Enroll in our online course The Accountant to learn more

What are Restructuring Costs?

A company will report restructuring costs when it incurs one-time or infrequent expenses in the process of reorganizing its operations to improve the long-term profitability and efficiency of its company.

Restructuring costs are reported as non-operating charges and aren’t expected to recur in the future. Although they are non-recurring costs, they still are reported in the income statement and used to calculate the net income. Often analysts will ‘normalize’ or ‘clean’ earning of restructuring costs to give a better understanding of the long-term profitability of the firm.

Common Restructuring Costs

  • Mergers and acquisitions with companies.
  • Selling a subsidiary or downsizing.
  • Moving assets to a new location.
  • Laying off employees.

Example

Company A. has decided to make the following changes to its operations:

Install a new inventory system

$30,000.0
Move its trucks to a bigger depot

$10,000.0
Retrenchment packages for 10 employees

$100,000.0
Merge with a competitor

$1,000,000.0

The total cost Company A would report in the income statement as Restructuring Costs would be $1,140,000.0 (1,000,000.0 + 100,000.0 + 10,000.0 + 30,000.0)

Although companies might need to pay out restructuring costs over time, the whole amount should be expensed as soon as reasonably probable. When a company reports the restructuring costs, it will expense them and create a liability until the cash is paid out.

Restructuring example: Company A
Total restructuring cost 1,140.0
Paid out over 3 years
Year 1 Assets L&E
RE – restructuring expense

(1,140.0)
Restructuring provision (liability)

1,140.0
 

Cash

(380.0)

 Restructuring provision (liability)

(380.0)
Year 2 Cash

(380.0)

 Restructuring provision (liability)

(380.0)
Year 3 Cash

(380.0)

 Restructuring provision (liability)

(380.0)

The Accountant Online

Points To Note

  • Amounts are shown in thousands.
  • Company A has raised a restructuring provision, which it plans to pay over 3 years.
  • Annual payments are $380,000.0 ($1,1400,00.0 / 3 years).
  • The balance on the Restructuring provision at Year 1 after payment is $760,000.0 ($1,140,000 – $380,000.0).
  • The balance on the Restructuring provision at Year 2 after payment is $380,000.0 ($760,000.0 – $380,000.0).
  • The balance on the Restructuring provision at Year 3 after payment is $0 ($380,000.0 – $380,000.0).
  • Often companies will present ‘cleaned’ or ‘normalized’ earnings to help investors understand the long-term profitability of the company..

Kellogg Inc.

Below, Kellogg Inc. is reporting $0.42 cents per share, but adjusted for non-recurring items it’s suggesting its recurring EPS is $0.91 cents per share. The detail below is taken from Kellogg’s 8-K filing at the SEC. Companies usually present this type of analysis in the press release related to earnings announcements.

Kellogg Company – Extract from 8-K

Kellogg’s disclosure and explanation of the non-recurring items:

Kellogg Company – Extract from 8-K

Enroll in our online course The Accountant to learn more