TREX CO INC - Quarter Report: 2021 June (Form 10-Q)

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Trex Company, Inc. (Company) is the world’s largest manufacturer of high-performance, wood-alternative decking and residential railing and outdoor living products and accessories, marketed under the brand name Trex, with more than 25 years of product experience. A majority of its products are manufactured in a proprietary process that combines reclaimed wood fibers and scrap polyethylene. Also, the Company is a leading national provider of custom-engineered railing and staging systems for the commercial and multi-family market, including sports stadiums and performing arts venues. The Company operates in two reportable segments, Trex Residential Products (Trex Residential) and Trex Commercial Products (Trex Commercial). The Company is incorporated in Delaware. The principal executive offices are located at 160 Exeter Drive, Winchester, Virginia 22603, and the telephone number at that address is

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and the instructions to Form and Article 10 of Regulation and, accordingly, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal and recurring adjustments, except as otherwise described herein) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Trex Commercial Products, Inc., for all periods presented.

The unaudited consolidated results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. The Company’s results of operations are affected by economic conditions, including macroeconomic conditions and levels of business confidence. As of the date of this report, the Company has not experienced any material disruptions to its operations, production or its supply chain and has not experienced any material reduction in demand for its Trex Residential outdoor living products due to the pandemic. However, the pandemic remains an evolving situation and while macro-economic recovery seems likely, the duration of the macro-economic recovery remains uncertain. The Company is managing its business to ensure continuity of its operations and the safety of its employees.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020 included in the Annual Report of Trex Company, Inc. on Form as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU “”. The guidance eliminates certain exceptions related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences related to changes in ownership of equity method investments and foreign subsidiaries. The guidance also simplifies aspects of accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a in the tax basis of goodwill. The Company adopted the standard on a prospective basis on January 1, 2021. Adoption did not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU “”. The guidance provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions related to contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease entities’ financial reporting burdens as the market transitions

Inventories valued at LIFO consist of the following (in thousands):

The Company utilizes the LIFO method of accounting to its Trex Residential wood-alternative decking and residential railing products, which generally provides for the matching of current costs with current revenues. However, under the LIFO method, reductions in annual inventory balances cause a portion of the Company’s cost of sales to be based on historical costs rather than current year costs (LIFO liquidation). Reductions in interim inventory balances expected to be replenished by do not result in a LIFO liquidation. Accordingly, interim LIFO calculations are based, in part, on management’s estimates of expected inventory levels and costs, which may differ from actual results. Since inventory levels and costs are subject to factors beyond management’s control, interim results are subject to the final LIFO inventory valuation. As of June 30, 2021, there were no LIFO inventory liquidations or related impact on cost of sales in the six months ended June 30, 2021.

On May 26, 2020, the Company entered into a First Amendment to the Original Credit Agreement (the First Amendment) to provide for an additional $100 million line of credit through May 26, 2022. The purpose of the additional $100 million line of credit is primarily to reduce risk associated with the pandemic should the Company need to secure additional capital to continue its strategy of accelerating the conversion of wood decking to Trex composite decking and expanding its addressable market. As a matter of convenience, the parties incorporated the amendments to the Original Credit Agreement made by the First Amendment into a new Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (New Credit Agreement). In the New Credit Agreement, the revolving commitments under the Original Credit Agreement are referred to as Revolving A Commitments and the new $100 million line of credit is referred to as Revolving B Commitments. In the New Credit Agreement, all of the material terms and conditions related to the original line of credit (Revolving A Commitments) remain unchanged from the Original Credit Agreement.

On July 29, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a stock split of the Company’s common stock, par value, $0.01. The stock split was in the form of a stock dividend distributed on September 14, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 19, 2020. The stock split entitled each stockholder to receive one additional share of common stock for each share they held as of the record date. All common stock share and per share data for all periods presented in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

Trex Residential principally generates revenue from the manufacture and sale of its high-performance, wood-alternative composite decking and residential railing products and accessories. Substantially all of its revenues are from contracts with customers, which are purchase orders of short-term duration of less than one year. Its customers, in turn, sell primarily to the residential market, which includes replacement, remodeling and new construction related to outdoor living products. Trex Residential satisfies its performance obligations at a point in time. The shipment of each product is a separate performance obligation as the customer is able to derive benefit from each product shipped and no performance obligation remains after shipment. Upon shipment of the product, the customer obtains control over the distinct product and Trex Residential satisfies its performance obligation. Any performance obligation that remains unsatisfied at the end of a reporting period is part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less. Any variable consideration related to the unsatisfied performance obligation is allocated wholly to the unsatisfied performance obligation, is recognized when the product ships and the performance obligation is satisfied and is included in “Accrued expenses and other liabilities, Sales and marketing” in Note 8 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock-based compensation expense (in thousands):

 

 

 

 

 

The operating results for Trex Residential have historically varied from quarter to quarter. Seasonal, erratic or prolonged adverse weather conditions in certain geographic regions reduce the level of home improvement and construction activity and can shift demand for its products to a later period. As part of its normal business practice and consistent with industry practice, Trex Residential has historically offered incentive programs to its distributors and dealers to build inventory levels before the start of the prime deck-building season in order to ensure adequate availability of its product to meet anticipated seasonal consumer demand. The seasonal effects are often offset by the positive effect of the incentive programs. The operating results for Trex Commercial have not historically varied from quarter to quarter as a result of seasonality. However, they are driven by the timing of individual projects, which may vary each quarterly period.

 

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The Company warrants that its decking and residential railing products will be free from material defects in workmanship and materials for warranty periods ranging from 10 years to 25 years, depending on the product and its use. If there is a breach of such warranties, the Company has an obligation either to replace the defective product or refund the purchase price. Depending on the product and its use, the Company also warrants its Trex Commercial products will be free of manufacturing defects for one to three years.

The Company continues to receive and settle claims for products manufactured at its Nevada facility prior to 2007 that exhibit surface flaking and maintains a warranty reserve to provide for the settlement of these claims. Estimating the warranty reserve for surface flaking claims requires management to estimate (1) the number of claims to be settled with payment and (2) the average cost to settle each claim.

To estimate the number of claims to be settled with payment, the Company utilizes actuarial techniques to quantify both the expected number of claims to be received and the percentage of those claims that will ultimately require payment (collectively, elements). Estimates for these elements are quantified using a range of assumptions derived from claim count history and the identification of factors influencing the claim counts. The cost per claim varies due to a number of factors, including the size of affected decks, the availability and type of replacement material used, the cost of production of replacement material and the method of claim settlement.

The Company monitors surface flaking claims activity each quarter for indications that its estimates require revision. Typically, a majority of surface flaking claims received in a year are received during the summer outdoor season, which spans the second and third quarters. It has been the Company’s practice to utilize the actuarial techniques discussed above during the third quarter, after a significant portion of all claims has been received for the fiscal year and variances to annual claims expectations are more meaningful.

The number of incoming claims received in the six months ended June 30, 2021, was lower than the number of claims received in the six months ended June 30, 2020 and consistent with the Company’s expectations for 2021. Average cost per claim experienced in the six months ended June 30, 2021 was higher than that experienced in the six months ended June 30, 2020 but was consistent with the Company’s expectations for the current year. The Company estimates that average cost per claim will increase in future years, primarily due to inflation. The Company believes its reserve at June 30, 2021 is sufficient to cover future surface flaking obligations.

The Company’s analysis is based on currently known facts and a number of assumptions, as discussed above, and current expectations. Projecting future events such as the number of claims to be received, the number of claims that will require payment and the average cost of claims could cause actual warranty liabilities to be higher or lower than those projected, which could materially affect the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The Company estimates that the annual number of claims received will decline over time and that the average cost per claim will increase, primarily due to inflation. If the level of claims received or average cost per claim differs materially from expectations, it could result in additional increases or decreases to the warranty reserve and a decrease or an increase in earnings and cash flows in future periods. The Company estimates that a 10% change in the expected number of remaining claims to be settled with payment or the expected cost to settle claims may result in approximately a $2.0 million change in the surface flaking warranty reserve.

The following is a reconciliation of the Company’s residential product warranty reserve (in thousands):