atr-20211231
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United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM10-K
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDEDDECEMBER 31, 2021
OR
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM_____TO_____
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER1-11846
AptarGroup, Inc.
265 EXCHANGE DRIVE, SUITE 100,CRYSTAL LAKE,IL60014
815-477-0424
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.01 par value ATR New York Stock Exchange
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
NONE
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes☒
No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Yes ☐
No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes☒
No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Yes☒
No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
Yes ☐
No ☒
The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2021 was$9,322,666,642.
The number of shares outstanding of common stock, as of February 14, 2022, was65,562,125 shares.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be delivered to stockholders in connection with the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held May 4, 2022 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
FORM 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021
INDEX
Page
Part I
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 10
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 13
Item 2. Properties 14
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 14
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 14
Part II
Item 6. Reserved 16
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk 32
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 33
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 76
Item 9B. Other Information 76
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 76
Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 77
Item 11. Executive Compensation 77
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 77
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 78
Index of Exhibits 79
Signatures 84
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO
Aptar is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of a broad range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services. Aptar's innovative solutions and services serve a variety of end markets including pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, food and beverage. Using insights, proprietary design, engineering and science to create dispensing, dosing and protective technologies for many of the world's leading brands, Aptar in turn makes a meaningful difference in the lives, looks, health and homes of millions of patients and consumers around the world. Aptar is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois and has approximately 13,000 dedicated employees in 20 different countries. For more information, visit www.aptar.com.
Our business was started in the late 1940’s, manufacturing and selling aerosol valves in the United States, and has grown primarily through acquisitions and internal expansion. In this report, we may refer to AptarGroup, Inc. and its subsidiaries as “AptarGroup”, “Aptar” or the “Company”.
We have manufacturing facilities located throughout the world including North America, Europe, Asia and South America. We have approximately 5,000 customers with no single customer or group of affiliated customers accounting for greater than 5% of our 2021 Net Sales.
Consumers’ preference for convenience and product differentiation through drug delivery and packaging design and function are important to our customers and they have converted many of their packages from non-dispensing formats to dispensing systems that offer enhanced shelf appeal, convenience, cleanliness and accuracy of dosage. We design our products with both people and the environment in mind. Many of our product solutions for the beauty, personal care, home care, food and beverage markets are recyclable, reusable or made with recycled content.
We partner with our customers by providing innovative delivery systems and a suite of comprehensive services to help them succeed. While we offer a wide variety of services and products, our primary products are dispensing pumps, closures, aerosol valves, elastomeric primary packaging components, active material science solutions and digital health solutions.
Dispensing pumps are finger-actuated dispensing systems that dispense a spray or lotion from non-pressurized containers. The style of pump used depends largely on the nature of the product being dispensed, from small, fine mist pumps used with pharmaceutical products and perfume to lotion pumps for more viscous formulas.
Closures are primarily dispensing closures but to a lesser degree can include non-dispensing closures. Dispensing closures are plastic caps that allow a product to be dispensed without removing the cap.
Aerosol valves dispense product from pressurized containers. The majority of the aerosol valves that we sell are metered dose valves, with the balance being bag-on valve and continuous spray valves.
We also manufacture and sell elastomeric primary packaging components. These components are used in the injectables market. Products include stoppers for infusion, antibiotic, lyophilization and diagnostic vials. Our elastomeric components also include pre-filled syringe components, such as plungers, needle shields, tip caps and cartridges.
We provide active material science solutions using our platform technology to maintain container closure integrity, extend shelf-life, control moisture and protect drug products from overall environmental exposures and degradations.
The digital health solutions aim to improve patients' treatment experience and outcomes. We leverage connected devices, diagnostic and digital therapeutics tools that support patients to manage their disease as well as enabling care teams to remotely monitor the health of the patients when needed. Available as standalone or as a fully integrated offering in our existing range of drug delivery solutions, we have digital health solutions covering a wide range of therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, pulmonary, oncology, diabetes, immunology, and neurology.
During 2021 and 2020, we acquired several companies to strengthen and broaden our portfolio, including the following business combinations and asset purchases:
- September - November 2021 – We acquired 100% of the share capital of Voluntis S.A. ("Voluntis") for approximately $89.7 million (net of $3.8 million of cash acquired).
- August 2021 – We acquired 80% of the equity interests in Weihai Hengyu Medical Products Co., Ltd. ("Hengyu") for approximately $53.8 million (net of $6.0 million of cash acquired).
- October 2020 – We acquired the assets of Cohero Health, Inc. ("Cohero Health") for approximately $2.4 million.
- April 2020 – We acquired 100% of the equity interests of Fusion Packaging, Inc. ("Fusion") for cash paid at close of approximately $163.8 million (net of $1.0 million of cash acquired) and contingent consideration liability due to sellers related to earn-out.
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To further broaden our portfolio, during 2021 and 2020, we made several equity investments, including:
- July 2021 – We acquired 10% of the equity interests in YAT for approximately $5.9 million.
- April 2020 – We acquired 30% of the equity interests in Healthcare, Inc., Shanghai Sonmol Internet Technology Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Shanghai Sonmol Medical Equipment Co., Ltd. (collectively referred to as "Sonmol") for approximately $5 million.
- January 2020 – We acquired 49% of the equity interests in three related companies: Suzhou Hsing Kwang, Suqian Hsing Kwang and Suzhou BTY (collectively referred to as “BTY”) for approximately $32 million.
Refer to Note 19 – Acquisitions and Note 20 – Investment in Equity Securities in Part II, Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further details on acquisition and related investment activities.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Our periodic and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, are available, free of charge, through a link on the Investors page of our website (www.aptar.com), as soon as reasonably practicable after the material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These filings are also available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov).
Also posted on our website are the charters for our Audit, Management Development and Compensation, and Governance Committees, our Governance Principles, our Code of Conduct, our Director Independence Standards and our Conflict Minerals Statement. Within the time period required by the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), we will post on our website any amendment or waiver to the Code of Business Conduct & Ethics applicable to any executive officer or director. The information provided on our website is not part of this report and is therefore not incorporated herein by reference.
OUR STRATEGY
We seek to enhance our position as a leading global provider of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing and active material science solutions and services to deliver increased value to our customers and stockholders through strategic focus and execution in the following areas:
(i)Focus on Organic Growth: We are focused on accelerating our top line growth with added emphasis on high growth economies. Accordingly, we empower regional, cross-functional profit and loss (“P&L”) teams who are fully accountable to drive profitable growth.
(ii)Focus on Talent and Leadership: Execution of our strategy requires a talented, motivated, diverse, global team. We have a focused talent acquisition and development strategy to ensure our teams have the right skills to execute our strategy.
(iii)Excellence in Core Business Functions: We have established three pillars of functional excellence to ensure we perform at best in class levels in the core functions of any manufacturing business, namely “innovate,” “produce” and “sell,” and that our business teams are supported in the areas of Innovation, Operations and Commercial Excellence.
(iv)Successful Transformation: To strengthen our performance and deepen our position as a true market shaper, we continually evaluate our business. In late 2017, we launched a comprehensive business transformation plan within our Beauty + Home segment and our key corporate support functions. While the global COVID-19 pandemic and other headwinds have negatively impacted volumes in our Beauty + Home segment and deferred some initiatives past our original 3 year timeline, we have continued focus on transforming our Beauty + Home segment by adding capabilities in Asia and capitalizing on fast growing application fields within the segment.
(v)Partnerships and Acquisitions: We will continue to focus on growing the Company through appropriate business acquisition opportunities as well as developing partnerships to expand the scope of our technologies, geographic presence and product offerings.
Facilitating the execution of our strategy are our core values, which dictate how we interact internally and externally with our employees, customers, suppliers and all stakeholders.
DESCRIPTION OF OUR REPORTING SEGMENTS
INFORMATION ABOUT SEGMENTS
Our organizational structure consists of three market-focused business segments: Pharma, Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage. This is a strategic structure which allows us to be more closely aligned with our customers and the markets in which they operate. We primarily sell our products and services through our own sales force to pharmaceutical, health care, beauty, personal care, home care, food and beverage marketers. To a limited extent, we use independent representatives and distributors to increase our reach to smaller customers and export markets.
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Operations that sell dispensing systems, drug delivery systems, sealing solutions and services to the prescription drug, consumer health care, injectables, active material science solutions and digital health solutions markets form the Pharma segment. Operations that sell dispensing systems and sealing solutions primarily to the beauty, personal care and home care markets form the Beauty + Home segment. Operations that sell dispensing systems, sealing solutions and food service trays to the food and beverage markets form the Food + Beverage segment. Each of these three business segments is described more fully below.
PHARMA
Our Pharma segment accounts for 65% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs, and is our second largest segment in terms of net sales and our largest segment in terms of total assets, representing 40% and 44% of our Net Sales and Total Assets, respectively, in 2021. We are a leading supplier of nasal drug delivery spray pumps and metered dose inhaler valves (“MDIs”) to the pharmaceutical and health care markets worldwide and we are an important supplier of elastomer for injectable primary packaging components worldwide. Characteristics of this market include (i) governmental regulation of our pharmaceutical customers, (ii) contaminant-controlled manufacturing environments and (iii) a significant amount of time and research from initially working with pharmaceutical companies at the molecular development stage of a medication through the eventual distribution to the market. We have clean-room manufacturing facilities in Argentina, China, France, Germany, India, Switzerland and the United States. We believe that providing value-added, convenient drug delivery and dispensing systems will continue to offer opportunities for our business. In addition, we believe there are opportunities for growth in the over-the-counter and generic pharmaceutical categories.
Prescription Drug.Sales to the prescription drug market accounted for approximately 42% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021. Pumps sold to the prescription drug market deliver medications nasally, orally or topically. Currently the majority of our pumps sold are for nasal allergy treatments. Sales of pumps to deliver prescription allergy medicine that is now available over-the-counter remains part of our prescription drug division. Our nasal pumps and unit dose and bidose devices are also used to deliver liquid and powder pain management and central nervous system therapies.
MDIs are used for dispensing precise amounts of aerosolized medication. This technology allows medication to be broken up into very fine particles, which enables the drug to be delivered typically via the pulmonary route. Currently the majority of our MDIs sold are used for respiratory ailments such as asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
We continue to develop new drug delivery and dispensing systems and accessories in this segment. While we expect that these types of new products will come to market in the future, it is difficult to estimate when, as the rigors of pharmaceutical regulations affect the timing of product introductions by our pharmaceutical customers that use our drug delivery and dispensing systems.
Consumer Health Care.Sales to the consumer health care market accounted for approximately 23% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021. Many product applications for this market are similar to the prescription market; however, these product applications are sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Typical consumer health care spray product applications include nasal decongestants, nasal salines and cough and cold product applications. Typical consumer health care valve product applications include nasal saline using our bag-on valve technology. We have developed a multi dose ophthalmic dispensing device suitable for unpreserved formulations. This technology is successfully marketed in Europe, North America and Latin America and is under development for other markets both for over-the-counter and prescription product applications. Other products sold to this market include airless pump systems for dermal drug delivery product applications. We have recently seen a trend to more child resistant and senior-friendly packaging solutions and have developed products to meet these market needs.
Injectables.Sales to the injectables market accounted for approximately 22% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021. Injectables are elastomeric primary packaging components that assist with the administration of injected medicines. Injectable products offered include stoppers for vials and pre-filled syringe components, such as plungers, needle shields, tip caps and components for cartridges. Our recent capital investment commitments in this business will enable us to market coated stoppers which better protect the contents of the vial and the integrity of biologic formulations. Pharmaceutical applications for this market include vaccines, anti-thrombotic, small molecules and biologics.
Active Material Science Solutions.Sales of active material science solutions products accounted for approximately 13% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021. The platform technology is integrated into at-home COVID-19 test kits to protect against moisture and protect the integrity of the test kits. Our Activ-FilmTM solution leverages proprietary platform technology to ensure accurate readings and improve shelf life.
In addition, Aptar's material science platform technology is used to protect oral solid dose drugs, transdermal drug delivery, medical devices and probiotics. It can be engineered to absorb moisture, emit aromas, reduce pathogens, or scavenge odor, oxygen or volatile organic compounds.
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Digital Health Solutions. Aptar began serving the digital health market in the fourth quarter of 2021 with the acquisition of Voluntis. Additionally, Cohero Health sales will be reported within the digital health solutions market going forward. Sales to the digital health market accounted for less than 1% of the segment's total net sales in 2021 and are expected to increase in 2022 given a full year of Voluntis sales will be included in our consolidated revenues. The digital health solutions we provide improve patients' treatment, experience and outcomes. We leverage connected devices, diagnostics and digital therapeutic tools that support patients to manage their disease as well as enabling care teams to remotely monitor the health of the patients when needed. Available as standalone or as a fully integrated offering in our existing range of drug delivery solutions, we have digital health solutions covering a wide range of therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, pulmonary, oncology, diabetes, immunology and neurology.
BEAUTY + HOME
Our Beauty + Home segment accounts for 23% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs, and is our largest segment in terms of net sales and our second largest in terms of total assets, representing 44% and 39% of our Net Sales and Total Assets, respectively, in 2021. The Beauty + Home segment primarily sells pumps and decorative components to the beauty market and pumps, closures, aerosol valves, accessories and sealing solutions to the personal care and home care markets. We believe we are a leading supplier for the majority of the products we sell primarily to the beauty and personal care markets.
Beauty.Sales to the beauty market accounted for approximately 49% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021. The beauty market requires a broad range of spray and lotion pumps, closures, elastomeric flow-control components and sampling dispensing systems to meet functional as well as aesthetic requirements. A considerable amount of research and coordination with our customers is required to qualify a pump for use with their products. Within the market, we expect the use of pumps to continue to increase, particularly in the cosmetics and sampling sectors. In the cosmetic sector, packaging for certain products such as natural and organic cosmetics and anti-aging lotions continue to provide us with growth opportunities. We are a leading provider of packaging solutions for prestige and mass market fragrance products. Our cosmetic lotion pumps, airless dispensing systems, lotion sampling devices and decorative capabilities along with our focus on color cosmetics including lip stick and lip gloss products will also provide growth opportunities. We see significant opportunities for growth in the sale of our products for cosmetic skin care and color cosmetic product applications in Asia.
Personal Care.Sales to the personal care market accounted for approximately 43% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021 and primarily included sales of lotion pumps, closures, fine mist spray pumps, continuous spray aerosol valves and elastomeric flow-control components. Personal care lotion pump product applications include hand sanitizers, soaps, cleaners and skin moisturizers. Personal care closures product applications include hand sanitizers, shampoos and conditioners. Typical spray pump product applications include hair care, body care and sun care products. Personal care continuous spray aerosol valve product applications include hair care products, deodorants, shaving creams and sun care products. Our research and development teams continue to design unique accessories that increase the value of our continuous spray aerosol valve offerings.
Home Care.Sales to the home care market accounted for approximately 8% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021 and primarily included sales of continuous or metered dose spray aerosol valves, closures and to a lesser degree spray and lotion pumps. Product applications for continuous spray valves include disinfectants, spray paints, insecticides and automotive products. Metered dose valves are used for air fresheners. Closure product applications include liquid detergents, automotive products and household cleansers. Spray and lotion pump product applications primarily include household, insect repellent and industrial cleaners.
FOOD + BEVERAGE
Our Food + Beverage segment accounts for 12% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs, 16% of our Net Sales and 14% of our Total Assets in 2021. We primarily sell dispensing closures and, to a lesser degree, non-dispensing closures, elastomeric flow control components, spray pumps and aerosol valves.
Sales of dispensing closures have grown as consumers worldwide have demonstrated a preference for a package utilizing the convenience of a dispensing closure. At the same time, consumer marketers are trying to differentiate their products by incorporating performance enhancing features such as bonded aluminum liners to plastic, flow-control and no-drip dispensing, inverted packaging and directional flow to make packages simpler to use, cleaner and more appealing to consumers. We also have an increasing number of product solutions that address the increased use of flexible packaging formats.
Food.Sales to the food market accounted for approximately 73% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures, elastomeric flow-control components, and absorbent and non-absorbent food service trays. To a lesser degree we also sell non-dispensing closures, continuous spray aerosol valves and spray pumps to this market. Product applications for dispensing closures include sauces, condiments, infant nutrition and other food products. Product applications for continuous spray aerosol valves include cooking sprays. Spray pump product applications primarily include butter sprays. We also leverage our material science technology to sell and further develop packaging solutions to the food service market to enhance the shelf life of those products.
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Beverage.Sales to the beverage market accounted for approximately 27% of the segment’s total net sales in 2021 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures and elastomeric flow-control components. Sales of dispensing closures to the beverage market have increased over the last several years, although depressed by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020, as we continue to see an increase of interest from marketers using dispensing closures for their products. Examples of beverage products currently utilizing dispensing closures include bottled water, sport and energy drinks, juices and concentrated water flavorings.
GENERAL BUSINESS INFORMATION
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Our commitment to innovation, one of our competitive strengths, has resulted in an emphasis on research and development directed toward developing affordable, new, sustainable and innovative packaging, drug delivery solutions and connected devices and adapting existing products for new markets or customer requirements. In certain cases, our customers share in the research and development expenses of customer initiated projects. Occasionally, we acquire or license from third parties technologies or products that are in various stages of development.
PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
We customarily seek patent and trademark protection for our products and brands. We own and currently have numerous product applications pending for patents and trademarks in many regions of the world. In addition, certain of our products are produced under patent licenses granted by third parties. We believe that we possess certain technical capabilities and know-how that make our products difficult for a competitor to duplicate. While valuable to our overall product portfolio, sales of any one individually patented product are not considered material to any specific segment or to our consolidatedresults.
TECHNOLOGY
We have technical expertise regarding injection molding, robotics, clean-room facilities and high-speed assembly. We also have expertise regarding the formulation and finishing of elastomer and silicone components. In addition, we offer a variety of sterilization options for elastomeric components and active material science solutionsbased on proprietary material science expertise. Pumps and aerosol valves require the assembly of several different plastic, metal and rubber components using high-speed equipment. When molding dispensing closures, or plastic components to be used in pump or aerosol valve products, we use advanced plastic injection molding technology, including large cavitation plastic injection molds. We are able to mold within tolerances as small as one one-thousandth of an inch and we assemble products in a high-speed, cost-effective manner. We also provide analytical and connected device expertise within our pharma service technology businesses.
MANUFACTURING AND SOURCING
The majority of our worldwide production is located outside of the United States. Our philosophy is to produce as much as possible in the region where it will be sold. In order to augment capacity and to maximize internal capacity utilization (particularly for plastic injection molding), we use subcontractors to supply certain plastic and metal components. Certain suppliers of these components have unique technical abilities that make us dependent on them, particularly for aerosol valve and pump production. The principal raw materials used in our production are plastic resins, silicone, rubber and certain metal products. We believe an adequate supply of such raw materials is available from existing and alternative sources. We attempt to offset cost increases through improving productivity and developing new, higher margin solutions and increasing selling prices, as allowed by market conditions or contractual commitments. We source certain materials, especially some resins and rubber components for our pharmaceutical segment, from a single source. Significant delays in receiving these components or discontinuance of an approved raw material would require us to seek alternative sources, which could result in higher costs as well as impact our ability to supply products in the short-term. We believe we have adequate safety stock to mitigate any significant supply concerns.
CUSTOMERS
We have approximately 5,000 customers with no single customer or group of affiliated customers accounting for greater than 5% of 2021 Net Sales.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
We are geographically diverse with manufacturing and sales operations in Asia, Europe, Latin America (including Mexico) and North America. Europe is our largest region in terms of sales, where sales (including exports) for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were approximately 53% and 55%, respectively, of our consolidated sales. Asia and Latin America when aggregated represented approximately 13% and 12% of our consolidated sales for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Export sales from the United States were $204.6 million and $179.0 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively. We are a net exporter of goods from Europe and a net importer of goods to the North American, Asian and Latin American regions.
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FOREIGN CURRENCY
Because of our international presence, movements in exchange rates have a significant impact on the translation of the financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries. Our primary foreign exchange exposure is to the euro, but we have foreign exchange exposure to the Chinese yuan, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Swiss franc and other Asian, European and South American currencies. A strengthening U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies has a dilutive translation effect on our financial statements. Conversely, a weakening U.S. dollar has an additive effect. We manage our exposures to foreign exchange principally with forward exchange contracts to economically hedge recorded transactions and firm purchase and sales commitments denominated in foreign currencies.
EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS
Human Capital. Our key human capital management objectives are to attract, retain and develop the highest quality talent. To support these objectives, our human resource programs are designed to develop talent to prepare them for critical roles and leadership positions for the future; reward and support employees through competitive pay, benefit and incentive programs; enhance our culture through efforts aimed at making the workplace more engaging and inclusive; acquire talent and facilitate internal talent mobility to create a high-performing, diverse workforce; and evolve and invest in technology, tools and resources to enable employees at work.
As of December 31, 2021, Aptar has approximately 13,000 full-time employees. Of the full-time employees, approximately 8,000 are located in Europe, 2,600 are located in Asia and South America and the remaining 2,400 are located in North America. The majority of our European and Latin American employees are covered by collective bargaining arrangements made at either the local or national level in their respective countries. The total labor force covered by a collective bargaining agreement represents 55% of the total employee population. Termination of employees at certain of our international operations could be costly due to local regulations regarding severance benefits. There were no material work stoppages in 2021 and management considers our employee relations to be satisfactory.
We have experienced competition for talent, wage inflation and pressure to improve workplace conditions and benefits as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, within certain geographical locations we have experienced a labor shortage due to the decline of qualified talent and absenteeism from the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher employee turnover levels or our failure to attract and retain talent in a timely manner could impact our future results.
Employee Engagement. At Aptar, we conduct annual leadership for growth surveys. We have focused on organizational development based on our leadership principles, core values and strategic priorities. Our goal is to ensure that Aptar is well positioned for long-term growth and that we continue to be a high-performing, values-based, customer-focused company, with active commitments to innovation and sustainability.
Employee Development & Leadership Succession. Developing our employees to reach their full potential is an integral part of our Core Values. We have a strong foundation of learning and development systems and leadership programs at our Corporate University. Our leadership programs are targeted at all levels of the organization, from early career to senior leadership globally. Our program offerings also include many specialized programs such as change management, manufacturing and operational leadership, technical skills and others. Aptar also has developed and deployed an integrated talent management system that includes annual talent reviews, three tiered succession planning, and individual development planning. Promotions from within provide career growth opportunities for our employees.
Diversity & Inclusion. At AptarGroup, our goal is to promote a diverse and inclusive culture. Women comprise 40% of the Board of Directors, and 67% of Board Committee chairs are women. During 2021, we created a Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion role and continued to roll-out Diversity & Inclusion training. Women comprise approximately 36% of the global employee population and approximately 20% of senior leadership. In 2020, Aptar launched a global Women's Employee Resource Group with a focus on increasing women in leadership. Aptar is included in the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE) which invests in companies that rank among the highest in gender diversity within senior leadership. Aptar is also a participant in the Catalyst CEO Champions for Change and the Gender and Diversity KPI Alliance. In 2021, Aptar launched a new Black/African American and/or African descent employee resource group and a new employee resource group for the LBGTQ+ community. In November 2021, Aptar was named a Global Top 10 Female-Friendly Company by Forbes.
Employee Well-being & Safety. Employee safety and well-being is a primary focus of Aptar and was of particular interest during 2021 in light of the continued COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, we have taken a variety of measures to ensure the availability and functioning of our critical infrastructure, to promote the safety and security of our employees, and to support the communities in which we operate. These measures include requiring remote working arrangements for employees where practicable and implementing new safety protocols. We are following public and private sector policies and initiatives to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as the imposition of travel restrictions, the promotion of social distancing and the adoption of work-from-home arrangements. Additionally, we expanded employee assistance and mindfulness programs globally to help employees and their families manage anxiety, stress and overall well-being.
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COMPETITION
All of the markets in which we operate are highly competitive and we continue to experience price competition in all product lines and markets. Competitors include privately and publicly held entities that range from regional to international companies. We expect the market for our products to remain competitive, as consolidation among our competitors is increasing in the current economic climate. We believe our competitive advantages are consistent high levels of innovation, quality and service, geographic diversity, financial strength and stability and breadth of products and services. Our manufacturing strength lies in the ability to mold complex plastic components and formulate and finish elastomer and silicone components in a cost-effective manner and to assemble products at high speeds. Our business is somewhat capital intensive and it is becoming more important to our customers that we have global manufacturing capabilities. Both of these serve as barriers to entry for new competitors wanting to enter our business. Furthermore, within our Pharma business, increasing regulatory hurdles present a challenge for new competitors to enter the market.
While we have experienced some competition in Europe, Latin America and the United States from low cost Asian suppliers, particularly in the beauty and personal care market, this has not been significant. Although using low cost Asian suppliers may have a cost advantage, more and more customers prefer local suppliers citing shorter lead times, higher reactivity and service, and stronger safety of supply. We have also reduced our carbon footprint due to the increased use of lower-carbon fuels within some of our shipping lanes, which we see as a competitive advantage.
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
Our manufacturing operations primarily involve plastic injection molding, automated assembly processes, elastomer and silicone formulation and finishing and, to a limited degree, metal anodization and vacuum metallization of plastic components. Historically, the environmental impact of these processes has been minimal, and we believe we meet current environmental standards in all material respects. To date, our manufacturing operations have not been significantly affected by environmental laws and regulations relating to the environment.
In 2020, we formalized our science-based targets, setting a Scope 1 + Scope 2 emissions reduction goal consistent with requirements to keep global warming well-below 2° Celsius by year 2030, and a Scope 3 reduction goal consistent with requirements to keep global warming at 2° Celsius by year 2030. This science-based approach incorporates our own operations and operations within the value chain. In addition, we annually undergo data assurance as part of our sustainability reporting. This assurance process allows for data on consumption of electricity, fuel oil, and natural gas and renewable energy purchases to be verified for accuracy and completeness by an external organization. Globally this process is certified to the ISO 14064 standard for energy and greenhouse gas emission reporting.
Compared to our 2019 baseline, Aptar has made progress cutting emissions, and continues efforts to mitigate climate risks and further the low-carbon economy, as reported by the Company through global environmental non-profit CDP's 2021 climate change questionnaire. Through significant, demonstrable action on climate change, we believe Aptar is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide. Aptar was named to the CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard in both 2020 and 2021.
There continues to be increased interest and awareness from consumers and our customers in environmentally sustainable products, especially through the sourcing of sustainable materials. We are focused on reducing our environmental impacts through product life cycle assessments, sustainable material trials, operational eco-efficiency initiatives and renewable energy sourcing. We have teams dedicated to designing for sustainability by providing products that improve recyclability and use less material. Aptar has launched products and components in North America, Europe and Asia made with post-consumer recycled resins (PCR) and continues to explore additional opportunities for alternative resins and recyclable products.
We are actively collaborating with our customers on reliable products by supporting our customers’ participation in the circular e-commerce platform called Loop in addition to being an investor in Loop ourselves. We also invested in and partnered with PureCycle Technologies, to prepare for the introduction of Ultra-Pure Recycled Polypropylene (UPRP) into dispensing product applications.
Connecting with other companies through organizations like Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) provides an invaluable opportunity to share best practices and work on larger projects with aligned objectives towards a more circular economy.
In April 2021, Aptar was named among JUST Capital's Top 10 Companies Leading on Reducing Environmental Impact, which examined several different metrics including carbon emissions, pollution reduction, and other industry-specific sustainability metrics. In January 2022, Aptar was ranked in the top 20 overall, and first in our industry, for the category of Leading on Environmental Impact within JUST Capital's America's Most JUST Companies 2022. In November 2021, Aptar was ranked first on the Forbes Green Growth 50 list, which ranked companies based on their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while simultaneously growing earnings. In December 2021, Aptar was named one of America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek, ranked #10 out of 500 U.S. companies, and ranked first in our industry category. In January 2022, Aptar received a Platinum Sustainability Rating for 2021 from EcoVadis. In February 2022, Aptar was named to CDP's 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard in recognition of our efforts to measure and reduce climate risk within our supply chain.
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Future regulations on environmental matters regarding recycling or material inputs could impact our business.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
Certain of our products are directly or indirectly affected by government regulation. The European Union has adopted a circular economy package. The package maps out a series of actions planned over several years. Some actions have resulted in regulations aimed to reduce marine litter, increase plastic recycling rates, prohibit single-use plastic packaging and introduce new taxes in relation to the end-of-life management of packaging. In Europe and in parts of the United States (including California), regulations require food and beverage companies to tether plastic caps to ensure the caps stay with the package, thus improving the likelihood the caps will enter the recycling stream. The EU and the United States are planning new regulation to ban perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) materials used in the packaging industry. The potential exists for these types of regulations to expand worldwide. We have established an innovation team that focuses on designing for and converting into more sustainable options like post-consumer recycled resin and Food and Drug Administration approved resin alternatives. We are designing for sustainability by providing products that improve recyclability, use sustainable material and use less material, and we offer multiple tethered options. Our new product offerings include: Purity Lite, a mono-material, lightweight, fully-recyclable closure; SimpliCycle, an award winning recyclable valve; and Future, a mono-material, fully-recyclable pump. We are also partnering with global and regional thought leaders to drive a more circular economy.
On October 15, 2016, 197 countries adopted an amendment to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) propellants in order to reduce greenhouse gas emission under the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, Rwanda. Under the amendment, countries committed to cut the production and consumption by more than 80% over the next 30 years. This type of propellant is used for pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDI). The phase down plan has an exemption for pharmaceutical product applications of pMDIs; however, customers are looking for alternative propellants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are working with the suppliers of these alternative propellants and our customers to develop new solutions.
Pharma regulatory agencies in the United States and European Union have developed and introduced Combination Products specific guidelines for more complex drug delivery products, including dispensing systems. These guidelines have increased the complexity of the registration process for these products and recognize the existence of a device part in the drug delivery product, which now is required to be appropriately designed, developed and documented.
Future government regulations could include healthcare cost containment policies. For example, reviews by various governments to determine the number of drugs, or prices thereof, that will be paid by their insurance systems could affect future sales of our pharmaceutical customers’ products and thus adversely impact our sales to these customers. Such regulation could adversely affect prices of and demand for our pharmaceutical products. We believe that the focus on the cost effectiveness of the use of medications as compared to surgery and hospitalization provides us with an opportunity to expand sales to the pharmaceutical market.
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INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Our executive officers as of February 18, 2022 are as follows:
Name Age Position with the Company
Stephan Tanda 56 President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Kuhn 59 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Marc Prieur 56 President, Aptar Beauty + Home
Hedi Tlili 47 President, Aptar Food + Beverage
Gael Touya 52 President, Aptar Pharma
Xiangwei Gong 52 President, Aptar Asia
Shiela Vinczeller 58 Chief Human Resources Officer
There were no arrangements or understandings between any of the executive officers and any other person(s) pursuant to which such officers were elected.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Set forth below and elsewhere in this report and in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission are risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results or other events to materially differ from the results or events contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this report and in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, may also impair our business operations. You should carefully consider the following factors in addition to other information contained in this report before purchasing any shares of our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Operations and Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our business, and future developments could continue to cause adverse effects, which may be material. During 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected our sales of products to our prescription pharma customers due to lower incidences of common illnesses and doctors appointments and to our travel and retail beauty business and on-the-go beverage customers and, while during 2021 we have experienced a return toward pre-pandemic levels in several of our markets, there remain uncertainties related to the pandemic that could adversely affect our business. Customer demand across all segments may decrease quickly as a result of future developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent, duration and severity of further resurgences, the availability, adoption and efficacy of approved vaccines and treatments, the length of time it takes for normal economic and operating conditions to resume, additional governmental actions that may be taken and/or extended in response to further resurgences of the virus, and numerous other uncertainties. Such events may result in business and manufacturing disruption, inventory shortages due to disruptions to our supply chain and distribution channels, delivery delays, increased risk associated with customer payments, increased labor cost and reduced labor availability, and reduced sales and operations, any of which could materially affect our stock price, business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
The majority of our office and management personnel are working remotely and the majority of our facilities remained operational during 2021 as each of our segments produce dispensing systems that have been determined to be essential products by various government agencies around the world. The health and safety of our workforce is of primary concern and we may need to enact further precautionary measures to help minimize the risk of our employees being exposed to the virus and overall organization fatigue. Further, our management team is focused on mitigating the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has required and will continue to require a large investment of time and resources across the entire company, thereby diverting their attention from other priorities that existed prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Incremental operating costs related to heightened cleaning and sanitizing procedures at our factories, personal protective equipment for our employees and temporary labor costs necessary to attract and retain employees and address absenteeism, among others, will be necessary as the pandemic continues in the near-term. If these conditions worsen, or continue to last for an extended period of time, our ability to manage our business may be impaired, and operational risks, cybersecurity risks and other risks facing us even prior to the pandemic may be elevated.
If there is deterioration in economic conditions in a particular region or market, our business and operating results could be materially adversely impacted.Due to our strong balance sheet, diverse product offerings, various end-markets served, and our broad geographic presence, we believe we are well positioned to withstand temporary slowness in any one particular region or market. However, economic uncertainties affect businesses such as ours in a number of ways, making it difficult to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities. A tightening of credit in financial markets or other factors may lead consumers and businesses to postpone spending, which may cause our customers to cancel, decrease or delay their existing and future orders with us. In addition, financial difficulties experienced by our suppliers, customers or distributors could result in product delays, increased accounts receivable defaults, inventory or supply challenges and pricing pressures. An interruption in supply may also impact our ability to meet customer demands. Consumer demand for our customers’ products and shifting consumer preferences are unpredictable and could have a negative impact on our customers and our customers’ demand for our products.
Employee retention or labor cost inflation could disrupt our business.Labor cost and availability are subject factors that are beyond our control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and workforce participation rates. As a result, there is no assurance that we will be able to recruit, train, assimilate, motivate and retain employees in the future. The loss of a substantial number of our employees or a prolonged labor dispute could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
We face strong global competition and our market share could decline.All of the markets in which we operate are highly competitive and we continue to experience competition in all product lines and segments. Competitors, including privately and publicly held entities that range from regional to international companies, are becoming increasingly credible in the core markets in which we do business. We expect the market for our products to remain competitive, as consolidation among our competitors is increasing in the current economic climate.
Customers and consumers are increasingly requesting solutions that can be refilled and reused as the market moves toward more sustainable products. A competitor's design innovation or ability to provide more sustainable products could have an adverse impact on our business. If we are unable to compete successfully, our market share may decline, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
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Geopolitical conditions, including trade disputes and direct or indirect acts of war or terrorism, could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial results.Our operations could be disrupted by geopolitical conditions, trade disputes, international boycotts and sanctions, political and social instability, acts of war, terrorist activity or other similar events. Such events could make it difficult, impossible or more expensive to manufacture or deliver products to our customers, receive production materials from our suppliers, or perform critical functions, all of which could adversely affect our business globally or in certain regions. In addition, our customers may export their finished products using our dispensing devices that were sold in other regions and an adverse geopolitical event may impact the sales of our customers’ products and thus indirectly negatively impact the demand for our dispensing solutions. Although our business is diversified across ten end markets and many geographies and we believe our diverse business model, coupled with our diverse and global customer base, allow some protection from dependency on any one geographic region, country or even trade route, our diversification efforts may not be successful in insulating our operations from disruptive geopolitical conditions and we do face some risk related to trade policies specific to any country we operate in or to which our customers export their products.
At the end of 2021 and into January 2022, tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalated when Russia assembled large numbers of military ground forces on the Ukraine-Russia border, increasing speculation that Russia may attempt to invade Ukraine in the near future. A potential invasion of Ukraine and any retaliatory measures taken by the U.S. and NATO have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 2% of our consolidated net sales were from Russia and Ukraine, however less than 1% is imported into Russia and Ukraine and therefore we do not expect a material impact to our consolidated results if the situation escalates.
Consolidation of our customer base could impact our business.We believe mergers and acquisitions within our customer base create opportunities for increasing sales due to the breadth of our product line, our international presence and our long-term relationships with certain customers. However, consolidation of our customers could lead to pricing pressures, concentration of credit risk and fewer opportunities to introduce new products to the market.
The success or failure of our customers’ products, particularly in the pharmaceutical market, may materially affect our operating results and financial condition.In the pharmaceutical market, the proprietary nature of our customers’ products and the success or failure of their products in the market using our dispensing systems may have a material impact on our operating results and financial condition. We may potentially work for years on modifying our dispensing device to work in conjunction with a customer’s drug formulation. If the customer’s pharmaceutical product is not approved by regulatory bodies or it is not successful on the market, the associated costs may not be recovered.
Higher raw material costs and other inputs and an inability to offset these higher costs with price increases may materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.The cost of raw materials and other inputs (particularly plastic resin, rubber, metal, anodization costs and transportation and energy costs) are volatile and susceptible to rapid and substantial changes due to factors beyond our control, such as changing economic conditions, currency fluctuations, weather conditions, political unrest and instability in energy-producing nations, and supply and demand pressures. Raw material costs may continue to increase in the coming years due to market fluctuation and the use of post-consumer resin for our sustainable product offerings and, although we have generally been able to increase selling prices to cover increased costs, future market conditions may prevent us from passing these increased costs on to our customers through timely price increases. In addition, we may not be able to improve productivity or realize savings from our cost reduction programs sufficiently enough to offset the impact of increased raw material costs. As a result, higher raw material costs could result in declining margins and operating results.
In difficult market conditions, our fixed costs structure combined with potentially lower revenues may negatively impact our results.Our business is characterized by relatively high fixed costs and, notwithstanding our utilization of third-party manufacturing capacity, most of our production requirements are met by our own manufacturing facilities. In difficult environments, we are generally faced with a decline in the utilization rates of our manufacturing facilities due to decreases in product demand. During such periods, our plants may not operate at full capacity and the costs associated with this excess capacity are charged directly to cost of sales. Difficult market conditions in the future may adversely affect our utilization rates and consequently our future gross margins, and this, in turn, could have a material negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our unionized employees were to engage in a strike or other work stoppage, our business, operating results and financial position could be materially adversely affected.The majority of our European and Latin American employees are covered by collective bargaining arrangements made either at the local or national level in their respective countries. Although we believe that our relations with our employees are satisfactory, no assurance can be given that this will continue. If disputes with our unions arise, or if our unionized workers engage in a strike or other work stoppage, we could experience a significant disruption of operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial position.
Single sourced materials and manufacturing sites could adversely impact our ability to deliver product.We source certain materials, especially some resins and rubber components for our pharmaceutical segment, from a single source. Any disruption in the supply of these materials could adversely impact our ability to deliver product to our customers. Similarly, we have certain components and products that are manufactured at a single location or from a single machine or mold. Any disruption to the manufacturing process could also adversely impact our ability to deliver product to our customers.
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We are exposed to risks from lawsuits and claims, including intellectual property infringement claims and product liability claims, as well as investigations, audits and other proceedings, which may result in substantial costs and expenses or interruption of our normal business operations. We are subject to a number of lawsuits and claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business, which include infringement, product liability, commercial, employment, tort, and other litigation. The failure of our devices to operate as intended may result in a product liability claim against us. We believe we maintain adequate levels of product liability insurance coverage. However, a product liability claim in excess of our insurance coverage or not covered by existing insurance may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or cash flows. We are also from time to time subject to claims from third parties suggesting that we may be infringing on their intellectual property rights. If we were held liable for infringement, we could be required to pay damages, obtain licenses or cease making or selling certain products.
In addition, we are subject to investigations, audits and other proceedings initiated by federal, state, international, national, provincial and local authorities, including regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration as a result of our Pharma segment. We are also subject to indemnification claims under various contracts. Current and future litigation, proceedings or indemnification claims that we face may result in substantial costs and expenses and significantly divert the attention of our management regardless of the outcome. In addition, these matters could lead to increased operating costs or interruptions of our normal business operations. Litigation, proceedings and indemnification claims involve uncertainties and the eventual outcome of any such matter could adversely affect our business, results of operations or cash flows.
Increased global cybersecurity threats and more sophisticated, targeted computer crime could pose a risk to our operations.Increased global information security threats and more sophisticated, targeted computer crime pose a risk to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, operations and infrastructure, as well as the data of our customers. We continue to assess potential threats and make investments seeking to reduce the risk of these threats by employing a number of security measures, including employee training, comprehensive monitoring of our networks and systems, ensuring strong data protection standards including authentication mechanisms are in place and safeguarding our critical information assets.
We also periodically test our systems for vulnerabilities and regularly rely on third parties to conduct such tests. To date, we have seen no material impact on our business or operations from these threats; however, we cannot guarantee that our security efforts will prevent unauthorized access or loss of functionality to our or our third-party providers' systems. Even with these mitigations, our information systems remain potentially vulnerable to sophisticated cybersecurity threats, particularly as more business activities have shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on their nature and scope, such threats could potentially lead to the compromise of confidential information, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.
If our integration of acquisitions are unsuccessful, our financial performance may suffer.We continue to pursue growth through acquisitions, including the recent Voluntis, Hengyu, Fusion and Noble acquisitions. If our integration efforts, including unlocking synergies, are unsuccessful we may not realize the full potential of the acquisitions and as a result our financial performance may suffer.
Risks Related to Financial, Legal and Regulatory Matters
We have foreign currency translation and transaction risks that may materially adversely affect our operating results.A majority of our operations are located outside of the United States. Because of this, movements in exchange rates may have an impact on the translation of the financial statements of our foreign entities. Our primary foreign exchange exposure is to the euro, but we have foreign exchange exposure to the Chinese yuan, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Swiss franc, and other Asian, European and South American currencies. A strengthening U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies has a dilutive translation effect on our financial statements. Conversely, a weakening U.S. dollar has an additive translation effect. In some cases, we sell products denominated in a currency different from the currency in which the related costs are incurred. We manage our exposures to foreign exchange principally with forward exchange contracts to economically hedge certain transactions and firm purchase and sales commitments denominated in foreign currencies. The volatility of currency exchange rates may materially affect our operating results.
We have approximately $974.2 million in recorded goodwill at December 31, 2021, and changes in future business conditions could cause this asset to become impaired, requiring write-downs that would reduce our operating income.We evaluate the recoverability of goodwill amounts annually, or more frequently when evidence of potential impairment exists. The impairment test is based on several factors requiring judgment. A decrease in expected reporting unit cash flows or changes in market conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, may indicate potential impairment of recorded goodwill and, as a result, our operating results could be materially adversely affected. See “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Part II, Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for additional information.
Government regulation on environmental matters regarding recycling or environmental sustainability policies could impact our business.Future government regulations mandating the use or limitations of certain materials could impact our manufacturing processes or the technologies we use forcing faster development and adoption of alternative materials or assets used in the production of our products.
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Future government regulations of healthcare cost containment policies may impact our pharmaceutical sales.Review by governments of the number of drugs and prices thereof that will be paid by their insurance systems could affect future sales to the pharmaceutical industry and thereby adversely affect prices of and demand for our pharmaceutical products.
We may be adversely affected by the transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or other Interbank Rates (IBORs) to Risk Free Rates for our variable rate loans, derivative contracts and other financial assets and liabilities.We have loans, derivative contracts and other financial instruments which are directly or indirectly dependent on LIBOR to establish their interest rate and/or value. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, which is the LIBOR administrator's regulator, has announced that the publication of the one-week and two-month U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors and all non-U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors have ceased effective January 1, 2022, with the remaining most common U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors (overnight and one, three, six and twelve months) ceasing immediately after June 30, 2023.
The transition from LIBOR may cause us to incur increased costs and additional risk. Our revolving credit facility contains provisions allowing for a transition away from U.S. dollar LIBOR, but those provisions are contingent on our ability to negotiate new benchmark rates, spreads and calculation methods with the administrative agent. Although the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") has been identified as a recommended alternative reference rate to U.S. dollar LIBOR, SOFR has a limited history and SOFR-based reference rates may perform differently from U.S. dollar LIBOR, which may affect our net interest expense, change our market risk profile and require changes to our risk, pricing and hedging strategies.
General Risk Factors
Ownership by Certain Significant Stockholders.Currently, Aptar has four institutional stockholders who each own between 5% and 11% of our outstanding common stock. None of these stockholders have direct representation on our Board of Directors. If one of these stockholders decides to sell significant volumes of our stock, this could put downward pressure on the price of the stock.
We could be subject to changes in tax rates, the adoption of new tax legislation or rules or exposure to additional tax liabilities. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in the various jurisdictions in which we operate may be subject to change. Our effective tax rate could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, the introduction of new taxes, or changes in tax laws or their interpretation.
We are also subject to examination of our returns and other tax matters by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities and governmental bodies. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for taxes. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If our effective tax rates were to increase in jurisdictions where we have significant operations, or if the ultimate determination of taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our financial condition and operating results could be materially, adversely affected.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
We have no unresolved comments from the SEC.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We lease or own our principal offices and manufacturing facilities. None of the owned principal properties is subject to a lien or other encumbrance material to our operations. We believe that existing operating leases will be renegotiated as they expire, will be acquired through purchase options or that suitable alternative properties will be leased on acceptable terms. We consider the condition and extent of utilization of our manufacturing facilities and other properties to be generally good, and the capacity of our plants to be adequate for the needs of our business. We manufacture products in 47 locations, with 17 of those facilities serving two segments and 6 serving all three of our segments. The locations of our manufacturing facilities, by geographic region/country, are set forth below:
Rest of Europe 7 2 6 5
North America 9 6 6 6
Latin America 7 1 7 3
Our head corporate office is located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. We also have sales, service facilities, and corporate offices in locations in addition to those listed above.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In the normal course of business, we are subject to a number of lawsuits and claims both actual and potential in nature. While management believes the resolution of these claims and lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations or cash flows, claims and legal proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable outcomes could occur that could include amounts in excess of any accruals which management has established. Were such unfavorable final outcomes to occur, it is possible that they could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Please refer to Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies in Part II, Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data for further discussion of contingencies affecting our business.
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
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY
Our Common Stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ATR”. As of February 14, 2022, there were approximately 170 holders of record of our Common Stock. A substantially greater number of holders of our Common Stock are “street name” or beneficial holders, whose shares of record are held by banks, brokers, and other financial institutions.
DIVIDENDS
On January 20, 2022, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.38 per share of Common Stock, which will be paid on February 23, 2022 to stockholders of record as of February 3, 2022. We have paid an increased dividend to stockholders each year for the past 28 years. During 2021, we paid $98.5 million in dividends to stockholders. While we expect to continue to pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share in 2022, the timing, declaration, amount and payment of any future cash dividends are at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our available cash, working capital, financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, covenants in our credit facility, applicable law and other factors that our Board of Directors considers relevant.
RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES
Certain French employees are eligible to participate in the FCP Aptar Savings Plan (the “Plan”). An independent agent purchases shares of Common Stock available under the Plan for cash on the open market and we do not issue shares. We do not receive any proceeds from the purchase of Common Stock under the Plan. The agent under the Plan is BNP Paribas Fund Services. No underwriters are used under the Plan. All shares are sold in reliance upon the exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 provided by Regulation S promulgated under that Act. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the Plan purchased 3,888 shares of our Common Stock on behalf of the participants at an average price of $116.20 per share, for an aggregate amount of $452 thousand, and sold 1,986 shares of our Common Stock on behalf of the participants at an average price of $128.32 per share, for an aggregate amount of $255 thousand. At December 31, 2021, the Plan owned 108,884 shares of our Common Stock.
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
On April 18, 2019, we announced a share repurchase authorization of up to $350 million of Common Stock. This authorization replaces previous authorizations and has no expiration date. We may repurchase shares through the open market, privately negotiated transactions or other programs, subject to market conditions.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, we repurchased approximately 395 thousand shares for approximately $49.7 million.
The following table summarizes our purchases of our securities for the quarter ended December 31, 2021:
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SHARE PERFORMANCE
The following graph shows a five year comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return on our Common Stock as compared to the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index and to an index of peer group companies we selected. The companies included in the peer group are: Albemarle Corporation, Ashland Global Holdings Inc., Berry Global Group, Inc., Catalent, Inc., CCL Industries Inc., Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (included through December 13, 2021 when it was acquired by Baxter International Inc.), ICU Medical, Inc., Ingredion Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., McCormick & Company, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Sensient Technologies Corporation, Silgan Holdings, Inc., Sonoco Products Company, Stericycle, Inc., STERIS plc, Teleflex Inc. and West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Stockholder Returns
The graph and other information furnished in the section titled “Share Performance” under this Part II, Item 5 of this Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “soliciting” material or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts or as otherwise indicated)
The objective of the following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is to help the reader understand the financial performance of AptarGroup, Inc. from management's perspective. MD&A is presented in eight sections: Overview, Results of Operations, Liquidity and Capital Resources, Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Critical Accounting Estimates, Operations Outlook and Forward-Looking Statements. MD&A should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In MD&A, “we,” “our,” “us,” “AptarGroup,” “AptarGroup, Inc.”, “Aptar” and the “Company” refer to AptarGroup, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
OVERVIEW
GENERAL
Aptar is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of a broad range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, food and beverage markets. Using insights, proprietary design, engineering and science to create dispensing, dosing and protective technologies for many of the world's leading brands, Aptar in turn, makes a meaningful difference in the lives, looks, health and homes of millions of patients and consumers around the world.
In addition to the information presented herein that conforms to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), we also present certain financial information that does not conform to U.S. GAAP, which are referred to as non-U.S. GAAP financial measures. Management may assess our financial results both on a U.S. GAAP basis and on a non-U.S. GAAP basis. We believe it is useful to present these non-U.S.GAAP financial measures because they allow for a better period over period comparison of operating results by removing the impact of items that, in management’s view, do not reflect Aptar’s core operating performance. These non-U.S. GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial results, but should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated statements of income and other information presented herein. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on these non-U.S. GAAP measures. Further, investors are urged to review and consider carefully the adjustments made by management to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to arrive at these non-U.S. GAAP financial measures. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures" below.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, reported sales increased 10% to $3.23 billion from $2.93 billion a year ago. Core sales, excluding the positive impact from changes in currency exchange rates and acquisition effects, increased 7% from 2020. A reconciliation of core sales growth to reported net sales growth, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, can be found under "Net Sales" below. During 2021, our Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage segments both reported strong core sales growth as sales of our products used in certain applications recovered from depressed sales during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Pharma segment reported strong product growth in our injectables and active material science solutions markets; however, we continued to be negatively impacted by the prolonged drawing down of inventory by certain customers as fewer illnesses and fewer doctor visits have resulted in lower consumption of allergic rhinitis, cough and cold and certain pulmonary medicines using our drug delivery devices.
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
•Top line growth across each segment drove record annual sales of $3.2 billion
•Reported sales grew 10% and core sales increased 7%
•Reported earnings per share increased 12% to $3.61
•Reported net income totaled $244 million, exceeding 2019 pre-pandemic levels
•Adjusted EBITDA totaled $607 million, exceeding 2019 pre-pandemic levels
•Acquired Voluntis, a pioneer in digital therapeutics, and 80% of Weihai Hengyu Medical Products, a leading Chinese manufacturer of elastomeric and plastic components used in injectable drug delivery
•28th consecutive year of paying an increased annual dividend
•Our ESG performance resulted in the following recognitions over the past year:
◦Number one on the Forbes Green Growth 50 2021 list;
◦Forbes 2021 World's Top 10 Female-Friendly Companies;
◦Number ten on Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 list, and number one in our industry category, with this being our third year on the list;
◦Number two on JUST Capital's 2021 list of America's Top 10 Companies Leading on Environmental Impact;
◦JUST Capital's America's Most JUST Companies 2022, and ranked in the top 20 overall and first in our industry for the category of Leading on Environmental Impact;
◦3BL Media's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2021 ranking;
◦Barron's 2022 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the U.S., our fourth year on the list;
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◦Le Point's 2022 Most Responsible Companies in France, our second year on the list;
◦2021 CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, our second year on the list; and
◦Platinum 2021 EcoVadis Sustainability Rating.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth the consolidated statements of income and the related percentages of net sales for the periods indicated. Refer to Part II, Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 for additional information regarding Results of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.
Amount inThousands $ % ofNet Sales Amount in Thousands $ % ofNet Sales
Effective tax rate 24.3 % 28.9 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 18.8 % 20.0 %
(1)Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Reported Net Sales. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures".
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS
During 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the sales of several of our products, including sales to our prescription pharma customers due to lower incidences of common illnesses and doctor appointments and to our travel and retail beauty business and to our on-the-go beverage customers. We also benefited, to some extent, from increased demand for our personal care pumps and closures on certain types of hand sanitizers and our active material science solutions film for at-home COVID-19 test kits. While during 2021 we have experienced a return toward pre-pandemic levels in several of our markets, there remain uncertainties related to the pandemic that could adversely affect our business. The significance of these and other impacts to our segments are discussed herein.
As each of our segments produce dispensing systems that have been determined to be essential products by various government agencies around the world, our facilities have remained operational during the pandemic. We have taken a variety of measures to ensure the availability and functioning of our critical infrastructure, to promote the safety and security of our employees and to support the communities in which we operate. These measures include requiring remote working arrangements for employees where practicable. We are following public and private sector policies and initiatives to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as the imposition of travel restrictions, the promotion of social distancing and the adoption of work-from-home arrangements, and all of these policies and initiatives have impacted our operations.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our financial results and operations for fiscal year 2022 and going forward for all three of our business segments will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the availability, adoption and efficacy of vaccines and boosters, the length of time it takes for normal economic and operating conditions to resume, additional governmental actions that may be taken and/or extended in response to any further resurgence of the virus and numerous other uncertainties. No impairments were recorded as of December 31, 2021 related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the general uncertainty surrounding the situation, including areas such as cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, future results could be materially impacted. See Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors, included in this report for information on material risks associated with COVID-19.
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NETSALES
For the year ended December 31, 2021, reported net sales increased 10% to $3.23 billion from $2.93 billion a year ago. The average U.S. dollar exchange rate weakened compared to the euro and other major currencies in which we operate, resulting in a positive currency translation impact of 2%. The acquisition of Fusion Packaging, Inc. ("Fusion") positively impacted sales by 1%. There was no significant impact from our acquisitions of Voluntis and Hengyu during 2021. Therefore, core sales, which exclude acquisitions and changes in foreign currency rates, increased by 7% in 2021 compared to 2020. Price increases to our customers due to rising inflationary costs had a strong impact on our core sales during 2021. Of our 7% core sales increase, approximately 4% is due to price adjustments related to the passing through of higher resin and other input costs. All three segments reported sales growth excluding the inflationary pass-throughs mentioned above. Our Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage segments both reported strong core sales growth as sales of our products used in certain market categories recovered from depressed sales during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Pharma segment reported strong product growth in our injectables and active material science solutions markets; however, we were negatively impacted early in the year by the prolonged drawing down of inventory by certain customers as fewer illnesses and fewer doctor visits have resulted in lower consumption of allergic rhinitis, cough and cold and certain pulmonary medicines using our drug delivery devices.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Pharma Beauty+Home Food +Beverage Total
Core Sales Growth 2 % 7 % 23 % 7 %
Acquisitions — % 1 % — % 1 %
Currency Effects (1) 3 % 2 % 2 % 2 %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 5 % 10 % 25 % 10 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
For further discussion on net sales by reporting segment, please refer to the segment analysis of net sales and operating income on the following pages.
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, net sales by geographic location:
Years Ended December 31, 2021 % of Total 2020 % of Total
COST OF SALES (EXCLUSIVE OF DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION SHOWN BELOW)
Our cost of sales (“COS”) as a percent of net sales increased to 64.1% in 2021 compared to 62.9% in 2020. Our COS percentage was negatively impacted by both changes in our mix of sales and significant input cost increases across multiple substrates used in our products. During 2021, we reported a lower percentage of our higher-margin Pharma product sales compared to 2020. As discussed above, we also experienced increases in several input costs including resin, metals, freight and labor. While we maintain our normal pass-through of resin prices and have implemented general price increases to offset other cost increases, there is no margin on these pass-throughs which increases our COS as a percentage of sales.
SELLING, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE
Our selling, research & development and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) increased approximately 10% or $51.0 million to $551.2 million in 2021 compared to $500.2 million in 2020. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, SG&A increased by approximately $40.2 million compared to the prior year. Of this increase, $10.0 million relates to incremental SG&A costs in 2021 from the inclusion of our acquired companies compared to the prior year. The remaining increase is mainly due to higher compensation costs and professional fees, which includes transaction costs related to our announced acquisitions. In 2021 SG&A as a percentage of net sales remained constant with 2020 at 17.1%.
DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION
Reported depreciation and amortization expense increased approximately 7% or $14.6 million to $234.9 million in 2021 compared to $220.3 million in 2020. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, depreciation and amortization expense increased by approximately $9.9 million compared to the prior year. Approximately $5.4 million of this increase is due to incremental depreciation and amortization costs related to our acquired companies. We also increased our capital spending during the current and prior year to support our growth strategy. Depreciation and amortization as a percentage of net sales decreased to 7.3% in 2021 compared to 7.5% in the prior year.
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RESTRUCTURING INITIATIVES
In late 2017, we began a business transformation plan to drive profitable sales growth, increase operational excellence, enhance our approach to innovation and improve organizational effectiveness. The primary focus of the plan is the Beauty + Home segment; however, certain global general and administrative functions have also been addressed. Restructuring costs related to this plan for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:
Restructuring Initiatives by Segment
As of the end of 2021, we have successfully completed the vast majority of our planned initiatives related to our transformation plan, including implementing new commercial strategies, reducing costs and adding capabilities in Asia and in fast growing application fields that we believe will position the segment for future growth and profitability. However, the COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in a significant decline in our beauty business. While our Beauty + Home segment continues to be profitable, the disruption caused by the pandemic, including higher operating costs, have more than offset any expected growth in earnings from our transformation. Although we believe the beauty market remains a long-term attractive growth market and we remain committed to completing our transformation initiatives, we expect the return to growth to be gradual and non-linear as this market is highly correlated to the return to post-pandemic normal consumer behavior, including travel, which has proven to be sporadic and uncertain. The cumulative expense incurred for this transformation plan is approximately $136 million. We also made capital investments of approximately $50 million related to this plan. We do not expect to incur additional restructuring expense or have additional significant cash outflows related to our transformation plan in 2022.
OPERATING INCOME
Reported operating income increased approximately $7.9 million or 2% to $347.3 million in 2021 compared to $339.5 million in 2020. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, operating income decreased by approximately $3.9 million in 2021 compared to 2020. The majority of this decrease is due to changing segment sales mix along with significantly higher input costs, including both materials and labor, related to the current inflationary environment. Operating income as a percentage of net sales decreased to 10.8% in 2021 compared to 11.6% for the prior year.
NET OTHER EXPENSE
Net other expense decreased $12.7 million in 2021 to $25.7 million compared to $38.3 million in 2020. We recorded a $2.0 million realized gain and a $2.7 million unrealized gain on our investment in PureCycle Technologies (“PureCycle” or "PCT") during 2021. As discussed in Note 20 - Investment in Equity Securities of the Consolidated Financial Statements, our investment in PureCycle was converted into shares of PCT, a publicly traded entity, during the first quarter of 2021. This investment is now recorded at fair value based on observable market prices for identical assets and the change in fair value is recorded as a net investment gain or loss in the Consolidated Statements of Income. We believe that unrealized cost investment gains and losses from changes in market prices are not considered relevant to understanding our reported consolidated earnings or evaluating our periodic economic performance and are removed when reporting Adjusted EBITDA below. Other than the investment gain in PCT, we benefited from $5.7 million of lower net interest expenses due to lower interest rates and a lower average outstanding debt balance during 2021. We also recorded $1.8 million of interest income related to a Brazilian value added tax adjustment as discussed in Note 13-Commitments and Contingencies within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Miscellaneous expense also improved as a net favorable impact on foreign currency contracts more than compensated for higher pension costs related to the decline in discount rates.
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
The reported effective tax rate on income before income taxes for 2021 and 2020 was 24.3% and 28.9%, respectively. The tax rate for 2021 was lower compared to 2020 due primarily to excess tax benefits on deductible stock-based compensation. The 2021 tax rate was lower also due to a more favorable mix of earnings, including a tax rate reduction in France.
At December 31, 2021, we continue to assert permanent reinvestment of foreign earnings from Aptar's foreign operations. Therefore, we do not have a balance of foreign earnings that will be subject to U.S. tax upon repatriation under the currently enacted U.S. tax laws. We continually analyze our global working capital requirements as well as local country operation needs. We estimate that if the non-U.S. subsidiaries were to make a distribution of their cash or distributable reserves to the U.S., we would incur local country withholding tax and income taxes in the range of $15 million to $25 million. We would recognize such tax expense in our Consolidated Statements of Income and Consolidated Balance Sheets should we change the current permanent reinvestment assertion on foreign earnings.
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NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO APTARGROUP, INC.
We reported net income of $244.1 million in 2021 compared to $214.0 million reported in 2020.
PHARMA SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 33.1 % 35.0 %
(1)Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, unallocated corporate expenses, restructuring initiatives, acquisition-related costs, net unrealized investment gains and losses related to observable market price changes on equity securities and other special items. Adjusted EBITDA margins are calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Reported Net Sales. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures."
Reported net sales increased approximately 5% in 2021 to $1.28 billion compared to $1.23 billion in 2020. Changes in currencies positively affected net sales by 3%. The impact of our Voluntis and Hengyu acquisitions was immaterial to our segment's full year results. Therefore, core sales increased 2% in 2021 compared to the prior year. Core sales of our products to the injectables market increased 16% due to continued strong demand for our vaccine components. Sales of our active material science solutions grew 12% on increased demand for our diagnostics and probiotics products. We also experienced increased demand for our Activ-FilmTM technology used to enhance the integrity of certain diagnostic tests including at-home COVID-19 test kits. Core sales of our products to the consumer health care market increased 4% as strong revenue from our eye care customers more than compensated for softness for most of the year in the nasal saline and decongestant markets. Core sales of our products to the prescription drug market decreased 8% as fewer non-critical doctor visits and lower incidence of cold and flu illnesses this year have resulted in certain Pharma customers drawing down inventory as sectors such as allergic rhinitis are impacted by low levels of patient consumption.
Core Sales Growth (8) % 4 % 16 % 12 % — % 2 %
Acquisitions — % — % 1 % — % 100 % — %
Currency Effects (1) 3 % 3 % 3 % 1 % — % 3 %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth (5) % 7 % 20 % 13 % 100 % 5 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2021 decreased to $425.7 million compared to $428.5 million in 2020. While we reported strong product growth in our injectables and active material science solutions markets, lower sales in certain of our higher-margin prescription products drove our Adjusted EBITDA margins lower during 2021. We were also impacted by the inflationary environment discussed above as higher input costs negatively impacted our margins.
BEAUTY + HOME SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 10.8 % 10.0 %
(1)Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, unallocated corporate expenses, restructuring initiatives, acquisition-related costs, net unrealized investment gains and losses related to observable market price changes on equity securities and other special items. Adjusted EBITDA margins are calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Reported Net Sales. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures".
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Reported net sales increased approximately 10% in 2021 to $1.43 billion compared to $1.30 billion in 2020. Changes in currency rates positively impacted net sales by 2% while our acquisition of Fusion positively impacted sales by 1% in 2021. Therefore, core sales increased 7% in 2021 compared to the prior year. Approximately 4% of this core sales growth came from pass-through of higher input cost while the remaining amount is due to increased volumes, as sales for many of our products continued to gradually recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Core sales of our products to the beauty market increased 11% during 2021 as we experienced an increase in demand for both fragrance and skin care products. Personal care core sales increased 3% as higher sales of our hair care and body care products more than offset the lower demand for our hand sanitizer dispensing solutions. Core sales to the home care markets increased 6% on strong demand for our dish care products.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Personal Care Beauty Home Care Total
Core Sales Growth 3 % 11 % 6 % 7 %
Acquisitions — % 3 % — % 1 %
Currency Effects (1) 2 % 3 % 2 % 2 %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 5 % 17 % 8 % 10 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2021 increased to $154.7 million from $129.3 million in 2020. As discussed above, increases in product sales volumes drove the majority of our Adjusted EBITDA growth in 2021. Inflationary increases negatively impacted our current year results and margins as resin price pass throughs and other general price increases were not enough to offset the full effect of rising material and labor costs. However, we were further able to compensate for this impact with improved operational performance during 2021.
FOOD + BEVERAGE SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 15.6 % 17.8 %
(1)Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as earnings before net interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, unallocated corporate expenses, restructuring initiatives, acquisition-related costs, net unrealized investment gains and losses related to observable market price changes on equity securities and other special items. Adjusted EBITDA margins are calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by Reported Net Sales. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures".
Reported net sales increased approximately 25% in 2021 to $508.6 million compared to $405.4 million in 2020. Changes in currency rates positively impacted net sales by 2%. Therefore, core sales increased 23% in 2021 compared to the prior year. Strong product and tooling sales, along with the pass-through of higher material costs, positively impacted 2021 sales. Approximately 14% of the core sales increase is due to passing through higher resin and other input costs. Core sales to the food market increased 21% while core sales to the beverage market increased 29% during 2021 compared to the prior year. For the food markets, we realized strong growth in several product applications including sauces and condiments, dairy and granulars/powders as consumers continued to cook at home. The beverage market also reported growth as sales of our premium single-serve bottled water and on-the-go functional drink products continued to recover from the lower COVID-19 pandemic levels last year.
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Food Beverage Total
Core Sales Growth 21 % 29 % 23 %
Acquisitions — % — % — %
Currency Effects (1) 2 % 4 % 2 %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 23 % 33 % 25 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2021 increased to $79.4 million compared to $72.0 million in 2020. Higher product and tooling sales discussed above more than compensated for the impact of increasing input costs and higher compensation costs. While we maintain our normal pass-through of resin prices and have implemented general price increases to offset other cost increases, there is no margin on these pass-throughs which negatively impacts our Adjusted EBITDA margins.
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CORPORATE & OTHER
In addition to our three reporting segments, Aptar assigns certain costs to “Corporate & Other,” which is presented separately in Note 18 — Segment Information of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. For Corporate & Other, Adjusted EBITDA (which excludes net interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, restructuring initiatives, acquisition-related costs, net unrealized investment gains and losses related to observable market price changes on equity securities and other special items) primarily includes certain professional fees, compensation and information system costs which are not allocated directly to our reporting segments.
Corporate & Other expenses in 2021 increased to $52.3 million compared to $43.4 million in 2020. Approximately $2.1 million of this increase is due to higher foreign exchange rates during 2021. The majority of the remaining increase relates to higher compensation costs and higher professional fees during 2021 compared to the prior year. Our 2021 Adjusted EBITDA includes a $2.0 million realized gain on sales of PCT shares, while our 2020 results include a $3.1 million gain on our PureCycle investment prior to it being converted into shares of PCT. As noted above, any unrealized investment gains or losses are removed from our Adjusted EBITDA calculation as we believe that unrealized cost investment gains and losses from changes in market prices are not considered relevant to understanding our reported consolidated earnings or evaluating our periodic economic performance.
NON-U.S. GAAPMEASURES
In addition to the information presented herein that conforms to U.S. GAAP, we also present financial information that does not conform to U.S. GAAP, which are referred to as non-U.S. GAAP financial measures. Management may assess our financial results both on a U.S. GAAP basis and on a non-U.S. GAAP basis. We believe it is useful to present these non-U.S. GAAP financial measures because they allow for a better period-over-period comparison of operating results by removing the impact of items that, in management’s view, do not reflect our core operating performance. These non-U.S. GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial results, but should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated statements of income and other information presented herein. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on these non-U.S. GAAP measures. Further, investors are urged to review and consider carefully the adjustments made by management to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to arrive at these non-U.S. GAAP financial measures.
In our Management's Discussion and Analysis, we exclude the impact of foreign currency translation when presenting net sales and other information, which we define as “constant currency.” Changes in net sales excluding the impact of foreign currency translation is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure. As a worldwide business, it is important that we take into account the effects of foreign currency translation when we view our results and plan our strategies. Consequently, when our management looks at our financial results to measure the core performance of our business, we exclude the impact of foreign currency translation by translating our prior period results at current period foreign currency exchange rates. As a result, our management believes that these presentations are useful internally and may be useful to investors. We also exclude the impact of material acquisitions when comparing results to prior periods. Changes in operating results excluding the impact of acquisitions are non-U.S. GAAP financial measures. We believe it is important to exclude the impact of acquisitions on period over period results in order to evaluate performance on a more comparable basis.
We present earnings before net interest and taxes (“EBIT”) and earnings before net interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”). We also present our adjusted earnings before net interest and taxes (“Adjusted EBIT”) and adjusted earnings before net interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”), both of which exclude the business transformation charges (restructuring initiatives), acquisition-related costs, purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions and investments and net unrealized investment gains and losses related to observable market price changes on equity securities. Our Operations Outlook is also provided on a non-U.S. GAAP basis because certain reconciling items are dependent on future events that either cannot be controlled, such as tax and exchange rates, or reliably predicted because they are not part of our routine activities, such as restructuring initiatives and acquisition-related costs.
We provide a reconciliation of Net Debt to Net Capital as a non-U.S. GAAP measure. "Net Debt" is calculated as interest bearing debt less cash and equivalents and short-term investments while "Net Capital" is calculated as stockholders' equity plus Net Debt. Net Debt to Net Capital measures a company’s financial leverage, which gives users an idea of a company's financial structure, or how it is financing its operations, along with insight into its financial strength. We believe that it is meaningful to take into consideration the balance of our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments when evaluating our leverage. If needed, such assets could be used to reduce our gross debt position.
Finally, we provide a reconciliation of free cash flow as a non-U.S. GAAP measure. Free cash flow is calculated as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures plus proceeds from government grants related to capital expenditures. We use free cash flow to measure cash flow generated by operations that is available for dividends, share repurchases, acquisitions and debt repayment. We believe that it is meaningful to investors in evaluating our financial performance and measuring our ability to generate cash internally to fund our initiatives.
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Consolidated Pharma Beauty + Home Food + Beverage Corporate & Other Net Interest
Reported income taxes 78,017
Adjustments:
Net unrealized investment gain (1) (2,709) (2,709)
Transaction costs related to acquisitions 3,811 3,811 — — —
(1)Net unrealized investment gain represents the change in fair value of our investment in PCT (see Note 20 - Investment in Equity Securities for further details).
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Consolidated Pharma Beauty + Home Food + Beverage Corporate & Other Net Interest
Reported income taxes 87,065
Adjustments:
Transaction costs related to acquisitions 4,812 210 4,602 — —
Net Debt to Net Capital Reconciliation December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Notes payable, revolving credit facility and overdrafts $ 147,276 $ 52,200
Long-Term Obligations, net of unamortized debt issuance costs 907,024 1,054,998
Less:
Net Debt to Net Capital 35.1 % 32.0 %
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Free Cash Flow Reconciliation December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Proceeds from Government Grants 2,003 —
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Given our current low level of leverage relative to others in our industry and our ability to generate strong levels of cash flow from operations, we believe we are in a strong financial position and have the financial resources to meet our business requirements in the foreseeable future. We have historically used cash flow from operations, our revolving credit facilities, proceeds from stock options and debt, as needed, as our primary sources of liquidity. Our primary uses of liquidity are to invest in equipment and facilities that are necessary to support our growth, pay quarterly dividends to stockholders and to make acquisitions that will contribute to the achievement of our strategic objectives. Due to uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in the event that customer demand decreases significantly for a prolonged period of time and adversely impacts our cash flows from operations, we would have the ability to restrict and significantly reduce capital expenditure levels as well as evaluate our acquisition strategy. A prolonged and significant reduction in capital expenditure levels could increase future repairs and maintenance costs as well as have a negative impact on operating margins if we were unable to invest in new innovative products.
Cash and equivalents decreased to $122.9 million at December 31, 2021 from $300.1 million at December 31, 2020 while total short and long-term interest bearing debtof $1.20 billionat December 31, 2021 increased from $1.17 billion at December 31, 2020. The use of cash and increase in debt was primarily to fund our acquisitions and return cash to stockholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. The ratio of our NetDebt (interest bearing debt less cash and cash equivalents) to Net Capital (stockholders’ equity plus Net Debt) increased to 35.1% at December 31, 2021 compared to 32.0% at December 31, 2020. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures".
In 2021, our operations provided approximately $363.4 million in cash flow compared to $570.2 million in 2020. Cash flow from operations was primarily derived from earnings before depreciation and amortization. The decrease in 2021 cash flow from operations compared to 2020 is primarily attributable to an increase in working capital driven by our sales growth along with pricing increases related to the passing through of higher resin and other input costs as well as increased inventory due to inflation. We believe that our 2022 operating cash flow will be more than sufficient to fund our working capital needs, scheduled repayments of debt and outstanding purchase commitments as discussed in Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies and lease arrangements as discussed in Note 8 - Lease Commitments.
We used $457.2 million in cash for investing activities during 2021 compared to $452.0 million during 2020. The higher cash utilization in 2021 compared to 2020 is mainly due to a $62.0 million increase in capital expenditures, partially offset by a $15.8 million decrease related to acquisitions and a $32.8 million decrease for investment in equity securities. During 2021, approximately $89.7 million and $53.8 million of cash was utilized to fund the Voluntis and Hengyu acquisitions, respectively, while in 2020, $162.7 million of cash was utilized to fund the Fusion acquisition. Additionally, in 2021 we invested $6.9 million in equity securities while in 2020 we invested $32.0 million in our 49% equity interest of BTY, $5.0 million in our 30% equity interest of Sonmol and $1.4 million in our Loop and PureCycle preferred equity investments. In 2022, we expect our capital investments to be in the range of $300 million to $330 million.
Financing activities utilized $81.5 million of cash during 2021, compared to $73.7 million during 2020, mainly due to an increase of returns to stockholders not fully offset by additional borrowings. In 2021, we paid $98.5 million in dividends to stockholders and repaid $68.8 million of long-term debt, while in 2020, we paid $92.7 million of dividends to stockholders and repaid $64.7 million of long-term debt and $14.0 million of net notes payable. Additionally, contributing to our higher utilization of financing activities in 2021 compared to 2020 was the repurchase of $78.1 million of common stock that was placed into treasury during 2021 while no treasury shares were repurchased during 2020. Finally, we received net proceeds from stock option exercises of $59.9 million and net proceeds from our revolving credit facility of $92.9 million in 2021 compared to net proceeds from stock option exercises of $68.5 million and net proceeds from our revolving credit facility of $27.0 million in 2020. In 2022, we expect to have financing cash outlays of approximately $283.0 million to fund short- and long-term debt obligations present as of December 31, 2021 as they come due as discussed in Note 7 - Debt, which will be covered by cash on hand or additional borrowings on our revolving credit facility.
Refer to Part II, Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 for additional information regarding cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019.
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On June 30, 2021, we entered into an amended and restated multi-currency revolving credit facility (the "revolving credit facility") to replace the existing facility (the "prior credit facility") maturing July 2022 and to amend and restate the unsecured term loan facility extended to our wholly-owned UK subsidiary under the prior credit facility (as amended, the "amended term facility"). The revolving credit facility matures in June 2026, subject to a maximum of two one-year extensions in certain circumstances, and provides for unsecured financing of up to $600 million available in the U.S. and to our wholly-owned UK subsidiary. The amended term facility matures in July 2022. The revolving credit facility can be drawn in various currencies including USD, EUR, GBP and CHF to the equivalent of $600 million, which may be increased by up to $300 million subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Each borrowing under the revolving credit facility will bear interest at rates based on LIBOR (in the case of USD), EURIBOR (in the case of EUR), SONIA (in the case of GBP), SARON (in the case of CHF), prime rates or other similar rates, in each case plus an applicable margin. The revolving credit facility provides mechanics relating to a transition away from LIBOR (in the case of USD) and the designated benchmark rates for other available currencies and the replacement of any such applicable benchmark by a replacement alternative benchmark rate or mechanism for loans made in the applicable currency. A facility fee on the total amount of the revolving credit facility is also payable quarterly, regardless of usage. The applicable margins for borrowings under the revolving credit facility and the facility fee percentage may change from time to time depending on changes in our consolidated leverage ratio. As of December 31, 2021, $133 million was utilized under the revolving credit facility in the U.S., €10 million (approximately $11.4 million) was utilized by our wholly-owned UK subsidiary and $56 million remained outstanding under the amended term facility. As of December 31, 2020, under our prior credit facility, we utilized $52 million under our U.S. revolving facility and no balance was utilized under our euro-based revolving credit facility.Credit facility balances are included in notes payable, revolving credit facility and overdrafts on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Our revolving credit facility and certain long-term obligations require us to satisfy certain financial and other covenants including:
Requirement Level at December 31, 2021
Consolidated Leverage Ratio (1) Maximum of 3.50 to 1.00 1.84 to 1.00
Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (1) Minimum of 3.00 to 1.00 19.65 to 1.00
(1)Definitions of ratios are included as part of the revolving credit facility agreement.
Based upon the above consolidated leverage ratio covenant, we would have the ability to borrow approximately an additional $1.0 billion before the 3.50 to 1.00 maximum ratio requirement would be exceeded.
In addition, in October 2020, we entered into an unsecured money market borrowing arrangement to provide short term financing of up to $30 million that is available in the U.S. No borrowing on this facility is permitted over a quarter end date. As such, no balance was utilized under this arrangement as of December 31, 2021.
Our foreign operations have historically met cash requirements with the use of internally generated cash or uncommitted short-term borrowings. We also have committed financing arrangements in both the U.S. and the UK as detailed above. We manage our global cash requirements considering (i) available funds among the many subsidiaries through which we conduct business, (ii) the geographic location of our liquidity needs, and (iii) the cost to access international cash balances.
We facilitate a supply chain finance program ("SCF") across Europe and the U.S. that is administered by a third-party platform. Eligible suppliers can elect to receive early payment of invoices, less an interest deduction, and negotiate their receivable sales arrangements through the third-party platform on behalf of the respective SCF bank. We are not a party to those agreements, and the terms of our payment obligations are not impacted by a supplier's participation in the SCF. Accordingly, we have concluded that this program continues to be a trade payable program and is not indicative of a borrowing arrangement.
All outstanding amounts related to suppliers participating in the SCF are recorded within Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets, and associated payments are included in operating activities within our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the amounts due to suppliers participating in the SCF and included in Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities were approximately $30 million and $23 million, respectively.
Collection and payment periods tend to be longer for our operations located outside the United States due to local business practices. We have also seen an increasing trend in pressure from certain customers to lengthen their payment terms. As the majority of our products are made to order, we have not needed to keep significant amounts of finished goods inventory to meet customer requirements. However, some of our contracts specify an amount of finished goods safety stock we are required to maintain.
To the extent our financial position allows and there is a clear financial benefit, we from time-to-time benefit from early payment discounts with some suppliers. We are also lengthening the payment terms with our suppliers to be in line with customer trends. While we have offered third party alternatives for our suppliers to receive payments sooner, we generally do not utilize these offerings from our customers as the economic conditions currently are not beneficial for us.
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RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
We have reviewed the recently issued accounting standards updates to FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification that have future effective dates. Standards which are effective for 2021 are discussed in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments to this update apply only to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. ASU 2020-04 was further amended in January 2021 by ASU 2021-01 which clarified the applicability of certain provisions. Both standards are effective upon issuance and can be adopted any time prior to December 31, 2022. The guidance in ASU 2020-04 and ASU 2021-01 is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. As of December 31, 2021, we have amended the revolving credit facility to provide mechanics relating to a transition away from LIBOR (in the case of USD) and the designated benchmark rates for other available currencies and the replacement of any such applicable benchmark by a replacement alternative benchmark rate or mechanism for loans made in the applicable currency. We are evaluating any further impact this standard may have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and anticipate no further significant impacts.
Other accounting standards that have been issued by the FASB or other standards-setting bodies that do not require adoption until a future date are not expected to have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements upon adoption.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
The preparation of the financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We continually evaluate our estimates, including those related to bad debts, inventories, intangible assets, income taxes, pensions and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on a variety of other assumptions believed to be reasonable in order to make judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements. Management has discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting estimates with the audit committee of our Board of Directors and the audit committee has reviewed our disclosure relating to it in this MD&A.
IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL
In accordance with current accounting standards, goodwill has an indefinite life and is not amortized. We evaluate our goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis, or whenever indicators of impairment exist. We have determined that our Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage business segments represent reporting units. In addition to the Pharma business reporting unit, the injectables and active material science solutions divisions of the Pharma segment qualify as separate reporting units for goodwill impairment testing apart from the remaining Pharma business. As of December 31, 2021, we have $974.2 million of goodwill, which is allocated as follows:
Reporting Unit Balance at December 31, 2021
Active Material Science Solutions 163,777
We believe that the accounting estimates related to determining the fair value of our reporting units is a critical accounting estimate because: (1) it is highly susceptible to change from period to period as it requires management to make assumptions about the future cash flows for each reporting unit over several years, and (2) the impact that recognizing an impairment would have on the assets reported on our balance sheet as well as our results of operations could be material. Management’s determination of the fair value of our reporting units, based on future cash flows for the reporting units, requires significant judgment and the use of estimates and assumptions related to projected revenue growth rates, the terminal growth factor, as well as the discount rate. Actual cash flows in the future may differ significantly from those forecasted today. The estimates and assumptions for future cash flows and their impact on the impairment testing of goodwill is a critical accounting estimate.
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For our goodwill impairment assessment, we first consider qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not (greater than 50 percent chance) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount (the “step zero” approach). Such qualitative factors may include the following: macroeconomic conditions; industry and market considerations; cost factors; overall financial performance, and other relevant entity-specific events. In the absence of sufficient qualitative factors, if it is determined that the fair value of a reporting unit is below its carrying amount, where necessary, goodwill will be impaired at that time.
Based on our qualitative assessment of macroeconomic, industry, and market events and circumstances as well as the overall financial performance of the reporting units, we determined it was more likely than not that the fair value of these reporting units was greater than their carrying amounts and therefore no impairment of goodwill was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2021.
INCOME TAXES
We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions if it more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such positions are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater-than-50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The calculation of tax liabilities involves significant judgment in estimating the impact of uncertainties in the application of U.S. GAAP and complex tax laws. Resolution of these uncertainties in a manner inconsistent with management's expectations could have a material impact on our financial condition and operating results.
At December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had $130.2 million and $124.8 million, respectively, of deferred tax assets net of valuation allowance on our balance sheet, a significant portion of which is related to net operating losses and other tax attribute carryforwards. The ultimate realization of these deferred tax assets is dependent upon the amount, source, and timing of future taxable income. In cases where we believe it is more likely than not that we may not realize the future potential tax benefits, we establish a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets.
ACQUISITIONS
We account for business combinations using the acquisition method, which requires management to estimate the fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and to properly allocate purchase price consideration to the individual assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Goodwill is measured as the excess amount of consideration transferred, compared to fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The allocation of the purchase price utilizes significant estimates and assumptions in determining the fair values of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, especially with respect to intangible assets. These estimates are based on all available information and in some cases assumptions with respect to the timing and amount of future revenues and expenses associated with an asset and are reviewed by consulting with outside valuation experts. The purchase price allocation for business acquisitions contains uncertainties because it requires management's judgment.
Management applied judgment in determining the fair value of the acquired assets with respect to the acquisitions of Voluntis, Hengyu and Fusion, including the fair values of acquired intangibles including acquired technology and customer relationships. The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to the assets acquired, as well as the estimated life of the assets, can materially impact net income in periods subsequent to the acquisition through depreciation and amortization, and in certain instances through impairment charges, if the asset becomes impaired in the future. In particular, judgment was applied with respect to determining the fair value of acquired technology and customer relationships intangible assets, which involved the use of significant estimates and assumptions with respect to the timing and amounts of cash flow projections, the revenue growth rates, the customer attrition rates, the technology obsolescence rate, the EBITDA margins and the discount rate.
VALUATION OF PENSION BENEFITS
The benefit obligations and net periodic pension cost associated with our domestic and foreign noncontributory pension plans are determined using actuarial assumptions. Such assumptions include discount rates to reflect the time value of money, rate of employee compensation increases, demographic assumptions to determine the probability and timing of benefit payments, and the long-term rate of return on plan assets. The actuarial assumptions are based upon management’s best estimates, after consulting with outside investment advisors and actuaries. Because assumptions and estimates are used, actual results could differ from expected results.
The discount rate is utilized principally in calculating our pension obligations, which are represented by the Accumulated Benefit Obligation ("ABO") and the Projected Benefit Obligation (“PBO”), and in calculating net periodic benefit cost. In establishing the discount rate for our foreign plans, we review a number of relevant interest rates including AA corporate bond yields. In establishing the discount rate for our domestic plans, we match the hypothetical duration of our plans, using a weighted average duration that is based upon projected cash payments, to a simulated bond portfolio (FTSE Pension Index Curve). At December 31, 2021, the discount rates for our domestic and foreign plans were 2.75% and 1.09%, respectively.
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We believe that the accounting estimates related to determining the valuation of pension benefits are critical accounting estimates because: (1) changes in them can materially affect net income and (2) we are required to establish the discount rate and the expected return on fund assets, which are highly uncertain and require judgment. The estimates for the valuation of pension benefits are critical accounting estimates for all of our segments.
To the extent the discount rates increase (or decrease), our PBO and net periodic benefit cost will decrease (or increase) accordingly. The estimated effect of a 1% decrease in each discount rate would be a $77.8 million increase in the PBO ($61.2 million for the domestic plans and $16.6 million for the foreign plans) and a $12.0 million increase in net periodic benefit cost ($10.6 million for the domestic plans and $1.4 million for the foreign plans). To the extent the PBO increases, the after-tax effect of such increase could reduce Other Comprehensive Income and Stockholders’ Equity. The estimated effect of a 1% increase in each discount rate would be a $60.3 million decrease in the PBO ($46.6 million for the domestic plans and $13.7 million for the foreign plans) and a $9.4 million decrease in net periodic benefit cost ($8.2 million for the domestic plans and $1.2 million for the foreign plans).
The assumed expected long-term rate of return on assets is the average rate of earnings expected on the funds invested to provide for the benefits included in the PBO. Of domestic plan assets, approximately 48% was invested in equities, 27% was invested in fixed income securities, 11% was invested in hedge funds, 8% was invested in infrastructure securities, 5% was invested in real estate securities and 1% was invested in money market funds, at December 31, 2021. Of foreign plan assets, approximately 90% was invested in investment funds, 6% was invested in equity securities, 2% was invested in corporate securities, 1% was invested in fixed income securities and 1% was invested in money market funds at December 31, 2021.
The expected long-term rate of return assumptions are determined based on our investment policy combined with expected risk premiums of equities and fixed income securities over the underlying risk-free rate. This rate is utilized principally in calculating the expected return on the plan assets component of the net periodic benefit cost. To the extent the actual rate of return on assets realized over the course of a year is greater or less than the assumed rate, that year’s net periodic benefit cost is not affected. Rather, this gain (or loss) reduces (or increases) future net periodic benefit cost over a period of approximately 15 to 20 years. To the extent the expected long-term rate of return on assets increases (or decreases), our net periodic benefit cost will decrease (or increase) accordingly. The estimated effect of a 1% decrease (or increase) in each expected long-term rate of return on assets would be a $2.6 million increase (or decrease) in net periodic benefit cost.
The average rate of compensation increase is utilized principally in calculating the PBO and the net periodic benefit cost. The estimated effect of a 0.5% decrease in each rate of expected compensation increase would be a $7.8 million decrease in the PBO ($1.9 million for the domestic plans and $5.9 million for the foreign plans) and a $1.4 million decrease to the net periodic benefit cost. The estimated effect of a 0.5% increase in each rate of expected compensation increase would be a $7.5 million increase in the PBO ($2.0 million for the domestic plans and $5.5 million for the foreign plans) and a $1.5 million increase to the net periodic benefit cost.
Our primary pension related assumptions as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 were as follows:
Discount rate:
Expected long‐term rate of return on plan assets:
Rate of compensation increase:
In order to determine the 2022 net periodic benefit cost, we expect to use the discount rates, expected long-term rates of return on plan assets and rates of compensation assumptions as of December 31, 2021. The estimated impact of the changes to the assumptions as noted in the table above on our 2022 net periodic benefit cost is expected to be a decrease of approximately $4.5 million.
OPERATIONS OUTLOOK
Looking to the first quarter, we expect solid growth in our Pharma segment. The prescription division is expected to report growth in the allergy category as we see signs of the destocking ending across most accounts. Our beauty and beverage businesses are showing signs of recovery. Other COVID-19 variants may impact the pace of these recoveries and supply chain disruptions are expected to continue in the near term, impacting certain customers in both Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage segments.
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Aptar expects earnings per share for the first quarter of 2022, excluding any restructuring expenses, changes in the fair value of equity investments and acquisition-related costs to be in the range of $0.92 to $1.00 and this guidance is based on an effective tax rate range of 27% to 29%.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in MD&A and other sections of this Form 10-K are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including certain statements set forth in the Significant Developments, Restructuring Initiatives, Liquidity and Capital Resources, Contingencies and Operations Outlook sections of this Form 10-K. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “future”, “potential”, "are optimistic" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would” and “could” are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. Accordingly, our actual results or other events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that exist in our operations and business environment, including but not limited to:
•the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on our global supply chain and our global customers, employees and operations, which has elevated and will continue to elevate many of the risks and uncertainties discussed below;
•economic conditions worldwide, including potential deflationary or inflationary conditions in regions we rely on for growth;
•the availability of direct labor workers and the increase in direct labor costs, especially in North America;
•our ability to preserve organizational culture and maintain employee productivity in the work-from-home environment caused by the current pandemic;
•the availability of raw materials and components (particularly from sole sourced suppliers) as well as the financial viability of these suppliers;
•fluctuations in the cost of materials, components, transportation cost as a result of supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, and other input costs (particularly resin, metal, anodization costs and energy costs);
•political conditions worldwide;
•significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates or our effective tax rate;
•the impact of tax reform legislation, changes in tax rates and other tax-related events or transactions that could impact our effective tax rate;
•financial conditions of customers and suppliers;
•consolidations within our customer or supplier bases;
•changes in customer and/or consumer spending levels;
•loss of one or more key accounts;
•our ability to successfully implement facility expansions and new facility projects;
•our ability to offset inflationary impacts with cost containment, productivity initiatives or price increases;
•changes in capital availability or cost, including interest rate fluctuations;
•volatility of global credit markets;
•our ability to identify potential new acquisitions and to successfully acquire and integrate such operations, including the successful integration of the businesses we have acquired, including contingent consideration valuation;
•our ability to build out acquired businesses and integrate the product/service offerings of the acquired entities into our existing product/service portfolio;
•direct or indirect consequences of acts of war, terrorism or social unrest;
•cybersecurity threats that could impact our networks and reporting systems;
•the impact of natural disasters and other weather-related occurrences;
•fiscal and monetary policies and other regulations;
•changes or difficulties in complying with government regulation;
•changing regulations or market conditions regarding environmental sustainability;
•work stoppages due to labor disputes;
•competition, including technological advances;
•our ability to protect and defend our intellectual property rights, as well as litigation involving intellectual property rights;
•the outcome of any legal proceeding that has been or may be instituted against us and others;
•our ability to meet future cash flow estimates to support our goodwill impairment testing;
•the demand for existing and new products;
•the success of our customers’ products, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry;
•our ability to manage worldwide customer launches of complex technical products, particularly in developing markets;
•difficulties in product development and uncertainties related to the timing or outcome of product development;
•significant product liability claims; and
•other risks associated with our operations.
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Although we believe that our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results, performance or achievements will not differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Please refer to Part 1, Item 1A - Risk Factors included in this Form 10-K for additional risk factors affecting the Company.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
MARKET RISKS
A significant number of our operations are located outside of the United States. Because of this, movements in exchange rates may have a significant impact on the translation of the financial condition and results of operations of our subsidiaries. Our primary foreign exchange exposure is to the euro, but we also have foreign exchange exposure to the Chinese yuan, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Swiss franc and other Asian, European and South American currencies. A strengthening U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies has a dilutive translation effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Conversely, a weakening U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies has an additive translation effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, in some cases, we sell products denominated in a currency different from the currency in which the related costs are incurred. Any changes in exchange rates on such inter-country sales may impact our results of operations.
The table below provides information as of December 31, 2021 about our forward currency exchange contracts. The majority of the contracts expire before the end of the first quarter of 2022.
As of December 31, 2021, we have recorded the fair value of foreign currency forward exchange contracts of $0.3 million in prepaid and other and $0.2 million in accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Aptar also entered into a EUR/USD floating-to-fixed cross currency swap on July 20, 2017 to effectively hedge the foreign exchange and interest rate exposure on the $280 million bank term loan drawn by its wholly owned UK subsidiary. The fair value of this cash flow hedge is $0.5 million and is reported in prepaid and other in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
In thousands, except per share amounts
Operating Expenses:
Other (Expense) Income:
Net Loss (Income) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests 459 (50) (25)
Net Income Attributable to AptarGroup, Inc. per Common Share:
Dividends per Common Share $ 1.50 $ 1.44 $ 1.42
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
In thousands
Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income:
Changes in derivative gains (losses), net of tax 1,307 315 (37)
Defined benefit pension plan, net of tax
Prior service cost, net of tax — 1,879 320
Amortization of net loss included in net income, net of tax 9,300 5,920 332
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
In thousands
Assets
Total Cash and equivalents and Short-term investments 123,665 300,380
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
In thousands, except share and per share amounts
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Notes payable, revolving credit facility and overdrafts $ 147,276 $ 52,200
Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities 692,865 662,463
Long-Term Obligations, net of unamortized debt issuance costs 907,024 1,054,998
Deferred and other non-current liabilities 74,882 68,528
Commitments and contingencies — —
AptarGroup, Inc. stockholders’ equity
Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries 15,193 396
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Years Ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
In thousands
AptarGroup, Inc. Stockholders’ Equity
Foreign currency translation adjustments — (8,723) — — — (4) (8,727)
Changes in derivative gains (losses), net of tax — (37) — — — — (37)
Cash dividends declared on common stock (90,208) — — — — — (90,208)
Treasury stock purchased — — — (86,497) — — (86,497)
Adoption of CECL standard (1,377) — — — — — (1,377)
Foreign currency translation adjustments — 79,099 — — — 10 79,109
Changes in derivative gains (losses), net of tax — 315 — — — — 315
Cash dividends declared on common stock (92,658) — — — — — (92,658)
Acquisitions of non-controlling interest — — — — — 38,543 38,543
Foreign currency translation adjustments — (71,475) — — — (267) (71,742)
Changes in derivative gains (losses), net of tax — 1,307 — — — — 1,307
Cash dividends declared on common stock (98,509) — — — — — (98,509)
Treasury stock purchased — — — (78,148) — — (78,148)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
In thousands, brackets denote cash outflows
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operations:
Net gain on remeasurement of equity securities (4,709) (64) —
Impairment loss 376 — —
Change in fair value of contingent consideration 2,768 5,230 —
Retirement and deferred compensation plan liabilities (8,726) (7,267) (3,956)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Proceeds from government grants 2,003 — —
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 5,231 5,261 4,301
Purchase of short-term investments (497) (243) —
Acquisition of intangible assets — (6,092) (4,806)
Proceeds from sale of investment in equity securities 2,434 — 16,487
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Payment of contingent consideration obligation — (2,765) —
Credit facility costs (1,718) — —
Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosure:
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Restricted cash included in the line item prepaid and other on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as shown below represents amounts held in escrow related to the Fusion acquisition in 2020 and the Noble acquisition in 2019.
Restricted cash included in prepaid and other — 4,833 5,003
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Dollars in Thousands, Except Share and per Share Amounts, or as Otherwise Indicated)
NOTE 1 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of AptarGroup, Inc. and our subsidiaries. The terms “AptarGroup”, “Aptar”, “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our” as used herein refer to AptarGroup, Inc. and our subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.
AptarGroup’s organizational structure consists ofthreemarket-focused business segments which are Pharma, Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage. This is a strategic structure which allows us to be more closely aligned with our customers and the markets in which they operate.
In late 2017, we began a business transformation plan to drive profitable sales growth, increase operational excellence, enhance our approach to innovation and improve organizational effectiveness (see Note 21 – Restructuring Initiatives for further details). The primary focus of the plan is the Beauty + Home segment; however, certain global general and administrative functions have also been addressed. During 2021, 2020 and 2019, we recognized approximately$23.2 million,$26.5 million and$20.5 million, respectively, of restructuring costs related to this plan. As of December 31, 2021, we have successfully completed the vast majority of our planned initiatives related to this plan and do not expect any significant, additional restructuring expenses related to this plan.