Item 1A. Risk Factors
In the ordinary course of our business, we face various strategic, operating, compliance and financial risks. These risks could have a material impact on our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations. Our most significant risks are set forth below and elsewhere in this Report. These risk factors should be considered in addition to our cautionary comments concerning forward-looking statements in this Report, including statements related to markets for our products and trends in our business that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
RISKS RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Our financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by public health issues, including epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic subjected our business, operations, financial performance, cash flows and financial condition to a number of risks. We have faced increased operational challenges and costs from the need to protect employee health and safety, workplace disruptions and restrictions on the movement of people, raw materials and goods, both at our own facilities and at our customers and suppliers. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create challenges for the global economy, and the ultimate impacts and significance of these challenges to our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows will depend greatly on the future course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic drove changes in our customers’ priorities and practices, as our customers in both the United States and globally confront competing budget priorities and more limited resources. To the extent that COVID-19 continues to impact demand for our products and solutions or impairs the viability of some of our customers, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected, and those impacts could be material.
The magnitude and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and the world’s response continue to be uncertain. To the extent the pandemic continues to adversely affect portions of our business and our overall operating and financial results, it may also adversely affect our operating and financial results in a manner that is not presently known to us or that we currently do not expect to present significant risks to our operations or financial results. The extent of the pandemic’s effect on our business will depend on future developments, including the duration, spread and intensity of the pandemic and the successful distribution, acceptance, and efficacy of vaccines for COVID-19, all of which are uncertain and difficult to predict.
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OPERATIONAL RISKS
Our global sales and operations are subject to a variety of economic, market and financial risks and costs that could affect our profitability and operating results.
We do business around the world and are continuing our strategy of enhancing our global optimization. Our international sales are primarily to customers in Europe, Canada and Asia-Pacific. In addition, our manufacturing operations, suppliers and employees are located in many places around the world. The future success of our business includes growth in our sales in non-U.S. markets. Our global operations are subject to numerous financial, legal and operating risks, such as political and economic instability; imposition of trade or foreign exchange restrictions, including in the U.S.; trade protection measures such as the imposition of or increase in tariffs and other trade barriers, including in the U.S.; unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, including in the U.S., prevalence of corruption in certain countries; enforcement of contract and intellectual property rights and compliance with existing and future laws, regulations and policies, including those related to tariffs, investments, taxation, trade controls, product content and performance, employment and repatriation of earnings. In addition, we are affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates, inflation rates and interest rates.
Our growth could suffer if the markets into which we sell our products and solutions decline.
Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and solutions, which would adversely affect our financial results. We operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns. Demand for our products and solutions is also sensitive to changes in customer order patterns, which may be affected by announced price changes, changes in incentive programs, new product introductions and customer inventory levels. Any of these factors could adversely affect our growth and results of operations in any given period.
We could experience a failure of a key information technology system, process or site or a breach of information security, including a cybersecurity breach or failure of one or more key information technology systems, networks, processes, associated sites or service providers.
We rely extensively on information technology (“IT”) systems for the storage, processing, and transmission of our electronic, business-related information assets used in or necessary to conduct business. We leverage our internal information technology infrastructures, and those of our business partners, to enable, sustain, and support our global business activities. In addition, we rely on networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. The data we store, and process may include customer payment information, personal information concerning our employees, confidential financial information, and other types of sensitive business-related information. Numerous and evolving cybersecurity threats pose potential risks to the security of our IT systems, networks and services, as well as the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our technology systems and data. In addition, the laws and regulations governing security of data on IT systems is evolving and adding another layer of complexity in the form of new requirements. In the past, we have had cybersecurity incidents and we have made, and continue to make investments, seeking to address these threats, including monitoring of networks and systems, hiring of experts to evaluate and test our systems, employee training and security policies for employees and third-party providers.
The frequency and the techniques used in these attacks has increased significantly and may be difficult to detect for periods of time and we may face difficulties in anticipating and implementing adequate preventative measures. While the breaches of our IT systems to date have not been material to our business or results of operations, the costs of attempting to protect our IT systems and data will increase, and there can be no assurance that these added security efforts will prevent all breaches of our IT systems or thefts of our data. If our IT systems are damaged or cease to function properly, the networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly, or we or one of our third-party providers suffer a loss or disclosure of our business or stakeholder information due to any number of causes ranging from catastrophic events or power outages to improper data handling or security breaches (including ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, a malicious website, the use of social engineering and other means to affect the confidentiality, integrity and
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availability of our technology systems and data) and our business continuity plans do not effectively address these failures on a timely basis, we may be exposed to potential disruption in operations, loss of customers, reputational, competitive and business harm as well as significant costs from remediation, ransom payments, litigation and regulatory actions.
We are also subject to an increasing number of evolving data privacy and security laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in the imposition of fines, penalties and other costs. The European Union (“EU”) and United Kingdom’s General Data Protection Regulations and the EU’s pending ePrivacy Regulation could disrupt our ability to sell products and solutions or use and transfer data because such activities may not be in compliance with applicable laws. Additionally, cybersecurity incidents related to export control technology information of our Aerospace & Defense customers could subject us to additional reporting requirements, could disrupt our ability to sell products to those customers and could subject us to additional costs, penalties, and fines all of which may be material to our operating results.
The Board of Directors and Audit Committee are responsible for information security oversight and the Audit Committee is comprised entirely of independent directors. Additionally, two members of the Company’s Board of Directors have relevant information security and cybersecurity experience. As part of their oversight, senior leadership meets with the Audit Committee at least annually to discuss information security and cybersecurity matters.
Over the last three years, the Company has experienced one known information security breach, in connection with a ransomware incident that occurred in June 2021. Costs incurred related to the information security breach did not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020. However, as cybersecurity incidents continue to increase in scope, complexity, and frequency, we may be unable to prevent a significant incident in the future which may materially impact our results of operations. The Company regularly undertakes audits and evaluations (including to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-171 standards) and enhances its security framework based upon the results of those audits and evaluations. For new associates, and on an annual basis therefore the Company requires associates to take security awareness training and has an on-going phishing recognition training and testing programs.
We rely on suppliers to provide equipment, components and services, which creates certain risks and uncertainties that may adversely affect our business.
Our business requires that we buy equipment, components and services from third parties. Our reliance on suppliers involves certain risks, including poor quality or an insecure supply chain, which could adversely affect the reliability and reputation of our products and solutions; changes in the cost of these purchases due to inflation, exchange rates, tariffs, or other factors; shortages of components, commodities or other materials, which could adversely affect our manufacturing efficiencies and ability to make timely delivery.
Any of these uncertainties could adversely affect our profitability and ability to compete. The effect of unavailability or delivery delays would be more severe if associated with our higher volume and more profitable products and solutions. Even where substitute sources of supply are available, qualifying the alternate suppliers and establishing reliable supplies could cost more or could result in delays and a loss of sales.
Certain materials and components used in our products and solutions are required and qualified to be sourced from a single or a limited number of suppliers. As such, some materials and components could become in short supply resulting in limited availability and/or increased costs. Additionally, we may elect to develop relationships with a single or limited number of suppliers for materials and components that are otherwise generally available, because some customers require extensive certification of suppliers which is a considerable and time consuming undertaking. Although we believe that alternative suppliers are available to supply materials and components to replace those currently used, doing so may require redesign work and would require having those new sources qualified by our customers prior to making use of those new alternatives. Any interruption in the supply from any supplier that serves as a sole source could delay product shipments and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Our profits may decline if the price of raw materials rise and we cannot recover the increases from our customers.
We use various raw materials, such as copper, steel, zinc and rare earth magnets, in our manufacturing operations. The prices of these raw materials have been subject to volatility. As a result of price increases, we have generally implemented price surcharges to our customers; however, we may be unable to collect surcharges without suffering reductions in unit volume, revenue and operating income. There can be no assurance that we will be able to fully recover the price increases through surcharges in a timely manner. We are also subject to risks associated with U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations relating to imports, including quotas, duties, tariffs or taxes, and other charges or restrictions on imports, which could adversely affect our operations and our ability to import products at current or increased levels. We cannot predict whether additional U.S. and foreign customs quotas, duties, tariffs, taxes or other charges or restrictions, requirements as to where raw materials must be purchased, or other restrictions on our imports will be imposed upon the importation of our products and solutions in the future or adversely modified, or what effect such actions would have on our costs of operations.
We face competition that could harm our business and we may be unable to compete successfully against new entrants and established companies with greater resources.
Competition in connection with the manufacturing of our products and solutions may intensify in the future. The market for our technologies is competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We compete globally on the basis of product performance, customer service, availability, reliability, productivity and price. Our competitors may be larger and may have greater financial, operational, economies of scale, personnel, sales, technical and marketing resources than us. Certain of our competitors also may pursue aggressive pricing or product strategies that may cause us to reduce the prices we charge for our original equipment and aftermarket products and services or lose sales. These actions may lead to reduced revenues, lower margins and/or a decline in market share, any of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Quality problems with our products and solutions could harm our reputation, erode our competitive advantage and could result in warranty claims and additional costs.
Quality is important to us and our customers, and our products and solutions are held to high quality and performance standards. In the event our products and solutions fail to meet these standards, our reputation could be harmed, which could damage our competitive advantage, causing us to lose customers and resulting in lower revenues. We generally allow customers to return defective or damaged products for credit, replacement, repair or exchange. We generally warrant that our products and solutions will meet customer specifications and will be free from defects in materials and workmanship. We reserve for our exposure to warranty claims based upon recent historical experience and other specific information as it becomes available. However, these reserves may not be adequate to cover future warranty claims and additional warranty costs or inventory write-offs may be incurred which could harm our operating results.
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, our ability to operate and grow our company will be in jeopardy.
We are required to hire and retain skilled employees at all levels of our operations in a market where such qualified employees are in high demand and are subject to receiving competing offers. We believe that there is, and will continue to be, competition for qualified personnel in our industry, and there is no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain the personnel necessary for the management and development of our business. The inability to attract or retain employees currently or in the future may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our future success depends in part on the continued service of our engineering and technical personnel and our ability to identify, hire and retain personnel.
Our success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering and technical employees. There is currently aggressive competition for employees who have experience in technology and engineering. We may not be able to continue to attract and retain engineers or other qualified technical personnel
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necessary for the development and growth of our business or to replace personnel who may leave our employ in the future. The failure to retain and recruit key engineering and technical personnel could cause additional expense, potentially reduce the efficiency of our operations and could harm our business.
We depend heavily upon a limited number of customers, and if we lose any of them or they reduce their business with us, we would lose a substantial portion of our revenues.
A significant portion of our revenues and trade receivables are concentrated with a small group of customers. These customers have a variety of suppliers to choose from and therefore can make substantial demands on us, including demands on product pricing and on contractual terms, often resulting in the allocation of risk to us as the supplier. Our ability to maintain strong relationships with our principal customers is essential to our future performance. If we lose a key customer, if any of our key customers reduce their orders of our products and solutions or require us to reduce our prices before we are able to reduce costs, if a customer is acquired by one of our competitors or if a key customer suffers financial hardship, our operating results would likely be harmed as well as the collectability of accounts receivable.
If we do not respond to changes in technology, our products and solutions may become obsolete and we may experience a loss of customers and lower revenues.
We sell our products and solutions to customers in several industries that experience rapid technological changes, new product introductions and evolving industry standards. Without the timely introduction of new products and solutions, our offerings will likely become technologically obsolete over time and we may lose a significant number of our customers. Our product and solutions development efforts may be affected by a number of factors, including our ability to anticipate customer needs, allocate and process our research and development funding, innovate and develop new products, differentiate our offerings and commercialize new technologies, secure intellectual property protection for our products and manufacture products in a cost-effective manner. We would be harmed if we did not meet customer requirements and expectations. Our inability, for technological or other reasons, to successfully develop and introduce new and innovative products and solutions could result in a loss of customers and lower revenues.
We face the challenge of accurately aligning our capacity with our demand.
We have experienced capacity constraints and longer lead times for certain products and solutions in times of growing demand and have also experienced idle capacity as economies slow or demand for certain products decline. Accurately forecasting our expected volumes and appropriately adjusting our capacity have been, and will continue to be, important factors in determining our results of operations. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to increase manufacturing capacity to a level that meets demand for our products and solutions, which could prevent us from meeting increased customer demand and could harm our business. However, if we overestimate our demand and overbuild our capacity, we may have significantly underutilized assets and we may experience reduced margins. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities with demand it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The manufacture of many of our products and solutions is a highly exacting and complex process, and if we directly or indirectly encounter problems manufacturing products, our reputation, business and financial results could suffer.
The manufacture of many of our products and solutions is an exacting and complex process. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with raw materials, natural disasters and environmental factors, and if not discovered before the product is released to market could result in recalls and product liability exposure. Because of the time required to develop and maintain manufacturing facilities, an alternative manufacturer may not be available on a timely basis to replace such production capacity. We have also undertaken certain manufacturing footprint rationalization activities, which may include new challenges related to management and monitoring of the manufacturing of our products and solutions. Any of these manufacturing problems could result in significant costs and liability, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products.
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We face the potential harms of natural disasters, pandemics, acts of war, terrorism, international conflicts or other disruptions to our operations.
Natural disasters, pandemics, acts or threats of war or terrorism, international conflicts, political instability, and the actions taken by governments could cause damage to or disrupt our business operations, our suppliers or our customers, and could create economic instability. Although it is not possible to predict such events or their consequences, these events could decrease demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver products.
We face potential operational impacts associated with volatility in energy markets.
Volatility in the supply and cost for energy exists in the locations where we operate, particularly Europe and China. As Europe continues to face impacts from the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions between the European Union and Russia, there are concerns about the availability and costs related to providing resources to meet the energy needs of Europe. Should these energy needs not be met, there are risks that the European operations of the Company may experience uncertainties related to the availability and cost of such resources. At times, China has experienced energy shortages, and has, in the past, resorted to rolling blackouts. Although these blackouts have not materially impacted our operations, it remains a risk we may face in the future.
STRATEGIC RISKS
Our strong organic growth has been and will continue to be enhanced by strategic acquisitions that complement, enhance or expand our business. We may not be able to find or complete these transactions, and, if completed, we may experience operational and financial risks in connection with our acquisitions that prevent us from realizing the anticipated benefits and may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Acquisitions are part of our strategic growth plans. We may have difficulty finding these opportunities, or if we do identify these opportunities, we may not be able to complete the transactions for various reasons including a failure to secure financing.
As we complete acquisitions, we face the operational and financial risks commonly encountered with an acquisition strategy. These risks include the challenge of integrating acquired businesses while managing the ongoing operations of each business, the challenge of combining the business cultures of each company, and the need to retain key personnel of our existing business and the acquired business. The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of the acquired business and our existing business. Members of our senior management may be required to devote considerable amounts of time to the integration process, which will decrease the time they will have to manage our businesses, service existing customers, attract new customers and develop new products. If our senior management is not able to effectively manage the integration process, or if any significant business activities are interrupted as a result of the integration process, our business could be adversely affected.
The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies may not fully protect us and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities.
Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the company before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited, and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. We cannot assure that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our financial results.
We intend to develop new products and solutions and expand into new markets, which may not be successful and could harm our operating results.
We intend to expand into new markets and develop new and modified products and solutions based on our existing technologies and engineering capabilities, including the continued expansion of our controlled motion systems and
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integrated electronics. These efforts have required and will continue to require us to make substantial investments, including significant research, development and engineering expenditures and capital expenditures for new, expanded or improved manufacturing facilities. Specific risks in connection with expanding into new products, solutions, and markets include longer product development cycles, the inability to transfer our quality standards and technology into new products, and the failure of our customers to accept the new or modified products and solutions.
We may experience difficulties that could delay or prevent the successful development of new products or product enhancements under new and existing contracts, and new products and solutions or product enhancements may not be accepted by our customers. In addition, the development expenses we incur may exceed our cost estimates, and new products we develop may not generate sales sufficient to offset our costs. If any of these events occur, our sales and profits could be adversely affected.
Our competitiveness depends on successfully executing our growth initiatives and our global optimization strategies.
We continue to invest in initiatives to support future growth, such as the creation of a more effective corporate structure, implementation of our enterprise resource planning system, launch of a new integrated website, implementation of a structured approach to identify target markets, and the expansion of our AST (continuous improvement initiatives in quality, delivery, and cost). The failure to achieve our objectives on these initiatives could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Our global optimization strategy includes localization of our products, solutions, and services to be closer to our customers and identified growth opportunities. Localization of our products and services includes expanding our capabilities, including supply chain and sourcing activities, product design, manufacturing, engineering, marketing and sales and support. These activities expose us to risks, including those related to political and economic uncertainties, transportation delays, labor market disruptions and challenges to protect our intellectual property.
FINANCIAL RISKS
Foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our financial results.
Sales and purchases in currencies other than the U.S. dollar expose us to fluctuations in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and may adversely affect our financial results. Increased strength of the U.S. dollar increases the effective price of our products sold in U.S. dollars into other countries, which may require us to lower our prices or adversely affect sales to the extent we do not increase local currency prices. Decreased strength of the U.S. dollar could adversely affect the cost of materials, products and services we purchase from non-U.S. denominated locations. Sales and expenses of our non-U.S. businesses are also translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes and the strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar could result in unfavorable translation effects. The Company also faces exchange rate risk from its investments in subsidiaries owned and operated in foreign countries.
Economic and credit market uncertainty could interrupt our access to capital markets, borrowings, or financial transactions to hedge certain risks, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
To date, we have been able to access debt and equity financing that has allowed us to make investments in growth opportunities and fund working capital requirements. In addition, we enter into financial transactions to hedge certain risks, including foreign exchange and interest rate risk. Our continued access to capital markets, the stability of our lenders and their willingness to support our needs, and the stability of the parties to our financial transactions that hedge risks are essential for us to meet our current and long-term obligations, fund operations, and fund our strategic initiatives. An interruption in our access to external financing or financial transactions to hedge risk could affect our business prospects and financial condition.
Our indebtedness may limit our operations and our use of our cash flow, and any failure to comply with the covenants that apply to our indebtedness could adversely affect our liquidity and financial results.
Our ability to service our indebtedness depends on our financial performance, which is affected by prevailing economic
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conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors. Some of these factors are beyond our control. Our debt level and related debt service obligations can have negative consequences, including requiring us to dedicate significant cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, which reduces the funds we have available for other purposes such as acquisitions and capital investment; reducing our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and market conditions; and exposing us to interest rate risk since a portion of our debt obligations are at variable rates. In addition, certain of our indebtedness will have significant outstanding principal balances on their maturity dates, commonly known as balloon payments. Therefore, we will likely need to refinance at least a portion of our outstanding debt as it matures. We may incur more debt in the future, particularly to finance acquisitions, and there can be no assurance that our cost of funding will not substantially increase.
Our existing credit agreements contain, and any future debt agreements we may enter into may contain, certain financial tests and other covenants that limit our ability to incur indebtedness, pay dividends, acquire other businesses and impose various other restrictions. If we breach any of the covenants and do not obtain a waiver from the lenders, the outstanding indebtedness could be declared immediately due and payable. If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital in the future, we may have to curtail our capital expenditures and other expenses. Any such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
In addition, certain of our variable rate debt uses Term Standard Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as a benchmark for establishing the interest rate, a portion of which is hedged with London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”) based interest rate derivatives. LIBOR has been the subject of proposals for reform, and is currently scheduled to be discontinued on June 30, 2023. The Company expects to amend LIBOR-based interest rate derivative agreements by negotiating new SOFR-based agreements. The discontinuation of LIBOR is not expected to materially impact our interest rate exposure.
Unforeseen exposure to additional income tax liabilities may negatively affect our operating results.
Our distribution of taxable income is subject to domestic tax and, as a result of our significant manufacturing and sales presence in foreign countries, foreign tax. Our effective tax rate may be affected by shifts in our mix of earnings in countries with varying statutory tax rates, changes in reinvested foreign earnings, alterations to tax rates, regulations or interpretations and outcomes of any audits performed on previous tax returns.
Our operating results could fluctuate significantly.
Our quarterly and annual operating results are affected by a wide variety of factors that could materially adversely affect revenues and profitability, including: the timing of customer orders and the deferral or cancellation of orders previously received, the level of orders received which can be shipped in a quarter, fulfilling backlog on a timely basis, competitive pressures on selling prices, changes in the mix of products sold, the unavailability or delays in the receipt of critical inventories, the timing of investments in engineering and development, development of and response to new technologies, and delays in new product qualifications.
As a result of the foregoing and other factors, we may experience material fluctuations in future operating results on a quarterly or annual basis which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and stock price.
We may never realize the full value of our substantial intangible assets.
These intangible assets consist primarily of goodwill, customer lists, trade names and technology arising from our acquisitions. Goodwill is not amortized; it is tested at least annually or upon the occurrence of certain events which indicate that the assets may be impaired. Definite lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives and are tested for impairment upon the occurrence of certain events which indicate that the assets may be impaired. We may not receive the recorded value for our intangible assets if we sell or liquidate our business or assets. In addition, intangible assets with definite lives will continue to be amortized. Amortization expenses relating to these intangible assets will continue to reduce our future earnings.
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Increased healthcare, pension and other costs under the Company’s benefit plans could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.
We provide health benefits to many of our employees and the costs to provide such benefits continue to increase annually. The amount of any increase or decrease in the cost of Company-sponsored health plans will depend on a number of different factors including new governmental regulations mandating types of coverage and reporting and other requirements.
We also sponsor defined benefit pension, defined contribution pension, and other postretirement benefit plans. Our costs to provide such benefits generally continue to increase annually. We use actuarial valuations to determine the Company’s benefit obligations for certain benefit plans, which require the use of significant estimates, including the discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, mortality rates and the rates of increase in compensation and health care costs. Changes to these significant estimates could increase the cost of these plans, which could also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.
Failure of our internal controls over financial reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or prevent fraud.
We believe that effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable financial reports and to assist in the effective prevention of fraud. If we are unable to detect or correct any issues in the design or operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting or fail to prevent fraud, current and potential customers and shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could harm our business and the trading price of our stock.
Our operating results depend in part on our ability to contain or reduce costs. There is substantial price competition in our industry and upward pressure on material and labor costs. Our success and profitability will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive cost and price structure.
Our efforts to maintain and improve profitability depend in part on our ability to maintain or reduce the costs of materials, components, supplies and labor, including establishing production capabilities at our low cost regional subcontractors. While the failure of any single cost containment effort by itself would most likely not significantly impact our results, we cannot give any assurances that we will be successful in controlling material and labor costs to maintain a competitive cost structure.
There is substantial price competition in our industry, and our success and profitability will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive cost and price structure. We may have to reduce prices in the future to remain competitive. Also, our future profitability will depend in part upon our ability to continue to improve our manufacturing efficiencies and maintain a cost structure that will enable us to offer competitive prices in the face of upward pressure on material and labor costs. Our inability to maintain a competitive cost structure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
LEGAL AND REGULATORY RISKS
Our international operations expose us to legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material effect on our business.
Our profitability and international operations are, and will continue to be, subject to risks relating to changes in foreign legal and regulatory requirements. In addition, our international operations are governed by various U.S. laws and regulations, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act and other foreign anti-bribery laws. The FCPA generally prohibits companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Other countries in which we operate also have anti-bribery laws, some of which prohibit improper payments to government and non-government persons and entities. Any alleged or actual violations of these regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, severe criminal or civil sanctions and other liabilities and could negatively affect our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.
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We are required to comply with various import laws and export control and economic sanctions laws, which may affect our transactions with certain customers, business partners and other persons and dealings between our employees and subsidiaries. In certain circumstances, export control and economic sanctions regulations or embargos may prohibit the export of certain products, services and technologies. In other circumstances, we may be required to obtain an export license before exporting the controlled item. Compliance with the various import laws that apply to our businesses can restrict our access to, and increase the cost of obtaining, certain products and at times can interrupt our supply of imported inventory. In addition to government regulations regarding sale and export, we are subject to other regulations regarding our products. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted disclosure rules for companies that use conflict minerals in their products, with substantial supply chain verification requirements in the event that the materials come from, or could have come from, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjoining countries. These rules and verification requirements impose additional costs on us and on our suppliers, and may limit the sources or increase the cost of materials used in our products. Further, if we are unable to certify that our products are conflict free, we may face challenges with our customers that could place us at a competitive disadvantage, and our reputation may be harmed.
Our inability to adequately enforce and protect our intellectual property or defend against assertions of infringement could prevent or restrict our ability to compete.
We rely on patents, trademarks and proprietary knowledge and technology, both internally developed and acquired, in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Our inability to defend against the unauthorized use of these rights and assets could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Litigation may be necessary to protect our intellectual property rights or defend against claims of infringement. This litigation could result in significant costs and divert our management’s focus away from operations.
We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings in the course of our business that could adversely affect our financial results.
We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings incidental to our business, including claims for damages arising out of the use of products or services and claims relating to intellectual property, employment, tax, commercial disputes, competition, sales and trading practices, environmental, personal injury, insurance coverage, acquisition, as well as regulatory investigations or enforcement. We may also become subject to lawsuits as a result of past or future acquisitions including liabilities retained from, or representations, warranties or indemnities provided in connection with these acquisitions. These lawsuits may include claims for compensatory damages, punitive and consequential damages and/or injunctive relief. The defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits and we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to equitable remedies that could adversely affect our operations and financial results. Moreover, any insurance or indemnification rights that we may have may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against such losses. We estimate loss contingencies and establish reserves based on our assessment where liability is deemed probable and reasonably estimable given the facts and circumstances known to us at a particular point in time. Subsequent developments may affect our assessment and estimates of the loss contingencies recorded as liabilities. We cannot guarantee that our liabilities in connection with litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial results and reputation.
Our business is subject to environmental regulations that could negatively affect our operating results.
Our worldwide operations are subject to environmental laws and regulations that impose various environmental controls on the manufacturing, transportation, storage, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals and other materials used in, and hazardous waste produced by the manufacturing of our products. Conditions relating to our historical operations may require expenditures for clean-up in the future and changes in environmental laws and regulations may impose costly compliance requirements on us or otherwise subject us to future liabilities. Additional or modified regulations relating to the manufacture, transportation, storage, use and disposal of materials used to manufacture our products or restricting disposal or transportation of our products may be imposed that may result in higher costs or lower operating results. In addition, we cannot predict the affect that additional or modified environmental regulations may have on us or our customers.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Properties.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company occupies facilities as follows:
Approximate
Square Owned
Description / Use Location Footage Or Leased
Corporate headquarters Amherst, New York 6,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Amherst, New York 6,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Arvada, Colorado 15,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Bellevue, Washington 30,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Camarillo, California 14,500 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Changzhou, China 40,000 Leased
Office Christchurch, New Zealand 27,000 Leased
Office Dayton, Ohio 29,000 Owned
Office and manufacturing facility Dayton, Ohio 25,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Dordrecht, The Netherlands 32,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Dothan, Alabama 88,000 Owned
Office Ferndown, Great Britain 1,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Germantown, Wisconsin 99,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facilities Kelheim, Germany 154,000 Leased
Office Kidderminster, Great Britain 6,200 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility London, Ontario, Canada 48,500 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Mrakov, Czech Republic 42,000 Leased
Office Oakville, Ontario, Canada 3,500 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Owosso, Michigan 85,000 Owned
Office and manufacturing facility Porto, Portugal 53,000 Owned
Office and manufacturing facility Reynosa, Mexico 50,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Rochester, New York 15,000 Leased
Office Roseville, Michigan 5,300 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Somersworth, New Hampshire 15,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Stockholm, Sweden 25,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Suzhou, China 41,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Tulsa, Oklahoma 172,000 Leased
Office and manufacturing facility Watertown, New York 107,000 Owned
The Company’s management believes the above-described facilities are adequate to meet the Company’s current and foreseeable needs. Operating leases for the Company’s properties expire at various times through 2033. Upon the expiration of the Company’s current leases, management believes that the Company will be able to secure renewal terms or enter into leases for alterative locations at market terms.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
The Company is involved in certain actions that have arisen out of the ordinary course of business. Management believes that resolution of the actions will not have a significant adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Allied Motion’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market System and trades under the symbol AMOT. The number of holders of record as reported by the Company’s transfer agent of the Company’s common stock as of the close of business on March 7, 2023 was 226.
Dividends
During 2022 and 2021, we declared regular quarterly cash dividends on our common stock. We paid $0.025 in each quarter of 2022. We paid $0.02 in the first quarter of 2021 and $0.025 per quarter for the remainder of 2021. While it is our current intention to pay regular quarterly cash dividends, any decision to pay future cash dividends will be made by our Board and will depend on our earnings, financial condition and other factors.
Performance Graph
The following performance graph and tables reflect the five year change in the Company’s cumulative total stockholder return on Common Stock as compared with the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Stock Market Index and the S&P Electrical Components and Equipment Index for a $100 investment made on December 31, 2017, including reinvestment of any dividends.
The above performance graph is a transitional graph as the Company transitions from the S&P Electrical Components & Equipment index to a Peer Group which includes the following stocks: LSI Industries, Moog, Inc., Onto Innovation, Preformed Line, Proto Labs, Inc., Helios Tech Inc., Thermon Group, Altra Industrial Motion, Astronics Corporation, Aeroenvironment, Columbus McKinnon, Franklin Electric, and Novanta, Inc. The Company believes this Peer Group is a closer representation of our industries and market capitalization.
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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Total Number of Shares Maximum Number of Shares
(1) As permitted under the Company’s equity compensation plan, these shares were withheld by the Company to satisfy tax withholding obligations for employees in connection with the vesting of stock. Shares withheld for tax withholding obligations do not affect the total number of shares available for repurchase under any approved common stock repurchase plan. At December 31, 2022, the Company did not have an authorized stock repurchase plan in place.
Item 6. [Reserved]
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Amounts presented in Item 7 are in thousands, except per share data.
Overview
We are a global company that designs, manufactures, and sells precision and specialty-controlled motion products and solutions used in a broad range of industries. Our target markets include Industrial, Vehicle, Medical, and Aerospace & Defense (A&D). We are headquartered in Amherst, NY, and have operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. We are known worldwide for our expertise in electro-magnetic, mechanical, and electronic motion technology. We sell component and integrated controlled motion solutions to end customers and OEMs through our own direct sales force and authorized manufacturers’ representatives and distributors. Our products include nano precision positioning systems, servo control systems, motion controllers, digital servo amplifiers and drives, brushless servo, torque, and coreless motors, brush motors, integrated motor-drives, gear motors, gearing, incremental and absolute optical encoders, active (electronic) and passive (magnetic) filters for power quality and harmonic issues, Industrial safety rated input/output Modules, Universal Industrial Communications Gateways, light-weighting technologies, and other controlled motion-related products.
Financial Overview
Highlights for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, include:
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We remain focused on executing our strategy for growth while streamlining the organization and emphasizing continuous improvement in quality, delivery, cost and innovation as we drive the One Allied approach and expand our value proposition for our customers. Solid strides continue to be made with our multi-product, fully integrated solutions that are leading to increased business. Also, we continue to build a pipeline of exciting market-based application opportunities. Sales cycles are long and the time from being selected for the solution development to full rate production can be longer, yet we believe we continue to build a scalable foundation which can deliver strong returns on those investments.
Our Strategy
Our growth strategy is focused on becoming a leading global controlled motion solution provider in our selected target markets by further developing our products and services platform to utilize multiple Allied Motion technologies which create increased value solutions for our customers. Our strategy further defines Allied Motion as being a “technology/know-how” driven company and to be successful, we continue to invest in our areas of excellence.
We have set growth targets for our Company and we will focus and align our resources to meet those targets. First and foremost, we invest in our people as we believe that attracting and retaining the right people is the most important element in our strategy. We will continue to invest significantly in applied and design engineering resources.
Our strategic focus is addressing the critical issues that we believe are necessary to meet the stated long-term goals and objectives of the Company. The majority of the critical issues are focused on growth and profitability initiatives for the Company.
One of these initiatives includes product line platform development to meet the emerging needs of our target markets. Our platform development emphasizes a combination of our technologies to create increased value solutions for our customers. The emphasis with new opportunities has evolved from being an individual component provider to becoming a solutions provider whereby the new opportunities utilizemultiple Allied Motion technologies in a system solution approach. We believe this approach will allow us to provide increased value to our customers and improved margins for our Company, and are demonstrated in our acquisitions completed in the second quarter of 2022 as well as the fourth quarter of 2021. Our strong financial condition, along with AST continuous improvement initiatives in quality, delivery, and cost allow us to have a positive outlook for the continued long-term growth of our Company.
Outlook for 2023
In recent years, we navigated a difficult environment related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while advancing our strategic priorities and delivering solid results. We experienced record orders in 2022, reflecting increases in our Vehicle and Industrial markets. This demand, combined with supply chain constraints, resulted in some inefficiencies and additional costs as our teams worked hard to support and meet customer demand and schedules.
While the economic outlook for 2023 remains uncertain and we expect continued upward pressure on material and labor costs, we believe we are in a strong operational, financial and reputational position. Our record level of backlog, diversified end market penetration and demonstrated agility position us well to perform across varied market trends and give us confidence that we can drive further efficiency, profitable growth and increased free cash flow while delivering long-term value for our shareholders.
In 2023, we will focus on leveraging our resources to expand our business in our selected target markets. In addition, we will continue to execute the ongoing critical issues as defined by our Board approved strategy.
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The critical issues from that strategy include:
Allied Motion is an applied technology/know-how motion company, and to grow, we will continue to invest in the technical resources to ensure we can move forward with our mantra to “create controlled motion solutions that change the game” and to meet the emerging needs of our customers in our served market segments. We anticipate that our investment in these key resources will continue to drive our growth now and in the future. We expect to continue the shift from being a component supplier to a more complete solutions provider, along with the application of AST, to drive cost reduction.
Our global production footprint provides us with the opportunity to be a value added supplier for global companies who require support around the world. We will continue to evaluate and find areas to leverage our current manufacturing and sales footprint to drive sales and improve efficiencies.
In addition to our strategy described above, time and resources have been spent during 2022 to further understand the ESG ecosystem and developments impacting stakeholder expectations and assess our performance. The Company has a number of initiatives focused on individual components of ESG, and, under the oversight of the Board of Directors is continuing to integrate ESG with our broader strategy and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). The strategy will include looking to further enhance the Company’s ability to meet ongoing and emerging challenges, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). We make estimates and assumptions in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates and judgments upon historical experience and other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in estimates or assumptions could result in a material adjustment to the consolidated financial statements.
We have identified several critical accounting estimates. An accounting estimate is considered critical if both: (a) the nature of the estimates or assumptions is material due to the levels of subjectivity and judgment involved, and (b) the impact of changes in the estimates and assumptions would have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements. This listing is not a comprehensive list of all of our accounting policies. For further information regarding the application of these and other accounting policies, See Note 1, Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the notes to consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this report for additional information.
The Company’s critical accounting policies and estimates include:
Revenue Recognition
The Company considers control of most products to transfer at a single point in time when control is transferred to the customer, generally when the products are shipped in accordance with an agreement and/or purchase order. Control is defined as the ability to direct the use of and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits of the product. The Company satisfies its performance obligations under a contract with a customer by transferring goods and services generally in exchange for monetary consideration from the customer. The Company considers the customer’s purchase order, and the Company’s corresponding sales order acknowledgment as the contract with the customer. In the normal course of business, the Company does not accept product returns unless the item is defective as manufactured. The Company establishes provisions for estimated returns and warranties. All contracts include a standard warranty clause to guarantee that the product complies with agreed specifications.
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Inventories
Inventories are measured on a first-in, first-out basis at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. Inventory costing requires complex calculations that include assumptions for overhead absorption, scrap, sample calculations, manufacturing yield estimates, costs to sell, and the determination of which costs may be capitalized. The valuation of inventory requires us to estimate obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality.
Historically, our inventory adjustment has been adequate to cover our losses. However, variations in methods or assumptions could have a material impact on our results. If our demand forecast for specific products is greater than actual demand and we fail to reduce manufacturing output accordingly, we could be required to record additional inventory write-downs or expense a greater amount of overhead costs, which would negatively impact our net income. As of December 31, 2022, we have $117,108 of inventory recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, representing approximately 20% of total assets. A 1% write-down of our inventory would decrease our 2022 net income by approximately $860, or $0.05 per diluted share.
Evaluation of Goodwill for impairment
We test the reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment as of October 31st of each fiscal year and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that may indicate that the fair value of the reporting unit is below its carrying value. In conducting this annual impairment test, we may first perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value. If we determine that it is not more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, no further goodwill impairment testing is required. If it is more-likely-than-not that the reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value, or if we elect not to perform a qualitative assessment of a reporting unit, a quantitative analysis is performed, in which the fair value of the reporting unit is compared to its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized equal to the excess, limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.
We performed a qualitative assessment of our single reporting unit as of October 31, 2022. As part of this analysis, we evaluated factors including, but not limited to, our market capitalization and stock price performance, macro-economic conditions, market and industry conditions, cost factors, the competitive environment, and the operational stability and overall financial performance of our reporting unit. The assessment indicated that it was more-likely-than-not that the fair value of our reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount, and as such, a quantitative assessment was not performed.
We do not believe that our reporting unit is at risk for impairment. However, changes to the factors considered above could affect the estimated fair value of our reporting unit and could result in a goodwill impairment charge in a future period. As of December 31, 2022, we have $126,366 of goodwill recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, representing approximately 21% of total assets. A 1% write-down of our goodwill would decrease our 2022 net income approximately $924, or $0.06 per diluted share.
Business Combinations
The Company allocates the purchase price of an acquired company, including when applicable, the acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration between tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed from the acquired business based on their estimated fair values, with the residual of the purchase price recorded as goodwill. Third party appraisal firms and other consultants are engaged to assist management in determining the fair values of certain assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Estimating fair values requires significant judgments, estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to: discount rates, future cash flows and the economic lives of trade names, technology, customer relationships, and property, plant and equipment. These estimates are based on historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we completed three business combinations for an aggregate purchase price of $57,658. We identified and assigned value to identifiable intangible assets of customer lists, technology, and trade names, and estimated the useful lives over which these intangible assets would be amortized. The estimated fair values
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of these identifiable intangible assets were based upon discounted cash flow models, which include assumptions such as forecasted cash flows, customer attrition rates, discount rates, and royalty rates. The fair value estimates resulted in identifiable intangible assets, in the aggregate, of $28,611. The resulting goodwill, in the aggregate, from these three acquisitions was $21,556.
Stock-based Compensation
Compensation expense for time-based restricted stock units is measured at the grant date and recognized ratably over the vesting period. We determine the fair value of time-based and performance-based restricted stock units based on the closing market price of our common stock on the grant date. The recognition of compensation expense associated with performance-based restricted stock units requires judgment in assessing the probability of meeting the performance goals, as well as defined criteria for assessing achievement of the performance-related goals. For purposes of measuring compensation expense, the number of shares ultimately expected to vest is estimated at each reporting date based on management’s expectations regarding the relevant performance criteria. The performance shares begin vesting only upon the achievement of the performance criteria. The achievement of the performance goals can impact the valuation and associated expense of the restricted stock units.
The assumptions used in accounting for the share-based payment awards represent management’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if circumstances change and we use different assumptions, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.
Impact of Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In the normal course of business, we evaluate all new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) or other authoritative accounting bodies to determine the potential impact they may have on our consolidated financial statements. See Note 1, Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the notes to consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this report for additional information about these recently issued accounting standards and their potential impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
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Operating Results
The following discussion is a comparison between fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2021 results. For a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, please refer to Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 9, 2022.
Year 2022 compared to 2021
December 31, Variance
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data) 2022 2021 $ %
Gross margin percentage 31.3 % 30.0 %
Operating costs and expenses:
Other expense (income), net 283 (323) 606 NM %
Income tax (provision) benefit (6,292) 981 (7,273) NM %
Effective tax rate 26.6 % (4.2) %
Diluted earnings per share $ 1.09 $ 1.66 $ (0.57) (34) %
REVENUES: The increase in revenues in 2022 reflects improved sales in certain markets we serve, specifically Industrial and A&D. The increase reflects the economic recovery and the increases in demand from many of our served markets, as certain markets were negatively affected in the prior year period due to the economic environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sales for 2022 were comprised of 58% to U.S. customers and 42% to customers primarily in Europe, Canada and Asia-Pacific. The overall increase in revenue was due to a 30% volume increase partially offset by a 5% unfavorable currency impact. The acquisitions completed in 2021 and 2022 contributed an incremental $73,146 of revenues in 2022. See information included in “Non – GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and reconciliation of revenue to revenue excluding foreign currency impacts.
ORDER BOOKINGS AND BACKLOG: The 22% increase in orders in 2022 compared to 2021 is due to a 27% increase in volume partially offset by a 5% unfavorable currency impact. The increase in bookings during 2022 compared to 2021 is largely due to increases in our Industrial and A&D markets reflecting improvements in the general economy along with growth in our core businesses. The overall increase in orders was due to a 27% volume increase partially offset by a 6% unfavorable currency impact. The acquisitions completed in 2021 and 2022 contributed an incremental $120,529 of orders in 2022. The increase in backlog as of December 31, 2022, compared to December 31, 2021 includes incremental backlog of $21,222 from the three acquisitions that were completed during 2022.
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GROSS PROFIT AND GROSS MARGIN: Gross margins improved to 31.3% for 2022, compared to 30.0% for 2021. The increase in gross margin percentage was largely driven by volume increases of higher margin products in our Industrial and A&D markets compared to lower volumes of pandemic related Medical market products with lower margins, combined with pricing and margin accretive acquisitions. The margin expansion was muted by higher material and labor costs as well as costs associated with addressing the challenging global supply chain environment to meet the needs of our customers.
SELLING EXPENSES: Selling expenses increased 27% during 2022 compared to 2021 primarily due to increased costs in connection with our acquisitions as well as sales commissions related to the revenue growth. Selling expenses as a percentage of revenues were comparable at 4% during 2022 and 2021.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES: General and administrative expenses increased by 19% during 2022 compared to 2021 due primarily to increased costs in connection with our acquisitions. As a percentage of revenues, general and administrative expenses were 10% and 11% in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES: Engineering and development expenses increased by 39% in 2022 compared to 2021. The increase is primarily due to increased costs in connection with our acquisitions and the continued ramp up of development projects to meet the future needs of target markets, as well as supporting growing customer application development needs. As a percentage of revenues, engineering and development expenses were comparable at 8% and 7% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COSTS: The increase in business development costs in 2022 compared to 2021 is due to additional acquisition related costs due to increased merger and acquisition activity and costs related to manufacturing footprint rationalization.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS: Amortization of intangible assets increased 79% in 2022 compared to 2021, due to the inclusion of the full year of intangible asset amortization of the 2021 acquisitions and the incremental intangible asset amortization from the 2022 acquisitions.
INTEREST EXPENSE: Interest expense increased by 138% in 2022 compared to 2021 primarily due to higher debt levels in 2022 compared to 2021, largely relating to business acquisition activity, and, to a lesser extent, higher interest rates, offset in part by interest rate swaps.
INCOME TAXES: For 2022 and 2021, the effective income tax rate was 26.6% and (4.2)%, respectively. The effective rate differs from the statutory rate primarily due to state income taxes, the impact of foreign tax provisions in the US, the impact of the mix of foreign and domestic income and foreign tax rates, section 162(m) compensation limits, and the benefit of Research and Development tax credits. The effective tax rate for 2021 includes a tax benefit of 32.3% related to the recognition of net operating loss carryforwards primarily resulting from tax legislation enacted in New Zealand and 5.6% related to investment tax credits recorded in 2021. The effective rate for 2021 is partially offset by a 7.2% discrete tax provision related to a valuation allowance recorded on a foreign subsidiary’s deferred tax assets.
NET INCOME AND ADJUSTED NET INCOME: Net income decreased during 2022 compared to 2021, reflecting the impact of the effect of a $7,373 discrete income tax benefit in the first quarter of 2021. Operating income increased, reflecting increased revenues and higher gross margin, partially offset by an increase in operating expenses.
Adjusted net income for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $29,972 and $23,176, respectively. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for 2022 and 2021 were $1.88 and $1.60, respectively. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are non-GAAP measures. See information included in “Non–GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and reconciliation of net income to Adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share to Adjusted diluted earnings per share.
EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA: EBITDA was $56,859 for 2022 compared to $44,456 for 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was $65,549 and $49,937 for 2022 and 2021, respectively. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. EBITDA consists of income before interest expense, provision (benefit) for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes stock-based compensation expense, foreign currency gain/loss and
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certain other items. Refer to information included in “Non-GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.
Non-GAAP Measures
Revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share are provided for information purposes only and are not measures of financial performance under GAAP.
Management believes the presentation of these financial measures reflecting non-GAAP adjustments provides important supplemental information to investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating the operating results of the Company as distinct from results that include items that are not indicative of ongoing operating results. In particular, those charges and credits that are not directly related to operating unit performance, and that are not a helpful measure of the performance of our underlying business particularly in light of their unpredictable nature. These non-GAAP disclosures have limitations as analytical tools, should not be viewed as a substitute for revenue and net income determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP, nor is it necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. In addition, supplemental presentation should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by similar adjustments to net income determined in accordance with GAAP.
The Company believes that revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts is a useful measure in analyzing sales results. The Company excludes the effect of currency translation from revenue for this measure because currency translation is not under management’s control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends. The portion of revenue attributable to currency translation is calculated as the difference between the current period revenue and the current period revenue after applying foreign exchange rates from the prior period.
The Company believes EBITDA is often a useful measure of a Company’s operating performance and is a significant basis used by the Company’s management to measure the operating performance of the Company’s business because EBITDA excludes charges for depreciation, amortization and interest expense that have resulted from our debt financings, acquisitions, as well as our provision for income tax expense. EBITDA is frequently used as one of the bases for comparing businesses in the Company’s industry.
The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides helpful information about the operating performance of its business. Adjusted EBITDA excludes stock-based compensation expense, as well as business development costs, foreign currency gains/losses on short-term assets and liabilities, and other items that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income, net cash provided by operating activities or any other measure for determining operating performance or liquidity that is calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Management uses Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to assess the Company’s consolidated financial and operating performance. Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share are provided for informational purposes only and are not a measure of financial performance under GAAP. These measures help management make decisions that are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieving optimal financial performance. Adjusted net income provides management with a measure of financial performance of the Company based on operational factors as it removes the impact of certain non-routine items from the Company’s operating results. Adjusted diluted earnings per share provides management with an indication of how Adjusted net income would be reflected on a per share basis for comparison to the GAAP diluted earnings per share measure. Adjusted net income is a key metric used by senior management and the Company’s Board of Directors to review the consolidated financial performance of the business. This measure adjusts net income determined in accordance with GAAP to reflect changes in financial results associated with the highlighted expense and income items.
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The Company’s calculation of revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts for 2022 is as follows (in thousands):
For the year ended December 31,
Currency impact unfavorable (favorable) 22,263 (8,332)
Revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts $ 525,251 $ 395,184
The Company’s calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for 2022 and 2021 is as follows (in thousands):
Year ended
December 31,
Provision (benefit) for income tax 6,292 (981)
Stock-based compensation expense 5,073 4,161
Business development costs 3,319 1,299
Foreign currency loss 298 21
The Company’s calculation of Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share for years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows (in thousands, except per share data):
For the year ended
December 31,
Per diluted Per diluted
Non-GAAP adjustments, net of tax
Discrete income tax benefit — — (7,373) (0.51)
Income tax valuation allowance — — 506 0.04
Foreign currency loss - net 228 0.01 18 —
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company’s liquidity position as measured by cash and cash equivalents increased by $8,151 to a balance of $30,614 at December 31, 2022 from 2021.
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 5,596 $ 25,402 $ (19,806)
Net cash used in investing activities (60,011) (60,970) 959
Effect of foreign exchange rates on cash (1,039) (932) (107)
Of the $30,614 cash and cash equivalents on hand at December 31, 2022, $18,566 was located at our foreign subsidiaries and may be subject to withholding tax if repatriated to the U.S.
During 2022, the cash provided by operating activities decreased from 2021 due largely to increases in working capital, primarily inventory, due to strategic decisions to secure critical components given the supply chain environment.
The cash used in investing activities in 2022 remained consistent with 2021, as similar capital expenditures and acquisition-related cash outflows occurred in each year. The Company expects 2023 capital expenditures to be approximately $18,000 to $23,000.
The increase in cash provided by financing activities in 2022 from 2021 includes Amended Revolving Facility borrowings of $71,000 to fund business acquisition activity in the second quarter of 2022, as compared to the $50,500 to fund the three acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2021. Debt payments of $7,585 and $12,248 were made during 2022 and 2021, respectively. At December 31, 2022, the Company had $227,060 of obligations under the Amended Revolving Facility, excluding deferred financing costs.
The Amended Credit Agreement includes covenants and restrictions that limit the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments, create, incur or assume certain liens, merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all of its assets and enter into transactions with an affiliate of the Company on other than an arms’ length transaction. These covenants, which are described more fully in the Amended Credit Agreement, to which reference is made for a complete statement of the covenants, are subject to certain exceptions. The Amended Credit Agreement contains financial covenants that require that the Company maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio of at least 3.0 to 1.0 at the end of each fiscal quarter. In addition, the Company’s Leverage Ratio at the end of any fiscal quarter shall not be greater than 4.0 to 1.0 ratio (reduced to 3.5:1.0 for quarters ending on or after December 31, 2023); provided that the Company may elect to temporarily increase the Leverage Ratio by 0.5x during the twelve-month period following a material acquisition under the Amended Credit Agreement (“acquisition leverage increase”), subject to certain exceptions. The Company was in compliance with all covenants at December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, the unused Amended Revolving Facility was $52,940. The amount available to borrow may be lower and may vary from period to period based upon our debt and EBITDA levels, which impacts our covenant calculations. The Amended Credit Agreement matures in February 2025.
There were no borrowings under the China Facility during 2022 or 2021.
The Company declared dividends, in total, of $0.10 and $0.095 per share during 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company’s working capital, capital expenditure and dividend requirements are expected to be funded from cash provided by operations and amounts available under the Amended Credit Agreement (refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations, of the notes to consolidated financial statements for definition and terms).
Although there is ongoing uncertainty related to the continued impact of COVID-19 and variants on our future results, we believe our diverse markets, our strong market position in many of our businesses, and the steps we have taken to
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strengthen our balance sheet, such as retaining cash to support shorter term needs and amending our revolving credit facility in 2022 leaves us well-positioned to manage our business through the ongoing impacts of the pandemic as it continues to unfold. We continually assess our liquidity and cash positions and have assessed the impact of COVID-19 on our Company. Based on our analysis, we believe our existing balances of cash, the flexibility of our Amended Credit Agreement and our currently anticipated operating cash flows will be more than sufficient to meet our cash needs arising in the ordinary course of business for the next twelve months.
Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Foreign Currency
We have international operations in The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, China, Portugal, Canada, Czech Republic, Mexico, the United Kingdom and New Zealand which expose us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in Euros, Swedish Krona, Chinese Renminbi, Canadian dollar, Czech Krona, Mexican pesos, British Pound Sterling, and New Zealand dollar, respectively. We continuously evaluate our foreign currency risk and we take action from time to time in order to best mitigate these risks. A hypothetical 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to our most significant foreign currency exposures would have had an impact of approximately $17,514 on our 2022 sales. This amount is not indicative of the hypothetical net earnings impact due to partially offsetting impacts on cost of sales and operating expenses in those currencies. We estimate that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations decreased sales in 2022 compared to 2021 by approximately $22,263.
We translate all assets and liabilities of foreign operations, where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency, at the period-end exchange rate and translate sales and expenses at the average exchange rates in effect during the period. The net effect of these translation adjustments is recorded in the consolidated financial statements as comprehensive income. The translation adjustment were losses of $9,516 and $7,193 for 2022 and 2021, respectively. Translation adjustments are not adjusted for income taxes as they relate to permanent investments in our foreign subsidiaries. A hypothetical 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to our most significant foreign currency net assets would have had an impact of approximately $15,335 and $11,000 on our foreign net assets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, we began entering into contracts to hedge our short-term balance sheet exposure, primarily intercompany, that are denominated in currencies (Euro, Mexican Peso, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Chinese Renminbi, Swedish Krona) other than the subsidiary’s functional currency and are adjusted to current values using period-end exchange rates. The resulting gains or losses are recorded in other (income) expense, net in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. To minimize foreign currency exposure, the Company had foreign currency contracts with notional amounts of $18,981 and $13,500 at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The foreign currency contracts are recorded in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value and resulting gains or losses are recorded in other expense (income), net in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded losses of $1,109 and $170, respectively, which is included in other expense (income), net and generally offset the gains or losses from the foreign currency adjustments on the intercompany balances that are also included in other expense (income), net. Net foreign currency transaction gains and losses included in total other expense (income), net amounted to gains of $298 in 2022 and losses of $21 in 2021.
Interest Rates
Interest rates on our Amended Credit Agreement are based on Term SOFR plus a margin of 1.00% to 2.25% (1.75% at December 31, 2022), depending on the Company’s ratio of total funded indebtedness to consolidated EBITDA. We use interest rate derivatives to add stability to interest expense and to manage our exposure to interest rate movements. We primarily use interest rate swaps as part of our interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedges involve the receipt of variable amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount. In February 2017, the Company entered into three interest rate swaps with a combined notional amount of $40,000 that matured in February 2022. In March 2020, the Company entered into two additional interest rate swaps with a combined notional amount of $20,000 that increased to $60,000 in March 2022 and matures in December 2024. In March 2022 the Company entered into an additional interest rate swap with a notional amount of $40,000 that matures in December
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2026.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $227,060 outstanding under the Amended Revolving Facility (excluding deferred financing fees), of which $100,000 is currently being hedged. Refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations, of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information about our outstanding debt. A hypothetical one percentage point (100 basis points) change in the Base Rate on the $127,060 of unhedged floating rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2022 would have an impact of approximately $1,271 on our interest expense for 2022. A hypothetical one percentage point (100 basis points) change in the Base Rate on the $99,395 of unhedged floating rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2021 would have an impact of approximately $994 on our interest expense for 2021.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Allied Motion Technologies Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Allied Motion Technologies Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 7, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
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Inventories – Refer to Note 1 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
Inventories are measured on a first-in, first-out basis at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The valuation of inventory requires the Company to estimate obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality. The Company’s estimate of the appropriate amount of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, uses certain inputs and involves judgment. Such inputs include data associated with historic trends, the demand forecast for inventory on-hand which includes customer orders, and item specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part. Inventories at December 31, 2022 totaled approximately $117.1 million.
We identified the estimate of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, as a critical audit matter because of the significant amount of judgment required by management when evaluating the demand forecast for inventory on-hand and assumptions for item specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of the demand forecast for inventory on-hand and item specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the valuation of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, included the following, among others:
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Williamsville, New York
March 7, 2023
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2018.
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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except per share data)
December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Prepaid expenses and other assets 12,072 12,522
Property, plant, and equipment, net 68,640 56,983
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Pension and post-retirement obligations 3,009 3,932
Commitments and contingencies (Note 11)
Stockholders’ Equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (11,963) (8,092)
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity $ 588,347 $ 470,785
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands, except per share data)
For the year ended
December 31, December 31, December 31,
Operating costs and expenses:
Other expense, net:
Other expense (income), net 283 (323) 502
Income tax (provision) benefit (6,292) 981 (5,133)
Basic earnings per share:
Diluted earnings per share:
Other comprehensive (loss) income:
Foreign currency translation adjustment (9,516) (7,193) 8,410
Pension adjustments 269 770 (5)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except per share data)
Common Stock Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Unamortized Foreign Currency Accumulated Total
Stock compensation expense 3,550 3,550
Tax effect 365 365
Net income 13,643 13,643
Stock compensation expense 4,161 4,161
Tax effect (492) (227) (719)
Net income 24,094 24,094
Stock compensation expense 5,073 5,073
Tax effect (1,713) (92) (1,805)
Net income 17,389 17,389
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
For the year ended
December 31, December 31, December 31,
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Provision for excess and obsolete inventory 1,628 534 1,106
Stock-based compensation expense 5,073 4,161 3,550
Prepaid expenses and other assets 887 (3,670) (2,264)
Cash Flows From Investing Activities:
Purchase of property and equipment (15,910) (13,716) (9,371)
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Payment of debt issuance costs (391) — (401)
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash (1,039) (932) 1,487
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 8,151 (668) 9,715
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Stock issued for acquisitions $ 11,103 $ 23,496 $ —
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
1. BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Business
Allied Motion Technologies Inc. (“Allied Motion” or the “Company”) is engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and selling precision and specialty controlled motion components and systems, which include integrated system solutions as well as individual controlled motion products, to a broad spectrum of customers throughout the world primarily for the Industrial, Vehicle, Medical, and Aerospace & Defense markets.