8.          Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Changes in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets during the year ended December 31, 2021 consist of the following activity:

 
 
December 31, 2020
   
Amortization
   
Impairment
   
December 31, 2021
   
Weighted
average useful
life (in years)
 
Goodwill
 
$
7,260
   
$
-
   
$
-
   
$
7,260
     
-
 
 
                                       
Intangible assets subject to amortization
                                       
Customer relationships - UltraMIST
 
$
3,603
   
$
(546
)
 
$
-
   
$
3,057
     
2.9
 
Patent
   
2,263
     
(121
)
   
-
     
2,142
     
6.4
 
Trade names
   
679
     
(37
)
   
-
     
642
     
1.9
 
Other intangible assets
 
$
6,545
   
$
(704
)
 
$
-
   
$
5,841
     
3.8
 

Future amortization expense is expected to be the following:

Year ending December 31,
 
Amortization
 
2022
   
704
 
2023
   
704
 
2024
   
704
 
2025
   
704
 
2026
   
704
 
Thereafter
   
2,321
 
 
 
$
5,841
 

Impairment – During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company determined that the intangible asset for customer relationships related to the biological products was impaired due to significant shortfalls in sales of the products during that period compared with the sales projections used to determine the fair value the intangible asset as of the August 6, 2020 acquisition date. The Company does not expect sales of biological products to sufficiently recover. The estimated fair value of the customer relationships at the acquisition date and at December 31, 2020 were determined using the multi-period excess earnings method. At December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a $7.2 million impairment charge for this intangible asset in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2021May 13, 2022Showing above
2020Oct 21, 2021
2017Mar 29, 2018
2015Mar 30, 2016

About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures

Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.

Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.