Item 1A. Risk Factors
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Except as provided below, there were no material changes from the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A of our fiscal 2021 Form 10-K.
Changes in the method of determining London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), or the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect interest expense related to outstanding debt.
Amounts drawn under our revolving credit facility may bear interest rates in relation to LIBOR, depending on our selection of repayment options. In addition, certain of our outstanding interest rate swap agreements have a floating interest rate in relation to three-month LIBOR. On March 5, 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. announced that immediately after (a) December 31, 2021, in the case of all sterling, euro, Swiss franc, and Japanese yen settings, and the one week and two month U.S. dollar LIBOR settings, and (b) June 30, 2023, in the case of all other U.S. dollar LIBOR settings, such LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by the administrator or will no longer be representative. Despite this deferral for certain U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors, the LIBOR administrator has advised that no new contracts using U.S. dollar LIBOR should be entered into after December 31, 2021. These actions indicate that the continuation of U.S. LIBOR on the current basis cannot be guaranteed after June 30, 2023. Moreover, it is possible that U.S. LIBOR for such tenors will be discontinued or modified prior to June 30, 2023. On July 29, 2021, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee consisting of large U.S. financial institutions convened by the Federal Reserve Board, formally recommended replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with forward-looking Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) term rates. As a result of the discontinuation of the remaining U.S. dollar LIBOR tenors, we may need to renegotiate our credit facility and certain interest rate swap agreements, and we may not be able to do so with terms that are favorable to us.
In connection with the discontinuation of LIBOR, (a) we adhered to the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and (b) on October 14, 2021, we entered into an amendment to our revolving credit facility that replaced (i) sterling LIBOR with the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) and (ii) euro LIBOR with the Euro Short Term Rate (ESTR).
Alternative reference rates, such as SOFR, SONIA, and ESTR, could be higher or more volatile than LIBOR, which could result in an increase in the cost of our indebtedness, impacting our financial condition and results of operations. The overall financing market may be disrupted as a result of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR. Disruption in the financial market or the inability to renegotiate our credit facility or our interest rate swap agreements with favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and operating results. We continue to evaluate the potential impact of the replacement of the LIBOR benchmark interest rate; however, we are not able to predict the impact a transition to an alternative reference rate may have on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Economic and political instability and potential unfavorable changes in laws and regulations in international markets could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our international operations subject us to certain risks, including economic and political instability and potential unfavorable changes in laws and regulations in international markets in which we operate. For example, in June 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved Brexit. The U.K. exited the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. On December 24, 2020, the European Commission reached a trade agreement with the U.K. on the terms of its future cooperation with the EU. The trade agreement offers U.K. and EU companies preferential access to each other’s markets, ensuring imported goods will be free of tariffs and quotas (subject to rules of origin requirements). Uncertainty exists regarding the ultimate impact of this trade agreement, as well as the extent of possible financial, trade, regulatory and
legal implications of Brexit. Brexit also contributes to global political and economic uncertainty, which may cause, among other consequences, volatility in exchange rates and interest rates, and changes in regulations. These effects of Brexit, among others, could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, labor or other political disputes or general unrest can have a negative impact on our operations. For example, in fiscal 2020, the “yellow vest” protests in France against a fuel tax increase, pension reform and the French government negatively impacted our sales in France. Future labor disruptions or disputes could have a negative impact on our operations in the EU and other parts of the world.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
We made the following share repurchases during the second quarter of fiscal 2022:
| ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased (1) | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (2) | Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Month #1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 3 - October 30 | 7,059 | $ | 83.27 | 587,789 | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Month #2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 31 - November 27 | 1,796,269 | 75.87 | 136,285,833 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Month #3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 28 - January 1 | 3,883,029 | 71.99 | 279,538,437 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Totals | 5,686,357 | $ | 73.23 | 416,412,059 | — |
(1)The total number of shares purchased includes 7,059, 0 and 0 shares tendered by individuals in connection with stock option exercises in Month #1, Month #2 and Month #3, respectively.
(2)See the discussion in Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Equity Transactions” for additional information regarding Sysco’s share repurchase program.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable
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