(801) 972-5000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Common stock, par value $0.01 per shareStock | VREX | NASDAQThe Nasdaq Global Select Market |
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 ý ¨ No ¨ý
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ¨ No ý
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 ý No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ý No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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| Large Accelerated filer | | x☒ | | Accelerated filer | | o☐ |
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| Non-Accelerated filer | | o☐ | | Smaller reporting company | | o☐ |
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| | | | Emerging growth company | | o☐ |
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| 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. | | o☐ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨☐ No ý☒
As of March 30, 2018,April 2, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of shares of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based upon the closing sale price of such shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on March 30, 2018)April 2, 2021) was $1,037,187,420.approximately $584.8 million. Shares of the registrant’s common stock held by the registrant’s executive officers and directors and by each entity that owned 10% or more of the registrant’s outstanding common stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.
As of November 19, 2018,8, 2021, there were 38,118,69739.5 million shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference
Portions of registrant’s proxy statement relating to registrant’s 20192022 annual meeting of stockholders have been incorporated by reference in Part III of this annual report on Form 10-K.
VAREX IMAGING CORPORATION
INDEX
Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”), including the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“MD&A”) contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which provides a “safe harbor”"safe harbor" for statements about future events, products and future financial performance that are based on the beliefs of, estimates made by, and information currently available to the management of Varex Imaging Corporation (“we,” “our,” “us,” the “Company,” “Varex,” or “Varex Imaging”). The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the outcome or timing of certain events described in these forward lookingforward-looking statements isare subject to risk and uncertainties. Actual resultsuncertainties and the outcome or timing of certain events may differ significantly from those projected in these forward-looking statements or management’s current expectations.statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ significantly from those projected in any forward-looking statementsprojections or expectations include, among other things, the following:
reductionrisks described in or lossthe Summary of business to key customers;
changes in, or our inability to predictPrincipal Risk Factors below and meet, demand for our products;
loss of business to, and inability to compete with, competitors;
changes in macroeconomic and global geopolitical factors, including changes in regulatory regimes, import and export controls and restrictions (such as tariffs) and global or regional economic stability;
our ability to develop new products and enhance existing products;
our ability to meet the payment and other requirements of our existing bank debt and other contractual obligations;
disruption at our manufacturing facilities and fluctuations in manufacturing costs;
changes in our effective tax rate;
our inability to source components and raw materials of our products
disruption or breach of our critical information technology systems;
the results of any product liability or product defect claims, product recalls and other litigation and regulatory investigations;
risks related to intellectual property;
our ability to hire and retain qualified personnel;
the impact of natural and other disasters, power loss, strikes and other events beyond our control;
the ability to identify and remediate significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in internal controls; and
other factors citedfurther described in the Risk Factors listed under Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report, MD&A and other factors described from time to time in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), or other reasons.
Statements concerning: supply chain and logistic challenges; cost increases; the impact of the ongoing coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic on the global economy or the Company; industry or market segment outlook; market acceptance of or transition to new products or technology such as advanced X-ray tube and digital flat panel detector products; growth drivers; future orders, revenues, backlog, earnings or other financial results; and any statements using the terms “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “can,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “estimate,” “may,” “intended,” “potential,” and “possible” or similar statements are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results and the outcome and timing of certain events to differ materially from those projected or management’s current expectations.
Any forward-looking statement made in this Annual Report (including in any exhibits or documents incorporated by reference) is based only on information currently available to Varex and its management and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. By making forward-looking statements, weWe have not assumed any obligation to, and you should not expect us to, update or revise those statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.
Summary of Principal Risk Factors
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14 of this Annual Report for a discussion of the following principal risks and other risks that make an investment in Varex speculative or risky:
•Supply chain and logistic challenges and disruptions, including increased difficulty in obtaining supplies of important components, and increasing costs have impacted our ability to manufacture products, have caused product delivery delays, and have increased our manufacturing costs. These challenges and disruptions are likely to continue throughout our 2022 fiscal year.
•It has become more difficult to attract and retain employees, which has impacted, and is likely to continue to impact, our ability to manufacture products.
•We sell products and services to a limited number of original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) customers, many of which are also competitors, and a reduction in or loss of business of one or more of these customers may materially reduce our sales.
•We may not be able to accurately predict customer demand for our products, which is subject to matters beyond our control.
•We compete in highly competitive markets, and we may lose business to our customers or other companies with greater resources or the ability to develop more effective technologies, or we could be forced to reduce our prices.
•Our success depends on the successful development, introduction, and commercialization of new generations of products and enhancements to or simplifications of existing product lines.
•Changes in import/export regulatory regimes and tariffs could continue to negatively impact our business.
•A disruption at our manufacturing facilities, as well as fluctuating manufacturing costs, could materially and adversely affect our business.
•Our operations, cash flow, and financial position, and the demand for our security, industrial and inspection products, have been adversely impacted, and in the future could continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruptions.
•Our international manufacturing operations subject us to volatility and other risks, including high security risks, which could result in harm to our employees and contractors or substantial costs.
•Warranty claims may materially and adversely affect our business.
•Product defects or misuse may result in material product liability or professional errors and omissions claims, litigation, investigation by regulatory authorities, or product recalls that could harm our future revenues and require us to pay material uninsured claims.
•Our competitive position would be harmed if we are not able to maintain our intellectual property rights and protecting our intellectual property can be costly.
•Disruption of critical information systems or material breaches in the security of our systems may materially and adversely affect our business and customer relations.
•Compliance with laws and regulations across the globe applicable to the marketing, manufacture, and distribution of our products may be costly, and failure to comply may result in significant penalties and other harm to our business.
•Conversion of our Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of Varex’s stockholders or may otherwise depress the market price of Varex’s common stock.
•We have significant debt obligations that could adversely affect our business, profitability and ability to meet our obligations.
•Our Asset-based Loan Credit Facility and our indentures impose significant operating and financial restrictions that may limit current and future operating flexibility, and make it difficult to respond to economic or industry changes or to take certain actions, which could harm our long-term interest.
•Potential indemnification liabilities to Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company ("Varian"), could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
Varex Imaging Corporation (“Varex”, “we”, “our”, “us”) is a leading innovator, designer and manufacturer of X-ray imaging components including X-ray tubes, digital detectors, linear accelerators and other image software processing solutions, which are keycritical components in a variety of X-ray based imaging systems. With a 65+ year history of successful innovation, ourequipment. Our components are used in medical diagnostic imaging, security inspection systems, and industrial quality inspection systems, as well as for analysis and measurement applications in industrial and security imagingmanufacturing applications. Global original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”) ofOEMs incorporate our X-ray imaging systems use our X‑ray sources, digital detectors, connecting devices and imaging software as components in their systems to detect, diagnose, protect and protect. As of September 28, 2018, we hadinspect. Varex has approximately 2,0002,100 full-time equivalents employees, located at engineering, manufacturing and service center sites in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information about us, visit vareximaging.com.
Founded as a Delaware corporation in July 2016, Varex was established as an independent publicly-traded company in January 2017 as a result of separation and distribution from Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (“Varian”). In May 2017, we acquired the medical imaging business (“Acquired Detector Business”) of PerkinElmer, Inc. (“PKI”) for $273.3 million. The acquisition consisted of PerkinElmer Medical Holdings, Inc. and Dexela Limited, together with certain assets of PKI and its direct and indirect subsidiaries relating to digital detectors that serve as components for medical and industrial X-ray imaging systems.
Our products are sold worldwide in three geographic regions: the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The Americas includes North America (primarily the United States) and LatinSouth America. EMEA includes Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India and Africa. APAC includes Asia (other than India) and Australia. Revenues by region are based on the known final destination of products being sold.
Our success depends, among other things, uponon our ability to anticipate and respond to changes in our markets, the direction of technological innovation and the demands ofdemand from our customers. We continue tocontinually invest in research and development and have overemploy approximately 500 engineersindividuals in the company. Combining thisproduct development related activities. Our focus on innovation and product performance along with strong and long-term customer relationships allows us to partnercollaborate with our customers to bring industry-leading products to the X-ray imaging market. In addition, total product lifecycle cost is important. We continue to work to improve the life and quality of our imaging components and leverage our scale as one of the largest independent X-ray imaging component suppliersuppliers to provide cost effective solutions. Demandcost-effective solutions for our products can also be impacted by geo-political factors, including tariffs on key imported materials used in manufacturing our products and also on X-ray imaging products we sell to customers outside the United States. The escalation of trade conflicts between the United States and China has negatively impacted our business and are expected to continue.customers.
Operating Segments and Products
Our Chief Executive Officer, who is our Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”), evaluates the product groupings and measures the business performance in We have two reportable operating segments: Medical and Industrial. The segments align our products and service offerings with customer use in medical and industrial markets and are consistent with how the CODM evaluates the business for the allocation of resources. The CODM allocates resources to and evaluates the financial performance of each operating segment primarily based on revenues and gross margin.markets.
Medical
In our Medical business segment, we design, manufacture, sell and service X-ray imaging components, for use in a range of radiographic or fluoroscopic imaging applications including, computed tomography (“CT”), mammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental, and computer-aided detection. We provide a broad range of X-ray imaging components for Medical customers, including X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors, image-processing software and workstations, 3D reconstruction software, computer-aided diagnostic software, collimators, automatic exposure control devices, generators, heat exchangers, ionization chambers and buckys.
A significant portion of our revenues come from the sales of high-end X-ray tubes These components are used in a range of medical imaging applications including CT, imagingmammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental, and high-end dynamic digital detectors used in fluoroscopic and 3D dental imaging applications. These upper-tier imaging components are characterized by increased levels of technological complexity, engineering and intellectual property that typically allow these products to have a higher sales price and gross margin.other diagnostic radiography uses.
The digital detector market continues to mature from initial product introductions that were made approximately 15 years ago. For the past few years, we have experienced price erosion for these products, predominantly in the highly-competitive market for radiographic detectors. We anticipate this trend will continue in the foreseeable future.
Our X-ray imaging components are primarily sold to OEM customers. These OEM customers that incorporatethen design-in our products into their X-ray imaging systems for a variety of medical modalitiesmodalities. A substantial majority of medical X-ray imaging OEMs globally are our customers, and industrial applications. To a much lesser extent,many of these have been our customers for over 25 years. We believe one of the reasons for customer loyalty is that our hardware and software products are tightly integrated with our customers' systems. We work very closely with our customers to create custom built components for their systems based on technology platforms that we have developed. Because our products are often customized for our customers' specific equipment, it can be costly and complex for our customers to switch to another provider.
Once our components are designed into our customers' equipment, our customers will typically continue to buy from us for any replacement components and for service and support for that equipment. Some of our products are also included in product registrations for our customers' equipment that require regulatory approval to change. In addition to sales to OEM customers, we sell our X-ray imaging componentsproducts to independent service companies and distributors andas well as directly to end-users for replacement purposes.
We are one of the largest global manufacturers of X-ray components and each year we produce over 27,000 X-ray tubes and 20,000 X-ray detectors. We estimate that our world-wide installed base of products includes more than 150,000 X-ray tubes, 150,000 X-ray detectors, 300,000 connect and control components and 15,000 software instances. Replacement and service of our existing installed base makes up a significant portion of our revenue. Many of our components need to be replaced regularly depending upon usage and other factors. For example, CT X-ray tubes generally need to be replaced every 2 to 4 years. In China, the replacement cycle for CT X-ray tubes can be as frequent as every 6 to 12 months due to high utilization of imaging equipment. Other products such as X-ray detectors have a useful life of as much as 7 years or more, but can require more frequent service and repairs during their useful life. In addition, our detector customers often elect to upgrade products to newer technology before the end of a current product’s useful life. X-ray imaging software is a relatively small part of our business and includes maintenance revenue for software licenses.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on hospitals, clinics and outpatient imaging centers as they encountered declines in elective procedures volume. As a result, they reduced the capital purchases of imaging equipment from OEMs, which led to lower demand for X-ray imaging components for us. Additionally, equipment installations were delayed, due to reduced access to healthcare institutions. Partially offsetting this was an increased demand for imaging equipment used to diagnose respiratory diseases, such as radiographic X-ray imaging systems and CT imaging systems. The Company has experienced growth in demand for its products as health systems globally have continued to address healthcare services gaps. However, the Company is not able to convert all the demand into sales due to on-going supply chain related interruptions and uncertainties, particularly with the availability of semiconductor and other electronic components. As a result, uncertainty in overall sales volume is expected to continue into calendar year 2022.
In China, the government is broadening the availability of healthcare services throughout the country.services. As a result, the number of diagnostic X-ray imaging systems, including CT, has grown significantly. For fiscal year 2018, approximately 10% of our revenues came from X-ray imaging components shipped to China-based OEMs and distributors. We are developing CT X-ray tubes and related subsystems for Chinese OEMs as they introduce new CT imaging systems in China. We anticipate that China-based revenues willOver the long-term, our objective is to become the partner of choice both for OEMs and in the replacement market as CT systems become more widely adopted throughout the Chinese market. In China, despite a COVID-19 related slowdown in the beginning of the year, demand for our products has returned, and full fiscal year 2021 results for China exceeded our pre-pandemic expectations.
In recent years our business in China has been impacted by the trade war with the United States in three principal ways: (1) imports of raw materials from China to the U.S. have become more expensive, (2) imports of raw materials and sub-assemblies from the U.S. to China have become more expensive, and (3) importing finished U.S. manufactured products into China have become more difficult and expensive. In order to mitigate the impact of tariffs on materials imported from China, we have implemented changes to secure more non-China sources of materials used to manufacture our X-ray imaging products. With respect to imports into China, the additional tariffs imposed by the Chinese government have led to a decrease in sales of radiographic detector manufactured in the U.S. To help address these issues, and to be closer to our global customer base, we continue to increaseexpand manufacturing capabilities at our facilities in China, Germany and the Philippines. We have also implemented local sourcing strategies to offer local content. This local-for-local strategy has been well received by both our local customers as well as global OEMs, and acts as a percentage of our revenues.
natural hedge against trade wars and other potential supply chain disruptions.
Industrial
In our Industrial business segment, we design, develop, manufacture, sell and service X-ray imaging products for use in a number of markets, including security applications such asfor cargo screening at ports and borders, baggage screening at airports, and at airports. We also provide products for industrial nondestructive testing and inspection examinationapplications used in a varietynumber of applications. Theother markets. Our Industrial products include Linatron® X-ray linear accelerators, X-ray tubes, digital detectors and high voltage connectors,connectors. In addition, we license proprietary image-processing and detection software designed to work with other Varex products to provide packaged sub-assembly solutions to our Industrial customers. Our Industrial business benefits from the research and image detectiondevelopment investment and manufacturing economies of scale on the Medical side of our business, as we continue to find new applications for our technology. Along with more favorable pricing dynamics, this allows us to generally achieve higher gross profit for industrial products that we generally sellrelative to OEM customers that incorporate these products into their imaging systems.our Medical business. In addition, our Industrial business benefits from our long-term service agreements for our Linatron® products.
The security market primarily consists of airport security for carry-on baggage, checked baggage and palletized cargo, as well as cargo security for the screening of trucks, trains, and cargo containers at ports and borders.borders as well as airport security for carry-on baggage, checked baggage and palletized cargo. The end customers for border
protection systems are typically government agencies, many of which are in oil-based economies and war zones where there has beencan be significant year over year variation in buying patterns.
The non-destructive Non-destructive testing market utilizesand inspection markets utilize X-ray imaging to scan items for inspection of manufacturing defects and product integrity in a wide range of industries including the aerospace, automotive, electronics, oil and gas, food packaging, metal castings and 3D printing industries. We provide X-ray sources, digital detectors, high voltage connectors and image processing software to OEM customers, system integrators and manufacturers. In addition, new applications for X-ray sources are being developed, such as sterilization of food and its packaging. We provide X-ray sources, digital detectors, high voltage connectors and image processing software to OEM
customers, system integrators and manufacturers in a variety of these markets. We believe that the nondestructive testing market represents a significant growth opportunity for our business, and we are actively pursuing new potential applications for our products.
The economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the demand for X-ray imaging equipment utilized in the non-destructive testing market as manufacturers focused on cash preservation and reduced spending for capital equipment. During the twelve months ended October 1, 2021, we have continued to see improved conditions in this market. Separately, the unprecedented decrease in passenger air traffic led to a decrease in demand in the security market for carry-on baggage and checked baggage.
Customers
Our customers are primarily large OEMs. Our top five customers, measured by revenue, are Canon Medical Systems Corporation (formerly Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation) (“Canon”), General Electric Company, Elekta Hologic,AB, United Imaging Healthcare and Varian Medical Systems, Inc. and Hitachi Ltd., which collectively accounted for approximately 37%39% of total revenue in fiscal year 2018.2021. Our largest customer, Canon, accounted for approximately 18%, 19%21% and 23%17% of our total revenues inrevenue for fiscal years 2018, 2017, 2016,2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively, while our ten largest customers as a group accounted for approximately 49%51%, 48%52% and 54%51% of our revenue for fiscal years 2018, 20172021, 2020 and 2016,2019, respectively. The loss of one or more of our top customers would have a material and adverse effect on our business. For more information, see “Risk Factors-Varex sells its products and services to a limited number of OEM customers, many of which are also its competitors, and a reduction in or loss of business of one or more of these customers may materially reduce its sales.”
Competition
The imaging components market is highly competitive. OEMs may choose to develop and manufacture X-ray imaging components in-house or they may choose to out-source to a supplier such as usVarex or other providers of imaging components.our competitors. Our success depends upon our ability to anticipate changes in our markets, the direction of technological innovation and the demands ofdemand from our customers. To remain competitive, we must continue tocontinually invest in research and development focused on innovation, improve product performance and quality, and continue to reduce the cost of our imaging components. Significant capital investment is required forto manufacture imaging component manufacturers.components. We believe we have sufficient manufacturing scale to leverage our high volume to reduce overall costs by spreading fixed costs over more units.
Medical
We often compete with the in-house X-ray tube manufacturing operations of major diagnostic imaging systems companies, which are the primary OEM customers for our Medical products. In order toTo effectively compete with these in-house capabilities, we must have a competitive advantage in one or more significant areas, such as innovative technology and greater product performance, better product quality or lower product price. We sell a significant volume of our X-ray tubes to OEM customers that have in-house X‑rayX-ray tube production capability. In addition, we compete with some OEM customers, such as Canon, Philips Healthcare and other companies who sell X-ray tubes to smaller OEMs and other manufacturers, such as Industria Applicazioni Elettroniche S.p.A, as well as emerging X-ray tube manufacturers in China. High capital costs and mastery of complex manufacturing processes that drive production yield and product life are significant characteristics of the X-ray tubes business.
The market for digital detectors is also highly competitive. We sell our digital detectors to a number of OEM customers that incorporate our detectors into their medical diagnostic, oncology, 3D dental and veterinary imaging systems. Our amorphous silicon based digital detector technology, our photon counting technology and our complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology competes with other detector technologies, such as amorphous selenium, charge-coupled devices and variations of amorphous silicon scintillators. We believe that our products provide a competitive advantage due to product quality and performance and lower overalltotal cost of ownership over the product lifecycle costs.lifecycle. In the
digital flat panel detector market, we primarily compete against Trixell S.A.S., Canon, Vieworks Co., Ltd., Hamamatsu Corporation, iRay Technology (Shanghai) Limited and Jiangsu CareRay Medical Systems Co., Ltd.
Industrial
In the low-energy market of the Industrial segment, we compete with other OEM suppliers, such as General Electric, Canon,iRay, Teledyne, Nuctech Company Limited (“Nuctech”) and Comet AG. While there are other manufacturers of low-energy X-ray tubes and digital detectors
for specialized and niche industrial applications, our products are designed for a broad range of applications in inspection, analysis, and non-destructive testing. In the high-energy market, we compete against technologies from Nuctech, Siemens AG, ETM Electromatic Inc., and Foton Ltd., whose X-ray sources are used in applications that include cargo and container scanning, border security, aerospace applications, castings and pressure vessel inspections.
Customer Services and Support
We generally warranty our products for 12 to 24 months. In certain cases, the warranty also may beis specified by usage metrics such as number of scans. We provide technical advice and consultation to major OEM customers from our U.S. offices in Utah, California, Nevada, South Carolina, New York and Illinois; and internationally in the Philippines, China, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan. Our application specialists and engineers make recommendations to meet the customer’s technical requirements within the customer’s budgetary constraints. We often develop specifications for a unique product that will be designed and manufactured to meet a specific customer’s requirements.
Manufacturing and Supplies
We manufacture our products at facilities located in Salt Lake City, Utah; Santa Clara, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Liverpool, New York; Franklin Park, Illinois; Dinxperlo and Heerlen,Doetinchem, the Netherlands; Walluf and Bremen, Germany; Wuxi, China andEspoo, Finland; Calamba City, Philippines.Philippines; and Wuxi, China. These facilities employ state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and several have been recognized by the press, governments and trade organizations for their commitment to quality improvement. Each of these manufacturing facilities are certified by International Standards Organization (“ISO”) under ISO 9001 (for industrial products) or ISO 13485 (for medical devices). In addition, we have a regional service centerscenter in North Charleston, South Carolina; Willich, Germany; and Wuxi, China.Germany. The combined medical and industrial manufacturing infrastructure enableenables us to leverage production scale to achieve productivity and low cost advantage as well as research and development synergies.
Manufacturing processes at our various facilities include machining, fabrication, subassembly, system assembly and final testing. We have invested in various automated and semi-automated equipment for the fabrication and machining of the parts and assemblies that we incorporate into our products. We may, from time to time, invest further in such equipment. Our quality assurance program includes various quality control measures from inspection of raw materials, purchased parts and assemblies through in-line inspection. In some cases, we may outsource the manufacturing of sub-assemblies while still performing system design, final assembly and testing in-house. In such cases, we believe outsourcing enables us to reduce or maintain fixed costs and capital expenditures, while also providing the flexibility to increase production capacity. We purchase material and components from various suppliers that are either standard products or customized to our specifications. Some of the components included in our products may be sourced from a limited group of suppliers or from a single source supplier, such as the wave guides for linear accelerators; transistor arrays and cesium iodide coatings for digital detectors and specialized integrated circuits, X-ray tube targets, housings, bearings and various other components. We require certain raw materials, such as copper, nickel, silver, gold, lead, tungsten, iridium, rhenium, molybdenum, rhodium, niobium, zirconium, and various high grades of steel alloy for X-ray tubes and industrial products. Worldwide demand, availability and pricing of these raw materials have been volatile, and we expect that availability and pricing will continue to fluctuate in the future.
In the third quarter of 2018, we announced the discontinuation of amorphous silicon glass production for digital detectors at our Santa Clara facility and transfer to the dpiX fabrication facility in Colorado. This relocation is expected to allow us to take advantage of available capacity at a larger fabrication facility and improve production efficiency. Other digital detector manufacturing processes, such as X-ray scintillator production and detector assembly, will remain at the Santa Clara facility.
Research and Development
Innovation and developing products, systems and services based on advanced technology is essential to our ability to compete effectively in the marketplace. We maintain a research and development and engineering staff responsible for product design and engineering.
Research and development isare primarily conducted domestically at our facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah; San Jose, and Santa Clara, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Liverpool, New York; and Franklin Park, Illinois and internationally at our facilities in the Netherlands, UK, Sweden and Germany. Our research and development activities are primarily focused on developing and improving imaging component technology. Current X-ray source development areas include smaller footprint linear accelerators, improvements to tube life and tube stability, reductions of tube noise and tube designs that will enable OEMs to continue to reduce dose delivered, and improve image resolution, cost effectively. Research in digital detector imaging technology is aimed at developing new panel technologies (such as photon counting) with better dose utilization, improved image quality and materials discrimination, lower product costs and new image processing tools for advanced applications.
Industrial products share some of the same base technology competencies and platforms as medical products and our medical and industrial development teams are therefore co-located in Salt Lake City, San Jose, Santa Clara, Dinxperlo,Doetinchem, Danderyd and Walluf. One of our competitive advantages is that some of the foundational technologies and software components developed for medical applications
may also be applicable in industrial components, and vice versa. In addition to these product development synergies, we are also able to realize sourcing, production, service center, and logistics synergies across the different products and market sectors.
Product and Other Liabilities
Our business exposes us to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the manufacture, sale, installation, servicing and support of X-ray imaging devices, related software and other devices that contain hazardous material and/or deliver radiation. Because our products are involved in the intentional delivery of radiation to the human body and other situations where people may come in contact with radiation (for example, when our Industrial products are being used to scan cargo) as well as the detection, planning and treatment of medical problems, the possibility for significant injury and/or death exists.exists if our products fail to work or are not used properly. We may face substantial liability to patients, our customers and others for damages resulting from the faulty, or allegedly faulty, design, manufacture, installation, servicing, support, testing or interoperability of usour products and our customers’ products, or their misuse or failure. We may also be subject to claims for property damages or economic loss related to or resulting from any errors or defects in our products, or the installation, servicing and support of our products. Any accident or mistreatment could subject us to legal costs, litigation, adverse publicity and damage to our reputation, whether or not our products or services were a factor. In addition, if a product we design or manufacture were defective (whether due to design, labeling or manufacturing defects, improper use of the product or other reasons), or found to be so by a competent regulatory authority, we may be required to correct or recall the product and notify other regulatory authorities. We maintain limited product liability, professional liability and omissions liability insurance coverage.
Government Regulation
U.S. Regulations
Laws governing marketing a medical device. In the United States, as a manufacturer and seller of medical devices and devices emitting radiation or utilizing radioactive by-product material, we and some of our suppliers and distributors are subject to extensive regulation by federal governmental authorities, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”), and state and local regulatory agencies, such as the State of California, to ensure the devices are safe and effective and comply with laws governing products which emit, produce or control radiation. Similar international regulations apply overseas. These regulations, which include the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “FDC Act”) and regulations promulgated by the FDA, govern, among other things, the design, development, testing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, distribution, import/export, sale and marketing and disposal of medical devices, post market surveillance and reporting of serious injuries and death, repairs, replacements, recalls and other matters relating to medical devices, radiation emitting devices and devices utilizing radioactive by-product material. State regulations are extensive and vary from state to state. Our X-ray tube products, imaging workstations and flat panel detectors are considered medical devices. Under the FDC Act, each medical device manufacturer must comply with quality system regulations that are strictly enforced by the FDA.
Unless an exception applies, the FDA requires that the manufacturer of a new medical device or a new indication for use of, or other significant change in, existing currently marketed medical device obtain either 510(k) pre-market notification clearance before it can market or sell those products in the United States. The 510(k) clearance process is applicable when the device introduced into commercial distribution is substantially equivalent to a legally marketed device. The process of obtainingObtaining the 510(k) clearance generally takes at least six months from the date thean application is filed, but could take significantly longer, and generally requires submitting supporting testing data. After a product receives 510(k) clearance, any modifications or enhancements to a product that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in the intended use of the device, technology, materials, labeling, packaging, or manufacturing process, may require a new 510(k) clearance. The FDA requires each
manufacturer to make this determination in the first instance, but the FDA can review any such decision. If the FDA disagrees with the manufacturer’s decision, it may retroactively require the manufacturer to submit a request for 510(k) pre-market notification clearance and canmay require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/orand recall the product until 510(k) clearance is obtained. The FDA has issued draftadopted guidance in September 2019 that if finalizedwe expect will increase the number and implemented, will result in manufacturers needing to seek a significant numberfrequency of new clearances for changes made to legally marketed devices. Most of our products are non-classified or Class I medical devices, which do not require 510(k) clearance.
Quality systems. Our manufacturing operations for medical devices, and those of our third-party manufacturers, are required to comply with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation (“QSR”), which addresses a company’s responsibility for product design, testing, and manufacturing quality assurance, and the maintenance of records and documentation. The QSR requires that each manufacturer establish a quality systems program by which the manufacturer monitors the manufacturing process and maintains records that show compliance with FDA regulations and the manufacturer’s written specifications and procedures relating to the devices. QSR compliance is necessary to receive and maintain FDA clearance or approval to market new and existing products. The FDA makes announced and unannounced periodic and ongoing inspections of medical device manufacturers to determine compliance
with the QSR. If in connection with these inspections the FDA believes the manufacturer has failed to comply with applicable regulations and/or procedures, it may issue observations that would necessitate prompt corrective action. If FDA inspection observations are not addressed and/or corrective action is not taken in a timely manner and to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA may issue a Warning Letterwarning letter (which would similarly necessitate prompt corrective action) and/or proceed directly to other forms of enforcement action. Failure to respond timely to FDA inspection observations, a Warning Letterwarning letter or other notice of noncompliance and to promptly come into compliance could result in the FDA bringing enforcement action against us, which could include the total shutdown of our production facilities, denial of importation rights to the United States for products manufactured in overseas locations and denial of export rights for U.S. products and criminal and civil fines.
The FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) also regulate advertising and promotion of our products to ensure that the claims we make are consistent with our regulatory clearances, that we have adequate and reasonable scientific data to substantiate the claims and that our promotional labeling and advertising is neither false nor misleading. We may not promote or advertise our products for uses not within the scope of our intended use statement in our clearances or approvals or make unsupported safety and effectiveness claims.
It is also important that our products comply with electrical safety and environmental standards, such as those of Underwriters Laboratories (“UL”), the Canadian Standards Association (“CSA”), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (“IEC”). In addition, the manufacture and distribution of medical devices utilizing radioactive material requires a specific radioactive material license. For the United States, manufacture and distribution of these radioactive sources and devices also must be in accordance with a model-specific certificate issued by either the NRC or by an Agreement State. In essentially every country and state, installation and service of these products must be in accordance with a specific radioactive materials license issued by the applicable radiation control agency. Service of these products must be in accordance with a specific radioactive materials license. We are also subject to a variety of additional environmental laws regulating our manufacturing operations and the handling, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous substances, and which impose liability for the cleanup of any contamination from these substances.
Other applicable U.S. regulations. As a participant in the healthcare industry, we are also subject to extensive laws and regulations protecting the privacy and integrity of patient medical information that it receives,we receive, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), “fraud and abuse” laws and regulations, including physician self-referral prohibitions, and false claims laws. From time to time, these laws and regulations may be revised or interpreted in ways that could make it more difficult for our customers to conduct their businesses, such as recent proposed revisions to the laws prohibiting physician self-referrals, and such revisions could have an adverse effect on the demand for our products, and therefore our business and results of operations. We also must comply with numerous federal, state and local laws of more general applicability relating to such matters as environmental protection, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, fire hazard control and other matters.
The laws and regulations and their enforcement are constantly undergoing change, and we cannot predict what effect, if any, changes to these laws and regulations may have on our business. For example, national and state laws regulate privacy and may regulate our use of data. Furthermore, HIPAA was amended by the HITECHHealth Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act to provide that business associates who have access to patient health information provided by hospitals and healthcare providers are now directly subject to HIPAA, including the associated enforcement scheme and inspection requirements.
Medicare and Medicaid Reimbursement
The federal and state governments of the United States establish guidelines and pay reimbursements to hospitals and free-standing clinics for diagnostic examinations and therapeutic procedures under Medicare at the federal level and Medicaid at the state level. Private insurers often establish payment levels and policies based on reimbursement rates and guidelines established by the government.
The federal government and Congress review and adjust rates annually, and from time to time consider various Medicare and other healthcare reform proposals that could significantly affect both private and public reimbursement for healthcare services in hospitals and free-standing clinics. In the past, we have seen demand for our customers’ systems (in which our products are incorporated) negatively impacted by the uncertainties surrounding reimbursement rates in the United States. State government reimbursement for services is determined pursuant to each state’s Medicaid plan, which is established by state law and regulations, subject to requirements of federal law and regulations.
Various healthcare reform proposals have also emerged at the state level, and we are unable to predict which, if any, of these proposals will be enacted. In addition, it is possible that changes in administrationfederal health care law and policy including the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, resulting from the recent U.S. presidential election could result in additional proposals and/or changes to health care system legislation which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We believe that the uncertainty Uncertainty
created by healthcare reform in the United States has complicatedcomplicates our customers’ decision-making process and, therefore, impactedimpacts our business, and may continue to do so.
The sale of medical devices, the referral of patients for diagnostic examinations and treatments utilizing such devices, and the submission of claims to third-party payors (including Medicare and Medicaid) seeking reimbursement for such services, are subject to various federal and state laws pertaining to healthcare “fraud and abuse.” Anti-kickback laws make it illegal to solicit, induce, offer, receive or pay any remuneration in exchange for the referral of business, including the purchase of medical devices from a particular manufacturer or the referral of patients to a particular supplier of diagnostic services utilizing such devices. False claims laws prohibit anyone from knowingly and willfully presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment to third-party payors (including Medicare and Medicaid) that are false or fraudulent, for services not provided as claimed, or for medically unnecessary services. The Office of the Inspector General prosecutes violations of fraud and abuse laws and any violation may result in criminal and/or civil sanctions, including, in some instances, imprisonment and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, which may negatively impact the demand for our products.
Foreign Regulations
Our operations, sales and service of our products outside the United States are subject to regulatory requirements that vary from country to country and may differ significantly from those in the United States. In general, our products are regulated outside the United States as medical devices by foreign governmental agencies similar to the FDA.
Marketing a medical device internationally. For us to market our products internationally, we must obtain clearances or approvals for products and product modifications. We are required to affix the CE mark to our products to sell them in member countries of the European Union (“EU”). The CE mark is an international symbol of adherence to certain essential principles of safety and effectiveness, which once affixed enables a product to be sold in member countries of the EEA. The CE mark is also recognized in many countries outside the EU, such as SwitzerlandFinland and Norway and can assist in the clearance process. To receive permission to affix the CE mark to our medical devices products, we must obtain approvals and Quality System certification, e.g. e.g., ISO 13485, through an accredited Notified Body and must otherwise have a quality management system that complies with the EU Medical Device Directive to be superseded by the EU MDA-MedicalMDR-Medical Device Regulations.Regulations in May 2021. The ISO promulgates standards for certification of quality assurance operations. We are certified as complying with the ISO 9001 for our security and inspection products and ISO 13485 for our medical devices. Several Asian countries, including Japan and China, have adopted regulatory schemes that are comparable, and in some cases more stringent, than the EU scheme. To import medical devices into Japan, the requirements of Japan’s Newthe Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Device RegulationAct must be met and a “shonin,” thean approval to sell medical products in Japan, must be obtained. Similarly, in China, a registration certification issued by the State Food and DrugNational Medical Products Administration and a China Compulsory Certification mark for certain products are required to sell medical devices in that country.China. Obtaining such certifications on our products can be time-consuming and can cause us to delay marketing or sales of certain products in such countries. Similarly, prior to selling a device in Canada, manufacturers of Class II devices must obtain a medical device license infrom Health Canada. Additionally, many countries have laws and regulations relating to radiation and radiation safety that also apply to our products. In most countries, radiological regulatory agencies require some form of licensing or registration by the facility prior to acquisition and operation of an X-ray generating device or a radiation source. The handling, transportation and recycling of radioactive metals and source materials are also highly regulated.
A number of countries, including the members of the EU, have implemented or are implementing regulations that would require manufacturers to dispose, or bear certain disposal costs, of products at the end of a product’s useful life and restrict the use of some hazardous substances in certain products sold in those countries. While these regulations could impose a future cost on the Company, the compliance programs are in place to anticipate or establish best estimates of what the potential exposure of such costs could be should they arise.
Manufacturing and selling a device internationally. We are also subject to laws and regulations outside the United States applicable to manufacturers of radiation-producing devices and products utilizing radioactive materials, and laws and regulations of general applicability relating to matters such as environmental protection, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices and other matters, in each case that are often comparable to, if not more stringent than, regulations in the United States. In addition, our sales of products in foreign countries are also subject to regulation of matters such as product standards, packaging requirements, labeling requirements, import restrictions, environmental and product recycling requirements, tariff regulations, duties and tax requirements. In some countries, we rely on our foreign distributors and agents to assist us in complying with foreign regulatory requirements.
Other applicable international regulations. In addition to the U.S. laws regarding the privacy and integrity of patient medical information, we are subject to similar laws and regulations in foreign countries covering data privacy and other protection of health and employee information. Particularly within Europe, data protection legislation is comprehensive and complex and there has been a recent trend toward more stringent enforcement of requirements regarding protection and confidentiality of personal data, as well as
enactment of stricter legislation. We are also subject to international “fraud and abuse” laws and regulations, as well as false claims and misleading advertisement laws. We also must comply with numerous international laws of more general applicability relating to such matters as environmental protection, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, fire hazard control and other matters.
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the E.U., commonly referred to as “Brexit”. Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which E.U. laws to replace or replicate. Given the lack of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the U.K. from the E.U. would have and how such withdrawal would affect us.
Anti-Corruption Laws and Regulations
We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption laws, and similar laws in foreign countries, such as the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 which became effective on July 1, 2011, and the law “On the Fundamentals of Health Protection in the Russian Federation,” which became effective in January 2012.Federation”. In general, there is a worldwide trend to strengthen anti-corruption laws and their enforcement, and the healthcare industry and medical equipment manufacturers have been particular targets of these investigation and enforcement efforts. Any violation of these laws by us or our agents or distributors could create a substantial liability for us, subject our officers and directors to personal liability and also cause a loss of reputation in the market.
Transparency International’s 20152020 Corruption Perceptions Index measured the degree to which public sector corruption is perceived to exist in 168180 countries/territories around the world and found that two-thirds of the countries in the index, including many that we consider to be high-growth areas for our products, such as China and India, scored below 50, on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). We currently operate in many countries where the public sector is perceived as being more or highly corrupt and our strategic business plans include expanding our business in regions and countries that are rated as higher risk for corruption activity by Transparency International.
Increased business in higher-risk countries could subject us and our officers and directors to increased scrutiny and increased liability. In addition, becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with laws, rules and regulations applicable to new business activities and mitigating and protecting against corruption risks could be quite costly. Failure by us or our agents or distributors to comply with these laws, rules and regulations could delay our expansion into high-growth markets and could materially and adversely affect our business.
Competition and Trade Compliance Laws
We are subject to various competition and trade compliance laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates.where we operate. Regulatory or government authorities under whose lawswhere we operate may have enforcement powers that can subject us to sanctions and can impose changes or conditions in the way we conduct our business. For example, local authorities may disagree with how we classify our products, and we may be required to change our classifications, which could increase our operating costs or subject us to increased taxes or fines and penalties. In addition, an increasing number of jurisdictions also provide private rights of action for competitors or consumers to seek damages asserting claims of anti-competitive conduct. Increased government scrutiny of our actions or enforcement or private rights of action could materially and adversely affect our business or damage our reputation. In addition, we may conduct, or we may be required to conduct, internal investigations or face audits or investigations by one or more domestic or foreign government or regulatory agencies, which could be costly and time-consuming, and could divert our management and key
personnel from our business operations. An adverse outcome under any such investigation or audit could subject us to increased costs, fines or criminal or other penalties, which could materially and adversely affect our business and financial results. Furthermore, competition laws may prohibit or increase the cost of future acquisitions that we may desire to undertake.
International sales of certain of our Linatron® X-ray accelerators are subject to U.S. export licenses that are issued at the discretion of the U.S. government. Orders and revenues for our security and inspection products have been and may continue to be unpredictable as governmental agencies may place large orders with us or with our customers over a short period of time and then may not place additional orders until complete deployment and installation of previously ordered products. We have seen domestic and international governments postpone purchasing decisions and delay installations of products for security and inspection systems. Furthermore, tender awards in this business may be subject to challenge by third parties, as we have previously encountered, which can make the conversion of orders to revenues unpredictable for some security and inspection products. The market for border protection systems has slowed significantly and end customers, particularly in oil-based economies and war zones in which we have a significant customer base, are delaying system deployments or tenders and have considered moving to alternative sources.
Intellectual Property
We place considerable importance on obtaining and maintaining patent, copyright and trade secret protection for significant new technologies, products and processes, because of the length of time and expense associated with bringing new products through the development process and to the marketplace.
We generally rely uponon a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secret and other laws, and contractual restrictions on disclosure, copying and transferring title, including confidentiality agreements with vendors, strategic partners, co-developers, employees, consultants and other third parties, to protect our proprietary rights in the developments, improvements and inventions that we have originated and which are incorporated in our products or that fall within our fields of interest. As of September 28, 2018,October 1, 2021, we own over 250275 patents issued in the United States, over 175400 patents issued throughout the rest of the world and had approximately another 160150 patent applications pending with various patent agencies worldwide. The patents and patents issuing from the pending applications generally expire between 20182021 and 2037.2040. We intend to file additional patent applications as appropriate. We have trademarks, both registered and unregistered, that are maintained and enforced to provide customer recognition for our products in the marketplace. We also have agreements with third parties that provide for licensing of patented or proprietary technology, including royalty-bearing licenses and technology cross-licenses. These licenses generally can only be terminated for breach. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors-ProtectingFactors - Risks Relating to our intellectual property can be costly,Intellectual Property and we may not be able to maintain licensed rights, and, in either case, our competitive position would be harmed if we are not able to do so.Information Systems.”
In conjunction with the January 2017 separation from Varian, we entered into an Intellectual Property Matters Agreement with Varian, pursuant to which, among other things, we each granted the other licenses to use certain intellectual property.
Environmental Matters
Our operations and facilities, past and present, are subject to environmental laws, including laws that regulate the handling, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous substances. Certain of those laws impose cleanup liabilities under certain circumstances. In connection with those laws and certain of our past and present operations and facilities, we are obligated to indemnify Varian for 20% of the cleanup liabilities related to prior corporate restructuring activities as well aswhile a division of Varian and fully indemnify Varian for other liabilities arising from the operations of the business transferred to it as part of those activities. Those include facilities sold as part of Varian’s electron devices business in 1995 and thin film systems business in 1997. In addition, theThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) or third parties have named Varian as a potentially responsible party under the amended Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), at sites to which Varian or the facilities of the businesses sold in 1995 and 1997 were alleged to have shipped waste for recycling or disposal (the “CERCLA sites”). It is anticipatedWe anticipate that we will be obligated to reimburse Varian for 20% of the liabilities of Varian related to these CERCLA sites (after adjusting for any insurance proceeds or tax benefits received by Varian). In connection with the CERCLA sites, to date Varian has been required to pay only a small portion of the total amount as its contribution to the cleanup effortscosts and we anticipate that any reimbursement to Varian in the future will not be material. As of September 28, 2018,October 1, 2021, we had an existing environmental liability of approximately $1.3$0.6 million, net of expected insurance proceeds, related to this matter.the CERCLA sites.
Working Capital
Our working capital needs and our credit practices are comparable to those of other companies manufacturing and selling similar products in similar markets. We endeavor to carry sufficient levels of inventory to meet the product delivery needs of our
customers. We also provide payment terms to customers in the normal course of business. The product warranty obligations contained in our standard terms and conditions typically range from 12-3612 to 24 months, depending on the product.
EmployeesHuman Capital Resources
Talent Management
To remain a leading innovator, designer and manufacturer of critical components of X-ray based diagnostic equipment, it is crucial that we continue to attract and retain exceptional talent. Our business results depend on our ability to successfully manage our human capital resources, including attracting, identifying, and retaining key talent. Factors that may affect our ability to attract and retain qualified employees include employee morale, our reputation, competition from other employers, and availability of qualified individuals.
As of September 28, 2018,October 1, 2021, we had approximately 2,0002,100 full-time and part-time employees worldwide. None of our employees based in the United States are unionized or subject to collective bargaining agreements. Employees based in some foreign countries may, from time to time, be represented by works councils or unions or subject to collective bargaining agreements. We currently consider our relations with our employees to be good.
As part of our people management strategy, we monitor employee morale and our market reputation. To better understand how to measure the effectiveness of our people management strategy, and to establish a baseline understanding of employee loyalty and retention, we solicit feedback from our employees in the form of an employee net promoter survey. The results of this survey are
aggregated, and we hold meetings with employees to share and discuss areas of improvement. We believe this is an effective process to inform how future decisions are made in order to improve employee morale and engagement.
Total Rewards
We invest in our workforce by offering a competitive total rewards package that includes a combination of salaries and wages, health and wellness benefits, equity incentives, retirement benefits, and educational benefits. We strive to offer competitive total rewards package that is responsive to local needs. In the United States, where our largest employee base resides, our benefits for eligible employees have included:
•Affordable health insurance coverage available to full-time employees;
•Tuition reimbursement up to a specified dollar amount on an annual basis;
•Matching contributions to a tax-qualified defined contribution savings ("401(k)") plan, on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to four percent of the employee’s base compensation;
•An employee assistance program; and
•Training and development programs designed to help employees improve workplace performance.
Approximately 90% of our eligible employees participate in our 401(k) plan, which positions us as a top performer among similarly situated companies. In addition, in an effort to further align the interests of our employees with our stockholders, we have an equity-based incentive plan that provides for the grant of nonqualified stock options and restricted stock units to directors, officers and other eligible employees. Additionally, to create performance incentives and to encourage share ownership by our employees, we have implemented an employee stock purchase plan, which enables eligible employees to purchase our common stock at a discount through payroll contributions.
During fiscal year 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19 on our business, it was necessary to modify or freeze certain benefits historically provided to our employees, such as 401(k) plan matching contributions and tuition reimbursements. During the second half of fiscal year 2021, we reinstated both the 401(k) matching contributions and tuition reimbursement program.
Safety and Wellness
The health and safety of our workforce is fundamental to the success of our business. We provide our employees upfront and ongoing safety training to ensure that safety policies and procedures are effectively communicated and implemented. Personal protective equipment is provided to those employees where needed for the employee to safely perform their job function. We have experienced personnel on site at each of our manufacturing locations that are tasked with environmental, health and personal safety education and compliance and, in Salt Lake City, we have an onsite nurse practitioner available to our employees for medical needs.
Because our business involves the manufacture of physical products, many of our employees are unable to work from home. In an effort to keep our employees safe and to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented a number of new health-related measures, including social-distancing, restrictions on visitors to our facilities, limiting in-person meetings and other gatherings, and providing employees with additional time-off for COVID-19 related absences. As COVID-19 vaccinations became available we incentivized our employees to become vaccinated, and then discontinued additional time-off programs in June 2021. In September 2021, we made the decision to bring non-essential workers back to facilities in the U.S., at the time of the decision we estimated that 72% of the workforce had been vaccinated based on vaccine incentive payments. In addition, we implemented a hybrid-office work program where non-essential employees could work a portion of the workweek from a home office if approved by their leadership to encourage social distancing.
Diversity and Inclusion
As one of our values states “we embrace equality,” and are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace that is respectful to all. Some of our initiatives include providing scholarships to the Society of Women Engineers ("SWE") and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ("STEM") programs, regularly analyzing pay equity, and engaging in on-campus events that increase our exposure to diverse populations to promote diversity in our hiring. We do not tolerate discrimination and harassment, and we expect our teams to conduct themselves ethically at all times in accordance with Varex’s Code of Conduct.
Information Available to Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) maintains an internet site, www.sec.gov, that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding the Company and other issuers that file electronically with the SEC. As soon
as reasonably practicable after filing with or furnishing to the SEC, we also make the following reports and information available free of charge on the Investors page of our website www.vareximaging.com:
•our annual reports on Form 10-K;
•quarterly reports on Form 10-Q;
•current reports on Form 8-K (including any amendments to those reports); and
•proxy statements.
Additionally, our Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation and Management Development Committee, Ethics and Compliance Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Executive Committee are also available on the Investors page of our website. Investors and others should note that we announce material financial and operational information to our investors using our investor relations website (http://investors.vareximaging.com/), press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. Please note that information on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not deemed “filed” with the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The biographical summaries of our executive officers are as follows:
Sunny S. Sanyal, 53,57, hasserved as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director since January 2017. Prior to the separation of Varex from Varian, Sunny served as senior vice president and president of Varian’s Imaging Components business for Varian since February 2014. Prior to joining Varian in 2014, Sunny was chief executive officer of T-System, a privately held company providing information technology solutions and services to hospitals and urgent care facilities. He also served as president of McKesson Provider Technologies, where he led the company to significant market expansion with its clinical software, medical imaging technology, and services solutions. Sunny has held executive positions at GE Healthcare, Accenture, and IDX Systems. He received a masterMaster of business administrationBusiness Administration ("MBA") from Harvard Business School, a masterMaster of scienceScience in industrial engineering from Louisiana State University, and a bachelorBachelor of engineeringEngineering in electrical engineering from the University of Bombay.
Clarence R. Verhoef, 62,Shubham Maheshwari, 50, hasserved as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") since July 2020. Shubham (Sam) joined Varex from SiFive, Inc., a leading provider of hardware and software solutions for developing RISC-V based processors and semiconductor chips, where he served as CFO. Before SiFive, Sam served for six years as CFO, and later as CFO and COO, of Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), a manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Previous notable positions include Senior Vice President, since January 2017. Prior toFinance for semiconductor company Spansion, Inc., where he helped lead the separationcompany through its restructuring and IPO in 2010, and more than 10 years in various senior positions, including Vice President of VarexM&A and Corporate Controller, at KLA-Tencor Corp., a global semiconductor equipment company. Sam holds an MBA in Finance from Varian, Clarence served as senior vice president, chief accounting officerWharton, and corporate controller for Varian since August 2012. He joined Varian in 2006 and served as the divisional controller of Varian’s Imaging Components business until 2012. Prior to joining Varian, Clarence served in numerous executive management roles, including chief financial officer of Techniscan Medical Systems, and chief financial officer and vice president of marketing for GE OEC Medical Systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in financechemical engineering from the UniversityIndian Institute of Utah.Technology, Delhi.
Kimberley E. Honeysett, 47,50,has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary since January 2017. Prior to the separation of Varex from Varian, Kim served as vice president and assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary for Varian, where she advised Varian’s Board of Directors, executive management and corporate functions, including business development, investor relations, human resources, information technology and was responsible for corporate governance, general compliance matters, litigation and global subsidiary governance. Prior to joining Varian in 2005, Kim served as group director, legal affairs at Siebel Systems, Inc., an enterprise software company, and as an associate with the law firm Brobeck, Phleger &
Harrison LLP. Kim holds a juris doctor degree from Cornell Law School and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Brian W. Giambattista, 60,62, hasserved as Senior Vice President, and General Manager - X-ray Detectors since May 2017 and joined Varex after the acquisition of the PerkinElmer Medical Imaging business. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the industry, having held various management and engineering roles at PerkinElmer and General Electric Company, and received his doctorate degree in Physicsphysics from the University of Virginia.
Mark S. Jonaitis, 56,60, has served as Senior Vice President and General Manager - X-Ray Sources since January 2017. Prior to the separation of Varex from Varian, Mark served in various management positions at Varian, including most recently vice president and general manager, X‑ray Tube Products and global manufacturing. Mark joined Varian’s predecessor, Varian Associates, in 1983, where he served in various product and engineering positions. Mark received his bachelorBachelor of scienceScience in physics from the University of Utah.
Andrew Hartmann, 59, has served as Senior Vice President, Medical Sales & Marketing since July 2018. Prior to joining Varex he worked for a number of leading OEMs in various leadership rolls, most recently as General Manager of the X-ray and Ultrasound Business for Carestream Health, Inc., a worldwide provider of X-ray imaging systems, from April 2012 to June 2018. Prior to Carestream, Andrew worked for Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. (Siemens Healthineers), a leading medical technology company, in sales and marketing rolls both domestically in the United States and internationally for Siemens’ ultrasound business. Prior to Siemens, he held leadership roles at Acuson Corp. (subsequently acquired by Siemens), including General Manager for Acuson’s Australia and New Zealand business. Andrew received a Master of Business Administration (“EMBA”) from Ashridge Business School in London, United Kingdom, and received a diploma in electronics from Sydney Technical College in Australia. Item 1A. Risk Factors
The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. Although the risk factors described below are the ones management deems significant,material, additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significantnot material may also adversely affect our business operations. If any of the following risks or additional risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Current economic conditions, including supply chain disruptions and logistical challenges, have increased our costs, and are impacting our ability to obtain materials needed to manufacture our products and to deliver those products to our customers.
Current economic conditions have had, and we believe will continue to have, an adverse impact on our manufacturing capacity, supply chain and distribution systems. We have experienced difficulties in obtaining materials used to build our products and these difficulties have impacted our ability to deliver finished products to our customers. We believe that it will continue to be difficult to obtain certain materials throughout fiscal year 2022. If our actions to mitigate such challenges are not successful, material shortages could cause us to temporarily stop production of certain products. Production delays could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. For example, if we are unable to deliver products to our customers without unreasonable delay, those customers may seek alternative suppliers or decide to in-source certain products. In addition to material shortages, supply chain logistics have become more challenging, could remain challenging, and result in higher costs and efforts. Our ability to move unfinished goods and finished products around the world has been impacted by the decreased availability of global transportation networks. We have been subject to price increases on both the components used to make our products, and for moving unfinished goods and finished products across the globe. If we are not able to mitigate these price increases and/or raise prices for our products, our operations, cash flow, and financial position could be adversely impacted. In addition, regulatory approvals for certain of our products may continue to be delayed due to COVID-19 related closures.
COVID-19 has adversely impacted our operations, cash flow, and financial position, and in the future we could continue to be adversely impacted, by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruptions.
The pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19 adversely impacted our operations, cash flow, and financial position. The pandemic has also created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. Emerging variants and uneven vaccination rates across the globe could lead to additional volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption. New or continuing outbreaks of COVID-19 could lead to future decreases in demand for our products. The actions taken to combat COVID-19 could have a negative impact on future operating results, cash flows and financial condition. We believe that COVID-19’s adverse impact on our operating results, cash flows and financial condition will be primarily driven by: the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the U.S. and international healthcare systems, the U.S. economy and worldwide economy; and the timing, scope and effectiveness of U.S. and international governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruptions. In addition, government action related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as new regulations mandating vaccines for companies with over 100 employees and for government contractors could have an adverse impact on our business and operating results by, among other things, increasing costs to verify compliance and making it more difficult to retain existing employees or hire new workers.
Varex sells its products and services to a limited number of OEM customers, many of which are also its competitors, and a reduction in or loss of business of one or more of these customers may materially reduce its sales.
Varex had one customer during fiscal year 20182021 that accounted for 18% of its revenue. Varex’s ten largest customers as a group accounted for approximately 49%51%, 48%52% and 54%51% of its revenue for fiscal years 2018, 20172021, 2020 and 2016,2019, respectively.
Varex sells its products to a limited number of OEM customers, many of which are also its competitors with in-house X-ray component manufacturing operations. Although Varex seeks to broaden its customer base, it will continue to depend on sales to a relatively small number of major customers. Because it often takes significant time to replace lost business, it is likely that Varex’s operating results would be materially and adversely affected if one or more of its major OEM customers were to cancel, delay, or reduce orders in the future.
Furthermore, Varex generates significant accounts receivables from the sale of its products and the provision of services directly to its major customers. Although Varex’s major customers are large corporations, ifIf one or more of these customers were to cancel a product order or service contract (whether in accordance with its terms or otherwise), become insolvent or otherwise be unable or fail to pay for Varex products and services, Varex’s operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Varex may not be able to accurately predict the demand for its products by its customers.
End-user product demand, economic uncertainties, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and other matters beyond Varex’s control make it difficult for its customers to accurately forecast and plan future business activities; which makes it difficult for Varex to accurately predict the demand for its products. ChangesBecause the manufacture of our products requires some lead-time, changes in customer purchasing forecasts have previously impacted Varex’s business, resulting in excess inventory reduction and slowdowns in sales. Similar inventory adjustments and slowdowns in sales are likely to occur in the future. In addition, changesChanges to customer forecasts can occur on short notice. Varex’s customers also face inherent competitive issues and new product introduction delays which can result in changes in forecasts. As such, theThe market and regulatory risks faced by Varex’s customers also ultimately impact Varex’s ability to forecast future business. Varex’s agreements for imaging components, such as its three-year pricing agreement with Canon Medical Systems, may contain purchasing estimates that are based on its customers’ historical purchasing patterns rather than firm commitments, and actual purchasing volumes under the agreements may vary significantly from these estimates. The variation from forecasted purchasing volume may be due, in part, to the increasing life of X-ray tubes, which can result in reduced demand for replacement X-ray tubes in ways Varex may not be able to accurately forecast. Reductions in purchasing patterns have in the past and may in the future materially and adversely affect Varex’s operating results. Decreased economic activity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the demand for our industrial products and that impact could continue or return.
Varex competes in highly competitive markets, and it may lose business to its customers or other companies with greater resources or the ability to develop more effective technologies, or it could be forced to reduce its prices.
Rapidly-evolving technology, intense competition and pricing pressure characterize the market in which Varex competes. Varex often competes with companies that have greater financial, marketing and other resources than Varex, including Varex’s customers. If these customers manufacture a greater percentage of their components in house or otherwise lower external sourcing costs, which may occur for a number of reasons, including a strong U.S. Dollar, Varex could experience reductions in purchasing volume by, or loss of, one or more of these customers. Such a reduction or loss may have a material and adverse effect on its business.Varex. Some of the major diagnostic imaging systems companies, which are the primary OEM customers for Varex’s X-ray components, also manufacture X-ray components, including X-ray tubes, for use in their own imaging systems products. Varex must compete with these in-house manufacturing operations for business. If these customers manufacture a greater percentage of their components in-house or otherwise decrease purchases from external sources, which may occur for a number of reasons, including a strong U.S. Dollar, or a general economic slowdown, Varex could experience reductions in purchasing volume by, or loss of, one or more of these customers. Such a reduction or loss may have a material and adverse effect on its business. In addition, Varex competes against other stand-alone, independent X-ray tube manufacturers for both the OEM business of major diagnostic imaging equipment manufacturers and the independent servicing business for X-ray tubes.
The market for flat panel detectors is also very competitive, and Varex faces intense competition from over a dozen smaller competitors. As a result of these competitive dynamics, in order for Varex to effectively retain the business of its customers and compete with its competitors itVarex must have an advantage in one or more significant areas, such as lower product cost, better product quality and/or superior technology and/or performance. Varex has made price concessions to maintain existing customers and attract new customers, and may have to make additional price concessions in the future.
With Varex’s In its industrial products,segment, Varex competes with other OEM suppliers, primarily outside of the United States. The market for its X-ray tube and flat panel products used for nondestructive testing in industrial applications is small and highly fragmented. In addition, someSome of Varex’s competitors outside the United States may have resources and support from their governments that Varex cannot replicate,does not, such as preferences for local manufacturers, and may not be subject to the same trade compliance regulations to which Varex is subject.as Varex. Therefore, Varex’s ability to compete in certain high-growth markets may be limited as compared to its competitors.
Existing competitors’ actions and new entrants may materially and adversely affect Varex’s ability to compete. These competitors could develop technologies and products that are more effective than those Varex currently uses or produces or that could render its products obsolete or noncompetitive. In addition, the timing of Varex’s competitors’ introduction of products into the market could affect the market acceptance and sales of Varex’s products. Some competitors offer specialized
products that provide, or may be perceived by customers to provide, a marketingan advantage over Varex’s products. Also, some of Varex’s non-U.S. competitors may not be subject to the same standards, regulatory and/or other legal requirements to which Varex is subject and, therefore, they could have a competitive advantage in developing, manufacturing and marketing products and services. Any inability to develop, gain regulatory approval for and supply commercial quantities of competitive products to the market as quickly and effectively as Varex’s competitors could limit market acceptance of Varex’s products and reduce its sales. In addition, some of its smaller competitors could be acquired by larger companies that have greater financial strength, which could enable them to compete more aggressively. Varex’s competitors could also acquire some of its customers, suppliers or distributors, which could disrupt supply or distribution arrangements, result in a loss of customers, and lead to less predictable and reduced revenues. Any of these competitive factors could negatively and materially affect Varex’s pricing, sales, revenues, market share and gross margins and its ability to maintain or increase its operating margins.
Changes in import/export regulatory regimes and tariffs could continue to negatively impact our business.
Over the last several months the United States has implemented new tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and many other items. The imposition of tariffs on items imported by us from China or other countries have increased our costs and could result in increased prices or lower gross margins on products sold. These tariffs have already had a direct adverse impact on our business and results of operations, and future tariffs could have a more significant impact on our business in the future. Retaliatory tariffs implemented by China impact a number of Varex products including U.S. origin X-ray tubes, heat exchange units, and certain flat panel detectors. The tariffs levied by China have increased our customers’ costs for products imported into China, which has caused us to make price concessions on some products. We expect that tariffs will continue to have a negative effect on our business and results of operations, including the possibility of continued price concessions. The imposition of additional tariffs by the United States could result in the adoption of additional tariffs by China and other countries, as well as further retaliatory actions by any affected country. Any resulting trade war (or escalation of any existing trade war) could negatively impact the global market for imaging equipment and could have a significant adverse effect on our business.
In addition, tariffs and changes in international trade agreements or trade-related laws and regulations may have an indirect adverse impact on our business. As a component manufacturer, our products are integrated into the systems and products of our OEM customers. If the United States, China or other countries levy tariffs, duties or other additional taxes or restrictions on our customer’s products, the demand for such products, and our components included in such products, could decrease, which could have a material
adverse effect on our business. Uncertainty over tariffs and trade wars could also cause our customers to delay or cancel orders for our products.
Varex’s success depends on the successful development, introduction, and commercialization of new generations of products and enhancements to or simplifications of existing product lines.
Rapid change and technological innovation characterize the markets in which Varex operates, particularly with respect to flat panel technology. Varex’s customers use its products in their medical diagnostic, security, and industrial imaging systems, and Varex must continually introduce new products at competitive costs while also improving existing products with higher quality, lower costs, and increased features. In order toTo be successful, Varex must anticipate its customers’ needs and demands, as well as potential shifts in market preferences. Varex’s failure to do so has in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in the loss of customers and an adverse impact to its financial performance. With a relatively strong U.S. Dollar, Varex’s ability to meet its customers’ pricing expectations is particularly challenging and may result in erosion of product margin and market share.
Varex has in the past spent, and in the future may need to spend, more time and money than it expects to develop, market and introduce new products or enhancements, and, even if Varex succeeds, Varex may not be able to recover all or a meaningful part of its investment. Once introduced, new products may materially and adversely impact sales of Varex’s existing products or make them less desirable or even obsolete, which could materially and adversely impact Varex’s revenues and operating results. In addition, certain costs, including installation and warranty costs, associated with new products may be proportionately greater than the costs associated with other products and may therefore disproportionately, materially, and adversely affect Varex’s gross and operating margins. If Varex is unable to lower these costs over time, Varex’s operating results could be materially and adversely affected. Some of the electronic components and integrated circuits used in Varex’s flat panel detectors are susceptible to discontinuance and obsolescence risks, which may force Varex to incorporate newer generations of these components, resulting in unplanned additional R&D expenses, delays in the launch of new products, supply disruption, or inventory write downs.
Varex’s ability to successfully develop and introduce new products and product enhancements and simplifications, and the revenues and costs associated with these efforts, are affected by Varex’s ability to, among other things:
•properly identify customer needs or long-term customer demands;
•prove the feasibility of new products;
•properly manage and control research and development costs;
•limit the time required from proof of feasibility to routine production;
•timely and efficiently comply with internal quality assurance systems and processes;
•limit the timing and cost of regulatory approvals;
•accurately predict and control costs associated with inventory overruns caused by the phase-in of new products and the phase-out of old products;
•price its products competitively and profitably, which can be particularly difficult with a strong U.S. Dollar;
•manufacture, deliver, and install its products in sufficient volumes on time and accurately predict and control costs associated with manufacturing installation, warranty, and maintenance of the products;
•appropriately manage its supply chain;
•manage customer acceptance and payment for products; and
•anticipate, respond to, and compete successfully with competitors.
Furthermore, as discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, Varex cannot be sure that it will be able to successfully develop, manufacture, or introduce new products or enhancements, the roll-out of which involves compliance with complex quality assurance processes, including the Quality System Regulation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Failure to complete these processes timely and efficiently could result in delays that could affect Varex’s ability to attract and retain customers or cause customers to delay or cancel orders, which would materially and adversely affect Varex’s revenues and operating results.
More than half of Varex’s revenues are generated from customers located outside the United States, and economic, political, and other risks associated with international sales and operations could materially and adversely affect Varex’s sales or make them less predictable.
Varex conducts business globally. Revenues generated from customers located outside the United States accounted for approximately 68%, 66% and 65% of Varex’s total revenues during fiscal years 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. As a result, Varex must provide significant service and support globally. Varex intends to continue to expand its presence in international markets and expects to expend significant resources in doing so. Varex cannot be sure that it will be able to meet its sales, service, and support objectives or obligations in these international markets or recover its investment in these international markets. Varex’s future results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:
•currency fluctuations, and in particular the strength of the U.S. Dollar (which is our functional and reporting currency) relative to many currencies, which have and may in the future adversely affect Varex’s financial results and cause some customers to delay purchasing decisions or move to in-sourcing supply or migrate to lower cost alternatives or ask for additional discounts;
•the longer payment cycles associated with many customers located outside the United States;
•difficulties in interpreting or enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through many foreign countries’ legal systems;
•changes in restrictions on trade between the United States and other countries or unstable regional political and economic conditions;
•changes in the political, regulatory, safety or economic conditions in a country or region
•the imposition by governments of additional taxes, tariffs, global economic sanctions programs, or other restrictions on foreign trade such as the tariffs recently put into place by both China and the United States;
•any inability to obtain required export or import licenses or approvals, including the inability to obtain required export licenses during a U.S. government shutdown;
•natural disasters and pandemics;
•failure to comply with export laws and requirements, which may result in civil or criminal penalties and restrictions on Varex’s ability to export its products, particularly its industrial linear accelerator products;
•risks unique to the Chinese market, including import barriers and preferences for local manufacturers;
•failure to obtain proper business licenses or other documentation or to otherwise comply with local laws and requirements regarding marketing, sales, service, or any other business Varex conducts in a foreign jurisdiction, which may result in civil or criminal penalties and restrictions on its ability to conduct business in that jurisdiction; and
•difficulties in protecting Varex’s intellectual property in foreign countries.
Although Varex’s sales fluctuate from period to period, in recent years Varex’s international operations have represented a larger share of its business. The more Varex depends on international sales, the more vulnerable Varex becomes to these factors.
Varex’s business may suffer if it is not able to hire and retain qualified personnel.
Varex’s future success depends, to a great degree, on its ability to retain, attract, expand, integrate, and train its management team and other key personnel, such as qualified engineering, service, sales, marketing, and other staff. Varex competes for key personnel with other medical equipment and software manufacturers and technology companies, as well as universities and research institutions. Competition for qualified personnel has increased over the past year. Because this competition is intense, particularly in Utah, where unemployment rates are relatively low, compensation-related costs could increase significantly if the supply of qualified personnel decreases or demand increases. If Varex is unable to hire and train qualified personnel, Varex may not be able to maintain or expand its business. Additionally, if Varex is unable to retain key personnel, Varex may not be able to replace them readily or on terms that are reasonable, which also could hurt its business.
A change in the percentage of Varex’s total earnings from international sales or additional changes in tax laws could increase Varex’s effective tax rate.
Varex’s effective tax rate is impacted by tax laws in both the United States and in foreign countries. Earnings from Varex’s international subsidiaries are generally taxed at rates that differ from U.S. rates. A change in the percentage of Varex’s total earnings from the international subsidiaries, a change in the mix of particular tax jurisdictions between the international subsidiaries, or a change in currency exchange rates could cause Varex’s effective tax rate to increase. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 imposed a current tax on cumulative undistributed earnings, these earnings could also become subject to incremental foreign withholding or U.S. state taxes should they be actually remitted to the United States, in which case Varex’s financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
Statutory changes included in proposed US legislation, if passed, including interpretive guidance, could have a material impact on income tax expense, the effective rate, or the value of deferred tax assets and liabilities. Changes in the valuation of Varex’s deferred tax assets or liabilities, additional changes in tax laws or rates, changes in the interpretation of tax laws in other jurisdictions, or other changes beyond Varex’s control could materially and adversely affect its financial position and results of operations.
Varex has entities in certain jurisdictions with cumulative net operating losses for which no income tax benefit can be recorded due to full valuation allowance positions. There could be additional future losses in these and other jurisdictions that would negatively impact Varex's effective tax rate.
Varex may face additional risks from the acquisition or development of new lines of business.
From time to time, Varex may acquire or develop new lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with new lines of business, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. Risks include developing knowledge of and experience in the new business, recruiting market professionals, increasing research and development expenditures, and developing and capitalizing on new relationships with experienced market participants. This may mean significant investment and involvement of Varex’s senior management to acquire or develop, then integrate, the business into its operations. Timelines for
integration of new businesses may not be achieved, and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible, as new products can carry lower gross margins than existing products. External factors, such as compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives, and shifting market preferences may also impact whether implementation of a new business will be successful. Failure to manage these risks could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s business, results of operations, and/or financial condition.
Varex may be unable to complete future acquisitions or realize expected benefits from acquisitions of or investments in new businesses, products, or technologies, which could harm Varex’s business.
Varex’s ability to identify and take advantage of attractive acquisitions or other business development opportunities is an important component in implementing its overall business strategy. Varex needs tomust grow its businesses in response to changing technologies, customer demands, and competitive pressures. In some circumstances, Varex may decide to grow its business through the acquisition of complementary businesses, products, or technologies, rather than through internal development. For example, in May 2017, we acquired the medical imaging business of PerkinElmer, Inc., and during fiscal year 2015,development; however, there is no guarantee that these acquisitions will be successful or that Varex acquired Claymount Investments B.V. and MeVis Medical Solutions AG.will realize a return on its investment.
Identifying suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time consuming, and costly, and Varex may not be able to identify suitable candidates or successfully complete or finance identified acquisitions, including as a result of failing to obtain regulatory or competition clearances, which could impair Varex’s growth and ability to compete. In addition, completing an acquisition can divert Varex’s management and key personnel from its current business operations, which could harm its business and affect its financial results. Even if Varex completes an acquisition, Varex may not be able to successfully integrate newly-acquired organizations, products, technologies, or employees into its operations or may not fully realize some of the expected synergies.
Integrating an acquisition can also be expensive and time consuming and may strain Varex’s resources. It may cost Varex more to commercialize new products than originally anticipated or cause Varex to increase its expenses related to research and development, either of which could materially and adversely impact its results of operations. In many instances, integrating a new business will also involve implementing or improving internal controls appropriate for a public company into a business that lacks them. It is also possible that an acquisition could increase Varex’s risk of litigation, as a third party may be more likely to assert a legal claim following an acquisition because of perceived deeper pockets or a perceived greater value of a claim. In addition, Varex may be unable to retain the employees of acquired companies or the acquired company’s customers, suppliers, distributors, or other partners for a variety of reasons, including the fact that these entities may be Varex’s competitors or may have close relationships with its competitors.
Further, Varex may find that it needs to restructure or divest acquired businesses or assets of those businesses. Even if it does so, an acquisition may not produce the full efficiencies, growth, or benefits that were expected. If Varex decides to sell assets or a business, it may be difficult to identify buyers or alternative exit strategies on acceptable terms, in a timely manner, or at all, which could delay the accomplishment of its strategic objectives. Varex may be required to dispose of a business at a lower price or on less advantageous terms, or to recognize greater losses than it had anticipated.
If Varex acquires a business, it allocates the total purchase price to the acquired business’ tangible assets and liabilities, identifiable intangible assets, and liabilities based on their fair values as of the date of the acquisition and records the excess of the purchase price over those values as goodwill. If it fails to achieve the anticipated growth from an acquisition, or if it decides to sell assets or a business, it may be required to recognize an impairment loss on the write down of its assets and goodwill, which could
materially and adversely affect its financial results. In addition, acquisitions can result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or expenses, or other charges, any of which could harm Varex’s business and affect its financial results.
Additionally, Varex participates in joint ventures and has investments in privately-held companies, (forfor example, its 40% ownership in dpiX LLC, its major supplier of its amorphous silicon-based thin film transistor arrays (flat panels)panels used in its digital detectors, dpiX LLC) thatdetectors) and VEC Imaging GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture to develop nanotube based x-ray sources. These investments and joint ventures are subject to risk of loss of investment capital.capital as well as other risks. These investments are inherently risky, in some instances because the markets for the technologies or products these companies have under development may never materialize. If these companies do not succeed, Varex could lose some or all of its investment in these companies.
The trading price of Varex’s common stock may decline or fluctuate significantly and fluctuations in Varex’s operating results, including quarterly revenues, and margins, may cause its stock price to be volatile, which could cause losses for its stockholders.
A public market did not exist for Varex common stock prior to January of 2017. In the past year, Varex's stock price has ranged from a low of $23.91 to a high of $43.76. Varex cannot There is no guarantee that an active trading market will be sustained for its
common stock. Nor can Varex predict the prices at which shares of its common stock may trade. Varex has experiencedtime and expects in the future to experience fluctuations in its operating results, including revenues and margins, from period to period. These fluctuations may cause Varex’s stock price to be volatile, which could cause losses for its stockholders.
Varex’s quarterly and annual operating results, including its revenues and margins, may be affected by a number of other factors, including:
the introduction and timing of announcement of new products or product enhancementsmoney invested by Varex and its competitors;in these projects will yield the expected returns.
change in its or its competitors’ pricing or discount levels;
changes in foreign currency exchange rates and other economic uncertainty;
changes in import/export regulatory regimes including the imposition of tariffs on our products or those of our customers;
changes in the relative portion of its revenues represented by its various products, including the relative mix between higher margin and lower-margin products;
changes in the relative portion of its revenues represented by its international region as a whole and by regions within the overall region, as well as by individual countries (notably, those in emerging markets);
fluctuation in its effective tax rate, whichWarranty claims may or may not be known to Varex in advance;
the availability of economic stimulus packages or other government funding, or reductions thereof;
disruptions in the supply or changes in the costs of raw materials, labor, product components or transportation services;
changes to its organizational structure, which may result in restructuring or other charges;
disruptions in its operations, including its ability to manufacture products, caused by events such as earthquakes, fires, floods, terrorist attacks or the outbreak of epidemic diseases;
the unfavorable outcome of any litigation or administrative proceeding or inquiry, as well as ongoing costs associated with legal proceedings; and,
accounting changes and adoption of new accounting pronouncements.
Because many of Varex’s operating expenses are based on anticipated capacity levels, and a high percentage of these expenses are fixed for the short term, a small variation in the timing of revenue recognition can cause significant variations in operating results from quarter to quarter. If Varex’s gross margins fall below the expectation of securities analysts and investors, the trading price of Varex common stock may decline.
In addition, as discussed in more detail elsewhere in this Annual Report, significant changes have occurred in Varex’s cost structure, management, financing and business operations as a result of operating as a company separate from Varian and these changes have had and may continue to have an impact on Varex’s gross margins.
Our secured revolving credit facility and secured term loan credit facility restrict certain activities, and failure to comply with the terms of these facilities may have an adverse effect on our business, liquidity and financial position.
Varex is party to a secured revolving credit facility and a secured term loan credit facility, each of which contains restrictive financial covenants, including financial covenants that require Varex to comply with specified financial ratios. Varex may have to curtail some of its operations to comply with these covenants. In addition, its credit facilities contain other affirmative and negative covenants that could restrict its operating and financing activities. These provisions will limit its ability to, among other things, incur future indebtedness, contingent obligations or liens, guarantee indebtedness, make certain investments and capital expenditures, sell stock or assets and pay dividends and consummate certain mergers or acquisitions. If Varex fails to comply with the credit facility requirements, it may be in default. Upon an event of default, if the credit facility documents are not amended or the event of default is not waived, the lender could declare all amounts then outstanding, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If this happens, Varex may not be able to make those payments or borrow sufficient funds from alternative sources to make those payments. Even if Varex were to obtain additional financing, that financing may be on unfavorable terms.
Varex has significant debt obligations that could adversely affect Varex’s business, profitability and ability to meet its obligations.
As of September 28, 2018, Varex’s total combined indebtedness was approximately $389.8 million (net of deferred loan costs). The borrowings under Varex’s credit facilities bear interest at floating interest rates. As part of its overall risk management practices, Varex entered into financial derivatives, particularly interest rate swaps designed as cash flow hedges, to hedge the floating LIBOR interest rate on $277.5 million of its debt. As a result, Varex will be exposed to fluctuations in interest rates to the extent of the balance of its borrowings under the LIBOR-based portion of its credit facilities.
This debt could potentially have important consequences to Varex and its investors, including:
requiring that a portion of Varex’s cash flow from operations be used to make principal and interest payments on this debt, which would reduce cash flow available for other corporate purposes;
increasing Varex’s vulnerability to shifts in interest rates and to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
limiting Varex’s flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in its business and the industry; and,
limiting Varex’s ability to borrow additional funds as needed or increasing the costs of any such borrowing.
In addition, Varex’s actual cash requirements in the future may be greater than expected. Varex’s cash flow from operations may not be sufficient to repay all of the outstanding debt as it becomes due, and Varex may not be able to borrow money, sell assets, or otherwise raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all, to refinance Varex’s debt.
A disruption at Varex’s manufacturing facilities, as well as fluctuating manufacturing costs, could materially and adversely affect its business.
The majority of Varex’s products are manufactured in its manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. Varex’s manufacturing operations are subject to potential power failures, the breakdown, failure, or substandard performance of equipment, the improper installation or operation of equipment, and natural or other disasters. Loss or damage to this manufacturing facility due to any of these factors or otherwise could materially and adversely affect Varex’s abilitybusiness.
Varex could experience an increase in warranty claims as a result of issues with product quality or product failures as a direct result of Varex’s design, manufacturing, or issues in its supply chain. Such an occurrence may damage Varex’s market reputation, cause sales to decline, or require repairs or voluntary remedial measures to enhance customer satisfaction, which could materially and adversely impact Varex’s financial results. Increased warranty claims on any given product could cause Varex to halt production on that product and significantly impair Varex’s liquidity and profitability, and cause reputational harm to Varex. Because some categories of products tend to experience higher numbers of warranty claims than others, a shift in the types of products that Varex’s customers purchase could lead to an increase in warranty claims. If actual levels of warranty claims are greater than the level of claims Varex estimates, cost of sales could increase, and Varex’s financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, product quality issues could result in significant follow-on effects for Varex, including, among other things, reputational harm to Varex and its customers, loss of customers, and liability as a result of product quality issues. These outcomes would materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and financial condition.
Product defects or misuse may result in material product liability or professional errors and omissions claims, litigation, investigation by regulatory authorities, or product recalls that could harm Varex’s future revenues and require it to pay material uninsured claims.
Varex’s business exposes it to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the manufacture, sufficient quantitiessale, installation, servicing, and support of components that are used in medical devices and other devices that deliver radiation. Because Varex’s products, through incorporation in OEMs’ systems, are involved in the intentional delivery of radiation to the human body and other situations where people may come into contact with radiation (for example, when Varex’s security and inspection products are being used to scan cargo or in the diagnosis of medical problems), the possibility for significant personal injury or loss of life exists. Although Varex’s products are incorporated into OEMs’ systems, and thus only perform pursuant to the design and operating systems of OEMs, Varex may also be subject to claims for property damage, personal injury, or economic loss related to or resulting from any errors or defects in its products or the installation, servicing, or support of its products. Any accident or mistreatment could subject Varex to legal costs, litigation, adverse publicity, and damage to its reputation, whether or not its products or services were a factor.
If Varex’s X-ray inspection systems fail to detect the presence of bombs, explosives, weapons, contraband, or other threats to personal safety, Varex could be subject to product and other liability claims or negative publicity, which could result in increased costs, reduced sales, and a decline in the market price of Varex’s common stock. There are many factors beyond Varex’s control that could result in the failure of its products to detect the presence of bombs, explosives, weapons, contraband, or otherwise deliver productsother threats to meet customer demandpersonal safety, including operator error and misuse of or contractual requirements, whichmalfunction of Varex equipment. The failure of Varex’s systems to detect the presence of these dangerous materials may lead to personal injury, loss of life, and extensive property damage and may result in a loss of revenuepotential claims against Varex.
Product liability actions are subject to uncertainty and may be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to Varex’s operations. For these and other reasons, Varex may choose to settle product liability claims against it regardless of their actual merit. A product liability action determined against Varex could result in adverse business consequences. Becausepublicity or significant damages, including the possibility of punitive damages, and Varex’s combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
If a product Varex designs or manufactures were defective (whether due to design, labeling or manufacturing defects, improper use of the timeproduct, or other reasons), Varex may be required to obtaincorrect or recall the product and notify regulatory approvalauthorities. The adverse publicity resulting from a correction or recall could damage Varex’s reputation and licensingcause customers to review and
potentially terminate their relationships with Varex. A product correction or recall could consume management time and have an adverse financial impact on its business, including incurring substantial costs, losing revenues, and accruing losses.
Varex maintains limited product liability insurance coverage. Varex’s product liability insurance policies are expensive and have high deductible amounts and self-insured retentions. Varex’s insurance coverage may prove to be inadequate, and future policies may not be available on acceptable terms or in sufficient amounts, if at all. If a timely basismaterial claim is not insured or is in excess of Varex’s insurance coverage, Varex could have to replace any lost manufacturing capacity. The occurrence of these or any other operational issues at Varex’s manufacturing facilitiespay substantial damages, which could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s business,its financial condition, andposition and/or results of operations.
In addition, some of Varex’s products are manufactured in Walluf, Germany; Heerlen and Dinxperlo, the Netherlands; and Calamba City, Philippines, which are subject to similar risks but may also face additional regulatory and political risks, which could impact Varex’s ability to manufacture and ship products in a timely manner or at all. Varex manufactures its security products in Las Vegas, Nevada, and certain flat panels in Santa Clara, California, and these operations are also subject to potential power failures, the breakdown, failure, or substandard performance of equipment, the improper installation or operation of equipment, earthquakes, and other disasters, all of which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s ability to deliver products to meet customer demand. In addition, Varex’s costs associated with manufacturing its products can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, and fluctuations thereof may adversely affect its business, operating results, and/or financial condition.
Significantly more than half of Varex’s revenues are generated from customers located outside the United States, and economic, political, and other risks associated with international sales and operations could materially and adversely affect Varex’s sales or make them less predictable.
Varex conducts business globally. Revenues generated from customers located outside the United States accounted for approximately 65%, 66% and 65% of Varex’s total revenues during each of fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. As a result, Varex must provide significant service and support globally. Varex intends to continue to expand its presence in international markets and expects to expend significant resources in doing so. Varex cannot be sure that it will be able to meet its sales, service, and support objectives or obligations in these international markets or recover its investment in attempting to do so. Varex’s future results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:
currency fluctuations, and in particular the strength of the U.S. Dollar (which is our functional and reporting currency) relative to many currencies, which have and may in the future adversely affect Varex’s financial results and cause some customers to delay purchasing decisions or move to in-sourcing supply or migrate to lower cost alternatives or ask for additional discounts;
the longer payment cycles associated with many customers located outside the United States;
difficulties in interpreting or enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through many foreign countries’ legal systems;
changes in restrictions on trade between the United States and other countries or unstable regional political and economic conditions;
changes in the political, regulatory, safety or economic conditions in a country or region
the imposition by governments of additional taxes, tariffs, global economic sanctions programs, or other restrictions on foreign trade such as the tariffs recently put into place by both China and the United States;
any inability to obtain required export or import licenses or approvals;
failure to comply with export laws and requirements, which may result in civil or criminal penalties and restrictions on Varex’s ability to export its products, particularly its industrial linear accelerator products;
risks uniqueRisks Relating to the Chinese market,Manufacture of our Products
Supply chain disruptions, including import barriers and preferences for local manufacturers;
failure to obtain proper business licenses or other documentation or to otherwise comply with local laws and requirements regarding marketing, sales, service, or any other business Varex conducts in a foreign jurisdiction, which may result in civil or criminal penalties and restrictions on its ability to conduct business in that jurisdiction; and,
the possibility that it may be more difficult to protect Varex’s intellectual property in foreign countries.
Although Varex’s sales fluctuate from period to period, in recent years Varex’s international region has represented a larger share of its business. The more Varex depends on sales in the international region, the more vulnerable Varex becomes to these factors. For example, recent trade disputes as well as tariffs enacted by China and the United States have had a negative effect on Varex’s business and will likely continue to negatively impact our business.
A change in the percentage of Varex’s total earnings from the international region or continued changes in tax laws could increase Varex’s effective tax rate.
Varex’s effective tax rate is impacted by tax laws in both the United States and in the countries in which its international subsidiaries do business. Earnings from Varex’s international subsidiaries are generally taxed at rates that differ from U.S. rates. A change in the percentage of Varex’s total earnings from the international subsidiaries, a change in the mix of particular tax jurisdictions between the international subsidiaries, or a change in currency exchange rates could cause Varex’s effective tax rate to increase or decrease. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“U.S. Tax Reform”) was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The law includes significant changes to the U.S. corporate income tax system, including a Federal corporate rate reduction from 35% to 21%, limitations on the deductibility of interest expense and executive compensation, and extensive changes to the way foreign earnings are taxed in the U.S.
Prior to the enactment of U.S. Tax Reform, Varex was not taxed in the United States on certain undistributed earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries. While U.S. Tax Reform imposed a current tax on cumulative undistributed earnings, these earnings could also become subject to incremental foreign withholding or U.S. state taxes should they be actually remitted to the United States, in which case Varex’s financial results could be materially and adversely affected. The changes included in U.S. Tax Reform are broad, complex, and subject to change and interpretation. Additional statutory changes or interpretive guidance issued by Federal or local authorities could have a material impact on income tax expense, the effective rate, or the value of deferred tax assets and liabilities. In addition, significant judgments and estimates are required to evaluate our tax position and the impact of the new tax law. If these judgments and estimates are incorrect, or if the underlying assumptions are modified by subsequent guidance or are different from what we expect, our tax liability could differ significantly from our current estimates. Changes in the valuation of Varex’s deferred tax assets or liabilities, additional changes in tax laws or rates, changes in the interpretation of tax laws in other jurisdictions, or other changes beyond Varex’s control could materially and adversely affect its financial position and results of operations.
Varex’s results have been and may continue to be affected by continuing worldwide economic instability, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in the price of crude oil and other commodities.
The global economy has been impacted by a number of economic and political factors. In many markets, these conditions have shrunk capital equipment budgets, slowed decision-making and made it difficult for Varex’s customers and vendors to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. This, in turn, has caused Varex’s customers to be more cautious with, and sometimes freeze, delay, or dramatically reduce purchases and capital project expenditures. Some countries have adopted and may in the future adopt austerity or stimulus programs that could positively or negatively affect Varex’s results from period to period, making it difficult for investors to compare its financial results. In addition, actions taken by the current U.S. administration, and the pending withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (“EU”) may also create global economic uncertainty, which may cause our customers to reduce their spending, which in turn, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and cash flows. An uncertain economic environment may also disrupt supply or affect our service business, as customers’ constrained budgets may result in pricing pressure, extended warranty provisions, and even cancellation of service contracts.
In addition, concerns over continued economic instability could make it more difficult for Varex to collect outstanding receivables. A weak or deteriorating healthcare market would inevitably materially and adversely affect Varex’s business, financial conditions, and results of operations.
Because Varex’s products are generally priced in U.S. Dollars, the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar in the last several years has caused, and could continue to cause, some customers to ask for additional discounts, delay purchasing decisions, or consider
moving to in-sourcing supply of such components or migrating to lower cost alternatives. Further, because Varex’s business is global and some payments may be made in local currency, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates can impact its results by affecting product demand, revenues and expenses, and/or the profitability in U.S. Dollars of products and services that Varex provides in foreign markets.
Changes in monetary or other policies here and abroad, including as a result of economic and/or political instability or in reaction thereto, would also likely affect foreign currency exchange rates. Furthermore, in the event that one or more European countries were to replace the Euro with another currency, Varex’s sales in these countries, or in Europe generally, would likely be materially and adversely affected until such time as stable exchange rates are established.
Additionally, fluctuations in commodities prices could materially and adversely affect Varex’s performance. Rising commodities prices will increase Varex’s costs and those of Varex’s medical OEM customers, which could in turn result in reduced demand for Varex’s products. Further, Varex’s security product revenues from oil-producing countries, in which Varex has a significant customer base, have in the past suffered as a result of volatility in oil prices and remain sensitive to fluctuations in the future.
The loss of a supplier, orand any inability to obtain supplies of important components could restricthave impacted Varex’s ability to manufacture products, causehave caused delays in its ability to deliver products, and have increased its costs and may continue to do so.
As discussed under the heading "Risks Related to our Business" above, supply chain disruptions have had, and will likely continue to have, an impact on Varex’s ability to manufacture its products. Varex has experienced delays in receiving materials used to make its products due both to material shortages and shipping delays. These delays are likely to continue. In recent months, material shortages have increased and if not timely remedied, these material shortages could cause us to temporarily stop production of certain products. If Varex is unable to obtain the materials necessary to make its products or significantly increase its costs.must pay more for those materials, it could have a material adverse effect on Varex’s business and financial results.
Varex obtains from a limited group of suppliers or from sole-source suppliers some of the components included in its products, such as wave guides for industrial linear accelerators, transistor arrays, cesium iodide coatings and specialized integrated circuits for flat panel detectors, X-ray tube targets, housings, glass frames, high-voltage cable, bearings and various other components. For example, Varex’s major supplier of its amorphous silicon-based thin film transistor arrays (flat panels) used in its digital image detectors is dpiX LLC. Although Varex holds a 40% ownership interest in dpiX, Varex does not have majority voting rights and does not have the power to direct the activities of dpiX. In addition, Varian is Varex’s sole source supplier for a key component in linear accelerators used in Varex’s security and inspection products subsystems, which are specially made for Varex. While Varex entered into a Supply Agreement for this component,If current suppliers cease producing these components, there can be no assurance that this componentthe components will continue to be available from other suppliers on reasonable terms or at all.
If Varex loses any of these limited- or sole-source suppliers, if their operations are substantially interrupted, or if any of them fail to meet performance or quality specifications or delivery deadlines, Varex may be required to obtain and qualify one or more replacement suppliers.suppliers or to manufacture the components internally. Such an event (i)(1) may then also require Varex to redesign or modify its products to incorporate new parts and/or further require Varex to obtain clearance, qualification, or certification of these products, including by the FDA, or obtain other applicable regulatory approvals in other countries, or (ii)(2) could significantly increase costs for the affected products and cause material delays in delivery of those and other related products. In addition, manufacturing capacity limitations of any of Varex’s limited- or sole-source suppliers or other inability of these suppliers to meet increasing demand or delivery deadlines could limit growth opportunities for the affected product lines and damage customer relationships. Shortage of, and greater demand for, components and subassemblies could also increase manufacturing costs if the supply/demand imbalance increases the price of the components and subassemblies. Any of these events could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and financial results. If Varex decides to manufacturer a component that was previously purchased from an external supplier, Varex may not be able to manufacture the component as efficiently as the external supplier and may experience delays or problems in successfully manufacturing the component, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s ability to manufacture and supply products to customers.
A shortage or changeShortages, changes in source of, or increaseand increased in price of,prices for, raw materials could restricthave negatively impacted Varex’s ability to manufacture products, causehave caused delays, or significantly increaseand have increased its cost of goods.
Varex relies uponon the supplies of certain raw materials such as tungsten, lead, iridium, and copper for security and inspection products and copper, lead, tungsten, rhenium, molybdenum zirconium, and various high grades of steel alloy for X-ray tubes. Worldwide demand, availability, and pricing of these raw materials have been volatile, andvolatile. Varex expects that availability and pricing will continue to fluctuate in the future. If supplies are restricted or become unavailable or if prices increase further, this could constrain Varex’s manufacturing of affected products, reduce its profit margins, or otherwise materially and adversely affect its business.
Pursuant Varex is required to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC has promulgated rules regarding disclosure ofdisclose (1) the presence in a company’s products of certain metals known as “conflict minerals,” which are metals mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries, as well asand (2) procedures regarding a manufacturer’s
efforts to identify the sourcing of those minerals from this region. Varex’s complex supply chain may inhibit Varex’s ability to sufficiently verify the origins of the relevant minerals used in its products through the due diligence procedures that it implements, which may harm Varex’s reputation. In addition, Varex may encounter challenges in satisfying customers who require that all of the components of Varex products are certified as conflict-free, which could place Varex at a competitive disadvantage if it is unable to do so. Moreover, complying with these rules requires investigative efforts, which has and will continue to cause Varex to incur associated costs and
could materially and adversely affect the sourcing, supply, and pricing of materials used in Varex’s products or result in process or manufacturing modifications, all of which could materially and adversely affect its results of operations.
Fulfilling obligations incidental to being a public company, including with respect to the requirements of and related rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, will place significant demands on Varex’s management, administrative, and operational resources, including accounting and information technology resources.
As a public company, Varex is subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act and is required to prepare its financial statements according to the rules and regulations required by the SEC. In addition, the Exchange Act requires that Varex file annual, quarterly, and current reports. Varex’s failure to prepare and disclose this information in a timely manner or to otherwise comply with applicable law could subject it to penalties under federal securities laws, expose it to lawsuits and restrict its ability to access financing.
Varex recently transitioned from an “emerging growth company” to a “large accelerated filer.” As a large accelerated filer, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that Varex, among other things, establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and disclosure purposes. Internal control over financial reporting is complex and may be revised over time to adapt to changes in Varex’s business or changes in applicable accounting rules. As described in the following risk factor, in preparation for its first full year of Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, Varex identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. Varex cannot assure that its internal control over financial reporting will be effective in the future or that additional material weaknesses will not be discovered with respect to a prior period for which it had previously believed that internal controls were effective.
Matters impacting Varex’s internal controls may cause Varex to be unable to report its financial information on a timely basis or may cause Varex to restate previously-issued financial information, thereby subjecting Varex to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions or investigations by the SEC or in respect of violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in Varex and the reliability of its financial statements.
Varex identified material weaknesses in our internal control related to ineffective information technology general and business processes controls which, if not remediated appropriately or timely, could result in loss of investor confidence and adversely impact our stock price.
Notably, as further described in Item 9A of this report, during Varex's year end financial reporting process, management and Varex’s internal auditors determined that Varex did not appropriately design controls in response to the risk of material misstatements. As a result, management and Varex’s internal auditors identified material weaknesses related to ineffective information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) in the areas of user access and program change-management over certain information technology (“IT”) systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes. Management and Varex's internal auditors also identified business process control deficiencies which independently, as well as when combined with the material weaknesses in ITGCs, resulted in material weakness in the areas of customer order entry and pricing, cycle count programs, capitalization of manufacturing variances, our German operations and the financial close process. As a result, management concluded that Varex's internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of September 28, 2018. These deficiencies did not result in a material misstatement to the consolidated financial statements, however, until remediated, these deficiencies could result in a material misstatement to the annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. There can be no assurance that the remedial measures being implemented by Varex's management will be successful. If Varex is unable to remediate the material weaknesses, or is otherwise unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, Varex's ability to record, process and report financial information accurately, and to prepare financial statements within required time periods, could be adversely affected, which could subject Varex to litigation or investigations requiring management resources and payment of legal and other expenses, negatively affect investor confidence in our financial statements and adversely impact our stock price.
Compliance with U.S. laws and regulations applicable to the marketing, manufacture, and distribution of Varex’s products may be costly, and failure or delays in obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals or failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could prevent Varex from distributing its products, require Varex to recall its products, or result in significant penalties or other harm to Varex’s business.
Some of Varex’s products and those of OEMs that incorporate Varex’s products are subject to extensive and rigorous government regulation in the United States. Compliance with these laws and regulations is expensive and time-consuming, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Most of Varex’s products are non-classified or Class I devices, with a small number of software products designated as Class II devices. Generally, Varex’s manufacturing operations for medical devices, and those of its third-party manufacturers, are required to comply with the Quality System Regulations (“QSR”) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), as well as other federal and state regulations for medical devices and radiation-emitting products. The FDA makes announced and unannounced periodic and on-going inspections of medical device manufacturers to determine compliance with QSR and, in connection with these inspections, issues reports known as Form FDA 483 reports when the FDA believes the manufacturer has failed to comply with applicable regulations and/or procedures. If observations from the FDA issued on Form FDA 483 reports are not addressed and/or corrective action is not taken in a timely manner and to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA may issue a Warning Letter and/or proceed directly to other forms of enforcement action. Similarly, if a Warning Letter were issued, prompt corrective action to come into compliance would be required. Failure to respond in a timely manner to Form FDA 483 observations, a Warning Letter, or any other notice of noncompliance and to promptly come into compliance could result in the FDA bringing an enforcement action, which could include the total shutdown of Varex’s production facilities, denial of importation rights to the United States for products manufactured in overseas locations, adverse publicity, and criminal and civil fines. The expense and costs of any corrective actions that Varex may take, which may include product recalls, correction and removal of products from customer sites, and/or changes to its product manufacturing and quality systems, could materially and adversely impact Varex’s financial results and may also divert management resources, attention, and time. Additionally, if a Warning Letter were issued, customers could delay purchasing decisions or cancel orders, and Varex could face increased pressure from its competitors, who could use the Warning Letter against Varex in competitive sales situations, either of which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s reputation, business, and stock price.
In addition, Varex is required to timely file various reports with the FDA, including reports required by the medical device reporting regulations (“MDRs”), that require that Varex report to regulatory authorities if its devices may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if the malfunction were to recur. In addition, if Varex initiates a correction or removal of a device to reduce a risk to health posed by the device, Varex would be required to submit a publicly-available Correction and Removal Report to the FDA and, in many cases, similar reports to other regulatory agencies. This report could be classified by the FDA as a device recall, which could lead to increased scrutiny by the FDA, other international regulatory agencies, and Varex’s customers regarding the quality and safety of Varex’s devices. If these MDRs or correction and removal reports are not filed on a timely basis, regulators may impose sanctions, sales of Varex’s products may suffer, and Varex may be subject to product liability or regulatory enforcement actions, all of which could harm its business.
Government regulation may also cause significant delays or even prevent the marketing and full commercialization of future products or services that Varex may develop and/or may impose costly requirements on Varex’s business. Further, as Varex enters new businesses or pursues new business opportunities, Varex will become subject to additional laws, rules, and regulations, including FDA and foreign rules and regulations. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations is costly and time consuming. In addition, failure to comply with these laws, rules and regulations could delay the introduction of new products and could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
If Varex or any of its suppliers, distributors, agents, or customers fail to comply with FDA, Federal Trade Commission, or other applicable U.S. regulatory requirements or are perceived to potentially have failed to comply therewith, Varex may face:
adverse publicity affecting both Varex and its customers;
increased pressures from competitors;
investigations by governmental authorities;
fines, injunctions, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution;
partial suspension or total shutdown of production facilities or the imposition of operating restrictions;
increased difficulty in obtaining required clearances or approvals or losses of clearances or approvals already granted;
seizures or recalls of Varex products or those of its customers;
delays in purchasing decisions by customers or cancellation of existing orders;
the inability to sell Varex products; and,
difficulty in obtaining product liability or operating insurance at a reasonable cost, or at all.
Varex is also subject to federal and state laws and regulations of general applicability relating to matters such as environmental protection, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, and other matters. Insurance coverage is not commercially available for violations of law, including the fines, penalties, or investigatory costs that Varex may incur as the consequence of regulatory violations. Consequently, Varex does not have insurance that would cover this type of liability.
Varex sells certain X-ray tube products as replacements which are subject to medical device certification and product registration laws and regulations, which vary by country, and are subject to change, and Varex may be unable to receive registration approval or renewal of existing registrations if it fails to meet regulatory approval requirements or if the process of gaining approval becomes commercially infeasible or impractical.
Varex markets and distributes certain X-ray tubes through distributors and third-party/multi-vendor service organizations that are used as equivalent replacements for specific OEM tubes. Varex is subject to medical device certification and product registration laws, which vary by country and are subject to periodic reviews and changes by regulatory authorities in those countries. For example, to sell X-ray tubes for replacement applications in China, product registrations have to be approved by the Chinese FDA or province-specific authorities. Registration requirements are subject to change, and Varex may not be able to receive registration approval or renewal of existing registrations if Varex fails to meet regulatory approval requirements or if the process of gaining approval becomes commercially infeasible or impractical. Certain of these local laws and regulations have the effect of serving as a barrier to trade and can be difficult to navigate predictably.
In addition, certain countries in which Varex products are sold require products to undergo re-registration if the product is altered in any significant way, and it may be determined that the separation of Varex from Varian, including Varex’s new name, will require these products to be re-registered as Varex products, even if they are physically unchanged.
These registration processes can be costly and time consuming, and customers may decide to purchase products from Varex’s competitors that do not have to be involved in a re-registration process. In addition, Varex’s inability to receive or renew product registrations may prevent Varex from marketing and/or distributing those particular products for replacement applications in the specific country.
Compliance with foreign laws and regulations applicable to the marketing, manufacture, and distribution of Varex’s products may be costly, and failure to comply may result in significant penalties and other harm to Varex’s business.
Regulatory requirements affecting Varex’s operations and sales outside the United States vary from country to country, often differing significantly from those in the United States. In general, outside the United States, some of Varex’s products are regulated as medical devices by foreign governmental agencies similar to the FDA.
For Varex to market its products internationally, Varex must obtain clearances or approvals for products and product modifications. These processes (including, for example, in the EU, the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, Brazil, Australia, China, Japan and Canada) can be time consuming, expensive and uncertain, which can delay Varex’s ability to market products in those countries. Delays in the receipt of or failure to receive regulatory approvals, the inclusion of significant limitations on the indicated uses of a product, the loss of previously obtained approvals or failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements could restrict or prevent Varex from doing business in a country or subject Varex to a variety of enforcement actions and civil or criminal penalties, which would materially and materially and adversely affect its business. In addition, compliance with changing regulatory schemes, such as what may occur in connection with Brexit, may add additional complexity, cost and delays in marketing or selling Varex’s products. Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations and, given the lack of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU would have and how such withdrawal would affect Varex.
Within the EU/EEA, Varex must obtain, and in turn affix, a CE mark certification, which is a European marking of conformity that indicates that a product meets the essential requirements of the Medical Device Directive. Compliance with the Medical Device Directive is done through a self-certification process that is then verified by an independent certification body called a “Notified Body,” which is an organization empowered by the legislature to conduct this verification. Once the CE mark is affixed, the Notified Body will regularly audit Varex to ensure that it remains in compliance with the applicable European laws and Medical Device Directive. By affixing the CE mark to its product, Varex is certifying that its products comply with the laws and regulations required by the EU/EEA countries, thereby allowing the free movement of its products within these countries and others that accept
CE mark standards. If Varex cannot support its performance claims and demonstrate compliance with the applicable European laws and the Medical Device Directive, Varex would lose its right to affix the CE mark to its products, which would prevent Varex from selling its products within the EU/EEA/Switzerland territory and in other countries that recognize the CE mark. In April 2017, the European Commission adopted two new regulations on medical devices. EU Medical Device Regulations, which will enter into force in 2020, replaced Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC and Active Implantable Medical Device 90/385/EEC, and will enter into force in 2022. These new regulations impose stricter requirements for placing medical devices in the EU market, as well as for Notified Bodies. Varex may be subject to risks associated with additional testing, modification, certification, or amendment of its existing market authorizations, or Varex may be required to modify products already installed at its customers’ facilities to comply with the official interpretations of these revised regulations.
Varex is also subject to international laws and regulations of general applicability relating to matters such as environmental protection, safe working conditions, and manufacturing practices, as well as others. These are often comparable to, if not more stringent than, the equivalent regulations in the United States. Sales overseas are also affected by regulation of matters such as product standards, packaging, labeling, environmental and product recycling requirements, import and export restrictions, tariffs, duties, and taxes.
In addition, Varex is required to timely file various reports with international regulatory authorities similar to the reports it is required to timely file with U.S. regulatory authorities, including reports required by international adverse event reporting regulations. If these reports are not timely filed, regulators may impose sanctions, including temporarily suspending Varex’s market authorizations or CE mark, and sales of its products may suffer.
Further, as Varex enters new businesses or pursues new business opportunities internationally, or as regulatory schemes change, Varex may become subject to additional laws, rules, and regulations. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations is costly. Additionally, in some countries, Varex relies or may rely in the future on foreign distributors and agents to assist in complying with foreign regulatory requirements, and Varex cannot be sure that they will always do so. The failure of Varex or its agents to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations could delay the introduction of new products, cause reputational harm, or result in investigations, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, criminal prosecution, or an inability to sell Varex’s products in or to import its products into certain countries, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Existing and future healthcare reforms, including the Affordable Care Act and changes to reimbursement rates, may indirectly have a material adverse effect on Varex’s business and results of operations.
Sales of Varex’s products to OEMs in the medical sector indirectly depend on whether adequate reimbursement is available for its customers’ products from a variety of sources, such as government healthcare insurance programs, including U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs, foreign government programs, private insurance plans, health maintenance organizations, and preferred provider organizations. Without adequate reimbursement, the demand for Varex’s customers’ products, and therefore indirectly Varex’s products, may be limited.
Healthcare reform proposals and medical cost containment measures in the United States and in many foreign countries could limit the use of both Varex’s and its customers’ products, reduce reimbursement available for such use, further tax the sale or use of Varex’s products, and further increase the administrative and financial burden of compliance. These reforms and measures, including the uncertainty in the medical community regarding their nature and effect, could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s and its customers’ purchasing decisions regarding its products and treatments and could harm Varex’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects. Varex cannot predict the specific healthcare programs and regulations that will be ultimately implemented by local, regional, and national governments globally. However, any changes that lower reimbursements for Varex’s or its customers’ products and/or procedures using these products, including, for example, existing reimbursement incentives to convert from analog to digital X-ray systems, or changes that reduce medical procedure volumes or increase cost containment pressures on Varex or others in the healthcare sector could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and results of operations.
Varex is subject to federal, state, and foreign laws governing its business practices which, if violated, could result in substantial penalties. Additionally, challenges to or investigations into Varex’s practices could cause adverse publicity and be costly to respond to and thus could harm its business.
Anti-corruption laws and regulations. Varex is subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption laws, as well as similar laws in foreign countries, such as the U.K. Bribery Act and the Law On the Fundamentals of Health Protection in the Russian Federation. In general, there is a worldwide trend to strengthen anti-corruption laws and their enforcement, and the healthcare
industry and medical equipment manufacturers have been particular targets of these investigation and enforcement efforts. Any violation of these laws by Varex or its agents or distributors could create substantial liability for Varex, subject its officers and directors to personal liability, and cause a loss of reputation in the market. Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index measured the degree to which public sector corruption is perceived to exist in 180 countries/territories around the world and found that two-thirds of the countries in the index, including many that Varex considers to be high-growth areas for Varex’s products, such as China and India, scored below 50 on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Varex currently operates in many countries where the public sector is perceived as being more or highly corrupt. Varex’s strategic business plans include expanding its business in regions and countries that are rated as higher risk for corruption activity by Transparency International. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with laws, rules, and regulations applicable to new business activities and mitigating and protecting against corruption risks could be quite costly. In addition, failure by Varex or its agents or distributors to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations could delay its expansion into high-growth markets and could materially and adversely affect its business. This notwithstanding, Varex will inevitably do more business, directly and potentially indirectly, in countries where the public sector is perceived to be more or highly corrupt and will be engaging in business in more countries perceived to be more or highly corrupt. Increased business in higher-risk countries could subject Varex and its officers and directors to increased scrutiny and increased liability from its business operations.
Competition and trade compliance laws. Varex is subject to various competition and trade compliance laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates. Regulatory authorities under whose laws Varex operates may have enforcement powers that can subject Varex to sanctions and can impose changes or conditions in the way Varex conducts its business. In addition, an increasing number of jurisdictions also provide private rights of action for competitors or consumers to seek damages asserting claims of anti-competitive conduct. Increased government scrutiny of Varex’s actions or enforcement or private rights of action could materially and adversely affect its business or damage its reputation. In addition, Varex may conduct, or it may be required to conduct, internal investigations or face audits or investigations by one or more domestic or foreign government agencies, which could be costly and time consuming and could divert its management and key personnel from its business operations. An adverse outcome under any such investigation or audit could subject Varex to fines and/or or criminal or other penalties, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and financial results. Furthermore, competition laws may prohibit or increase the cost of future acquisitions that Varex may desire to undertake.
Laws and ethical rules governing interactions with healthcare providers. Generally, Varex does not sell its products directly to healthcare providers, although occasionally it may sell its products to healthcare providers through distributors. The U.S. Medicare and Medicaid “anti-kickback” laws, and similar state laws, prohibit payments or other remuneration that is intended to induce hospitals, physicians, or others either to refer patients or to purchase, lease, or order, or to arrange for or recommend the purchase, lease, or order of healthcare products or services for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. These laws affect Varex’s sales, marketing, and other promotional activities by limiting the kinds of financial arrangements Varex may have with hospitals, physicians, or other potential purchasers of its products. They particularly impact how Varex structures its sales offerings, including discount practices, customer support, education and training programs, physician consulting, research grants, and other fee-for-service arrangements. These laws are broadly written, and it is often difficult to determine precisely how these laws will be applied to specific circumstances.
Federal and state “false claims” laws generally prohibit knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other government payors that are false or fraudulent, or for items or services that were not provided as claimed. Although Varex does not submit claims directly to payors, manufacturers can be, and have been, held liable under these laws if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims by providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or through certain other activities, including promoting products for uses not approved or cleared by the FDA, which is called off-label promotion. Violating “anti-kickback” and “false claims” laws can result in civil and criminal penalties, which can be substantial, as well as potential mandatory or discretionary exclusion from healthcare programs for noncompliance. Even an unsuccessful challenge or investigation into Varex’s practices could cause adverse publicity and be costly to defend and thus could harm its business and results of operations. Additionally, several recently-enacted state and federal laws, including laws in Massachusetts and Vermont, and the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act, now require, among other things, extensive tracking and maintenance of databases regarding the disclosure of equity ownership and payments to physicians, healthcare providers, and hospitals. These laws may require Varex to implement the necessary and costly infrastructure to track and report certain payments to healthcare providers. Failure to comply with these new tracking and reporting laws could subject Varex to significant civil monetary penalties.
Varex is subject to similar laws in foreign countries where it conducts business. For example, within the EU, the control of unlawful marketing activities is a matter of national law in each of the member states. The member states of the EU closely monitor perceived unlawful marketing activity by companies. Varex could face civil, criminal, and administrative sanctions if any member
state determines that Varex has breached its obligations under such state’s national laws. Industry associations also closely monitor the activities of member companies. If these organizations or authorities name Varex as having breached its obligations under their regulations, rules, or standards, its reputation would suffer, and its business and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Warranty claims may materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Varex could experience an increase in warranty claims as a result of issues with product quality or product failures as a direct result of Varex’s design, manufacturing, or issues in its supply chain. Such an occurrence may damage Varex’s market reputation, cause sales to decline, or require repairs or voluntary remedial measures to enhance customer satisfaction, which could materially and adversely impact Varex’s financial results. Increased warranty claims on any given product could cause Varex to halt production on that product and could significantly impair Varex’s liquidity and profitability, as well as cause reputational harm to Varex. Because some categories of products tend to experience higher numbers of warranty claims than others, a shift in the types of products that Varex’s customers purchase could lead to an increase in warranty claims. If actual levels of warranty claims are greater than the level of claims Varex estimates, cost of sales could increase, and Varex’s financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, product quality issues could result in significant follow-on effects for Varex, including, among other things, reputational harm to Varex and its customers, loss of customers, and liability as a result of product quality issues. These outcomes would materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and financial condition.
If Varex is not able to match its manufacturing capacity with demand for its products, its financial results may suffer.
Many of Varex’s products have a long production cycle, and Varex needs tomust anticipate demand for its products to ensure adequate manufacturing or testing capacity. If Varex is unable to anticipate demand, and its manufacturing or testing capacity does not keep pace with product demand, Varex will not be able to fulfill orders in a timely manner, which may negatively impact its financial results and overall business. Conversely, if demand for Varex’s products decreases, the fixed costs associated with excess manufacturing capacity may harm its financial results, including by decreasing gross margins and increasing research and development costs as a percentage of revenue.
Additionally,
A disruption at Varex’s manufacturing is primarily conductedfacilities, as well as fluctuating manufacturing costs, could materially and adversely affect its business.
The majority of Varex’s products are manufactured at its facility in Salt Lake City, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada;Utah. Varex’s manufacturing operations are subject to potential power failures, the breakdown, failure, or substandard performance of equipment, the improper installation or operation of equipment, pandemics, and natural or other disasters. Loss or damage to its manufacturing facility due to any of these factors or otherwise could materially and adversely affect Varex’s ability to manufacture sufficient quantities of its products or otherwise deliver products to meet customer demand or contractual requirements, which may result in a loss of revenue and other adverse business consequences. Because of the time required to obtain regulatory approval and licensing of a manufacturing facility, Varex may not be available on a timely basis to replace any lost manufacturing capacity. The occurrence of these or any other operational issues at Varex’s manufacturing facilities could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Some of Varex’s products are manufactured in Wuxi, China; Walluf, Germany; Doetinchem, the Netherlands; and Calamba City, Philippines, facilities. If anywhich are subject to similar risks but may also face additional regulatory and political risks, which could impact Varex’s ability to manufacture and ship products in a timely manner or at all. Varex also manufactures security products in Las Vegas, Nevada, and these operations are also subject to potential power failures, the breakdown, failure, or substandard performance of equipment, the improper installation or operation of equipment, earthquakes, and other disasters, all of which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s ability to deliver products to meet customer demand. In addition, Varex’s costs associated with manufacturing its products can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, and fluctuations thereof may adversely affect its business, operating results, and/or financial condition.
Varex’s results have been and may continue to be affected by continuing worldwide economic instability, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in the price of crude oil and other commodities.
The global economy has been impacted by a number of economic and political factors. In many markets, these facilities experiencesconditions have shrunk capital equipment budgets, slowed decision-making and made it difficult for Varex’s customers and vendors to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. This, in turn, has caused Varex’s customers to be more cautious with, and sometimes freeze, delay, or dramatically reduce purchases and capital project expenditures. Some countries have adopted and may in the future adopt austerity or stimulus programs that could negatively affect Varex’s results from period to period. In addition, actions taken by the current U.S. administration may also create global economic uncertainty, which may cause our customers to reduce their spending, which, in turn, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and cash flows. An uncertain economic environment may also disrupt supply or affect our service business, as customers’ constrained budgets may result in pricing pressure, extended warranty provisions, and even cancellation of service contracts. In addition, concerns over continued economic instability could make it more difficult for Varex to collect outstanding receivables. A weak or deteriorating healthcare market would inevitably materially and adversely affect Varex’s business, financial conditions, and results of operations.
Because Varex’s products are generally priced in U.S. Dollars, the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar in the last several years has caused, and could continue to cause, some customers to ask for discounts, delay purchasing decisions, or consider moving to in-sourcing such components or migrating to lower cost alternatives. Further, because Varex’s business is global and some payments
may be made in local currency, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates can impact its results by affecting product demand, revenues and expenses, and/or the profitability in U.S. Dollars of products and services that Varex provides in foreign markets.
Changes in monetary or other policies here and abroad, including efforts to combat inflation, economic and/or political instability, or in reaction thereto, would also likely affect foreign currency exchange rates. Furthermore, if one or more European countries were to replace the Euro with another currency, Varex’s sales in these countries, or in Europe generally, would likely be materially and adversely affected until stable exchange rates are established.
Additionally, fluctuations in commodities prices could materially and adversely affect Varex’s performance. Rising commodities prices have increased Varex’s costs and those of Varex’s medical OEM customers, which could in turn result in reduced demand for Varex’s products or impact Varex's financial results. Further, Varex’s security product revenues from oil-producing countries, in which Varex has a disruption, Varex wouldsignificant customer base, have no other meansin the past suffered as a result of manufacturingvolatility in oil prices and remain sensitive to fluctuations in the components manufactured at each respective facility until Varex is able to restore the capability at its current facilities or develop the same capability at an alternative facility.future.
Delivery schedules for Varex’s security, industrial, and inspection products tend to be unpredictable.
Varex designs, manufactures, sells, and services Linatron®Linatron® X-ray accelerators, image-processing software, and image detection products for security and inspection, such as cargo screening at ports and borders and nondestructive examination for a variety of applications, as well as industrial applications. Varex generally sells security and inspection products to OEMs who incorporate its products into their inspection systems, which are then sold to customs and other government agencies, as well as to commercial organizations in the casting, power, aerospace, chemical, petro-chemical, and automotive industries. Varex believes growth in its security and inspection products will be driven by security cargo screening and border protection needs, as well as by the needs of customs agencies to verify shipments for assessing duties and taxes. This business is heavily influenced by domestic and international government policies on border and port security, political change, and government budgets. In addition, Varex believes growth in this product line may be driven in part by industrial customers engaged in 3-D printing, which, as a developing market, may be difficult to predict. Orders for Varex’s security and inspection products have been and may continue to be unpredictable, as governmental agencies may place large orders with Varex or its OEM customers in a short time period and then may not place any orders for a long time period thereafter. Because it is difficult to predict Varex’s OEM customer delivery, the actual timing of sales and revenue recognition varies significantly. The market for border protection systems has slowed significantly, and end customers, particularly in oil-based economies and war zones in which Varex has a significant customer base, are delaying system deployments or tenders and considering moving to alternative sources, resulting in a decline in the demand for security and inspection products.
In addition,
The demand for Varex’s security and inspection products is heavily influenced by U.S. and foreign governmental policies on national and homeland security, border protection, and customs activities, which depend upon government budgets and appropriations that are subject to economic conditions, as well as political changes and oil prices. Varex has seen customers freeze or dramatically reduce purchases and capital project expenditures, delay projects, or act cautiously as governments around the world wrestle with spending priorities. As economic growth remains sluggish in various jurisdictions and appears to be deteriorating in others, and as concerns about levels of government employment and government debt continue, Varex expects that these effects will
also continue. Furthermore, bidBid awards in this business may be subject to challenge by third parties, as Varex has previously encountered with a large government project. These factors make this business more unpredictable and could cause volatility in Varex’s revenues and earnings, and therefore the price of Varex’s common stock.earnings.
Varex’s international manufacturing operations subject it to volatility and other risks, including high security risks, which could result in harm to its employees and contractors or substantial costs.
Varex conducts certain manufacturing operations internationally in order to reduce costs and streamline its manufacturing operations. There are administrative, legal, and governmental risks to operating internationally that could increase operating expenses or hamper the development of these operations. The risks from operating internationally that could increase Varex’s operating expenses and materially and adversely affect its operating results, financial condition, and ability to deliver its products and grow its business include, among others:
•difficulties in staffing and managing employee relations and foreign operations, particularly in attracting and retaining personnel qualified to design, sell, test, and support its products;
•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
•difficulties in coordinating its operations globally and in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures, and policies across its operations;
•difficulties in enforcing contracts and protecting intellectual property;
•diversion of management attention;
•imposition of burdensome governmental regulations, including changing laws and regulations with respect to collection and maintenance of personally identifiable data;
•regional and country-specific political and economic instability, as discussed in greater detail below; and
•inadequacy of the local infrastructure to support its operations.
In addition, Varex’s international locations expose it to higher security risks compared to its United States locations, which could result in both harm to its employees and contractors or substantial costs. Some of its services are performed in or adjacent to high-risk locations where the country or location and surrounding area is suffering from political, social, or economic turmoil, war or civil unrest, or has a high level of criminal or terrorist activity. In those locations where Varex has employees or operations, Varex may incur substantial costs to maintain the safety of its personnel. Despite these precautions, the safety of its personnel in these locations may continue to be at risk, and Varex may in the future suffer the loss of employees and contractors, which could harm its business reputation and operating results.
Protecting Varex’s intellectual property can be costly, and Varex may not be able to maintain licensed rights, and, in either case, its competitive position would be harmed if Varex is not able to do so.
Varex files applications as appropriate for patents covering new products and manufacturing processes. Varex cannot be sure, however, that its current patents, the claims allowed under its current patents, or patents for technologies licensed to Varex will be sufficiently broad to protect its technology position against competitors. Issued patents owned by, or licensed to, Varex may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or the rights granted under the patents may not provide Varex with competitive advantages. Varex also cannot be sure that patents will be issued from any of Varex’s pending or future patent applications. Asserting Varex’s patent rights against others in litigation or other legal proceedings is costly and diverts managerial resources. In addition, Varex may not be able to detect patent infringement by others or may lose its competitive position in the market before Varex is able to do so.
Varex also relies on a combination of copyright, trade secret, and other laws, and contractual restrictions on disclosure, copying and transferring title (including confidentiality agreements with vendors, strategic partners, co-developers, employees, consultants, and other third parties), to protect its proprietary, and other confidential rights. These protections may prove to be inadequate, since agreements may still be breached, Varex may not have adequate remedies for a breach, and its trade secrets may otherwise become known to or be independently developed by others, including as a result of misappropriation by unauthorized access to Varex’s technology systems. In the event that Varex’s proprietary or confidential information is misappropriated, its business and financial results could be materially and adversely impacted. Varex has trademarks, both registered and unregistered, that are maintained and enforced to provide customer recognition for its products in the marketplace, but unauthorized third parties may still use them. Varex also has agreements with third parties that license to Varex certain patented or proprietary technologies. In some cases, products with substantial revenues may depend on these license rights. If Varex were to lose the rights to license these technologies, or its costs to license these technologies were to materially increase, its business would suffer.
Third parties may claim that Varex is infringing upon their intellectual property, and Varex could suffer significant litigation or licensing expenses or be prevented from selling its products.
There is a substantial amount of litigation over patent and other intellectual property rights in the industries in which Varex competes. Varex’s competitors, like companies in many high technology businesses, continually review other companies’ activities for possible conflicts with their own intellectual property rights. In addition, non-practicing entities may review Varex’s activities for conflicts with their patent rights. Determining whether a product infringes upon a third party’s intellectual property rights involves complex legal and factual issues, and the outcome of this type of litigation is often uncertain. Third parties may claim that Varex is infringing upon their intellectual property rights. Varex may not be aware of intellectual property rights of others that relate to its products, services, or technologies. From time to time, Varex has received notices from third parties asserting infringement, and Varex has been subject to lawsuits alleging infringement of third-party patent or other intellectual property rights. Any dispute regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time consuming and could divert Varex’s management and key personnel from its business operations. Varex may not prevail in a dispute. Varex does not maintain insurance for intellectual property infringement, so costs of defense, whether or not Varex is successful in defending an infringement claim, will be borne by Varex and could be significant. If Varex is unsuccessful in defending or appealing an infringement claim, Varex may be subject to significant damages, and its combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. If actual liabilities significantly exceed its estimates regarding potential liabilities, its combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Varex may also be subject to injunctions against development and sale of its products, the effect of which could be to materially reduce its revenues. Furthermore, a third party claiming infringement may not be willing to license its rights to Varex, and even if a third-party rights holder is willing to do so, the amounts Varex might be required to pay under the associated royalty or license agreement could be significant. As such, Varex could decide to alter its business strategy or voluntarily cease the allegedly infringing actions rather than face litigation or pay a royalty, which could materially and adversely impact its business and results of operations.
Product defects or misuse may result in material product liability or professional errors and omissions claims, litigation, investigation by regulatory authorities, or product recalls that could harm Varex’s future revenues and require it to pay material uninsured claims.
Varex’s business exposes it to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the manufacture, sale, installation, servicing, and support of components that are used in medical devices and other devices that deliver radiation. Because Varex’s products, through incorporation in OEMs’ systems, are involved in the intentional delivery of radiation to the human body and other situations where people may come into contact with radiation (for example, when Varex’s security and inspection products are being used to scan cargo or in the diagnosis of medical problems), the possibility for significant injury and/or death exists to the intended or unintended recipient of such delivery. In addition, although Varex’s products are incorporated into OEMs’ systems, and thus only perform pursuant to the design and operating systems of OEMs, Varex may also be subject to claims for property damage, personal injury, or economic loss related to or resulting from any errors or defects in its products or the installation, servicing, or support of its products. Any accident or mistreatment could subject Varex to legal costs, litigation, adverse publicity, and damage to its reputation, whether or not its products or services were a factor.
If Varex’s X-ray inspection systems fail to detect the presence of bombs, explosives, weapons, contraband, or other threats to personal safety, Varex could be subject to product and other liability claims or negative publicity, which could result in increased costs, reduced sales, and a decline in the market price of Varex’s common stock. There are many factors beyond Varex’s control that could result in the failure of its products to detect the presence of bombs, explosives, weapons, contraband, or other threats to personal safety. Examples of these factors include operator error and misuse of or malfunction of Varex equipment. The failure of Varex’s systems to detect the presence of these dangerous materials may lead to personal injury, loss of life, and extensive property damage and may result in potential claims against Varex.
Product liability actions are subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to Varex’s operations. For these and other reasons, Varex may choose to settle product liability claims against it, regardless of their actual merit. If a product liability action were ultimately determined against Varex, it could result in adverse publicity or significant damages, including the possibility of punitive damages, and Varex’s combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
In addition, if a product Varex designs or manufactures were defective (whether due to design, labeling or manufacturing defects, improper use of the product, or other reasons) or found to be so by a competent regulatory authority, Varex may be required to correct or recall the product and notify other regulatory authorities. The adverse publicity resulting from a correction or recall, however imposed, could damage Varex’s reputation and cause customers to review and potentially terminate their relationships with
Varex. A product correction or recall could consume management time and have an adverse financial impact on its business, including incurring substantial costs, losing revenues, and accruing losses under GAAP.
Varex maintains limited product liability insurance coverage. Varex’s product liability insurance policies are expensive and have high deductible amounts and self-insured retentions. Varex’s insurance coverage may also prove to be inadequate, and future policies may not be available on acceptable terms or in sufficient amounts, if at all. If a material claim is successfully brought against Varex relating to a liability that is in excess of its insurance coverage, or for which insurance coverage is denied or limited, Varex could have to pay substantial damages, which could have a material and adverse effect on its financial position and/or results of operations.
Certain of Varex’s products are subject to regulations relating to use of radioactive material, compliance with which may be costly, and a failure to comply therewith may materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
As a manufacturer and seller of medical devices and devices emitting radiation or utilizing radioactive by-product material, Varex and some of Varex’s suppliers and distributors are subject to extensive regulation by United States governmental authorities, such as the FDA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”), and state and local regulatory agencies, which is intended to ensure the devices are safe and effective and comply with laws governing products which emit, produce, or control radiation. These regulations govern, among other things, the design, development, testing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, distribution, import/export, sale, and marketing and disposal of Varex’s products. Varex is also subject to international laws and regulations that apply to manufacturers of radiation-emitting devices and products utilizing radioactive materials. These are often comparable to, if not more stringent than, the equivalent regulations in the United States.
Varex’s industrial and medical devices utilizing radioactive material are subject to NRC clearance and approval requirements, and the manufacture and sale of these products are subject to extensive federal and state regulation that varies from state to state and among regions. Varex’s manufacture, distribution, installation, service, and removal of industrial devices utilizing radioactive material or emitting radiation also requires Varex to obtain a number of licenses and certifications for these devices and materials. Service of these products must also be in accordance with a specific radioactive materials license. Obtaining licenses and certifications may be time consuming, expensive, and uncertain.
In addition, Varex is subject to a variety of environmental laws regulating its manufacturing operations and the handling, storage, transport, and disposal of hazardous substances, which impose liability for the cleanup of any contamination from these substances. In particular, the handling and disposal of radioactive materials resulting from the manufacture, use, or disposal of Varex’s products may impose significant costs and requirements. Disposal sites for the lawful disposal of materials generated by the manufacture, use, or decommissioning of Varex’s products may no longer accept these substances in the future or may accept them on unfavorable terms.
If Varex is unable to obtain required FDA clearances or approvals for a product or is unduly delayed in doing so, or the uses of that product were limited, Varex’s business could suffer.
Typically, Varex’s OEM customers are responsible for obtaining 510(k) pre-market notification clearance on their systems that integrate Varex products, the substantial majority of which are Class I devices. A small portion of Varex’s products, however, is software that is classified as a Class II device subject to 510(k) clearance. Unless an exception applies, Varex may be required by FDA regulations to obtain a 510(k) pre-market notification clearance in connection with the manufacture of a new medical device or a new indication for use of, or other significant change in, an existing currently marketed medical device before it can market or sell those products in the United States. Modifications or enhancements to a product that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in the intended use of the device, technology, materials, labeling, packaging, or manufacturing process also require a new 510(k) clearance. Although manufacturers make the initial determination whether a change to a cleared device requires a new 510(k) clearance, Varex cannot ensure that the FDA will agree with its decisions not to seek additional approvals or clearances for particular modifications to its products or that Varex will be successful in obtaining new 510(k) clearances for modifications. Obtaining clearances or approvals is time consuming, expensive, and uncertain. Varex may not be able to obtain the necessary clearances or approvals or may be unduly delayed in doing so, which could harm its business. Furthermore, even if Varex is granted regulatory clearances or approvals, they may include significant limitations on the indicated uses of the product, which may limit the market for the product. If Varex is unable to obtain required FDA clearance or approval for a product or is unduly delayed in doing so, or the uses of that product were limited, Varex’s business could suffer.
Disruption of critical information systems or material breaches in the security of Varex’s systems may materially and adversely affect its business and customer relations.
Information technology (including technology from third party providers) helps Varex operate efficiently, interface with and support its customers, maintain financial accuracy and efficiency, and produce its financial statements. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, process and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business partners, third parties accessing our website, patient data and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data centers, and on our networks, as well as third party off-site infrastructure. Despite our security measures, there is an increasing threat of information security attacks, including from computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access attempts, and cyber-attacks that pose risks to companies, including Varex. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or to sabotage systems, change frequently, have become increasingly sophisticated and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, Varex may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures, which could result in data leaks or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. If Varex does not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology infrastructure, Varex could be subject to, among other things, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of customers, business disruptions, or the loss of or damage to intellectual property through a security breach or misappropriation of intellectual property. Such security breaches could expose Varex to a risk of loss of information, litigation, and possible liability to employees, customers, and/or regulatory authorities. If Varex’s data management systems do not effectively collect, secure, store, process, and report relevant data for the operation of its business, whether due to equipment malfunction or constraints, software deficiencies, or human error, Varex’s ability to effectively plan, forecast, and execute its business plan and comply with applicable laws and regulations will be impaired, perhaps materially. Any such impairment could materially and adversely affect Varex’s financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the timeliness with which Varex reports its operating results internally and externally.
Moreover, Varex uses certain cloud-based software. A security breach, whether of Varex’s products, of Varex’s customers’ network security and systems, or of third-party hosting services could disrupt access to Varex’s customers’ stored information and could lead to the loss of, damage to or public disclosure of Varex’s customers’ stored information, including patient health information. Such an event could have serious negative consequences, including possible patient injury, regulatory action, fines, penalties and damages, reduced demand for Varex’s solutions, an unwillingness of its customers to use its solutions, harm to its reputation and brand, and time-consuming and expensive litigation, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s financial results.
Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could materially and adversely affect Varex’s financial results.
From time to time, Varex is a party to or otherwise involved in legal proceedings, claims, government inspections or investigations, and other legal matters, both inside and outside the United States, arising in the ordinary course of its business or otherwise. Legal proceedings are often lengthy, taking place over a period of years with interim motions or judgments subject to multiple levels of review (such as appeals or rehearings) before the outcome is final. Litigation is subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to Varex’s operations. For these and other reasons, Varex may choose to settle legal proceedings and claims, regardless of their actual merit.
If a legal proceeding were ultimately resolved against Varex, it could result in significant compensatory damages, and, in certain circumstances, punitive or treble damages, disgorgement of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures, or injunctive relief imposed on Varex. If Varex’s existing insurance does not cover the amount or types of damages awarded, or if other resolution or actions taken as a result of such legal proceeding were to restrain its ability to market one or more of its material products or services, its combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, legal proceedings, and any adverse resolution thereof, can result in adverse publicity and damage to Varex’s reputation, which could materially and adversely impact its business.
Varex’s business may suffer if it is not able to hire and retain qualified personnel.
Varex’s future success depends, to a great degree, on its ability to retain, attract, expand, integrate, and train its management team and other key personnel, such as qualified engineering, service, sales, marketing, and other staff. Varex competes for key personnel with other medical equipment and software manufacturers and technology companies, as well as universities and research institutions. Because this competition is intense, particularly in Utah, where unemployment rates are relatively low, compensation-related costs could increase significantly if the supply of qualified personnel decreases or demand increases. If Varex is unable to hire and train qualified personnel, Varex may not be able to maintain or expand its business. Additionally, if Varex is unable to retain key personnel, Varex may not be able to replace them readily or on terms that are reasonable, which also could hurt its business.
Changes in interpretation or application of generally accepted accounting principles may materially and adversely affect Varex’s operating results.
Varex prepares its financial statements to conform to GAAP. These principles are subject to interpretation by the FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SEC, and various other regulatory and/or accounting bodies. A change in interpretations of, or its application of, these principles can have a significant effect on Varex’s reported results and may even affect its reporting of transactions completed before a change is announced. In addition, when Varex is required to adopt new accounting standards, Varex’s methods of accounting for certain items may change, which could cause its results of operations to fluctuate from period to period and make it more difficult to compare its financial results to prior periods.
As its operations evolve over time, Varex may introduce new products and/or new technologies that require Varex to apply different accounting principles, including ones regarding revenue recognition, than Varex has applied in past periods. The application of different types of accounting principles and related potential changes may make it more difficult to compare its financial results from quarter to quarter, and the trading price of Varex common stock could suffer or become more volatile as a result.
Environmental laws impose compliance costs on Varex’s business and may also result in liability.
Varex is subject to environmental laws around the world. These laws regulate many aspects of its operations, including its handling, storage, transport, and disposal of hazardous substances, such as the chemicals and materials that Varex uses in the course of its manufacturing operations. They can also impose cleanup liabilities, including with respect to discontinued operations. As a consequence, Varex can incur significant environmental costs and liabilities, some recurring and others not recurring. Although its follows procedures intended to comply with existing environmental laws, Varex, like other businesses, may mishandle or inadequately manage hazardous substances used in its manufacturing operations and can never completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from certain materials that it uses in its business and, therefore, it cannot completely eliminate the prospect of resulting claims and damage payments. Varex may also be assessed fines and/or other penalties for failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations. Insurance has provided coverage for portions of cleanup costs resulting from historical occurrences, but Varex does not expect to maintain insurance coverage for costs or claims that might result from any future contamination.
Future changes in environmental laws could also increase its costs of doing business, perhaps significantly. Several countries, including some in the EU, now require medical equipment manufacturers to bear certain disposal costs of products at the end of the product’s useful life, increasing its costs. The EU has also adopted directives that may lead to restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances or other regulated substances in some of its products sold there. These directives, along with another that requires substance information to be provided upon request, could increase Varex’s operating costs in order to maintain its access to certain markets. All of these costs, and any future violations or liabilities under environmental laws or regulations, could have a material adverse effect on its business.
Varex’s operations are vulnerable to interruption or loss due to natural or other disasters, power loss, strikes, and other events beyond its control.
Varex conducts some of its activities, including manufacturing, research and development, administration, and data processing at facilities located in areas that have in the past experienced or may in the future experience natural disasters. Varex’s insurance coverage for such disasters may not be adequate or continue to be available at commercially-reasonable terms, or at all. A major disaster (such as a major fire, hurricane, earthquake, flood, tsunami, volcanic eruption or terrorist attack) affecting Varex’s facilities, or those of its suppliers, could significantly disrupt its operations and delay or prevent product manufacture and shipment during the time required to repair, rebuild, or replace its or its suppliers’ damaged manufacturing facilities. These delays could be lengthy and costly. If any of Varex’s customers’ facilities are adversely affected by a disaster, shipments of its products could be delayed. Additionally, customers may delay purchases of Varex’s products until its operations return to normal. For example, following the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan in 2011, the operations of Canon Medical Systems, our largest customer, were impacted, and, as a consequence, orders to and product shipment from our business were delayed for several months. Even if Varex's suppliers or customers are able to quickly respond to a disaster, the ongoing effects of the disaster could create some uncertainty in the operations of its business. In addition, Varex’s facilities may be subject to a shortage of available electrical power and other energy supplies. Any shortages may increase its costs for power and energy supplies or could result in blackouts, which could disrupt the operations of its affected facilities and harm its business. Further, Varex’s products are typically shipped from a limited number of ports, and any disaster, strike, or other event blocking shipment from these ports could delay or prevent shipments and harm its business. In addition, concerns about terrorism, the effects of a terrorist attack, political turmoil, or an outbreak of epidemic diseases could have a negative effect on Varex’s business operations, those of its suppliers and customers, and the ability to travel, resulting in adverse consequences on its revenues and financial performance.
Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property and Information Systems
Varex’s competitive position would be harmed if it is not able to maintain its intellectual property rights and protecting Varex’s intellectual property can be costly.
Varex files applications as appropriate for patents covering new products and manufacturing processes. Varex cannot be sure, however, that patents will be issued from any of Varex’s pending or future patent applications. Varex also cannot be sure that its current patents, the claims allowed under its current patents, or patents for technologies licensed to Varex will be sufficiently broad to protect its technology position against competitors. Issued patents owned by, or licensed to, Varex may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or the rights granted under the patents may not provide Varex with competitive advantages. Asserting Varex’s patent rights against others in litigation or other legal proceedings is costly and diverts managerial resources. For example, during fiscal year 2019, Varex initiated litigation asserting claims of patent infringement against a third party. Varex intends to prosecute its claims vigorously, and Varex has experienced, and will continue to experience, increased legal expenses related to this litigation that could adversely affect its financial results. An adverse finding in this or similar patent infringement litigation could adversely impact Varex’s competitive position. In addition, Varex may not be able to detect patent infringement by others or may lose its competitive position in the market before Varex is able to do so.
Varex also relies on a combination of copyright, trade secret, and other laws, and contractual restrictions on disclosure, copying and transferring title (including confidentiality agreements with vendors, strategic partners, co-developers, employees, consultants, and other third parties), to protect its proprietary, and other confidential rights. These protections may prove to be inadequate, since agreements may still be breached, and Varex may not have adequate remedies for a breach. Varex’s trade secrets may become known to or be independently developed by others, including as a result of misappropriation by unauthorized access to Varex’s technology systems. If Varex’s proprietary or confidential information is misappropriated, its business and financial results
could be materially and adversely impacted. Varex has trademarks, both registered and unregistered, that are maintained and enforced to provide customer recognition for its products in the marketplace, but unauthorized parties may still use them. Varex also licenses certain patented or proprietary technologies from others. In some cases, products with substantial revenues may depend on these license rights. If Varex were to lose the rights to license these technologies, or its costs to license these technologies were to materially increase, its business would suffer. As Varex expands its manufacturing capabilities outside of the United States, more of Varex’s intellectual property may be held in jurisdictions that do not have robust intellectual property protections, which may make it harder for Varex to adequately protect its intellectual property.
Third parties may claim that Varex is infringing upon their intellectual property, and Varex could suffer significant litigation or licensing expenses or be prevented from selling its products.
There is a substantial amount of litigation over patent and other intellectual property rights in the industries in which Varex competes. Varex’s competitors, like companies in many high technology businesses, continually review other companies’ activities for possible conflicts with their own intellectual property rights. In addition, non-practicing entities may review Varex’s activities for conflicts with their patent rights. Determining whether a product infringes on a party’s intellectual property rights involves complex legal and factual issues, and the outcome of this type of litigation is often uncertain. Parties may claim that Varex is infringing upon their intellectual property rights. Varex may not be aware of intellectual property rights of others that relate to its products, services, or technologies. From time to time, Varex has received notices from parties asserting infringement, and Varex has been subject to lawsuits alleging infringement of patent or other intellectual property rights. Any dispute regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time consuming and could divert Varex’s management and key personnel from its business operations. Varex may not prevail in a dispute. Varex does not maintain insurance for intellectual property infringement, so costs of defense, whether or not Varex is successful in defending an infringement claim, will be borne by Varex and could be significant. If Varex is unsuccessful in defending or appealing an infringement claim, Varex may be subject to significant damages, and its combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Varex may also be subject to injunctions against development and sale of its products, the effect of which could be to materially reduce its revenues. Furthermore, a third party claiming infringement may not be willing to license its rights to Varex, and even if a third-party rights holder is willing to do so, the amounts Varex might be required to pay under the associated royalty or license agreement could be significant. Varex could decide to alter its business strategy or voluntarily cease the allegedly infringing actions rather than face litigation or pay a royalty, which could materially and adversely impact its business and results of operations.
Disruption of critical information systems or material breaches in the security of Varex’s systems may materially and adversely affect its business and customer relations.
Information technology (including technology from third-party providers) helps Varex operate efficiently, interface with and support its customers, maintain financial accuracy and efficiency, and produce its financial statements. In the ordinary course of its business, Varex collects, processes and stores sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and that of customers, suppliers and business partners, third parties accessing its website, patient data and personally identifiable information of customers and employees, in Varex’s data centers, and on its networks, as well as third party off-site infrastructure. Despite security measures, there is an increasing threat of information security attacks, including from computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access attempts, and cyber-attacks that pose risks to companies, including Varex. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or to sabotage systems, change frequently, have become increasingly sophisticated and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, Varex may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures, which could result in data leaks or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. If Varex does not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology infrastructure, Varex could be subject to, among other things, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of customers, business disruptions, or the loss of or damage to intellectual property through a security breach or misappropriation of intellectual property. Such security breaches could expose Varex to a risk of loss of information, litigation, and possible liability to employees, customers, and/or regulatory authorities. If Varex’s data management systems do not effectively collect, secure, store, process, and report relevant data for the operation of its business, whether due to equipment malfunction or constraints, software deficiencies, or human error, Varex’s ability to effectively plan, forecast, and execute its business plan and comply with applicable laws and regulations will be impaired, perhaps materially. Any such impairment could materially and adversely affect Varex’s financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the timeliness with which Varex reports its operating results internally and externally.
Varex uses certain cloud-based software. A security breach, whether of Varex’s products, of Varex’s customers’ network security and systems, or of third-party hosting services could disrupt access to Varex’s customers’ stored information and could lead to the loss of, damage to or public disclosure of Varex’s customers’ stored information, including patient health information. Such an event could have serious negative consequences, including possible patient injury, regulatory action, fines, penalties and damages,
reduced demand for Varex’s solutions, an unwillingness of its customers to use its solutions, harm to its reputation and brand, and time-consuming and expensive litigation, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s financial results.
Risks Relating to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment
Changes in import/export regulatory regimes and tariffs could continue to negatively impact our business.
Tariffs and changes in international trade agreements or trade-related laws and regulations may have an indirect adverse impact on our business. As a component manufacturer, our products are integrated into the systems and products of our OEM customers. If the United States, China or other countries levy tariffs, duties or other additional taxes or restrictions on our customer’s products, the demand for such products, and our components included in such products, could decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Uncertainty over tariffs and trade wars could also cause our customers to delay or cancel orders for our products.
In recent years, the United States has imposed tariffs on items imported from China that are incorporated into our products. Tariffs on items imported by us from China and other countries have increased our costs and has increased prices and lowered gross margins on some of our products. These tariffs have had a direct adverse impact on our business and results of operations, and future tariffs could have a more significant impact on our business. China has imposed retaliatory tariffs that impact a number of Varex products including U.S. origin X-ray tubes, heat exchange units, and certain flat panel detectors. The tariffs levied by China have increased our customers’ costs for products imported into China, which has caused us to make price concessions on some products and has caused some customers to stop purchasing products from us. We expect that tariffs will continue to have a negative effect on our business and results of operations, including the possibility of continued price concessions or loss of business. Tariffs could limit our ability to compete for increased market share in China, which could cause our long-term prospects in China to suffer. The imposition of additional tariffs by the United States could result in the adoption of additional tariffs by China and other countries, as well as further retaliatory actions by any affected country, which could negatively impact the global market for imaging equipment and could have a significant adverse effect on our business.
Compliance with foreign laws and regulations applicable to the marketing, manufacture, and distribution of Varex’s products may be costly, and failure to comply may result in significant penalties and other harm to Varex’s business.
Regulatory requirements affecting Varex’s operations and sales outside the United States vary from country to country, often differing significantly from those in the United States. In general, outside the United States, some of Varex’s products are regulated as medical devices by foreign governmental agencies similar to the FDA.
For Varex to market its products internationally, Varex must obtain clearances or approvals for products and product modifications. These processes (including, for example, in the EU, the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, Brazil, Australia, China, Japan and Canada) can be time consuming, expensive and uncertain, which can delay Varex’s ability to market products in those countries. Delays in the receipt of or failure to receive regulatory approvals, the inclusion of significant limitations on the indicated uses of a product, the loss of previously obtained approvals or failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements could restrict or prevent Varex from doing business in a country or subject Varex to a variety of enforcement actions and civil or criminal penalties, which would materially and adversely affect its business. In addition, compliance with changing regulatory schemes may add additional complexity, cost and delays in marketing or selling Varex’s products.
Within the EU/EEA, Varex must obtain, and in turn affix, a CE mark certification, which is a European marking of conformity that indicates that a product meets the essential requirements of the Medical Device Directive. Compliance with the Medical Device Directive is done through a self-certification process that is then verified by an independent certification body called a “Notified Body,” which is an organization empowered by the legislature to conduct this verification. Once the CE mark is affixed, the Notified Body will regularly audit Varex to ensure that it remains in compliance with the applicable European laws and Medical Device Directive. By affixing the CE mark to its product, Varex is certifying that its products comply with the laws and regulations required by the EU/EEA countries, thereby allowing the free movement of its products within these countries and others that accept CE mark standards. If Varex cannot support its performance claims and demonstrate compliance with the applicable European laws and the Medical Device Directive, Varex would lose its right to affix the CE mark to its products, which would prevent Varex from selling its products within the EU/EEA/Switzerland territory and in other countries that recognize the CE mark. In April 2017, the European Commission adopted two new regulations on medical devices. These new regulations impose stricter requirements for placing medical devices in the EU market, as well as for Notified Bodies. These new regulations have resulted in the limited availability of recognized Notified Bodies, which could delay our ability to obtaining CE marks. Varex may be subject to risks associated with additional testing, modification, certification, or amendment of its existing market authorizations, or Varex may be
required to modify products already installed at its customers’ facilities to comply with the official interpretations of these revised regulations.
Varex is also subject to international laws and regulations of general applicability relating to matters such as environmental protection, safe working conditions, and manufacturing practices, as well as others. These are often comparable to, if not more stringent than, the equivalent regulations in the United States. Sales overseas are also affected by regulation of matters such as product standards, packaging, labeling, environmental and product recycling requirements, import and export restrictions, tariffs, duties, and taxes.
In addition, Varex is required to timely file various reports with international regulatory authorities similar to the reports it is required to timely file with U.S. regulatory authorities, including reports required by international adverse event reporting regulations. If these reports are not timely filed, regulators may impose sanctions, including temporarily suspending Varex’s market authorizations or CE mark, and sales of its products may suffer.
Further, as Varex enters new businesses or pursues new business opportunities internationally, or as regulatory schemes change, Varex may become subject to additional laws, rules, and regulations. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations is costly. Additionally, in some countries, Varex relies or may rely in the future on foreign distributors and agents to assist in complying with foreign regulatory requirements, and Varex cannot be sure that they will always do so. The failure of Varex or its agents to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations could delay the introduction of new products, cause reputational harm, or result in investigations, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, criminal prosecution, or an inability to sell Varex’s products in or to import its products into certain countries, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Compliance with U.S. laws and regulations applicable to the marketing, manufacture, and distribution of Varex’s products may be costly, and failure or delays in obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals or failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could prevent Varex from distributing its products, require Varex to recall its products, or result in significant penalties or other harm to Varex’s business.
Some of Varex’s products and those of OEMs that incorporate Varex’s products are subject to extensive and rigorous government regulation in the United States. Compliance with these laws and regulations is expensive and time-consuming, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Generally, Varex’s manufacturing operations for medical devices, and those of its third-party manufacturers, are required to comply with the Quality System Regulations (“QSR”) of the FDA, as well as other federal and state regulations for medical devices and radiation-emitting products. The FDA makes announced and unannounced periodic and on-going inspections of medical device manufacturers to determine compliance with QSR and, in connection with these inspections, issues reports known as Form FDA 483 reports when the FDA believes the manufacturer has failed to comply with applicable regulations and/or procedures. If observations from the FDA issued on Form FDA 483 reports are not addressed and/or corrective action is not taken in a timely manner and to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA may issue a warning letter and/or proceed directly to other forms of enforcement action. Similarly, if a warning letter were issued, prompt corrective action to come into compliance would be required. Failure to respond in a timely manner to Form FDA 483 observations, a warning letter, or any other notice of noncompliance and to promptly come into compliance could result in the FDA bringing an enforcement action, which could include the total shutdown of Varex’s production facilities, denial of importation rights to the United States for products manufactured in overseas locations, adverse publicity, and criminal and civil fines. The expense and costs of any corrective actions that Varex may take, which may include product recalls, correction and removal of products from customer sites, and/or changes to its product manufacturing and quality systems, could materially and adversely impact Varex’s financial results and may also divert management resources, attention, and time. Additionally, if a warning letter were issued, customers could delay purchasing decisions or cancel orders, and Varex could face increased pressure from its competitors, who could use the warning letter against Varex in competitive sales situations, either of which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s reputation, business, and stock price.
In addition, Varex is required to timely file various reports with the FDA, including reports required by the medical device reporting regulations (“MDRs”), that require Varex report to regulatory authorities if its devices may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if the malfunction were to recur. If Varex initiates a correction or removal of a device to reduce a risk to health posed by the device, Varex would be required to submit a publicly-available correction and removal report to the FDA and, in many cases, similar reports to other regulatory agencies. This report could be classified by the FDA as a device recall, which could lead to increased scrutiny by the FDA, other international regulatory agencies, and Varex’s customers regarding the quality and safety of Varex’s devices. If these MDRs or
correction and removal reports are not filed on a timely basis, regulators may impose sanctions, sales of Varex’s products may suffer, and Varex may be subject to product liability or regulatory enforcement actions, all of which could harm its business.
Government regulation may also cause significant delays or even prevent the marketing and full commercialization of future products or services that Varex may develop and/or may impose costly requirements on Varex’s business. Further, as Varex enters new businesses or pursues new business opportunities, Varex will become subject to additional laws, rules, and regulations, including FDA and foreign rules and regulations. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations is costly and time consuming. In addition, failure to comply with these laws, rules and regulations could delay the introduction of new products and could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
If Varex or any of its suppliers, distributors, agents, or customers fail to comply with FDA, Federal Trade Commission, or other applicable U.S. regulatory requirements or are perceived to have failed to comply with regulations, Varex may face:
•adverse publicity affecting both Varex and its customers;
•increased pressures from competitors;
•investigations by governmental authorities;
•fines, injunctions, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution;
•partial suspension or total shutdown of production facilities or the imposition of operating restrictions;
•increased difficulty in obtaining required clearances or approvals or losses of clearances or approvals already granted;
•seizures or recalls of Varex products or those of its customers;
•delays in purchasing decisions by customers or cancellation of existing orders;
•the inability to sell Varex products; and
•difficulty in obtaining product liability or operating insurance at a reasonable cost, or at all.
Varex is also subject to federal and state laws and regulations of general applicability relating to matters such as environmental protection, safe working conditions, manufacturing practices, and other matters. Insurance coverage is not commercially available for violations of law, including the fines, penalties, or investigatory costs that Varex may incur as the consequence of regulatory violations. Consequently, Varex does not have insurance that would cover this type of liability.
Varex sells certain X-ray tube products as replacements which are subject to medical device certification and product registration laws and regulations, which vary by country and are subject to change, and Varex may be unable to receive registration approval or renewal of existing registrations if it fails to meet regulatory approval requirements or if the approval process becomes commercially infeasible or impractical.
Varex markets and distributes certain X-ray tubes through distributors and third-party/multi-vendor service organizations that are used as equivalent replacements for specific OEM tubes. Varex is subject to medical device certification and product registration laws, which vary by country and are subject to periodic reviews and changes by regulatory authorities in those countries. For example, to sell X-ray tubes for replacement applications in China, product registrations must be approved by the new National Medical Products Administration (“NMPA”). Varex must comply with the requirements of the NMPA, and Varex may not be able to receive registration approval or renewal of existing registrations if it fails to meet regulatory approval requirements or if the process of gaining approval becomes commercially infeasible or impractical. Certain of these local laws and regulations have the effect of serving as a barrier to trade and can be difficult to navigate predictably.
In addition, certain countries in which Varex products are sold require products to undergo re-registration if the product is altered in any significant way.
These registration processes can be costly and time consuming, and customers may decide to purchase products from Varex’s competitors that do not have to be involved in a re-registration process. In addition, Varex’s inability to receive or renew product registrations may prevent Varex from marketing and/or distributing those particular products for replacement applications in the specific country.
Existing and future healthcare reforms may indirectly have a material adverse effect on Varex’s business and results of operations.
Sales of Varex’s products to OEMs in the medical sector indirectly depend on whether adequate reimbursement is available for its customers’ products from a variety of sources, such as government healthcare insurance programs, including U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs, foreign government programs, private insurance plans, health maintenance organizations, and preferred provider
organizations. Without adequate reimbursement, the demand for Varex’s customers’ products, and therefore indirectly Varex’s products, may be limited.
Healthcare reform proposals and medical cost containment measures in the United States and in many foreign countries could limit the use of both Varex’s and its customers’ products, reduce reimbursement available for such use, further tax the sale or use of Varex’s products, and further increase the administrative and financial burden of compliance. These reforms and measures, including the uncertainty in the medical community regarding their nature and effect, could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s and its customers’ purchasing decisions regarding its products and treatments and could harm Varex’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects. Varex cannot predict the specific healthcare programs and regulations that will be ultimately implemented by local, regional, and national governments globally. However, any changes that lower reimbursements for Varex’s or its customers’ products and/or procedures using these products, including, for example, existing reimbursement incentives to convert from analog to digital X-ray systems, or changes that reduce medical procedure volumes or increase cost containment pressures on Varex or others in the healthcare sector could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and results of operations.
Varex is subject to federal, state, and foreign laws governing its business practices which, if violated, could result in substantial penalties. Additionally, challenges to or investigations into Varex’s practices could cause adverse publicity and be costly to respond to and thus could harm its business.
Anti-corruption laws and regulations. Varex is subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption laws, as well as similar laws in foreign countries, such as the U.K. Bribery Act and the Law On the Fundamentals of Health Protection in the Russian Federation. In general, there is a worldwide trend to strengthen anti-corruption laws and their enforcement, and the healthcare industry and medical equipment manufacturers have been particular targets of these investigation and enforcement efforts. Any violation of these laws by Varex or its agents or distributors could create substantial liability for Varex, subject its officers and directors to personal liability, and cause a loss of reputation in the market. Varex operates in many countries, including India and China, where the public sector is perceived as being corrupt. Varex’s strategic business plans include expanding its business in regions and countries that are rated as higher risk for corruption activity by Transparency International e.V., an international non-profit that publishes an annual corruption perception index. Becoming familiar with and implementing the infrastructure necessary to comply with laws, rules, and regulations applicable to new business activities and mitigating and protecting against corruption risks could be costly. Failure by Varex or its agents or distributors to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations could delay its expansion into high-growth markets and could materially and adversely affect its business. Varex will likely do more business, directly and potentially indirectly, in countries where the public sector is perceived to be corrupt. Increased business in higher-risk countries could subject Varex and its officers and directors to increased scrutiny and increased liability from its business operations.
Competition and trade compliance laws. Varex is subject to various competition and trade compliance laws in the jurisdictions where it operates. Regulatory authorities in those jurisdictions may have the power to subject Varex to sanctions and impose changes or conditions in the way Varex conducts its business. An increasing number of jurisdictions provide private rights of action for competitors or consumers to assert claims of anti-competitive conduct and seek damages. Increased government scrutiny of Varex’s actions or enforcement or private rights of action could materially and adversely affect its business or damage its reputation. Varex may be required to conduct internal investigations or face audits or investigations by one or more domestic or foreign government agencies, which could be costly and time consuming and could divert its management and key personnel from its business operations. An adverse outcome under any such investigation or audit could subject Varex to fines and/or or criminal or other penalties, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business and financial results. Furthermore, competition laws may prohibit or increase the cost of future acquisitions that Varex may desire to undertake.
Laws and ethical rules governing interactions with healthcare providers. Varex does not generally sell its products directly to healthcare providers, but may occasionally sell its products to healthcare providers through distributors. The U.S. Medicare and Medicaid “anti-kickback” laws, and similar state laws, prohibit payments or other remuneration that is intended to induce hospitals, physicians, or others either to refer patients or to purchase, lease, or order, or to arrange for or recommend the purchase, lease, or order of healthcare products or services for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. These laws affect Varex’s sales, marketing, and other promotional activities by limiting the kinds of financial arrangements Varex may have with hospitals, physicians, or other potential purchasers of its products. They particularly impact how Varex structures its sales offerings, including discount practices, customer support, education and training programs, physician consulting, research grants, and other fee-for-service arrangements. These laws are broadly written, and it is often difficult to determine precisely how these laws will be applied to specific circumstances.
Federal and state “false claims” laws generally prohibit knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other government payors that are false or fraudulent, or for items or services that were not provided as
claimed. Although Varex does not submit claims directly to payors, manufacturers can be, and have been, held liable under these laws if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims by providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or through certain other activities, including promoting products for uses not approved or cleared by the FDA, which is called off-label promotion. Violating “anti-kickback” and “false claims” laws can result in civil and criminal penalties, which can be substantial, as well as potential mandatory or discretionary exclusion from healthcare programs for noncompliance. Even an unsuccessful challenge or investigation into Varex’s practices could cause adverse publicity and be costly to defend and thus could harm its business and results of operations. Additionally, several recently-enacted state and federal laws, including laws in Massachusetts and Vermont, and the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act, now require, among other things, extensive tracking and maintenance of databases regarding the disclosure of equity ownership and payments to physicians, healthcare providers, and hospitals. These laws may require Varex to implement the necessary and costly infrastructure to track and report certain payments to healthcare providers. Failure to comply with these new tracking and reporting laws could subject Varex to significant civil monetary penalties.
Varex is subject to similar laws in foreign countries where it conducts business. For example, within the EU, the control of unlawful marketing activities is a matter of national law in each of the member states. The member states of the EU closely monitor perceived unlawful marketing activity by companies. Varex could face civil, criminal, and administrative sanctions if any member state determines that Varex has breached its obligations under such state’s national laws. Industry associations also closely monitor the activities of member companies. If these organizations or authorities name Varex as having breached its obligations under their regulations, rules, or standards, its reputation would suffer, and its business and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Certain of Varex’s products are subject to regulations relating to use of radioactive material, compliance with which may be costly, and a failure to comply therewith may materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
As a manufacturer and seller of medical devices and devices emitting radiation or utilizing radioactive by-product material, Varex and some of its suppliers and distributors are subject to extensive regulation by United States governmental authorities, such as the FDA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”), and state and local regulatory agencies, which is intended to ensure the devices are safe and effective and comply with laws governing products which emit, produce, or control radiation. These regulations govern, among other things, the design, development, testing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, distribution, import/export, sale, and marketing and disposal of Varex’s products. Varex is also subject to international laws and regulations that apply to manufacturers of radiation-emitting devices and products utilizing radioactive materials. These are often comparable to, if not more stringent than, the equivalent regulations in the United States.
Varex’s industrial and medical devices utilizing radioactive material are subject to NRC clearance and approval requirements, and the manufacture and sale of these products are subject to extensive federal and state regulation that varies from state to state and among regions. Varex’s manufacture, distribution, installation, service, and removal of industrial devices utilizing radioactive material or emitting radiation also requires Varex to obtain a number of licenses and certifications for these devices and materials. Service of these products must also be in accordance with a specific radioactive materials licenses. Obtaining licenses and certifications may be time consuming, expensive, and uncertain.
The handling and disposal of radioactive materials resulting from the manufacture, use, or disposal of Varex’s products may impose significant costs and requirements. Disposal sites for the lawful disposal of materials generated by the manufacture, use, or decommissioning of Varex’s products may no longer accept these substances in the future or may accept them on unfavorable terms.
If Varex is unable to obtain required FDA clearances or approvals for a product or is unduly delayed in doing so, or the uses of that product were limited, Varex’s business could suffer.
Typically, Varex’s OEM customers are responsible for obtaining 510(k) pre-market notification clearance on their systems that integrate Varex products. A substantial majority of Varex’s products are “Class I” devices that do not require 510(k) clearance, but Varex does produce software that is classified as a Class II device subject to 510(k) clearance. Unless an exception applies, Varex may be required by FDA regulations to obtain a 510(k) pre-market notification clearance in connection with the manufacture of a new medical device or a new indication for use of, or other significant change in, an existing currently marketed medical device before it can market or sell those products in the United States. Modifications or enhancements to a product that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in the intended use of the device, technology, materials, labeling, packaging, or manufacturing process also require a new 510(k) clearance. Although manufacturers make the initial determination whether a change to a cleared device requires a new 510(k) clearance, Varex cannot ensure that the FDA will agree with its decisions not to seek additional approvals or clearances for particular modifications to its products or that Varex will be successful in obtaining
new 510(k) clearances for modifications. Obtaining clearances or approvals is time consuming, expensive, and uncertain. Varex may not be able to obtain the necessary clearances or approvals or may be unduly delayed in doing so, which could harm its business. Furthermore, even if Varex is granted regulatory clearances or approvals, they may include significant limitations on the indicated uses of the product, which may limit the market for the product. If Varex is unable to obtain required FDA clearance or approval for a product or is unduly delayed in doing so, or the uses of that product were limited, Varex’s business could suffer.
Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could materially and adversely affect Varex’s financial results.
From time to time, Varex is a party to or otherwise involved in legal proceedings, claims, government inspections, audits or investigations, and other legal matters, both inside and outside the United States, arising in the ordinary course of its business or otherwise. Legal proceedings are often lengthy, taking place over a period of years with interim motions or judgments subject to multiple levels of review (such as appeals or rehearings) before the outcome is final. Litigation and other legal proceedings, claims, government inspections, audits and investigations are subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to Varex’s operations. For these and other reasons, Varex may choose to settle legal proceedings and claims, regardless of their actual merit.
If a legal proceeding were ultimately resolved against Varex, it could result in significant compensatory damages, and, in certain circumstances, punitive damages, disgorgement of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures, or injunctive relief imposed on Varex. If Varex’s existing insurance does not cover the amount or types of damages awarded, or if other resolution or actions taken as a result of such legal proceeding were to restrain its ability to market one or more of its material products or services, its combined financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, legal proceedings, and any adverse resolution thereof, can result in adverse publicity and damage to Varex’s reputation, which could materially and adversely impact its business.
Environmental laws impose compliance costs on Varex’s business and may also result in liability.
Varex is subject to environmental laws around the world. These laws regulate many aspects of its operations, including its handling, storage, transport, and disposal of hazardous substances, such as the chemicals and materials that Varex uses in the course of its manufacturing operations. They can also impose cleanup liabilities, including with respect to discontinued operations. As a consequence, Varex can incur significant environmental costs and liabilities, some recurring and others not recurring. Although it follows procedures intended to comply with existing environmental laws, Varex, like other businesses, may mishandle or inadequately manage hazardous substances used in its manufacturing operations and can never completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from certain materials that it uses in its business and, therefore, it cannot completely eliminate the prospect of resulting claims and damage payments. Varex may also be assessed fines and/or other penalties for failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations. Insurance has provided coverage for portions of cleanup costs resulting from historical occurrences, but Varex does not expect to maintain insurance coverage for costs or claims that might result from any future contamination.
Future changes in environmental laws could also increase its costs of doing business, perhaps significantly. Several countries, including some in the EU, now require medical equipment manufacturers to bear certain disposal costs of products at the end of the product’s useful life, increasing its costs. The EU has also adopted directives that may lead to restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances or other regulated substances in some of its products sold there. These directives, along with another that requires substance information to be provided upon request, could increase Varex’s operating costs in order to maintain its access to certain markets. All of these costs, and any future violations or liabilities under environmental laws or regulations, could have a material adverse effect on its business.
Fulfilling obligations incidental to being a public company place significant demands on Varex’s management, administrative, and operational resources, including accounting and information technology resources.
As a public company, Varex is subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and is required to prepare its financial statements according to the rules and regulations required by the SEC. The Exchange Act requires that Varex file annual, quarterly, and current reports. Varex’s failure to prepare and disclose this information in a timely manner or to otherwise comply with applicable law could subject it to penalties under federal securities laws, cause it to be out of compliance with applicable stock exchange listing requirements, and expose it to lawsuits and restrict its ability to access financing. For example, as a result of the delayed filing of our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we received a notification letter from Nasdaq advising us that we were not in compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements. While we promptly regained compliance with the Nasdaq listing requirements, if we had failed to regain compliance in a timely manner, it would have negatively impacted Varex.
Varex must, among other things, establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and disclosure purposes. Internal control over financial reporting is complex and may be revised over time to adapt to changes in Varex’s business or changes in applicable accounting rules. Varex cannot assure that its internal control over financial reporting will be effective in the future or that material weaknesses will not be discovered with respect to a prior period for which it had previously believed that internal controls were effective.
Matters impacting Varex’s internal controls may cause Varex to be unable to report its financial information on a timely basis or may cause Varex to restate previously-issued financial information, thereby subjecting Varex to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions or investigations by the SEC or in respect of violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in Varex and the reliability of its financial statements, which could affect Varex’s stock price.
Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness
Varex has significant debt obligations that could adversely affect its business, profitability and ability to meet its obligations.
As of October 1, 2021, Varex’s total combined indebtedness was approximately $480.6 million. The borrowings under Varex’s unsecured convertible senior notes due 2025 (the “Convertible Notes”) bear interest at a fixed rate of 4.00% and borrowings under Varex’s Senior Secured Notes due 2027 (the “Senior Secured Notes”) bear interest at a fixed rate of 7.875%.
Varex's debt could potentially have important consequences to Varex and its investors, including:
•limiting Varex’s flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in its business and the industry; and
•limiting Varex’s ability to borrow additional funds as needed or increasing the costs of any such borrowing.
•make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations, including our debt obligations;
•increase our vulnerability to adverse economic and general industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations, because a portion of our borrowings are and will continue to be at variable rates of interest;
•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flow from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes;
•place us at a disadvantage compared to competitors that may have proportionately less debt; and
•limit our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing due to applicable financial and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements.
If Varex’s cash requirements in the future are greater than expected, its cash flow from operations may not be sufficient to repay all of the outstanding debt as it becomes due, and Varex may not be able to borrow money, sell assets, or otherwise raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all, to refinance Varex’s debt. For example, holders of the Convertible Notes will have the right to require Varex to repurchase all or a portion of the Convertible Notes on the occurrence of a fundamental change at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. Further, if a make-whole fundamental change as defined in the Indenture governing the Convertible Notes occurs prior to the maturity date of the Convertible Notes, Varex will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its Convertible Notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. On the conversion of the Convertible Notes, unless Varex elects to deliver solely shares of common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), Varex will be required to make cash payments for the Convertible Notes being converted. However, Varex may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time Varex is required to make such repurchases of the Convertible Notes surrendered or pay cash with respect to the Convertible Notes being converted.
Despite our substantial indebtedness, we may still be able to incur significantly more debt. This could intensify the risks described above.
We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial indebtedness in the future. As of October 1, 2021, we had approximately $100 million of additional available borrowing capacity (subject to borrowing base availability) under the revolving credit agreement that we entered into on September 30, 2020 (the “Asset-Based Loan”, or "ABL Facility"). In addition to any amounts that might be available to us for borrowing under the ABL Facility, subject to certain conditions, we will have the right to request an increase of aggregate commitments under the ABL Facility by an aggregate amount of up to $75 million by obtaining additional commitments either from one or more of the lenders under the ABL Facility or other lending institutions.
Although the ABL Facility and the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes contain restrictions on our and our subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of important qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. Furthermore, the covenants in the indenture governing our Convertible Notes do not restrict the incurrence of indebtedness by the company or any of its subsidiaries, and the covenants that may be contained in any future debt instruments could allow us to incur a significant amount of additional indebtedness.
The more leveraged we become, the more we, and in turn holders of our notes, will be exposed to certain risks described above under “— Varex has significant debt obligations that could adversely affect its business, profitability and ability to meet its obligations.”
The ABL Facility and the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions that may limit our current and future operating flexibility, particularly our ability to respond to changes in the economy or our industry or to take certain actions, which could harm our long term interests and may limit our ability to make payments on the notes.
Our ABL Facility and the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us.
These restrictions limit our ability, among other things, to:
•incur, assume or permit to exist additional indebtedness (including guarantees thereof);
•pay dividends or certain other distributions on our capital stock or repurchase our capital stock or prepay subordinated indebtedness;
•prepay, redeem or repurchase certain debt;
•issue certain preferred stock or similar equity securities;
•incur liens on assets;
•make certain loans, investments or other restricted payments;
•allow to exist certain restrictions on the ability of our restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to us;
•engage in transactions with affiliates;
•alter the business that we conduct; and
•sell certain assets or merge or consolidate with or into other companies.
As a result of these restrictions, we may be:
•limited in how we conduct our business;
•unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to operate during general economic or business downturns; or
•unable to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities.
A breach of the covenants under the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes or the ABL Facility could result in an event of default under the applicable indebtedness. Such a default, if not cured or waived, may allow the creditors to accelerate the related debt and may result in the acceleration of any other debt that is subject to an applicable cross-acceleration or cross-default provision. In addition, an event of default under the ABL Facility would permit the lenders under the ABL Facility to terminate all commitments to extend further credit under the ABL Facility. Furthermore, if we were unable to repay the amounts due and payable under the ABL Facility, those lenders could proceed against the collateral securing such indebtedness. In the event our lenders or holders of the notes offered hereby accelerate the repayment of our borrowings, we and our subsidiaries may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness.
Our ability to continue to have the necessary liquidity to operate our business may be adversely impacted by a number of factors, including uncertain conditions in the credit and financial markets, which could limit the availability and increase the cost of financing. A deterioration of our results of operations and cash flow resulting from decreases in consumer spending, could, among other things, impact our ability to comply with the fixed charge coverage ratio contained in our ABL Facility.
Our historical sources of liquidity to fund ongoing cash requirements include cash flows from operations, cash and cash equivalents, borrowings through our previous credit facility and convertible debt offerings. The sufficiency and availability of credit may be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the tightening of the credit markets, including lending by financial institutions who are sources of credit for our borrowing and liquidity; an increase in the cost of capital; the reduced availability of credit; our ability to execute our strategy; the level of our cash flows, which will be impacted by customer demand for our products; compliance with a fixed charge coverage ratio that is included in our ABL Facility, interest rate fluctuations and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S. and world-wide economies and on our business. We cannot predict the future
level of interest rates or the effect of any increase in interest rates on the availability or aggregate cost of our borrowings. We cannot be certain that any additional required financing, whether debt or equity, will be available in amounts needed or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.
The ABL Facility contains a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.00 to 1.00 that is tested when excess availability under the ABL is less than the greater of (i) 10.0% of the Loan Cap (the lesser of (a) the aggregate commitments under the ABL Facility and (b) the aggregate borrowing base) and (ii) $7.5 million. If we have to borrow in excess of 10.0% of the Loan Cap and $7.5 million, and we do not increase our earnings, we also would be at risk of not being in compliance with the ABL Facility’s fixed charge coverage ratio. Compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio is dependent on the results of our operations, which are subject to a number of factors including current economic conditions. Adverse developments in the economy, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, could lead to reduced spending by our customers and end-users which could adversely impact our net sales and cash flow, which could affect our ability to comply with the fixed charge coverage ratio. In addition, the ABL Facility contains other affirmative and negative covenants that restrict Varex’s operating and financing activities. These provisions may limit our ability to, among other things, incur future indebtedness, contingent obligations or liens, guarantee indebtedness, make certain investments and capital expenditures, sell stock or assets, pay dividends and consummate certain mergers or acquisitions. Failure to comply with the fixed charge coverage ratio and other covenants, including the requirement to timely deliver financial statements within applicable grace periods, could result in an event of default. Upon an event of default, if the ABL Facility is not amended or the event of default is not waived, the lender could declare all amounts then outstanding, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If this happens, Varex may not be able to make those payments or borrow sufficient funds from alternative sources to make those payments. Even if Varex were to obtain additional financing, that financing may be on unfavorable terms.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness, and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, or to sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness, including the notes. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. If our operating results and available cash are insufficient to meet our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds that we could realize from them, and these proceeds may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. Any future refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants which could further restrict our business operations. Additionally, the Indenture will limit the use of the proceeds from any disposition of our assets. As a result, the Indenture may prevent us from using the proceeds from such dispositions to satisfy our debt service obligations.
Our credit rating and ability to access well-functioning capital markets are important to our ability to secure future debt financing on acceptable terms. Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks associated with an investment in our secured notes.
Our access to the debt markets and the terms of such access depend on multiple factors including the condition of the debt capital markets, our operating performance and our credit ratings. These ratings are based on a number of factors including an assessment of our financial strength and financial policies. Our borrowing costs will be dependent to some extent on the rating assigned to our debt. However, there can be no assurance that any particular rating assigned to us will remain in effect for any given period of time or that a rating will not be changed or withdrawn by a rating agency if, in that rating agency’s judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating so warrant. Incurrence of additional debt by us could adversely affect our credit rating. Any disruptions or turmoil in the capital markets or any downgrade of our credit rating could adversely affect our cost of funds, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital markets, which could materially and adversely affect our business operations, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, downgrading the credit rating of our debt securities or placing us on a watch list for possible future downgrading would likely have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.
Varex entered into certain hedging positions that may affect the value of the Convertible Notes and the volatility and value of Varex’s common stock.
In connection with the issuance of the Convertible Notes, Varex entered into certain convertible note hedge transactions. These hedge transactions are expected generally to reduce potential dilution of our common stock on any conversion of the Convertible Notes or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of such converted Convertible Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction or offset subject to a cap. The counterparties to these hedging positions or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to Varex’s common stock or purchasing or selling Varex’s common stock in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the
Convertible Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of Convertible Notes or following any repurchase of Convertible Notes by Varex on any fundamental change repurchase date or otherwise). This activity could cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of Varex common stock or the Convertible Notes. In addition, if any such hedging positions fail to become effective, the counterparties to these hedging positions or their respective affiliates may unwind their hedge positions, which could adversely affect the value of Varex common stock.
Risks Relating to Our Common Stock
The trading price of Varex’s common stock may decline or fluctuate significantly and fluctuations in Varex’s operating results, including quarterly revenues, and margins, may cause its stock price to be volatile, which could cause losses for its stockholders.
In the past year, Varex's stock price has ranged from a low of $11.96 to a high of $29.95. Varex cannot guarantee that an active trading market will be sustained for its common stock. Nor can Varex predict the prices at which shares of its common stock may trade. Varex has experienced and expects in the future to experience fluctuations in its operating results, including revenues and margins, from period to period. These fluctuations may cause Varex’s stock price to be volatile, which could cause losses for its stockholders.
Varex’s quarterly and annual operating results, including its revenues and margins, may be affected by a number of other factors, including:
•the introduction and timing of announcement of new products or product enhancements by Varex and its competitors;
•changes in its or its competitors’ pricing or discount levels;
•changes in foreign currency exchange rates and other economic uncertainty;
•changes in import/export regulatory regimes including the imposition of tariffs on our products or those of our customers;
•changes in the relative portion of its revenues represented by its various products, including the relative mix between higher margin and lower-margin products;
•changes in the relative portion of its revenues represented by its international region as a whole and by regions within the overall region, as well as by individual countries (notably, those in emerging markets);
•fluctuation in its effective tax rate, which may or may not be known to Varex in advance;
•the availability of economic stimulus packages or other government funding, or reductions thereof;
•disruptions in the supply or changes in the costs of raw materials, labor, product components or transportation services;
•changes to its organizational structure, which may result in restructuring or other charges;
•disruptions in its operations, including its ability to manufacture products, caused by events such as earthquakes, fires, floods, terrorist attacks or the outbreak of epidemic diseases;
•the unfavorable outcome of any litigation or administrative proceeding or inquiry, including governmental audits, as well as ongoing costs associated with legal proceedings and governmental audits; and
•accounting changes and adoption of new accounting pronouncements.
Because many of Varex’s operating expenses are based on anticipated capacity levels, and a high percentage of these expenses are fixed for the short term, a small variation in the timing of revenue recognition can cause significant variations in operating results from quarter to quarter. If Varex’s gross margins fall below the expectation of securities analysts and investors, the trading price of Varex common stock may decline.
Conversion of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of Varex’s stockholders or may otherwise depress the market price of Varex’s common stock.
The conversion of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interests of Varex’s stockholders. On conversion of the Convertible Notes, Varex has the option to pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of common stock. If Varex elects to settle our conversion obligation in shares of common stock or a combination of cash and shares of common stock, any sales of Varex common stock issuable on such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of Varex’s common stock. In addition, the existence of the Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Convertible Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Convertible Notes into shares of Varex’s common stock, any of which could depress the market price of Varex’s common stock.
The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
In the event the conditions for optional conversion of the Convertible Notes by holders are met before the close of business on the business day immediately preceding June 1, 2025, holders of the Convertible Notes will be entitled to convert the Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If Varex elects to satisfy our conversion obligation by settling all or a portion of its conversion obligation in cash, it could adversely affect Varex’s liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Convertible Notes, Varex could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Convertible Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of Varex net working capital and may seriously harm Varex’s business.
Certain provisions in Varex’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, andits Amended and Restated Bylaws, its Indenture, and of Delaware law, may prevent or delay an acquisition of Varex, which could decrease the trading price of Varex’s common stock.
Varex’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws contain, and Delaware law contains, provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids by making such practices or bids unacceptably expensive to the bidder and to encourage prospective acquirers to negotiate with Varex’s board of directors rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. These provisions include, among others:
•the inability of Varex’s stockholders to call a special meeting;
•the inability of Varex’s stockholders to act without a meeting of stockholders;
•rules regarding how stockholders may present proposals or nominate directors for election at stockholder meetings;
•the right of Varex’s board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval; and,
the division of Varex’s board of directors into three classes of directors, with each class serving a staggered three-year term, and this classified board provision could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time-consuming and difficult, until the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, after which directors will be elected annually;
a provision that stockholders may only remove directors with cause while the board is classified;
•the ability of Varex’s directors, and not stockholders, to fill vacancies on Varex’s board of directors; and,directors.
the requirement that the affirmative vote of stockholders holding at least 66 2/3% of Varex’s voting stock is required to amend certain provisions in Varex’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (relating to the term and removal of its directors, the filling of its board vacancies, the calling of special meetings of stockholders, stockholder action by written consent, the elimination of liability of directors to the extent permitted by Delaware law and indemnification of directors and officers); although this requirement will fall away on the completion of the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, after which Varex's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation may be amended by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding voting stock.
In addition, because Varex did not elect to be exempt from Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), this provision could also delay or prevent a change of control that stockholders may favor. Section 203 provides that, subject to limited exceptions, persons that acquire, or who are affiliated with a person that acquires, more than 15% of the outstanding voting stock of a Delaware corporation (an “interested stockholder”) shall not engage in any business combination with that corporation, including by merger, consolidation, or acquisitions of additional shares, for a three-year period following the date on which the person became an interested stockholder, unless: (i)(1) prior to such time, the board of directors of such corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (ii)(2) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of such corporation at the time the transaction commenced ;commenced; or (iii)(3) on or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors of such corporation and authorized at a meeting of stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation not owned by the interested stockholder.
Varex believes these provisions will protect its stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with Varex’s board of directors and by providing Varex’s board of directors with more time to assess any acquisition proposal. These provisions are not intended to make Varex immune from takeovers. However, these provisions will apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders and could delay or prevent an acquisition that Varex’s board of directors determines is not in the best interests of Varex and Varex’s stockholders. These provisions may also prevent or discourage attempts to remove and replace incumbent directors.
In addition, an acquisition Furthermore, certain provisions in Varex’s Indenture governing the Convertible Notes may make it more difficult or further issuanceexpensive for a third party to acquire Varex. For example, the Indenture requires Varex, at the holders’ election, to repurchase the Convertible Notes for cash on the occurrence of Varex’s stock could triggera fundamental change and, in certain circumstances, to increase the application of Section 355(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, causing the distribution to be taxable to Varian. Under the Tax Matters Agreement, entered into by Varex and Varianconversion rate for a holder that converts its Convertible Notes in connection with a make-whole fundamental change. A takeover of Varex may trigger the separation,requirement that we repurchase the Convertible Notes or increase the conversion rate, which could make it costlier for a third party to acquire Varex. Varex’s Indenture also prohibits Varex would be required to indemnify Varian forfrom engaging in a merger or acquisition unless, among other things, the resulting tax,surviving entity assumes the obligations under the Convertible Notes and this indemnity obligation might discourage, delay,Varex’s Indenture. These and other provisions in Varex’s Indenture could deter or prevent a changethird party from acquiring Varex even when the acquisition may be favorable to holders of control that Varex stockholders may consider favorable.
Varex’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation contains an exclusive forum provision that may discourage lawsuits against Varex and Varex’s directors and officers.
Varex’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that unless the board of directors otherwise determines, the state courts in the State of Delaware or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal court for the District of Delaware, will be the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of Varex, any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer of Varex to VarexConvertible Notes or Varex’s stockholders, any action asserting a claim against Varexstockholders.
Liabilities related to Varex’s operations when it was part of Varian, or any director or officer of Varex arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or Varex’s
amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against Varex or any director or officer of Varex governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision may limit the ability of Varex’s stockholders to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such stockholders find favorable for disputes with Varex or Varex’s directors or officers, which may discourage such lawsuits against Varex and Varex’s directors and officers. Alternatively, if a court outside of Delaware were to find this exclusive forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings described above, Varex may incur additional costsliabilities associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business, financial condition or results of operations.
Prior to its separationspin-off from Varian, Varex had no history of operating as an independent company, and its historical financial information is not necessarily representative of the results that it would have achieved as a separate, publicly-traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of its future results.
The historical information about Varex in this Annual Report prior to January 28, 2017 refers to Varex’s business as operated by and integrated with Varian. Varex’s historical financial information prior to January 28, 2017 included in this Annual Report is derived from the consolidated financial statements and accounting records of Varian. Accordingly, this historical financial information does not necessarily reflect the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows that Varex would have achieved as a separate, publicly-traded company during the periods presented or that which Varex will achieve in the future, primarily as a result of the factors described below:
Prior to the separation, Varex’s business was operated by Varian as part of its broader corporate organization, rather than as an independent company. Varian or one of its affiliates performed various corporate functions for Varex such as accounting, legal, human resources, information technology, treasury, tax, facilities, research and development, insurance, and other corporate and infrastructure services. Varex’s historical financial results reflect allocations of corporate expenses from Varian for such functions and are likely to be less than the expenses Varex would have incurred had it operated as a separate publicly-traded company. Following the separation, Varex’s costs related to such functions previously performed by Varian may therefore increase.
Prior to the separation, Varex’s business was integrated with the other businesses of Varian. Historically, Varex has shared economies of scope and scale in costs, employees, vendor relationships, and customer relationships. Although Varex entered into a Transition Services Agreement with Varian, the arrangements provided by such agreement may not fully capture the benefits that Varex enjoyed when integrated with Varian and may result in Varex paying higher charges than in the past for these services. This could have a material and adverse effect on Varex’s results of operations and financial condition.
Generally, Varex’s working capital requirements and capital for its general corporate purposes, including acquisitions and capital expenditures, have historically been satisfied as part of the corporate-wide cash management policies of Varian. Following the separation, Varex may need to obtain additional financing from banks, through public offerings or private placements of debt or equity securities, strategic relationships or other arrangements, which may or may not be available and may be more costly.
The cost of capital for Varex’s business is expected to be higher than Varian’s cost of capital prior to the separation.
Other significant changes have occurred and are likely to continue to occur in Varex’s cost structure, management, financing, and business operations as a result of operating as a company separate from Varian, including as a result of additional costs incurred by Varex as a result of the separation.
Potential indemnification liabilities to Varian pursuant to the Separation and Distribution Agreement could materially and adversely affect Varex’s business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The Varex entered into a Separation and Distribution Agreement when it spun off from Varian. The agreement provides for, among other things, indemnification obligations designed to make Varian financially responsible for liabilities allocable to Varian before the spin-off, and to make Varex financially responsible for: anyfor liabilities allocable to Varex liabilities;before the failure of Varex to pay, perform, or otherwise promptly discharge any Varex liabilities or contracts in accordance with their respective terms; any guarantee, indemnification obligation, surety bond or other credit support agreement, arrangement, commitment, or understanding by Varianspin-off and for the benefit of Varex, unless related to Varian liabilities; any breach by Varex of the Separation and Distribution Agreement or any of the ancillary agreements; any action by Varex in contravention of its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or Amended and Restated Bylaws; and, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, with respect to all information contained in the Registration Statement on Form 10 (as amended or supplemented) or any other disclosure documentVarex registration statement that describes the separation, the distribution, Varex, and its subsidiaries, or the transactions contemplated by the Separation
and Distribution Agreement, subject to certain exceptions. If Varex is required to indemnify Varian under the circumstances set forth in the Separation and Distribution Agreement,Agreement. Varex may be subject to substantial liabilities.
In connection with Varex’s separation from Varian, Varian has agreedliabilities if it required to indemnify Varex for certain liabilities. However, there can be no assurance that the indemnity will be sufficient to insure Varex against the full amount of such liabilitiesVarian or that Varian’s ability to satisfy its indemnification obligation will not be impaired in the future.
Pursuant to the Separation and Distribution Agreement and certain other agreements withif Varian Varian agreedis required, but unable, to indemnify Varex for certain liabilities. However, third parties could also seek to hold Varex responsible for anyVarex. Either of the liabilities that Varian retained, and there can be no assurance that the indemnity from Varian will be sufficient to protect Varex against the full amount of such liabilities or that Varian will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. In addition, Varian’s insurers may attempt to deny coverage to Varex for liabilities associated with certain occurrences of indemnified liabilities prior to the separation. Moreover, even if Varex ultimately succeeds in recovering from Varian or such insurance providers any amounts for which Varex is held liable, Varex may be temporarily required to bear these losses. Each of these risks could negatively affect Varex’s business, financial position, results of operations, and/or cash flows.
If the distribution, together with certain related transactions, does not qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Varian, Varex, and Varian stockholders could be subject to significant tax liabilities, and, in certain circumstances, Varex could be required to indemnify Varian for material taxes and other related amounts pursuant to indemnification obligations under the Tax Matters Agreement.
It was a condition to the distribution that Varian receive an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Varian board of directors, regarding the qualification of the distribution, together with certain related transactions, as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code. The opinion of counsel was based upon and relied on, among other things, certain facts and assumptions, as well as certain representations, statements, and undertakings of Varian and Varex, including those relating to the past and future conduct of Varian and Varex. If any of these representations, statements, or undertakings are, or become, inaccurate or incomplete, or if Varian or Varex breaches any of its covenants in the separation documents, the opinion of counsel may be held to be invalid, and the conclusions reached therein could be jeopardized. Notwithstanding the opinion of counsel, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) could determine that the distribution, together with certain related transactions, should be treated as a taxable transaction if it determines that any of the facts, assumptions, representations, statements, or undertakings upon which the opinion of counsel was based are false or have been violated or if it disagrees with the conclusions in the opinion of counsel. The opinion of counsel is not binding on the IRS, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will not assert a contrary position.
If the distribution, together with certain related transactions, fails to qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code, Varian would recognize taxable gain as if it had sold the Varex common stock in a taxable sale for its fair market value, and Varian stockholders who received Varex shares in the distribution would be subject to tax as if they had received a taxable distribution equal to the fair market value of such shares.
Under the Tax Matters Agreement entered into by Varian and Varex in connection with the separation, Varex is generally required to indemnify Varian for any taxes resulting from the separation (and any related costs and other damages) to the extent such amounts resulted from (i) an acquisition of all or a portion of the equity securities or assets of Varex, whether by merger or otherwise (and regardless of whether Varex participated in or otherwise facilitated the acquisition), (ii) other actions or failures to act by Varex, or (iii) should any of the representations or undertaking of Varex contained in any of the separation-related agreements or in the documents relating to the opinion of counsel be incorrect or violated. Any such indemnity obligations could be material.
Varex may not be able to engage in certain desirable strategic or capital-raising transactions following the separation.
Under current law, a spin-off can be rendered taxable to the parent corporation and its stockholders as a result of certain post-spin-off acquisitions of shares or assets of the spun-off corporation. For example, a spin-off may result in taxable gain to the parent corporation under Section 355(e) of the Code if the spin-off were later deemed to be part of a plan (or series of related transactions) pursuant to which one or more persons acquire, directly or indirectly, shares representing a 50% or greater interest (by vote or value) in the spun-off corporation. To preserve the tax-free treatment of the separation and the distribution, and in addition to Varex’s indemnity obligations described above, the Tax Matters Agreement restricts Varex, for the two-year period following the separation, except in specific circumstances, from: (i) entering into any transaction pursuant to which all or a portion of the shares of Varex common stock would be acquired, whether by merger or otherwise; (ii) issuing equity securities beyond certain thresholds; (iii) repurchasing shares of Varex common stock other than in certain open-market transactions; and, (iv) ceasing to actively conduct certain of its businesses. The Tax Matters Agreement also prohibits Varex from taking or failing to take any other action that would prevent the distribution and certain related transactions from qualifying as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code. These restrictions may limit Varex’s ability to pursue certain
strategic transactions, equity issuances or repurchases, or other transactions that it may believe to be in the best interests of its stockholders or that might increase the value of its business.
As a result of the distribution, certain members of management and directors hold stock in both Varian and Varex, and as a result may face actual or potential conflicts of interest.
After the distribution, certain of the management and directors of each of Varian and Varex own both Varian common stock and Varex common stock. This ownership overlap could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest when Varex management and directors and Varian’s management and directors face decisions that could have different implications for Varex and Varian. For example, potential conflicts of interest could arise in connection with the resolution of any dispute between Varex and Varian regarding the terms of the agreements governing the distribution and Varex’s relationship with Varian thereafter. These agreements include the Separation and Distribution Agreement, the Tax Matters Agreement, the Employee Matters Agreement, the Transition Services Agreement, the Intellectual Property Matters Agreement, the Trademark License Agreement, and one or more Supply/Distribution Agreements. Potential conflicts of interest may also arise out of any commercial arrangements that Varex or Varian may enter into in the future.
Varex may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of the separation, and the separation may materially and adversely affect Varex’s business.
Varex may not be able to achieve the full strategic and financial benefits expected to result from the separation, or such benefits may be delayed or not occur at all. The separation and distribution is expected to provide the following benefits, among others:
more effective pursuit of each company’s distinct operating priorities and strategies;
more efficient allocation of capital for both Varian and Varex;
direct access by Varex to the capital markets;
facilitation of incentive compensation arrangements for employees more directly tied to the performance of the relevant company’s business, and potential enhancement of employee hiring and retention by, among other things, improving the alignment of management and employee incentives with performance and growth objectives, while at the same time creating an independent equity structure that will facilitate Varex’s ability to effect future acquisitions utilizing Varex common stock; and
a distinct investment identity of Varex, allowing investors to evaluate the merits, performance, and future prospects of Varex separately from Varian.
Varex may not achieve these and other anticipated benefits for a variety of reasons, including, among others: (i) following the separation, Varex may be more susceptible to market fluctuations and other adverse events than if it were still a part of Varian; and, (ii) following the separation, Varex’s business is less diversified and has less scale than Varian’s business prior to the separation. If Varex fails to achieve some or all of the benefits expected to result from the separation, or if such benefits are delayed, the business, operating results, and financial condition of Varex could be materially and adversely affected.
Varex or Varian may fail to perform under various transaction agreements that have been executed as part of the separation, or Varex may fail to have necessary systems and services in place when certain of the transaction agreements expire.
In connection with the separation, Varex and Varian entered into a Separation and Distribution Agreement, as well as various other agreements, including a Transition Services Agreement, an Intellectual Property Matters Agreement, a Tax Matters Agreement, one or more Supply/Distribution Agreements, a Trademark License Agreement, and an Employee Matters Agreement. The Separation and Distribution Agreement, the Tax Matters Agreement, the Employee Matters Agreement, and the Intellectual Property Matters Agreement determine the allocation of assets and liabilities between the companies following the separation for those respective areas and include any necessary indemnifications related to liabilities and obligations. The Transition Services Agreement provides for the performance of certain services by each company for the benefit of the other for a limited period of time after the separation, and the Supply/Distribution Agreements provide for the provision of products and services by each company and for the benefit of the other. Varex will rely on Varian to satisfy its performance and payment obligations under these agreements. If Varian is unable to satisfy its obligations under these agreements, including its indemnification obligations, Varex could incur operational difficulties or losses. If Varex does not have in place its own systems and services, or if Varex does not have agreements with other providers of these services once certain transaction agreements expire, Varex may not be able to operate its business effectively, and its profitability may decline.
Potential liabilities may arise due to fraudulent transfer considerations, which could materially and adversely affect Varex’s financial condition and its results of operations.
In connection with the separation and distribution, Varian has undertaken several corporate restructuring transactions, which, along with the separation and distribution, may be subject to federal and state fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws. If, under these laws, a court were to determine that, at the time of the separation and distribution, any entity involved in these restructuring transactions or the separation and distribution:
was insolvent;
was rendered insolvent by reason of the separation and distribution;
had remaining assets constituting unreasonably small capital; or,
intended to incur, or believed it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay these debts as they matured,
then the court could void the separation and distribution, in whole or in part, as a fraudulent conveyance or transfer. The court could then require Varex’s stockholders to return to Varian some or all of the shares of Varex common stock issued in the distribution or require Varian or Varex, as the case may be, to fund liabilities of the other company for the benefit of creditors. The measure of insolvency will vary depending upon the jurisdiction whose law is being applied. Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent if the fair value of its assets was less than the amount of its liabilities or if it incurred debt beyond its ability to repay the debt as it matures.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our businesscorporate headquarters is primarily located in Salt Lake City, Utah, where we own approximately 1.6 million square feet37 acres of land and approximately 494,000 square feet of space used for manufacturing, administrative functions and research and development, for both our Medical and Industrial segments. We also own or lease 3234 other facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia (located in 8 states and 15 foreign countries) that comprise over 21.6 million square feet of manufacturing facilities, warehouses, sales and service, research and development and office space, which are used for our Medical and/or Industrial segments, depending on the location.
In addition to our location in Salt Lake City, Utah, our other primary owned facilities includeare located in Las Vegas, Nevada; Franklin Park, Illinois; and Doetinchem, the Netherlands. Our Las Vegas, Nevada facility has approximately 222,0005 acres of land and 94,000 square feet of space used for manufacturing, administrative functions and research and development, for our Industrial segment. Our Franklin Park, Illinois, facility has approximately 3 acres of land in Las Vegas, Nevada and approximately 61,000 square feet in Franklin Park, Illinois, both which areof space used for manufacturing, and administrative functions and research and development, for both our Medical and Industrial segments. Our Doetinchem, Netherlands, facility is approximately 4 acres and approximately 290,000 square feet of space used for manufacturing, engineering, administrative functions, and research and development, for our Medical and Industrial segment.segments.
Primary leased facilities include approximately 144,000288,000 square feet in Laguna, Philippines, approximately 73,000 square feet in Santa Clara, California, approximately 46,000 square feet in Wuxi, China, approximately 47,000 square feet in Dinxperlo, the Netherlands, approximately 34,000 square feet in Bremen, Germany, and approximately 34,000 of square feet in Walluf, Germany and approximately 39,000 square feet in San Jose, California, all of which are used for manufacturing and administrative functions for our Medical and Industrial segments.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
From time We are subject to time, we are involved invarious claims, complaints and legal proceedings arisingactions in the ordinarynormal course of business or otherwise.from time to time. We do not believe thatwe have any currently pending litigation for which the outcome could have a material liability will be imposed as a result of these matters. If actual liabilities significantly exceed the estimates made,adverse effect on our combinedoperations or financial position, results of operations, comprehensive earnings or cash flows could be materially and adversely affected. Legal expenses relating to legal matters are expensed as incurred.position. See “Risk Factors-Item 1A. "Risk Factors - Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could materially and adversely affect ourVarex's financial results.”"
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Varex's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (the “NASDAQ”) under the symbol “VREX.”
Since our inception, we have not paid any cash dividends and have no current plan to pay cash dividends on Varex common stock. As of November 19, 2018,8, 2021, there were 1,7631,436 holders of record of Varex common stock.
This graph shows the total return on VREX common stock since listing on NASDAQ on January 20, 2017, with comparative total returns for the Russell 2000 Index (“RUT”) and the Dow Jones Medical Equipment Index (“DJUSAM”). The graph below assumes that $100.00 was invested on January 20, 2017 in our common stock and the companies listed in the RUT and the DJUSAM, as well as a reinvestment of dividends paid on such investments throughout the period.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data[Reserved]
On January 28, 2017, we separated from Varian. Prior to the date of separation, the financial statements were prepared on a stand-alone basis and derived from Varian’s consolidated financial statements as we operated as part of Varian.
The following data, in so far as it relates to each of the fiscal years from 2014 through 2018, has been derived from annual financial statements, including the consolidated balance sheets at September 28, 2018 and September 29, 2017 and the related consolidated statements of earnings, of comprehensive earnings, and of cash flows for the fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016 and notes thereto appearing elsewhere herein. In addition, the following financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes and the MD&A included elsewhere herein.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Summary of Operations: | Fiscal Years |
| (In millions, except per share amounts) | 2018 | | 2017(1) | | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 |
| Revenues | $ | 773.4 |
| | $ | 698.1 |
| | $ | 620.1 |
| | $ | 632.3 |
| | $ | 685.2 |
|
| Gross margin | $ | 253.9 |
| | $ | 253.5 |
| | $ | 248.4 |
| | $ | 250.6 |
| | $ | 278.6 |
|
| Earnings before taxes | 25.7 |
| | 74.8 |
| | 105.0 |
| | 127.6 |
| | 174.2 |
|
| Taxes on earnings | (2.6 | ) | | 22.8 |
| | 36.0 |
| | 46.8 |
| | 64.1 |
|
| Net earnings | 28.3 |
| | 52.0 |
| | 69.0 |
| | 80.8 |
| | 110.1 |
|
| Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests | 0.8 |
| | 0.4 |
| | 0.5 |
| | 0.8 |
| | — |
|
| Net earnings attributable to Varex | $ | 27.5 |
| | $ | 51.6 |
| | $ | 68.5 |
| | $ | 80.0 |
| | $ | 110.1 |
|
| Net earnings per share attributable to Varex | | | | | | | | | |
| Net earnings per share - basic | $ | 0.73 |
| | $ | 1.37 |
| | $ | 1.83 |
| | $ | 2.14 |
| | $ | 2.94 |
|
| Net earnings per share - diluted | $ | 0.72 |
| | $ | 1.36 |
| | $ | 1.82 |
| | $ | 2.12 |
| | $ | 2.92 |
|
| Financial Position at Fiscal Year End: | | | | | | | | | |
| Working capital | $ | 306.1 |
| | $ | 343.5 |
| | $ | 282.1 |
| | $ | 237.5 |
| | $ | 201.8 |
|
| Total assets | 987.9 |
| | 1,040.1 |
| | 622.4 |
| | 583.6 |
| | 433.1 |
|
| Total debt (excluding current maturities, net of deferred costs) | 364.8 |
| | 463.9 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
| |
(1) | The summary of operations for fiscal year 2017 includes operating results from the Acquired Detector Business for the period from May 1, 2017 through September 29, 2017. |
Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)
The following table sets forth selected financial data from our unaudited quarterly consolidated statements of earnings for the eight quarters ended fiscal year 2018. The information for each quarter has been derived from unaudited financial statements and in the opinion of management, include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the unaudited interim periods and includes certain reclassifications and rounding differences. The quarterly data should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this annual report.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fiscal Year 2018 |
| (In millions, except per share amounts, unaudited) | First Quarter | | Second Quarter | | Third Quarter | | Fourth Quarter | | Total Year |
| Total revenues | $ | 176.2 |
| | $ | 201.2 |
| | $ | 191.2 |
| | $ | 204.8 |
| | $ | 773.4 |
|
| Gross margin | $ | 61.5 |
| | $ | 70.1 |
| | $ | 63.0 |
| | $ | 59.3 |
| | $ | 253.9 |
|
| Net earnings | $ | 11.4 |
| | $ | 12.3 |
| | $ | 3.9 |
| | $ | 0.7 |
| | $ | 28.3 |
|
| Net earnings attributable to Varex | $ | 11.3 |
| | $ | 12.2 |
| | $ | 3.8 |
| | $ | 0.2 |
| | $ | 27.5 |
|
| Net earnings per share - basic | $ | 0.30 |
| | $ | 0.32 |
| | $ | 0.10 |
| | $ | 0.01 |
| | $ | 0.73 |
|
| Net earnings per share - diluted | $ | 0.30 |
| | $ | 0.32 |
| | $ | 0.10 |
| | $ | 0.01 |
| | $ | 0.72 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fiscal Year 2017 |
| (In millions, except per share amounts, unaudited) | First Quarter | | Second Quarter | | Third Quarter | | Fourth Quarter | | Total Year |
| Total revenues | $ | 157.4 |
| | $ | 154.8 |
| | $ | 170.1 |
| | $ | 215.7 |
| | $ | 698.1 |
|
| Gross margin | $ | 58.8 |
| | $ | 57.6 |
| | $ | 59.5 |
| | $ | 77.8 |
| | $ | 253.5 |
|
| Net earnings | $ | 11.2 |
| | $ | 15.0 |
| | $ | 10.7 |
| | $ | 15.1 |
| | $ | 52.0 |
|
| Net earnings attributable to Varex | $ | 11.1 |
| | $ | 15.0 |
| | $ | 10.6 |
| | $ | 15.0 |
| | $ | 51.6 |
|
| Net earnings per share - basic | $ | 0.30 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.28 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 1.37 |
|
| Net earnings per share - diluted | $ | 0.29 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.28 |
| | $ | 0.39 |
| | $ | 1.36 |
|
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Basis of Presentation
We became an independent publicly-traded company The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or our future financial or operating performance that involve risks and uncertainties, as set forth above under "Forward-Looking Statements." Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in January 2017 following our separation from Varian and subsequent distribution of shares of our common stock to Varian shareholders. We are listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker “VREX” with 37.4 million shares of common stock having been distributed to Varian shareholders.
Prior to the separation, we operated as part of Varian and notthese forward-looking statements as a stand-alone company. Accordingly,result of certain shared costs have been allocated to us and are reflected as expensesfactors described in the accompanying financial statements for fiscal year 2016 and for part of fiscal year 2017. Management considers the allocation methodologies used to be reasonable and appropriate reflections of the related expenses attributable to us for purposes of the carve-out financial statements; however, the expenses reflected in these financial statements may not be indicative of the actual expenses that would have been incurred during the periods presented if we had operated as a separate stand-alone entity. The allocation methods include revenue, headcount, actual usage of services, and others. In addition, the expenses reflected in the financial statements may not be indicative of expenses that will be incurred by us in the future.this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our Business
Our products are sold in three geographic regions: The Americas, EMEA, Varex Imaging Corporation is a leading innovator, designer and APAC. The Americas includes North America (primarily the United States) and Latin America. EMEA includes Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India and Africa. APAC includes Asia and Australia. Revenues by region are based on the known final destinationmanufacturer of products sold.
On May 1, 2017, we completed the acquisition of the Acquired Detector Business for net cash consideration of $271.8 million (the “Acquired Detector Business”). The acquisition consisted of PerkinElmer Medical Holdings, Inc. and Dexela Limited, together with certain assets of PKI and its direct and indirect subsidiaries relating to digital flat panel X-ray detectors that serve as components for industrial, medical, dental and veterinary X-ray imaging systems.
Our business performance is measured in two reportable operating segments: Medical and Industrial. The segments align our products and service offerings with customer use in medical and industrial markets and are consistent with how resources are allocated and evaluated for financial performance by our Chief Operating Decision Maker. Each operating segment is primarily evaluated for financial performance based on revenues and gross margin.
Medical
In our Medical business segment, we design, manufacture, sell and service X-ray imaging components for use in a range of radiographic and fluoroscopic imaging applications, computed tomography (“CT”), mammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental and computer-aided detection. We provide a broad range of X-ray imaging components for Medical customers, including X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors, image-processinglinear accelerators and other image software processing solutions, which are critical components of a variety of X-ray based imaging equipment. Our success depends, among other things, on our ability to anticipate and workstations, computer-aided diagnostic software, collimators, automatic exposure control devices, generators, ionization chambersrespond to changes in our markets, the direction of technological innovation and buckys.
A significant portionthe demands of our revenues come fromcustomers. For additional information on our business, see Part I, Item 1.
Impact of COVID-19 and the salesGeneral Economic Environment
The unprecedented nature of high-end X-ray tubes usedthe COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the global economy began to significantly disrupt our business in CT imagingfiscal year 2020 by initially reducing demand for our products followed by strong recovery in demand but increasing variability in supply of raw materials and high-end dynamic digital detectors usedmanufacturing productivity.
During the twelve months ended October 1, 2021, demand for many of our products recovered to pre-pandemic levels and our business has continued to grow. We believe that demand for our products has increased due to increased investments in fluoroscopichealthcare and 3-D dental imaging applications. These upper-tier imaging componentsdiagnostics coupled with end-users (such as hospitals) making capital purchases that were previously deferred due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. While we are characterizedencouraged by increased levelsthe recovery that we have seen, we remain cautious as many factors remain unpredictable.
We continue to experience logistic, supply chain, and manufacturing challenges that we expect will continue into 2022. As economies around the world continue to recover, shortages in raw materials have become more widespread. During the latter half of technological complexity, engineering and intellectual property that typically allow these products to have a higher sales price and gross margin.
The digital detector market continues to mature from initial product introductions more than 15 years ago. For the past few years,fiscal year 2021, we have experienced price erosionshortages of certain materials and have used more of our inventory on hand than we have used historically. Shortages of materials, particularly micro-controller chips and associated electronic components, have caused and may continue to cause, delays in manufacturing products for our customers. In some cases, raw material shortages and delivery delays from our suppliers are communicated to us with very little advanced warning, which has caused operational and customer order fulfillment challenges. While we are dedicating significant resources to manage, mitigate, and resolve these issues, we currently expect supply chain challenges to continue to impact our ability to deliver products predominantlyto our customers over the next several quarters. Increased freight charges and shipping delays have also become more common over the last few months and are expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Due to the rising cost environment, in the highly-competitive market for lower-tier radiographic detectors.addition to ongoing expense management, we have begun to raise prices on certain products. We anticipate this trend will continue in the foreseeable future.
Our X-ray imaging components are primarily sold to imaging system original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) customers that incorporate them into their X-ray imaging systems for a number of modalities. To a much lesser extent, we also sell our X-ray imaging components to independent service companies, distributors and directly to end-users for replacement purposes.
In China, the government is broadening the availability of healthcare servicesmake pricing adjustments throughout the country. As a result, the number of diagnostic X-ray imaging systems, including CT, has grown significantly. For fiscal year 2018, approximately 10%2022.
During the twelve months ended October 1, 2021, our manufacturing facilities continued to operate with minimal disruption. In accordance with government guidelines, we have modified certain COVID-19 related protocols, including social distancing and mask requirements. In the event COVID-19 cases continue an upward trajectory, we may be required to re-implement certain COVID-19 related precautions.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing supply chain challenges have and will directly or indirectly impact us, including our business, financial condition, and results of our revenues came from X-ray imaging components shipped to China-based OEMsoperations, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and distributors.cannot be accurately predicted. We are developing CT tubes and related subsystems for Chinese OEMs as they introduce new CT imaging systems in China. We anticipate that China-based revenues will continue to increase as a percentageactively monitor the situation and may take further actions that alter our business operations or that we determine are in the best interests of our revenues.employees, customers, suppliers, and stockholders. For additional information on risks related to the pandemic and other supply chain risks that could impact our results, see Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors.
Industrial
In our Industrial business segment, we design, manufacture, sell and service products for use in security and industrial inspection applications, such as airport security, cargo screening at ports and borders and nondestructive examination in a variety of applications. The products include Linatron® X-ray linear accelerators, X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors and image-processing software that we generally sell to OEM customers that incorporate these products into their X-ray inspection systems.
The security market primarily consists of airport security (screening of carry-on baggage, checked baggage and palletized cargo) and cargo screening at ports and borders. The end customers for border protection systems are typically government agencies, many of which are in oil-based economies and war zones.
The non-destructive testing market utilizes X-ray imaging to scan items for inspection of manufacturing defects and product integrity in a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, food packaging, oil and gas, metal castings and 3D printing. We provide X-ray sources, digital detectors, high voltage connectors and image processing software to OEM customers, system integrators and manufacturers. In addition, new applications for X-ray sources are being developed, such as sterilization of food and its packaging.
Fiscal Year
Our fiscal year is the 52- or 53-week period ending on the Friday nearest September 30. Fiscal year 20182021 was the 52-week period that ended October 1, 2021, fiscal year 2020 was the 53-week period that ended October 2, 2020, and fiscal year 2019 was the 52-week period that ended September 28, 2018, fiscal year 2017 was the 52-week period ended September 29, 2017, and fiscal year 2016 was the 52- week period ended September 30, 2016.27, 2019. Set forth below is a discussion of our results of operations for fiscal years 2018, 20172021, 2020 and 2016.2019.
Results of Operations
Our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 2, 2020, filed November 30, 2020, includes a discussion and analysis of our year-over-year changes, financial condition, and results of operations for the fiscal years ended October 2, 2020 and September 27, 2019 in Item 7 of Part II therein.
Comparison of Results of Operations for Fiscal Year 20182021 and 20172020
| | | | Fiscal Years | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| (In millions) | 2018 | | 2017 | | $ Change | | % Change | (In millions) | 2021 | | % Change | | 2020 | | % Change | | 2019 |
| Medical | $ | 602.0 |
| | $ | 556.9 |
| | $ | 45.1 |
| | 8% | Medical | $ | 643.8 | | | 10% | | $ | 584.5 | | | (2)% | | $ | 596.8 | |
| Industrial | 171.4 |
| | 141.2 |
| | 30.2 |
| | 21% | Industrial | 174.3 | | | 13% | | 153.8 | | | (16)% | | 183.8 | |
| Total revenues | $ | 773.4 |
| | $ | 698.1 |
| | $ | 75.3 |
| | 11% | |
| Total revenues, net | | Total revenues, net | $ | 818.1 | | | 11% | | $ | 738.3 | | | (5)% | | $ | 780.6 | |
| Medical as a percentage of total revenues | 78 | % | | 80 | % | | | | Medical as a percentage of total revenues | 79 | % | | 79 | % | | 76 | % |
| Industrial as a percentage of total revenues | 22 | % | | 20 | % | | | | Industrial as a percentage of total revenues | 21 | % | | 21 | % | | 24 | % |
