FRIEDMAN INDUSTRIES INC Leases Disclosure
4. LEASES
The Company has an operating lease for the Granite City, IL facility with an expiration date of August 31, 2028 and optional renewal provisions for up to 4 renewal terms of years each. The lease calls for monthly rental payments that adjust on an annual basis. The monthly rental payment in place at March 31, 2025 and remaining in place until adjustment in September 2025 is approximately $13,000 per month. The anticipated execution of renewal options for this lease is included in the ROU asset and lease liability calculation. The Company has an operating lease for administrative office space in The Woodlands, TX with an expiration date of February 28, 2029 and a renewal option for one additional 60 month term. The lease calls for monthly rental payments that adjust on an annual basis. The monthly rental payment in place at March 31, 2025 and remaining in place until adjustment in March 2026 is approximately $12,000 per month. The Company’s lease of its office space in Longview, Texas is the only other operating lease included in the Company's ROU assets and lease liabilities. This lease expires on April 30, 2027 and calls for monthly rental payments of approximately $5,000. The Company’s other operating leases for items such as IT equipment and storage space are either short-term in nature or immaterial.
In October 2019, the Company received a new heavy-duty forklift under a 5-year finance lease arrangement with a financed amount of approximately $0.5 million and a monthly payment of approximately $9,000. The last payment under this lease was made in October 2024.
The components of expense related to leases were as follows for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):
| Fiscal 2025 | Fiscal 2024 | |||||||
| Finance lease – amortization of ROU asset | $ | 54 | $ | 106 | ||||
| Finance lease – interest on lease liability | — | 3 | ||||||
| Operating lease expense | 384 | 234 | ||||||
| $ | 438 | $ | 343 | |||||
The following table illustrates the balance sheet classification for ROU assets and lease liabilities as of March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):
| March 31, 2025 | March 31, 2024 | Balance Sheet Classification | |||||||
| Assets | |||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use asset | $ | 2,841 | $ | 2,841 | Operating lease right-of-use asset | ||||
| Finance lease right-of-use asset | 378 | 404 |
| ||||||
| Total right-of-use assets | $ | 3,219 | $ | 3,245 | |||||
| Liabilities | |||||||||
| Operating lease liability, current | $ | 160 | $ | 101 |
| ||||
| Finance lease liability, current | — | 54 | Current portion of finance lease | ||||||
| Operating lease liability, non-current | 2,752 | 2,782 |
| ||||||
| Total lease liabilities | $ | 2,912 | $ | 2,937 | |||||
As of March 31, 2025, the weighted-average remaining lease term was 19.3 years for operating leases. The weighted average discount rate was 7.5% for operating leases.
Maturities of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2025 were as follows (in thousands):
| Operating | Finance | |||||||
| Leases | Leases | |||||||
| Fiscal 2026 | 363 | — | ||||||
| Fiscal 2027 | 371 | — | ||||||
| Fiscal 2028 | 324 | — | ||||||
| Fiscal 2029 | 303 | — | ||||||
| Fiscal 2030 and beyond | 4,740 | — | ||||||
| Total undiscounted lease payments | $ | 6,101 | $ | — | ||||
| Less: imputed interest | (3,189 | ) | — | |||||
| Present value of lease liability | $ | 2,912 | $ | — | ||||
About Leases Disclosures
Lease disclosures under ASC 842 provide a comprehensive view of a company's leased asset portfolio, including the split between operating and finance leases, discount rates used to present-value future payments, and the maturity schedule of lease obligations. This section reveals a significant source of off-balance-sheet commitments that were largely hidden before the current standard.
Key signals: the weighted-average discount rate affects the size of recorded lease liabilities — a higher rate reduces the reported obligation, so compare the chosen rate against the company's incremental borrowing rate. The operating versus finance lease mix affects both EBITDA and operating income presentation. Watch the maturity table for concentration risk: large payment cliffs in specific years may create cash flow pressure. Variable lease payments excluded from the liability measurement represent real obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet. Compare total lease costs against prior-year operating lease expense to assess the true economic burden.