Park-Ohio Holdings (PKOH) Risk Factors

The markets in which all three of our segments sell their products are highly competitive. Some of our competitors are large companies that have greater financial resources than we have. We believe that the principal competitive factors for our Supply Technologies segment are an approach reflecting long-term business partnership and reliability, sourced product quality and conformity to customer specifications, timeliness of delivery, price and design and engineering capabilities. We believe that the principal competitive factors for our Assembly Components and Engineered Products segments are product quality and conformity to customer specifications, design and engineering capabilities, product development, timeliness of delivery and price. The rapidly evolving nature of the markets in which we compete may attract new entrants as they perceive opportunities, and our competitors may foresee the course of market development more accurately than we do. In addition, our competitors may develop products that are superior to our products or may adapt more quickly than we do to new technologies or evolving customer requirements. We expect competitive pressures in our markets to remain strong. These pressures arise from existing competitors, other companies that may enter our existing or future markets and, in some cases, our customers, which may decide to internally produce items we sell. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully with our competitors. Failure to compete successfully could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We supply products and services to our Supply Technologies customers generally under purchase orders as opposed to long-term contracts. When we do enter into long-term contracts with our Supply Technologies customers, many of them only establish pricing terms and do not obligate our customers to buy required minimum amounts from us or to buy from us exclusively. Accordingly, many of our Supply Technologies customers may decrease the number of products and services that they purchase from us or even stop purchasing from us altogether, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our net sales and profitability.

Our operations are subject to the risks of doing business abroad, including the following: - fluctuations in currency exchange rates;- limitations on ownership and on repatriation of earnings;- transportation delays and interruptions;- political, social and economic instability and disruptions, including the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the middle east, or political unrest, including the rising tension between China and the United States;- potential disruption that could be caused by the partial or complete reconfiguration of the European Union;- government embargoes or foreign trade restrictions;- the imposition of duties and tariffs and other trade barriers;- import and export controls;- labor unrest and current and changing regulatory environments;- the potential for nationalization of enterprises;- disadvantages of competing against companies from countries that are not subject to U.S. laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA");- increasingly complex laws and regulations concerning privacy and data security, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation;- difficulties in staffing and managing multinational operations;- limitations on our ability to enforce legal rights and remedies; and - potentially adverse tax consequences. We are also exposed to risks relating to U.S. policy with respect to companies doing business in foreign jurisdictions. Changes in tax policy, trade regulations or trade agreements, such as the disallowance of tax deductions on imported merchandise or the imposition of new tariffs on imported products, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Our international sales and operations are also sensitive to changes in foreign national priorities, as well as to political and economic instability. For example, our business in the European Union or elsewhere may be impacted by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and any economic or trade sanctions enacted to condemn or counteract any Russian aggression towards or invasion of Ukraine. Any such conflict may also impact our ability to secure raw materials and exacerbate the supply chain disruption we have experienced and further limit our ability to secure certain raw materials or services. Further military action or cyberattacks by Russia to counteract any sanctions may have an impact on demand for our goods and services and adversely impact our results of operation. Our success as a global business will depend, in part, upon our ability to succeed in differing legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions by developing, implementing and maintaining policies and strategies that are effective in each location where we do business. In addition, we could be adversely affected by violations of the FCPA and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws. The FCPA and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. We cannot assure you that our internal controls and procedures always will protect us from the reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. For example, in connection with responding to a subpoena from the staff of the SEC, regarding a third party, we disclosed to the staff that the third party participated in a payment on our behalf to a foreign tax official that implicates the FCPA. If we are found to be liable for FCPA violations (either due to our own acts or our inadvertence or due to the acts or inadvertence of others), we could suffer from criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any of the events enumerated above could have an adverse effect on our operations in the future by reducing the demand for our products and services, decreasing the prices at which we can sell our products or otherwise having an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will continue to operate in compliance with applicable customs, currency exchange control regulations, transfer pricing regulations or any other laws or regulations to which we may be subject. We also cannot assure you that these laws will not be modified.

While we have taken precautions to prevent production and service interruptions at our global facilities, severe weather conditions and other conditions, including those that may be caused by climate change, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes; other natural disasters; or public health issues in areas in which we have manufacturing facilities or from which we obtain products may cause physical damage to our properties, closure of one or more of our business facilities, lack of adequate work force in a market, temporary disruption in the supply of inventory, disruption in the transport of products and utilities, or delays in the delivery of products to our customers. Any of these factors may disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial condition and the results of operations.

Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets, including as a result of a recession, may adversely impact our ability to access credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit to us in the future. These market conditions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities and access the capital necessary to grow and maintain our business. Accordingly, we may be forced to delay raising capital or pay unattractive interest rates, which could increase our interest expense, decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility. Longer-term disruptions in the capital and credit markets as a result of uncertainty, changing or increased regulation, reduced alternatives or failures of significant financial institutions could adversely affect our access to liquidity needed for our business. Any disruption could require us to take measures to conserve cash until the markets stabilize or until alternative credit arrangements or other funding for our business needs can be arranged. Such measures could include deferring capital expenditures and reducing or eliminating future share repurchases or other discretionary uses of cash. Overall, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be materially adversely affected by disruptions in the credit markets.

As of December 31, 2023, Matthew Crawford, our Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President, and Edward Crawford, our former President, collectively beneficially owned approximately 29% of Holdings' outstanding common stock. Mr. M. Crawford is Mr. E. Crawford's son. Their interests could conflict with your interests.

As of December 31, 2023, we had goodwill of $110.2 million. The future occurrence of a potential indicator of impairment, such as a significant adverse change in legal factors or business climate, unanticipated competition, a material negative change in relationships with significant customers, strategic decisions made in response to economic or competitive conditions, loss of key personnel or a more-likely-than-not expectation that a reporting unit or a significant portion of a reporting unit will be sold or disposed of, could result in goodwill impairment charges, which could adversely impact our results of operations. For additional information, see Note 7, Goodwill, to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein.

We have pursued, and may continue to pursue, targeted acquisition opportunities that we believe would complement our business. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in consummating any acquisitions. Any targeted acquisitions will be accompanied by the risks commonly encountered in acquisitions of businesses. We may not successfully overcome these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with any of our acquisitions, including the possible inability to integrate an acquired business' operations, information technology, services and products into our business; diversion of management's attention; the assumption of unknown liabilities; increases in our indebtedness; the failure to achieve the strategic objectives of those acquisitions; and other unanticipated problems, some or all of which could materially and adversely affect us. The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, our activities. Any delays or difficulties encountered in connection with any acquisition and the integration of our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects of our business.

Our businesses expose us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in the design, manufacture and sale of our products and products of third-party vendors that we use or resell. While we currently maintain what we believe to be suitable and adequate product liability insurance, we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our insurance on acceptable terms or that our insurance will provide adequate protection against potential liabilities. In the event of a claim against us, a lack of sufficient insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Moreover, even if we maintain adequate insurance, any successful claim could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We utilize information technology systems in connection with our business operations, including processing orders, managing inventory and accounts receivable collections, purchasing products, maintaining cost-effective operations, routing and re-routing orders. We also depend on our information technology systems to maintain confidential, proprietary and personal information relating to our current, former and prospective employees, customers and other third parties in these systems and in systems of third-party providers who we engage in connection with the processing and storage of certain information. Our information technology systems and those of our third-party providers are subject to disruptions or damage, which may be caused by a wide array of causes, including telecommunications failures, computer failures, power outages, ransomware attacks, computer viruses, cybersecurity incidents and other intrusions, which could result in the disruption of our operations, or information misappropriation, such as theft of intellectual property or inappropriate disclosure of personal and confidential information. In addition, we could also experience data or cybersecurity incidents stemming from the intentional or negligent acts of our employees or other third parties. To the extent our information technology systems or those of our third-party providers are disabled, compromised, or disrupted for a long period of time, key business processes could be interrupted. Any such operational disruptions and/or misappropriation of information, whether in systems we maintain or are maintained by others, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, any such damage, compromise or breach to our systems or those of our vendors, could result in a violation of privacy and other laws, and expose us to significant legal and financial liability. We recognize the ever-present global risk of cyberattacks from diverse threat actors, including nation-states, cybercriminals, hacktivists, insiders and organized crime. In spite of our efforts, we (or third parties we rely on) may not be able to fully, continuously and effectively implement security controls as intended. We utilize a risk-based approach and judgment to determine the security controls to implement, but it is possible we may not implement appropriate controls if we do not recognize or we underestimate a particular risk. In addition, security controls, no matter how well designed or implemented, may only mitigate and not fully eliminate risks. Further, even events that are detected by security tools or third parties may not always be immediately understood or acted upon. While no organization is immune to attack attempts and we cannot eliminate all risks from cybersecurity threats or provide assurance that we have not experienced an undetected cybersecurity incident, in 2023 we did not identify any material cybersecurity events that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition.