UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM10-K

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 20142017

OR

Commission File Number0-16148

MULTI-COLOR CORPORATION

(513)381-1480

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Stock, no par value

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨☐    No  x☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨☐    No  x☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x☒    No  ¨☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of RegulationS-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x☒    No  ¨☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of RegulationS-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form10-K or any amendment to this Form10-K  ¨☒..

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, anon-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨☐    No  x☒

The aggregate market value of the voting andnon-voting common equity held bynon-affiliates was approximately $255,556,000$660,665,940 based upon the closing price of $33.93$66.00 per share of Common Stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as of September 30, 2013,2016, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

As of May 31, 2014, 16,430,285April 30, 2017, 16,951,808 shares of no par value Common Stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act for its 20142017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on August 20, 20149, 2017 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form10-K.

Table of Contents

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The Company believesThis report contains certain statements contained in this report that are not historical facts that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by that Act. All statements contained in this Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, plans and objectives of management for future operations. The words “may,” “continue,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate” and similar expressions (as well as the negative versions thereof) may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. With respect to the forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. AnySuch forward-looking statement speaksstatements speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which they are made.

Statements concerning expected financial performance, on-going business strategies, and possible future actions which the Company intends to pursue in order to achieve strategic objectives constitute forward-looking information. Implementation of these strategies and the achievement of such financial performance areis each subject to numerous conditions, uncertainties and risk factors, including those contained in Item 1A in “Risk Factors”.Factors.” Factors which could cause actual performance by the Company to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, without limitation: factors discussed in conjunction with a forward-looking statement; changes in generalglobal economic and business conditions; changes in business strategies or plans; raw material cost pressures; availability of raw materials; availability to pass raw material cost increases to our customers; interruption of business operations; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations, legal proceedings and developments; acceptance of new product offerings, services and technologies; new developments in packaging; our ability to effectively manage our growth and execute our long-term strategy; our ability to manage foreign operations and the risks involved with them, including compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws; currency exchange rate fluctuations; our ability to manage global political uncertainty; terrorism and political unrest; increases in general interest rate levels and credit market volatility affecting our interest costs; competition within our industry; our ability to consummate and successfully integrate acquisitions; our ability to recognize the benefits of acquisitions, including potential synergies and cost savings; failure of an acquisition or acquired company to achieve its plans and objectives generally; risk that proposed or consummated acquisitions may disrupt operations or pose difficulties in employee retention or otherwise affect financial or operating results; ability to manage foreign operations; currency exchange rate fluctuations;risk that some of our goodwill may be or later become impaired; the success and financial condition of the Company’sour significant customers; competition; acceptance ofdependence on information technology; our ability to market new product offerings; changes in business strategy or plans; quality of management; the Company’sproducts; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control; the Company’s ability to remediate our material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting;ongoing claims, lawsuits and governmental proceedings, including environmental proceedings; availability, terms and developmentdevelopments of capital and credit; cost and price changes; raw material cost pressures; availabilitydependence on key personnel; quality of raw materials;management; our ability to pass raw material cost increases to its customers; business abilitiesprotect our intellectual property and judgment of personnel; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations, legal proceedingspotential for intellectual property litigation; employee benefit costs; and developments; risk associated with significant leverage; increases in general interest rate levels affecting the Company’s interest costs; ability to manage global political uncertainty; and terrorism and political unrest.leverage. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

(In thousands, except for statistical data)

OVERVIEW

Multi-Color Corporation (Multi-Color, MCC, We, Us, Ourwe, us, our or the Company), headquartered near Cincinnati, Ohio, is a leader in global label solutions supporting a number of the world’s most prominent brands including leading producers of home & personal care, wine & spirit,spirits, food & beverage, healthcare and specialty consumer products. MCC serves international brand owners in North, Central and South America, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa and China with a comprehensive range of the latest label technologies in Pressure Sensitive, Glue-Applied (Cut and Stack), In-Mold, Shrink Sleeve and Heat Transfer.

The Company was incorporated in 1985, succeeding the predecessor business. Our corporate offices are located at 4053 Clough Woods Drive, Batavia, Ohio 45103 and our telephone number is (513) 381-1480.

Our common stock, no par value, is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LABL”. See “Item 5 – Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.” We maintain a website (www.mcclabel.com), which includes additional information about the Company. The website includes corporate governance information for our shareholders and our Code of Ethics can be found under the corporate governance section. Information on the website is not part of this Form 10-K. Shareholders can also obtain on and through our website, free of charge, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such materials with or furnishes such materials to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Any of these documents may be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information regarding the operation of the SEC Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. The Company’s filed documents may also be accessed via the SEC Internet site at http://www.sec.gov.

References to 2017, 2016 and 2015 are for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The Company provides a wide range of products for the packaging needs of our customers and is one of the world’s largest producers of high quality pressure sensitive, in-mold and heat transfer labels, and a major manufacturer of glue-applied and shrink sleeve labels. The Company also provides a full complement of print methods including flexographic, lithographic, rotogravure, letterpress and digital, plus in-house pre-press services.

Pressure Sensitive Labels:

Pressure sensitive labels adhere to a surface with pressure. The label typically consists of four elements – a substrate, which may include paper, foil or plastic; an adhesive, which may be permanent or removable; a release coating; and a backing material to protect the adhesive against premature contact with other surfaces. The release coating and protective backing are removed prior to application to the container, exposing the adhesive, and the label is pressed or rolled into place. Innovative features of this product include promotional neckbands, peel-away coupons, resealable labels, see-through window graphics, and holographic foil enhancements to cold and hot foil stamping.

The pressure sensitive market is the largest category of the overall label market and represents a significant growth opportunity. Our strategy is to be a premier global supplier of pressure sensitive labels that demand high impact graphics or are otherwise technically challenging.

In-Mold Labels (IML):

The in-mold label process applies a label to a plastic container as the container is being formed in the mold cavity. The finished IML product is a finely detailed label that performs consistently well for plastic container manufacturers and adds marketing value and product security for consumer product companies.

Each component of the IML production process requires a special expertise for success. The components include the substrate (the base material for the label), inks, overcoats, varnishes and adhesives. We are unique in the industry in that we manufacture IMLs on rotogravure, flexographic and lithographic printing presses. There are several critical characteristics of a successful IML: the material needs a proper coefficient of friction so that the finished label is easily and consistently picked up and applied to the blow-molded container, the substrate must be able to hold the label’s inks, including metallics and fluorescents, overlay varnishes and adhesives and the material must be able to lay smoothly, without wrinkle or bulge, when applied to a very hot, just molded plastic container that will quickly shrink, along with the label, as its temperature falls. We continually search for alternate substrates to be used in the IML process in order to improve label performance and capabilities as well as to reduce substrate costs. Technical innovations in this area include the use of peel-away IML coupons, scented and holographic labels.

Heat Transfer Labels (HTL):

HTL are reverse printed and transferred from a special release liner onto the container using heat and pressure. The labels are a composition of inks and lacquers tailored to the customer’s specific needs. These labels are printed and then shipped to blow molders and/or contract decorators who transfer the labels to the containers. Once applied, the labels are permanently adhered to the container.

The graphics capabilities include fine vignettes, metallic and thermochromatic inks, as well as the patented “frost”, giving an acid-etch appearance.

Therimage™ is our pioneer heat transfer label technology developed primarily for applications involving plastic containers serving consumer markets in personal care, food and beverage, and home improvement products. The addition of the Clear ADvantage™ brand provides premium graphics on both glass and plastic containers enabling this decorating technology to achieve the highly sought after “no label” look for the health and beauty aid, beverage, personal care, household chemical and promotional markets. Our “ink only” and flameless HTL technology have increased our capabilities in this area. Flameless technology enables us to provide a solution to customers who want to remove open flames from their operations, which are normally required to pre-treat and post-treat containers for Therimage™ and Clear ADvantage™ products. Flameless technology has applications in all the aforementioned markets.

Glue-Applied Labels (Cut and Stack):

Glue-applied labels are adhered to containers using an adhesive applied during the labeling process. Available in roll-fed and sheeted formats, the labels are an attractive and cost-effective choice for high volume applications. These labels can be produced on a wide variety of substrates and accommodate a comprehensive range of embellishments including foil stamping, embossing, metallics and unique varnish finishes.

Our innovations within glue-applied labels include peel-away promotional labels, thermochromics, holographics and metalized films. We also offer promotional products such as scratch-off coupons, static-clings and tags.

Shrink Sleeve Labels:

Shrink sleeve labels are produced in colorful, cutting edge styles and materials. The labels are manufactured as sleeves, slid over glass or plastic bottles and then heated to conform precisely to the contours of the container. The 360-degree label and tamper resistant feature of the label are marketing advantages that many of our customers seek when choosing this label type.

The shrink sleeve market is a growing decorating technology as consumer product companies look for ways to differentiate their products. Several markets, such as the beverage market within the consumer goods industry, have adopted this decorating technology. Demand for this label solution in the food and personal care markets continues to grow and should broaden the sales opportunities for shrink sleeve labels.

Graphic Services:

We provide graphics and pre-press services for our customers at all of our manufacturing locations. These services include the conversion of customer digital files and artwork into proofs, production of print layouts and printing plates, and product mock ups and samples for market research.

As a result of these capabilities, we are able to go from concept to printed label, thus increasing our customers’ speed to market and further enhancing our value proposition.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Our product leadership group focuses on research and development, product commercialization and technical service support. The group includes chemical, packaging and field engineers who are responsible for developing and commercializing innovative label and application solutions. Technical service personnel also assist customers and manufacturers in improving container and label performance. The services provided by this group differentiate us from many of our competitors and drive our selection for the most challenging projects.

Our research and development expenditures were $4,751, $3,763$5,274, $5,520 and $3,494$4,619 in 2014, 20132017, 2016 and 2012,2015, respectively.

SALES AND MARKETING

We provide a complete line of label solutions and a variety of technical and graphic services. Our vision is to be the premier global resource of decorating solutions. We sell to a broad range of consumer product, food & beverage, and wine & spiritspirits and healthcare companies located in North, Central and South America, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa and China.Africa. Our sales strategy is a consultative selling approach. Our sales organization reviews the requirements of the container and offers a number of alternative decorating methods. Our customers view us as an expert source of materials, methods and technologies with the ability to offer the most cost effective solution.

We have continued to make progress in expanding our customer base and portfolio of products, services and manufacturing locations throughout the world. During 2014, 20132017, 2016 and 2012,2015, sales to major customers (those exceeding 10% of the Company’s net revenues in one or more of the periods presented) approximated 17%, 15%17% and 14%18%, respectively, of the Company’s consolidated net revenues. All of these sales were made to theThe Procter & Gamble Company. The acquisition of Collotype International Holdings Pty. Ltd based in Adelaide, Australia diversified our customer base into new product markets, primarily wine & spirit, and new geographic regions, primarily Australia and South Africa. We continued the diversification into Europe with the acquisitions of Guidotti CentroStampa, Monroe Etiquette, La Cromografica and Warszawski Dom Handlowy, with manufacturing plants in Italy, France and Poland, inIn fiscal 2011 and 2012. The fiscal 2012 acquisition of York Label Group, with manufacturing plants in the United States, Canada and Chile, expanded sales with existing customers as well as added customers from a wide spectrum of markets including consumer products, food & beverage, pharmaceutical and wine & spirit. We2015, we entered the Scottish wine & spirit market with the acquisition of Labelgraphics (Holdings) Ltd. in fiscal 2013 and John Watson & Company Limited in fiscal 2014, both located in Glasgow, Scotland. We entered the

MexicanIrish label market with the acquisition of Flexo Print S.A. De C.V.Multiprint Labels Limited in Dublin, Ireland, which specializes in pressure sensitive labels for the wine & spirits and beverage markets, and New Era Packaging in Drogheda, Ireland, which specializes in labels for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries. We also

entered the English label market in fiscal 2014,2015 with the acquisition of Multi Labels Ltd., which is a leading producerspecializes in premium alcoholic beverage labels for spirits and imported wine. In fiscal 2016, we entered the Southeast Asian label market with the acquisition of Super Label, which specializes in labels for home & personal care, food & beverage wine & spirit and pharmaceutical labels in Latin America.specialty consumer product industries. We also entered the Swiss labelSpanish wine & spirits market with the acquisition of Gern & Cie SA, a premier wine label producer located in Neuchatel, Switzerland, in fiscal 2014. The acquisition of DI-NA-CAL based near Cincinnati, Ohio in fiscal 2014 extended our position in the heat transfer label market and added new customers we can support2016 with a broad range of label technologies.start-up operating in La Rioja, Spain.

PRODUCTION AND QUALITY

To guarantee consistent quality results, all of our label decorating services are backed by aggressively implemented and administered quality programs and qualified technical support staff. Our certified ISO 9001 quality assurance program ensures excellence in every label.

Multi-Color’s comprehensive range of printing technologies facilitates our ability to respond quickly and effectively to changing customer needs. Our current printing technologies include flexographic, lithographic, rotogravure, letterpress and digital. Pre-press technology offerings include color separations, color management programs and in-house platemaking and tooling.

Our manufacturing operations involve complex processes and utilize factory automation to produce a consistent, high quality label. We employ state of the art technologies including digital platemaking and automated vision inspection systems complemented by a robust systemic quality management system.

EMPLOYEES

As of March 31, 2014,2017, we had approximately 3,2505,450 employees. Of the total employees, 48 are represented by the Graphics Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 77P in the U.S. The related labor contracts with this union expire in July 2015 and June 2017, respectively. In addition, 69approximately 60 employees are represented by the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers, International Union (USW) A.F.L.-C.I.O. Local 98 in Norwood, Ohio, and the related labor contract expiresexpiring in April 2017.March 2022. We also have three union agreements in Canada representing 47approximately 45 employees; two Teamsters/Graphic Communications Conference, Local Union 555Ms, which expireexpires in July 20162020 and the Workers Union of Les Graphiques Corpco (CSN), which expires in January 2015.August 2018. We consider our labor relations to be good and have not experienced any work stoppages during the previous decade. Our human resource and compensation systems have been developed to align our objectives with the goals of our shareholders.

RAW MATERIALS

Common to the printing industry, we purchase proprietary products from a number of raw material suppliers. To prevent potential disruptions to our manufacturing facilities, we have developed relationships with more than one supply source for each of our critical raw materials. Our raw material suppliers are major corporations with successful historical performance. Although we intend to prevent any long-term business interruption due to our inability to obtain raw materials, there could be short-term manufacturing disruptions during the customer qualification period for any new raw material source.

ACQUISITIONS

We are continually in pursuit of selective acquisitions that will contribute to our growth. We believe that acquisitions are a method of increasing our presence in existing markets, expanding into new markets, gaining new customers and product offerings and improving operating efficiencies through economies of scale. Through acquisitions, we intend to broaden our revenue stream by expanding our lines of innovative label solutions, offering a variety of technical and graphic services and fulfilling the specific needs and requirements of our customers. The printing and packaging industry is highly fragmented and offers many opportunities for acquisitions.

On AprilJuly 1, 2011, we2014, the Company acquired La Cromografica, an Italian wine label specialist locatedMultiprint Labels Limited (Multiprint) based in Florence, Italy. La CromograficaDublin, Ireland. Multiprint specializes in high quality winepressure sensitive labels for Italianthe wine & spirits and beverage markets in Ireland and the UK.

On January 5, 2015, the Company acquired Multi Labels Ltd., based in Daventry, near London, England, which specializes in premium winesalcoholic beverage labels for spirits and imported wine.

On February 2, 2015, the Company acquired New Era Packaging, which is based near Dublin, Ireland and specializes in labels for the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries.

On May 1, 2015, the Company acquired Mr. Labels in Brisbane, Queensland Australia, which provides furtherlabels primarily to food and beverage customers.

On May 4, 2015, the Company acquired Barat Group (Barat) based in Bordeaux, France. Barat operates four manufacturing facilities in Bordeaux and Burgundy, France, and the acquisition gives the Company access to the Italianlabel market in the Bordeaux wine label market.region and expands our presence in Burgundy.

On May 2, 2011, weAugust 11, 2015, the Company acquired 70% ownership90% of the shares of Super Label based in twoKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which was publicly listed on the Malaysian stock exchange. During the second and third quarters of fiscal 2016, the Company acquired the remaining shares and delisted Super Label. The acquisition included an 80% controlling interest in the label operations in Latin America; oneIndonesia and a 60% controlling interest in Santiago, Chilecertain legal entities in Malaysia and China. During the other in Mendoza, Argentina. These label operations focus on providing premium labels to the expanding Latin American wine & spirit markets. In September 2011,third quarter of fiscal 2017, the Company boughtacquired the regional partner’s 30% ownership interest inremaining shares of the two label operations in Latin America for 40 shares of Multi-Color common stock. As a result, MCC now owns 100% of the acquired labelIndonesia. Super Label has operations in ChileMalaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Argentina. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, our Santiago operations were merged into the Chilean operations acquired as part of the York Label Group acquisition.

On July 1, 2011, the Company acquired Warszawski Dom Handlowy (WDH), a consumer productsChina and spirit label company located in Warsaw, Poland. WDH supplies a number of large consumer products companies and international brand owners in home & personal care markets, consistent with MCC’s large customers in the U.S.

On October 3, 2011, the Company acquired York Label Group (York), including its joint venture in Santiago, Chile. York, which was headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is a leader in theproduces home & personal care, food & beverage and wine & spiritspecialty consumer products labels. This acquisition expands our presence in China and gives us access to new label markets with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Chile. The acquisition strengthened Multi-Color’s presence in its core markets through the combination of the Company’s existing customer relationships with York’s customer base.

On April 2, 2012, the Company acquired Labelgraphics (Holdings) Ltd. (Labelgraphics), a wine & spirit specialist located in Glasgow, Scotland. The acquisition expanded MCC’s global presence in the wine & spirit label market, particularly in the United Kingdom.

On April 2, 2013, the Company acquired Labelmakers Wine Division in Adelaide, Australia and Imprimerie Champenoise in the Champagne region of France.

On August 1, 2013, the Company acquired 100% of Flexo Print S.A. De C.V., based in Guadalajara, Mexico, a leading producer of home & personal care, food & beverage, wine & spirit and pharmaceutical labels in Latin America. The acquisition provides Multi-Color with significant growth opportunities in Mexico through our many common customers, technologies and suppliers.Southeast Asia.

On October 1, 2013,2015, the Company acquired Gern & Cie SA, the premier wine label producer in Switzerland,Supa Stik Labels (Supa Stik), which is located in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Gern has similar customer profilesPerth, West Australia and technologies as our existing French operations.services the local wine, food & beverage and healthcare label markets.

On October 1, 2013,January 4, 2016, the Company acquired John Watson & Company Limited, basedCashin Print and System Label, which are located in Glasgow, Scotland,Castlebar, Ireland and Roscommon, Ireland, respectively. The businesses supply multinational customers in Ireland, the leading glue-applied spirit label producerUnited Kingdom and Continental Europe and provide Multi-Color with the opportunity to supply a broader product range to a larger customer base, especially in the U.K. The business is ideally located for its key customers and is complementary to MCC’s existing business in Glasgow (formerly Labelgraphics), the leading pressure sensitive wine and spirit label producer in the same region.healthcare market.

On FebruaryJuly 1, 2014,2016, the Company acquired Italstereo Resin Labels S.r.l. (Italstereo), which is located near Lucca, Italy and specializes in producing pressure sensitive adhesive resin coated labels, seals and emblems.

On July 6, 2016, the assets of the DI-NA-CAL^® label business, based near Cincinnati, Ohio, from Graphic Packaging International, Inc. DI-NA-CAL operates manufacturing facilities near Cincinnati, Ohio and Greensboro, North Carolina and provides decorative label solutions primarilyCompany acquired Industria Litografica Alessandrina S.r.l. (I.L.A.), which is located in the heat transfer label marketsPiedmont region of Italy and specializes in producing premium self-adhesive and wet glue labels primarily for homethe wine & personal carespirits market and also services the food industry.

On January 3, 2017, the Company acquired Graphix Labels and Packaging Pty Ltd. (Graphix). Graphix is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and specializes in producing labels for both the food & beverage through long-standing relationships with blue chip national and multi-national customers.wine & spirits markets. In January 2017, the Company acquired an additional 67.6% of the common shares of Gironde Imprimerie Publicité (GIP). The Company acquired 30% of GIP as part of the Barat acquisition extends Multi-Color’s positionin fiscal 2016. GIP is located in the heat transfer label marketBordeaux region of France and allows us to support a number of new customers with a broader range of label technologies.specializes in producing labels for the wine & spirits market.

See Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements for geographic information relating to our net revenues and long-lived assets. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for further information regarding acquisitions.

COMPETITION

We have a large number of competitors in the pressure sensitive and glue-applied label markets and several competitors in each of the IML, shrink sleeve and HTL markets. Some of these competitors in the pressure sensitive and glue-applied label markets have greater financial and other resources than us. The competitors in IML, shrink sleeve and HTL markets are either private companies or subsidiaries of public companies and we cannot assess the financial resources of these organizations. We could be adversely affected should a competitor develop labels similar or technologically superior to our labels. We believe competition is principally dependent upon product performance, service, pricing, technical support and innovation.

PATENTS AND LICENSES

We own a number of patents and patent applications in the U.S., Europe, Australia and South Africa that relate to the products and services we offer to our customers. Although these patents are important to us, we are not dependent upon any one patent. We believe that these patents, collectively, along with our ability to be a single source provider of many packaging needs, provide us with a competitive advantage over our competition. The expiration or unenforceability of any one of our patents would not have a material adverse effect on us.

REGULATION

Our operations are subject to regulation by federal, state and foreign (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Scotland, Switzerland, and South Africa) environmental protection agencies. To ensure ongoing compliance with these requirements, we have implemented an internal compliance program. Additionally, we continue to make capital investments to maintain compliance with these environmental regulations and to improve our existing equipment. However, there can be no assurances that these regulations will not require expenditures beyond those that are currently anticipated.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration regulates the raw materials used in labels for various products. These regulations apply to the consumer product companies for which we produce labels. We use materials specified by the consumer product companies in producing labels.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

(In thousands)thousands, except for statistical data)

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, the following factors could materially affect the Company’s business, financial condition, cash flows or future results. Any one of these factors could cause the Company’s actual results to vary materially from recent results or from anticipated future results. The risks described below are not the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and/or operating results.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Raw material cost increases or shortages could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.

As a member of the print industry, our sales and profitability are dependent upon the availability and cost of various raw materials, which are subject to price fluctuations, and the ability to control the fluctuating costs of raw materials, pass on any price increases to our customers or find suitable alternative suppliers. If we are unable to effectively manage these costs or improve our operating efficiencies, or if adverse developments arise concerning certain key raw material vendors, such as disruptions in their productions or lack of

availability of the raw materials we need from them, or our relationships with them, our profit margin may decline, especially if the inflationary conditions that have occurred in these markets in the recent past continue to occur.

We face risks related to interruption of our operations and lack of redundancy.

Our production facilities, websites, transaction processing systems, network infrastructure, supply chain and customer service operations may be vulnerable to interruptions, and we do not have redundancies in all cases to carry on these operations in the event of an interruption. Specifically, the long-term shutdown of our printing presses or malfunctions experienced with our presses could negatively impact our ability to fulfill customers’ orders and on-time delivery needs and adversely impact our operating results and cash flows. We have not identified alternatives to all of our facilities, systems, supply chains and infrastructure, including production, to serve us in the event of an interruption, and if we were to find alternatives, they may not be able to meet our requirements on commercially acceptable terms or at all. In addition, we are dependent in part on third parties for the implementation and maintenance of certain aspects of our communications and production systems, and because many of the causes of system interruptions or interruptions of the production process may be outside of our control, we may not be able to remedy such interruptions in a timely manner, or at all. Any interruptions that cause any of our websites to be unavailable, reduce our order fulfillment performance or interfere with our manufacturing, technology or customer service operations could result in lost revenue, increased costs, negative publicity, damage to our reputation and brand, and an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Building redundancies into our infrastructure, systems and supply chain to mitigate these risks may require us to commit substantial financial, operational and technical resources, in some cases before the volume of our business increases with no assurance that our revenues will increase.

Various laws and governmental regulations applicable to a manufacturer or distributor of consumer products may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business is subject to numerous federal, state, provincial, local and foreign laws and regulations, including laws and regulations with respect to labor and employment, product safety, including regulations enforced by the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission, import and export activities, the Internet and e-commerce, antitrust issues, taxes, chemical usage, air emissions, wastewater and storm water discharges and the generation, handling, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste materials, including hazardous materials. We routinely incur costs in complying with these regulations and, if we fail to comply, could incur significant penalties.

Although we believe that we are in substantial compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, because legal requirements frequently change and are subject to interpretation, we are unable to predict the ultimate cost of compliance or the consequences of non-compliance with these requirements, or the affecteffect on our operations, any of which may be significant. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we may be subject to criminal sanctions or civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, or prohibitions on importing or exporting. A failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations, or concerns about product safety, also may lead to a recall or post-manufacture repair of selected products, resulting in the rejection of our products by our customers and consumers, lost sales, increased customer service and support costs, and costly litigation. In addition, failure to comply with environmental requirements could require us to shut down one or more of our facilities. There is risk that any claims or liabilities, including product liability claims, relating to such noncompliance may exceed, or fall outside the scope of, our insurance coverage. Laws and regulations at the state, federal and international levels frequently change and the cost of compliance cannot be precisely estimated. Any changes in regulations, the imposition of additional regulations, or the enactment of any new governmental legislation that impacts employment/labor, trade, health care, tax, environmental or other business issues could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to meet our customer expectations or to continue to develop and introduce new services and technologies successfully, our competitive positioning and our ability to grow our business could be harmed.

Quality issues discovered in our current products and services after shipment or performance may cause additional shipping costs, possible discounts or refunds, and potential loss of future sales, while issues discovered prior to shipping may cause delays and potentially cancelled orders. These quality issues could adversely affect our profitability as well as negatively impact our reputation. In addition, in order to remain competitive, we must continually invest in new technologies that will enable us to meet the evolving demands of our customers. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in the introduction, marketing and adoption of any of our new products or services, or that we will develop and introduce in a timely manner innovative products and services that satisfy customer needs or achieve market acceptance. Our failure to develop new services and products and introduce them successfully could harm our competitive position and our ability to grow our business, and our revenues and operating results could suffer.

New developments in packaging could affect our profitability.

The packaging industry is constantly evolving based on both industry-member and consumer preferences, and to the extent that any such new developments result in a decrease in the utilization of labels, our profitability could be adversely affected.

We must be able to continue to effectively manage our growth, including our recent acquisitions, and to execute our long-term growth strategy.

We have experienced significant and steady growth over the last several years. Our growth, in particular our recent acquisitions, combined with the geographical separation of our operations, has placed, and will continue to place, a strain on our management, administrative and operational infrastructure. Our ability to manage our operations and anticipated growth will require us to continue to refine our operational, financial and management controls, human resource policies, reporting systems and procedures in the locations in which we operate. In addition, our expectations regarding the earnings, operating cash flow, capital expenditures and liabilities resulting from acquisitions

recently completed are based on information currently available to us and may prove to be incorrect. We may not be able to implement improvements to our management information and control systems in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing systems and controls. If we are unable to realize any of the anticipated benefits of an acquisition or manage expected future expansion,

or if our long-term growth strategy is not successful, our ability to provide a high-quality customer experience could be harmed, which would damage our reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations. In addition, projections made by us in connection with forming our long-term growth strategy are inherently uncertain and based on assumptions and judgments by management that may be flawed or based on information about our business and markets that may change in the future, many of which are beyond our reasonable control. These and various other factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from our projections.

We are subject to risks associated with our international operations, including compliance with applicable U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 and other applicable anti-corruption laws, which may increase the cost of doing business in international jurisdictions.

We have operations in North, Central and South America, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Australia New Zealand,and South Africa and China and we intend to continue expansion of our international operations. As a result, our business is exposed to risks inherent in foreign operations. If we fail to adequately address the challenges and risks associated with our international expansion and acquisition strategy, we may encounter difficulties implementing our strategy, which could impede our growth or harm our operating results. These risks, which can vary substantially by jurisdiction, include the difficulties associated with managing an organization with operations in multiple countries, compliance with differing laws and regulations (including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 and local laws prohibiting payments to government officials and other corrupt practices, tax laws, regulations and rates), enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies, particularly as we expand our operations through organic growth and acquisitions. Any such violations could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, including material fines or prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries, and could also materially damage our reputation, brand, international expansion efforts, business and operating results. Additional risks include the potential for restrictive actions by foreign governments, changes in economic conditions in each market, foreign customers who may have longer payment cycles than customers in the United States, the impact of economic, political and social instability of those countries in which we operate and acts of nature, such as typhoons, tsunamis, or earthquakes. The overall volatility of the economic environment has increased the risk of disruption and losses resulting from hyper-inflation, currency devaluation and tax or regulatory changes in certain countries in which we have operations. Approximately 37%45% of our sales were derived from our foreign operations (based on the country from which the product was shipped) during fiscal 2014.2017.

We also face the challenges and uncertainties associated with operating in developing markets such as China, which may subject us to a relatively high risk of political and social instability and economic volatility, all of which are enhanced, in many cases, by uncertainties as to how local law is applied and enforced, including in areas most relevant to commercial transactions and foreign investment.

Currency exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our revenue, cash flows and financial results.

Because we conduct a significant portion of our business outside the United States, our revenues and earnings and the value of our foreign net assets are affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which may favorably or adversely affect reported earnings and net assets. Currency exchange rates fluctuate in response to, among other things, changes in local, regional or global economic conditions, the imposition of currency exchange restrictions and unexpected changes in regulatory or taxation environments. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may affect the Company’s operating performance by impacting revenues and expenses outside of the United States due to fluctuations in currencies other than the U.S. dollar or where the Company translates into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes the assets and liabilities of its foreign operations conducted in local currencies.

We have risks related to continued uncertain global economic conditions and volatility in the credit markets.

During the past several years,At times, domestic and international financial markets have experienced extreme disruption, including, among other things, extreme volatility in stock prices and severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. These developments and the related severe domestic and international economic downturn, have continued to adversely impact our business and financial condition in a number of ways, including effects beyond those that were experienced in previous recessions in the United States and foreign economies.

Global economic conditions also affect our customers’ businesses and the markets they serve, as well as our suppliers. Because a significant part of our business relies on our customers’ spending, a prolonged downturn in the global economy and an uncertain economic outlook has and could further reduce the demand for printing and related services that we provide to these customers. Economic weakness and constrained advertising spending have resulted, and may in the future result, in decreased revenue, operating margin, earnings and growth rates and difficulty in managing inventory levels and collecting accounts receivable. In particular, our exposure to certain industries currently experiencing financial difficulties and certain financially troubled customers could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. The current restrictions in financial markets and the severe prolonged economic downturn may adversely affect the ability of our customers and suppliers to obtain financing for operations and purchases and to perform their obligations under agreements with us. We also have experienced, and expect to experience in the future, operating margin declines in certain businesses, reflecting the effect of items such as competitive pricing pressures and inventory write-downs. Economic downturns may also result in restructuring actions and associated expenses and impairment of long-lived assets, including goodwill and other intangibles. Uncertainty about future economic conditions makes it difficult for us to forecast operating results and to make decisions about future investments.

Finally, economic downturns may affect one or more of our lenders’ ability to fund future draws on our Credit Facility or our ability to access the capital markets or obtain new financing arrangements that are favorable to us. In such an event, our liquidity could be severely constrained with an adverse impact on our ability to operate our businesses. Our ability to meet the financial covenants in the Credit Facility may also be affected by events beyond our control, including a further deterioration of current economic and industry conditions, which

could negatively affect our earnings. If it is determined we are not in compliance with these financial covenants, the

lenders under the Credit Facility will be entitled to take certain actions, including acceleration of all amounts due under the facility. If the lenders take such action, we may be forced to amend the terms of the credit agreement, obtain a waiver or find alternative sources of capital. Obtaining new financing arrangements or amending our existing one may result in significantly higher fees and ongoing interest costs as compared to those in our current arrangement.

Competition in our industry could limit our ability to retain current customers and attract new customers.

The markets for our products and services are highly competitive.competitive and constantly evolving. We compete primarily based on the level and quality of customer service, technological leadership, product performance and price and the inability to successfully overcome competition in our business could have a material adverse impact on our operating results and cash flows. Some of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than us. We could face competitive pressure as a result of any of the following: our ability to continue to improve our product and service offerings and developkeep pace with and integrate technological advances;advances and industry evolutions; new products developed by our competitors that are of superior quality, fit our customers’ needs better or have lower prices; patents obtained or developed by competitors; consolidation of our competitors; pricing pressures; loss of proprietary supplies of certain materials.materials; decrease in the utilization of labels. The inability to successfully identify, develop and sell new or improved products and to overcome competition in our business could have a material adverse impact on our operating results and cash flows.

Our business growth strategy involves the potential for significant acquisitions, which involve risks and difficulties in integrating potential acquisitions and may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

All acquisitions involve inherent uncertainties, which may include, among other things, our ability to:

We may acquire businesses with unknown liabilities, contingent liabilities, or internal control deficiencies. We have plans and procedures to conduct reviews of potential acquisition candidates for compliance with applicable regulations and laws prior to acquisition. Despite these efforts, realization of any of these liabilities or deficiencies may increase our expenses, adversely affect our financial position through the initiation, pendency or outcome of litigation or otherwise, or cause us to fail to meet our public financial reporting obligations.

We have a history of making acquisitions and, over the past several years, have invested, and in the future may continue to invest, a substantial amount of capital in acquisitions. We continue to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities to support, strengthen and grow our business. Although we have completed many acquisitions, there can be no assurance that we will be able to locate suitable acquisition candidates, acquire possible acquisition candidates, acquire such candidates on commercially reasonable terms, or integrate acquired businesses successfully in the future. In addition, any governmental review or investigation of our proposed acquisitions, such as by the Federal Trade Commission, may impede, limit or prevent us from proceeding with an acquisition. Future acquisitions may require us to incur additional debt and contingent liabilities, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The process of integrating acquired businesses into our existing operations may result in operating, contract and supply chain difficulties, such as the failure to retain customers or management personnel. Such difficulties may divert significant financial, operational and managerial resources from our existing operations, and make it more difficult to achieve our operating and strategic objectives.

We may not realize the anticipated benefits of, or be able to successfully integrate, our recent acquisitions.

Our expectations regarding the earnings, operating cash flow, capital expenditures and liabilities resulting from acquisitions recently completed are based on information currently available to us and may prove to be incorrect. Our inability to realize any of the anticipated benefits of an acquisition and to successfully integrate the acquired assets into our existing business will have an adverse effect on our financial condition including potential impairment of goodwill and other assets.

We have a significant amount of goodwill and other intangible assets on our balance sheet that are subject to periodic impairment evaluations. In 2014, we wrote downevaluations; an impairment of our goodwill and weor other intangible assets may have similar charges in the future, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

When we acquire a business, a portion of the purchase price of the acquisition may be allocated to goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. The amount of the purchase price which is allocated to goodwill and other intangible assets is the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable tangible assets acquired. As of March 31, 2014,2017, we had $547,633$581,770 of goodwill and intangible assets, the value of which depends on a number of factors, including earnings growth, market capitalization and the overall success of our business. Accounting standards require us to test goodwill for impairment annually, and more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate impairment may exist.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $13,475 related to goodwill in our Latin America Wine and Spirit reporting unit. There can be no assurance that future reviews of our goodwill and other intangible assets will not result in additional impairment charges. Although it does not affect cash flow, an impairment charge does have the effect of decreasing our

earnings, assets and shareholders’ equity. Future events may occur that could adversely affect the value of our assets and require future impairment charges. Such events may include, but are not limited to, poor operating results, strategic decisions made in response to changes in economic and competitive conditions, the impact of a deteriorating economic environment and decreases in our market capitalization due to a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

During the early years of an acquisition, the risk of impairment to goodwill and intangible assets is naturally higher. This is because the fair values of these assets align very closely with what we recently paid to acquire the reporting units to which these assets are assigned. This

means the difference between the carrying value of the reporting unit and its fair value (typically referred to as “headroom”) is naturally smaller at the time of acquisition. Until this headroom grows over time (due to business growth or lower carrying value of the reporting unit due to natural amortization, etc.), a relatively small decrease in reporting unit fair value can trigger an impairment. That fair value is affected by actual business performance but is also determined by the market (usually reflected in the value of our common stock). As a consequence, sometimes even with favorable business performance, the market alone can drive an impairment condition if general business valuations decline significantly. When impairment charges are triggered, they tend to be material due to the sheer size of the assets involved.

Our debt instruments impose operating and financial restrictions on us and, in the event of a default, would have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

As of March 31, 2014,2017, our consolidated indebtedness, including current maturities of long-term indebtedness, was $478,202,$481,501, which could have important consequences including the following:

We may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our credit agreements. If new indebtedness is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify.

Our credit agreementsdebt instruments contain covenants that limit our flexibility in operating our business.

The agreements governing our indebtedness contain various covenants that may adversely affect our ability to operate our business. Among other things, these covenants limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness; make certain investments or loans, transfer or sell certain assets, create or permit liens on assets and consolidate, merge, sell or otherwiseindebtedness, dispose of allassets, incur guarantee obligations, make restricted payments, create liens, make equity or substantially all of our assets.debt investments, engage in mergers, change the business conducted by the Company and its subsidiaries, and engage in certain transactions with affiliates.

The agreements governing our indebtedness also require us to maintain (i) a minimummaximum consolidated net worth,senior secured leverage ratio, (ii) a maximum consolidated leverage ratio, which steps down incrementally during the term of the agreements;ratio; and (iii) a minimum consolidated interest charge coverage ratio.

Our ability to meet the financial ratios and tests contained in our credit agreements and other debt arrangements, and otherwise comply with debt covenants may be affected by various events, including those that may be beyond our control. Accordingly, we may not be able to continue to meet those ratios, tests and covenants. A significant breach of any of these covenants, ratios, tests or restrictions, as applicable, could result in an event of default under our debt arrangements, which would allow our lenders to declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable. If the lenders were to accelerate the payment of our indebtedness, our assets may not be sufficient to repay in full the indebtedness and any other indebtedness that would become due as a result of any acceleration. Further, as a result of any breach and during any cure period or negotiations to resolve a breach or expected breach, our lenders may refuse to make further loans, which would materially affect our liquidity and results of operations.

In the event we were to fall out of compliance with one or more of our debt covenants in the future, we may not be successful in amending our debt arrangements or obtaining waivers for any such non-compliance. Even if we are successful in entering into an amendment or waiver, we could incur substantial costs in doing so. It is also possible that any amendments to our Credit Facilitydebt instruments or any restructured Credit Facilitydebt could impose covenants and financial ratios more restrictive than under our current facility. Any of the foregoing events could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations, and there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain the necessary waivers or amendments on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

We rely on several large customers and the loss of one of these customers would have a material adverse impact on our operating results and cash flows.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014,2017, one customer accounted for approximately 17% of our consolidated sales and our top twenty-five customers accounted for 55%approximately 48% of our consolidated sales. While we maintain sales contracts with certain of our largest customers, such contracts do not impose minimum purchase or volume requirements and these contracts require renewal on a regular basis in the ordinary course of business. Any termination of a business relationship with, or a significant sustained reduction in business received

from, one or more of our largest customers could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. The volume and type of services we provide all of our customers may vary from year to year and could be reduced if a customer were to change its outsourcing or print procurement strategy. We cannot guarantee that these contracts will be successfully renewed in the future. The loss or substantial reduction in business of any of our major customers could have a material adverse impact on our operating results and cash flows.

Our ability to develop and market new products is critical for maintaining growth.

Our success depends upon the timely introduction of new products as well as technological improvements to our current products. Research and development relies on innovation and requires anticipation of market trends. Accordingly, our ability to grow will depend upon our ability to keep pace with technological advances, industry evolutions and customer expectations on a continuing basis and to integrate available technologies and provide additional services commensurate with our customers’ needs. Our business may be adversely affected if we are unable to successfully identify, develop and sell new or improved products or keep pace with relevant technological and industry changes or if the technologies or business strategies that we adopt do not receive widespread market acceptance.

We are highly dependent on information technology. If our systems fail or are unreliable our operations may be adversely impacted.

The efficient operation of our business depends on our information technology infrastructure and our management information systems. In addition, production technology in the printing industry has continued to evolve specifically related to the pre-press component of production. Our information technology infrastructure and/or our management information systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural or man-made disasters, terrorist attacks, computer viruses or hackers, power loss, or other computer systems, Internet telecommunications or data network failures. Any significant breakdown, virus or destruction could negatively impact our business. We also periodically upgrade and install new systems, which if installed or programmed incorrectly, could cause significant disruptions. If a disruption occurs, we could incur losses and costs for interruption of our operations.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that, if not properly corrected, could materially adversely affect our operations and result in material misstatements in our financial statements.

As described in “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures,” we have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was ineffective as of March 31, 2014 because material weaknesses existed in our internal control over financial reporting related to an insufficient complement of corporate accounting and finance personnel to design and execute an effective system of internal control, general information technology controls intended to restrict access to applications and data, and the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over the accounting for other items. If we are unable to remediate our material weaknesses in a timely manner, we may be unable to provide holders of our securities with required financial information in a timely and reliable manner and we may incorrectly report financial information. Either of these events could have a material adverse effect on our operations, investor, supplier and customer confidence in our reported financial information and/or the trading price of our common stock.

We are involved on an ongoing basis in claims, lawsuits, and governmental proceedings relating to our operations, including environmental, commercial transactions, and other matters.

The ultimate outcome of these claims, lawsuits, and governmental proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, but could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. We are also involved in other possible claims, including product and general liability, workers compensation, auto liability, and employment-related matters, some of which may be of a material nature or may be resolved in a manner that has a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. While we maintain insurance for certain of these exposures, the policies in place are high-deductible policies resulting in our assuming exposure for a layer of coverage with respect to such claims. For a more detailed discussion of our asserted claims, see Item 3 of Part I of this Form 10-K.

We cannot predict our future capital needs and any limits on our ability to raise capital in the future could prevent further growth.

We may in the future be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. Additional equity financing may be dilutive to the holders of our common stock, and debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our profitability. In addition, we may experience operational difficulties and delays due to working capital restrictions. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may have to delay or scale back our growth plans and may not be able to effectively manage competitive pressures.

We depend on key personnel, and we may not be able to operate and grow our business effectively if we lose their services or are unable to attract qualified personnel in the future.

We are dependent upon the efforts of our senior management team. The success of our business is heavily dependent on our ability to retain our current management and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Competition for senior management personnel is intense, and we may not be able to retain our personnel. We have not entered into employment agreements with our key personnel, other than with our Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, and, effective April 1, 2014, our Chief Operating Officers,Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and these individuals may not continue in their present capacity with us for any particular period of time. Outside of the implementation of succession plans and executive transitions done in the normal course of business, the loss of the services of one or more members of our senior

management team could require the remaining executive officers to divert immediate and substantial attention to seeking a replacement and would disrupt our business and impede our ability to execute our business strategy. Any inability to find a replacement for a departing executive officer on a timely basis could adversely affect our ability to operate and grow our business.

If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, we may lose some of our competitive advantage.

Our success is determined in part by our ability to obtain United States and foreign patent protection for our technology and to preserve our trade secrets. Our ability to compete and the ability of our business to grow could suffer if our intellectual property rights are not adequately protected. There can be no assurance that our patent applications will result in patents being issued or that current or additional patents will afford protection against competitors. We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secret protection and contractual rights to establish and protect our intellectual property. Failure of our patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secret protection, non-disclosure agreements and other measures to provide protection of our technology and our intellectual property rights could enable our competitors to more effectively compete with us and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our trade secrets and proprietary know-how may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others. No guarantee can be given that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or techniques, or otherwise gain access to our proprietary technology.

We could become involved in intellectual property litigation, which is costly and could cause us to lose our intellectual property rights or subject us to liability.

Although we have received patents with respect to certain technologies of ours, there can be no assurance that these patents will afford us any meaningful protection. Although we believe that our use of the technology and products we developed and other trade secrets used in our operations do not infringe upon the rights of others, our use of the technology and trade secrets we developed may infringe upon the patents or intellectual property rights of others. In the event of infringement, we could, under certain circumstances, be required to obtain a license or modify aspects of the technology and trade secrets we developed or refrain from using the same. We may not have the necessary financial resources to defend an infringement claim made against us or be able to successfully terminate any infringement in a timely manner, upon acceptable terms and conditions or at all. Moreover, if the patents, technology or trade secrets we developed or use in our business are deemed to infringe upon the rights of others, we could, under certain circumstances, become liable for damages, which could have a material adverse effect on us and our financial condition. As we continue to market our products, we could encounter patent barriers that are not known today. Furthermore, third parties may assert that our intellectual property rights are invalid, which could result

in significant expenditures by us to refute such assertions. If we become involved in litigation, we could lose our proprietary rights, be subject to damages and incur substantial unexpected operating expenses. Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming, even if the claims are subsequently proven unfounded, and could divert management’s attention from our business. If there is a successful claim of infringement, we may not be able to develop non-infringing technology or enter into royalty or license agreements on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unsuccessful in defending claims that our intellectual property rights are invalid, we may not be able to enter into royalty or license agreements on acceptable terms, if at all. This could prohibit us from providing our products and services to customers, which could have a material adverse effect on us and our financial condition.

Employee benefit costs, including increasing health care costs for our employees may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We seek to provide competitive employee benefit programs to our employees. Employee benefit costs, such as U.S. healthcare costs of our eligible and participating employees, may increase significantly at a rate that is difficult to forecast, in part because we are unable to determine the impact that newly enacted U.S. federal healthcare legislation may have on our employer-sponsored medical plans. Higher employee benefit costs could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We provide health care and other benefits to our employees. In recent years, costs for health care have increased more rapidly than general inflation in the U.S. economy. If this trend in health care costs continues, our cost to provide such benefits could increase, adversely impacting our profitability. Changes to health care regulations in the U.S. may also increase the cost to us of providing such benefits.

Risks Relating to Our Common Stock

Our operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and may fluctuate in the future as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:

Because of this, we may be unable to adjust spending on fixed costs, such as building and equipment leases, depreciation and personnel costs, quickly enough to offset any revenue shortfall and our operating results could be adversely affected. Due to these factors or other unanticipated events, our financial and operating results in any one quarter may not be a reliable indicator of our future performance.

The price for our common stock can be volatile and unpredictable.

The market price of our common stock can be volatile and may experience broad fluctuations over short periods of time. The market price of our common stock may continue to experience strong fluctuations due to unexpected events, variations in our operating results, analysts’ earnings estimates or investors’ expectations concerning our future results and our business generally. In addition, regardless of our actual operating performance, the market price of our common stock may fluctuate due to broader market and industry factors.

If we fail to comply with U.S. public company reporting obligations or to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

As a U.S. public company, we are required to comply with the periodic reporting obligations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including preparing annual reports, quarterly reports and current reports. We are also subject to certain of the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Dodd-Frank Act which, among other things, require enhanced disclosure of business, financial, compensation and governance information. Our failure to prepare and disclose this information in a timely manner could subject us to penalties under federal securities laws, expose us to lawsuits, and restrict our ability to access financing. We currently have material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that we are in the process of remediating, and we may identify areas requiring improvement with respect to our internal control over financial reporting, which may require us to design enhanced processes and controls to address any additional issues identified. This could result in significant delays and cost to us and require us to divert substantial resources, including management time, from other activities. If we fail to remediate our material weaknesses or to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent fraud.

Certain provisions of Ohio law and our Articles of Incorporation and Code of Regulations may deter takeover attempts, which may limit the opportunity of our shareholders to sell their shares at a favorable price, and may make it more difficult for our shareholders to remove our Board of Directors and management.management.

Provisions in our Amended Articles of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Code of Regulations may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. These provisions include the following:

In addition, because we are incorporated in Ohio, we are governed by the provisions of Section 1704 of the Ohio Revised Code. These provisions may prohibit large shareholders, particularly those owning 10% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us. These provisions in our Articles of Incorporation and Code of Regulations and under Ohio law could discourage potential takeover attempts, could reduce the price that investors are willing to pay for our common shares in the future and could potentially result in the market price being lower than it would without these provisions.

Although no preferred shares were outstanding as of March 31, 20142017 and although we have no present plans to issue any preferred shares, our Articles of Incorporation authorize the Board of Directors to issue up to 1,000 preferred shares. The preferred shares may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which will be determined at the time of issuance by our Board of Directors without further action by the shareholders. These terms may include voting rights, including the right to vote as a series on particular matters, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of any

preferred shares could diminish the rights of holders of our common shares and, therefore, could reduce the value of our common shares. In addition, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred shares could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of our Board of Directors to issue preferred shares and the foregoing anti-takeover provisions may prevent or frustrate attempts by a third party to acquire control of the Company, even if some of our shareholders consider such change of control to be beneficial.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

(In thousands, except for statistical data)

As of March 31, 2014,2017, the Company owned 9 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., France, South Africa, and Scotland and leased 22the following 47 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Scotland and Switzerland.

See below for a listing of our 31 facilities at March 31, 2014:

facilities:

Location		Approximate Square Feet				Owned/Leased
International continued:
Manila, Philippines			21,722				Leased
Warsaw, Poland			61,657				Leased
Glasgow, Scotland			43,196				Owned
Glasgow, Scotland			29,562				Leased
Paarl, South Africa			114,343				Owned
Haro, Spain			21,528				Leased
Bevaix, Switzerland			15,069				Leased
Bangkok, Thailand			50,470				Owned

All of the Company’s properties are in good condition, well maintained and adequate for our intended uses.

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company began the process to consolidate our two manufacturing facilities located in Glasgow, Scotland into one facility. The transition was substantially completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.

On October 16, 2013,January 19, 2016, the Company announced plans to consolidate our manufacturing facility located in El Dorado Hills,Sonoma, California, into the Napa, California facility. The transition was substantially completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. In connection with the closure of the El Dorado Hills facility, we terminated our lease agreement as of March 31, 2014.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company consolidated the two operations located in Montreal, Canada into one manufacturing facility.2017.

In January 2012,On November 1, 2015, the Company announced plans to consolidate itsour manufacturing facility located in Kansas City, MissouriDublin, Ireland into our other existing facilities. In September 2012, the Kansas City facilityDrogheda, Ireland facility. The consolidation was sold for net proceedssubstantially completed in the first quarter of $625.fiscal 2017.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

(In thousands)

The Company reported previously that it was a party in a case styledDLJ South American Partners, L.P. (“DLJ”) v. Multi-Color Corporation, et al., Case No. C.A. No. 7417-CS in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “DLJ Litigation”). In a complaint filed on April 13, 2012, DLJ alleged that the Company failed to make certain payments required by the Merger and Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) entered into by the Company with Adhesion Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, DLJ, and Diamond Castle Partners IV, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, (“Diamond Castle”), pursuant to which the Company acquired York Label Group. An affiliate of Diamond Castle nominated Ari J. Benacerraf and Simon T. Roberts for election to the Board of Directors of the Company at its 2012 and 2013 Annual Meetings of Shareholders. Mr. Benacerraf and Mr. Roberts are current members of the Company’s Board.

DLJ sought the payment of $6,939 and interest, legal fees and other equitable relief. On May 18, 2012, the Company filed an answer, counterclaim and third party complaint asserting various causes of action against DLJ, Diamond Castle and affiliated entities arising out of their breaches of the Merger Agreement and other actions.

On January 23, 2014 the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release resolving all claims made in the litigation (the “Settlement Agreement”). The parties agreed to pay certain consideration under the Settlement Agreement, including the release of certain shares of the Company’s Common Stock to the Company from the escrow established pursuant to the Merger Agreement. On January 23, 2014 the parties filed a Stipulated Final Entry of Dismissal, with Prejudice, with the Delaware Court of Chancery. The settlement and release reflect a compromise regarding disputed claims and are not to be construed as an admission of liability or fault by any of the parties.

The Company is also subject to various legal claims and contingencies that arise out of the normal course of business, including claims related to commercial transactions, product liability, health and safety, taxes, environmental employee-relatedmatters, employee matters and other matters. Litigation is subject to numerous uncertainties and the outcome of individual claims and contingencies is not predictable. It is possible that some legal matters for which reserves have or have not been established could result in an unfavorable outcome for the Company and any such unfavorable outcome could be of a material nature or have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.Company.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not ApplicableApplicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol LABL. The following table sets forth the high and low closing sales prices of our common stock (“Common Stock”) as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market during fiscal years 20142017 and 2013.2016. Our stock is thinly traded and accordingly, the prices below may not be indicative of prices at which a large number of shares can be traded or reflective of prices that would prevail in a more active market.