Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

2015 Overview and Outlook

IDEX is an applied solutions company specializing in fluid and metering technologies, health and science technologies, and fire, safety and other diversified products built to customer specifications. IDEX’s products are sold in niche markets to a wide range of industries throughout the world. Accordingly, our businesses are affected by levels of industrial activity and economic conditions in the U.S. and in other countries where we do business and by the relationship of the U.S. dollar to other currencies. Levels of capacity utilization and capital spending in the industries that use our products and overall industrial activity are important factors that influence the demand for our products.

The Company has three reportable business segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies, Health & Science Technologies and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products. Within our three reportable segments, the Company maintains fifteen platforms, where we focus on organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Each of our fifteen platforms is also a reporting unit, where we annually test for goodwill impairment.

The Fluid & Metering Technologies segment contains the Energy (comprised of Corken, Faure Herman, Liquid Controls, SAMPI and Toptech), Valves (comprised of Alfa Valvole), Water (comprised of Pulsafeeder, Knight, ADS, IETG, and iPEK), Industrial (comprised of Richter, Viking, Aegis, Warren Rupp, and Trebor), and Agriculture (comprised of Banjo) platforms. The Health & Science Technologies segment contains the Scientific Fluidics (comprised of Eastern Plastics, Rheodyne, Sapphire Engineering, Upchurch Scientific, ERC, and CiDRA Precision Services), IDEX Optics & Photonics (comprised of CVI Melles Griot, Semrock, and AT Films), Sealing Solutions (comprised of PPE, FTL, and Novotema), Gast, Micropump, and Material Processing Technologies (comprised of Quadro, Fitzpatrick, Microfluidics, and Matcon) platforms. The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment is comprised of the Fire Suppression (comprised of Class 1, Hale, and Godiva), Rescue (comprised of Dinglee, Hurst Jaws of Life, Lukas, and Vetter), Band-It, and Dispensing platforms.

The Fluid & Metering Technologies segment designs, produces and distributes positive displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems and provides flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water & wastewater, agriculture and energy industries. The Health & Science Technologies segment designs, produces and distributes a wide range of precision fluidics, rotary lobe pumps, centrifugal and positive displacement pumps, roll compaction and drying systems used in beverage, food processing, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, pneumatic components and sealing solutions, including very high precision, low-flow rate pumping solutions required in analytical instrumentation, clinical diagnostics and drug discovery, high performance molded and extruded, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, air compressors used in medical, dental and industrial applications, optical components and coatings for applications in the fields of scientific research, defense, biotechnology, life sciences, aerospace, telecommunications and electronics manufacturing, laboratory and commercial equipment used in the production of micro and nano scale materials, precision photonic solutions used in life sciences, research and defense markets, and precision gear and peristaltic pump technologies that meet exacting original equipment manufacturer specifications. The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment produces firefighting pumps and controls, rescue tools, lifting bags and other components and systems for the fire and rescue industry, and engineered stainless steel banding and clamping devices used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications, precision equipment for dispensing, metering and mixing colorants and paints used in a variety of retail and commercial businesses around the world.

Our 2015 financial results are as follows:

•Sales of $2.0 billion decreased (6)%; reflecting a 4% decrease in organic sales (excluding acquisitions and foreign currency translation), a 4% decrease due to foreign currency, and a 2% increase due to acquisitions.
•Operating income of $431.7 million remained flat and operating margin of 21.4% was up 130 basis points from the prior year.
•Net income increased 1% to $282.8 million.
•Diluted EPS of $3.62 increased $0.17 or 5% compared to 2014.

Our 2015 financial results, adjusted for $11.2 million of restructuring costs and an $18.1 million gain on the sale of a business, are as follows (these non-GAAP measures have been reconciled to U.S. GAAP measures in Item 6, “Selected Financial Data”):

•Adjusted operating income of $424.9 million decreased 4% and adjusted operating margin of 21.0% was up 30 basis points from the prior year adjusted operating income of $444.9 million and adjusted operating margin of 20.7%.
•Adjusted net income of $277.2 million is 4% lower than the prior year of $288.8 million.
•Adjusted EPS of $3.55 was 1% lower than the prior year adjusted EPS of $3.57.

Overall, we believe the current contraction of global economies will continue to pressure our end markets, creating an unstable growth environment for 2016. Based on the Company’s current outlook, we anticipate organic growth to be flat in 2016 with full year EPS of $3.60 to $3.70.

Results of Operations

The following is a discussion and analysis of our results of operations for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015. For purposes of this Item, reference is made to the Consolidated Statements of Operations in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” Segment operating income excludes unallocated corporate operating expenses. Management’s primary measurements of segment performance are sales, operating income, and operating margin.

In the following discussion, and throughout this report, references to organic sales, a non-GAAP measure, refers to sales from continuing operations calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States but excludes (1) the impact of foreign currency translation and (2) sales from acquired businesses during the first twelve months of ownership. The portion of sales attributable to foreign currency translation is calculated as the difference between (a) the period-to-period change in organic sales and (b) the period-to-period change in organic sales after applying prior period foreign exchange rates to the current year period. Management believes that reporting organic sales provides useful information to investors by helping identify underlying growth trends in our business and facilitating easier comparisons of our revenue performance with prior and future periods and to our peers. The Company excludes the effect of foreign currency translation from organic sales because foreign currency translation is not under management’s control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends. The Company excludes the effect of acquisitions because the nature, size, and number of acquisitions can vary dramatically from period to period and between the Company and its peers and can also obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.

Performance in 2015 Compared with 2014

(In thousands)20152014Change
Net sales$2,020,668$2,147,767(6)%
Operating income431,738431,224—%
Operating margin21.4%20.1%130bps

Sales in 2015 were $2.0 billion, a (6)% decrease from the comparable period last year. This decrease reflects a 4% decrease in organic sales, a 4% decrease from foreign currency translation and a 2% increase from acquisitions (CiDRA Precision Services — July 2015; Alfa Valvole — June 2015; Novotema — May 2015 and Aegis — April 2014). Sales to customers outside the U.S. represented approximately 50% of total sales in both 2015 and 2014.

In 2015, Fluid & Metering Technologies contributed 43% of sales and 43% of operating income; Health & Science Technologies contributed 36% of sales and 33% of operating income; and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products contributed 21% of sales and 24% of operating income.

Gross profit of $904.3 million in 2015 decreased $45.0 million, or 5%, from 2014, while gross margins increased 60 basis points to 44.8% in 2015 from 44.2% in 2014. The margin increase is mainly attributable to benefits from productivity initiatives, partially offset by decreased sales volume.

SG&A expenses decreased to $479.4 million in 2015 from $504.4 million in 2014. The $25.0 million decrease is mainly attributable to a reduction in volume-related expenses of $35.1 million, partially offset by approximately $10.1 million of incremental costs from new acquisitions. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses were 23.7% for 2015 and 23.5% for 2014.

During 2015, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring expenses totaling $11.2 million compared to $13.7 million recorded in 2014. The restructuring expenses for both years were mainly attributable to employee severance related to head count reductions across all three segments and corporate.

Operating income of $431.7 million in 2015 increased slightly from the $431.2 million recorded in 2014, primarily reflecting improved productivity offset by decreased volumes. Operating margin of 21.4% in 2015 was up 130 basis points from 20.1% in 2014 primarily due to the gain on the sale of the Ismatec product line and productivity improvements.

Other (income) expense decreased $0.9 million from other income of $3.1 million in 2014 to $2.2 million of income in 2015 mainly due to mark-to-market gains in available for sale securities in 2014 compared to losses in 2015.

Interest expense decreased slightly to $41.6 million in 2015 from $41.9 million in 2014. The decrease was primarily due to the maturation of the 2.58% Senior Euro Notes, partially offset by a higher balance on the Revolving Facility.

The provision for income taxes is based upon estimated annual tax rates for the year applied to federal, state and foreign income. The provision for income taxes decreased to $109.5 million in 2015 compared to $113.1 million in 2014. The effective tax rate decreased to 27.9% in 2015 compared to 28.8% in 2014, due to the revaluation of the Italian deferred tax liability related to the reduction in the Italian statutory tax rate, the disposition of the Ismatec product line and the mix of global pre-tax income among jurisdictions.

Net income for the year of $282.8 million increased from the $279.4 million earned in 2014. Diluted earnings per share in 2015 of $3.62 increased $0.17 from $3.45 in 2014 as a result of the gain on the sale of the Ismatec product line and lower share count resulting from share repurchases, partially offset by lower sales volume.

Fluid & Metering Technologies Segment

(In thousands)20152014Change
Net sales$860,792$899,588(4)%
Operating income204,506216,886(6)%
Operating margin23.8%24.1%(30)bps

Sales of $860.8 million decreased $38.8 million, or 4%, in 2015 compared with 2014. This decrease reflected a 2% decline in organic growth, a 2% increase from acquisitions (Alfa Valvole — June 2015 and Aegis — April 2014) and 4% of unfavorable foreign currency translation. In 2015, sales decreased approximately 3% domestically and 5% internationally. Sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 44% of total segment sales in 2015, compared with 45% in 2014.

Sales within our Energy platform decreased compared to 2014 primarily due to the fall in oil prices and the related delay in large capital projects in Europe and the Middle East. Sales within our Industrial platform similarly decreased compared to 2014 due to the fall in oil & gas prices, but also due to the weakening of the North American industrial distribution market. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in European chemical project activity. Sales within our Agriculture platform decreased as OEM and after-market distribution sales fell significantly due to depressed commodity prices and lower farm incomes. The slight sales decrease in the Water platform was driven by weakness in North American industrial markets, offset by growth in the global municipal markets and share gains from new products. Sales in the Valves platform, which was created in the third quarter of 2015, increased as a result of the Alfa acquisition.

Operating income and operating margin of $204.5 million and 23.8%; respectively, were lower than the $216.9 million and 24.1%; respectively, recorded in 2014, primarily due to the lower sales volume.

Health & Science Technologies Segment

(In thousands)20152014Change
Net sales$738,996$752,021(2)%
Operating income157,948152,9993%
Operating margin21.4%20.3%110bps

Sales of $739.0 million decreased $13.0 million, or 2%, in 2015 compared with 2014. This decrease reflected a 1% decline in organic sales, a 2% increase from acquisitions (CiDRA Precision Services — July 2015 and Novotema — May 2015) and 3% unfavorable foreign currency translation. In 2015, sales decreased 3% domestically and 1% internationally. Sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 55% of total segment sales in 2015 compared with 54% in 2014.

Sales within our Scientific Fluidics platform increased as demand from the core biotech, in-vitro diagnostic and analytical instrumentation markets grew and remained consistently strong through the year. Sales within our Material Processing Technologies platform decreased compared to 2014 due to softer orders in the first half of the year, as general spending on large capital projects declined. Sales within our Sealing Solutions platform increased compared to 2014 due to the acquisition of Novotema and strong growth in the semiconductor markets, partially offset by declines in the oil & gas market. Sales within the IDEX Optics and Photonics platform decreased compared to 2014, primarily from slow demand in the industrial and laser optical end markets. Sales in our Gast platform decreased compared to 2014 due to softness in North American industrial

distribution markets. Sales in our Micropump platform decreased compared to 2014 due to softness in Asian printing markets, and declines in the North American industrial distribution market.

Operating income and operating margin of $157.9 million and 21.4%, respectively, in 2015 were up from $153.0 million and 20.3%, respectively, recorded in 2014, primarily due to productivity initiatives, partially offset by lower volume.

Fire & Safety/Diversified Products Segment

(In thousands)20152014Change
Net sales$423,915$502,749(16)%
Operating income115,745130,494(11)%
Operating margin27.3%26.0%130bps

Sales of $423.9 million decreased $78.8 million, or 16%, in 2015 compared with 2014. This decrease reflected a 10% decline in organic growth and 6% unfavorable foreign currency translation. In 2015, sales decreased 12% domestically and 19% internationally. Sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 52% of total segment sales in 2015, compared with 54% in 2014.

Sales within our Dispensing platform decreased due to the benefit of large projects in the first half of the prior year and softness in Asian markets. The sales decrease in our Band-It platform was driven by the decline of upstream oil & gas sales, due to depressed prices, slightly offset by continued strength in the North American transportation markets. Sales within our Fire Suppression platform decreased due to prior year trailer sales for North American power production facilities, and lack of project orders in China and North America. Sales within our Rescue platform decreased, due to continued decision delays on municipal projects in Europe and Asia.

Operating income of $115.7 million was lower than the $130.5 million recorded in 2014, while operating margin of 27.3% was higher than the 26.0% recorded in 2014, primarily due to favorable mix within the Dispensing platform along with productivity improvements across the entire segment, partially offset by lower volume.

Performance in 2014 Compared with 2013

(In thousands)20142013Change
Net sales$2,147,767$2,024,1306%
Operating income431,224395,5139%
Operating margin20.1%19.5%60bps

Sales in 2014 were $2.1 billion, a 6% increase from the comparable period the previous year. This increase reflects a 5% increase in organic sales and 1% from acquisitions (Aegis — April 2014 and FTL — March 2013). Organic sales to customers outside the U.S. represented approximately 50% of total sales in 2014 compared with 51% in 2013.

In 2014, Fluid & Metering Technologies contributed 42% of sales and 43% of operating income; Health & Science Technologies contributed 35% of sales and 31% of operating income; and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products contributed 23% of sales and 26% of operating income.

Gross profit of $949.3 million in 2014 increased $76.0 million, or 9%, from 2013, while gross margins were 44.2% in 2014 and 43.1% in 2013. The increases are mainly attributable to increased sales volume, favorable net material costs as well as benefits from productivity initiatives.

SG&A expenses increased to $504.4 million in 2014 from $477.9 million in 2013. The $26.6 million increase reflects approximately $4.0 million of incremental costs from new acquisitions and $22.6 million of volume-related expenses. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses were 23.5% for 2014 and 23.6% for 2013.

During 2014, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring expenses totaling $13.7 million. No restructuring expenses were recorded in 2013. The 2014 restructuring expenses were mainly attributable to employee severance related to head count reductions across all three segments and corporate.

Operating income of $431.2 million in 2014 increased from the $395.5 million recorded in 2013, primarily reflecting an increase in volume, improved productivity partially offset by the $13.7 million of restructuring-related charges recorded in

  1. Operating margin of 20.1% in 2014 was up from 19.5% in 2013 primarily due to volume leverage and productivity partially offset by the restructuring-related charges in 2014.

Other (income) expense increased $3.3 million from other expense of $0.2 million in 2013 to $3.1 million of income in 2014 mainly due to a favorable impact from foreign currency transactions and an increase in interest income.

Interest expense decreased slightly to $41.9 million in 2014 from $42.2 million in 2013. The decrease was principally due to lower interest rates.

The provision for income taxes is based upon estimated annual tax rates for the year applied to federal, state and foreign income. The provision for income taxes increased to $113.1 million in 2014 compared to $97.9 million in 2013. The effective tax rate increased to 28.8% in 2014 compared to 27.7% in 2013, due to a mix of global pre-tax income among jurisdictions and the 2012 U.S. R&D credit in 2013, which was retroactively reinstated to January 1, 2012 as a result of the the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on January 2, 2013.

Net income for the year of $279.4 million increased from the $255.2 million earned in 2013. Diluted earnings per share in 2014 of $3.45 increased $0.36 from $3.09 in 2013 due to higher net income and lower share count resulting from share repurchases.

Fluid & Metering Technologies Segment

(In thousands)20142013Change
Net sales$899,588$871,8143%
Operating income216,886211,2563%
Operating margin24.1%24.2%(10)bps

Sales of $899.6 million increased $27.8 million, or 3%, in 2014 compared with 2013. This increase reflected 2% organic growth and 1% acquisition. The increase in organic sales was attributable to growth across all our platforms and groups within the segment. In 2014, organic sales increased approximately 4% domestically and 1% internationally. Organic sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 45% of total segment sales in 2014, compared with 46% in 2013.

Sales within our Energy platform increased modestly compared to 2013, due to the strength of the LPG and refined fuel markets. Sales have grown in the North American and Asian markets, while Europe and the Middle East sales have declined, due to the fall in oil prices and large project delays. Sales within our Industrial platform increased compared to 2013 on continued strength of the North American industrial distribution and chemical markets. This increase was partially offset by a decline in Industrial chemical sales in Europe due to a lack of project activity. Sales within our Agriculture platform increased slightly driven by strong aftermarket demand in North America, which was offset by weak OEM demand due to falling farm income. The sales increase in our Water platform was driven by share gains from new products and increased global project activity.

Operating income of $216.9 million was higher than the $211.3 million recorded in 2013, while operating margin of 24.1% was lower than the 24.2% recorded in 2013, primarily due to $6.4 million of restructuring charges recorded in 2014, partially offset by volume leverage and productivity initiatives.

Health & Science Technologies Segment

(In thousands)20142013Change
Net sales$752,021$714,6505%
Operating income (loss)152,999136,70712%
Operating margin20.3%19.1%120bps

Sales of $752.0 million increased $37.4 million, or 5%, in 2014 compared with 2013. This increase reflected 4% growth in organic sales and 1% favorable foreign currency translation. In 2014, organic sales increased 7% domestically and 1% internationally. Organic sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 54% of total segment sales in 2014 compared with 53% in 2013.

Sales within our MPT platform increased compared to 2013 due to large projects in the Asian food and pharmaceutical markets. Sales within our Scientific Fluidics platform increased after pausing in the middle part of 2014 as customers right-sized their inventory. In the latter part of 2014 we saw increased demand from the core biotech, in-vitro diagnostic and analytical instrumentation markets. Sales within our Sealing Solutions platform increased compared to 2013 due to strong growth in the semiconductor and marine diesel markets, partially offset by softness in oil & gas towards year end due to declining oil prices. Sales within our IOP platform were flat when compared to 2013, primarily from continued slow demand in the industrial and life sciences markets. Sales in our Gast platform increased compared to 2013 due to strong growth in the North American distribution markets. Sales in our Micropump platform increased compared to 2013 due to the success of new product introductions.

Operating income and operating margin of $153.0 million and 20.3%, respectively, in 2014 were up from $136.7 million and 19.1%, respectively, recorded in 2013, primarily due to volume leverage and productivity initiatives, partially offset by $4.9 million of restructuring charges recorded in 2014.

Fire & Safety/Diversified Products Segment

(In thousands)20142013Change
Net sales$502,749$445,04913%
Operating income130,494102,73027%
Operating margin26.0%23.1%290bps

Sales of $502.7 million increased $57.7 million, or 13%, in 2014 compared with 2013. This increase was driven entirely by organic growth. In 2014, organic sales increased 17% domestically and 9% internationally. Organic sales to customers outside the U.S. were approximately 54% of total segment sales in 2014, compared with 56% in 2013.

Sales within our Dispensing platform increased due to the fulfillment of a large order in the first quarter of 2014 and the strength of Asian and Western European markets. The sales increase within our Band-It platform was driven by continued strength in the transportation, cable management and industrial industries, offset by declines in oil & gas application markets to close out the year. Sales within our Fire Suppression platform increased as a result of orders for fire suppression trailers at power production facilities and stable project orders in China and North America. Sales within our Rescue platform decreased slightly, due to delayed decision making for municipal projects in Europe and Asia.

Operating income and operating margin of $130.5 million and 26.0%, respectively, were higher than the $102.7 million and 23.1% recorded in 2013, primarily due to volume leverage, partially offset by $1.0 million of restructuring charges recorded in 2014.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Operating Activities

Cash flows from operating activities decreased $7.6 million, or 2.1%, to $360.3 million in 2015, primarily due to lower earnings (excluding the gain on sale of business), partially offset by improved working capital performance. At December 31, 2015, working capital was $553.1 million and the Company’s current ratio was 2.79 to 1. At December 31, 2015, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $328.0 million, of which $298.8 million was held outside of the United States.

Investing Activities

Cash flow used in investing activities increased $138.2 million to $210.5 million in 2015, primarily as a result of cash paid for acquisitions, partially offset by proceeds from the sale of a business.

Cash flows from operations were more than adequate to fund capital expenditures of $43.8 million and $48.0 million in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Capital expenditures were generally for machinery and equipment that improved productivity, although a portion was for business system technology, replacement of equipment, and construction of new facilities. Management believes that the Company has ample capacity in its plants and equipment to meet demand increases for future growth in the intermediate term.

The Company acquired Novotema in May 2015 for cash consideration of $61.1 million (€56 million); Alfa in June 2015 for cash consideration of $112.6 million (€99.8 million); and CPS in July 2015 for cash consideration of $19.5 million and non-cash contingent consideration valued at $4.7 million. The entire purchase price for all of the 2015 acquisitions were funded with cash on hand. The Company acquired Aegis in April 2014 for cash consideration of $25.4 million and the entire purchase price was funded with borrowings under the Company’s bank credit facility.

Financing Activities

Cash flow used in financing activities increased $111.5 million, or 60.6% to $295.5 million in 2015, primarily as a result of the Company paying off the $88.4 million balance on the 2.58% Senior Euro Notes and increased payments, net of borrowings, of $23 million on the Company’s revolving credit facility.

The Company maintains a revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Facility”), which is a $700.0 million unsecured, multi-currency bank credit facility expiring on June 23, 2020. At December 31, 2015, $195.0 million was outstanding under the Revolving Facility, with $7.2 million of outstanding letters of credit resulting in net available borrowing capacity under the Revolving Facility at December 31, 2015, was approximately $497.8 million. Borrowings under the Revolving Facility bear interest, at either an alternate base rate or an adjusted LIBOR rate plus, in each case, an applicable margin. This applicable margin is based on the Company’s senior, unsecured, long-term debt rating and can range from .005% to 1.50%. Based on the Company’s credit rating at December 31, 2015, the applicable margin was 1.10% resulting in an interest rate of 1.51% at December 31, 2015. Interest is payable (a) in the case of base rate loans, quarterly, and (b) in the case of LIBOR rate loans, on the maturity date of the borrowing, or quarterly from the effective date for borrowings exceeding three months. The Company may request increases in the lending commitments under the Credit Agreement, but the aggregate lending commitments pursuant to such increases may not exceed $350.0 million. An annual Revolving Facility fee, also based on the Company’s credit rating, is currently 15 basis points and is payable quarterly.

As of December 31, 2014 the Company included the outstanding balance of the 2.58% Senior Euro Notes, $98.5 million, within Current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as the maturity date was within twelve months. On June 9, 2015, the Company paid the balance of the 2.58% Senior Euro Notes, upon its maturity, using cash on hand.

On December 6, 2010, the Company completed a public offering of $300.0 million 4.5% senior notes due December 15, 2020 (“4.5% Senior Notes”). The net proceeds from the offering of approximately $295.7 million, after deducting a $1.6 million issuance discount, a $1.9 million underwriting commission and $0.8 million offering expenses, were used to repay $250.0 million of outstanding bank indebtedness, with the balance used for general corporate purposes. The 4.5% Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.5% per annum, which is payable semi-annually in arrears on each June 15 and December 15. The Company may redeem all or a portion of the 4.5% Senior Notes at any time prior to maturity at the redemption prices set forth in the Note Indenture governing the 4.5% Senior Notes. The Company may issue additional debt from time to time pursuant to the Indenture. The Indenture and 4.5% Senior Notes contain covenants that limit the Company’s ability to, among other things, incur certain liens securing indebtedness, engage in certain sale-leaseback transactions, and enter into certain consolidations, mergers, conveyances, transfers or leases of all or substantially all the Company’s assets. The terms of the 4.5% Senior Notes also require the Company to make an offer to repurchase the 4.5% Senior Notes upon a change of control triggering event (as defined in the Indenture) at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any.

On December 9, 2011, the Company completed a public offering of $350.0 million 4.2% senior notes due December 15, 2021 (“4.2% Senior Notes”). The net proceeds from the offering of approximately $346.2 million, after deducting a $0.9 million issuance discount, a $2.3 million underwriting commission and $0.6 million offering expenses, were used to repay $306.0 million of outstanding bank indebtedness, with the balance used for general corporate purposes. The 4.2% Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.2% per annum, which is payable semi-annually in arrears on each June 15 and December 15. The Company may redeem all or part of the 4.2% Senior Notes at any time prior to maturity at the redemption prices set forth in the Note Indenture governing the 4.2% Senior Notes. The Company may issue additional debt from time to time pursuant to the Indenture. The Indenture and 4.2% Senior Notes contain covenants that limit the Company’s ability to, among other things, incur certain liens securing indebtedness, engage in certain sale-leaseback transactions, and enter into certain consolidations, mergers, conveyances, transfers or leases of all or substantially all the Company’s assets. The terms of the 4.2% Senior Notes also require the Company to make an offer to repurchase the 4.2% Senior Notes upon a change of control triggering event (as defined in the Indenture) at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any.

There are two key financial covenants that the Company is required to maintain in connection with the Revolving Facility, which requires a minimum interest coverage ratio of 3.0 to 1 and a maximum leverage ratio of 3.50 to 1. At December 31, 2015, the Company was in compliance with both of these financial covenants, as the Company’s interest coverage ratio was 12.73 to 1 and the leverage ratio was 1.63 to 1. There are no financial covenants relating to the 4.5% Senior Notes or 4.2% Senior Notes; however, both are subject to cross-default provisions.

On December 1, 2015 the Company’s Board of Directors approved an increase of $300.0 million in the authorized level for repurchases of common stock. Repurchases under the program will be funded with future cash flow generation or borrowings available under the Revolving Facility. During 2015, the Company purchased a total of 2.8 million shares at a cost of $210.5 million, of which $2.3 million was settled in January 2016, compared to 3.0 million shares purchased at a cost of $222.5 million in 2014. As of December 31, 2015, there was $635 million of repurchase authorization remaining.

The Company believes current cash, cash from operations and cash available under the Revolving Facility will be sufficient to meet its operating cash requirements, planned capital expenditures, interest and principal payments on all borrowings, pension and postretirement funding requirements, authorized share repurchases and annual dividend payments to holders of the Company’s common stock for the next twelve months. Additionally, in the event that suitable businesses are available for acquisition on acceptable terms, the Company may obtain all or a portion of the financing for these acquisitions through the incurrence of additional borrowings. As of December 31, 2015, $195.0 million was outstanding under the Revolving Facility, with $7.2 million of outstanding letters of credit, resulting in net available borrowing capacity under the Revolving Facility at December 31, 2015 of approximately $497.8 million.

Contractual Obligations

Our contractual obligations include pension and postretirement medical benefit plans, rental payments under operating leases, payments under capital leases, and other long-term obligations arising in the ordinary course of business. There are no identifiable events or uncertainties, including the lowering of our credit rating, which would accelerate payment or maturity of any of these commitments or obligations.

The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations and commercial commitments at December 31, 2015, and the future periods in which such obligations are expected to be settled in cash. In addition, the table reflects the timing of principal and interest payments on outstanding borrowings. Additional detail regarding these obligations is provided in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Payments Due by PeriodTotalLess Than 1 Year1-3 Years3-5 YearsMore Than 5 Years
(In thousands)
Borrowings (1)$1,018,228$32,782$64,504$556,855$364,087
Operating lease obligations54,40616,25321,6799,5746,900
Capital lease obligations (2)1,9606011,3509—
Purchase obligations (3)99,29996,8781,570851—
Pension and post-retirement obligations108,27614,17020,63620,87652,594
Total contractual obligations (4)$1,282,169$160,684$109,739$588,165$423,581
(1)Includes interest payments based on contractual terms and current interest rates for variable debt.
(2)Consists primarily of tangible personal property leases.
(3)Consists primarily of inventory commitments.
(4)Comprises liabilities recorded on the balance sheet of $918.2 million, and obligations not recorded on the balance sheet of $364.0 million.

Critical Accounting Policies

We believe that the application of the following accounting policies, which are important to our financial position and results of operations, requires significant judgments and estimates on the part of management. For a summary of all of our accounting policies, including the accounting policies discussed below, see Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Revenue recognition — The Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable, and collectibility of the sales price is reasonably assured. For product sales, delivery does not occur until the products have been shipped and risk of loss has been transferred to the customer. Revenue from services is recognized when the services are provided or ratably over the contract term. Some arrangements with customers may include multiple deliverables, including the combination of products and services. In such cases, the Company has identified these as separate elements in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 605-25, Revenue Recognition-Multiple-Element Arrangements-Recognition, and recognizes revenue consistent with the policy for each separate element based on the relative selling price method. Revenues from some long-term contracts are recognized on the percentage-of-completion method. Percentage-of-completion is measured principally by the percentage of costs incurred to date for each contract to the estimated total costs for such contract at completion. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted long-term contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined. Due to uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, it is reasonably possible that completion costs, including those arising from contract penalty provisions and final contract settlements, will be revised in the near-term. Such revisions to costs and income are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined.

The Company records allowances for discounts, product returns and customer incentives at the time of sale as a reduction of revenue as such allowances can be reliably estimated based on historical experience and known trends. The Company also offers product warranties and accrues its estimated exposure for warranty claims at the time of sale based upon the length of the warranty period, warranty costs incurred and any other related information known to the Company.

Goodwill, long-lived and intangible assets — The Company evaluates the recoverability of certain noncurrent assets utilizing various estimation processes. An impairment of a long-lived asset exists when the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, and is recorded when the carrying amount is not recoverable through future operations. An indefinite lived intangible asset or goodwill impairment exists when the carrying amount of intangible assets and goodwill exceeds its fair value. Assessments of possible impairments of goodwill, long-lived or intangible assets are made when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable through future operations. Additionally, testing for possible impairment of recorded goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances is performed annually. The amount and timing of impairment charges for these assets require the estimation of future cash flows and the fair value of the related assets.

The Company’s business acquisitions result in recording goodwill and other intangible assets, which affect the amount of amortization expense and possible impairment expense that the Company will incur in future periods. The Company follows the guidance prescribed in ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, to test goodwill and intangible assets for impairment. Annually, on October 31, or more frequently if triggering events occur, the Company compares the fair value of their reporting units to the carrying value of each reporting unit to determine if a goodwill impairment exists.

The Company determines the fair value of each reporting unit utilizing an income approach (discounted cash flows) weighted 50% and a market approach consisting of a comparable public company multiples methodology weighted 50%. To determine the reasonableness of the calculated fair values, the Company reviews the assumptions to ensure that neither the income approach nor the market approach yielded significantly different valuations.

The key assumptions are updated every year for each reporting unit for the income and market methodology used to determine fair value. Various assumptions are utilized including forecasted operating results, annual operating plans, strategic plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows, the weighted average cost of capital, market data and market multiples. The assumptions that have the most significant effect on the fair value calculation are the weighted average cost of capital, the market multiples, forecasted EBITDA, and terminal growth rates. The 2015 and 2014 ranges for these three assumptions utilized by the Company are as follows:

Assumptions2015 Range2014 Range
Weighted average cost of capital9.5% to 13.0%10.0% to 14.0%
Market multiples7.5x to 14.0x7.5x to 12.5x
Terminal growth rates3.0% to 3.5%3.0% to 3.5%

In assessing the fair value of the reporting units, the Company considered both the market approach and income approach. Under the market approach, the fair value of the reporting unit is determined by the respective trailing twelve month EBITDA and forward looking 2016 EBITDA (50% each), based on multiples of comparable public companies. The market approach is dependent on a number of significant management assumptions including forecasted EBITDA and selected market multiples. Under the income approach, the fair value of the reporting unit is determined based on the present value of estimated future cash flows. The income approach is dependent on a number of significant management assumptions including estimates of operating results, capital expenditures, net working capital requirements, long term growth rate and discount rates. Weighting was equally attributed to both the market and income approaches (50% each) in arriving at the fair value of the reporting units.

In 2015 and 2014, there were no triggering events or changes in circumstances that would have required a review other than as of our annual test date. Based on the results of our measurement as of October 31, 2015, all reporting units had a fair value that was greater than 70% in excess of carrying value, except for our IOP and Valves reporting unit. Our IOP reporting unit had a fair value that was approximately 20% in excess of carrying value and our Valves reporting unit had a fair value near its carrying value as a result of the formation of this reporting unit in conjunction with our Alfa acquisition in June 2015.

The unamortized Banjo trade name was determined to be an indefinite lived intangible asset which is tested for impairment on an annual basis in accordance with ASC 350 or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. The Company uses the relief-from-royalty method, a form of the income approach. The relief-from-royalty method is dependent on a number of significant management assumptions, including estimates of revenues, royalty rates and discount rates.

In 2015 and 2014, there were no triggering events or changes in circumstances that would have required a review other than as of our annual test date. Based on the results of our measurement as of October 31, 2015, the fair value of the Banjo trade name was greater than 20% in excess of carrying value.

A long-lived asset impairment exists when the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. Assessments of possible impairments of long-lived assets are made when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable through future operations. The amount and timing of impairment charges for these assets require the estimation of future cash flows and the fair value of the related assets. In 2015 and 2014, the Company concluded that certain long lived assets had a fair value that was less than the carrying value of the assets, resulting in $0.8 million and $2.5 million, respectively, of impairment charges.

Defined benefit retirement plans — The plan obligations and related assets of the defined benefit retirement plans are presented in Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” Level 1 assets are valued using unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets. Level 2 assets are valued using quoted prices or other observable inputs for similar assets. Level 3 assets are valued using unobservable inputs, but reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the assets. Plan obligations and the annual pension expense are determined by consulting with actuaries using a number of assumptions provided by the Company. Key assumptions in the determination of the annual pension expense include the discount rate, the rate of salary increases, and the estimated future return on plan assets. To the extent actual amounts differ from these assumptions and estimated amounts, results could be adversely affected.

The Society of Actuaries recently released revised mortality tables, which update life expectancy assumptions. In consideration of these tables, we modified the mortality assumptions used in determining our pension and post-retirement benefit obligations as of December 31, 2015, which will have a related impact on our annual benefit expense in future years. The new mortality tables may result in additional funding requirements dependent upon the funded status of our plans. These expectations presume all other assumptions remain constant and there are no changes to applicable funding regulations.

Changes in the discount rate assumptions will impact the (gain) loss amortization and interest cost components of the projected benefit obligation (“PBO”), which in turn, may impact the Company’s funding decisions if the PBO exceeds plan assets. Each 100 basis point increase in the discount rate will cause a corresponding decrease in the PBO of approximately $22 million based upon the December 31, 2015 data. Each 100 basis point decrease in the discount rate will cause a corresponding increase in the PBO of approximately $26 million based upon the December 31, 2015 data.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09 which introduces a new five-step revenue recognition model. Under ASU 2014-09, an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU also requires disclosures sufficient to enable users to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers, including qualitative and quantitative disclosures about contracts with customers, significant judgments and changes in judgments, and assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, using either of the following transition methods: (i) a full retrospective approach reflecting the application of the standard in each prior reporting period with the option to elect certain practical expedients, or (ii) a retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially adopting ASU 2014-09 recognized at the date of adoption. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on our consolidated financial statements and have not yet determined the method by which we will adopt the standard in 2018.

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