Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks related to our industries
A significant portion of our business depends on spending for water and wastewater infrastructure construction activity.
Our primary end markets are repair and replacement of water infrastructure, driven by municipal spending and new water infrastructure installation driven by new residential construction. As a result, a significant portion of our business depends on local, state and federal spending on water and wastewater infrastructure upgrade, repair and replacement. Funds for water and wastewater infrastructure repair and replacement typically come from local taxes, water fees and water rates. State and local governments and private water entities that do not adequately budget for expenditures when setting tax rates, water rates and water fees, as applicable, may be unable to pay for water infrastructure repair and replacement if they do not have access to other funding sources. In addition, reductions or delays in federal spending related to water or wastewater infrastructure could adversely affect state or local projects and may adversely affect our financial results.
Governments and private water entities may have limited abilities to increase taxes, water fees or water rates, as applicable. It is not unusual for water and wastewater projects to be delayed and rescheduled for a number of reasons, including changes in project priorities, increasing interest rates, inflation and difficulties in complying with environmental and other governmental regulations. For example, changes in interest rates and credit markets, including municipal bonds, mortgages, home equity loans and consumer credit, can significantly increase the costs of the projects in which our products are utilized, such as in new residential construction and water and wastewater infrastructure upgrade, repair and replacement projects, and lead to such projects being reduced, delayed and/or rescheduled, which could result in a decrease in our revenues and earnings and adversely affect our financial condition. In addition, higher interest rates are often accompanied by inflation. In an inflationary environment, we may be unable to raise the prices of our products sufficiently to keep up with the rate of inflation, which would reduce our profit margins and cash flows.
Some state and local governments may place significant restrictions on the use of water by their constituents and/or increase their water conservation efforts. These types of water use restrictions and water conservation efforts may lead to reduced water revenues by private water entities, municipalities or other governmental agencies, which could similarly affect funding decisions for water-related projects.
Poor economic conditions may cause states, municipalities or private water entities to receive lower than anticipated revenues, which may lead to reduced or delayed funding for water infrastructure projects. Even if favorable economic conditions exist, water infrastructure owners may choose not to address deferred infrastructure needs as a result of a variety of political factors or competing spending priorities.
Low levels of spending for water and wastewater infrastructure construction activity could adversely affect our sales, profitability and cash flows.
Residential construction activity is important to our business and adverse conditions or sustained uncertainty within this market could adversely affect our financial results.
New water and wastewater infrastructure spending is heavily dependent upon residential construction. As a result, our financial performance depends significantly on the stability and growth of the residential construction market. This market depends on a variety of factors beyond our control, including household formation, consumer confidence, interest rates, inflation and the availability of mortgage financing, as well as the mix between single and multifamily construction, availability of construction labor and ultimately the extent to which new construction leads to the development of raw land. Adverse conditions or sustained uncertainty regarding the residential construction market could adversely affect our sales, profitability and cash flows, including the risk that one or more of our distributors and/or end use customers decide to delay purchasing, or determine not to purchase, our products or services.
Our business depends on a small group of key customers for a significant portion of our sales.
A majority of our products are sold primarily to distributors and our success depends on these outside parties operating their businesses profitably and effectively. These distributors’ profitability and effectiveness can vary significantly from company to company and from region to region within the same company. Further, our largest distributors generally also carry competing products. We may fail to align our operations with successful distributors in any given market.
Distributors in our industry have experienced consolidation in recent years. If such consolidation continues, our distributors could be acquired by other distributors who have better relationships with our competitors, and consequently,
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pricing and profit margin pressure may intensify. Pricing and profit margin pressure or the loss of any one of our key distributors in any market could adversely affect our operating results.
Certain products and solutions, primarily technology-enabled products and solutions, are sold directly to end users. Some of these customers represent a relatively high concentration of sales. Over time, expected growth in sales is expected to lessen the significance of individual customers. In the short term, net sales could decline if existing significant customers do not continue to purchase our products or services and new customers are not obtained to replace them.
Strong competition could adversely affect prices and demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our operating results.
The United States and Canadian markets for water infrastructure and flow control products are very competitive. While there are only a few competitors for most of our product and service offerings, many of our competitors are well-established companies with strong brand recognition. We compete on the basis of a variety of factors, including the quality, price and innovation of our products, services and service levels. Our ability to retain customers in the face of competition depends on our ability to market our products and services to our customers and end users effectively.
The United States markets for water metering products and systems are highly competitive. Our primary competitors benefit from strong market positions and many end users are slow to transition to new products or new brands. Our ability to attract new customers depends on our technological advancements and ability to market our products and services to our customers and end users effectively.
In addition to competition from North American companies, we face the threat of competition from outside of North America. The intensity of competition from these companies is affected by fluctuations in the value of the United States dollar against foreign local currencies, the cost to ship competitive products into North America and the availability of trade remedies, if any. Competition may also increase as a result of competitors located in the United States shifting their operations to lower-cost countries or otherwise reducing their costs.
Our competitors may reduce the prices of their products or services, improve their quality, improve their functionality or enhance their marketing or sales activities. Any of these potential developments could adversely affect our prices and demand for our products and services.
The long-term success of our newer systems and solutions, including the related products, software and services, such as smart metering, leak detection, pressure monitoring and pipe condition assessment, depends on market acceptance.
Our technology-enabled smart metering, leak detection, pressure monitoring and pipe condition assessment products and services have much less market history than many of our traditional products. Our investments in smart metering have primarily focused on the market for AMI and have been based on our belief that water utilities will transition over time from traditional manually-read meters to automatically-read meters. The market for AMI is relatively new and continues to evolve, and the United States markets for water meter products and systems are highly competitive. Water utilities have traditionally been slow adopters of new technology and may not adopt AMI as quickly as we expect, partially as a result of the substantial investment related to installation of AMI systems. The strong market positions of our primary competitors may also slow the adoption of our products. Similarly, the adoption of our pressure monitoring, leak detection and pipe condition assessment products and services depends on the willingness of our customers to invest in new product and service offerings, and the pace of adoption may be slower than we expect. If the market for our technology-enabled products and services develops more slowly than we expect or these products and services fail to gain market acceptance, our opportunity to grow these businesses will be limited.
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Risks related to our business strategy
We may not be able to adequately manage the risks associated with the introduction and deployment of new products and systems, including increased warranty costs.
The success of our new products and systems, such as our recently launched smart hydrant and Sentryx software platform, will depend on our ability to manage the risks associated with their introduction, including the risk that new products and systems may have quality or other defects or deficiencies in their early stages that result in their failure to satisfy performance or reliability requirements. Our success will depend in part on our ability to manage these risks, including costs associated with manufacturing, installation, maintenance and warranties. These challenges can be costly and technologically challenging, and we cannot determine in advance the ultimate effect they may have. Warranty liabilities and the related reserve estimation process is highly judgmental as a result of the complex nature of these exposures and the unique circumstances of each claim. Furthermore, once claims are asserted for an alleged product defect by municipalities or other customers, it can be difficult to determine the level of potential exposure or liability related to such allegation to which the assertion of these claims will expand geographically. Although we have obtained insurance for product liability claims, such policies may not be available or adequate to cover the liability for damages, the cost of repairs and/or the expense of litigation. Current and future claims may arise out of events or circumstances not covered by insurance and not subject to effective indemnification agreements with our subcontractors. Failure to successfully manage these challenges could result in lost revenue, significant expense, and harm to our reputation.
Inefficient or ineffective allocation of capital, along with increased capital expenditure levels to modernize our aging facilities and expand our capabilities, could adversely affect our operating results and/or stockholder value, including negatively impacting our available cash reserves and prevent acquisition or other cash-intensive opportunities.
Our goal is to invest capital to generate long-term value for our stockholders. This includes spending on capital projects, such as developing or acquiring strategic businesses, technologies and product lines with the potential to strengthen our industry position, enhancing our existing set of product and service offerings, or entering into new markets, as well as periodically returning value to our stockholders through share repurchases and dividends. For example, we have completed the construction of our large valve manufacturing expansion in Chattanooga, Tennessee and made an additional investment in a facility in Kimball, Tennessee to further expand our capabilities in the area and allow us to insource more products and operations. We also expect to make significant progress in fiscal 2022 on the construction of our new brass manufacturing facility in Decatur, Illinois, which we expect to be completed in 2023. To a large degree, capital efficiency reflects how well we manage key risks. The actions taken to address specific risks may affect how well we manage the more general risk of capital efficiency. If we do not allocate properly and manage our capital, we may fail to produce expected financial results, and we may experience a reduction in stockholder value, including increased volatility in our stock price.
We may not realize the expected benefits from our strategic reorganization plans.
In fiscal 2019, we relocated our research and development activities from our Middleborough, Massachusetts facility to Atlanta, Georgia, which consolidated our resources and should accelerate product innovation through creation of a research and development center of excellence for software and electronics in Atlanta.
Between November 2019 and March 2021, we announced the purchase and closure of several facilities. We purchased a new facility in Kimball, Tennessee, to support and enhance our investment in our Chattanooga, Tennessee large casting foundry. As a result of this reorganization, we closed our facilities in Hammond, Indiana and Woodland, Washington. We also announced the planned closures of our facilities in Aurora, Illinois and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Most of the activities from these plants will be transferred to our Kimball, Tennessee facility. We expect to substantially complete these facility closures by the third quarter of our fiscal year 2022 and expect to incur total expenses related to this restructuring of approximately $14.0 million. We cannot guarantee that the activities under the restructuring and reorganization activities will result in the desired efficiencies and estimated cost savings, if any.
Our business strategy includes developing, acquiring and investing in companies and technologies that broaden our product portfolio or complement our existing business, which could be unsuccessful or consume significant resources and adversely affect our operating results.
As part of our long-term business strategy, we continue to evaluate the development or acquisition of strategic businesses, technologies and product lines with the potential to strengthen our industry position, enhance and expand our existing set of product and service offerings, or enter new markets. We may be unable to identify or successfully complete suitable acquisitions in the future and completed acquisitions may not be successful.
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Acquisitions and technology investments may involve significant cash expenditures, the incurrence of debt, operating losses and expenses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. These types of transactions involve numerous other risks, including but not limited to:
•Diversion of management time and attention from existing operations,
•Difficulties in integrating acquired businesses, technologies and personnel into our business or into our compliance and control programs, particularly those that include international operations,
•Working with partners or other ownership structures with shared decision-making authority (our interests and other ownership interests may be inconsistent),
•Difficulties in obtaining and verifying relevant information regarding a business or technology prior to the consummation of the transaction, including the identification and assessment of liabilities, claims or other circumstances, including those relating to intellectual property claims, that could result in litigation or regulatory exposure,
•Assumptions of liabilities that exceed our estimated amounts,
•Verifying the financial statements and other business information of an acquired business,
•Inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and/or required financing on favorable terms,
•Potential loss of key employees, contractual relationships or customers of the acquired company,
•Increased operating expenses related to the acquired businesses or technologies,
•The failure of new technologies, products or services to gain market acceptance with acceptable profit margins,
•Entering new markets in which we have little or no experience or in which competitors may have stronger market positions,
•Dilution of stockholder value through the issuance of equity securities or equity-linked securities, and
•Inability to achieve expected synergies or the achievement of such synergies taking longer than expected to realize, including increases in revenue, enhanced efficiencies, or increased market share, or the benefits ultimately may be smaller than we expected.
Any acquisitions or investments may ultimately harm our business or financial condition, as they may not be successful and may ultimately have an adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition and/or result in impairment charges.
Potential international business opportunities may expose us to additional risks, including currency exchange fluctuations.
A part of our growth strategy depends on us expanding internationally. Although sales outside of the United States and Canada account for a relatively small percentage of our total net sales, we expect to increase our level of business activity outside of the United States and Canada, as illustrated by our December 2018 acquisition of Krausz Industries, which is based in Israel, and our acquisition in June 2021 of i2O Water Ltd, which is based in Southampton, United Kingdom. Some countries that present potential good business opportunities also face political and economic instability and vulnerability to infrastructure and other disruptions. Seeking to expand our business internationally exposes us to additional risks, which include foreign exchange risks and currency fluctuations, as discussed more fully below, political and economic uncertainties, changes in local business conditions and national and international conflicts. A primary risk we face in connection with our export shipments relates to our ability to collect amounts due from customers. We also face the potential risks arising from staffing, monitoring and managing international operations, including the risk such activities may divert our resources and management time.
In addition, compliance with the laws, regulations and taxes of multiple international jurisdictions increases our cost of doing business. International operations are subject to anti-corruption laws and anti-competition regulations, among others. For example, the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar anti-corruption laws outside of the United States generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments or providing anything of value to improperly influence foreign government officials and certain others for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, or obtaining an unfair advantage. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in criminal and civil sanctions, disrupt our business and adversely affect our brands, international expansion efforts, business and operating results.
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We earn revenues and incur expenses in foreign currencies as part of our operations outside of the United States. Accordingly, fluctuations in currency exchange rates may significantly increase the amount of United States dollars required for foreign currency expenses or significantly decrease the United States dollars we receive from revenues denominated in a foreign currency. Changes between a foreign exchange rate and the United States dollar affect the amounts we record for our foreign assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and could have a negative effect on our financial results. We expect that our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations will grow as the relative contribution of our operations outside the United States increases through both organic and inorganic growth.
Risks related to our operations
Our reliance on vendors for certain products, some of which are single-source or limited source suppliers, could harm our business by adversely affecting product availability, reliability or cost.
We maintain several single-source or limited-source supplier relationships with manufacturers, including some outside of the United States. If the supply of a critical single- or limited-source product is delayed or curtailed, we may not be able to ship the related products in desired quantities or in a timely manner. Even where multiple sources of supply are available, qualification of the alternative suppliers and establishment of reliable supplies could result in delays and a possible loss of profits, which could harm our operating results.
These relationships reduce our direct control over production. Our reliance on these vendors subjects us to a greater risk of shortages, and reduced control over delivery schedules of products, as well as a greater risk of increases in product costs. In instances where we stock lower levels of product inventories, a disruption in product availability could harm our financial performance and our ability to satisfy customer needs. In addition, defective products from these manufacturers could reduce product reliability and harm our reputation.
A disruption in our supply chain or other factors impacting the distribution of our products could adversely affect our business.
A disruption within our logistics or supply chain network at any of the freight companies that deliver components for our manufacturing operations in the United States or ship our fully-assembled products to our customers could adversely affect our business and result in lost sales and increased expenses or harm to our reputation. Our supply chain is dependent on third party ocean-going container ships, rail, barge and trucking systems and, therefore, disruption in these logistics services because of weather-related problems, strikes, bankruptcies or other events could adversely affect our financial performance and financial condition, negatively impacting sales, profitability and cash flows.
Seasonal demand for certain of our products and services may adversely affect our financial results.
Sales of some of our products, including iron gate valves and fire hydrants, are seasonal, with lower sales in our first and second fiscal quarters when weather conditions throughout most of North America tend to be cold resulting in lower levels of construction activity.This seasonality in demand has resulted in fluctuations in our sales and operating results.To satisfy demand during expected peak periods, we may incur costs associated with building inventory in off-peak periods, and our projections as to future needs may not be accurate.Because many of our expenses are fixed, seasonal trends can cause reductions in our profitability and profit margins and deterioration of our financial condition during periods affected by lower production or sales activity.
Transportation costs are relatively high for most of our products.
Transportation costs can be an important factor in a customer’s purchasing decision. Many of our products are big, bulky and heavy, which tend to increase transportation costs. We also have relatively few manufacturing sites, which tends to increase transportation distances to our customers and consequently increases our transportation costs. High transportation costs could make our products less competitive compared to similar or alternative products offered by competitors.
Our high fixed costs may make it more difficult for us to respond to economic cycles.
A significant portion of our cost structure is fixed, including manufacturing overhead, capital equipment and research and development costs. In a prolonged economic downturn, these fixed costs may cause our gross margins to erode and our earnings to decline.
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We may experience difficulties implementing upgrades to our enterprise resource planning system.
We continue to be engaged in a multi-year implementation of upgrades to our enterprise resource planning system (“ERP”) and other systems. The ERP is designed to accurately maintain the company’s books and records and provide information important to the operation of the business to the Company’s management team. These upgrades will require significant investment of human and financial resources. In implementing the ERP upgrade, we may experience significant delays, increased costs and other difficulties. Any significant disruption or deficiency in the design and implementation of the ERP upgrades could adversely affect our ability to process orders, ship product, send invoices and track payments, fulfill contractual obligations or otherwise operate our business. While we have invested significant resources in planning and project management, significant implementation issues may arise.
Normal operations at our key manufacturing facilities may be interrupted.
Some of our key products, including fire hydrants and iron gate valves, are manufactured at a single facility or few manufacturing facilities, that depend on critical pieces of heavy equipment that cannot be moved economically to other locations. We are therefore limited in our ability to shift production among locations. The operations at our manufacturing facilities may be interrupted or impaired by various operating risks, including, but not limited to:
•Catastrophic events, such as fires, floods, explosions, natural disasters, severe weather or other similar occurrences,
•Terrorist attacks, war, mass shootings or other acts of violence,
•Interruptions in the delivery of raw materials, shortages of equipment or spare parts, or other manufacturing inputs,
•Adverse government regulations,
•Equipment or information systems breakdowns or failures,
•Violations of our permit requirements or revocation of permits,
•Releases of pollutants and hazardous substances to air, soil, surface water or ground water,
•Labor disputes, and
•Cyberattacks and events.
The occurrence of any of these events may impair our production capabilities and adversely affect our sales, profitability and cash flows.
Any inability to protect our intellectual property or our failure to effectively defend against intellectual property infringement claims could adversely affect our competitive position.
Our business depends on our technology and expertise, which were largely developed internally and are not subject to statutory protection. We rely on a combination of patent protection, copyright and trademark laws, trade secrets protection, employee and third-party confidentiality agreements as well as technical measures to protect our intellectual property rights. The measures that we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not adequately deter infringement, misappropriation or independent development of our technology, and they may not prevent an unauthorized party from obtaining or using information or intellectual property that we regard as proprietary or keep others from using brand names similar to our own. The disclosure, misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property could harm our competitive position. In addition, our actions to enforce our rights may result in substantial costs and the diversion of management time and other resources. We may also be subject to intellectual property infringement claims from time to time, which may result in additional expenses and the diversion of resources to respond to these claims. Finally, for those products in our portfolio that rely on patent protection, once a patent has expired the product is further subjected to competition. Products under patent protection potentially generate significantly higher revenue and earnings than those not protected by patents. If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights or register new patents, our competitive position could suffer, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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If we do not successfully maintain our information and technology networks, including the security of those networks, our operations could be disrupted and unanticipated increases in costs and/or decreases in revenues could result.
We rely on various information technology systems, some of which are controlled by outside service providers, to manage key aspects of our operations. The proper functioning of our information technology systems is important to the successful operation of our business. If critical information technology systems fail, or are otherwise unavailable, our ability to manufacture products, process orders, track credit risk, identify business opportunities, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable, pay expenses and otherwise manage our business would be adversely affected.
We depend on the Internet and our information technology infrastructure for electronic communications among our locations around the world and among our personnel and suppliers and customers. Cyber and other data security breaches of this infrastructure can create system disruptions, shutdowns or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. If we or our service providers are unable to prevent these breaches, our operations could be disrupted or we may suffer financial, reputational or other harm because of lost or misappropriated information.
We may fail to effectively manage confidential data, which could harm our reputation, result in substantial additional costs and subject us to litigation.
As we grow our technology-enabled products, services and solutions, we continue to accumulate increasing volumes of customer data. In addition, we store personal information in connection with our human resources operations. Our efforts to protect this information may be unsuccessful as a result of employee errors or malfeasance, technical malfunctions, the actions of third parties such as a cyberattack or other factors. If our cyber defenses and other countermeasures are unable to protect personal data, it could be accessed or disclosed improperly, which could expose us to liability, harm our reputation and deter current and potential users from using our products and services. The regulatory environment related to cyber and information security, data collection and privacy is increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements applicable to our business, and compliance with those requirements could result in additional costs.
Cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, unauthorized access to customer data, or harm to our reputation.
Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving and can take a variety of forms, increasing the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them. Individual and groups of hackers and sophisticated organizations, including state-sponsored organizations or nation-states, continuously undertake attacks that pose threats to our customers and our information technology systems. These actors may use a wide variety of methods, which may include developing and deploying malicious software or exploiting vulnerabilities in hardware, software, radio communication protocols, or other infrastructure in order to attack our products and services. Additionally, these actors may reverse engineer trade secrets or other confidential intellectual property, or gain access to our networks and data centers, using social engineering techniques to induce our employees, users, partners, or customers to disclose passwords or other sensitive information or take other actions to gain access to our data or our users’ or customers’ data, or act in a coordinated manner to launch distributed denial of service attacks, deny or postpone access to critical water infrastructure telemetry through vulnerabilities in our cloud services and infrastructure, or logging, sensing, and telemetry products. Inadequate account security practices may also result in unauthorized access to confidential data.
We may have no current capability to detect certain vulnerabilities, which may allow them to persist in the environment over long periods of time. Cybersecurity threats can have cascading impacts that unfold with increasing speed across our internal networks and systems and those of our partners and customers. Breaches of our facilities, network, or data security could disrupt the security of our systems and business applications, impair our ability to provide services to our customers and protect the privacy of their data, result in product development delays, compromise confidential or technical business information harming our reputation, result in theft or misuse of our intellectual property or other assets, require us to allocate more resources to improved technologies, or otherwise adversely affect our business.
Misuse of our technology-enabled products, services and solutions could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation.
As we continue to design and develop products, services and solutions that leverage our hosted or cloud-based resources, the internet-of-things and other wireless/remote technologies and include networks of distributed and interconnected devices that contain sensors, data transfers and other computing capabilities, our customers’ data and systems may be subjected to harmful or illegal content or attacks, including potential cybersecurity threats. Additionally, we may not have adequately anticipated or precluded such cybersecurity threats through our product design or development. These products, services and solutions inevitably contain vulnerabilities or critical security defects which may not been remedied and cannot be disclosed without compromising security. We may also make prioritization decisions in determining which vulnerabilities or security
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defects to fix, and the timing of these fixes, which could result in compromised security. These vulnerabilities and security defects could expose us or our customers to a risk of loss, disclosure, or misuse of information/data; adversely affect our operating results; result in litigation, liability, or regulatory action (including under laws related to privacy, data protection, data security, network security, and consumer protection); deter customers or sellers from using our products, services and solutions; and otherwise harm our business and reputation.
We are subject to a variety of claims, investigations and litigation that could adversely affect our results of operations and harm our reputation.
In the normal course of our business, we are subject to claims and lawsuits, including from time to time claims for damages related to product liability and warranties, investigations by governmental agencies, litigation alleging the infringement of intellectual property rights and litigation related to employee matters and commercial disputes. We may also be subject to investigations, claims, litigation and other proceedings outside the ordinary course of business, such as the June 2021 mass shooting event in our Albertville, Alabama facility. Defending these lawsuits and becoming involved in these investigations may divert management’s attention, and may cause us to incur significant expenses, even if there is no evidence that our systems or practices were the cause of the claim. In addition, we may be required to pay damage awards, penalties or settlements, or become subject to injunctions or other equitable remedies, that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, any insurance or indemnification rights that we have may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against potential loss exposures. See “Item 1. BUSINESS - Regulatory and Environmental Matters,” “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Contingencies” and Note 17. of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
We are subject to stringent environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs. Any failure to satisfy these laws and regulations may adversely affect us.
We are subject to stringent laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, health and safety and incur significant capital and other expenditures to comply with these requirements. Failure to comply with any environmental, health or safety requirements could result in the assessment of damages, the imposition of penalties, suspension of production, changes to equipment or processes or a cessation of operations at our facilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Because these laws are complex, subject to change and may be applied retroactively, we cannot predict with certainty the extent of our future liabilities with respect to environmental, health and safety matters and whether they will be material.
In addition, certain statutes such as CERCLA may impose joint and several liability for the costs of remedial investigations and actions on entities that generated waste, arranged for disposal of waste, transported to or selected the disposal sites and the past and present owners and operators of such sites. All such “potentially responsible parties” (“PRP”), or any one of them, including us, may be required to bear all of such costs regardless of fault, the legality of the original disposal or ownership of the disposal site. As a result, we may be required to conduct investigations and perform remedial activities at current and former operating and manufacturing sites where we have been deemed, or in the future could be, named a PRP with respect to such environmental liabilities, any of which could require us to incur material costs. The final remediation costs of these environmental sites may exceed current estimated costs, and additional sites in the future may require material remediation expenses. If actual expenditures exceed our estimates, our results of operations and financial position could be materially and adversely affected. See “Item 1. BUSINESS - Regulatory and Environmental Matters,” “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Contingencies” and Note 17. of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Climate change and legal or regulatory responses thereto may have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
There is growing concern that a gradual increase in global average temperatures as a result of increased concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will cause significant changes in weather patterns around the globe and an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Many of our manufacturing plants use significant amounts of electricity generated by burning fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide. Such climate change may impair our production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain or impact demand for our products. Growing concern over climate change also may result in additional legal or regulatory requirements designed to reduce or mitigate the effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. Increased energy or compliance costs and expenses as a result of increased legal or regulatory requirements may cause disruptions in, or an increase in the costs associated with, the manufacturing and distribution of our products. The impacts of climate change and legal or regulatory initiatives to address climate change could have a long-term adverse impact on our business and results of operations. If we fail to achieve or improperly report on our progress toward achieving our goals and commitments to reduce our carbon footprint or in environmental and sustainability programs and initiatives, the results could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
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We rely on successors to Tyco to indemnify us for certain liabilities and they may become financially unable or fail to comply with the terms of the indemnity.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement relating to the August 1999 sale by Tyco of businesses which make up certain of the companies within Mueller Water Products, Inc., we are indemnified by certain Tyco entities (“Tyco Indemnitors”) for all liabilities arising in connection with the operation of these businesses prior to their sale by Tyco, including with respect to products manufactured or sold prior to the closing of that transaction, as well as certain environmental liabilities. These indemnities survive indefinitely and are not subject to any dollar limits. In the past, Tyco Indemnitors have made substantial payments and assumed defense of claims in connection with these indemnification obligations. Tyco’s indemnity does not cover liabilities to the extent caused by us or the operation of our businesses after August 1999, nor does it cover liabilities arising with respect to businesses or sites acquired after August 1999. Since 2007, Tyco has engaged in multiple corporate restructurings, split-offs and divestitures. The result of these transactions is that the assets of, and control over, Tyco Indemnitors has changed. Should any Tyco Indemnitor become financially unable or fail to comply with the terms of the indemnity, we may be responsible for such obligations or liabilities.
Risks related to our human capital
We depend on qualified personnel and, if we are unable to retain or hire executive officers, key employees and skilled personnel, we may not be able to achieve our strategic objectives and our business may be adversely affected.
Our ability to expand or maintain our business depends on our ability to hire, train and retain employees with the skills necessary to understand and adapt to the continuously developing needs of our customers. The increasing demand for qualified personnel makes it more difficult for us to attract and retain employees with requisite skill sets, particularly employees with specialized technical and trade experience. Changing demographics and labor work force trends also may result in a loss of knowledge and skills as experienced workers retire. If we fail to attract, motivate, train and retain qualified personnel, or if we experience excessive turnover, we may experience declining sales, manufacturing delays or other inefficiencies, increased recruiting, training and relocation costs and other difficulties, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Competition for qualified personnel is intense and we may not be successful in attracting or retaining qualified personnel, which could negatively impact our business.
If we are unable to negotiate collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms or we experience strikes, work stoppages, labor unrest or higher than normal absenteeism, our business could suffer.
Many of our employees at our manufacturing locations are covered by collective bargaining agreements. While we generally have been able to renegotiate collective bargaining agreements on generally satisfactory terms, negotiations may be challenging as the Company must have a competitive cost structure in each market while meeting the compensation and benefits needs of our employees. If we are unable to renew collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms, our labor costs could increase, which could impact our financial position and results of operations. Strikes, work stoppages or other forms of labor unrest at any of our plants could impair our ability to supply products to our distributors and customers, which could reduce our revenues, increase our expenses and expose us to customer claims.
Furthermore, our ability to meet product delivery commitments and labor needs while controlling labor costs is subject to numerous external factors, including, but not limited to:
•Market pressures with respect to prevailing wage rates,
•Unemployment levels,
•Health and other insurance costs,
•The impact of legislation or regulations governing labor relations, immigration, minimum wage, and healthcare benefits,
•Changing demographics, and
•Our reputation within the labor market.
We also compete with many other industries and businesses for most of our hourly production employees. An inability to provide wages and/or benefits that are competitive could adversely impact our ability to attract and retain employees. Further, changes in market compensation rates may adversely affect our labor costs.
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Our expenditures for pension obligations could be materially higher than we have predicted.
We provide pension benefits to certain current and former employees. To determine our future payment obligations under the plans, certain rates of return on the plans’ assets, growth rates of certain costs and participant longevity have been estimated. The proportion of the assets held by our United States pension plan invested in fixed income securities, instead of equity securities, has decreased over historical levels. This shift in asset allocation has not resulted in a material change to our estimated rate of return on plan assets for this plan. Assumed discount rates, expected return on plan assets and participant longevity have significant effects on the amounts reported for the pension obligations and pension expense.
The funded status of our pension plans may also be influenced by regulatory requirements, which can change unexpectedly and impose higher costs if funding levels are below certain thresholds. We may increase contributions to our pension plans to avoid or reduce these higher costs.
Significant adverse changes in credit and capital markets or changes in investments could result in discount rates or actual rates of return on plan assets being materially lower than projected and require us to increase pension contributions in future years to meet funding level requirements. Increasing life spans for plan participants may increase the estimated benefit payments and increase the amounts reported for pension obligations, pension contributions and pension expense. If increased funding requirements are particularly significant and sustained, our overall liquidity could be materially reduced, which could cause us to reduce investments and capital expenditures, or restructure or refinance our debt, among other things.
Risks related to our international operations
Any failure to satisfy international trade laws and regulations or to otherwise comply with changes or other trade developments may adversely affect us.
Our operations require importing and exporting goods and technology among countries on a regular basis. Thus, the sale and shipment of our products and services across international borders, as well as the purchase of components and products from international sources, subject us to extensive trade laws and regulations. Trade laws and regulations are complex, differ by country, and are enforced by a variety of government agencies. Because we are subject to extensive trade laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate, we are subject to the risk that laws and regulations could change in a manner that would expose us to additional costs, penalties or liabilities, and our policies and procedures may not always protect us from actions that would violate international trade laws and regulations. For example, certain federal legislation requires the use of American iron and steel products in certain water projects receiving certain federal appropriations. We have incurred costs in connection with ensuring our ability to certify to these requirements, including those associated with enhancing our assembly operations and sourcing practices. As a result of the varying legal and regulatory requirements to which our cross-border activities are subject, we may not always be in compliance with the trade laws and regulations in all respects. Any improper actions could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, including material monetary fines, or other adverse actions, including denial of import or export privileges, and could harm our reputation and our business prospects.
If significant tariffs or other restrictions continue to be placed on foreign imports by the United States and related countermeasures are taken by impacted foreign countries, our revenue and results of operations may be harmed.
If significant tariffs or other restrictions continue to be placed on foreign imports by the United States and related countermeasures are taken by impacted foreign countries, our revenue and results of operations may be harmed. For example, trade tensions between the United States and China have led to series of significant tariffs on the importation of certain product categories over recent years. The materials subject to these tariffs could impact our raw material costs as well. However, if further tariffs are imposed on a broader range of imports, or if further retaliatory trade measures are taken by China or other countries in response to additional tariffs, we may be required to raise our prices or incur additional expenses, which may result in the loss of customers and harm our operating performance, revenue and profit.
The prices of our purchased components and raw materials can be volatile.
Our operations require substantial amounts of purchased components and raw materials, such as scrap steel, sand, resin, brass ingot and steel pipe. The cost and availability of these materials are subject to economic forces largely beyond our control, including North American and international demand, foreign currency exchange rates, freight costs, tariffs and commodity speculation and other external factors beyond our control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or other supply chain challenges. Temporary industry-wide shortages of raw materials have occurred in fiscal 2021, which have led to increased raw material price volatility which may continue into fiscal 2022.
We may not be able to pass on the entire cost of price increases, or at all, for purchased components and raw materials to our customers or offset fully the effects of these higher costs through productivity improvements. In particular, when purchased
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component or raw material prices increase rapidly or to significantly higher than normal levels, we may not be able to pass cost increases through to our customers on a timely basis, if at all, which would reduce our profitability and cash flows. In addition, if purchased components or raw materials are not available or not available on commercially reasonable terms, our sales, profitability and cash flows would be reduced. Our competitors may secure more reliable sources of purchased components and raw materials or they may obtain these supplies on more favorable terms than we do, which could give them a cost advantage.
Other risks related to our business
The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations may increase
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have meaningful adverse impacts on our financial condition and results of operations as discussed in PART II, “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.” As the impact of the pandemic continues, we may continue to experience additional plant closures, limitations in the ways we operate within our facilities, illness or quarantine of our employees, supply chain disruptions, transportation delays, cost increases, more extensive travel restrictions, closures or disruptions of businesses and facilities, or social, economic, political or labor instability in the affected areas. These same factors may continue to impact our suppliers, customers and distributors and the severity of such impacts could increase. The health implications of the pandemic are extensive and the extent, duration and severity of the pandemic remain highly uncertain. We are unable to estimate the impact of measures we have taken thus far, additional measures we may undertake in the future and the actions taken, or that will be taken, by governmental agencies. Should there be unexpected health implications for our employees, communities or others, we could face litigation or other claims and suffer damage to our reputation, brand and operations, which could adversely affect our business.
We have incurred additional costs to address the pandemic as discussed in PART II, “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS”, including costs associated with unfavorable volume variances, voluntary emergency paid leave, incentive payments for vaccinations, additional cleaning, disinfectants and sanitation materials for our employees and at our facilities. We expect to continue to incur such costs, which may be significant, as we continue to implement operational changes in response to the pandemic. The pandemic is causing disruptions in our supply chain that have caused and could result in further higher costs in the manufacture and delivery of our products. We expect these conditions to persist for the near term and may worsen until the pandemic abates. Further, we expect additional costs, added administrative burdens and other negative cost and operational impacts as a result of the United States’ Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard (the “Vaccine/Test Mandate”) related to COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements.
Continued disruptions in our markets and the global economy may cause us to have to assess impairments of our assets and cause us to incur and record non-cash impairment charges.
Management is focused on mitigating the impact of the pandemic on our operations, which has required, and will continue to require, a large investment of time and resources across our business and may delay other strategic initiatives and large capital projects that are important to the business. Additionally, many of our employees are working remotely. An extended period of remote work arrangements could strain our business continuity plans, introduce operational risk, including but not limited to cybersecurity risks, and consequently impair our ability to manage our business.
The extent to which the pandemic and the evolving regulatory environment impacts us will depend on a number of factors and developments that we are not able to predict or control, including, among others: the severity of the virus; the duration of the outbreak; governmental, business and other actions which could include limits on funding for our products or services; the health of and the effect on our workforce; and the potential effects on our internal controls including those over financial reporting and information technology as a result of changes in working environments such as shelter-in-place and similar orders that are applicable to our employees, including management. In addition, if the pandemic continues to create disruptions or turmoil in the credit or financial markets, it could adversely affect our ability to access capital on favorable terms, it at all, and continue to meet our liquidity needs, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
The Vaccine/Test Mandate, if implemented as initially enacted, will require us to ensure that all of our employees in the United States are fully vaccinated or, if not, are tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis, which could be difficult and costly. As ordered via a stay by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, OSHA suspended the implementation of the Vaccine/Test Mandate so the outcome and timing of the implementation of the Vaccine/Test Mandate is presently unclear. We intend to implement the Vaccine/Test Mandate by the deadline set forth by the standard once the stay and suspension of the implementation of the Vaccine/Test Mandate are removed. Further, additional vaccine and testing mandates may be announced in jurisdictions in which we operate our business, and there could be potential conflict with actions by certain states that are in
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conflict with the Vaccine/Test Mandate, the impacts of which remain uncertain. With ongoing health, supply chain, shipping, employment and other pandemic-related shortages of materials and workers, it is possible that the Vaccine/Test Mandate could result in labor disruptions, employee attrition and difficulty securing future labor needs as well as have impacts on the broader employment market and supply chain, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues, costs, financial condition and results of operations and subject us to various employee claims as well as other related legal liability.
The pandemic may also impact third parties with which we do business, and each of their financial conditions, including their viability and ability to pay for our products and services; which could adversely impact us. The extent of the impact of the pandemic on our operations and financial results depends on future developments and is highly uncertain. The situation is ever changing and future impacts may materialize that are not yet known.
Item 2.PROPERTIES
Our principal properties are listed below.
Location Activity Square Footage Owned orleased
Infrastructure:
Albertville, AL Manufacturing 422,000 Owned
Ariel, Israel Manufacturing 221,000 Leased
Aurora, IL Manufacturing 147,000 Owned
Aurora, IL Distribution 84,000 Leased
Barrie, Ontario Distribution 50,000 Leased
Brownsville, TX Manufacturing 50,000 Leased
Calgary, Alberta Distribution 11,000 Leased
Chattanooga, TN Manufacturing 525,000 Owned
Chattanooga, TN General and administration 17,000 Leased
Chattanooga, TN Research and development 22,000 Leased
Cleveland, TN Manufacturing 109,500 Owned
Dallas, TX Distribution 26,000 Leased
Decatur, IL Manufacturing 467,000 Owned
Emporia, KS Manufacturing 28,000 Leased
Jingmen, China Manufacturing 154,000 Owned
Kimball, TN Manufacturing 233,000 Owned
Ocala, FL Distribution 50,000 Leased
Ontario, CA Distribution 73,000 Leased
Rosh Haayin, Israel General and administration 8,400 Leased
Surrey, British Columbia Manufacturing 33,000 Leased
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Distribution 10,000 Leased
Technologies:
Cleveland, NC Manufacturing 190,000 Owned
Atlanta, GA Research and development 21,000 Leased
Southampton, United Kingdom Research and development 2,300 Leased
Toronto, Ontario Research and development 18,000 Leased
Corporate:
Atlanta, GA Corporate headquarters 25,000 Leased
We consider our facilities to be well maintained and believe we have sufficient capacity to meet our anticipated needs through 2022. Our leased properties have terms expiring at various dates through 2033.
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Item 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are involved in various legal proceedings that have arisen in the normal course of operations. The effect of the outcome of these matters on our financial statements cannot be predicted with certainty as any such effect depends on the amount and timing of the resolution of such matters. Other than the litigation described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we do not believe that any of our outstanding litigation would have a material adverse effect on our business or prospects.
See “Item 1. BUSINESS - Regulatory and Environmental Matters,” “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS - We are subject to increasingly stringent environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs. Any failure to satisfy these laws and regulations may adversely affect us,” “Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - Contingencies” and Note 17. of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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PART II
Item 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol MWA.
Covenants contained in certain of the debt instruments described in Note 8. of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends. Future dividends will be declared at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our future earnings, financial condition and other factors.
At September 30, 2021, there were 98 stockholders of record for our common stock. This figure does not include stockholders whose shares are held in the account of a stockbroker, bank or custodian on behalf of a stockholder or shares which are otherwise beneficially held.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Information regarding our compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance is set forth in “Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.”
Sale of Unregistered Securities
We did not issue any unregistered securities within the past three years.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In 2015, we announced the authorization of a stock repurchase program for up to $50.0 million of our common stock. The program does not commit us to any particular timing or quantity of purchases, and we may suspend or discontinue the program at any time. In 2017, we announced an increase to the authorized amount of this program to $250.0 million. At September 30, 2021, we had remaining authorization of $135.0 million to repurchase shares of our common stock.
During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, we repurchased $10.0 million in shares, which totaled 651,271 shares of our common stock.
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Stock Price Performance Graph
The following graph compares the Company’s cumulative quarterly common stock price performance with the Russell 2000 Stock Index (“Russell 2000”) and the Dow Jones U.S. Building Materials & Fixtures Index (“DJ U.S. Building Materials & Fixtures”) since September 30, 2016. Total return values were calculated based on cumulative total return assuming (i) the investment of $100 in our common stock, the Russell 2000 and the DJ U.S. Building Materials & Fixtures on the dates indicated and (ii) reinvestment of all dividends.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Not applicable.
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Item 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements, as discussed in “Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those set forth in “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS”.
Overview
Business
We operate our business through two segments, Infrastructure and Technologies.
We estimate approximately 60% to 65% of the Company’s 2021 net sales were associated with repair and replacement directly related to municipal water infrastructure spending, approximately 25% to 30% were related to residential construction activity and less than 10% were related to natural gas utilities.
In 2021, both Infrastructure and Technologies were impacted by raw material and other cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor availability challenges.
We expect the operating environment to continue to be very challenging in 2022, as a result of the uncertainty around the depth and duration of the pandemic. We may continue to be impacted by raw material and other cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor availability challenges. While we expect that the municipal repair and replacement activity and new residential construction end markets will remain healthy in 2022, we do anticipate that growth will slow down relative to the strong recovery experienced during 2021.In 2022, we believe that supply chain disruptions could extend overall build cycles for new residential construction, including lot development.
Infrastructure
After experiencing challenges in 2020 resulting from the pandemic, municipal spending in 2021 recovered during the fiscal year as compared with the prior year. According to the United States Department of Labor, the trailing twelve-month average consumer price index for water and sewerage rates at September 30, 2021 increased 3.0%. While the economic effects of the pandemic have impacted revenues for some water utilities in the United States, the economic recovery enabled water utilities to maintain repair and replacement activities. While uncertainty related to the pandemic continues to impact the operating environment, residential construction activity was very strong in 2021 after recovering in 2020. The year over year percentage change in housing starts is a key indicator of demand for Infrastructure’s products sold in the residential construction market. The strength of the residential construction activity during 2021 was reflected in total housing starts in the United States increasing approximately 18%. In October 2021, Blue Chip Economic Indicators forecasted a 1.3% decrease in housing starts for the calendar year 2022 compared to the calendar year 2021.
Technologies
The municipal water market is the key end market for Technologies. As compared with Infrastructure products, Technologies products and services are primarily project-oriented and often depend on customer adoption of our technology-based products and services.
Consolidated
For our fiscal year 2022, we anticipate that consolidated net sales will be 4% to 8% higher than our fiscal year 2021 driven by the benefits of higher pricing and increased shipment volumes, resulting from modest growth in our end markets and our ability to deliver the backlog at Infrastructure and Technologies. In 2021, we encountered increased material costs as a result of higher raw material prices, particularly brass ingot and scrap steel, as well as higher freight, labor costs and energy expenses. In 2022, we anticipate that inflation will continue to lead to higher costs.
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Results of Operations
Year Ended September 30, 2021 Compared to Year Ended September 30, 2020
Infrastructure Technologies Corporate Total
(in millions)
Operating expenses:
Strategic reorganization and other (benefits) charges (0.3) — 8.3 8.0
Pension benefit other than service (3.3)
Interest expense, net 23.4
Loss on early extinguishment of debt 16.7
Income before income taxes 94.9
Income tax expense 24.5
Net income $ 70.4
Infrastructure Technologies Corporate Total
(in millions)
Operating expenses:
Strategic reorganization and other charges 0.6 0.1 12.3 13.0
Pension benefit other than service (3.0)
Interest expense, net 25.5
Walter Energy accrual 0.2
Income before income taxes 94.1
Income tax expense 22.1
Net income $ 72.0
Consolidated Analysis
Net sales for 2021 increased 15.2% to $1,111.0 million from $964.1 million in the prior year primarily as a result of higher shipment volume across most of our product lines and higher pricing. Additionally, net sales benefited as a result of $6.0 million of Krausz sales from the elimination of the one-month reporting lag.
Gross profit increased $30.3 million to $358.5 million for 2021 compared with $328.2 million in the prior year. This increase was primarily a result of increased shipment volume and higher pricing, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs as a result of inflation, higher labor costs, and a $2.4 million inventory write-off associated with the announcement of our plant closures in Aurora, Illinois and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Gross margin decreased to 32.3% in 2021 as compared with 34.0% in the prior year.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) increased 10.3% to $218.8 million for 2021 from $198.4 million in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A decreased 90 basis points to 19.7% of net sales from 20.6% in the prior year. The increase in SG&A was primarily a result of increased personnel-related expenses, including incentive compensation, sales commissions associated with higher net sales and orders, and stock-based compensation. Additional increases were a result of inflation, new product development and information technology spending. Fiscal year 2020 SG&A included pandemic-driven benefits from temporarily reduced travel, trade show and event spending as well as temporary employee furloughs and temporary salary reductions.
Strategic reorganization and other charges for 2021 primarily relate to termination benefits associated with our plant closures in Aurora, Illinois and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, the June 2021 mass shooting tragedy at our Albertville facility, and certain transaction-related costs, partially offset by a one-time settlement gain in connection with an indemnification of a previously owned property. In 2020, Strategic reorganization and other charges primarily relate to a legal settlement, facility closure costs, transaction costs associated with the acquisition of Krausz, and personnel matters.
Interest expense, net declined $2.1 million in 2021 from the prior year primarily as a result of the retirement of our 5.5% Senior Unsecured Notes (“5.5% Senior Notes”), which were replaced with 4.0% Senior Unsecured Notes (“4.0% Senior Notes”) as well as an increase in capitalized interest on our large capital projects, partially offset by lower interest income.
(in millions)
4.0% Senior Notes 6.2 —
Deferred financing costs amortization 1.1 1.2
ABL Agreement 0.9 0.6
Capitalized interest (2.3) (0.3)
Other interest expense 0.3 0.3
Total interest expense 23.8 26.6
Interest income (0.4) (1.1)
Total interest expense, net $ 23.4 $ 25.5
Income tax expense of $24.5 million in 2021 included an effective income tax rate of 25.8%, which was higher than the 23.5% rate in the prior year.
Segment Analysis
Infrastructure
Net sales for 2021 increased $138.4 million, or15.7%, to $1,022.0 million from $883.6 million in the prior year. Net sales increased primarily as a result of increased shipment volume, favorable pricing and $6.0 million in Krausz net sales as a result of the elimination of the one-month reporting lag. We believe the increased shipment volume was a result of strong demand driven by residential construction and municipal repair and replacement activity.
Gross profit for 2021 increased $29.3 million, or 9.3%, to $345.0 million from $315.7 million in the prior year primarily as a result of increased shipment volume, higher sales pricing and the benefit of the elimination of the Krausz one-month reporting lag. These increases were partially offset by higher material and other costs associated with inflation, specifically related to brass ingot, scrap steel and purchased parts, a $2.4 million inventory write-off associated with the announcement of the closure of our Aurora, Illinois and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada facilities and $2.9 million in expenses related to the pandemic, including voluntary emergency paid leave and other employee costs as well as additional sanitation and cleaning expenses. Gross margin was 33.8% in 2021, a 190 basis point decrease compared with 35.7% in the prior year.
SG&A in 2021 increased 9.2% to $141.0 million from $129.1 million in the prior year primarily as a result of increased personnel-related costs including higher sales commissions associated with higher net sales and orders, inflation, information technology spending, and new product development. Fiscal year 2020 SG&A included pandemic-driven benefits resulting from temporarily reduced travel, trade show and event spending as well as temporary employee furloughs and temporary salary reductions. SG&A was 13.8% and 14.6% of net sales for 2021 and 2020, respectively.
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Technologies
Net sales in 2021 increased to $89.0 million from $80.5 million in the prior year primarily as a result of higher shipment volumes and the acquisition of i2O.
Gross profit in 2021 increased $1.0 million to $13.5 million from $12.5 million in the prior year as a result of higher shipment volumes, partially offset by inflation and inventory adjustments. Gross margin decreased to 15.2% in 2021 from 15.5% in the prior year.
SG&A increased to $26.6 million in 2021 from $24.8 million in the prior year primarily as a result of personnel-related expenses. Fiscal year 2020 SG&A included pandemic-driven benefits resulting from temporarily reduced travel, trade show and event spending as well as temporary employee furloughs and temporary salary reductions. SG&A as a percentage of net sales was 29.9% for 2021 and 30.8% in the prior year.
Corporate
SG&A increased by $6.7 million from $44.5 million in 2020 to $51.2 million in 2021 as a result of increased personnel-related expenses and inflation. Fiscal year 2020 SG&A included pandemic-driven benefits resulting from temporary reductions in travel, trade show and event spending as well as temporary employee furloughs and temporary salary reductions.
Year Ended September 30, 2020 Compared to Year Ended September 30, 2019
Management’s Discussion and Analysis comparing the results for the year ended September 30, 2020 to the results for the year ended September 30, 2019 can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2020.
Financial Condition
Cash and cash equivalents were $227.5 million at September 30, 2021 and $208.9 million at September 30, 2020. Cash and cash equivalents increased during 2021 as a result of $156.7 million in cash provided by operating activities, partially offset by capital expenditures of $62.7 million, dividend payments of $34.8 million, the $19.7 million acquisition of i2O, $12.4 million in debt repayments, net, and $10.0 million in share repurchases.
Receivables, net were $212.2 million at September 30, 2021 and $180.8 million at September 30, 2020. This increase was primarily a result of the increase in net sales year over year.
Inventories, net were $184.7 million at September 30, 2021 and $162.5 million at September 30, 2020. Inventories increased during 2021 as a result of increased volume and inflationary costs.
Property, plant and equipment, net was $283.4 million at September 30, 2021 and $253.8 million at September 30, 2020. Property, plant and equipment increased primarily as a result of our previously-announced capital expansion projects in Kimball, Tennessee and Decatur, Illinois. Capital expenditures, including software development costs capitalized and capitalized interest, were $62.7 million in 2021. Depreciation expense was $31.4 million in 2021 compared to $29.6 million in 2020 as a result of generally higher level of capital expenditures over the last three years.
Intangible assets were $392.5 million at September 30, 2021 and $408.9 million at September 30, 2020. Finite-lived intangible assets, net totaling $118.7 million at September 30, 2021, are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Amortization expense was $28.2 million in both 2021 and 2020. We expect amortization expense for these assets to range between approximately $27 million and $29 million in each of the next three years with a decrease to approximately $6 million in fiscal 2025 and approximately $5 million in fiscal 2026. Indefinite-lived intangible assets, $273.8 million at September 30, 2021, are not amortized but are tested for possible impairment at least annually.
Accounts payable and other current liabilities were $219.1 million at September 30, 2021 and $153.9 million at September 30, 2020. Payables increased during 2021 as a result of increased production volume and the impact of higher material costs. Other current liabilities increased during 2021 primarily as a result of personnel-related expenses, including incentive compensation and sales commissions, as well as customer rebates and income taxes.
Total outstanding debt was $446.9 million at September 30, 2021 and $447.6 million at September 30, 2020.
Deferred income taxes were net liabilities of $94.8 million at September 30, 2021 and $96.3 million at September 30, 2020, primarily related to intangible assets. The $1.5 million decrease in the net liability was primarily the result of an increase in deferred tax assets related to increased inventory reserves partially offset by an increase in deferred tax liabilities related to
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bonus depreciation for plant, property and equipment and the cost basis difference of a foreign subsidiary, net of reductions in deferred tax liabilities related to intangible assets.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We had cash and cash equivalents of $227.5 million at September 30, 2021 and approximately $158.7 million of additional borrowing capacity under our ABL Agreement based on September 30, 2021 data. Undistributed earnings from our subsidiaries in Israel, Canada and China are considered to be permanently invested outside of the United States. At September 30, 2021, cash and cash equivalents included $39.2 million, $12.6 million, and $3.5 million in Israel, Canada and China, respectively.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $156.7 million for 2021 compared with $140.3 million for 2020 primarily as a result of the Walter tax matter which was paid in 2020 and did not recur in 2021.
Capital expenditures were $62.7 million for 2021 compared with $67.7 million for 2020. We estimate 2022 capital expenditures will be between $70 million and $80 million. We expect our capital expenditures will be elevated over the next several years as we invest more in our machinery, equipment and facilities for product introductions, enhanced productivity and maintenance. Additionally, in fiscal year 2021, we completed construction of our large casting foundry in Chattanooga, Tennessee, initiated the construction of a new brass foundry in Decatur, Illinois that will replace our existing foundry in Decatur, and are building out our facility in Kimball, Tennessee to leverage our large casting foundry, consolidate other plants and to insource various parts and components.
Income tax payments were higher during 2021 compared with the prior year primarily as a result of the Walter tax matter, which was expensed in 2019 and was deducted for tax purposes in 2020. This did not recur in 2021. We expect the effective tax rate in 2022 to be between 25% and 27%.
In 2015, we announced the authorization of a stock repurchase program for up to $50.0 million of our common stock. The program does not commit us to any particular timing or quantity of purchases, and we may suspend or discontinue the program at any time. In 2017, we announced an increase in the authorization of this program to $250.0 million. We acquired 651,271 and 418,374 shares of our common stock in 2021 and 2020, respectively. At September 30, 2021, we had remaining authorization of $135.0 million to repurchase shares of our common stock.
We use letters of credit and surety bonds in the ordinary course of business to ensure the performance of contractual obligations. At September 30, 2021, we had $15.0 million of letters of credit and $36.7 million of surety bonds outstanding.
We anticipate our existing cash, cash equivalents and borrowing capacity combined with our expected operating cash flows will be sufficient to meet our anticipated operating needs, capital expenditures and debt service obligations as they become due through September 30, 2022. However, our ability to make these payments will depend largely on our future operating performance, which may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, business and other factors beyond our control.
ABL Agreement
At September 30, 2021, our asset-based lending agreement (“ABL Agreement”) consisted of a $175.0 million revolving credit facility that includes up to $25.0 million of swing line loans and allows for up to $60.0 million of letters of credit. The ABL Agreement permits us to increase the size of the credit facility by an additional $150.0 million in certain circumstances subject to adequate borrowing base availability.
Borrowings under the ABL Agreement bear interest at a floating rate equal to the London Inter Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin of 200 to 225 basis points, or a base rate, as defined in the ABL Agreement, plus an applicable margin of 100 to 125 basis points. At September 30, 2021, the LIBOR-based applicable margin was 200 basis points.
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The ABL Agreement is subject to mandatory prepayments if total outstanding borrowings under the ABL Agreement are greater than the aggregate commitments under the revolving credit facility or if we dispose of overdue accounts receivable in certain circumstances. The borrowing base under the ABL Agreement is equal to the sum of (a) 85% of the value of eligible accounts receivable and (b) the lesser of (i) 70% of the value of eligible inventory or (ii) 85% of the net orderly liquidation value of eligible inventory, less certain reserves. Prepayments can be made at any time without penalty.
Substantially all of our United States subsidiaries are borrowers under the ABL Agreement and are jointly and severally liable for any outstanding borrowings. Our obligations under the ABL Agreement are secured by a first-priority perfected lien on all of our United States inventory, accounts receivable, certain cash and other supporting obligations.
The ABL Agreement terminates on July 29, 2025 and includes an annual commitment fee for any unused borrowing capacity of 37.5 basis points. Borrowings are not subject to any financial maintenance covenants unless excess availability is less than the greater of $17.5 million and 10% of the Loan Cap as defined in the ABL Agreement. Excess availability based on September 30, 2021 data was $158.7 million, as reduced by $15.0 million of outstanding letters of credit and $1.3 million of accrued fees and expenses.
4.0% Senior Unsecured Notes
On May 28, 2021, we privately issued $450.0 million of 4.0% Senior Unsecured Notes (“4.0% Senior Notes”), which mature in June 2029 and bear interest at 4.0%, paid semi-annually in June and December. We capitalized $5.5 million of financing costs, which are being amortized over the term of the 4.0% Senior Notes using the effective interest rate method. Proceeds from the 4.0% Senior Notes, along with cash on hand were used to redeem previously existing 5.5% Senior Notes. Substantially all of our United States subsidiaries guarantee the 4.0% Senior Notes, which are subordinate to borrowings under our ABL Agreement.
An indenture securing the 4.0% Senior Notes (“Indenture”) contains customary covenants and events of default, including covenants that limit our ability to incur certain debt and liens. There are no financial maintenance covenants associated with the Indenture. We believe we were in compliance with these covenants at September 30, 2021.
As set forth in the Indenture, we may redeem some or all of the 4.0% Senior Notes at any time prior to June 15, 2024 at certain “make-whole” redemption prices and on or after June 15, 2024 at specified redemption prices. Additionally, we may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the 4.0% Senior Notes at any time prior to June 15, 2024 with the net proceeds of specified equity offerings at specified redemption prices as set forth in the Indenture. Upon a change of control as defined in the Indenture, we would be required to offer to purchase the 4.0% Senior Notes at a price equal to 101% of the outstanding principal amount of the 4.0% Senior Notes.
5.5% Senior Unsecured Notes
On June 12, 2018, we privately issued $450.0 million of 5.5% Senior Unsecured Notes (“5.5% Senior Notes”), which were set to mature in 2026 and bore interest at 5.5%, paid semi-annually. We called the 5.5% Senior Notes effective June 17, 2021 and settled with proceeds from the issuance of the 4.0% Senior Notes and cash on hand. As a result, we incurred $16.7 million in loss on early extinguishment of debt, comprised of a $12.4 million call premium and a $4.3 million write-off of the remaining deferred debt issuance costs associated with the retirement of the 5.5% Senior Notes.
Credit Ratings
Our corporate credit rating and the credit ratings for our debt and outlook are presented below.
Moody’s Standard & Poor’s
September 30, September 30,
Corporate credit rating Ba1 Ba2 BB BB
ABL Agreement Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
4.0% Senior Notes Ba1 N/A BB N/A
5.5% Senior Notes N/A Ba3 N/A BB
Outlook Stable Stable Stable Stable
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Effect of Inflation
We experience changing price levels primarily related to purchased components and raw materials. Infrastructure experienced a 33% increase in the average cost per ton of scrap steel and a 35% increase in the average cost of brass ingot in 2021 compared to 2020. Technologies was also unfavorably affected by the 35% increase in the average cost of brass ingot. We anticipate inflation in raw and other material costs in 2022, which may have an adverse effect on our margins to the extent we are unable to pass on such higher costs to our customers.
Material Cash Requirements
We enter into a variety of contractual obligations as part of our normal operations in addition to capital expenditures. As of September 30, 2021, we have (i) debt obligations related to our $450.0 million 4.0% Senior Notes which mature in 2029 and include cash interest payments of $18.9 million in 2022 and $18.0 million annually thereafter through 2029, (ii) operating and finance lease obligations that total $34.9 million in cash payments through 2033 and $2.3 million thereafter through 2026, respectively, and (iii) purchase obligations for raw materials and other parts within our Infrastructure segment of approximately $122.9 million which we will incur during 2022. We expect to fund these cash requirements from cash on hand and cash generated from operations.
Seasonality
Our water infrastructure business depends on construction activity. Net sales and operating income have historically been lowest in the quarters ending December 31 and March 31 when the northern United States and all of Canada generally face weather conditions that restrict significant construction and other field crew activity. Generally speaking, for Infrastructure, approximately 45% of a fiscal year’s net sales occurs in the first half of the fiscal year with 55% occurring in the second half of the fiscal year, though this pattern was disrupted by the pandemic in 2020. See “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS-Seasonal demand for certain of our products and services may adversely affect our financial results.”
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. These estimates are based upon experience and on various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates. We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur over time or the use of reasonably different estimates could have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Our critical accounting estimates include the below items.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue when control of promised products or services is transferred to our customers, in amounts that reflect the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those products or services. We account for a contract when it has approval and commitment from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, the payment terms are identified, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of consideration is probable. We determine the appropriate revenue recognition for our contracts with customers by analyzing the type, terms and conditions of each contract or arrangement with a customer. See Note 3. for more information regarding our revenues.
Inventories, net
We record inventories at the lower of first-in, first-out method cost or estimated net realizable value. Inventory cost includes an overhead component that can be affected by levels of production and actual costs incurred. We evaluate the need to record adjustments for impairment of inventory at least quarterly. This evaluation includes such factors as anticipated usage, inventory levels and ultimate product sales value. If in our judgment persuasive evidence exists that the net realizable value of inventory is lower than its cost, the inventory value is written-down to its estimated net realizable value. Significant judgments regarding future events and market conditions must be made when estimating net realizable value.
Income Taxes
We recognize deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the
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differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to offset any net deferred tax assets when, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Our tax balances are based on our expectations of future operating performance, reversal of taxable temporary differences, tax planning strategies, interpretation of the tax regulations currently enacted and rulings in numerous tax jurisdictions.
We only record tax benefits for positions that we believe are more likely than not of being sustained under audit examination based solely on the technical merits of the associated tax position. The amount of tax benefit recognized for any position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold is the largest amount of the tax benefit that we believe is greater than 50% likely of being realized.
Accounting for the Impairment of Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
We test indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate possible impairment. We performed this annual impairment testing at September 1, 2021, using standard valuation methodologies and rates that we considered reasonable and appropriate.
We evaluated goodwill for impairment using a quantitative analysis. We performed this annual impairment testing at September 1, and concluded that our goodwill was not impaired. This analysis is dependent on management’s best estimates of future operating results, including forecasted revenues, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) margins and the selection of reasonable discount rates. We also consider the guideline public company method when estimating the fair value of our reporting units. We tested the indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment using a “royalty savings method,” which is a variation of the discounted cash flow method. This method estimates a fair value by calculating an estimated discounted future cash flow stream from the hypothetical licensing of the indefinite-lived intangible assets. If this estimated fair value exceeds the carrying value, no impairment is indicated. This analysis is dependent on management’s best estimates of future operating results and the selection of reasonable discount rates and hypothetical royalty rates. We performed this annual impairment testing at September 1, and concluded that our indefinite-lived intangible assets were not impaired. Significantly different projected operating results could result in different conclusions regarding impairment.
Other long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, are amortized over their respective estimated useful lives and reviewed for impairment if events or circumstances indicate possible impairment.
Warranty Costs
We accrue for warranty expenses that can include customer costs of repair and/or replacement, including labor, materials, equipment, freight and reasonable overhead costs. We accrue for the estimated cost of product warranties at the time of sale if such costs are determined to be reasonably estimable at that time. Warranty cost estimates are revised throughout applicable warranty periods as better information regarding warranty costs becomes available. Critical factors in our analyses include warranty terms, specific claim situations, general incurred and projected failure rates, the nature of product failures, product and labor costs, and general business conditions. These estimates are inherently uncertain as they are based on historical data. If warranty claims are made in the current period for issues that have not historically been the subject of warranty claims and were not taken into consideration in establishing the accrual or if claims for issues already considered in establishing the accrual exceed expectations, warranty expense may exceed the accrual for that particular product. Additionally, a significant increase in costs of repair or replacement could require additional warranty expense. We monitor and analyze our warranty experience and costs periodically and revise our warranty accrual as necessary. However, as we cannot predict actual future claims, the potential exists for the difference in any one reporting period to be material.
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Contingencies
We are involved in litigation, investigations and claims arising in the normal course of business. We estimate and accrue liabilities resulting from such matters based on a variety of factors, including outstanding legal claims and proposed settlements; assessments by counsel of pending or threatened litigation; and assessments of potential environmental liabilities and remediation costs. We believe we have adequately accrued for these potential liabilities; however, facts and circumstances may change and could cause the actual liability to exceed the estimates, or may require adjustments to the recorded liability balances in the future. As we learn new facts concerning contingencies, we reassess our position both with respect to accrued liabilities and other potential exposures. Estimates particularly sensitive to future changes include liabilities recorded for environmental remediation, tax and legal matters. Estimated future environmental remediation costs are subject to change as a result of such factors as the uncertain magnitude of cleanup costs, the unknown time and extent of such remedial actions that may be required, and the determination of our liability in proportion to that of other responsible parties. Estimated future costs related to tax and legal matters are subject to change as events evolve and as additional information becomes available during the administrative and litigation processes. For more information on these and other contingencies, see Note 17. of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. See also “Item 1. BUSINESS - Regulatory and Environmental Matters,” “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS”.
Workers’ Compensation, Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Environmental and Other Long-term Liabilities
We are obligated for various liabilities that ultimately will be determined over what could be very long future time periods. We established the recorded liabilities for such items at September 30, 2021 using estimates for when such amounts will be paid and what the amounts of such payments will be. These estimates are subject to change based on numerous factors, including among others, regulatory changes, technology changes, the investment performance of related assets, longevity of participants, the discount rate used and changes to plan designs.
Business Combinations
We recognize assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their estimated acquisition date fair values, with the excess of purchase price over the estimated fair values of identifiable net assets recorded as goodwill. Assigning fair values requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding the fair value of identifiable intangible assets. We may refine these estimates if necessary over a period not to exceed one year by taking into consideration new information that, if known at the acquisition date, would have affected the fair values recognized for assets acquired and liabilities assumed.
Significant estimates and assumptions are used in estimating the value of acquired identifiable intangible assets, including estimating future cash flows based on forecasted revenues and EBITDA margins that we expect to generate following the acquisition, selecting an applicable royalty rate where needed, applying an appropriate discount rate to estimate a present value of those cash flows and determining their useful lives. These assumptions are forward-looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions.
Item 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to various market risks, including potential losses arising from adverse changes in market prices and rates, such as various commodity prices and foreign exchange rates. We do not enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
Our primary financial instruments are cash and cash equivalents. This includes cash in banks and highly rated, liquid money market investments. We believe these instruments are not subject to material potential near-term losses in future earnings from reasonably possible near-term changes in market rates or prices.
Commodity Price Risk
Our products are made using various purchased components and several basic raw materials, including brass ingot, scrap steel, sand and resin. We expect prices for these items to fluctuate based on marketplace demand. Our product margins and level of profitability may fluctuate whether or not we pass increases in purchased component and raw material costs on to our customers.
Infrastructure experienced a 33% increase in the average cost per ton of scrap steel and a 35% increase in the average cost of brass ingot in 2021 compared to 2020. Technologies was also unfavorably affected by the 35% increase in the average cost of brass ingot. See “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS-The prices of our purchased components and raw materials can be volatile.”
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Currency Risk
Our principal assets, liabilities and operations outside the United States are in Israel, Canada and China. These assets and liabilities are translated into United States dollars at currency exchange rates in effect at the end of each period, with the effect of such translation reflected in other comprehensive income (loss). Our stockholders’ equity will fluctuate depending upon the weakening or strengthening of the United States dollar against these non-United States currencies. Net sales and expenses of these subsidiaries are translated into United States dollars at the average currency exchange rate during the period.
Item 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements that are filed as part of this Annual Report are listed under “Item 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES” and are set forth beginning on page F-1.
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Item 9A.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report. Based on this evaluation, those officers have concluded that, at September 30, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, we continued our multi-year implementation of upgrades to our enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system.
Aside from the above, there were no changes in internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act). Internal control over financial reporting is 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.
We assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at September 30, 2021. In making this assessment, we used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013 framework). After doing so, management concluded that, at September 30, 2021, our internal control over financial reporting was effective.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at September 30, 2021 has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included in this Annual Report.
Item 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Not applicable.
Item 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The name, age at November 18, 2021 and position of each of our executive officers and directors at September 30, 2021 are presented below.
Name Age Position
Scott Hall 57 President and Chief Executive Officer
Marietta Edmunds Zakas 62 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
William A. Cofield 62 Senior Vice President, Operations & Supply Chain
Scott P. Floyd 52 Senior Vice President, Infrastructure
Todd P. Helms 54 Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer
Chad D. Mize 45 Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Kenji Takeuchi 49 Senior Vice President, Technology Solutions
Richelle R. Feyerherm 50 Vice President, Operations Controller
Suzanne G. Smith 54 Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Mark J. O’Brien 78 Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Shirley C. Franklin 76 Director
Thomas J. Hansen 72 Director
Jerry W. Kolb 85 Director
Christine Ortiz 51 Director
Bernard G. Rethore 80 Director
Jeffery S. Sharritts 53 Director
Lydia W. Thomas 77 Director
Michael T. Tokarz 72 Director
Stephen C. Van Arsdell 71 Director
Scott Hall has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since January 2017. He served as President and CEO of Textron’s Industrial segment from December 2009 until January 2017. Mr. Hall joined Textron in 2001 as president of Tempo, a multi-facility roll-up of communication test equipment. He was named president of Greenlee, a manufacturer of tools used in installing wire and cable, in 2003 when Tempo became part of Textron’s Greenlee business unit. Prior to joining Textron, Mr. Hall had several leadership roles at General Cable, a leading manufacturer of wire and cable. Mr. Hall ran General Cable’s Canadian businesses before taking over responsibility for General Cable’s global Communications business. Mr. Hall earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario Ivey School of Business.
Steven S. Heinrichs has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Secretary since August 2018. He served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Neenah, Inc. (f/k/a Neenah Paper, Inc.), which spun off from Kimberly-Clark Corporation in December 2004, from June 2004 to July 2018. Mr. Heinrichs joined Kimberly-Clark as Chief Counsel, Pulp and Paper and General Counsel for Neenah, Inc. Prior to his employment with Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Heinrichs served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Mariner Health Care, Inc., a nursing home and long-term acute care hospital company. Before joining Mariner Health Care in 2003, Mr. Heinrichs served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for American Commercial Lines LLC, a leading inland barge and shipbuilding company from 1998 through 2003. Mr. Heinrichs engaged in the private practice of law with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and Shuttleworth, Smith, McNabb and Williams PLLC from 1994 through 1998. Mr. Heinrichs earned a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2008, his law degree from Tulane University in 1994, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.
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Marietta Edmunds Zakas has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2018. She served as Senior Vice President, Strategy, Corporate Development and Communications from November 2006 to December 2017. She was also the interim head of Human Resources from January 2016 to December 2017. Previously, Ms. Zakas held various positions at Russell Corporation, an athletic apparel, footwear and equipment company, culminating in her role as Corporate Vice President, Chief of Staff, Business Development and Treasurer. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now known as Randolph College), a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. Ms. Zakas is a director of Atlantic Capital Bank and Atlantic Capital Bancshares.
William A. Cofield has served as our Senior Vice President, Operations & Supply Chain since January 2018. Previously, Mr. Cofield served as Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain for MGA Entertainment from May 2014 to December 2018 and Vice President of Operations for the Rubbermaid business within Newell Brands, Inc. (formerly Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.) from January 2009 to May 2014. Mr. Cofield earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army where he served for 10 years. Mr. Cofield achieved the rank of Major before resigning his commission.
Scott P. Floyd has served as our Senior Vice President, Water Flow Solutions since October 2021. He served as Senior Vice President, Infrastructure from June 2020 to September 2021; Vice President and General Manager - Specialty Valves from February 2019 to May 2020; Plant Manager of our Cleveland, Tennessee facility from October 2007 to February 2019; Plant Manager of our Brownsville, Texas facility from March 2016 to February 2019; and Operations Manager of our Cleveland, Tennessee facility from September 1998 to October 2007.
Todd P. Helms has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since February 2020. Previously, Mr. Helms held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer at Synovus Financial Corporation and as Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Genuine Parts Company. Mr. Helms earned a Bachelor of Science degree from King College, a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Ohio University.
Chad D. Mize has served as our Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing since October 2019. He served as Vice President and General Manager of the Brass, Gas and Repair Value Stream from October 2017 to September 2019; Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Mueller Co. LLC from March 2010 to September 2017; Corporate Controller from January 2007 to February 2010; and Manager of Financial Reporting and Analysis from October 2004 to December 2006. Previously, Mr. Mize served as Senior Audit Supervisor of Archer Daniels Midland from May 1998 to September 2004. Mr. Mize earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University and a Master of Business Administration from Millikin University.
Kenji Takeuchi has served as our Senior Vice President, Water Management Solutions since October 2021. He served as Senior Vice President, Technology Solutions from October 2019 to September 2021. Previously, Mr. Takeuchi served as a Startup Catalyst at the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech, Georgia’s technology incubator. Prior to that, he served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering of Honeywell International Inc. and held various executive-level positions at Flextronics, culminating in his role as Vice President, Products and Technology. Mr. Takeuchi earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and completed the Executive Education Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Richelle R. Feyerherm has served as our Vice President, Operations Controller since November 2019. Previously, Ms. Feyerherm served as a Financial Officer of the Water Products division of Lonza Group, Ltd. from October 2011 to February 2019. Ms. Feyerherm earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York and is a certified public accountant.
Suzanne G. Smith has served as our Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since January 2021. Previously, Ms. Smith served as Chief Accounting Officer for ModivCare Inc, from February 2019 through November 2020 and for Cumulus Media from May 2017 through February 2019 and served as Vice President and Corporate Controller for EmployBridge Holdings from 2015 to 2017. Ms Smith is a certified public accountant, and she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University.
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Mark J. O’Brien has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 2006 and has served as our Non-Executive Chairman since January 2018. He served as Chairman of Walter Investment Management Corp. (formerly Walter Industries’ Homes Business), a mortgage portfolio owner and mortgage originator and servicer, from 2009 through December 2015, and he served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to October 2015. Mr. O’Brien has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Brier Patch Capital and Management, Inc., a real estate management and investment firm, since 2004. He served in various executive capacities at Pulte Homes, Inc., a home building company, for 21 years, retiring as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2003.Mr. O’Brien earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Miami.
Shirley C. Franklin has been a member of our Board of Directors since November 2010. Ms. Franklin serves as the President of Clarke Franklin Associates, a management consulting firm. In addition, Ms. Franklin serves as Chair of the board of directors of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and is a board member of the Paul Volcker Alliance, both non-profit organizations dedicated to public service missions. From 2002 to 2010, Ms. Franklin was mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Franklin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Howard University and a Master’s degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas J. Hansen has been a member of our Board of Directors since October 2011. Until 2012, Mr. Hansen served as Vice Chairman of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (“ITW”), a manufacturer of fasteners and components, consumable systems and a variety of specialty products and equipment. He joined ITW in 1980 as sales and marketing manager of the Shakeproof Industrial Products businesses. From 1998 until May 2006, Mr. Hansen served as Executive Vice President of ITW. Mr. Hansen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Governors State University.
Jerry W. Kolb has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 2006. From 1986 to 1998, Mr. Kolb served as a Vice Chairman of Deloitte LLP, a registered public accounting firm. Mr. Kolb earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy with highest honors from the University of Illinois and Master of Business Administration degree in finance from DePaul University. Mr. Kolb is a certified public accountant.
Christine Ortiz has been a member of our Board of Directors since November 2018. Dr. Ortiz is the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The author of more than 200 scholarly publications, she has supervised research projects across multiple academic disciplines, received 30 national and international honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering awarded to her by President George W. Bush, and served as the Dean for Graduate Education at MIT from 2010 to 2016. She is also the founder of an innovative, nonprofit, post-secondary educational institution, Station1. Dr. Ortiz earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Cornell University, each in the field of materials science and engineering.
Bernard G. Rethore has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 2006. Mr. Rethore has served as Chairman Emeritusof Flowserve Corporation, a manufacturer of pumps, valves, seals and components, since 2000. From January 2000 to April 2000, he served as Flowserve’s Chairman and previously served as its Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2008, Mr. Rethore was honored by the Outstanding Directors Exchange as an Outstanding Director of the Year, and in 2012, he was designated a Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mr. Rethore earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (Honors) from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Joseph P. Wharton Scholar and Fellow.
Jeffery S. Sharritts has been a member of our Board of Directors since March 2021. Mr. Sharritts is the Senior Vice President of the Americas at Cisco. Mr. Sharritts has previously served as its Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial Sales from 2014 to 2018. Mr Sharritts holds Advisory Board Member positions with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Sharritts earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.
Lydia W. Thomas has been a member of our Board of Directors since January 2008. Dr. Thomas served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Noblis, Inc., a public interest scientific research, technology and strategy company, from 1996 to 2007. She was previously with The MITRE Corporation, Center for Environment, Resources and Space, serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager from 1992 to 1996, Vice President from 1989 to 1992 and Technical Director from 1982 to 1989. In 2013, she was honored by the Outstanding Directors Exchange as an Outstanding Director of the Year. Dr. Thomas is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Howard University, a Master of Science degree in microbiology from American University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in cytology from Howard University.
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Michael T. Tokarz has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 2006. From 1985 until 2002, Mr. Tokarz served as a member of the limited liability company that serves as the general partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a private equity company. He served as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Walter Energy, Inc. until July 2016, and until May 2017, he served as a director of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc.), an insurance provider, and as a director of Walter Investment Management Corp. Mr. Tokarz has served as a director of the Tokarz Group, LLC, an investment company, since 2002 and of MVC Capital, Inc., a registered investment company, since 2003. In 2007, he was honored by the Outstanding Directors Exchange as an Outstanding Director of the Year. Mr. Tokarz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with high distinction and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Illinois.
Stephen C. Van Arsdell has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2019. Mr. Van Arsdell is a former senior partner of Deloitte LLP, where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte & Touche LLP from 2010-2012 and as Deputy Chief Executive Officer from 2009-2010. He also served as a member of Deloitte’s board of directors from 2003-2009, during which time he held the position of Vice Chairman. Mr. Van Arsdell has served as a member of the board of directors of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. since 2017 and has been a member of the audit committee of Brown Brothers Harriman since 2015. Mr. Van Arsdell earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters of Accounting Science degree from the University of Illinois. He is a certified public accountant.
Additional Information
Additional information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement issued in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the SEC within 120 days after September 30, 2021 and is incorporated herein by reference.
Our website address is www.muellerwaterproducts.com. You may read and print our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and any amendments to those reports from the investor relations section of our website free of charge. These reports are available on our website soon after we file them with or furnish them to the SEC. These reports should also be available through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
We have adopted a written code of conduct that applies to all directors, officers and employees, including a separate code that applies only to our principal executive officer and senior financial officers in accordance with Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of the SEC promulgated thereunder. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available in the corporate governance section of our website. In the event that we make changes in, or provide waivers from, the provisions of this Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for which SEC disclosure is required, we will make such disclose in the corporate governance section of our website.
We have adopted corporate governance guidelines. The guidelines and the charters of our board committees are available in the corporate governance section of our website. Copies of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, corporate governance guidelines and board committee charters are also available in print upon written request to the Corporate Secretary, Mueller Water Products, Inc., 1200 Abernathy Road N.E., Suite 1200, Atlanta, GA 30328.
Item 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement issued in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 12.SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Except for the information set forth below and the information set forth in “Part II, Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES,” the information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement issued in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.
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Index to Financial Statements
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
We have two compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance. The Mueller Water Products, Inc. 2006 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) was approved by our sole stockholder in May 2006 and amended by our stockholders in February 2016. The Mueller Water Products, Inc. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (“2006 Plan”) was approved by our sole stockholder in May 2006 and amended by our stockholders in January 2008, January 2009 and January 2012.
The following table sets forth certain information relating to these equity compensation plans at September 30, 2021.
Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders:
(1)Consists of the maximum number of shares that could be earned upon exercise or vesting of outstanding stock-based awards granted under the 2006 Plan. This includes 1,199,873 shares associated with share-settled performance units that may or may not be earned, depending on Company performance or stock market performance, as described in Note 12. of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
(2)Weighted-average exercise price of 599,799 options.
(3)The number of securities initially available for issuance under the 2006 Plan was 20,500,000 shares.
(4)The number of securities initially available for issuance under the ESPP Plan was 5,800,000 shares.
Item 13.CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
The information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement issued in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The information required by this item will be contained in our definitive proxy statement issued in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.
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Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
PART IV
Item 15.EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)Financial Statements
Index to financial statements Pagenumber
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-1
Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2021 and 2020 F-4
(b)Financial Statement Schedules
The information required by Schedule II is included in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. All other schedules required by Item 15(b) are not applicable or not required.
(c)Exhibits
Exhibit no. Document
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Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
Exhibit no. Document
10.34 ** Mueller Water Products, Inc. Form of Stock Option Grant Award Agreement
43
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
Exhibit no. Document
21.1** Subsidiaries of Mueller Water Products, Inc.
23.1** Consent of Independent Registered Accounting Firm.
* Management compensatory plan, contract or arrangement
** Filed with this Annual Report
44
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: November 18, 2021
MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS, INC.
By: /s/ Scott Hall
Name: Scott Hall
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature Title Date
/s/ Scott Hall President and Chief Executive Officer November 18, 2021
Scott Hall
Marietta Edmunds Zakas
Suzanne G. Smith
Mark J. O’Brien
/s/ Shirley C. Franklin Director November 18, 2021
Shirley C. Franklin
/s/ Thomas J. Hansen Director November 18, 2021
Thomas J. Hansen
/s/ Jerry W. Kolb Director November 18, 2021
Jerry W. Kolb
/s/ Christine Ortiz Director November 18, 2021
Christine Ortiz
/s/ Bernard G. Rethore Director November 18, 2021
Bernard G. Rethore
/s/ Jeffery S. Sharritts Director November 18, 2021
Jeffery S. Sharritts
/s/ Lydia W. Thomas Director November 18, 2021
Lydia W. Thomas
/s/ Michael T. Tokarz Director November 18, 2021
Michael T. Tokarz
/s/ Stephen C. Van Arsdell Director November 18, 2021
Stephen C. Van Arsdell
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Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Mueller Water Products, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Mueller Water Products, Inc. and subsidiaries(the Company) as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations,comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, and the related notes(collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework)and our report dated November 18, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
F- 1
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter 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 account or disclosure to which it relates.
Valuation of Goodwill - Krausz Industries Reporting Unit
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2007.
Atlanta, Georgia
November 18, 2021
F- 2
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of Mueller Water Products, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited Mueller Water Products, Inc. and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Mueller Water Products, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2021, and the related notesand our report dated November 18, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible 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. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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 (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) 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 (3) 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.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
November 18, 2021