We anticipate that we will continue to invest in our customized optics manufacturing facilities located in Fuzhou, China. Because these operations are located in the PRC, they are subject to greater political, legal and economic risks than the geographies in which the facilities of many of our competitors and customers are located. In particular, the political and economic climate in the PRC (both at national and regional levels) is fluid and unpredictable. In March 2020, MARSH Political Risk assessed the PRC as a medium political risk. A large part of the PRC’s economy is still being operated under varying degrees of control by the PRC government. By imposing industrial policies and other economic measures, such as control of foreign exchange, taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, intellectual property and restrictions on foreign participation in the domestic market of various industries, the PRC government exerts considerable direct and indirect influence on the development of the PRC economy. Many of the economic reforms carried out by the PRC government are unprecedented or experimental and are expected to change further. Any changes to the political, legal or economic climate in the PRC could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our PRC subsidiary is a “wholly foreign-owned enterprise” and is therefore subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in the PRC, in general, and laws and regulations applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises, in particular. The PRC has made significant progress in the promulgation of laws and regulations pertaining to economic matters such as corporate organization and governance, foreign investment, commerce, taxation and trade. However, the promulgation of new laws, changes in existing laws and abrogation of local regulations by national laws may have a negative impact on our business and prospects. In addition, these laws and regulations are relatively new, and published cases are limited in volume and
non-binding.
Therefore, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve significant uncertainties. Laws may be changed with little or no prior notice, for political or other reasons. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to foreign investors. Furthermore, any litigation in the PRC may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management’s attention.
Natural disasters, such as the 2011 flooding in Thailand, where most of our manufacturing operations are located, could severely disrupt our manufacturing operations and increase our supply chain costs. These events, over which we have little or no control, could cause a decrease in demand for our services, make it difficult or impossible for us to manufacture and deliver products or for our suppliers to deliver components allowing us to manufacture those products, require large expenditures to repair or replace our facilities, or create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain. For example, the 2011 flooding in Thailand forced us to temporarily shut down all of our manufacturing facilities in Thailand and cease production permanently at our Chokchai facility, which adversely affected our ability to meet our customers’ demands during fiscal year 2012. In some countries in which we operate, including the PRC, United States and Thailand, outbreaks of infectious diseases such as
COVID-19,
H1N1 influenza virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (“SARS”) or bird flu could disrupt our manufacturing operations, reduce demand for our customers’ products and increase our supply chain costs. For example, our facility in Fuzhou, China, which manufactures custom optics components, was not permitted to resume operations after the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday until February 10, 2020, due to the spread of
COVID-19
in China, which negatively affected our revenues for the three months ended March 27, 2020. In addition, we and some of our suppliers and customers in China experienced labor shortages during the three months ended March 27, 2020, due to travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. As
COVID-19
has continued to spread throughout the world, authorities in other countries in which we have manufacturing facilities, including Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S., have implemented numerous measures to contain the virus, including travel bans and restrictions, quarantines,
shelter-in-place
orders, and business limitations and shutdowns. While we are unable to accurately predict the full impact that
COVID-19
will have on our business, financial condition and operating results due to numerous uncertainties, including the duration and severity of the pandemic and containment measures, our compliance with these measures has impacted our
day-to-day
operations and could disrupt our business, as well as that of our customers, suppliers and other counterparties, for an indefinite period of time.
In addition, increased international political instability, evidenced by the threat or occurrence of terrorist attacks, enhanced national security measures, conflicts in the Middle East and Asia, strained international relations arising from these conflicts and the related decline in consumer confidence and economic weakness, may hinder our ability to do business. Any escalation in these events or similar future events may disrupt our operations and the operations of our customers and suppliers and may affect the availability of materials needed for our manufacturing services. Such events