Income Taxes.On December 22, 2017, Congress enacted H.R.1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (“Tax Reform Act”), which made significant changes to U.S. federal income tax laws including reducing the corporate rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. In December 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 which allows the Company to record provisional amounts related to the impact of the Tax Reform Act and adjust those amounts during a measurement period not to extend more than one year from date of enactment. During fiscal 2018 the Company recorded a provisional income tax benefit of approximately $0.8 million uponre-measurement of U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities at the rate the balances are expected to be realized. Also during fiscal 2018 the Company provided for $3.4 million of capital gains tax offset by $3.4 million of newly established deferred tax assets for foreign tax credits that resulted from dividend distributions. Both the capital gains tax and the newly established deferred tax assets were based upon a strict reading of the Internal Revenue Code at the time. Subsequently, the Treasury Department and the IRS released proposed regulations clarifying the relevant calculations and as a result, both the capital gains tax of $3.4 million and newly established deferred tax assets of $3.4 million were reversed during the three months ended August 25, 2018.
The Tax Reform Act also includes the Global IntangibleLow-Tax Income (“GILTI”) provision, a new mechanism for taxing certain foreign profits, the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (“BEAT”), a minimum tax on payments to related parties, and the Foreign-Derived Intangible Income provision, a tax incentive to earn income abroad. The Company is permitted to make an accounting policy election to account for GILTI as either a period charge when the tax arises or as a part of deferred taxes. Due to the complexity of the GILTI provisions, the Company is still evaluating the impacts on future periods and has not yet elected an accounting policy regarding GILTI. The Company has recognized provisional tax impacts associated with GILTI as a current expense for the three months ending August 25, 2018.
The Company’s provision for income taxes was $3.5 million (effective tax rate of approximately 38%) and $2.9 million (effective tax rate of approximately 58%) for the three months ended August 25, 2018 and August 26, 2017, respectively. The Company records tax expense based upon an actual effective tax rate versus a forecasted tax rate because of the volatility in its international operations that span numerous tax jurisdictions.
The provision for income taxes in the three months ended August 25, 2018 and August 26, 2017 results from taxes on income in the U.S. and certain other foreign jurisdictions, no benefit for losses in jurisdictions in which a full valuation allowance on operating loss carryforwards had previously been established and a lower benefit for losses in certain foreign jurisdictions with tax rates lower than the U.S. statutory rates. The provision for income taxes increased for the three months ended August 25, 2018 because of the improved global income. The effective tax rate decreased for the three months ended August 25, 2018, primarily due to the reduction in the U.S. statutory federal tax rate and due to the improved foreign results.
The Company recognized tax expense of approximately $0.1 million and tax benefit of approximately $0.4 million related to stock-based compensation for nonqualified stock options expensed and for disqualifying dispositions under the ESPP during the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Periodically, the Company reviews the components of both book and taxable income to analyze the adequacy of the tax provision. There can be no assurance that the Company’s effective tax rate will remain constant in the future because of the lower benefit from the United States statutory rate for losses in certain foreign jurisdictions, the limitation on the benefit for losses in jurisdictions in which a valuation allowance for operating loss carryforwards has previously been established, and the unpredictability of timing and the amount of eligible disqualifying incentive stock options exercises.
Comparability of Quarterly Results. Our quarterly results have fluctuated in the past and we believe they will continue to do so in the future. Certain factors that could affect our quarterly operating results are described in Part II, Item 1A.—Risk Factors. Due to these and other factors, we believequarter-to-quarter comparisons of our results of operations may not be meaningful indicators of future performance.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary source of liquidity is cash provided by our operations and ability to access our $120 million secured revolving credit facility (“Facility”) with Bank of America and, historically, to a lesser extent, stock option exercises and ESPP purchases. On an annual basis, we have generated positive cash flows from operations since inception, and we continued to do so for the year ended May 26, 2018. Our ability to generate positive cash flow from operations in the future will be, at least in part, dependent on continued stable global economic conditions. As of August 25, 2018, the Company had $27.1 million of cash and cash equivalents including $13.9 million held in international operations.
In October 2016, we entered into a $120 million Facility with Bank of America. The Facility is available for working capital and general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions and stock repurchases. The Facility allows the Company to choose the interest rate applicable to advances. Borrowings under the Facility bear interest at a rate per annum of either, at the Company’s option, (i) LIBOR plus a margin of 1.25% or 1.50% or (ii) an alternate base rate, plus margin of 0.25% or 0.50% with the applicable margin depending on the Company’s consolidated leverage ratio. The alternate base rate is the highest of (i) Bank of America’s prime rate, (ii) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and (iii) the Eurodollar rate plus 1.0%. The Company pays an unused commitment fee on the average daily unused portion of the Facility at a rate of 0.15% to 0.25% depending upon on the Company’s consolidated leverage ratio. The Facility expires October 17, 2021.
23