As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 12, 2021

Registration No. 333-257204

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

 

AMENDMENT NO. 2

TO

FORM F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Stevanato Group S.p.A.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Republic of Italy		3221		Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

Via Molinella 17

35017 Piombino Dese – Padua

Italy

+39 049 9318111

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Ompi of America, Inc.

41 University Drive No. 400

Newton, PA - 18940

+1 (267) 757-8747

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Lorenzo Corte Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP 40 Bank Street, Canary Wharf London, E14 5DS United Kingdom +44 20 7519-7000		M. Ryan Benedict Gregory P. Rodgers Latham & Watkins LLP Corso Matteotti, 22 20121 Milan Italy +39 02 3046-2000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: as soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933. Emerging growth company  ☑

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of each class of securities to be registered		Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(1)		Amount of registration fee(2)
Ordinary shares without par value		$1,104,000,000		$120,446.40

(1)	Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Includes ordinary shares that are issuable pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment rights.

(2)	Previously paid.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED July 12, 2021

STEVANATO GROUP S.P.A.

 

 

40,000,000 ordinary shares

 

 

This is an initial public offering of 40,000,000 ordinary shares without par value in the capital of Stevanato Group S.p.A. (“Shares”) by Stevanato Group S.p.A. We are offering 28,000,000 ordinary shares. The selling shareholder identified in this prospectus is offering an additional 12,000,000 ordinary shares.

We currently estimate that the initial public offering price will be between $21.00 and $24.00 per share. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market in the United States, or the U.S., for our Shares. Application has been made for the listing of our ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker STVN. We believe that upon completion of the offering contemplated by this prospectus, we will meet the standards for listing on the NYSE’s main exchange.

We have two classes of shares, ordinary shares and class A multiple voting shares (the “Class A shares”, including 30,840,555 Class A shares held in treasury). Following the completion of this offering, Stevanato Holding S.r.l. will beneficially own 228,501,960 of our issued Class A shares. Holders of ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class A shares will be entitled to three votes per share. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class A shares by a holder thereof to a non-affiliate of such holder, each of such Class A shares will be automatically and immediately converted into one ordinary share.

Following the completion of this offering, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance rules of the NYSE because Stevanato Holding S.r.l. will beneficially own 94.35% of the total voting power of our then outstanding share capital (excluding 30,840,555 Class A shares held in treasury which voting power is suspended as long as such shares are held in treasury), assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, or 93.53% of the total voting power of our then outstanding share capital if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full. See “Principal and Selling Shareholder” beginning on page 130.

We are both an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws and as such, will be eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and future filings.

 

 

Investing in our shares involves risks. see “Risk Factors” beginning on page 21.

 

 

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

PRICE US$              per Share

 

 

 

Price to Public

Underwriting Discounts and Commissions(1)

Proceeds to us

Proceeds to Selling Shareholder

Per ordinary share

$

$

$

$

Total

$

$

$

$

 

(1)	See the section entitled “Underwriting” for additional disclosure regarding underwriting compensation payable by us.

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than 40,000,000 of our ordinary shares, we and the selling shareholder have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional 6,000,000 ordinary shares at the same price as the ordinary shares offered through this prospectus, for 30 days after the date of this prospectus.

The underwriters expect to deliver the ordinary shares against payment in U.S. dollars in New York, New York on or about              , 2021.

 

MORGAN STANLEY		BofA SECURITIES		JEFFERIES

CITIGROUP		UBS INVESTMENT BANK		KEYBANC CAPITAL MARKETS		WELLS FARGO SECURITIES		WILLIAM BLAIR

 

 

Prospectus dated              , 2021.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any related free-writing prospectus that we authorize to be distributed to you. We and the underwriters have not authorized any person to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or any related free-writing prospectus authorized to be distributed to you. This prospectus is not an offer to sell, nor is it seeking an offer to buy, Shares in any state or other jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted. The information in this prospectus speaks only as of the date of this prospectus unless the information specifically indicates that another date applies, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of the securities offered hereby.

Neither we nor any of the underwriters has done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus, or any filed free writing prospectus, in any jurisdiction other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the Shares and the distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus outside of the United States.

We are incorporated in Italy, and a majority of our outstanding securities are owned by non-U.S. residents. Under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we are currently eligible for treatment as a “foreign private issuer.” As a foreign private issuer, we will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic registrants whose securities are registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. Neither we, the Selling Shareholder nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and neither we, the Selling Shareholder nor the underwriters take responsibility for any other information others may give you. We, the Selling Shareholder and the underwriters are not making an offer to sell, or seeking offers to buy, these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than its date regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of the Shares.

 

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NOTE ON THE PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION

Throughout this registration statement, unless the context otherwise requires, references to “Stevanato Group S.p.A.”, “Stevanato”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “Group”, “our” and words of similar import refer to Stevanato Group S.p.A. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “€”, “EUR” and “Euro” in this annual report are to, and amounts are presented in, euros. All references to “US$” and “$” are to U.S. dollars. For the convenience of the reader, we have translated certain financial information into U.S. dollars. Unless otherwise indicated, these translations were made at the rate of $1.00 to €0.8375, the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 25, 2021. Such U.S. dollar amounts are not necessarily indicative of the amounts of U.S. dollars that could actually have been purchased upon exchange of Euros at the dates indicated.

Financial Statements

We present in this prospectus the audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, as well as the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021. These financial statements were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB.

All references herein to “our financial statements,” “our audited consolidated financial information,” “our audited consolidated financial statements”, “our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial information” and “our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements”, are to Stevanato Group’s consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

This financial information should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, our audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Following this offering, we will begin reporting consolidated financial information to shareholders. We maintain our books and records in euro and our financial statements will be prepared in accordance with IFRS, as issued by the IASB.

Our fiscal year ends on December 31. References in this prospectus to a fiscal year, such as “fiscal year 2020,” relate to our fiscal year ended on December 31 of that calendar year.

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized share capital is €20,002,000.00 divided into 272,427,240 shares without par value, including 1,084,724 ordinary shares and 271,342,515 Class A shares. On March 4, 2021, the shareholders’ meeting approved a share split following which the then existing 20,002 shares have been split into a total of 100,010,000 ordinary shares with no par value, without changing the amount of the share capital. On July 1, 2021 the shareholders’ meeting approved a further share split following which all the existing 100,010,000 shares have been split into a total of 272,427,240 shares in the ratio of 2,724 new shares post-split for each share outstanding prior to the share split. In connection with the split that occurred on July 1, 2021, all of the ordinary shares held by the Selling Shareholder and the ordinary shares held in treasury were converted into Class A shares.

Special Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This prospectus presents our EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, CAPEX and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP financial measures, and their reconciliations to the nearest measure as defined by IFRS, for the convenience of investors.

 

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EBITDA is defined as net profit before income tax expenses, net financial expenses, including share of profit of associates, amortization and depreciation. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA as adjusted for certain income and costs expected to occur infrequently, and that management considers not reflective of ongoing operational activities of the company. EBITDA is presented to aid management in their analysis of the performance of the Group and to assist in the comparison of our performance with that of our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA is provided in order to present how the underlying business has performed excluding the impact of certain non-recurring items, which may alter the underlying performance and impair comparability of results between periods. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by total revenue for the same period.

Adjusted Operating Profit represents Operating Profit as adjusted for certain income and costs expected to occur infrequently, and that management considers not reflective of ongoing operational activities. Adjusted Operating Profit is provided in order to present how the underlying business has performed excluding the impact of the adjusting items, which may alter the underlying performance and impair comparability of results between the periods. Adjusted Operating Profit Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted Operating Profit for a period by total revenue for the same period.

Capital expenditure, or CAPEX, is the sum of investment amounts on tangible fixed assets and intangible assets during the period (excluding right-of-use assets recognized during the period in accordance with IFRS 16—Leases). These investment activities consist of acquisitions of property and equipment and intangible assets.

Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities excluding interests paid and received, less investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets on a paid-out cash basis.

Management uses EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, CAPEX and Free Cash Flow to monitor the underlying performance of the business and its operations. These measures are used by different companies for differing purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. You should exercise caution in comparing these measures as reported by us to the same or similar measures as reported by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled metrics of other companies.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, CAPEX and Free Cash Flow are not measurements of performance under IFRS or any other generally accepted accounting principles, and you should not consider them as an alternative to loss for the period, operating loss or other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS. These measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation. See “Summary Consolidated Financial Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more detail on these limitations of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, CAPEX and Free Cash Flow. Accordingly, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on these non-GAAP financial measures contained in this prospectus.

Market Share and Other Information

This prospectus contains data related to economic conditions in the market in which we operate. The information contained in this prospectus concerning economic conditions is based on publicly available information from third-party sources that we believe to be reasonable. Market data and certain industry forecast data used in this prospectus were obtained from internal reports and studies, where appropriate, as well as estimates, market research, publicly available information and industry publications. We obtained the information included in this prospectus relating to the industry in which we operate, as well as the estimates concerning market shares, through internal research, public information and publications on the industry prepared by official public sources.

 

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There are a number of studies that address either specific market segments, or regional markets, within our industry. We have reviewed and analyzed data collected by, among others, IQVIA, Alira Health, Roots Analysis, Markets and Markets Research Pvt Ltd., Grand View Research and Evaluate MedTech and Global Data UK Ltd (“Global Data”). However, given the rapid changes in our industry and the markets in which we operate, no industry research that is generally available covers all of the trends we view as key to understanding our industry and our place in it as providers of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries.

Due to the evolving nature of our industry and competitors, we believe that it is difficult for any market participant, including us, to provide precise data on the market or our industry. However, we believe that the market and industry data we present in this prospectus provide accurate estimates of the market and our place in it. Forecasts and other forward-looking information obtained from these sources are subject to the same qualifications and uncertainties as other forward-looking statements in this prospectus. We have no reason to believe any of this information or these reports are inaccurate in any material respect and believe and act as if they are reliable. In addition, the data that we compile internally and our estimates have not been verified by an independent source. None of the publications, reports or other published industry sources referred to in this prospectus were commissioned by us or prepared at our request. Except as disclosed in this prospectus, we have not sought or obtained the consent of any of these sources to include such market data in this prospectus.

Rounding

We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this prospectus. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.

Trademarks, Service Marks and Trade Names

We have proprietary rights to trademarks used in this prospectus that are important to our business, many of which are registered under applicable intellectual property laws. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks, logos and trade names referred to in this prospectus are without the ^® and ^™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensors to these trademarks, service marks and trade names. This prospectus contains additional trademarks, service marks and trade names of others, which are the property of their respective owners. All trademarks, service marks and trade names appearing in this prospectus are, to our knowledge, the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trademarks, service marks, copyrights or trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our Shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainty described below, together with all of the other information in this prospectus, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and related notes, before deciding to invest in our Shares. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem not material may also impair our business operations. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price and value of our Shares could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to our Business and Industry

Our product offerings are highly complex, and, if our products do not satisfy applicable quality criteria, specifications and performance standards, we could experience lost sales, delayed or reduced market acceptance of our products, increased costs and damage to our reputation.

Most of our products are highly exacting and complex due to their use for containment and injection of biologic drugs and vaccines. Providing high-quality products that deliver specificity, sensitivity and consistency, together with extensive product validation data is a fundamental driver of customer loyalty and our reputation with life sciences researchers. Our operating results depend on our ability to execute and, when necessary, improve our global quality control systems, including our ability to effectively train and maintain our employees with respect to quality control. A failure of our global quality control systems could result in problems with facility operations or preparation or provision of defective or non-compliant products which could ultimately cause harm to the final user. In each case, such problems could arise for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with critical materials and components, failure by one or more of our suppliers to meet our quality requirements, or environmental factors and damage to, or loss of, manufacturing operations. Such problems could affect production of a particular batch or series of batches of products, requiring the destruction of such products or a halt of facility production altogether. Although we currently hold an insurance policy that covers liabilities for defective products and product recalls in amounts we believe to be adequate for our business, our coverage may not be adequate to insure against all product liability claims that may arise which may be particularly high in case failure of our products to meet the appropriate quality standards cause product recalls or damages to our customers or ultimate users. As a result of this, product defect claims or product recalls may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our success depends on our customers’ confidence that we can provide reliable, consistently high-quality products, which also requires us to provide validated data to support our customers’ use of our products. We believe that customers in our target markets are likely to be particularly sensitive to our products failing to meet the specifications shown on our data sheets. Our reputation and the public perception of our products and technologies may be impaired if our products fail to perform as expected or fail to meet applicable quality criteria, specifications or performance standards. If our products experience, or are perceived to experience, a material defect or error, this could result in loss or delay of sales, damaged reputation, diversion of development resources and increased insurance or warranty costs, any of which could harm our business. These risks are amplified in respect of our new product lines as we implement appropriate quality control criteria. We are reliant to an extent on customer feedback on the quality of our products, and it may take additional time for new products to meet the desired quality standards. Any defects or errors could also result in our inability to timely deliver products to our customers, which could in turn cause disruptions to our customers’ ability to obtain results, narrowing the scope of the use of our products and ultimately hindering our or their success in relevant markets. Even after any underlying concerns or problems are resolved, any lingering concerns in our target markets regarding our technology, product defects or performance standards could continue to result in lost sales, delayed market acceptance and damaged reputation, among other things. If problems in preparation or

 

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manufacture of a product, failure to meet required quality standards for that product or other product defects are not discovered before such product is released to our customers, we may be subject to adverse legal or regulatory actions, including halting of manufacturing and distribution, restrictions on our operations, civil sanctions, including monetary sanctions, and criminal actions. In addition, such problems or failures subject us to other litigation claims, including claims from our customers for reimbursement of the cost of lost or damaged materials. Our customers also require specific information regarding our products and their uses, and any inaccuracies in this information could lead to products being sold for the wrong uses and may result in our having to refund or replace the products in question. Any of the above problems may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We must develop new products and enhance existing products, adapt to significant technological and innovative changes and respond to introductions of new products by competitors in order to remain competitive.

We sell our products in industries that are characterized by significant technological changes, frequent new product and technology introductions and enhancements and evolving regulatory requirements and industry standards. As a result, our customers’ needs continue to evolve and our products may be superseded by new technologies (for instance if certain drugs are no longer administered through injectables) or their demand may decline. For instance, as our sales and profitability are largely dependent on the sale of products delivered by injection, if our customers reconfigure their drug product or develop new drug products requiring less frequent dosing, our sales and profitability may suffer. Likewise, if we do not appropriately innovate and invest in new products and technologies, and be open to broadening the scope of our offering, our product offerings may become less desirable in the markets we serve, and, although changing providers is a lengthy process for our customers, they could move to new technologies offered by our competitors, especially if such competitors are able to react more directly and effectively to a customer’s specific demand. Though we believe customers in our markets display a significant amount of loyalty to a particular product, we also believe that because of the initial time investment required by many of our customers to reach a purchasing decision for a new product, it may be difficult to regain a customer once that customer purchases a product from a competitor.

Moreover, there is a risk that the significant amounts of time and resources (approximately 2.6% of our 2020 revenue) that we invest in research, development and identification of new products would not result in the expected positive results for our business. If we invest our resources into a new product or product enhancement that fails to meet our high quality standards and market expectations or does not perform in the way it was intended, this could adversely affect our business. Our current customers may decide not to purchase these new products or product enhancements and / or purchase a product from a competitor or cease doing business with us altogether. It can take significant time to identify an unmet customer need and develop a product to meet that need, and to the extent we fail to obtain desired levels of market acceptance, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our estimates of our addressable market include several key assumptions based on our industry knowledge, industry publications, third-party research and other surveys, which may be based on a small sample size and may fail to accurately reflect market opportunities. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, no independent source has verified such assumptions. Industry publications, research, surveys, studies and forecasts generally state that the information they contain has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. If any of our assumptions or estimates, or these publications, research, surveys or studies prove to be inaccurate, then the actual market for our products may be smaller than we expect, and as a result, our product revenue may be limited and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our backlog might not accurately predict our future revenue, and we might not realize all or any part of the anticipated revenue reflected in our backlog.

Our backlog represents, as of a point in time, estimated future revenue for work not yet completed under (i) specific purchase orders, with regards to our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solution segment, and (ii) certain one-off agreements, with regards to our Engineering segment. We recognize direct revenue over the life of the

 

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contract based on our performance of services under the contract. Contracts may be terminated or delayed by our customers or regulatory authorities for reasons beyond our control. To the extent projects are delayed, the timing of our revenue could be affected. In the event a customer terminates a contract, we are generally entitled to be paid for services rendered through the termination date and for services provided in winding down the project. However, we are generally not entitled to receive the full amount of direct revenue reflected in our backlog in the event of a contract termination. The duration of the projects in our backlog, and the related revenue recognition, ranges from several months to many years For orders that are placed inside a contractual firm period, we generally have a contractual right to payment in the event of cancellation. Fluctuations in our reported backlog levels also result from the timing and order pattern of our customers who often seek to manage their level of inventory on hand. Because of customer ordering patterns, our backlog reported for certain periods may fluctuate and may not be indicative of future results. A number of factors may affect backlog and the direct revenue generated from our backlog, including:

 

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the size, complexity and duration of projects; and

 

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the cancellation or delay of projects.

Our backlog at March 31, 2021 was €665.1 million compared to €606.7 million as of December 31, 2020 and €303.8 as of December 31, 2019. Although an increase in backlog will generally result in an increase in future direct revenue to be recognized over time (depending on future contract modifications, contract cancellations and other adjustments), an increase in backlog at a particular point in time does not necessarily correspond to an increase in direct revenues during a particular period. The timing and extent to which backlog will result in direct revenue depends on many factors, including the timing of commencement of work, the rate at which we perform services, scope changes, cancellations, delays, receipt of regulatory approvals and the nature, duration, size, complexity and phase of the studies. In addition, delayed projects remain in backlog until they are canceled. As a result of these factors, our backlog is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future direct revenue and we might not realize all or any part of the direct revenue from the authorizations in backlog as of any point in time.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand and reputation are of significant importance to the success of our business. We work to set a very high standard for the quality of our products and our ethical business practices, and we believe that this has been crucial to our success. We have employed and will continue to employ different types of consumer experience and interaction touchpoints designed to gauge consumer satisfaction with our products, and we also engage in rigorous product validation in order to continue to improve our product quality. We cannot assure you, however, that these activities will be successful or that we will be able to continue to maintain our brand and reputation as we expect. If our brand strength deteriorates, or if our brand is no longer associated with high-quality products, it could lead to fewer publication citations for our products, which could in turn further weaken our brand recognition and reputation. In addition, our competitors may increase the intensity of their consumer interactions or customer feedback processes, which may force us to increase our advertising spend to engage with our customer base and maintain brand and reputational awareness.

In addition, any negative publicity relating to our products or services, regardless of its veracity, could harm our brand and the perception of our brand in the market. With an increasing global focus on ethical business practices and good corporate behavior, and with such issues directly influencing consumer behavior, any failure to achieve or maintain the levels of corporate governance, social and environmental impact and corporate behaviors expected of us, including demonstrating dedication to the benefits of diversity, could negatively impact our brand and reputation. If our brand is harmed, we may not be able to gain new customers or continue to maintain positive relationships with our customers, and our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

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Part of our growth strategy is to increase direct customer interactions in multiple countries. Failure to anticipate and react to particular geographic requirements and sensitivities may have a negative impact on our brand and reputation, which may result in a decrease in sales or sales growth in such countries, which may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We are highly dependent on our management and employees. Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees that we need to support our business and our intended future growth.

Our success largely depends on the skills, experience and continued efforts of our management, including our Executive Chairman, our Chief Executive Officer and our senior leadership, as well as of our research and development and highly skilled employees. The replacement of certain members of our global leadership team would likely involve the expenditure of significant time and financial resources, and the loss of any such individual may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives. Likewise, the members of our research and development team and our highly skilled employees, who our customers and competitors often seek to engage, may be difficult to replace in light of their sophisticated skills and experience and a shortage of such employees could disrupt our operations. As we continue to grow, our success also depends on our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified individuals who will also fit within our culture. Competition for senior management and other personnel in our industry is intense, and the pool of suitable candidates is limited. If qualified personnel become scarce or difficult to attract or retain in our industry for compensation-related or other reasons, we could experience higher labor, recruiting or training costs. Further, new hires may require significant training and time before they achieve full productivity and may not become as productive as we expect. The failure to attract, retain and properly motivate members of our senior management team and other employees, to find suitable replacements for them in the event of death, illness or their desire to pursue other professional opportunities, or to maintain our corporate culture as we continue to grow, could have a negative effect on our operating results.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon maintaining our relationships with suppliers and service providers.

Our ability to sustain our income has been, and will continue to be, dependent in part on our ability to obtain favorable terms from our suppliers and services providers, including logistics services providers. These terms may change from time to time, and such changes could adversely affect our gross margins over time. In addition, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely impacted by the acceleration of payment terms to our suppliers and/or the imposition of more restrictive credit terms and other contractual requirements. Further, if for any reason we enter into a contract with a supplier on unfavorable terms, it may harm our ability to negotiate our future contracts with that supplier or with other suppliers.

The loss of one or more of our large suppliers including as a result of consolidation, a material reduction in their supply of products or provision of services to us, extended disruptions or interruptions in their operations or material changes in the terms we obtain from them, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon the availability and price of high-quality materials and energy supply and our ability to contain production costs.

Our operations depend upon our ability to obtain high-quality materials and energy supply at reasonable prices, therefore maintaining low production costs. Our ability to maintain an adequate supply of such materials and energy could be impacted by the availability and price of those materials and energy, the failure to maintain relationships with suppliers and any of such materials being proven to be toxic or otherwise inadequate to be used for the intended purpose. While we may seek to minimize the impact of price increases and potential shortages by, among other things, entering into long-term supply agreements, increasing our own prices and

 

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implementing cost-saving measures, our earnings and cash flows could be adversely affected in the event these measures are insufficient to cover our costs. Moreover, while we aim to maintain a large network of product suppliers, we are unable to predict any interruption or disruption in service from our key suppliers, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, for some of the materials we use in our production cycles, including glass tubes and DuPont synthetic fiber Tyvek^®, we have a limited number of (or a single-source) suppliers worldwide, and selecting new suppliers would be a lengthy and time consuming process. Any interruption or disruption in service from particular suppliers of materials means that interruptions or stoppages in such deliveries could adversely affect our operations until arrangements with alternative suppliers. If this occurs, we could expend substantial resources and time in re-establishing relationships with third-party suppliers that meet the appropriate quality, cost and regulatory requirements needed for commercially viable manufacture of our products. If we are unable to obtain the materials we need at reasonable prices or at all, we may not be able to produce certain of our products at a marketable price or at all. If our supply of materials and components is adversely affected, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we could damage our relationship with current and prospective customers and our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Moreover, we are dependent upon the ability of our suppliers to provide materials that meet our quality standards, as well as delivery schedules. Our suppliers’ failure to provide expected materials that meet such criteria could adversely affect production schedules and contract profitability.

The continued supply of high-quality third-party materials and energy from our suppliers is subject to a number of risks, including:

 

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the destruction of or damage to our suppliers’ facilities or their distribution infrastructure;

 

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work stoppages or strikes by our suppliers’ employees;

 

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the failure of our suppliers to provide materials of the requisite quality or in compliance with strict specifications;

 

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the failure of essential equipment at our suppliers’ plants;

 

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the failure of our suppliers to satisfy import and export control laws for goods that we purchase from them;

 

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the failure of our suppliers to meet regulatory standards where applicable;

 

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the failure, shortage or delay in the delivery of materials to our suppliers;

 

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contractual amendments and disputes with our suppliers; and

 

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inability of our suppliers to perform as a result of the weakened global economy, the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise.

If we experience problems with suppliers, we may not be able to find acceptable alternatives, and any such alternatives could result in increased costs for us and possible forward losses on certain contracts. Even if acceptable alternatives are found, the process of locating and securing such alternatives might be disruptive to our business, might lead to termination of our supply agreements with our customers and might disrupt the operations of our customers leading to potential claims, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Significant interruptions in our operations could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Manufacturing, distribution, service and logistics problems can and do arise, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and any such problems could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Accordingly, any significant disruptions to the operations of our

 

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manufacturing or distribution centers or logistics providers for any reason, including labor relations issues, power interruptions, severe weather, fire or other circumstances beyond our control could cause our operating expenses to increase without coverage or compensation or seriously harm our ability to fulfill our customers’ orders or deliver products on a timely basis, or both. Likewise, our ability to meet our customers’ needs and expectations may be frustrated by delays, issues or interruptions in ramping up new production lines or plants. We must also maintain sufficient production capacity in order to meet anticipated customer demand, which carries fixed costs that we may not be able to offset if orders slow, which would adversely affect our operating margins. If we are unable to manufacture our products consistently, in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, our sales, gross margins and our other operating results will be materially and adversely affected. Prompt shipment of our products is also very important to our business. If we experience significant delays in our manufacturing, shipping or logistics processes, this could cause disruption to our customers and damage our current and future customer relationships and may adversely affect our business. Such delays may also adversely impact our new product development. For example, if we were to lose one of our sites where new product development is undertaken, we may not be able to transfer or replicate that product development at another site, with the result of lost time and financial costs of developing the new product. We may also use high-risk chemicals in the manufacture of certain of our products, which are subject to handling risks, and any disruption in our ability to source or appropriately store these chemicals could adversely affect our manufacturing operations.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of syringes and vials to and for vaccination programs globally, and visual inspection systems, increased resulting in a revenue growth acceleration. The demand for such products may shrink, if the need for COVID-19 related solutions declines.

Despite the initial short-term operational disruption, and the impact that measures established to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic had on our ability to carry out business development activities (which we believe may have had an impact on our ability to broaden our customer portfolio in the short-term), sales of syringes and vials to and for vaccination programs globally, and visual inspection systems, increased resulting in a revenue growth acceleration. We have been supplying: (i) glass vials and syringes to approximately 90% of currently marketed vaccine programs, according to our estimates based on public information (WHO, EMA, FDA); (ii) plastic diagnostic consumables for the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19; (iii) glass forming lines, which are being installed worldwide, to facilitate the distribution of glass bulks and sterile vials and syringes; and (iv) visual inspection systems.

There remains uncertainty around the magnitude of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on demand for our syringes, vials, plastic diagnostic consumables, glass forming lines, visual inspection systems and related products and services, which may shrink rapidly in the future, for instance:

 

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as the pandemic abates or infection rates decline;

 

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as governmental and health authorities relax rules on mandatory COVID-19 testing;

 

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as vaccination programs are completed or re-vaccination / booster are not required; or

 

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where injectable vaccines are replaced with other vaccines not requiring our products and services.

A lower rate of increase or a decline in sales of syringes and vials to and for vaccination programs, plastic diagnostic consumables for COVID-19 testing, glass forming lines, visual inspection systems and related products and services could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our manufacturing facilities are subject to operating hazards which may lead to production curtailments or shutdowns and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Certain of our manufacturing processes involve heating glass to extremely high temperatures, forming plastic and operating heavy machinery and equipment, which entail a number of risks and hazards, including

 

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industrial accidents, leaks and ruptures, explosions, fires, mechanical failures and environmental hazards, such as spills, storage tank leaks, discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances and gases, including into the environment. Any of these events, which are generally more likely to occur as our machines approach time for refurbishment, could lead to requirements for environmental remediation and civil, criminal and administrative sanctions and liabilities. These hazards may cause unplanned business interruptions (also as a consequence of remediation actions), unscheduled downtime, transportation interruptions, personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or the destruction of property and equipment, environmental contamination and other environmental damage, civil, criminal and administrative sanctions and liabilities and third-party claims, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, under applicable local laws, including Italian law, our directors and officers may be subject to criminal liability, in connection with injuries occurred to our employees, as a result of workplace health and safety violations by reason of their position as employers (posizione di garanzia). Convictions of our directors and officers could negatively impact our reputation. Moreover, due to the long industrial history of our manufacturing facilities and the subsequent lack of detailed information regarding historical waste and chemical storage and disposal, the risk of soil, water or groundwater contamination and related civil, administrative and criminal liabilities cannot be eliminated.

We may face significant competition in implementing our strategies for revenue growth in light of actions taken by our competitors.

In each business segment in which we operate, we face significant competition, with many competitors focusing on specific regions, customers and/or specific product segments. Competitors range from smaller, specialized companies, which may be able to more quickly respond to customers’ specific needs, to large multinational companies who provide a full suite of products, which may have greater financial, marketing, operational and research and development resources than we do. Such greater resources may allow our competitors to respond more effectively with new, alternative or emerging technologies. Failure to anticipate and respond to our competitors’ actions may impact our future sales and earnings, in particular failure to react to competitors strengthening their brand, marketing or customer experience may negatively impact our ability to attract and retain customers.

We are pursuing a number of strategies to maintain and improve our revenue growth, including:

 

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expand our global market position in primary containment systems;

 

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leverage leadership in primary containment to build market position in drug delivery systems;

 

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accelerate market penetration in life sciences systems;

 

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increase our investments in R&D to address unmet market needs;

 

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build on our expertise in manufacturing, assembly and inspection systems for primary containers and complex, multi-component systems;

 

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leverage our scientific and engineering capabilities across the drug development timeline;

 

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leverage our global geographical presence as a platform to increase our penetration in the North American and APAC regions; and

 

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selectively pursue acquisitions and technology partnerships to augment and expand our product and service portfolio.

We may not be able to successfully implement these strategies, and these strategies may not result in the desired growth of our business. Failure to anticipate and respond to our competitors’ actions may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Our business may be harmed if our customers discontinue or spend less on research, development, production or other scientific endeavors.

Our customer base includes leading pharmaceutical, biologic, diagnostic and medical device companies worldwide. Many factors, including public policy spending priorities, available resources and product and economic cycles, have a significant effect on the capital spending policies of these entities. For instance, any change in the international healthcare systems, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “PPACA”) in the U.S., resulting in a reduced ability of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers to receive reimbursements by government authorities, private insurers and other third-party payers for the costs of our products, could result in reduced demand for our products.

Fluctuations in the research and development budgets of our customers could have a significant effect on the demand for our products. Our customers determine their research and development budgets based on several factors, including the need to develop new products, continued availability of governmental and other incentives and funding, competition and the general availability of resources. Any reduction in research and development budgets or a shift of any funding source currently allocated to our business sector to different areas of research, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The loss of a significant number of customers or a reduction in orders from a significant number of customers could reduce our sales and harm our operating results.

Our operating results could be negatively affected by the loss of revenue from a significant number of our customers. Our sales are fairly well distributed, with 40.6% of our revenues deriving from our top ten customers and no individual customer representing more than 10.0% of revenues in 2020. However, consolidation within our customer base, including, in particular, among pharmaceutical companies, may give larger customers greater bargaining and buying power and operational sophistication, which can enable them to operate with reduced inventories. In addition, consolidation among our customers may lead them to rely on a reduced number of suppliers, with no assurance that they will continue using our products.

We maintain close business relationships with certain customers, working closely to build the specific custom tools they need, which will then become part of our product portfolio. Our operating results could be adversely affected by the loss of a significant number of these customers, particularly during the product development phase.

Our contracts generally do not contain minimum purchase requirements, and a significant portion of our sales are on a purchase order basis. Therefore, our customers are generally not obligated to purchase any fixed quantities of products, and they may stop placing orders with us at any time. If a significant number of customers purchase fewer of our products, defer orders or fail to place additional orders with us for any reason, our sales could decline, and our operating results may not meet our expectations. In addition, if those customers order our products, but fail to pay on time or at all, our liquidity and operating results could be adversely affected.

The level and timing of orders placed by our customers vary for different reasons, including individual customer strategies, the introduction of new technologies, the desire of our customers to reduce their exposure to any single supplier and general economic conditions. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to the demands of our customers, if we have an inadequate supply of products, insufficient capacity in our sites or if we experience any disruptions to our supply chain or distribution network, we may lose customers. Alternatively, we may have excess inventory or excess capacity, and either of these factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business may suffer if we do not successfully manage our current and potential future growth.

Over the last 70 years we have consistently expanded our operations and anticipate expanding further as we pursue our long-term growth strategy. The key elements of our growth strategy include, among other things, the

 

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expansion of our global market position in primary containment and drug delivery systems, accelerating penetration in life sciences systems, increasing our investments in research and development, building on our expertise in manufacturing, assembly and inspection systems for primary containers and complex, multi-component systems, leveraging our scientific and engineering capabilities, increasing our penetration in the North American and APAC regions and selectively pursuing acquisitions and technology partnerships to augment and expand our product and service portfolio. In particular, we also plan to use part of the proceeds of the Offering to further expand our manufacturing facilities in Piombino Dese (Italy), establish new greenfield plants for EZ-Fill^® products, with strong focus on biologics and vaccines, in Indiana (U.S.) and Zhangjiagang (China) (focusing also on engineering) and pursue strategic acquisitions to broaden our offering, our technical know-how and our international footprint. Establishing new production plants for EZ-Fill^® products represents a priority in light of the risks associated with our Piombino Dese (Italy) manufacturing facilities currently being the only ones devoted to the production of EZ-Fill^® products which, in turn, exposes our business to risks of material disruption should any event affect the operation of such facilities. In general, such growth strategy and in particular the facilities expansion and the external acquisitions increase the complexity of our business and place a significant strain on our management, operations, technical systems, financial resources and internal control over financial reporting functions. Our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support and effectively manage our future operations, especially as we employ personnel and maintain manufacturing facilities and distribution networks in several geographic locations.

We are also continuously expanding our product portfolio, and establishing and developing new products require significant management time and attention. If these products do not achieve the anticipated success or require greater levels of time and investment to reach the expected levels, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Failure to appropriately integrate new products and business lines into our existing operations and systems can also affect the success of these products, and failure to adequately anticipate and plan for this integration could affect the success of these products and may also negatively impact our existing product offerings.

We may not successfully identify or integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations or be able to fully recognize the anticipated benefits of businesses or assets that we acquire.

We consider acquisitions a useful instrument to complement our organic growth. We opportunistically explore acquiring other businesses and assets, and we have completed 3 acquisitions in the last five years, including: the acquisition of a 65% stake in the Danish SVM Automatik in February 2016, the acquisition of the operating unit of Balda Group in March 2016 and the acquisition of Medirio in May 2016.

However, we may be unable to identify or complete promising acquisitions for many reasons, including any misjudgment of the key elements of an acquisition, competition among buyers, the high valuations of businesses in our industry, the need for regulatory and other approvals, lack of internal resources to successfully pursue all attractive opportunities and availability of capital. When we do identify and complete acquisitions, we may face financial, managerial and operational challenges, including diversion of management attention and resources needed for existing operations, difficulties with integrating acquired businesses, integration of different corporate cultures, increased expenses, potential dilution of our brand, assumption of unknown liabilities, potential disputes with the sellers and the need to evaluate the financial systems of and establish internal controls for acquired entities. Further, we seek out acquisitions of companies that maintain the same high quality standards that we maintain, and if we misjudge or overestimate a company’s product quality standards, we may not be able to use these products or implement the strategies that were the primary reason for the acquisition, which would lead to a significant loss both financially and in time spent by our teams trying to integrate the product or implement the strategy. There can be no assurance that we will engage in any additional acquisitions or that we will be able to do so on terms that will result in any expected benefits.

In addition, our ability to realize the benefits we anticipate from our acquisition activities, including any anticipated sales growth, cost synergies and other anticipated benefits, will depend in large part upon whether we

 

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are able to integrate such businesses efficiently and effectively. Integration is an ongoing process, and we may not be able to fully integrate such businesses smoothly or successfully, and the process may take longer than expected. Further, the integration of certain operations and the differences in operational culture following such activity will continue to require the dedication of significant management resources, which may distract management’s attention from day-to-day business operations.

There may also be unasserted claims or assessments that we failed or were unable to discover or identify in the course of performing due diligence investigations of target businesses. While we normally negotiate representation and warranties and related indemnification in relation to such acquisitions, these may not be enough to cover our exposure if a significant liability arises in connection with any acquisition agreement. We cannot assure you that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to successfully integrate the operations of acquired businesses into our business, we may be unable to realize the sales growth, cost synergies and other anticipated benefits of such transactions, and our business, results of operations and cash flow could be adversely affected.

Our reputation, ability to do business and results of operations may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents or business partners.

We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from acts committed by employees, agents or business partners of ours (including third-party suppliers, distributors or of businesses we acquire or partner with) that would violate U.S. and/or other national laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and false claims, pricing, sales and marketing practices, conflicts of interest, competition, export and import compliance, money laundering and data privacy. In particular, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Any improper actions by our employees, suppliers and distributors or allegations of such acts could damage our reputation and subject us to civil or criminal investigations in Italy, under Italian Legislative Decree No. 231 of June 8, 2001 (the “Decree 231”) pursuant to which a legal entity can be held liable to pay fines in connection with certain criminal offenses committed, inter alia, by its directors, officers or employees, the United States and in other jurisdictions, and any related shareholder lawsuits could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and nonmonetary penalties and could cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees. In particular, pursuant to Decree 231, a defense can be established by an entity involved in a Decree 231 investigation, if such entity can prove, among others, that it adopted and properly implemented an organization, management and control model aimed at effectively preventing the commission of the criminal acts involved prior to such unlawful conduct having taken place. We approved and adopted the current version of our organization, management and control model provided by Decree 231 (“Model 231”) by means of a resolution of the board of directors dated April 7, 2021, and appointed the current supervisory body (the “Supervisory Body”) that supervises the functioning of and compliance with Model 231, and monitors and assesses the implementation status of preventive measures, with regular reports to the board of directors, in November 2020. The adoption of organization and management models does not by itself exclude applicability of the penalties provided by Decree 231. In fact, upon commission of an offense resulting in administrative liability of the Group pursuant to Decree 231, the court will evaluate the models and their actual implementation. Failure to comply with Decree 231 could result in the imposition of criminal sanctions on our directors and/or monetary sanctions, other types of sanctions (e.g., interdictory sanctions, including prohibitions, confiscation of the price or profits deriving from the crime and publication of the judgment) and loss of confidence of our customer base as well as render us ineligible to participate in a public tender or result in the termination of a public contract already awarded, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects of the Group.

In addition, a government may seek to hold us liable as a successor for violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

 

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We also rely on our suppliers to adhere to our supplier standards of conduct, and material violations of such standards of conduct could occur that could have a material effect on our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Our global operations are subject to international market risks that may have a material effect on our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We operate manufacturing facilities in Italy, Slovakia, Denmark, Germany, United States, Mexico, China and Brazil, and sell and distribute our products in more than 70 countries. As part of our business strategy, we will continue to seek to expand our sales and market share in various international markets in which we currently operate and evaluate expansion opportunities into additional international markets. The economies of some of these markets differ from the economies of our core markets factors in Europe and in some cases present new and greater risks. Our financial results and operations are substantially dependent upon macro-economic and political conditions, particularly in Italy, Slovakia, Denmark, Germany, United States, Mexico, China and Brazil, where we operate manufacturing facilities. High levels of sovereign debt in certain countries (including Italy), combined with weak growth, political instability and high unemployment rates, could lead to additional fiscal reforms (including austerity measures), sovereign debt restructurings, currency instability, increased counterparty credit risk, high levels of volatility and, potentially, disruptions in the credit and equity markets, as well as other outcomes, each of which, alone or combined with other factors, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, access to credit and capital markets and, therefore, our ability to implement our growth strategy.

Macro-economic difficulties and political instability remain particularly evident in Italy. Since January 2012, Italy’s sovereign debt rating has been downgraded by Standard and Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Service, reflecting their views as to Italy’s increasing vulnerability to external financing risks and the negative implications these could have for economic growth and public finances as well as fragile market confidence and deterioration in Italy’s near-term economic outlook. Any further downgrade of the Italian sovereign debt rating could create additional economic uncertainty and negatively impact Italy’s growth, which could in turn affect consumer confidence, discretionary spending and, consequently, demand for our products.

Furthermore, policies, measures, controls or other actions implemented by the governments of emerging markets or countries which we target for increased sales may restrict our business operations or harm our financial results. As a result, our revenue is exposed to risks inherent to the country where we operate or intend to operate including risks related to differing political, legal, regulatory and economic conditions and regulations.

As a multinational corporation, we are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.

International markets contribute a substantial portion of our revenue, and we intend to continue expanding our presence globally. The exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates takes on different forms. International revenue and costs are subject to the risk that fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our reported revenue and profitability when translated into Euro for financial reporting purposes. These fluctuations could also adversely affect the demand for products and services provided by us. As a multinational corporation, our businesses often invoice third-party customers in currencies other than the one in which they primarily do business (the “functional currency”), especially U.S. dollars and the Mexican Pesos. Movements in the invoiced currency relative to the functional currency could adversely impact our cash flows and our results of operations. As our international sales grow, exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates could have a larger effect on our financial results.

The deterioration of the sovereign debt of several countries, together with the risk of contagion to other, more stable, countries, has exacerbated the global economic crisis. In particular, a deterioration in general economic conditions caused by instability in the Eurozone could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

 

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We are required to comply with a wide variety of laws and regulations and are subject to regulation by various federal, state and foreign agencies.

In all the jurisdictions in which we operate, we are subject to a number of laws, regulations and practices concerning, inter alia, the health and safety of our employees, the use, manufacture and importing of chemicals and the protection of the environment and natural resources.

In the event that the applicable laws and regulations were to change such that our products or our production processes were subject to greater regulatory control or restrictions, it could have a significant impact on our ability to market and sell our products and could require us to spend significant amounts to ensure and monitor compliance with such laws and regulations such that our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. For instance, both the EU and the United States are considering to further restrict in the next years the use of ethylene oxide, the main sterilizing agent used in our production processes. If the use of ethylene oxide is further restricted, or completely banned, this would require us to identify new sterilizing agents and would have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

We are also subject to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations that govern, among other things, the importation and exportation of products, the handling, transportation and manufacture of substances that could be classified as hazardous, laws governing government contracts and our business practices such as anti-corruption and antitrust laws. Although we believe that we comply in all material respects with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that a regulatory agency or tribunal would not reach a different conclusion concerning the compliance of our operations with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or renew existing permits, licenses or other regulatory approvals or obtain, without significant delay, future permits, licenses or other approvals needed for the operation of our businesses. Furthermore, loss of a permit, license or other approval in any one portion of our business may have indirect consequences in other portions of our business if regulators or customers, for example, cease doing business with such other portion due to fears that such loss is a sign of broader concerns about our ability to deliver products or services of sufficient quality.

Any noncompliance by us with applicable laws and regulations or the failure to maintain, renew or obtain necessary permits and licenses could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can lead to agency action, including warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, monetary sanctions, injunctions to halt manufacturing or distribution, restrictions on our operations, withdrawal of existing or denial of future approvals, permits or registrations, including those relating to products or facilities and civil and criminal sanctions. To the extent these agencies were to take enforcement action, such action may be made publicly available, and such publicity could harm our ability to sell these regulated products globally and may harm our reputation. In addition, such actions could limit the ability of our customers to obtain regulatory clearance or approval for their products in the United States or abroad and/or our customers may incur significant costs in obtaining or maintaining such regulatory clearances or approvals in the United States or abroad. In addition, any such failure relating to the products we provide exposes us to direct and third-party product liability claims as well as contractual claims from our customers, including claims for reimbursement for lost or damaged products, as well as potential recall liability, which could be significant. Customers may also claim loss of profits due to lost or delayed sales, although our contractual arrangements typically place limits on such claims. There can be no assurance that any such contractual limitation will be applicable or sufficient or fully enforced in any given situation.

Given the relevance of our activities in the healthcare sector, investments by non-Italian entities in the Company, as well as certain asset disposals by the Company, may be subject to the prior authorization of the Italian Government (so called “golden powers”).

Due to the relevance of our activities in the healthcare sector, it is not possible to exclude the recurrence of the conditions for the exercise, by the Italian Government, of the so called “golden powers”, aimed at

 

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safeguarding the ownership structures of Italian companies operating in strategic sectors, which may adversely impact the liquidity and value of the Shares. The golden power regime, set forth in (i) Law Decree no. 21 of March 15, 2012 (converted into law by Law no. 56 of May 11, 2012), as amended and supplemented (“Golden Power Decree”), (ii) Law Decree no. 105 of September 21, 2020 (converted into law by Law no. 133 of November 18, 2020), as amended and supplemented, (iii) Law Decree no. 23 of April 8, 2020 (converted into law by Law no. 40 of June 5, 2020), as amended and supplemented, and (iv) Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers no. 179 of December 18, 2020, also cover the healthcare sector. The powers set forth in the Golden Power Decree include, inter alia, the powers to: (i) veto, or impose specific conditions on, the purchase by non-EU companies of shareholdings in companies having assets and relationships in sectors which are considered strategic (e.g., defense and national security, energy, transport and telecommunications, health, etc., the “Strategic Companies”), and (ii) veto, or impose specific conditions on, the adoption of certain corporate resolutions, acts or transactions by the same companies which may pose a threat to national security.

The Golden Power Decree requires companies to notify the office of the Italian Prime Minister within 10 days of: (i) any purchase by a non-EU entity of a stake in a Strategic Company resulting in the buyer acquiring control of such company pursuant to article 2359 of the Italian Civil Code and of the Italian Financial Act (TUF); and (ii) any resolution, act or transaction adopted by a Strategic Company resulting in a transfer of ownership, control or availability of strategic assets to a non-EU entity. Any resolution, act or transaction adopted by a Strategic Company, whose effect is to change the destination of a strategic asset, or a change in the corporate purpose of the Strategic Company. Furthermore, the regulation requires to notify the dissolution of the company or the amendment of certain provisions of their articles of association. The office of the Italian Prime Minister must exercise its power to veto the transaction or impose conditions within 45 days from the date of notice. In the interim, all rights related to the shares other than economic rights are suspended, and any decision adopted in violation of such suspension is null and void, but once the term has expired the relevant transaction can be completed. Should the office of the Italian Prime Minister veto the transaction, the buyer must sell the acquired shares or quotas within one year. As part of the emergency related to COVID-19, as a result of the Law Decree of April 8, 2020, no 23, these powers have been temporarily strengthened until December 31, 2021 by Law Decree of April 22, 2021 no. 52, converted with amendments by Law of June 17, 2021 no. 87.

The violation of the notification obligation or of the prescriptions imposed by virtue of the exercise of special powers, unless the fact constitutes a criminal offence, is subject to a pecuniary administrative sanction up to double the value of the transaction and in any case not less than one percent of the cumulative turnover achieved by the companies involved in the last financial year for which the financial statements were approved.

As a result, our ability to pursue commercial or industrial strategic resolutions, acts or transactions that involve the acquisition of, or the subscription for, our shares by a partner (or that imply an amendment to our shareholders’ structure) may be restricted by the Italian Government’s decision to exercise its special powers with respect to our business. Therefore, the application of the golden powers regime could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

Furthermore, in the future, our shareholders’ ability to enter into change of control or takeover transactions may be impacted by the exercise by the Italian Government of its special powers under the golden power regime. Our shareholders may not be able to transfer their interests or such a transfer may be subject to conditions, which diminish the value of the transaction and discourage investments. This may limit our shareholders’ ability to benefit from the proceeds of certain proposed asset sales or acquisitions or business combinations, and may limit our shareholders’ ability to benefit from possible premiums connected to a proposed change of control transaction, tender offer or other strategic transactions.

 

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The laws and regulations which we are subject to, such as U.S., EU and other anti-corruption laws, trade controls, economic sanctions and similar laws and regulations in the jurisdictions which we operate, are complex and the regulatory and political regimes under which we operate are volatile. Our failure to comply with the relevant laws and regulations could subject us to civil, criminal and administrative penalties and harm our reputation.

Certain of our operations are subject to U.S., EU and foreign anti-corruption and trade control laws and regulations, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), export controls and economic sanctions programs, including those administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As a result of doing business in foreign countries and with foreign partners, we may be exposed to a heightened risk of violating anti-corruption, export control, and sanctions laws and regulations.

The FCPA prohibits us from providing anything of value to foreign officials for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business or securing any improper business advantage. It also requires us to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect our transactions. As part of our business, we may deal with state-owned business enterprises, the employees of which are considered foreign officials for purposes of the FCPA. Other anti-corruption legislation which we may be required to adhere to, sets out wider prohibitions including against private bribery, which is also relevant to our business.

Economic sanctions and export controls may restrict our ability to conduct business with or in certain jurisdictions, individuals and entities. We are not a U.S. person and are not owned or controlled by one or more U.S. persons. We have in the past engaged in dealings with parties in Cuba, Iran, and Syria, and we have ongoing de minimis activities with parties in Iran and Cuba. We believe that such activities have been conducted in compliance with all applicable sanctions and export controls, and are implementing policies and procedures designed to ensure continued compliance. However, we cannot be certain that these safeguards will be fully effective in the future to ensure compliance, and the scope and reach of U.S. sanctions laws could also change over time.

Violations of anti-corruption, export control and sanctions laws and regulations are punishable by civil penalties, including fines, denial of export privileges, injunctions, asset seizures, debarment from government contracts and revocations or restrictions of licenses, as well as criminal fines and imprisonment. There can be no assurance that all of our employees, consultants, agents or other associated persons will not take actions in violation of these laws and regulations, and that our procedures will effectively prevent us from violating these regulations in every transaction in which we may engage or provide a defense to any alleged violation. In particular, we may be held liable for the actions that our local strategic partners take inside or outside of the United States, even though our partners may not be subject to these laws. Such a violation, even if our policies prohibit it, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to product liability and other claims in the ordinary course of business.

Our business involves risk of product liability claims related to providing incorrect product information at the time of purchase, claims for defective containment solutions which may impair drug efficacy and other claims in the ordinary course of business. Furthermore, there may be product liability risks that are unknown or which become known in the future. We may also face claims raised by our present employees for injury deriving from the lifting and handling of loads and the use of heavy machinery, as well as claims raised by our present and past employees for injury and illness from hazardous substances used or present at certain of our facilities. Substantial, complex or extended litigation on any claim could cause us to incur significant costs and distract our management. For example, lawsuits by governmental authorities, employees, shareholders, suppliers, collaborators, distributors, customers, competitors or others could be very costly and substantially disrupt our business. Our exposure to such claims may increase as we seek to increase the geographic scope of our sourcing and sales activities and to the extent that we expand our manufacturing operations. We maintain insurance policies but we cannot assure you that our insurance coverage will be available in all pending or any future cases brought against us. Furthermore, our ability to recover under any insurance is subject to the terms and conditions

 

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of such insurance, as well as the financial viability of our and such third parties’ insurers, as well as legal enforcement under the local laws governing these arrangements. Insurance coverage in general or coverage for certain types of liabilities, such as product liability in developing markets, may not be readily available for purchase or cost-effective for us to purchase. Furthermore, many of our insurance policies are subject to deductibles and retentions. Accordingly, we could be subject to uninsured and unindemnified future liabilities requiring us to provide additional reserves to address such liabilities. An unfavorable result in a case for which adequate insurance or indemnification is not available could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Occasionally, we are also involved in disputes, litigation and regulatory matters incidental to and in the ordinary course of our business, including employment matters, commercial disputes, government compliance matters, environmental matters, and other matters arising out of the normal conduct of our business. Where merited, we will vigorously defend ourselves in such matters. There can be no assurance that the impact of any pending or future claims will not be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are exposed to credit risk on accounts receivable and certain prepayments made in the normal course of business.

Our average day sales outstanding for 2020 has been approximately 70 days, but a number of customers are pushing for longer payment terms (also offering no recourse discounting solutions). A substantial majority of our outstanding trade receivables are not covered by collateral or credit insurance. In addition, we may make advances to suppliers in the normal course of business. While we have procedures to monitor exposure to credit risk on trade receivables and other current assets, there can be no assurance such procedures will effectively limit our credit risk and avoid losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

We may be required to record a charge to earnings if our goodwill and other amortizable intangible assets or other investments become impaired.

We are required under IFRS to test goodwill for impairment at least annually and to review our goodwill, amortizable intangible assets and other investments, including those acquired through acquisition activity, for impairment when events or changes in circumstance indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable.

Factors that could lead to impairment of goodwill, amortizable intangible assets and other investments, including those acquired through acquisitions, include significant adverse changes in the business climate and actual or projected operating results and declines in the financial condition of our business. We may be required in the future to record additional charges to earnings if our goodwill, amortizable intangible assets or other investments become impaired. Any such charge would adversely impact our financial results.

If relations between China and the United States deteriorate, our business in the United States and China could be materially and adversely affected.

The relationship between China and the United States is subject to periodic tension. Changes in political conditions in the United States and China and changes in the state of China-U.S. relations are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our business. For instance, the U.S. administration has called for substantial changes to trade agreements and imposed significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States, particularly from China. Other countries have responded similarly, with tariffs on goods entering their countries. We currently have facilities and sell products in China and have invested, and expect to continue investing, in the country, and if the Chinese government makes any changes to its laws or policy concerning foreign ownership of companies or assets located within China, or imposes any significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into or out of China, it could have a significant impact on our business and financial results.

 

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If our employees were to engage in a strike or other work stoppage, our business, operating results and financial position could be materially adversely affected.

We employ approximately 4,350 employees, as at March 2021, in multiple jurisdictions (approximately 49% of which based in Italy, 12% based in Mexico, 9% based in Germany, 8% based in Slovakia, 6% based in the U.S., Brazil and Denmark and 4% based in China). A significant portion of our employees in Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Mexico, Denmark and China are covered by collective bargaining arrangements made either at the local or national level in their respective countries. Although we believe that our relations with our employees are satisfactory, no assurance can be given that this will continue. If disputes with our unions arise, or if our workers engage in a strike or other work stoppage, we could incur higher labor costs or experience a significant disruption of operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial position.

We are subject to tax laws, tariffs and potential tax audits in multiple jurisdictions that could affect our financial results.

We are subject to tax laws, tariffs and potential tax audits in multiple jurisdictions. The application and interpretation of these laws in different jurisdictions affect our international operations in complex ways and are subject to change, and some changes may be retroactively applied. Our tax liabilities in the different countries where we operate depend, in part, on transfer pricing and administrative charges among us and our subsidiaries. These arrangements require us to make judgments with which tax authorities may disagree, potentially resulting in the assessment of material additional taxes, penalties, interest or other charges to resolve these issues.

Transactions that we have structured in light of current tax rules could have material and adverse consequences for us if tax rules change. Tax audits, changes in tax laws, their application and interpretation or imposition of any new or increased tariffs, duties and taxes could increase our tax burden and materially and adversely affect our sales, profits and financial condition and could have an adverse effect on our business, net assets, or results of operations. Such factors could also cause us to expend significant time and resources and/or cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.

We are exposed to Italian tax risks related to our multinational operations.

We operate in many different jurisdictions throughout the world, through our group companies. Over recent years, tax laws and practice applicable in various countries have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, particularly with respect to cross-border transactions. Italy has historically implemented a number of domestic provisions— including those implementing EU anti-abuse Directives and OECD principles – aimed at facing tax basis erosion schemes and allocation of income between associated enterprises adopted by multinational groups.

Italian Tax authorities are increasingly scrutinizing multinational groups based on these provisions by also enforcing exchange of information instruments in force with foreign tax authorities.

The combination of the above factors may lead to an increased likelihood of tax audits with respect, among other things, to: (i) tax residence, (ii) permanent establishment, (iii) transfer pricing, (iv) Controlled Foreign Company legislation, (v) taxation of dividends and capital gains derived upon interests held in companies located in low-tax Jurisdictions, (vi) withholding tax application on cross-border payments, and (vii) anti-hybrid mismatches. In any such case, depending on the specific circumstances, tax audits and/or tax litigations with the Italian tax authorities could result in tax liabilities and fines and penalties of significant amounts, which could be in excess of the amounts. We provide for in our financial statements for tax liabilities.

The application of indirect taxes could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The application of indirect taxes, such as sales and use tax, value-added tax, provincial taxes, goods and services tax, business tax and gross receipt tax, to our business is a complex and evolving issue. Significant

 

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judgment is required to evaluate applicable tax obligations. As a result, amounts recorded may be subject to adjustments by the relevant tax authorities. In many cases, the ultimate tax determination is uncertain because it is not clear how new and existing statutes might apply to our business. A number of jurisdictions globally have introduced (or are looking to introduce) additional value added tax (or similar tax) calculation requirements as well as additional reporting, record-keeping, collection and remittance obligations on businesses like ours.

There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our ordinary shares.

A non-U.S. corporation will be a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for any taxable year if either: (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income” for purposes of the PFIC rules or (ii) at least 50% of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. Whether we are treated as a PFIC is a factual determination that is made on an annual basis after the close of each taxable year. This determination will depend on, among other things, the composition of our income and assets, as well as the value of our assets (which generally will be determined by reference to the public price of the Shares, which may fluctuate significantly), from time to time.

Based on the current and anticipated composition of our income, assets and operations and the expected price of the Shares in this offering, we believe we were not a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our most recent taxable year and do not expect to be a PFIC for the current taxable year or for foreseeable future years. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year or for any future taxable year. If we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. investor held Shares, such U.S. investor could be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. See “Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations – Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

We are subject to restrictive covenants under certain financing agreements, which could impair our ability to run our business.

We have in place a number of financing agreements which include covenants (such as negative covenants that would restrict our ability to distribute dividends and exceed certain indebtedness ratios) which may restrict our ability to operate our business. Our failure to comply with these covenants, including as a result of events beyond our control, could result in a default or event of default that could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. For additional information on applicable regulations see “Management Discussion and Analysis—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies or businesses may not fully protect us, and we may face unexpected liabilities.

Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies or businesses require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the company or business before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited, and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. While we are protected by representation and warranties and related indemnification in relation to such acquisitions, these may not be enough to cover our exposure if a significant liability arose in connection with any acquisition agreement. We cannot assure you that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Our business depends on our ability to use and access information systems, and any failure to successfully maintain these systems or implement new systems to handle our changing needs could materially harm our operations.

We depend on standardized procedures and multiple information systems for our operations, customer service and quality and safety procedures. Furthermore, we rely on information technology systems to process, transmit, store and protect electronic information, including confidential customer, supplier, employee or other business information. Through our online platform, we collect and store confidential information that website users provide to us when submitting queries or job applications.

We use commercially available third-party technology solutions, software and software systems with some proprietary configurations. We also store data using third-party cloud services. Our information systems may be subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches, vandalism, catastrophic events, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, hackers and other security issues as well as human error. If our information systems are damaged, fail to work properly or otherwise become unavailable, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, and we may experience a loss of critical information, customer disruption and interruptions or delays in our ability to perform essential functions and implement new and innovative services. If the cloud service providers we use were to experience unplanned downtime, delays or other issues delivering data to our information technology systems, including due to increased usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, it could adversely impact business operations. The compromising of our information systems or those with which we interact could harm our reputation and expose us to regulatory actions and claims from customers and other persons, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we may not have the necessary resources to enhance existing information systems or implement new systems where necessary to handle our increasing volume and/or our changing needs, and we may experience unanticipated delays, complications and expenses in implementing and integrating our systems. Any interruptions in operations would adversely affect our ability to properly allocate resources and timely deliver our products, which could result in customer dissatisfaction. We currently rely on certain legacy systems that are no longer supported by their respective manufacturers, with only a small number of current employees able to maintain these systems. Any failure of these systems could have a business impact. The failure to successfully implement and maintain information systems could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain new business, retain existing business and maintain or increase our sales and profit margins, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Cyber security risks and the failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our computer hardware, software and internet applications and related tools and functions, could result in damage to our reputation, data integrity and/or subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits under data privacy or other laws or contractual requirements.

The integrity and protection of the data we hold is critical to our business. The regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve. Implementing and maintaining compliance with applicable security and privacy regulations may increase our operating costs and/or adversely impact our ability to market our products and services to customers. Although our computer and communications hardware are protected through physical and software safeguards, they are still vulnerable to fire, storm, flood, power loss, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, physical or software break-ins, software viruses and similar events. These events could lead to the unauthorized access, disclosure and use of non-public information. We could be subject to risks caused by misappropriation, misuse, leakage, falsification, system malfunction or intentional or accidental release or loss of information maintained in our information systems and networks and those of our OEM suppliers, including our cloud service providers. The techniques used by criminal elements to attack computer systems are sophisticated, change frequently and may originate from less regulated and remote areas of the world. As a result, we may not be able to address these

 

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threats proactively or implement adequate preventative measures. If our computer systems are compromised, we could be subject to fines, damages, litigation and enforcement actions, and we could lose trade secrets, the occurrence of which could harm our business.

If we are unable to maintain reliable information technology systems and appropriate controls with respect to global data privacy and security requirements and prevent data breaches, we may suffer regulatory consequences in addition to business consequences. The European Union and the United Kingdom have adopted comprehensive data protection and security laws. The European Union’s Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), or the GDPR, which became effective in May 2018, as supplemented by national laws, and the UK GDPR (collectively, Applicable Data Protection Laws) impose strict requirements on controllers and processors of personal data in the European Economic Area, or EEA and the United Kingdom, including, for example, higher standards for obtaining consent from individuals to process their personal data, more robust disclosures to individuals and a strengthened individual data rights regime and shortened timelines for data breach notifications. Applicable Data Protection Laws create new compliance obligations and increase financial penalties for noncompliance (including possible fines of up to 4% of global annual revenues for the preceding financial year or €20 million, or £17.5 million in the UK, (whichever is higher) for the most serious violations). Data privacy laws in the European Union and the United Kingdom are developing rapidly and, as a consequence of Brexit, the UK will be free to diverge from European Union data privacy laws. We may therefore be subject in the future to separate and additional data protection obligations to those that we are already subject to. This may result in additional costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which in turn may compromise our growth strategy and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposures, financial condition and results of operations. In recent years, the United States and European lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern over electronic marketing and the use of third-party cookies, web beacons and similar technology for online behavioral advertising. In the European Union, marketing is defined broadly to include any promotional material and the rules specifically on e-marketing are currently set out in the ePrivacy Directive which will be replaced by a new ePrivacy Regulation. While the ePrivacy Regulation was originally intended to be adopted on May 25, 2018 (alongside the GDPR), it is still going through the European legislative process. The current draft of the ePrivacy Regulation imposes strict opt-in e-marketing rules with limited exceptions for business to business communications and significantly increases fining powers to the same levels as the GDPR. The UK has implemented the ePrivacy Directive into national law through the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003, however it is unclear whether the UK will align itself to the ePrivacy Regulation, once implemented. This again introduces the possibility we will be subject to, and required to comply with, a separate and additional legal regime with respect to data privacy, which may result in additional costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which in turn may compromise our growth strategy and otherwise adversely affect our business, reputation, legal exposures, financial condition and results of operations.

There are also numerous U.S. federal and state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. Although we take measures to protect data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or viruses or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other malicious or inadvertent disruptions. Any such breach or interruption could compromise our networks, and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, manipulated, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, breach or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings and liability under federal or state laws that protect the privacy of personal information and may result in regulatory penalties.

Additionally, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (along with its implementing regulations) (the “GLBA”) restricts certain collection, processing, storage, use and disclosure by covered companies of certain personal information, requires notice to individuals of privacy practices and provides individuals with certain rights to prevent the use and disclosure of certain non-public or otherwise legally protected information. The

 

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GLBA also imposes requirements regarding the safeguarding and proper destruction of personal information through the issuance of data security standards or guidelines. In addition, many U.S. states in which we operate now or may operate in the future have laws that protect the privacy and security of sensitive and personal information. Certain U.S. state laws may be more stringent or broader in scope, or offer greater individual rights, with respect to sensitive and personal information than federal, international or other state laws, and such laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts. State laws are changing rapidly, and there is discussion in the U.S. Congress of a new federal data protection and privacy law to which we may be subject.

We are also reliant on certain manual processes for collecting and processing data, and any failures in these processes or failure to handle the data collected in accordance with relevant regulations could lead to enforcement actions. Complying with all applicable laws, regulations, standards and obligations relating to data privacy, security and transfers may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to modify our data processing practices and processes. Government enforcement actions can be costly and interrupt the regular operation of our business, and data breaches or violations of data privacy laws can result in significant fines, reputational damage and civil lawsuits, any of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to respond quickly or effectively to regulatory, legislative and other developments, and these changes may in turn impair our ability to commercialize our products or increase our cost of doing business. In addition, if our practices are not consistent or viewed as not consistent with legal and regulatory requirements, including changes in laws, regulations and standards or new interpretations or applications of existing laws, regulations and standards, we may become subject to audits, inquiries, whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, loss of export privileges, severe criminal or civil sanctions or reputational damage. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The uncertain effects of climate change and potential climate change legislation could lead to business interruption, significantly increased costs and/or other adverse consequences to our business.

Climate change and potential climate change legislation may present risks to our operations, including business interruption, significantly increased costs and/or other adverse consequences to our business. Some of the potential impacts of climate change to our business include physical risks to our facilities, water and energy supply limitations or interruptions, disruptions to our supply chain and impairment of other resources. In addition, if legislation or regulations are enacted or promulgated in the U.S., Europe or Asia or any other jurisdictions in which we do business that limit or reduce allowable greenhouse gas emissions and other emissions, such restrictions could have a significant effect on our operating and financial decisions, including those involving capital expenditures to reduce emissions, and our results of operations. Our manufacturing operations may not be able to operate as planned if we are not able to comply with new legal and regulatory legislation around climate change, or it may become too costly to operate in a profitable manner. Additionally, suppliers’ added expenses could be passed on to us in the form of higher prices and we may not be able to pass on such expenses to our customers through price increases.

Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property

Our trade secrets may be misappropriated or disclosed, and confidentiality agreements with directors, employees and third parties may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and protect other proprietary information.

In addition to registered intellectual property rights, we rely on trade secrets and confidential know-how to protect our technology, especially because we believe that patent protection alone would not be sufficient to protect our business. However, trade secrets and confidential know-how are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets and confidential know-how used by our licensors, collaborators and suppliers.

 

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To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our usual practice is to require our directors, employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with us prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. Moreover, we put in place appropriate procedures to identify confidential material and restrict access to documentation. However, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, we have entered into, and may in the future enter into additional, collaborations with our competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known to our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets and/or confidential know-how is expensive, time consuming and the outcome is unpredictable, and the enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Moreover, if any of our trade secrets and confidential know-how were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us. In some cases, we have entered into joint development agreements with our competitors that necessitate the sharing of certain trade secrets with these competitors. Given that our competitive position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s knowledge of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure could impair our competitive position and may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology, products and potential products, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

Our success depends in part on our ability to secure and maintain patent protection with respect to our technology, current products and potential products, and any future potential products and technology we may develop. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing or collaborating with our licensors to file patent applications related to our proprietary technologies, products and potential products.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time consuming and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, defend, enforce or license all necessary or desirable patents at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner in all desirable jurisdictions. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors or other third parties from developing and commercializing competitive products in all such fields and jurisdictions.

It is possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output or fail to take the necessary steps to seek patent protection before it is too late to obtain patent protection. We may not have the right to control the preparation, filing, and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the rights to patents licensed from third parties. Therefore, these patents and patent applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our relevant proprietary products and technology, including current products, potential products, and any future potential products we may develop, in whole or in part. Our existing patents may have issued with claims that fail to cover our relevant proprietary products and technology, including current products, potential products and any future potential products we may develop, in whole or in part. In addition, our existing patents and any future patents we obtain may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from using our technology or from developing competing products and technologies. Patents may not be granted for a number of reasons, including known or unknown prior art, deficiencies in the patent application or the lack of novelty or the underlying invention or technology. In addition, publications of discoveries in scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in certain jurisdictions are not published until 18 months after filing or in some cases, at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make or file the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications.

 

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Even if patents do successfully issue and even if such patents cover our current products, current potential products and any future potential products we may develop, third parties may challenge their validity, ownership, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable or circumvented. We may become involved in proceedings challenging our owned or licensed patent rights, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or could limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology, products and potential products. Such proceedings also may result in substantial costs and require significant time from our management and employees, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. In addition, the issuance of a patent does not give us the right to practice the patented invention. Third parties may have blocking patents that could prevent us from marketing our products, if approved, or practicing our own patented technology. Our competitors may also be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative potential products in a non-infringing manner.

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We depend in part on proprietary technology licensed from others. If we lose our existing licenses or are unable to acquire or license additional proprietary rights from third parties, we may not be able to continue developing our potential products.

We are a party to certain license agreements for certain intellectual property and proprietary technology, and we may enter into additional agreements, including license agreements, with other parties in the future that impose certain obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations to our licensors or any of our other current or future collaborators, our counterparties may have the right to terminate these agreements, in which event we might not be able to develop, manufacture or market any product, potential product or other technology that is covered by these agreements, which could adversely affect the value of the potential product being developed under any such agreement, or we may face claims for monetary damages or other penalties under these agreements. Termination of these agreements or reduction or elimination of our rights under these agreements may result in us having to negotiate new or reinstated agreements with less favorable terms, or cause us to cease or experience significant delays in the development and commercialization of our products, potential products or technologies and, our competitors or other third parties could have the freedom to market products and technologies identical or competitive to ours.

We may rely on third parties from whom we license proprietary technology to file and prosecute patent applications and maintain patents and otherwise protect the intellectual property we license from them. We may have limited control over these activities or any other intellectual property that may be related to our in-licensed intellectual property. We may have limited control over the manner in which our licensors initiate an infringement proceeding against a third-party infringer of the intellectual property rights, or defend certain of the intellectual property that may be licensed to us.

The growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire or in-license additional proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any relevant third-party intellectual property rights that we identify as necessary or important to our business operations. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all, which would harm our business. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our products, potential products or technologies or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could affect what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our diligence, financial or other obligations under the

 

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relevant agreement, or we may face claims for monetary damages or other penalties under these agreements. Moreover, disputes may also arise over the inventorship and ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors or licensees and us and our partners. If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed or any other dispute described above related to our license agreements prevent or impair our ability to use and enforce such intellectual property or maintain our licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected products, potential products or technologies. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Third parties may assert claims against us alleging infringement, misappropriations or other violations of their patents and proprietary rights, or we may need to become involved in lawsuits to defend or enforce our patents, either of which could result in substantial costs or loss of productivity, delay or prevent the development and commercialization of our products and potential products, or prohibit our use of proprietary technology or sale of products.

Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and other technologies without alleged or actual infringement, misappropriation or other violation of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. However, our research, development and commercialization activities may be subject to claims that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate patents or other intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. The various markets in which we operate can be subject to litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. For example, our third-party collaborators may not properly obtain, maintain, enforce or defend our intellectual property or proprietary rights or may use or misappropriate our proprietary information in such a way that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property rights or expose us to potential litigation. Our competitors have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, and may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for or obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use and sell our products. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us.

We may be subject to third-party claims including patent infringement or similar adversarial proceedings or litigation in various jurisdictions. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, and the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the applicable product or potential product unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. Third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies, products and potential products infringes upon these patents. Additionally, because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that our products, potential products or technologies may infringe. If any third-party patents issued from such applications were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our products, potential products or technologies, the holders of any such patents may be able to prohibit our commercialization of the applicable product, potential product or technology until such patent expires or is finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable or unless we obtained a license.

In addition, defending such claims could cause us to incur substantial expenses and, if we fail, could cause us to pay substantial damages if we are found to be infringing a third party’s patent rights. Further, if a patent infringement suit is brought against us, our development, manufacturing or sales activities relating to the product, potential product or technology that is the subject of the suit may be delayed or terminated, as parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief. As a result of patent infringement claims, or in order to avoid potential infringement claims, we may choose to seek, or be required to seek, a license from the third party, which may require payment of substantial royalties or fees, or require us to grant a cross-license under our intellectual property rights. These licenses may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. Even if a license can be obtained on reasonable terms, the rights may be nonexclusive, which would give our competitors access to

 

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the same intellectual property rights. If we are unable to enter into a license on acceptable terms, we could be prevented from commercializing one or more of our products, potential products or technologies, or forced to modify such products or potential products, or to cease some aspect of our business operations, which could harm our business significantly. We might also be forced to redesign or modify our products, potential products or technologies so that we no longer infringe the third-party intellectual property rights, which may result in significant cost or delay to us, or such redesign or modification could be impossible or technically not viable.

Even if we were ultimately to prevail, any of these events could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business, force us to face negative publicity, adversely impact prospective customers or prohibit us from manufacturing, importing, marketing or otherwise commercializing our products, potential products, services and technology. In addition, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors view these announcements in a negative light, the price of our ordinary shares could be adversely affected. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources, adversely affecting our ability to compete in the marketplace.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful and have an adverse effect on the success of our business.

Competitors or other third parties may infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate our patents or other intellectual property. In addition, our third-party collaborators may use or misappropriate our intellectual property and proprietary information in such a way that could jeopardize our ownership and intellectual property rights. If we or one of our licensors were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or potential products, the defendant could counterclaim that our patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in certain countries, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Third parties may initiate invalidity proceedings even in the absence of infringement proceedings. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements. Interference or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the relevant patent authority may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications. The outcome of proceedings involving assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation is unpredictable.

If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our products, potential products and other technology, which may allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or could require us to obtain license rights from the prevailing party in order to be able to manufacture or commercialize our products, potential products or technologies without infringing third-party patent rights. Even if a defendant does not prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, our patent claims may be construed in a manner that would limit our ability to enforce such claims against the defendant and others. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights. Even if we were to successfully assert our patents or other intellectual property rights, or to settle at an early stage, such litigation could burden us with substantial unanticipated costs or a court may not award remedies that sufficiently compensate us for our losses. The impact of public announcements of the results of hearings related to such awards on our business may be uncertain. Our patents and other intellectual property rights also will not protect our technology, products and potential products if competitors design around our protected technology, products and potential products without infringing our patents or other intellectual property rights.

 

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Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

We rely on external law firms, their extended network of partners worldwide and their internal check procedures for patent maintenance and prosecution. In the event that we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our products and potential products or if we or our licensors otherwise allow our patents or patent applications to be abandoned or lapse, it could create opportunities for competitors to enter the market, which would hurt our competitive position and could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our products.

We enjoy only limited geographical protection with respect to certain patents, and we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents covering our technology, products and potential products in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and even in countries where we have sought protection for our intellectual property, such protection can be less extensive than those in Europe and the United States. Competitors may use our and our licensors’ technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection or licensed patents to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we and our licensors have patent protection, but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the European Union or the United States. These products may compete with our products, and our or our licensors’ patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many jurisdictions have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many jurisdictions limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these jurisdictions, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patents. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be adversely impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The legal system in certain foreign jurisdictions, particularly those in certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection. Proceedings to enforce our patent and other intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents and other intellectual property rights at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, independent contractors or collaborators have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of their former employers or other third parties, and we may be subject to claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

We do and may employ individuals who were previously employed at universities or other life sciences companies, including our licensors, competitors or potential competitors. Although we seek to protect our ownership of intellectual property rights by ensuring that our agreements with our employees, consultants, collaborators, independent contractors and other third parties with whom we do business include provisions requiring such parties to assign rights in inventions to us and to not use the know-how or confidential information of their former employer or other third parties, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants, collaborators or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed

 

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know-how or confidential information of their former employers or other third parties, or that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims, and if we fail, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable personnel or intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property, which could result in customers seeking other sources for the technology, or ceasing from doing business with us. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our reputation, our ability to form strategic alliances, engage with scientific advisors or hire employees or consultants, any of which could adversely affect our business, including in terms of substantial cost, reputational loss and/or a distraction to our management and other employees.

If conflicts arise between us and our collaborators or strategic partners, these parties may act in a manner adverse to us and could limit our ability to implement our strategies and protect our intellectual property rights.

If conflicts arise between our corporate or academic collaborators or strategic partners and us, the other party may act in a manner adverse to us and could limit our ability to implement our strategies and protect our intellectual property rights. Our collaborators or strategic partners may have or may, in the future, develop, either alone or with others, products in related fields that are competitive with the products we have or may develop. In addition, our collaborators or strategic partners may use our intellectual property and proprietary information in such a way that could jeopardize our ownership and intellectual property rights. Competing products, either developed by the collaborators or strategic partners or to which the collaborators or strategic partners have rights, may result in the withdrawal of partner support for our products.

Our collaborators or strategic partners also could preclude us from entering into collaborations with their competitors, fail to obtain timely regulatory approvals, terminate their agreements with us prematurely, fail to devote sufficient resources to the development and commercialization of products, use our intellectual property and proprietary information in such a way that could jeopardize our ownership and intellectual property rights, or merge with or be acquired by a third party who may do any of these things. Any of the foregoing could harm our development and commercialization efforts and materially adversely affect our business.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

Although we currently own trademark registrations and have trademark applications pending, it may be possible that some trademarks may be the subject of a governmental or third-party objection, which could prevent the registration or maintenance of the same. We cannot assure you that any currently pending trademark applications or any trademark applications we may file in the future will be approved. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining trademark protection for our primary brands, we may be required to change our brand names; additionally, if competitors try to adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, this might impede our ability to build brand identity and possibly lead to market confusion, adversely affecting our business in the long-term. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our unregistered trademarks or trade names. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Shares and this Offering

The price of our ordinary shares may be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control.

The initial public offering price for the ordinary shares was determined through negotiations between the underwriters and us, and may vary from the market price of our ordinary shares following this offering. If you

 

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purchase our ordinary shares in this offering, you may not be able to resell those ordinary shares at or above the initial public offering price. The market price of our ordinary shares may fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors, including:

 

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operating results that vary from our financial guidance or the expectations of securities analysts and investors;

 

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the financial performance of the major end markets that we target;

 

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our voting control is concentrated;

 

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the operating and securities price performance of companies that investors consider to be comparable to us;

 

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announcements of strategic developments, acquisitions and other material events by us or our competitors;

 

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failure to meet or exceed financial estimates and projections of the investment community or that we provide to the public;

 

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issuance of new or updated research or reports by securities analysts;

 

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changes in government regulations;

 

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financing or other corporate transactions;

 

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the loss of any of our key personnel;

 

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sales of our shares by us, our executive officers and board members, holders of our shares or other shareholders in the future;

 

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price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole; and

 

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other events and factors, many of which are beyond our control.

These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our ordinary shares to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their ordinary shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our ordinary shares. In addition, the stock market in general, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. In the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the issuer. If any of the holders of our ordinary shares were to bring such a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit and the attention of our senior management would be diverted from the operation of our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

The dual class structure of our shares may adversely affect the value and trading market for the ordinary shares.

Our shares carry different voting rights depending on their class. Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class A shares (held solely by the Selling Shareholder or held in treasury by the Company) are entitled to three votes per share. Under no circumstances the ordinary shares can be converted into Class A shares. We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price for our ordinary shares or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers such as S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. In addition, several stockholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our

 

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shares may cause stockholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary regarding our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices or any actions or publications by stockholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices could adversely affect the value and trading market for our ordinary shares.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, the price of our ordinary shares and our trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us and our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us. If no or not enough securities or industry analysts commence coverage on us, the trading price for our ordinary shares would likely be negatively affected. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ordinary shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ordinary shares could decrease, which might cause the price of our ordinary shares and trading volume to decline.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general working capital and corporate purposes, including enable us to satisfy the requirements of our investing activities and working capital needs and ensure an appropriate level of operating and strategic flexibility. Generally, we intend to use part of the proceeds to further expand our manufacturing facilities in Piombino Dese (Italy), establish new greenfield plants for EZ-Fill^® products, with strong focus on biologics and vaccines, in Indiana (U.S.) and Zhangjiagang (China) (focusing also on engineering), and pursue strategic acquisitions to broaden our offering, our technical know-how and our international footprint. However, as our business needs continue to evolve, our intended use of proceeds may vary accordingly. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our ordinary shares. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses or cause the price of our ordinary shares to decline. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

Our voting control is concentrated.

Stevanato Holding S.r.l., our controlling shareholder and holding company of the Stevanato family, exercises a significant majority of the voting power with respect to our outstanding shares because of the multiple voting shares that it holds. Class A Shares are entitled to three votes per share, and ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share. Upon completion of the offering, Stevanato Holding S.r.l. may hold 82.97% to 83.69% of the voting rights of the Company, depending on whether and the extent to which the overallotment option in connection with the offering is exercised. Excluding treasury shares (which voting right is suspended), Stevanato Holding S.r.l. may hold 93.53% to 94.35% of the voting rights of the Company, depending on whether and the extent to which the overallotment option in connection with the offering is exercised.

As a result, the Company qualifies as a “controlled company” pursuant to the NYSE listing rules and, therefore, Stevanato Holding S.r.l. potentially has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our shareholders for approval, including the election and removal of directors and any arrangement or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could delay, defer or prevent a change of control, arrangement or merger or sale of all or substantially all of our assets that our other shareholders may support. Conversely, this concentrated control could allow the holder of the class A multiple voting shares to consummate a transaction that our other shareholders do not support. In addition, the holder of the class A multiple voting shares may make long-term strategic investment decisions and take risks that may not be successful and/or may seriously harm our business.

 

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Future sales, or the possibility of future sales, of a substantial number of our shares could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.

Future sales of a substantial number of our shares, or the perception that such sales will occur, could cause a decline in the market price of our ordinary shares.

Upon completion of this offering, we will have ordinary shares outstanding. The ordinary shares offered in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for any of our shares that may be held or acquired by our directors, executive officers and other affiliates, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, which will be restricted securities under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may not be sold in the public market unless the sale is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available.

We, our executive officers, directors and substantially all of our shareholders, including the Selling Shareholder, have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, with the underwriters not to directly or indirectly sell, offer, contract or grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open “put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act; or otherwise dispose of any shares, options or warrants to acquire shares, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially; or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of the underwriters.

All of our shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus may be sold in the public market by existing shareholders 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to applicable limitations imposed under federal securities laws. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our Shares after this offering.

In the future, we may also issue our securities if we need to raise capital in connection with a capital raise or acquisition. The amount of securities issued in connection with a capital raise or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares.

The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.

We are incorporated as a joint stock company (società per azioni) under Italian law. The rights of holders of our shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of shares, are governed by Italian law, including certain provisions of the Italian Civil Code (the “Italian Civil Code”) and by our articles of association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations. See “Description of Share Capital—Differences in Corporate Law” in this prospectus for a description of the principal differences between the provisions of the Italian Civil Code applicable to companies that are listed on a regulated market (società che fannno ricorso al mercato del capitale di rischio) and, for example, the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to shareholders’ rights and protections.

Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.

We are incorporated under Italian law. Most of our assets are located outside the United States. The majority of our management and board of directors reside outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against them or us, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.

No assurance can be given that we will continue to pay or declare dividends.

We have historically paid dividends during the last three years. However, there can be no assurance that we will pay or declare dividends in the future. The actual declaration and payment of future dividends, the amount of

 

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any such dividends, and the establishment of record and payment dates, if any, are subject to determination by our Board of Directors each quarter after its review of the current strategy, applicable debt covenants and financial performance and position, among other things. Our declaration and payment of future dividends is subject to risks and uncertainties, including: deterioration of our financial performance or position; inability to declare a dividend in compliance with applicable laws or debt covenants; an increase in our cash needs or decrease in available cash; and the business judgment of the board of directors that a declaration of a dividend is not in our best interest.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the Exchange Act, we are permitted to file less information with the SEC than domestic companies, and we will be permitted to follow home country practice in lieu of the listing requirements of NYSE, subject to certain exceptions. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for issuers that are not foreign private issuers.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act, including certain disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act, our board of directors, officers and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act but are not foreign private issuers. Foreign private issuers are also not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material non-public information. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning us than there is for companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act but are not foreign private issuers, and such information may not be provided as promptly as it is provided by such companies.

The NYSE corporate governance rules require listed companies to have, among other things, a majority of independent board members and independent director oversight of executive compensation, nomination of directors and corporate governance matters. As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to, and we will, follow home country practice in lieu of the above requirements. As long as we rely on the foreign private issuer exemption to certain of the NYSE corporate governance standards, a majority of the directors on our board of directors are not required to be independent directors, our remuneration committee is not required to be comprised entirely of independent directors and we will not be required to have a nomination committee. Therefore, our board of directors approach to governance may be different from that of a board of directors consisting of a majority of independent directors, and, as a result, the management oversight of our Company may be more limited than if we were subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Accordingly, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all NYSE corporate governance requirements.

We are an “emerging growth company” and it cannot be excluded that the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make the ordinary shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we are only required to provide two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related selected financial data and management discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations disclosure. In addition, we are not required to obtain auditor attestation of our reporting on internal control over financial reporting, have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and are not required to hold non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation. In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of these accounting standards until they would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of such extended transition period. We cannot predict whether investors will find our ordinary shares to be less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our ordinary shares to be less

 

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attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ordinary shares and the price of our ordinary shares may be more volatile.

We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.

As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer and, therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2022. We would lose our foreign private issuer status if, for example, more than 50% of our shares were held by U.S. residents, and more than 50% of our total assets are located in the United States as of June 30, 2021. If we lose our foreign private issuer status on this date, we will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms beginning on January 1, 2023, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We will also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the listing rules of the NYSE. As a U.S. listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we will not incur as a foreign private issuer, and accounting, reporting and other expenses in order to maintain a listing on a U.S. securities exchange. These expenses will relate to, among other things, the obligation to present our financial information in accordance with U.S. GAAP in the future.

The obligations associated with being a public company will require significant resources and management attention.

As a public company in the United States, we will incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. We will become subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase the demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business, financial condition and results of operations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Furthermore, the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a public company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a public company. In addition, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage, and our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance

 

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practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

For as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404(b)”). We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company” and “Prospectus Summary—Foreign Private Issuer Status.” Furthermore, after the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will only be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting depending on our filer status. Even if our management concludes that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may still decline to attest to our management’s assessment or may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, in connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. Failure to comply with Section 404 could subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanctions, impair our ability to raise revenue, cause investors to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and negatively affect the price of our ordinary shares.

There is no existing market for our ordinary shares, and we do not know if one will develop to provide you with adequate liquidity.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our Company will lead to the development of an active trading market on NYSE or otherwise or how liquid that market might become. If an active trading market does not develop, you may have difficulty selling any of our ordinary shares that you purchase, and the value of such ordinary shares might be materially impaired. The initial public offering price for our Shares will be determined by negotiations between us and the representative of the several underwriters and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. Consequently, you may not be able to sell your ordinary shares at prices equal to or greater than the price you paid in this offering.

If you purchase ordinary shares in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of your investment.

The initial public offering price of our ordinary shares is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share. Therefore, if you purchase our ordinary shares in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering. Based on the initial public offering price of $22.50 per share, you will experience immediate dilution of $19.50 per share, representing the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering at the initial public offering price. See “Dilution” for more detail.

We may need to raise additional funds to finance our future capital needs, which may dilute the value of our outstanding shares or prevent us from growing our business.

We may need to raise additional funds to finance our existing and future capital needs. If we raise additional funds through the sale of equity securities, we may issue such additional shares at a discount to the trending price

 

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of our shares, which may dilute the value of our outstanding shares. We may also decide to issue securities, including debt securities that have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our shares. Any debt financing would increase our level of indebtedness and could negatively affect our liquidity and restrict our operations. We also can provide no assurances that the funds we raise will be sufficient to finance our existing indebtedness. We may be unable to raise additional funds on terms favorable to us or at all. If financing is not available or is not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our future needs. This may prevent us from increasing our market share, capitalizing on new business opportunities or remaining competitive in our industry.

If we fail to comply with requirements relating to being a public company in the United States when obligated to do so, our business could be harmed and our ordinary shares price could decline.

Prior to this offering, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other relevant resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. Neither we nor our registered public accounting firm have performed an assessment or audit, respectively, of our internal control over financial reporting during any period in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and it is possible that, had we and our registered public accounting firm performed an assessment or audit, respectively, of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, significant deficiencies and/or material weaknesses which have been identified. The continued presence of material weaknesses and/or significant deficiencies in any future financial reporting periods could result in financial statement errors that, in turn, could lead to errors in our financial reports, delays in our financial reporting, and that could require us to restate our operating results, or our auditors may be required to issue a qualified audit report, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our ordinary shares could be materially and adversely affected. We might also not identify one or more material weaknesses and/or significant deficiencies in our internal controls in connection with evaluating our compliance with Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404(a)”), which requires that beginning with our second annual report following our initial public offering, management assess and report annually on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Although Section 404(b) requires our independent registered public accounting firm to issue an annual report that addresses the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, we have opted to rely on the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act, and consequently will not be required to comply with SEC rules that implement Section 404(b) until such time as we are no longer an EGC. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company” and “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer”. Furthermore, after the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will only be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting depending on our filer status. Even if our management concludes that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may still decline to attest to our management’s assessment or may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us.

We expect our first Section 404(a) assessment to be required in connection with our annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

In order to achieve and maintain compliance with the requirements of Section 404(a), we will need to expend significant resources and provide significant management oversight. Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training of our directors and employees, entail substantial costs in order to modify our existing accounting systems, take a significant period of time to complete and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls.

If either we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting or, at the appropriate time, our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified

 

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report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as required by Section 404(b), investors may lose confidence in our operating results, the price of our ordinary shares could decline, and we may be subject to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. In addition, if we are unable to meet the requirements of Section 404, we may not be able to remain listed on the NYSE.

 

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NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical or present facts or conditions. These forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” These statements relate to events that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those listed under “Risk Factors,” which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

In some cases, these forward-looking statements which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “may,” “should,” “expect” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

•

our future financial performance, including our revenue, operating expenses and our ability to maintain profitability;

 

•

our expectations regarding the development of our industry and the competitive environment in which we operate;

 

•

our goals and strategies; and

 

•

our proposed use of proceeds.

The forward-looking statements in this document are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including, without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions are reasonable, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies that are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere in this prospectus, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include:

 

•

our product offerings are highly complex, and, if our products do not satisfy applicable quality criteria, specifications and performance standards, we could experience lost sales, delayed or reduced market acceptance of our products, increased costs and damage to our reputation;

 

•

we must develop new products and enhance existing products, adapt to significant technological and innovative changes and respond to introductions of new products by competitors to remain competitive;

 

•

our backlog might not accurately predict our future revenue, and we might not realize all or any part of the anticipated revenue reflected in our backlog;

 

•

if we fail to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected;

 

•

we are highly dependent on our management and employees. Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees that we need to support our business and our intended future growth;

 

•

our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon maintaining our relationships with suppliers and service providers;

 

55

•

our business, financial condition and results of operations depend upon the availability and price of high-quality materials and energy supply and our ability to contain production costs;

 

•

significant interruptions in our operations could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

•

our manufacturing facilities are subject to operating hazards which may lead to production curtailments or shutdowns and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows;

 

•

our business may be harmed if our customers discontinue or spend less on research, development, production or other scientific endeavors;

 

•

we may face significant competition in implementing our strategies for revenue growth in light of actions taken by our competitors; and

 

•

any other risk we mention in the section “Risk Factors.”

We caution readers of this registration statement not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as at their dates. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of these factors. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $591.7 million (€495.6 million), assuming an offering price of $22.50 (€18.84) per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 4,200,000 additional shares from us. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares from us, we estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately $682.2 million (€571.3 million), assuming an offering price of $22.50 (€18.84) per share, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Each $1.00 (€0.8375) increase or decrease in the assumed offering price of $22.50 per share would increase or decrease our net proceeds from the offering by $26.8 million (€22.5 million), assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Subject to applicable law, we may also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 in the number of shares offered by us in the offering would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us by approximately $21.5 million (€18.0 million), assuming that the assumed offering price remains the same and after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) increase in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would increase our net proceeds from the offering by $49.3 million (€41.3 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) decrease in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would decrease our net proceeds from the offering by $47.4 million (€39.7 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.

The actual net proceeds payable to us will be adjusted based on the actual number of shares offered by us in the offering, the actual offering price and other terms of the offering determined at pricing.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including enabling us to satisfy the requirements of our investing activities and working capital needs and ensuring an appropriate level of operating and strategic flexibility. In particular, we plan to use part of the proceeds to further expand our manufacturing facilities in Piombino Dese, Italy, establish new greenfield plants for EZ-Fill^® products, with a strong focus on biologics and vaccines, in Indiana (U.S.) and Zhangjiagang (China) (focusing also on engineering), and pursue strategic acquisitions to broaden our offering, our technical know-how and our international footprint. However, as our business needs continue to evolve, our intended use of proceeds may vary accordingly.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not adopted a dividend policy. In the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, we declared and paid dividends of an aggregate of €6,170,000 and €8,900,000 (€6,955,398 in dividends and €1,944,602 in distributable reserve), respectively. On January 20, 2021, we had declared and paid dividends of an aggregate of €11,200,000 out of the distributable reserve (the so called “riserva straordinaria”).

The amount of any future dividend payments we may make will depend on, among other factors, our strategy, future earnings, financial condition, cash flow, working capital requirements, capital expenditures and applicable provisions of our articles of association. Under Italian law, payment of annual dividends by the company is paid out of its distributable profits and available reserves for each relevant year. Dividends are approved by our shareholders at an annual general meeting, which must be convened to approve our annual financial statements within 120 or, under certain circumstances, within 180 days after the end of the financial year to which such financial statements relate. See “Description of Share Capital—Shareholders’ Meetings.”

According to current article 22 of Stevanato Holding’s (our principal shareholder) articles of association, the directors of such company must exercise their voting powers in such a way as to cause a distribution of at least 10% of our net income to our shareholders each year.

The ordinary shares sold in this offering will have the same dividend rights as the other currently outstanding shares and will be entitled to dividends, if any are declared and paid, starting from the year ending December 31, 2021.

We have in place a number of financing agreements which include covenants that would restrict our ability, without the prior consent of the lenders, to distribute dividends if certain debt ratios are exceeded. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Mandatory reserves

The payment of annual dividends is proposed by the board of directors and is subject to the approval by the shareholders at the annual general meeting. Before dividends are paid out of our net income in any year, an amount equal to 5% of such net income must be allocated to the company’s legal reserve until such reserve is equal to at least one-fifth of the nominal value of the company’s issued share capital. If our share capital is reduced as a result of accumulated losses, dividends may not be paid until the share capital is reconstituted or reduced by the same amount as the accumulated losses. Pursuant to articles 2433 et seq. of the Civil Code and article 28 of the articles of association, the board of directors may authorize the distribution of interim dividends, subject to certain limitations.

Repayment and Prescription

Any annual dividends declared by us must be paid in compliance with applicable laws. Shareholders cannot be required to repay dividends that have been paid based on duly approved financial statements, if the shareholders collected such dividends in good faith. Dividends not collected within five years from the date they become payable will be forfeited in the company’s favor and will be added to the reserves.

If the Company pays any dividends, they will be paid in Euro. See “Taxation” for a discussion of certain Italian income tax provisions regarding the taxation of dividends.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of March 31, 2021 on:

 

•

an actual basis, and

 

•

on an adjusted basis to reflect the issuance and sale of 28,000,000 ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and the application of net proceeds from this offering, as described under the section of this prospectus titled “Use of Proceeds”.

You should read this table together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page F-1, as well as the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

		As of March 31, 2021
		Actual (in € millions)				As Adjusted(1) (in € millions)
Cash and cash equivalents			80.2				575.8
Debt
Current debt			66.4				66.4
Non-current debt			262.7				262.7
Total Debt			329.1				329.1
Shareholders’ equity
Shares, with no par value: 272,427,240 actual shares issued and outstanding, 300,427,240 as adjusted shares issued and outstanding			20.0				515.6
Reserves and Retained earnings			282.5				282.5
Net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent			36.6				36.6
Non-controlling interests			(0.3	)			(0.3	)
Total shareholders’ equity			338.7				834.3
Total capitalization			667.8				1,163.4

 

(1)

Each $1.00 (€0.8375) increase or decrease in the assumed offering price of $22.50 per share would increase or decrease our net proceeds from the offering by $26.8 million (€22.5 million), assuming the number of ordinary shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Subject to applicable law, we may also increase or decrease the number of ordinary shares we are offering. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 in the number of shares offered by us in the offering would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us by approximately $21.5 million (€18.0 million), assuming that the assumed offering price remains the same and after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) increase in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would increase our net proceeds from the offering by $49.3 million (€41.3 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) decrease in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would decrease our net proceeds from the offering by $47.4 million (€39.7 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual public offering price, the actual number of ordinary shares offered by us, and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

 

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The number of our shares to be outstanding after this offering is based on total outstanding ordinary shares and Class A shares as of the date of this prospectus.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes or gives effect to:

 

•

no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional ordinary shares from us and the Selling Shareholder in this offering; and

 

•

an initial public offering price of $22.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our ordinary shares, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share immediately following the consummation of this offering.

At March 31, 2021, we had a net tangible book value of €258.6 million ($308.7 million), corresponding to a net tangible book value of €0.95 ($1.13) per share. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing (i) our total assets, excluding intangible assets, less our total liabilities by (ii) the total number of shares outstanding (including ordinary shares and Class A shares).

After giving further effect to our issuance and sale of ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $22.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and our application of the estimated net proceeds from this offering, as described under the section of this prospectus titled “Use of Proceeds”, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 would have been €754.1 million ($900.5 million), or €2.51 ($3.00) per share. This represents an immediate increase of €1.56 ($1.86) in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to existing shareholders and immediate dilution of €16.33 ($19.50) in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors purchasing ordinary shares in this offering. Dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors is determined by subtracting as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the assumed initial public offering price per share paid by new investors.

The following table illustrates this dilution to new investors purchasing ordinary shares in the offering.

 

Assumed initial public offering price						$	22.50
As adjusted net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2021		$	1.13
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to this offering		$	1.86
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering		$	3.00
Dilution per share to new investors in this offering						$	19.50

Each $1.00 (€0.8375) increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share would increase or decrease each of as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $26.8 million (€22.5 million), assuming that the number of Shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. We may also increase or decrease the number of ordinary shares we are offering. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares offered by us would increase or decrease each of as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $21.5 million (€18.0 million), assuming that the assumed public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Each increase of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) increase in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would increase each of as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $49.3 million (€41.3 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares offered by us together with an associated $1.00 (€0.8375) decrease in the assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, would decrease each of as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $47.4 million (€39.7 million), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual public offering price, the actual number of ordinary shares offered by us, and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

 

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If the underwriters were to exercise their option to purchase additional ordinary shares in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering would be $3.25 (€2.72) per share, and the dilution per share to new investors would be $19.25 (€16.12) per share.

The following table summarizes, on the pro forma as adjusted basis described above as of March 31, 2021, the differences between the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration and the average price per share paid by existing shareholders and by investors participating in this offering, at an assumed public offering price of $22.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and before deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.

 

		Shares Purchased								Total Consideration								Average Price Per Share
		Number				Percent				Amount				Percent
Existing shareholders			272,427,240				90.7	%		€	20,002,000				3.7	%		€	0.073
New investors			28,000,000				9.3	%		€	527,625,000				96.3	%		€	18.84
Total			300,427,240				100.0	%		€	547,627,000				100.0	%		€	1.823

If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ordinary shares in full, the following will occur:

 

•

the percentage of our shares held by existing shareholders will decrease to 89.4% of the total number of our shares outstanding after this offering; and

 

•

the percentage of our shares held by new investors will increase to 10.6% of the total number of our shares outstanding after this offering.

The above discussion and tables are based on total ordinary shares and Class A shares outstanding as of March 31, 2021.

In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities may result in further dilution to our shareholders.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly under the “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections. Certain numerical figures set out in this section, including financial data presented in millions and thousands, have been subject to rounding adjustments and, as a result, the totals of the data in this section may vary slightly from the actual arithmetic totals of such information. In addition, as a result of such rounding, the totals of certain financial information presented in tabular form may differ from the information that would have appeared in such totals using the unrounded financial information.

Overview

We are a leading global provider of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries. We deliver an integrated, end-to-end portfolio of products, processes and services that address customer needs across the entire drug life cycle at each of the development, clinical and commercial stages. Our core capabilities in scientific research and development, our commitment to technical innovation and our engineering excellence are central to our ability to offer value added solutions to our clients.

We have secured a leadership position within the drug development and delivery value chain through our investment in research and development and the expansion of our global footprint and capabilities. Over our 70 year history, we have earned a leading reputation for high quality and reliability that has enabled us to become a partner of choice for more than 700 companies globally, including 41 of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies (which comprise all of the top 15) and eight of the top ten in-vitro diagnostic companies, as measured by 2020 revenue, according to data collected by Global Data. We also serve 15 of the top 20 biotechnology companies by market capitalization in the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and over 100 biotechnology customers in total.

Our priority is to provide flexible solutions that preserve the integrity of pharmaceutical products and enable our customers to deliver safe and effective treatments to patients while reducing time to market, total cost of ownership (i.e., logistics, drug product waste, storage and personnel costs) and supply chain risk. We achieve this by developing our products in close collaboration with our customers, leveraging our scientific research capabilities, technical expertise and engineering and manufacturing excellence to meet their quality requirements.

Our solutions are highly integrated with the development, production and commercialization processes of our customers. In addition to manufacturing drug containment and delivery solutions, we provide a full set of services across all stages of drug development, from pre-clinical to clinical and commercialization. We also engineer machinery and equipment for the production of drug containment and delivery systems that can be integrated into both our customers’ and our own manufacturing processes. Our involvement at each stage of a drug’s life cycle, together with the breadth of our offering, enables us to serve as a one-stop-shop for our customers, which we believe represents a significant competitive advantage.

We operate across the healthcare industry and serve some of its fastest growing segments, including biologics, biosimilars, vaccines and molecular diagnostics. As a result of how closely integrated we are in the drug production and delivery supply chain, we are well-positioned to benefit from secular trends within our target industries, such as increases in demand resulting from pharmaceutical innovation, acceleration and expansion of vaccination programs, growth in biologics/biosimilars, self-administration of medicines, aging demographics and increasing quality standards and regulation.

 

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We estimate that our total addressable market, based on our current offering, exceeds $11 billion in terms of revenue generated by all market participants in 2020, and consists of biopharmaceutical injectables and in-vitro diagnostic products. Within each of these markets, we operate in some of the fastest growing segments, including pre-fillable syringes, drug delivery systems, molecular diagnostics and assembly equipment. We believe there are opportunities to further expand our addressable markets, including by targeting (i) complementary containment solutions, (ii) additional delivery systems, (iii) complementary engineering solutions and (iv) aftersales support and services.

We operate our business in two segments:

 

•

Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions, which includes all the products, processes and services developed and provided for the containment and delivery of pharmaceutical and biotechnology drugs and reagents, as well as the production of diagnostic consumables; and

 

•

Engineering, which includes all of the equipment and technologies developed and provided to support the end-to-end pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic manufacturing processes (assembly, visual inspection, packaging and serialization and glass converting).

In the three months ended March 31, 2021, we generated approximately 83% of total sales from our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment and approximately 17% from our Engineering segment, compared to 88% and 12%, respectively, in the three months ended March 31, 2020. Both for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, we generated approximately 85% of total sales from our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment and approximately 15% from our Engineering segment.

We refer to our premium products in the Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment as our “high-value” solutions. “High-value” solutions are wholly owned, internally developed products, processes and services for which we hold intellectual property rights or have strong proprietary know-how, and that are characterized by particular complexity and high performance. Our “high-value” solutions deliver significant benefits to customers in terms of time-to-market and reduced total cost of ownership. Among our key “high-value” solutions is our EZ-Fill^® line of ready-to-fill injectable products, which can be customized to clients’ needs. For additional information on EZ-Fill^® see “Business—Business Segments—Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions— Container Closure Systems (CCS).”

We have nine production plants for manufacturing and assembling pharmaceutical and healthcare products across Europe (Italy, Germany and Slovakia) and the rest of the world (Brazil, China, Mexico and the United States), five plants for the production of machinery and equipment (Italy and Denmark), two sites for analytical services (Italy and the United States) and two commercial offices (Japan and the United States). Our manufacturing facilities in Mexico (serving the U.S. market), China and Brazil are greenfield operations established by us. Our manufacturing facilities in Slovakia, Denmark, Germany and the United States were acquired in strategic transactions over the past 15 years. Our global footprint, together with our proprietary, highly standardized manufacturing systems and processes, allow us to provide quality consistent products and services to our customers in more than 70 countries.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have increased production capacity to support our customers’ efforts to provide a rapid response to COVID-19. In this context, we have been providing: (i) glass vials and syringes to approximately 90% of currently marketed vaccine programs, according to our estimates based on public information (WHO, EMA, FDA); (ii) diagnostic solutions for the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19; (iii) glass forming lines, which are being installed worldwide, to facilitate the distribution of glass bulks and sterile vials and syringes; and (iv) visual inspection systems. COVID-19 has generated increased demand for our products and services, further enabling us to accelerate our growth strategy.

 

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Factors Affecting Our Performance

Our financial condition and results of operations have been, and will continue to be, affected by a number of important factors, including the following:

Increasing Market Share in Growing Markets

We are a key partner to leading companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, serving as one of the preeminent providers of drug containment, drug delivery, diagnostic and engineering solutions to these end markets. The demand for our solutions is driven, in part, by trends affecting the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences markets, such as the aging of the global population, the increasing incidence of chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes), continued innovation in biologic injectables, increasing access to advanced healthcare in developing and transitioning countries, broader demand for vaccine programs, increasing propensity of biotechnology companies to outsource non-core competencies and growth in self-injection systems where the primary container (i.e., glass containers) is integrated into the delivery device. We believe that as a result of our global footprint and deep-rooted cooperation with our customers, we have been and will continue to be able to anticipate such market trends and adapt our products and services offering to benefit from them. Our ability to continue to grow our revenue and increase our market share will depend, in part, on our continued ability to target fast-growing market segments and to introduce new products and technologies more efficiently than our competitors.

Shift in Sales Mix Towards “High-Value” Solutions

We continue to increase our focus on our innovation platform to extend and improve our in-house proprietary product offering. Our “high-value” products generate substantially higher revenues and profits than other containment and delivery solutions. We also believe that “high-value” products will support continued market share expansion in research use markets while enabling us to extend our product offering, through industry partners, to clinical applications. We expect to continue to devote significant resources to increase the proportion of “high-value” solutions we offer by focusing on developing innovative new products, both as part of our existing portfolio and in complementary and adjacent markets.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused both governments and private organizations to implement numerous measures seeking to contain the spread of the virus. These measures impacted and are expected to continue to impact our business and operations in several ways.

Initial short-term impacts of COVID-19 on our production and operational capabilities included: (i) labor absenteeism; (ii) disruptions to production lines; (iii) delays in, and increased costs of, logistics; (iv) short-term drop in sales of certain non-COVID-19 related orders, which were cancelled and or postponed; and (v) increased labor costs in the form of employee bonuses to recognize and reward general efforts during the pandemic.

Despite the initial short-term operational disruption, and the impact that the measures established to respond to the COVID- 19 pandemic had on our ability to carry out business development activities (which we believe may have had an impact on our ability to broaden our customer portfolio in the short-term), sales of syringes and vials to and for vaccination programs globally and visual inspection systems, increased resulting in a revenue growth acceleration. We have been supplying: (i) glass vials and syringes to approximately 90% of currently marketed vaccine programs, according to our estimates based on public information (WHO, EMA, FDA); (ii) plastic diagnostic consumables for the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19; (iii) glass forming lines, which are being installed worldwide, to facilitate the distribution of glass bulks and sterile vials and syringes; and (iv) visual inspection systems. Going forward, we anticipate that demand for syringes, vials and related products and services will remain elevated as the COVID-19 vaccine and treatment roll-out continues globally and, more

 

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generally, as epidemic preparedness, including through new vaccination programs and booster shots, becomes a greater priority going forward. However, there remains uncertainty around the magnitude of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on demand for our solutions.

Maximizing Efficiency in Our Production Processes

Our production costs depend on our ability to maximize efficiency in our production processes. In 2018, we started the implementation of “SG Steps”, an operational excellence program aimed, among other things, at continuously improving the efficiency of our processes. Due to the integrated nature of our business, the “SG Steps” program resulted in an increase in the overall effectiveness of the equipment in our facilities, improved quality and efficiency in our global production processes and reduced delivery time, returns from customers, production scraps and waste. Our ability to maintain low production costs and, as a consequence, increase our profitability, will depend on how successful we are in further maximizing the efficiency of our processes, especially in newly acquired facilities where the “SG Steps” program will need to be implemented.

Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses

We have historically recorded significant selling, general and administrative expenses associated with personnel expenses, expenses for professional services and other expenses, including depreciation and amortization. In recent years, as a result of the implementation of the “SG Steps”, our SG&A expenses have grown at a substantially lower rate than the growth of our revenue.

In 2020, our selling, general and administrative expenses were at 11.9% of our revenue compared to 14.3% in 2019. As a result of operating as a U.S. public company, we expect to incur additional general and administrative costs including expenses related to compliance with U.S. securities and stock exchange rules and regulations, additional insurance expenses, investor relations activities and other administrative and professional services, which may affect our SG&A to revenue ratio in the following financial years. In any given year, our aim is to grow revenue at a higher rate than the growth of our selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding non-recurring items such as expenses incurred in connection with our listing).

Research and Development Expenses

In 2020, our research and development expenses were 2.6% of our revenue, compared to 1.5% in 2019. Expenses in research and new product development are a strategic enabler for our future growth and we expect to continue to make substantial investments in this area in coming years. Through continued spending in our research and development programs, we intend to drive revenue and profit growth through processes that will improve innovation and quality of our existing products, facilitating the shift towards “high-value” products, services and solutions.

Our ability to leverage the significant investments in research and new product development which we made in recent years is critical to our future performance. We will continue to develop (i) containment solutions for innovative biologic drugs, including cell and gene therapies, and (ii) a sustainable pipeline of patient-centric drug delivery systems that support the transition of therapy from hospital to homecare and facilitate patient self-administration.

In the area of containment solutions, the development of new products will be targeted at maintaining the stability, potency and purity of our customers’ products prior to administration. New therapies for diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases are based on large, complex biologic molecules that are extremely sensitive to their storage environment. In the area of drug delivery systems, we will be targeting the development of easy-to-use, accurate, reliable self-injection systems for complex pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. We have developed a portfolio of devices for this market that can be used off-the-shelf or customized to the specific needs of the customer.

 

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We will continue developing new drug delivery systems based on three pillars: patient centricity, sustainability and digitalization, core capabilities to meet our customer’s need for connected health devices. We apply a rigorous “stage&gate” development process, which de-risks our development projects and reduces total development costs. Development timelines for new drug delivery devices typically fall into the range of four to five years to reach the start of initial production.

Key Indicators of Performance and Financial Condition

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We monitor and evaluate our operating and financial performance using several non-GAAP financial measures, including: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, CAPEX and Free Cash Flow. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful and relevant information regarding our performance and improve our ability to assess our financial condition. While similar measures are widely used in the industry in which we operate, the financial measures we use may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies, nor are they intended to be substitutes for measures of financial performance or financial position as prepared in accordance with IFRS.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

EBITDA is defined as net profit before income tax expenses, net financial expenses, including share of profit of associates, amortization and depreciation. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA as adjusted for certain income and costs expected to occur infrequently, and that management considers not reflective of ongoing operational activities of the company. EBITDA is presented to aid management in their analysis of the performance of the Group and to assist in the comparison of our performance with that of our competitors. Adjusted EBITDA is provided in order to present how the underlying business has performed excluding the impact of certain non-recurring items, which may alter the underlying performance and impair comparability of results between periods.

The following table sets forth the calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021 and the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 and provides a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable IFRS measure, Net Profit. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA for a period by total revenue for the same period.

 

		March 31, 2020				March 31, 2021				December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions, except as indicated otherwise)
Net Profit			7.2				36.6				38.7				78.6
Income Taxes			3.6				5.1				16.0				17.7
Finance Income			(5.7	)			(2.0	)			(8.0	)			(14.9	)
Finance Expenses			10.3				3.2				15.3				21.8
Share of Profit of an Associate			0.0				0.0				0.2				(0.1	)
Operating Profit			15.4				42.9				62.2				103.1
Depreciation and Amortization			12.6				12.9				46.2				54.1
EBITDA			28.0				55.9				108.4				157.2
Non-recurring items			0.0				(0.3	)			0.0				3.0
Adjusted EBITDA			28.0				55.6				108.4				160.2
Adjusted EBITDA Margin			20.5	%			28.9	%			20.2	%			24.2	%

 

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Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted Operating profit Margin

Adjusted Operating Profit represents Operating Profit as adjusted for certain income and costs expected to occur infrequently, and that management considers not reflective of ongoing operational activities. Adjusted Operating Profit is provided in order to present how the underlying business has performed excluding the impact of the adjusting items, which may alter the underlying performance and impair comparability of results between the periods.

The following table sets forth the calculation of Adjusted Operating Profit for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021 and the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020. Adjusted Operating Profit margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted Operating Profit for a period by total revenue for the same period.

For further information on Non-recurring items see “General and Administrative Expenses” below.

 

		March 31, 2020				March 31, 2021				December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions, except as indicated otherwise)
Operating Profit			15.4				42.9				62.2				103.1
Non-recurring items			0.0				(0.3	)			0.0				3.0
Adjusted Operating Profit			15.4				42.6				62.2				106.1
Adjusted Operating Profit Margin			11.3	%			22.1	%			11.6	%			16.0	%

CAPEX

Capital Expenditure, or CAPEX, is the sum of investment amounts in tangible fixed assets and intangible assets during the period (excluding right-of-use assets recognized during the period in accordance with IFRS 16 Leases). These investment activities consist of acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets.

The following table sets forth the CAPEX for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020:

 

		March 31, 2021				December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions)
Addition to Property, plants and equipment			18.4				69.3				89.1
Addition to Intangible Assets			0.7				5.9				6.4
CAPEX			19.1				75.2				95.5

See Note 17 “Intangible Assets” and Note 18 “Property, plant and equipment” to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details.

For further information on Capital Expenditure on a paid-out cash basis see “Liquidity and Capital Resources Capital Expenditure” below.

Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities excluding interests paid and received, less investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets on a cash basis.

 

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The following table sets forth the calculation of Free Cash Flow for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020:

 

		March 31, 2020				March 31, 2021				December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions)
Cash Flow from / (used in) Operating Activities			(9.3	)			5.9				42.6				155.7
Interest paid			1.2				1.1				4.7				5.4
Interest received			(0.2	)			(0.1	)			(0.6	)			(0.7	)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment			(24.1	)			(21.7	)			(68.1	)			(89.6	)
Purchase of intangible assets			(0.6	)			(0.7	)			(5.8	)			(6.4	)
Free Cash Flow			(33.0	)			(15.5	)			(27.2	)			64.4

For further information on cash flow see “Liquidity and Capital Resources Operating and Investing Activities” below.

Components of Our Results of Operations

The following discussion sets forth certain components of our statements of operations as well as factors that impact those items.

Results discussed in this section of the prospectus is consolidated according to IFRS accounting principles and therefore does not include Company’s inter-segment items.

Revenue and Segment Reporting

Our revenue is divided into two main segments:

 

(i)

Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions: which includes all the products, processes and services developed and provided for the containment and delivery of pharmaceutical and biotechnology drugs and reagents, as well as the production of diagnostic consumables. This segment is split into two sub-categories:

 

•

“high-value” solutions; and

 

•

other containment and delivery solutions.

 

(ii)   Engineering:

which includes all of the equipment and technologies developed and provided to support the end-to-end biopharmaceutical and diagnostic manufacturing processes (assembly, visual inspection, packaging and serialization and glass converting). We believe operating in this segment differentiates us from our competitors, and enables us to provide integrated end to end solutions, reduce time to market and improve the quality of our products.

Revenue recognized in the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021 amounted to €136.4 million and €192.8 million, respectively, and those recognized for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 amounted to €536.5 million and €662.0 million, respectively.

In the three months ended March 31, 2021, we generated approximately 83% of total sales from our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment and approximately 17% from our Engineering segment, compared to 88% and 12%, respectively, in the three months ended March 31, 2020. Both for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, we generated approximately 85% of total sales from our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment and approximately 15% from our Engineering segment.

 

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Costs and Expenses

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021 amounted to €96.9 million and €127.4 million, respectively, while as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 amounted to €398.5 million and €467.9 million, respectively. Cost of sales primarily consists of the cost of materials, components and labor expense related to the production and distribution of goods and services. Cost of sales also includes depreciation and amortization of €10.6 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, and €38.5 million and €45.3 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

Selling and marketing expenses amounted to €6.3 million and €5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, and to €26.1 million and €20.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. These expenses are mainly related to personnel expenses for our sales organization. They include also depreciation and provision for bad and doubtful debts totalling €1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, and to €4.6 million and €1.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses amounted to €4.0 million and €5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, and to €7.8 million and €17.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. These expenses include costs for research and development activities to support the innovation of our product range and components and amortization of capitalized development costs.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses amounted to €14.2 million and €14.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, and to €50.6 million and €58.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. These expenses include personnel expenses for general and administrative functions, consultancies, directors compensation, rental fees, depreciation and amortization.

 

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Results of Operations

Three months ended March 31, 2020 versus three months ended March 31, 2021

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021.

 

		March 31, 2020				March 31, 2021
		(amounts in € millions)
Revenue			136.4				192.8
Costs of sales			96.9				127.4
Gross Profit			39.5				65.4
Other operating Income			0.2				3.2
Selling and Marketing Expenses			6.2				5.9
Research and Development Expenses			3.9				5.8
General and Administrative Expenses			14.2				14.0
Operating Profit			15.4				42.9
Finance Income			5.7				2.0
Finance Expense			10.3				3.2
Share of Profit of an Associate			—				—
Profit Before Tax			10.8				41.7
Income Taxes			3.6				5.1
Net Profit			7.2				36.6

Revenue

Revenue increased by €56.4 million, or 41.4%, to €192.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €136.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions. Revenue generated by the Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment increased by €40.2 million, or 33.4%, to €160.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, from €120.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Revenue growth for this segment was due to: (i) the increase in sales volumes of our premium priced “high-value” solutions, which grew by €14.7 million, or 48.8%, to €44.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, from €30.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, reflecting our continuing efforts to strategically shift towards a product mix that includes a higher proportion of “high-value” solutions, such as EZ-Fill^® products and “high-value” syringes; and (ii) a general increase in demand for our other containment and delivery solutions, which caused sales to increase by €25.5 million, or 28.2%, to €115.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, from €90.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020. COVID-19 contributed to higher demand for our products, causing a revenue increase which more than offset the decrease in, or slower growth in, sales of products, services and solutions destined to businesses that were closed or less active as a result of COVID-19 business disruptions.

Engineering. Revenue generated by the Engineering segment increased by €16.2 million, or 101.1%, to €32.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, from €16.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

 

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Revenue increase in this segment was amplified by the effects of COVID-19, which caused an increase in sales of visual inspection systems and glass forming lines. The increase was also due to higher sales of assembly and packaging machines.

Revenue Breakdown by Region.

Our ongoing geographic expansion resulted in an increase in sales in all markets where we operate and in particular in a €23.2 million, or 75.2%, increase in North America and a €5.2 million, or 47.9%, increase in APAC, which are our fastest growing markets, and a €26.7 million, or 29.5%, and €1.3 million, or 30.4%, increase in Europe and the South American region, respectively.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales includes mainly raw materials and components, other variable costs, direct and indirect labor, depreciation of property, plant and equipment, utilities and manufacturing overhead.

Cost of sales increased by €30.5 million, or 31.5%, to €127.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €96.9 million for three months ended March 31, 2020. Our overall cost of sales increased less than proportionally compared to our revenues, mainly as a consequence of our continuing efforts to increase efficiency in our production processes. The increase in cost of sales resulted from a general increase in cost of materials and components and direct and indirect personnel costs mainly due to the significant growth of our sales volumes. Cost of sales were also negatively impacted by a €4.0 million provision for a specific risk related to a potential customer claim relating to defective syringes.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased by €25.9 million, or 65.6%, to €65.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €39.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. This increase was mainly driven by our Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment for which gross profit increased significantly due to our continuing efforts to shift towards a product mix that includes a higher proportion of “high-value” solutions and to increase efficiency by better leveraging our installed capacity and fixed expenses. The increase in the Engineering segment gross profit was mainly driven by a substantial growth in sales of vision inspection and glass converting machinery and the adoption of integrated project management systems in our plants which created synergies through the pooling and more efficient utilization of resources across such entities. Gross profit improved also as a result of our greater focus on aftersales activities, which have higher gross profit margins compared to the sale of machinery.

Other Operating Income

Other operating income, which includes all revenue from customers not derived from the sale of our products, services and solutions such as revenue from feasibility studies, design, development and industrialization of new products, increased by €3.0 million to €3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Other operating income represents a minor part of our income and its amount varies yearly depending of the specific business agreements in place. The increase during the three months ended March 31, 2021 mainly accounts for fees collected from customers in connection with purchase orders or cancellation fees related to COVID-19, customers’ contribution for pre-feasibility studies and other grants.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

Selling and marketing expenses decreased by €0.4 million, or 5.8%, to €5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. This decrease, which was due to a reduction in travel, fair and exhibition expenses as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, was partially offset by the increase in personnel expenses due to new hires.

 

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Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses increased by €1.9 million, or 47.4%, to €5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €3.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, mainly in connection with our investments to structure our drug delivery systems department and setting up our new research and development lab in Boston.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were substantially unchanged at €14.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €14.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020. The reduction in personnel expenses (€1.4 million) due to a non-recurring accrual reversal related to cash settled awards under a now terminated stock option plan and the lower travel and business costs (reduced by €0.4 million) were offset by the non-recurring consultancy costs relating to our IPO process (€1.5 million).

Operating Profit

As a result of the foregoing, operating profit increased by €27.6 million, or 179.1%, to €42.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €15.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Net Finance Expenses

Finance expenses, net of finance income, decreased by €3.3 million (or 73.0%) to €1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, from €4.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Finance expense include bank interest on the Group’s financial debt (recalculated using the amortized cost method) and interest on leases, recognized in accordance with IFRS 16—Leases.

Profit Before Tax

Profit before taxes increased by €30.9 million, or 285.5%, to €41.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €10.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Income Taxes

Income taxes increased by €1.6 million, or 43.8%, to €5.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Average tax rate decreased by 20.7%, from 33.05% to 12.33% in the first quarter of 2021. In March 2021, the group reached an agreement with the Italian Tax Authority regarding the applicability of the so called “Patent box regime”, resulting in a retroactive €5.5 million tax saving for the financial years 2016-2020. The normalized effective tax rate without this one-off item is 25.5%.

 

		March 31, 2020				March 31, 2021
		(amounts in € millions)
Income Tax Expenses reported in the statement of profit or loss			3.6				5.1

Net Profit

Net profit increased by €29.3 million, or 404.8%, to €36.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to €7.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

 

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Year ended December 31, 2019 versus year ended December 31, 2020

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020.

 

		December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions)
Revenue			536.5				662.0
Costs of sales			398.5				467.9
Gross Profit			138.0				194.2
Other operating Income			8.7				5.2
Selling and Marketing Expenses			26.1				20.0
Research and Development Expenses			7.8				17.4
General and Administrative Expenses			50.6				58.9
Operating Profit			62.2				103.1
Finance Income			8.0				14.9
Finance Expense			15.3				21.8
Share of Profit of an Associate			(0.2	)			0.1
Profit Before Tax			54.7				96.3
Income Taxes			16.0				17.7
Net Profit			38.7				78.6

Revenue

Revenue increased by €125.5 million, or 23.4%, to €662.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €536.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions. Revenue generated by the Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment increased by €109.9 million, or 24.1%, to €564.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from €455.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2019.

Revenue growth for this segment was due: (i) to the increase in sales volumes of our premium priced “high-value” solutions, which revenue grew by €55.6 million, or 61.3%, to €146.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from €90.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, reflecting our continuing efforts to strategically shift towards a product mix that includes a higher proportion of “high-value” solutions, such as EZ-Fill^® products and “high-value” syringes; and (ii) to a general increase in demand for our other containment and delivery solutions, which caused sales to increase by €54.3 million, or 14.9%, to €418.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from €364.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. COVID-19 contributed to a higher demand for our products, causing a revenue increase which more than offset any decrease in sales of our products to businesses impacted by COVID-19 such as anesthetic, diagnostic, plastic and minor surgeries related businesses.

Engineering. Revenue generated by the Engineering segment, increased by €15.6 million, or 19.1%, to €97.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from €81.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Growth in this segment was driven by higher sales of visual inspection systems, which are utilized widely by companies supplying products and services to address the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth offset the lower increase in sales of assembly equipment and slight decrease in sales of glass forming machines resulting from the inability to travel and logistical difficulties with deliveries and in situ installation due to COVID-19.

 

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Revenue Breakdown by Region. Our revenue grew by €42.5 million, or 32.1%, in North America (which accounted for approximately 27.0% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020), by €11.6 million, or 20.9%, in the APAC region (which accounted for approximately 10.0% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020), and by €75.3 million, or 23.3%, in Europe (which accounted for approximately 60.0% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020) while it decreased slightly by €3.9 million, or 15.2%, in South America (which accounted for approximately 3.0% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020).

Revenue increase in the North America and the APAC regions resulted from our recent international expansion efforts. Since the beginning of 2020, we sought to strengthen our position in the United States by establishing leadership positions dedicated to that region within our organization. In addition, we recorded an increase in orders of “high-value” solutions in the United States by certain key customers, which also contributed to the increase in revenue in that region.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales increased by €69.4 million, or 17.4%, to €467.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to €398.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, mainly due to the cost of materials, components and labor expenses related to the production and distribution of goods and services. Cost of sales increased less than proportionally compared to our revenue, mainly due to our ongoing efforts to maximize efficiency through automation initiatives and reduction of scraps and returns from customers. COVID-19 caused a slight increase in our costs of sales due to the extra bonuses that we paid to our employees to reward work and attendance in the year ended December 31, 2020 and the new hires we made to address the increasing demand for our products and services and to ensure business continuity during the pandemic.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased by €56.2 million, or 40.7%, to €194.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to €138.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was mainly driven by the Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions segment for which gross profit increased significantly due to the increasing proportion of “high-value” solutions sold, the increase in demand for our products and services during the pandemic and a less than proportional increase of our costs.

The increase in the Engineering segment gross profit was mainly driven by the adoption of shared management systems in our subsidiaries which created synergies through the pooling and more efficient utilization of resources across such entities.

Moreover, in 2020 we fully leveraged the capabilities integration among entities acquired in 2016 and newly established plant in Brazil.

Other Operating Income

Other operating income, which includes all revenue from customers not derived from the sale of our products, services and solutions such as revenue from feasibility studies, design, development and industrialization of new products, decreased by €3.5 million, or 40.2%, to €5.2 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 compared to €8.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Other operating income represents a minor part of our income and its amount varies yearly depending of the specific business agreements in place.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

Selling and marketing expenses decreased by €6.1 million, or 23.3%, to €20.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to €26.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. These expenses are mainly related to personnel expenses for our sales organization. They also include depreciation and provisions for bad and doubtful debts of €1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 (€3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019).

 

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The decrease in selling and marketing expenses was mainly due to the reduction in bad debt provision and travel expenses and cancellation of trade fairs as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the decrease in marketing activities and business consultancies.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses increased by €9.6 million, or 122.2%, to €17.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €7.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Such expenses include costs for research and development activities to support the innovation of our product range and components and include amortization of capitalized development costs.

The increase in research and development expenses reflects our strategy to focus on innovation and an increasingly higher mix of premium products and was primarily due to the development of proprietary products and our investments in connection with the continued development of “high-value” drug delivery systems, as well as other “high-value” products, engineering solutions and further investments in our analytical services.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses increased by €8.3 million, or 16.4%, to €58.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €50.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. These expenses mainly comprise personnel expenses for management of the company as well as depreciation and amortization of €5.4 million (compared to €6.1 million in 2019), of which amortization of fair value adjustments from purchase price allocations amounted to €1.0 million (as in 2019).

A material part of the increase (€2.8 million) was related to non-recurring litigation costs arising from a lawsuit brought by Clere BSD GmbH (plaintiff) against Balda AG (defendant), one of the Group’s subsidiaries, in connection with the payment of certain transfer fees for the acquisition of a patent by the defendant, where Clere was awarded €2.8 million. The litigation ended in 2020. The increase is also due to the business growth and the increase in personnel expenses for long-term incentive and cash settled awards.

Operating Profit

As a result of the foregoing, operating profit increased by €40.9 million, or 65.7%, to €103.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €62.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Net Finance Expenses

Finance expenses, net of finance income, decreased by €0.3 million (or 4.4%) to €6.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from €7.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Finance expense include bank interest on the Group’s financial debt (recalculated using the amortized cost method) and interest on leases, recognized in accordance with IFRS 16—Leases.

In 2020, COVID-19 caused fluctuations in the exchange rate of the main currencies we are exposed to (in particular the Mexican pesos) affecting our finance income and expenses.

Profit Before Tax

Profit before taxes increased by €41.6 million, or 76.1%, to €96.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €54.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Income Taxes

Income taxes increased by €1.6 million, or 10.5%, to €17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €16.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

 

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Income taxes

As a global organization, we and our subsidiaries file income tax returns in Italy, the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and other foreign jurisdictions. Deferred taxes are calculated based on the global allocation criteria, taking into account the cumulative amount of all the temporary differences, based on the average expected rates in force when these temporary differences reverse.

Deferred tax assets are recorded if there is reasonable certainty that the temporary differences will reverse in future years against assessable income not lower than the differences that will be reversed.

 

		December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
		(amounts in € millions)
Current Income Tax
Current Taxes			20.5				29.5
Deferred Taxes
Deferred Taxes			(4.5	)			(11.8	)
Income Tax Expenses reported in the statement of profit or loss			16.0				17.7

Current Taxes

Current taxes increased by €9.0 million, or 43.9%, to €29.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €20.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase, due to higher pre-tax profits, was mitigated by the application of the hyper-depreciation (iper ammortamento) provided by the 2017 Italian Budget Law on certain machinery and by a change in the tax regime applicable to our Chinese business (to which a tax rate of 15% instead of 25% is now applicable).

Deferred Taxes

In 2020, we recorded a deferred taxes benefit of €11.8 million, compared to €4.5 million in 2019, mainly in connection with a step-up in the tax value of certain assets.

Income Tax Expenses reported in the statement of profit or loss

In 2020, we recorded income tax expenses reported in the statement of profit or loss of €17.7 million, compared to €16.0 in 2019.

Net Profit

Net profit increased by €39.9 million, or 103.1%, to €78.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to €38.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Since our inception, we have financed our operations mainly through cash generated by our operating activities and debt financing. Our primary requirements for liquidity and capital are to finance capital expenditures, working capital (which is the difference of current assets and current liabilities—net of current financial assets, current financial liabilities, cash and cash equivalents), and general corporate purposes.

Our primary sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents and medium and long-term loans from a number of financial institutions, as described below. For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of €52.3 million and €80.2 million and other current financial assets of

 

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