| G | | Impairment of non-financial assets |
Long-lived assets including identifiable intangible assets are reviewed for impairment at the lowest level for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash generating units, or CGU). Most of the Company’s principal subsidiaries that constitute a CGU have a single main production facility and, accordingly, each of such subsidiary represents the lowest level of asset aggregation that generates largely independent cash inflows.
Assets that are subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount
may
not
be recoverable. Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives, including goodwill, are subject to at least an annual impairment test.
In assessing whether there is any indication that a CGU
may
be impaired, external and internal sources of information are analyzed. Material facts and circumstances specifically considered in the analysis usually include the discount rate used in Tenaris’s cash flow projections and the business condition in terms of competitive and economic factors, such as the cost of raw materials, oil and gas prices, capital expenditure programs for Tenaris’s customers and the evolution of the rig count.
An impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher between the asset’s value in use and fair value less costs of disposal. Any impairment loss is allocated to reduce the carrying amount of the assets of the CGU in the following order:
| (a) | | first, to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the CGU; and |
| (b) | | then, to the other assets of the unit (group of units) pro-rata on the basis of the carrying amount of each asset in the unit (group of units), considering not to reduce the carrying amount of the asset below the highest of its fair value less cost of disposal, its value in use or zero. |
The value in use of each CGU is determined on the basis of the present value of net future cash flows which would be generated by such CGU. Tenaris uses cash flow projections for a
five
year period with a terminal value calculated based on perpetuity and appropriate discount rates.
For purposes of calculating the fair value less costs of disposal, Tenaris uses the estimated value of future cash flows that a market participant could generate from the corresponding CGU.
Management judgment is required to estimate discounted future cash flows. Actual cash flows and values could vary significantly from the forecasted future cash flows and related values derived using discounting techniques.
Non-financial assets other than goodwill that suffered an impairment are reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date.
