Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
We face a number of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, employees, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. A discussion of our risk factors can be found in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our 2019 Annual Report. The information below includes additional risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our 2019 Annual Report, any of which could have a material effect on us.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have an adverse impact on our business, employees, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In December 2019, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China that has since spread to nearly all regions of the world. The outbreak was subsequently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. To date, the COVID-19 outbreak and preventative measures taken to contain or mitigate the outbreak have caused, and are continuing to cause, business slowdowns or shutdowns in affected areas and significant disruption in the financial markets both globally and in the United States and Canada.
In response to the pandemic and related mitigation measures, we began implementing changes in our business in March 2020 in an effort to protect our employees and customers, and to support appropriate health and safety protocols, including implementing remote, alternative and flexible work arrangements, where possible. While these measures have been necessary and appropriate, they could result in higher operating costs and could adversely impact our business, including certain operational, reporting, accounting or other processes. In addition, an extended period of remote work arrangements could impair our ability to effectively manage our business, and introduce additional operational risks, including but not limited to cybersecurity risks and increased vulnerability to security breaches, cyber-attacks, computer viruses, ransomware, or other similar events and intrusions.
As our response to the pandemic continues to evolve, we may incur additional costs and could experience adverse impacts to our business, each of which may be significant. We have focused on controlling our costs and capital expenditures to preserve our ability to continue to fund our operations and may need to take additional actions to reduce spending in the future. Although we are unable to predict the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 outbreak at this time, the pandemic could adversely affect, our business, employees, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Such effects may be material and the potential impacts include, but are not limited to:
• disruptions in our supply chain due to transportation delays, travel restrictions, raw material cost increases and shortages, and closures of businesses or facilities;
• reductions in our operating effectiveness due to workforce disruptions resulting from “shelter-in-place” and “stay-at-home” orders, and the unavailability of key personnel necessary to conduct our business activities; and
• volatility in the global financial markets, which could have a negative impact on our ability to access capital and additional sources of financing in the future.
The situation surrounding COVID-19 remains fluid, and given its inherent uncertainty, the pandemic may have an adverse impact on our business in the near term. Should these conditions persist for a prolonged period, the COVID-19 pandemic, including any of the above factors and others that are currently unknown, may have a material adverse effect on our business, employees, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, we cannot predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our customers and suppliers, and any adverse impacts on these parties may have a material adverse impact on our business.
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