22.4% for the three months ended December 31, 2017 a decrease of 20 basis points compared to 22.6% for the same period in the prior fiscal year, due lower product margins, including aThe decrease in vendor incentives earned, which was offset by an increase in service revenues.

Consolidated gross profit rose 8.3% to $241.9 million, compared with $223.4 millionoperating expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. Consolidated gross margins were 22.4%2020, was due to reductions in selling, general and administrative expenses, interest and financing costs, and depreciation and amortization expense. Selling, general, and administrative expense for both the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, decreased $7.7 million, or 3.7%, to $201.7 million, due to decreases in travel and 2016. Consolidated gross margins were impacted by lower product margins, including a decrease in vendor incentives earned, which wasentertainment, advertising and marketing, employee fringe benefits, and general office related expenses, partially offset by higher servicean increase in salary expense, variable compensation, and financing revenues.reserve for credit losses expense. Our prior year results benefited from having only incurred a partial year of salaries and benefits expense from the addition of employees from the August 23, 2019, acquisition of ABS Technology.

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Our operating expenses increased 14.9% to $60.3Depreciation and amortization expense decreased $0.5 million, or 78.6% of gross profitsand $0.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to $52.5 million, representing 71.1% of gross profits in the same period prior year. For theand nine months ended December 31, 2017, our operating expenses increased 12.6%2020, respectively. Interest and financing costs decreased $0.3 million and $0.7 million, for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, respectively, due to $176.6 million, or 72.5%a decrease in the average balance of gross profitsnon-recourse notes payable outstanding and lower interest rates during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $156.4 million, representing 70.0% of gross profitsthe same periods in the same prior year period. The majority of this increase reflects increased salary expense due to an increase in headcount, as well as variable compensation asyear.

As a result, of the increase in gross profit, and an increase in employee healthcare costs. Our headcount increased by 120 employees or 10.3% to 1,284 from 1,164 a year ago, 98 of which were from the acquisitions of IDS and OneCloud. The net additions in personnel compared to the prior year include 105 sales and engineering positions, with the remaining additions being administrative, IT, and finance positions.

Operatingoperating income for the three months ended December 31, 2017 decreased 23.1%2020, increased $3.0 million, or 11.4%, to $16.4$29.3 million as compared to $21.3 million for the same period in the prior year. For the three months ended December 31, 2017, the operating income margin decreased 170 basis points to 4.8% from 6.5% for the same period in the prior year. Operating income for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 decreased 1.9% to $65.7million, as compared to $67.0$26.3 million for the same period in the prior year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, the2020, operating income margin decreased 60 basis pointsincreased $5.3 million, or 6.9%, to 6.1% from 6.7%$82.7 million, as compared to $77.4 million for the same period in the prior year.


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Our effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, was 28.1% and 29.8%, respectively, compared with 28.3% and 28.7%, respectively, for the same periods in the prior year. The change in our effective tax rate was due to an adjustment to the federal benefit from state taxes.

Consolidated net earnings for the three months ended December 31, 20172020, were $15.6$21.6 million, an increase of 23.5%10.7%, or $2.1 million, over the prior year’s results, due to a reduction in operating expense, partially offset by a decrease in gross profit. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, the consolidated net earnings were $58.8 million, an increase of 5.4%, or $3.0 million, compared to the prior year’s results, due to a reduction in operating expense, partially offset by a decrease in gross profit and an increase in the provision for income taxes rate.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $2.5 million, or 8.0%, to $34.4 million and adjusted EBITDA margin increased 60 basis points to 8.0% for the three months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the prior year period of $12.6 million. 7.4%. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, consolidated net earnings were $46.2 million, an increase of 15.4%, or $6.2 million, compared to the prior year’s results of $40.1 million.

Adjusted2020, adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.9increased $2.8 million, or 16.9%3.0%, to $19.3$98.7 million and Adjustedthe adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 150increased 30 basis points to 5.6% for the three months ended December 31, 2017,8.1% as compared to the prior year period of 7.1%. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, Adjusted EBITDA increased $0.4 million, or 0.6% to $72.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 60 basis points to 6.7%7.8% for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, as2020, compared to the prior period of 7.3%.year period.


Diluted earnings per share increased 22.0%11.0%, or $0.20$0.16, to $1.11$1.62 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, as compared to $0.91$1.46 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2016. Our effective tax rate2019. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 9.1%, or $0.15, to $1.79 for the three months ended December 31, 2017 was 4.2%, which includes a tax benefit $3.4 million from the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities due2020, as compared to the change in the U.S. statutory rate. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share decreased 13.4% to $0.97$1.64 for the three months ended December 31, 2017, as compared to $1.12 for the three months ended December 31, 2016.

2019. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, diluted earnings per share increased 15.4%5.5%, or $0.44$0.23, to $3.30$4.39 per share, as compared to $2.86$4.16 per share compared to the prior year period. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 1.6%, or $0.08, to $4.97 for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. Our effective tax rate2020, as compared to $4.89 for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 was 29.7%, which includes a tax benefit2019.

Cash and cash equivalents increased slightly by 0.3% to $86.5 million at December 31, 2020, as compared to $86.2 million as of $1.6 million related to the vestingMarch 31, 2020. Major uses of share based compensation and a tax benefit $3.4 million from the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities due to the change in the U.S. statutory rate. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 0.6% to $3.14 forcash during the nine months ended December 31, 2017, as compared to $3.12 for2020, were the nine months ended December 31, 2016.

Cashacquisition of SMP of $27.1 million and the repurchase of $6.9 million in outstanding shares of our common stock. Our cash equivalents decreased $33.7position benefited from the payroll tax deferral under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act that deferred $4.8 million or 30.7% to $76.1 million at December 31, 2017 compared with $109.8 million as of March 31, 2017. The decrease is primarily the result of investments in our financing portfolio, working capital required for the growth in our technology segment, $29.8 millionpayments that will be paid in cash at closing of our acquisition of IDS December 2021 and $7.9 million paid in cash at closing for our acquisition of OneCloud.December 2022. Our cash on hand, funds generated from operations, amounts available under our credit facility, and the possible monetization of our investment portfolio providehave provided sufficient liquidity for our business.


The extent of the impact of COVID-19 is uncertain and may impact our liquidity position over the longer term. As credit markets have tightened as a result of COVID-19, we may have difficulty funding our financing transactions with lenders, which may result in the use of our cash or a decrease in financing originations.

Segment Overview


Our operations are conducted through two segments: technology and financing.


Technology Segment


The technology segment sells IT equipment and software and related services primarily to corporate customers, state and local governments, and higher education institutions on a nationwide basis, with geographic concentrations relating to our physical locations. The technology segment also provides Internet-based business-to-business supply chain management solutions for information technologyIT products.
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Our technology segment derives revenue from the sales of new equipment and service engagements. Included in thenet sales of product and services are revenues derived from performing advanced IT professional and managed services that may be sold together with and integral to third-party products and software. Our service engagements are generally governed by statements of work and are primarily fixed price (with allowance for changes); however, some service agreements are based on time and materials.


Customers who purchase IT equipment and services from us may have customer master agreements, or CMAs, with our company, which stipulate the terms and conditions of the relationship. Some CMAs contain pricing arrangements, and most contain mutual voluntary termination clauses. Our other customers place orders using purchase orders without a CMA in place or with other documentation customary for the business. Often, our work with state and local governments is based on public bids and our written bid responsesresponses.


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We endeavor to minimize our cost of sales through incentive programs provided by vendors and distributors. The programs for which we qualify for are generally set by our reseller authorization level with the vendor. The authorization level we achieve and maintain governs the types of products we can resell as well as such items as pricing received, funds provided for the marketing of these products and other special promotions. These authorization levels are achieved by us through purchase volume, certifications held by sales executives or engineers and/or contractual commitments by us. The authorization levels are costly to maintain, and these programs continually change and,change; therefore, there is no guarantee of future reductions of costs provided by these vendor consideration programs.


Financing Segment


Our financing segment offers financing solutions to corporations, governmental entities, and educational institutions nationwide and also in the United Kingdom,US, UK, Canada, Iceland, and Iceland.Spain. The financing segment derives revenue from leasing IT and medical equipment and the disposition of that equipment at the end of the lease. The financing segment also derives revenues from the financing of third-party software licenses, software assurance, maintenance and other services.


Financing revenue generally falls into the following three categories:


·Portfolio income: Interest income from financing receivables and rents due under operating leases;
·Transactional gains: Net gains or losses on the sale of financial assets; and
·Post-contract earnings: Month-to-month rents; early termination, prepayment, make-whole, or buyout fees; and net gains on the sale of off-lease (used) equipment.


Our financing segment sells the equipment underlying a lease to the lessee or a third-party other than the lessee. These sales occur at the end of the lease term and revenues from the sales of such equipment are recognized at the date of sale. We also recognize revenue from events that occur after the initial sale of a financial asset and remarketing fees from certain residual value investments.


Fluctuations in RevenuesOperating Results


Our results of operations are susceptible to fluctuations for a number of reasons, including, without limitation, customer demand for our products and services, supplier costs, changes in vendor incentive programs, interest rate fluctuations, decision to sell financial assets, general economic conditions, and differences between estimated residual values and actual amounts realized related to the equipment we lease. Operating results could also fluctuate as a result of a sale prior to the expiration of the lease term to the lessee or to a third-party or from other post-term events.


We expect to continue to expand by opening new sales locations and hiring additional staff for specific targeted market areas in the near future whenever we can find both experienced personnel and desirable geographic areas. These investmentsareas over the longer term, which may reduce our results from operations inoperations. COVID-19 may negatively affect market demand, which will likely lower our financial results, and may adversely impact our ability to expand. We are uncertain as to the short term.extent and duration of the impact to the IT market demand for our products and services.
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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES


The preparation of financial statementsAs disclosed in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. If our judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions had been different, or different assumptions were made, it is possible that alternative accounting policies would have been applied, resulting inNote 2, “Recent Accounting Pronouncements,” we adopted a change in financial results. Onnew credit loss standard on April 1, 2020. Under this new standard, we estimate an ongoing basis, we reevaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, residual values, vendor incentives, lease classification, goodwill and intangibles, reservesallowance for credit losses related to accounts receivable for future expected credit losses by using relevant information such as historical information, current conditions, and income taxes specifically relating to uncertain tax positions. We base estimatesreasonable and supportable forecasts. The allowance is measured on a collective basis when similar risk characteristics exist, and a loss-rate for each group with similar risk characteristics is determined using historical credit loss experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which formas the basis for making judgments about the carrying valuesestimation of assets and liabilities thatexpected credit losses. Adjustments to historical loss information are not readily apparent from other sources. For all such estimates, we caution that future events rarely develop exactlymade for differences in current conditions, as well as changes in forecasted and therefore, these estimates may require adjustment.macroeconomic conditions. Our allowance reflects the forecasted credit deterioration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Our other critical accounting estimates have not changed from those reported in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our 2017 annual2020 Annual Report.


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SEGMENT RESULTS OF OPERATIONS


The three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020, compared to the three and nine months ended December 31, 20162019


Technology Segment


The results of operations for our technology segment for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows (dollars in thousands):


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
        
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
        
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
 2017  2016  Change  2017  2016  Change  2020  2019  2020  2019 
Sales of product and services $330,953  $317,391  $13,562   4.3% $1,045,792  $968,799  $76,993   7.9%
Fee and other income  1,678   915   763   83.4%  3,707   3,679   28   0.8%
Net sales  332,631   318,306   14,325   4.5%  1,049,499   972,478   77,021   7.9%            
Cost of sales, product and services  264,487   251,729   12,758   5.1%  834,873   769,780   65,093   8.5%
Product $363,478  $360,206  $1,026,845  $1,032,620 
Services  52,092   50,422   149,308   144,261 
Total  415,570   410,628   1,176,153   1,176,881 
                
Cost of sales                
Product  295,310   290,980   820,859   825,509 
Services  31,939   32,086   92,935   90,427 
Total  327,249   323,066   913,794   915,936 
                
Gross profit  68,144   66,577   1,567   2.4%  214,626   202,698   11,928   5.9%  88,321   87,562   262,359   260,945 
                                                
Selling, general, and administrative expenses  53,836   47,780   6,056   12.7%  158,838   141,295   17,543   12.4%
Selling, general, and administrative  62,377   67,759   190,519   197,615 
Depreciation and amortization  2,893   1,908   985   51.6%  7,084   5,400   1,684   31.2%  3,115   3,619   9,916   10,555 
Interest and financing costs  -   -   266   - 
Operating expenses  56,729   49,688   7,041   14.2%  165,922   146,695   19,227   13.1%  65,492   71,378   200,701   208,170 
                                                
Operating income $11,415  $16,889  $(5,474)  (32.4%) $48,704  $56,003  $(7,299)  (13.0%) $22,829  $16,184  $61,658  $52,775 
                                                
Key business metrics
                                
Adjusted gross billings of product and services $464,105  $432,407  $31,698   7.3% $1,449,371  $1,317,188  $132,183   10.0%
                                
Adjusted gross billings $587,825  $586,308  $1,735,283  $1,713,755 
Adjusted EBITDA $14,308  $18,797  $(4,489)  (23.9%) $55,788  $61,403  $(5,615)  (9.1%) $27,876  $21,687  $77,312  $70,895 

Net sales: Net sales for the three months ended December 31, 20172020, were $332.6$415.6 million compared to $318.3$410.6 million during the three months ended December 31, 2016, an increase of 4.5%, or $14.3 million. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, net sales were $1,049.5 million compared to $972.5 million duringin the same period in the prior year, an increase of 7.9%1.2% or $4.9 million, due to increases in net sales from customers in the telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, and smaller other categories of customers, which was partially offset by decreases in net sales from our technology, healthcare, and SLED customers. Product sales increased 0.9%, or $77.0 million.$3.3 million, to $363.5 million due to a shift in mix to sales of hardware and third-party licenses, partially offset by reductions in third-party maintenance, software assurance, subscriptions/SaaS licenses, and services where we recognize revenue on a net basis. Services revenues increased 3.3%, or $1.7 million to $52.1 million to due to an increase in managed services for the three months ended December 31, 2020.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, net sales decreased 0.1%, or $0.7 million to $1.176 billion compared to $1.177 billion during the same period in the prior year. Product sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, decreased 0.6%, or $5.8 million to $1.027 billion due to a higher proportion of sales from third party services that are recognized on a net basis. Services revenues increased 3.5%, or $5.0 million to $149.3 million to due to an increase in managed services for the nine months ended December 31, 2020.

Adjusted gross billings increased 0.3%, or $1.5 million, to $587.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, from $586.3 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, adjusted gross billings increased 1.3%, or $21.5 million, to $1.735 billion, from $1.714 billion for the same period in the prior fiscal year. For both the three and nine month periods ended December 31, 2020, increases in adjusted gross billings were from our customers in the telecom, media and entertainment, SLED, and smaller other categories of customers which was partially offset by decreases in demand from the technology, health care, and financial services.

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Adjusted gross billings of product and services for the three months ended December 31, 2017 were $464.1 million compared to $432.4 million during the three months ended December 31, 2016, an increase of 7.3%, or $31.7 million. Sales of product and services for the three months ended December 31, 2017 were $331.0 million compared to $317.4 million during the same period in the prior year, an increase of 4.3%, or $13.6 million.

The increase in net sales of product and services during the three months ended December 31, 2017 was also due, in part, to an increase in demand for products and services from customers in the technology, financial services and healthcare industries, partially offset by reductions in sales to state and local government and educational customers (“SLED”), technology, and telecom, media and entertainment customers, and other industries.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, adjusted gross billings of product and services were $1,449.4 million compared to $1,317.2 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2016, an increase of 10.0%, or $132.2 million. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, sales of product and services were $1,045.8 million compared to $968.8 million during the same period in the prior year, an increase of 7.9%, or $77.0 million. The increase in net sales of product and services during the nine month period was due to an increase in demand for products and services from customers in the financial services industries, technology, and health care industries, which include sales relating to several large projects for large customers.

Summarized below are the sequential and year-over-year changes in net sales of product and services:

Quarter Ended Sequential  Year over Year 
December 31, 2017  (7.5%)  4.3%
September 30, 2017  0.2%  (1.0%)
June 30, 2017  11.1%  23.1%
March 31, 2017  1.3%  10.3%
December 31, 2016  (12.1%)  10.3%
We rely on our vendors to fulfill a large majority of shipments to our customers. As of December 31, 2017,2020, we had open orders of $170.0$413.9 million and deferred revenue of $59.6$96.3 million. As of December 31, 2016,2019, we had open orders of $238.5$253.8 million and deferred revenues of $66.3$71.4 million.


We analyze net sales of products and services by customer end market and by manufacturer,vendor, as opposed to discrete product and service categories. The percentage of net sales of product and services by industry and vendor for the twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 are summarized below:


 Twelve Months Ended December 31,     
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
    
 2017  2016  Change  2020  2019  Change 
Revenue by customer end market:
                  
Technology  25%  22%  3%  18%  22%  (4%)
Telecom, Media & Entertainment  23%  17%  6%
SLED  17%  21%  (4%)  16%  17%  (1%)
Telecom, Media & Entertainment  14%  16%  (2%)
Healthcare  14%  15%  (1%)
Financial Services  16%  12%  4%  13%  14%  (1%)
Healthcare  13%  11%  2%
Other  15%  18%  (3%)
All others  16%  15%  1%
Total  100%  100%      100%  100%    
            
Revenue by vendor:
            
Cisco Systems  44%  49%  (5%)
HP Inc. & HPE  7%  6%  1%
NetApp  4%  5%  (1%)
Sub-total  55%  60%  (5%)
Other  45%  40%  5%
Total  100%  100%    

 
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
    
  2020  2019  Change 
Revenue by vendor:         
Cisco Systems  36%  42%  (6%)
NetApp  4%  3%  1%
HP Inc. & HPE  4%  5%  (1%)
Dell/EMC  8%  3%  5%
Juniper Networks  5%  5%  0%
Arista Networks  4%  5%  (1%)
All others  39%  37%  2%
Total  100%  100%    

Our revenues by customer end market have remained consistent over the year with over 80% of our revenues generated from customers within the five end markets identified above. During the trailing twelve monthstwelve-month period ended December 31, 20172020, we had an increase in the percentage total revenues from customers in the technology, financial services,telecom, media and health care industries, which were partially offset byentertainment industry, and all other customer category, and decreases in the percentage of total revenues fromin the technology, SLED, compared to the prior year period.healthcare, and financial services markets. These changes were driven by changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in customer buying cycles, and the timing of specific IT related initiatives, rather than the acquisition or loss of a customer or set of customers.
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The majority of our revenues by vendor are derived from Cisco Systems,our top six suppliers, which, when combined, is a combined HP Inc. and HPE, and NetApp, which, collectively, declined to 55%fairly constant percentage of over 60% of total revenues for the twelve monthstwelve-month periods ended December 31, 2017 from approximately 60% in the prior year trailing twelve month period, with the greatest decline in the proportional percentage of total revenues in Cisco product sales. The decrease in the percentage of revenues from the top three vendors is due in part to substantial competition2020, and rapid developments in the IT industry.2019. None of the vendors included within the “other” category exceeded 4%5% of total revenues.


Cost of sales, product and services: Cost of sales, product and services increased 5.1% forsales: For the three months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the prior year period,2020, cost of sales increased 1.3%, or $4.2 million, due to the 4.3%a proportional increase in net sales. Our gross margin was 21.3% for both the three months ended December 31, 2020, and 2019. Cost of sales of product and services. for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, decreased 0.2% or $2.1 million which is in-line with the decrease in net sales. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, cost of sales, product and services increased 8.5% due to the increase in sales of product and services. Our2020, gross margin on the sales of product and services decreased 60increased by 10 basis points to 22.3%, as compared to 22.2% for the prior year period. Product gross margin was stable at 20.1% for both the threenine months ended December 31, 2017, from 20.7%2020, and 2019; service gross margin increased by 50 basis points to 37.8%, compared to 37.3% in the same period in the prior year.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, our gross margin on the sales of product and services decreased 30 basis points to 20.2%, from 20.5%,year due to lower product margins from a large competitively bid project which partially shipped during the nine month period as well as reductionan increase in vendor incentives earned as a percentage of sales of product services. both professional services and managed services margins. Vendor incentives earned as a percentage of sales of product servicesdecreased 30 basis points and 20 basis points for the three months and the nine months ended December 31, 2017 decreased 50 and 30 basis points2020, respectively, resulting in an unfavorable impact on gross margin, as compared to same periods in the prior year.


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Selling, general, and administrative expenses:administrative: Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $53.8of $62.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $6.02020, decreased by $5.4 million, or 12.7%7.9% from $67.8 million in the same period in the prior year. Salaries and benefits decreased $3.1 million, or 5.4% to $53.7 million, compared to $47.8$56.8 million forduring the same period in the prior year period.due to a decrease in employees. Our technology segment had 1,551 employees as of December 31, 2020, which includes 102 employees from our December 31, 2020 acquisition of SMP, a decrease of 16 from 1,567 as of December 31, 2019, or a reduction of 118 employees when the SMP employees are excluded. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $7.1 million, or 3.6%, to $190.5 million compared to $197.6 million in the same period in the prior year. Salaries and benefits increased $4.3$1.7 million, or 10.8%1.0% to $44.5$164.6 million, compared to $40.2$162.9 million during the same period in the prior year. MostOur prior year results benefited from having only incurred partial year-to-date salaries from employees added in the August 23, 2019, acquisition of ABS Technology. The increase in salary and variable compensation expense was partially offset by reductions in employee benefits, and other fringe benefits and employee stock compensation, for the increase wasnine months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the prior year period.

General and administrative expenses decreased $3.1 million, or 27.6%, to $8.1 million during the three months ended December 31, 2020, compared to $11.2 million in the same period in the prior year, due to higher salariesa decrease in advertising and benefitsmarketing, travel and entertainment expenses, and other general office related expenses resulting in part from restrictions on travel due to the increaseCOVID-19 pandemic. Acquisition related expenses were $0.2 million higher and the reserve for credit losses expense was $0.5 million higher for the three months ended December 31, 2020, than in the number of employees from both acquisitions and internal growth.

Selling,same period in the prior year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, general and administrative expenses decreased $8.1 million, or 24.7%, to $24.8 million. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to decreases in travel and entertainment expenses and advertising and marketing costs resulting from travel restrictions due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as decreases in professional fees and other general office related expenses. Acquisition related expenses were $158.8$1.5 million lower and the reserve for credit losses expense was $0.9 million higher for the nine months ended December 31, 2020 than in the same period in the prior year.

Depreciation and amortization: Depreciation and amortization decreased $0.5 million, or 13.9%, to $3.1 million during the three months ended December 31, 2020, and decreased $0.6 million, or 6.1%, to $9.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $17.5 million, or 12.4%2020, compared to $141.3the prior year periods.

Interest and financing costs: Interest and financing costs were $0.3 million for the prior year period. Salaries and benefits increased $12.8 million, or 10.8% to $130.6 million,nine months ended December 31, 2020, compared to $117.8 million duringnone in the same period in the prior year. Approximately 20.8% of this increase was due to higher variable compensation due to the increase in gross profit, 18.6% of the increase was due to higher employee benefits, and the remaining increase was primarily due salary expense related to an increase in the number of employees. Our technology segment had 1,236 employees as of December 31, 2017, an increase of 123, or 11.1%, from 1,113 at December 31, 2016. The acquisitions of OneCloud and IDS accounted for 98 of the added positions.There were 107 positions added in the past year related to sales, marketing,no interest and professional services personnel.

General and administrative expenses increased $1.5 million, or 23.9% to $7.9 million duringfinancing costs for the three months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $6.42020, and 2019. The $0.3 million the prior year,in interest and financing costs is due to $35.0 million in borrowings under the accounts receivable component of our Technology segment credit facility during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Segment operating income: As a result of the foregoing, operating income was $22.8 million, an adjustmentincrease of $0.7 million to the fair value of contingent consideration for acquisitions, higher advertising and marketing expense, and travel expenses, including travel expense related to acquisitions. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, general and administrative expenses increased $3.9$6.6 million, or 20.3% to $23.3 million compared to $19.3 million the prior year, due to the incremental adjustment of $0.8 million to the fair value of contingent consideration40.7%, for acquisitions, and higher travel expense, including travel expense related to acquisitions. Professional and other fees increased $0.9 million, or 20.7% to $5.0 million primarily due to legal fees related to the IDS and OneCloud acquisitions.

Depreciation and amortization expense increased $1.0 million, or 51.6% to $2.9 million during the three months ended December 31, 20172020, as compared to $1.9$16.2 million in the same period in the prior year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, depreciation and amortization expense increased $1.72020, operating income was $61.7 million, an increase of $8.9 million, or 31.2% to $7.1 million16.8%, compared to $5.4$52.8 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense is related to the acquisitions of Consolidated IT Services in December 2016, OneCloud in May 2017, and IDS in September 2017.


Segment operating income: As a result of the foregoing, operating income was $11.4 million, a decrease of $5.5 million, or 32.4% for the three months ended December 31, 2017 compared to $16.9 million in the prior year period. For the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, adjusted EBITDA was $27.9 million, an increase of $6.2 million, or 28.5%, compared to $21.7 million in the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $14.3$77.3 million, a decreasean increase of $4.5$6.4 million, or 23.9% compared to $18.8 million in the prior year period. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, operating income was $48.7 million, a decrease of $7.3 million, or 13.0% compared to $56.0 million in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA9.1%, for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, was $55.8 million, a decrease of $5.6 million, or 9.1%2020, compared to $61.4$70.9 million for the same period in the prior year period.year.

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Financing Segment


The results of operations for our financing segment for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows (dollars in thousands):


 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
        
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
        
Three Months Ended
December 31,
  
Nine Months Ended
December 31,
 
 2017  2016  Change  2017  2016  Change  2020  2019  2020  2019 
Financing revenue $9,592  $8,190  $1,402   17.1% $30,698  $23,899  $6,799   28.4%
Fee and other income  346   161   185   114.9%  374   245   129   52.7%
Net sales  9,938   8,351   1,587   19.0%  31,072   24,144   6,928   28.7% $12,034  $18,363  $39,563  $45,047 
Direct lease costs  1,394   1,142   252   22.1%  3,846   3,459   387   11.2%
                
Cost of sales  2,204   2,229   6,252   6,626 
                
Gross profit  8,544   7,209   1,335   18.5%  27,226   20,685   6,541   31.6%  9,830   16,134   33,311   38,421 
                                                
Selling, general, and administrative expenses  3,298   2,380   918   38.6%  9,300   8,526   774   9.1%
Selling, general, and administrative  3,013   5,331   11,227   11,785 
Depreciation and amortization  1   2   (1)  (50.0%)  2   8   (6)  (75.0%)  28   28   84   112 
Interest and financing costs  270   409   (139)  (34.0%)  903   1,158   (255)  (22.0%)  355   694   913   1,898 
Operating expenses  3,569   2,791   778   27.9%  10,205   9,692   513   5.3%  3,396   6,053   12,224   13,795 
                                                
Operating income $4,975  $4,418  $557   12.6% $17,021  $10,993  $6,028   54.8% $6,434  $10,081  $21,087  $24,626 
                                                
Key business metrics
                                
Adjusted EBITDA $4,976  $4,420  $556   12.6% $17,023  $11,001  $6,022   54.7% $6,519  $10,169  $21,358  $24,933 



Net sales: Net sales increaseddecreased by $1.6$6.3 million, or 19.0%34.5%, to $9.9$12.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, as compared to $8.4 million prior year results due to gains on several significant transactions in the prior year, which were partially offset by higher post-contract earnings and other financing revenues.portfolio earnings. During the quartersthree months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized net gains on sales of financial assets of $1.2$3.0 million and $0.9$9.5 million, respectively, and the fair value of assets received from these sales were $32.8$67.5 million and $55.8$246.0 million, respectively. Post contract earnings increased $1.4 million due to the gain on sale of equipmentn associated with early lease terminations, and other financing revenues decreased $0.3 million mainly due to earnings on consumption based financing arrangements.


For the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, net sales increased by $6.9decreased $5.5 million, or 28.7%12.2%, to $31.1$39.6 million as compared to $24.1 millionthe same period in the prior year resultsof $45.0 million due to higher transactional gains on several significant transactions in the prior year, and a reduction in post-contract earnings, partially offset by an increase in other financing revenues.revenues and portfolio earnings. During the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2016,2019, we recognized net gains on sales of financial assets of $4.6$10.1 million and $4.1$17.0 million, respectively, and the fair value of assets received from these sales were $166.9$259.2 million and $185.4$414.6 million, respectively. Post contract earnings increased $4.9 million due to the gain on sale of equipment associated with early lease terminations, and other financing revenues increased $1.0 million mainly due to earnings on consumption based financing arrangements.

At December 31, 2017,2020, we had $147.2$214.0 million in financing receivables and operating leases, compared to $140.4$162.7 million as of December 31, 2016,2019, an increase of $6.8$51.3 million, or 4.8%31.5%.


Gross Profit: Gross profit increased by $1.3 million, or 18.5% to $8.5Cost of sales: Cost of sales, which consists of depreciation expense from operating leases, remained constant at $2.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, and decreased $0.4 million, to $6.3 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same periodprior year periods. Gross profit decreased $6.3 million, or 39.1%, to $9.8 million, for the three months ended December 31, 2020, and decreased $5.1 million, or 13.3% to $33.3 million, for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the prior year periods, due to several large transactions in the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

Selling, general and administrative:Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $2.3 million or 43.5%, which was primarily due to a decrease in variable compensation as a result of lower gross profit, a reduction in credit loss reserve expense, and lower general and administrative expense for the three months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the prior year. year period.For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, gross profit increased $6.52020, selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $0.6 million or 31.6%4.7%, which was primarily due to $27.2a decrease in variable compensation of $0.6 million, and general and administrative expenses of $0.6 million, partially offset by an increase in allowance for credit losses of $0.5 million, as compared to the same period ofperiods in the prior year.

Interest and financing costs: Interest and financing costs decreased by 48.8% to $0.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, and decreased by 51.9% to $0.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, compared to the same periods in the prior year, due to a decrease in the average balance and average interest rate on total notes payable outstanding. Total notes payable for the financing segment was $68.3 million as of December 31, 2020, as compared to $68.4 million as of December 31, 2019. Our weighted average interest rate for non-recourse notes payable was 3.57% and 3.69%, as of December 31, 2020, and 2019, respectively.

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Segment operating income: As a result of higher revenues. Direct lease costs increased $0.3the foregoing, operating income and adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.6 million and $0.4$3.7 million, respectively, or 36.2% and 35.9%, to $6.4 million and $6.5 million, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2020, over the prior year period. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, operating income and adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.5 million and $3.6 million, respectively, or 14.4% and 14.3%, to $21.1 million and $21.4 million, respectively.

Consolidated

Other income: Other income of $0.8 million, decreased $0.2 million, or 18.5%, due to a distribution from a claim for $0.8 million we recognized in the prior year, which was mostly offset by favorable foreign exchange rate during the three months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the prior year period. Other income for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, was $1.1 million, compared to $0.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2019, due to a favorable foreign exchange rate in the current year period, mostly offset by the distribution from a claim of $0.8 million we recognized in the prior year.

Income taxes: Our provision for income tax expense was $8.4 million and $25.0 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, respectively, which primarily consists of depreciation expense from operating leases.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses: For the three months ended December 31, 2017 selling, general, and administrative expenses increased by $0.9 million or 38.6%, which was due primarily to an increase in our salaries and benefits expense of $0.7 million resulting from an increase in variable compensation related to the increase in gross profit. Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased by $0.8 million or 9.1%, due to an increase in our salaries and benefits expense of $1.1 million resulting from an increase in variable compensation related to the increase in gross profit, partially offset by lower professional fees and credit loss expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Our financing segment had 48 employees as of December 31, 2017, compared to 51 employees as of December 31, 2016.

Interest and financing costs decreased $0.1 million to $0.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017, compared to the prior year, due to a decrease in the average total notes payable outstanding compared to the three months ended December 31, 2017. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, interest and financing costs decreased by $0.3 million to $0.9 million, or 22.0%. Total notes payable were $31.5 million as of December 31, 2017, a decrease of $22.5 million or 41.7% compared to $54.0 million as of December 31, 2016. Our weighted average interest rate for non-recourse notes payable was 3.73% and 3.38%, as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
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Segment operating income: As a result of the foregoing, both operating income and Adjusted EBITDA increased $0.6 million or 12.6% to $5.0 million for both the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017, operating income and Adjusted EBITDA each increased $6.0 million or 54.8% and 54.7% to $17.0 million, respectively.

Consolidated

Other income: Other income and expense during the three months ended December 31, 2017 was a net expense of $0.1 million, which consists of interest income on cash and cash equivalents, more than offset by foreign currency transaction losses.

Income taxes: Our provision for income tax expense was $0.7 million and $19.5 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, as compared to $8.7$7.7 million and $27.3$22.5 million for the same periods in the prior year. Our effective income tax raterates for the three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020, was 4.2%28.1% and 29.7%29.8%, respectively, as compared to 40.8%28.3% and 40.5%28.7% for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016. 2019. The favorable change in our effective income tax rate was due primarily to a tax benefit of $3.4 million from the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities due to the change in the U.S. statutory raterates for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, and a tax benefit of $1.6 million on2020 compared to the vesting of restricted stocksame period in the nine months ended December 31, 2017, comparedprior year were primarily due to achanges in our state income tax benefit of $0.5 million in the nine months ended December 31, 2016.rates.


Net earnings: The foregoing resulted in net earnings of $15.6 million and $46.2$21.6 million for the three andmonths ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $2.1 million, or 10.7%, as compared to $19.6 million of the same period in the prior year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, net earnings were $58.8 million, an increase of 23.5% and 15.4%$3.0 million, or 5.4%, as compared to $12.6$55.8 million and $40.1 million duringin the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, respectively.same period in the prior year.


Basic and fully diluted earnings per common share were $1.12 and $1.11was $1.62 for the three months ended December 31, 2017,2020, an increase of 21.7%10.2% and 22.0%11.0%, respectively, as compared to $0.92$1.47 and $0.91, respectively,$1.46 for the three months ended December 31, 2016.basic and fully diluted earnings per common share for the same periods in the prior year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2017,2020, basic and fully diluted earnings per common share were $3.34$4.41 and $3.30,$4.39, an increase of 16.0%5.3% and 15.4%5.5%, respectively, as compared to $2.88$4.19 and $2.86, respectively,$4.16 for the same periodperiods in the prior year.


Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 9.1% to $1.79 for the three months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $1.64 for the three months ended December 31, 2019. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 1.6% to $4.97 for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $4.89 for the nine months ended December 31, 2019.

Weighted average common shares outstanding used in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per common share for both the three and nine months ended December 31, 20172020 and 2019 was 13.9 million and 14.0 million, respectively.13.3 million. Weighted average common shares outstanding used in the calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per common share for both the three months ended December 31, 2016 was 13.8 million and 13.9 million, respectively.

Weighted average common shares outstanding used in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per common share for the nine months ended December 31, 20172020, and 2019 was 13.8 million and 14.0 million, respectively. Weighted average common shares outstanding used in the calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per common share for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was 13.9 million and 14.0 million, respectively.13.4 million.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES


Liquidity Overview


Our primary sourcessource of liquidity have historically beenfunding is cash and cash equivalents, internally generated funds from operations and borrowings bothwhich are accounted for as non-recourse and recourse.recourse notes payable. We have useduse those funds to meet our capital requirements, which have historically consisted primarily of working capital for operational needs, capital expenditures, purchases of equipment for lease, payments of principal and interest on indebtedness outstanding, acquisitions and the repurchase of shares of our common stock.


Our subsidiary ePlus Technology, inc., and certain of its subsidiaries, which are part of our technology segment, finances itsfinance their operations with funds generated from operations, and with a credit facility with Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance, LLC (“WFCDF”). ePlus Technology, inc.’s agreement with WFCDF has an aggregate credit limitThis facility provides short-term capital for our technology segment. There are two components of $250 million as of December 31, 2017.

On July 27, 2017, we executed an amendment to the WFCDF credit facility: (1) a floor plan component, and (2) an accounts receivable component.

We believe that cash on hand and funds generated from operations, together with available credit under our credit facility, which temporarily increaseswill be enough to finance our working capital, capital expenditures, and other requirements for at least the aggregate limitnext year.

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Our ability to continue to expand, both organically and through acquisitions, is dependent upon our ability to generate enough cash flow from operations or from borrowing or other sources of financing as may be required. While at this time we do not anticipate requiring any additional sources of financing to fund operations, if demand for IT products declines, or if our supply of products is delayed or interrupted, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected.

The extent of the two componentsimpact of COVID-19 is uncertain and may impact our liquidity position over the longer term. As credit markets have tightened as a result of COVID-19, we may have difficulty funding our financing transactions with lenders, which may result in the use of our cash or a decrease in financing originations.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the periods indicated (in thousands):

 Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $5,244  $(74,728)
Net cash used in investing activities  (30,659)  (20,044)
Net cash provided by financing activities  26,382   74,648 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  (735)  (137)
         
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $232  $(20,261)

Cash flows from $250.0operating activities. We had $5.2 million provided by operating activities during the nine months ended December 31, 2020, compared to $325.0$74.7 million used in operating activities for the nine months ended December 31, 2019. See below for a breakdown of operating cash flows by segment (in thousands):

 Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Technology segment $43,694  $(18,146)
Financing segment  (38,450)  (56,582)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $5,244  $(74,728)

Technology Segment: In the nine months ended December 31, 2020, our technology segment provided $43.7 million from operating activities primarily due to cash generated from earnings. Additionally, we had net borrowing on the datefloor plan component of our credit facility of $44.1 million which was partially offset by repayment of $35.0 million in borrowings under the accounts receivable component of our Technology segment credit facility. We use this facility to manage working capital needs. We present changes in this balance as financing activity in our consolidated statement of cash flows.

In the nine months ended December 31, 2019, operating cash flows used by our technology segment was $18.1 million as cash generated from earnings were exceeded by changes in working capital. In addition, cash provided by the accounts payable – floor plan facility was $28.4 million. Accounts payable – floor plan is a facility used to manage working capital needs and we are required to present changes in this balance as financing activity in our consolidated statement of cash flows.

To manage our working capital, we monitor our cash conversion cycle for our technology segment, which is defined as days sales outstanding (“DSO”) in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory (“DIO”) minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable (“DPO”).

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The following table presents the components of the agreementcash conversion cycle for our Technology segment:

 As of December 31, 
  2020  2019 
       
(DSO) Days sales outstanding (1)  62   57 
(DIO) Days inventory outstanding (2)  13   10 
(DPO) Days payable outstanding (3)  (51)  (41)
Cash conversion cycle  24   26 

(1)Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of trade accounts receivable-trade, net for our technology segment at the end of the period divided by adjusted gross billings for the same three-month period.
(2)Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of inventory, net for our technology segment at the end of the period divided by cost of adjusted gross billings for the same three-month period.
(3)Represents the rolling three-month average of the combined balance of accounts payable-trade and accounts payable-floor plan for our technology segment at the end of the period divided by cost of adjusted gross billings for the same three-month period.

Our cash conversion cycle decreased to 24 days at December 31, 2020, compared to 26 days at December 31, 2019. Our standard payment term for customers is between 30-60 days; however, certain customer orders may be approved for extended payment terms. Our DPO increased 10 days. Invoices processed through Octoberour credit facility, or the A/P-floor plan balance, are typically paid within 45-60 days from the invoice date, while A/P trade invoices are typically paid within 30 days from the invoice date; however, certain of our suppliers temporarily increased our terms to 90 days. Our DSO increased 5 days due to an increase in sales during the quarter ended December 31, 2017,2020, to customers with terms greater than or equal to net 60 days. The 3 day increase in DIO was due to an increase in average inventory balances of 21.9%, or $12.7 million, due to pending projects for our customers and providessome delays in receiving by our customers whose offices were temporarily closed due to COVID-19.

Financing Segment: In the nine months ended December 31, 2020, our financing segment used $38.5 million from operating activities, primarily due to changes in financing receivables- net of $67.1 million, partially offset by earnings of $15.4 million and an increase in accounts payable trade of $12.5 million. In the nine months ended December 30, 2019, our financing segment used $56.6 million from operating activities, primarily due to the issuance of new financing receivables. We recognize the change in financing receivables, including the issuance of financing receivables offset by repayments of financing receivables and the proceeds from the transfer of financing receivables, when we account for the transfer as a sale, as part of operating activities.

Cash flows related to investing activities. In the nine months ended December 31, 2020, we used $30.7 million from investing activities, consisting of $27.1 million for the acquisition of SMP, $4.2 million for purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment offset by $0.7 million of proceeds from the sale of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment. In the nine months ended December 31, 2019, we used $20.0 million from investing activities, consisting of $14.2 million for acquisitions and $7.2 million for purchases of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment, and offset by $1.4 million of proceeds from the sale of property, equipment, and operating lease equipment.

Cash flows from financing activities. In the nine months ended December 31, 2020, cash provided by financing activities was $26.4 million consisting of net borrowings on floor plan facility of $44.1 million, net borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable of $24.8 million, which was partially offset by repayment of $35.0 million in borrowings under the accounts receivable component of our Technology segment credit facility, $6.9 million in repurchase of common stock, and $0.6 million paid to the sellers of a prior acquisition.

In the nine months ended December 31, 2019, cash provided by financing activities was $74.6 million, consisting of net borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable of $65.7 million, net borrowings on floor plan facility of $28.4 million, and offset by $13.7 million in repurchase of common stock and $5.8 million in repayments of financing of acquisitions.

Our borrowing of non-recourse and recourse notes payable primarily arises from our financing segment when we transfer contractual payments due to us an election beginning July 1under lease and financing agreements to third-party financial institutions. When the transfers do not meet the requirements for a sale, the proceeds paid to us represent borrowings of non-recourse or recourse notes payable.

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Non-Cash Activities. We transfer contractual payments due to us under lease and financing agreements to third-party financial institutions. As a condition of these agreements, certain financial institutions may request that the customer remit their contractual payments to a trust, rather than to us, and the trust pays the financial institution. Alternatively, the customer will make payments to us, and we will remit the payment to the financial institution. The economic impact to us under either structure is similar, in each subsequent yearthat the assigned contractual payments are paid by the customer and remitted to similarly temporarily increase the aggregate limitlender. However, when our customer makes payments through a trust, such payments represent non-cash transactions. Also, in certain assignment agreements, we may direct the third-party financial institution to pay some of the two componentsproceeds from the assignment directly to $325.0 million ending the earliervendor or vendors that have supplied the assets being leased and or financed. In these situations, the portion of 90 days following the dateproceeds paid directly to our vendors are non-cash transactions.

Secured borrowings – Financing segment

We may finance all or most of electionthe cost of the assets that we finance for customers by transferring all or October 31part of the contractual payments due to us to third-party financing institutions. When we account for the transfer as a secured borrowing, we recognize the proceeds as either recourse or non-recourse notes payable. Our customers are responsible for repaying the debt from a secured borrowing. The lender typically secures a lien on the financed assets at the time the financial assets are transferred and releases it upon collecting all the transferred payments. We are not liable for the repayment of non-recourse loans unless we breach our representations and warranties in the loan agreements. The lender assumes the credit risk and their only recourse, upon default by the customer, is against the customer and the specific equipment under lease. While we expect that same year.the credit quality of our financing arrangements and our residual return history will continue to allow us to obtain such financing, such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. As a result of COVID-19, credit markets have tightened. Our lenders are more discerning and are taking longer to approve transactions. In addition, certain lenders have narrowed their demand to certain types of transactions and/or credit quality and excluding others. For example, some lenders have declined transactions that have longer terms or transactions with certain market segments. Therefore, we may no longer be able to transfer certain receivables to financial institutions which may result in investing our capital or declining the transaction.


Credit facility — Technology segment

Our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc., and certain of its subsidiaries have a financing facility from WFCDF to finance their working capital requirements for inventories and accounts receivable. There are two components of this facility: (1) a floor plan component; and (2) an accounts receivable component.

On May 15, 2020, we executed an amendment to the WFCDF credit facility that increased the aggregate limit of the two components, except during a temporary uplift, to $275.0 million. Additionally, we have an election to temporarily increase the aggregate limit to $350.0 million for a period of not less than 30 days, provided that all such periods shall not exceed 150 days in the aggregate in any calendar year. Further, the amendment increased the limit on the accounts receivable component of the WFCDF credit facility to $100.0 million, changed the interest rate to two percent (2.00%) plus the greater of one month LIBOR or seventy-five hundredths of one percent (0.75%), and modified certain restrictions on ePlus Technology, inc.’s ability to pay dividends to ePlus inc.

As of December 31, 2020, the limit of the two components of the credit facility was $275 million, and the accounts receivable component had a sub-limit of $100 million. Our borrowing availability under the credit facility varies based upon the value of the receivables and inventory of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries.

The WFCDF credit facility is secured by the assets of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries. Additionally, the credit facility requires a guaranty of $10.5 million by ePlus inc.

The credit facility restricts the ability of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries to pay dividends to ePlus inc. unless their available borrowing meets certain thresholds. As of December 31, 2020, their available borrowing met the threshold such that there were no restricted net assets of ePlus Technology, inc.

The credit facility requires that financial statements of ePlus Technology, inc. and certain of its subsidiaries be provided within 45 days of each quarter and 90 days of each fiscal year end and requires that other operational reports be provided on a regular basis. Either party may terminate with 90 days’ advance notice.

The loss of the WFCDF credit facility, including during circumstances related to COVID-19, could have a material adverse effect on our future results as we currently rely on this facility and its components for daily working capital and liquidity for our technology segment and as an operational function of our accounts payable process.

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Floor Plan Component. After a customer places a purchase order with us and after we have completed our credit check,review of the customer, we place an order for the equipment with one of our vendors. Generally, most purchase orders from us to our vendors are first financed under the floor plan component and reflected in “accounts payable—floor plan” in our consolidated balance sheets. Payments on the floor plan component are due on three specified dates each month, generally 30-60 days from the invoice date. On theIn addition, certain suppliers have temporarily extended their repayment terms to us due date of the invoices financed by the floor plan component, the invoices are paid by the accounts receivable component of the credit facility. The balance of the accounts receivable component is then reduced by payments from our available cash. The outstanding balance under the accounts receivable component is recorded as recourse notes payable on our consolidated balance sheets. There was no outstanding balance at December 31, 2017or March 31, 2017, while the maximum credit limit was $30.0 million for both periods. The borrowings and repayments under the floor plan component are reflected as “net borrowings on floor plan facility” in the cash flows from financing activities section of our consolidated statements of cash flows.

to COVID-19. Most customer payments in our technology segment are remitted to our lockboxes. Once payments are cleared, the monies in the lockbox accounts are automatically and daily transferred to our operating account on a daily basis.account. On the due dates of the floor plan component, we make cash payments to WFCDF. These payments from the accounts receivable component toOur borrowings and repayments under the floor plan component and repayments from our cash are reflected asincluded in “net borrowings (repayments) on floor plan facility” in thewithin cash flows from the financing activities section ofin our consolidated statements of cash flows. We engage in this payment structure in order to minimize our interest expense and bank fees in connection with financing the operations of our technology segment.

We believe that cash on hand, and funds generated from operations, together with available credit under our credit facility, will be sufficient to finance our working capital, capital expenditures and other requirements for at least the next twelve calendar months.

Our ability to continue to fund our planned growth, both internally and externally, is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to obtain additional funds through equity or debt financing, or from other sources of financing, as may be required. While at this time we do not anticipate requiring any additional sources of financing to fund operations, if demand for IT products declines, our cash flows from operations may be substantially affected.
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Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash over the periods indicated (in thousands):

  Nine Months Ended December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Net cash provided by operating activities $48,824  $29,702 
Net cash used in investing activities  (54,793)  (47,040)
Net cash used in financing activities  (27,758)  (8,205)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  72   454 
         
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents $(33,655) $(25,089)

Cash flows from operating activities. Cash provided by operating activities totaled $48.8 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Net earnings adjusted for the impact of non-cash items was $46.1million. Net changes in assets and liabilities resulted in a increase of cash and cash equivalents of $2.7 million, primarily due to net reductions in inventories of $43.3 million and increased in accounts payable of $18.4 million, mostly offset by additions to deferred costs, other intangible assets and other assets of $26.2 financing receivables of $13.0, accounts receivables of $10.3 million, and salaries and commissions payable and deferred revenues and other liabilities of $9.5 million.

Cash provided by operating activities totaled $29.7 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2016. Net earnings adjusted for the impact of non-cash items was $45.0 million. Net changes in assets and liabilities resulted in a decrease of cash and cash equivalents of $15.3 million, primarily due to net additions to accounts receivables of $62.0 million, inventories of $77.4 million, partially offset by increased in accounts payable of $53.2 million, and salaries and commissions payable, deferred revenues and other liabilities of $51.2 million.

In order to manage our working capital, we monitor our cash conversion cycle for our Technology segment, which is defined as days sales outstanding (“DSO”) in accounts receivable plus days of supply in inventory (“DIO”) minus days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable (“DPO”). The following table presents the components of the cash conversion cycle for our Technology segment:

  As of December 31, 
  2017  2016 
       
(DSO) Days sales outstanding (1)  52   52 
(DIO) Days inventory outstanding (2)  12   23 
(DPO) Days payable outstanding (3)  (40)  (48)
Cash conversion cycle  24   27 

(1)Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of trade accounts receivable-trade, net for our Technology segment at the end of the period divided by Adjusted gross billings of product and services for the same three-month period.
(2)Represents the rolling three-month average of the balance of inventory, net for our Technology segment at the end of the period divided by Cost of adjusted gross billings of product and services for the same three-month period.
(3)Represents the rolling three-month average of the combined balance of accounts payable-trade and accounts payable-floor plan for our Technology segment at the end of the period divided by Cost of adjusted gross billings of product and services for the same three-month period.

Our cash conversion cycle decreased to 24 days at December 31, 2017, compared to 27 days at December 31, 2016, primarily driven by a decrease in DPO of 8 days due to DPO timing of payments. The higher cash conversion cycle for December 31, 2016 was due mainly to a significant increase in our inventories due to large projects for several of our major customers in the prior year’s quarter.

Cash flows related to investing activities. Cash used in investing activities was $54.8 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Cash used in investing activities during the nine months ended December 31, 2017 was primarily driven by acquisitions of $37.7 million, net issuance and repayment of financing receivables of $79.1 million, purchases of assets to be leased or financed of $5.7 million, and purchases of property, equipment, software, and operating lease equipment of $6.3 million, which was partially offset by the sale of financing receivables of $64.1 million, and proceeds from sale of property, equipment and operating leases of $10.0 million.
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Cash used in investing activities was $47.0 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2016. Cash used in investing activities during the nine months ended December 31, 2016 was primarily driven by issuance of financing receivables of $114.7 million, cash used in acquisitions of $9.5 million, purchases of property, equipment and operating lease equipment of $7.3 million, and purchases of assets to be leased or financed of $5.9 million, which was partially offset by cash proceeds from the repayment financing receivable of $44.1 million, the sale of financing receivables of $39.9 million, and proceeds from the sale of property, equipment and operating lease equipment of $6.4 million.

Cash flows from financing activities. Cash used in financing activities was $27.8 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2017, which was primarily due to net repayment on floor plan facility of $24.9 million, cash used for the repurchase of common stock of $13.4 million, and repayment of financing of acquisitions of $1.6 million, partially offset by net borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable of $12.1 million. Cash used in financing activities was $8.2 million during the nine months ended December 31, 2016, which was primarily due to $30.5 million in cash used for the repurchase of common stock, and net repayment on the floor plan facility of $5.6 million, partially offset by to net borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable of $28.6 million.

Non-Cash Activities

We assign contractual payments due under lease and financing agreements to third-party financial institutions, which are accounted for as non-recourse notes payable. As a condition to the assignment agreement, certain financial institutions may request that the customer remit their contractual payments to a trust; rather than to us, and the trust pays the financial institution. Alternatively, if the structure of the agreement does not require a trustee, the customer will continue to make payments to us, and we will remit the payment to the financial institution. The economic impact to us under either assignment structure is similar, in that the assigned contractual payments are paid by the customer and remitted to the lender to pay down the corresponding non-recourse notes payable. However, these assignment structures are classified differently within our consolidated statements of cash flows. More specifically, we are required to exclude non-cash transactions from our consolidated statement of cash flows, so certain contractual payments made by the customer to the trust are excluded from our operating cash receipts and the corresponding repayment of the non-recourse notes payable from the trust to the third-party financial institution are excluded from our cash flows from financing activities. Contractual payments received by the trust and paid to the lender on our behalf are disclosed as a non-cash financing activity.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We may utilize non-recourse notes payable to finance approximately 80% to 100% of the purchase price of the assets being leased or financed by our customers. Any balance of the purchase price remaining after non-recourse funding and any upfront payments received from the customer (our equity investment in the equipment) must generally be financed by cash flows from our operations, the sale of the equipment leased to third parties, or other internal means. Although we expect that the credit quality of our financing arrangements and our residual return history will continue to allow us to obtain such financing, such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

The financing necessary to support our lease and financing activities has been provided by our cash and non-recourse borrowings. We monitor our exposure closely. We are able to obtain financing through our traditional lending sources which is primarily non-recourse borrowings from third party banks and finance companies. Non-recourse financings are loans whose repayment is the responsibility of a specific customer, although we may make representations and warranties to the lender regarding the specific contract or have ongoing loan servicing obligations. Under a non-recourse loan, we borrow from a lender an amount based on the present value of the contractually committed payments at a fixed rate of interest, and the lender secures a lien on the financed assets. When the lender is fully repaid, the lien is released and all further proceeds are ours. We are not liable for the repayment of non-recourse loans unless we breach our representations and warranties in the loan agreements. The lender assumes the credit risk, and the lender’s only recourse, upon default, is against the customer and the specific equipment.

At December 31, 2017, our non-recourse notes payable decreased 13.8% to $31.5 million, as compared to $36.5 million at March 31, 2017. Recourse notes payable was zero as of December 31, 2017 compared to $0.9 million as of March 31, 2017.

Whenever desirable, we arrange for equity investment financing, which includes selling lease payments, including the residual portions, to third parties and financing the equity investment on a non-recourse basis. We generally retain customer control and operational services, and have minimal residual risk. We usually reserve the right to share in remarketing proceeds of the equipment on a subordinated basis after the investor has received an agreed-to return on its investment.
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Credit Facility — Technology

Our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc., has a financing facility from WFCDF to finance its working capital requirements for inventories and accounts receivable. There are two components of this facility: (1) a floor plan component; and (2) an accounts receivable component. This facility has full recourse to ePlus Technology, inc. and is secured by a blanket lien against all its assets, such as chattel paper, receivables and inventory. As of December 31, 2017, the facility had an aggregate limit of the two components of $250.0 million with an accounts receivable sub-limit of $30.0 million.

On July 27, 2017, we executed an amendment to the WFCDF credit facility which temporarily increased the aggregate limit of the two components from $250.0 million to $325.0 million from the date of the agreement through October 31, 2017, and provides us an election beginning July 1 in each subsequent year to similarly temporarily increase the aggregate limit of the two components to $325.0 million ending the earlier of 90 days following the date of election and October 31 of that same year.

Availability under the facility may be limited by the asset value of equipment we purchase or accounts receivable, and may be further limited by certain covenants and terms and conditions of the facility. These covenants include but are not limited to a minimum excess availability of the facility and minimum earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of ePlus Technology, inc. We were in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2017. Interest on the facility is assessed at a rate of the One Month LIBOR plus two and one half percent if the payments are not made on the three specified dates each month. The facility requires that financial statements of ePlus Technology, inc. be provided within 45 days of each quarter and 90 days of each fiscal year end and also requires other operational reports be provided on a regular basis. Either party may terminate the facility with 90 days advance written notice.

We are not, and do not believe that we are reasonably likely to be, in breach of the WFCDF credit facility. In addition, we do not believe that the covenants of the WFCDF credit facility materially limit our ability to undertake financing. In this regard, the covenants apply only to our subsidiary, ePlus Technology, inc. This credit facility is secured by the assets of only ePlus Technology, inc. and the guaranty as described below.

The facility provided by WFCDF requires a guaranty of $10.5 million by ePlus inc. The guaranty requires ePlus inc. to deliver its annual audited financial statements by a certain date. We have delivered the annual audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2017, as required. The loss of the WFCDF credit facility could have a material adverse effect on our future results as we currently rely on this facility and its components for daily working capital and liquidity for our technology segment and as an operational function of our accounts payable process.

Floor Plan Component

Purchases by ePlus Technology, inc. including computer technology products, software, maintenance and services, are in part financed through a floor plan component in which interest expense for the first thirty to ninety days, in general, is not charged. The floor plan liabilities are recorded as accounts payable—floor plan on our consolidated balance sheets, as they are normally repaid within the fifteen to ninety-day time frame and represent assigned accounts payable originally generated with the manufacturer/distributor. In some cases we are able to pay invoices early and receive a discount, but if the fifteen to ninety-day obligation is not paid timely, interest is then assessed at stated contractual rates.


The respective floor plan component credit limits and actual outstanding balance payables for the dates indicated were as follows (in thousands):


Maximum Credit Limit
at December 31, 2017
  
Balance as of
December 31, 2017
  
Maximum Credit Limit
at March 31, 2017
  
Balance as of
March 31, 2017
 
Maximum Credit Limit
at December 31, 2020
Maximum Credit Limit
at December 31, 2020
  
Balance as of
December 31, 2020
  
Maximum Credit Limit
at March 31, 2020
  
Balance as of
March 31, 2020
 
$250,000  $107,761  $250,000  $132,612 275,000  $177,084  $300,000  $127,416 

Accounts Receivable Component

Included within the credit facility, . ePlus Technology, inc. hasand certain of its subsidiaries have an accounts receivable component fromincluded within the WFCDF credit facility, which has a revolving line of credit. On the due date of the invoices financed by the floor plan component, the invoices are paid by the accounts receivable component of the credit facility. The balance of the accounts receivable component is then reduced by payments from our available cash. The outstanding balance under the accounts receivable component is recorded as recourse notes payable on our consolidated balance sheets. ThereOur borrowings and repayments under the accounts receivable component are included in “borrowings of non-recourse and recourse notes payable” and “repayments of non-recourse and recourse notes payable,” respectively, within cash flows from the financing activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.

As of March 31, 2020, there was noan outstanding balance outstanding for the accounts receivable component atof $35.0 million. As of December 31, 2017or2020, there was no outstanding balance for the accounts receivable component. As of December 31, 2020, and March 31, 2017, while2020, the maximum credit limit was $30.0$100.0 million for both periods.and $50.0 million, respectively. We may from time to time maintain a balance on the accounts receivable component to assist in mitigating risk arising from COVID-19.

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Performance Guarantees

In the normal course of business, we may provide certain customers with performance guarantees, which are generally backed by surety bonds. In general, we would only be liable for the amount of these guarantees in the event of default in the performance of our obligations. We are in compliance with thematerial performance obligations under all service contracts for which there is a performance guarantee, and we believe that any liability incurred in connection with these guarantees would not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated statements of operations.


Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements


As part of our ongoing business, we do not participate in transactions that generate relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K, or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. As of December 31, 2017,2020, we were not involved in any unconsolidated special purpose entity transactions.


Adequacy of Capital Resources


The continued implementation of our business strategy will require a significant investment in both resources and managerial focus. In addition, we may selectively acquire other companies that have attractive customer relationships and skilled sales and/or engineering forces. We may also startopen offices in new geographic areas, which may require a significant investment of cash. We may also acquire technology companies to expand and enhance the platform of bundled solutions to provide additional functionality and value-added services. We may continue to use our internally generated funds to finance investments in leased assets or investments in notes receivables due from our customers. These actions may result in increased working capital needs as the business expands. As a result, we may require additional financing to fund our strategy, implementation, potential future acquisitions, and working capital needs, which may include additional debt and equity financing. The impacts of COVID-19 may limit or eliminate our access to capital. While the future is uncertain, we do not believe our credit facility will be terminated by the lender or us. Our lending partners in our financing segment have tightened credit availability and are more discerning in their approval process. However, currently we have funding resources available for our transactions.


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Inflation


For the periods presented herein, inflation has been relatively low, and we believe that inflation has not had a material effect on our results of operations.


Potential Fluctuations in Quarterly Operating Results


Our future quarterly operating results and the market price of our common stock may fluctuate. In the event our revenues or earnings for any quarter are less than the level expected by securities analysts or the market in general, such shortfall could have an immediate and significant adverse impact on the market price of our common stock. Any such adverse impact could be greater if any such shortfall occurs near the time of any material decrease in any widely followed stock index or in the market price of the stock of one or more public equipment leasing and financing companies, IT resellers, software competitors, or our major customers or vendors of ours.vendors.


Our quarterly results of operations are susceptible to fluctuations for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to the worldwide impacts from COVID-19, currency fluctuations, reduction in IT spending, any reduction of expected residual values related to the equipment under our leases, the timing and mix of specific transactions, the reduction of manufacturer incentive programs, and other factors. Quarterly operating results could also fluctuate as a result of our sale of equipment in our lease portfolio to a lessee or third-party at the expiration of a lease term or prior to such expiration, to a lessee or to a third party and the transfer of financial assets. Sales of equipment and transfers of financial assets may have the effect of increasing revenues and net income during the quarter in which the sale occurs and reducing revenues and net income otherwise expected in subsequent quarters. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in our 20172020 Annual Report.


We believe that comparisons of quarterly results of our operations are not necessarily meaningful and that results for one quarter should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance.


Item 3.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk


There have been no material changesOur cash flow may be adversely affected by the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may result in our quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk duringdelays in the nine months ended December 31, 2017 from our 2017 Annual Report. For a discussion of the Company's exposure to market risk, reference is made to disclosures set forth in Part II, Item 7Acollections of our above-mentioned 2017 Annual Report.accounts receivables or non-payment.


Although a substantial portion of our liabilities are non-recourse, fixed-interest-rate instruments, we utilize our lines of credit and other financing facilities whichthat are subject to fluctuations in short-term interest rates. TheseOur non-recourse instruments, which are denominated in U.S.US dollars, were entered into for other than trading purposes and with the exception of amounts drawn under the WFCDF facility, bear interest at a fixed rate. Because the interest rate on these instruments is fixed, changes in interest rates will not directly impact our cash flows. Financing transactions funded with our cash flows, not debt, and may be subject to interest rate risk. If the market interest rate exceeds our internal rate of return, we may not fund the transaction to obtain the proceeds. Borrowings under the WFCDF facility bear interest at a market-based variable rate. As of December 31, 2017,2020, the aggregate fair value of our recourse and non-recourse borrowings approximated their carrying value.
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We have transactions in foreign currencies, primarily in British Pounds, Euros, and in Euros.Indian Rupees. There is a potential for exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency rates resulting primarily from the translation exposure associated with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. In addition, we have foreign currency exposure when transactions are not denominated in theour subsidiary’s functional currency. To date, our foreign operations are insignificant in relation to total consolidated operations, and we believe that potential fluctuations in currency exchange rates will not have a material effect on our financial position.


The UK referendum (“Brexit”) to leave,UK’s leaving the European Union (“Brexit”) could impact revenue items, cost items, tax, goodwill impairments and liquidity, among others. The most obvious immediate impact is the effect of foreign exchange fluctuations on revenue and cost items. We have determined that our foreign currency exposure for our United KingdomUK operations is insignificant in relation to total consolidated operations, and we believe those potential fluctuations in currency exchange rates and other Brexit relatedBrexit-related economic and operational risks will not have a material effect on our results of operations and financial position.


We evaluate Brexit-related developments on a regular basis to determine if such developments are anticipated to have a material impact on the Company’sour results on operations and financial position.


We havelease assets in foreign countries, including Canada, the UK and Iceland.several other European countries. As a lessor, we have entered into lease contracts and non-recourse, fixed-interest-rate financing denominated in Canadian dollars and in Icelandic krona. In our fiscal year beginning April 1, 2016, we began entering in financing transactions and non-recourse, fixed-interest-rate financingassets for amounts denominated in British Pounds, in the United Kingdom. To date,Euros, and Canadian dollars. As our foreign operations have been insignificant andsmaller compared to our domestic operations, we believe that potential fluctuations in currency exchange rates will not have a material effect on our financial position.


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Item 4.
Controls and Procedures


As of the end of the period covered by this report, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, or “disclosure controls,” as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Disclosure controls are controls and procedures designed to reasonably ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this quarterly report, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our disclosure controls include some, but not all, components of our internal control over financial reporting. Based upon that evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2017.2020.


Changes in Internal ControlsControl Over Financial Reporting.


There have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2017, which2020, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls


Our management, including our CEO and CFO, doesdo not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system cannot provide absolute assurance due to its inherent limitations; it is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. A control system also can be circumvented by collusion or improper management override. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of such limitations, disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting cannot prevent or detect all misstatements, whether unintentional errors or fraud. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process; therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.


PART II. OTHER INFORMATION


Item 1.
Legal Proceedings


FromWe are not currently involved in any litigation that we believe could have a materially adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operation. However, from time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Legal proceedings which may arise in the ordinary course of business include, but are not limited to, preference payment claims asserted in customer bankruptcy proceedings,proceedings; tax audits,audits; claims of alleged infringement of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights,rights; claims of alleged non-compliance with contract provisions,provisions; employment-related claims,claims; claims by competitors, vendors, or customers,customers; claims related to alleged violations of laws and regulations, andregulations; claims relating to alleged security or privacy breaches.breaches, and claims stemming from actions or events relating to COVID-19. We attempt to ameliorate the effect of potential litigation through insurance coverage and contractual protections such as rights to indemnifications and limitations of liability. Additionally, we proactively seek to recover funds to which we may be entitled. From time to time, we are successful in obtaining recoveries by filing a claim in class action suits, however, we have limited insight into the timing or amount of those recoveries.


We provide for costs relating to contingencies when a loss is probable, and the amount is reasonably determinable. In the opinion of management, there was not at least a reasonable possibility that the Companywe may have incurred a material loss, or a material loss in excess of a recorded accrual, with respect to loss contingencies for asserted legal and other claims. However, the outcome of legal proceedings and claims brought against us is subject to significant uncertainty. Therefore, although management considers the likelihood of such an outcome to be remote, if one or more of these legal matters were resolved against the Companyus in a reporting period for amounts in excess of management’s expectations, the Company’sour consolidated financial statements for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected.


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Item 1A.
Risk Factors


There has not been any material change in the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A of our 20172020 Annual Report.

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Item 2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds


The following table provides information regarding our purchases of ePlus inc. common stock during the nine months ended December 31, 2017.2020.


Period Total number of shares purchased (1)  Average price paid per share  Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs  Maximum number (or approximate dollar value) of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs 
April 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017  -  $-   -   1,000,000(2)
May 1, 2017 through May 31, 2017  -  $-   -   1,000,000(3)
June 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017  54,546  $75.72   -   1,000,000(4)
July 1, 2017 through July 31, 2017  3,179  $79.50   -   1,000,000(5)
August 1, 2017 through August 18, 2017  -  $-   -   1,000,000(6)
August 19, 2017 through August 31, 2017  -  $-   -   500,000(7)
September 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017  -  $-   -   500,000(8)
October 1, 2017 through October 31, 2017  -  $-   -   500,000(9)
November 1, 2017 through November 30, 2017  56,707  $78.21   -   443,293(10)
December 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017  68,898  $77.61   -   374,395(11)
Period 
Total
number of
shares
purchased
(1)
  
Average
price
paid per
share
  
Total number of
shares
purchased as
part of publicly
announced plans
or programs
  
Maximum number (or
approximate dollar
value) of shares that
may yet be purchased
under the plans or
programs
 
April 1, 2020 through April 30, 2020  -  $-   -   339,324   (2)
May 1, 2020 through May 27, 2020  996  $66.75   -   339,324   (3)
May 28, 2020 through May 31, 2020  -       -   500,000   (4)
June 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020  36,644  $71.94   -   500,000   (5)
July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020  -       -   500,000   (6)
August 1, 2020 through August 31, 2020  -  $-   -   500,000   (7)
September 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020  24,318  $73.37   24,318   475,682   (8)
October 1, 2020 through October 31, 2020  25,455  $70.67   25,455   450,227   (9)
November 1, 2020 through November 30, 2020  9,328  $70.99   9,328   440,899   (10)
December 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020  -  $-   -   440,899   (11)

(1)Any shares acquired were in open-market purchases, except for 54,546 shares, which were repurchased in June 2017, and 3,179 shares which were repurchased in July 2017,(1)          Any shares acquired were in open-market purchases, except for 37,640 shares, out of which 996 were repurchased in May 2020 and 36,644 in June 2020 to satisfy tax withholding obligations that arose due to the vesting of shares of restricted stock.
(2)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended April 30, 20172020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 1,000,000500,000 shares. As of April 30, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 1,000,000.339,324.
(3)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended May 31, 2017 had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 1,000,000 shares. As of May 31, 2017, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 1,000,000.
(4)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended June 30, 2017 had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 1,000,000 shares. As of June 30, 2017, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 1,000,000.
(5)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended July 31, 2017 had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 1,000,000 shares. As of July 31, 2017, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 1,000,000.
(6)As of August 18, 201727, 2019, the authorization under the then existing share purchaserepurchase plan expired.
(7)(4)On August 15, 2017,May 20, 2020, the board of directors authorized the company to repurchase up to 500,000 shares of our outstanding common stock commencing on August 19, 2017 through August 18, 2018.May 28, 2020, and continuing to May 27, 2021. As of AugustMay 31, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.
(5)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended June 30, 2020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of June 30, 2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.
(6)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended July 31, 2020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of July 31, 2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.
(7)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended August 31, 2020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of August 31, 2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.
(8)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended September 30, 20172020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of September 30, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.475,682.
(9)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended October 31, 20172020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of October 31, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 500,000.450,227.
(10)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended November 30, 20172020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of November 30, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 443,293.440,899.
(11)The share purchase authorization in place for the month ended December 31, 20172020, had purchase limitations on the number of shares of up to 500,000 shares. As of December 31, 2017,2020, the remaining authorized shares to be purchased were 374,395.440,899.


The timing and expiration date of the current stock repurchase authorizations are included in Note 10, “Stockholders’ Equity12, “Stockholders’ Equity” to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

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Item 3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities


Not Applicable.


Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures


Not Applicable.


Item 5.Other Information


None.


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Item 6.Exhibits

Exhibit NumberAmended and Restated Employment Agreement effective September 6, 2017, by and between ePlus inc. and Mark P. Marron.Exhibit Description
  
ePlus inc. Amended and Restated Employment Agreement effective December 12, 2017,Certificate of Incorporation as amended September 15, 2008 (Incorporated herein by and between ePlus inc. and Phillip G. Norton.reference as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 19, 2008).
  
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement effective September 6, 2017,Bylaws of ePlus inc., as amended February 15, 2018 (Incorporated herein by and between ePlus inc. and Elaine D. Marion.reference to Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 20, 2018).
  
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a).
  
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a).
  
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of ePlus inc. pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350.
  
101.INSXBRL Instance Document
  
101.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
  
101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
  
101.DEFXBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
  
101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
  
101.PREXBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in  Exhibit 101).

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49

SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


 
ePlus inc.
 
   
Date:  February 7, 20183, 2021/s/ MARK P. MARRON 
 By: Mark P. Marron
 
Chief Executive Officer and
President
 
 (Principal Executive Officer) 
   
Date:  February 7, 20183, 2021/s/ ELAINE D. MARION 
 By: Elaine D. Marion 
 Chief Financial Officer 
 (Principal Financial Officer)


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