1.Basis of presentation

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for fiscal year-end financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. For further information, refer to the financial statements and related footnotes included in our 2014 Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-34728) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 12, 2015.

We operate as a single business unit.

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial statements to conform to the 2015 presentation.  Deferred compensation has been combined with other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.  Deferred compensation has been combined with Benefit obligations and other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Interim Consolidated Financial Information

The accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2015 and the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for the three months ended March  31, 2015 and 2014 and cash flows for the three months ended March  31, 2015 and 2014 have been prepared by the Company and have not been audited.

The Company is a counterparty to an interest-rate swap agreement to hedge against the potential impact on earnings from increases in market interest rates. The Company entered into three interest rate swap agreements during the first quarter of 2015 with notional amounts of $45,000,  $90,000 and $135,000 effective for the periods December 31, 2015 through March 29, 2018, March 29, 2018 through March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020 through June 30, 2021, respectively.  Under the interest rate swap agreement, effective as of December 31, 2015 the Company will either receive or make payments on a monthly basis based on the differential between 6.105% and London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 4.25% (with a LIBOR floor of (1.0%).  Under the interest rate swap agreement, effective as of March 29, 2018 the Company will either receive or make payments on a monthly basis based on the differential between 6.916% and LIBOR plus 4.25% (with a LIBOR floor of (1.0%).  Under the interest rate swap agreement effective as of March 31, 2020 the Company will either receive or make payments on a monthly basis based on the differential between 7.168% and LIBOR plus 4.25% (with a LIBOR floor of 1.0%).  The negative fair value of the interest rate swap, net of tax, of ($802) at March 31, 2015 is included in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” on the balance sheet. This fair value was determined using Level 2 inputs as defined in Accounting Standards Codification Topic (“ASC”) 820. Additionally, other comprehensive income includes the net income of the Company plus the Company’s adjustments for its defined benefit retirement plans based on the measurement date as of the Company’s year-end.  For further disclosure, refer to Note 14 to the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company’s business is seasonal and consequently its results of operations and financial condition vary from quarter-to-quarter.  Because of this seasonality, the Company’s results of operations for any quarter may not be indicative of results of operations that may be achieved for a subsequent quarter or the full year, and may not be similar to results of operations experienced in prior years. The Company attempts to manage the seasonal impact of snowfall on its revenues in part through its pre-season sales program. This pre-season sales program encourages the Company’s distributors to re-stock their inventory during the second and third quarters in anticipation of the peak fourth quarter retail sales period by offering favorable pre-season pricing and payment deferral until the fourth quarter. Thus, the Company tends to generate its greatest volume of sales during the second and third quarters. By contrast, its revenue and operating results tend to be lowest during the first quarter, as management believes the Company’s end-users prefer to wait until the beginning of a snow season to purchase new equipment and as the Company’s distributors sell off inventory and wait for the pre-season sales incentive period to re-stock inventory. Fourth quarter sales vary from year-to-year as they are primarily driven by the level, timing and location of snowfall during the quarter. This is because most of the Company’s fourth quarter sales and shipments consist of re-orders by distributors seeking to restock inventory to meet immediate customer needs caused by snowfall during the winter months.