Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Report”), the terms “Quaker Houghton,” the “Company,” “we,” and “our” refer to Quaker Chemical Corporation (doing business as Quaker Houghton), its subsidiaries, and associated companies, unless the context otherwise requires. The “Combination” refers to the Quaker combination with Houghton International, Inc. (“Houghton”).
Executive Summary
Quaker Houghton is the global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world’s most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge, and customized services. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the U.S.
Overall, 2023 was a successful year as the Company achieved substantial earnings growth led by its value-based pricing and margin improvement initiatives while navigating through a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, which included the direct and indirect impacts of the ongoing global conflicts, raw material cost fluctuations, inflationary pressures, supply chain and logistics challenges, and foreign currency volatility. Net sales of $1,953.3 million in 2023 increased 1% compared to $1,943.6 million in 2022, primarily due to increases in selling price and product mix of approximately 7% and favorable impacts from foreign currency translation of approximately 1%, partially offset by a 7% decline in sales volumes. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by the year-over-year impact of our value-based pricing initiatives. The decline in sales volumes compared to 2022 was primarily attributable to softer end market conditions across all regions, the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives and customer order patterns, as well as impacts of the ongoing war in Ukraine in the EMEA segment, the direct and indirect impacts of the United Auto Workers (“UAW”) strike in the Americas segment, and the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination, partially offset by new business wins in all segments.
The Company generated net income of $112.7 million or $6.26 per diluted share in 2023, compared to a net loss of $15.9 million or $0.89 per diluted share in 2022. The Company’s reported net income in 2023 primarily reflects a recovery in gross margins compared to prior year and the impacts of certain non-recurring items during 2022. Excluding this and other non-recurring and non-core items, the Company’s current year non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $137.6 million and $7.65, respectively, compared to $105.3 million and $5.87, respectively, in 2022. The Company generated adjusted EBITDA of $320.4 million compared to $257.2 million in 2022, an increase of 25%. The higher year-over-year adjusted EBITDA was primarily a result of an increase in net sales and an increase in gross margins, partially offset by higher selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) as a result of year-over-year inflationary pressures and higher labor-related costs. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item below.
The Company’s 2023 operating performance in each of its three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; and (iii) Asia/Pacific, reflect similar drivers to that of its consolidated performance as each of the Company’s reportable segments net sales benefited from year-over-year increases in selling price and product mix, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation in the Asia/Pacific segment. All geographic segments had lower sales volumes. Operating earnings increased across all segments due to higher net sales in the EMEA and Americas and an improvement in segment operating margins, driven by favorable pricing and product mix as well as operating improvements. Additional details of each segment’s operating performance are further discussed in the Company’s reportable segments review, in the Operations section of this Item 7, below.
The Company generated net operating cash flow of $279.0 million in 2023 compared to $41.8 million in 2022. The increase in net operating cash flow year-over-year reflects improved operating performance in 2023 as well as an improvement in net working capital. The key drivers of the Company’s operating cash flow and overall liquidity are further discussed in the Company’s Liquidity and Capital Resources section of this Item 7, below.
Overall, the Company delivered strong results in 2023 including an increase in net sales, an improvement in gross margins, an increase in operating cash flow. Looking ahead to 2024, while the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, we believe the business is well positioned to continue to outpace our market growth rates by earning new business by delivering value-added solutions and services to its customers. The Company is committed to its margin improvement initiatives in 2024, while balancing customer relationships and the cost to serve with the value we provide to customers. Additionally, the Company expects to continue to make progress with its enterprise growth strategy, including investing in its long-term growth initiatives, advancing its customer intimate strategy, progressing with its sustainability program and positioning the Company to deliver continued earnings growth in 2024 and beyond.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Quaker Houghton’s discussion and analysis of its financial condition and results of operations are based upon its consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to customer sales incentives, product returns, credit losses, inventories, property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”), investments, goodwill, intangible assets, income taxes, business combinations, and restructuring. These estimates reflect historical experience as well as our best judgment about current and/or future economic and market conditions and their effects and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable based on currently available information, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. However, actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Quaker Houghton believes the following critical accounting policies describe the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of its consolidated financial statements:
Accounts receivable and inventory exposures: The Company establishes allowances for credit losses for estimatedlosses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. As part of our terms of trade, we may custom manufacture products for certain large customers and/or may ship products on a consignment basis. Further, a significant portion of our revenue is derived from sales to customers in industries where companies have experienced past financial difficulties. If a significant customer bankruptcy occurs, then we must judge the amount of proceeds, if any, that may ultimately be received through the bankruptcy or liquidation process. These matters may increase the Company’s exposure should a bankruptcy occur and may require a write down or a disposal of certain inventory as well as the failure to collect receivables. Reserves for customers filing for bankruptcy protection are established based on a percentage of the amount of receivables outstanding at the bankruptcy filing date. However, initially establishing this reserve and the amount thereof is dependent on the Company’s evaluation of likely proceeds to be received from the bankruptcy process, which could result in the Company recognizing minimal or no reserve at the date of bankruptcy. We generally reserve for large and/or financially distressed customers on a specific review basis, while a general reserve is maintained for other customers based on historical experience. The Company’s consolidated allowance for credit losses was $13.3 million and $13.5 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company recorded expense to increase its provision for credit losses by $1.3 million, $4.3 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Changing the amount of expense recorded to the Company’s provisions by 10% would have increased or decreased the Company’s pre-tax earnings by $0.1 million, $0.4 million and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
Tax exposures, uncertain tax positions and valuation allowances: The Company records expenses and liabilities for taxesbased on estimates of amounts that will be determined as deductible or taxable in tax returns filed in various jurisdictions. The filed tax returns are subject to audit, which often occur several years subsequent to the date of the financial statements. Disputes or disagreements may arise during audits over the timing or validity of certain items, such as taxable income or deductions, which may not be resolved for extended periods of time. The Company also evaluates uncertain tax positions on all income tax positions taken on previously filed tax returns or expected to be taken on a future tax return in accordance with FIN 48, which prescribes the recognition threshold and measurement attributes for financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return and, also, whether the benefits of tax positions are probable or if they are more likely than not to be sustained upon audit based upon the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are determined to be more likely than not to be sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. For tax positions that are not determined to be more likely than not sustained upon audit, the Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit in its financial statements. In addition, the Company’s continuing practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. Also, the Company nets its liability for unrecognized tax benefits against deferred tax assets related to net operating losses or other tax credit carryforward on the basis that the uncertain tax position is settled for the presumed amount at the balance sheet date.
The Company also records valuation allowances when necessary to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. While the Company has considered future taxable income and assesses the need for a valuation allowance, in the event Quaker Houghton were to determine that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its net recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would increase income in the period such determination was made. Likewise, should the Company determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its net deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would be charged to income in the period such determination was made. Both determinations could have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
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Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reform”), the Company recorded a $15.5 million transition tax liability for U.S. income taxes on the undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2023, $8.5 million in installments have been paid with the remaining $7.0 million to be paid through installments in future years. However, the Company may also be subject to other taxes, such as withholding taxes and dividend distribution taxes, if certain undistributed earnings are ultimately remitted to the U.S. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has a deferred tax liability of $8.2 million, which primarily represents the estimate of the non-U.S. taxes the Company will incur to remit certain previously taxed earnings to the U.S. It is the Company’s current intention to reinvest its future undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries to support working capital needs and certain other growth initiatives outside of the U.S. The amount of such undistributed earnings at December 31, 2023 was approximately $379.2 million. Any tax liability which might result from ultimate remittance of these earnings is expected to be substantially offset by foreign tax credits (subject to certain limitations). It is currently impractical to estimate any such incremental tax expense. See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
Goodwill and other intangible assets: The Company accounts for business combinations under the acquisition method ofaccounting. This method requires the recording of acquired assets, including separately identifiable intangible assets, at their acquisition date fair values. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. The determination of the estimated fair value of assets acquired requires management’s judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including assumptions with respect to future cash inflows and outflows, the weighted average cost of capital (“WACC”), royalty rates, asset lives and market multiples, among other items. When necessary, the Company consults with external advisors to help determine fair value. For non-observable market values, the Company may determine fair value using acceptable valuation principles, including the excess earnings, relief from royalty, lost profit or cost methods.
The Company amortizes definite-lived intangible assets on a straight-line basis over their useful lives. Goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite lives are not amortized and are required to be assessed at least annually for impairment. The Company completes its annual goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test during the fourth quarter of each year, or more frequently if triggering events indicate a possible impairment. The Company’s consolidated goodwill at December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $512.5 million and $515.0 million, respectively. The Company has four indefinite-lived intangible assets totaling $193.2 million as of December 31, 2023, including $192.1 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets for trademarks and tradename associated with the Combination. Comparatively, the Company had four indefinite-lived intangible assets for trademarks and tradename totaling $189.1 million as of December 31, 2022.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $93.0 million to write down the carrying value of the EMEA reporting unit Goodwill to its estimated fair values. In connection with the Company’s reorganization and the associated change in reportable segments and reporting units during the first quarter of 2023, the Company performed the required impairment assessments directly before and immediately after the change in reporting units and concluded that it was not more likely than not that the fair values of any of the Company’s previous or new reporting units were less than their respective carrying amounts. Additionally, the Company completed its annual impairment assessment as of October 1, 2023 and concluded no impairment existed.
In completing the annual impairment assessment, the Company used a WACC assumption of approximately 12.0% and holding all other assumptions constant, the WACC would have to increase by approximately 3.0 percentage points before the Company’s EMEA reporting unit’s remaining goodwill would be fully impaired. In addition, holding EBITDA margins and all other assumptions constant, the Company’s compound annual revenue growth rate during the entire projection period would need to decline by approximately 4.0 percentage points before the Company’s EMEA reporting unit’s remaining goodwill would be fully impaired. Similarly, holding revenue growth rates and all other assumptions constant, the Company’s average EBITDA margins throughout the discreet projection period would need to decline by approximately 7.3 percentage points before the Company’s EMEA reporting unit’s remaining goodwill would be fully impaired.
The Company continually evaluates financial performance, economic conditions and other recent developments in assessing if a triggering event indicates that the carrying values of goodwill, indefinite-lived, or long-lived assets might be impaired. Notwithstanding the results of the Company’s impairment assessments during 2023, if the Company is unable to maintain the actions aimed at improving the financial performance of the EMEA reporting unit, or interest rates continue to rise, which leads to an increase in the cost of capital, then these conditions could result in a triggering event for the EMEA reporting unit. This assessment could result in an impairment of the EMEA reporting unit’s remaining goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, or long-lived assets. See Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
Pension and Postretirement benefits: The Company provides certain defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefitsto current employees, former employees and retirees. Independent actuaries, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, perform the required valuations to determine benefit expense and, if necessary, non-cash charges to equity for additional minimum pension liabilities. Critical assumptions used in the actuarial valuation include the weighted average discount rate, which is based on applicable yield curve data, including the use of a split discount rate (spot-rate approach) for the U.S. plans and certain foreign plans, rates of increase in compensation levels, and expected long-term rates of return on assets. If different assumptions were used, additional pension expense or charges to equity might be required.
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Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See Note 3 of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for a discussion regarding recently issued accounting standards.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At December 31, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $194.5 million. Total cash and cash equivalents was $181.0 million at December 31, 2022. The $13.5 million increase in cash and cash equivalents was the net result of $279.0 million of cash provided by operating activities and approximately $0.7 million of favorable impacts due to the effect of foreign currency translation on cash, largely offset by $238.6 million of cash used in financing activities and $27.6 million of cash used in investing activities.
Net cash flows provided by operating activities were $279.0 million in 2023 compared to $41.8 million in 2022. The increase in net operating cash flow year-over-year reflects higher year-over-year operating performance as well as a cash inflow from working capital, notably reductions in accounts receivable and inventory, in the current year, demonstrating the Company’s ongoing focus on cash conversion. Comparatively, during 2022, operating cash flow was negatively impacted by a significant working capital investment due to inflationary impacts on inventory and related pricing impacts on accounts receivable.
Net cash flows used in investing activities were $27.6 million in 2023 compared to $40.2 million in 2022. This $12.6 million decrease in cash outflows used in investing activities is the result of higher current year proceeds from asset dispositions and higher acquisition-related payments in the prior year, partially offset by higher capital expenditures in the current year.
Net cash flows used in financing activities were $238.6 million in 2023 compared to net cash flows provided by financing activities of $24.7 million in 2022. The $263.3 million increase in net cash outflows from financing activities was primarily related to net repayments of borrowings in the current year, primarily under the Company’s Credit Facility, described further below, as compared to net borrowings in 2022, which included the impact of new borrowings, net of repayments of old borrowings and debt issuance costs, related to the June 2022 credit facility amendment. In addition, the Company paid $31.7 million of cash dividends to shareholders during 2023, a $1.5 million, or 5.1%, increase compared to the prior year.
During June 2022, the Company, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Quaker Houghton B.V., as borrowers, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, U.S. Dollar swing line lender and letter of credit issuer, Bank of America Europe Designated Active Company, as Euro Swing Line Lender, certain guarantors and other lenders entered into an amendment to its primary credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Facility established (A) a new $150.0 million Euro equivalent senior secured term loan (the “Euro Term Loan”), (B) a new $600.0 million senior secured term loan (the “U.S. Term Loan”), and (C) a new $500.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”), each maturing in June 2027. The Company has the right to increase the amount of the Credit Facility by an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of $300.0 million or 100% of Consolidated EBITDA, subject to certain conditions including the agreement to provide financing by any lender providing such increase.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had Credit Facility borrowings outstanding of $744.5 million. The Company had unused capacity under the Revolver of approximately $465.7 million, which is net of bank letters of credit of approximately $3.4 million, as of December 31, 2023. The Company’s other debt obligations are primarily industrial development bonds, bank lines of credit and municipality-related loans, which totaled $11.1 million as of December 31, 2023. Total unused capacity under these arrangements as of December 31, 2023 was approximately $35 million. The Company’s total net debt as of December 31, 2023 was $561.1 million, which consists of total borrowings of $755.6 million less cash and cash equivalents of $194.5 million. The Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default. Financial covenants contained in the Credit Facility include a consolidated interest coverage ratio test and a consolidated net leverage ratio test. As of December 31, 2023, the Company was in compliance with all of the Credit Facility covenants. Refer to the description of the Company’s primary Credit Facility in Note 19 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for more information about the covenants and events of default.
The weighted average variable interest rate incurred on the outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 was approximately 6.2%. As of December 31, 2023, the weighted interest rate on the outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility was approximately 6.3%. As part of the Credit Facility, the Company is required to pay a commitment fee ranging from 0.150% to 0.275% related to unutilized commitments under the Revolver, depending on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. The Company had unused capacity under the Revolver of approximately $465.7 million, which is net of bank letters of credit of approximately $3.4 million, as of December 31, 2023.
In order to manage the Company’s exposure to variable interest rate risk associated with the Credit Facility, such as SOFR, in the first quarter of 2023, the Company entered into $300.0 million notional amounts of three-year interest rate swaps to convert a portion of the Company’s variable rate borrowings into an average fixed rate obligation of 3.64% plus an applicable margin as provided in the Credit Facility based on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. As of December 31, 2023, the aggregate interest rate on the swaps, including the fixed base rate plus the applicable margin, was 5.3%. See Note 24 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
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In connection with executing the original credit facility in 2019 (“Original Credit Facility”) and the amended Credit Facility during the second quarter of 2022, the Company capitalized certain third-party and creditor debt issuance costs. Costs attributed to the Euro Term Loan and U.S. Term Loan were recorded as a direct reduction of Long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. These capitalized costs, as well as the previously capitalized costs that were not written off will collectively be amortized into Interest expense over the five year term of the Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $1.5 million of debt issuance costs recorded as a reduction of Long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and $3.3 million of debt issuance costs recorded within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Comparatively, as of December 31, 2022, the Company had $2.0 million of debt issuance costs recorded as an offset of Long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and $4.3 million of debt issuance costs recorded within Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
The Company uses foreign exchange forward contracts to economically hedge the impact of the variability in exchange rates on certain assets and/or liabilities denominated in certain foreign currencies. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company entered into and settled forward contracts resulting in cash proceeds of $2.1 million. See Note 24 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
The Company had no Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses during 2023, except for $0.5 million in other income related to changes for an indemnification asset related to the Combination. Comparatively, in 2022, the Company incurred $11.0 million of total Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses, which includes $2.4 million of other expense related to an indemnification asset partially offset by a $0.2 million gain on the sale of certain held-for-sale real property assets.
The Company incurred $4.7 million of strategic planning expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to $14.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company expects to incur minimal additional operating costs and associated cash flows related to strategic planning expenses through the beginning of 2024.
Quaker Houghton’s management approved, and the Company initiated, a global restructuring plan (the “QH Program”) in 2019 as part of its planned cost synergies associated with the Combination. The QH Program included restructuring and associated severance costs to reduce total headcount by approximately 400 people globally and plans for the closure of certain manufacturing and non-manufacturing facilities. The Company had substantially completed all of the initiatives under the QH Program in 2022 with an immaterial amount of remaining severance paid in 2023.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company’s management initiated a global cost and optimization program to improve its cost structure and drive a more profitable and productive organization. The exact timing to complete all actions and final costs associated will depend on a number of factors and are subject to change. The Company expects additional headcount reductions and restructuring costs may be incurred in the future. The Company expects to generate full annualized run-rate cost savings from the global cost and optimization program of approximately $20 million by the end of 2024. The Company expects total cash costs of this program to be approximately 1 to 1.5 times annualized savings. The Company recognized $7.6 million, $3.2 million and $1.4 million of restructuring and related charges for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, as a result of these programs. The Company made cash payments related to the settlement of restructuring liabilities for these programs of $9.8 million and $1.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company has remaining restructuring accruals, as of December 31, 2023, for this program of $3.4 million, which the Company expects to settle over the next twelve months. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s gross liability for uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, was $19.7 million. The Company cannot determine a reliable estimate of the timing of cash flows by period related to its uncertain tax position liability. However, should the entire liability be paid, the amount of the payment may be reduced by up to $5.6 million as a result of offsetting benefits in other tax jurisdictions. During 2021, the Company recorded $13.1 million of non-income tax credits for certain of its Brazilian subsidiaries. The Company utilized these credits to offset certain Brazilian federal tax payments during 2022. See Note 25 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
During 2021, two of the Company’s locations suffered property damage as a result of flooding and electrical fire, respectively. The Company maintains property insurance for all of its locations globally. The Company, its insurance adjuster, and insurance carrier actively managed the remediation and restoration activities associated with each of these events and have settled on both claims. In total, the Company received payments from its insurers of $7.2 million, after an aggregate deductible of $2.0 million. The Company and its insurance carrier continue to review the impact of the electrical fire on the production facility’s operations as it relates to a potential business interruption insurance claim; however, as of the date of this Report, the Company cannot reasonably estimate any probable amount of business interruption insurance claim recoverable. Therefore, the Company has not recorded a gain contingency for a possible business interruption insurance claim as of December 31, 2023. See Note 25 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
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The Company believes that its existing cash, anticipated cash flows from operations and available additional liquidity will be sufficient to support its operating requirements and fund its business objectives for at least the next twelve months and beyond, including but not limited to, payments of dividends to shareholders, payments for restructuring activities including further strategic and optimization initiatives, pension plan contributions, capital expenditures, other business opportunities (including potential acquisitions), implementing actions to achieve the Company’s sustainability goals and other potential contingencies. The Company also believes it has sufficient additional liquidity to support its operating requirements and to fund its business obligations for the period beyond the next twelve months, including the aforementioned items which are expected to recur annually, as well as future principal and interest payments on the Company’s Credit Facility, tax obligations and other long-term liabilities. The Company’s liquidity is affected by many factors, some based on normal operations of our business and others related to the impact of the pandemic and other events on our business and on global economic conditions as well as industry uncertainties, which we cannot predict. We also cannot predict economic conditions and industry downturns or the timing, strength or duration of recoveries. We may seek, as we believe appropriate, additional debt or equity financing which would provide capital for corporate purposes, working capital funding, additional liquidity needs or to fund future growth opportunities, including possible acquisitions and investments. The timing and amount of potential capital requirements cannot be determined at this time and will depend on a number of factors, including the actual and projected demand for our products, specialty chemical industry conditions, competitive factors, and the condition of financial markets, among others.
On February 28, 2024, the Board approved a new share repurchase program (“2024 Share Repurchase Program”), authorizing the Company to repurchase up to an aggregate of $150 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program is effective immediately and has no expiration date. In connection with the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, the Company’s previous share repurchase program (“2015 Share Repurchase Program”), which was approved by the Board in 2015 and had no expiration date, was terminated. See further information in Note 22 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
The following table summarizes the Company’s contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023, and the effect such obligations are expected to have on its liquidity and cash flows in future periods. Pension and postretirement plan contributions beyond 2023 are not determinable since the amount of any contribution is heavily dependent on the future economic environment and investment returns on pension trust assets. The timing of payments related to other long-term liabilities which consists primarily of deferred compensation agreements and environmental reserves, also cannot be readily determined due to their uncertainty. Interest obligations on the Company’s long-term debt and capital leases assume the current debt levels will be outstanding for the entire respective period and apply the interest rates in effect as of December 31, 2023.
Payments due by period
(dollars in thousand) 2029 andBeyond
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Non-GAAP Measures
The information in this Form 10-K filing includes non-GAAP (unaudited) financial information that includes EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information as they enhance a reader’s understanding of the financial performance of the Company, are indicative of future operating performance of the Company, and facilitate a comparison among fiscal periods, as the non-GAAP financial measures exclude items that are not indicative of future operating performance or not considered core to the Company’s operations. Non-GAAP results are presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our definitions of EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per share as discussed and reconciled below to the more comparable GAAP measures, may not be comparable to similarly named measures reported by other companies.
The Company presents EBITDA which is calculated as net income attributable to the Company before depreciation and amortization, interest expense, net, and taxes on income before equity in net income of associated companies. The Company also presents adjusted EBITDA which is calculated as EBITDA plus or minus certain items that are not indicative of future operating performance or not considered core to the Company’s operations. In addition, the Company presents non-GAAP operating income which is calculated as operating income plus or minus certain items that are not indicative of future operating performance or not considered core to the Company’s operations. Adjusted EBITDA margin and non-GAAP operating margin are calculated as the percentage of adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP operating income to consolidated net sales, respectively. The Company believes these non-GAAP measures provide transparent and useful information and are widely used by analysts, investors, and competitors in our industry as well as by management in assessing the operating performance of the Company on a consistent basis.
Additionally, the Company presents non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share as additional performance measures. Non-GAAP net income is calculated as adjusted EBITDA, defined above, less depreciation and amortization, interest expense, net, and taxes on income before equity in net income of associated companies, in each case adjusted, as applicable, for any depreciation, amortization, interest or tax impacts resulting from the non-core items identified in the reconciliation of net income attributable to the Company to adjusted EBITDA. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share is calculated as non-GAAP net income per diluted share as accounted for under the “two-class share method.” The Company believes that non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share provide transparent and useful information and are widely used by analysts, investors, and competitors in our industry as well as by management in assessing the operating performance of the Company on a consistent basis.
Certain of the prior period non-GAAP financial measures presented in the following tables have been adjusted to conform with current period presentation. The following tables reconcile the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures (unaudited) to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures (dollars in thousands, unless otherwise noted, except per share amounts):
Strategic planning expenses (c) 4,704 14,446 —
Russia-Ukraine conflict related expenses (j) — 2,487 —
Facility remediation (recovery) costs, net (d) — — 1,509
Impairment charges (e) — 93,000 —
Non-GAAP operating margin (%) (o) 11.7 % 9.2 % 10.4 %
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Equity (income) loss in a captive insurance company (f) (2,090) 1,427 (4,993)
Strategic planning expenses (c) 4,704 14,446 —
Facility remediation (recovery) costs, net (d) (2,141) (1,804) 2,066
Impairment charges (e) — 93,000 —
Currency conversion impacts of hyper-inflationary economies (g) 7,849 1,617 564
Brazilian non-income tax credits (h) — — (13,087)
Russia-Ukraine conflict related expenses (j) — 2,487 —
Loss on extinguishment of debt (k) — 6,763 —
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (o) 16.4 % 13.2 % 15.6 %
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Restructuring and related charges, net per diluted share (b) 0.32 0.13 0.07
Strategic planning expenses per diluted share (c) 0.21 0.63 —
Impairment charges per diluted share (e) — 5.19 —
Brazilian non-income tax credits per diluted share (h) — — (0.46)
Russia-Ukraine conflict related expenses per diluted share (j) — 0.12 —
Loss on extinguishment of debt per diluted share (k) — 0.29 —
Other charges per diluted share (i) 0.12 0.08 0.13
Impact of certain discrete tax items per diluted share (l) 0.54 (0.26) (0.32)
Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share (p) $ 7.65 $ 5.87 $ 6.85
(a)Combination, integration and other acquisition-related (credits) expenses include certain legal, financial, and other advisory and consultant costs incurred in connection with the Combination integration activities including internal control readiness and remediation. These amounts also include expense associated with the Company's other recent acquisitions, including certain legal, financial, and other advisory and consultant costs incurred in connection with due diligence as well as costs associated with selling inventory from acquired businesses which was adjusted to fair value as part of purchase accounting. These costs are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. Approximately $0.2 million and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, of these pre-tax costs were considered non-deductible for the purpose of determining the Company’s effective tax rate, and, therefore, taxes on income before equity in net income of associated companies - adjusted reflects the impact of these items. During 2021, the Company recorded $0.7 million of accelerated depreciation related to certain of the Company’s facilities, which is included in the caption “Combination, integration and other acquisition-related (credits) expenses” in the reconciliation of operating income to non-GAAP operating income and included in the caption “Depreciation and amortization” in the reconciliation of net income attributable to the Company to EBITDA, but excluded from the caption “Depreciation and amortization – adjusted” in the reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company. During 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded $0.5 million of other income, $2.4 million of other expense and $0.6 million of other income, respectively, related to an indemnification asset. During 2021, the Company recorded $0.8 million related to the sale of inventory from acquired businesses which was adjusted to fair value. During 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded a gain of $0.2 million and $5.4 million, respectively, on the sale of certain held-for-sale real property assets related to the Combination. Each of these items are included in the caption “Combination, integration and other acquisition-related (credits) expenses” in the reconciliation of GAAP earnings per diluted share attributable to Quaker Chemical Corporation common shareholders to Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share as well as the reconciliation of Net Income attributable to Quaker Chemical Corporation to Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income. See Notes 2, 9 and 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appear in Item 8 of this Report.
(b)Restructuring and related charges, net represent the costs incurred by the Company associated with the Company’s restructuring programs. These costs are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. During 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded restructuring and related charges of $7.6 million, $3.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appear in Item 8 of this Report.
(c)Strategic planning expenses include certain consultant and advisory expenses for the Company's long-term strategic planning, as well as process optimization and the next phase of the Company's long-term integration to further optimize its footprint, processes and other functions. These costs are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company.
(d)Facility remediation (recovery) costs, net, presents the gross costs associated with remediation, cleaning and subsequent restoration costs associated with the property damage to certain of the Company’s facilities, net of insurance recoveries received. These charges are non-recurring and are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Note 25 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(e)Impairment charges represents the non-cash charges taken to write down the value of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets. These charges are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
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(f)Equity income (loss) in a captive insurance company represents the after-tax income attributable to the Company’s interest in Primex, Ltd. (“Primex”), a captive insurance company. The Company holds a 32% investment in and has significant influence over Primex, and therefore accounts for this investment under the equity method of accounting. The income attributable to Primex is not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company and is not considered core to the Company’s operations. See Note 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(g)Currency conversion impacts of hyper-inflationary economies represents the foreign currency remeasurement impacts associated with the Company’s affiliates whose local economies are designated as hyper-inflationary under U.S. GAAP. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company incurred non-deductible, pre-tax charges related to the Company’s Argentina and Türkiye affiliates. The charges incurred related to the immediate recognition of foreign currency remeasurement in the Consolidated Statements of Income associated with these entities are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company See Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(h)Brazilian non-income tax credits represent indirect tax credits related to certain of the Company’s Brazilian subsidiaries prevailing in a legal claim as well as the Brazil Supreme Court ruling on these non -income tax matters. The non-income tax credit is non-recurring and not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Note 25 of Note to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(i)Other charges include executive transition costs, pension and postretirement benefit costs (income), non-service components and charges incurred by an inactive subsidiary of the Company as a result of the termination of restrictions on insurance settlement reserves. These expenses are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Notes 1, 12 and 20 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appear in Item 8 of this Report.
(j)Russia-Ukraine conflict related expenses represent the direct costs associated with the Company's exit of operations in Russia during 2022, primarily employee separation benefits, as well as costs associated with establishing specific reserves or changes to existing reserves for trade accounts receivable within the Company's EMEA reportable segment due to the economic instability associated with certain customer accounts receivables which have been directly impacted by the current economic conflict between Russia and Ukraine or the Company's decision to end operations in Russia. These expenses are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(k)In connection with executing the Credit Facility, the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $6.8 million which includes the write-off of certain previously unamortized deferred financing costs as well as a portion of the third-party and creditor debt issuance costs incurred to execute the Credit Facility. These expenses are not indicative of the future operating performance of the Company. See Note 19 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(l)The impacts of certain discrete tax items include certain impacts of tax law changes, valuation allowance adjustments, uncertain tax positions and prior year true-ups, and the impact on certain intercompany asset transfers. For 2023 the impacts also include $6.7 million of withholding taxes for the repatriation of non-U.S. earnings. The Company does not believe these items are core or indicative of future performance and has adjusted them as a Non-GAAP measure. See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report.
(m)Depreciation and amortization includes $1.0 million for both of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, of amortization expense recorded within equity in net income of associated companies in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations, which is attributable to the amortization of the fair value step up for the Company’s 50% interest Korea Houghton Corporation as a result of required purchase accounting.
(n)Taxes on income before equity in net income of associated companies – adjusted presents the impact of any current and deferred income tax expense (benefit), as applicable, of the reconciling items presented in the reconciliation of net income attributable to Quaker Chemical Corporation to adjusted EBITDA and was determined utilizing the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which these adjustments occurred, subject to deductibility.
(o)The Company calculates adjusted EBITDA margin and non-GAAP operating margin as the percentage of adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP operating income to consolidated net sales.
(p)The Company calculates non-GAAP earnings per diluted share as non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company per weighted average diluted shares outstanding using the “two-class share method” to calculate such in each given period.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company had approximately $5 million of bank letters of credit and guarantees as of December 31, 2023. The bank letters of credit and guarantees are not significant to the Company’s liquidity or capital resources. See Note 19 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
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Operations
Consolidated Operations Review – Comparison of 2023 with 2022
Net sales were a record $1,953.3 million in 2023 compared to $1,943.6 million in 2022. The increase in net sales of approximately $9.7 million or 1% year-over-year was primarily due to an increase in selling price and product mix of 7% and approximately 1% favorable impact of foreign currency translations, partially offset by a decline in sales volumes of approximately 7%. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by year-over-year impact of our value-based pricing initiatives. The decline in sales volumes was primarily attributable to softer end market conditions across all regions, including the direct and indirect impacts of the UAW strike, the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives and customer order patterns, as well as the impacts of the ongoing war in Ukraine in the EMEA segment, and the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination, partially offset by new business wins in all segments, as mentioned above.
COGS were $1,247.7 million in 2023 compared to $1,330.9 million in 2022. The decrease in COGS of 6% reflects lower spend on the decline in current year sales volumes, which more than offset higher costs due to inflationary pressures in the Company’s global raw material, manufacturing and supply chain and logistics costs compared to the prior year.
Gross profit in 2023 of $705.6 million increased $93.0 million or approximately 15% from 2022. The Company’s reported gross margin in 2023 was 36.1% compared to 31.5% in 2022. The Company’s current year improvement in gross margin was primarily driven by the year-over-year impact of our value-based pricing and margin improvement initiatives.
SG&A in 2023 increased $28.2 million compared to 2022 driven by higher labor-related costs including year-over-year inflationary increases and higher levels of incentive compensation on improved Company performance, partially offset by lower SG&A due to foreign currency translation compared to the prior year.
During 2022, the Company incurred $8.8 million of Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above. There were no similar costs incurred during 2023.
The Company incurred Restructuring and related charges of $7.6 million and $3.2 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to the Company’s previous and current restructuring programs. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above.
In 2022, the Company recorded a $93.0 million non-cash impairment charge to write down the value of goodwill associated with the Company’s EMEA reportable segment. This non-cash impairment charge was the result of the Company’s trigger based fourth quarter of 2022 impairment assessment. There were no similar impairment charges in 2023. See the Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates section as well as the Non-GAAP Measures section, of this Item, above.
Operating income in 2023 was $214.5 million compared to $52.3 million in 2022. Excluding the non-cash impairment charge, as well as other non-core items that are not indicative of future operating performance, the Company’s current year non-GAAP operating income was $227.8 million compared to $177.9 million in the prior year. The increase in non-GAAP operating income was primarily due to higher gross profit partially offset by higher SG&A, as described above.
The Company had Other expense of $10.7 million in 2023 compared to $12.6 million in 2022. The 2023 and 2022 results include $2.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively of facility remediation recoveries, while prior year’s Other expense also includes $6.8 million of loss on extinguishment of debt related to the Company’s refinancing the Original Credit Facility and $2.4 million of expense related to an indemnification asset. Also, there were higher foreign currency transaction losses in 2023 compared to 2022.
Interest expense, net, increased $18.1 million compared to 2022, primarily driven by increases in the average borrowings outstanding coupled with an increase in interest rates year-over-year as the weighted average interest rate incurred on borrowings under the Company’s primary credit facility was approximately 6.2% during 2023 compared to approximately 3.0% during 2022.
The Company’s effective tax rates for 2023 and 2022 were an expense of 36.3% and 350.2%, respectively. The Company’s current year effective tax rate was primarily impacted by changes to the valuation allowance for and the usage of certain foreign tax credits, withholding taxes and deferred taxes on unremitted earnings, and the impact of the mix of pre-tax earnings. The Company’s 2022 effective tax rate was driven by the non-cash impairment charge, the impact of pre-tax earnings and the mix of such earnings, foreign tax inclusions and withholding taxes, partially offset by a reduction in reserves for uncertain tax positions and changes in the valuation allowance for foreign tax credits. Excluding the impact of all non-core items in each year, described in the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above, the Company estimates that the 2023 and 2022 effective tax rates would have been approximately 28% and 27%, respectively. The higher estimated current year effective tax rate was primarily driven by pre-tax earnings and the mix of such earnings. In 2023, the Company recognized $6.7 million of withholding taxes for the repatriation of non-U.S. earnings that the Company does not believe is core or indicative of future performance and has adjusted these withholding taxes as a Non-GAAP measure. The Company may experience continued volatility in its effective tax rates due to several factors, including the timing of tax audits and the expiration of applicable statutes of limitations as they relate to uncertain tax positions, the unpredictability of the timing and amount of certain incentives in various tax jurisdictions, and the timing and amount of certain share-based compensation-related tax benefits, among other factors. In addition, the foreign tax credit valuation allowance, or absence thereof, is based on a number of variables, including forecasted earnings, which may vary.
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Equity in net income of associated companies increased $13.4 million in 2023 compared to 2022, primarily due to higher current year income from the Company’s interest in a captive insurance company (see the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above) due to higher market performance on equity investments and from the Company’s 50% interest in a joint venture in Korea due to overall market improvement.
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest was approximately $0.1 million for both 2023 and 2022.
Foreign exchange negatively impacted the Company’s yearly results by approximately 1% driven by the impact from foreign currency translation on earnings as well as higher foreign exchange transaction losses in the current year as compared to the prior year.
Consolidated Operations Review – Comparison of 2022 with 2021
Net sales were a record $1,943.6 million in 2022 compared to $1,761.2 million in 2021. The increase in net sales of approximately $182.4 million or 10% year-over-year was primarily due to an increase in selling price and product mix of approximately 22% and additional net sales from acquisitions of 1%, partially offset by a decline in sales volumes of approximately 7% and the unfavorable impact from foreign currency translation of approximately 6%. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material and other input costs that began during 2021 and continued throughout 2022. The decline in sales volumes was primarily attributable to softer end market demand, particularly in the EMEA and Asia/Pacific segments, the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination and the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, partially offset by net new business wins, including the impact of the Company’s ongoing value-based pricing initiatives. The impact from foreign currency translation is primarily the result of the year-over-year strengthening of the U.S. Dollar compared to major world currencies including the Euro and the Chinese renminbi.
COGS were $1,330.9 million in 2022 compared to $1,166.5 million in 2021. The increase in COGS of 14% was driven by the continued increases in the Company’s global raw material, manufacturing and supply chain and logistics costs compared to the prior year.
Gross profit in 2022 of $612.7 million increased $18.0 million or approximately 3% from 2021. The Company’s reported gross margin in 2022 was 31.5% compared to 33.8% in 2021. The Company’s current year gross margin reflects a significant increase in raw material and other input costs and the impacts of constraints on the global supply chain, partially offset by the Company’s ongoing value-based pricing initiatives.
SG&A in 2022 increased $36.6 million compared to 2021 due primarily to the impact of sales increases on direct selling costs, higher operating costs due to inflationary pressures, costs associated with strategic planning initiatives (see the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above), and additional SG&A from recent acquisitions, partially offset by lower SG&A due to foreign currency translation compared to the prior year. In addition, SG&A was lower in the prior year period as a result of continued temporary cost saving measures the Company implemented in response to the onset of COVID-19.
During 2022 and 2021, the Company incurred $8.8 million and $23.9 million, respectively, of Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above.
The Company incurred restructuring expenses of $3.2 million and $1.4 million during 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to the Company’s restructuring programs. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above.
In 2022, the Company recorded a $93.0 million non-cash impairment charge to write down the value of goodwill associated with the Company’s EMEA reportable segment. This non-cash impairment charge is the result of the Company’s trigger based fourth quarter of 2022 impairment assessment. There were no similar impairment charges in 2021. See the Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates section as well as the Non-GAAP Measures section, of this Item, above.
Operating income in 2022 was $52.3 million compared to $150.5 million in 2021. Excluding the non-cash impairment charge, as well as other non-core items that are not indicative of future operating performance, the Company’s current year non-GAAP operating income was $177.9 million compared to $182.6 million in the prior year. The decline in non-GAAP operating income was primarily due to higher SG&A, as described above.
Other expense in 2022 includes $6.8 million of loss on extinguishment of debt related to the Company’s refinancing the Original Credit Facility, partially offset by $1.8 million of facility remediation insurance recoveries and $2.4 million of income related to an indemnification asset. Other income in 2021 includes $13.1 million of non-income tax credits recorded by the Company’s Brazilian subsidiaries as well as a $4.8 million gain on the sale of certain held-for-sale real property assets. See the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above. In addition, foreign exchange losses, net, were higher in 2022 as compared to 2021.
Interest expense, net, increased $10.3 million compared to 2021, primarily driven by increases in the average borrowings outstanding coupled with an increase in interest rates year-over-year as the weighted average interest rate incurred on borrowings under the Company’s primary credit facility was approximately 3.0% during 2022 compared to approximately 1.6% during 2021. This was partially offset by lower amortization of debt issuance costs in 2022 as compared to 2021 due to the June 2022 credit facility amendment and write off of certain previously capitalized debt issuance costs.
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The Company’s effective tax rates for 2022 and 2021 were an expense of 350.2% and an expense of 23.8%, respectively. The Company’s current year effective tax rate was largely driven by the non-cash impairment charge described above and to a lesser extent a decline in profits, earnings mix, foreign tax inclusions and withholding taxes, partially offset by a reduction in reserves for uncertain tax positions and changes in the valuation allowance for foreign tax credits. The Company’s 2021 effective tax rate was driven by a higher level of pre-tax earnings and mix of earnings, as well as deferred taxes on unremitted earnings. In addition, the rate was impacted by certain one-time charges and benefits related to an intercompany intangible asset transfer and related royalty income recognition offset by changes in the valuation allowance for foreign tax credits. Excluding the impact of all non-core items in each year, described in the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above, the Company estimates that the 2022 and 2021 effective tax rates would have been approximately 27% and 26%, respectively. The higher estimated current year tax rate was primarily driven by a lower level of pre-tax earnings and the impact of changes in mix of earnings. The Company may experience continued volatility in its effective tax rates due to several factors, including the timing of tax audits and the expiration of applicable statutes of limitations as they relate to uncertain tax positions, the unpredictability of the timing and amount of certain incentives in various tax jurisdictions, the treatment of certain acquisition-related costs and the timing and amount of certain share-based compensation-related tax benefits, among other factors. In addition, the foreign tax credit valuation allowance, or absence thereof, is based on a number of variables, including forecasted earnings, which may vary.
Equity in net income of associated companies decreased $7.4 million in 2022 compared to 2021, primarily due to lower current year income from the Company’s interest in a captive insurance company (see the Non-GAAP Measures section of this Item, above) due to lower market performance on equity investments and from the Company’s 50% interest in a joint venture in Korea due to overall market challenges.
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest was less than $0.1 million for both 2022 and 2021.
Foreign exchange negatively impacted the Company’s yearly results by approximately 8% driven by the negative impact from foreign currency translation on earnings as well as higher foreign exchange transaction losses in the current year as compared to the prior year.
Reportable Segments Review - Comparison of 2023 with 2022
The Company’s reportable segments reflect the structure of the Company’s internal organization, the method by which the Company’s resources are allocated and the manner by which the chief operating decision maker of the Company assesses its performance. During the first quarter of 2023, the Company reorganized its executive management team to align with its new business structure. The Company’s new structure includes three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; and (iii) Asia/Pacific.
The three segments are comprised of the assets and operations in each respective region, including assets and operations formerly included in the Global Specialty Businesses segment. Prior to the Company’s reorganization, the Company’s historical reportable segments were: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; (iii) Asia/Pacific; and (iv) Global Specialty Businesses. Prior period information has been recast to reflect the Company’s new reportable segments. However, the Company did not recast the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. See Notes 1, 4, 5, and 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
Segment operating earnings for the Company’s reportable segments are comprised of net sales less COGS and SG&A directly related to the respective segment’s sales of products and services. Operating expenses not directly attributable to the net sales of each respective segment, such as certain corporate and administrative costs, Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses and Restructuring and related charges, are not included in segment operating earnings. Other items not specifically identified with the Company’s reportable segments include interest expense, net, and other income (expense), net.
Americas
Americas represented approximately 50% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2023. The segment’s net sales were $977.1 million, an increase of $30.6 million or 3% compared to 2022. The increase in net sales was due to higher selling price and product mix of 8% and favorable foreign currency impacts of 1%, partially offset by a decrease in sales volumes of approximately 6%. The decline in sales volumes was primarily driven by softer market conditions, customer order patterns, the direct and indirect impacts of the UAW strike, and the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives, partially offset by new business wins. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by value-based price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs. The favorable foreign exchange impact was primarily due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Mexican peso. This segment’s operating earnings were $266.0 million, an increase of $42.4 million or 19% compared to 2022 primarily driven by an increase in net sales and an improvement in segment operating margins driven by the Company’s ongoing margin improvement initiatives.
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EMEA
EMEA represented approximately 29% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2023. The segment’s net sales were $571.3 million, an increase of $8.8 million or 2% compared to 2022. The increase in net sales was a result of a 9% increase in selling price and a favorable impact from foreign currency translation of 2%, which was partially offset by a decrease in sales volumes of approximately 9%. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by value-based price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs. The favorable foreign currency translation impact was primarily due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Euro. The decrease in sales volumes was primarily driven by softer market conditions, the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives, customer order patterns and the impacts of the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine, partially offset by new business wins. This segment’s operating earnings were $104.8 million, an increase of $28.4 million or 37% compared to 2022. The increase in segment operating earnings was primarily driven by an increase in net sales and an improvement in segment operating margins driven by the Company’s ongoing margin improvement initiatives.
Asia/Pacific
Asia/Pacific represented approximately 21% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2023. The segment’s net sales were $404.9 million, a decrease of 7% or approximately $29.7 million compared to 2022. The decrease in net sales was a result of lower sales volumes of 7% and an unfavorable impact from foreign currency translation of 4%, partially offset by a 4% increase in selling price and product mix. The decrease in sales volumes was primarily driven by softer end market conditions and the impacts of the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives, partially offset by new business wins. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by value-based price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs. The unfavorable foreign exchange impact was primarily due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Chinese renminbi. This segment’s operating earnings were $118.5 million, an increase of $12.6 million or 12% compared to 2022 as a result of higher gross margins reflecting the Company’s value-based pricing initiatives and the Company’s ongoing margin improvement initiatives.
Reportable Segments Review – Comparison of 2022 with 2021
Americas
Americas represented approximately 49% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2022. The segment’s net sales were $946.5 million, an increase of $184.3 million or 24% compared to 2021. The increase in net sales was due to higher selling price and product mix of 28% and additional net sales from acquisition of 1%, partially offset by a decrease in organic sales volumes of approximately 5%. The increase in selling price and product mix is primarily driven by price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs that began during 2021 and continued through 2022. The current year decline in organic sales volumes was primarily driven by softer end market conditions, primarily in the automotive industry, due to the semiconductor supply constraints and to a lesser extent the primary metals markets, the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination, the Company’s ongoing value-based pricing initiatives, partially offset by net new business wins. This segment’s operating earnings were $223.6 million, an increase of $47.4 million or 27% compared to 2021 primarily driven by higher margins as the Company’s ongoing value-based pricing initiatives offset the ongoing inflationary pressures on the business.
EMEA
EMEA represented approximately 29% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2022. The segment’s net sales were $562.5 million, a decrease of $1.6 million or less than 1% compared to 2021. The decrease in net sales was a result of a 20% increase in selling price and product mix and additional net sales from acquisition of 2% which was more than offset by an unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation of 15% and a decrease in sales volumes of 7%. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs that began during 2021 and continued through 2022. The decrease in sales volumes was primarily driven by current geopolitical and macroeconomic pressures including the direct and indirect impacts of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the impact of the economic and other sanctions by other nations on Russia in response to the war, as well as the wind-down of the tolling agreement for products previously divested related to the Combination and softer economic conditions in the region. The significant and unfavorable foreign currency translation impact was primarily due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro. This segment’s operating earnings were $76.4 million, a decrease of $34.6 million or 31% compared to 2021. The decrease in segment operating earnings was primarily a result of lower net sales, lower gross margins, and inflationary pressures on other costs, including SG&A.
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Asia/Pacific
Asia/Pacific represented approximately 22% of the Company’s consolidated net sales in 2022. The segment’s net sales were $434.6 million, a decrease of less than 1% or approximately $0.3 million compared to 2021. The decrease in net sales was a result of a 15% increase in selling price and product mix offset by lower sales volumes of 10% and an unfavorable impact from foreign currency translation of 5%. The increase in selling price and product mix was primarily driven by price increases implemented to offset the significant increases in raw material, manufacturing and other input costs that began during 2021 and continued through 2022. The decline in sales volumes was primarily driven by softer market conditions, primarily in China, in part as a result of the government imposed COVID-19 quarantine and related production disruptions implemented at the end of March 2022 and continued throughout 2022, partially offset by net new business wins. The unfavorable foreign exchange impact was primarily due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Chinese renminbi. This segment’s operating earnings were $105.8 million, a decrease of $3.4 million or 3% compared to 2021 as a result of lower net sales, lower gross margins, and inflationary pressures on other costs, including SG&A.
Environmental Clean-up Activities
The Company is involved in environmental clean-up activities in connection with an existing plant location and former waste disposal sites. This includes certain soil and groundwater contamination the Company identified in 1992 at AC Products, Inc. (“ACP”), a wholly owned subsidiary. In voluntary coordination with the Santa Ana California Regional Water Quality Board, ACP has been remediating the contamination. In 2007, ACP agreed to operate two groundwater treatment systems, so as to hydraulically contain groundwater contamination emanating from ACP’s site until such time as the concentrations of contaminants are below the current Federal maximum contaminant level for four consecutive quarterly sampling events. In 2014, ACP ceased operation at one of its two groundwater treatment systems, as it had met the above condition for closure. In 2020, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board asked that ACP conduct some additional indoor and outdoor soil vapor testing on and near the ACP site to confirm that ACP continues to meet the applicable local standards and ACP has begun the testing program. Such testing began in 2020 and continued into 2021. As of December 31, 2023, ACP believes it is close to meeting the conditions for closure of the remaining groundwater treatment system but continues to operate this system while in discussions with the relevant authorities.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company believes that the range of potential-known liabilities associated with the balance of the ACP water remediation program is approximately $0.1 million to $1.0 million. The low and high ends of the range are based on the length of operation of the treatment system as determined by groundwater modeling. Costs of operation include the operation and maintenance of the extraction well, groundwater monitoring, program management, and soil vapor testing.
The Company is also party to environmental matters related to certain domestic and foreign properties. These environmental matters primarily require the Company to perform long-term monitoring as well as operating and maintenance at each of the applicable sites. During the year ended December 31, 2023, there have been no significant changes to the facts or circumstances of these matters, aside from ongoing monitoring and maintenance activities and routine payments associated with each of these sites. The Company continually evaluates its obligations related to such matters, and based on historical costs incurred and projected costs to be incurred over the next 26 years, has estimated the present value range of costs for all of these environmental matters, on a discounted basis, to be between approximately $5.0 million and $6.0 million as of December 31, 2023, for which $5.1 million is accrued within other accrued liabilities and other non-current liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2023. Comparatively, as of December 31, 2022, the Company had $5.3 million accrued with respect to these matters. These accrued amounts are inclusive of the Brazilian environmental matter discussed below.
The Company’s Sao Paulo, Brazil site was required under Brazilian environmental, health and safety regulations to perform an environmental assessment as part of a permit renewal process. Initial investigations identified soil and ground water contamination in select areas of the site. The site has conducted a multi-year soil and groundwater investigation and corresponding risk assessments based on the result of the investigations. In 2017, the site had to submit a new 5-year permit renewal request and was asked to complete additional investigations to further delineate the site based on review of the technical data by the local regulatory agency, Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (“CETESB”). Based on review of the updated investigation data, CETESB issued a Technical Opinion regarding the investigation and remedial actions taken to date. The site developed an action plan and submitted it to CETESB in 2018 based on CETESB requirements. The site intervention plan primarily requires the site, amongst other actions, to conduct periodic monitoring for methane in soil vapors, source zone delineation, groundwater plume delineation, bedrock aquifer assessment, update the human health risk assessment, develop a current site conceptual model and conduct a remedial feasibility study and provide a revised intervention plan. In 2020, the site submitted a report on the activities completed including the revised site conceptual model and results of the remedial feasibility study and recommended remedial strategy for the site.
The Company believes that it has made adequate accruals for costs associated with other environmental matters of which it is aware. Approximately $0.2 million and $0.3 million were accrued as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, to provide for such anticipated future environmental assessments and remediation costs.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company cannot be certain that future liabilities in the form of remediation expenses and damages will not exceed amounts reserved. See Note 25 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report.
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General
See Item 7A of this Report, below, for further discussion of certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Quaker Houghton is exposed to the impact of interest rates, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in commodity prices, and credit risk. Except as otherwise disclosed below, the market risks discussed below did not change materially from December 31, 2022.
Interest Rate Risk. During June 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to its primary credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). See Note 19 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which appears in Item 8 of this Report. As of December 31, 2023, borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest at either term SOFR or a base rate, in each case, plus an applicable margin based upon the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio, and, in the case of term SOFR, a spread adjustment equal to 0.10% per annum. As a result of the variable interest rates applicable under the Credit Facility, if interest rates rise significantly, the cost of debt to the Company will increase. This may have an adverse effect on the Company, depending on the extent of the Company’s borrowings outstanding throughout a given year. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility of approximately $744.5 million. The weighted average interest rate applicable on outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility was approximately 6.3% as of December 31, 2023. An interest rate change of 100 basis points would result in an approximate $7.4 million increase or decrease to interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2023.
In order to manage the Company’s exposure to variable interest rate risk associated with the Credit Facility, such as SOFR, in the first quarter of 2023, the Company entered into $300.0 million notional amounts of three year interest rate swaps to convert a portion of the Company’s variable rate borrowings into an average fixed rate obligation of 3.64% plus an applicable margin as provided in the Credit Facility based on the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio. As of December 31, 2023, the aggregate interest rate on the swaps, including the fixed base rate plus the applicable margin, was 5.3%. These interest rate swaps are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges. The Company has previously used derivative financial instruments primarily for the purpose of hedging exposures to fluctuations in interest rates.
Foreign Exchange Risk. A significant portion of the Company’s revenues and earnings are generated by its foreign operations.These foreign operations also represent a significant portion of Quaker Houghton’s assets and liabilities. Generally, all of these foreign operations use the local currency as their functional currency. Accordingly, Quaker Houghton’s financial results are affected by foreign currency fluctuations, particularly between the U.S. dollar and the euro, the British pound sterling, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, the Chinese renminbi and the Indian rupee. Quaker Houghton’s results can be materially affected depending on the volatility and magnitude of foreign exchange rate changes. If the euro, the British pound sterling, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, the Chinese renminbi and the Indian rupee had all weakened or strengthened by 10% against the U.S. dollar, the Company’s 2023 revenues would have correspondingly decreased or increased by approximately $100.7 million. Similarly, pre-tax earnings would increase or decrease by approximately $12.8 million.
The Company generally does not use financial instruments that expose it to significant risk involving foreign currency transactions. However, the size of its non-U.S. activities has a significant impact on reported operating results and the attendant net assets. During the past three years, sales by its non-U.S. subsidiaries accounted for approximately 60% to 70% of its consolidated net sales. In addition, the Company occasionally sources inventory among its worldwide operations. This practice can give rise to foreign exchange risk resulting from the varying cost of inventory to the receiving location, as well as from the revaluation of intercompany balances. The Company primarily mitigates this risk through local sourcing efforts.
Commodity Price Risk. Many of the raw materials used by Quaker Houghton are derivatives of commodity chemicals, which canexperience significant price volatility, and therefore Quaker Houghton’s earnings can be materially affected by market changes in raw material prices. At times, the Company has entered into fixed-price purchase contracts to manage this risk. These contracts provide protection to Quaker Houghton if the prices for the contracted raw materials rise; however, in certain circumstances, the Company may not realize the benefit if such prices decline. A gross margin change of one percentage point would correspondingly have increased or decreased the Company’s pre-tax earnings by approximately $19.5 million.
Credit Risk. Quaker Houghton establishes allowances for credit losses for estimated losses resulting from the inability of itscustomers to make required payments. If the financial condition of Quaker Houghton’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances might be required. Downturns in the overall economic climate may also exacerbate specific customer financial issues. A significant portion of the Company’s revenues are derived from sales to customers in the steel and automotive industries, including some of our larger customers, where bankruptcies have occurred in the past and where companies have experienced past financial difficulties. Though infrequent, when a bankruptcy occurs, Quaker Houghton must judge the amount of proceeds, if any, that may ultimately be received through the bankruptcy or liquidation process.
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In addition, as part of its terms of trade, Quaker Houghton may custom manufacture products for certain large customers and/or may ship product on a consignment basis. These practices may increase the Company’s exposure should a bankruptcy occur and may require a write-down or disposal of certain inventory due to its estimated obsolescence or limited marketability as well as of accounts receivable. Customer returns of products or disputes may also result in similar issues related to the realizability of recorded accounts receivable or returned inventory. The Company recorded expense to its provision for credit losses by $1.3 million, $4.3 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. A change of 10% to the expense recorded to the Company’s provision would have increased or decreased the Company’s pre-tax earnings by $0.1 million, $0.4 million and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Quaker Chemical Corporation
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
Page
Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 238) 42
Consolidated Statements of Operations 44
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) 45
Consolidated Balance Sheets 46
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 47
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity 48
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 49
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Quaker Chemical Corporation
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Quaker Chemical Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive income (loss), of changes in equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.
Basis for Opinions
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
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Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Annual Goodwill Impairment Assessments for the EMEA and Asia/Pacific Reporting Units
As described in Notes 1, 15, and 23 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated goodwill balance was $513 million as of December 31, 2023, of which $66 million relates to the EMEA reporting unit and $163 million relates to the Asia/Pacific reporting unit. Management completes its annual goodwill impairment test during the fourth quarter of each year, or more frequently if triggering events indicate a possible impairment in one or more of its reporting units. In completing a quantitative goodwill impairment test, management compares the reporting unit’s fair value, primarily based on future discounted cash flows, to its carrying value in order to determine if an impairment charge is warranted. The determination of the estimated fair value requires management’s judgment and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including revenue growth rates, gross margin levels, operating expenses, and weighted average cost of capital, among other items. Management completed its annual impairment assessment as of October 1, 2023 and concluded no impairment existed.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the annual goodwill impairment assessments for the EMEA and Asia/Pacific reporting units is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the fair value estimates of the EMEA and Asia/Pacific reporting units; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to revenue growth rates, gross margin levels, and operating expenses used in the valuation of the EMEA reporting unit and revenue growth rates used in the valuation of the Asia/Pacific reporting unit; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s goodwill impairment assessment, including controls over the valuation of the EMEA and Asia/Pacific reporting units. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimates of the EMEA and Asia/Pacific reporting units; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the discounted cash flow model used by management; (iii) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the discounted cash flow model; and (iv) evaluating the reasonableness of significant assumptions used by management related to the revenue growth rates, gross margin levels, and operating expenses used in the valuation of the EMEA reporting unit and the revenue growth rates used in the valuation of the Asia/Pacific reporting unit. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to the revenue growth rates, gross margin levels, and operating expenses involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering (i) the current and past performance of the EMEA and Asia/Pacific reporting units; (ii) whether the assumptions were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit; and (iii) for revenue growth rates, whether the assumptions were consistent with external market and industry data. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating the appropriateness of the Company’s discounted cash flow model.
/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 29, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since at least 1972. We have not been able to determine the specific year we began serving as auditor of the Company.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Year Ended December 31,
Impairment charges — 93,000 —
Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses — 8,779 23,885
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest 124 89 62
Per share data:
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(Dollars in thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
Defined benefit retirement plans
Net (loss) gain arising during the period, other (5,792) 8,177 9,210
Amortization of prior service cost (gain) 34 (228) 7
Current period change in fair value of derivatives 1,407 1,372 2,226
Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities 1,817 (1,881) (2,945)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands, except par value)
December 31,
ASSETS
Current assets
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 54,555 55,438
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities
Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt $ 23,444 $ 19,245
Accrued pension and postretirement benefits 2,208 1,560
Non-current accrued pension and postretirement benefits 29,457 28,765
Commitments and contingencies (Note 25)
Equity
Noncontrolling interest 603 667
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Dollars in thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities
Acquisition-related fair value adjustments related to inventory — — 801
Uncertain tax positions (non-deferred portion) (644) (6,398) (922)
Loss on extinguishment of debt — 5,246 —
Impairment charges — 93,000 —
Pension and other postretirement benefits (2,079) (7,964) (6,330)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (21) 3,705 (21,174)
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments related to acquisitions, net of cash acquired — (13,115) (42,417)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from long-term debt — 750,000 —
Financing-related debt issuance costs — (3,734) —
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash 771 (10,488) (3,057)
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Cash paid during the year for:
Non-cash activities:
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Amounts reported in other comprehensive (loss) income — — — (37,392) 16 (37,376)
Shares issued upon exercise of stock options and other 17 1,677 — — — 1,694
Shares issued upon exercise of stock options and other 1 (355) — — — (354)
Amounts reported in other comprehensive income (loss) — — — 13,825 (19) 13,806
Shares issued upon exercise of stock options and other 3 (2,836) — — — (2,833)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
Note 1 – Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
As used in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, the terms “Quaker,” “Quaker Houghton,” the “Company,” “we,” and “our” refer to Quaker Chemical Corporation (doing business as Quaker Houghton), its subsidiaries, and associated companies, unless the context otherwise requires. The “Combination” refers to the Quaker combination with Houghton International, Inc. (“Houghton”).
Basis of presentation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and include the accounts of Quaker Houghton and its controlled subsidiaries.
Principles of consolidation: All majority-owned subsidiaries are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements,with appropriate elimination of intercompany balances and transactions. For consolidated subsidiaries in which the Company’s ownership is less than 100%, the outside shareholders’ interests are reflected as non-controlling interests within the consolidated financial statements. The Company applies the equity method of accounting to investments in which the Company has significant influence but does not control the operating and financial decisions of the investee. This generally applies when the Company’s ownership interest in common stock of the investee is between 20% and 50%. Such investments are presented on the Consolidated Balance Sheet at “Investments in associated companies.” We initially record our investment at cost and subsequently adjust the investment to recognize our share of net earnings and losses and distributions received. The Company’s share of net income or losses in these investments in associated companies is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company reviews these investments for impairments when events of changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investment may be other-than-temporarily impaired. See Note 16 for additional information. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of any variable interest entities (“VIEs”) and therefore the Company’s consolidated financial statements do not include the accounts of any VIEs.
Accounting estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from such estimates.
Translation of foreign currency: Assets and liabilities of non-U.S. subsidiaries and associated companies are translated intoU.S. dollars at the respective rates of exchange prevailing at the end of the year. Income and expense accounts are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the year. Translation adjustments resulting from this process are recorded directly in equity as accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (“AOCI”) and will be included as income or expense only upon sale or substantial liquidation of the underlying entity or asset. Generally, all of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries use their local currency as their functional currency.
Segments: The Company’s operating segments, which are consistent with its reportable segments, reflect the structure of the Company’s internal organization, the method by which the Company’s resources are allocated and the manner by which the chief operating decision maker assesses the Company’s performance.
During the first quarter of 2023, the Company reorganized its executive management team to align with its new business structure. The Company’s new structure includes three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”); and (iii) Asia/Pacific. Prior to the Company’s reorganization, the Company’s historical reportable segments were: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; (iii) Asia/Pacific; and (iv) Global Specialty Businesses. Prior period segment financial information has been recast to align with segment change, including reportable segments and customer industry disaggregation.See Notes 4, 5, and 15 for additional information.
Reclassifications: Certain information has been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
Business combinations: The Company accounts for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. Thismethod requires the recording of acquired assets, including separately identifiable intangible assets, and assumed liabilities at their respective acquisition date estimated fair values. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. The determination of the estimated fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires significant estimates and assumptions. Based on the assessment of additional information during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company may record adjustments to the estimated fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. See Note 2 for additional information.
Revenue recognition: The Company recognizes revenue in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for goods or services transferred to its customers. To do this, the Company applies a five-step model, which requires the Company to: (i) identify the contract with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies a performance obligation.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
The Company identifies a contract with a customer when a sales agreement indicates approval and commitment of the parties; identifies the rights of the parties; identifies the payment terms; has commercial substance; and it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration to which it will be entitled in exchange for the goods or services that will be transferred to the customer.
The Company identifies a performance obligation in a contract for each promised good or service that is separately identifiable from other obligations in the contract and for which the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer. The Company determines the transaction price as the amount of consideration it expects to be entitled to in exchange for fulfilling the performance obligations, including the effects of any variable consideration, significant financing elements, amounts payable to the customer or noncash consideration. For any contracts that have more than one performance obligation, the Company allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount that depicts the amount of consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for satisfying each performance obligation.
In accordance with the last step of the five-step model, the Company recognizes revenue when, or as, it satisfies the performance obligation in a contract by transferring control of a promised good or providing the service to the customer. The Company typically satisfies its performance obligations and recognizes revenue at a point in time for product sales, generally when products are shipped or delivered to the customer, depending on the terms underlying each arrangement. In circumstances where the Company’s products are on consignment, revenue is generally recognized upon usage or consumption by the customer. For any FluidcareTM or other services provided by the Company to the customer, the Company typically satisfies its performance obligations and recognizes revenue over time, as the promised services are performed. The Company uses input methods to recognize revenue over time related to these services, including labor costs and time incurred. The Company believes that these input methods represent the most indicative measure of the FluidcareTM or other service work performed by the Company.
The Company does not have standard payment terms for all customers; however, the Company’s general payment terms require customers to pay for products or services provided after the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company does not have significant financing arrangements with its customers. Therefore, the Company does not adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component as the Company expects, at contract inception, that the period between when the Company transfers a promised good or service to the customer and when the customer pays for that good or service will be one year or less.
In addition, the Company expenses costs to obtain a contract as incurred when the expected period of benefit, and therefore the amortization period, is one year or less. In addition, the Company excludes from the measurement of the transaction price all taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction and collected by the entity from a customer, including sales, use, value added, excise and various other taxes. Lastly, the Company has elected to account for shipping and handling activities that occur after the customer has obtained control of a good as a fulfillment cost, rather than an additional promised service. The Company does not have significant amounts of variable consideration in its contracts with customers and where applicable, the Company’s estimates of variable consideration are not constrained.
The Company records certain third-party license fees in Other (expense) income, net, in its Consolidated Statement of Operations, which generally include sales-based royalties in exchange for the license of intellectual property. These license fees are recognized in accordance with their agreed-upon terms and when performance obligations are satisfied, which is generally when the third party has a subsequent sale.
The Company recognizes a contract asset or receivable on its Consolidated Balance Sheet when the Company performs a service or transfers a good in advance of receiving consideration. A receivable is the Company’s right to consideration that is unconditional and only the passage of time is required before payment of that consideration is due. A contract asset is the Company’s right to consideration in exchange for goods or services that the Company has transferred to a customer.
A contract liability is recognized when the Company receives consideration, or if it has the unconditional right to receive consideration, in advance of performance. A contract liability is the Company’s obligation to transfer goods or services to a customer for which the Company has received consideration, or a specified amount of consideration is due, from the customer.
See Note 5 for additional information.
Right of use lease assets and lease liabilities: The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at its inception. Thisdetermination generally depends on whether the arrangement conveys the right to control the use of an identified fixed asset explicitly or implicitly for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Control of an underlying asset is conveyed if the Company obtains the rights to direct the use of, and obtains substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of, the underlying asset. Lease expense for variable leases and short-term leases is recognized when the obligation is incurred.
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QUAKER CHEMICAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
The lease term for all of the Company’s leases includes the non-cancellable period of the lease plus any additional periods covered by an option to extend the lease that the Company is reasonably certain it will exercise. Operating leases are included in right of use lease assets, other accrued liabilities and long-term lease liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Right of use lease assets and liabilities are recognized at each lease’s commencement date based on the present value of its lease payments over its respective lease term. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
The Company uses the stated borrowing rate for a lease when readily determinable. When a stated borrowing rate is not available in a lease agreement, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the lease’s commencement date to determine the present value of its lease payments. In determining the incremental borrowing rate used to present value each of its leases, the Company considers certain information including fully secured borrowing rates readily available to the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company includes finance leases in PP&E, current portion of long-term debt and long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 6 for additional information.
Restructuring activities: Restructuring programs consist of employee severance, rationalization of manufacturing or otherfacilities and other related items. To account for such programs, the Company recognizes a liability for a cost associated with an exit or disposal activity, when the liability is incurred, is estimable, and payment is probable. See Note 7 for additional information.
Share-based compensation: The Company recognizes the fair value of share-based compensation as a component of expense. The Company has a long-term incentive program (“LTIP”) for key employees which provides for the granting of options to purchase stock at prices not less than its market value on the date of the grant. Most options become exercisable within three years after the date of the grant for a period of time determined by the Company, but not to exceed seven years from the date of grant. The Company did not grant any stock options during 2023.
Restricted stock awards and restricted stock units issued under the LTIP program are subject to time vesting generally over a one to three year period. In addition, as part of the Company’s Annual Incentive Plan, non-vested shares may be issued to key employees, which generally would vest over a two to five year period.
Prior to 2023, the Company generally has assumed a forfeiture rate of 13% based on historical experience. Beginning in 2023, the Company elected to account for forfeitures on new awards as they occur for service condition aspects of certain share-based awards.
The Company also issues various performance-dependent stock awards as a component of its LTIP. For performance-dependent stock units for which the performance target is market-based and tied to Total Shareholder Return, the grant date fair value is based on grant-date stock price adjusted for the likelihood of attaining certain predetermined performance goals and is calculated by utilizing a Monte Carlo simulation model. For performance-dependent stock units for which payout is linked to the achievement of a performance-based return on invested capital, the grant date fair value is based on the trading price of the Company’s stock on the grant date. Compensation expense for the performance-dependent is recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, generally three years.
See Note 8 for additional information.
Research and development costs: Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, generaland administrative expenses (“SG&A”). Research and development expenses were $50.3 million, $46.0 million and $44.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Hyper-inflationary accounting: Economies that have a cumulative three year rate of inflation exceeding 100% are consideredhyper-inflationary. A legal entity that operates within an economy deemed to be hyper-inflationary is required to remeasure its monetary assets and liabilities to the applicable published exchange rates and record the associated gains or losses resulting from the remeasurement directly to the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Argentina’s and Türkiye’s economies were considered hyper-inflationary effective July 1, 2018 and April 1, 2022, respectively. As of, and for the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company's Argentine and Turkish subsidiaries represented a combined 1% and 2% of the Company’s consolidated total assets and net sales, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded $7.8 million, $1.6 million, and $0.6 million, respectively, of remeasurement losses associated with the applicable currency conversions related to Argentina and Türkiye. These losses were recorded within foreign exchange losses, net, which is a component of Other (expense) income, net, in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
Income taxes and uncertain tax positions: The provision for income taxes is determined using the asset and liability approachof accounting for income taxes. Under this approach, deferred taxes represent the future tax consequences expected to occur when the reported amounts of assets and liabilities are recovered or paid. The provision for income taxes represents income taxes paid or payable for the current year and the change in deferred taxes during the year. Deferred taxes result from differences between the financial and tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities and are adjusted for changes in tax rates and tax laws when changes are enacted. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes by applying the recognition threshold and measurement attributes for financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. The Company determines whether the benefits of tax positions are probable or more likely than not sustained upon audit based upon the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are determined to be more likely than not sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. For tax positions that are not determined to be more likely than not sustained upon audit, the Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit in the financial statements. Additionally, the Company monitors and adjusts for derecognition, classification, and penalties and interest in interim periods, with appropriate disclosure and transition thereto. Also, the amount of interest expense and income related to uncertain tax positions is computed by applying the applicable statutory rate of interest to the difference between the tax position recognized, including timing differences, and the amount previously taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. Finally, when applicable, the Company nets its liability for unrecognized tax benefits against deferred tax assets related to net operating losses or other tax credit carryforwards that would apply if the uncertain tax position were settled for the presumed amount at the balance sheet date.
Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reform”), specifically the one-time tax on deemed repatriation (the “Transition Tax”), the Company has provided for U.S. income tax on its undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries, however, the Company is subject to and will incur other taxes, such as withholding taxes and dividend distribution taxes, if these undistributed earnings were ultimately remitted to the U.S. The Company currently intends to reinvest its future undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries to support working capital needs and certain other growth initiatives of those subsidiaries. However, in certain cases the Company has and may in the future change its indefinite reinvestment assertion for any or all of these undistributed earnings. In this case, the Company would estimate and record a tax liability and corresponding tax expense for the amount of non-U.S. income taxes it would incur to ultimately remit these earnings to the U.S. See Note 10 for additional information.
Earnings per share: The Company calculates earnings per share for non-vestedstock awards with rights to non-forfeitable dividends, which requires non-vested stock awards with rights to non-forfeitable dividends to be included as part of the basic weighted average share calculation under the two-class method. See Note 11 for additional information.
Comprehensive income (loss): The Company presents Other comprehensive income (loss) in its Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). The Company discloses significant amounts reclassified from each component of AOCI, the related tax amounts and the income statement line items affected by such reclassifications. See Note 22 for additional information.
Cash and cash equivalents: The Company invests temporary and excess funds in money market securities and financial instruments having maturities within 90 days. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company has not experienced losses from the aforementioned investments.
Accounts receivable and allowance for credit losses: Trade accounts receivable subject the Company to credit risk.Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and generally do not bear interest. The Company recognizes an allowance for credit losses, which represents the portion of the receivable that the Company does not expect to collect over its contractual life, considering past events and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions. The Company’s allowance for credit losses on its trade accounts receivable is based on specific collectability facts and circumstances for each outstanding receivable and customer, the aging of outstanding receivables, and the associated collection risk the Company estimates for certain past due aging categories, and also, the general risk to all outstanding accounts receivable based on historical amounts determined to be uncollectible. The Company does not have any off-balance-sheet credit exposure related to its customers. See Note 12 for additional information.
Inventories: Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value, and are valued using the first-in, first-out method. See Note 13 for additional information.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
Long-lived assets: PP&E is stated at gross cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method on an individual asset basis over the following estimated useful lives: buildings and improvements, 10 to 33 years, or the remaining term of the lease; and machinery and equipment, 4 to 10 years, or the remaining term of the lease. The carrying values of long-lived assets are evaluated whenever changes in circumstances or current events indicate the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. An estimate of undiscounted cash flows produced by the asset, or the appropriate group of assets, is compared with the carrying value to determine whether an impairment exists. If necessary, the Company recognizes an impairment loss for the difference between the carrying amount of the assets and their estimated fair value. Fair value is based on current and anticipated future cash flows. Upon sale or other dispositions of long-lived assets, the applicable amounts of asset cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and the net amount, less proceeds from disposals, is recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Expenditures for renewals or improvements that increase the estimated useful life or capacity of the assets are capitalized, whereas expenditures for repairs and maintenance are expensed when incurred. See Notes 9 and 14 for additional information.
Capitalized software: The Company capitalizes certain costs in connection with developing or obtaining software for internaluse, depending on the associated project. These costs are amortized over a period of 3 to 5 years once the assets are ready for their intended use. In connection with the implementations and upgrades to the Company’s global transaction, consolidation and other related systems, approximately $4.5 million and $3.5 million of net costs were capitalized in PP&E on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Goodwill and other intangible assets: The Company records goodwill, definite-lived intangible assets and indefinite-livedintangible assets at fair value at the date of acquisition. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but tested for impairment at least annually. These tests will be performed more frequently if triggering events indicate potential impairment. In completing a quantitative goodwill impairment test, the Company compares a reporting unit’s fair value, primarily based on future discounted cash flows, to its carrying value in order to determine if an impairment charge is warranted.
Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, generally for periods ranging from 3 to 24 years. The Company continually evaluates the reasonableness of the useful lives of these assets, consistent with the discussion of long-lived assets, above.
See Notes 15 and 23 for additional information.
Fair value measurements: Fair value is defined as an exit price, or the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Company utilizes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. See Notes 20, 23 and 24 for additional information. The following briefly describes those three levels:
•Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
•Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for sustainability the full term of the asset or liability. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
•Level 3: Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability that reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.
Pension and other postretirement benefits: The Company maintains various noncontributory retirement plans, covering aportion of its employees in the U.S. and certain other countries, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Mexico, Sweden, Germany and France. The plans of the remaining non-U.S. subsidiaries are, for the most part, either fully insured or integrated with the local governments’ plans. The Company recognizes on a prospective basis the funded status of the defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans on its Consolidated Balance Sheets and, also, recognizes as a component of AOCI, net of tax, the gains or losses and prior service costs or credits that arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost. In addition, the Company recognizes a settlement charge in its Consolidated Statements of Operations when certain events occur, including plan termination or the settlement of certain plan liabilities. A settlement charge represents the immediate recognition into expense of a portion of the unrecognized loss within AOCI on the balance sheet in proportion to the share of the projected benefit obligation that was settled. The measurement date for the Company’s postretirement benefits plan is December 31.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
The Company’s global pension investment policies are designed to ensure that pension assets are invested in a manner consistent with meeting the future benefit obligations of the pension plans and maintaining compliance with various laws and regulations including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The Company establishes strategic asset allocation percentage targets and benchmarks for significant asset classes with the aim of achieving a prudent balance between return and risk. The Company’s investment horizon is generally long term, and, accordingly, the target asset allocations encompass a long-term perspective of capital markets, expected risk and return and perceived future economic conditions while also considering the profile of plan liabilities. To the extent feasible, the short-term investment portfolio is managed to match the short-term obligations, the intermediate portfolio duration is matched to reduce the risk of volatility in intermediate plan distributions, and the total return portfolio is managed to maximize the long-term real growth of plan assets. The critical investment principles of diversification, assessment of risk and targeting the optimal expected returns for given levels of risk are applied. The Company’s investment guidelines prohibit the use of securities such as letter stock and other unregistered securities, commodities or commodity contracts, short sales, margin transactions, private placements (unless specifically addressed by addendum), or any derivatives, options or futures for the purpose of portfolio leveraging.
The target asset allocation is reviewed periodically and is determined based on a long-term projection of capital market outcomes, inflation rates, fixed income yields, returns, volatilities and correlation relationships. The interaction between plan assets and benefit obligations is periodically studied to assist in establishing such strategic asset allocation targets. Asset performance is monitored with an overall expectation that plan assets will meet or exceed benchmark performance over rolling five year periods. The Company’s pension committee, as authorized by the Company’s Board, has discretion to manage the assets within established asset allocation ranges approved by senior management of the Company. See Note 20 for additional information.
Derivatives: The Company is exposed to the impact of changes in interest rates, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in commodity prices and credit risk. Historically, the Company has utilized interest rate swap agreements to enhance its ability to manage risk, including exposure to variability in interest payments associated with its variable rate debt. Derivative instruments are entered into for periods consistent with the related underlying exposures and do not constitute positions independent of those exposures.
In order to manage the Company’s exposure to variable interest rate risk associated with the Credit Facility, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), in the first quarter of 2023, the Company entered into $300.0 million notional amounts of three year interest rate swaps to convert a portion of the Company’s variable rate borrowings into a fixed rate obligation. The Company records these instruments on a net basis within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These interest rate swaps are designated as cash flow hedges and, as such, the contracts are marked-to-market at each reporting date and any unrealized gains or losses are included in AOCI to the extent effective and reclassified to interest expense in the period during which the transaction affects earnings or it becomes probable that the forecasted transaction will not occur. See Note 24 for additional information.
A significant portion of the Company’s revenues and earnings are generated by its foreign operations. These foreign operations also represent a significant portion of the Company’s assets and liabilities. Generally, all of these foreign operations use the local currency as their functional currency and translate their assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates in effect on the balance sheet date. The gains and losses that result from this process are shown as translation adjustments in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in the equity section of the balance sheet. Many of these operations have transactions in currencies other than their functional currency, which creates foreign exchange remeasurement risk. The Company uses foreign exchange forward contracts to economically hedge the impact of the variability in exchange rates on certain assets and/or liabilities denominated in certain foreign currencies. These forward contracts are marked-to-market at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value of the underlying instruments, as well as gains and losses on the hedged foreign currency transactions recognized in earnings in Other (expense) income, net. The fair value of the forward contract is determined from sources independent of the Company, including the financial institutions which are party to the derivative instruments. See Note 24 for additional information.
Environmental liabilities and expenditures: Accruals for environmental matters are recorded when it is probable that a liabilityhas been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. If there is a range of estimated liability and no amount in that range is considered more probable than another, then the Company records the lowest amount in the range. Environmental costs and remediation costs are capitalized if the costs extend the life, increase the capacity or improve safety or efficiency of the property from the date acquired or constructed, and/or mitigate or prevent contamination in the future. See Note 25 for additional information.
Asset retirement obligations: The Company assesses whether it has legal or conditional obligations associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction, or development and/or the normal operation of a long-lived asset, including any legal obligations that require disposal of a replaced part that is a component of a tangible long-lived asset. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no significant exposure or liabilities recorded on its Consolidated Balance Sheets.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
Note 2 – Business Combinations
Recent Acquisitions
During February 2024, the Company acquired I.K.V. Tribologie IKVT and its subsidiaries (“IKVT”) for approximately 27.0 million EUR, or $29.1 million, subject to routine and customary post-closing adjustments related to working capital and net indebtedness levels. IKVT will be part of the Company’s EMEA segment and specializes in high-performance lubricants and greases, including original equipment manufacturer first-fill greases that are primarily used in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, and other industrial markets. The acquisition of IKVT strengthens the Company’s position in first fill greases. The results of operations of this acquisition are not included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations presented, because the date of closing was subsequent to December 31, 2023. Preliminary purchase price allocation of assets acquired and liabilities assumed have not been presented as that information is not available as of the date of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
Previous Acquisitions
In October 2022, the Company acquired a business that provides pickling and rinsing products and services, which is part of the EMEA reportable segment, for approximately 3.5 million EUR or approximately $3.5 million. The Company allocated $2.8 million of the purchase price to intangible assets, comprised of $2.3 million of customer relationships to be amortized over 10 years; $0.2 million of existing product technologies to be amortized over 10 years; and $0.3 million of licensed trademarks to be amortized over 10 years. In addition, the Company recorded $0.8 million of goodwill related to expected value not allocated to other acquired assets.
In January 2022, the Company acquired a business that provides pickling inhibitor technologies, drawing lubricants and stamping oil, and various other lubrication, rust preventative, and cleaner applications, which is part of the Americas reportable segment for approximately $8.0 million. The Company allocated $5.6 million of the purchase price to intangible assets, comprised of $5.1 million of customer relationships to be amortized over 14 years; and $0.5 million of existing product technologies to be amortized over 14 years. In addition, the Company recorded $1.8 million of goodwill related to expected value not allocated to other acquired assets, all of which is expected to be tax deductible in various jurisdictions in which the Company operates. During the third quarter of 2023 the Company finalized post-closing adjustments that resulted in the Company paying less than $0.1 million of additional purchase consideration. Factors contributing to the purchase price that resulted in goodwill included the acquisition of business processes and personnel that will allow Quaker Houghton to better serve its customers.
In January 2022, the Company acquired a business related to the sealing and impregnation of metal castings for the automotive sector, as well as impregnation resin and impregnation systems for metal parts, which is part of the EMEA reportable segment for approximately 1.2 million EUR or approximately $1.4 million.
In November 2021, the Company acquired Baron Industries (“Baron”), a privately held company that provides vacuum impregnation services of castings, powder metals and electrical components for its Americas reportable segment for $11.0 million, including an initial cash payment of $7.1 million, subject to post-closing adjustments as well as certain earn-out provisions that are payable at various times from 2022 through 2025. The earn-out provisions could total a maximum of $4.5 million. In September 2022, the Company paid $2.5 million related to certain of these earnout provisions. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has remaining earnout liabilities recorded on its Consolidated Balance Sheet of $1.0 million. The Company allocated $8.0 million of the purchase price to intangible assets, $1.1 million of property, plant and equipment and $1.5 million of other assets acquired net of liabilities assumed, which includes $0.3 million of cash acquired. In addition, the Company recorded $0.4 million of goodwill, none of which is expected to be tax deductible. Intangible assets comprised $7.2 million of customer relationships to be amortized over 15 years; and $0.8 million of existing product technology to be amortized over 13 years. Factors contributing to the purchase price that resulted in goodwill included the acquisition of business processes and personnel that will allow Quaker Houghton to better serve its customers. During the third quarter of 2022, the Company finalized post-closing adjustments that resulted in the Company receiving less than $0.1 million.
In November 2021, the Company acquired a business that provides hydraulic fluids, coolants, cleaners, and rust preventative oils in Türkiye for its EMEA reportable segment for 3.2 million EUR or approximately $3.7 million.
In September 2021, the Company acquired the remaining interest in Grindaix-GmbH (“Grindaix”), a Germany-based, high-tech provider of coolant control and delivery systems for its EMEA reportable segment for 2.4 million EUR or approximately $2.9 million, which is gross of approximately $0.3 million of cash acquired. Previously, in February 2021, the Company acquired a 38% ownership interest in Grindaix for 1.4 million EUR or approximately $1.7 million. The Company recorded its initial investment as an equity method investment within the Consolidated Financial Statements and accounted for the purchase of the remaining interest as a step acquisition whereby the Company remeasured the previously held equity method investment to its fair value.
In June 2021, the Company acquired certain assets for its chemical milling maskants product line in the EMEA reportable segment for 2.3 million EUR or approximately $2.8 million.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
In February 2021, the Company acquired a tin-plating solutions business for the steel end market for $25.0 million. This acquisition is part of each of the Company’s geographic reportable segments. The Company allocated $19.6 million of the purchase price to intangible assets, comprised of $18.3 million of customer relationships, to be amortized over 19 years; $0.9 million of existing product technology to be amortized over 14 years; and $0.4 million of a licensed trademark to be amortized over 3 years. In addition, the Company recorded $5.0 million of goodwill, all of which is expected to be tax deductible in various jurisdictions in which we operate.
In December 2021, the Company completed its acquisition of Coral Chemical Company (“Coral”), a privately held, U.S.-based provider of metal finishing fluid solutions. The acquired assets and liabilities were assigned to the Americas reportable segment. The original purchase price was approximately $54.1 million, subject to routine and customary post-closing adjustments related to working capital and net indebtedness levels.
Subsequent to the acquisition, the Company and the sellers of Coral (the “Sellers”) have worked to finalize certain post-closing adjustments. During the second quarter of 2022, after failing to reach resolution, the Sellers filed suit asserting certain amounts owed related to tax attributes of the acquisition. Since the second quarter of 2022, there have been no material changes to the facts and circumstances of the claim asserted by the Sellers, and the Company continues to believe the potential range of exposure for this claim is $0 to $1.5 million.
As of December 31, 2023, the allocations of the purchase prices for all acquisitions, except IKVT, were finalized and the one year measurement periods have all ended.
The results of operations of each acquisition completed prior to December 31, 2023 and subsequent to the respective acquisition dates are included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Applicable transaction expenses associated with these acquisitions are included in Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Certain pro forma and other information is not presented, as the operations of the acquired assets and businesses are not considered material to the overall operations of the Company for the periods presented.
Note 3 – Recently Issued Accounting Standards
Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures in November 2023. This ASU expands on reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The required disclosure, which is on an annual and interim basis, specifies that significant segment expenses are expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and are used to evaluate performance by segment to make decisions about resource allocations. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the disclosure requirements of this standard and the impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements and related disclosures.
The FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures in December 2023. This ASU requires public business entities to disclose additional information in specified categories with respect to the reconciliation of the effective tax rate to the statutory rate (the “rate reconciliation”) for federal, state, and foreign income taxes. It also requires greater detail about individual reconciling items in the rate reconciliation to the extent the impact of those items exceeds a specified threshold. ASU 2023-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the disclosure requirements of this standard and the impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.
Note 4 – Business Segments
The Company’s operating segments, which are consistent with its reportable segments, reflect the structure of the Company’s internal organization, the method by which the Company’s resources are allocated and the manner by which the chief operating decision maker assesses the Company’s performance. During the first quarter of 2023, the Company reorganized certain of its executive management team to align with its new business structure, which reflects the method by which the Company currently assesses its performance and allocates its resources. The Company has three reportable segments: (i) Americas; (ii) EMEA; and (iii) Asia/Pacific. The three segments are composed of the net sales and operations in each respective region. The three geographic segments are composed of the net sales and operations in each respective region, including net sales and operations formerly included in the Global Specialty Businesses segment. Prior period information has been recast to reflect the Company’s new reportable segments. However, the Company did not recast the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. See Notes 1, 4, 5, and 15 for additional information.
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts, unless otherwise stated)
Segment operating earnings for each of the Company’s reportable segments are comprised of the segment’s net sales less directly related COGS and SG&A. Operating expenses not directly attributable to the net sales of each respective segment, such as certain corporate and administrative costs, Combination, integration and other acquisition-related expenses, and Restructuring and related charges, are not included in segment operating earnings. Other items not specifically identified with the Company’s reportable segments include Interest expense, net and Other (expense) income, net.
The following tables present information about the performance of the Company’s reportable segments for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Segment operating earnings
Restructuring and related charges, net (7,588) (3,163) (1,433)
Fair value step up of acquired inventory sold — — (801)
Impairment charges — (93,000) —
Depreciation of corporate assets and amortization (60,824) (60,748) (62,573)
The following tables present information regarding the Company’s reportable segments’ assets and long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. Management does not use goodwill by segment to evaluate performance or allocate resources.
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