Operating Segments | OPERATING SEGMENTS Universal’s operations involve selecting, procuring, processing, packing, storing, shipping, and financing leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products throughout the world. Through various operating subsidiaries located in tobacco-growing countries around the world and significant ownership interests in unconsolidated affiliates, the Company processes and/or sells flue-cured and burley tobaccos, dark air-cured tobaccos, and oriental tobaccos. Flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos are used principally in the manufacture of cigarettes, and dark air-cured tobaccos are used mainly in the manufacture of cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. A substantial portion of the Company’s revenues are derived from sales to a limited number of large, multinational cigarette manufacturers. The principal approach used by management to evaluate the Company’s performance is by geographic region, although the dark air-cured and oriental tobacco businesses are each evaluated on the basis of their worldwide operations. Oriental tobacco operations consist principally of a 49% interest in an affiliate, and the performance of those operations is evaluated based on the Company’s equity in the pretax earnings of that affiliate. Under this structure, the Company has the following primary operating segments: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Dark Air-Cured, Oriental, and Special Services. North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia are primarily involved in flue-cured and/or burley leaf tobacco operations for supply to cigarette manufacturers. The Dark Air-Cured group supplies dark air-cured tobacco principally to manufacturers of cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products, and the Oriental business supplies oriental tobacco to cigarette manufacturers. From time to time, the segments may trade in tobaccos that differ from their main varieties, but those activities are not significant to their overall results. Special Services includes the Company's laboratory services business, which provides physical and chemical product testing and smoke testing for customers, its food ingredients business, as well as its liquid nicotine joint venture. The five regional operating segments serving the Company’s cigarette manufacturer customer base share similar characteristics in the nature of their products and services, production processes, class of customer, product distribution methods, and regulatory environment. Based on the applicable accounting guidance, four of the regions – South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia – are aggregated into a single reporting segment, “Other Regions”, because they also have similar economic characteristics. North America is reported as an individual operating segment because its economic characteristics differ from the other regions, generally because its operations require lower working capital investments for crop financing and inventory. The Dark Air-Cured, Oriental and Special Services segments, which have dissimilar characteristics in some of the categories mentioned above, are reported together as “Other Tobacco Operations” because each is below the measurement threshold for separate reporting. Universal incurs overhead expenses related to senior management, sales, finance, legal, and other functions that are centralized at its corporate headquarters, as well as functions performed at several sales and administrative offices around the world. These overhead expenses are allocated to the various operating segments, generally on the basis of tobacco volumes planned to be purchased and/or processed. Management believes this method of allocation is representative of the value of the related services provided to the operating segments. The Company evaluates the performance of its segments based on operating income after allocated overhead expenses, plus equity in the pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates. Reportable segment data as of, or for, the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017 , 2016 , and 2015 , is as follows: Sales and Other Operating Revenues Operating Income Fiscal Year Ended March 31, Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2017 2016 2015 2017 2016 2015 Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations: North America $ 416,438 $ 361,827 $ 305,028 $ 35,151 $ 31,147 $ 31,060 Other Regions (1) 1,422,991 1,538,971 1,739,781 143,349 143,596 125,839 Subtotal 1,839,429 1,900,798 2,044,809 178,500 174,743 156,899 Other Tobacco Operations (2) 231,789 219,575 226,992 9,984 11,325 10,326 Segment total 2,071,218 2,120,373 2,271,801 188,484 186,068 167,225 Deduct: Equity in pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates (3) (5,774 ) (5,422 ) (7,137 ) Restructuring and impairment costs (4) (4,359 ) (2,389 ) (4,890 ) Add: Other income (5) — 3,390 12,676 Consolidated total $ 2,071,218 $ 2,120,373 $ 2,271,801 $ 178,351 $ 181,647 $ 167,874 Segment Assets Goodwill March 31, March 31, 2017 2016 2015 2017 2016 2015 Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations: North America $ 357,406 $ 364,003 $ 281,449 $ — $ — $ — Other Regions (1) 1,465,109 1,548,517 1,607,846 97,159 97,318 97,372 Subtotal 1,822,515 1,912,520 1,889,295 97,159 97,318 97,372 Other Tobacco Operations (2) 300,890 318,657 297,180 1,644 1,713 1,713 Segment and consolidated totals $ 2,123,405 $ 2,231,177 $ 2,186,475 $ 98,803 $ 99,031 $ 99,085 Depreciation and Amortization Capital Expenditures Fiscal Year Ended March 31, Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2017 2016 2015 2017 2016 2015 Flue-Cured and Burley Leaf Tobacco Operations: North America $ 4,626 $ 4,314 $ 4,284 $ 4,202 $ 2,282 $ 5,814 Other Regions (1) 26,106 29,187 28,827 21,619 25,122 39,303 Subtotal 30,732 33,501 33,111 25,821 27,404 45,117 Other Tobacco Operations (2) 5,238 4,143 4,213 9,809 19,749 13,268 Segment and consolidated totals $ 35,970 $ 37,644 $ 37,324 $ 35,630 $ 47,153 $ 58,385 (1) Includes South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia regions, as well as inter-region eliminations. (2) Includes Dark Air-Cured, Oriental, and Special Services, as well as intercompany eliminations. Sales and other operating revenues, goodwill, depreciation and amortization, and capital expenditures include limited amounts or no amounts for Oriental because the business is accounted for on the equity method and its financial results consist principally of equity in the pretax earnings of the unconsolidated affiliate. The investment in the unconsolidated affiliate is included in segment assets and was approximately $78.1 million , $81.8 million , and $74.9 million , at March 31, 2017 , 2016 , and 2015 , respectively. (3) Equity in pretax earnings of unconsolidated affiliates is included in segment operating income (Other Tobacco Operations segment), but is reported below consolidated operating income and excluded from that total in the consolidated statements of income. (4) Restructuring and impairment costs are excluded from segment operating income, but are included in consolidated operating income in the consolidated statements of income (see Note 2). (5) Other income in fiscal year 2016 represents a gain from remeasuring to fair value the Company's original 50% ownership in Procesadora Unitab, S.A., a tobacco processing joint venture in Guatemala, upon acquiring the 50% interest held by the Company's joint venture partner (See Note 13). Other income in fiscal year 2015 represents the reversal of a valuation allowance on IPI excise tax credits in Brazil (See Note 13). Geographic data as of, or for, the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017 , 2016 , and 2015 , is presented below. Sales and other operating revenues are attributed to individual countries based on the final destination of the shipment. Long-lived assets generally consist of net property, plant, and equipment, goodwill, and other intangibles. Geographic Data Sales and Other Operating Revenues Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2017 2016 2015 Belgium $ 320,735 $ 371,580 $ 336,396 United States 320,731 275,147 290,950 Germany 123,649 155,180 170,338 China 137,855 135,032 174,872 Netherlands 91,266 121,767 113,297 Russia 84,784 109,559 126,652 All other countries 992,198 952,108 1,059,296 Consolidated total $ 2,071,218 $ 2,120,373 $ 2,271,801 Long-Lived Assets March 31, 2017 2016 2015 United States $ 85,145 $ 84,072 $ 70,929 Brazil 134,074 133,727 135,980 Mozambique 50,311 53,069 55,733 All other countries 146,698 154,090 141,893 Consolidated total $ 416,228 $ 424,958 $ 404,535 |