FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference herein, and any other communications in connection with this offering , may contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, including, but not limited to, projections of Company revenue, income, earnings, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure, cash flows from operations, cash repatriation, restructuring-related costs, tax impacts, effective tax rate, maintenance of indebtedness under the commercial paper program, litigation exposure, our ability to deleverage, or other financial items; possible plans, goals, objectives, prospects, strategies or trends concerning future operations; statements concerning future economic performance; possible goodwill or other asset impairment, access to liquidity, compliance with debt covenant requirements, amount of fixed costs savings, raw material availability and pricing, supply chain disruptions, labor, microchip and chemical shortages, length of time our rod mill is out of operation to replace the reheat furnace, employee termination costs, inventory levels, customer requirements, and the underlying assumptions relating to forward-looking statements. These statements are identified either by the context in which they appear or by use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “guidance,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should” or the like. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by us or on our behalf, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements described in this provision.
Any forward-looking statement reflects only the beliefs of Leggett & Platt or its management at the time the statement is made. Because all forward-looking statements deal with the future, they are subject to risks, uncertainties and developments, which might cause actual events or results to differ materially from those envisioned or reflected in any forward-looking statement. Moreover, we do not have, and do not undertake any duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement was made, unless we are obligated under the federal securities laws to update and disclose material developments related to previously disclosed information. For all of these reasons, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual future events, objectives, strategies, trends or results.
Listed below and discussed elsewhere in further detail in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and Item 1A Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as supplemented by our Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 25, 2021, and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ending March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, are some important risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. It is not possible to anticipate and list all of the risks, uncertainties and contingencies which may affect our future operations or our performance, or which otherwise could cause actual events or results to differ from forward-looking statements. However, some of these risks and uncertainties include the following:
| • | | the adverse impact on our trade sales, earnings, liquidity, cash flow, and financial condition caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had, and depending on the length and severity of the pandemic, the percentage of the population vaccinated, and the effectiveness of any vaccines, could, in varying degrees, negatively impact, among other things (i) the demand for our products and our customers’ products, growth rates in the industries in which we participate, and opportunities in those industries; (ii) our manufacturing facilities’ ability to remain fully operational, obtain necessary raw materials and parts, maintain appropriate labor levels, and ship finished products to customers from supply chain disruptions or otherwise; (iii) operating costs related to pay and benefits for our terminated employees; (iv) our ability to collect trade and other notes receivables in accordance with their terms due to customer bankruptcy, financial difficulties, or insolvency; (v) impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets; (vi) restructuring and related costs; and (vii) our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility, including our ability to comply with the restrictive covenants in our credit facility that may limit our operational flexibility and our ability to pay our debt; |
| • | | inability to “deleverage” due to increases or decreases in our capital needs, which may vary depending on a variety of factors, including, without limitation, demand for our products, cash flow, any acquisition or divestiture activity, our working capital needs, and capital expenditures; |
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