What is Altair Nanotechnologies Intangible Assets?
Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. Altair Nanotechnologies's intangible assets for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2016 was $25.56 Mil.
Altair Nanotechnologies Intangible Assets Historical Data
The historical data trend for Altair Nanotechnologies's Intangible Assets can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. Examples of intangible assets include trade secrets, copyrights, patents, trademarks. If a company acquires assets at the prices above the book value, it may carry goodwill on its balance sheet. Goodwill reflects the difference between the price the company paid and the book value of the assets.
If a company (company A) received a patent through their own work, though it has value, it does not show up on its balance sheet as an intangible asset. However, if company A sells this patent to company B, it will show up on company B's balance sheet as an intangible asset.
The same applies to brand names, trade secrets etc. For instance, Coca-Cola's brand is extremely valuable, but the brand does not appear on its balance sheet, because the brand was never acquired.
Some intangibles are amortized. Amortization is the depreciation of intangible assets.
Many intangibles are not amortized. They may still be written down when the company decides the asset is impaired.
Whenever you see an increase in goodwill over a number of years, you can assume it's because the company is out buying other businesses above book value. GOOD if buying businesses with durable competitive advantage.
If goodwill stays the same, the company when acquiring other companies is either paying less than book value or not acquiring. Businesses with moats never sell for less than book value.
Intangibles acquired are on balance sheet at fair value.
Internally developed brand names (Coke, Wrigleys, Band-Aid) however are not reflected on the balance sheet.
One of the reasons competitive advantage power can remain hidden for so long.
Be Aware
Companies may change the way intangible assets are amortized, and this will affect their reported earnings.
Altair Nanotechnologies Intangible Assets Related Terms
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Altair Nanotechnologies (Altair Nanotechnologies) Business Description
Altair Nanotechnologies Inc was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada in April 1973. The Company develops, manufactures and sells nano lithium titanate batteries and energy storage systems. Its nano lithium titanate battery systems offer higher power density, longer cycle life, rapid charge and discharge capabilities, operating temperature range and higher levels of safety than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The Company targets applications that effectively utilize the key attributes of its technology. It operates in two major business segments: Power and Energy Group, and All Other operations. The Power and Energy Group develops, produces, and sells battery systems. The All Others group consists of the remaining portions of the previous Life Sciences and Performance Materials groups. Its target market is electric grid, which design, manufacture and sell grid-scale battery systems, which provide ancillary services including frequency regulation. The Company currently is working with multiple vehicle manufacturers and suppliers regarding their hybrid and electric vehicle efforts. In 2012, it focused on the launch of its newest energy storage system, the ALTI-ESS Advantage. First, the company focused its product development on the launch of newest electric grid product, the 2 megawatt ALTI-ESS Advantage, which increased system specification from 1 megawatt to 2 megawatts, while reducing the containerized power modules footprint from 53 feet to 40 feet. Second, it focused on the manufacture of five grid-scale energy storage systems for four customers, who included the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), Vestas, TSK Solar and a U.S. utility company based on the East Coast. The Company has developed, and continues to develop, through its primary materials science research, a lithium-ion battery chemistry using nanotechnologies to create materials offering unique electrochemistry properties for rechargeable batteries. It manufactures cells, modules, packs and turn-key energy storage systems for its target customers, including 24V, 36V, and 48V industrial and transportation systems, a configurable industrial PowerRack system, and large-scale systems for the electric grid. The Company uses compounds of lithium and of titanium to manufacture its nano lithium titanate. It has a total of 12 U.S. and 42 foreign patents. A number of energy storage and power electronic component producers have entered into the frequency regulation market which include include ABB, A123 Systems., BYD, GS Yuasa, LG Chem, Mitsubishi, Parker Hannifin, Saft and XtremePower. Its products typically compete with existing methods for providing frequency regulation and renewables integration rather than competing battery manufacturers. Its current and proposed activities are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations concerning machine and chemical safety and environmental protection.
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