ITEM 1A. Risk Factors
The following summarizes the most significant risks to our business. In addition to these risks, we are subject to a variety of risks that affect many other companies generally, as well as other risks and uncertainties that are not known to us as of the date of this Annual Report. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other risks. Any of these risk factors, either individually or in combination, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition, or prevent us from meeting our profitability or growth objectives. If you hold our securities or are considering an investment in our securities, you should carefully consider the following risks, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report.
Risks in this section are grouped in the following categories: (1) Business and Industry Risks; (2) Indebtedness Risks; (3) Legal and Regulatory Risks; (4) Financial Risks; and (5) General Risks. Many risks affect more than one category, and the risks are not in order of significance or probability of occurrence because they have been grouped by categories.
Business and Industry Risks
Risks Related to our Exploration of Strategic Alternatives for the Long-Term Positioning of our Fluids Systems Division
In June 2023, we announced that we initiated a review of strategic alternatives for the long-term positioning of the Fluids Systems division in June 2023. In September 2023, we launched a formal sale process for substantially all the Fluids Systems business as part of this strategic review. While the sale process is ongoing, we anticipate substantially completing the process in mid-2024, although it is not certain that any such transaction will be consummated on that timeline or at all. We do not intend to disclose developments with respect to the progress of our evaluation of any strategic options until such time as our Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or we otherwise deem disclosure is required or appropriate.
We may also incur significant costs and management’s attention may be diverted in connection with the pursuit of strategic alternatives which are not ultimately consummated. There are risks inherent with the consummation of any such transaction, such as the risks that the anticipated benefits of such transaction may not be realized, that unexpected liabilities may result from such transaction and that the process of consummating or the effects of consummating such a transaction may cause interruption of or slow down the operations of our existing or continuing businesses.
Risks Related to Divestitures
Any divestitures made as part of the Fluids Systems sale process or otherwise could impact us in several ways, including (i) impacting relationships with our customers and vendors, (ii) restricting our operations due to certain specified terms of the agreements, and (iii) diminishing our ability to retain or attract employees due to concerns over future job security or responsibilities.
As a result of any such divestitures, we may incur or experience (i) greater costs or realize fewer benefits than anticipated under the agreements, (ii) operational or commercial difficulties segregating the divested assets from our retained assets, (iii) disputes with the purchasers regarding the nature and sufficiency of the transition services we provide or the terms and conditions of our commercial agreements with the purchasers, (iv) higher vendor costs due to reduced economies of scale or operational dis-synergies, or (v) losses or increased inefficiencies from stranded or underutilized assets. Any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
In addition, any divestitures we make could reduce our future cash flows. If our remaining businesses fail to perform as expected, such divestitures could exacerbate certain of the other risks specified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks Related to the Worldwide Oil and Natural Gas Industry
Although we continue to diversify our operations and expand into a variety of end-markets, we derive a significant portion of our revenues from customers in the worldwide oil and natural gas industry; therefore, our risk factors include those factors that impact the demand for oil and natural gas. Spending by our customers for exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas is based on a number of factors, including expectations of future hydrocarbon demand, energy prices, the risks associated with developing reserves, our customers’ ability to finance exploration and development of reserves, regulatory developments, and the future value of the reserves. Reductions in customer spending levels adversely affect the demand for our products and services, and consequently, our revenues and operating results. The key risk factors that we believe influence the worldwide oil and natural gas markets are discussed below.
Demand for oil and natural gas is subject to factors beyond our control
Demand for oil and natural gas, and consequently the demand for our products and services, is highly correlated with global economic growth and in particular by the economic growth of countries such as the U.S., India, China, and developing countries in Asia and the Middle East. Weakness in global economic activity, as well as the global energy transition, could
8
reduce demand for oil and natural gas and result in lower oil and natural gas prices. For example, demand for oil and natural gas has been and could continue to be impacted by, among other things, the effects of global health crises, geopolitical issues, supply chain disruptions and inflation. There remains significant uncertainty regarding the long-term impact to global oil demand, which will ultimately depend on various factors and consequences beyond our control. Continued weakness or deterioration of the global economy could further reduce our customers’ spending levels and could reduce our revenues and operating results.
Regulatory agencies and environmental advocacy groups in the European Union, the U.S. and other regions or countries have been focusing considerable attention on the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases and their role in climate change. There is also increased focus, including by governments and our customers, investors and other stakeholders, on these and other sustainability and energy transition matters. Existing or future legislation and regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, as well as initiatives by governments, nongovernmental organizations, and companies to conserve energy or promote the use of alternative energy sources, and negative attitudes toward or perceptions of fossil fuel products and their relationship to the environment, may significantly curtail demand for and production of oil and gas in areas of the world where our customers operate, and thus reduce future demand for our products and services. This may, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Supply of oil and natural gas is subject to factors beyond our control
Supply of oil and natural gas can be affected by the availability of quality drilling prospects, exploration success, and the number and productivity of new wells drilled and completed, as well as the rate of production and resulting depletion of existing wells. Oil and natural gas storage inventory levels are indicators of the relative balance between supply and demand. Supply can also be impacted by the degree to which individual Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries nations and other large oil and natural gas producing countries are willing and able to control production and exports of hydrocarbons, to decrease or increase supply, and to support their targeted oil price or meet market share objectives. Any of these factors could affect the supply of oil and natural gas and could have a material effect on our results of operations.
Volatility of oil and natural gas prices can adversely affect demand for our products and services
Volatility of oil and natural gas prices can also impact our customers’ activity levels and spending for our products and services. The level of energy prices is important to the cash flow for our customers and their ability to fund exploration and development activities. Expectations about future commodity prices and volatility are important for determining future spending levels. Our customers also consider the volatility of energy prices and other risk factors by requiring higher returns for individual projects if there is higher perceived risk.
Our customers’ activity levels, spending for our products and services, and ability to pay amounts owed us could be impacted by the ability of our customers to access equity or credit markets
Our customers’ activity levels are dependent on their ability to access the funds necessary to develop oil and natural gas prospects and their ability to generate sufficient returns on investments. In recent years, limited access to external sources of funding, including the impacts of the global energy transition and pressures from their investors to generate consistent cash flow has, at times, caused customers in the oil and natural gas industry to reduce their capital spending plans. In addition, a reduction of cash flow to our customers resulting from declines in commodity prices or the lack of available debt or equity financing may impact the ability of our customers to pay amounts owed to us.
A heightened focus by our customers on cost-saving measures rather than the quality of products and services could reduce the demand for our products and services
Our customers are continually seeking to implement measures aimed at greater cost savings, which may include the acceptance of lesser quality products and services in order to improve short term cost efficiencies as opposed to total cost efficiencies. The continued implementation of these kinds of cost saving measures could reduce the demand or pricing for our products and services and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Ability to Generate Internal Growth
Our ability to generate internal growth may be affected by, among other factors, our ability to:
•attract new customers;
•increase the number of projects performed for existing customers;
•successfully bid for new projects;
•hire and retain qualified personnel;
•obtain necessary levels of equipment; and
9
•adapt the range of products and services we offer to address our customers’ evolving needs.
In addition, our customers may reduce the number or size of projects available to us due to their inability to obtain capital or in response to economic conditions.
Furthermore, the growth of our Industrial Solutions segment is heavily dependent upon the production of our recyclable composite mat products, which in turn is dependent on the operations and capacity of our manufacturing facilities in Carencro, Louisiana.
Many of the factors affecting our ability to generate internal growth may be beyond our control, and we cannot be certain that our strategies will be successful or that we will be able to generate cash flow sufficient to fund our operations and to support internal growth. If we are unsuccessful, we may not be able to achieve internal growth, expand our operations or grow our business.
Risks Related to Economic and Market Conditions that May Impact Our Customers’ Future Spending
A substantial portion of our operating income, cash flows, and financial returns is generated from construction projects, the awarding of which we do not directly control. The construction industry historically has experienced cyclical fluctuations in financial results due to economic recessions, downturns in business cycles of our customers, material shortages, price increases by subcontractors, interest rate fluctuations and other economic factors beyond our control. When the general level of economic activity deteriorates, our customers may delay, or cancel upgrades, expansions, and/or maintenance and repairs to their systems. Many factors, including the financial condition of the industry, could adversely affect our customers and their willingness to fund capital expenditures in the future.
In addition, economic, regulatory and market conditions affecting our specific end markets may adversely impact the demand for our services, resulting in the delay, reduction or cancellation of certain projects and these conditions may continue to adversely affect us in the future.
Risks Related to Customer Concentration and Reliance on the U.S. E&P Market
In 2023, approximately 42% of our consolidated revenues were derived from our 20 largest customers, although no customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenues. While we are not dependent on any one customer or group of customers, the loss of one or more of our significant customers could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. In addition, approximately 55% of our consolidated revenues in 2023 were derived from our U.S. operations, including approximately $270 million from the exploration and production market.
Over the past several years, the U.S. oil and natural gas market has experienced periods of significant declines which reduced the demand for our services and negatively impacted customer pricing in our U.S. operations. Due in part to these changes, our quarterly and annual operating results have fluctuated significantly and may continue to fluctuate in future periods. Because our business has substantial fixed costs, including significant facility and personnel expenses, downtime or low productivity due to reduced demand could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have engaged in a number of activities intended to reduce our dependency on the cyclical U.S. oil and natural gas market, including the 2022 divestitures of the Excalibar U.S. mineral grinding business and Gulf of Mexico drilling fluids operations, the geographic diversification in select foreign E&P markets, and the review of strategic alternatives for Fluids Systems. However, these efforts may not be successful or sufficient to offset any volatility in our U.S. operating results.
Risks Related to International Operations
Our Fluids Systems business has significant operations outside of the U.S., including Canada and certain areas of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2023, our international operations generated approximately 45% of consolidated revenues. Substantially all of our cash balance at December 31, 2023 resides within our international subsidiaries, including Congo (31%), Romania (11%), and Algeria (10%). Algeria represented our largest international market outside of North America, with our Algerian operations representing 8% of our consolidated revenues for 2023 and 8% of our total assets at December 31, 2023.
In addition, we may seek to expand to other areas outside the U.S. in the future. International operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which could negatively impact our results from operations, including:
▪difficulties and cost associated with complying with a wide variety of complex foreign laws, treaties, and regulations;
▪uncertainties in or unexpected changes in regulatory environments or tax laws, including with respect to climate change;
▪legal uncertainties, timing delays, and expenses associated with tariffs, export licenses, and other trade barriers;
10
▪difficulties enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems;
▪risks associated with failing to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, export laws, and other similar laws applicable to our operations in international markets;
▪exchange controls or other limitations on international currency movements, including restrictions on the repatriation of funds to the U.S. from certain countries;
▪sanctions imposed by the U.S. government that prevent us from engaging in business in certain countries or with certain counter-parties;
▪expropriation or nationalization of assets;
▪inability to obtain or preserve certain intellectual property rights in the foreign countries in which we operate;
▪our inexperience in certain international markets;
▪health emergencies or pandemics;
▪fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
▪political and economic instability; and
▪acts of terrorism.
In addition, several North African markets in which we operate, including Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have experienced social and political unrest in past years, which, when they occur, negatively impact our operating results and can include the temporary suspension of our operations.
Risks Related to the Ongoing Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East
Given the nature of our business and our global operations, the current conflicts in Europe and the Middle East may adversely affect our business and results of operations. Although we do not have any operations in Russia, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip or Israel, the broader consequences of these conflicts, which may include sanctions, embargoes, supply chain disruptions, regional instability, and geopolitical shifts, and the extent of the conflicts’ effect on our business and results of operations as well as the global economy, cannot be predicted.
The ongoing conflicts may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks specified in our risk factors or disclosed in our public filings, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the volatility of oil and natural gas prices that can adversely affect demand for our products and services; our customers’ activity levels, spending for our products and services, and their ability to pay amounts owed us that could be impacted by the ability of our customers to access equity or credit markets; the price and availability of raw materials; the cost and continued availability of borrowed funds; and cybersecurity incidents or business system disruptions.
Risks Related to Operating Hazards Present in the Oil and Natural Gas and Utilities Industries and Substantial Liability Claims, Including Catastrophic Well Incidents
We are exposed to significant health, safety, and environmental risks. Our operations are subject to hazards present in the oil and natural gas industry, such as fires, explosions, blowouts, oil spills, and leaks or spills of hazardous materials (both onshore and offshore), as well as hazards in the electrical utility industry, such as exposure to wildfires, high voltage electrocution, among other risks. These incidents as well as accidents or problems in normal operations can cause personal injury or death and damage to property or the environment. From time to time, customers seek recovery for damage to their equipment or property that occurred during the course of our service obligations. Damage to our customers’ property and any related spills of hazardous materials could be extensive if a major problem occurs.
Generally, we rely on contractual indemnities, releases, limitations on liability with our customers, and insurance to protect us from potential liability related to such events. However, our insurance and contractual indemnification may not be sufficient or effective to protect us under all circumstances or against all risks. In addition, our customers’ changing views on risk allocation together with deteriorating market conditions could force us to accept greater risks to obtain new business or retain renewing business and could result in us losing business if we are not prepared to take such risks. Moreover, we may not be able to maintain insurance at levels of risk coverage or policy limits that we deem adequate. Any damages caused by our services or products that are not covered by insurance or contractual indemnification, or are in excess of policy limits or subject to substantial deductibles, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. See “Risks Related to the Inherent Limitations of Insurance Coverage” below for additional information.
Risks Related to Contracts that Can Be Terminated or Downsized by Our Customers Without Penalty
Many of our fixed-term contracts contain provisions permitting early termination by the customer at their convenience, generally without penalty, and with limited notice requirements. In addition, many of our contracts permit our customers to decrease the products or services without penalty, which could result in a decrease in our revenues and
11
profitability. As a result, you should not place undue reliance on the strength of our customer contracts or the terms of those contracts.
Risks Related to Product Offering and Market Expansion
As a key component of our long-term strategy to diversify our revenue streams, we seek to continue to expand our product and service offerings and enter new customer markets with our existing products. As with any market expansion effort, new customer and product markets require additional capital investment and include inherent uncertainties regarding customer expectations, industry-specific regulatory requirements, product performance, and customer-specific risk profiles. In addition, we likely will not have the same level of operational experience with respect to the new customer and product markets as will our competitors. As such, new market entry is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Ability to Attract, Retain, and Develop Qualified Leaders, Key Employees, and Skilled Personnel
Our failure to attract, retain, and develop qualified leaders and key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain highly-skilled product specialists, technical sales personnel, and service personnel. The market for qualified employees is extremely competitive. If we cannot attract and retain qualified personnel, our ability to compete effectively and grow our business will be severely limited. Also, a significant increase in wages paid by competing employers could result in a reduction in our skilled labor force or an increase in our operating costs.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, a shortage of labor for certain functions, which has increased our labor costs and negatively impacted our profitability. The extent and duration of the effect of these labor market challenges are subject to numerous factors, including the availability of qualified persons in the markets where we and our contracted service providers operate and unemployment levels within these markets, behavioral changes, prevailing wage rates and other benefits, inflation, adoption of new or revised employment and labor laws and regulations (including increased minimum wage requirements) or government programs, safety levels of our operations, and our reputation within the labor market.
Risks Related to Expanding Our Services in the Utilities Sector, Which May Require Unionized Labor
Although none of our employees are currently represented by labor unions, we may expand our services offered in the utilities sector, the customers of which may require unionized labor. If we, a subsidiary, or a business partner were to have a unionized workforce, we may be subject to strikes or work stoppages, wage and hour regulations, or other regulations associated with a collective bargaining agreement, which could adversely impact our relationships with our customers and cause us to lose business, and could result in an increase in our operating costs.
Risks Related to the Price and Availability of Raw Materials
Our ability to provide products and services to our customers is dependent upon our ability to obtain raw materials necessary to operate our business. Certain of the raw materials essential to our business are sourced globally and require various freight services to transport the materials to our job sites. These services may be impacted by periodic supply chain disruptions and, particularly during times of high demand, may cause delays in the arrival of or otherwise constrain our supply of raw materials. These constraints could have a material adverse effect on our business and consolidated results of operations. In addition, price increases, whether as a result of inflation, geopolitical issues, or otherwise, imposed by our vendors for raw materials used in our business and the inability to pass these increases through to our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Our Industrial Solutions business is highly dependent on the availability of high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”), which is the primary raw material used in the manufacture of our recyclable composite mats. The cost of HDPE increased significantly in 2021, but returned to more historical levels in 2022 and 2023. Our costs can vary based on the energy costs of the producers of HDPE, demand for this material, and the capacity or operations of the plants used to make HDPE. We may not be able to increase our customer pricing to cover the cost increases that we have experienced, which could result in a reduction in future profitability.
Our Fluids Systems business is highly dependent on the availability of barite, which is a naturally occurring mineral that constitutes a significant portion of our fluids systems. In connection with the sale of our U.S.-based mineral grinding business in the fourth quarter of 2022, we entered a four-year barite supply agreement for certain regions of our U.S. drilling fluids business. We also obtain barite and other materials used in the fluids business from various third-party suppliers. The availability and cost of barite ore is dependent on factors beyond our control, including transportation, political priorities, U.S. tariffs, and government-imposed export fees in the exporting countries, as well as the impact of weather and natural disasters.
12
The future supply of barite ore from existing sources may be inadequate to meet the market demand, particularly during periods of increasing world-wide demand, which could ultimately restrict industry activity or our ability to meet our customers’ needs.
Risks Related to Inflation
Increases in the cost of wages, materials, equipment and other operational components has the potential to adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial position by increasing our overall cost structure, particularly if we are unable to achieve commensurate increases in the prices we charge our customers for our products and services. In addition, inflation has also resulted in higher interest rates, which could cause an increase in the cost of debt borrowing in the future, as well as supply chain shortages, an increase in the costs of labor, currency fluctuations and other similar effects.
Risks Related to Capital Investments and Business Acquisitions
Our ability to successfully execute our business strategy will depend, among other things, on our ability to make capital investments and complete acquisitions which provide us with financial benefits. These investments and acquisitions are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including:
▪incorrect assumptions regarding business activity levels or results from our capital investments, acquired operations, or assets;
▪insufficient revenues to offset liabilities assumed;
▪potential loss of significant revenue and income streams;
▪increased or unexpected expenses;
▪inadequate return of capital;
▪regulatory or compliance issues;
▪potential loss of key employees, customers, or suppliers of the acquired company;
▪the triggering of certain covenants in our debt agreements (including accelerated repayment);
▪unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence;
▪failure to complete a planned acquisition transaction or to successfully integrate the operations or management of any acquired businesses or assets in a timely manner;
▪diversion of management’s attention from existing operations or other priorities;
▪unanticipated disruptions to our business associated with the implementation of our enterprise-wide operational and financial system; and
▪delays in completion and cost overruns associated with large capital investments.
Any of the factors above could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Additionally, the anticipated benefits of a capital investment or acquisition may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected.
Risks Related to Market Competition
We face competition and compete vigorously on product performance and/or price. Our competition in the North America Fluids Systems business and U.S. Industrial Solutions business is fragmented. The smaller regional competitors compete with us mainly on price and local relationships. Our competition in the international Fluids Systems business includes larger companies, such as Halliburton, SLB, and Baker Hughes. These larger companies have broad product and service offerings in addition to their drilling and completion fluids, and at times, attempt to compete by offering discounts to customers to use multiple products and services, some of which we do not offer.
In the Industrial Solutions business, many competitors provide various forms of worksite access products and services. More recently, several competitors have begun marketing composite products to compete with our DURA-BASE® matting system. While we believe the design and manufacturing quality of our products provide a differentiated value to our customers, many of our competitors seek to compete on pricing. In addition, certain patents related to our DURA-BASE® matting system have expired, and competitors may begin offering mats that include features described in those patents. We have filed additional patent applications on improvements to the structure of, features of, and uses of the DURA-BASE® matting system, but there is no assurance that our competitors will not be able to offer products that are similar to these improvements, features, or uses of the DURA-BASE® matting system.
In addition, certain customer contracts are awarded through a competitive bidding process. The strong competition in our markets requires maintaining skilled personnel and investing in technology, and also puts pressure on profit margins. We do not obtain contracts from all of our bids and our inability to win bids at acceptable profit margins would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
13
Risks Related to Technological Developments and Intellectual Property
The market for our products and services requires technological developments that generate improvements in product performance or service delivery. If we are not successful in continuing to develop new products, enhancements, or improved service delivery that are accepted in the marketplace or that comply with industry standards, we could lose market share to competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our success can be affected by our development and implementation of new product designs and improvements, or software developments, and by our ability to protect and maintain critical intellectual property assets related to these developments. Although in many cases our products are not protected by any registered intellectual property rights, in other cases we rely on a combination of patents and trade secret laws to establish and protect this proprietary technology. While patent rights give the owner of a patent the right to exclude third parties from making, using, selling, and offering for sale the inventions claimed in the patents, they do not necessarily grant the owner of a patent the right to practice the invention claimed in a patent. It may also be possible for a third party to design around our patents. We do not have patents in every country in which we conduct business and our patent portfolio will not protect all aspects of our business. When patent rights expire, competitors are generally free to offer the technology and products that were covered by the patents. Additionally, the trade secret laws of some foreign countries may not protect our proprietary technology in the same manner as the laws of the United States.
We also protect our trade secrets by customarily entering into confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees, customers and potential customers, and suppliers. Our rights in our confidential information, trade secrets, and confidential know-how will not prevent third parties from independently developing similar information. Publicly available information (such as information in expired patents, published patent applications, and scientific literature) can also be used by third parties to independently develop technology. We cannot provide assurance that this independently developed technology will not be equivalent or superior to our proprietary technology.
We may from time to time engage in expensive and time-consuming litigation to determine the enforceability, scope, and validity of our patent rights. In addition, we can seek to enforce our rights in trade secrets, or “know-how,” and other proprietary information and technology in the conduct of our business. However, it is possible that our competitors may infringe upon, misappropriate, violate or challenge the validity or enforceability of our intellectual property, and we may not be able to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights in the future.
The tools, techniques, methodologies, programs, and components we use to provide our services may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. Infringement claims generally result in significant legal and other costs, and may distract management from running our business. Royalty payments under licenses from third parties, if applicable, could increase our costs. Additionally, developing non-infringing technologies could increase our costs. If a license were not available, we might not be able to continue providing a particular service or product, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Severe Weather, Natural Disasters, and Seasonality
We have significant operations located in market areas around the world that are negatively impacted by severe adverse weather events or natural disasters, particularly the U.S. A potential result of climate change is more frequent or more severe weather events or natural disasters. To the extent such weather events or natural disasters become more frequent or severe, disruptions to our business and costs to repair damaged facilities could increase.
These severe weather events or natural disasters, such as excessive rains, hurricanes, fires, or droughts, could disrupt our operations and result in damage to our properties, including the manufacturing facilities and technology center for our Industrial Solutions business located in Carencro, Louisiana, or our leased fluids industrial space in Fourchon, Louisiana. Additionally, there are market areas around the world in which our operations are subject to seasonality such as Canada where the Spring “break-up” (an industry term used to describe the time of year when the frost comes out of the ground causing the earth to become soft and muddy and strict weight restrictions are implemented by the government to prevent potholes forming on roads) results in a significant slowdown in the oil and natural gas industry and our fluids business each year, or in the summer in the U.S., where utility companies typically reduce maintenance project activity on the transmission grid due to elevated consumer electricity demand.
Severe weather, natural disasters, and seasonality could adversely affect our or our customers’ financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Public Health Crises, Epidemics, and Pandemics
The effects of public health crises, epidemics, and pandemics have resulted and may in the future result in a significant and swift reduction in U.S. and international economic activity, including adversely affecting the demand for and price of oil and natural gas, as well as the demand for our products and services. In response to reduced demand for our
14
products and services, we would take (and have in the past taken) actions aimed at protecting our liquidity and reshaping the business for the new market realities, including reducing our workforce and cost structure. However, our business contains high levels of fixed costs, including significant facility and personnel expenses, which limits the effectiveness of such actions. The extent to which our operating and financial results are affected by a public health crisis, epidemic or pandemic will depend on various factors beyond our control, such as the duration and scope of such event, including any resurgences and the emergence and spread of a subject pathogen; actions taken by businesses and governments in response to such event; and the speed and effectiveness of responses to combat the subject pathogen, including the availability and public acceptance of effective treatments or vaccines, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic activity can resume, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Any such public health crisis, epidemic or pandemic could also materially and adversely impact our operating and financial results in a manner that is not currently known to us or that we do not currently consider as presenting material risks to our operations.
Indebtedness Risks
Risks Related to the Cost and Continued Availability of Borrowed Funds, including Risks of Noncompliance with Debt Covenants
We use borrowed funds as an integral part of our long-term capital structure and our future success is dependent upon continued access to borrowed funds to support our operations. The availability of borrowed funds on reasonable terms is dependent on the condition of credit markets and financial institutions from which these funds are obtained. Adverse events in the financial markets, or restrictions on lenders ability or willingness to lend to companies that have significant exposure to customers in the oil and natural gas industry, may significantly reduce the availability of funds, which may have an adverse effect on our cost of borrowings and our ability to fund our business strategy. Our ability to meet our debt service requirements and the continued availability of funds under our existing or future loan agreements is dependent upon our ability to generate operating income and generate sufficient cash flow to remain in compliance with the covenants in our debt agreements. This, in turn, is subject to the volatile nature of the oil and natural gas industry, and to competitive, economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control.
We primarily fund our ongoing operational needs through a $175 million asset-based revolving credit agreement (the “Amended ABL Facility”). The Amended ABL Facility terminates in May 2027. Borrowing availability under the Amended ABL Facility is calculated based on eligible U.S. accounts receivable, inventory and composite mats included in the rental fleet, net of reserves and subject to limits on certain of the assets included in the borrowing base calculation. To the extent pledged by the borrowers, the borrowing base calculation also includes the amount of eligible pledged cash. The administrative agent may establish reserves in accordance with the Amended ABL Facility, in part based on appraisals of the asset base, and other limits in its discretion, which could reduce the amounts otherwise available under the Amended ABL Facility.
The Amended ABL Facility is a senior secured obligation of the Company and certain of our U.S. subsidiaries constituting borrowers thereunder, secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the personal property and certain real property of the borrowers, including a first priority lien on certain equity interests of direct or indirect domestic subsidiaries of the borrowers and certain equity interests issued by certain foreign subsidiaries of the borrowers. The Amended ABL Facility contains certain financial covenants, customary representations, warranties and covenants that, among other things, and subject to certain specified circumstances and exceptions, restrict or limit the ability of the borrowers and certain of their subsidiaries to incur indebtedness (including guarantees), grant liens, make investments, pay dividends or distributions with respect to capital stock and make other restricted payments, make prepayments on certain indebtedness, engage in mergers or other fundamental changes, dispose of property, and change the nature of their business.
If we fail to comply with the various covenants and other requirements of the Amended ABL Facility, we would be in default thereunder, which would permit the holders of the indebtedness to accelerate the maturity thereof and proceed against their collateral. The acceleration of any of our indebtedness and the election to exercise any remedies could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition and we may not be able to make all of the required payments or borrow sufficient funds to refinance such indebtedness.
If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows to repay our indebtedness when due or to fund our other liquidity needs, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt or obtaining additional financing. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations and could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
15
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Risks Related to Environmental Laws and Regulations
We are responsible for complying with numerous federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations and policies that govern environmental protection, zoning and other matters applicable to our current and past business activities, including the activities of our former subsidiaries. Failure to remain compliant with these laws, regulations and policies may result in, among other things, fines, penalties, costs, investigation and/or cleanup of contaminated sites and site closure obligations, costs of remedying noncompliance, termination or suspension of certain operations, or other expenditures. We could be exposed to strict, joint and several liability for cleanup costs, natural resource damages and other damages as a result of our conduct that was lawful at the time it occurred or the conduct of, or conditions caused by, prior operators or other third parties. Private parties may also pursue legal actions against us based on alleged non-compliance with or liability under certain of these laws, rules and regulations. Further, any changes in the current legal and regulatory environment could impact industry activity and the demands for our products and services, the scope of products and services that we provide, or our cost structure required to provide our products and services, or the costs incurred by our customers.
Many of the markets for our products and services are dependent on the continued exploration for and production of fossil fuels (predominantly oil and natural gas). In recent years, the topic of climate change has received increased attention worldwide. Many scientists, legislators and others attribute climate change to increased levels of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide attributed to the use of fossil fuels, which has led to significant legislative and regulatory efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and other domestic and foreign regulatory agencies have adopted regulations that potentially limit greenhouse gas emissions and impose reporting obligations on large greenhouse gas emission sources. In addition, the EPA has adopted rules that could require the reduction of certain air emissions during exploration and production of oil and natural gas. President Biden’s administration officially reentered the U.S. into the Paris Agreement in February 2021 and committed the U.S. to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. In November 2021, the U.S. and other countries entered into the Glasgow Climate Pact, which includes a range of measures designed to address climate change, including but not limited to the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, reducing methane emissions 30% by 2030, and cooperating toward the advancement of the development of clean energy. In August 2022, President Biden also signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains tax inducements and other provisions that incentivize investment, development, and deployment of alternative energy sources and technologies and created a methane emissions reduction program, which provided significant funding to reduce emissions of methane from the oil and gas sector and requires the EPA to impose a charge on certain oil and gas sources. The implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act could increase operating costs within the oil and gas industry and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. To the extent that laws and regulations enacted as part of climate change legislation increase the costs of drilling for or producing such fossil fuels, limit or restrict oil and natural gas exploration and production, or reduce the demand for fossil fuels, such legislation could have a material adverse effect on our operations and profitability.
The continued expansion of revenues in industrial markets, and particularly end-markets that are likely to benefit from ongoing energy transition efforts around the world, such as power transmission, renewable energy, and geothermal, remains a strategic priority going forward, and we anticipate that our capital investments will primarily focus on supporting this objective. However, it is unclear whether these initiatives, when implemented, will create sufficient incentives for projects or result in increased demand for our services.
There have also been efforts in recent years to influence the investment community, including investment advisors and certain sovereign wealth, pension and endowment funds, promoting divestment of fossil fuel equities and pressuring lenders to limit funding to companies engaged in the extraction of fossil fuel reserves. Such environmental activism and initiatives aimed at limiting climate change and reducing air pollution could interfere with our business activities, operations, and ability to access capital. Furthermore, members of the investment community are increasing their focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) practices and disclosures by public companies. Concerns over climate change have resulted in, and are expected to continue to result in, the adoption of regulatory requirements for climate-related disclosures, which could increase our compliance burden and costs. As a result, we may continue to face increasing pressure regarding our ESG disclosures and practices. We have published and may continue to publish a Sustainability Report, which outlines our progress and ongoing efforts to advance our ESG initiatives. Our disclosures on these matters rely on management’s expectations as of the date the statements are first made, as well as standards for measuring progress that are still in development, and may change or fail to be realized. These expectations and standards may continue to evolve. If our ESG disclosures and practices do not meet regulatory, investor or other stakeholder expectations and standards, which continue to evolve, it could have a material adverse effect on our business or demand for our services.
In addition, hydraulic fracturing is a common practice used by E&P operators to stimulate production of hydrocarbons, particularly from shale oil and natural gas formations in the U.S. The process of hydraulic fracturing, which involves the injection of sand (or other forms of proppants) laden fluids into oil and natural gas bearing zones, has come under
16
increased scrutiny from a variety of regulatory agencies, including the EPA and various state authorities. Several states have adopted regulations requiring operators to identify the chemicals used in fracturing operations, others have adopted moratoriums on the use of fracturing, and the State of New York has banned the practice altogether. In addition, concerns have been raised about whether injection of waste associated with hydraulic fracturing operations, or from the fracturing operations themselves, may cause or increase the impact of earthquakes. Although we do not provide hydraulic fracturing services, we have offered stimulation chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Regulations which have the effect of prohibiting, limiting the use, or significantly increasing the costs of hydraulic fracturing could have a material adverse effect on both the drilling and stimulation activity levels of our customers, and, therefore, the demand for our products and services.
Risks Related to Legal Compliance
As a global business, we are subject to complex laws and regulations in the U.S., the U.K. and other countries in which we operate. These laws and regulations relate to a number of aspects of our business, including anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, sanctions against business dealings with certain countries and third parties, the payment of taxes, employment and labor relations, immigration, fair competition, data privacy protections, securities regulation, and other regulatory requirements affecting trade and investment. The application of these laws and regulations to our business is often unclear and may sometimes conflict. Compliance with these laws and regulations may involve significant costs or require changes in our business practices that could result in reduced revenue and profitability. Non-compliance could also result in significant fines, damages, and other criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, prohibitions or additional requirements on the conduct of our business and damage our reputation. Certain violations of law could also result in suspension or debarment from government contracts. We also incur additional legal compliance costs associated with global regulations. In some foreign countries, particularly those with developing economies, it may be customary for others to engage in business practices that are prohibited by laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, the Italian Criminal Code in Italy, Brazil’s Clean Companies Act, India’s Prevention of Corruption Act and The Companies Act, and Mexico’s Anti-Corruption Law. Although we implement policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors, agents, and business partners will not take action in violation with our internal policies. In the U.S., there have been increasing instances of opioid and other illicit drug usage as well as illegal immigration in certain of the regions in which we operate. While we have taken steps we believe appropriate to ensure that our employees comply with our internal drug and alcohol policy as well as all applicable immigration laws, we cannot assure you there will not be violations in the future. Any such violation of our internal policies or the law could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Financial Risks
Risks Related to the Inherent Limitations of Insurance Coverage
While we maintain liability insurance, this insurance is subject to coverage limitations. Specific risks and limitations of our insurance coverage include the following:
▪self-insured retention limits on each claim, which are our responsibility;
▪exclusions for certain types of liabilities and limitations on coverage for damages resulting from pollution;
▪coverage limits of the policies, and the risk that claims will exceed policy limits; and
▪the financial strength and ability of our insurance carriers to meet their obligations under the policies.
In addition, our ability to continue to obtain insurance coverage on commercially reasonable terms is dependent upon a variety of factors impacting the insurance industry in general, which are outside our control. Any of the issues noted above, including insurance cost increases, uninsured or underinsured claims, or the inability of an insurance carrier to meet their financial obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Income Taxes
Our future effective tax rates could be adversely affected by changes in tax laws, both domestically and internationally, or the interpretation or application thereof. From time to time, U.S. and foreign tax authorities, including state and local governments, consider legislation that could increase our effective tax rate. For example, effective for costs paid or incurred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2021, the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted legislation that requires certain research and development expenditures to be capitalized and amortized over five years, rather than being deducted as incurred. While the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that, if enacted, would allow for the continued immediate deduction of research and development expenditures incurred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2021, and before January 1, 2026, there can be no assurance that this proposed legislation will be enacted. Additionally, longstanding international tax norms that determine each country’s jurisdiction to tax cross-border international trade are subject to potential evolution. For example, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), a global coalition of member countries, proposed a two-pillar plan to reform international taxation. The proposals
17
aim to ensure a fairer distribution of profits among countries and to impose a floor on tax competition through the introduction of a global minimum tax. While the European Union agreed in December 2022 to implement the global minimum tax on larger companies in 2024, and other countries are actively considering changes to their tax laws to adopt certain parts of the OECD’s proposals, we cannot determine whether, or in what form, such legislation will be implemented or ultimately be enacted or what the impact of any such legislation could have on our profitability. If such changes to tax laws are enacted, our profitability could be negatively impacted.
Our future effective tax rates could also be adversely affected by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, or by changes in tax treaties, regulations, accounting principles or interpretations thereof in one or more countries in which we operate. In addition, we are subject to the potential examination of our income tax returns by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and by other tax authorities in jurisdictions where we file tax returns. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. There can be no assurance that such examinations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
General Risks
Risks Related to Cybersecurity Incidents or Business System Disruptions
We utilize various management information systems and information technology infrastructure to manage or support a variety of our business operations, and to maintain various records, which may include confidential business or proprietary information as well as information regarding our customers, business partners, employees or other third parties. We also utilize third-party vendors and their systems and technology to support our business activities, including secure processing of confidential, sensitive, proprietary and other types of information. Failures of or interference with access to these systems, such as communication disruptions, could have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct operations or directly impact financial reporting. In addition, our information systems and information technology infrastructure are subject to security threats and sophisticated cyber-based attacks, including, but not limited to, denial-of-service attacks, hacking, “phishing” attacks, computer viruses, ransomware, malware, employee or insider error, malfeasance, social engineering, or physical breaches, that can cause deliberate or unintentional damage, destruction or misuse, manipulation, denial of access to or disclosure of confidential or important information or intellectual property. A failure of or breach in our information systems and information technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors, could expose us and our employees, customers, and suppliers to risks of misuse of information or systems, transaction errors, the compromise of confidential information, manipulation and destruction of data, the loss of sales and customers and operations disruptions. There can be no assurance that security incidents will not occur. In addition, there can be no assurance that the policies and procedures we or our third-party vendors have in place, including system monitoring and data back-up processes, to prevent or mitigate the effects of these potential disruptions or incidents will be sufficient to prevent, detect and limit the impact of disruptions or incidents. We do not carry insurance against these risks, although we do invest in security technology, perform penetration tests from time to time, and design our business processes to attempt to mitigate the risk of such incidents. Our processes require continuous monitoring as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures evolve.
We have experienced cybersecurity threats and incidents involving our systems and third-party systems and expect these incidents to continue. While none of the cybersecurity events have been material to date, a successful breach or attack could have a material negative impact on our operations or business reputation, harm our reputation and relationships with our customers, business partners, employees or other third parties, and subject us to consequences such as litigation and direct costs associated with incident response. These risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Risks Related to Activist Stockholders that May Attempt to Effect Changes at Our Company or Acquire Control Over Our Company
We have been the subject of campaigns by activist stockholders and may continue to be so in the future. Such activist stockholders may engage in proxy solicitations, advance stockholder proposals, or otherwise attempt to affect changes or acquire control over our company. Campaigns by stockholders to effect changes at publicly traded companies are sometimes led by investors seeking to increase short-term stockholder value through actions such as financial restructuring, increased debt, special dividends, stock repurchases or sales of assets or the entire company. Responding to proxy contests and other actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming and could divert the attention of our Board of Directors and senior management from the management of our operations and the pursuit of our business strategies. As a result, stockholder campaigns could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Share Repurchases
The amount and timing of all future purchases of shares of our common stock pursuant to our securities repurchase program, if any, are subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon business conditions, results of
18
operations, financial condition and other factors. Our Board of Directors may, without advance notice, suspend or terminate our repurchase program. There can be no assurance that we will make repurchases of shares of our common stock in the future. Share repurchases under our repurchase program could diminish our available liquidity, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic growth projects. In addition, any elimination of, or downward revision in, our repurchase program could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws, Which Designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the Sole and Exclusive Forum for Certain Types of Actions and Proceedings that May Be Initiated by Our Stockholders, and the U.S. Federal District Courts in Wilmington County, Delaware as the Exclusive Forum for Securities Act Claims, Could Limit Our Stockholders’ Ability to Obtain What Such Stockholders Believe To Be a Favorable Judicial Forum for Disputes with Us or Our Directors, Officers or Other Employees
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (i) the Delaware Court of Chancery or, if such court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware, will be the sole and exclusive forum with respect to (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, including a claim alleging the aiding and abetting of such a breach of fiduciary duty, (c) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents arising out of or relating to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), our certificate of incorporation or its amended and restated bylaws, (d) any action asserting a claim related to or involving us or any of our directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware, or (e) any action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the DGCL, and (ii) the U.S. Federal District Court in Wilmington County, Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any action arising under the Securities Act. Our choice-of-forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring an interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated bylaws. These choice-of-forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that he, she or it believes to be favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our amended and restated bylaws inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity
We believe that cybersecurity is a critical component of our enterprise risk management process, and as such, we have implemented a cybersecurity program to assess, identify, and manage risks from cybersecurity threats that may result in adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our information systems.
Our Board of Directors oversees management’s enterprise risk management process, including cybersecurity risks, to help align our risk exposure with our strategic objectives. Senior leadership, including our Chief Information Officer (CIO), regularly briefs the Board of Directors on our cybersecurity and information security, and we have processes by which certain cybersecurity incidents are escalated to the Board of Directors.
Our CIO, who reports to our Senior VP & Chief Financial Officer, oversees our cybersecurity function. The Cybersecurity Manager reports to the CIO, and the CIO and Cybersecurity Manager are responsible for assessing and managing risks from cybersecurity threats, as well as our overall information security strategy, policy, security engineering, operations, and cybersecurity threat detection and response, and reporting on cybersecurity matters to the Board and executive management.
Our CIO has a Master of Science in Information Systems and has served in various roles in information technology for over 25 years. Our Cybersecurity Manager has served in various roles in information technology and information security for over 25 years, with 10 of those years as the leader responsible for enterprise cybersecurity, including serving as the Information Security Officer at another larger publicly traded company.
Our CIO receives reports on cybersecurity threats from experienced information security personnel and third-party consultants and resources, and regularly reviews risk management measures implemented by the Company to identify and
19
mitigate data protection and cybersecurity risks. Our processes and systems include automated tools and technical safeguards managed and monitored by our cybersecurity team. Additionally, we have a set of Company-wide policies and procedures regarding cybersecurity matters, which include an Information Security best practices intranet site, as well as other policies that directly or indirectly relate to cybersecurity, such as policies related to email usage, remote network access, internet usage, passphrase usage, information technology acceptable use, data governance and privacy, and information security. These policies go through an internal review process and are approved by appropriate members of management. We periodically conduct penetration and vulnerability testing, data recovery testing, and security audits. We also conduct regular employee training on cybersecurity. With respect to our incident response, we have adopted a plan that applies in the event of a cybersecurity threat or incident to provide a framework for responding to such threats and incidents. Our plan sets out a coordinated approach to investigating, containing, documenting, and mitigating incidents, including reporting findings and keeping senior management and other key stakeholders informed and involved as appropriate. We also employ processes designed to oversee and identify risks from cybersecurity threats associated with our use of third-party service providers.
Risks from cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any previous cybersecurity incidents, have not materially affected us, including our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, but we face certain ongoing risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to have such an affect.
ITEM 2. Properties
We lease office space to support our operating segments, as well as our corporate offices. We also own a facility containing approximately 108,000 square feet of office space (approximately 21,000 square feet of which is currently being leased to third parties) on approximately 11 acres of land in Katy, Texas, which houses our division headquarters and general and administrative support personnel for both operating segments, the laboratory and technology center for the Fluids Systems segment, as well as administrative offices for third-party lessees.
Fluids Systems. We own or lease various facilities and warehouses throughout the world to support our operations. Some of these warehouses include blending facilities. We also lease approximately nine acres of industrial space in Fourchon, Louisiana which houses a drilling fluids shorebase and blending facility for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico market. During the fourth quarter of 2022, we entered a seven-year sublease of this property as we exited our Gulf of Mexico fluids operations.
Industrial Solutions. We own a facility containing approximately 93,000 square feet of industrial and office space on approximately 34 acres of land in Carencro, Louisiana, which houses our manufacturing facilities and technology center for this segment. We also own or lease various facilities and warehouses throughout the U.S., as well as facilities in the U.K., to support our field operations.
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings
In the ordinary course of conducting our business, we become involved in litigation and other claims from private party actions, as well as judicial and administrative proceedings involving governmental authorities at the federal, state, and local levels. While the outcome of litigation or other proceedings against us cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not expect that any loss resulting from such litigation or other proceedings, in excess of any amounts accrued or covered by insurance, will have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
20
PART II
ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NR.”
As of February 1, 2024, we had 1,072 stockholders of record as determined by our transfer agent.
We have not paid any dividends during the three most recent fiscal years or any subsequent interim period, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, our Amended ABL Facility contains covenants which limit the payment of dividends on our common stock. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Asset-Based Loan Facility.”
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph reflects a comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return of our common stock from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2023, with the New York Stock Exchange Market Value Index, a broad equity market index, and the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index. The graph assumes the investment of $100 on January 1, 2019 in our common stock and each index and the reinvestment of all dividends, if any. This information shall be deemed furnished but not filed in this Form 10-K, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference.
NOTE: Prepared by Zacks Investment Research, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright 1980-2024.
21
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table details our repurchases of shares of our common stock for the three months ended December 31, 2023:
During the three months ended December 31, 2023, we purchased an aggregate of 3,043 shares surrendered in lieu of taxes under vesting of restricted stock awards. During 2023, we purchased an aggregate of 576,967 shares surrendered in lieu of taxes under vesting of restricted stock awards. These shares were not acquired pursuant to our securities repurchase program described below. All of the shares purchased are held as treasury stock.
In November 2018, our Board of Directors authorized a securities repurchase program available for repurchases of any combination of our common stock and our unsecured convertible senior notes, which matured in December 2021. In February 2023, our Board of Directors approved certain changes to the repurchase program as well as additional capacity to increase the total authorization then available to $50.0 million. During the three months ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased 878,923 shares of our common stock under our repurchase program for a total cost of $6.0 million. During 2023, we repurchased 6,522,797 shares of our common stock under our repurchase program for a total cost of $31.9 million.
As of December 31, 2023, we had $18.1 million remaining under the program. In February 2024, our Board of Directors replaced the existing program with a new repurchase program for repurchases of common stock up to $50.0 million.
Our repurchase program is available to purchase outstanding shares of our common stock in the open market or as otherwise determined by management, subject to certain limitations under the Amended ABL Facility and other factors. The repurchase program has no specific term. Future repurchases are expected to be funded from operating cash flows, available cash on hand, and borrowings under our Amended ABL Facility. As part of the share repurchase program, our management has been authorized to establish trading plans under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
ITEM 6. [Reserved]
22
ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and capital resources should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Overview
We are a geographically diversified supplier providing environmentally-sensitive products, as well as rentals and services to customers across multiple industries. We currently operate our business through two reportable segments: Industrial Solutions and Fluids Systems, as described further below. In addition, we had a third reportable segment, Industrial Blending, which was exited in 2022. We have reflected these three reportable segments for all periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Over much of the past decade, while the Fluids Systems segment has been the primary driver of revenues, the Industrial Solutions segment has been the primary driver of operating income, cash flows, and financial returns. Consequently, our growth investments in recent years have been heavily concentrated in the Industrial Solutions segment. For 2023, the relative revenues, operating income, and capital expenditures for the Industrial Solutions and Fluids Systems segments for 2023 are as follows (amounts in millions):
* Fluids Systems segment operating income for 2023 includes $12.7 million in total charges for certain impairments, facility exit, severance costs, and transaction related expenses for the ongoing Fluids Systems segment sale process as described further below.
In June 2023, we announced that we initiated a review of strategic alternatives for the long-term positioning of the Fluids Systems division. We have retained Lazard to serve as our exclusive financial advisor in connection with the strategic review. In September 2023, we launched a formal sale process for substantially all the Fluids Systems business as part of this strategic review. While the sale process is ongoing, we anticipate substantially completing the process in mid-2024, although it is not certain that any such transaction will be consummated on that timeline or at all. As part of the strategic review, we will continue to evaluate under-performing areas within our business and anticipate additional actions may be necessary to optimize our operational footprint and invested capital within the Fluids Systems segment. If we successfully complete the process to substantially exit the Fluids Systems segment, our remaining operations will primarily reflect a specialty rental and service business, serving the utilities sector and other critical infrastructure markets. See further information below.
2023 Priorities
The following summarizes our performance against key priorities established for 2023:
•Accelerate Industrial Solutions Growth – We continued to prioritize investment capital in the growth of our Industrial Solutions business, where over the past several years, we have seen the strong market adoption of our specialty rental products and differentiated service offering. For 2023, 90% of our capital expenditures were directed to the Industrial Solutions segment. Industrial Solutions segment revenues were $207.6 million in 2023, reflecting an 8% increase from 2022, including a 12% increase in rental and services, with higher revenues seen broadly across all major industries served.
•Operational Excellence – We increased our focus on efficiency improvements and operating cost optimization across every aspect of our global footprint. With our simplified business model and enhanced focus on balance sheet optimization, we seek to improve returns and consistency in cash flow generation. During 2023, we generated $100.0 million of operating cash flow, which was partially driven by the effects of the 2022 divestitures and ongoing efforts to restructure or reduce the level of invested capital in underperforming business activities within the Fluids Systems segment. In addition, we have continually evaluated and executed actions intended to streamline the organization and our cost structure, driving reductions in overhead costs and improvements in profitability.
23
•Prioritize Return of Capital – We are committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet, using excess cash generation to reduce our debt and return value to our shareholders. During 2023, we utilized $47 million of cash generation for debt repayments and another $32 million to repurchase 6.5 million (7%) of our outstanding shares under our repurchase program.
Segment Overview
Industrial Solutions –Our Industrial Solutions segment, which generated 28% of our consolidated revenues and $53.0 million of operating income for 2023, provides temporary worksite access solutions, including the rental of our manufactured recyclable composite matting systems, along with related site construction and services to customers in various markets including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction and other industries, primarily in the United States and United Kingdom. We also sell our manufactured recyclable composite mats to customers around the world, with power transmission being the primary end-market. For the Industrial Solutions segment, approximately 75% of 2023 revenues were derived from power transmission and other industrial markets.
Our Industrial Solutions segment has been our primary source of operating income and cash generation in recent years, and has also been the primary focus for growth investments. The growth of our business in the power transmission and other industrial markets remains a strategic priority for us due to the relative stability of such markets compared to E&P, as well as the magnitude of growth opportunity in these markets, including the potential positive impact from the energy transition and future legislation and regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. We expect customer activity, particularly in the power transmission sector, will remain robust in the coming years, driven in part by the impacts of the U.S. energy transition and the increasing investment in grid reliance initiatives.
Fluids Systems – Our Fluids Systems segment, which generated 72% of our consolidated revenues and $11.9 million of operating income for 2023 (including $12.7 million in total charges for certain impairments, facility exit, severance costs, and transaction related expenses for the ongoing Fluids Systems segment sale process), provides drilling and completion fluids products and related technical services to customers for oil, natural gas, and geothermal projects primarily in North America and EMEA, as well as certain countries in Asia Pacific. Over the past few years, our primary focus within Fluids Systems has been the transformation into a more agile and simplified business focused on key markets, while monetizing assets in underperforming or sub-scale markets and reducing our invested capital to drive improvements in segment profitability and returns. As of December 31, 2023, the net working capital of the Fluids Systems segment was $171 million, which reflects a $69 million reduction from December 31, 2022.
Our Fluids Systems operating results remain dependent on oil and natural gas drilling activity levels in the markets we serve and the nature of the drilling operations, which governs the revenue potential of each well. Drilling activity levels depend on a variety of factors, including oil and natural gas commodity pricing, inventory levels, product demand, and regulatory restrictions. Oil and natural gas prices and activity are cyclical and volatile, and this market volatility has a significant impact on our Fluids Systems operating results.
Rig count data remains the most widely accepted indicator of drilling activity. Average North American rig count data for the last three years is as follows:
_______________________________________________________
Source: Baker Hughes
During 2021, oil prices and the average U.S. rig count steadily improved in the wake of COVID-19, and during 2022, oil prices and rig counts further increased due in part to global economic recovery and geopolitical events. In 2023, market activity in the U.S. steadily declined, ending the year at 622 active rigs, down 20% from the end of 2022. With recent instability in oil prices, the 2024 outlook for U.S. market activity generally remains below the 2023 average level, as many of our customers maintain strong capital discipline and prioritize cash flow generation over growth.
Outside of North America, drilling activity is generally more stable as this drilling activity is based on longer-term economic projections and multi-year drilling programs, which typically reduces the impact of short-term changes in commodity prices on overall drilling activity. Further, geopolitical events in recent years are causing several markets to increase drilling activity levels, to help ensure reliable energy supply in the coming years, while reducing their dependency on Russia-sourced oil and natural gas. Consequently, the outlook for several markets within the EMEA region remains strong, with growth in activity expected over the next few years.
24
Industrial Blending – Our Industrial Blending segment began operations in 2020 and supported industrial end-markets, including the production of disinfectants and industrial cleaning products. In the first quarter of 2022, we completed the wind down of the Industrial Blending business, and in November 2022 we completed the sale of the industrial blending assets.
2023 Strategic Actions
The following strategic actions were taken in 2023.
Review of Strategic Alternatives for Fluids Systems Business
As described above, we initiated a review of strategic alternatives for the long-term positioning of the Fluids Systems division in June 2023, and in September 2023, we launched a formal sale process for substantially all the Fluids Systems business as part of this strategic review. While the sale process is ongoing, we anticipate substantially completing the process in mid-2024, although it is not certain that any such transaction will be consummated on that timeline or at all. As part of this review, in the fourth quarter of 2023 we recognized a $2.5 million impairment charge (included in impairments and other charges) related to certain long-lived assets utilized in our U.S. operations. We also incurred $1.2 million and $0.6 million of transaction related costs in 2023 included in Corporate Office expenses and Fluids Systems segment operating income, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, the Fluids Systems business had approximately $227 million of net assets, including $38 million in cash, $13 million of debt, and $171 million of net working capital.
As we continue to evaluate strategic alternatives for our Fluids Systems portfolio, we may incur future charges related to these efforts or potential asset impairments, which may negatively impact our future results.
Exit of Stimulation Chemicals Product Line
In 2023, we made the decision to exit the stimulation chemicals product line. The Fluids Systems segment operating results for 2023 includes $1.6 million of total charges (included in impairments and other charges) for inventory write-downs to reduce the carrying values of certain inventory related to the exit of our stimulation chemicals product line to their net realizable value. As of December 31, 2023, we had $2.1 million of inventory remaining related to the stimulation chemicals product line.
Exit of Offshore Australia Operations
In 2023, we made the decision to exit our offshore Australia operations. The Fluids Systems segment operating results for 2023 includes $1.5 million of total charges (included in impairments and other charges) for inventory write-downs to reduce the carrying values of certain inventory related to the exit of our offshore Australia operations to their net realizable value as well as impairments related to the long-lived assets previously used in the now exited business. We expect to incur certain exit related costs of approximately $1 million from the exit of our offshore Australia operations in 2024.
Exit of Chile Operations
In 2023, we completed our customer contract in Chile, and during the fourth quarter of 2023, we completed the substantial liquidation of our Chile subsidiary and recognized an $0.8 million non-cash charge (included in impairments and other charges) for the reclassification of cumulative foreign currency translation losses related to our subsidiary in Chile.
2022 Strategic Actions
The following strategic actions were taken in 2022.
Exit of Industrial Blending Segment and Sale of Conroe, Texas Blending Facility
In the first quarter of 2022, we exited our Industrial Blending operations. In November 2022, we completed the sale of the industrial blending assets for cash proceeds of approximately $14 million. In connection with this divestiture, we recognized a $7.9 million impairment charge related to these long-lived assets in the second quarter of 2022 (included in impairments and other charges), and subsequently recognized a gain of $2.6 million upon the eventual sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Sale of Excalibar U.S. Mineral Grinding Business
In November 2022, we completed the sale of substantially all the long-lived assets, inventory, and operations of our Excalibar U.S. mineral grinding business (“Excalibar”), which was reported within our Fluids Systems segment, to Cimbar Resources, INC. (“Cimbar”), for cash proceeds (after purchase price adjustments) of approximately $51 million and recognized a gain of $1.0 million. The Company retained certain assets and liabilities, including accounts receivable and accounts payable, the wind down of which was substantially completed in the first quarter of 2023. Such working capital provided approximately $10 million of cash generation in the fourth quarter of 2022 and approximately $6 million of additional cash generation in the
25
first quarter of 2023. In connection with the sale, the Company and Cimbar entered into a long-term barite supply agreement for certain regions of our U.S. drilling fluids business, with an initial term of four years following the closing of the transaction.
Exit of Gulf of Mexico Operations
In December 2022, we completed the sale of substantially all assets associated with our Gulf of Mexico completion fluids operations. Separately, we entered into a seven-year arrangement to sublease our Fourchon, LA drilling fluids shorebase and blending facility to a leading global energy services provider. As part of this arrangement, substantially all of our Gulf of Mexico drilling fluids inventory has been sold to the lessee as consumed. These transactions provided cash generation of approximately $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and approximately $28 million in 2023. Fluids Systems segment operating income for 2023 includes $4.8 million in charges related to the exit of our Gulf of Mexico operations, which was substantially completed during the second quarter of 2023.
As a result of the plan to exit the Gulf of Mexico operations as described above, we considered the third quarter 2022 developments to be a potential indicator of impairment that required us to complete an impairment evaluation. Accordingly, we estimated the fair value for our Gulf of Mexico assets as of September 30, 2022 based on the expected cash flows to be generated from the anticipated transactions and determined that a $21.5 million impairment charge was required related to the long-lived assets. We also recognized an $8.0 million charge to reduce the carrying value of inventory to their net realizable value primarily based on the anticipated transactions. The total charges of $29.4 million were recorded to impairments and other charges in the third quarter of 2022.
26
Total impairments and other charges are shown in the following table:
Year Ended December 31,
Fluids U.S. Land - Long-lived assets impairment 2,485 —
Stimulation chemicals product line - Inventory write-downs 1,576 —
Australia - Inventory write-downs 1,058 —
Australia - Long-lived assets impairment 439 —
Chile exit - Recognition of cumulative foreign currency translation losses 798 —
Industrial Blending - Long-lived assets impairment — 7,905
Gulf of Mexico - Long-lived assets impairment — 21,461
Gulf of Mexico - Inventory write-downs — 7,956
Total impairments and other charges $ 6,356 $ 37,322
Summarized operating results of the business units exited in 2022 (including impairments and other charges described above) are shown in the following table:
Year Ended December 31,
Revenues
Industrial Blending $ — $ — $ 8,821
Operating income (loss)
Industrial Blending $ — $ (8,002) $ (2,384)
Summarized net assets related to the business units exited in 2022 are shown in the following table:
(In thousands) December 31, 2022
Accounts payable (2,060)
Accrued liabilities (311)
The net assets remaining as of December 31, 2022 related to the retained working capital from the Excalibar sale and the remaining Gulf of Mexico net assets. During 2023, we substantially settled the above net assets related to the now exited Excalibar business and Gulf of Mexico operations.
27
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022
Consolidated Results of Operations
Summarized results of operations for 2023 compared to 2022 are as follows:
Foreign currency exchange loss 267 389 (122) NM
Revenues
Revenues decreased 8% to $749.6 million for 2023, compared to $815.6 million for 2022. This $66.0 million decrease includes a $118.8 million (20%) decrease in North America, comprised of a $133.0 million decrease in the Fluids Systems segment partially offset by a $14.2 million increase in the Industrial Solutions segment. In our Fluids Systems segment, revenues from North America operations decreased primarily due to a $82.7 million impact from the divested business units, as well as the effect of lower market share and reduced U.S. market activity. In our Industrial Solutions segment, revenues from North America operations increased primarily due to an increase in rental and services revenues. Revenues from our international operations increased by $52.8 million (24%), driven primarily by higher activity in Europe and Africa. Additional information regarding the change in revenues is provided within the operating segment results below.
Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues decreased 12% to $611.1 million for 2023, compared to $694.1 million for 2022 which included $90.7 million of cost of revenues from divested business units. This $83.0 million decrease in cost of revenues was primarily driven by the 8% decrease in revenues described above, as well as the impact of segment revenue mix, with Industrial Solutions representing a higher proportion of revenues for 2023, as compared to the prior year.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $3.5 million to $101.1 million for 2023, compared to $97.6 million for 2022. This increase was primarily driven by a $1.9 million increase in severance costs and a $1.4 million increase in expenses related to strategic planning projects. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues was 13.5% for 2023 compared to 12.0% for 2022. Selling, general and administrative expenses in 2022 included $1.8 million of costs within divested business units.
28
Other operating income, net
Other operating income, net for 2023 primarily reflects gains and losses associated with the sale of assets, including assets previously used in divested businesses, as well as lease income on office space from third-party lessees. Other operating income, net for 2022 includes $3.6 million of total gains on divestitures, including $2.6 million in the Industrial Blending segment for the sale of the Conroe, Texas blending facility and $1.0 million in the Fluids Systems segment for the Excalibar sale. See Note 2 for additional details.
Impairments and other charges
For 2023, the Fluids Systems segment includes $5.6 million of non-cash charges for long-lived asset impairments and inventory write-downs, as well as an $0.8 million non-cash charge for the reclassification of cumulative foreign currency translation losses related to the substantial liquidation of our subsidiary in Chile.
For 2022, the Fluids Systems segment included $29.4 million of total non-cash impairment charges related to the long-lived assets and inventory associated with the exit of our Gulf of Mexico operations. In addition, the Industrial Blending segment included a $7.9 million non-cash impairment charge related to the process to sell the assets previously used in this now exited business.
Foreign currency exchange
Foreign currency exchange was a $0.3 million loss for 2023 compared to a $0.4 million loss for 2022, and reflects the impact of currency translation for assets and liabilities (including intercompany balances) that are denominated in currencies other than functional currencies.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense was $8.2 million for 2023 compared to $7.0 million for 2022. The increase in interest expense is primarily due to an increase in benchmark borrowing rates partially offset by a decrease in average debt outstanding.
Provision for income taxes
The provision for income taxes was $10.7 million for 2023, reflecting an effective tax rate of 42%. The 2023 provision primarily reflects income taxes associated with our international operations, including the impact from the geographic composition of our earnings, and was unfavorably impacted by losses in certain international jurisdictions in which we are unable to recognize a related tax benefit, partially offset by the benefit associated with a partial valuation allowance release to recognize a portion of previously unbenefited U.S. net operating losses. The provision for income taxes was $4.4 million for 2022, which included an income tax benefit of $3.1 million related to the restructuring of certain subsidiary legal entities within Europe, as the undistributed earnings for an international subsidiary are no longer subject to certain taxes upon future distribution. The 2022 provision for income taxes primarily reflects the impact from the geographic composition of our earnings and was unfavorably impacted as we are unable to recognize a tax benefit related to the $37.3 million in total impairment charges.
29
Operating Segment Results
Summarized financial information for our reportable segments is shown in the following table (net of inter-segment transfers):
Revenues
Industrial Blending — — — — %
Operating income (loss)
Segment operating margin
Fluids Systems 2.2 % (2.5) %
Industrial Solutions 25.5 % 22.7 %
Fluids Systems
Revenues
Total revenues for this segment consisted of the following:
North America revenues decreased 32% to $283.6 million for 2023, compared to $416.5 million for 2022, primarily related to the divested business units as well as a decline in U.S. land activity. For 2022, U.S. revenues included $56.0 million from the U.S. mineral grinding business and $26.7 million from offshore Gulf of Mexico, which were exited in 2022. Revenues from U.S. land decreased $57.3 million, primarily as a result of lower market share and reduced market activity. In addition, Canada revenues increased $7.1 million driven primarily by elevated product consumption per rig partially offset by a slight decline in market share, which typically fluctuates based on customer mix and timing of projects.
International revenues increased 25% to $258.4 million for 2023, compared to $206.1 million for 2022. The increase was primarily driven by higher customer activity and elevated product consumption per rig in Europe and Africa.
30
Operating income (loss)
The Fluids Systems segment generated operating income of $11.9 million for 2023 compared to an operating loss of $15.6 million incurred for 2022. The Fluids Systems segment operating income for 2023 includes $12.7 million in total charges for certain impairments, facility exit, severance costs, and transaction related expenses for the ongoing Fluids Systems segment sale process. The Fluids Systems segment operating loss for 2022 included $29.4 million of total non-cash impairment charges, as well as operating losses of $10.1 million related to the divested business units. Excluding these items, the $0.7 million improvement in operating income primarily reflects the impact of the increase in revenues in EMEA and benefits of strategic actions and cost reduction efforts in the U.S., substantially offset by the decrease in U.S. revenues.
Industrial Solutions
Revenues
Total revenues for this segment consisted of the following:
Rental and service revenues increased by 12% for 2023, primarily reflecting increases in rental volume and service revenues, and was driven by our continued market penetration across all major industries served in the U.S. Product sales revenues decreased slightly for 2023, with continued strong demand across sectors, including utilities. Product sales typically fluctuate based on the timing of customer projects and orders.
Operating income
The Industrial Solutions segment generated operating income of $53.0 million for 2023 compared to $43.9 million for 2022, the increase being primarily attributable to incremental profitability associated with revenue growth, including the effects of improved operating cost leverage from increased manufacturing, rental, and service activity.
Industrial Blending
As described above, the Industrial Blending operating loss for 2022 included a $7.9 million non-cash charge for the impairment of the long-lived assets as well as exit and other costs related to the process to sell these assets, partially offset by a $2.6 million gain subsequently recognized upon the eventual sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Corporate Office
Corporate office expenses increased to $31.2 million for 2023, compared to $29.4 million for 2022. Corporate office expenses for 2023 includes approximately $2.9 million of expenses related to strategic planning projects, including $1.2 million of transaction related expenses for the ongoing Fluids Systems segment sale process, as well as $1.2 million of severance costs, while 2022 included $1.1 million associated with shareholder matters and acquisition and divestiture efforts.
31
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
Consolidated Results of Operations
Summarized results of operations for 2022 compared to 2021 are as follows:
Foreign currency exchange (gain) loss 389 (397) 786 NM
Loss on extinguishment of debt — 1,000 (1,000) NM
Revenues
Revenues increased 33% to $815.6 million for 2022, compared to $614.8 million for 2021. This $200.8 million increase includes a $146.2 million (32%) increase in revenues in North America, comprised of a $141.2 million increase in the Fluids Systems segment and a $13.7 million increase in the Industrial Solutions segment, partially offset by a $8.8 million decrease in the Industrial Blending segment, which we exited in 2022. Revenues from our North America operations increased primarily due to the improvement in North America rig count, which favorably impacted our Fluids Systems segment, and an increase in rental and service revenues in our Industrial Solutions segment. Revenues from our international operations increased by $54.7 million (33%), as the prior year was unfavorably impacted by activity disruptions and project delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by a $20.8 million decrease in revenues from currency exchange rate changes resulting from the strengthening U.S. dollar. Consolidated revenues included $82.7 million of revenues from divested business units for 2022, compared to $70.6 million for 2021. Additional information regarding the change in revenues is provided within the Operating Segment Results below.
Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues increased 31% to $694.1 million for 2022, compared to $529.6 million for 2021. This $164.5 million increase was primarily driven by the 33% increase in revenues described above. Consolidated cost of revenues included $90.7 million of cost of revenues from divested business units for 2022, compared to $73.1 million for 2021.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $3.2 million to $97.6 million for 2022, compared to $94.4 million for 2021. This increase was primarily driven by higher personnel expense, as well as higher legal and professional expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues was 12.0% for 2022 compared to 15.4% for 2021. Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses included $1.8 million of costs related to divested business units for 2022, compared to $2.1 million for 2021.
32
Other operating income, net
Other operating income, net for 2022 includes $3.6 million of total gains on divestitures, including $2.6 million in the Industrial Blending segment for the sale of the Conroe, Texas blending facility and $1.0 million in the Fluids Systems segment for the Excalibar sale. See Note 2 for additional details. Other operating income, net for 2021 included gains associated with sales of assets, along with insurance and a legal settlement in the Industrial Solutions segment, largely offset by a $2.6 million charge associated with Hurricane Ida in August 2021 that caused damage to our Fourchon, Louisiana Fluids Systems operating base.
Impairments and other charges
As described above, 2022 includes $29.4 million of total non-cash impairment charges related to the long-lived assets and inventory associated with the exit of our Fluids Systems Gulf of Mexico operations, as well as a $7.9 million non-cash impairment charge related to the exit of our Industrial Blending operations.
Foreign currency exchange
Foreign currency exchange was a $0.4 million loss for 2022 compared to a $0.4 million gain for 2021 and reflects the impact of currency translation for assets and liabilities (including intercompany balances) that are denominated in currencies other than functional currencies.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense was $7.0 million for 2022 compared to $8.8 million for 2021. Interest expense for 2022 and 2021 included $0.9 million and $3.7 million, respectively, in non-cash amortization of original issue discount and debt issuance costs. The decrease in interest expense is primarily due to the 2021 repayment of our Convertible Notes using borrowings under the ABL Facility, partially offset by the increase in benchmark borrowing rates as well as an increase in average debt outstanding during 2022, in support of the higher working capital associated with the 33% revenue growth.
Loss on extinguishment of debt
In 2021, we repurchased $28.3 million, respectively, of our Convertible Notes in the open market for $28.1 million. The $1.0 million loss for 2021 reflects the difference in the amount paid and the net carrying value of the extinguished debt, including original issue discount and debt issuance costs.
Provision for income taxes
The provision for income taxes was $4.4 million for 2022, which includes an income tax benefit of $3.1 million related to the restructuring of certain subsidiary legal entities within Europe, as the undistributed earnings for an international subsidiary are no longer subject to certain taxes upon future distribution. The provision for income taxes in 2022 was unfavorably impacted as we are unable to recognize a tax benefit related to the $37.3 million in total impairment charges. The provision for income taxes was $7.3 million for 2021 despite reporting a pretax loss for the period. In both years, income tax expense primarily reflects earnings from our international operations since we are unable to recognize the tax benefit from our U.S. losses as they may not be realized.
33
Operating Segment Results
Summarized financial information for our reportable segments is shown in the following table (net of inter-segment transfers):
Revenues
Operating income (loss)
Segment operating margin
Fluids Systems (2.5) % (4.5) %
Industrial Solutions 22.7 % 22.7 %
Industrial Blending NM (27.0) %
Fluids Systems
Revenues
Total revenues for this segment consisted of the following:
North America revenues increased 51% to $416.5 million for 2022, compared to $275.3 million for 2021. The increase includes a $126.7 million increase from U.S. land markets driven primarily by the 52% increase in U.S. rig count, partially offset by lower market share, while offshore Gulf of Mexico increased $1.3 million. In addition, Canada revenues increased $13.1 million driven primarily by the 34% increase in Canada rig count. For 2022, U.S. revenues included $328.4 million from land markets, including $56.0 million from the Excalibar business, and $26.7 million from offshore Gulf of Mexico. For 2021, U.S. revenues included $201.9 million from land markets, including $36.4 million from the Excalibar business, and $25.4 million from offshore Gulf of Mexico.
Internationally, revenues increased 42% to $206.1 million for 2022, compared to $145.5 million for 2021. The increase was primarily driven by higher activity in Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region following a significant impact in 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic, as described above, partially offset by a $19.3 million decrease in revenues from currency exchange rate changes.
34
Operating loss
The Fluids Systems segment incurred an operating loss of $15.6 million for 2022, which includes $29.4 million of total non-cash impairment charges, compared to a $19.0 million operating loss incurred in 2021. The Fluids Systems segment operating loss for 2022 includes $1.4 million of charges primarily related to facility exit and severance costs, and the operating loss for 2021 included $5.5 million of charges primarily related to self-insured costs associated with Hurricane Ida damage to our Fourchon, Louisiana Fluids Systems operating base, facility exit, and severance costs. The change in operating loss includes a $33.3 million improvement from North America land markets (reflecting an incremental margin of 24%) along with a $6.9 million improvement from international operations (reflecting an incremental margin of 11%), driven primarily by the revenue improvement described above, partially offset by a $36.5 million decline for the Gulf of Mexico (including impairments). The international operating results reflect the impact of inflationary cost pressures from certain international contracts in which customer pricing is fixed.
Industrial Solutions
Revenues
Total revenues for this segment consisted of the following:
Revenues from product sales decreased by $8.1 million from 2021, as 2021 was favorably impacted by pent-up customer demand following the delays in purchases and project execution associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rental and service revenues increased by 13% from 2021, as continued market penetration of the power transmission sector in the U.S. was partially offset by lower activity in the U.K.
Operating income
The Industrial Solutions segment generated operating income of $43.9 million for 2022 compared to $42.1 million for 2021. The 2021 operating results included a $1.0 million gain associated with a legal settlement. The remaining $2.8 million increase is primarily attributable to the growth in revenues described above, partially offset by the effects of lower average pricing associated with large scale rental projects.
Industrial Blending
We completed the wind down of the Industrial Blending business and the sale of the associated warehouse facility and related equipment in 2022, as described above. The operating loss for 2022 includes a $7.9 million non-cash charge for the impairment of the long-lived assets as well as exit and other costs related to the process to sell these assets, partially offset by a $2.6 million gain subsequently recognized upon the eventual sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Corporate Office
Corporate office expenses decreased slightly to $29.4 million for 2022 compared to $29.5 million for 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by lower stock-based compensation expense partially offset by higher performance-based incentives and personnel expense.
35
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Net cash provided by operating activities was $100.0 million for 2023 compared to net cash used in operating activities of $25.0 million for 2022. During 2023, net income adjusted for non-cash items provided cash of $57.2 million and changes in working capital provided cash of $42.8 million. The cash provided by reductions in work working capital was primarily driven by Fluids Systems segment reductions in U.S. land, along with the wind down of retained working capital associated with the fourth quarter 2022 divestiture transactions.
Net cash used in investing activities was $5.7 million for 2023, including $29.2 million in capital expenditures partially offset by $19.8 million in proceeds received related to our fourth quarter of 2022 divestitures (see Note 2 for additional information), as well as $3.7 million in proceeds from the sale of assets, which includes the sale of used mats from our Industrial Solutions rental fleet. The substantial majority of our capital expenditures were directed to expanding our Industrial Solutions segment rental fleet. Net cash provided by investing activities was $46.2 million for 2022, which included $71.3 million in proceeds from 2022 divestitures as well as $3.2 million in proceeds from the sale of assets, partially offset by capital expenditures of $28.3 million.
Net cash used in financing activities was $81.0 million for 2023, which includes $47.4 million in net repayments on our Amended ABL Facility and other financing arrangements and $32.0 million in share purchases under our repurchase program. Net cash used in financing activities was $24.9 million for 2022, which included $17.6 million in share purchases under our repurchase program.
Substantially all our $38.6 million of cash on hand at December 31, 2023 resides in our international subsidiaries. We primarily manage our liquidity utilizing availability under our Amended ABL Facility and other existing financing arrangements. Under our Amended ABL Facility, we manage daily cash requirements by utilizing borrowings or repayments under this revolving credit facility, while maintaining minimal cash on hand in the U.S. As of February 22, 2024, our total borrowing availability under the Amended ABL Facility was $116.8 million, of which $45.6 million was drawn and $4.0 million was used for outstanding letters of credit, resulting in remaining availability of $67.2 million.
We expect total availability under the Amended ABL Facility to fluctuate directionally based on the level of eligible U.S. accounts receivable, inventory, and composite mats included in the rental fleet. We expect the projected availability under our Amended ABL Facility and other existing financing arrangements, cash generated by operations, and available cash on-hand in our international subsidiaries to be adequate to fund our current operations during the next 12 months.
We anticipate that our near-term working capital requirements for our operations will generally fluctuate directionally with revenues. We expect capital expenditures in 2024 will remain fairly in line with 2023 levels, with spending heavily focused on the expansion of our mat rental fleet. We also expect to return value to our shareholders, utilizing excess cash generation to fund additional share repurchases. In addition, if we are successful in completing the process to substantially exit the Fluids Systems business, we anticipate the proceeds to be used to repay a substantial portion of our existing outstanding debt and increase our cash on-hand, providing additional liquidity to fund our long-term strategic initiatives.
Our capitalization is as follows:
Unamortized discount and debt issuance costs (60) (134)
Total debt to capitalization 15.3 % 21.2 %
Asset-Based Loan Facility. In October 2017, we entered into a U.S. asset-based revolving credit agreement, which was amended in March 2019 and amended and restated in May 2022 (the “Amended ABL Facility”). The Amended ABL Facility provides financing of up to $175.0 million available for borrowings (inclusive of letters of credit), which can be increased up to $250.0 million, subject to certain conditions. The Amended ABL Facility has a five-year term expiring May 2027, is based on a Bloomberg Short-Term Bank Yield Index (“BSBY”) pricing grid, and includes a mechanism to incorporate a sustainability-linked pricing framework with the consent of the required lenders (as defined in the Amended ABL Facility).
36
As of December 31, 2023, our total availability under the Amended ABL Facility was $109.2 million, of which $45.0 million was drawn and $4.0 million was used for outstanding letters of credit, resulting in remaining availability of $60.2 million.
Borrowing availability under the Amended ABL Facility is calculated based on eligible U.S. accounts receivable, inventory and composite mats included in the rental fleet, net of reserves and subject to limits on certain of the assets included in the borrowing base calculation. To the extent pledged by the borrowers, the borrowing base calculation also includes the amount of eligible pledged cash. The administrative agent may establish reserves in accordance with the Amended ABL Facility, in part based on appraisals of the asset base, and other limits in its discretion, which could reduce the amounts otherwise available under the Amended ABL Facility.
Under the terms of the Amended ABL Facility, we may elect to borrow at a variable interest rate based on either, (1) the BSBY rate (subject to a floor of zero) or (2) the base rate (subject to a floor of zero), equal to the highest of (a) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (b) the prime rate of Bank of America, N.A., and (c) BSBY for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, plus, in each case, an applicable margin per annum. The applicable margin ranges from 1.50% to 2.00% per annum for BSBY borrowings, and 0.50% to 1.00% per annum for base rate borrowings, based on the consolidated leverage ratio (as defined in the Amended ABL Facility) as of the last day of the most recent fiscal quarter. We are also required to pay a commitment fee equal to (i) 0.375% per annum at any time the average daily unused portion of the commitments is greater than 50% and (ii) 0.25% per annum at any time the average daily unused portion of the commitments is less than 50%.
As of December 31, 2023, the applicable margin for borrowings under the Amended ABL Facility was 1.50% with respect to BSBY borrowings and 0.50% with respect to base rate borrowings. As of December 31, 2023, the weighted average interest rate for the Amended ABL Facility was 6.9% and the applicable commitment fee on the unused portion of the Amended ABL Facility was 0.375% per annum.
The Amended ABL Facility is a senior secured obligation of the Company and certain of our U.S. subsidiaries constituting borrowers thereunder, secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the personal property and certain real property of the borrowers, including a first priority lien on certain equity interests of direct or indirect domestic subsidiaries of the borrowers and certain equity interests issued by certain foreign subsidiaries of the borrowers.
The Amended ABL Facility contains customary representations, warranties and covenants that, among other things, and subject to certain specified circumstances and exceptions, restrict or limit the ability of the borrowers and certain of their subsidiaries to incur indebtedness (including guarantees), grant liens, make investments, pay dividends or distributions with respect to capital stock and make other restricted payments, make prepayments on certain indebtedness, engage in mergers or other fundamental changes, dispose of property, and change the nature of their business.
The Amended ABL Facility requires compliance with the following financial covenants: (i) a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.00 to 1.00 for the most recently completed four fiscal quarters and (ii) while a leverage covenant trigger period (as defined in the Amended ABL Facility) is in effect, a maximum consolidated leverage ratio of 4.00 to 1.00 as of the last day of the most recently completed fiscal quarter.
The Amended ABL Facility includes customary events of default including non-payment of principal, interest or fees, violation of covenants, inaccuracy of representations or warranties, cross-default to other material indebtedness, bankruptcy and insolvency events, invalidity or impairment of security interests or invalidity of loan documents, certain ERISA events, unsatisfied or unstayed judgments and change of control.
37
Other Financing Arrangements. Certain of our foreign subsidiaries maintain local credit arrangements consisting primarily of lines of credit or overdraft facilities which are generally renewed on an annual basis. We utilize local financing arrangements in our foreign operations in order to provide short-term local liquidity needs. In addition, in April 2022, a U.K. subsidiary entered a £7.0 million term loan and a £2.0 million revolving credit facility. Both the term loan and revolving credit facility mature in April 2025 and bear interest at a rate of Sterling Overnight Index Average plus a margin of 3.25% per year. As of December 31, 2023, the interest rate for the U.K. facilities was 8.7%. The term loan is payable in quarterly installments of £350,000 plus interest beginning June 2022 and a £2.8 million payment due at maturity. We also maintain finance leases primarily related to transportation equipment.
In August 2021, we completed sale-leaseback transactions related to certain vehicles and other equipment for net proceeds of approximately $7.9 million. The transactions have been accounted for as financing arrangements as they did not qualify for sale accounting. As a result, the vehicles and other equipment continue to be reflected on our balance sheet in property, plant and equipment, net. The financing arrangements have a weighted average annual interest rate of 5.4% and are payable in monthly installments with varying maturities through October 2025.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any special purpose entities. At December 31, 2023, we had $39.8 million in outstanding letters of credit, performance bonds, and other guarantees for which certain of the letters of credit are collateralized by $0.3 million in restricted cash. We also enter into normal short-term operating leases for office and warehouse space, as well as certain operating equipment. None of these off-balance sheet arrangements either has, or is expected to have, a material effect on our financial statements.
Contractual Obligations
A summary of our outstanding contractual and other obligations and commitments at December 31, 2023 is as follows:
Amended ABL Facility $ — $ — $ — $ 45,000 $ — $ — $ 45,000
Trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities (2) 114,609 — — — — — 114,609
(1)Financing obligations, finance lease liabilities, and operating lease liabilities represent the undiscounted future payments.
(2)Excludes the current portion of operating lease liabilities.
(3)Table does not allocate by year expected tax payments, asset retirement obligations, and uncertain tax positions due to the inability to make reasonably reliable estimates of the timing of future cash settlements.
We anticipate that the obligations and commitments listed above that are due in less than one year will be paid from the projected availability under our Amended ABL Facility and other existing financing arrangements, cash generated by operations, and available cash on-hand in our international subsidiaries, subject to covenant compliance and certain restrictions as further discussed above. The specific timing of settlement for certain long-term obligations cannot be reasonably estimated.
38
Critical Accounting Policies
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Significant estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include estimated cash flows and fair values used for impairments of long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangibles, and valuation allowances for deferred tax assets. See Note 1 in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for a discussion of the accounting policies for each of these matters. Our estimates are based on historical experience and on our future expectations that we believe to be reasonable. The combination of these factors forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from our current estimates and those differences may be material.
We believe the critical accounting policies described below affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in preparing the consolidated financial statements.
Impairment of Long-lived Assets
As of December 31, 2023, our consolidated balance sheet includes $195.3 million of property, plant and equipment and $17.1 million of finite-lived intangible assets. We review property, plant and equipment, finite-lived intangible assets and certain other assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. We assess recoverability based on the undiscounted future net cash flows expected from the use and eventual disposition of such asset. Should the review indicate that the carrying value is not fully recoverable, the amount of impairment loss is determined by comparing the carrying value to the estimated fair value.
Fluids Systems Operations
In June 2023, we announced that we engaged Lazard to assist us in a review of strategic alternatives for our Fluids Systems division, and in September 2023, we launched a formal sale process for substantially all the Fluids Systems business as part of this strategic review. As of December 31, 2023, the Fluids Systems business had approximately $227 million of net assets, including $171 million of net working capital and $44 million of long-lived assets, as well as $38 million in cash and $13 million of debt. While the sale process is ongoing, we considered fourth quarter 2023 developments in the sale process to be a potential indicator of impairment that required us to complete an impairment evaluation. The ongoing Fluids sale process did not meet the held for sale accounting criteria as of December 31, 2023, and as such, continued to be accounted for as held for use. Accordingly, we completed the impairment evaluation for the geographic asset groups of the Fluids Systems business and determined that the carrying value exceeded the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows for only the U.S. Land asset group.
We estimated the fair value for the U.S. Land asset group as of December 31, 2023 based on the expected cash flows to be generated from the anticipated use and eventual disposition of such asset group. We estimated the fair value of the long-lived assets of the U.S. Land asset group, requiring us to recognize a $2.5 million impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the U.S. Land asset group had approximately $62 million of net assets, including $58 million of net working capital and $11 million of long-lived assets, as well as $3 million of debt.
Estimating future net cash flows of the geographic asset groups of our Fluids Systems business, as well as the fair value of the U.S. Land asset group and the long-lived assets within such group, required us to make judgments regarding the likelihood of possible outcomes and cash flows of the ongoing sale process, future revenue and costs related to the assets subject to review, and the use and eventual disposition of such assets. These judgments are uncertain in that they require assumptions about the potential outcomes for the eventual disposition of the assets from the ongoing Fluids Systems sale process, as well as forecasts for the demand for our products and services, future market conditions, and technological development. Depending on the actual outcome of the Fluids Systems sale process, or changes in these assumptions, our expectations regarding future net cash flows may change and a material impairment could result.
39
Conroe, Texas Blending Facility
In connection with the 2022 wind down of the Industrial Blending business and sales process associated with the industrial blending and warehouse facility and related equipment as described above, we recognized a $7.9 million impairment charge to impairments and other charges related to these long-lived assets in the second quarter of 2022, and subsequently recognized a gain of $2.6 million upon the eventual sale in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Gulf of Mexico Operations
In the third quarter of 2022, our Board of Directors approved management’s plan to exit our Fluids Systems Gulf of Mexico operations, including the potential sale of related assets. As a result of the plan to exit the Gulf of Mexico operations as described above, we considered the third quarter of 2022 developments to be a potential indicator of impairment that required us to complete an impairment evaluation. Accordingly, we estimated the fair value for our Gulf of Mexico assets as of September 30, 2022 based on the expected cash flows to be generated from the anticipated transactions and determined that a $21.5 million impairment charge for the third quarter of 2022 was required related to the long-lived assets. While there are inherent uncertainties and management judgment in estimating the fair value of long-lived assets including the discount rate, the estimated future cash flows for these assets primarily relate to the rental income from the agreement for a seven-year sublease of our Fourchon, Louisiana drilling fluids shorebase and blending facility net of the lease payments for our existing lease of such shorebase facility.
As of December 31, 2023, our consolidated balance sheet includes $47.3 million of goodwill, all of which relates to the Industrial Solutions segment. Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually as of November 1, or more frequently, if indicators of impairment exist. As part of our annual goodwill review, we first perform a qualitative assessment based on company performance and future business outlook to determine if indicators of impairment exist. When there are qualitative indicators of impairment, we use an impairment test which includes a comparison of the carrying value of net assets of our reporting units, including goodwill, with their estimated fair values, which we estimate using a combination of a market multiple and discounted cash flow approach (classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy). In completing the annual evaluation during the fourth quarter of 2023, we determined that the fair value of the Industrial Solutions reporting unit was significantly more than the net carrying value, and therefore, no impairment was required.
Income Taxes
We had total deferred tax assets of $77.3 million and $71.9 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. A valuation allowance must be established to offset a deferred tax asset if, based on available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. We have considered future taxable income and tax planning strategies in assessing the need for our valuation allowance. At December 31, 2023, we had a total valuation allowance of $49.2 million, which includes a valuation allowance on $29.3 million of net operating loss carryforwards for certain U.S. federal, state and foreign jurisdictions, as well as a valuation allowance of $13.0 million for foreign tax credits and research and development credits. Changes in the expected future generation of qualifying taxable income within these jurisdictions or in the realizability of other tax assets may result in an adjustment to the valuation allowance, which would be charged or credited to income in the period this determination was made.
We file income tax returns in the U.S. and several non-U.S. jurisdictions and are subject to examination in the various jurisdictions in which we file. We are no longer subject to income tax examinations for U.S. federal and substantially all state jurisdictions for years prior to 2019 and for substantially all foreign jurisdictions for years prior to 2008.
We are under examination by various tax authorities in countries where we operate, and certain foreign jurisdictions have challenged the amounts of taxes due for certain tax periods. These audits are in various stages of completion. We fully cooperate with all audits but defend existing positions vigorously. We evaluate the potential exposure associated with various filing positions and record a liability for uncertain tax positions as circumstances warrant. Although we believe all tax positions are reasonable and properly reported in accordance with applicable tax laws and regulations in effect during the periods involved, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different than that which is reflected in historical income tax provisions and accruals.
New Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1 in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for a discussion of new accounting pronouncements.
40
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates and changes in foreign currency exchange rates. A discussion of our primary market risk exposure in financial instruments is presented below.
Interest Rate Risk
At December 31, 2023, we had total principal amounts outstanding under financing arrangements of $75.1 million, including $45.0 million of borrowings under our Amended ABL Facility, $7.8 million of borrowings under a U.K. term loan and credit facility, and $4.3 million under certain other international credit facilities, which are subject to variable interest rates as determined by the respective debt agreements. The weighted average interest rates at December 31, 2023 for the Amended ABL Facility, U.K. debt, and other international credit facilities was 6.9%, 8.4%, and 8.6%, respectively. Based on the balance of variable rate debt at December 31, 2023, a 100 basis-point increase in short-term interest rates would have increased annual pre-tax interest expense by $0.6 million.
Foreign Currency Risk
Our principal foreign operations are conducted in certain areas of EMEA, Canada, and Asia Pacific. We have foreign currency exchange risks associated with these operations, which are conducted principally in the foreign currency of the jurisdictions in which we operate including European euros, Canadian dollars, Kuwaiti dinar, Algerian dinar, Romanian leu, British pounds, and Australian dollars. Historically, we have not used off-balance sheet financial hedging instruments to manage foreign currency risks when we enter into a transaction denominated in a currency other than our local currencies.
41
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Newpark Resources, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Newpark Resources, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 23, 2024, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
42
Long-lived Assets – Review of Strategic Alternatives for Fluids Systems Business— Refer to Notes 2 and 4 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company initiated a review of strategic alternatives for the long-term positioning of the Fluids Systems division in June 2023 and in September 2023 launched a formal sale process for substantially all the Fluids Systems business as part of this strategic review. As part of this review, $2.5 million of total charges were recorded related to the impairment of certain long-lived assets utilized in Fluids U.S. Land.
We identified impairment for Fluids U.S. Land as a critical audit matter due to the materiality of the long-lived assets balances, high degree of auditor judgment, an increased level of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s assumptions in determining the future net cash flows, and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve fair value specialists.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the evaluation of the Company’s impairment analysis for long-lived assets within the Fluids U.S. Land asset group included the following, among others:
•Reviewed minutes from Board of Director meetings and made inquiries of business unit managers and executives about the expected plans for sale of related assets.
•Evaluated indicators of impairment by reviewing information received by management from interested third parties.
•Evaluated the completeness and accuracy of the long-lived assets identified for impairment by comparing the listing of assets evaluated by management in the fair value analysis to the listing of assets recorded in the Fluids U.S. Land asset group.
•Evaluated the reasonableness of key assumptions used by management in determining the undiscounted future net cash flows.
•With the assistance of our fair value specialists, we tested the completeness and accuracy of the impairment charges by comparing fair value of underlying assets to independent market data.
Our audit procedures also included testing the effectiveness of controls over the review of impairment indicators and management’s long-lived asset impairment.
/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Houston, Texas
February 23, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2008.
43
Newpark Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
December 31,
(In thousands, except share data) 2023 2022
ASSETS
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 9,094 10,966
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities 17,404 19,816
Commitments and contingencies (Note 15)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (62,839) (67,186)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 642,336 $ 714,875
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
44
Newpark Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Years Ended December 31,
Revenues
Cost of revenues
Other operating (income) loss, net (2,583) (4,370) (391)
Foreign currency exchange (gain) loss 267 389 (397)
Loss on extinguishment of debt — — 1,000
Net income (loss) per common share - basic $ 0.17 $ (0.22) $ (0.28)
Net income (loss) per common share - diluted $ 0.16 $ (0.22) $ (0.28)
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
45
Newpark Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Years Ended December 31,
Recognition of Chile cumulative foreign currency translation losses 798 — —
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
46
Newpark Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Stock-based compensation expense — 7,926 — — — 7,926
Foreign currency translation, net of tax — — (7,308) — — (7,308)
Stock-based compensation expense — 6,861 — — — 6,861
Treasury shares purchased at cost — (17,618) (17,618)
Foreign currency translation, net of tax — — (5,706) — — (5,706)
Stock-based compensation expense — 6,638 — — — 6,638
Treasury shares purchased at cost — — — — (32,185) (32,185)
Foreign currency translation, net of tax — — 3,549 — — 3,549
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
47
Newpark Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Years Ended December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Impairments and other non-cash charges 6,356 37,322 —
Provision for deferred income taxes (482) (3,384) (1,209)
Gain on divestitures — (3,596) —
Gain on insurance recovery — — (849)
Loss on extinguishment of debt — — 1,000
Amortization of original issue discount and debt issuance costs 541 871 3,707
Change in assets and liabilities:
(Increase) decrease in other assets 307 (855) (726)
Increase in accrued liabilities and other 445 334 12,235
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 100,001 (25,021) (3,013)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired — — (13,434)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 3,709 3,217 15,999
Proceeds from insurance property claim — — 1,753
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (5,690) 46,230 (17,475)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Purchases of Convertible Notes — — (28,137)
Payment on Convertible Notes — — (38,567)
Proceeds from financing obligation — — 8,004
Proceeds from employee stock plans 606 — —
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (81,047) (24,930) 21,408
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 576 (707) (1,779)
See Accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
48
NEWPARK RESOURCES, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Organization and Principles of Consolidation. Newpark Resources, Inc. was organized in 1932 as a Nevada corporation. In 1991, we changed our state of incorporation to Delaware. The consolidated financial statements include our company and our wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). All intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation.
We are a geographically diversified supplier providing environmentally-sensitive products, as well as rentals and services to customers across multiple industries. We currently operate our business through two reportable segments: Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. In addition, we had a third reportable segment, Industrial Blending, which was exited in 2022. We have reflected these three reportable segments for all periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
•Our Fluids Systems segment provides customized drilling and completion fluids products and related technical services to oil and natural gas exploration and production (“E&P”) customers primarily in North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), as well as certain countries in Asia Pacific.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, we exited two of our Fluids Systems business units, including our U.S.-based mineral grinding business as well as our Gulf of Mexico fluids operations. Additionally, in June 2023, we announced that we engaged Lazard to assist us in a review of strategic alternatives for the long-term positioning of our Fluids Systems division. See Note 2 for additional information.
•Our Industrial Solutions segment provides temporary worksite access solutions, including the rental of our recyclable composite matting systems, along with related site construction and services to customers in various markets including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction and other industries, primarily in the United States and United Kingdom. We also manufacture and sell our recyclable composite mats to customers around the world, with power transmission being the primary end-market.
•Our Industrial Blending segment began operations in 2020 and supported industrial end-markets, including the production of disinfectants and industrial cleaning products. We completed the wind down of the Industrial Blending business in the first quarter of 2022 and the sale of the industrial blending assets in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Use of Estimates and Market Risks. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the following: estimated cash flows and fair values used for impairments of long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangibles, and valuation allowances for deferred tax assets.
Our Fluids Systems operating results remain dependent on oil and natural gas drilling activity levels in the markets we serve and the nature of the drilling operations (including the depth and whether the wells are drilled vertically or horizontally), which governs the revenue potential of each well. Drilling activity levels, in turn, depend on a variety of factors, including oil and natural gas commodity pricing, inventory levels, product demand, and regulatory restrictions. Oil and natural gas prices and activity are cyclical and volatile, and this market volatility has a significant impact on our operating results.
Cash Equivalents. All highly liquid investments with a remaining maturity of three months or less at the date of acquisition are classified as cash equivalents.
RestrictedCash. Cash that is restricted as to withdrawal or usage is recognized as restricted cash and is included in other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets.
Allowance for Credit Losses. Trade receivables are presented at the net amount expected to be collected. We estimate the lifetime “expected credit loss” for such assets at inception, which generally results in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. Our allowance for credit losses reflects losses that are expected over the contractual life of the asset, and takes into account historical loss experience, current and future economic conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts.
Inventories. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (principally average cost) or net realizable value. Certain conversion costs associated with the acquisition, production, blending, and storage of inventory in our Fluids Systems segment as well as the manufacturing operations in the Industrial Solutions segment are capitalized as a component of the carrying value of the inventory and expensed as a component of cost of revenues as the products are sold. Reserves for inventory obsolescence
49
NEWPARK RESOURCES, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – (Continued)
are determined based on the net realizable value of the inventory using factors such as our historical usage of inventory on-hand, future expectations related to our customers’ needs, market conditions, and the development of new products.
Property, Plant and Equipment. Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost. Additions and improvements that extend the useful life of an asset are capitalized. We capitalize interest costs on significant capital projects. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Sales and disposals of property, plant and equipment are removed at carrying cost less accumulated depreciation with any resulting gain or loss reflected in earnings.
Depreciation is provided on property, plant and equipment, including finance lease assets, primarily utilizing the straight-line method over the following estimated useful service lives or lease term:
Computer hardware and office equipment 3-5 years
Computer software 3-5 years
Autos and light trucks 5-7 years
Furniture, fixtures, and trailers 7-10 years
Composite mats (rental fleet) 7-12 years
Machinery and heavy equipment 10-15 years
Owned buildings 20-39 years
Leasehold improvements Lease term, including reasonably assured renewal periods