Pentair 10-K 2019-12-31

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2019

OR

Commission file number 001-11625

Pentair plc

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 44**-74-**9421-6154

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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 ☑

No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐

No ☑

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 ☑ 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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

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.

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. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

Aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of $37.20 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on June 28, 2019 (the last business day of Registrant’s most recently completed second quarter): $6,191,407,033.

The number of shares outstanding of Registrant’s only class of common stock on December 31, 2019 was 168,293,375.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Parts of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its annual general meeting to be held on May 5, 2020, are incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K in response to Part III, ITEM 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

Pentair plc

Annual Report on Form 10-K

For the Year Ended December 31, 2019

PART I

GENERAL

At Pentair plc, we believe the health of our world depends on reliable access to clean, safe water. We deliver a comprehensive range of smart, sustainable water solutions to homes, business and industry around the world. Whether it’s improving, moving or enjoying water, we help manage the world’s most precious resource. Smart, Sustainable Water Solutions. For Life.

In 2019, Pentair plc was comprised of three reportable business segments: Aquatic Systems, Filtration Solutions and Flow Technologies. See below for further discussion of each of these segments.

Pentair strategy

Our vision is to be the leading residential and commercial water treatment company. As a pure play water company, we are:

Unless the context otherwise indicates, references herein to “Pentair,” the “Company,” and such words as “we,” “us,” and “our” include Pentair plc and its consolidated subsidiaries. We are an Irish public limited company that was formed in 2014. We are the successor to Pentair Ltd., a Swiss corporation formed in 2012, and Pentair, Inc., a Minnesota corporation formed in 1966 and our wholly-owned subsidiary, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Although our jurisdiction of organization is Ireland, we manage our affairs so that we are centrally managed and controlled in the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) and therefore have our tax residency in the U.K.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

On April 28, 2017, we completed the sale of the Valves & Controls business to Emerson Electric Co. for $3.15 billion in cash. The sale resulted in a gain of $181.1 million, net of tax. The results of the Valves & Controls business have been presented as discontinued operations. The Valves & Controls business was previously disclosed as a stand-alone reporting segment.

On April 30, 2018, Pentair completed the separation of its Electrical business from the rest of Pentair (the “Separation”) by means of a dividend in specie of the Electrical business, which was effected by the transfer of the Electrical business from Pentair to nVent Electric plc (“nVent”) and the issuance by nVent of ordinary shares directly to Pentair shareholders (the “Distribution”). On May 1, 2018, following the Separation and Distribution, nVent became an independent publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NVT.” The Company did not retain any equity interest in nVent. nVent’s historical financial results are reflected in the Company’s consolidated financial statements as a discontinued operation. Refer to Note 2 for further discussion.

Our registered principal office is located at Regal House, 70 London Road, Twickenham, London, TW13QS United Kingdom. Our management office in the United States (“U.S.”) is located at 5500 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 900, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

BUSINESS AND PRODUCTS

The following is a brief description of each of the Company’s 2019 reportable segments and business activities. Commencing with the first quarter of 2020 we revised our segments, going from three segments to two with the two revised segments named Consumer Solutions and Industrial & Flow Technologies. The discussions below that speak to historical periods refer to the prior segments, while statements about present and future periods refer to the businesses underlying those segments and carry forward with those businesses (including our customers, seasonality and competition) in their re-segmented form. Additional information regarding this re-segmentation is found below under the section titled “New Segmentation.”

Aquatic Systems

The Aquatic Systems segment manufactures and sells a complete line of energy-efficient residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories including pumps, filters, heaters, lights, automatic controls, automatic cleaners, maintenance equipment and pool accessories. Applications for our Aquatic Systems products include residential and commercial pool maintenance, pool repair, renovation, service and construction solutions.

Brand names for Aquatic Systems include Kreepy Krauly, Pentair and Sta-Rite.

Customers

Aquatic Systems customers include businesses engaged in wholesale and retail distribution in the residential & commercial verticals. Customers in the residential & commercial verticals also include end-users and consumers. Pentair’s verticals include residential, commercial, and industrial businesses.

One customer of the Aquatic Systems segment, Pool Corporation, represented approximately 15% of our consolidated net sales in 2019, 2018 and 2017.

Seasonality

We experience seasonal demand with several end customers and end-users within Aquatic Systems. End-user demand for pool equipment follows warm weather trends and is at season highs from April to August. The magnitude of the sales increase is mitigated by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts).

Competition

Aquatic Systems faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the verticals in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings and required specifications), quality, service and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced. We believe our distribution channels and reputation for quality also provide us a competitive advantage.

Filtration Solutions

The Filtration Solutions segment designs, manufactures, markets and services innovative water solutions to meet filtration and separation challenges across residential, commercial, food & beverage and industrial applications.

Filtration Solutions offers a comprehensive product suite of components and systems that ranges from point-of-entry and point-of-use filtration, valves and automated controls for residential and commercial applications as well as advanced filtration, oil & gas separation, membrane technology, and energy recovery for food & beverage and industrial applications. Our equipment and solutions are found in water purification and sanitation systems, food service operations, food & beverage processing plants and in other applications across the globe.

The portfolio of products serves a range of industries, including use in the commercial, residential and industrial verticals. Brand names for Filtration Solutions offerings include Codeline, Everpure, Haffmans, Pelican, RainSoft, Südmo and X-Flow.

Customers

Filtration Solutions customers include businesses engaged in wholesale and retail distribution in the residential, commercial, food & beverage and industrial verticals. Customers in the residential and commercial vertical also include end-users, consumers and original equipment manufacturers.

Seasonality

We experience seasonal demand with several end customers and end-users within Filtration Solutions. End-user demand for water filtration products generally follows warm weather trends and is at seasonal highs from April to July.

Competition

Filtration Solutions faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the verticals in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including required specification), quality and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced. We believe our distribution channels and reputation for quality also provide us a competitive advantage.

Flow Technologies

The Flow Technologies segment manufactures and sells products ranging from light duty diaphragm pumps to high-flow turbine pumps and solid handling pumps while serving the global residential, commercial and industrial markets. These pumps are used in a range of applications, including residential and municipal wells, water treatment, wastewater solids handling, pressure boosting, fluid delivery, circulation and transfer, fire suppression, flood control, agricultural irrigation and crop spray.

Brand names for Flow Technologies include Aurora, Berkeley, Fairbanks-Nijhuis, Hydromatic, Hypro, Jung Pumpen, Pentair, Myers, Sta-Rite, and Shurflo.

Customers

Flow Technologies customers include businesses engaged in wholesale and retail distribution in the residential & commercial, food & beverage and industrial verticals. Customers also include end-users and consumers in the residential & commercial vertical.

Seasonality

We experience increased demand for residential water supply, infrastructure and agricultural products following warm weather trends, which are at season highs from April to August. The magnitude of the sales increase is mitigated by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts). Seasonal effects may vary from year to year and are impacted by weather patterns, particularly by temperatures, heavy flooding and droughts.

Competition

Flow Technologies faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the verticals in which we compete. Competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings and required specifications), quality, service and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced.

NEW SEGMENTATION

During the first quarter of 2020, we reorganized our business segments to better align our organization with our strategies and to better align with our customer base, resulting in a change to our reporting segments in 2020. We believe the new alignment into a business-to-consumer focused segment, Consumer Solutions, and primarily business-to-business driven segment, Industrial & Flow Technologies, better positions our teams to build upon our core strengths, more aggressively pursue our growth opportunities, increase productivity, and enhance profitability.

As part of this reorganization, the legacy Aquatic Systems reporting segment was combined with the Residential and Commercial Systems and Components businesses of the legacy Filtrations Solutions reporting segment to form the Consumer Solutions reporting segment. In addition, the Industrial Filtration and Food and Beverage businesses of the legacy Filtration Solutions reporting segment were combined with the legacy Flow Technologies reporting segment to form the Industrial & Flow Technologies reporting segment. All segment information presented throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, with exception of the table below, was prepared based on the reporting segments in place during 2019.

The below table presents net sales and segment income under the revised reporting segments (Consumer Solutions and Industrial & Flow Technologies) for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017.

INFORMATION REGARDING ALL REPORTABLE SEGMENTS

Backlog of orders by segment

A substantial portion of our revenues result from orders received and products delivered in the same month. Our backlog typically has a short manufacturing cycle and products generally ship within 90 days of the date on which a customer places an order. However, a portion of our backlog, particularly from orders for major capital projects, can take more than one year depending on the size and type of order. We record as part of our backlog all orders from external customers, which represent firm commitments, and are supported by a purchase order or other legitimate contract. We expect the majority of our backlog at December 31, 2019 will be shipped in 2020.

Research and development

We conduct research and development activities primarily in our own facilities. These efforts consist primarily of the development of new products, product applications and manufacturing processes.

Raw materials

The principal materials we use in manufacturing our products are electric motors, mild steel, stainless steel, electronic components, plastics (resins, fiberglass, epoxies), copper and paint (powder and liquid). In addition to the purchase of raw materials, we purchase some finished goods for distribution through our sales channels.

We purchase the materials we use in various manufacturing processes on the open market, and the majority is available through multiple sources which are in adequate supply. We have not experienced any significant work stoppages to date due to shortages of materials. We have certain long-term commitments, principally price commitments, for the purchase of various component parts and raw materials and believe that it is unlikely that any of these agreements would be terminated prematurely. Alternate sources of supply at competitive prices are available for most materials for which long-term commitments exist, and we believe that the termination of any of these commitments would not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Certain commodities, such as metals and resin, are subject to market and duty-driven price fluctuations. We manage these fluctuations through several mechanisms, including long-term agreements with price adjustment clauses for significant commodity market movements in certain circumstances. Prices for raw materials, such as metals and resins, may trend higher in the future.

Intellectual property

Patents, non-compete agreements, proprietary technologies, customer relationships, trademarks, trade names and brand names are important to our business. However, we do not regard our business as being materially dependent upon any single patent, non-compete agreement, proprietary technology, customer relationship, trademark, trade name or brand name.

Patents, patent applications and license agreements will expire or terminate over time by operation of law, in accordance with their terms or otherwise. We do not expect the termination of patents, patent applications or license agreements to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we employed approximately 9,500 people worldwide.

Captive insurance subsidiary

A portion of our property and casualty insurance program is insured through our regulated wholly-owned captive insurance subsidiary, Penwald Insurance Company (“Penwald”). Reserves for policy claims are established based on actuarial projections of ultimate losses. Accruals with respect to liabilities insured by third parties, such as liabilities arising from acquired businesses, pre-Penwald liabilities and those of certain non-U.S. operations are established.

Matters pertaining to Penwald are discussed in ITEM 3 and ITEM 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Insurance subsidiary, included in this Form 10-K.

Available information

We make available free of charge (other than an investor’s own Internet access charges) through our Internet website (http://www.pentair.com) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Reports of beneficial ownership filed by our directors and executive officers pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act are also available on our website. We are not including the information contained on our website as part of or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

You should carefully consider all of the information in this document and the following risk factors before making an investment decision regarding our securities. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this document.

Risks Relating to Our Business

General global economic and business conditions affect demand for our products.

We compete in various geographic regions and product markets around the world. Among these, the most significant are global industrial, commercial, and residential markets. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, fluctuations in revenues and results of operations due to economic and business cycles. Important factors for our businesses and the businesses of our customers include the overall strength of the global economy and various regional economies and our customers’ confidence in these economies, industrial and governmental capital spending, the strength of the residential and commercial real estate markets, the residential housing market, the commercial business climate, unemployment rates, availability of consumer and commercial financing, interest rates, and energy and commodity prices. The businesses of many of our industrial customers are to varying degrees cyclical and have experienced periodic downturns. While we attempt to minimize our exposure to economic or market fluctuations by serving a balanced mix of end markets and geographic regions, any of the above factors, individually or in the aggregate, or a significant or sustained downturn in a specific end market or geographic region could reduce demand for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We compete in attractive markets with a high level of competition, which may result in pressure on our profit margins and limit our ability to maintain or increase the market share of our products.

The markets for our products and services are geographically diverse and highly competitive. We compete against large and well-established national and global companies, as well as regional and local companies and lower cost manufacturers. Competition may also result from new entrants into the markets we serve, offering products and/or services that compete with us. We compete based on technical expertise, intellectual property, reputation for quality and reliability, timeliness of delivery, previous installation history, contractual terms, service offerings, customer experience and service, and price. Competition may also result from new entrants into the markets we serve, offering products and/or services that compete with us. Some of our competitors, in particular smaller companies, attempt to compete based primarily on price, localized expertise and local relationships, especially with respect to products and applications that do not require a great deal of engineering or technical expertise. In addition, during economic downturns average selling prices tend to decrease as market participants compete more aggressively on price. Moreover, demand for our products, which impacts profit margins, is affected by changes in customer order patterns, such as changes in the levels of inventory maintained by customers and the timing of customer purchases, and changes in customers’ preferences for our products, including the success of products offered by our competitors. Customer purchasing behavior may also shift by product mix in the market or result in a shift to new distribution channels, including e-commerce, which is a rapidly developing area. If we are unable to continue to differentiate our products, services and solutions or adapt to changes in customer purchasing behavior or shifts in distribution channels, or if we are forced to cut prices or to incur additional costs to remain competitive, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Volatility in currency exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Sales outside of the U.S. for the year ended December 31, 2019 accounted for 37% of our net sales. Our financial statements reflect translation of items denominated in non-U.S. currencies to U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the U.S. dollar strengthens in relation to the principal non-U.S. currencies from which we derive revenue as compared to a prior period, our U.S. dollar reported revenue and income will effectively be decreased to the extent of the change in currency valuations, and vice-versa. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, most notably the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, could have a

material adverse effect on our reported revenue in future periods. In addition, currency variations could have a material adverse effect on margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the U.S. and margins on sales of products that include components obtained from suppliers located outside of the U.S.

Our future growth is dependent upon our ability to transform and adapt our products, services, solutions, and organization to meet the demands of local markets in both developed and emerging economies and by developing or acquiring new technologies that achieve market acceptance with acceptable margins.

We operate in global markets that are characterized by customer demand that is often global in scope but localized in delivery. We compete with thousands of smaller regional and local companies that may be positioned to offer products produced at lower cost than ours, or to capitalize on highly localized relationships and knowledge that are difficult for us to replicate. Also, in several emerging markets, potential customers prefer local suppliers, in some cases because of existing relationships and in other cases because of local legal restrictions or incentives that favor local businesses. Accordingly, our future success depends upon a number of factors, including our ability to transform and adapt our products, services, solutions, organization, workforce and sales strategies to fit localities throughout the world, particularly in high growth emerging markets; identify emerging technological and other trends in our target end markets; and develop or acquire competitive technologies, products, services, and solutions and bring them to market quickly and cost-effectively. The failure to effectively adapt our products, services, or solutions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may not be able to identify, finance and complete suitable acquisitions and investments, and any completed acquisitions and investments may be unsuccessful or consume significant resources.

Our business strategy includes acquiring businesses and making investments that complement our existing businesses. We continue to analyze and evaluate the acquisition of strategic businesses or product lines with the potential to strengthen our industry position or enhance our existing set of product, service, and solution offerings. We may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates, obtain financing or have sufficient cash necessary for acquisitions or successfully complete acquisitions in the future. Any acquisitions that we complete may not be successful. Acquisitions and investments may involve significant cash expenditures, debt incurrences, equity issuances, operating losses and expenses. Acquisitions involve numerous other risks, including:

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None.

Our principal office is located in leased premises in London, U.K., and our management office in the U.S. is located in leased premises in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Our operations are conducted in facilities throughout the world. These facilities house manufacturing and distribution operations, as well as sales and marketing, engineering and administrative offices. The following is a summary of our principal properties as of December 31, 2019, including manufacturing, distribution, sales offices and service centers:

We believe that our production facilities as well as the related machinery and equipment, are well maintained and suitable for their purpose and are adequate to support our businesses.

We have been, and in the future may be, made parties to a number of actions filed or have been, and in the future may be, given notice of potential claims relating to the conduct of our business, including those relating to commercial or contractual disputes with suppliers, customers or parties to acquisitions and divestitures, intellectual property matters, environmental, safety and health matters, product liability, the use or installation of our products, consumer matters, and employment and labor matters.

While we believe that a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows from any such future claims or potential claims is unlikely, given the inherent uncertainty of litigation, a remote possibility exists that a future adverse ruling or unfavorable development could result in future charges that could have a material adverse impact. We do and will continue to periodically reexamine our estimates of probable liabilities and any associated expenses and receivables and make appropriate adjustments to such estimates based on experience and developments in litigation. As a result, the current estimates of the potential impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the proceedings and claims described in the notes to our consolidated financial statements could change in the future.

Asbestos matters

Our subsidiaries and numerous other unaffiliated companies are named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits based on alleged exposure to asbestos-containing materials. These cases typically involve product liability claims based primarily on allegations of manufacture, sale or distribution of industrial products that either contained asbestos or were attached to or used with asbestos-containing components manufactured by third-parties. Each case typically names between several dozen to more than a hundred corporate defendants. Our historical strategy has been to mount a vigorous defense aimed at having unsubstantiated suits dismissed, and, where appropriate, settling suits before trial. Although a large percentage of litigated suits have been dismissed, we cannot predict the extent to which we will be successful in resolving lawsuits in the future.

As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 730 claims outstanding against our subsidiaries. This amount is not adjusted for claims that are not actively being prosecuted, identified incorrect defendants, or duplicated other actions, which would ultimately reflect our current estimate of the number of viable claims made against us, our affiliates, or entities for which we assumed responsibility in connection with acquisitions or divestitures. In addition, the amount does not include certain claims pending against third parties for which we have been provided an indemnification.

Environmental matters

We have been named as defendant, target or a PRP in a number of environmental clean-ups relating to our current or former business units. We have disposed of a number of businesses in recent years and in certain cases, we have retained responsibility and potential liability for certain environmental obligations. We have received claims for indemnification from certain purchasers. We may be named as a PRP at other sites in the future for existing business units, as well as both divested and acquired businesses. In addition to cleanup actions brought by governmental authorities, private parties could bring personal injury or other claims due to the presence of, or exposure to, hazardous substances.

Certain environmental laws impose liability on current or previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances at their properties or at properties at which they have disposed of hazardous substances. We have projects underway at several current and former manufacturing facilities to investigate and remediate environmental contamination resulting from our past operations or by other businesses that previously owned or used the properties.

Our accruals for environmental matters are recorded on a site-by-site basis when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated, based on current law and existing technologies. It can be difficult to estimate reliably the final costs of investigation and remediation due to various factors. In our opinion, the amounts accrued are appropriate based on facts and circumstances as currently known. As of December 31, 2019, our recorded reserves for environmental matters were not material. We do not anticipate our remaining environmental conditions will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, unknown conditions, new details about existing conditions or changes in environmental requirements may give rise to environmental liabilities that will exceed the amount of our current reserves and could have a material adverse effect in the future.

Product liability claims

We are subject to various product liability lawsuits and personal injury claims. A substantial number of these lawsuits and claims are insured and accrued for by Penwald, our captive insurance subsidiary. See discussion in ITEM 1 and ITEM 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements — Insurance subsidiary. Penwald records a liability for these claims based on actuarial projections of ultimate losses. For all other claims, accruals covering the claims are recorded, on an undiscounted basis, when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated based on existing information. The accruals are adjusted periodically as additional information becomes available. We have not experienced significant unfavorable trends in either the severity or frequency of product liability lawsuits or personal injury claims.

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Current executive officers of Pentair plc, their ages, current position and their business experience during at least the past five years are as follows:

PART II

Our ordinary shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “PNR.” As of December 31, 2019, there were 14,468 shareholders of record.

Pentair has paid 176 consecutive quarterly cash dividends, including most recently a dividend of $0.18 per share in the fourth quarter of 2019. On December 9, 2019, Pentair’s Board of Directors approved a 6 percent increase in the company’s regular quarterly cash dividend rate (from $0.18 per share to $0.19 per share) that was paid on February 7, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 24, 2020. 2020 will mark the 44th consecutive year that Pentair has increased its dividend.

The timing, declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our ordinary shares will depend upon many factors, including our financial condition and results of operations, the capital requirements of our businesses, industry practice and any other relevant factors.

Share Performance Graph

The following information under the caption “Share Performance Graph” in this ITEM 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.

The following graph sets forth the cumulative total shareholder return on our ordinary shares for the last five years, assuming the investment of $100 on December 31, 2014 and the reinvestment of all dividends since that date to December 31, 2019. The graph also contains for comparison purposes the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Industrials Index, assuming the same investment level and reinvestment of dividends.

By virtue of our market capitalization, we are a component of the S&P 500 Index. On the basis of our size and diversity of businesses, we believe the S&P 500 Industrials Index is an appropriate published industry index for comparison purposes.

Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides information with respect to purchases we made of our ordinary shares during the fourth quarter of 2019:

The following table sets forth our selected historical financial data for the five years ended December 31, 2019.

Forward-looking statements

This report contains statements that we believe to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words “targets,” “plans,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “likely,” “may,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “positioned,” “strategy,” “future” or words, phrases or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include overall global economic and business conditions impacting our business, including the strength of housing and related markets; demand, competition and pricing pressures in the markets we serve; volatility in currency exchange rates; failure of markets to accept new product introductions and enhancements; the ability to successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate acquisitions; the ability to successfully integrate the Aquion, Inc. (“Aquion”) and Pelican Water Systems (“Pelican”) acquisitions; the ability to achieve the benefits of our restructuring plans and cost reduction initiatives; risks associated with operating foreign businesses; the impact of material cost and other inflation; the impact of seasonality of sales and weather conditions; our ability to comply with laws and regulations; the impact of changes in laws, regulations and administrative policy, including those that limit U.S. tax benefits or impact trade agreements and tariffs; the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the potential negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on our business; and the ability to achieve our long-term strategic operating goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Pentair assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update the information contained in this report.

Overview

Pentair plc and its consolidated subsidiaries (“we,” “us,” “our,” “Pentair” or the “Company”) is a pure play water industrial manufacturing company and in 2019 we were comprised of three reporting segments: Aquatic Systems, Filtration Solutions and Flow Technologies. We classify our operations into business segments based primarily on types of products offered and markets served. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Aquatic Systems, Filtration Solutions and Flow Technologies segments represented approximately 33%, 36% and 31% of total revenues, respectively. Commencing with the first quarter of 2020, we revised our segments, going from three segments to two with the two revised segments named Consumer Solutions and Industrial & Flow Technologies. The discussions below reporting on prior periods reflect the previous segmentation, but the descriptions of our businesses below continue to apply in their re-segmented form. Additional information regarding this re-segmentation is found under the section titled “New Segmentation” in ITEM 1 of this Form 10-K.

Although our jurisdiction of organization is Ireland, we manage our affairs so that we are centrally managed and controlled in the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) and therefore have our tax residency in the U.K.

On April 28, 2017, we completed the sale of the Valves & Controls business to Emerson Electric Co. for $3.15 billion. The sale resulted in a gain of $181.1 million, net of tax. The results of the Valves & Controls business have been presented as discontinued operations for all periods presented. The Valves & Controls business was previously disclosed as a stand-alone reporting segment.

On April 30, 2018, we completed the separation of our Electrical business from the rest of Pentair (the “Separation”) by means of a dividend in specie of the Electrical business, which was effected by the transfer of the Electrical business from Pentair to nVent and the issuance by nVent of nVent ordinary shares directly to Pentair shareholders (the “Distribution”). We did not retain an equity interest in nVent. The results of the Electrical business have been presented as discontinued operations for all periods presented. The Electrical business was previously disclosed as a stand-alone reporting segment.

In February 2019, as part of Filtration Solutions, we completed the acquisitions of Aquion and Pelican for $163.4 million and $121.1 million, respectively, in cash, net of cash acquired. Aquion offers a diverse line of water conditioners, water filters, drinking-water purifiers, ozone and ultraviolet disinfection systems, reverse osmosis systems and acid neutralizers for the residential and commercial water treatment industry. Pelican provides residential whole home water treatment systems.

Key trends and uncertainties regarding our existing business

The following trends and uncertainties affected our financial performance in 2019, and will likely impact our results in the future:

In 2020, our operating objectives include the following:

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Market risk is the potential economic loss that may result from adverse changes in the fair value of financial instruments. We are exposed to various market risks, including changes in interest rates and foreign currency rates. Periodically, we use derivative financial instruments to manage or reduce the impact of changes in interest rates and foreign currency rates. Counterparties to all derivative contracts are major financial institutions. All instruments are entered into for other than trading purposes. The major accounting policies and utilization of these instruments is described more fully in ITEM 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Interest rate risk

Our debt portfolio as of December 31, 2019, was comprised of debt predominantly denominated in U.S. dollars. This debt portfolio is comprised of 66% fixed-rate debt and 34% variable-rate debt. Changes in interest rates have different impacts on the fixed and variable-rate portions of our debt portfolio. A change in interest rates on the fixed portion of the debt portfolio impacts the fair value, but has no impact on interest incurred or cash flows. A change in interest rates on the variable portion of the debt portfolio impacts the interest incurred and cash flows but does not impact the net financial instrument position.

Based on the fixed-rate debt included in our debt portfolio, as of December 31, 2019, a 100 basis point increase or decrease in interest rates would result in a $39.8 million decrease or $43.4 million increase in fair value, respectively.

Based on the variable-rate debt included in our debt portfolio as of December 31, 2019, a 100 basis point increase or decrease in interest rates would result in a $3.5 million increase or decrease in interest incurred.

Foreign currency risk

We conduct business in various locations throughout the world and are subject to market risk due to changes in the value of foreign currencies in relation to our reporting currency, the U.S. dollar. Periodically, we use derivative financial instruments to manage these risks. The functional currencies of our foreign operating locations are generally the local currency in the country of domicile. We manage these operating activities at the local level and revenues, costs, assets and liabilities are generally denominated in local currencies, thereby mitigating the risk associated with changes in foreign exchange. However, our results of operations and assets and liabilities are reported in U.S. dollars and thus will fluctuate with changes in exchange rates between such local currencies and the U.S. dollar.

From time to time, we may enter into short duration foreign currency contracts to hedge foreign currency risks. As the majority of our foreign currency contracts have an original maturity date of less than one year, there is no material foreign currency risk. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had outstanding foreign currency derivative contracts with gross notional U.S. dollar equivalent amounts of $17.0 million and $47.6 million, respectively. Changes in the fair value of all derivatives are recognized immediately in income unless the derivative qualifies as a hedge of future cash flows. Gains and losses related to a hedge are deferred and recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss and subsequently recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income when the hedged item affects earnings.

At December 31, 2019, we had outstanding cross currency swap agreements with a combined notional amount of $777.0 million. The cross currency swap agreements are accounted for as either cash flow hedges to hedge foreign currency fluctuations on certain intercompany debt, or as net investment hedges to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the Euro-U.S. Dollar exchange rate. The currency risk related to the cross currency swap agreements is measured by estimating the potential impact of a 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro. A 10% appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro would result in a $57.9 million net increase in Accumulated other comprehensive loss. Conversely, a 10% depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro would result in a $55.2 million net decrease in Accumulated other comprehensive loss. However, these increases and decreases in Other comprehensive income would be offset by decreases or increases in the hedged items on our balance sheet.

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management of Pentair plc and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. In making this assessment, management used the criteria for effective internal control over financial reporting described in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, management believes that, as of December 31, 2019, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has issued an attestation report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. That attestation report is set forth immediately following this management report.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Pentair plc

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Pentair plc and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, of the Company and our report dated February 25, 2020 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Minneapolis, Minnesota

February 25, 2020

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Pentair plc

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Pentair plc and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes in equity, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Comp

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None.

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the year ended December 31, 2019, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“the Exchange Act”). Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the year ended December 31, 2019 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms and to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

The report of management required under this ITEM 9A is contained in ITEM 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.”

Attestation Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The attestation report required under this ITEM 9A is contained in ITEM 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.”

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

PART III

Information required under this item with respect to directors is contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders under the captions “Corporate Governance Matters” and “Proposal 1 Re-elect Director Nominees” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information required under this item with respect to executive officers is contained in Part I of this Form 10-K under the caption “Information About Our Executive Officers.”

Our Board of Directors has adopted Pentair’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and designated it as the code of ethics for the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics also applies to all employees and directors in accordance with New York Stock Exchange Listing Standards. We have posted a copy of Pentair’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics on our website at http://pentair.com/en/about-us/leadership/corporate-governance. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirements under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding amendments to or waivers from, Pentair’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our website at http://pentair.com/en/about-us/leadership/corporate-governance.

We are not including the information contained on our website as part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this report.

Information required under this item is contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders under the captions “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report,” “Executive Compensation Tables” and “Corporate Governance Matters - Director Compensation” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information required under this item with respect to security ownership is contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders under the caption “Security Ownership” and is incorporated herein by reference.

The following table summarizes, as of December 31, 2019, information about compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance:

Information required under this item is contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders under the captions “Proposal 1 Re-elect Director Nominees - Director Independence” and “Corporate Governance Matters - The Board’s Role and Responsibilities - Policies and Procedures Regarding Related Person Transactions” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information required under this item is contained in our Proxy Statement for our 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders under the caption “Proposal 3 Ratify, by Nonbinding, Advisory Vote, the Appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Independent Auditor of Pentair plc and to Authorize, by Binding Vote, the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors to Set the Auditor’s Remuneration” and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

(a) List of documents filed as part of this report:

(1) Financial Statements

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(2) Financial Statement Schedule

None.

All other schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission have been omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto.

(3) Exhibits

The exhibits of this Annual Report on Form 10-K included herein are set forth below.

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on February 25, 2020.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities indicated, on February 25, 2020.