MSA MSA Safety, Inc.

Risks

• Claims of injuries from our products, product defects or recalls of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
• Our subsidiary, Mine Safety Appliances Company, LLC, may experience losses from cumulative trauma product liability claims. The inability to collect insurance receivables and the transition to becoming largely self-insured for cumulative trauma product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
• Unfavorable economic and market conditions could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
• A reduction in the spending patterns of government agencies or delays in obtaining government approval for our products could materially and adversely affect our net sales, earnings and cash flow.
• Our future results are subject to the risk that purchased components and materials are unavailable or available at excessive cost due to material shortages, excessive demand, currency fluctuation, inflationary pressure and other factors.
• Our plans to continue to improve productivity and reduce complexity may not be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to compete.
• Our plans to improve future profitability through restructuring programs may not be successful and could lead to unintended consequences.
• Our inability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate current and future acquisitions or to realize anticipated cost savings and other benefits could adversely affect our business.
• A failure of our information systems or a cybersecurity breach could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
• If we lose any of our key personnel or are unable to attract, train and/or retain qualified personnel or plan the succession of senior management, our ability to manage our business and continue our growth could be negatively impacted.
• If we fail to introduce successful new products or extend our existing product lines, we could lose our market position and our financial performance could be materially and adversely affected.
• Damage to the reputation of MSA or to one or more of our product brands could adversely affect our business.
• Our ability to market and sell our products is subject to existing government regulations and standards. Changes in such regulations and standards or our failure to comply with them could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
• The markets in which we compete are highly competitive, and some of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do. The competitive pressures faced by us could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
• We are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations across our global organization and any violation of these laws and regulations could adversely affect our results of operations.
• We are subject to various environmental laws and any violation of these laws could adversely affect our results of operations.
• We have significant international operations and are subject to the risks of doing business in foreign countries.
• Because we derive a significant portion of our sales from the operations of our foreign subsidiaries, future currency exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, and could affect the comparability of our results between financial periods.
• Our continued success depends on our ability to protect our intellectual property. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
• If our goodwill, other intangible assets and long-lived assets become impaired, we may be required to record significant charges to earnings.
• Risks related to our defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flow.
• If we fail to meet our debt service requirements or the restrictive covenants in our debt agreements or if interest rates increase, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.