SEC Filings
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| 10-K | |
| HRG GROUP, INC. filed this Form 10-K on 11/23/2016 | |
| Entire Document | |
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considering established accruals of $4.4 million for estimated liabilities at September 30, 2016 should not be material to its business or financial condition. Electronic and electrical products that Spectrum Brands sells in Europe, particularly products sold under the Remington brand name, VARTA battery chargers, certain portable lighting and all of Spectrum Brands’ batteries, are subject to regulation in European Union (“EU”) markets under three key EU directives. The first directive is the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“RoHS”) which took effect in EU member states beginning July 1, 2006. RoHS prohibits companies from selling products which contain certain specified hazardous materials in EU member states. Spectrum Brands believes that compliance with RoHS does not have a material effect on its capital expenditures, financial condition, earnings or competitive position. The second directive is entitled the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”). WEEE makes producers or importers of particular classes of electrical goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products. WEEE assigns levels of responsibility to companies doing business in EU markets based on their relative market share. WEEE calls on each EU member state to enact enabling legislation to implement the directive. To comply with WEEE requirements, Spectrum Brands has partnered with other companies to create a comprehensive collection, treatment, disposal and recycling program. As EU member states pass enabling legislation Spectrum Brands currently expects its compliance system to be sufficient to meet such requirements. Spectrum Brands’ current estimated costs associated with compliance with WEEE are not significant based on its current market share. However, Spectrum Brands continues to evaluate the impact of the WEEE legislation as EU member states implement guidance and as its market share changes and, as a result, actual costs to Spectrum Brands could differ from its current estimates and may be material to its business, financial condition or results of operations. The third directive is the Directive on Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries, which was adopted in September 2006 and went into effect in September 2008 (the “Battery Directive”). The Battery Directive bans heavy metals in batteries by establishing maximum quantities of those heavy metals in batteries and mandates waste management of batteries, including collection, recycling and disposal systems. The Battery Directive places the costs of such waste management systems on producers and importers of batteries. The Battery Directive calls on each EU member state to enact enabling legislation to implement the directive. Spectrum Brands currently believes that compliance with the Battery Directive does not have a material effect on its capital expenditures, financial condition, earnings or competitive position. EU member states have adopted enabling legislation required by the directive and issued additional guidance. Spectrum Brands will continue to evaluate the impact of the Battery Directive and its enabling legislation. Certain of Spectrum Brands’ products and facilities in each of its business segments are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) or other federal consumer protection and product safety agencies and are subject to the regulations such agencies enforce, as well as by similar state, foreign and multinational agencies and regulations. For example, in the U.S., all products containing pesticides must be registered with the EPA and, in many cases, similar state and foreign agencies before they can be manufactured or sold. Spectrum Brands’ inability to obtain or the cancellation of any registration could have an adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations. The severity of the effect would depend on which products were involved, whether another product could be substituted and whether its competitors were similarly affected. Spectrum Brands attempts to anticipate regulatory developments and maintain registrations of, and access to, substitute chemicals and other ingredients. Spectrum Brands may not always be able to avoid or minimize these risks. The Food Quality Protection Act (“FQPA”) established a standard for food-use pesticides, which is that a reasonable certainty of no harm will result from the cumulative effect of pesticide exposures. Under the FQPA, the EPA is evaluating the cumulative effects from dietary and non-dietary exposures to pesticides. The pesticides in certain of Spectrum Brands’ products continue to be evaluated by the EPA as part of this program. It is possible that the EPA or a third party active ingredient registrant may decide that a pesticide Spectrum Brands uses in its products will be limited or made unavailable to Spectrum Brands. Spectrum Brands cannot predict the outcome or the severity of the effect of the EPA’s continuing evaluations of active ingredients used in its products. Certain of Spectrum Brands’ products and packaging materials are subject to regulations administered by the FDA. Among other things, the FDA enforces statutory prohibitions against misbranded and adulterated products, establishes ingredients and manufacturing procedures for certain products, establishes standards of identity for certain products, determines the safety of products and establishes labeling standards and requirements. In addition, various states regulate these products by enforcing federal and state standards of identity for selected products, grading products, inspecting production facilities and imposing their own labeling requirements. Certain A/C products containing R-134a are subject to regulation in the U.S. markets under the EPA’s Significant New Alternative Policy ("SNAP Program"), which implements international agreements restricting the use of certain refrigerants. The EPA has identified use of R-134a in new automotive air conditioning systems as an approved use up to the 2020 automotive model year. The EPA has not yet approved a replacement refrigerant under the SNAP program for sale in small cans for automotive use for automobiles produced beginning with the 2021 model year, and future rulemakings from the agency are anticipated. Spectrum Brands currently believes that compliance with current and future SNAP regulations will not have a material effect on its capital expenditures, financial condition, earnings or competitive position. However, until such time as future regulations are issued and future alternate refrigerants are approved for sale in small cans, a full evaluation of these costs cannot be completed by 14 | |
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