Interpreting and Applying Disclosures on Property and Equipment

Following are selected disclosures from the Evett and Sternard Company (a specialty chemical company) 2007 10-K.

Land, Building and Equipment, Net(in millions)20072006Land$ 146$ 142Buildings and improvements2,0001,900Machinery and equipment6,2005,800Capitalized interest352340Construction in progress271218Land, Building and Equipment, Gross8,9698,400Less: Accumulated depreciation5,9085,481Total$ 3,061$ 2,919

The principal lives (in years) used in determining depreciation rates of various assets are: buildings and improvement (10-50); machinery and equipment (5-20); automobiles, trucks and tank cars (3-10); furniture and fixtures, laboratory equipment and other assets (5-10); capitalized software (5-7). The principal life used in determining the depreciation rate for leasehold improvements is the years remaining in the lease term or the useful life (in years) of the asset, whichever is shorter.

IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS

Long-lived assets, other than investments, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, are depreciated over their estimated useful lives, and are reviewed for impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. Such circumstances would include items such as a significant decrease in the market price of a long-lived asset, a significant adverse change in the manner the asset is being used or planned to be used or in its physical condition or a history of operating or cash flow losses associated with the use of the asset ... When such events or changes occur, we assess the recoverability of the asset by comparing the carrying value of the asset to the expected future cash flows associated with the asset's planned future use and eventual disposition of the asset, if applicable ... We utilize marketplace assumptions to calculate the discounted cash flows used in determining the asset's fair value ... For the year ended December 31, 2007, we recognized approximately $24 million of fixed asset impairment charges.

(a) Compute the PPE (land, buildings and equipment) turnover for 2007 (Sales in 2007 are $8,897 million). (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Answer

(b) Evett and Sternard reported depreciation expense of $412 million in 2007. Estimate the useful life, on average, for its depreciable PPE assets. (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Answer

years

(c) By what percentage are Evett and Sternard's assets "used up" at year-end 2007? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Answer

%