UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

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

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2016

March 31, 2017

or

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

For the transition period fromto.

Commission File Number: 001-32270

STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 80-0103159

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

3600 Horizon Boulevard

Trevose, Pennsylvania

 19053
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(215) 826-2800

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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  

x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§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 

x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” andfiler,” “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer
x

 Accelerated filer¨
Non-accelerated filer¨☐  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Smaller reporting company¨Emerging growth company¨


If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if either 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 


Explanatory Note

x

The number of the registrant’s outstanding common units at November 1, 2016October 15, 2017 was 35,500,745.

37,957,482.





Explanatory Note
On November 9, 2016,September 18, 2017, the Partnership amendedfiled its most recentAnnual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its Form 10-Qs for2016, which amended the periods ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016. The consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Form 10-Q reflect the restatement for the same errors described in the Partnership’s amended filings. Refer to the explanatory note and Note 2 to thePartnership's audited consolidated financial statements to the Form 10-K/A for more information on the effects of the restatement on the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015.

The filing of this Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2016 is inclusive of a restatement of the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015, and for each of the threetwo years in the period ended December 31, 2015 and nine months ended September 30, 2015 as well as the related notes included inthereto. This Form 10-Q amends the Original Filing (“Restatement”).

The Restatement of thePartnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statementsinformation for the three and nine months ended corrects accountingMarch 31, 2016 and the related notes thereto, included on Form 10-Q/A filed on November 9, 2016 ("Original Filing").

The Original Filing included the restatement of the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial information as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, correcting errors related to:

1)
1.The allocation of net loss to the General Partner and the limited partners for the purposes of determining the general partner’s and limited partners’ capital accounts presented within “Partners’ capital,Capital,” and the corresponding effect on “net“Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)” for each of the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2016 and 2015;

2)
2.The presentation of certain components of “Cemetery property”, “Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation”, “Deferred cemetery revenues, net”, “Merchandise liability”, “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” and “Common limited partners’ interest” as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015;
3.The presentation of “Cemetery merchandise revenues”, Cemetery service revenues”, and “Cost of goods sold” related to assumed performance obligations from acquisitions for the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2016 and 2015;

3)
4.The recording of incorrect amounts of investment revenues and expenses related to merchandise and perpetual care trusts on the condensed consolidated statementstatements of operations and the incorrect tracking of perpetual care-trusting obligations on the condensed consolidated balance sheets;

4)
5.The recognition of incorrect amounts of revenue from deferred pre-acquisition contracts in the condensed consolidated statements of operations based on inaccurate system inputs;

5)
6.Other adjustments principally relating to the recognition, accuracy and/or classification of certain amounts in “Deferred cemetery revenues, net”, “Merchandise liabilities”,liability” and “Other current assets”; and

6)
7.The corresponding effect of the foregoing accounting errors on the Partnership’s income tax accounts, condensed consolidated statement of partners’ capital, condensed consolidated statementstatements of cash flows and the related notes thereto, disclosed in the Partnership’s condensed consolidated financial statementsinformation as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and for eachthe three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015.
The restatement of the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2016 in this Form 10-Q (“Restatement”) reflects the correction of the aforementioned errors and the following additional errors identified subsequent to the Original Filing:
1)The timing and accuracy of the threerecognition of revenues and nine months ended September 30, 2015 includedcertain associated costs related to the Partnership’s cemetery and funeral home performance obligations in “Item 1 –the condensed consolidated statement of operations in improper accounting periods and the related effects on “Deferred revenues” and “Partners’ Capital”;
2)The presentation of certain components of “Other current assets” and “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” in the condensed consolidated balance sheet;
3)The corresponding effect of the foregoing accounting errors on the Partnership’s condensed consolidated statement of cash flows and the related notes thereto;
4)
The recording and presentation of incorrect amounts of individual cemetery and funeral home location-level equity and intercompany balances—the impact of which is limited to Note 11, Supplemental Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements (unaudited)” to this Form 10-Q.Information; and

5)
The presentation of changes in “Accounts receivable, net of allowance” and “Deferred revenues” on a gross versus net basis in the Partnership’s condensed consolidated statement of cash flows and Note 2, Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance, and omission of related disclosures.





Note 1, General, (“Note 1”) in the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial information included in Item 1 provides further information regarding the Restatement.
The following sections in the Original Filing have been corrected in this Form 10-Q to reflect the Restatement:
Part I—Item 1—Financial Statements
Part I—Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
“Part I—Item 4—Controls and Procedures” to this Form 10-Q discloses the material weaknesses in the Partnership’s internal controls associated with the Restatement, as well as management’s conclusion that the Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of March 31, 2017. As disclosed therein, we continued to make improvements to our internal control over financial reporting with respect to material weaknesses that had been identified at that time, and those remediation efforts as well as other remediation efforts relating to material weaknesses we identified subsequent to March 31, 2017 remain ongoing.
This Form 10-Q does not reflect events occurring after the filing of the Original Filing except to the extent otherwise required to be included herein and does not substantively modify or update the disclosures therein other than as required to reflect the adjustments described above. See Note 1 to the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial information, set forth in Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, for additional information.
We are also filing currently dated certifications from our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1 and 32.2 to this Form 10-Q.
Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “StoneMor,” the “Company,” or the “Partnership” are to StoneMor Partners L.P. and its subsidiaries.






Index – Form
FORM 10-Q

 OF STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
   
 Page
Part I
 
Item 1.
  1
Item 2.
  32
Item 3.
  45
Item 4.
  47
Part II
 
Item 1A.
Item 6.
  49
 




Part


PART I – Financial Information

FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(UNAUDITED)

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

                                        
   September 30, 2016  December 31, 2015 
      (See Note 1) 

Assets

   

Current assets:

   

Cash and cash equivalents

  $15,610   $15,153  

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

   75,324    68,415  

Prepaid expenses

   7,048    5,367  

Other current assets

   26,531    22,241  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total current assets

   124,513    111,176  

Long-term accounts receivable, net of allowance

   97,982    95,167  

Cemetery property

   337,245    334,457  

Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation

   118,158    116,127  

Merchandise trusts, restricted, at fair value

   504,604    464,676  

Perpetual care trusts, restricted, at fair value

   334,923    307,804  

Deferred selling and obtaining costs

   122,249    111,542  

Deferred tax assets

   181    181  

Goodwill

   70,572    69,851  

Intangible assets

   66,028    67,209  

Other assets

   17,684    16,167  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total assets

  $1,794,139   $1,694,357  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Liabilities and Partners’ Capital

   

Current liabilities:

   

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

  $35,920   $29,989  

Accrued interest

   4,990    1,503  

Current portion, long-term debt

   2,144    2,440  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

   43,054    33,932  

Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs

   314,032    316,399  

Deferred revenues

   896,752    815,421  

Deferred tax liabilities

   17,876    17,747  

Perpetual care trust corpus

   334,923    307,804  

Other long-term liabilities

   25,955    21,508  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   1,632,592    1,512,811  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

   

Partners’ Capital

   

General partner interest

   (2,220  15  

Common limited partners’ interests

   163,767    181,531  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total partners’ capital

   161,547    181,546  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and partners’ capital

  $1,794,139   $1,694,357  
  

 

��

  

 

 

 

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Assets   
Current assets:   
Cash and cash equivalents$13,723
 $12,570
Accounts receivable, net of allowance76,430
 77,253
Prepaid expenses6,072
 5,532
Other current assets21,739
 23,466
Total current assets117,964
 118,821
    
Long-term accounts receivable, net of allowance98,879
 98,886
Cemetery property335,290
 337,315
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation116,906
 118,281
Merchandise trusts, restricted, at fair value523,858
 507,079
Perpetual care trusts, restricted, at fair value341,479
 333,780
Deferred selling and obtaining costs120,113
 116,890
Deferred tax assets64
 64
Goodwill70,436
 70,436
Intangible assets64,852
 65,438
Other assets21,429
 20,023
Total assets$1,811,270
 $1,787,013
    
Liabilities and Partners' Capital   
Current liabilities:   
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities$39,035
 $35,547
Accrued interest5,443
 1,571
Current portion, long-term debt1,617
 1,775
Total current liabilities46,095
 38,893
    
Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs303,618
 300,351
Deferred revenues891,356
 866,633
Deferred tax liabilities20,556
 20,058
Perpetual care trust corpus341,479
 333,780
Other long-term liabilities38,019
 36,944
Total liabilities1,641,123
 1,596,659
Commitments and contingencies
 
Partners' capital (deficit):   
General partner interest(2,135) (1,914)
Common limited partners' interest172,282
 192,268
Total partners' capital170,147
 190,354
Total liabilities and partners' capital$1,811,270
 $1,787,013
See Accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.



STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(UNAUDITED)

(in thousands, except per unit data)

(unaudited)

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016  2015  2016  2015 
      (As restated - See Note 1)     (As restated - See Note 1) 

Revenues:

     

Cemetery:

     

Merchandise

  $36,314   $37,570   $106,937   $105,972  

Services

   13,928    14,945    41,067    44,869  

Investment and other

   14,302    15,011    40,689    42,937  

Funeral home:

     

Merchandise

   6,656    6,588    20,681    19,913  

Services

   7,336    7,654    24,373    23,083  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total revenues

   78,536    81,768    233,747    236,774  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Costs and Expenses:

     

Cost of goods sold

   11,721    12,195    34,483    35,357  

Cemetery expense

   19,926    18,245    53,267    53,789  

Selling expense

   15,931    14,647    46,898    44,326  

General and administrative expense

   9,522    8,819    27,719    27,340  

Corporate overhead

   10,058    9,115    30,106    28,627  

Depreciation and amortization

   2,927    3,311    9,147    9,207  

Funeral home expenses:

     

Merchandise

   2,322    1,002    6,306    5,444  

Services

   6,070    5,432    18,672    16,728  

Other

   5,433    4,774    15,319    13,335  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total cost and expenses

   83,910    77,540    241,917    234,153  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

   (5,374  4,228    (8,170  2,621  

Other gains (losses), net

   (506  (1,460  (1,579  (1,460

Interest expense

   (5,934  (5,669  (17,431  (16,902
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

   (11,814  (2,901  (27,180  (15,741

Income tax benefit (expense)

   170    (357  (590  (671
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss

  $(11,644 $(3,258 $(27,770 $(16,412
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

General partner’s interest

  $(130 $1,021   $2,043   $2,605  

Limited partners’ interest

  $(11,514 $(4,279 $(29,813 $(19,017

Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)

  $(0.32 $(0.14 $(0.87 $(0.63

Weighted average number of limited partners’ units outstanding (basic and diluted)

   35,470    31,491    34,287    30,011  

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   
(As restated -
see Note 1)
Revenues:   
Cemetery:   
Merchandise$38,003
 $33,690
Services14,949
 13,719
Investment and other12,575
 14,414
Funeral home:   
Merchandise7,836
 7,482
Services9,583
 8,867
Total revenues82,946
 78,172
    
Costs and Expenses:   
Cost of goods sold13,519
 10,720
Cemetery expense16,697
 15,856
Selling expense16,459
 14,733
General and administrative expense9,957
 9,204
Corporate overhead11,104
 10,311
Depreciation and amortization3,455
 3,065
Funeral home expenses:   
Merchandise1,760
 2,149
Services5,699
 6,455
Other5,345
 5,140
Total costs and expenses83,995
 77,633
    
Other gains (losses), net
 (882)
Interest expense(6,706) (5,790)
Loss from continuing operations before income taxes(7,755) (6,133)
Income tax expense(806) (260)
Net loss$(8,561) $(6,393)
General partner's interest$(89) $1,101
Limited partners' interest$(8,472) $(7,494)
Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)$(0.22) $(0.23)
Weighted average number of limited partners' units outstanding (basic and diluted)37,918
 32,539
See Accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.




STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PARTNERS’ CAPITAL

(UNAUDITED)

(dollars in thousands)

(unaudited)

                                                                                
   Partners’ Capital 
   Outstanding   Common  General    
   Common Units   Limited Partners  Partner  Total 

December 31, 2015 (See Note 1)

   32,108,782    $181,531   $15   $181,546  

Issuance of common units

   3,203,682     78,832    —      78,832  

Common unit awards under incentive plans

   12,067     1,468    —      1,468  

Net loss

   —       (29,813  2,043    (27,770

Cash distributions

   —       (63,784  (4,278  (68,062

Unit distributions paid in kind

   176,214     (4,467  —      (4,467
  

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

September 30, 2016

   35,500,745    $163,767   $(2,220 $161,547  
  

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 Partners' Capital
 Outstanding Common Units Common Limited Partners General Partner Total
December 31, 201637,863,496
 $192,268
 $(1,914) $190,354
Issuance of common units
 744
 
 744
Common unit awards under incentive plans15,644
 241
 
 241
Net loss
 (8,472) (89) (8,561)
Cash distributions
 (11,755) (132) (11,887)
Unit distributions paid in kind78,342
 (744) 
 (744)
March 31, 201737,957,482
 $172,282
 $(2,135) $170,147
See Accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.




STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(UNAUDITED)

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016  2015 
      (As restated - See Note 1) 

Cash Flows From Operating Activities:

   

Net loss

  $(27,770 $(16,412

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

   

Cost of lots sold

   6,773    7,506  

Depreciation and amortization

   9,147    9,207  

Non-cash compensation expense

   1,468    824  

Non-cash interest expense

   2,510    2,207  

Other gains (losses), net

   975    (1,540

Changes in assets and liabilities:

   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

   (9,167  (4,838

Merchandise trust fund

   (13,248  (33,403

Other assets

   (6,270  (6,740

Deferred selling and obtaining costs

   (10,716  (10,959

Deferred revenue

   53,996    60,516  

Deferred taxes (net)

   (245  (40

Payables and other liabilities

   11,034    5,702  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

   18,487    12,030  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

   

Cash paid for capital expenditures

   (9,655  (11,033

Cash paid for acquisitions

   (10,550  (13,100

Proceeds from asset sales

   1,896    —    
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

   (18,309  (24,133
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

   

Cash distributions

   (68,062  (56,689

Proceeds from borrowings

   207,868    102,323  

Repayments of debt

   (207,700  (99,945

Proceeds from issuance of common units

   74,535    67,871  

Cost of financing activities

   (6,362  (66
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

   279    13,494  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

   457    1,391  

Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period

   15,153    10,401  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents - End of period

  $15,610   $11,792  
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:

   

Cash paid during the period for interest

  $11,434   $10,918  

Cash paid during the period for income taxes

  $3,114   $4,167  

Non-cash investing and financing activities:

   

Acquisition of assets by financing

  $505   $593  

Acquisition of assets by assumption of directly related liability

  $—     $876  

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   
(As restated -
see Note 1)
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:   
Net loss$(8,561) $(6,393)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:   
Cost of lots sold3,551
 2,006
Depreciation and amortization3,455
 3,065
Provision for cancellations1,828
 2,718
Non-cash compensation expense241
 407
Non-cash interest expense1,085
 757
Other (gains) losses, net
 882
Changes in assets and liabilities:   
Accounts receivable, net of allowance(1,284) (3,945)
Merchandise trust fund(3,430) (11,613)
Other assets(809) (2,469)
Deferred selling and obtaining costs(3,223) (3,220)
Deferred revenues12,802
 15,711
Deferred taxes, net498
 17
Payables and other liabilities6,198
 7,311
Net cash provided by operating activities12,351
 5,234
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:   
Cash paid for capital expenditures(1,496) (4,560)
Proceeds from asset sales
 138
Net cash used in investing activities(1,496) (4,422)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:   
Cash distributions(11,887) (21,387)
Proceeds from borrowings24,000
 10,500
Repayments of debt(21,072) (10,355)
Proceeds from issuance of common units, net of costs
 18,763
Cost of financing activities(743) 
Net cash used in financing activities(9,702) (2,479)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents1,153
 (1,667)
Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period12,570
 15,153
Cash and cash equivalents - End of period$13,723
 $13,486
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:   
Cash paid during the period for interest$1,802
 $1,513
Cash paid during the period for income taxes$2,371
 $376
Non-cash investing and financing activities:   
Acquisition of assets by financing$652
 $56
See Accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.



STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

September 30, 2016

(Unaudited)

(UNAUDITED)
March 31, 2017
1.GENERAL

Nature of Operations

StoneMor Partners L.P. (the “Partnership”) is a provider of funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the Partnership operated 317316 cemeteries in 2827 states and Puerto Rico, of which 286285 are owned and 31 are operated under lease, management or operating agreements. The Partnership also owned and operated 10599 funeral homes, including 45 located on the grounds of cemetery properties that we own, in 18 states and Puerto Rico.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements, which are unaudited except for the balance sheet at December 31, 2015,2016, which is derived from audited financial statements, are presentedhave been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim reporting. They do not include all disclosures normally made in financial statements contained in Form 10-K. In management’s opinion, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Partnership’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods disclosed have been made. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto presented in the Partnership’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Certain amounts in the prior year’s financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.2016. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 may not necessarily be indicative of the results of operations for the full year ending December 31, 2016.

On November 9, 2016, the Partnership amended its most recent Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and itsForm 10-Qs for the periods ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016. The consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Form 10-Q reflect the restatement for the same errors described in the Partnership’s amended filings. Refer to the explanatory note and Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements to the Form 10-K/A for more information on the effects of the restatement on the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015.

The effect of the adjustments on the Partnership’s consolidated statements of operations for each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 is summarized below for each affected caption:

A.The Partnership allocates net loss to the General Partner and its limited partners for the purposes of determining the General Partner’s and limited partners’ capital accounts within “Partners’ capital”, and to calculate net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted). However, the historical allocation of the Partnership’s net losses did not appropriately consider available cash that had been (or will be) distributed to the separate class of nonvoting limited partner interest (the incentive distribution rights) held by the General Partner. While this misallocation had no impact on the Partnership’s consolidated net loss for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the revised calculation to correctly allocate net losses increased the limited partners’ historical share of allocated net loss and decreased the General Partner’s historical share of allocated net loss. As a result, the accompanying consolidated statements of operations have been restated to increase the limited partners’ share of allocated net loss and decrease the General Partner’s share of allocated net loss by approximately $1.1 million and $2.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.

B.The Partnership had historically presented revenue related to assumed obligations from acquisitions on a net basis in the Partnership’s consolidated statement of operations. However, the Partnership determined that revenue recognition on such pre-acquisition revenue was understated. Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 have been restated to present this revenue on a gross basis. This classification resulted in an increase in “Cemetery merchandise revenues” of approximately $1.3 million and $3.8 million, an increase in “Cemetery services revenue” of approximately $0.2 million and $0.4 million and an increase “Cost of goods sold” of approximately $1.5 million and $4.2 million for the respective three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

C.The Partnership had historically recognized incorrect amounts of investment revenues and expenses related to its merchandise and perpetual care trusts on its consolidated statement of operations and was incorrectly tracking its perpetual care-trusting obligations on its consolidated balance sheets. Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 have been restated for these adjustments. The adjustments resulted in an increase in “Cost of goods sold” of $0.4 million and $1.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.

D.

The Partnership had historically recognized incorrect amounts of revenue from deferred pre-acquisition contracts in its consolidated statement of operations based on inaccurate system inputs. Accordingly,

the accompanying consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 have been restated to reflect the correction of the system inputs. The adjustments resulted in an increase in “Cemetery merchandise revenues” of $0.4 million and $1.2 million for the respective three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and an increase in “Cemetery services revenues” of $0.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

E.Remaining adjustments principally relate to the recognition, accuracy and/or classification of certain amounts in deferred cemetery revenues, net, merchandise liabilities, and “Other current assets”, Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 have been restated for these adjustments. The adjustments resulted in an increase in “Cemetery merchandise revenues” of $1.1 million and $3.3 million, an increase in “Cemetery services revenues” of $0.5 million and $1.6 million, and an increase in “Cost of goods sold” of $1.6 million and $4.4 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.

F.The Partnership calculated the effect on income taxes associated with the foregoing accounting errors and, as such, the accompanying statement of operations has been restated to recognize “Income tax benefit (expense)” of approximately $0.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

The effect of these adjustments on the Partnership’s consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 is summarized below for each affected caption:

                                                                      
       September 30, 2015 
       Three months ended  Nine months ended 
       As  Restatement  As  As  Restatement  As 
   Reference   Filed  Adjustments  Restated  Filed  Adjustments  Restated 
       (in thousands, except per unit data) 

Cemetery revenues:

         

Merchandise

   B, D, E    $34,709   $2,861   $37,570   $97,688   $8,284   $105,972  

Services

   B, D, E     14,195    750    14,945    42,696    2,173    44,869  

Investment and other

   C     15,054    (43  15,011    43,062    (125  42,937  

Total revenues

     78,200    3,568    81,768    226,442    10,332    236,774  

Cost of goods sold

   B, C, E     8,728    3,467    12,195    25,618    9,739    35,357  

Total cost and expenses

     74,073    3,467    77,540    224,414    9,739    234,153  

Operating income (loss)

     4,127    101    4,228    2,028    593    2,621  

Loss before income taxes

     (3,002  101    (2,901  (16,334  593    (15,741

Income tax benefit (expense)

   F     (400  43    (357  (799  128    (671

Net loss

     (3,402  144    (3,258  (17,133  721    (16,412

General partner’s interest for the period

   A, C, D, E, F     (42  1,063    1,021    (227  2,832    2,605  

Limited partners’ interest for the period

   A, C, D, E, F     (3,360  (919  (4,279  (16,906  (2,111  (19,017

Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)

   A, C, D, E, F    $(0.11 $(0.03 $(0.14 $(0.56 $(0.07 $(0.63

                                                                                
       Nine months ended September 30, 
       2015 
       As   Restatement   As 
   Reference   Filed   Adjustments   Restated 

Net loss

   C, D, E, F    $(17,133  $721    $(16,412

Changes in assets and liabilities:

        

Other assets

   E     (11,551   4,811     (6,740

Deferred revenues

   D, E     60,572     (56   60,516  

Deferred taxes (net)

   F     106     (146   (40

Payables and other liabilities

   C     11,032     (5,330   5,702  

Net cash provided by operating activities

    $12,030    $—      $12,030  

The Restatement adjustments affecting the consolidated statement of cash flows for the periods noted are included in the Partnership’s net loss from operations and offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities. There were no adjustments related to cash provided by (used in) investing and financing activities.

2017.

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of each of the Partnership’s wholly-owned100% owned subsidiaries. These statements also include the accounts of the merchandise and perpetual care trusts in which the

Partnership has a variable interest and is the primary beneficiary. The Partnership operates 31 cemeteries under long-term lease, operating or management contracts. The operations of 16 of these managed cemeteries have been consolidated.

The Partnership operates 15 cemeteries under long-term leases and other agreements that do not qualify as acquisitions for accounting purposes. As a result, the Partnership did not consolidate all of the existing assets and liabilities related to these cemeteries. The Partnership has consolidated the existing assets and liabilities of the merchandise and perpetual care trusts associated with these cemeteries as variable interest entities since the Partnership controls and receives the benefits and absorbs any losses from operating these trusts. Under the long-term leases, and other agreements associated with these properties, which are subject to certain termination provisions, the Partnership is the exclusive operator of these cemeteries and earns revenues related to sales of merchandise, services, and interment rights, and incurs expenses related to such sales, including the maintenance and upkeep of these cemeteries. Upon termination of these contracts, the Partnership will retain all of the benefits and related contractual obligations incurred from sales generated during the contract period. The Partnership has also recognized the existing customer contract related performance obligations that it assumed as part of these agreements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In


Restatement of Previously Issued Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
On September 18, 2017, the second quarterPartnership filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which amended the Partnership's audited consolidated financial statements as of 2014,December 31, 2015, and for each of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Update No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2014-09”), which supersedestwo years in the revenue recognition requirements in “Topic 605 - Revenue Recognition”period ended December 31, 2015 and most industry-specific guidance.the related notes thereto. This Form 10-Q amends the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and the related notes thereto, included on Form 10-Q/A filed on November 9, 2016 ("Original Filing"). The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is that an entity recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount thatRestatement reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. During the third quarter of 2015, Update No. 2015-14, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” was released, deferring the effective datecorrection of the amendmentsfollowing errors identified subsequent to annualthe Original Filing:
A.The Partnership understated recognized revenues from the satisfaction of cemetery and funeral home performance obligations in its condensed consolidated statement of operations. The understatement was primarily due to lags in or omissions of the data entry of a contract servicing event. The adjustments to correct these accounting errors resulted in a net increase of $1.2 million in revenues, of which $1.0 million related to merchandise revenues, for the three months ended March 31, 2016.


B.In conjunction with the foregoing revenue recognition errors, on its condensed consolidated balance sheet, the Partnership had historically (i) deferred incorrect and imprecise amounts of investment revenues and expenses related to its merchandise trusts, (ii) reserved incorrect amounts for future cancellations related to its cemetery and funeral home performance obligations, and (iii) deferred incorrect amounts of selling costs. The correction of these accounting errors resulted in a net increase in “Cemetery investment and other revenues” of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 due to changes in the inputs used to calculate trust income recognition. This also resulted in a decrease in “Cemetery merchandise revenues” of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 due to an increase in cancellation reserve expense, and an increase in “Selling expense” of $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016.
C.Certain components of “Other current assets” and “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” on its condensed consolidated balance sheet were determined to be inappropriate in the Partnership’s review of accounting policies during its ongoing remediation. The Partnership had historically presented intercompany deposits due to its merchandise and perpetual care trust funds within “Other current assets” and presented intercompany payables to its merchandise and perpetual care trusts in “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities”. The Partnership has determined the intercompany payables and liabilities to its consolidated trust funds should be eliminated. The correction of the error resulted in a reclassification of $0.4 million in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows between "Other assets" and "Payables and other liabilities" for the three months ended March 31, 2016.
D.
Specific to the Partnership’s disclosure in Note 11, Supplemental Condensed Consolidating Financial Information, (“Note 11”) the Partnership recorded incorrect amounts for its individual cemetery and funeral home location-level equity and intercompany balances at its formation and in subsequent acquisitions. Additionally, the Partnership presented certain managed locations as guarantor subsidiaries instead of non-guarantor subsidiaries in Note 11. Note that this error had no impact to amounts presented on the face of the condensed consolidated financial statements.
E.
The Partnership incorrectly presented the changes in “Accounts receivable, net of allowance” net of the income statement “Provision for cancellations” and omitted certain disclosures regarding the components of the changes in “Accounts receivable, net of allowance” and “Deferred revenues” in its condensed consolidated statement of cash flows. Additionally, specific to the Partnership’s related disclosure in Note 2, Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance, the Partnership presented activity in the allowance for cancellations that related to deferred revenues on a gross basis instead of on a net basis. The correction of the error resulted in a reclassification of $2.7 million in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows between "Provision for cancellations" and "Accounts receivable, net of allowance" for the three months ended March 31, 2016.


The effect of these adjustments on the Partnership’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2016 is summarized below for each affected caption (in thousands, except per unit data):
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
 Reference As Filed Restatement
Adjustments
 As Restated
Cemetery revenues:       
MerchandiseA, B $32,768
 $922
 $33,690
ServicesA 13,463
 256
 13,719
Investment and otherB 14,375
 39
 14,414
Funeral home revenues:       
MerchandiseA 7,456
 26
 7,482
Total revenues  76,929
 1,243
 78,172
Selling expenseB 14,576
 157
 14,733
Funeral home expenses:       
ServicesB 6,451
 4
 6,455
Total costs and expenses  77,472
 161
 77,633
Net loss  (7,475) 1,082
 (6,393)
General partner's interest for the period  1,088
 13
 1,101
Limited partners' interest for the period  (8,563) 1,069
 (7,494)
Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)  $(0.26) $0.03
 $(0.23)
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS  Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
 Reference As Filed Restatement
Adjustments
 As Restated
Net loss  $(7,475) $1,082
 $(6,393)
Provision for cancellationsE 
 2,718
 2,718
Changes in assets and liabilities:       
Accounts receivable, net of allowanceE (1,227) (2,718) (3,945)
Other assetsB, C (2,847) 378
 (2,469)
Deferred selling and obtaining costsB (3,379) 159
 (3,220)
Deferred revenuesA, B 16,952
 (1,241) 15,711
Payables and other liabilitiesC 7,689
 (378) 7,311
Net cash provided by operating activities  $5,234
 $
 $5,234
As shown above, the adjustments affecting the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the period noted are included in the Partnership’s net loss from operations and offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities. There were no adjustments related to cash provided by (used in) investing and financing activities.
Uses and Sources of Liquidity
Our primary use of liquidity is to fund working capital requirements of our businesses, capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment and distributions. As more fully discussed in Note 7, the terms of the Partnership's senior credit facility, as amended, place certain restrictions on the Partnership’s ability to increase and make distributions and obtain additional debt. Finally, the Partnership has incurred net losses for the reporting periods beginning after Decemberin this Form 10-Q, and the Consolidated Leverage Ratio under the credit facility has been nearing the maximum allowed ratio under existing covenants as disclosed in Note 7.


During 2016 and 2017, the Partnership completed various financing transactions to provide supplemental liquidity necessary to achieve management’s strategic objectives, including issuance of common units, utilization of the at-the-market equity program and establishment of a new credit facility which, as discussed more fully in Note 7 and Note 15, was further amended during 2017. The Partnership acknowledges that it continues to face a challenging competitive environment, and while the Partnership continues to focus on its overall profitability, including managing expenses, the Partnership reported a loss for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The Partnership expects that the actions taken in 2016 and 2017 including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is permitted, only as of an annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2016. During the first quarter of 2016, Update No. 2016-08, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” was released, which clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. During the second quarter of 2016, Update No. 2016-10, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” was released, which clarifies the implementation guidance on identifying performance obligations. The FASB also issued Update No. 2016-12, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2016-12”), which clarifies the guidance on assessing collectability, presenting sales taxes, measuring non-cash consideration,will enhance its liquidity and certain transition matters.financial flexibility. The Partnership will adoptlikely seek to continue to supplement cash generation with proceeds from financing activities, including borrowings under the requirementscredit facility and other borrowings, the issuance of these updates uponadditional limited partner units, capital contributions from the effective dategeneral partner and the sale of January 1, 2018,assets and other transactions. As of March 31, 2017, the Partnership had $12.8 million of total available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility.
If the Partnership continues to experience operating losses and is evaluatingnot able to generate additional liquidity through the potentialmechanisms described above or through some combination of other actions, while not expected, the Partnership may be in breach of its covenants under the credit facility, and may not be able to access additional funds and the Partnership might need to secure additional sources of funds, which may or may not be available to the Partnership. Additionally, a failure to generate additional liquidity could negatively impact our access to inventory or services that are important to the operation of the adoption on its financial position, results of operationsour business. Moreover, our ability to declare or related disclosures.

In the first quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-01, “Financial Instruments (Subtopic 825-10)” (“ASU 2016-01”). The core principle of ASU 2016-01 is that equity investments shouldpay future distributions may be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through net income. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted for the key aspects of the amendment. The Partnership will adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-01 upon its effective date of January 1, 2018, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

In the first quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASU 2016-02”). The core principle of ASU 2016-02 is that all leases create an asset and a liability for lessees and recognition of those lease assets and lease liabilities represents an improvement over previous GAAP, which did not require lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized for most leases. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-02 upon its effective date of January 1, 2019, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

In the second quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-13, “Credit Losses (Topic 326)” (“ASU 2016-13”). The core principle of ASU 2016-13 is that all assets measured at amortized cost basis should be presented at the net amount expected to be collected using historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts as a basis for credit loss estimates, instead of the probable initial recognition threshold used under current GAAP. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-13 upon its effective date of January 1, 2020, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

In 2015, the FASB issued Update No. 2015-07, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820).” The amendments in this update removed the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. The entity adopted this guidance in the current period pertaining to its new investment funds (see Notes 6, 7 and 14).

In the third quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash flows (Topic 230)” (“ASU 2016-15”). The core principle of ASU 2016-15 is to provide cash flow statement classification guidance. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-15 upon its effective date of January 1, 2018, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

impacted.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Refer to Note 1 to the Partnership's audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 10K/A2016 for the complete summary of significant accounting policies, including those pertaining to cemetery merchandise and services sales, which has been expanded in the subsequent paragraph.

The cost of goods sold related to merchandise and services reflects the actual cost of purchasing products and performing services, and the value of cemetery property depleted through the recognized sales of interment rights. The costs related to the sales of lots and crypts are determined systematically using a specific identification method under which the total value of the underlying cemetery property and the spaces available to be sold at the location are used to determine the cost per space.

policies.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting periods. The Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are based on a number of significant estimates, including revenue and expense accruals, depreciation and amortization, merchandise truststrust and perpetual care truststrust asset valuation, allowance for cancellations, unit-based compensation, deferred revenues, deferred merchandise trust investment earnings, deferred selling and obtaining costs, assets and liabilities obtained viathrough business combinations and income taxes. As a result, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is subject to impairment testing on an annual basis, and between annual tests whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit may be below its carrying amount. No such events have occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2017. Goodwill totaled approximately $70.4 million as of both March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
Income Taxes
The Partnership is not subject to U.S. federal and most state income taxes. The partners of the Partnership are liable for income tax in regard to their distributive share of the Partnership’s taxable income. Such taxable income may vary substantially from net income reported in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. Certain corporate subsidiaries are subject to federal and state income tax. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and tax carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Partnership records a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets if it deems that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realizable in future periods.
The change in the deferred tax liability during the three months ended March 31, 2017 was caused by an increase in deferred tax liabilities associated with long-lived intangibles that will reverse after the expiration of the existing deferred tax assets.


Net Income (Loss) per Common Unit

Basic net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners per unit is computed by dividing net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners, which is determined after the deduction of the general partner’s interest, by the weighted average number of common limited partner units outstanding during the period. Net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners is determined by deducting net income attributable to participating securities, if applicable, and net income (loss) attributable to the general partner’s units. The general partner’s interest in net income (loss) is calculated on a quarterly basis based upon its ownership interestunits and incentive distributions to be distributed for the quarter, with a priority allocation of net income to the general partner’s incentive distributions, if any, in accordance with the partnership agreement, and the remaining net income (loss) allocated with respect to the general partner’s and limited partners’ ownership interests.

The Partnership presents net income (loss) per unit under the two-class method for master limited partnerships, which considers whether the incentive distributions of a master limited partnership represent a participating security when considered in the calculation of earnings per unit under the two-class method. The two-class method considers whether the partnership agreement contains any contractual limitations concerning distributions to the incentive distribution rights that would impact the amount of earnings to allocate to the incentive distribution rights for each reporting period. If distributions are contractually limited to the incentive distribution rights’ share of currently designated available cash for distributions as defined under the partnership agreement, undistributed earnings in excess of available cash should not be allocated to the incentive distribution rights. Under the two-class method, management of the Partnership believes the partnership agreement contractually limits cash distributions to available cash; therefore, undistributed earnings in excess of available cash are not allocated to the incentive distribution rights.

The following is a reconciliation of net income (loss) allocated to the common limited partners for purposes of calculating net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners per unit (in thousands, except unit data)thousands):

                                
   Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016  2015  2016  2015 

Net loss

  $(11,644 $(3,258 $(27,770 $(16,412

Less: Incentive distribution right (“IDR”) payments to general partner

   —      1,074    2,387    2,860  
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss to allocate to general and limited partners

   (11,644  (4,332  (30,157  (19,272

General partner’s interest excluding IDRs

   (130  (53  (344  (255
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to common limited partners

  $(11,514 $(4,279 $(29,813 $(19,017
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   
(As restated -
see above)
Net loss$(8,561) $(6,393)
Less: Incentive distribution right (“IDR”) payments to general partner
 1,192
Net loss to allocate to general and common limited partners(8,561) (7,585)
Less: General partner’s interest excluding IDRs(89) (91)
Net loss attributable to common limited partners$(8,472) $(7,494)

Diluted net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners per unit is calculated by dividing net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners, less income allocable to participating securities, by the sum of the weighted average number of common limited partner units outstanding and the dilutive effect of unit appreciation rights and otheroption awards, as calculated by the treasury stock or if converted methods, as applicable. These awards consist of common units issuable upon payment of an exercise price by the participant under the terms of the Partnership’s long-term incentive plan (see Note 12).

plan.

The following table sets forth the reconciliation of the Partnership’s weighted average number of common limited partner units used to compute basic net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners per unit with those used to compute diluted net income (loss) attributable to common limited partners per unit (in thousands):

                                
   Three months ended September 30,   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 

Weighted average number of common limited partner units - basic

   35,470     31,491     34,287     30,011  

Add effect of dilutive incentive awards (1)

   —       —       —       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average number of common limited partner units - diluted

   35,470     31,491     34,287     30,011  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Weighted average number of common limited partner units - basic37,918
 32,539
Add effect of dilutive incentive awards (1)
 
Weighted average number of common limited partner units - diluted37,918
 32,539
_____________________________
(1)The diluted weighted average number of limited partners’ units outstanding presented on the condensed consolidated statement of operations does not include 383,091328,914 units and 192,482292,670 units for the three months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, and 2015, respectively, and 374,649 units and 187,640 units for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, as their effects would be anti-dilutive.

2.ACQUISITIONS



Recently Issued Accounting Standard Updates - Not Yet Effective
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). This ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in FASB ASC 605, Revenue Recognition, and in most industry-specific topics. The new guidance identifies how and when entities should recognize revenue. The new rules establish a core principle requiring the recognition of revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount reflecting the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for such goods or services. In connection with this new standard, the FASB has issued several amendments to ASU 2014-09, as follows:
In March 2016, Acquisition

Duringthe FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net). This standard improves the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations and whether an entity reports revenue on a gross or net basis.

In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing. This standard clarifies identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance.
In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients. This standard provides additional guidance on (a) the objective of the collectability criterion, (b) the presentation of sales tax collected from customers, (c) the measurement date of non-cash consideration received, (d) practical expedients in respect of contract modifications and completed contracts at transition and (e) disclosure of the effects of the accounting change in the period of adoption.
In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which amends certain narrow aspects of the guidance, including the disclosure of remaining performance obligations and prior-period performance obligations, as well as other amendments to the guidance on loan guarantee fees, contract costs, refund liabilities, advertising costs and the clarification of certain examples.
In September 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), Leases (Topic 840), and Leases (Topic 842): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to the Staff Announcement at the July 20, 2017 EITF Meeting and Rescission of Prior SEC Staff Announcements and Observer Comments, which provides additional clarification and implementation guidance on ASU 2014-09 and is effective consistent with the adoption schedule for ASU 2014-09.
The new guidance in ASU 2014-09, as well as all amendments discussed above, is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017. The new guidance permits two methods of adoption, full retrospective or modified retrospective and we intend to implement the standard with the modified retrospective approach, which recognizes the cumulative effect of application recognized on that date. Management has developed an implementation plan and is continuing to evaluate the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on the financial statements of the Partnership. Management is in the midst of assessing the impact of the guidance on our contracts in all our revenue streams by reviewing our current accounting policies and practices to identify potential differences that would result from applying the new requirements to our revenue contracts. Management continues to monitor modifications, clarifications and interpretations issued by the FASB. Part of the implementation plan includes performing a detailed review of contracts and also evaluating the impact, if any, on changes to business processes, systems and controls to support recognition and disclosure under the new guidance. Although the Partnership has not yet fully determined the scope of the impact of the new standard on our consolidated results of operations, financial position, cash flows and financial statement disclosures, management expects that there will be an impact to the financial reporting disclosures and internal control over financial reporting. The Partnership will adopt the requirements of the new standard upon its effective date of January 1, 2018.
In the first quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments (Subtopic 825-10) (“ASU 2016-01”). The core principle of ASU 2016-01 is that all equity investments should be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through net income. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted for the key aspects of the amendment. The Partnership will adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-01 upon its effective date of January 1, 2018, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.


In the first quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). The core principle of ASU 2016-02 is that all leases create an asset and a liability for lessees and recognition of those lease assets and lease liabilities represents an improvement over previous GAAP, which did not require lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized for most leases. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership plans to adopt the requirements of ASU 2016-02 upon its effective date of January 1, 2019, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.
In the second quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-13, Credit Losses (Topic 326) (“ASU 2016-13”). The core principle of ASU 2016-13 is that all assets measured at amortized cost basis should be presented at the net amount expected to be collected using historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts as a basis for credit loss estimates, instead of the probable initial recognition threshold used under current GAAP. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership acquiredplans to adopt the assets, netrequirements of certain assumed liabilitiesASU 2016-13 upon its effective date of three direct service cremation businesses for $1.5 million. DuringJanuary 1, 2020, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.
In the third quarter of 2016, the Partnership acquired the assets, netFASB issued Update No. 2016-15, Statement of certain assumed liabilitiesCash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of ten cemeteriesCertain Cash Receipts and one granite companyCash Payments (“ASU 2016-15”). The core principle of ASU 2016-15 is to provide cash flow statement classification guidance. The amendment is effective for $9.0 million.annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership accounted for these transactions underplans to adopt the acquisition methodrequirements of accounting. Accordingly, the Partnership evaluated the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisitionASU 2016-15 upon its effective date fair values. All other costs associated with the acquisition of the assets noted were expensed as incurred. The following table presents the Partnership’s values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisitions, based on their estimated fair values at the date of the acquisition, which may be prospectively adjusted as additional information is received (in thousands):

                    

Assets:

  

Accounts receivable

  $791  

Cemetery property

   4,612  

Property and equipment

   4,527  

Inventory

   1,900  

Merchandise trusts, restricted

   4,424  

Perpetual care trusts, restricted

   5,631  

Intangible assets

   508  

Other assets

   13  
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   22,406  
  

 

 

 

Liabilities:

  

Deferred revenues

   4,204  

Perpetual care trust corpus

   5,631  

Deferred taxes

   375  
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   10,210  
  

 

 

 

Fair value of net assets acquired

   12,196  
  

 

 

 

Consideration paid - cash

   10,550  
  

 

 

 

Total consideration paid

   10,550  
  

 

 

 

Gain on bargain purchase

  $2,704  
  

 

 

 

Goodwill from purchase

  $1,058  
  

 

 

 

The Partnership recorded goodwill of $1.1 million in the Funeral Home reporting unit for the properties acquired in 2016. The third quarter acquisition resulted in the recognition of a gain of $2.7 million based on provisional amounts. This gain was recorded within “Other gains (losses), net” in the consolidated statement of operations.

2015 Acquisitions

During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Partnership acquired the following properties’ assets, net of certain assumed liabilities:

One funeral home for cash consideration of $0.9 million on July 21, 2015;

Three funeral homes and one cemetery for cash consideration of $5.7 million on August 6, 2015;

Two cemeteries for cash consideration of $1.5 million on August 20, 2015;

One funeral home for cash consideration of $5.0 million on August 31, 2015, and an additional $1.0 million paid in five annual installments beginning on the 1st anniversary of the closing date; and

One cemetery and two funeral homes for cash consideration of $5.7 million on December 1, 2015.

The Partnership accounted for these transactions under the acquisition method of accounting. Accordingly, the Partnership evaluated the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their respective acquisition date fair values. All other costs incurred associated with the acquisition of the assets noted were expensed as incurred. The following table presents the Partnership’s values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisitions, based on their estimated and revised fair values, as applicable, which may be prospectively adjusted as additional information is received (in thousands):

                    

Assets:

  

Accounts receivable

  $2,690  

Cemetery property

   5,249  

Property and equipment

   7,710  

Inventory

   53  

Merchandise trusts, restricted

   15,075  

Perpetual care trusts, restricted

   4,134  

Intangible assets

   406  
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   35,317  
  

 

 

 

Liabilities:

  

Deferred revenues

   21,243  

Perpetual care trust corpus

   4,134  

Other liabilities

   21  
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   25,398  
  

 

 

 

Fair value of net assets acquired

   9,919  
  

 

 

 

Consideration paid - cash

   18,800  

Deferred cash consideration

   876  
  

 

 

 

Total consideration paid

   19,676  
  

 

 

 

Gain on bargain purchase

  $921  
  

 

 

 

Goodwill from purchase

  $10,678  
  

 

 

 

Certain provisional amounts pertaining to the 2015 acquisitions were adjusted in the second and third quarters of 2016 as the Company obtained additional information related to three of the acquisitions. The changes resulted in an adjustment to the gains on acquisition recognized during the year ended December 31, 2015, reducing the gain by $0.6 million via a loss recognized in the current period in accordance with GAAP. The amounts shown may be adjusted as additional information is received. The Partnership recorded goodwill of $1.1 million and $9.6 million in the Cemetery and Funeral Home reporting units, respectively, with regard to the properties acquired during the year ended December 31, 2015. The original gains and related adjustments pertaining to the 2015 acquisitions were recorded within “Other gains (losses), net” in the consolidated statement of operations.

The following data presents pro forma revenues, net income (loss) and basic and diluted net income (loss) per unit for the Partnership as if the acquisitions consummated during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and the year ended December 31, 2015 had occurred as of January 1, 2015.2018, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the FASB issued Update No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (“ASU 2016-18”). The core principle of ASU 2016-18 is to provide guidance on the presentation of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Partnership prepared these pro forma unaudited financial results for comparative purposes only. The results may not be indicativeplans to adopt the requirements of the results that would have occurred if the acquisitions consummated during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 had occurred asASU 2016-18 upon its effective date of January 1, 20152018, and is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.
In the first quarter of 2017, the FASB issued Update No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which clarifies the definition of a business. The amendments affect all companies and other reporting organizations that must determine whether they have acquired or sold a business. The definition of a business affects many areas of accounting including acquisitions, disposals, goodwill, and consolidation. The amendments are intended to help companies and other organizations evaluate whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those periods. The Partnership is evaluating the potential impact of the adoption on its financial position, results that will be attained in future periods (in thousands, except perof operations and related disclosures.
In the first quarter of 2017, the FASB also issued Update No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) (“ASU 2017-04”) to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill. ASU 2017-04 eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, impairment is defined as the amount by which the carrying value of the reporting unit data):

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016  2015  2016  2015 

Revenue

  $78,713   $82,209   $234,731   $238,135  

Net loss

   (15,085  (4,449  (33,544  (17,061

Net loss per limited partner unit (basic and diluted)

  $(0.42 $(0.17 $(1.04 $(0.66

exceeds its fair value, up to the total amount of goodwill. The properties acquired in 2016 have contributed $0.3 millionPartnership plans to adopt the requirements of ASU 2017-04 upon its effective date of January 1, 2020, and $0.4 millionis evaluating the impact, if any, on its financial position, results of revenue for the threeoperations and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively and $0.6 million of operating losses for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. The properties acquired in 2015 have contributed $1.7 million and $6.5 million of revenue and $0.6 million of operating loss and $0.3 million of operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 respectively.

related disclosures.



3.
2.ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, NET OF ALLOWANCE

Accounts

Long-term accounts receivable, net, of allowance, consistsconsisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

                                        
   September 30, 2016   December 31, 2015 

Customer receivables

  $222,238    $207,645  

Unearned finance income

   (20,730   (20,078

Allowance for contract cancellations

   (28,202   (23,985
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance

   173,306     163,582  

Less: current portion, net of allowance

   75,324     68,415  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Long-term portion, net of allowance

  $97,982    $95,167  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Customer receivables$223,113
 $223,326
Unearned finance income(20,803) (21,034)
Allowance for contract cancellations(27,001) (26,153)
Accounts receivable, net of allowance175,309
 176,139
Less: Current portion, net of allowance76,430
 77,253
Long-term portion, net of allowance$98,879
 $98,886
Activity in the allowance for contract cancellations iswas as follows (in thousands):

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Balance, beginning of period

  $23,985    $22,138  

Provision for cancellations

   20,301     19,054  

Charge-offs, net

   (16,084   (17,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

  $28,202    $23,703  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   
(As restated -
see Note 1)
Balance, beginning of period$26,153
 $23,985
Provision for cancellations1,828
 2,718
Cancellations(980) (1,682)
Balance, end of period$27,001
 $25,021
As noted in Note 1, the Partnership has changed its presentation herein to focus only on the provision and cancellations of amounts recognized. The allowance for contract cancellations included $18.5 million and $17.4 million related to deferred revenues as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
4.
3.CEMETERY PROPERTY

Cemetery property consistsconsisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

                                        
   September 30, 2016   December 31, 2015 

Cemetery land

  $256,627    $253,955  

Mausoleum crypts and lawn crypts

   80,618     80,502  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cemetery property

  $337,245    $334,457  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Cemetery land$256,482
 $257,914
Mausoleum crypts and lawn crypts78,808
 79,401
Cemetery property$335,290
 $337,315
5.
4.PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consistsconsisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

                                        
   September 30, 2016   December 31, 2015 

Building and improvements

  $123,670    $117,034  

Furniture and equipment

   55,184     54,346  

Funeral home land

   11,707     11,797  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Property and equipment, gross

   190,561     183,177  

Less: accumulated depreciation

   (72,403   (67,050
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation

  $118,158    $116,127  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Buildings and improvements$126,025
 $125,442
Furniture and equipment56,106
 56,408
Funeral home land11,505
 11,527
Property and equipment, gross193,636
 193,377
Less: Accumulated depreciation(76,730) (75,096)
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation$116,906
 $118,281
Depreciation expense was $2.3$2.9 million and $2.8$2.5 million for the three months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, and 2015, respectively, and $7.4 million and $7.5 million for nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.



6.
5.MERCHANDISE TRUSTS

At September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2015,2016, the Partnership’s merchandise trusts consisted of investments in debt and equity marketable securities and cash equivalents, both directly as well as through mutual and investment funds. Certain assets acquired in connection with the Partnership’s 2015 and 2016 acquisitions (see Note 2) are based upon preliminary estimated values assigned to the assets by the Partnership at the date of acquisition, and will be adjusted when additional information is received.

All of these investments are classified as Availableavailable for Salesale and accordingly, all of the assets are carried at fair value. All of the investments subject to the fair value hierarchy (see Note 1) are considered either Level 1 or Level 2 assets pursuant to the three-level hierarchy described in Note 14.10. There were no Level 3 assets.

The merchandise trusts are variable interest entities (VIE) for("VIE") of which the Partnership is the primary beneficiary. The assets held in the merchandise trusts are required to be used to purchase the merchandise and provide the services to which they relate. If the value of these assets falls below the cost of purchasing such merchandise and providing such services, the Partnership may be required to fund this shortfall.

The Partnership included $8.5$8.7 million and $8.2$8.6 million of investments held in trust by the West Virginia Funeral Directors Association at September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2015,2016, respectively, in its merchandise trust assets. As required by law, the Partnership deposits a portion of certain funeral merchandise sales in West Virginia into a trust that is held by the West Virginia Funeral Directors Association. These trusts are recognized at their account value, which approximates fair value.

A reconciliation of the Partnership’s merchandise trust activities for the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016 and 2015 is presented below (in thousands):

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Balance, beginning of period

  $464,676    $484,820  

Contributions

   49,841     60,875  

Distributions

   (49,168   (34,477

Interest and dividends

   17,657     13,642  

Capital gain distributions

   264     (738

Realized gains and losses

   3,727     14,190  

Other than temporary impairment

   (7,278   —    

Taxes

   (1,721   (3,441

Fees

   (2,234   (2,474

Unrealized change in fair value

   28,840     (73,077
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

  $504,604    $459,320  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Balance, beginning of period$507,079
 $464,676
Contributions14,916
 13,305
Distributions(16,728) (7,797)
Interest and dividends6,284
 5,773
Capital gain distributions237
 219
Realized gains and losses1,810
 1,270
Taxes(1,675) (37)
Fees(708) (383)
Unrealized change in fair value12,643
 2,982
Balance, end of period$523,858
 $480,008
During the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, purchases of available for sale securities were $82.6$22.1 million and $6.4 million, respectively, while sales, maturities and paydowns of available for sale securities were $65.9 million.

$27.1 million and $12.6 million, respectively. Cash flows from pre-need customer contracts are presented as operating cash flows in our condensed consolidated statement of cash flows.



The cost and market value associated with the assets held in the merchandise trusts as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 were as follows (in thousands):

                                                                      
           Gross  Gross    
   Fair Value       Unrealized  Unrealized  Fair 

September 30, 2016

  Hierarchy Level   Cost   Gains  Losses  Value 

Short-term investments

   1    $29,928    $—     $—     $29,928  

Fixed maturities:

        

U.S. governmental securities

   2     41     2    —      43  

Corporate debt securities

   2     7,017     347    (323  7,041  

Other debt securities

   2     —       —      —      —    
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

     7,058     349    (323  7,084  
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   1     241,048     2,885    (4,156  239,777  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   1     131,331     5,813    (2,079  135,065  

Other investment funds (1)

     41,447     892    —      42,339  

Equity securities

   1     38,711     2,782    (1,753  39,740  

Other invested assets

   2     2,457     (255  —      2,202  
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total managed investments

    $491,980    $12,466   $(8,311 $496,135  
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Assets acquired via acquisition

     —       —      —      —    

West Virginia Trust Receivable

     8,469     —      —      8,469  
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

    $500,449    $12,466   $(8,311 $504,604  
    

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

March 31, 2017Fair Value
Hierarchy Level
 Cost Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
Short-term investments1 $26,925
 $
 $
 $26,925
Fixed maturities:         
U.S. governmental securities2 172
 1
 (52) 121
Corporate debt securities2 5,673
 306
 (303) 5,676
Total fixed maturities  5,845
 307
 (355) 5,797
Mutual funds - debt securities1 229,609
 4,845
 (133) 234,321
Mutual funds - equity securities1 111,335
 11,349
 (160) 122,524
Other investment funds (1)  75,498
 597
 (564) 75,531
Equity securities1 35,203
 5,047
 (289) 39,961
Other invested assets2 10,100
 
 
 10,100
Total investments  $494,515
 $22,145
 $(1,501) $515,159
West Virginia Trust Receivable  8,699
 
 
 8,699
Total  $503,214
 $22,145
 $(1,501) $523,858
______________________________ 
(1)Other investment funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the balance sheet. This asset class is composed of fixed income funds and equity funds, which have redemption periods ranging from 30 to 90 days, and private credit funds, which have lockup periods of five years with two potential one year extensions at the discretion of the funds’ general partners. As of March 31, 2017, there were $3.7 million in unfunded commitments to the private credit funds, which are callable at any time.
December 31, 2016Fair Value
Hierarchy Level
 Cost Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
Short-term investments1 $17,317
 $
 $
 $17,317
Fixed maturities:         
U.S. governmental securities2 172
 2
 (44) 130
Corporate debt securities2 6,311
 269
 (202) 6,378
Total fixed maturities  6,483
 271
 (246) 6,508
Mutual funds - debt securities1 236,159
 1,580
 (96) 237,643
Mutual funds - equity securities1 126,215
 3,361
 (533) 129,043
Other investment funds (1)  60,017
 603
 (387) 60,233
Equity securities1 35,079
 3,640
 (192) 38,527
Other invested assets2 9,239
 
 
 9,239
Total investments  $490,509
 $9,455
 (1,454) $498,510
West Virginia Trust Receivable  8,569
 
 
 8,569
Total  $499,078
 $9,455
 $(1,454) $507,079
______________________________ 
(1)Other investment funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the balance sheet. This asset class is composed of fixed income funds and equity funds, which have redemption periods ranging from 30 to 90 days.

                                                                      
           Gross   Gross    
   Fair Value       Unrealized   Unrealized  Fair 

December 31, 2015

  Hierarchy Level   Cost   Gains   Losses  Value 

Short-term investments

   1    $35,150    $—      $—     $35,150  

Fixed maturities:

         

U.S. governmental securities

   2     98     6     (3  101  

Corporate debt securities

   2     11,922     8     (546  11,384  

Other debt securities

   2     7,150     11     (7  7,154  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

     19,170     25     (556  18,639  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   1     232,096     86     (10,713  221,469  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   1     139,341     69     (12,249  127,161  

Equity securities

   1     49,563     1,127     (2,474  48,216  

Other invested assets

   2     1,681     —       —      1,681  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total managed investments

    $477,001    $1,307    $(25,992 $452,316  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Assets acquired via acquisition

     4,185     —       —      4,185  

West Virginia Trust Receivable

     8,175     —       —      8,175  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

    $489,361    $1,307    $(25,992 $464,676  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 




The contractual maturities of debt securities as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 were as follows below:

                                                                                
   Less than   1 year through   6 years through   More than 
   1 year   5 years   10 years   10 years 

U.S. governmental securities

  $5    $23    $15    $—    

Corporate debt securities

   —       6,261     780     —    

Other debt securities

   —       —       —       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

  $5    $6,284    $795    $—    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(in thousands):

 
Less than
1 year
 
1 year through
5 years
 
6 years through
10 years
 
More than
10 years
U.S. governmental securities$
 $56
 $65
 $
Corporate debt securities369
 4,547
 746
 14
Total fixed maturities$369
 $4,603
 $811
 $14
Temporary Declines in Fair Value

The Partnership evaluates declines in fair value below cost for each asset held in the merchandise trusts on a quarterly basis.

An aging of unrealized losses on the Partnership’s investments in debt and equity securities within the merchandise trusts as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 is presented below (in thousands):

                                                                                    
   Less than 12 months   12 Months or more   Total 
   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized 

September 30, 2016

  Value   Losses   Value   Losses   Value   Losses 

Fixed maturities:

            

U.S. governmental securities

  $4    $—      $2    $—      $6    $—    

Corporate debt securities

   2,275     175     2,724     148     4,999     323  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

   2,279     175     2,726     148     5,005     323  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   15,642     312     131,966     3,844     147,608     4,156  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   2,204     33     27,098     2,046     29,302     2,079  

Equity securities

   10,304     869     4,763     884     15,067     1,753  

Other invested assets

   —       —       —       —       —       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $30,429    $1,389    $166,553    $6,922    $196,982    $8,311  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   Less than 12 months   12 Months or more   Total 
   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized 

December 31, 2015

  Value   Losses   Value   Losses   Value   Losses 

Fixed maturities:

            

U.S. governmental securities

  $—      $—      $33    $3    $33    $3  

Corporate debt securities

   7,247     411     1,513     135     8,760     546  

Other debt securities

   2,883     7     —       —       2,883     7  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

   10,130     418     1,546     138     11,676     556  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   121,777     6,938     36,682     3,775     158,459     10,713  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   58,467     10,994     5,465     1,255     63,932     12,249  

Equity securities

   21,480     2,275     649     199     22,129     2,474  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $211,854    $20,625    $44,342    $5,367    $256,196    $25,992  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total
March 31, 2017
Fair
Value
 
Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
Fixed maturities:           
U.S. governmental securities$
 $
 $102
 $52
 $102
 $52
Corporate debt securities1,040
 116
 370
 187
 1,410
 303
Total fixed maturities1,040
 116
 472
 239
 1,512
 355
Mutual funds - debt securities9,529
 126
 20
 7
 9,549
 133
Mutual funds - equity securities15,641
 127
 1,287
 33
 16,928
 160
Other investment funds33,259
 564
 
 
 33,259
 564
Equity securities3,278
 216
 429
 73
 3,707
 289
Total$62,747
 $1,149
 $2,208
 $352
 $64,955
 $1,501
            
 Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total
December 31, 2016Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
Fixed maturities:           
U.S. governmental securities$
 $
 $87
 $44
 $87
 $44
Corporate debt securities556
 6
 871
 196
 1,427
 202
Total fixed maturities556
 6
 958
 240
 1,514
 246
Mutual funds - debt securities6,040
 61
 754
 35
 6,794
 96
Mutual funds - equity securities7,475
 357
 2,578
 176
 10,053
 533
Other investment funds37,357
 387
 
 
 37,357
 387
Equity securities1,292
 89
 413
 103
 1,705
 192
Total$52,720
 $900
 $4,703
 $554
 $57,423
 $1,454
For all securities in an unrealized loss position, the Partnership evaluated the severity of the impairment and length of time that a security has been in a loss position and concluded the decline in fair value below the asset’s cost was temporary in nature. In addition, the Partnership is not aware of any circumstances that would prevent the future market value recovery for these securities.

Other-Than-Temporary Impairment of Trust Assets

The Partnership assesses its merchandise trust assets for other-than-temporary declines in fair value on a quarterly basis. During the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, the Partnership determined that there were forty-eight securities with an aggregate cost basis of approximately $50.0 million and an aggregate fair value of approximately $42.7 million, resultingno other than temporary impairments to the investment portfolio in an impairment of $7.3 million, with such impairment considered to be other-than-temporary. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company determined that there were two securities with an aggregate cost basis of approximately $0.6 million and an aggregate fair value of approximately $0.4 million, resulting in an impairment of $0.2 million, wherein such impairment was considered to be other-than-temporary. Accordingly, the Partnership adjusted the cost basis of these assets to their current value and offset this change against deferred revenue. This reduction in deferred revenue is reflected in earnings in periods after the impairment date as the underlying merchandise is delivered or the underlying services are performed.

trusts.


7.
6.PERPETUAL CARE TRUSTS

At September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2015,2016, the Partnership’s perpetual care trusts consisted of investments in debt and equity marketable securities and cash equivalents, both directly as well as through mutual and investment funds. Certain assets acquired in connection with the Partnership’s 2015 acquisitions (see Note 2) are based upon preliminary estimated values assigned to the assets by the Partnership at the date of acquisition, and will be adjusted when additional information is received.

All of these investments are classified as Availableavailable for Salesale and accordingly, all of the assets are carried at fair value. All of the investments subject to the fair value hierarchy (see Note 1) are considered either Level 1 or Level 2 assets pursuant to the three-level hierarchy described in Note 14.10. There were no Level 3 assets. The perpetual care trusts are VIEs forof which the Partnership is the primary beneficiary.

A reconciliation of the Partnership’s perpetual care trust activities for the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016 and 2015 is presented below (in thousands):

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Balance, beginning of period

  $307,804    $345,105  

Contributions

   13,111     12,058  

Distributions

   (10,923   (10,254

Interest and dividends

   13,609     13,236  

Capital gain distributions

   477     41  

Realized gains and losses

   (413   13,942  

Other than temporary impairment

   (466   —    

Taxes

   (566   (637

Fees

   (2,189   (1,654

Unrealized change in fair value

   14,479     (60,056
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

  $334,923    $311,781  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Balance, beginning of period$333,780
 $307,804
Contributions2,115
 2,474
Distributions(3,031) (3,723)
Interest and dividends3,871
 4,149
Capital gain distributions216
 81
Realized gains and losses2,065
 74
Taxes(165) (97)
Fees(608) (287)
Unrealized change in fair value3,236
 (268)
Balance, end of period$341,479
 $310,207
During the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, purchases of available for sale securities were $256.1$69.5 million and $5.5 million, respectively, while sales, maturities and paydowns of available for sale securities were $223.3 million.

$64.1 million and $0.3 million, respectively. Cash flows from perpetual care trust related contracts are presented as operating cash flows in our condensed consolidated statement of cash flows.



The cost and market value associated with the assets held in the perpetual care trusts as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 were as follows (in thousands):

                                                                      
           Gross   Gross    
   Fair Value       Unrealized   Unrealized  Fair 

September 30, 2016

  Hierarchy Level   Cost   Gains   Losses  Value 

Short-term investments

   1    $16,470    $—      $—     $16,470  

Fixed maturities:

         

U.S. governmental securities

   2     183     17     (1  199  

Corporate debt securities

   2     12,504     468     (370  12,602  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

     12,687     485     (371  12,801  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   1     130,598     1,604     (1,722  130,480  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   1     30,788     3,070     (237  33,621  

Other investment funds (1)

     116,466     2,238     —      118,704  

Equity securities

   1     21,473     1,487     (186  22,774  

Other invested assets

   2     73        73  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total managed investments

    $328,555    $8,884    $(2,516 $334,923  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Assets acquired via acquisition

     —       —       —      —    
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

    $328,555    $8,884    $(2,516 $334,923  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

March 31, 2017Fair Value
Hierarchy Level
 Cost Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
Short-term investments1 $9,671
 $
 $
 $9,671
Fixed maturities:        
U.S. governmental securities2 457
 5
 (27) 435
Corporate debt securities2 6,785
 214
 (190) 6,809
Total fixed maturities  7,242
 219
 (217) 7,244
Mutual funds - debt securities1 145,648
 1,962
 (658) 146,952
Mutual funds - equity securities1 17,800
 3,296
 (21) 21,075
Other investment funds (1)  127,371
 3,463
 (720) 130,114
Equity securities1 24,007
 2,782
 (451) 26,338
Other invested assets2 85
 
 
 85
Total investments  $331,824
 $11,722
 $(2,067) $341,479
______________________________  
(1)Other investment funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the balance sheet. This asset class is composed of fixed income funds and equity funds, which have a redemption period ranging from 30 to 90 days, and private credit funds, which have lockup periods ranging from five to ten years with three potential one year extensions at the discretion of the funds’ general partners. As of March 31, 2017, there were $56.2 million in unfunded commitments to the private credit funds, which are callable at any time.
December 31, 2016Fair Value
Hierarchy Level
 Cost Gross
Unrealized
Gains
 Gross
Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
Short-term investments1 $16,113
 $
 $
 $16,113
Fixed maturities:         
U.S. governmental securities2 483
 14
 (23) 474
Corporate debt securities2 12,598
 380
 (152) 12,826
Total fixed maturities  13,081
 394
 (175) 13,300
Mutual funds - debt securities1 127,033
 1,187
 (669) 127,551
Mutual funds - equity securities1 30,708
 1,940
 (26) 32,622
Other investment funds (1)
 119,196
 2,672
 (622) 121,246
Equity securities1 20,978
 2,150
 (432) 22,696
Other invested assets2 252
 
 
 252
Total investments  $327,361
 $8,343
 $(1,924) $333,780
______________________________  
(1)Other investment funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the balance sheet. This asset class is composed of fixed income funds and equity funds, which have a redemption period ranging from 30 to 90 days, and private credit funds, which have lockup periods ranging from six to ten years with three potential one year extensions at the discretion of the funds’ general partners. As of September 30,December 31, 2016, there are $46.1were $45.1 million in unfunded commitments to the private credit funds, which are callable at any time.

                                                                      
           Gross   Gross    
   Fair Value       Unrealized   Unrealized  Fair 

December 31, 2015

  Hierarchy Level   Cost   Gains   Losses  Value 

Short-term investments

   1    $36,618    $—      $—     $36,618  

Fixed maturities:

         

U.S. governmental securities

   2     126     14     —      140  

Corporate debt securities

   2     22,837     57     (845  22,049  

Other debt securities

   2     36     —       (1  35  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

     22,999     71     (846  22,224  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   1     184,866     35     (7,180  177,721  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   1     68,079     1,054     (1,713  67,420  

Equity securities

   1     2,319     636     (7  2,948  

Other invested assets

   2     473     1     (162  312  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total managed investments

    $315,354    $1,797    $(9,908 $307,243  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Assets acquired via acquisition

     561     —       —      561  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

    $315,915    $1,797    $(9,908 $307,804  
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 



The contractual maturities of debt securities as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 were as follows below:

                                                                                
   Less than   1 year through   6 years through   More than 
   1 year   5 years   10 years   10 years 

U.S. governmental securities

  $111    $—      $37    $51  

Corporate debt securities

   121     11,162     1,319     —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

  $232    $11,162    $1,356    $51  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(in thousands):

 Less than
1 year
 1 year through
5 years
 6 years through
10 years
 More than
10 years
U.S. governmental securities$
 $226
 $165
 $44
Corporate debt securities633
 5,319
 783
 74
Total fixed maturities$633
 $5,545
 $948
 $118
Temporary Declines in Fair Value

The Partnership evaluates declines in fair value below cost of each individual asset held in the perpetual care trusts on a quarterly basis.

An aging of unrealized losses on the Partnership’s investments in debt and equity securities within the perpetual care trusts as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 is presented below (in thousands):

                                                                                    
   Less than 12 months   12 Months or more   Total 
   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized 

September 30, 2016

  Value   Losses   Value   Losses   Value   Losses 

Fixed maturities:

            

U.S. governmental securities

  $—      $—      $24    $1    $24    $1  

Corporate debt securities

   2,787     190     2,972     180     5,759     370  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

   2,787     190     2,996     181     5,783     371  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   11,485     93     50,053     1,629     61,538     1,722  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   977     47     2,874     190     3,851     237  

Equity securities

   4,991     186     3       4,994     186  

Other invested assets

   —       —       73     —       73     —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $20,240    $516    $55,999    $2,000    $76,239    $2,516  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   Less than 12 months   12 Months or more   Total 
   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized   Fair   Unrealized 

December 31, 2015

  Value   Losses   Value   Losses   Value   Losses 

Fixed maturities:

            

U.S. governmental securities

  $—      $—      $112    $—      $112    $—    

Corporate debt securities

   12,482     535     4,505     310     16,987     845  

Other debt securities

   35     1     —       —       35     1  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturities

   12,517     536     4,617     310     17,134     846  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Mutual funds - debt securities

   81,215     4,263     50,774     2,917     131,989     7,180  

Mutual funds - equity securities

   16,514     1,363     4,308     350     20,822     1,713  

Equity securities

   488     6     1,137     1     1,625     7  

Other invested assets

   —       —       315     162     315     162  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $110,734    $6,168    $61,151    $3,740    $171,885    $9,908  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total
March 31, 2017Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
Fixed maturities:           
U.S. governmental securities$
 $
 $363
 $27
 $363
 $27
Corporate debt securities960
 67
 2,388
 123
 3,348
 190
Total fixed maturities960
 67
 2,751
 150
 3,711
 217
Mutual funds - debt securities43,199
 631
 536
 27
 43,735
 658
Mutual funds - equity securities1,168
 17
 113
 4
 1,281
 21
Other investment funds39,059
 720
 
 
 39,059
 720
Equity securities6,880
 438
 156
 13
 7,036
 451
Total$91,266
 $1,873
 $3,556
 $194
 $94,822
 $2,067
            
 Less than 12 months 12 months or more Total
December 31, 2016Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
 Fair
Value
 Unrealized
Losses
Fixed maturities:           
U.S. governmental securities$
 $
 $283
 $23
 $283
 $23
Corporate debt securities747
 10
 2,980
 142
 3,727
 152
Total fixed maturities747
 10
 3,263
 165
 4,010
 175
Mutual funds - debt securities24,026
 620
 1,908
 49
 25,934
 669
Mutual funds - equity securities3,836
 16
 452
 10
 4,288
 26
Other investment funds37,577
 622
 
 
 37,577
 622
Equity securities4,532
 409
 145
 23
 4,677
 432
Total$70,718
 $1,677
 $5,768
 $247
 $76,486
 $1,924
For all securities in an unrealized loss position, the Partnership evaluated the severity of the impairment and length of time that a security has been in a loss position and concluded the decline in fair value below the asset’s cost was temporary in nature. In addition, the Partnership is not aware of any circumstances that would prevent the future market value recovery for these securities.

Other-Than-Temporary Impairment of Trust Assets

The Partnership assesses its perpetual care trust assets for other-than-temporary declines in fair value on a quarterly basis. During the ninethree months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016, the Partnership determined that there were eighteen securities with an aggregate cost basis of approximately $3.4 million and an aggregate fair value of approximately $2.9 million, resulting in an impairment of $0.5 million, with such impairment considered to be other-than-temporary. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company determined that there were no other than temporary impairments to the investment portfolio in the perpetual care trusts. Accordingly, the Partnership adjusted the cost basis of these assets to their current value and offset this change against the liability for perpetual care trust corpus. This reduction in deferred revenue is reflected in earnings in periods after the impairment date as the underlying merchandise is delivered or the underlying services are performed.



8.
GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

The Partnership has recorded goodwill of approximately $70.6 million as of September 30, 2016 and $69.9 million as of December 31, 2015. This amount represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired.

A rollforward of goodwill by reporting unit is as follows (in thousands):

                                                            
   Cemeteries   Funeral Homes   Total 

Balance at December 31, 2015

  $25,320    $44,531    $69,851  

Goodwill from acquisitions during 2015

   —       (337   (337

Goodwill from acquisitions during 2016

   —       1,058     1,058  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at September 30, 2016

  $25,320    $45,252    $70,572  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Partnership adjusted preliminary amounts relating to 2015 acquisitions during the second quarter of 2016 as the Company obtained additional information. These updates resulted in a decrease in goodwill acquired from 2015 acquisitions.

The Partnership tests goodwill for impairment at each year end by comparing its reporting units’ estimated fair values to carrying values. There were no goodwill impairments recognized by the Partnership during the periods presented. Management will continue to evaluate goodwill at least annually or when impairment indicators arise.

Intangible Assets

The Partnership has intangible assets with finite lives recognized in connection with acquisitions and long-term lease, management and operating agreements. The Partnership amortizes these intangible assets over their estimated useful lives.

The following table reflects the components of intangible assets as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 (in thousands):

                                                                                                                        
  September 30, 2016  December 31, 2015 
  Gross Carrying  Accumulated  Net Intangible  Gross Carrying  Accumulated  Net Intangible 
  Amount  Amortization  Asset  Amount  Amortization  Asset 

Lease and management agreements

 $59,758   $(2,324 $57,434   $59,758   $(1,577 $58,181  

Underlying contract value

  6,239    (1,131  5,108    6,239    (1,014  5,225  

Non-compete agreements

  5,656    (3,705  1,951    5,656    (3,112  2,544  

Other intangible assets

  1,777    (242  1,535    1,439    (180  1,259  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total intangible assets

 $73,430   $(7,402 $66,028   $73,092   $(5,883 $67,209  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $0.6 million for both the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 and $1.7 million for both the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015. The following is estimated amortization expense related to intangible assets with finite lives for the periods noted below (in thousands):

                    

2016 (remainder)

  $590  

2017

  $2,194  

2018

  $1,769  

2019

  $1,451  

2020

  $1,278  

9.7.LONG-TERM DEBT

Total debt consistsconsisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

                                        
   September 30, 2016   December 31, 2015 

Credit facility

  $151,125    $149,500  

7.875% Senior Notes, due June 2021

   172,510     172,186  

Notes payable - acquisition debt

   549     687  

Notes payable - acquisition non-competes

   937     1,629  

Insurance and vehicle financing

   2,291     2,336  

Less deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization

   (11,236   (7,499
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total debt

   316,176     318,839  

Less current maturities

   (2,144   (2,440
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total long-term debt

  $314,032    $316,399  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Credit facility$140,625
 $137,125
7.875% Senior Notes, due June 2021172,738
 172,623
Notes payable - acquisition debt453
 502
Notes payable - acquisition non-competes721
 928
Insurance and vehicle financing1,657
 1,807
Less deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization(10,959) (10,859)
Total debt305,235
 302,126
Less current maturities(1,617) (1,775)
Total long-term debt$303,618
 $300,351
Credit Facility

On August 4, 2016, StoneMor Operating LLC (the “Operating Company”), a wholly-owned100% owned subsidiary of the Partnership, entered into the Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) among each of the Subsidiaries of the Operating Company (together with the Operating Company, “Borrowers”), the Lenders identified therein, Capital One, National Association (“Capital One”), as Administrative Agent, Issuing Bank and Swingline Lender, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, as Syndication Agent, and TD Bank, N.A. and Raymond James Bank, N.A., as Co-Documentation Agents. In addition, on the same date, the Partnership, the Borrowers and Capital One, as Administrative Agent, entered into the Guaranty and Collateral Agreement (the “Guaranty Agreement,” and together with the Credit Agreement, “New Agreements”). Capitalized terms which are not defined in the following description of the New Agreements shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the New Agreements.

The New Agreements, replacedas amended.

On March 15, 2017, the Partnership’s Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, as amended with Bank of America, N.A.,Borrowers, Capital One, as Administrative Agent Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer and other lenders party thereto (the “Prior Credit Agreement”), Second Amended and Restated Security Agreement, and Second Amended and Restated Pledge Agreement, each dated asacting in accordance with the written consent of December 19, 2014. The Priorthe Required Lenders, entered into the First Amendment to Credit Agreement provided for a revolving credit facility of $180.0 million, with borrowings classified as either acquisition draws or working capital draws, maturing on December 19, 2019. In connection with entering into(as so amended, the "Original Credit Agreement"). The Original Credit Agreement the Partnership incurred an extinguishment of debt charge of approximately $1.2 million recorded in “other gains and losses, net”.

The Credit Agreement providesprovided for up to $210.0 million initial aggregate amount of Revolving Commitments, which may be increased, from time to time, in minimum increments of $5.0 million so long as the aggregate amount of such increases does not exceed $100.0 million. The Operating Company may also request the issuance of Letters of Credit for up to $15.0 million in the aggregate, of which there were $6.5$8.1 million outstanding at September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and none$6.8 million outstanding at December 31, 2015.2016. The Maturity Date under the Original Credit Agreement is the earlier of (i) August 4, 2021 and (ii) the date that is six months prior to the earliest scheduled maturity date of any outstanding Permitted Unsecured Indebtedness (at present, such date is December 1, 2020, which is six months prior to June 1, 2021 maturity date of outstanding 7.875% senior notes).

As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the outstanding amount of borrowings under the Original Credit Agreement was $151.1$140.6 million, which was used to pay down outstanding obligations under the Prior Credit Agreement,Partnership's prior credit agreement, to pay fees, costs and expenses related to the New Agreements and to fund working capital needs. Generally, proceeds of the Loans under the Original Credit Agreement can be used to finance the working capital needs and for other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and Guarantors, including acquisitions and distributions permitted under the Original Credit Agreement. At September 30, 2016,As of March 31, 2017, the amountPartnership had $12.8 million of total available borrowing capacity under theits revolving credit facility was $42.4 million.

facility.

Each Borrowing under the Original Credit Agreement is comprised of Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan) bear interest at the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate, and the Loans comprising each Eurodollar Borrowing bear interest at the Eurodollar Rate plus the Applicable Rate.

The Applicable Rate is determined based on the Consolidated Leverage Ratio of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries and ranges from 1.75% to 3.25%3.75% for Eurodollar Rate Loans and 0.75% to 2.25%2.75% for Base Rate Loans. As of September 30, 2016,Based on our Consolidated Leverage Ratio for the compliance period ended March 31, 2017, the Applicable Rate for Eurodollar Rate Loans was 2.75%3.75% and for Base Rate Loans was 1.75%2.75%. The Original Credit Agreement also requires the Borrowers to pay a quarterly unused commitment fee, which accrues at the Applicable Rate on the amount by which the commitments under the Original Credit Agreement exceed the usage of such commitments, and which is included within interest expense on the Partnership’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. On September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the weighted average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the Original Credit Agreement was 3.2%4.9%.



The Original Credit Agreement contains financial covenants, pursuant to which the Partnership will not permit:

the ratio of Consolidated Funded Indebtedness to Consolidated EBITDA, or the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2016, determined for the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters ending on such date (the “Measurement Period”), to be greater than 4.25 to 1.0 for periods ended through September 30, 2017, and 4.00 to 1.0 for periods thereafter, which may be increased to 4.25 to 1.0 (in case of a Designated Acquisition made subsequent to the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter) as of the last day of the fiscal quarter in which such Designated Acquisition occurs and as of the last day of the immediately succeeding fiscal quarter; and

the ratio of Consolidated EBITDA to Consolidated Debt Service, or the Consolidated Debt Service Coverage Ratio, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2016 to be less than 2.50 to 1.0 for any Measurement Period.

On September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the Partnership’s Consolidated Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Debt Service Coverage Ratio were 3.624.09 and 4.19,3.51, respectively.

The Original Credit Agreement prohibits the Partnership from increasing its regularly scheduled quarterly cash distributions otherwise permitted under the Original Credit Agreement until January 1, 2018 unless at the time such distribution is declared and on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the payment of any such distribution the Consolidated Leverage Ratio is no greater than 3.75:1.00. Additional covenants include customary limitations, subject to certain exceptions, on, among others: (i) the incurrence of Indebtedness; (ii) granting of Liens; (iii) fundamental changes and dispositions; (iv) investments, loans, advances, guarantees and acquisitions; (v) swap agreements; (vi) transactions with Affiliates; (vii) Restricted Payments; and (viii) Sale and Leaseback Transactions. The Partnership was in compliance with the Original Credit Agreement covenants as of September 30, 2016.

March 31, 2017.

The Borrowers’ obligations under the Original Credit Agreement are guaranteed by the Partnership and the Borrowers. Pursuant to the Guaranty Agreement, the Borrowers’ obligations under the Original Credit Agreement are secured by a first priority lien and security interest (subject to permitted liens and security interests) in substantially all of the Partnership’s and Borrowers’ assets, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, excluding certain excluded assets, which include, among others: (i) Trust Accounts, certain proceeds required by law to be placed into such Trust Accounts and funds held in such Trust Accounts; and (ii) Excluded Real Property, including owned and leased real property that may not be pledged as a matter of law.

On July 26, 2017, StoneMor Operating LLC (the “Operating Company”), a 100% owned subsidiary of StoneMor Partners L.P. (the “Partnership”), the Subsidiaries (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement) of the Operating Company (together with the Operating Company, “Borrowers”), the Lenders party thereto and Capital One, National Association (“Capital One”), as Administrative Agent (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”), entered into a Second Amendment and Limited Waiver (the "Second Amendment") and those parties subsequently entered into a Third Amendment and Limited Waiver effective as of August 15, 2017 (the "Third Amendment") and a Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement dated September 29, 2017 (the “Fourth Amendment”). The cumulative effect of the Second Amendment, Third Amendment and Fourth Amendment was to modify the Original Credit Agreement to:
increase the facility’s Consolidated Leverage Ratio to 4.50:1.00 for the period ended September 30, 2017 and the period ending December 31, 2017, stepping down to 4.25:1.00 for periods ending in fiscal 2018, and then reverting back to 4.00:1.00;
provide that, in calculating Consolidated EBITDA for purposes of various financial covenants:
the Partnership is entitled to add back:
non-cash compensation or other expense attributable to equity compensation awards and certain other non-cash expenses;
unrealized losses (less unrealized gains) and non-cash expenses arising from or attributable to the early termination of any swap agreement;
other non-recurring cash expenses, losses, costs and charges subject to a limit of $14.3 million for the period ended June 30, 2017, $12.0 million for the period ended September 30, 2017 and periods ending December 31, 2017, March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, $4.0 million for the period ending September 30, 2018 and $2.0 million for periods thereafter;


non-recurring cash expenses, costs and charges relating to the previously announced Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and related actions, ongoing class action litigation and any other non-ordinary course of business legal matters in an aggregate amount for all periods not to exceed $5.0 million; and
certain cash expenses, costs and charges with respect to liability or casualty events to the extent insurance or indemnity recovery from a third party is actually received or is reasonably expected to be received within 90 days following the end of the applicable period; and
require the Partnership to subtract the following:
non-cash items increasing Consolidated Net Income for the applicable period;
federal, state, local and foreign income tax credits or refunds during such period;
certain cash payments made during the applicable period in respect of any noncash accrual, reserve or other non-cash charge that is accounted for in a prior period which was added to Consolidated Net Income to determine Consolidated EBITDA for such prior period and which does not otherwise reduce Consolidated Net Income for the current period; and
the amount of any insurance or indemnity recovery not so received within the 90 day period (or such longer period) set forth above and any recovery payments which are made by third parties within the 90 day period (or such longer period) set forth above, in each case to the extent added back to consolidated net income in the prior period;
amend the definition of “Consolidated Leverage Ratio” to permit the Partnership to deduct from Indebtedness the aggregate amount of all unrestricted cash and Cash Equivalents of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries in accounts subject to a first priority, perfected lien (subject to certain permitted liens) in favor of the Administrative Agent in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000;
reduce the revolver commitment to $200.0 million;
add provisions relating to a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio that:
establish a minimum Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as described below), as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2017, determined for the period of four (4) consecutive fiscal quarters ending on such date, of 1.20:1.00 for the four fiscal quarter period ending on such measurement date;
define “Consolidated Fixed Charge Ratio” as the ratio of (i) Consolidated EBITDA for the four fiscal quarter period ending on the applicable measurement date, minus (x) the aggregate of all expenditures by the Partnership and its Subsidiaries for a specified period which are included in “Maintenance Capital Expenditures” or “Growth Capital Expenditures” reflected in the consolidated statement of cash flows of the Partnership, but excluding any such expenditures to the extent financed from the proceeds of Indebtedness (other than Revolving Loans) or insurance proceeds or other similar recoveries paid on account of the loss of or damage to the assets being replaced or restored or other assets and that are made during such period, (y) any federal, state, local and foreign taxes paid by the Partnership and its Subsidiaries during such period (net of any tax credits or refunds during such period), and (z) all Restricted Payments (which includes distributions) paid in cash by the Partnership during such period, to (ii) Consolidated Fixed Charges for the four fiscal quarter period ending on such measurement date; and
define “Consolidated Fixed Charges” as the sum of (i) Consolidated Interest Expense paid or payable in cash plus (ii) the aggregate amount of all scheduled principal payments with respect to all Consolidated Funded Indebtedness, but excluding any such payments to the extent refinanced through the incurrence of additional Indebtedness permitted under the Amended Credit Agreement;


prior to the date on which the Partnership shall have achieved, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter after September 29, 2017, a Consolidated Leverage Ratio of less than 4.00:1.00 for the four consecutive fiscal quarters ending on such date: (a) limit Revolving Credit Availability to (i) the lesser of the Borrowing Base, which is equal to the sum of 80% of accounts receivable outstanding less than 120 days plus 40% of the book value, net of depreciation, of property, plant and equipment, and the aggregate Revolving Commitments of the Lenders at such time, minus (ii) the aggregate outstanding amount of Revolving Credit Exposures of the Lenders and (b) in the event the sum of the aggregate principal amount of all of the Revolving Credit Exposures of the Lenders exceeds the Borrowing Base then in effect, require the Borrowers to immediately prepay borrowings in an amount so that the Revolving Credit Availability is at least $0; and
extend the deadline for filing the Partnership’s Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017 to forty-five days following the filing of its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2017, but not later than January 31, 2018.
Senior Notes

On May 28, 2013, the Partnership issued $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.875% Senior Notes due 2021 (the “Senior Notes”). The Partnership pays 7.875% interest per annum on the principal amount of the Senior Notes, payable in cash semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year. The net proceeds from the offering were used to retire a $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of 10.25% Senior Notes due 2017 and the remaining proceeds were used for general corporate purposes. The Senior Notes were issued at 97.832% of par resulting in gross proceeds of $171.2 million with an original issue discount of approximately $3.8 million. The Partnership incurred debt issuance costs and fees of approximately $4.6 million. These costs and fees are deferred and are being amortized over the life of the Senior Notes. The Senior Notes mature on June 1, 2021.

At any time on or after June 1, 2016, we may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at the redemption prices (expressed as percentages of the principal amount) set forth below, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date, if redeemed during the 12-month period beginning June 1 of the years indicated:

                    

Year

  Percentage 

2016

   105.906

2017

   103.938

2018

   101.969

2019 and thereafter

   100.000

YearPercentage
2017103.938%
2018101.969%
2019 and thereafter100.000%
Subject to certain exceptions, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the Indenture), each holder of the Senior Notes will have the right to require the Partnership to purchase that holder’s Senior Notes for a cash price equal to 101% of the principal amounts to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The Senior Notes are jointly and severally guaranteed by certain of the Partnership’s subsidiaries. The Indenture governing the Senior Notes contains covenants, including limitations of the Partnership’s ability to incur certain additional indebtedness and liens, make certain dividends, distributions, redemptions or investments, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, make certain asset sales, and engage in certain mergers, consolidations or sales of all or substantially all of ourthe Partnership's assets, among other items. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the Partnership was in compliance with these covenants.

10.
INCOME TAXES

The Partnership is not subject to U.S. federal and most state income taxes. The partners of the Partnership are liable for income tax in regard to their distributive share of the Partnership’s taxable income. Such taxable income may vary substantially from net income reported in the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements. Certain corporate subsidiaries are subject to federal and state income tax. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and tax carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using

enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Partnership records a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets if it deems that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realizable in future periods.

As of September 30, 2016, the Partnership had available approximately less than $0.1 million of alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards, which are available indefinitely, and $264.5 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards, which will begin to expire in 2017 and $321.8 million in state net operating loss carryforwards, a portion of which expires annually.

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it’s more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. As of September 30, 2016, based on the level of historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income over the periods in which the deferred tax assets are deductible, management believes it is more likely than not that the Partnership will realize a partial benefit of these deductible differences. The amount of deferred tax assets considered realizable could be reduced in the future if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are reduced.

In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Partnership recognizes only the impact of income tax positions that, based upon their merits, are more likely than not to be sustained upon audit by a taxing authority. To evaluate its current tax positions in order to identify any material uncertain tax positions, the Partnership developed a policy of identifying and evaluating uncertain tax positions that considers support for each tax position, industry standards, tax return disclosures and schedules and the significance of each position. It is the Partnership’s policy to recognize interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. At September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Partnership had no material uncertain tax positions.

The Partnership is not currently under examination by any federal or state jurisdictions. The federal statute of limitations and certain state statutes of limitations are open from 2012 forward.

11.8.DEFERRED REVENUES

The Partnership defers revenues and all direct costs associated with the sale of pre-need cemetery merchandise and services until the merchandise is delivered or the services are performed. The Partnership recognizes deferred merchandise and service revenues as deferred revenues within long-term liabilities on its condensed consolidated balance sheet. The Partnership recognizes deferred direct costs associated with pre-need cemetery merchandise and service revenues as deferred selling and obtaining costs within long-term assets on its condensed consolidated balance sheet. The Partnership also defers the costs to obtain new pre-need cemetery and new prearranged funeral business as well as the investment earnings on the prearranged services and merchandise trusts.

At September 30, 2016



Deferred revenues and December 31, 2015, deferred revenuesrelated costs consisted of the following at the dates indicated (in thousands):

                                        
   September 30, 2016   December 31, 2015 

Deferred contract revenues

  $806,322    $759,812  

Deferred merchandise trust revenue

   86,275     80,294  

Deferred merchandise trust unrealized gains (losses)

   4,155     (24,685
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred revenues

  $896,752    $815,421  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred selling and obtaining costs

  $122,249    $111,542  

12.LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLANS

2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan

During

 March 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Deferred contract revenues$788,477
 $782,120
Deferred merchandise trust revenue82,235
 76,512
Deferred merchandise trust unrealized gains20,644
 8,001
Deferred revenues$891,356
 $866,633
Deferred selling and obtaining costs$120,113
 $116,890
Deferred revenues presented in the year ended December 31, 2014, the General Partner’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and the Partnership’s unitholders approved a 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2014 LTIP”). The Compensation, Nominating and Governance, and Compliance Committeetable above are net of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”) administers the 2014 LTIP. The 2014 LTIP permits the grant of awards, which may beallowance for contract cancellations disclosed in the form of phantom units, restricted units, unit appreciation rights (“UAR”), or unit options, including performance factors for each, covering an aggregate of 1,500,000 common units, a number that the Board may increase by up to 100,000 common units per year. At September 30, 2016, the estimated number of common units to be issued upon vesting and exercise of outstanding rights under this plan, assuming the satisfaction of the maximum conditions for performance factors, was 186,845. A cumulative number of 17,229 common units have been issued, leaving 1,295,926 common units available for future grants under the plan, assuming no increases by the Board.

Phantom Unit Awards

Phantom units represent rights to receive a common unit or an amount of cash, or a combination of either, based upon the value of a common unit. Phantom units become payable, in cash or common units, at the Partnership’s election, upon the separation of directors and executives from service or upon the occurrence of certain other events specified in the underlying agreements. Phantom units are subject to terms and conditions determined by the Compensation Committee. In tandem with phantom unit grants, the compensation committee may grant distribution equivalent rights (“DERs”), which are the right to receive an amount in cash or common units equal to the cash distributions made by the Partnership with respect to common unit during the period that the underlying phantom unit is outstanding. All phantom units outstanding under the 2014 LTIP at September 30, 2016 contain tandem DERs.

The following table sets forth the 2014 LTIP phantom unit award activity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively:

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 

Outstanding, beginning of period

   110,090     6,281     102,661     2,189  

Granted (1)

   102,715     2,566     110,144     6,658  

Settled in common units or cash (1)

   (2,774   —       (2,774   —    

Forfeiture

   (23,185   —       (23,185   —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Outstanding, end of period (2)

   186,846     8,847     186,846     8,847  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Note 2.
(1)
The weighted-average grant date fair value for the unit awards on the date of grant was $25.16 and $24.00 for three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $25.12 and $27.14 for nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The intrinsic value of vested unit awards was $0.1 million for both the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 and $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and $0.2 million for the nine months ended 2015.
(2)Based on the closing price of the common units on September 30, 2016, the estimated intrinsic value of the outstanding unit awards was $4.7 million at September 30, 2016.

2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan

The Compensation Committee administers the Partnership’s 2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2004 LTIP”). The 2004 LTIP permitted the grant of awards, which may be in the form of phantom units, restricted units, or unit appreciation rights (“UAR”). At September 30, 2016, the estimated number of common units to be issued upon vesting and exercise of outstanding rights under this plan was 199,919, based upon the closing price of our common units at September 30, 2016. A cumulative number of 626,188 common units have been issued under the 2004 LTIP. There were no awards available for grant under the 2004 LTIP at September 30, 2016 because the plan expired in 2014.

Phantom Unit Awards

Phantom units were credited to participants’ mandatory deferred compensation accounts in connection with DERs accruing on phantom units received under the 2004 LTIP. These DERs continue to accrue until the underlying securities are issued. The following table sets forth the 2004 LTIP activity related to DERs credited as phantom units to the participant’s accounts for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively:

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 

Outstanding, beginning of period

   194,085     176,349     184,457     169,122  

Granted (1)

   5,108     4,188     14,736     11,415  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Outstanding, end of period (2)

   199,193     180,537     199,193     180,537  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1)The weighted-average fair value for the phantom units credited was $24.32 and $26.46 for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $24.63 and $28.08 for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The intrinsic value of vested phantom unit awards was $0.1 million for both of the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 and $0.4 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
(2)Based on the closing price of the common units on September 30, 2016, the estimated intrinsic value of the outstanding unit awards was $5.0 million at September 30, 2016.

Total compensation expense for phantom units credited under both the 2004 and 2014 plans was approximately $0.2 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $0.6 million and $0.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Unit Appreciation Rights Awards

UAR awards represent a right to receive an amount equal to the closing price of the Partnership’s common units on the date preceding the exercise date less the exercise price of the UARs, to the extent the closing price of the Partnership’s common units on the date preceding the exercise date is in excess of the exercise price. This amount is then divided by the closing price of the Partnership’s common units on the date preceding the exercise date to determine the number of common units to be issued to the participant. UAR awards granted through September 30, 2016 have a five-year contractual term beginning on the grant date and vest ratably over a period of 48 months beginning on the grant date. Of the UARs outstanding at September 30, 2016, 14,583 UARs will vest within the following twelve months. The following table sets forth the UAR award activity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively:

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 

Outstanding, beginning of period

   66,793     87,021     66,793     123,000  

Exercised

   —       (19,791   —       (50,040

Forfeited

   (438   —       (438   (5,730
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Outstanding, end of period (1)

   66,355     67,230     66,355     67,230  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Exercisable, end of period

   48,750     27,562     48,750     27,562  

(1)Based on the closing price of the common units on September 30, 2016, the estimated intrinsic value of the outstanding unit awards was less than $0.1 million at September 30, 2016. The weighted average remaining contractual life for outstanding UAR awards at September 30, 2016 was 1.8 years.

At September 30, 2016, the Partnership had approximately $0.1 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested UAR awards that will be recognized through the year ended December 31, 2018. The Partnership recognized total compensation expense for UAR awards of less than $0.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015. The Partnership issued 3,067 common units for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 7,631 common units for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 due to exercised UAR awards. There were no UAR exercises during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016.

13.9.COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal

The Partnership is currently subject to class or collective actions under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and for related state law claims that certain of our officers and directors breached their fiduciary duty to the Partnership and its unitholders. The Partnership could also become subject to additional claims and legal proceedings relating to the factual allegations made in these actions. While management cannot reasonably estimate the potential exposure in these matters at this time, if the Partnership does not prevail in any such proceedings, the Partnership could be required to pay substantial damages or settlement costs, subject to certain insurance coverages. Management has determined that, based on the status of the claims and legal proceedings against us, the amount of the potential losses cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. These actions are summarized below.
Anderson v. StoneMor Partners, LP, et al., No. 2:16-cv-06111 pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and filed on November 21, 2016. The plaintiffs in this case (as well as Klein v. StoneMor Partners, LP, et al., No. 2:16-cv-06275, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on December 2, 2016, which has been consolidated with this case) brought an action on behalf of a putative class of the holders of Partnership units and allege that the Partnership made misrepresentations to investors in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by, among other things and in general, failing to clearly disclose the use of proceeds from debt and equity offerings by making allegedly false or misleading statements concerning (a) the Partnership’s strength or health in connection with a particular quarter’s distribution announcement, (b) the connection between operations and distributions and (c) the Partnership’s use of cash from equity offerings and its credit facility. Lead plaintiffs have been appointed in this case, and filed a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint on April 24, 2017. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss that Consolidated Amended Complaint on June 8, 2017; the motion is pending. Plaintiffs seek damages from the Partnership and certain of its officers and directors on behalf of the class of Partnership unitholders, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees.
Bunim v. Miller, et al., No. 2:17-cv-00519-ER, pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and filed on February 6, 2017. The plaintiff in this case brought, derivatively on behalf of the Partnership, claims that StoneMor GP’s officers and directors aided and abetted in breaches of StoneMor GP’s purported fiduciary duties by, among other things and in general, allegedly making misrepresentations through the use of non-GAAP accounting standards in its public filings, by allegedly failing to clearly disclose the use of proceeds from debt and equity offerings, and by allegedly approving unsustainable distributions. The plaintiff also claims that these actions and misrepresentations give rise to causes of action for gross mismanagement, unjust enrichment, and (in connection with a purportedly misleading proxy statement filed in 2014) violations of Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The derivative plaintiff seeks an award of damages, attorneys’ fees and costs in favor of the Partnership as nominal plaintiff, as well as general compliance and governance changes. This case has been stayed, by the agreement of the parties, pending the resolution of the motion to dismiss filed in the Anderson case.


Muth v. StoneMor G.P. LLC, et al., December Term, 2016, No. 01196 and Binder v. StoneMor G.P. LLC, et al., January Term, 2017, No. 04872, both pending in the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and filed on December 20, 2016 and February 3, 2017, respectively. In these cases, the plaintiffs brought, derivatively on behalf of the Partnership, claims that StoneMor GP’s officers and directors aided and abetted in breaches of StoneMor GP’s purported fiduciary duties by, among other things and in general, allegedly making misrepresentations through the use of non-GAAP accounting standards in its public filings and by failing to clearly disclose the use of proceeds from debt and equity offerings, as well as approving unsustainable distributions. The plaintiffs also claim that these actions and misrepresentations give rise to a cause of action for unjust enrichment. The derivative plaintiffs seek an award of damages, attorneys’ fees and costs in favor of the Partnership as nominal plaintiff, as well as alterations to the procedures for electing members to the board of StoneMor GP, and other compliance and governance changes. These cases have been consolidated and stayed, by the agreement of the parties, pending the resolution of the motion to dismiss filed in the Anderson case.
The Partnership has received two subpoenas from the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Enforcement Division, in connection with a fact-finding as to whether violations of federal securities laws have occurred. The subpoenas themselves state that the fact-finding should not be construed as an indication that any violations of securities laws occurred. The first subpoena, received on April 25, 2017, sought information from us relating to, among other things, our prior restatements, financial statements, internal control over financial reporting, public disclosures, use of non-GAAP financial measures and matters pertaining to unitholder distributions and the sources of funds therefor. The second subpoena, received on July 13, 2017, sought information relating to protection of our confidential information and our policies regarding insider trading. We are cooperating with the SEC staff, have begun to deliver information requested in the first subpoena and have delivered all information requested in the second, more limited, subpoena.
The Partnership is party to other legal proceedings in the ordinary course of its business but does not expect the outcome of any such proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on its financial position, or results of operations or cash flows.  The Partnership carries insurance with coverage and coverage limits that it believes to be customary in the cemetery and funeral home industry. Although there can be no assurance that such insurance will be sufficient to protect the Partnership against all contingencies, management believes that the insurance protection is reasonable in view of the nature and scope of the operations.

Other

During the first quarter of 2016, the Partnership moved its corporate headquarters to Trevose, Pennsylvania. Due to the relocation, a cease-use expense of $2.4 million, of which $0.5 million was incurred in the first quarter of 2016, was recorded in “Other gains and losses,(losses), net” on the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations. This charge represents the net recognition of the discounted liability for future rent payments due under the lease on the previous headquarters, net of estimated sublease collections and deferred rent and lease incentives pertaining to the previous corporate office location.

In connection with the Partnership’s 2014 lease and management agreements with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, it has committed to pay aggregate fixed rent of $36.0 million in the following amounts:

Lease Years 1-5

(May 28, 2014 - May 31, 2019)None

Lease Years 6-20

(June 1, 2019 - May 31, 2034)$1,000,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 21-25

(June 1, 2034 - May 31, 2039)$1,200,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 26-35

(June 1, 2039 - May 31, 2049)$1,500,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 36-60

(June 1, 2049 - May 31, 2074)None

The fixed rent for lease years 6 through 11, shall bean aggregate of $6.0 million, is deferred. If, prior to May 31, 2024, the Archdiocese terminatesexercises its right in its sole discretion to terminate the agreements pursuant to aduring lease year 11 termination or the Partnership terminates the agreements as a result of a default by the Archdiocese, priorthe Partnership is entitled to the end of lease year 11,retain the deferred fixed rent shall be retained by the Partnership.rent. If the agreements are not terminated, the deferred fixed rent shallwill become due and payable on or before June 30, days after the end of lease year 11.

2024.


14.
10.FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Management has established a hierarchy to measure the Partnership’s financial instruments at fair value, which requires it to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs represent market data obtained from independent sources; whereas, unobservable inputs reflect the Partnership’s own market assumptions, which are used if observable inputs are not reasonably available without undue cost and effort. The hierarchy defines three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.

Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset and liability or can be corroborated with observable market data for substantially the same contractual term of the asset or liability.

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that the entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in the pricing of the asset or liability and are consequently not based on market activity but rather through particular valuation techniques.

The Partnership’s current assets and liabilities and customer receivables on its condensed consolidated balance sheets are consideredsimilar to becash basis financial instruments, and their estimated fair values approximate their carrying values due to their short-term nature and thus are categorized as Level 1. The Partnership’s merchandise and perpetual care trusts consist of investments in debt and equity marketable securities and cash equivalents, are carried at fair value, and are considered either Level 1 or Level 2 (see Notes 65 and 7)6). Where quoted prices are available in active markets, securities are classified as Level 1 investments pursuant to the fair value measurement hierarchy.
Where quoted market prices are not available for the specific security, fair values are estimated by using either quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics or an income approach fair value model with observable inputs that include a combination of interest rates, yield curves, credit risks, prepayment speeds, rating, and tax-exempt status. These securities are classified as Level 2 investments pursuant to the fair value measurement hierarchy. Certain investments in the merchandise and perpetual care trusts are excluded from the fair value leveling hierarchy in accordance with GAAP.

These funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been categorized in the fair value hierarchy.

The Partnership’s other financial instruments as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 consist of its Senior Notes and outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility (see Note 9)7). The estimated fair values of the Partnership’s Senior Notes as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 were $178.5$174.3 million and $179.9$168.0 million, respectively, based on trades made on those dates, compared with the carrying amounts of $172.5$172.7 million and $172.2$172.6 million, respectively. As of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2015,2016, the carrying values of outstanding borrowings under the Partnership’s revolving credit facility (see Note 9)7), which bears interest at variable interest rates with maturities of 90 days or less, approximated their estimated fair values. The Senior Notes and the credit facility are valued using Level 2 inputs.

15.
11.SUPPLEMENTAL CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The Partnership’s Senior Notes are guaranteed by StoneMor Operating LLC and its wholly-owned100% owned subsidiaries, other than the co-issuer, as described below. The guarantees are full, unconditional, joint and several. The Partnership, or the “Parent”, and its wholly-owned100% owned subsidiary, Cornerstone Family Services of West Virginia Subsidiary Inc., are the co-issuers of the Senior Notes. The Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and December 31, 20152016 and for the three and nine months ended September 30,March 31, 2017 and 2016 and 2015 include the accounts of cemeteries operatedowned by other entities but which we operate under long-term lease, operating or management agreements. For the purposes of this note, these entities are deemed non-guarantor subsidiaries, as they are not wholly-owned100% owned by the Partnership. The Partnership’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements also contain merchandise and perpetual care trusts that are also deemed non-guarantor subsidiaries for the purposes of this note.



The following unaudited supplemental condensed consolidating financial information reflects the Partnership’s standalone accounts, the combined accounts of the subsidiary co-issuer, the combined accounts of the guarantor subsidiaries, the combined accounts of the non-guarantor subsidiaries, the consolidating adjustments and eliminations and the Partnership’s consolidated accounts as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and 2015.2016. For the purpose of the following financial information, the Partnership’s investments in its subsidiaries and the guarantor subsidiaries’ investments in their respective subsidiaries are presented in accordance with the equity method of accounting (in thousands):

accounting:

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEETS

       Subsidiary   Guarantor   Non-Guarantor        
September 30, 2016  Parent   Issuer   Subsidiaries   Subsidiaries   Eliminations  Consolidated 

Assets

           

Current assets:

           

Cash and cash equivalents

  $—      $—      $13,165    $2,445    $—     $15,610  

Other current assets

   —       4,336     87,620     16,947     —      108,903  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total current assets

   —       4,336     100,785     19,392     —      124,513  

Long-term accounts receivable

   —       1,564     84,767     11,651     —      97,982  

Cemetery property and equipment

   —       940     422,761     31,702     —      455,403  

Merchandise trusts

   —       —       —       504,604     —      504,604  

Perpetual care trusts

   —       —       —       334,923     —      334,923  

Deferred selling and obtaining costs

   —       6,240     97,414     18,595     —      122,249  

Goodwill and intangible assets

   —       —       78,510     58,090     —      136,600  

Other assets

   —       —       15,505     2,360     —      17,865  

Investments in and amounts due from affiliates eliminated upon consolidation

   229,565     138,604     485,550     —       (853,719  —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total assets

  $229,565    $151,684    $1,285,292    $981,317    $(853,719 $1,794,139  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Liabilities and Equity

           

Current liabilities

  $—      $27    $42,070    $957    $—     $43,054  

Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs

   68,018     104,492     141,522     —       —      314,032  

Deferred revenues

   —       37,489     769,930     89,333     —      896,752  

Perpetual care trust corpus

   —       —       —       334,923     —      334,923  

Other long-term liabilities

   —       —       33,758     10,073     —      43,831  

Due to affiliates

   —       —       172,510     492,234     (664,744  —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   68,018     142,008     1,159,790     927,520     (664,744  1,632,592  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Partners' capital

   161,547     9,676     125,502     53,797     (188,975  161,547  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and partners' capital

  $229,565    $151,684    $1,285,292    $981,317    $(853,719 $1,794,139  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 
       Subsidiary   Guarantor   Non-Guarantor        
December 31, 2015  Parent   Issuer   Subsidiaries   Subsidiaries   Eliminations  Consolidated 

Assets

           

Current assets:

           

Cash and cash equivalents

  $—      $—      $11,869    $3,284    $—     $15,153  

Other current assets

   —       4,858     78,464     12,701     —      96,023  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total current assets

   —       4,858     90,333     15,985     —      111,176  

Long-term accounts receivable

   —       2,888     80,969     11,310     —      95,167  

Cemetery property and equipment

   —       1,084     418,400     31,100     —      450,584  

Merchandise trusts

   —       —       —       464,676     —      464,676  

Perpetual care trusts

   —       —       —       307,804     —      307,804  

Deferred selling and obtaining costs

   —       5,967     91,275     14,300     —      111,542  

Goodwill and intangible assets

   —       —       78,223     58,837     —      137,060  

Other assets

   —       —       14,153     2,195     —      16,348  

Investments in and amounts due from affiliates eliminated upon consolidation

   249,436     165,639     436,811     —       (851,886  —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total assets

  $249,436    $180,436    $1,210,164    $906,207    $(851,886 $1,694,357  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Liabilities and Equity

           

Current liabilities

  $—      $12    $33,083    $837    $—     $33,932  

Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs

   67,890     104,295     144,214     —       —      316,399  

Deferred revenues

   —       40,467     697,516     77,438     —      815,421  

Perpetual care trust corpus

   —       —       —       307,804     —      307,804  

Other long-term liabilities

   —       —       29,761     9,494     —      39,255  

Due to affiliates

   —       —       172,185     454,605     (626,790  —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   67,890     144,774     1,076,759     850,178     (626,790  1,512,811  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Partners’ capital

   181,546     35,662     133,405     56,029     (225,096  181,546  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and partners’ capital

  $249,436    $180,436    $1,210,164    $906,207    $(851,886 $1,694,357  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

(in thousands)

March 31, 2017Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
Assets           
Current assets:           
Cash and cash equivalents$
 $
 $10,531
 $3,192
 $
 $13,723
Other current assets
 3,325
 83,711
 17,205
 
 104,241
Total current assets
 3,325
 94,242
 20,397
 
 117,964
Long-term accounts receivable
 1,886
 83,847
 13,146
 
 98,879
Cemetery property and equipment
 925
 417,124
 34,147
 
 452,196
Merchandise trusts
 
 
 523,858
 
 523,858
Perpetual care trusts
 
 
 341,479
 
 341,479
Deferred selling and obtaining costs
 5,843
 93,754
 20,516
 
 120,113
Goodwill and intangible assets
 
 72,665
 62,623
 
 135,288
Other assets
 
 18,665
 2,828
 
 21,493
Investments in and amounts due from affiliates eliminated upon consolidation238,255
 159,173
 577,374
 
 (974,802) 
Total assets$238,255
 $171,152
 $1,357,671
 $1,018,994
 $(974,802) $1,811,270
Liabilities and Equity           
Current liabilities$
 $474
 $45,455
 $166
 $
 $46,095
Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs68,108
 104,630
 130,880
 
 
 303,618
Deferred revenues
 30,182
 764,839
 96,335
 
 891,356
Perpetual care trust corpus
 
 
 341,479
 
 341,479
Other long-term liabilities
 
 47,191
 11,384
 
 58,575
Due to affiliates
 
 172,738
 598,250
 (770,988) 
Total liabilities68,108
 135,286
 1,161,103
 1,047,614
 (770,988) 1,641,123
Partners' capital170,147
 35,866
 196,568
 (28,620) (203,814) 170,147
Total liabilities and partners' capital$238,255
 $171,152
 $1,357,671
 $1,018,994
 $(974,802) $1,811,270



December 31, 2016Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
Assets           
Current assets:           
Cash and cash equivalents$
 $
 $9,145
 $3,425
 $
 $12,570
Other current assets
 4,567
 83,765
 17,919
 
 106,251
Total current assets
 4,567
 92,910
 21,344
 
 118,821
Long-term accounts receivable
 1,725
 83,993
 13,168
 
 98,886
Cemetery property and equipment
 930
 420,077
 34,589
 
 455,596
Merchandise trusts
 
 
 507,079
 
 507,079
Perpetual care trusts
 
 
 333,780
 
 333,780
Deferred selling and obtaining costs
 5,668
 91,252
 19,970
 
 116,890
Goodwill and intangible assets
 
 72,963
 62,911
 
 135,874
Other assets
 
 17,244
 2,843
 
 20,087
Investments in and amounts due from affiliates eliminated upon consolidation258,417
 182,060
 557,455
 
 (997,932) 
Total assets$258,417
 $194,950
 $1,335,894
 $995,684
 $(997,932) $1,787,013
Liabilities and Equity           
Current liabilities$
 $320
 $38,336
 $237
 $
 $38,893
Long-term debt, net of deferred financing costs68,063
 104,560
 127,728
 
 
 300,351
Deferred revenues
 30,321
 738,184
 98,128
 
 866,633
Perpetual care trust corpus
 
 
 333,780
 
 333,780
Other long-term liabilities
 
 45,802
 11,200
 
 57,002
Due to affiliates
 
 172,623
 581,427
 (754,050) 
Total liabilities68,063
 135,201
 1,122,673
 1,024,772
 (754,050) 1,596,659
Partners’ capital190,354
 59,749
 213,221
 (29,088) (243,882) 190,354
Total liabilities and partners’ capital$258,417
 $194,950
 $1,335,894
 $995,684
 $(997,932) $1,787,013


CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

                                                                        
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Three months ended September 30, 2016 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Total revenues

 $—     $2,198   $68,936   $11,858   $(4,456 $78,536  

Total cost and expenses

  —      (3,069  (70,790  (14,507  4,456    (83,910

Other income (loss)

  —      —      (506  —      —      (506

Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries

  (10,286  (8,418  —      —      18,704    —    

Interest expense

  (1,358  (2,087  (2,296  (193  —      (5,934
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) before income taxes

  (11,644  (11,376  (4,656  (2,842  18,704    (11,814
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income tax benefit (expense)

  —      —      170    —      —      170  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(11,644 $(11,376 $(4,486 $(2,842 $18,704   $(11,644
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Three months ended September 30, 2015 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Total revenues

 $—     $1,333   $71,344   $12,628   $(3,537 $81,768  

Total cost and expenses

  —      (2,883  (65,285  (12,909  3,537    (77,540

Other income (loss)

  —      —      (1,460  —      —      (1,460

Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries

  (1,900  (1,877  —      —      3,777    —    

Interest expense

  (1,358  (2,087  (2,041  (183  —      (5,669
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) before income taxes

  (3,258  (5,514  2,558    (464  3,777    (2,901
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income tax benefit (expense)

  —      —      (357  —      —      (357
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(3,258 $(5,514 $2,201   $(464 $3,777   $(3,258
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Nine months ended September 30, 2016 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Total revenues

 $—     $5,084   $199,637   $38,214   $(9,188 $233,747  

Total cost and expenses

  —      (8,161  (204,438  (38,506  9,188    (241,917

Other income (loss)

  —      —      (1,579  —      —      (1,579

Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries

  (23,695  (24,873  —      —      48,568    —    

Interest expense

  (4,075  (6,261  (6,516  (579  —      (17,431
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) before income taxes

  (27,770  (34,211  (12,896  (871  48,568    (27,180
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income tax benefit (expense)

  —      —      (590  —      —      (590
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(27,770 $(34,211 $(13,486 $(871 $48,568   $(27,770
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Nine months ended September 30, 2015 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Total revenues

 $—     $4,118   $206,289   $36,298   $(9,931 $236,774  

Total cost and expenses

  —      (8,159  (198,399  (37,526  9,931    (234,153

Other income (loss)

  —      —      (1,460  —      —      (1,460

Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries

  (12,337  (13,262  —      —      25,599    —    

Interest expense

  (4,075  (6,261  (6,026  (540  —      (16,902
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss) before income taxes

  (16,412  (23,564  404    (1,768  25,599    (15,741
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Income tax benefit (expense)

  —      —      (671  —      —      (671
 

 

��

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 $(16,412 $(23,564 $(267 $(1,768 $25,599   $(16,412
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

                                                                        
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Nine months ended September 30, 2016 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 $2,624   $86   $27,172   $1,565   $(12,960 $18,487  

Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

      

Cash paid for acquisitions and capital expenditures

  —      (86  (15,819  (2,404  —      (18,309

Payments to affiliates

  (9,097  —      —      —      9,097    —    
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

  (9,097  (86  (15,819  (2,404  9,097    (18,309
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

      

Cash distributions

  (68,062  —      —      —      —      (68,062

Payments from affiliates

  —      —      (3,863  —      3,863    —    

Net borrowings and repayments of debt

  —      —      168    —      —      168  

Proceeds from issuance of common units

  74,535    —      —      —      —      74,535  

Other financing activities

  —      —      (6,362  —      —      (6,362
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

  6,473    —      (10,057  —      3,863    279  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

  —      —      1,296    (839  —      457  

Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period

  —      —      11,869    3,284    —      15,153  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents - End of period

 $—     $—     $13,165   $2,445   $—     $15,610  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
     Subsidiary  Guarantor  Non-Guarantor       
Nine months ended September 30, 2015 Parent  Issuer  Subsidiaries  Subsidiaries  Eliminations  Consolidated 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 $36,297   $225   $18,725   $3,416   $(46,633 $12,030  

Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

      

Cash paid for acquisitions and capital expenditures

  —      (225  (21,385  (2,523  —      (24,133

Payments to affiliates

  (47,479  —      —      —      47,479    —    
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

  (47,479  (225  (21,385  (2,523  47,479    (24,133
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

      

Cash distributions

  (56,689  —      —      —      —      (56,689

Payments to affiliates

  —      —      846    —      (846  —    

Net borrowings and repayments of debt

  —      —      2,378    —      —      2,378  

Proceeds from issuance of common units

  67,871    —      —      —      —      67,871  

Other financing activities

  —      —      (66  —      —      (66
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

  11,182    —      3,158    —      (846  13,494  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

  —      —      498    893    —      1,391  

Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period

  —      —      7,059    3,342    —      10,401  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents - End of period

 $—     $—     $7,557   $4,235   $—     $11,792  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

(in thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
Total revenues$
 $2,045
 $68,642
 $14,942
 $(2,683) $82,946
Total costs and expenses
 (3,404) (69,482) (13,792) 2,683
 (83,995)
Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries(7,203) (8,214) 
 
 15,417
 
Interest expense(1,358) (2,087) (3,036) (225) 
 (6,706)
Net income (loss) before income taxes(8,561) (11,660) (3,876) 925
 15,417
 (7,755)
Income tax benefit (expense)
 
 (806) 
 
 (806)
Net income (loss)$(8,561) $(11,660) $(4,682) $925
 $15,417
 $(8,561)
            
Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
(As restated, see A)
Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
     B B    
Total revenues$
 $1,269
 $64,346
 $14,921
 $(2,364) $78,172
Total costs and expenses
 (2,526) (65,023) (12,448) 2,364
 (77,633)
Other income (loss)
 
 (882) 
 
 (882)
Net loss from equity investment in subsidiaries(5,035) (6,252) 
 
 11,287
 
Interest expense(1,358) (2,087) (2,154) (191) 
 (5,790)
Net income (loss) before income taxes(6,393) (9,596) (3,713) 2,282
 11,287
 (6,133)
Income tax benefit (expense)
 
 (260) 
 
 (260)
Net income (loss)$(6,393) $(9,596) $(3,973) $2,282
 $11,287
 $(6,393)
16.
A.See Note 1 for a summary of those accounting adjustments and the impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2016.
B.The Partnership incorrectly presented the accounts of certain cemeteries owned by other entities but which we operate under long-term lease, operating or management agreements, as guarantor subsidiaries instead of non-guarantor subsidiaries. The adjustments to correctly present these cemeteries as non-guarantor subsidiaries resulted in a $1.0 million increase in non-guarantor revenues and a $0.8 million increase in non-guarantor costs and expenses and corresponding reductions to guarantor revenues and costs and expenses.


CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2017Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities$11,887
 $11
 $15,826
 $(41) $(15,332) $12,351
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:           
Cash paid for acquisitions and capital expenditures
 (11) (1,293) (192) 
 (1,496)
Net cash used in investing activities
 (11) (1,293) (192) 
 (1,496)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:           
Cash distributions(11,887) 
 
 
 
 (11,887)
Payments to affiliates
 
 (15,332) 
 15,332
 
Net borrowings and repayments of debt
 
 2,928
 
 
 2,928
Other financing activities
 
 (743) 
 
 (743)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities(11,887) 
 (13,147) 
 15,332
 (9,702)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
 
 1,386
 (233) 
 1,153
Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period
 
 9,145
 3,425
 
 12,570
Cash and cash equivalents - End of period$
 $
 $10,531
 $3,192
 $
 $13,723
            
Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
(As restated, see A)
Parent Subsidiary
Issuer
 Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
 Eliminations Consolidated
     B B    
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities$2,624
 $5
 $7,950
 $724
 $(6,069) $5,234
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:           
Cash paid for acquisitions and capital expenditures, net of proceeds from asset sales
 (5) (3,774) (643) 
 (4,422)
Net cash used in investing activities
 (5) (3,774) (643) 
 (4,422)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:           
Cash distributions(21,387) 
 
 
 
 (21,387)
Payments to affiliates
 
 (6,069) 
 6,069
 
Net borrowings and repayments of debt
 
 145
 
 
 145
Proceeds from issuance of common units18,763
 
 
 
 
 18,763
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities(2,624) 
 (5,924) 
 6,069
 (2,479)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
 
 (1,748) 81
 
 (1,667)
Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of period
 
 11,809
 3,344
 
 15,153
Cash and cash equivalents - End of period$
 $
 $10,061
 $3,425
 $
 $13,486
A.See Note 1 for a summary of those accounting adjustments and the impact on the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2016.


B.The Partnership incorrectly presented the accounts of certain cemeteries owned by other entities but which we operate under long-term lease, operating or management agreements, as guarantor subsidiaries instead of non-guarantor subsidiaries. The adjustments to correctly present these cemeteries as non-guarantor subsidiaries resulted in a $0.2 million decrease in non-guarantor cash provided by operating activities, with a corresponding increase in guarantor cash provided by operating activities.
12.ISSUANCES OF LIMITED PARTNER UNITS

On November 19, 2015, the Partnership entered into an equity distribution agreement (“ATM Equity Program”) with a group of banks (the “Agents”) whereby it may sell, from time to time, common units representing limited partner interests having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000. During the three months ended September 30, 2016, the Partnership did not issue common units under the ATM Equity Program. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Partnership issued 903,682 common units under the ATM Equity Program for net proceeds of $23.0 million.

Pursuant to a Common Unit Purchase Agreement, dated May 19, 2014, by and between the Partnership and American Cemeteries Infrastructure Investors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ACII”), the Partnership issued 58,92478,342 paid-in-kind units to ACII in lieu of cash distributions of $1.5$0.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 176,214 paid-in-kind Units to ACII in lieu of cash distributions of $4.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.

On April 20, 2016, the Partnership completed a follow-on public offering of 2,000,000 common units at a public offering price of $23.65 per unit. Additionally, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 300,000 common units. The offering resulted in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses, of $51.5 million. The proceeds from the offering were used to pay down outstanding indebtedness under the Credit Facility.

March 31, 2017.


17.
13.SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Partnership’s operations include two reportable operating segments, Cemetery Operations and Funeral Homes.Home Operations. These operating segments reflect the way the Partnership managesmanaged its operations and makesmade business decisions as of September 30, 2016 and represent a change from the comparable period presented. Prior period information was revised to the current year presentation.March 31, 2017. Operating segment data for and as of the periods indicated were as follows (in thousands):

                                                                                
  Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30, 
  2016  2015  2016  2015 

Cemetery Operations:

    

Revenues

 $64,544   $67,526   $188,693   $193,778  

Operating costs and expenses

  (57,100  (53,906  (162,367  (160,812

Depreciation and amortization

  (2,058  (1,933  (6,042  (5,743
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Segment income

 $5,386   $11,687   $20,284   $27,223  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Funeral Homes:

    

Revenues

 $13,992   $14,242   $45,054   $42,996  

Operating costs and expenses

  (13,825  (11,208  (40,297  (35,507

Depreciation and amortization

  (692  (780  (2,427  (2,381
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Segment income

 $(525 $2,254   $2,330   $5,108  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Reconciliation of segment income to net loss:

    

Cemeteries

 $5,386   $11,687   $20,284   $27,223  

Funeral homes

  (525  2,254    2,330    5,108  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total segment income

  4,861    13,941    22,614    32,331  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Corporate overhead

  (10,058  (9,115  (30,106  (28,627

Corporate depreciation and amortization

  (177  (598  (678  (1,083

Other gains (losses), net

  (506  (1,460  (1,579  (1,460

Interest expense

  (5,934  (5,669  (17,431  (16,902

Income tax benefit (expense)

  170    (357  (590  (671
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss

 $(11,644 $(3,258 $(27,770 $(16,412
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Capital expenditures:

    

Cemeteries

 $1,696   $3,225   $6,328   $9,918  

Funeral homes

  305    79    800    461  

Corporate

  150    479    2,527    654  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total capital expenditures

 $2,151   $3,783   $9,655   $11,033  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  September 30, 2016  December 31, 2015    

Balance sheet information:

   

Assets:

   

Cemetery Operations

 $1,568,829   $1,481,926   

Funeral Homes

  200,073    190,443   

Corporate

  25,237    21,988   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

Total assets

 $1,794,139   $1,694,357   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

Goodwill:

   

Cemetery Operations

 $25,320   $25,320   

Funeral Homes

  45,252    44,531   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

Total goodwill

 $70,572   $69,851   
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 Three Months Ended March 31,
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:2017 2016
   
(As restated -
see Note 1)
Cemetery Operations:   
Revenues$65,527
 $61,823
Operating costs and expenses(56,632) (50,513)
Depreciation and amortization(2,261) (1,970)
Segment income$6,634
 $9,340
Funeral Home Operations:   
Revenues$17,419
 $16,349
Operating costs and expenses(12,804) (13,744)
Depreciation and amortization(806) (877)
Segment income$3,809
 $1,728
Reconciliation of segment income to net loss:   
Cemetery Operations$6,634
 $9,340
Funeral Home Operations3,809
 1,728
Total segment income10,443
 11,068
Corporate overhead(11,104) (10,311)
Corporate depreciation and amortization(388) (218)
Other gains (losses), net
 (882)
Interest expense(6,706) (5,790)
Income tax benefit (expense)(806) (260)
Net loss$(8,561) $(6,393)
    
CASH FLOW DATA:   
Capital expenditures:   
Cemetery Operations$1,309
 $1,941
Funeral Home Operations47
 451
Corporate140
 2,168
Total capital expenditures$1,496
 $4,560
    
BALANCE SHEET DATAMarch 31, 2017 December 31, 2016
Assets:   
Cemetery Operations$1,596,167
 $1,573,494
Funeral Home Operations200,127
 198,200
Corporate14,976
 15,319
Total assets$1,811,270
 $1,787,013
Goodwill:   
Cemetery Operations$24,862
 $24,862
Funeral Home Operations45,574
 45,574
Total goodwill$70,436
 $70,436


18.
14.SUPPLEMENTAL CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW INFORMATION
The tables presented below provide supplemental information to the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows regarding contract origination and maturity activity included in the pertinent captions on the Partnership's condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Pre-need/at-need contract originations (sales on credit)$(26,911) $(26,220)
Cash receipts from sales on credit (post-origination)25,627
 22,275
Changes in Accounts receivable, net of allowance$(1,284) $(3,945)
    
Deferrals:   
Cash receipts from customer deposits at origination, net of refunds$37,342
 $35,950
Withdrawals of realized income from merchandise trusts during the period3,608
 3,130
Pre-need/at-need contract originations (sales on credit)26,911
 26,220
Undistributed merchandise trust investment earnings, net3,310
 3,488
Recognition:   
Merchandise trust investment income, net withdrawn as of end of period(1,900) (2,022)
Recognized maturities of customer contracts collected as of end of period(46,179) (42,079)
Recognized maturities of customer contracts uncollected as of end of period(10,290) (8,976)
Changes in Deferred revenues$12,802
 $15,711
15.SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On October 27, 2016,April 28, 2017, we announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.33 per common unit pertaining to the results for the thirdfirst quarter of 2016.2017. The distribution is scheduled to bewas paid November 14, 2016on May 15, 2017 to common unit holders of record as of the close of business on November 7, 2016.May 8, 2017. A part of or all of this quarterly cash distribution may be deemed to be a return of capital for our limited partners if such quarterly cash distribution, when combined with all other cash distributions made during the calendar year, exceeds the partner’s share of taxable income for the corresponding period, depending upon the individual limited partner’s specific tax position. Because the Partnership’s general and limited partner interests have cumulative net losses as of the end of the period, the distribution represented a return of capital to those interests in accordance with US GAAP.

On July 26, 2017, the Borrowers, Capital One, as Administrative Agent and acting in accordance with the written consent of the Required Lenders, entered into the Second Amendment and Limited Waiver. Those parties subsequently entered into a Third Amendment and Limited Waiver effective as of August 15, 2017 and a Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement dated September 29, 2017. See Note 7 for a discussion of the cumulative effect of these amendments.


ITEM 2.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

As discussed in the Explanatory Note to this Form 10-Q and Note 1 to the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, such financial statements reflect the Restatement of the Partnership’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

The management’s discussion and analysis presented below provides information to assist in understanding the Partnership’s financial condition and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the Partnership’s condensed consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “StoneMor,” the “Company,” or the “Partnership” are to StoneMor Partners L.P. and its subsidiaries.

Certain statements contained in this Form 10-Q, including, but not limited to, information regarding our operating activities, the plans and objectives of our management, and assumptions regarding our future performance and plans are forward-looking statements. When used in this Form 10-Q, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and estimates. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are made subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results stated or implied in this Form 10-Q.

We believe the assumptions underlying the condensed consolidated financial statements are reasonable.


Management's Discussion and Analysis has been revised for the effects of the restatement.
Our major risks are related to uncertainties associated with the cash flow from pre-need and at-need sales, trusts and financings, which may impact StoneMor’sour ability to meet itsour financial projections, service itsour debt and pay distributions and increase its distributions,at current or any different amounts, as well as with itsour ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures.

Our additional risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: uncertainties associated with future revenue and revenue growth; uncertainties associated with the integration or anticipated benefits of recent acquisitions or any future acquisitions; our ability to complete and fund additional acquisitions; the effect of economic downturns; the impact of our significant leverage on our operating plans; the decline in the fair value of certain equity and debt securities held in trusts; our ability to attract, train and retain an adequate number of sales people; uncertainties associated with the volume and timing of pre-need sales of cemetery services and products; increased use of cremation; changes in the death rate; changes in the political or regulatory environments, including potential changes in tax accounting and trusting policies; our ability to successfully implement a strategic plan relating to achieving operating improvements, strong cash flows and further deleveraging; our ability to successfully compete in the cemetery and funeral home industry; litigation or legal proceedings that could expose us to significant liabilities and damage our reputation; the effects of cyber security attacks due to our significant reliance on information technology; uncertainties relating to the financial condition of third-party insurance companies that fund our pre-need funeral contracts; and various other uncertainties associated with the death care industry and our operations in particular.

Our risks and uncertainties are more particularly described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.2016 and Item 1A of Part II of this Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward lookingforward-looking statements included in this Form 10-Q, which speak only as of the date hereof.the statements were made. Except as required by applicable laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

We are a publicly-traded Delaware master-limited partnership (“MLP”) and provider of funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, we operated 317316 cemeteries in 2827 states and Puerto Rico, of which 286285 are owned and 31 are operated under lease, management or operating agreements. We also owned and operated 10599 funeral homes in 18 states and Puerto Rico.

FINANCIAL PRESENTATION

Our consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2016revenue is derived from the Cemetery Operations, Funeral Home Operations and December 31, 2015,investment income earned on cash proceeds received from sales of cemetery and the consolidated statements of operations for the threefuneral home merchandise and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 include our accounts and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets and related consolidated statements of operations. Actual balances and results could be different from those estimates. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in the consolidation of the financial statements.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On October 27, 2016, we announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.33 per common unit pertaining to the results for the third quarter of 2016. The distribution is scheduledservices required to be paid November 14, 2016 to common unit holders of record as of the close of business on November 7, 2016. A part of or all of this quarterly cash distribution may be deemed to be a return of capital for our limited partners if such quarterly cash distribution, when combined with all other cash distributions made during the calendar year, exceeds the partner’s share of taxable income for the corresponding period, depending upon the individual limited partner’s specific tax position. Because the Partnership’s general and limited partner interests have cumulative net losses as of the end of the period, the distribution represented a return of capital to those interestsmaintained in accordance with US GAAP.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

Cemetery Operations

trust by state law. Our cemetery revenues are principally derived from sales of interment rights, merchandise and services, and our funeral home revenues are principally derived from sales of caskets and related items and funeral home services including family consultation, the removal and preparation of remains and the use of funeral home facilities for visitation and prayer services. These sales occur both at the time of death, which we refer to as at-need, and prior to the time of death, which we refer to as pre-need. Pre-need sales are typically sold on an installment plan. At-need cemetery sales and pre-need merchandise and services sales are recognized as revenue when the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. For pre-need sales of interment rights, we recognize the associated revenue when we have collected 10% of the sales price from the customer. We consider our cemetery merchandise delivered to our customer when it is either installed or ready to be installed and delivered to a third-party storage facility until it is needed, with ownership transferred to the customer at that time. Pre-need sales that have not yet been recognized as revenue are recognized as deferred revenues, a liability on our consolidated balance sheet. Direct costs associated with pre-need sales that are recognized as deferred revenues, such as sales commissions, are recognized as deferred selling and obtaining costs, an asset on our consolidated balance sheet, until the merchandise is delivered or the services are performed.

Funeral Home Operations

Our funeral home revenues are principally derived from at-need and pre-need sales of merchandise and services. Pre-need sales are typically sold on an installment plan. Both at-need and pre-need funeral home sales are recognized as revenue when the merchandise is delivered or the service is performed. Pre-need sales that have not yet been recognized as revenue are recognized as deferred revenues, a liability on our consolidated balance sheet. Direct costs associated with pre-need sales that are recognized as deferred revenues, such as sales commissions, are recognized as deferred selling and obtaining costs, an asset on our consolidated balance sheet, until the merchandise is delivered or the services are performed. Our funeral home operations also include revenues related to the sale of term and final expense whole life insurance. As an agent for these insurance sales, weon agency basis. We earn and recognize commission-related revenue streams from the sales of these policies.

Trust Investment Income

Sales



The pre-need sales enhance our financial position by providing a backlog of future revenue from both trust and insurance-funded pre-need funeral and cemetery sales at March 31, 2017. We believe pre-need sales add to the stability and predictability of our revenues and cash flows. Pre-need sales are typically sold on an installment plan. While revenue on the majority of pre-need funeral home merchandisesales is deferred until the time of need, sales of pre-need cemetery property interment rights provide opportunities for full current revenue recognition (to the extent we collect 10% from the customer and services are subject to state law. Under these laws, which vary by state, a portion of the cashplot is fully developed).
We also earn investment income on proceeds received from the sale of interment rights and pre-need sales of cemetery and funeral home merchandise and services, which are generally required to be deposited into trusts. For sales of interment rights, a portion of the cash proceeds received are required to be deposited into a perpetual care trust. While the principal balance of the perpetual care trust must remain in the trust in perpetuity, we recognize investment income on such assets as revenue, excluding realized gains and losses from the sale of trust assets. For sales of cemetery and funeral home merchandise and services, a portion of the cash proceeds received are required to be deposited into a merchandise trust until the merchandise is delivered or the services are performed, at which time the funds so deposited, along with the associated investment income, may be withdrawn. Investment income from assets held in the merchandise trust is recognized as revenuesrevenue when withdrawn. Amounts deposited into trusts
Our revenue depends upon the demand for funeral and cemetery services and merchandise, which can be influenced by a variety of factors, some of which are invested as recommendedbeyond our control including: demographic trends including population growth, average age, death rates and number of deaths. Our operating results and cash flows could also be influenced by our wholly-owned registered investment adviserability to remain relevant to the customer. We provide a variety of unique product and approved byservice offerings to meet the Trust Committee of the board of directorsneeds of our general partner,client families. The mix of services could influence operating results, as it influences the average revenue per contract. Expense management including usecontrolling salaries, merchandise costs, and other expense categories could also impact operating results and cash flows. Lastly, economic conditions, legislative and regulatory changes, and tax law changes, all of investment managers. These investment managerswhich are requiredbeyond our control, could impact our operating results including cash flow.
For further discussion of our key operating metrics, refer to invest our trust funds in accordance with applicable state lawResults of Operations and internal investment guidelines adopted by the Trust Committee. Our investment managers are monitored by our wholly-owned registered investment advisor, who advises the Trust Committee of asset allocations, evaluates the investment managersLiquidity and provides detailed monthly reports on the performance of each merchandise and perpetual care trust.

Capital Resources sections below.

GENERAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK

We expect our business to be affected by key trends in the deathcaredeath care industry, based upon assumptions made by us and information currently available. DeathcareDeath care industry factors affecting our financial position and results of operations include, but are not limited to, demographic trends in terms of population growth, and average age, which impacts death rates and number of deaths, increasing cremation trends, and increasing memorialization trends. In addition, we are subject to fluctuations in the fair value of equity and fixed-maturity debt securities held in our trusts. These values can be negatively impacted by contractions in the credit market and overall downturns in economic activity. Our ability to make payments on our debt and our ability to make cash distributions to our unitholders dependsdepend on our success at managing operations with respect to these industry trends. To the extent our underlying assumptions about or interpretations of available information prove to be incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from our expected results.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2015

March 31, 2016

Cemetery Operations

Overview

We are currently the second largest owner and operator of cemeteries in the United States. At September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, we operated 317316 cemeteries in 2827 states and Puerto Rico. We own 286Rico, of these cemeterieswhich 285 are owned and we manage or operate the remaining 31 are operated under lease, operating or management agreements. Revenues from cemetery operationsCemetery Operations accounted for approximately 82.2%79.0% of our total revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2016.

March 31, 2017.



Operating Results

(As Restated)

The following table presents operating results for our cemetery operationsCemetery Operations for the respective reporting periods (in thousands):

                                        
   Three months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Merchandise

  $36,314    $37,570  

Services

   13,928     14,945  

Interest income

   2,197     2,233  

Investment and other

   12,105     12,778  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

   64,544     67,526  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold

   11,721     12,195  

Cemetery expense

   19,926     18,245  

Selling expense

   15,931     14,647  

General and administrative expense

   9,522     8,819  

Depreciation and amortization

   2,058     1,933  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cost and expenses

   59,158     55,839  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

  $5,386    $11,687  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   (As restated)
Merchandise$38,003
 $33,690
Services14,949
 13,719
Interest income2,228

2,229
Investment and other10,347
 12,185
Total revenues65,527
 61,823
Cost of goods sold13,519
 10,720
Cemetery expense16,697
 15,856
Selling expense16,459
 14,733
General and administrative expense9,957
 9,204
Depreciation and amortization2,261
 1,970
Total costs and expenses58,893
 52,483
Segment income$6,634
 $9,340
Cemetery merchandise revenues were $36.3$38.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, a decreaseMarch 31, 2017, an increase of $1.3$4.3 million from $37.6$33.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This decreaseincrease was primarily due to a decreasean increase in recognized sales of mausoleums,crypts, vaults, and niches. markers largely related to increased focus on constructive delivery of pre-need merchandise.
Cemetery services revenues were $13.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $1.0 million from $14.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2017, an increase of $1.2 million from $13.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. This decreaseincrease was primarily due to a reductionan increase in opening and closing service revenues.
Interest income remained consistent for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016.
Investment and other income was $12.1$10.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, a decrease of $0.7$1.9 million from $12.8$12.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This decrease was primarily attributable to merchandisea decline in perpetual care trust income, which was $2.0$3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, representing a $2.1$0.7 million decrease from $4.1$3.8 million earned during the three months ended September 30, 2015. This change isMarch 31, 2016. Merchandise trust income was $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, representing a $0.3 million decrease from $1.7 million earned during the three months ended March 31, 2016, primarily attributable to a decrease in net income earned byfrom the trust and a decrease in the recognitioneffects of deferred merchandise trust revenue resulting from impairment of trust assets.other than temporary impairment. A portion of deferred trust income is recognized as underlying merchandise is delivered or underlying services are performed. The remaining $0.9 million decrease in merchandise trustinvestment and other income was primarily attributable to a $0.7 million reduction in revenues derived from land sales and a $0.3 million reduction in accrued investment income, which were partially offset by perpetual care trust income, whicha $0.2 million increase in other fee revenue.
Cost of goods sold was $4.8$13.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, representing a $0.4March 31, 2017, an increase of $2.8 million increase from $4.4 million earned during the three months ended September 30, 2015. The remaining $1.0 million change in investment and other income is attributed to a net increase in records fee revenue, travel care insurance fee revenue, and other miscellaneous cemetery revenue. Interest income remained consistent for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015.

Cost of goods sold was $11.7$10.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily attributable to a decrease$1.4 million increase in costs associated with serviced marker orders and a $0.9 million increase in amortization of $0.5 million from $12.2cemetery property, an expense associated with recognizing sales of cemetery interment spaces.

Cemetery expenses were $16.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. This decrease consisted principallyMarch 31, 2017, an increase of a $0.5$0.8 million decrease in merchandise costs.

Cemetery expenses were $19.9from $15.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $1.7 million from $18.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This increase was principally due to a $1.7$0.4 million increase in overhead costs and a $0.3 million increase in repair and maintenance expenses.

expenses, both of which were largely due to costs associated with properties acquired in August 2016.

Selling expenses were $15.9$16.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, an increase of $1.3$1.8 million from $14.6$14.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to a $1.3 millionassociated with the increase in personnel costs.

cemetery merchandise revenues.

General and administrative expenses were $9.5$10.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, an increase of $0.7$0.8 million from $8.8$9.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to a $0.7 million increase in insurance expense.


Depreciation and amortization expense was $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, an increase of $0.3 million compared to $2.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was primarily due to expenses associated with properties acquired in August 2016.
Funeral Home Operations
Overview
At March 31, 2017, we owned and operated 99 funeral homes in 18 states and Puerto Rico. Revenues from Funeral Home Operations accounted for approximately 21.0% of our total revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2017.
Operating Results (As Restated)
The following table presents operating results for our Funeral Home Operations for the respective reporting periods (in thousands):
 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
   (As restated)
Merchandise$7,836
 $7,482
Services9,583
 8,867
Total revenues17,419
 16,349
Merchandise1,760
 2,149
Services5,699
 6,455
Depreciation and amortization806
 877
Other5,345
 5,140
Total expenses13,610
 14,621
Segment income$3,809
 $1,728
Funeral home merchandise revenues of $7.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 were relatively consistent with the prior period, representing an increase of $0.3 million from $7.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Funeral home services revenues were $9.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, an increase of $0.7 million from $8.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. The increase was principally due to an increase in insurance commission revenue.
Funeral home expenses were $13.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, a decrease of $1.0 million from $14.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. This decrease principally consisted of $1.6 million related to reductions in funeral home salesperson headcount, partially offset by a $0.6 million increase in costs associated with insurance sales.
Corporate Overhead
Corporate overhead was $11.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017, an increase of $0.8 million from $10.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was principally due to an increase in professional fees.

fees and recruiting costs resulting from the delayed filing of our 10-K and various changes in our senior management.

Corporate Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense was relatively consistent with the prior period, with $2.1$0.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017, compared to $1.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.

Funeral Home Operations

Overview

At September 30, 2016, we owned and operated 105 funeral homes. These properties are located in 18 states and Puerto Rico. Revenues from funeral home operations accounted for approximately 17.8% of our total revenues during three months ended September 30, 2016.

Operating Results

The following table presents operating results for our funeral home operations for the respective reporting periods (in thousands):

                                        
   Three months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Merchandise

  $6,656    $6,588  

Services

   7,336     7,654  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

   13,992     14,242  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Merchandise

   2,322     1,002  

Service

   6,070     5,432  

Depreciation and amortization

   692     780  

Other

   5,433     4,774  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses

   14,517     11,988  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

  $(525  $2,254  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Funeral home merchandise revenues were consistent with the prior period with $6.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $0.1 million from $6.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. Funeral home service revenues were $7.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $0.4 million from $7.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. The decrease is principally due to a decrease in cremations and other related service revenues.

Funeral home expenses were $14.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $2.5 million from $12.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. This increase principally consists of a $1.3 million increase in merchandise costs, primarily driven by higher merchandise procurement costs, $0.6 million increase in personnel costs and a $0.1 million increase in costs associated with insurance-related sales with the remaining increase in other funeral home related expenses.

Corporate Overhead

Corporate overhead was $10.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $1.0 million from $9.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. This increase was principally due to a $0.7 million increase in professional fees and a $0.3 million increase in acquisition-related costs. Acquisition costs may vary from period to period depending on the amount of acquisition activity that takes place.

Corporate Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expense was consistent with the prior period, with $0.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $0.4 million from $0.6 millionMarch 31, 2016.

Other Gains and Losses
There were no other gains and losses to report for the three months ended September 30, 2015.

Other GainsMarch 31, 2017. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, other gains and Losses

During the third quarterlosses included a cease-use expense of 2016, we obtained additional information related to one of the acquisitions$0.5 million that closed during 2015. The change resulted in an adjustment to the gain on acquisition recognized during the year ended December 31, 2015, increasing the gain by $0.2 million via a gain recognized in the current period in accordance with GAAP. In addition, there was a $2.7 million gain from our most recent acquisition as of September 30, 2016. We sold two funeral home buildings and related property during the period resulting in a loss on sale of $0.2 million. Also, we incurred a charge related to deferred financing costs related to our prior line of credit in the amount of $1.2 million and a loss of $2.0 million related to the revision of our cease-use expenserecorded due to the relocation of corporate headquarters to Trevose, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania. We also sold a funeral home building and other realignment charges.

related real property for a net loss of $0.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2016.



Interest Expense

Interest expense was $5.9$6.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, an increase of $0.2$0.9 million from $5.7$5.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. This increase was principally due to an increase inthe weighted average interest expenserate on amountsthe line of credit balance outstanding underfor the credit facility, which hadthree months ended March 31, 2017 being higher average amounts outstanding duringthan for the current period than the comparable period.

three months ended March 31, 2016.

Income Tax Benefit (Expense)

Income tax benefitexpense was $0.2$0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, as compared to an income tax expense of $0.4$0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. The additional income tax expense was due to an increase in deferred tax liabilities associated with long-lived intangibles that will reverse after the expiration of the existing deferred tax assets. Our effective tax rate differs from our statutory tax rate primarily because our legal entity structure includes different tax filing entities, including a significant number of partnerships that are not subject to paying tax.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015

Cemetery Operations

Operating Results

Revenues from cemetery operations accounted for approximately 80.7% of our total revenues during the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The following table presents operating results for our cemetery operations for the respective reporting periods (in thousands):

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Merchandise

  $106,937    $105,972  

Services

   41,067     44,869  

Interest income

   6,678     6,617  

Investment and other

   34,011     36,320  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

   188,693     193,778  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold

   34,483     35,357  

Cemetery expense

   53,267     53,789  

Selling expense

   46,898     44,326  

General and administrative expense

   27,719     27,340  

Depreciation and amortization

   6,042     5,743  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cost and expenses

   168,409     166,555  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

  $20,284    $27,223  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cemetery merchandise revenues were $106.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $0.9 million from $106.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. The increase is principally due to a $1.8 million increase in recognized sales of markers and mausoleums, partially offset by decreases in recognized sales of vaults, crypts and niches of approximately $0.9 million. Cemetery services revenues were $41.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $3.8 million from $44.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This decrease was primarily due to a reduction in opening and closing service revenues. Investment and other income was $34.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $2.3 million from $36.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This decrease was primarily attributable to merchandise trust income, which was $5.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, representing a $5.1 million decrease from $10.6 million earned during the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This change is primarily attributable to a decrease in net income earned by the trust and a decrease in the recognition of deferred merchandise trust revenue resulting from impairment of trust assets. A portion of deferred trust income is recognized as underlying merchandise is delivered or underlying services are performed. This decrease in merchandise trust income was partially offset by perpetual care trust income, which was $11.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, representing a $0.4 million increase from $11.5 million earned during the nine months ended September 30, 2015. The remaining $2.4 million change in investment and other income is attributed to a net increase in permanent record fee revenue, travel care insurance fee revenue, and other miscellaneous cemetery revenue. Interest income remained consistent for both the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015.

Cost of goods sold was $34.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $0.9 million from $35.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This decrease consisted principally of a $1.7 million decrease in merchandise costs partially offset by a $0.8 million increase in perpetual care costs.

Cemetery expenses were $53.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, a decrease of $0.5 million from $53.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This decrease was principally due to a $2.0 million decrease in personnel costs partially offset by a $1.5 million increase in repair and maintenance expenses.

Selling expenses were $46.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $2.6 million from $44.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase was primarily due to a $1.3 million increase in personnel costs and a $1.3 million increase in advertising and marketing costs.

General and administrative expenses were $27.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $0.4 million from $27.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase was primarily due to a $0.9 million increase in professional fees and a $0.7 million increase in overhead expenses partially offset by a $1.2 million decrease in personnel costs.

Depreciation and amortization expense was relatively consistent with the prior period, with $6.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $5.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015.

Funeral Home Operations

Operating Results

Revenues from funeral home operations accounted for approximately 19.3% of our total revenues during nine months ended September 30, 2016. The following table presents operating results for our funeral home operations for the respective reporting periods (in thousands):

                                        
   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015 

Merchandise

  $20,681    $19,913  

Services

   24,373     23,083  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

   45,054     42,996  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Merchandise

   6,306     5,444  

Service

   18,672     16,728  

Depreciation and amortization

   2,427     2,381  

Other

   15,319     13,335  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses

   42,724     37,888  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating income

  $2,330    $5,108  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Funeral home merchandise revenues were $20.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $0.8 million from $19.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. Funeral home service revenues were $24.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $1.3 million from $23.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. The overall increase was largely due to the locations acquired in the last twelve months, specifically with increases in casket and at-need service revenue.

Funeral home expenses were $42.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $4.8 million from $37.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase principally consists of a $2.0 million increase in personnel costs, $2.0 million increase in other costs and $0.8 million in merchandise costs, all primarily due to the locations acquired in the last twelve months and an increase in costs associated with insurance and merchandise related sales.

Corporate Overhead

Corporate overhead was $30.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $1.5 million from $28.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase was principally due to a $2.9 million increase in acquisition-related costs, partially offset by a $1.4 million decrease in personnel costs. Acquisition costs may vary from period to period depending on the amount of acquisition activity that takes place.

Corporate Depreciation and Amortization

Corporate depreciation and amortization expense was consistent with the prior period, with $0.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $1.1 million for nine months ended September 30, 2015.

Other Gains and Losses

We obtained additional information related to two of the acquisitions that closed during 2015. The changes resulted in an adjustment to the gain on acquisition recognized during the year ended December 31, 2015, reducing the gain by $0.6 million via a loss recognized in the current period in accordance with GAAP. In addition, there was a $2.7 million gain from our most recent acquisition as of September 30, 2016. We sold a warehouse and three funeral home businesses during the year for a net gain of $0.1 million. Also, we wrote off deferred financing related to our prior line of credit in the amount of $1.2 million and incurred a loss of $2.4 million related to our cease-use expense due to the relocation of corporate headquarters to Trevose, Pennsylvania and other realignment charges.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $17.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $0.5 million from $16.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase was principally due to an increase in interest expense on amounts outstanding under the credit facility, which had higher average amounts outstanding during the current period than the comparable period.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was $0.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, as compared to $0.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. Our effective tax rate differs from our statutory tax rate primarily because our legal entity structure includes different tax filing entities, including a significant number of partnerships that are not subject to paying tax.

Supplemental Data

The following table presents supplemental operating data for the periods presented (in thousands):

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Interments performed14,430
 13,633
Interment rights sold (1)   
Lots6,856
 6,606
Mausoleum crypts (including pre-construction)489
 470
Niches441
 352
Net interment rights sold (1)7,786
 7,428
    
Number of pre-need cemetery contracts written11,435
 11,376
Number of at-need cemetery contracts written15,285
 14,655
Number of cemetery contracts written26,720
 26,031

                                                                                
  Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30, 
  2016  2015  2016  2015 

Interments performed

  13,127    12,878    40,161    41,514  

Interment rights sold (1)

    

Lots

  8,469    8,086    23,710    23,980  

Mausoleum crypts (including pre-construction)

  419    446    1,471    1,779  

Niches

  426    441    1,181    1,285  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net interment rights sold (1)

  9,314    8,973    26,362    27,044  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Number of cemetery contracts written

  27,404    28,890    81,800    86,516  

Number of pre-need cemetery contracts written

  12,795    13,799    36,955    39,847  

Number of at-need cemetery contracts written

  14,609    15,091    44,845    46,669  

(1)Net of cancellations. Sales of double-depth burial lots are counted as two sales.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

General

Our primary sources of liquidity are cash generated from operations, borrowings under our revolving credit facility and capital raised through the issuance of additional limited partner units. As an MLP, our primary cash requirements, in addition to normal operating expenses, are for cash distributions, capital expenditures, net contributions to the merchandise and perpetual care trust funds, debt service, and debt service.cash distributions. In general, we expect to fund:

cash distributions in accordance with our partnership agreement and maintenance capital expenditures through available cash and cash flows from operating activities;

working capital deficits through cash generated from operations and additional borrowings; and

expansion capital expenditures, net contributions to the merchandise and perpetual care trust funds and debt service obligations through additional borrowings, the issuance of additional limited partner units or assetsasset sales. Amounts contributed to the merchandise trust funds will be withdrawn at the time of the delivery of the product or service sold thatto which the contribution is associated withrelates (see “Revenue Recognition”)“Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” regarding revenue recognition), at which time it will reduce the amount of additional borrowings, issuance of additional limited partner units or assetsasset sales needed.needed; and

cash distributions in accordance with our partnership agreement and maintenance capital expenditures through available cash and cash flows from operating activities.
We rely on cash flow from operations, borrowings under our credit facility and the issuance of additional limited partner units to execute our growthoperational strategy and meet our financial commitments and other short-term financial needs. We cannot be certain that additional capital will be available to us to the extent required and on acceptable terms.



Although our cash flows from operating activities have been positive, we have incurred net losses during recent periods. The Partnership faced adverse conditions during the year ended December 31, 2016, including negative financial trends due to a decline in billings associated with a reduction in its sales force.  This resulted in a tightened liquidity position and a reduction in our quarterly distribution.  We believeacknowledge that we continue to face a challenging competitive environment, and while we continue to focus on our overall profitability, including managing expenses, we reported a loss for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Moreover, our ability to declare or pay future distributions may be impacted.
Although we have deferred a determination as to the distribution for our unitholders with respect to the quarter ended June 30, 2017 until we have reviewed financial information as of and for the period ended September 30, 2017, we do expect that the distribution will be reduced by at least 50% from the distribution we paid with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Due to both the delay in making our determination with respect to the second quarter distribution and our capital resource and liquidity constraints, it is possible that we will not pay four distributions in 2017 as we have in previous years.
During 2016 and 2017, the Partnership completed various financing transactions including issuance of common units, utilization of the at-the-market (“ATM”) equity program, and establishment of a new credit facility to provide supplemental liquidity necessary to achieve management’s strategic objectives. We expect that the actions taken in 2016 and 2017 will enhance our liquidity and financial flexibility.
Our credit facility requires us to maintain certain leverage and interest coverage ratios. As of March 31, 2017, we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants. As of March 31, 2017, the Consolidated Leverage Ratio was 4.09 compared to a maximum allowable ratio of 4.25 under the Partnership’s credit facility. For a more detailed discussion on debt covenants, refer to the credit facility subsection under the “Long Term Debt” section below. The Partnership has also determined it is not probable that a breach to key financial covenants would occur during the next twelve months based upon expected operating performance, forecasted cash flows from operating and investing activities, as well as planned strategic uses of cash. The Partnership may be unable to meet the financial covenants if the achieved results are substantially different from management’s projections.
Factors that could impact the significant assumptions used by the Partnership in assessing our ability to satisfy the financial covenants include:
operating performance not meeting reasonably expected forecasts;
failing to attract and retain qualified sales personnel and management;
investments in our trust funds experiencing significant declines due to factors outside our control;
being unable to compete successfully with other cemeteries and funeral homes in our markets;
the number of deaths in our markets declining; and
the financial condition of third-party insurance companies that fund our pre-need funeral contracts deteriorating.
The Partnership believes that it will have sufficient liquid assets, cash from operations and borrowing capacity to meet ourits financial commitments, debt service obligations, contingencies and anticipated capital expenditures for at least the next twelve-month period.  However, we arethe Partnership is subject to business, operational and other risks that could adversely affect ourits cash flow. We mayflows.  The Partnership has supplemented and will likely seek to continue to supplement our cash generation with proceeds from financing activities, including borrowings under ourthe credit facility and other borrowings, the issuance of additional limited partner units, capital contributions from the general partner and the sale of assets and other transactions.

The Partnership continually monitors its financial position, liquidity and credit facility financial covenants to determine the likelihood of shortfalls in future reporting periods.

Cash Flows - NineThree Months Ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 Compared to NineThree Months Ended September 30, 2015

March 31, 2016 (As Restated)

Net cash flows provided by operating activities were $18.5was $12.4 million during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, an increase of $6.5$7.2 million from $12.0$5.2 million during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. The $6.5$7.2 million favorable movement in net cash provided by operating activities resulted from a $15.1$9.0 million favorable movement in working capital, andpartially offset by a $8.6$1.8 million unfavorable movement in net income excluding non-cash items. The favorable movement in working capital was principally due to larger withdrawals from and smaller realized gains in ourthe merchandise trusts.trust related to increased focus on constructive delivery of pre-need merchandise. The unfavorable movement in net income excluding non-cash items was due principally to our cemetery operations.



Net cash used in investing activities was $18.3$1.5 million during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, a decrease of $5.8$2.9 million from $24.1$4.4 million used in investing activities during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2015.March 31, 2016. Net cash used in investing activities during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 consisted of $9.7$1.5 million used for capital expenditures and $10.5 million for acquisitions, partially offset by proceeds from asset sales of $1.9 million.expenditures. Net cash used in investing activities during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2015March 31, 2016 principally consisted of $11.0$4.5 million for capital expenditures, and $13.1primarily related to our corporate office relocation, partially offset by $0.1 million for acquisitions.

of proceeds from asset sales.

Net cash flows provided byused in financing activities were $0.3was $9.7 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 compared to $13.5$2.5 million for the ninethree months ended September 30, 2015. Cash flows provided byMarch 31, 2016. Net cash used in financing activities during the ninethree months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 consisted primarily of $74.5$11.9 million of cash distributions and $0.7 million of costs related to financing activities, partially offset by $2.9 million of net proceeds from borrowings. Net cash used in financing activities during the issuancethree months ended March 31, 2016 consisted primarily of common units and $0.2 million of net borrowings, partially offset by $68.1$21.4 million of cash distributions, and $6.4 million of financing costs. Cash flows providedpartially offset by financing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2015 consisted primarily of $67.9$18.8 million of proceeds from the issuance of common units and $2.4$0.1 million of net borrowings, partially offset by $56.7 million of cash distributions.

borrowings.

Capital Expenditures

Our capital requirements consist primarily of:

Expansion capital expenditures – we consider expansion capital expenditures to be capital expenditures that expand the capacity of our existing operations; and

Maintenance capital expenditures – we consider maintenance capital expenditures to be any capital expenditures that are not expansion capital expenditures – generally, this will include furniture, fixtures, equipment and major facility improvements that are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.GAAP.

The following table summarizes maintenance and expansion capital expenditures, excluding amounts paid for acquisitions, for the periods presented (in thousands):

                                                                                
   Three months ended September 30,   Nine months ended September 30, 
   2016   2015   2016   2015 

Maintenance capital expenditures

  $1,129    $1,632    $5,422    $5,011  

Expansion capital expenditures

   1,022     2,151     4,233     6,022  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capital expenditures

  $2,151    $3,783    $9,655    $11,033  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Issuance of Common Units

During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, we issued 903,682 common units under the ATM program for net proceeds of $23.0 million.

On April 20, 2016, we completed a follow-on public offering of 2,000,000 common units at a public offering price of $23.65 per unit. Additionally, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 300,000 common units. The offering resulted in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses, of $51.5 million. The proceeds from the offering were used to pay down outstanding indebtedness under the Credit Facility.

 Three Months Ended March 31,
 2017 2016
Maintenance capital expenditures$829
 $3,004
Expansion capital expenditures667
 1,556
Total capital expenditures$1,496
 $4,560
Long-Term Debt

Credit Facility

On August 4, 2016, Weour 100% owned subsidiary, StoneMor Operating LLC (the “Operating Company”"Operating Company"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Partnership entered into thea Credit Agreement (the “Credit“Original Credit Agreement”) among each of the Subsidiaries of the Operating Company (together with the Operating Company, “Borrowers”), the Lenders identified therein, Capital One, National Association (“Capital One”), as Administrative Agent, Issuing Bank and Swingline Lender, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, as Syndication Agent, and TD Bank, N.A. and Raymond James Bank, N.A., as Co-Documentation Agents. In addition, on the same date, the Partnership, the Borrowers and Capital One, as Administrative Agent, entered into the Guaranty and Collateral Agreement (the “Guaranty Agreement,” and together with the Credit Agreement, “New Agreements”). Capitalized terms which are not defined in the following description of the New Agreements shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the New Agreements.

The New Agreements replaced

On March 15, 2017, the Partnership’sBorrowers, Capital One, as Administrative Agent and acting in accordance with the written consent of the Required Lenders, entered into the First Amendment to Credit Agreement. Those parties subsequently entered into a Second Amendment and Limited Waiver on July 26, 2017, a Third Amendment and Limited Waiver effective as of August 15, 2017 and a Fourth Amended and RestatedAmendment to Credit Agreement dated September 29, 2017. We refer to the Original Credit Agreement, as amended, with Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer and other lenders party thereto (the “Priorthe "Amended Credit Agreement”), SecondAgreement."


The Amended and Restated Security Agreement, and Second Amended and Restated Pledge Agreement, each dated as of December 19, 2014. The Prior Credit Agreement provided for a revolving credit facility of $180.0 million, with borrowings classified as either acquisition draws or working capital draws, maturing on December 19, 2019. In connection with entering into the Credit Agreement, the Partnership incurred an extinguishment of debt charge of approximately $1.2 million.

The Credit Agreement provides for up to $210.0$200.0 million initial aggregate amount of Revolving Commitments, which may be increased, from time to time, in minimum increments of $5.0 million so long as the aggregate amount of such increases does not exceed $100.0 million. The Operating Company may also request the issuance of Letters of Credit for up to $15.0 million in the aggregate, of which there were $6.5$8.1 million outstanding at September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and none$6.8 million outstanding at December 31, 2015.2016. The Maturity Date under the Amended Credit Agreement is the earlier of (i) August 4, 2021 and (ii) the date that is six months prior to the earliest scheduled maturity date of any outstanding Permitted Unsecured Indebtedness (at present, such date is December 1, 2020, which is six months prior to June 1, 2021 maturity date of outstanding 7.875% senior notes).

As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the outstanding amount of borrowings under the Amended Credit Agreement was $151.1$140.6 million, which was used to pay down outstanding obligations under the Prior Credit Agreement,Partnership's prior credit agreement, to pay fees, costs and expenses related to the New Agreements and to fund working capital needs. Generally, proceeds of the Loans under the Amended Credit Agreement can be used to finance the working capital needs and for other general corporate purposes of the Borrowers and Guarantors, including acquisitions and distributions permitted under the Amended Credit Agreement. At SeptemberAs of June 30, 2016,2017, the amountPartnership estimates that it had approximately $3.5 million of total available borrowing capacity under theits revolving credit facility, was $42.4 million.

based on a preliminary calculation of its Consolidated Leverage Ratio.

Each Borrowing under the Amended Credit Agreement is comprised of Base Rate Loans or Eurodollar Loans. The Loans comprising each Base Rate Borrowing (including each Swingline Loan) bear interest at the Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate, and the Loans comprising each Eurodollar Borrowing bear interest at the Eurodollar Rate plus the Applicable Rate.

The Applicable Rate is determined based on the Consolidated Leverage Ratio of the Partnership and its Subsidiaries and ranges from 1.75% to 3.25%3.75% for Eurodollar Rate Loans and 0.75% to 2.25%2.75% for Base Rate Loans. As of September 30, 2016,Based on our Consolidated Leverage Ratio for the compliance period ended March 31, 2017, the Applicable Rate for Eurodollar Rate Loans was 2.75%3.75% and for Base Rate Loans – 1.75%was 2.75%. The Amended Credit Agreement also requires the Borrowers to pay a quarterly unused commitment fee, which accrues at the Applicable Rate on the amount by which the commitments under the Amended Credit Agreement exceed the usage of such commitments, and which is included within interest expense on the Partnership’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. On September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the weighted average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the Amended Credit Agreement was 3.2%4.9%.

The Amended Credit Agreement contains financial covenants, pursuant to which the Partnership will not permit:

the ratio of Consolidated Funded Indebtedness to Consolidated EBITDA, or the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2016, determined for the period of four consecutive fiscal quarters ending on such date (the “Measurement Period”), to be greater than 4.25 to 1.0 for the Measurement Periods ended March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017, 4.50 to 1.0 for the Measurement Period ended September 30, 2017 and the Measurement Period ending December 31, 2017, 4.25 to 1.0 for Measurement Periods ending in fiscal 2018 and 4.00 to 1.0 for Measurement Periods ending thereafter, which may be increased after January 1, 2019 to 4.25 to 1.0 (in case of a Designated Acquisition made subsequent to the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter) as of the last day of the fiscal quarter in which such Designated Acquisition occurs and as of the last day of the immediately succeeding fiscal quarter; and


the ratio of Consolidated EBITDA to Consolidated Debt Service, or the Consolidated Debt Service Coverage Ratio, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2016 to be less than 2.50 to 1.0 for any Measurement Period.Period; and

On


the ratio of Consolidated EBITDA (reduced by the amount of capital expenditures not financed with debt other than Revolving Commitments, taxes and restricted payments including distributions paid in cash) to Consolidated Fixed Charges, as of the last day of any fiscal quarter, commencing on September 30, 2016, our2017, to be less than 1.20 to 1.0 for any Measurement Period.
On March 31, 2017, the Partnership’s Consolidated Leverage Ratio and the Consolidated Debt Service Coverage Ratio were 3.624.09 and 4.19,3.51, respectively.



The Amended Credit Agreement prohibits the Partnership from increasing its regularly scheduled quarterly cash distributions otherwise permitted under the Amended Credit Agreement until January 1, 2018 unless at the time such distribution is declared and on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the payment of any such distribution the Consolidated Leverage Ratio is no greater than 3.75:1.00. Additional covenants include customary limitations, subject to certain exceptions, on, among others: (i) the incurrence of Indebtedness; (ii) granting of Liens; (iii) fundamental changes and dispositions; (iv) investments, loans, advances, guarantees and acquisitions; (v) swap agreements; (vi) transactions with Affiliates; (vii) Restricted Payments; and (viii) Sale and Leaseback Transactions. The Partnership was in compliance with the Original Credit Agreement covenants as of SeptemberMarch 31, 2017 and was in compliance with the Amended Credit Agreement covenants as of June 30, 2016.

2017.

The Borrowers’ obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement are guaranteed by the Partnership and the Borrowers. Pursuant to the Guaranty Agreement, the Borrowers’ obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement are secured by a first priority lien and security interest (subject to permitted liens and security interests) in substantially all of the Partnership’s and Borrowers’ assets, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, excluding certain excluded assets, which include, among others: (i) Trust Accounts, certain proceeds required by law to be placed into such Trust Accounts and funds held in such Trust Accounts; and (ii) Excluded Real Property, including owned and leased real property that may not be pledged as a matter of law.

Senior Notes

On May 28, 2013, wethe Partnership issued $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.875% Senior Notes due 2021 (the “Senior Notes”). We payThe Partnership pays 7.875% interest per annum on the principal amount of the Senior Notes, payable in cash semi-annually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year. The net proceeds from the offering were used to retire a $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of 10.25% Senior Notes due 2017 and the remaining proceeds were used for general corporate purposes. The Senior Notes were issued at 97.832% of par resulting in gross proceeds of $171.2 million with an original issue discount of approximately $3.8 million. WeThe Partnership incurred debt issuance costs and fees of approximately $4.6 million. These costs and fees are deferred and are being amortized over the life of these notes.the Senior Notes. The Senior Notes mature on June 1, 2021.

At any time on or after June 1, 2016, we may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at the redemption prices (expressed as percentages of the principal amount) set forth below, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the redemption date, if redeemed during the 12-month period beginning June 1 of the years indicated:

                    

Year

  Percentage 

2016

   105.906

2017

   103.938

2018

   101.969

2019 and thereafter

   100.000

YearPercentage
2017103.938%
2018101.969%
2019 and thereafter100.000%
Subject to certain exceptions, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the Indenture), each holder of the Senior Notes will have the right to require us to purchase that holder’s Senior Notes for a cash price equal to 101% of the principal amounts to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The Senior Notes are jointly and severally guaranteed by certain of our subsidiaries. The Indenture governing the Senior Notes contains covenants, including limitations of our ability to incur certain additional indebtedness and liens, make certain dividends, distributions, redemptions or investments, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, make certain asset sales, and engage in certain mergers, consolidations or sales of all or substantially all of our assets, among other items. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, we were in compliance with these covenants.

Cash Distribution Policy

Distributions

Our partnership agreement requires that we distribute 100% of available cash to our common unitholders and general partner within 45 days following the end of each calendar quarter in accordance with their respective percentage interests. Available cash consists generally of all of our cash receipts, less cash disbursements. Our general partner is granted discretion under the partnership agreement to establish, maintain and adjust reserves for future operating expenses,the conduct of the Partnership's business, debt service maintenance capital expendituresand compliance with our credit agreement and distributions for the next four quarters. These reserves are not restricted by magnitude, but only by type of future cash requirements with which they can be associated.



Available cash is distributed to the common limited partners and the general partner in accordance with their ownership interests, subject to the general partner’s incentive distribution rights if quarterly cash distributions per limited partner unit exceed specified targets. Incentive distribution rights are generally defined as all cash distributions paid to our general partner that are in excess of its general partner ownership interest. The incentive distribution rights will entitle our general partner to receive the following increasing percentage of cash distributed by us as it reaches certain target distribution levels:

13.0% of all cash distributed in any quarter after each common unit has received $0.5125 for that quarter;

23.0% of all cash distributed in any quarter after each common unit has received $0.5875 for that quarter; and

48.0% of all cash distributed in any quarter after each common unit has received $0.7125 for that quarter.

On April 28, 2017, we announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.33 per common unit pertaining to the results for the first quarter of 2017. The distribution was paid on May 15, 2017 to common unit holders of record as of the close of business on May 8, 2017. A part of or all of this quarterly cash distribution may be deemed to have been a return of capital for our limited partners if such quarterly cash distribution, when combined with all other cash distributions made during the calendar year, exceeds the partner’s share of taxable income for the corresponding period, depending upon the individual limited partner’s specific tax position. Because the Partnership’s general and limited partner interests have cumulative net losses as of the end of the period, the distribution represented a return of capital to those interests in accordance with US GAAP.
We are deferring the determination regarding a distribution with respect to the quarter ended June 30, 2017 until the Board of Directors of our general partner is able to review financial information as of and for the period ended September 30, 2017. However, we expect that the amount of any such distribution will be reduced by at least 50 percent from the distribution paid with regard to the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Due to both the delay in making our determination with respect to the second quarter distribution and our capital resource and liquidity constraints, it is possible that we will not pay four distributions in 2017 as we have in previous years.
We historically have sought to include in our distributions to unitholders for a particular financial reporting period the profit we anticipate the Partnership will generate with respect to the sales, including pre-need sales, of interment rights, merchandise and services, and trust returns during the applicable period. However, we currently expect that, for the foreseeable future, the amount of our distributions will be based on our cash flow from operating activities. We anticipate that we will use any cash generated from borrowings, equity issuances or assets sales during this period to reduce our outstanding indebtedness, provide a reserve to enhance our financial condition relative to the financial covenants in the Amended Credit Agreement and to fund acquisitions.
Agreements with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

In accordance with the lease and management agreements with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we have agreed to pay to the Archdiocese aggregate fixed rent of $36.0 million in the following amounts:

Lease Years 1-5

(May 28, 2014 - May 31, 2019)None

Lease Years 6-20

(June 1, 2019 - May 31, 2034)$1,000,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 21-25

(June 1, 2034 - May 31, 2039)$1,200,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 26-35

(June 1, 2039 - May 31, 2049)$1,500,000 per Lease Year

Lease Years 36-60

(June 1, 2049 - May 31, 2074)None

The fixed rent for lease years 6 through 11, shall bean aggregate of $6.0 million, is deferred. If, prior to May 31, 2024, the Archdiocese terminates the agreements pursuant to aits right to do so in its sole discretion during lease year 11 termination or we terminate the agreements as a result of a default by the Archdiocese, priorwe are entitled to the end of lease year 11,retain the deferred fixed rent shall be retained by us.rent. If the agreements are not terminated, the deferred fixed rent shallwill become due and payable on or before June 30, days after the end of lease year 11.

2024.



CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires making estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of actual revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Although we base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, actual results may differ from the estimates on which our financial statements are prepared at any given point of time. Changes in these estimates could materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Significant items that are subject to such estimates and assumptions include revenue and expense accruals, fair value of merchandise and perpetual care truststrust assets and the allocation of purchase price to the fair value of assets acquired. A discussion of our significant accounting policies we have adopted and followed in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements was included in our Annual Report onForm 10-K/A10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015,2016, and we summarize our significant accounting policies and any updates within our consolidated financial statements included in Note 1 under “Item 1” of this Form 10-Q.



ITEM 3.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSUREDISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

The primary objective of the following information is to provide forward-looking quantitative and qualitative information about our potential exposure to market risks. The term “market” risk refers to the risk of gains or losses arising from changes in interest rates and prices of marketable securities. The disclosures are not meant to be precise indicators of expected future gains or losses, but rather indicators of reasonably possible gains or losses. This forward-looking information provides indicators of how we view and manage our ongoing market risk exposures. All of our market risk-sensitive instruments were entered into for purposes other than trading.

INTEREST-BEARING INVESTMENTS

Our fixed-income securities subject to market risk consist primarily of certain investments in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of fixed-income securities in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts represented 1.4%1.1% and 3.8%2.1%, respectively, of the fair value of total trust assets. The aggregate of the quoted fair value of these fixed-income securities was $7.1$5.8 million and $12.8$7.2 million in the merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts, respectively, as of September 30, 2016.March 31, 2017. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 1% change in variable interest rates on these fixed-income securities would change the fair market value of the assets in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts each by approximately $0.1 million, based on discounted expected future cash flows. If these securities are held to maturity, no change in fair market value will be realized. Our money market and other short-term investments subject to market risk consist primarily of certain investments in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of money market and short-term investments in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts represented 5.9%5.1% and 4.9%2.8%, respectively, of the fair value of total trust assets. The aggregate of the quoted fair value of these money market and short-term investments was $29.9$26.9 million and $16.5$9.7 million in the merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts, respectively, as of September 30, 2016.March 31, 2017. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 1% change in variable interest rates on these money market and short-term investments would change the fair market value of the assets in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts by approximately $0.3 million and $0.2$0.1 million, respectively, based on discounted expected future cash flows.

MARKETABLE EQUITY SECURITIES

Our marketable equity securities subject to market risk consist primarily of certain investments held in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts. These assets consist of investments in both individual equity securities as well as closed and open-ended mutual funds. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of marketable equity securities in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts represented 7.9%7.6% and 6.8%7.7%, respectively, of the fair value of total trust assets. The aggregate of the quoted fair market value of these marketable equity securities was $39.7$40.0 million and $22.8$26.3 million in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts, respectively, as of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, based on final quoted sales prices. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 10% change in average market pricesvariable interest rates of the equity securities would change the fair market value of the assets in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts each by approximately $4.0 million and $2.3$2.6 million, respectively.based on discounted expected future cash flows. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of marketable closed and open-ended mutual funds in our merchandise trusts represented 74.3%68.1% of the fair value of total trust assets, 64.0%65.7% of which pertained to fixed-income mutual funds. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of marketable closed and open-ended mutual funds in our perpetual care trusts represented 49.0%49.2% of total trust assets, 79.5%87.5% of which pertained to fixed-income mutual funds. The aggregate of the quoted fair market value of these closed and open-ended mutual funds was $374.8$356.8 million and $164.1$168.0 million, respectively, in the merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts as of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, based on final quoted sales prices, of which $240.0$234.3 million and $130.5$147.0 million, respectively, pertained to fixed-income mutual funds. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 10% change in the average market prices of the closed and open-ended mutual funds would change the fair market value of the assets in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts by approximately $37.5$35.7 million and $16.4$16.8 million, respectively.respectively, based on discounted expected future cash flows.
OTHER INVESTMENT FUNDS
Other investment funds are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. This asset class is composed of fixed income funds and equity funds, which have a redemption period ranging from 30 to 90 days, and private credit funds, which have lockup periods ranging from five to ten years with three potential one year extensions at the discretion of the funds’ general partners. This asset class has an inherent valuation risk as the values provided by investment fund managers may not represent the liquidation values obtained by the trusts upon redemption or liquidation of the fund assets. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, the fair value of other investment funds in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts represented 8.4%14.4% and 35.4%38.1%, respectively, of the fair value of total trust assets. The fair market value of the holdings in these funds was $42.3$75.5 million and $118.7$130.1 million in our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts, respectively, as of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, based on net asset value quotes. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 10% change in the average net asset value quotes would change the fair market value of the assets in


DEBT INSTRUMENTS
Certain borrowings under our merchandise trusts and perpetual care trusts by approximately $4.2 million and $11.9 million, respectively.

DEBT INSTRUMENTS

OurAmended Credit Facility bearsbear interest at a floating rate, based on LIBOR, which is adjusted quarterly. This subjects us to increases in interest expense resulting from movements in interest rates. As of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, we had $151.1

$140.6 million of borrowings outstanding under our Amended Credit Facility, which generally bears interest at a variable rate. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 1% change in variable interest rates would change our consolidated interest expense for the nine-monththree-month period ending September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 by approximately $1.1$0.4 million.



ITEM 4.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

We maintain

EVALUATION OF DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
The Partnership maintains disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in theour reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

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 Disclosure Committee and management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(b) as to whether they provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in our reportsfiled under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’sSEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including ourthe Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Our management, including the CEO and CFO, evaluated the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act as of March 31, 2017. Based on thatsuch evaluation, the Chief Executive Officerour CEO and Chief Financial OfficerCFO concluded that as a result of management’s identification of the material weaknesses described below, our failures related to disclosure controls and procedures were not yet remediatedeffective due to the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described below.
Material Weaknesses in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A material weakness (as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement in our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The deficiencies noted below could result in a material misstatement in our financial statements; therefore, they represent material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
We previously identified and reported material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2016.

As discussedDecember 31, 2016 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K related to the Explanatory Notefollowing:

a.control environment, control activities and monitoring;
b.establishment and review of certain accounting policies;
c.reconciliation of certain general ledger accounts to supporting details;
d.accurate and timely relief of deferred revenues and corresponding recognition of income statement impacts; and
e.review of financial statement disclosures.
Notwithstanding these material weaknesses, based on the additional analysis and Note 1,General,other post-closing procedures performed, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-Q,report fairly present in all material respects our financial position, results of operations, capital position, and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”).
STATUS OF REMEDIATION OF MATERIAL WEAKNESSES
While we determinedcontinue to restate our previously issued financial statements to correct for errors associated with the recognition and presentation of certain revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities, both recognized and deferred, the allocation of income and lossmake improvements to our partners,internal control over financial reporting related to the material weaknesses described above, material weaknesses continue to exist, and errors inwe believe that the processing of transactions. As a result ofmaterial weaknesses referenced above accurately reflect the restatement, management identified deficiencies in our processes and procedures that constitute material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as follows:

A.The Partnership did not design and maintain effective controls over establishing accounting policies nor did they periodically review them for appropriate application in the financial statements.

B.The Partnership did not design and maintain effective controls over the review of certain recorded balances within “Deferred cemetery revenues, net,” “Merchandise liability,” “Investment and other” revenues, “Cemetery property,” and “Partners’ Capital”.

C.The Partnership did not design and maintain effective controls over the reconciliation of amounts recorded in the general ledger to relevant supporting details.

In connectionof March 31, 2017. Management, with oversight from our Audit Committee, has identified and begun executing actions we believe will remediate the restatementmaterial weaknesses described above once fully implemented and operating for a sufficient period of our consolidated financial statements, management re-evaluatedtime, and we will continue to devote significant time and attention, including internal and external resources, to these remedial efforts.

We will test the ongoing operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Based on that re-assessment, management concluded thatthe new controls subsequent to implementation and consider the material weaknesses remediated after the applicable remedial controls operate effectively for a sufficient period of time.


CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
During the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2017, we continued to make improvements to our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2015, duewith respect to the material weaknesses described above.

Management is committed to thethat had been identified at that time, and those remediation of the material weaknesses,efforts as well as the continued improvement of our internal control over financial reporting (“ICFR”). We are in the process of implementing measuresother remediation efforts relating to remediate the underlying causes of the control deficiencies that gave rise to the material weaknesses, which primarily include:

1.Reevaluating and establishing, on a periodic basis, accounting policies and the appropriate application thereof;

2.Enhancing control procedures related to the review of certain recorded balances affected by the material weaknesses to ensure the appropriateness of such balances; and

3.Enhancing the control procedures related to the reconciliation of amounts recorded in the general ledger to relevant supporting details.

We believe these measures will remediate the material weaknesses noted. While we have completed some of these measures as of the date of this report, we have not completed and tested all of the planned corrective processes, enhancements, procedures and related evaluation that we believe are necessary to determine whether the material weaknesses have been fully remediated. We believe the corrective actions and controls need to be in operation for a sufficient period of time for management to conclude that the control environment is operating effectively and has been adequately tested through audit procedures. Therefore, the material weaknesses have not been fully remediated as of the date of this report. As we continue to evaluate and work to remediate the control deficiencies that gave rise to the material weaknesses we may determine that additional measures or time are requiredidentified subsequent to addressMarch 31, 2017 remain ongoing. Other than as described above and in greater detail in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the control deficiencies or that we need to modify or otherwise adjust the remediation measures described above. We will continue to assess the effectiveness of our remediation efforts in connection with our evaluation of our ICFR.

CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Except as set fourth above,fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, there have beenwere no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurredas defined in Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act during our most recent fiscal quarterthe three months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Part


PART II – Other Information

OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS
There have been no material changes in our Risk Factors as set forth in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, except as set forth below.
We may not have sufficient cash from operations to increase or restore cuts in distributions, to continue paying distributions at their current level, or at all, after we have paid our expenses, including the expenses of our general partner, funded merchandise and perpetual care trusts and established necessary cash reserves.
The amount of cash we can distribute on our units principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from operations, which fluctuates from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:
the volume of our sales;
the prices at which we sell our products and services; and
the level of our operating and general and administrative costs.
In addition, the actual amount of cash we will have available for distribution will depend on other factors, such as working capital borrowings, capital expenditures and funding requirements for trusts and our ability to withdraw amounts from trusts. Therefore, our major risk is related to uncertainties associated with our cash flow from our pre-need and at-need sales, our trusts, and financings, which may impact our ability to meet our financial projections, our ability to service our debt and pay distributions, and our ability to increase our distributions.
If we do not generate sufficient cash to continue paying distributions at least at their current level or restore them to previous levels, the market price of our common units may decline materially or remain stagnant. We have supplemented and expect that at least during the year ending December 31, 2017 we will seek to continue to supplement our cash generation with proceeds from financing activities. As a master limited partnership, our primary cash requirements, in addition to normal operating expenses, are for capital expenditures, net contributions to the merchandise trust funds, debt service and cash distributions. Accordingly, we expect that we will need working capital borrowings in order to prudently operate our business and in turn allow us to pay distributions to our unitholders. We cannot be certain that additional capital will be available to us to the extent required and on acceptable terms, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to pay distributions to our unitholders.
Although we have deferred a determination as to the distribution for our unitholders with respect to the quarter ended June 30, 2017 until we have reviewed financial information as of and for the period ended September 30, 2017, we do expect that the distribution will be reduced by at least 50% from the distribution we paid with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Due to both the delay in making our determination with respect to the second quarter distribution and our capital resource and liquidity constraints, it is possible that we will not pay four distributions in 2017 as we have in previous years.



Item 6.Exhibits

Exhibits are listed in the Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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.

ITEM 6.STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.EXHIBITS
By: StoneMor GP LLC
its general partner
November 9, 2016
Exhibit
Number
  Description
10.1 

 /s/ Lawrence Miller

Lawrence Miller
Chief Executive Officer, President
November 9, 2016

 /s/ Sean P. McGrath

Sean P. McGrath
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number

Description

    4.1
Supplemental Indenture No. 2,Limited Waiver to Credit Agreement, dated as of September 1, 2016,March 15, 2017, by and among StoneMor WisconsinOperating LLC, StoneMor Wisconsin Subsidiary LLC, subsidiaries of StoneMor Partners L.P., and Cornerstone Family Services of West Virginia Subsidiary, Inc., the Guarantors under the Indenture, and Wilmington Trust,other Borrowers party thereto, Capital One, National Association, as trustee.
  10.1 †Key Employee Unit Agreement underAdministrative Agent, and the StoneMor Partners L.P. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan, entered into as of September 28, 2016, by and between StoneMor GP LLC and Sean McGrath.
  10.2 †Key Employee Unit Agreement under the StoneMor Partners L.P. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan, entered into as of July 5, 2016, by and between StoneMor GP LLC and Lawrence Miller.
  10.3 †Key Employee Unit Agreement under the StoneMor Partners L.P. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan, entered into as of July 5, 2016, by and between StoneMor GP LLC and Austin So.
  10.4 †Employment Separation Agreement, effective as of August 5, 2016, by and between StoneMor GP LLC and David MeyersRequired Lenders party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 10, 2016)March 16, 2017).
 10.5
10.2 Credit
Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 3, 2017).
 10.6 Guaranty
10.3
Lawrence Miller (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 28, 2017).
 


10.4
31.1  
 
31.2  
Officer and Senior Vice President.
 
32.1  
 
32.2  
101  Attached as Exhibit 101 to this report are the following Interactive Data Files formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2016,March 31, 2017, and December 31, 2015;2016; (ii) Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and 2015;2016; (iii) Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Partners’ Capital (Deficit); (iv) Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016March 31, 2017 and 2015;2016; and (v) Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Users of this data are advised that the information contained in the XBRL documents is unaudited and these are not the official publicly filed financial statements of StoneMor Partners L.P.




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.
Management contract, compensatory plan or arrangement
STONEMOR PARTNERS L.P.
By: StoneMor GP LLC
its general partner
Date: October 27, 2017
/s/ R. Paul Grady
R. Paul Grady
President, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors (Principal Executive Officer)
Date: October 27, 2017
/s/ Mark L. Miller
Mark L. Miller
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President (Principal Financial Officer)

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