| BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | (2) BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
a. Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include all the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for annual reports on Form 10-K. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for the fair presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company have been included herein. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts and disclosures throughout the Notes to the consolidated financial statements are presented in millions of dollars.
The Company’s fiscal year ends June 30 each year, and we refer to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 as “Fiscal 2019”, the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 as “Fiscal 2018” and the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 as “Fiscal 2017.”
b. Use of Estimates
The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Estimates are used when establishing allowances for doubtful accounts and accruals for billing disputes, determining useful lives for depreciation and amortization and accruals for exit activities associated with real estate leases, assessing the need for impairment charges (including those related to intangible assets and goodwill), determining the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, accounting for income taxes and related valuation allowances against deferred tax assets, determining the defined benefit costs and defined benefit obligations related to post-employment benefits, determining the fair value of plan assets related to post-employment benefits, determining the fair value of nonmonetary exchanges and estimating certain restricted stock unit grant fair values used to compute the stock-based compensation liability and expense. Management evaluates these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and makes estimates based on historical experience, current conditions, and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities as well as identifying and assessing the accounting treatment with respect to commitments and contingencies. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
c. Foreign Currency Translation
For operations outside the U.S. that have functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar, assets and liabilities are translated to U.S. dollars at period-end exchange rates, and revenue, expenses and cash flows are translated using monthly average exchange rates during the year. Gains or losses resulting from currency translation are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income in stockholders’ equity and in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
d . Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash and cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair value. Restricted cash consists of cash balances held by various financial institutions as collateral for letters of credit and surety bonds. These balances are reclassified to cash and cash equivalents when the underlying obligation is satisfied, or in accordance with the governing agreement. Restricted cash balances expected to become unrestricted during the next twelve months are recorded as current assets. The Company had a non-current restricted cash balance of $1.2 million and $4.6 million as of June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
e. Trade Receivables
Trade receivables are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses inherent in its trade receivable portfolio. In establishing the required allowance, management considers historical losses adjusted to take into account current market conditions and the customer’s financial condition, and the age of receivables and current payment patterns. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.
f. Property and Equipment
The Company’s property and equipment includes assets in service and under construction or development.
Property and equipment is recorded at historical cost or acquisition date fair value. Costs associated directly with network construction, network installations for customer access, and development of business support systems, including employee-related costs, are capitalized. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the asset’s estimated useful life from the date placed into service or acquired. Management performs reviews to depreciable lives of its property and equipment on a periodic basis, which includes reviewing historical usage, with consideration given to technological changes, trends in the industry, and other economic factors that could impact the network architecture and asset utilization. In March 2018 management completed a review and revised its estimated useful lives for fiber optic network assets from its previous estimate of a range of fifteen years to twenty years to a revised estimate of thirty-three years and revised its estimated useful lives for owned buildings from its historical estimate of thirty-nine years to a revised estimate of forty-five years. In determining the change in estimated useful lives, the Company, with input from its engineering team, utilized quantitative and qualitative analysis, including historical usage patterns and retirements, industry benchmarks and review of published data sources. The change in estimated useful lives of the fiber optic network assets and owned buildings was accounted for as a change in accounting estimate on a prospective basis effective March 1, 2018. The effect of this change in estimate resulted in a reduction to depreciation expense for the year ended June 30, 2018 of $69.6 million, an increase to net income for the year ended June 30, 2018 of $55.4 million, and an increase to basic and diluted earnings per share for the year ended June 30, 2018 of $0.22. The effect of this change in estimate from prior year resulted in an estimated reduction to depreciation expense for the year ended June 30, 2019 of $208.8 million, and increase to net income for the year ended June 30, 2019 of $178.7 million, and an increase to basic and diluted earnings per share for the year ended June 30, 2019 of $0.75 and $0.74, respectively.
Property and equipment acquired under capital leases is recorded at the lower of the fair value of the asset or the net present value of the minimum lease payments at the inception of the lease. Depreciation of property and equipment held under capital leases is included in depreciation and amortization expense, and is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, or the related lease term, whichever is shorter.
Management reviews property and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of its property and equipment may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized when the assets’ carrying value exceeds both the assets’ estimated undiscounted future cash flows and the assets’ estimated fair value. Measurement of the impairment loss is then based on the estimated fair value of the assets. Considerable judgment is required to project such future cash flows and, if required, to estimate the fair value of the property and equipment and the resulting amount of the impairment. No impairment charges were recorded for property and equipment during the years ended June 30, 2019, 2018 or 2017, respectively.
The Company capitalizes interest for assets that require a period of time to get them ready for their intended use. The amount of interest capitalized is based on the Company’s weighted average effective interest rate for outstanding debt obligations during the respective accounting period.
g. Goodwill and Acquired Intangibles
Intangible assets arising from business combinations, such as acquired customer contracts and relationships, (collectively “customer relationships”), are initially recorded at fair value. The Company amortizes customer relationships primarily over an estimated life of 10 to 20 years using an amortization method that approximates the timing in which the Company expects to receive the benefit from the acquired customer relationship assets. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable assets acquired in a business combination.
Goodwill is reviewed for impairment at least annually in April, or more frequently if a triggering event occurs between impairment testing dates. The Company’s impairment assessment begins with a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. The qualitative assessment includes comparing the overall financial performance of the reporting units against the planned results used in the last quantitative goodwill impairment test. Additionally, each reporting unit’s fair value is assessed in light of certain events and circumstances, including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, and other relevant entity- and reporting unit-specific events. The selection and assessment of qualitative factors used to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds the carrying value involves significant judgments and estimates. If it is determined under the qualitative assessment that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then a single step test is performed to identify and measure impairment and if a reporting unit’s fair value is lower than its carrying value, the Company recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, up to but not exceeding the reporting unit’s goodwill. The Company performed a qualitative assessment for the years ended June 30, 2019, 2018 and 2017, as well as upon the changes in reportable segments during Fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017 (see Note 17- Segment Reporting ), and determined it was more likely than not that the fair values of our reporting units are greater than their carrying amounts.
The Company reviews its indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment at least annually in April. To the extent the carrying value of indefinite-lived intangible assets exceeds the fair value, the Company will recognize an impairment loss for the difference. The Company performed a qualitative assessment to determine whether it was more likely than not that the Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets were impaired and concluded there was no indication of impairment for the years ended June 30, 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Intangible assets with finite useful lives are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives and reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. No impairment charges were recorded for goodwill or intangible assets during the years ended June 30, 2019, 2018 or 2017, respectively.
h. Revenue Recognition
On July 1, 2018, the Company adopted the requirements of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) using the full retrospective transition method. The Company earns revenues from contracts with customers, primarily through the provision of telecommunications and other related offerings. Revenues from leasing arrangements, such as those from dark fiber contracts and colocation facility rental agreements, are not accounted for under ASC 606. Other revenues are accounted for under ASC 606.
The Company recognizes revenues derived from leasing access to the Company’s fiber optic telecommunications infrastructure and colocation offerings when the offering has been provided. Taxes collected from customers and remitted to a governmental authority are reported on a net basis and are excluded from revenue.
Most revenue is billed in advance on a fixed-rate basis and the remainder is billed in arrears on a transactional basis determined by customer usage. The Company often bills customers for upfront charges, which are non-refundable. These charges relate to activation fees, installation charges or prepayments for future access or offerings and are influenced by various business factors including how the Company and customer agree to structure the payment terms. These upfront charges are assessed to determine if they represent separate performance obligations or to determine if they provide the customer with a material right (such as discounted pricing on renewals or future orders). A majority of the Company’s upfront payments from customers do not relate to a separate performance obligation, do not provide the customer with a material right and are recognized to revenue ratably over the underlying contract term. Upfront payments that give the customer a right to renew a product offering at a discounted rate are amortized over the period the Company expects to provide the underlying offering.
The Company typically records revenues from leases of dark fiber, including indefeasible rights-of-use (“IRU”) agreements, over the term that the customer is given exclusive access to the assets. Dark fiber IRU agreements generally require the customer to make a down payment upon the execution of the agreement with monthly IRU fees paid over the contract term. However, in some cases, the Company receives up to the entire lease payment at the inception of the lease and recognizes the revenue ratably over the lease term. Revenue related to professional services to provide network management and technical support is recognized as services are provided.
In determining the appropriate amount of revenue and related reserves to reflect in its consolidated financial statements, management evaluates payment history, credit ratings, customer financial performance, and historical or potential billing disputes and related estimates are based on these factors and assumptions.
See “Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements” below and Note 15 – Revenue and Contract Costs for additional disclosure on the Company’s adoption of ASC 606 and its impact on the consolidated financial statements.
i. Operating Costs and Expenses
The Company’s operating costs and expenses consist primarily of network expense (“Netex”), compensation and benefits, network operations expense (“Netops”), stock-based compensation, other expenses, and depreciation and amortization.
Netex consists of third-party network provider costs resulting from the leasing of certain network facilities, primarily leases of circuits and dark fiber, from carriers and other providers to augment the Company’s owned infrastructure, for which it is generally billed a fixed monthly fee. Netex also includes colocation facility costs for rent and license fees paid to the landlords of the buildings in which the Company’s colocation business operates, along with the utility costs to power those facilities.
Compensation and benefits expenses include salaries, wages, incentive compensation and benefits. Employee-related costs that are directly associated with network construction, network installations for customer access and development of business support systems are capitalized and amortized to operating costs and expenses over the customer life. Compensation and benefits expenses related to the departments attributed to generating revenue are included in “Operating costs” while compensation and benefits expenses related to the sales, product, and corporate departments are included in “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations.
Netops expense include all of the non-personnel related expenses of operating and maintaining the network infrastructure, including contracted maintenance fees, right-of-way costs, rent for cellular towers and other places where fiber is located, pole attachment fees, and relocation expenses. Netops expense is included in “Operating costs” in the consolidated statements of operations.
Stock-based compensation expense consists of the fair value of equity based awards granted to employees and independent directors recognized over their applicable vesting period. Stock-based compensation expense is included, based on the responsibilities of the awarded recipient, in either “Operating costs” or “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations. For additional information regarding our stock-based compensation expense, see (j.) – Stock-Based Compensation below and Note 11 – Stock-Based Compensation .
Other expenses include expenses such as property tax, franchise fees, and colocation facility maintenance, which relate to operating our network and are therefore included in “Operating costs” as well as travel, office expense and other administrative costs that are included in “Selling, general and administrative expenses”. Other expenses are included in either “Operating costs” or “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statement of operations depending on their relationship to generating revenue or association with sales and administration.
Transaction costs include expenses associated with professional services (i.e. legal, accounting, regulatory, etc.) rendered in connection with acquisitions or disposals (including spin-offs), travel expense, severance expense incurred that are associated with acquisitions or disposals, and other direct expenses incurred that are associated with signed and/or closed acquisitions or disposals and unsuccessful acquisitions. Transaction costs are included in “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations.
Related to Netex, the Company recognizes the cost of these facilities or services when it is incurred in accordance with contractual requirements. The Company routinely disputes incorrect billings. The most prevalent types of disputes include disputes for circuits that are not disconnected on a timely basis and usage bills with incorrect records. Depending on the type and complexity of the issues involved, it may take several quarters to resolve disputes.
In determining the amount of such operating expenses and related accrued liabilities to reflect in its consolidated financial statements, management considers the adequacy of documentation of disconnect notices, compliance with prevailing contractual requirements for submitting such disconnect notices and disputes to the provider of the facilities, and compliance with its interconnection agreements with these providers. Significant judgment is required in estimating the ultimate outcome of the dispute resolution process, as well as any other costs that may be incurred to conclude the negotiations or settle any litigation.
j. Stock-Based Compensation
The Company maintains a compensation incentive plan for executives and employees. The plan includes incentive cash compensation (ICC) and equity (in the form of restricted stock units, “RSUs”). Grants under the incentive plan are made quarterly for all participants. The Company recognizes all quarterly stock-based awards to employees and independent directors, based on their grant-date fair values, with no consideration for future forfeitures. The Company recognizes the fair value of outstanding awards as a charge to operations over the vesting period. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
The Company uses the straight-line method to recognize share-based compensation expense for outstanding share awards that do not contain a performance condition.
Determining the fair value of certain share-based awards at the grant date and subsequent reporting dates requires judgment. If actual results differ significantly from these estimates, stock-based compensation expense and the Company’s results of operations could be materially impacted.
For additional information regarding our stock-based compensation, see Note 11 – Stock-Based Compensation .
k. Legal Costs
Costs incurred to hire and retain external legal counsel to advise us on regulatory, litigation and other matters is expensed as the related services are received.
l. Income Taxes
The Company recognizes income taxes under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. 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 earnings in the period that includes the enactment date.
Estimating the future tax benefit associated with deferred tax assets requires significant judgment. Deferred tax assets arise from a variety of sources, the most significant being: tax losses that can be carried forward to be utilized against taxable income in future years, deferred revenue, and expenses recognized in the Company’s financial statements but disallowed in the Company’s tax return until the associated cash flow occurs.
The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is expected to be recognized. The valuation allowance is established if, based on available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not that all or some portion of the asset will not be realized due to the inability to generate sufficient taxable income in the period and/or of the character necessary to utilize the benefit of the deferred tax asset. When evaluating whether it is more-likely-than-not that all or some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized, all available evidence, both positive and negative, that may affect the realizability of deferred tax assets is identified and considered in determining the appropriate amount of the valuation allowance. The Company continues to monitor its financial performance and other evidence each quarter to determine the appropriateness of the Company’s valuation allowance. At each balance sheet date, existing assessments are reviewed and, if necessary, revised to reflect changed circumstances.
The analysis of the Company’s ability to utilize its net operating loss carryforward (“NOL”) balance is based on the Company’s forecasted taxable income. The forecasted assumptions approximate the Company’s best estimates, including market growth rates, future pricing, market acceptance of the Company’s products and services, future expected capital investments and discount rates. If the Company is unable to meet its taxable income forecasts in future periods, the Company may change its conclusion about the appropriateness of the valuation allowance which could create a substantial income tax expense in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations in the period such change occurs.
Deferred tax liabilities related to investments in foreign subsidiaries and foreign corporate joint ventures have been recognized.
All deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented as noncurrent. The Company records interest related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties in the provision for income taxes.
m. Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Relevant accounting literature defines and establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and requires expanded disclosures about fair value measurements. It also emphasizes that fair value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific measurement, and defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Valuation techniques that may be used include the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow) and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost), which are each based upon observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s market assumptions.
Fair Value Hierarchy
A fair value hierarchy is established that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels of inputs that are used to measure fair value are:
Level 1
Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the Company has the ability to access.
Level 2
Inputs to the valuation methodology include:
quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets;
quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets;
inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; and
inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.
If the asset or liability has a specified (contractual) term, the Level 2 input must be observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.
Level 3
Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.
The Company views fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities required to be recorded at fair value, management considers the principal or most advantageous market in which it would transact and considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance
n. Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash investments and accounts receivable. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are primarily held in commercial bank accounts in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. The Company limits its cash investments to high-quality financial institutions in order to minimize its credit risk.
During the years ended June 30, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Company had no single customer that exceeded 10% of total revenue. The Company’s trade receivables, which are unsecured, are geographically dispersed. As of June 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company had no single customer with a trade receivable balance that exceeded 10% of total receivables.
o. Employee Benefits
In connection with the Company’s acquisition of 100% of the equity interest in Allstream, Inc. and Allstream Fiber U.S. Inc. (together, the “Allstream Acquisition Entity” and such acquisition being the “Allstream Acquisition”) from Bell MTS on January 15, 2016, Bell MTS agreed to retain the Allstream Acquisition Entity’s former defined benefit pension obligations, and related pension plan assets, of retirees and other former employees of the Allstream Acquisition Entity. Bell MTS also agreed to reimburse the Allstream Acquisition Entity for certain solvency funding payments related to the pension obligations of active employees of the Allstream Acquisition Entity as of January 15, 2016. On October 31, 2017, Bell MTS transferred assets from the Allstream Acquisition Entity former defined benefit plans related to pre-closing service obligations for active employees to defined benefit pension plans of the Allstream Acquisition Entity created by the Company on January 15, 2016. Eligibility and the level of benefits for these plans varies depending on participants’ status, date of hire and or length of service. The Company recognizes the funded status of these defined benefit and post-retirement benefit (OPEB) plans as an asset or a liability on the consolidated balance sheet. Each year's actuarial gains or losses and prior period service costs are a component of other comprehensive income, which is then included in accumulated other comprehensive income. Pension and OPEB expenses are recognized over the period in which the employee renders service and becomes eligible to receive benefits. The pension and post-retirement accruals and valuations are dependent on assumptions to calculate those amounts. These assumptions include discount rates, long-term rate of return on plan assets, retirement rates, mortality rates and other factors. A change in any of the above assumptions would have an effect on the projected benefit obligation and pension expense. See Note 12 – Employee Benefits , for additional disclosure regarding the Company’s defined benefit pension plans and OPEBs. The Company’s policy is to fund the pension plans in accordance with applicable regulations. The OPEBs are not funded.
p . Condensed Financial Information of the Registrant
The restricted net assets of Zayo Group Holdings exceeds 25% of its consolidated net assets due to restrictions under the Credit Agreement and Notes (as defined in Note 7 – Long-term Debt ). Zayo Group Holdings is a holding company with no assets or liabilities of its own or operations other than those of its subsidiary ZGL. Accordingly, the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive loss and cash flows of Zayo Group Holdings and ZGL are the same, except that at June 30, 2019 and 2018, Zayo Group Holdings had additional cash of $0.7 million. As such, the condensed financial information of Zayo Group Holdings is not presented as it is not meaningful.
q. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, Compensation – Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. This ASU requires an employer to report the service cost component of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement cost in the same line item in the statement of operations as other compensation costs arising from services rendered by the related employees during the period. The other net cost components are required to be presented in the statement of operations separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations. Additionally, the line item used in the statement of operations to present the other net cost components must be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (Fiscal 2019 for the Company), and interim periods within those fiscal years, and must be applied on a retrospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2017-07 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The new standard requires a statement of cash flows to explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents w |
