Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
RISK FACTORS
Our operations and financial results are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those described below, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our common stock.
Risks Relating to Economic and Market Conditions
Global economic conditions, particularly in the U.S., significantly affect our industry and business, and economic decline can materially impact our financial results.
In times of economic uncertainty or recession, consumers tend to have less discretionary income and to defer significant spending on non-essential items, which may adversely affect our financial performance. Although portions of the marine industry have experienced positive trends as a result of the unique consumer environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, these trends may not continue, and the economic uncertainty caused by (i) general economic conditions, (ii) the impact of inflation, (iii) labor shortages, (iv) supply chain disruptions, (v) the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, (vi) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and (vii) actions and stimulus measures adopted by local, state and federal governments may lead to unfavorable business outcomes. We continue to develop our portfolio of brands, but our business remains cyclical and sensitive to consumer spending on new boats.
Deterioration in general economic conditions that in turn diminishes consumer confidence or discretionary income may reduce our sales, or we may decide to lower pricing for our products, which could adversely affect our financial results, including increasing the potential for future impairment charges. Further, our products are recreational, and consumers’ limited discretionary income in times of economic hardship may be diverted to other activities that occupy their time, such as other forms of recreational, religious, cultural, or community activities. We cannot predict the strength of global economies or the timing of economic recovery, either globally or in the specific markets in which we compete.
Inflation could adversely affect our financial results.
The market prices of certain materials and components used in manufacturing our products, especially resins that are made with hydrocarbon feedstocks, fiberglass, aluminum, lumber, and steel, can be volatile. While, historically, inflation has not had a material effect on our results of operations, significant increases in inflation, particularly those related to wages and increases in the cost of raw materials, recently have, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In addition, new boat buyers often finance their purchases. Inflation, along with rising interest rates, could translate into an increased cost of boat ownership. Should inflation and increased interest rates continue to occur, prospective consumers may choose to forego or delay their purchases or buy a less expensive boat in the event credit is not available to finance their boat purchases.
Fiscal concerns and policy changes may negatively impact worldwide economic and credit conditions and adversely affect our industry, business, and financial condition.
Fiscal policy could have a material adverse impact on worldwide economic conditions, the financial markets, and availability of credit and, consequently, may negatively affect our industry, business, and overall financial condition. Consumers often finance purchases of our products, and as interest rates rise, the cost of financing the purchase also increases. While credit availability is adequate to support demand, interest rates began to rise significantly in the second half of fiscal 2022. If credit conditions worsen and adversely affect the ability of consumers to finance potential purchases at acceptable terms and interest rates, it could result in a decrease in sales or delay improvement in sales.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under our revolving credit facility and term loans are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. Reference rates used to determine the applicable interest rates for our debt began to rise significantly in the second half of fiscal 2022. If interest rates continue to increase, the debt service obligations on our indebtedness will continue to increase even if the amount borrowed remains the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. Please see Part II, Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for discussion of our market risk related to interest rates.
In addition, our variable rate indebtedness may use LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing the rate. In March 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) publicly announced the transition dates of certain LIBOR settings. Included in that, it was announced that 1-month, 3-month and 6-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings will cease to be provided immediately after June 30, 2023.
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There is no assurance that dates announced by the FCA will not change or that the administrator of LIBOR and/or regulators will not take further action that could impact the availability, composition, or characteristics of LIBOR or the currencies and/or tenors for which LIBOR is published . Uncertainty as to the nature of alternative reference rates and as to potential changes or other reforms to LIBOR may adversely impact the availability and cost of borrowings.
An increase in energy costs, including as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our results of operations can be directly affected, positively and negatively, by volatility in the cost and availability of energy, which is subject to global supply and demand and other factors beyond our control. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has impacted global energy markets, particularly in Europe, leading to high volatility and increasing prices for crude oil, natural gas and other energy supplies. Higher energy costs result in increases in operating expenses at our manufacturing facilities, in the expense of shipping raw materials to our facilities, and in the expense of shipping products to our dealers. In addition, increases in energy costs may adversely affect the pricing and availability of petroleum-based raw materials, such as resins and foams that are used in our products. Higher fuel prices may also have an adverse effect on demand for our boats, as they increase the cost of boat ownership and possibly affect product use.
Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could adversely affect our results.
We sell products manufactured in the U.S. into certain international markets in U.S. dollars. The changing relationship of the U.S. dollar to foreign currencies has, from time to time, had a negative impact on our results of operations. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to these foreign currencies can adversely affect the price of our products in foreign markets and the costs we incur to import certain components for our products. We will often attempt to offset these higher prices with increased discounts, which can lead to reduced net sales per unit.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Actual or potential public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
The impact of actual or potential public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics on the Company, our suppliers, dealers, and consumers, and the general economy could be wide-ranging and significant, depending on the nature of the issue, governmental actions taken in response, and the public reaction. The impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic includes illness, quarantines, cancellation of events and travel, business and school shutdowns, reduction in economic activity, widespread unemployment, and supply chain interruptions, which collectively have caused significant disruptions to global economies and financial markets.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for our products increased versus prior periods, but the pandemic could result in future significant volatility in demand, positively or negatively, for our products. Demand volatility may be caused by, among other things: the temporary inability of consumers to purchase our products due to illness, quarantine, or other travel restrictions; dealership closures due to illness or government restrictions; a reduction in boating activity as a result of governmental actions or self-quarantine measures; shifts in demand away from discretionary products; and reduced options for marketing and promotion of products or other restrictions in connection with COVID-19. If such events occurred over a prolonged period, they could increase our costs and difficulty of operating our business, including accurately planning and forecasting for our operations and inventory levels, which may adversely impact our results.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and may continue to result in, disruption, uncertainty, and volatility in the global financial and credit markets. Such volatility could impact our access to capital resources and liquidity in the future, including making credit difficult to obtain or only available on less favorable terms. The COVID-19 pandemic may continue to have an impact on our operations, which could be material. For example, many of our facilities have experienced absenteeism caused by illness or quarantine measures. The continuing impact on our business operations could include, but are not limited to, significant numbers of employees contracting COVID-19; facility closures as a result of state and local "shelter-in-place" orders, safety precautions, employee illness, or self-quarantine measures; reductions in our operating effectiveness as our employees work from home or as a result of new workplace safety measures; unavailability of key personnel necessary to conduct our business activities; project delays; and supply chain or distribution interruptions and constraints. Additionally, we rely on original equipment manufacturers, dealers, and distributors to market and sell most of our products, and effects on their businesses or financial condition as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic could result in various adverse operational impacts including, but not limited to, lower sales, delayed cash payments, interrupted customer warranty service, and increased credit risk.
Our efforts to manage, mitigate, and remedy these impacts may prove unsuccessful as the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of the pandemic, public safety actions taken by government authorities, long-term economic recovery, and resulting consumer response.
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We may not be able to execute our manufacturing strategy successfully, which could cause the profitability of our products to suffer.
Our manufacturing strategy is designed to improve product quality and increase productivity, while reducing costs and increasing flexibility to respond to ongoing changes in the marketplace. To implement this strategy, we must be successful in our continuous improvement efforts, which depend on the involvement of management, production employees, and suppliers. Any inability to achieve these objectives could adversely impact the profitability of our products and our ability to deliver desirable products to our consumers.
In addition, we have made strategic capital investments in capacity expansion activities to successfully capture growth opportunities and enhance product offerings, including brand relocation and plant expansions. Moving production to a different plant and expanding capacity at an existing facility involves risks, including difficulties initiating production within the cost and timeframe estimated, supplying product to customers when expected, integrating new products, and attracting sufficient skilled labor to handle additional production demands. If we fail to meet these objectives, it could adversely affect our ability to meet customer demand for products and increase the cost of production versus projections, both of which could result in a significant adverse impact on operating and financial results. Additionally, plant expansion can result in manufacturing inefficiencies, additional expenses, including higher wages or severance costs, and cost inefficiencies, which could negatively impact financial results.
Adverse weather conditions and climate change events can have a negative effect on revenues.
Changes in seasonal weather conditions can have a significant effect on our operating and financial results. Sales of our boats are typically stronger just before and during spring and summer, and favorable weather during these months generally has had a positive effect on consumer demand. Conversely, unseasonably cool weather, excessive rainfall, or drought conditions during these periods can reduce or change the timing of demand. Climate change could have an impact on longer-term natural weather trends, resulting in environmental changes including, but not limited to, increases in severe weather, changing sea levels, changes in sea, land and air temperatures, poor water conditions, or reduced access to water, could disrupt or negatively affect our business.
Catastrophic events, including natural and environmental disasters, acts of terrorism, or civil unrest, could have a negative effect on our operations and financial results.
We rely on the continuous operation of our manufacturing facilities in Vonore, Tennessee, Merritt Island, Florida, Armory, Mississippi, and Owosso, Michigan for the production of our products. Any natural disaster or other serious disruption to our facilities due to fire, snow, flood, earthquake, pandemics, civil insurrection or social unrest or any other unforeseen circumstance could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, storms, and catastrophic natural or environmental disasters, as well as acts of terrorism or civil unrest, could disrupt our distribution channel, operations, or supply chain and decrease consumer demand. If a catastrophic event takes place in one of our major sales markets, our sales could be diminished. Additionally, if such an event occurs near our business locations, manufacturing facilities or key supplier facilities, business operations, and/or operating systems could be interrupted.
We could be uniquely affected by weather-related catastrophic events, as we have dealers and third-party suppliers located in regions of the United States that have been and may be exposed to damaging storms, such as hurricanes and tornados, floods and environmental disasters. Although preventative measures may help to mitigate damage, the damage and disruption resulting from natural and environmental disasters may be significant. Such disasters can disrupt our consumers, dealers, or suppliers, which can interrupt our operational processes and our sales and profits.
Our ability to remain competitive depends on successfully introducing new products and services that meet consumer expectations.
We believe that our consumers look for and expect quality, innovation, and advanced features when evaluating and making purchasing decisions about products and services in the marketplace. Our ability to remain competitive and meet our growth objectives may be adversely affected by difficulties or delays in product development, such as an inability to develop viable new products, gain market acceptance of new products, generate sufficient capital to fund new product development, or obtain adequate intellectual property protection for new products. To meet ever-changing consumer demands, both timing of market entry and pricing of new products are critical. As a result, we may not be able to introduce new products that are necessary to remain competitive in all markets that we serve. Furthermore, we must continue to meet or exceed consumers' expectations regarding product quality and after-sales service or our operating results could suffer.
Our ability to meet demand in a rapidly changing environment may adversely affect our results of operations.
The seasonality of retail demand for our products, together with our goal of balancing production throughout the year, requires us to manage our manufacturing and allocate our products to our dealer network to address anticipated retail demand. Production and sales levels throughout fiscal 2022, 2021, and 2020 fluctuated due to general economic conditions and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our dealers must manage seasonal changes in consumer demand and inventory. Our business may experience difficulty in
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adapting to the rapidly changing production and sales volumes. We may not be able to recruit or maintain sufficient skilled labor or our suppliers may not be able to deliver sufficient quantities of parts and components for us to match production with rapid changes in forecasted demand. In addition, consumers may pursue other recreational activities if dealer pipeline inventories fall too low and it is not convenient to purchase our products, consumers may purchase from competitors, or our fixed costs may grow in response to increased demand. A failure to adjust dealer pipeline inventory levels to meet demand could adversely impact our results of operations.
Our financial results may be adversely affected by our third-party suppliers' increased costs or inability to meet required production levels due to increased demand or global supply chain disruptions.
We rely on a complex global supply chain of third parties to supply raw materials used in the manufacturing process, including resins, fiberglass, aluminum, lumber and steel, as well as product parts and components. The prices for these raw materials, parts, and components fluctuate depending on market conditions and, in some instances, commodity prices or trade policies, including tariffs. Substantial increases in the prices of raw materials, parts, and components would increase our operating costs, and could reduce our profitability if we are unable to recoup the increased costs through higher product prices or improved operating efficiencies. Similarly, if a critical supplier were to close its operations, cease manufacturing, or otherwise fail to deliver an essential component necessary to our manufacturing operations, that could detrimentally affect our ability to manufacture and sell our products, resulting in an interruption in business operations and/or a loss of sales.
In addition, some components used in our manufacturing processes, including engines, boat windshields, towers, and surf tabs are available from a sole supplier or a limited number of suppliers. Operational and financial difficulties that these or other suppliers may face in the future could adversely affect their ability to supply us with the parts and components we need, which could significantly disrupt our operations. It may be difficult to find a replacement supplier for a limited or sole source raw material, part, or component without significant delay or on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, an uncorrected defect or supplier's variation in a raw material, part, or component, either unknown to us or incompatible with our manufacturing process, could jeopardize our ability to manufacture products.
Some additional supply chain disruptions that could impact our operations, impair our ability to deliver products to customers, and negatively affect our financial results include:
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an outbreak of disease or facility closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or similar public health threat;
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a deterioration of our relationships with suppliers;
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events such as natural disasters, power outages, or labor strikes;
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financial or political instability, such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in any of the countries in which our suppliers operate;
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financial pressures on our suppliers due to a weakening economy or unfavorable conditions in other end markets;
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supplier manufacturing constraints and investment requirements; or
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termination or interruption of supply arrangements.
These risks are exacerbated in the case of single-source suppliers, and the exclusive supplier of a key component could potentially exert significant bargaining power over price, quality, warranty claims, or other terms.
We continue to increase production; consequently, our need for raw materials and supplies continues to increase. Our suppliers must be prepared to ramp-up operations and, in many cases, hire additional workers and/or expand capacity in order to fulfill our orders and those of other customers. Cost increases, defects, or sustained interruptions in the supply of raw materials, parts, or components due to delayed start-up periods our suppliers experience as they increase production efforts create risks to our operations and financial results. The Company has experienced periodic supply shortages and increases in costs to certain materials. We continue to address these issues by identifying alternative suppliers for key materials and components, working to secure adequate inventories of critical supplies, and continually monitoring the capabilities of our supplier base. In the future, however, we may experience shortages, delayed delivery, and/or increased prices for key materials, parts, and supplies that are essential to our manufacturing operations.
We have a fixed cost base that will affect our profitability if our sales decrease.
The fixed cost levels of operating a powerboat manufacturer can put pressure on profit margins when sales and production decline. Our profitability depends, in part, on our ability to spread fixed costs over a sufficiently large number of products sold and shipped, and if we make a decision to reduce our rate of production, gross or net margins could be negatively affected. Consequently, decreased demand or the need to reduce production can lower our ability to absorb fixed costs and materially impact our financial condition or results of operations.
Our business and operations are dependent on the expertise of our key contributors, our successful implementation of succession plans, and our ability to attract and retain management employees and skilled labor.
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The talents and efforts of our employees, particularly key managers, are vital to our success. We have observed an overall tightening and increasingly competitive labor market, which could inhibit our ability to recruit, train and retain employees we require at efficient costs and could lead to increased costs, such as increased overtime to meet demand and increased wage rates to attract and retain employees. Our management team has significant industry experience and would be difficult to replace. We may be unable to retain them or to attract other highly qualified employees. Failure to hire, develop, and retain highly qualified and diverse employee talent and to develop and implement an adequate succession plan for the management team could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success. We perform an annual review of management succession plans with our board of directors, including reviewing executive officer and other important positions to substantially mitigate the risk associated with key contributor transitions, but we cannot ensure that all transitions will be implemented successfully.
Our ability to continue to execute our growth strategy could potentially be adversely affected by the effectiveness of organizational changes. Any disruption or uncertainty resulting from such changes could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Much of our future success depends on, among other factors, our ability to attract and retain skilled labor, which is critical to our operations. We may experience difficulty maintaining desired staffing levels due to increased competition for employees, higher employee turnover rates and low unemployment rates in many of the geographic areas in which we manufacture or distribute goods. In fiscal 2022, all our facilities increased hiring of skilled hourly labor, and may need to continue to increase hiring of skilled hourly labor to meet increased demand for our products. In the future, if we are not successful in these efforts, we may be unable to meet our operating goals and plans, which may impact our financial results. We continually invest in automation and improve our efficiency, but availability and retention of skilled hourly workers remains critical to our operations. In order to manage this risk, we regularly monitor and make improvements to wages and benefit programs, as well as develop and improve recruiting, training, and safety programs to attract and retain an experienced and skilled workforce.
We depend on our network of independent dealers which creates additional risks.
Substantially all of our sales are derived from our network of independent dealers. Maintaining a reliable network of dealers is essential to our success. Our agreements with dealers in our networks typically provide for one-year terms, although some agreements have longer terms. The loss of one or more of these dealers could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The number of dealers supporting our products and the quality of their marketing and servicing efforts are essential to our ability to generate sales. We face competition from other manufacturers in attracting and retaining independent boat dealers. Although our management believes that the quality of our products in the premium performance sport, outboard boat, and sterndrive boat industries should permit us to maintain our relationships with our dealers and our market share position, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or improve our relationships with our dealers or our market share position. In addition, independent dealers in the powerboat industry have experienced significant consolidation in recent years, which could result in the loss of one or more of our dealers in the future if the surviving entity in any such consolidation purchases similar products from a competitor. A significant deterioration in the number or effectiveness of our dealers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Although at present we believe dealer health to be generally favorable, weakening demand for marine products could hurt our dealers’ financial performance. In particular, reduced cash flow from decreases in sales and tightening credit markets could impair dealers' ability to fund operations. Inability to fund operations can force dealers to cease business, and we may be unable to obtain alternate distribution in the vacated market. An inability to obtain alternate distribution could unfavorably affect our net sales through reduced market presence. If economic conditions deteriorate, we anticipate that dealer failures or voluntary market exits would increase, especially if overall retail demand materially declines.
Our dealers require adequate liquidity to finance their operations, including purchasing our products. Dealers are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could unfavorably affect their liquidity positions, including, among other things, continued access to adequate financing sources on a timely basis on reasonable terms. These financing sources are vital to our ability to sell products through our network of dealers. Many of our dealers have floor plan financing arrangements with third-party finance companies. Many factors, including creditworthiness of our dealers and overall aging and level of pipeline inventories, continue to influence the availability and terms of financing that our dealers are able to secure, which could adversely affect sales of our products.
We may be required to repurchase inventory of certain dealers.
Floor plan financing arrangements with third-party finance companies enable dealers to purchase our products. In connection with these agreements, we may have an obligation to repurchase our products from a finance company under certain circumstances. This obligation is triggered if a dealer defaults on its debt obligations to a finance company. In addition, applicable laws regulating dealer relations may also require us to repurchase our products from our dealers under certain circumstances. In such circumstances, we may not have any control over the timing or amount of any repurchase obligation nor have access to capital on terms acceptable to us to satisfy any repurchase obligation. If we were obligated to repurchase a significant number of units under any repurchase agreement or under applicable dealer laws, our business, operating results, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.
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Future declines in marine industry demand could cause an increase in repurchase activity or could require us to incur losses in excess of established reserves. In addition, our cash flow and loss experience could be adversely affected if repurchased inventory is not successfully distributed to other dealers in a timely manner, or if the recovery rate on the resale of the product declines. The finance companies could require changes in repurchase terms that would result in an increase in our contractual obligations.
Our industry is characterized by intense competition, which affects our sales and profits.
The premium performance sport boat, outboard, and sterndrive boat categories and the powerboat industry as a whole are highly competitive for consumers and dealers. We also compete against consumer demand for used boats. Competition affects our ability to succeed in both the markets we currently serve and new markets that we may enter in the future. Competition is based primarily on brand name, price, product selection, and product performance. We compete with several large manufacturers that may have greater financial, marketing, and other resources than we do and who are represented by dealers in the markets in which we now operate and into which we plan to expand. We also compete with a variety of small, independent manufacturers. We cannot provide assurance that we will not face greater competition from existing large or small manufacturers or that we will be able to compete successfully with new competitors. Our failure to compete effectively with our current and future competitors would adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We compete with a variety of other activities for consumers’ scarce leisure time.
Our boats are used for recreational and sport purposes, and demand for our boats may be adversely affected by competition from other activities that occupy consumers’ leisure time and by changes in consumer lifestyle, usage pattern, or taste. Similarly, an overall decrease in consumer leisure time may reduce consumers’ willingness to purchase and enjoy our products.
Our sales may be adversely impacted by increased consumer preference for used boats or the supply of new boats by competitors in excess of demand.
During the economic downturn that commenced in 2008, we observed a shift in consumer demand toward purchasing more used boats, primarily because prices for used boats are typically lower than retail prices for new boats. If this were to occur again, it could have the effect of reducing demand among retail purchasers for our new boats. Also, while we have taken steps designed to balance production volumes for our boats with demand, our competitors could choose to reduce the price of their products, which could have the effect of reducing demand for our new boats. Reduced demand for new boats could lead to reduced sales by us, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty claims or product recalls could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.
We provide a limited warranty for our products. We may provide additional warranties related to certain promotional programs, as well as warranties in certain geographical markets as determined by local regulations and market conditions.
Although we employ quality control procedures, sometimes a product is distributed that needs repair or replacement. Our standard warranties require us or our dealers to repair or replace defective products during such warranty periods at no cost to the consumer. Historically, product recalls have been administered through our dealers and distributors. The repair and replacement costs we could incur in connection with a recall could adversely affect our business. In addition, product recalls could harm our reputation and cause us to lose consumers, particularly if recalls cause consumers to question the safety or reliability of our products.
An inability to identify and complete targeted acquisitions could negatively impact financial results.
We may in the future explore acquisitions and strategic alliances that will enable us to acquire complementary skills and capabilities, offer new products, expand our consumer base, enter new product categories or geographic markets, and obtain other competitive advantages. We cannot provide assurance, however, that we will identify acquisition candidates or strategic partners that are suitable to our business, obtain financing on satisfactory terms, or complete acquisitions or strategic alliances. In managing our acquisition strategy, we conduct rigorous due diligence, involve various functions, and continually review target acquisitions, all of which we believe mitigates some of our acquisition risks. However, we cannot assure that suitable acquisitions will be identified or consummated or that, if consummated, they will be successful. Acquisitions include a number of risks, including our ability to project and evaluate market demand, realize potential synergies and cost savings, and make accurate accounting estimates, as well as diversion of management attention. Uncertainties exist in assessing the value, risks, profitability, and liabilities associated with certain companies or assets, negotiating acceptable terms, obtaining financing on acceptable terms, and receiving any necessary regulatory approvals. As we continue to grow, in part, through acquisitions, our success depends on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these risks. Our failure to successfully do so could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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The inability to successfully integrate acquisitions could negatively impact financial results.
Our strategic acquisitions pose risks, such as our ability to project and evaluate market demand; maximize potential synergies and cost savings; make accurate accounting estimates; and achieve anticipated business objectives. Acquisitions we may complete in the future, present these and other integration risks, including:
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the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period;
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the risk that unexpected costs and liabilities will be incurred;
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diversion of management attention; and
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difficulties retaining employees.
If we fail to timely and successfully integrate new businesses into existing operations, we may see higher costs, lost sales, or otherwise diminished earnings and financial results.
Our business operations could be negatively impacted by an outage or breach of our information technology systems, network disruptions, or a cybersecurity event.
We manage our business operations through a variety of information technology systems and their underlying infrastructure, which we continually enhance to increase efficiency and security. In addition to the disruptions in our information technology systems, cybersecurity threats and sophisticated and targeted cyberattacks pose a risk to our information technology systems. We have established security policies, processes, and defenses, including employee awareness training regarding phishing, malware, and other cyber risks, designed to help identify and protect against intentional and unintentional misappropriation or corruption of our information technology systems and information and disruption of our operations. Additionally, we maintain quarterly discussions with our board of directors to address cyber risks and system and process enhancements. Despite these efforts, our information technology systems may be damaged, disrupted, or shut down due to attacks by unauthorized access, malicious software, computer viruses, undetected intrusion, hardware failures, or other events, and in these circumstances our disaster recovery plans may be ineffective or inadequate. These breaches or intrusions could lead to business interruption, exposure of proprietary or confidential information, data corruption, damage to our reputation, exposure to legal and regulatory proceedings, and other costs. A security breach might also lead to violations of privacy laws, regulations, trade guidelines or practices related to our customers and associates and could result in potential claims from customers, associates, shareholders, or regulatory agencies. Such events could adversely impact our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. In addition, we could be adversely affected if any of our significant customers or suppliers experiences any similar events that disrupt their business operations or damage their reputation.
While we maintain monitoring practices and protections of our information technology to reduce these risks and test our systems on an ongoing basis for potential threats, there can be no assurance that these efforts will prevent a cyber-attack or other security breach. We carry cybersecurity insurance to help mitigate the financial exposure and related notification procedures in the event of intentional intrusion; however, there can be no assurance that our insurance will adequately protect against potential losses that could adversely affect our business.
We rely on third parties for computing, storage, processing, and similar services. Any disruption of or interference with our use of these third-party services could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Many of our business systems reside on third-party outsourced cloud infrastructure providers. We are therefore vulnerable to service interruptions experienced by these providers and could experience interruptions, delays, or outages in service availability in the future due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human, hardware or software errors, hosting disruptions, and capacity constraints. While we have mitigation and service redundancy plans in place, outages and/or capacity constraints could still arise from a number of causes such as technical failures, natural disasters, fraud, or internal or third-party security attacks, which could negatively impact our ability to manufacture and/or operate our business.
Our credit facilities contain covenants which may limit our operating flexibility; failure to comply with covenants may result in our lenders restricting or terminating our ability to borrow under such credit facilities.
In the past, we have relied on our existing credit facilities to provide us with adequate liquidity to operate our business. The availability of borrowing amounts under our credit facilities is dependent on compliance with the debt covenants set forth in our credit agreement. Violation of those covenants, whether as a result of operating losses or otherwise, could result in our lenders restricting or terminating our borrowing ability under our credit facilities. If our lenders reduce or terminate our access to amounts under our credit
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facilities, we may not have sufficient capital to fund our working capital and other needs, and we may need to secure additional capital or financing to fund our operations or to repay outstanding debt under our credit facilities. We cannot provide assurance that we will be successful in ensuring the availability of amounts under our credit facilities or in raising additional capital, or that any amount, if raised, will be sufficient to meet our cash needs or will be on terms as favorable as those which have been available to us historically. If we are not able to maintain our ability to borrow under our credit facilities, or to raise additional capital when needed, our business and operations will be materially adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property
Our success depends on the continued strength of our brands and the value of our brands, and sales of our products could be diminished if we, the athletes who use our products, or the sports and activities in which our products are used are associated with negative publicity.
We believe that our brands are a significant contributor to the success of our business and that maintaining and enhancing our brands is important to expanding our consumer and dealer base. Failure to continue to protect our brands may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Negative publicity, including that resulting from severe injuries or death occurring in the sports and activities in which our products are used, could negatively affect our reputation and result in restrictions, recalls, or bans on the use of our products. Further, actions taken by athletes associated with our products that harm the reputations of those athletes could also harm our brand image and adversely affect our financial condition. If the popularity of the sports and activities for which we design, manufacture, and sell products were to decrease as a result of these risks or any negative publicity, sales of our products could decrease, which could have an adverse effect on our net sales, profitability, and operating results. In addition, if we become exposed to additional claims and litigation relating to the use of our products, our reputation may be adversely affected by such claims, whether or not successful, including by generating potential negative publicity about our products, which could adversely impact our business and financial condition.
Our intellectual property rights may be inadequate to protect our business.
We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, protected design, and trade secret laws; employee and third-party non-disclosure agreements; and other contracts to establish and protect our technology and other intellectual property rights. However, we remain subject to risks, including:
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the steps we take to protect our proprietary technology may be inadequate to prevent misappropriation of our technology;
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third parties may independently develop similar technology;
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agreements containing protections may be breached or terminated;
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we may not have adequate remedies for breaches;
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pending patent, trademark, and copyright applications may not be approved;
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existing patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret laws may afford limited protection;
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a third party could copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology without authorization; or
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we may be required to litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights, and we may not be successful.
Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and litigating intellectual property claims may result in substantial cost and divert management’s attention.
In addition, we may be required to defend our products against patent or other intellectual property infringement claims or litigation. Besides defense expenses and costs, we may not prevail in such cases, forcing us to seek licenses or royalty arrangements from third parties, which we may not be able to obtain on reasonable terms, or subjecting us to an order or requirement to stop manufacturing, using, selling, or distributing products that included challenged intellectual property, which could harm our business and financial results.
If third parties claim that we infringe on their intellectual property rights, our financial condition could be adversely affected.
We face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties’ intellectual property rights. Any claims of patent or other intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could be expensive and time consuming to defend, cause us to cease making, licensing, or using products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property, require us to redesign, reengineer, or rebrand our products, if feasible, divert management’s attention and resources, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property. Any royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. A successful claim of infringement against us could result in our being required to pay significant
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damages, enter into costly license or royalty agreements, or stop the sale of certain products, any of which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. While we are not currently involved in any outstanding intellectual property litigation that we believe, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, we cannot predict the outcome of any pending litigation and an unfavorable outcome could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Risks Relating to Our Regulatory, Accounting, Legal, and Tax Environment
International tariffs could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Changes in laws and policies governing foreign trade could adversely affect our business. The institution of global trade tariffs, trade sanctions, new or onerous trade restrictions, embargoes and other stringent government controls carries the risk of negatively affecting global economic conditions, which could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations. Also, certain foreign governments have imposed tariffs on certain U.S. goods and may take additional retaliatory trade actions stemming from the tariffs, which could increase the pricing of our products and result in decreased consumer demand for our products outside of the United States, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In addition, U.S. initiated tariffs on certain foreign goods, including raw materials, commodities, and products manufactured outside the United States that are used in our manufacturing processes may cause our manufacturing cost to rise, which would have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.
An impairment in the carrying value of goodwill, trade names, and other long-lived assets could negatively affect our consolidated results of operations and net worth.
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, such as our trade names, are recorded at fair value at the time of acquisition and are not amortized, but are reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. In evaluating the potential for impairment of goodwill and trade names, we make assumptions regarding future operating performance, business trends, and market and economic conditions. Such analyses further require us to make certain assumptions about sales, operating margins, growth rates, and discount rates. Uncertainties are inherent in evaluating and applying these factors to the assessment of goodwill and trade name recoverability. We could be required to evaluate the recoverability of goodwill or trade names prior to the annual assessment if we experience business disruptions, unexpected significant declines in operating results, a divestiture of a significant component of our business, or declines in market capitalization.
We also continually evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of our definite-lived intangible assets and other long-lived assets may warrant revision or whether the remaining balance of such assets may not be recoverable. We use an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flow over the remaining life of the asset in measuring whether the asset is recoverable.
As of June 30, 2022, the balance of total goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets was $54.5 million, which represents approximately 18 percent of total assets. If the future operating performance of either the Company or individual operating segments is not sufficient, we could be required to record non-cash impairment charges. Impairment charges could substantially affect our reported earnings in the periods such charges are recorded. In addition, impairment charges could indicate a reduction in business value which could limit our ability to obtain adequate financing in the future.
Compliance with environmental, health, safety, and other regulatory requirements may increase costs and reduce demand for our products.
We are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations, including those concerning product safety, environmental protection, and occupational health and safety. Some of these laws and regulations require us to obtain permits and limit our ability to discharge hazardous materials into the environment. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the assessment of fines and penalties, obligations to conduct remedial or corrective actions, or, in extreme circumstances, revocation of our permits or injunctions preventing some or all of our operations. In addition, the components of our boats must meet certain regulatory standards, including stringent air emission standards for boat engines. Failure to meet these standards could result in an inability to sell our boats in key markets, which would adversely affect our business. Moreover, compliance with these regulatory requirements could increase the cost of our products, which in turn, may reduce consumer demand.
While we believe that we are in compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and foreign regulatory requirements, and hold all licenses and permits required thereunder, we cannot provide assurance that we will, at all times, be able to continue to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. Compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory and permit requirements may, in the future,
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cause us to incur substantial capital costs and increase our cost of operations, or may limit our operations, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.
Our manufacturing processes involve the use, handling, storage, and contracting for recycling or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. The failure to manage or dispose of such hazardous substances and wastes properly could expose us to material liability or fines, including liability for personal injury or property damage due to exposure to hazardous substances, damages to natural resources, or for the investigation and remediation of environmental conditions. Under environmental laws, we may be liable for remediation of contamination at sites where our hazardous wastes have been disposed or at our current or former facilities, regardless of whether such facilities are owned or leased or regardless of whether we were at fault. While we do not believe that we are presently subject to any such liabilities, we cannot assure you that environmental conditions relating to our prior, existing, or future sites or operations or those of predecessor companies will not have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.
Additionally, we are subject to laws governing our relationships with employees, including, but not limited to, employment obligations and employee wage, hour, and benefits issues, such as health care benefits. Compliance with these rules and regulations, and compliance with any changes to current regulations, could increase the cost of our operations.
We manufacture and sell products that create exposure to potential claims and litigation.
Our manufacturing operations and the products we produce could result in product quality, warranty, personal injury, property damage, and other issues, thereby increasing the risk of litigation and potential liability, as well as regulatory fines. We have in the past incurred such liabilities and may in the future be exposed to liability for such claims. We maintain product and general liability insurance of the types and in the amounts that we believe are customary for the industry. However, we may experience material losses in the future, incur significant costs to defend claims or issue product recalls, experience claims in excess of our insurance coverage or that are not covered by insurance, or be subjected to fines or penalties. Our reputation may be adversely affected by such claims, whether or not successful, including potential negative publicity about our products. In addition, if any of our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may be required to participate in a recall of that product if the defect or alleged defect relates to safety. These and other claims we may face could be costly to us and require substantial management attention.
The nature of our business exposes us to workers’ compensation claims and other workplace liabilities.
Certain materials we use require our employees to handle potentially hazardous or toxic substances. While our employees who handle these and other potentially hazardous or toxic materials receive specialized training and wear protective clothing, there is still a risk that they, or others, may be exposed to these substances. Exposure to these substances could result in significant injury to our employees and damage to our property or the property of others, including natural resource damage. Our personnel are also at risk for other workplace- related injuries, including slips and falls. We have in the past been, and may in the future be, subject to fines, penalties, and other liabilities in connection with any such injury or damage. Although we currently maintain what we believe to be suitable and adequate insurance in excess of our self-insured amounts, we may be unable to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms or such insurance may not provide adequate protection against potential liabilities.
Increases in income tax rates or changes in income tax laws or enforcement could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
Changes in domestic and international tax legislation could expose us to additional tax liability. Although we monitor changes in tax laws and work to mitigate the impact of proposed changes, such changes may negatively impact our financial results. In addition, increases in individual income tax rates would negatively affect our potential consumers’ discretionary income and could decrease the demand for our products.
Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock
The timing and amount of our stock repurchases are subject to a number of uncertainties.
Our board of directors has authorized the Company’s discretionary repurchase of outstanding common stock, to be systematically completed in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The amount and timing of share repurchases are based on a variety of factors. Important considerations that could cause us to limit, suspend, or delay future stock repurchases include:
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unfavorable market and economic conditions;
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the trading price of our common stock;
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the nature and magnitude of other investment opportunities available to us from time to time; and
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the availability of cash.
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Delaying, limiting, or suspending our stock repurchase program may negatively affect performance versus earnings per share targets, and ultimately our stock price.
Shareholders may be diluted by future issuances of common stock in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions, or otherwise; future sales of such shares in the public market, or the expectations that such sales may occur, could lower our stock price.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue shares of common stock and options, rights, warrants, and appreciation rights relating to common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our board of directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise.
Any common stock that we issue, including under our 2015 Incentive Award Plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, would dilute the percentage ownership of holders of our common stock.
We currently do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock.
While we have paid dividends in the past, we currently have no intention to pay dividends on our common stock. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Furthermore, our ability to declare and pay dividends may be limited by instruments governing future outstanding indebtedness we may incur.
Certain activist shareholder actions could cause us to incur expense and hinder execution of our strategy.
We actively engage in discussions with our shareholders regarding further strengthening our Company and creating long-term shareholder value. This ongoing dialogue can include certain divisive activist tactics, which can take many forms. Some shareholder activism, including potential proxy contests, could result in substantial costs, such as legal fees and expenses, and divert management’s and our board of director’s attention and resources from our businesses and strategic plans. Additionally, public shareholder activism could give rise to perceived uncertainties as to our future, adversely affect our relationships with dealers, distributors, or consumers, make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel, and cause our stock price to fluctuate based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business. These risks could adversely affect our business and operating results.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.