UNITED STATES

 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

Form 10‑Q

☒	Quarterly report under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For The Quarterly Period Ended December 31, 2015

Commission File No. 0‑9115

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

(Exact Name of registrant as specified in its charter)

NOT APPLICABLE

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    

As of December 31, 2015, shares of common stock outstanding were:

Class A Common Stock 33,016,114 shares

PART I ‑ FINANCIAL INFORMATION

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited)

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Unaudited)

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

December 31, 2015

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 1.   Nature of Operations

Matthews International Corporation ("Matthews" or the "Company"), founded in 1850 and incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1902, is a global provider of brand solutions, memorialization products and industrial automation solutions.   Brand solutions include brand development, deployment and delivery (consisting of brand management, printing plates and cylinders, pre-media services and imaging services for consumer packaged goods and retail customers, merchandising display systems, and marketing and design services).  Memorialization products consist primarily of bronze and granite memorials and other memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment primarily for the cemetery and funeral home industries.  Industrial automation solutions include marking and coding equipment and consumables, industrial automation products and order fulfillment systems for identifying, tracking, picking and conveying consumer and industrial products.

The Company has production and marketing facilities in the United States, Central and South America, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Note 2.   Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information for commercial and industrial companies and the instructions to Form 10‑Q and Rule 10‑01 of Regulation S‑X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. The year-end consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three months ended December 31, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended September 30, 2015.  The consolidated financial statements include all domestic and foreign subsidiaries in which the Company maintains an ownership interest and has operating control.  All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles 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.

New Accounting Pronouncement:

Issued and Adopted

In November 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued new guidance intended to simplify the presentation of deferred income taxes in a classified statement of financial position.  The new deferred income tax guidance requires that all deferred income tax balances be classified as non-current assets and liabilities on the classified statement of financial position.  The Company has chosen to early-adopt this standard for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, and retrospectively adjust the prior period presentation to conform to the new standard.  The adjustment totaled $19,753 in current deferred tax assets and $340 in current deferred tax liabilities being reclassified as non-current deferred tax assets and liabilities, respectively, in the September 30, 2015 Consolidated Balance Sheet.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 2.   Basis of Presentation (continued)

Reclassification and Revision:

Amounts presented for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 have been revised to reflect additional expense related to a theft of funds by an employee that had occurred over a multi-year period.

The following table reconciles the effect of the adjustments to the previously reported Consolidated Statement of Income for the three month period ended December 31, 2014:

The following table reconciles the effect of the adjustments to the previously reported Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the three month period ended December 31, 2014:

There was no impact to the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income or the Consolidated Statement of Shareholders' Equity for the three months ended December 31, 2014 other than the impact on Net Income.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 3.   Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A three level fair value hierarchy is used to prioritize the inputs used in valuations, as defined below:

The fair values of the Company's assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis are categorized as follows:

Note 4.   Inventories

Inventories consisted of the following:

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 5.   Debt

The Company has a domestic Revolving Credit Facility with a syndicate of financial institutions.  The maximum amount of borrowings available under the facility is $900,000 and borrowings under the facility bear interest at LIBOR plus a factor ranging from .75% to 2.00% (1.75% at December 31, 2015) based on the Company's leverage ratio.  The leverage ratio is defined as net indebtedness divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).  The Company is required to pay an annual commitment fee ranging from .15% to .25% (based on the Company's leverage ratio) of the unused portion of the facility.

The Revolving Credit Facility requires the Company to maintain certain leverage and interest coverage ratios.  A portion of the facility (not to exceed $30,000) is available for the issuance of trade and standby letters of credit. Outstanding borrowings on the Revolving Credit Facility at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015 were $872,425 and $857,425, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was 2.31% and 2.51%, respectively.

The Company has entered into the following interest rate swaps:

The Company enters into interest rate swaps in order to achieve a mix of fixed and variable rate debt that it deems appropriate. The interest rate swaps have been designated as cash flow hedges of the future variable interest payments under the Revolving Credit Facility, which are considered probable of occurring.  Based on the Company's assessment, all of the critical terms of each of the hedges matched the underlying terms of the hedged debt and related forecasted interest payments, and as such, these hedges were considered highly effective.

The fair value of the interest rate swaps reflected an unrealized loss, net of unrealized gains, of $1,092 ($666 after tax) at December 31, 2015 and an unrealized loss, net of unrealized gains, of $3,686 ($2,248 after tax) at September 30, 2015. The net unrealized gain and loss are included in shareholders' equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI").  Assuming market rates remain constant with the rates at December 31, 2015, a loss (net of tax) of approximately $240 included in AOCI is expected to be recognized in earnings over the next twelve months.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 5.  Debt (continued)

At December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, the interest rate swap contracts were reflected in the consolidated balance sheets as follows:

The loss recognized on derivatives was as follows:

The Company recognized the following gains or losses in AOCI:

The Company, through certain of its European subsidiaries, has a credit facility with a European bank.  The maximum amount of borrowings available under this facility is 35.0 million Euros ($38,171).  Outstanding borrowings under the credit facility totaled 20.9 million Euros ($22,810) and 23.9 million Euros ($26,829) at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under this facility at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was 1.50% and 1.27%, respectively.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 5.  Debt (continued)

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Saueressig GmbH & Co. KG ("Saueressig"), has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings under these loans totaled 965,452 Euros ($1,053) and 734,452 Euros ($824) at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Saueressig at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was 4.00% and 4.24%, respectively.

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Wetzel GmbH ("Wetzel"), has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these loans totaled 1.5 million Euros ($1,597) and 1.9 million Euros ($2,110) at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Wetzel at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was 6.12% and 5.74%, respectively.

The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Matthews International S.p.A., has several loans with various Italian banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these loans totaled 3.5 million Euros ($3,780) and 4.3 million Euros ($4,772) at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.  Matthews International S.p.A. also has three lines of credit totaling 11.3 million Euros ($12,356) with the same Italian banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these lines were 5.7 million Euros ($6,192) and 4.6 million Euros ($5,166) at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding Matthews International S.p.A. borrowings at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was 3.33% and 3.18%, respectively.

In September 2014, a claim seeking to draw upon a letter of credit issued by the Company of $12,925 was filed with respect to a project for a customer.  In January 2015, the Company made payment on the draw to the financial institution for the letter of credit.  Pursuant to an action initiated by the Company, a court order has been issued requiring these funds to ultimately be remitted to the court pending resolution of the dispute between the parties.  While it is possible the resolution of this matter could be unfavorable to the Company, management has assessed the customer's claim to be without merit and, based on information available as of this filing, expects that the ultimate resolution of this matter will not have a material adverse effect on Matthews' financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.  As of December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, the Company has presented the funded letter of credit as restricted cash on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

As of December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015 the fair value of the Company's long-term debt, including current maturities, approximated the carrying value included in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Note 6.   Share-Based Payments

The Company maintains an equity incentive plan (the "2012 Equity Incentive Plan") that provides for grants of stock options, restricted shares, stock-based performance units and certain other types of stock-based awards.  The Company also maintains an equity incentive plan (the "2007 Equity Incentive Plan") and a stock incentive plan (the "1992 Incentive Stock Plan") that previously provided for grants of stock options, restricted shares and certain other types of stock-based awards.  Under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, which has a ten-year term, the maximum number of shares available for grants or awards is an aggregate of 2,500,000.  There will be no further grants under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan or the 1992 Incentive Stock Plan.  At December 31, 2015, there were 1,050,058 shares reserved for future issuance under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan. All plans are administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 6.   Share-Based Payments (continued)

The option price for each stock option granted under any of the plans may not be less than the fair market value of the Company's Class A Common Stock on the date of grant.  Outstanding stock options are generally exercisable in one-third increments upon the attainment of pre-defined levels of appreciation in the market value of the Company's Class A Common Stock.  In addition, options generally vest in one-third increments after three, four and five years, respectively, from the grant date (but, in any event, not until the attainment of the market value thresholds).  The options expire on the earlier of ten years from the date of grant, upon employment termination, or within specified time limits following voluntary employment termination (with the consent of the Company), retirement or death.  The Company generally settles employee stock option exercises with treasury shares.

With respect to outstanding restricted share grants, for grants made prior to fiscal 2013, generally one-half of the shares vest on the third anniversary of the grant, with the remaining one-half of the shares vesting in one-third increments upon attainment of pre-defined levels of appreciation in the market value of the Company's Class A Common Stock.  For grants made in and after fiscal 2013, generally one-half of the shares vest on the third anniversary of the grant, one-quarter of the shares vest in one-third increments upon the attainment of pre-defined levels of adjusted earnings per share, and the remaining one-quarter of the shares vest in one-third increments upon attainment of pre-defined levels of appreciation in the market value of the Company's Class A Common Stock.  Additionally, restricted shares cannot vest until the first anniversary of the grant date.  Unvested restricted shares generally expire on the earlier of five years from the date of grant, upon employment termination, or within specified time limits following voluntary employment termination (with the consent of the Company), retirement or death.  The Company issues restricted shares from treasury shares.

For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, total stock-based compensation cost totaled $2,526 and $2,525, respectively.  The associated future income tax benefit recognized was $985 for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the amount of cash received from the exercise of stock options was $1,798 and $3,727, respectively.  In connection with these exercises, the tax benefits realized by the Company for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $283 and $315, respectively.

The transactions for restricted stock for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were as follows:

As of December 31, 2015, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock was $15,636 and is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.0 years.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 6.   Share-Based Payments (continued)

The transactions for shares under options for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 were as follows:

No options vested during the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  The intrinsic value of options (which is the amount by which the stock price exceeded the exercise price of the options on the date of exercise) exercised during the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 was $898 and $841, respectively.

The transactions for non-vested options for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 were as follows:

The fair value of each restricted stock grant is estimated on the date of grant using a binomial lattice valuation model.  The following table indicates the assumptions used in estimating fair value of restricted stock granted during the periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

The risk-free interest rate is based on United States Treasury yields at the date of grant. The dividend yield is based on the most recent dividend payment and average stock price over the 12 months prior to the grant date.  Expected volatilities are based on the historical volatility of the Company's stock price.  The expected term for grants in the years ended September 30, 2015, 2014 and 2013 represents an estimate of the average period of time for restricted shares to vest.  The option characteristics for each grant are considered separately for valuation purposes.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 6.   Share-Based Payments (continued)

The Company maintains the 1994 Director Fee Plan and the 2014 Director Fee Plan (collectively, the "Director Fee Plans").  There will be no further fees or share-based awards granted under the 1994 Director Fee Plan.  Under the 2014 Director Fee Plan, non-employee directors (except for the Chairman of the Board) each receive, as an annual retainer fee for fiscal 2016, either cash or shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock with a value equal to $75.  The annual retainer fee for fiscal 2016 paid to a non-employee Chairman of the Board is $175.  Where the annual retainer fee is provided in shares, each director may elect to be paid these shares on a current basis or have such shares credited to a deferred stock account as phantom stock, with such shares to be paid to the director subsequent to leaving the Board.  The value of deferred shares is recorded in other liabilities.  A total of 17,005 shares had been deferred under the Director Fee Plans at December 31, 2015.  Additionally, non-employee directors each receive an annual stock-based grant (non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights and/or restricted shares) with a value of $110 for fiscal 2016.  A total of 22,300 stock options have been granted under the Director Fee Plans.  At December 31, 2015, there were no options outstanding.  Additionally, 136,568 shares of restricted stock have been granted under the Director Fee Plans, 33,418 of which were issued under the 2014 Director Fee Plan and are unvested at December 31, 2015.  A total of 150,000 shares have been authorized to be issued under the 2014 Director Fee Plan.

Note 7.   Earnings Per Share Attributable to Matthews Shareholders

The information used to compute earnings per share attributable to Matthews' common shareholders was as follows:

There were no anti-dilutive securities for the three months ended December 31, 2015 or 2014.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 8.   Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

The Company provides defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans to certain employees. Net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit cost for the plans included the following:

Benefit payments under the Company's principal retirement plan are made from plan assets, while benefit payments under the postretirement benefit plan are made from the Company's operating funds.  Under IRS regulations, the Company is not required to make any significant contributions to its principal retirement plan in fiscal year 2016.

Contributions made and anticipated for fiscal year 2016 are as follows:

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 9.   Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The change in AOCI by component, net of tax, for the three month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:

(a)	Amounts were included in net periodic benefit cost for pension and other postretirement benefit plans (see note 8).

(b)	Amounts were included in interest expense in the periods the hedged item affected earnings (see note 5).

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 9.   Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (continued)

Reclassifications out of AOCI for the three month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:

(a)	Amounts are included in the computation of pension and other postretirement benefit expense, which is reported in both cost of goods sold and selling and administrative expenses.  For additional information, see Note 8.

(b)	For pre-tax items, positive amounts represent income and negative amounts represent expense.

Note 10.   Income Taxes

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 10.   Income Taxes (continued)

Note 11.   Segment Information

The Company manages its businesses under three segments: SGK Brand Solutions, Memorialization and Industrial.  The SGK Brand Solutions segment includes brand development, deployment and delivery (consisting of brand management, printing plates and cylinders, pre-media services and imaging services for consumer packaged goods and retail customers, merchandising display systems, and marketing and design services). The Memorialization segment consists primarily of bronze and granite memorials and other memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment primarily for the cemetery and funeral home industries. The Industrial segment includes marking and coding equipment and consumables, industrial automation products and order fulfillment systems for identifying, tracking, picking and conveying consumer and industrial products.  Management evaluates segment performance based on operating profit (before income taxes) and does not allocate non-operating items such as investment income, interest expense, other income (deductions), net and noncontrolling interest.

Information about the Company's segments follows:

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited), Continued

(Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Note 12.   Acquisitions

On August 19, 2015, the Company acquired Aurora Products Group, LLC ("Aurora") for $211,604 (net of cash acquired), subject to a working capital adjustment.  Aurora provides burial, cremation, and technology products to funeral home clients and distributors in the United States and Canada.  The acquisition is designed to expand the Company's memorialization product offerings and geographic distribution footprint in the United States. The preliminary purchase price allocation related to the Aurora acquisition is not finalized as of December 31, 2015, and is based upon a preliminary valuation which is subject to change as the Company obtains additional information, including with respect to fixed assets, intangible assets, certain liabilities and related taxes.

Note 13.   Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

A summary of the carrying amount of goodwill attributable to each segment as well as the changes in such amounts are as follows:

The Company performed its annual impairment review in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 and has determined that estimated fair value for all reporting units exceeded carrying value, therefore no adjustments to the carrying value of goodwill were necessary.

The following tables summarize the carrying amounts and related accumulated amortization for intangible assets as of December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, respectively.