Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

v3.5.0.2
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with SEC rules and regulations and, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly, the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income (loss) and cash flows for the periods presented. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Management bases its estimates on various assumptions and historical experience, which are believed to be reasonable; however, due to the inherent nature of estimates, actual results may differ significantly due to changed conditions or assumptions. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016 or any other future period. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
As more fully described in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, we announced in January 2015, that the Bloom Lake Group commenced CCAA proceedings (the "Bloom Filing") with the Quebec Superior Court (Commercial Division) in Montreal (the "Montreal Court"). Effective January 27, 2015, following the Bloom Filing, we deconsolidated the Bloom Lake Group and certain other wholly-owned subsidiaries comprising substantially all of our Canadian operations. Additionally, on May 20, 2015, the Wabush Group commenced CCAA proceedings (the "Wabush Filing") in the Montreal Court, which resulted in the deconsolidation of the remaining Wabush Group entities that were not previously deconsolidated. Financial results prior to the respective deconsolidations of the Bloom Lake and Wabush Groups and subsequent expenses directly associated with the Canadian Entities are included in our financial statements and classified within discontinued operations.
Also, for the majority of 2015, we operated two metallurgical coal operations in Alabama and West Virginia. In December 2015, we completed the sale of these two metallurgical coal operations, which marked our exit from the coal business. As of March 31, 2015, management determined that our North American Coal operating segment met the criteria to be classified as held for sale under ASC 205, Presentation of Financial Statements. As such, all presented North American Coal operating segment results are included and classified within discontinued operations in our financial statements.
Refer to NOTE 14 - DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS for further discussion of the Eastern Canadian Iron Ore and North American Coal segment's discontinued operations.
We report our results from continuing operations in two reportable segments: U.S. Iron Ore and Asia Pacific Iron Ore.
Basis of Consolidation
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, including the following operations as of September 30, 2016:
Name
 
Location
 
Ownership Interest
 
Operation
 
Status of Operations
Northshore
 
Minnesota
 
100.0%
 
Iron Ore
 
Active
United Taconite
 
Minnesota
 
100.0%
 
Iron Ore
 
Active
Tilden
 
Michigan
 
85.0%
 
Iron Ore
 
Active
Empire
 
Michigan
 
79.0%
 
Iron Ore
 
Idle
Koolyanobbing
 
Western Australia
 
100.0%
 
Iron Ore
 
Active

Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated upon consolidation.
Equity Method Investments
Our 23 percent ownership interest in Hibbing is recorded as an equity method investment. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, our investment in Hibbing was $1.9 million and $2.4 million, respectively, classified as Other liabilities in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Position.
Foreign Currency
Our financial statements are prepared with the U.S. dollar as the reporting currency. The functional currency of our Australian subsidiaries is the Australian dollar. The functional currency of all other international subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. The financial statements of international subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at each balance sheet date for assets and liabilities and a weighted average exchange rate for each period for revenues, expenses, gains and losses. Where the local currency is the functional currency, translation adjustments are recorded as Accumulated other comprehensive loss. Income taxes generally are not provided for foreign currency translation adjustments. To the extent that monetary assets and liabilities, inclusive of intercompany notes, are recorded in a currency other than the functional currency, these amounts are remeasured each reporting period, with the resulting gain or loss being recorded in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations. Transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans are included in Miscellaneous - net in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, we incurred a net loss of $0.3 million and $1.2 million, respectively, from the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement. Of these amounts, for the three months ended September 30, 2016, losses of $1.1 million and gains of $0.6 million and for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, gains of $0.3 million and losses of $2.0 million resulted from remeasurement of cash and cash equivalents and remeasurement of certain obligations, respectively.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, net gains of $2.4 million and $15.2 million, respectively, related to the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement. Of these amounts, for the three months ended September 30, 2015, gains of $0.1 million and $1.3 million, respectively, resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents. Additionally, of these amounts for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, gains of $11.1 million and $2.0 million resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents, respectively.
Significant Accounting Policies
A detailed description of our significant accounting policies can be found in the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. There have been no material changes in our significant accounting policies and estimates from those disclosed therein.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Issued and Not Effective
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. The new standard requires recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities for leases previously classified as operating leases. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. We are currently reviewing the guidance and assessing the potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Stock Compensation - Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.  The new standard is intended to simplify several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and early adoption is permitted. We are currently reviewing the guidance and assessing the potential impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Issued and Adopted
In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The new standard addresses eight specific changes to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted. We have adopted the guidance for the period ended September 30, 2016 and have applied this amended accounting guidance to the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows for all periods presented. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 did not have an impact on prior results reported in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows.