Perma-Pipe International Holdings (PPIH) Risk Factors

The Company's ability to meet its strategic and financial goals will depend to a significant extent on the continued contributions of its senior management and key personnel. Future success will also depend in large part on the Company's ability to identify, attract, motivate, effectively utilize and retain highly qualified managerial, sales, marketing and technical personnel. The loss of senior management or other key personnel or the inability to identify, attract and retain qualified personnel in the future could make it more difficult to manage the Company's business and could adversely affect operations and financial results.

The Company may receive defective materials from its vendors that are incorporated into the Company's products during the manufacturing process. The cost to repair, remake or replace defective products could be greater than the amount that can be recovered from the vendor. Such excess costs could have an adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

The Company's business is highly competitive. Some of the Company's competitors are larger and have more resources than the Company. Additionally, many of the Company's products are also subject to competition from alternative technologies and alternative products. In periods of declining demand, the Company's fixed cost structure may limit its ability to cut costs, which may be a competitive disadvantage compared to companies with more flexible cost structures, or may result in reduced operating margins, operating losses and negative cash flows.

International sales represent a significant portion of the Company's total sales. The Company's sales to foreign customers increased to 66.2% in 2021 from 49.8% in 2020. The Company's anticipated growth and profitability may require increasing foreign sales volume and may necessitate further international expansion. The Company's results of operations could be adversely affected by changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies, laws and regulations, other activities of U.S. and non-U.S. governments, agencies and similar organizations, and other factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in a country's or region's economic or political conditions, trade regulations affecting production, pricing and marketing of products, local labor conditions and regulations, reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some countries, changes in the regulatory or legal environment, restrictions on currency exchange activities, burdensome taxes and tariffs and other trade barriers. We cannot predict the impact, if any, changes in foreign policies adopted by the current U.S. administration will have on our business. International risks and uncertainties, including changing social and economic conditions as well as terrorism, political hostilities and war, could lead to reduced international sales and reduced profitability associated with such sales. In addition, these risks can include extraordinarily delayed collections of accounts receivable. Because the Company conducts a significant portion of its business activities in the Middle East, the political and economic events of the countries that comprise the GCC can have a material effect on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. Due to the international scope of the Company's operations, it is subject to a complex system of commercial and trade regulations around the world. Recent years have seen an increase in the development and enforcement of laws regarding trade compliance anti-corruption, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar laws from other countries as well as new regulatory requirements regarding data privacy. The Company's foreign subsidiaries are governed by laws, rules and business practices that differ from those of the United States. If the activities of these entities do not comply with U.S. laws or business practices or the Company's Code of Business Conduct, then violations of these laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, which could disrupt the Company's business, and result in an adverse effect on the Company's reputation, business and results of operations or financial condition. The Company cannot predict the nature, scope, or effect of future regulatory requirements to which its operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.

The Company warrants its products to be free of certain defects. The Company has, from time to time, had claims alleging defects in its products. The Company cannot be certain it will not experience material product liability losses in the future or that it will not incur significant costs to defend such claims. While the Company currently has product liability insurance, the Company cannot be certain that its product liability insurance coverage will be adequate for liabilities that may be incurred in the future or that such coverage will continue to be available to the Company on commercially reasonable terms. Any claims relating to defective products that result in liabilities exceeding the Company's insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations financial position and cash flows.

If the global economy experiences a severe and prolonged downturn, it would likely adversely impact the Company's business. Downturns in such general economic conditions can significantly affect the business of the Company's customers, which in turn affects demand, volume, pricing, and operating margins for the Company's services and products. A downturn in one or more of the Company's significant markets would likely have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Because economic and market conditions vary within the Company's geographic regions, the Company's performance will also vary. In addition, the Company is exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates and commodity prices, including rising steel prices and volatility in oil prices. The Company notes that the current Russian oil and gas boycotts have caused a surge in oil prices which has impacted some of our material and freight costs, adding to upward pressure from global supply chain impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company has experienced and anticipates continuing to experience increased prices for purchasing and shipping raw materials. The Company has updated its pricing to customers to offset the impacts of the raw material price increases.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely restricted the level of economic activity around the world. In response to this COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of many countries, states, cities and other geographic regions, as well as customers and suppliers, have taken preventative or protective actions, such as imposing restrictions on travel and business operations, shutdowns, lockdowns, mask mandates and other measures. Temporary closures of businesses have been ordered and numerous other businesses have temporarily closed voluntarily. These actions may continue to expand in scope, type and impact depending on the ongoing severity of the pandemic. These measures, while intended to protect human life, have had and are expected to continue to have significant adverse impacts on domestic and foreign economies. Currently, the effectiveness of economic stabilization efforts being taken by federal and state government authorities to mitigate the effects of these actions and the spread of COVID-19 is uncertain. This COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and may continue to impact, the Company's office locations and manufacturing facilities, as well as those of its customers and third-party vendors, including through the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours and other social distancing efforts. In addition, the Company has modified its business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences), and the Company may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that the Company determines are in the best interests of its employees, customers, partners and suppliers. In some cases, customer mitigation efforts have prevented the Company from accessing the facilities of its customers to deliver products and provide services. In addition, some of the Company's customers have chosen to delay and some of the Company's customers may choose to abandon projects for which the Company provides products and/or services as a result of such actions.  Further, the Company may experience disruptions or delays in its supply chain as a result of such actions. While a substantial portion of the Company's businesses have been classified as an essential business in jurisdictions in which facility closures have been mandated, the Company can provide no assurance that this will not change in the future or that the Company's businesses will be classified as essential in each of the jurisdictions in which they operate. The Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow in 2020 were materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and may in the future be materially adversely affected if the COVID-19 pandemic again worsens, although the extent of any such impacts remains unclear at this time.

The Company faces risks relating to cybersecurity attacks that could cause the loss of confidential information and other business disruptions. The Company relies extensively on computer systems to process transactions and manage its business, and its business is at risk from and may be impacted by cybersecurity attacks. These could include attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and computer systems. Attacks can be both individual and/ or highly organized attempts organized by very sophisticated hacking organizations. The Company employs a number of measures to prevent, detect and mitigate these threats, which include password encryption, frequent password change events, firewall detection systems, anti-virus software in-place and frequent backups; however, there is no guarantee such efforts will be successful in preventing a cyber-attack. A successful attack could disrupt and otherwise adversely affect the Company's reputation and results of operations, including through lawsuits by third parties. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the Company's cybersecurity policies and programs.