atr-20221231
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United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM10-K
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDEDDECEMBER 31, 2022
OR
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM_____TO_____
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER1-11846
AptarGroup, Inc.
265 EXCHANGE DRIVE, SUITE 301,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 the 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.☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
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, 2022 was$6,771,678,654.
The number of outstanding shares of common stock, as of February 13, 2023, was65,400,423 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 3, 2023 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, 2022
INDEX
Page
Part I
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 10
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 14
Item 2. Properties 15
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 15
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 15
Part II
Item 6. Reserved 17
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk 33
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 34
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 80
Item 9B. Other Information 80
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 80
Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 81
Item 11. Executive Compensation 81
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 81
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 82
Index of Exhibits 83
Signatures 88
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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 13,500 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 Latin America. We have approximately 5,000 customers with no single customer or group of affiliated customers accounting for greater than 5% of our 2022 Net Sales.
Consumers’ and patients' preferences 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 continuous spray valves, with the balance being metered dose valves and bag-on 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.
Our 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 2022 and 2021, we acquired several companies to strengthen and broaden our portfolio, including the following business combinations and asset purchases:
- August 2022 - We acquired 100% of the outstanding capital stock of Metaphase Design Group Inc. ("Metaphase") for approximately $5.1 million (net of $0.1 million of cash acquired).
- September to 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).
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To further broaden our portfolio, we made the following equity investment in 2021 (no investments were made in 2022):
- July 2021 – We acquired 10% of the equity interests in YAT for approximately $5.9 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 acquisitions and related investment activities.
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 continued to focus on 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)Focus on Fixed Costs: To strengthen our performance and deepen our position as a true market shaper, we continually evaluate our business and opportunities to streamline and reduce our fixed costs. By streamlining, our goal is to create a more efficient structure to leverage as our businesses continue to grow, without adding significant costs. This will help ensure our margins improve as the business grows.
(v)Acquisitions and Partnerships: 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
During the year ended December 31, 2022, our organizational structure consisted of three market-focused business segments: Pharma, Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage.
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 formed the Pharma segment. Operations that sell dispensing systems and sealing solutions primarily to the beauty, personal care and home care markets formed the Beauty + Home segment. Operations that sell dispensing systems, sealing solutions and food service trays to the food and beverage markets formed the Food + Beverage segment. Each of these three business segments is described more fully below. 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.
Effective January 1, 2023, there was a realignment of two of our segments, allowing us to better serve our customers and positioning us for long-term profitable growth. We will continue to have three reporting segments and they will be called Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty and Aptar Closures.
We are combining all of our closures operations into a single segment - Aptar Closures. The Aptar Closures business will serve multiple markets, including food, beverage, personal care, home care, beauty and healthcare. Closures that were developed in Beauty + Home and Pharma will move to Aptar Closures together with the operations of legacy Food + Beverage. Aptar's food protection business and our elastomeric flow-control technology business will continue to report through the Aptar Closures segment.
At the same time, we are simplifying and focusing our Beauty + Home segment to better leverage our complex spray and dispensing solutions for prestige and premium brands in the beauty and personal care markets. For many of our customers, personal care products are considered part of "beauty" and so we are renaming this segment, simply, Aptar Beauty.
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These changes are intended to help us increase our rate of innovation, broaden our market reach, streamline operations, increase effectiveness and raise capital efficiencies. Additionally, we intend to continue to focus on sustainability because leadership in sustainability remains a key differentiator across all of our segments.
PHARMA
Our Pharma segment accounted for 65% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs in 2022, and is our second largest segment in terms of net sales and our largest segment in terms of total assets, representing 41% and 45% of our Net Sales and Total Assets, respectively, for 2022. 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. We also provide services designed to accelerate and de-risk the development and regulatory approvals of drugs using drug delivery devices. 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 41% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022. 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 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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 2022. 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 toward 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 21% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022. 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 prefilled and coated stoppers which better protect the contents of the primary packaging container 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 14% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022. 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 reporting on digital health solutions in the fourth quarter of 2021 with the acquisition of Voluntis. Sales to the digital health market accounted for 1% of the segment's total net sales in 2022 and are expected to increase in the future as we expand the division's platform for services provided. The digital health solutions we provide improve patients' treatment, experience and outcomes. We leverage connected devices, diagnostics and digital therapeutic tools that support patients in managing their disease as well as enable 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 accounted for 24% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs in 2022, and is our largest segment in terms of net sales and our second largest in terms of total assets, representing 43% and 39% of our Net Sales and Total Assets, respectively, for 2022. 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 51% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022. 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 42% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022 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 7% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022 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 accounted for 11% of our Adjusted EBITDA excluding non-allocated corporate costs, 16% of our Net Sales and 13% of our Total Assets for 2022. 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 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 75% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures including those utilizing elastomeric flow-control components, and absorbent and non-absorbent food service trays. To a lesser degree we also sell continuous spray aerosol valves and spray pumps to this market. Product applications for dispensing closures include sauces, condiments, infant nutrition and other food products. 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 25% of the segment’s total net sales in 2022 and primarily include sales of dispensing closures including those utilizing elastomeric flow-control components. Sales of dispensing closures to the beverage market have increased over the last several years, reflecting an increase in on-the-go consumption, 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 2022 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, 2022 and 2021 were approximately 53% of our consolidated sales. Asia and Latin America when aggregated represented approximately 14% and 13% of our consolidated sales for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Export sales from the United States were $211.1 million and $204.6 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Although Europe represents the largest region for us in terms of sales, our beauty and pharmaceutical customers often export their finished products using our technology around the world for consumption. 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 Latin 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, 2022, Aptar had approximately 13,500 full-time employees. Of the full-time employees, approximately 8,200 were located in Europe, 2,800 were located in Asia and Latin America and the remaining 2,500 were 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 49.3% 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 2022 and management considers our employee relations to be satisfactory.
In 2022, we continued to experience competition for talent and wage inflation. 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, Equity & Inclusion. At AptarGroup, our goal is to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture. As of February 17, 2023, women comprised 40% of the Board of Directors, and 100% of Board Committee chairs were women. During 2021, we created a Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion role and continued to roll-out Diversity & Inclusion training; we also expanded our initiatives to include a focus on 'Equity'. Women comprise approximately 36% of the global employee population and approximately 24% of senior leadership. In 2020, Aptar launched a global Women's Employee Resource Group with a focus on increasing women in leadership. In 2022, Aptar launched a new employee resource group for the LGBTQ+ community and a new Black/African American and/or African descent employee resource group. These three employee resource groups collaborated to host DEI Week for the employee population. 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. Aptar was named #70 on the World's Top Female-Friendly Companies for 2022 by Forbes. Additionally, SHero has recognized Aptar Greater China as one of the Best Companies for Female Executives 2022. Aptar is launching its first Diversity Supplier Program in 2023. Diversity, equity and inclusion continue to be part of Aptar's strategic priorities.
Employee Well-being & Safety. Employee safety and well-being is a primary focus of Aptar. In response to the COVID-19 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 accommodating remote (or hybrid) working arrangements for employees where practicable and implementing new safety protocols. We are following public and private sector policies and initiatives to keep our employees safe, 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 include our 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 and 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. We surpassed our original Scope 1 and Scope 2 reduction target within the first year of validation by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Therefore, in 2022 we began working with SBTi to revise the Scope 1 and Scope 2 target to a more aggressive ambition, and to align it to the requirements to keep global warming at 1.5° Celsius by 2030. Aptar’s Scope 3 ambition remains the same, as does our commitment to increase annual sourcing of renewable electricity to 100% by 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 2022 climate change and water questionnaires. We believe Aptar is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide as proven by our "A-" letter grades on both the 2022 CDP climate change and water assessments.
There continues to be increased interest and awareness from consumers and our customers in products with environmentally sustainable features, 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 (PCR) resins 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 toward a more circular economy.
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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 February 2022, Aptar was named one of Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for 2022, marking the fourth consecutive year Aptar was included on the Barron’s list. Also in February 2022, Aptar was named on CDP's Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, for the second consecutive year, in recognition of our efforts to measure and reduce climate risk within our supply chain. In May 2022, Aptar was named among the 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2022 by 3BL Media. In December 2022, Aptar was named one of America's Most Responsible Companies 2023 by Newsweek, ranked #15 out of 500 U.S. companies, and ranked first in the Materials & Chemicals category. Also in December 2022, Aptar was once again named one of the Most Responsible Companies in France by Le Point Magazine. Additionally, in 2022 Aptar achieved a Platinum Sustainability Rating from EcoVadis.
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. In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to end plastic waste pollution and forge an internationally binding agreement by 2024. In addition, the European Union (EU) 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. For example, the EU released in 2022 a draft regulation on packaging and packaging waste with a focus on recyclability, recycled content, compostability and reusability. The final version is expected by the end of 2023. 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 regulations 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 (PCR) 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; Rocket, a sports cap awarded Best in Cap at the 17th Global Water Drinks Congress in 2020, tethered and with no losable component; 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 of HFC propellants 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.
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.
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INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Our executive officers as of February 17, 2023 are as follows:
Name Age Position with the Company
Stephan Tanda 57 President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Kuhn 60 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Marc Prieur 57 President, Aptar Beauty + Home
Hedi Tlili 48 President, Aptar Food + Beverage
Gael Touya 53 President, Aptar Pharma
Xiangwei Gong 53 President, Aptar Asia
Shiela Vinczeller 59 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 SEC 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 SEC. 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
If there is deterioration in economic conditions, 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 and other unfavorable changes in economic conditions, such as inflation, rising interest rates or a recession, 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.
Geopolitical conditions, including trade disputes and 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.
For example, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created significant regional disruption in addition to global security concerns that together with retaliatory sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other NATO members could have a lasting impact on both regional and global economies. As of December 31, 2022, less than 1% of our consolidated net sales were from Russia and Ukraine; in addition, less than 2% is imported into Russia and Ukraine and therefore we do not currently expect the war to have a material direct impact to our consolidated results. However, we have experienced indirect impacts on our business, including higher energy and other input costs as well as certain supply chain disruptions, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
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, including computer viruses, cyberattacks, ransomware attacks, phishing attacks and other malicious activity, and make investments seeking to reduce the risk of these threats by employing a number of security measures, including employee training, 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. 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, mitigation costs and legal liability, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.
Employee retention or labor cost inflation could disrupt our business.Labor cost and availability are subject factors that are beyond our control. 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.
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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. Our competitors' 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.
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.
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected our business, and future developments or other global pandemics 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. While during 2021 and 2022 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.
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 and social instability, acts of war, terrorist activity or other similar events 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 recycled (PCR) resin for our sustainable product offerings and 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.
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.
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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 products 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 products to our customers.
We may not achieve the expected benefits from our restructuring initiatives, which could adversely affect our business and operations. We continue to streamline and reduce our fixed costs in order to increase operating efficiencies. If we do not successfully manage and execute these initiatives, or if they are inadequate or ineffective, we may fail to achieve the expected benefits, and our business and operations could be adversely affected. Furthermore, any restructuring initiative could result in unintended consequences or unforeseen costs, including distraction of our management and employees, inability to attract or retain key personnel and reduced employee productivity, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our integration of acquisitions or significant capital investments fail to generate expected returns, our financial performance may suffer.We continue to pursue growth through acquisitions, including the recent Metaphase, Voluntis, and Hengyu acquisitions. We continue to invest internally in several larger facility expansions, 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 Latin 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. However, there is no guarantee that our hedging strategy will be effective, and the volatility of currency exchange rates may materially affect our operating results.
We have approximately $945.6 million in recorded goodwill at December 31, 2022, 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, changes in market conditions, or rising discount rates 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.
We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations and changes in, or failure to comply with, these laws or regulations could have an adverse impact on the Company’s reputation, business and results of operations. Doing business globally requires us to comply with anti-corruption, trade, sanctions and similar laws, and to implement policies and procedures designed to ensure that our company, employees and other intermediaries comply with the applicable restrictions. We are also required to comply with a variety of other laws and regulations in the ordinary course of business, including those related to data privacy. Privacy regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”), are complex, rigorous and sometimes conflicting. Compliance with existing and forthcoming privacy laws and regulations can be costly and time consuming, and may require changes to our information systems and practices and to those of any third parties that process information on our behalf. Despite our commitment to legal compliance and corporate ethics, we cannot ensure that our policies and procedures will always prevent intentional, reckless, negligent or unauthorized acts committed by employees or agents. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we may be subject to investigations, criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures, which could materially adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operations.
We are exposed to risks from lawsuits and claims, including 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 and robust quality control systems at our facilitates. 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.
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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 the products manufactured by 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.
Challenges to, or the loss of, our intellectual property rights could have an adverse impact on our ability to compete effectively. Our ability to compete effectively depends, in part, on our ability to protect and maintain the proprietary nature of our owned and licensed intellectual property. We own a large number of patents on our products, aspects of our products, methods of use and/or methods of manufacturing, and we own, or have licenses to use, all of the material trademark and trade name rights used in connection with the packaging, marketing and distribution of our major products. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how and other unpatented proprietary technology. We attempt to protect and restrict access to our intellectual property and proprietary information by relying on the patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws of the U.S. and other countries, as well as non-disclosure agreements. However, it may be possible for a third party to obtain our information without our authorization, independently develop similar technologies, or breach a non-disclosure agreement entered into with us. Furthermore, many of the countries in which we operate do not have intellectual property laws that protect proprietary rights as fully as do laws in the U.S. The use of our intellectual property by someone else without our authorization could reduce or eliminate certain of our competitive advantages, cause us to lose sales or otherwise harm our business. The costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights could also adversely impact our business.
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. Intellectual property litigation, which could result in substantial cost to us and divert the attention of management, may be necessary to protect our trade secrets or proprietary technology or for us to defend against claimed infringement of the rights of others and to determine the scope and validity of others’ proprietary rights. We may not prevail in any such litigation, and if we are unsuccessful, we may not be able to obtain any necessary licenses on reasonable terms or at all. Failure to protect our patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
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 suppliers, manufacturing processes or the technologies we use and force faster development and adoption of alternative materials or assets used in the production of our products. Additionally, any failure to comply with environmental laws could result in penalties or investigations, which could materially adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operations.
Future government regulations of healthcare cost containment policies may impact our pharmaceutical sales.Review by governments or private insurers of cost containment policies 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.
Interest rate volatility could increase our borrowing costs. As our fixed rate debt obligations become due, any refinancing or additional borrowings could potentially be under higher interest rates. In addition, as interest rates increase, our debt service obligation on refinanced indebtedness will increase, impacting our results of operations and cash flows.
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 interpretations.
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 our provision for taxes. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. We are also periodically subject to tax assessments resulting from custom duties. If our effective tax rates were to increase in jurisdictions where we have significant operations, or if the ultimate determination of taxes owed or other tax liability is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
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. 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 publication of the remaining most common U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors (overnight and one, three, six and twelve months) ceasing immediately after June 30, 2023.
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The ongoing 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. 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
Global climate change and legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business, operations and financial results. There is growing concern that the global economy, including the manufacturing industry, will be affected by the impacts of climate change as the frequency and severity of natural disasters increase. We monitor risks posed by climate change such as physical climate risks, current and emerging regulations, and market risks, as well as the potential impact to our business, operations and financial results, especially where the cost to respond is significant.
If not addressed, repercussions of physical climate-related issues, like water scarcity and drought, could cause disruptions within our value chain, making it more difficult and/or expensive to operate, or impeding our ability to operate. Further, if we are not successful in implementing our plans to reduce both direct and indirect emissions, we could be subject to carbon taxes.
Current and emerging regulation of products may include mandates to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions throughout the product life cycle; increase the recycled content of raw materials in our products; limit or eliminate the use of certain materials within our products; and improve recyclability or reusability of packaging at the end-of-life. We may encounter increased costs as we reformulate and redesign our product offerings in response to the changing regulatory landscape.
Market risks, like the increased cost or limited availability of certain raw material inputs for our products, including post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins, may impede the production, distribution and sale of certain of our customers' products.
Customers and consumers may change their purchasing behaviors based on the actual or perceived environmental impact of our products. Consumers may begin to opt for products that have a lower carbon footprint or a more circular life cycle. We may encounter increased costs as we reformulate and redesign our product offerings in response to changing customer behaviors, and our efforts may be unsuccessful.
Ownership by Certain Significant Stockholders.Currently, Aptar has five 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.
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 49 locations, with 15 of those facilities serving two segments and seven serving all three of our segments as of December 31, 2022. 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 5 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 13, 2023, there were approximately 160 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 19, 2023, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.38 per share of common stock, which will be paid on February 23, 2023 to stockholders of record as of February 2, 2023. We have paid an increased annual cash dividend total to stockholders each year for the past 29 years. During 2022, we paid $99.5 million in dividends to stockholders. While we expect to continue to pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share in 2023, 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 the 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, 2022, the Plan did not purchase any shares of our common stock on behalf of the participants. The Plan sold 5,121 shares of our common stock on behalf of the participants at an average price of $105.52 per share, for an aggregate amount of $540 thousand. At December 31, 2022, the Plan owned 118,132 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 2022, we repurchased approximately 191 thousand shares for approximately $19.8 million.
The following table summarizes our purchases of our securities for the quarter ended December 31, 2022:
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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 Inc., Berry Global Group, Inc., Catalent, Inc., CCL Industries 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 SEC 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 condition and results of operations 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 Standards, 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 more meaningful 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, 2022, reported sales increased 3% to $3.32 billion from $3.23 billion a year ago. Core sales, excluding the negative impact from changes in currency exchange rates and acquisition effects, increased 9% from 2021. Approximately half of our core sales increase is due to volume growth as many regions experienced post-pandemic re-openings during 2022, while the remaining half of this increase is due to price adjustments related to the passing through of the inflationary impacts of higher resin and other input costs. 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.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS
•Each segment achieved top line growth with annual sales of $3.3 billion
•Reported sales grew 3% and core sales increased 9%
•Reported earnings per share decreased 1% to $3.59
•Reported net income decreased 2% to $239 million
•Adjusted EBITDA increased 2% to $617 million
•29th consecutive year of paying an increased annual dividend
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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, 2021 for additional information regarding Results of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
Amount inThousands $ % ofNet Sales Amount in Thousands $ % ofNet Sales
Effective tax rate 28.4 % 24.3 %
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 18.6 % 18.8 %
(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
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in disruptions to the global economy and supply chains. As the rates of transmission slowed in many regions during 2022, we have seen several of our impacted applications return to more normal (pre-pandemic) volume and growth levels. We have seen improvement in sales of our products to our prescription, beauty, hair care and sun care customers as people return to more active lifestyles. However, we have also experienced volume reductions as applications which benefited from the pandemic, such as our personal cleansing and surface cleaner products, food applications, active material science solutions and injectables components, are now up against challenging comparisons to 2021 volume levels.
As of December 31, 2022, the war in Ukraine has not had a significant direct impact on our business though the near-term visibility for this situation is expected to remain fluid and uncertain for the next several quarters. However, we have experienced some indirect impacts on our business, including higher energy and other input costs as well as certain supply chain disruptions.
NETSALES
For the year ended December 31, 2022, reported net sales increased 3% to $3.32 billion from $3.23 billion a year ago. The average U.S. dollar exchange rate strengthened compared to the euro and other major currencies in which we operate, resulting in a negative currency translation impact of 6%. There was no significant impact from our acquisitions of Voluntis S.A. ("Voluntis"), Weihai Hengyu Medical Products Co., Ltd. ("Hengyu") and Metaphase Design Group Inc. ("Metaphase") on our consolidated net sales during 2022. Therefore, core sales, which exclude acquisitions and changes in foreign currency rates, increased by 9% in 2022 compared to 2021. Price increases to our customers due to rising inflationary costs had a strong impact on our core sales during 2022. Of our 9% core sales increase, approximately half of this increase is due to price adjustments related to the passing through of higher resin and other input costs. The remaining half of our core sales increase is due to volume growth mainly in our Pharma segment.
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Pharma Beauty+Home Food +Beverage Total
Core Sales Growth 13 % 7 % 5 % 9 %
Acquisitions 1 % — % — % — %
Currency Effects (1) (8) % (7) % (2) % (6) %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 6 % — % 3 % 3 %
(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, 2022 % of Total 2021 % 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 65.0% in 2022 compared to 64.1% in 2021. While our COS percentage was positively impacted by an improved mix of our higher-margin Pharma product sales compared to 2021, this positive impact was more than offset by the under-absorption at certain Beauty + Home and Food + Beverage sites, especially in North America, due to lingering supply chain issues and our customers working off current inventory levels. During 2021, we also received a $5.6 million favorable Brazilian court ruling that a certain state value added tax should not be included in the calculation of federal gross receipts taxes, which also lowered our 2021 COS percentage. See Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further details.
SELLING, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE
Our selling, research & development and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) decreased approximately 1% or $7.0 million to $544.3 million in 2022 compared to $551.2 million in 2021. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, SG&A increased by approximately $22.7 million compared to the prior year. Of this increase, $3.0 million relates to incremental SG&A costs in 2022 due to our acquisitions of Hengyu and Voluntis which were completed during the third quarter of 2021. The remaining increase is partially related to higher compensation costs, including accruals related to our current short-term incentive and equity compensation programs. We also had an increase in information systems costs due to an upgrade of our enterprise reporting system along with higher professional fees for internal projects and higher travel costs compared to 2021. Also, in March 2022 we recorded a $1.4 million expected net credit loss reserve against the outstanding note receivable from one of our venture investments (Kali Care). SG&A as a percentage of net sales decreased to 16.4% in 2022 compared to 17.1% in the prior year.
DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION
Reported depreciation and amortization expense decreased less than 1% or $1.1 million to $233.7 million in 2022 compared to $234.9 million in 2021. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, depreciation and amortization expense increased by approximately $12.9 million compared to the prior year. Approximately $4.1 million of this increase is due to our acquisitions of Voluntis and Hengyu completed during the third quarter of 2021 and the remaining increase relates to higher capital spending during the current and prior year to support our growth strategy. Depreciation and amortization as a percentage of net sales decreased to 7.0% in 2022 compared to 7.3% in the prior year.
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 was the Beauty + Home segment; however, certain global general and administrative functions were also addressed. As of the end of 2021, we had 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. The cumulative expense incurred for this transformation plan as of December 31, 2022 was approximately $137 million, of which $0.4 million was recognized during 2022.
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We continue to look at our operating structure and are continuing to identify actions to further reduce costs and improve our competitiveness. Restructuring costs for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
Restructuring Initiatives by Segment
Pharma $ — $ 76
Corporate & Other — 12,313
Total Restructuring Initiatives $ 6,597 $ 23,240
OPERATING INCOME
Reported operating income increased approximately $31.9 million or 9% to $379.3 million in 2022 compared to $347.3 million in 2021. Excluding changes in foreign currency rates, operating income increased by approximately $60.3 million in 2022 compared to 2021. Strong sales growth, along with lower restructuring costs, during 2022 drove this improvement. Operating income as a percentage of net sales increased to 11.4% in 2022 compared to 10.8% for the prior year.
INTEREST EXPENSE
Interest expense increased by $10.5 million in 2022, primarily as a result of our $400 million 3.60% Senior Notes due March 2032, which were issued on March 7, 2022. See Note 7 – Debt of the Consolidated Financial Statements for further details.
NET OTHER EXPENSE (INCOME)
Net other expense increased $8.3 million in 2022 to a $3.7 million expense compared to $4.6 million of income in 2021. We report the change in the fair value of our PureCycle investment in net other expense. 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 recorded at fair value based on observable market prices for identical assets with the change in fair value being recorded as a net investment gain or loss in the Consolidated Statements of Income. During 2022, we recognized a $2.1 million loss on this investment while we reported a $4.7 million gain during 2021.
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
The reported effective tax rate on income before income taxes for 2022 and 2021 was 28.4% and 24.3%, respectively. The tax rate for 2022 was higher compared to 2021 due primarily to lower tax benefits from share-based compensation and increased taxes related to a legal entity reorganization.
At December 31, 2022, with the exceptions identified below, we continued to assert indefinite reinvestment of foreign earnings from Aptar's foreign operations. 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.
During 2022, we removed our indefinite reinvestment assertion with respect to undistributed earnings in Germany. We recorded a liability of $0.6 million to reflect the taxes that would be paid when these amounts are distributed. We previously removed the indefinite reinvestment assertion for the pre-2020 earnings in Italy, Switzerland and Colombia, and have accrued $0.6 million for those taxes. We continue to assert indefinite reinvestment with respect to foreign earnings from other countries. 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 $20 million. We would recognize such tax expense in our Consolidated Statements of Income and Consolidated Balance Sheets should we change the current indefinite reinvestment assertion on foreign earnings.
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO APTARGROUP, INC.
We reported net income of $239.3 million in 2022 compared to $244.1 million reported in 2021.
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PHARMA SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 32.4 % 33.1 %
(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 6% in 2022 to $1.36 billion compared to $1.28 billion in 2021. Changes in currencies negatively affected net sales by 8%, while the acquisitions of Voluntis, Hengyu and Metaphase had a positive impact of 1%. Therefore, core sales increased 13% in 2022 compared to the prior year. The majority of the core sale growth is due to higher product sales volumes while pricing pass-through increases were more than able to offset lower tooling sales during 2022. Core sales of our products to the prescription drug market increased 11% on strong demand for our allergic rhinitis and asthma devices as a result of the destocking effect during 2021. Additionally, within our consumer health care division there were higher incidents of cold and flu during 2022, as well as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 which manifests itself similar to cold and flu symptoms. We also saw strong sales of our products on emergency medical applications for existing and new solutions in the prescription drug market. The 15% core sales growth in the consumer health care market was driven by higher demand for our nasal decongestant, saline rinses and cough and cold solutions. Increased demand for elastomeric components for vaccines and biologics drove the 7% core sales growth in our injectables market. Core sales of our active material science solutions increased 21% mainly on strong demand for our oral solid dose solutions and Activ-Film products used with at-home COVID-19 test kits.
Acquisitions — % — % 2 % — % 100 % 1 %
Currency Effects (1) (8) % (8) % (9) % (4) % — % (8) %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 3 % 7 % — % 17 % 100 % 6 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
(2)Core sales for the comparable period not deemed significant.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2022 increased to $441.6 million compared to $425.7 million in 2021. This increase was mainly driven by our strong core sales growth described above which was able to compensate for a negative $31.5 million impact from the translation of our foreign currency results into U.S. dollars. However, the lack of margin on the pass-through of higher input costs and incremental startup costs for our digital health investments and elastomeric component capacity expansion led to a lower Adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.4% compared to 33.1% in 2021.
BEAUTY + HOME SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 11.6 % 10.8 %
(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."
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Reported net sales grew slightly in 2022 to $1.44 billion compared to $1.43 billion in 2021. Changes in currency rates negatively impacted net sales by 7%. Therefore, core sales increased 7% in 2022 compared to the prior year. The majority of this core sales growth came from pass-through of higher input costs. Core sales of our products to the beauty market increased 13% during 2022 as we experienced growth across the majority of our applications. Personal care core sales increased 3% due to higher sales of our hair care and sun care applications. Core sales to the home care markets decreased 12% mainly due to lower tooling sales and reduced demand for our industrial and household cleaner applications as rates of COVID-19 transmission have slowed in certain regions during 2022.
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Personal Care Beauty Home Care Total
Core Sales Growth 3 % 13 % (12) % 7 %
Currency Effects (1) (5) % (8) % (3) % (7) %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth (2) % 5 % (15) % — %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2022 increased to $166.5 million from $154.7 million in 2021 due primarily to product sales growth and operational improvements mainly during the first half of 2022. These improvements compensated for the negative $10.7 million impact from the translation of our foreign currency results. During the prior year, we reported a $2.7 million favorable value added tax ruling in Brazil, which also negatively impacted the current year comparison.
FOOD + BEVERAGE SEGMENT
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1) 13.7 % 15.6 %
(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 3% in 2022 to $522.5 million compared to $508.6 million in 2021. Changes in currency rates negatively impacted net sales by 2%. Therefore, core sales increased 5% in 2022 compared to the prior year. Strong tooling sales, along with the pass-through of higher material costs, positively impacted 2022 core sales while volumes were even with 2021 levels. Core sales to the food market increased 8% while core sales to the beverage market decreased 2% during 2022 compared to the prior year. For the food market, we saw strong tooling sales along with growth in our granular powder and food service packaging products. Core sales to the beverage market declined as higher demand for our bottled water applications was not enough to offset the decline in tooling sales.
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Food Beverage Total
Core Sales Growth 8 % (2) % 5 %
Currency Effects (1) (2) % (3) % (2) %
Total Reported Net Sales Growth 6 % (5) % 3 %
(1)Currency effects are calculated by translating last year’s amounts at this year’s foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA for 2022 decreased to $71.5 million compared to $79.4 million in 2021. As discussed above, we experienced strong tooling sales along with the pass-through of higher material costs during 2022. Material pass-throughs do not have any margin, and our tooling sales historically have lower margins than our product sales. This change in sales mix, along with some operational inefficiencies in North America drove our lower Adjusted EBITDA for 2022.
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.
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Corporate & Other expenses in 2022 increased to $62.9 million compared to $52.3 million in 2021. This increase is partially related to higher compensation costs, including our short-term incentive and equity compensation programs. We also reported higher professional fees and travel costs as travel returned to normal (pre-pandemic) levels as compared to the prior year. Our results include approximately $1.2 million and $2.0 million realized gains on sales of PCT shares for 2022 and 2021, respectively. 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 measures 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 may 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 exchange rates and changes in the fair value of equity investments, 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 95,149
Adjustments:
Net unrealized investment loss (1) 3,323 3,323
Transaction costs related to acquisitions 231 231 — — —
(1)Net unrealized investment loss 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 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).
Net Debt to Net Capital Reconciliation December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021
Revolving credit facility and overdrafts $ 3,810 $ 147,276
Long-Term Obligations, net of unamortized debt issuance costs 1,052,597 907,024
Less:
Short-term investments — 740
Net Debt to Net Capital 33.3 % 35.1 %
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Free Cash Flow Reconciliation December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021
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 to meet our business requirements in the foreseeable future. We have historically used cash flow from operations, our revolving and other credit facilities, proceeds from stock options and debt, as needed, as our primary sources of liquidity. Our primary uses of cash are to invest in equipment and facilities that are necessary to support our growth, pay quarterly dividends to stockholders, repurchase shares of our common stock and to make acquisitions that will contribute to the achievement of our strategic objectives. Due to uncertainties from the war in Ukraine, potential new global pandemics or COVID-19 variants, uncertain macroeconomic conditions, including rising interest rates and the inflationary environment, 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 our capital expenditure levels and share repurchases, 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 increased to $141.7 million at December 31, 2022 from $122.9 million at December 31, 2021 while total short and long-term interest bearing debtof $1.18 billionat December 31, 2022 decreased from $1.20 billion at December 31, 2021. The ratio of our NetDebt (interest bearing debt less cash and cash equivalents) to Net Capital (stockholders’ equity plus Net Debt) decreased to 33.3% at December 31, 2022 compared to 35.1% at December 31, 2021. See the reconciliation under "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures".
In 2022, our operations provided approximately $478.6 million in cash flow compared to $363.4 million in 2021. Cash flow from operations was primarily derived from earnings before depreciation and amortization. The increase in 2022 cash flow from operations compared to 2021 is primarily attributable to improved working capital management and lower restructuring costs. Based on our current business plan and revenue prospects, we believe that our 2023 operating cash flow will be more than sufficient to fund our working capital needs, scheduled repayments of debt, outstanding purchase commitments as discussed in Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies and lease arrangements as discussed in Note 8 - Lease Commitments.
We used $295.6 million in cash for investing activities during 2022 compared to $457.2 million during 2021. During 2022, there was a decrease in overall spend related to acquisition activities. Approximately $4.1 million of cash was utilized to fund the Metaphase acquisition in 2022, while in 2021, $89.7 million and $53.8 million of cash was utilized to fund the Voluntis and Hengyu acquisitions, respectively. Additionally, in 2022 we received $27.8 million related to government grant proceeds for our active material science solutions and injectables divisions. In 2023, we expect our capital investments to be in the range of $260million to $280 million.
Financing activities utilized $162.1 million of cash during 2022, compared to $81.5 million during 2021. During 2022, we received proceeds from long-term obligations of $412.0 million primarily from the issuance of $400 million of our 3.60% Senior Notes due March 2032 during the first quarter of 2022. As part of our bond offering, we paid $4.0 million in debt issuance costs. Additionally, we repaid $143.1 million related to our revolving credit facility, paid $56 million related to our term loan that matured in July 2022, paid $99.5 million of dividends and purchased $92.1 million of treasury stock. We redeemed all $75.0 million of our 3.25% senior unsecured notes during the second quarter of 2022 at a price equal to the principal amount plus accrued interest and a $0.4 million make-whole premium. Additionally, we redeemed all $125.0 million of our 3.49% senior unsecured notes during the third quarter of 2022 at a price equal to the principal amount plus accrued interest. In 2023, we expect to have financing cash outlays of approximately $107.0 million to fund short- and long-term debt obligations 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, 2021 for additional information regarding cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
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On June 30, 2021, we entered into an amended and restated multi-currency revolving credit facility (the "revolving credit facility") with a syndicate of banks to replace the then-existing facility maturing July 2022 (the "prior credit facility") 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 matured in July 2022 and was repaid in full. 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, 2022, there were no borrowings under the revolving credit facility in the U.S. or by our wholly-owned UK subsidiary. As of December 31, 2021, $133 million was utilized under the revolving credit facility in the U.S. and €10 million (approximately $11.4 million based on the exchange rates at the end of 2021) was utilized by our wholly-owned UK subsidiary. 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, 2022
Consolidated Leverage Ratio (1) Maximum of 3.50 to 1.00 1.71 to 1.00
Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (1) Minimum of 3.00 to 1.00 15.00 to 1.00
(1)Definitions of ratios are included as part of the revolving credit facility agreement and the private placement agreements.
Based upon the above consolidated leverage ratio covenant, we would have the ability to borrow approximately an additional $1.1 billion before the 3.50 to 1.00 maximum ratio requirement would be exceeded.
On July 6, 2022, we entered into an agreement to swap approximately $200 million of our fixed USD debt to fixed EUR debt which should generate interest savings of approximately $0.5 million per quarter based upon exchange rates as of the transaction date.
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, 2022.
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.
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
For a discussion of recently issued accounting standards, including their impacts, if any, of the adoption of these standards, see Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.
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.
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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, 2022, we have $945.6 million of goodwill, which is allocated as follows:
Reporting Unit Balance at December 31, 2022
Active Material Science Solutions 159,493
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 are a critical accounting estimate.
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, 2022.
INCOME TAXES
We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions if it is 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, 2022 and 2021, we had $114.8 million and $130.2 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.
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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 Metaphase, Voluntis, and Hengyu, 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, 2022, the discount rates for our domestic and foreign plans were 5.15% and 3.69%, respectively.
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 $43.7 million increase in the PBO ($33.6 million for the domestic plans and $10.1 million for the foreign plans) and a $10.9 million increase in net periodic benefit cost ($10.3 million for the domestic plans and $0.6 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 $35.3 million decrease in the PBO ($26.5 million for the domestic plans and $8.8 million for the foreign plans) and a $8.5 million decrease in net periodic benefit cost ($7.9 million for the domestic plans and $0.6 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 47% was invested in equities, 27% was invested in fixed income securities, 10% was invested in hedge funds, 8% was invested in infrastructure securities, 7% was invested in real estate securities and 1% was invested in money market funds, at December 31, 2022. Of foreign plan assets, approximately 92% was invested in investment funds, 5% was invested in equity securities, 1% was invested in corporate securities, 1% was invested in fixed income securities and 1% was invested in money market funds at December 31, 2022.
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 $2.4 million increase (or decrease) in net periodic benefit cost.
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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 of the expected compensation rates would be a $4.8 million decrease in the PBO ($1.1 million decrease for the domestic plans and $3.7 million decrease for the foreign plans) and a $1.1 million decrease to the net periodic benefit cost. The estimated effect of a 0.5% increase in each of the expected compensation rates would be a $5.2 million increase in the PBO ($1.2 million increase for the domestic plans and $4.0 million increase for the foreign plans) and a $1.1 million increase to the net periodic benefit cost.
Our primary pension related assumptions as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:
Discount rate:
Expected long‐term rate of return on plan assets:
Rate of compensation increase:
In order to determine the 2023 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, 2022. The estimated impact of the changes to the assumptions as noted in the table above on our 2023 net periodic benefit cost is expected to be a decrease of approximately $20.1 million.
OPERATIONS OUTLOOK
Looking to the first quarter, we expect the momentum to continue in Pharma, especially for prescription and consumer healthcare as well as in our beauty end-markets such as fragrance and skincare. A key focus in 2023 and beyond will be to continue to leverage our fixed cost base and increase efficiencies.
Aptar expects earnings per share for the first quarter of 2023, excluding any restructuring expenses, changes in the fair value of equity investments and acquisition-related costs, to be in the range of $0.85 to $0.93 and this guidance is based on an effective tax rate range of 25.5% to 27.5%.
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:
•geopolitical conflicts worldwide including the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military and the resulting indirect impact on demand from our customers selling their products into these countries, as well as rising input costs and certain supply chain disruptions;
•lower demand and asset utilization due to an economic recession either globally or in key markets we operate within;
•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 inflationary conditions and potential deflationary conditions in other regions we rely on for growth;
•the execution of our fixed cost initiatives;
•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;
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•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);
•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 and price increases;
•changes in capital availability or cost, including rising interest rates;
•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.
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.
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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 Latin 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, 2022 about our forward currency exchange contracts. The majority of the contracts expire before the end of the first quarter of 2023.
As of December 31, 2022, we have recorded the fair value of foreign currency forward exchange contracts of $1.1 million in prepaid and other and $0.3 million in Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. On July 6, 2022, we entered into a seven year USD/EUR fixed-to-fixed cross currency interest rate swap to effectively hedge the interest rate exposure relating to $203 million of the $400 million 3.60% Senior Notes due March 2032 which were issued by AptarGroup, Inc. on March 7, 2022. This USD/EUR swap agreement exchanged $203 million of fixed-rate 3.60% USD debt to €200 million of fixed-rate 2.5224% EUR debt. The fair value of this net investment hedge is $8.8 million and is reported in accrued and other liabilities on 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 (Income) Loss Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests (267) 459 (50)
Net Income Attributable to AptarGroup, Inc. per Common Share:
Dividends per Common Share $ 1.52 $ 1.50 $ 1.44
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 (losses) gains, net of tax (6,620) 1,307 315
Defined benefit pension plan, net of tax
Prior service cost, net of tax — — 1,879
Amortization of net loss included in net income, net of tax 6,256 9,300 5,920
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
In thousands
Assets
Short-term investments — 740
Total Cash and equivalents and Short-term investments 141,732 123,665
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
Revolving credit facility and overdrafts $ 3,810 $ 147,276
Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities 794,385 692,865
Long-Term Obligations, net of unamortized debt issuance costs 1,052,597 907,024
Retirement and deferred compensation plans 48,977 116,809
Deferred and other non-current liabilities 52,993 74,882
Commitments and contingencies — —
AptarGroup, Inc. stockholders’ equity
Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries 14,269 15,193
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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AptarGroup, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Years Ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020
In thousands
AptarGroup, Inc. Stockholders’ Equity
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)
Foreign currency translation adjustments — (79,240) — — — (1,191) (80,431)
Changes in derivative gains (losses), net of tax — (6,620) — — — — (6,620)
Cash dividends declared on common stock (99,461) — — — — — (99,461)
Treasury stock purchased — — — (92,126) — — (92,126)
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 loss (gain) on remeasurement of equity securities 2,110 (4,709) (64)
Change in fair value of contingent consideration (8,598) 2,768 5,230
Retirement and deferred compensation plan liabilities (13,093) (8,726) (7,267)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Proceeds from government grants 27,795 2,003 —
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 93 5,231 5,261
Maturity of short-term investments 740 — —
Purchase of short-term investments — (497) (243)
Acquisition of intangible assets (5,189) — (6,092)
Investment in equity securities — (6,870) (39,628)
Proceeds from sale of investment in equity securities 1,599 2,434 —
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Payment of contingent consideration obligation — — (2,765)
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 Metaphase acquisition in 2022 and the Fusion acquisition in 2020.
Restricted cash included in prepaid and other 1,000 — 4,833
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 through the year ended December 31, 2022.