Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description of business and basis of presentation

v3.19.1
Description of business and basis of presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Description of business and basis of presentation
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
Description of Business
Tecogen Inc., or the Company, we, our or us, produces commercial and industrial natural-gas-fueled engine-driven, combined heat and power (CHP) products that reduce energy costs, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate congestion on the national power grid. The Company’s products supply electric power or mechanical power for cooling, while heat from the engine is recovered and purposefully used at a facility. The Company also installs, owns, operates and maintains complete energy systems and other complementary systems at customer sites and sells electricity, hot water, heat and cooling energy under long-term contracts at prices guaranteed to the customer to be below conventional utility rates.
The majority of the Company’s customers are located in regions with the highest utility rates, typically California, the Midwest and the Northeast. The Company's common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TGEN.
On May 18, 2017, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding common stock of American DG Energy Inc., formerly a related entity, in a stock-for-stock merger.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019.
The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements.
For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in Tecogen's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.
There have been certain changes in accounting principles as discussed below in the section entitled "Significant New Accounting Standards Adopted this Period."
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and entities in which it has a controlling financial interest. Those entities include the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries American DG Energy Inc., TTcogen LLC, and a joint venture, American DG New York, LLC, in which American DG Energy Inc. holds a 51% interest. Investments in partnerships and companies in which the Company does not have a controlling financial interest but where we have significant influence are accounted for under the equity method. Any intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Company’s operations are comprised of two business segments. Our Products and Services segment designs, manufactures and sells industrial and commercial cogeneration systems as described above. Our Energy Production segment sells energy in the form of electricity, heat, hot water and cooling to our customers under long-term sales agreements.
Reclassification
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform with current year presentation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Income Taxes
The provisions for income taxes in the accompanying unaudited consolidated statements of operations differ from that which would be expected by applying the federal statutory tax rate primarily due to losses for which no benefit is recognized.
Significant New Accounting Standards Adopted this Period
Cloud Computing Arrangement. During the third quarter of 2018, the Company early adopted ASU 2018-15 "Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract" as it is currently undertaking implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system (ERP). The Company opted to apply the provisions of ASU 2018-15 on a prospective basis. The primary effect of the provisions is to capitalize certain implementation costs amounting to $85,372 during the application development phase and to amortize those costs prospectively over the life of the agreement rather than expense them currently as general and administrative costs.
Leases. On January 1, 2019, we adopted the guidance under ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (“the new lease standard” or “ASC 842”) under the cumulative-effect method of transition where comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the standards in effect for those periods. The adoption did not result in any cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings. The Company has elected certain practical expedients upon adoption and therefore has not reassessed whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases, has not reassessed the lease classification for any expired or existing leases and has not reassessed initial direct costs for any existing leases.  

The new standard requires lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets as a right-of-use ("ROU") asset with a corresponding lease liability. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term.
 
As of March 31, 2019, $2.55 million was included in ROU assets $0.56 million in Lease obligations, current, and $1.99 million in Lease obligations, long-term, on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as a result of the new lease standard. There was no impact on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income or Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. See Note 7. Leases for further discussion.

Significant New Accounting Standards or Updates Not Yet Effective

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.  In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The main objective of ASU 2016-13 is to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about an entity's expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit at each reporting date. To achieve this objective, the amendments in this update replace the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to develop credit loss estimates. Subsequent to issuing ASU 2016-13, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, for the purpose of clarifying certain aspects of ASU 2016-13. ASU 2018-19 has the same effective date and transition requirements as ASU 2016-13. ASU 2016-13 will be effective for the Company's fiscal year beginning January 1, 2020, using a modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact this ASU will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements.