Balance Sheet: Assets

The balance sheet provides creditors, investors, and analysts with information on company resources (assets) and its sources of capital (its equity and liabilities). It normally also provides information about the future earnings capacity of a company assets as well as an indication of cash flows that may come from receivables and inventories.

Assets are resources controlled by the company as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., consolidated balance sheet: assets

US$ in thousands

	Sep 30, 2020	Sep 30, 2019	Sep 30, 2018	Sep 30, 2017	Sep 30, 2016	Sep 30, 2015
Cash and cash items	5,253,000)	2,248,700)	2,791,300)	3,273,600)	1,501,300)	206,400)
Short-term investments	1,104,900)	166,000)	184,700)	404,000)	—)	—)
Trade receivables, net	1,274,800)	1,260,200)	1,207,200)	1,174,000)	1,439,900)	1,406,200)
Inventories	404,800)	388,300)	396,100)	335,400)	619,900)	657,800)
Prepaid expenses	164,500)	77,400)	129,600)	191,400)	99,600)	67,300)
Contract assets	55,900)	64,300)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Contract fulfillment costs	109,900)	64,500)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Deferred tax assets	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)	117,200)
Derivative instruments	97,500)	142,500)	61,100)	93,900)	170,900)	72,900)
Current lease receivables	86,700)	90,900)	92,100)	93,300)	88,200)	84,200)
Contracts in progress, less progress billings	—)	—)	77,500)	84,800)	81,600)	110,800)
Prepaid inventory	—)	—)	—)	—)	92,800)	—)
Other	132,900)	115,500)	142,600)	216,100)	203,700)	188,000)
Other receivables and current assets	482,900)	477,700)	373,300)	488,100)	637,200)	573,100)
Current assets of discontinued operations	—)	—)	—)	10,200)	19,400)	—)
Current assets	8,684,900)	4,618,300)	5,082,200)	5,876,700)	4,317,300)	2,910,800)
Investment in net assets of and advances to equity affiliates	1,432,200)	1,276,200)	1,277,200)	1,286,900)	1,288,100)	1,265,700)
Plant and equipment, net	11,964,700)	10,337,600)	9,923,700)	8,440,200)	8,852,700)	9,636,900)
Goodwill, net	891,500)	797,100)	788,900)	721,500)	1,150,200)	1,131,300)
Intangible assets, net	435,800)	419,500)	438,500)	368,300)	488,000)	508,300)
Noncurrent lease receivables	816,300)	890,000)	1,013,300)	1,131,800)	1,221,700)	1,350,200)
Operating lease right-of-use assets	376,800)	—)	—)	—)	—)	—)
Deferred tax assets	115,100)	115,200)	121,400)	174,500)	192,700)	69,000)
Derivative instruments	45,800)	81,700)	85,000)	133,900)	204,400)	246,000)
Noncurrent customer receivable	—)	118,000)	92,400)	62,600)	—)	—)
Prepaid tax	19,300)	17,000)	13,200)	5,100)	53,500)	31,300)
Pension benefits	26,500)	28,700)	131,700)	18,400)	—)	—)
Long-term deposits on plant and equipment	100,000)	—)	—)	34,800)	36,500)	40,100)
Other	259,600)	243,500)	210,800)	212,500)	250,200)	248,500)
Other noncurrent assets	943,100)	604,100)	654,500)	641,800)	737,300)	634,900)
Noncurrent assets	16,483,600)	14,324,500)	14,096,100)	12,590,500)	13,738,000)	14,527,300)
Total assets	25,168,500)	18,942,800)	19,178,300)	18,467,200)	18,055,300)	17,438,100)

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2020-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2016-09-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2015-09-30).

The analysis of the annual financial data reveals several key trends and patterns concerning the asset composition and changes over the examined periods.

Cash and Cash Items: Cash and cash equivalents showed a generally increasing trend, rising significantly from 206.4 million in 2015 to 5.253 billion in 2020, with notable jumps between 2015-2016 and again from 2019 to 2020.
Short-term Investments: Short-term investments appeared first in 2017 with 404 million and experienced fluctuations thereafter, declining in 2018 and 2019 but rising sharply again to over 1.1 billion in 2020.
Trade Receivables, Net: Trade receivables exhibited a slight decline after 2016 but remained relatively stable from 2017 to 2020, fluctuating around 1.17 to 1.27 billion.
Inventories: Inventories showed a marked decline between 2015 and 2017, dropping from about 657.8 million to 335.4 million, followed by a moderate recovery and stabilization around 390-405 million through 2018 to 2020.
Prepaid Expenses and Contract Assets: Prepaid expenses increased substantially in 2017 to 191.4 million from 99.6 million in 2016, then decreased and fluctuated moderately. Contract assets appeared only in 2019 and 2020, with slight decreases between those years.
Contract Fulfillment Costs: Introduced in 2019 at 64.5 million, these costs rose significantly to 109.9 million in 2020, indicating increased activity or investment in ongoing contracts.
Deferred Tax Assets and Derivative Instruments (Current): Deferred tax assets were reported only in 2015, absent thereafter in the current assets section. Current derivative instruments fluctuated, peaking notably in 2019 at 142.5 million, a substantial increase from previous years, before declining in 2020.
Current Lease Receivables: These remained relatively stable throughout the period, hovering around 86 to 93 million with a slight downward trend towards 2020.
Contracts in Progress: This item declined between 2015 and 2018, decreasing from 110.8 million to 77.5 million, with no data reported for subsequent years.
Other Current Assets: Other receivables and current assets exhibited a downward trend from 2016 through 2018, then increased moderately in 2019 and 2020, suggesting fluctuating operational working capital requirements.
Total Current Assets: Current assets increased substantially from 2.91 billion in 2015 to 8.68 billion in 2020, with a peak in 2017, indicating growth in liquidity and short-term asset management over time.
Investment in Equity Affiliates: Investment in equity affiliates remained relatively stable around 1.27 billion until 2019, with a noticeable increase to 1.43 billion in 2020, signaling either new investments or reinvestment.
Plant and Equipment, Net: After a decline between 2015 and 2017, plant and equipment assets increased sharply in 2018 and continued to rise through 2020, reaching nearly 12 billion, suggesting significant capital expenditure or asset acquisitions.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets: Goodwill showed a considerable reduction in 2017, dropping from above 1.1 billion to about 721.5 million, before gradually increasing to 891.5 million in 2020. Intangible assets generally declined from 2015 to 2017, then stabilized and slightly increased towards 2020.
Noncurrent Lease Receivables and Right-of-Use Assets: Noncurrent lease receivables consistently decreased each year, falling from about 1.35 billion in 2015 to 816 million in 2020. The operating lease right-of-use assets appeared only in 2020 with 376.8 million, indicating adoption of new leasing standards or reclassification.
Deferred Tax Assets (Noncurrent): Noncurrent deferred tax assets grew sharply from 69 million in 2015 to 192.7 million in 2016, then declined gradually to about 115 million by 2020.
Noncurrent Derivative Instruments: These experienced a steady decline in value from 246 million in 2015 to 45.8 million in 2020, reflecting reduced use or value of noncurrent derivative positions.
Noncurrent Customer Receivables and Prepaid Tax: Noncurrent customer receivables emerged in 2017 and increased through 2019 before ceasing to be reported in 2020. Prepaid tax increased modestly over the period with some fluctuations, reaching 19.3 million in 2020.
Pension Benefits and Long-term Deposits: Pension benefits appeared from 2017 onwards, peaking at 131.7 million in 2018 before declining in subsequent years. Long-term deposits on plant and equipment were fairly stable until 2017, then reported only in 2020 with a substantial increase to 100 million.
Other Noncurrent Assets: These assets fluctuated but showed an overall upward trend, with an increase from 634.9 million in 2015 to 943.1 million in 2020, suggesting growing long-term non-core asset holdings.
Total Noncurrent Assets: Total noncurrent assets decreased slightly from 14.53 billion in 2015 to 12.59 billion in 2017 but then increased steadily to 16.48 billion in 2020, driven largely by increases in plant and equipment and other long-term assets.
Total Assets: Total assets reflected a steady increase over the period, growing from 17.44 billion in 2015 to 25.17 billion in 2020, with minor fluctuations in 2018 and 2019. The growth was particularly pronounced in the last reported year, largely due to increases in current assets and plant and equipment.

Assets: Selected Items

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Current Assets: Selected Items

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Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Balance Sheet: Assets

Assets: Selected Items

Current Assets: Selected Items