Other Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes information relating to the Company’s other intangible assets:

 

The intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives with the exception of customer relationships which are being amortized using an accelerated method.

 

The following table summarizes the expected amortization over the next five years for our definite-lived intangible assets noted above and also includes the only definite-lived permit, which is at our Diversified Scientific Services, Inc. (“DSSI”) subsidiary:

 

Amortization expense relating to intangible assets noted above and our one definite-lived permit for the Company was $179,000 and $343,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, respectively, and $147,000 and $322,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively.

Goodwill impairment

Our East Tennessee Materials & Energy Corporation (“M&EC”) subsidiary was awarded the CH Plateau Remediation Company (“CHPRC”) subcontract by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (“CH2M Hill”), effective June 19, 2008, in connection with CH2M Hill’s prime contract with the Department of Energy (“DOE”), relating to waste management and facility operations at the DOE’s Hanford, Washington site. The CHPRC subcontract provides for a base contract period from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2013, with an option of renewal for an additional five years.  During the second quarter of 2013, our M&EC subsidiary was notified by CH2M Hill that the subcontract will expire on September 30, 2013 and will not be renewed.  As permitted by ASC Topic 350 “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other,” when an impairment indicator arises toward the end of an interim reporting period, the Company may recognize its best estimate of that impairment loss. Based on the Company’s preliminary analysis prepared as of June 30, 2013, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $1,149,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2013.  This amount represented the total goodwill for our CHPRC reporting unit – our operations under the CHPRC subcontract. The goodwill impairment charge is noncash in nature and did not affect the Company’s liquidity or cash flows from operating activities. Additionally, the goodwill impairment had no effect on the Company’s borrowing availability or covenants under its credit facility agreement.

The preliminary assessment for the Treatment Segment, SYA and Safety & Ecology Corporation reporting units indicated that the fair values were greater than its net book value with no initial indication of goodwill impairment.  Although the Company believes that the financial projections used in the assessment were reasonable and appropriate for its four reporting units at that time, there is uncertainty inherent in those projections.

We believe demand for our services will continue to be subject to fluctuations due to a variety of factors beyond our control, including the current economic conditions that drive both commercial and government clients to reduce spending.  In addition, federal governmental clients have operated under reduced budgets due to Continuing Resolutions (“CR”) and sequestration.  We believe that this has negatively impacted the amount of waste shipped to our treatment facilities as well as jobs available in our Services Segment. Significant uncertainty exists regarding how sequestration cuts will be implemented and what challenges this may present for our industry. While members of Congress and the Administration continue to discuss various options to address sequestration and the U.S. Government’s overall fiscal challenges, we cannot predict the outcome of these efforts.  Currently, there is insufficient information to determine the full impact of sequestration and CR on our 2013 results of operations and cash flows, including their potential impact on our goodwill balances.