KMB, §1A diff (2015 → 2016)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS Our business faces many risks and uncertainties that we cannot control. Any of the risks discussed below, as well as factors described in other places in this Form 10-K, or in our other filings with the SEC, could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, these items could cause our future results to differ from those in any of our forward-looking statements. These risks are not the only ones we face. Other risks that we do not presently know about or that we presently believe are not material could also adversely affect us. Our international operations are subject to foreign market risks, including foreign exchange risk, currency restrictions and political, social and economic instability, which may adversely affect our financial results. Our strategy includes operations growth outside the U.S., especially in developing markets such as China, Latin America and Eastern Europe. More than half of our net sales come from markets outside the U.S. We and our equity companies have manufacturing facilities in 39 countries, and sell products in more than 175 countries. Our results may be substantially affected by a number of foreign market risks: • Exposure to the movement of various currencies against each other and the U.S. dollar. A portion of the exposures, arising from transactions and commitments denominated in non-local currencies, is systematically managed through foreign currency forward and swap contracts. We do not generally hedge our translation exposure with respect to foreign operations. • Increases in dollar-based input costs for operations outside the U.S. due to weaker foreign exchange rates versus the U.S. dollar. There can be no assurance that we will be protected against substantial foreign currency fluctuations. • Increases in currency exchange restrictions. These restrictions could limit our ability to repatriate earnings from outside the U.S. or obtain currency exchange for U.S. dollar inputs to continue operating in certain countries. • Adverse political conditions. Risks related to political instability, expropriation, new or revised legal or regulatory constraints, difficulties in enforcing contractual and intellectual property rights, and potentially adverse tax consequences would adversely affect our financial results. The inability to effectively manage foreign market risk could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Recent Developments, MD&A and Item 8, Note 1 for information about the impact on our operations from currency restrictions in Venezuela and our decision to deconsolidate our Venezuelan operations at December 31, 2015. Intense competition for sales of our products, changes in consumer purchasing patterns and the inability to innovate or market our products effectively could have an adverse effect on our financial results. We operate in highly competitive domestic and international markets against well-known, branded products and low-cost or private label products. Inherent risks in our competitive strategy include uncertainties concerning trade and consumer acceptance, the effects of consolidation within retailer and distribution channels, and competitors' actions. Our competitors for these markets include global, regional and local manufacturers, including private label manufacturers. Some of these competitors may have better access to financial resources and greater market penetration, which enable them to offer a wider variety of products and services at more competitive prices. Alternatively, some of these competitors may have significantly lower product development and manufacturing costs, particularly with respect to private label products, allowing them to offer products at a lower price. The actions of these competitors could adversely affect our financial results. It may be necessary for us to lower prices on our products and increase spending on advertising and promotions, which could adversely affect our financial results. We may be unable to anticipate or adequately respond to changes in consumer demand for our products. Demand for our products may change based on many factors, including shifting consumer purchasing patterns to lower cost options such as private-label products and mid to lower-tier value products, low birth rates in certain countries due to slow economic growth or other factors, negative consumer response to pricing actions or changes in consumer trends or habits. If we experience lower sales due to changes in consumer demand for our products, our earnings could decrease. Our ability to develop new products is affected by whether we can successfully anticipate consumer needs and preferences, develop and fund technological innovations, and receive and maintain necessary patent and trademark protection. In addition, we incur substantial development and marketing costs in introducing new and improved products and technologies. The introduction of a new consumer product (whether improved or newly developed) usually requires substantial expenditures for advertising and marketing to gain recognition in the marketplace. If a product gains consumer acceptance, it normally requires continued advertising and promotional support to maintain its relative market position. Some of our competitors may spend more aggressively on advertising and promotional activities, introduce competing products more quickly and respond more effectively to changing business and economic conditions. We may not be successful in developing new or improved products and technologies necessary to compete successfully in the industry, and we may not be successful in advertising, marketing, timely launching and selling our products. Also, if we fail to perfect or successfully assert our intellectual property rights, we may be less competitive, which could adversely affect our business, financial results and financial condition. Damage to the reputation of Kimberly-Clark or to one or more of our brands could adversely affect our business. Developing and maintaining our reputation, as well as the reputation of our brands, is a critical factor in our relationship with consumers, customers, suppliers and others. Our inability to address adverse publicity or other issues, including concerns about product safety, quality, efficacy or similar matters, or breaches of consumer, customer, supplier, employee or other confidential information, real or perceived, could negatively impact sentiment towards us and our products and brands, and our business and financial results could suffer. Consumers increasing use and reliance on social media for information could increase the risk of adverse publicity, potentially with negative perception of our products or brands. Our business and results could also be negatively impacted by the effects of a significant product recall, product-related litigation, allegations of product tampering or contamination, the distribution and sale of counterfeit products, or a failure or breach of our information technology systems. Increasing dependence on key retailers in developed markets and the emergence of new sales channels may adversely affect our business. Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace, which continues to experience increased concentration and the growing presence of large-format retailers and discounters. With the consolidation of retail trade, especially in developed markets such as the U.S., Europe and Australia, we are increasingly dependent on key retailers, and some of these retailers, including large-format retailers, may have significant bargaining power. They may use this leverage to demand higher trade discounts or allowances which could lead to reduced profitability. We may also be negatively affected by changes in the policies of our retail trade customers, such as inventory de-stocking, limitations on access to shelf space, delisting of our products, additional requirements related to safety, environmental, social and other sustainability issues, and other conditions. If we lose a significant customer or if sales of our products to a significant customer materially decrease, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, the emergence of new sales channels may affect customer preferences and market dynamics and could adversely impact our financial results. These new channels include sales of consumer and other products via e-commerce, as well as the growth of large-format retailers and discounters that exclusively sell private-label products. Significant increases in prices for raw materials, energy, transportation and other necessary supplies and services, without corresponding increases in our selling prices, could adversely affect our financial results. Increases in the cost and availability of raw materials, including pulp and petroleum-based materials, the cost of energy, transportation and other necessary services, supplier constraints, an inability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relations or an inability to avoid disruptions in production output could have an adverse effect on our financial results. Cellulose fiber, in the form of kraft pulp or recycled fiber from recovered waste paper, is used extensively in our tissue products and is subject to significant price fluctuations. Cellulose fiber, in the form of fluff pulp, is a key component in our personal care products. In past years, pulp prices have experienced significant volatility. Increases in pulp prices or limits in the availability of recycled fiber could adversely affect our earnings if selling prices for our finished products are not adjusted or if these adjustments significantly trail the increases in pulp prices. We have not used derivative instruments to manage these risks. A number of our products, such as diapers, training and youth pants, feminine pads, incontinence care products and disposable wipes, contain certain materials that are principally derived from petroleum. These materials are subject to price fluctuations based on changes in petroleum prices, availability and other factors, with these prices experiencing significant volatility in recent years. We purchase these materials from a number of suppliers. Significant increases in prices for these materials could adversely affect our earnings if selling prices for our finished products are not adjusted, if these adjustments significantly trail the increases in prices for these materials, or if we do not utilize lower priced substitutes for these materials. Generally, we have not used derivative instruments to manage these risks. Our manufacturing operations utilize electricity, natural gas and petroleum-based fuels. To ensure we use all forms of energy efficiently and cost-effectively, we maintain energy efficiency improvement programs at our manufacturing sites. Our contracts with energy suppliers vary as to price, payment terms, quantities and duration. Our energy costs are also affected by various market factors including the availability of supplies of particular forms of energy, energy prices and local and national regulatory decisions (including actions taken to address climate change and related market responses). There can be no assurance that we will be fully protected against substantial changes in the price or availability of energy sources. We use derivative instruments to manage a portion of natural gas price risk in accordance with our risk management policy. New or revised legal or regulatory requirements, potential litigation or administrative actions, or tax matters could have an adverse effect on our financial results. As a global company, we are subject to many laws and governmental regulations across all of the countries in which we do business, including laws and regulations involving marketing, antitrust, anti-bribery or anti-corruption, product liability, environmental, intellectual property or other matters, as well as potential litigation or administrative actions. Additionally, our sales and results of operations may be adversely impacted by new or revised legal requirements, including excise or other taxes, financial reform legislation and regulations, export control and foreign sanctions legislation, and climate change and other environmental legislation and regulations. The costs and other effects of pending litigation and administrative actions against us and new legal requirements cannot be determined with certainty. For example, new legislation or regulations may result in increased costs to us, directly for our compliance or indirectly to the extent suppliers increase prices of goods and services because of increased compliance costs or reduced availability of raw materials. Adverse regulatory action, including a recall, regulatory or other governmental investigation, or product liability or other litigation may adversely affect our financial condition and business operations. We are subject to income tax requirements in various jurisdictions in the U.S. and internationally. Many of these jurisdictions face budgetary shortfalls or have unpredictable enforcement activity. Increases in applicable tax rates, implementation of new taxes, changes in applicable tax laws and interpretations of these tax laws and actions by tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate could reduce our after-tax income and have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Although we believe that none of these proceedings or requirements will have a material adverse effect on us, the outcome of these proceedings may not be as expected. Disruption in our supply chain or the failure of third-party providers to satisfactorily perform could adversely impact our operations. Our ability to manufacture, distribute and sell products is critical to our operations. These activities are subject to inherent risks such as natural disasters, power outages, fires or explosions, labor strikes, terrorism, pandemics, import restrictions, regional economic, business, environmental or political events, governmental regulatory requirements or nongovernmental voluntary actions in response to global climate change or other concerns regarding the sustainability of our business, which could impair our ability to manufacture or sell our products. This interruption, if not mitigated in advance or otherwise effectively managed, could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to address. In addition, third parties manufacture some of our products and provide certain administrative services. Disruptions or delays at these third-party manufacturers or service providers due to the reasons above or the failure of these manufacturers or service providers to otherwise satisfactorily perform, could adversely impact our operations, sales, payments to our vendors, employees, and others, and our ability to report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis. There is no guarantee that our ongoing efforts to reduce costs will be successful. We continue to implement plans to improve our competitive position by achieving cost reductions in our operations, including implementing restructuring programs in functions or areas of our business where we believe such opportunities exist. In addition, we expect ongoing cost savings from our continuous improvement activities. We anticipate these cost savings will result from reducing material costs and manufacturing waste and realizing productivity gains, distribution efficiencies and overhead reductions in each of our business segments and in our corporate functions. Any negative impact these plans have on our relationships with employees or customers or any failure to generate the anticipated efficiencies and savings could adversely affect our financial results. If our information technology systems suffer interruptions, failures or breaches, our business operations could be disrupted and we could face financial and reputational damage. Our information technology systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third parties, serve an important role in the efficient and effective operation and administration of our business. These systems could be damaged or cease to function properly due to any number of causes, such as catastrophic events, power outages, security breaches, computer viruses or cyber-based attacks. While we have contingency plans in place to prevent or mitigate the impact of these events, if they were to occur and our disaster recovery plans do not effectively address the issues on a timely basis, we could suffer interruptions in our ability to manage our operations, which may adversely affect our business and financial results. Increased cyber-security threats and computer crime also pose a potential risk to the security of our information technology systems, including those of third party service providers with whom we have contracted, as well as the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data stored on those systems. Any breach in our information technology security systems could result in the disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, including sensitive customer, vendor, employee or investor information maintained in the ordinary course of our business. Any such event could cause damage to our reputation, loss of valuable information or loss of revenue and could result in large expenditures to investigate or remediate, to recover data, to repair or replace networks or information systems, or to protect against similar future events. We may divest or acquire product lines or businesses, which could impact our results. We periodically divest product lines or businesses. These divestitures may adversely impact our results if we are unable to offset the dilutive impacts from the loss of revenue associated with the divested products or businesses, mitigate overhead costs allocated to those businesses, or otherwise achieve the anticipated benefits or cost savings from the divestitures. Furthermore, the divestitures could adversely affect our ongoing business operations, including by enhancing our competitors' positions or reducing consumer confidence in our ongoing brands and products. We may pursue acquisitions of product lines or businesses from third parties. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the operations, technologies, services and products of the acquired product lines or businesses, estimation and assumption of liabilities and contingencies, personnel turnover and the diversion of management's attention from other business concerns. We may be unable to successfully integrate and manage product lines or businesses that we may acquire in the future, or be unable to achieve anticipated benefits or cost savings from acquisitions in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. The inability to effectively and efficiently manage divestitures and acquisitions with the results we expect or in the timeframe we anticipate could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. The 2014 spin-off of our health care business could result in substantial tax liability to us and our shareholders. On October 31, 2014, we completed the spin-off of our health care business, creating a stand-alone, publicly traded health care company, Halyard Health, Inc. ("Halyard"). Historically, the IRS provided companies seeking to perform a spin-off transaction with an advance ruling that the proposed spin-off transaction would qualify for tax-free treatment. However, the IRS no longer provides such advance rulings. Prior to completing the spin-off of our health care business, we obtained an opinion of counsel that neither we nor our U.S. shareholders will recognize taxable income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the spin-off. The opinion of counsel is based on certain statements and representations made by us, which, if incomplete or inaccurate in any material respect, could invalidate the opinion of counsel. In addition, this opinion is not binding on the IRS. Accordingly, the IRS or the courts may reach conclusions with respect to the spin-off that are different from the conclusions reached in the opinion of counsel. If the spin-off and certain related transactions were determined to be taxable, we would be subject to a substantial tax liability. In addition, if the spin-off were deemed taxable, each U.S. holder of our common stock who received shares of Halyard would generally be treated as receiving a taxable distribution of property in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares received. ITEM 1B.