| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Consolidation Policy
The Company’s financial statements include the accounts of Travelport, Travelport’s wholly-owned subsidiaries and entities controlled by Travelport, including where control is exercised by owning a majority of the entity’s outstanding shares (eNett International (Jersey) Limited (“eNett”) and Travel-IT Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH). The Company divested its 51% ownership interest in IGT Solutions Private Ltd. in April 2017. The Company has eliminated intercompany transactions and balances in its consolidated financial statements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and classification of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates.
The Company’s accounting policies, which include significant estimates and assumptions, including (i) the estimation of the collectability of accounts receivable, including amounts due from airlines that are in bankruptcy or that have faced financial difficulties, (ii) amounts for future cancellations of airline bookings processed through the Travel Commerce Platform, (iii) the determination of the fair value of assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination, (iv) the evaluation of the recoverability of the carrying value of property and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets, (v) discount rates and long-term rates of return affecting the calculation of the assets and liabilities associated with the Company’s employee benefit plans, (vi) performance-based equity awards expected to vest and (vii) the evaluation of uncertainties surrounding the calculation of the Company’s tax assets and liabilities.
Revenue Recognition
From January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the new revenue recognition guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) (see Note 3—Revenue).
The Company provides global transaction processing and computer reservation services and provides travel marketing information to airline, car rental and hotel customers, as described below.
Travel Commerce Platform Revenue
Travel Commerce Platform revenue primarily utilizes a transaction volume model to recognize revenue. The Company charges a fee per segment booked. The Company also receives a fee for cancellations of bookings previously made on the Company’s platform and a fee for tickets issued by the Company that were originally booked on an alternative system.
Revenue for air bookings is recognized at the time of reservation, net of estimated cancellations and anticipated incentives payable to customers. Cancellations prior to the date of departure are estimated based on the historical level of cancellations (net of cancellation fees).
The Company’s Beyond Air portfolio includes hospitality, Payment Solutions, digital services, advertising and other platform services. Revenue for hotel reservations is recognized upon check-in, and revenue for car reservations is recognized upon pick-up, as such reservations can generally be cancelled without penalty. The Company’s Payment Solutions revenue is earned primarily as a percentage of total transaction value in the form of a share of interchange and other fees. Revenue is recognized when the payment is settled.
The Company collects subscription fees from travel agencies, internet sites and other subscribers to access the applications on its Travel Commerce Platform, including providing the ability to access schedule and fare information, book reservations and issue tickets. Where the contractual terms are on a subscription basis with fixed amounts of fees, revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period as the performance obligation is satisfied over time. Where the contractual terms are transaction-based with fees charged per transaction, revenue is recognized as the services are provided.
Technology Services Revenue
The Company collects fees, generally on a monthly basis under long-term contracts, for providing critical IT services to airlines, such as shopping, ticketing, departure control, business intelligence and other solutions. Where the contractual terms are on a subscription basis with fixed amounts of fees, revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period as the performance obligation is satisfied over time. Where the contractual terms are transaction-based with fees charged per transaction, revenue is recognized as the services are provided.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue consists of direct costs incurred to generate the Company’s revenue, including commissions paid to travel agencies and third-party operators (“Operators”), amortization of customer loyalty payments, incentives paid to travel agencies who subscribe to the Company’s Travel Commerce Platform and costs for call center operations, data processing and related technology costs. Cost of revenue excludes depreciation and amortization of acquired intangible assets comprising of customer relationships.
Commission payments represent consideration paid to travel agencies and Operators for reservations made on the Company’s Travel Commerce Platform. Commissions are provided in two ways depending on the terms of the contract: (i) variable per segment on a periodic basis over the term of the contract and (ii) upfront at the inception or modification of the contract. Variable commissions are accrued in a period based on the estimated number of segments to be booked by the travel agent. For upfront commissions, the Company establishes liabilities for these loyalty payments at the inception of the contract and capitalizes the customer loyalty payments as intangible assets. The amortization of the customer loyalty payments is then recognized as a component of revenue or cost of revenue over the life of the contract on a straight-line basis (unless another method is more appropriate), as the Company expects the benefit of those assets, which are the segments booked on its Travel Commerce Platform, to be realized evenly over the life of the contract.
In markets not supported by the Company’s sales and marketing organizations, the Company utilizes an Operator structure, where feasible, in order to take advantage of the Operator’s local industry knowledge. The Operator is responsible for cultivating the relationship with travel agencies in its territory, installing travel agents’ computer equipment, maintaining the hardware and software supplied to the travel agencies and providing ongoing customer support. The Operator earns a share of the booking fees generated in the Operator’s territory.
Cost of revenue also includes incentive payments to travel agencies for using the Company’s Payment Solutions and bank service charges. These commission costs are recognized in the same accounting period as the revenue generated from the related activities.
The direct technology costs related to revenue production, consisting of the development and maintenance costs for the mainframes, servers and software that is the shared infrastructure used to run the Company’s Travel Commerce Platform and Technology Services is included in revenue. Such costs consist of (i) service contracts with technology service providers, including on-site around-the-clock support for computer equipment and the cost of software licenses used to run the Company’s Travel Commerce Platform and its data centers, (ii) other operating costs associated with running the Company’s Travel Commerce Platform, including facility and related running costs of the Company’s data centers, (iii) telecommunication and technology costs related to maintaining the networks between the Company and its travel providers and its hosting solutions and (iv) salaries and benefits paid to employees and fees paid to third-party IT development companies for the development, delivery and implementation of software, the maintenance of mainframes, servers and software used in the Company’s data centers and customer support, including call center operations. Direct technology costs are recognized as expenses in the period when the liability is incurred.
Advertising Expense
Advertising costs are expensed in the period incurred and include online marketing costs, such as search and banner advertising, and offline marketing, such as television, media and print advertising. Advertising expense, included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations, was approximately $19 million, $18 million and $19 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes for annual periods is determined using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated based on the temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using currently enacted tax rates. The deferred tax assets are recorded net of a valuation allowance when, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods. Decreases to the valuation allowance are recorded as reductions to the provision for income taxes and increases to the valuation allowance result in additional provision for income taxes. The realization of the deferred tax assets, net of a valuation allowance, is primarily dependent on the ability to generate taxable income. A change in the Company’s estimate of future taxable income may require an addition or reduction to the valuation allowance.
The benefit from an uncertain income tax position is not recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained upon audit by the relevant authority. For positions that are more than 50% likely to be sustained, the benefit is recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained. Where a net operating loss (“NOL”) carried forward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carry forward exists, an unrecognized tax benefit is presented as a reduction to a deferred tax asset. Otherwise, the Company classifies its obligations for uncertain tax positions as other non-current liabilities. Liabilities expected to be paid within one year are included in the accrued expenses and other current liabilities account. Interest and penalties are recorded in both the accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities accounts. The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax positions as part of the provision for income taxes.
Changes in tax rates and tax laws are accounted for in the period of enactment. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive changes to its tax legislation under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reforms”) (see Note—4 Income Taxes).
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers highly-liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.
Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
The Company’s trade receivables are reported in the consolidated balance sheets net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company evaluates the collectability of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations (e.g., bankruptcy filings, failure to pay amounts due to the Company or other known customer liquidity issues), the Company records a specific reserve for bad debts in order to reduce the receivable to the amount reasonably believed to be collectible. For all other customers, the Company recognizes a reserve for estimated bad debts. Due to the number of different countries in which the Company operates, its policy of determining when a reserve is required to be recorded considers the appropriate local facts and circumstances that apply to an account. Accordingly, the length of time to collect does not necessarily indicate an increased credit risk. In all instances, local review of accounts receivables is performed on a regular basis by considering factors such as historical experience, credit worthiness, the age of the accounts receivable balances and current economic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay.
Bad debt expense is recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations and amounted to $3 million, $3 million and $2 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
Derivative Instruments
The Company uses derivative instruments as part of its overall strategy to manage exposure to market risks primarily associated with fluctuations in foreign currency and interest rates. All derivatives are recorded at fair value either as assets or liabilities. As a matter of policy, the Company does not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes and does not offset derivative assets and liabilities.
As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company did not designate any derivative contracts as accounting hedges. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments are recognized directly in earnings in the consolidated statements of operations.
Fair Value Measurement
The financial assets and liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets that are required to be recorded at fair value on a recurring basis are assets and liabilities related to derivative instruments and available-for-sale securities. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In determining fair value, the Company uses various valuation approaches. A hierarchy has been established for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market rates obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s estimates about the assumptions market participants would use in the pricing of the asset or liability based on the best information available. The hierarchy is broken down into three levels based on the reliability of inputs as follows:
Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access.
Level 2 — Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3 — Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to overall fair value measurement.
The Company determines the fair value of its derivative instruments using pricing models that use inputs from actively quoted markets for similar instruments that do not entail significant judgment. These amounts include fair value adjustments related to the Company’s own credit risk and counterparty credit risk. When such adjustments constitute more than 15% of the unadjusted fair value of derivative instruments for two successive quarters, the entire instrument is classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
The Company determines the fair value of its available-for-sale securities based on the quoted market price of the security as of the reporting date. The change in fair value for available-for-sale securities is recorded, net of taxes, as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss on the consolidated balance sheets.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment (including leasehold improvements) are recorded at historical cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation, recorded as a component of depreciation and amortization expense on the consolidated statements of operations, is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Amortization of leasehold improvements, also recorded as a component of depreciation and amortization, is computed using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated benefit period of the related assets or the lease term. Useful lives of various property and equipment are as follows:
Capitalized software
2 to 10 years
Computer equipment
3 to 7 years
Buildings
up to 30 years
Leasehold improvements
up to 20 years
Capitalization of software developed for internal use commences during the development phase of the project. The Company amortizes software developed for internal use on a straight-line basis when such software is substantially ready for use. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the Company amortized software costs developed for internal use of $101 million, $110 million and $108 million, respectively, as a component of depreciation and amortization expense on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company’s policy is to capitalize interest cost as a component of historical cost where an asset is being constructed for the Company’s own use. The amount of interest on capital projects capitalized was $3 million, $2 million and $4 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
The Company’s intangible assets with indefinite-lives comprise of goodwill, trademarks and tradenames. These indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but rather, are tested for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred.
The Company’s amortizable intangible assets comprise (i) acquired intangible assets, consisting of customer and vendor relationships and (ii) customer loyalty payments. The Company generally amortizes these intangible assets on a straight-line basis (unless another method is more appropriate) over their estimated useful lives of:
Acquired intangible assets
5 to 25 years
Customer loyalty payments
2 to 10 years (contract period)
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company assesses goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. The Company may qualitatively assess impairment factors to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value and if, as a result of qualitative assessment or if the Company determines quantitatively that the fair value of the reporting unit (determined utilizing estimated future discounted cash flows and assumptions that it believes marketplace participants would utilize) is less than its carrying value, the Company proceeds to assess impairment of goodwill. The level of impairment is assessed by allocating the total estimated fair value of the reporting unit to the fair value of the individual assets and liabilities of that reporting unit, as if that reporting unit is being acquired in a business combination. The remaining value represents the implied fair value of the goodwill, which if lower than its carrying value results in an impairment of goodwill to the extent the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value. Other indefinite-lived assets are tested for impairment by estimating their fair value utilizing estimated future discounted cash flows attributable to those assets and are written down to the estimated fair value where necessary. The Company uses comparative market multiples, if available, and other factors to corroborate the discounted cash flow results.
The Company performs its annual impairment testing for goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets in the fourth quarter of each year, subsequent to substantially completing its annual forecasting process, or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. The Company performed its annual impairment testing during the fourth quarter of 2018 and did not identify any impairment.
The Company evaluates the recoverability of its other long-lived assets, including definite-lived intangible assets, if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. This analysis is performed by comparing the respective carrying values of the assets to the current and expected future cash flows, on an undiscounted basis, to be generated from such assets. If such analysis indicates that the carrying value of these assets is not recoverable, the carrying value of such assets is reduced to fair value through a charge to the consolidated statements of operations.
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes, consists of accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments, unrealized actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit plans, share of unrealized gains and losses of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) of equity method investments and unrealized gain and losses related to available-for-sale securities.
Foreign Currency
On consolidation, assets and liabilities of subsidiaries having non-U.S. dollar functional currencies are translated at period end exchange rates and their results of operations are translated into U.S. dollars at the average exchange rates for the period. The gains and losses resulting from translation of these financial statements into U.S. dollars, are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated balance sheets and are included in net income (loss) only upon sale or liquidation of the underlying non-U.S. dollar functional currency entity.
Transactions in currencies other than the functional currency of an entity are recorded at the rate of exchange prevailing on the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities in currencies other than the functional currency are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date. Gains and losses resulting from such transactions and translations are included in earnings as a component of selling, general and administrative expense, in the consolidated statements of operations, except where the balances in non-U.S. dollar functional currency represent certain intercompany loans determined to be of long-term investment in nature, in which case, the translation gains and losses are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated balance sheets. The effect of exchange rates on cash balances denominated in foreign currency is included as a separate component in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Equity-Based Compensation
The Company has equity-based compensation plans that provide for grants of restricted share units (“RSUs”), performance share units (“PSUs”) and stock options to key employees and non-employee directors of the Company who perform services for the Company.
The Company expenses all equity-based compensation on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period based upon the fair value of the award on the date of grant, the estimated achievement of any performance targets and anticipated staff retention. The awards granted under the Company’s equity-based compensation plans are classified as equity and included as a component of equity on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets, as the ultimate payment of such awards will not be achieved through the use of the Company’s cash or other assets.
Net Income Per Common Share
Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing the net income available to the Company by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per common share is computed by dividing the net income available to the Company by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period. Potentially dilutive securities include stock options, unvested RSUs and unvested PSUs outstanding during the period, calculated using the treasury stock method. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computations of diluted earnings per share if their effect would be antidilutive. PSUs are excluded from the computation of diluted net income per common share until the related performance criteria have been met.
Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefits
The Company sponsors defined contribution savings plans under which the Company matches the contributions of participating employees on the basis specified by the plan. The Company’s costs for contributions to these plans are recognized as a component of selling, general and administrative expense, in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations as such costs are incurred. The Company also sponsors both non-contributory and contributory defined benefit pension plans whereby benefits are based on an employee’s years of credited service and a percentage of final average compensation, or as otherwise described by the plan. The Company also maintains other post-retirement health and welfare benefit plans for certain eligible employees. The Company recognizes the funded status of its pension and other post-retirement defined benefit plans within other non-current assets, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities on its consolidated balance sheets. The measurement date used to determine benefit obligations and the fair value of assets for all plans is December 31 of each year.
Pension and other post-retirement defined benefit costs are recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations based upon various actuarial assumptions, including expected long-term rates of return on plan assets, discount rates, employee turnover, healthcare costs and mortality rates. Actuarial gains or losses arise from actual returns on plan assets being different to expected returns and from changes in the projected benefit obligation and are deferred within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Accounting Pronouncements Adopted
Equity-Based Compensation—Modification Accounting
In May 2017, the FASB issued guidance clarifying when modification accounting should be used for changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. This guidance does not change the accounting for modifications but clarifies that modification accounting guidance should only be applied if there is a change to the value, vesting conditions or award classification and would not be required if the changes are considered non-substantive. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance prospectively effective January 1, 2018 as required under the guidance. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Pension
In March 2017, the FASB issued guidance on the presentation of net periodic pension cost and post-retirement benefit cost (“net benefit cost”). The new guidance requires the service cost component of net benefit cost to be presented as part of the other employee compensation costs in operating income, which can be further considered for capitalization as part of the capitalization policy, and present the other components of net benefit cost, including interest costs, expected return on plan assets and amortization of actuarial gain or loss (the “other components”) separately, in one or more line items, outside of operating income. Further, the new guidance requires the disclosure of the line items that contain the other components of net benefit cost in the footnotes to the financial statements if they are not presented on appropriately described separate lines in the statement of operations. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance effective January 1, 2018, as required under the guidance, and for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company reclassified $3 million and $2 million, respectively, related to the other components from selling, general and administrative expense to other expense within the consolidated statements of operations. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s net income, consolidated balance sheets or statements of cash flows.
Goodwill Impairment
In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance to simplify the accounting for goodwill impairment. The guidance removes step two of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. Under this guidance, a goodwill impairment is the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. The new guidance is applicable for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption of the amendments in the guidance is permitted for any impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017 and requires its application using a prospective transition method. The Company early adopted the provisions of this guidance effective January 1, 2018. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Restricted Cash
In November 2016, the FASB issued guidance that requires entities to include restricted cash as part of cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The guidance also requires a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances disclosed in the balance sheet with the corresponding amounts as shown in the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance effective January 1, 2018 as required under the guidance. Upon adoption, this guidance did not have impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements however, as of December 31, 2018, the Company had $3 million of restricted cash that is included with cash and cash equivalents in its consolidated statements of cash flows (see Note 8—Other Non-Current Assets).
Income Taxes
In October 2016, the FASB issued guidance
Statement of Cash Flows
In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance on classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows. The guidance provides specific guidance relating to classification of certain items, including cash payments for debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, distributions received from equity method investments and cash flows classification based on its predominate source or use. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance effective January 1, 2018 as required under the guidance. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Financial Instruments
In January 2016, the FASB issued guidance that amends the current guidance on the classification and measurement of financial instruments. The guidance significantly revises the accounting related to (i) the classification and measurement of investments in equity securities of unconsolidated subsidiaries (other than those accounted for using the equity method of accounting) and (ii) the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. The guidance also amends certain disclosure requirements associated with the fair value of financial instruments. The Company adopted the provisions of this guidance effective January 1, 2018 as required under the guidance. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on revenue from contracts with customers that superseded most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The underlying principle of the guidance is to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers at an amount to which a company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new guidance requires an evaluation of revenue arrangements with customers following a five-step approach: (1) identify the contract with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the company satisfies eac |
