Post (POST) Financial Report Summaries

Risks

• Disruption of our supply chain could have an adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Agricultural diseases or pests could harm our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Deterioration of general macroeconomic conditions could harm our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Measures taken to offset the impact of adverse macroeconomic conditions to maintain our profitability, including increasing prices or decreasing product sizes, may be ineffective, inadequate or unavailable or may otherwise adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Unsuccessful implementation of business strategies to reduce costs, or unintended consequences of the implementation of such strategies, may adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• We are dependent upon third parties and others for the supply of materials for and the manufacture of many of our products, some of which are supplied or manufactured by a single party or at a single location. Our businesses could suffer as a result of a party’s inability to supply materials for our products or produce our products for us on time or to our specifications.
• Damage to our reputation could adversely impact our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Unforeseen complexity in planned systems modernizations and upgrades, including the design or implementation of certain new enterprise resource planning systems, could adversely impact our businesses and operations.
• Technology failures or cybersecurity incidents could disrupt our operations and negatively impact our businesses.
• Our financial results may be adversely affected by increases in freight costs or limited freight carrier availability.
• Our sales and profit growth are dependent upon our ability to expand existing market penetration, enter into new markets and enhance our product portfolio with innovative and profitable products.
• Labor strikes or work stoppages by our employees could harm our businesses.
• Our international operations subject us to additional risks.
• Changes in governmental administrations, national or international disputes, political instability, terrorism, war or armed hostilities may cause damage or disruption to us and our employees, facilities, suppliers, customers and information systems and could adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Public health crises may adversely impact our financial and operational performance.
• We operate in categories with strong competition.
• We must identify changing consumer and customer preferences and behaviors and develop and offer products to meet these preferences and behaviors.
• Our Post Consumer Brands and Weetabix segments operate in the mature RTE cereal category, and the weakening of this category could materially adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• The loss of, a significant reduction of purchases by or the bankruptcy of a major customer may adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, consolidation of our customer base, as well as competitive, economic and other pressures facing our customers, may negatively impact our volumes or profit margins.
• Our private label products may not be able to compete successfully.
• We may encounter difficulties as we continue to integrate the Pet Food operations and the assets from the Perfection acquisition, which may adversely impact us and our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions.
• Our business strategy depends upon us identifying and completing additional acquisitions and other strategic transactions. We may not be able to successfully consummate favorable strategic transactions in the future. Our corporate development activities also may have an adverse impact on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• We may experience difficulties in integrating acquired businesses, or acquisitions may not perform as expected. In addition, any equity investments we hold or make in the future may subject us to additional risks.
• If the transactions we undertook relating to divestitures of our interest in BellRing do not qualify for their intended tax treatment, we may incur significant tax liabilities.
• Our Company has overlapping directors and management with BellRing and 8th Avenue, each of which may lead to conflicting interests or the appearance of conflicting interests.
• Despite our current level of indebtedness, we may be able to incur substantially more debt, which could further exacerbate the risks related to our debt and leverage.
• The agreements governing our debt, including the indentures governing our senior notes, contain, or may in future financings contain, various covenants that limit our ability to take certain actions and also require us to meet financial maintenance tests, and failure to comply with these covenants could have a material adverse effect on us.
• Certain of our subsidiaries are not subject to the restrictive covenants in our debt, and their financial resources and assets may not be available to us to pay our obligations on our indebtedness.
• To service our indebtedness and other cash needs, we will require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends upon many factors beyond our control.
• U.S. and global capital and credit market issues could negatively affect our liquidity, increase our costs of borrowing and disrupt the operations of our third-party suppliers, manufacturers, customers or distributors or financial institutions.
• Actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance and forward-looking statements.
• Impairment in the carrying value of intangible assets or long-lived assets could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations. If our goodwill, other intangible assets or long-lived assets become impaired, we will be required to record impairment charges, which may be significant.
• Increases in interest rates may negatively affect earnings.
• Volatility in the market value of derivative instruments we use to manage exposures to fluctuations in commodity prices and interest rates may cause volatility in our net earnings.
• Our borrowing costs and access to capital and credit markets could be adversely affected by a downgrade or potential downgrade of our credit ratings.
• We may experience losses or be subject to increased funding and expenses to our qualified pension and other postretirement plans, which could negatively impact profits.
• If our products become adulterated or contaminated, or if they are misbranded or mislabeled, we might need to recall or withdraw those items and may experience product liability claims if consumers or their pets are injured.
• Violations of laws or regulations, as well as new laws or regulations or changes to existing laws or regulations or to interpretations thereof, could adversely affect our businesses.
• Pending and future litigation may impair our reputation or cause us to incur significant costs.
• Failure to comply with personal data protection and privacy laws can adversely affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Climate change, or legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change or other environmental and sustainability matters, may negatively affect our businesses, reputation and operations.
• Our intellectual property rights are valuable and any inability to protect them could reduce the value of our products and brands.
• Termination of our material intellectual property licenses could have a material adverse effect on our businesses.
• We are subject to certain continuing obligations, including indemnification obligations and lease guarantor obligations, related to the sale of the Bob Evans restaurants business that could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• We are subject to occupational safety and environmental laws and regulations that can impose significant costs and expose us to potential financial liabilities.
• Changes in tax laws may adversely affect us, and the IRS, another taxing authority or a court may disagree with our tax positions, which may result in adverse effects on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• A shareholder’s percentage ownership in Post may be diluted in the future.
• Actions of shareholders could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources and have an adverse effect on our businesses.