Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
The following risks and uncertainties may affect our performance and results of operations. The discussion below contains “forward-looking statements” as outlined in the Forward-Looking Statements section above. Our ability to mitigate risks may cause our future results to materially differ from what we currently anticipate. Additionally, the ability of our competitors to react to material risks will affect our future results.
Risks Related to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, and stock price can be adversely affected by pandemics, epidemics, or other public health emergencies, such as COVID-19.
Our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, and stock price can be adversely affected by pandemics, epidemics, or other public health emergencies, such as COVID-19. In March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. The outbreak has resulted in governments around the world implementing increasingly stringent measures to help control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, “shelter in place” and “stay at home” orders, travel restrictions, business curtailments, school closures, and other measures. In addition, governments and central banks in several parts of the world have enacted fiscal and monetary stimulus measures to counteract the impacts of COVID-19.
We are considered a critical infrastructure industry, as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Although we have continued to operate our facilities to date consistent with federal guidelines and state and local orders, the outbreak of COVID-19 and any preventive or protective actions taken by governmental authorities may have a material adverse effect on our operations, supply chain, customers, and transportation networks, including business shutdowns or disruptions. The extent to which COVID-19 may adversely impact our business depends on future developments, which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, depending upon the severity and duration of the outbreak and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain or mitigate its effects. Any resulting financial impact cannot be estimated reasonably at this time, but may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we may experience materially adverse impacts to our business due to any resulting economic recession or depression. Additionally, concerns over the economic impact of COVID-19 have caused extreme volatility in financial and other capital markets which may adversely impact our stock price and our ability to access capital markets. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report, such as those relating to our products and financial performance.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our business can be hurt by economic conditions .
Our business is affected by a number of economic factors, including the level of economic activity in the markets in which we operate. Sales in the commercial and industrial new construction markets correlate to the number of new homes and buildings that are built, which in turn is influenced by cyclical factors such as interest rates, inflation, consumer spending habits, employment rates, and other macroeconomic factors over which we have no control. In the HVAC business, a decline in economic activity as a result of these cyclical or other factors typically results in a decline in new construction and replacement purchases which could impact our sales volume and profitability.
Our results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted by the loss of a major customer.
From time to time in the past we derived a significant portion of our sales from a limited number of customers, and such concentration may continue in the future. In 2020, 2019, and 2018, one customer, Texas AirSystems, accounted for more than 10% of our sales. The loss of, or significant reduction in sales to, a major customer could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flow. Further, the addition of new major customers in the future could increase our customer concentration risks as described above.
8
We may incur material costs as a result of warranty and product liability claims that would negatively affect our profitability .
The development, manufacture, sale and use of our products involve a risk of warranty and product liability claims. Our product liability insurance policies have limits that, if exceeded, may result in material costs that would have an adverse effect on our future profitability. In addition, warranty claims are not covered by our product liability insurance and there may be types of product liability claims that are also not covered by our product liability insurance.
We depend on our senior leadership team and the loss of our chief executive officer or one or more key employees or an inability to attract and retain highly skilled employees could adversely affect our business .
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our officers and senior leadership team. In particular, our chief executive officer, Gary D. Fields, is critical to our vision, strategic direction, culture, and overall business success. Furthermore, Mr. Fields' extensive industry knowledge and sales-channel experience would be difficult to replace. We also rely on our senior leadership team in the areas of research and development, marketing, production, sales, and general and administrative functions. From time to time, there may be changes in our senior leadership team resulting from the hiring or departure of senior leadership team members, which could disrupt our business. While we have have a robust succession plan in place for each one of our officers and senior leadership team members, the loss of one or more could have a serious adverse effect on our business.
We do not maintain key-man insurance for Gary D. Fields or any other member of our senior leadership team. We do not have employment agreements with our officers or senior leadership team members that require them to continue to work for us for any specified period and, therefore, they could terminate their employment with us at any time.
Operations may be affected by natural disasters, especially since most of our operations are performed at a single location.
Natural disasters such as tornadoes and ice storms, as well as accidents, acts of terror, infection, and other factors beyond our control could adversely affect our operations. Especially, as our facilities are in areas where tornadoes are likely to occur, and the majority of our operations are at our Tulsa facilities, the effects of natural disasters and other events could damage our facilities and equipment and force a temporary halt to manufacturing and other operations, and such events could consequently cause severe damage to our business. We maintain insurance against these sorts of events ($100 million of total coverage with a per occurrence deductible of $7.5 million); however, this is not guaranteed to cover all the losses and damages incurred. Furthermore, we may experience increases in our insurance premium costs in relation to these matters that may have a material adverse effect upon our business, liquidity, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we are unable to hire, develop or retain employees, it could have an adverse effect on our business.
We compete to hire new employees and then seek to train them to develop their skills. We may not be able to successfully recruit, develop, and retain the personnel we need. Unplanned turnover or failure to hire and retain a diverse, skilled workforce, could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our results of operations.
Variability in self-insurance liability estimates could impact our results of operations.
We self-insure for employee health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance coverage up to a predetermined level, beyond which we maintain stop-loss insurance from a third-party insurer for claims over $225,000 and $750,000 for employee health insurance claims and workers’ compensation insurance claims, respectively. Our aggregate exposure varies from year to year based upon the number of participants in our insurance plans. We estimate our self-insurance liabilities using an analysis provided by our claims administrator and our historical claims experience. Our accruals for insurance reserves reflect these estimates and other management judgments, which are subject to a high degree of variability. If the number or severity of claims for which we self-insure increases, it could cause a material and adverse change to our reserves for self-insurance liabilities, as well as to our earnings.
9
Risks Related to Our Brand and Product Offerings
We may not be able to compete favorably in the highly competitive HVAC business .
Competition in our various markets could cause us to reduce our prices or lose market share, which could have an adverse effect on our future financial results. Substantially all of the markets in which we participate are highly competitive. The most significant competitive factors we face are product reliability, product performance, service, and price, with the relative importance of these factors varying among our product line. Other factors that affect competition in the HVAC market include the development and application of new technologies and an increasing emphasis on the development of more efficient HVAC products. Moreover, new product introductions are an important factor in the market categories in which our products compete. Several of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we have, allowing them to invest in more extensive research and development. We may not be able to compete successfully against current and future competition and current and future competitive pressures faced by us may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We may not be able to successfully develop and market new products .
Our future success will depend upon our continued investment in research and new product development and our ability to continue to achieve new technological advances in the HVAC industry. Our inability to continue to successfully develop and market new products or our inability to implement technological advances on a pace consistent with that of our competitors could lead to a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Furthermore, our continued investment in new product development may render certain legacy products and components obsolete resulting in increased inventory obsolescence expense that may have a material adverse effect upon our financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Material Sourcing and Supply
We may be adversely affected by problems in the availability, or increases in the prices, of raw materials and components .
Problems in the availability, or increases in the prices, of raw materials or components could depress our sales or increase the costs of our products. We are dependent upon components purchased from third parties, as well as raw materials such as steel, copper and aluminum. Occasionally, we enter into cancellable and non-cancellable contracts on terms from six to 18 months for raw materials and components at fixed prices. However, if a key supplier is unable or unwilling to meet our supply requirements, we could experience supply interruptions or cost increases, either of which could have an adverse effect on our gross profit.
We risk having losses resulting from the use of non-cancellable fixed price contracts.
Historically, we have attempted to limit the impact of price fluctuations on commodities by entering into non-cancellable fixed price contracts with our major suppliers for periods of six to 18 months. We expect to receive delivery of raw materials from our fixed price contracts for use in our manufacturing operations. These fixed price contracts are not accounted for using hedge accounting since they meet the normal purchases and sales exemption.
10
Risks Related to Electronic Data Processing and Digital Information
Our business is subject to the risks of interruptions by cybersecurity attacks.
We depend upon information technology infrastructure, including network, hardware and software systems to conduct our business. Despite our implementation of network and other cybersecurity measures, our information technology system and networks could be disrupted due to technological problems, a cyber-attack, acts of terrorism, severe weather, a solar event, an electromagnetic event, a natural disaster, the age and condition of information technology assets, human error, or other reasons. To date, we have not experienced a material impact to our business or operations resulting from cyber-security or other similar information attacks, but due to the ever-evolving attack methods, as well as the increased amount and level of sophistication of these attacks, our security measures may not be adequate to protect against highly targeted sophisticated cyber-attacks, or other improper disclosures of confidential and/or sensitive information. Additionally, we may have access to confidential or other sensitive information of our customers, which, despite our efforts to protect, may be vulnerable to security breaches, theft, or other improper disclosure. Any cyber-related attack or other improper disclosure of confidential information could have a material adverse effect on our business, as well as other negative consequences, including significant damage to our reputation, litigation, regulatory actions, and increased cost. The Company maintains cyber-security insurance, however, the coverage may not be sufficient to cover all financial losses.
Risks Related to Governmental Regulation and Policies
Exposure to environmental liabilities could adversely affect our results of operations .
Our future profitability could be adversely affected by current or future environmental laws. We are subject to extensive and changing federal, state and local laws and regulations designed to protect the environment in the United States and in other parts of the world. These laws and regulations could impose liability for remediation costs and result in civil or criminal penalties in case of non-compliance. Compliance with environmental laws increases our costs of doing business. Because these laws are subject to frequent change, we are unable to predict the future costs resulting from environmental compliance.
We are subject to potentially extreme governmental regulations and policies.
We always face the possibility of new governmental regulations, policies and trade agreements which could have a substantial or even extreme negative effect on our operations and profitability. Several intrusive component part governmental regulations are in process. If these proposals become final rules, the effect would be the regulation of compressors and fans in products for which the Department of Energy does not have current authority. This could affect equipment we currently manufacture and could have an impact on our product design, operations, and profitability.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contains provisions to improve transparency and accountability concerning the supply of certain minerals, known as “conflict minerals”, originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. As a result, in August 2012, the SEC adopted annual disclosure and reporting requirements for those companies who use conflict minerals in their products. Accordingly, we began our reasonable country of origin inquiries in fiscal year 2013, with initial disclosure requirements beginning in May 2014. There are costs associated with complying with these disclosure requirements, including for due diligence to determine the sources of conflict minerals used in our products and other potential changes to products, processes or sources of supply as a consequence of such verification activities. The implementation of these rules could adversely affect the sourcing, supply, and pricing of materials used in our products. As there may be only a limited number of suppliers offering “conflict free” conflict minerals, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain necessary conflict minerals from such suppliers in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. Also, we may face reputational challenges if we determine that certain of our products contain minerals not determined to be conflict free or if we are unable to sufficiently verify the origins for all conflict minerals used in our products through the procedures we may implement.
Our operations could be negatively impacted by new legislation as well as changes in regulations and trade agreements, including tariffs and taxes. Unfavorable conditions resulting from such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
11
We are subject to adverse changes in tax laws.
Our tax expense or benefits could be adversely affected by changes in tax provisions, unfavorable findings in tax examinations, or differing interpretations by tax authorities. We are unable to estimate the impact that current and future tax proposals and tax laws could have on our results of operations. We are currently subject to state and local tax examinations for which we do not expect any major assessments.
We are subject to international regulations that could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Due to our use of representatives in foreign markets, we are subject to many laws governing international relations, including those that prohibit improper payments to government officials and commercial customers, and restrict where we can do business, what information or products we can supply to certain countries and what information we can provide to a non-U.S. government, including but not limited to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.K. Bribery Act and the U.S. Export Administration Act. Violations of these laws, which are complex, may result in criminal penalties or sanctions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Inherent to an Investment in AAON, Inc.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Our failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which in turn could cause the trading price of our outstanding stock to decline.
During the year ended December 31, 2019, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the appropriate policies and procedures in place to properly recognize share-based compensation for retirement eligible participants in our Long-Term Incentive Plans. For further information regarding this matter, please refer to Item 9A. Controls and Procedures in the 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information and Item 4b. Controls and Procedures in the March 31, 2020 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for remediation efforts in 2020. We concluded that this material weakness was remediated as of March 31, 2020.
Management’s ongoing assessment of internal control over financial reporting may in the future identify additional weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed. Any failure to improve our internal control over financial reporting to address identified weaknesses in the future, if they were to occur, could prevent us from maintaining accurate accounting records and discovering material accounting errors, which in turn, could adversely affect our business and the value of our outstanding stock.
We corrected certain of our previously issued consolidated financial statements, which may affect investor confidence and raise reputational issues .
As discussed in the Explanatory Note preceding Item 1, Business , in Note 2, Error Correction , and in Note 25, Quarterly Results (Unaudited) , in the 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we reached a determination to correct our consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2018 and for the years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, selected financial data at and for the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, and each of the unaudited quarterly periods September 30, 2019, June 30, 2019, March 31, 2019, December 31, 2018, September 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and March 31, 2018. These corrections were presented in the 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K. As a result, we have become subject to a number of additional risks and uncertainties, which may affect investor confidence in the accuracy of our financial disclosures and may raise reputational issues for our business.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
12
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.