Enovis CORP - Quarter Report: 2012 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended March 30, 2012

OR

For the transition period from                     to                     

Commission file number - 001-34045

Colfax Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(301) 323-9000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes   þ   No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes   þ  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  þ

As of March 30, 2012, there were 93,788,045 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $.001 per share, outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

COLFAX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

COLFAX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Dollars in thousands

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

COLFAX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Dollars in thousands, except share amounts

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

COLFAX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY

Dollars in thousands, except share amounts and as noted

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

COLFAX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Dollars in thousands

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

COLFAX CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1. General

Colfax Corporation (the “Company” or “Colfax”) is a diversified global industrial manufacturing and engineering company that provides gas- and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products and services to customers around the world under the Howden, ESAB and Colfax Fluid Handling brand names. With the closing of the acquisition of Charter International plc (“Charter”) by Colfax (the “Charter Acquisition”) during the three months ended March 30, 2012, Colfax has transformed from a fluid-handling business into a multi-platform enterprise with a global footprint. See Note 3, “Acquisition” for additional information regarding the Charter Acquisition.

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this quarterly report have been prepared by the Company in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial statements.

The Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2011 is derived from the Company’s audited financial statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted in accordance with the SEC’s rules and regulations for interim financial statements. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related footnotes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the “2011 Form 10-K”), filed with the SEC on February 23, 2012. Given the impact of the Charter Acquisition on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist solely of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position and results of operations as of and for the periods indicated. Significant intercompany transactions and accounts are eliminated in consolidation.

The Company makes certain estimates and assumptions in preparing its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses for the periods presented. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

The results of operations for the three months ended March 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved for the full year. Quarterly results are affected by seasonal variations in the Company’s gas- and fluid-handling business. As the Company’s customers seek to fully utilize capital spending budgets before the end of the year, historically shipments have peaked during the fourth quarter. General economic conditions as well as backlog levels may, however, impact future seasonal variations.

2. Accounting Policies

During the three months ended March 30, 2012, the Company’s significant accounting policies, as reflected in the 2011 Form 10-K, were updated to include the following as a result of the Charter Acquisition:

Revenue Recognition - Construction Contracts

The Company recognizes revenue and cost of sales on gas-handling construction projects using the “percentage of completion method” in accordance with GAAP. Under this method, contract revenues are recognized over the performance period of the contract in direct proportion to the costs incurred as a percentage of total estimated costs for the entirety of the contract. Any recognized revenues that have not been billed to a customer are recorded as a component of Trade receivables and any billings of customers in excess of recognized revenues are recorded as a component of Accounts payable. As of March 30, 2012, there were $147.7 million of expenses in excess of billings and of $105.6 million of billings in excess of expenses on construction contracts in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.

The Company has contracts in various stages of completion. Such contracts require estimates to determine the appropriate cost and revenue recognition. Significant management judgments and estimates, including estimated costs to complete projects, must be made and used in connection with revenue recognized during each period. Current estimates may be revised as additional information becomes available. See Note 15, “Segment Information” for sales by major product group.

Noncontrolling Interests

The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Less than wholly owned subsidiaries, including joint ventures, are consolidated when it is determined that the Company has a controlling financial interest, which is generally determined when the Company holds a majority voting interest. When protective rights, substantive rights or other factors exist, further analysis is performed in order to determine whether or not there is a controlling financial interest. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of consolidated subsidiaries and the noncontrolling parties’ ownership share is presented as a noncontrolling interest.

Derivatives

The Company is subject to foreign currency risk associated with the retranslation of the net assets of foreign subsidiaries to U.S. dollars on a periodic basis. The Company’s Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement (as defined and further discussed in Note 9, “Debt”) includes a €157.6 million term A-3 facility, which has been designated as a net investment hedge in order to mitigate a portion of this risk.

Derivative instruments are generally recognized on a gross basis in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in either Other current assets, Other assets, Accrued liabilities or Other liabilities depending upon their respective fair values and maturity dates. The Company designates a portion of its foreign exchange contracts as fair value hedges. For all instruments designated as hedges, including net investment hedges, cash flow hedges and fair value hedges, the Company formally documents the relationship between the hedging instrument and the hedged item, as well as the risk management objective and the strategy for using the hedging instrument. The Company assesses whether the relationship between the hedging instrument and the hedged item is highly effective at offsetting changes in the fair value both at inception of the hedging relationship and on an ongoing basis. For cash flow hedges and net investment hedges, unrealized gains and losses are recognized as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets to the extent that it is effective at offsetting the change in the fair value of the hedged item and realized gains and losses are recognized in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Gains and losses related to fair value hedges are recorded as an offset to the fair value of the underlying asset or liability, primarily Trade receivables and Accounts payable in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

See Note 13, “Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements” for additional information regarding the Company’s derivative instruments.

Equity Method Investments

Investments in joint ventures, where the Company has a significant influence but not a controlling interest, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Investments accounted for under the equity method are initially recorded at the amount of the Company’s initial investment and adjusted each period for the Company’s share of the investee’s income or loss and dividends paid. All equity investments are reviewed periodically for indications of other than temporary impairment, including, but not limited to, significant and sustained decreases in quoted market prices or a series of historic and projected operating losses by investees. If the decline in fair value is considered to be other than temporary, an impairment loss is recorded and the investment is written down to a new carrying value. Investments in joint ventures acquired in the Charter Acquisition were recognized in the opening balance sheet at fair value. See Note 3, “Acquisition” for additional information regarding the assets acquired in the Charter Acquisition.

3. Acquisition

On January 13, 2012, Colfax completed the Charter Acquisition for a total purchase price of approximately $2.6 billion. Under the terms of the Charter Acquisition, Charter shareholders received 730 pence in cash and 0.1241 newly issued shares of Colfax Common stock in exchange for each share of Charter’s ordinary stock. Charter is a global industrial manufacturing company focused on welding, cutting and automation and air and gas handling. The acquisition is expected to:

See Note 9, “Debt” and Note 10, “Equity” for a discussion of the respective financing components of the Charter Acquisition.

During the three months ended March 30, 2012, the Company incurred $42.9 million of advisory, legal, audit, valuation and other professional service fees, termination payments to Charter executives and realized losses on acquisition-related foreign exchange derivatives in connection with the Charter Acquisition, which are included in Charter acquisition-related expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. As of March 30, 2012, $10.1 million related to these expenses were included in Accrued liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 13, “Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements” for additional information regarding the Company’s derivative instruments.

The Charter Acquisition was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting and accordingly, the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the financial position and results of operations from the date of acquisition. The following unaudited proforma financial information presents Colfax’s consolidated financial information assuming the acquisition had taken place on January 1, 2011. These amounts are presented in accordance with GAAP, consistent with the Company’s accounting policies.

The following table summarizes the Company’s best estimate of the aggregate fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition. These amounts are determined based upon certain valuations and studies that have yet to be finalized, and accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as detailed below, are subject to adjustment once the detailed analyses are completed. In addition, certain assets and obligations related to contracts existing at the acquisition date are valued based on incomplete data as some regulatory matters are unresolved. There is also a required change of control payment related to a defined benefit pension plan which is based on plan provisions which must be interpreted by an actuary. Such interpretation and the related financial statement impact has not yet been received. Substantially all of the Goodwill recognized is not expected to be deductible for income tax purposes.

The following table summarizes Intangible assets acquired, excluding Goodwill, as of January 13, 2012:

4. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes the activity in Goodwill, by segment, during the three months ended March 30, 2012:

The following table summarizes the Intangible assets, excluding Goodwill:

See Note 3, “Acquisition” for additional information regarding the activity in Goodwill and intangible assets associated with the Charter Acquisition.

Amortization expense of $18.9 million and $1.8 million related to amortizable intangible assets was included in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011, respectively.

5. Net (Loss) Income Per Share

Net (loss) income per share available to Colfax Corporation common shareholders was computed under the two-class method as follows:

The weighted-average computation of the dilutive effect of potentially issuable shares of Common stock under the treasury stock method for the three months ended March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011 excludes approximately 1.4 million and 0.5 million outstanding stock-based compensation awards, respectively, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

6. Income Taxes

During the three months ended March 30, 2012, Loss before income taxes was $43.1 million and the Provision for income taxes was $57.3 million. The provision was impacted by two significant items. Upon completion of the Charter Acquisition, certain deferred tax assets existing at that date were reassessed in light of the impact of the acquired businesses on expected future income or loss by country and future tax planning, including the impact of the post-acquisition capital structure. This assessment resulted in an increase in the Company’s valuation allowance to provide full valuation allowances against U.S. deferred tax assets. The increased valuation allowances resulted in an increase to the income tax provision for the three months ended March 30, 2012 of $50.3 million. In addition, $42.9 million of Charter acquisition-related expense reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations are either non-deductible or were incurred in jurisdictions where no tax benefit can be recognized. These two items are the principal cause of tax provision rather than the tax benefit which would result from the application of the U.S. federal statutory rate to the reported net loss.

During the three months ended April 1, 2011, Income before income taxes was approximately $9.5 million and the Provision for income taxes was $3.0 million. The effective tax rate of 31.0% represents the estimated annual tax rate for the year applied to the current period Income before income tax plus the tax effect of any significant unusual items, discrete items or changes in tax law. This effective tax rate of 31.0% differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarily due to international tax rates which are lower than the U.S. tax rate.

In accordance with GAAP, the Company records a liability for unrecognized income tax benefits for the amount of benefit included in its previously filed income tax returns and in its financial results expected to be included in income tax returns to be filed for periods through the date of its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for income tax positions for which it is more likely than not that a tax position will not be sustained upon examination by the respective taxing authority. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

The Company is now subject to income tax in more than 100 countries and is routinely examined by tax authorities around the world. Tax examinations for years dating back to 1999 remain in process in multiple countries.

The Company’s total unrecognized tax benefits were $78.0 million and $4.1 million as of March 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, inclusive of $15.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively, of interest and penalties. These amounts were offset in part by tax benefits of $0.5 million as of both March 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011. The net liabilities for uncertain tax positions as of March 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 were $77.5 million and $3.6 million, respectively, and if recognized, would favorably impact the effective tax rate. The Company records interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of Provision for income taxes, which was $0.5 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011, respectively.

Due to the difficulty in predicting with reasonable certainty when tax audits will be fully resolved and closed, the range of reasonably possible significant increases or decreases in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits that may occur within the next 12 months is difficult to ascertain. Currently, the Company estimates that it is reasonably possible that the expiration of various statutes of limitations and resolution of tax audits may reduce its tax expense in the next 12 months up to $2.5 million.

The Charter Acquisition materially impacted the Company’s deferred tax assets, liabilities and valuation allowances. Significant components of the deferred tax assets and liabilities as of January 13, 2012 are estimated as follows:

Acquired subsidiaries with significant noncontrolling interests in India and China as well as a wholly owned Russian subsidiary are expected to remit dividends. Consequently, a liability of $11.8 million has been established at March 30, 2012. All other undistributed earnings of the Company’s controlled international subsidiaries are considered to be permanently reinvested and no tax expense in the U.S. has been recognized under the applicable accounting standard for these reinvested earnings. The amount of deferred tax liability that would have been recognized had such earnings not been permanently reinvested is not reasonably determinable.

7. Property, Plant and Equipment, Net

Depreciation expense, including the amortization of assets recorded under capital leases, of $17.2 million and $3.1 million for the three months ended March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011, respectively, was included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and included $2.3 million and $0.4 million, respectively, of depreciation expense related to software.

8. Inventories, Net

Inventories, net consisted of the following:

9. Debt

Long-term debt consisted of the following:

As of December 31, 2011, the Company was party to a credit agreement (the “Bank of America Credit Agreement”), led and administered by Bank of America, which was a senior secured structure with a revolving credit facility and term credit facility. The term credit facility bore interest at the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus a margin ranging from 2.25% to 2.75% determined by the total leverage ratio calculated at the end of each quarter. As of December 31, 2011, the interest rate was 2.55% inclusive of a margin of 2.25%. Additionally, an annual commitment fee on the revolver ranged from 40 basis points to 50 basis points determined by the Company’s total leverage ratio calculated at the end of each quarter. As of December 31, 2011, the commitment fee was 40 basis points and there was $21.0 million outstanding on the letter of credit sub-facility.

During the three months ended March 30, 2012, the Company terminated the Bank of America Credit Agreement in conjunction with the financing of the Charter Acquisition. Upon the early termination of the Bank of America Credit Agreement, the Company incurred a total pre-tax charge of $1.5 million, which includes the write-off of $1.0 million of deferred financing fees and $0.5 million of losses reclassified from Accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet for the related interest rate swap to Interest expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

On January 13, 2012 and January 25, 2012, Colfax incurred debt consisting of: (i) a $200 million term A-1 facility, (ii) a $500 million term A-2 facility, (iii) a €157.6 million term A-3 facility and (iv) a $900 million term B facility pursuant to a credit agreement (the “Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement”) with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and certain other lender parties named therein. In addition, the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement has two revolving credit facilities which total $300 million in commitments (the “Revolver”). The Revolver includes a $200 million letter of credit sub-facility and a $50 million swingline loan sub-facility. The term A-1, term A-2, term A-3 and the Revolver variable-rate borrowings are subject to interest payments of LIBOR or the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (“EURIBOR”) plus a margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25%, determined by our leverage ratio. Borrowings under the term B facility are also variable rate and are subject to interest payments of LIBOR plus a margin of 3.5%. The Revolver is subject to a commitment fee ranging from 37.5 and 50 basis points, determined by the Company’s leverage ratio. Additionally, as of March 30, 2012 the Company had an original issue discount of $65.6 million and deferred financing fees of $5.7 million, which were recognized in connection with the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement, and will be accreted to Interest expense primarily using the effective interest method. The weighted-average interest rate of borrowings under the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement for the three months ended March 30, 2012 was 3.95% and there was $291.9 million available on the Revolver, including $191.9 available on the letter of credit sub-facility.

The Company is also party to additional letter of credit facilities with total capacity of $464.3 million and $318.4 million outstanding as of March 30, 2012.

The contractual maturities of the Company’s debt as of March 30, 2012 are as follows⁽¹⁾:

In March 2012, the Company used a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Common stock to pay off $35.0 million in borrowings under the term A facilities in advance of the scheduled payments. See Note 10, “Equity” for additional discussion regarding the Company’s stock issuances.

In connection with the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement, the Company has pledged substantially all of its domestic subsidiaries’ assets and 65% of the shares of certain first tier international subsidiaries as collateral against borrowings to its U.S. companies. In addition, subsidiaries in certain foreign jurisdictions have guaranteed the Company’s obligations on borrowings of one of its European subsidiaries, as well as pledged substantially all of their assets for such borrowings to this European subsidiary under the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement. The Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains customary covenants limiting the Company’s ability to, among other things, pay dividends, incur debt or liens, redeem or repurchase equity, enter into transactions with affiliates, make investments, merge or consolidate with others or dispose of assets. In addition, the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains financial covenants requiring the Company to maintain a total leverage ratio, as defined therein, of not more than 4.95 to 1.0 and a minimum interest coverage ratio, as defined therein, of 2.0 to 1.0, measured at the end of each quarter, through the year ended December 31, 2012. The minimum interest coverage ratio increases by 25 basis points each year beginning in the year ended December 31, 2013 until it reaches 3.0 to 1.0 for the year ended December 31, 2016. The maximum total leverage ratio decreases to 4.75 to 1.0 for the year ended December 31, 2014 and decreases by 25 basis points for the two subsequent fiscal years until it reaches 4.25 to 1.0 for the year ended December 31, 2016. The Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains various events of default, including failure to comply with such financial covenants, and upon an event of default the lenders may, subject to various customary cure rights, require the immediate payment of all amounts outstanding under the term loans and Revolver and foreclose on the collateral. The Company is in compliance with all such covenants as of March 30, 2012.

10. Equity

Common and Preferred Stock

On January 24, 2012, following approval by the Company’s shareholders, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation was amended to increase the number of authorized shares from 210,000,000 shares to 420,000,000 shares, comprised of an increase in Common stock from 200,000,000 shares to 400,000,000 shares and an increase in Preferred stock from 10,000,000 shares to 20,000,000 shares.

In connection with the financing of the Charter Acquisition, on January 24, 2012, the Company sold (i) 14,756,945 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock and (ii) 13,877,552 shares of newly created Series A perpetual convertible preferred stock, referred to as the Series A Preferred Stock, for an aggregate of $680 million (representing $24.50 per share of Series A Preferred Stock and $23.04 per share of Common stock) pursuant to a securities purchase agreement with BDT CF Acquisition Vehicle, LLC (the “BDT Investor”) as well as BDT Capital Partners Fund I-A, L.P., and Mitchell P. Rales, Chairman of Colfax’s Board of Directors, and his brother, Steven M. Rales (for the limited purpose of tag-along sales rights provided to the BDT Investor in the event of a sale or transfer of shares of Colfax Common stock by either or both of Mitchell P. Rales and Steven M. Rales). Under the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, holders are entitled to receive cumulative cash dividends, payable quarterly, at a per annum rate of 6% of the liquidation preference (defined as $24.50, subject to customary antidilution adjustments), provided that the dividend rate shall be increased to a per annum rate of 8% if the Company fails to pay the full amount of any dividend required to be paid on such shares until the date that full payment is made.

The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, in whole or in part, at the option of the holders at any time after the date the shares were issued into shares of Colfax Common stock at a conversion rate determined by dividing the liquidation preference by a number equal to 114% of the liquidation preference, subject to certain adjustments. The Series A Preferred Stock is also convertible, in whole or in part, at the option of Colfax on or after the third anniversary of the issuance of the shares at the same conversion rate if, among other things: (i) for the preceding thirty trading days, the closing price of Colfax Common stock on the New York Stock Exchange exceeds 133% of the applicable conversion price and (ii) Colfax has declared and paid or set apart for payment all accrued but unpaid dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

On January 24, 2012, Colfax sold 2,170,139 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to each of Mitchell P. Rales, Chairman of Colfax’s Board of Directors, and his brother Steven M. Rales and 1,085,070 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to Markel Corporation, a Virginia corporation (“Markel”) at $23.04 per share, for an aggregate of $125 million, pursuant to separate securities purchase agreements with Mitchell P. Rales and Steven M. Rales, each of whom were beneficial owners of 20.9% of Colfax’s Common stock, and Markel. Thomas S. Gayner, a member of Colfax’s Board of Directors, is President and Chief Investment Officer of Markel.

Consideration paid to Charter shareholders included 0.1241 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock in exchange for each share of Charter’s ordinary stock, which resulted in the issuance of 20,735,493 shares of Common stock on January 24, 2012.

In conjunction with the issuance of the Common and Preferred stock discussed above, the Company recognized $14.5 million in equity issuance costs which were recorded as a reduction to Additional paid-in capital during the three months ended March 30, 2012.

On March 5, 2012, the Company sold 8,000,000 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to underwriters for public resale pursuant to a shelf registration statement for an aggregate purchase price of $272 million. Further, on March 9, 2012, the underwriters of the March 5, 2012 equity offering exercised their over-allotment option and the Company sold an additional 1,000,000 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to the underwriters for public resale pursuant to a shelf registration statement for an aggregate purchase price of $34 million. In conjunction with these issuances, the Company recognized $12.6 million in equity issuance costs which were recorded as a reduction to Additional paid-in capital during the three months ended March 30, 2012.

Dividend Restrictions

Beginning on January 13, 2012, the Company is subject to dividend restrictions under the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement, which limit the total amount of cash dividends the Company may pay and Common stock repurchases the Company may make to $50 million annually, in the aggregate.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The activity in the components of Accumulated other comprehensive loss during the three months ended March 30, 2012 is as follows:

Share-Based Payments

The Company measures and recognizes compensation expense related to share-based payments based on the fair value of the instruments issued. Stock-based compensation expense is generally recognized as a component of Selling, general and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, as payroll costs of the employees receiving the awards are recorded in the same line item. During the three months ended March 30, 2012, a total of $1.2 million and $0.1 million of stock-based compensation expense and related deferred tax benefits, respectively, were recognized. During the three months ended April 1, 2011, a total of $1.7 million of stock-based compensation expense and $0.6 million of deferred tax benefits were recognized, including approximately $0.2 million of stock-based compensation expense included in Restructuring and other related charges in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements related to the accelerated vesting of certain awards as part of the termination benefits of one employee associated with the Company’s restructuring activities. As of March 30, 2012, the Company had $14.7 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to stock-based awards that will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.4 years.

Stock Options

Stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards is based upon the grant-date fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company recognizes compensation expense for stock option awards on a ratable basis over the requisite service period of the entire award. The following table shows the weighted-average assumptions used to calculate the fair value of stock option awards using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, as well as the weighted-average fair value of options granted:

Expected volatility is estimated based on the historical volatility of comparable public companies. The Company considers historical data to estimate employee termination within the valuation model. Separate groups of employees that have similar historical exercise behavior are considered separately for valuation purposes. Since the Company has limited option exercise history, it has elected to estimate the expected life of an award based upon the SEC-approved “simplified method” noted under the provisions of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 107 with the continued use of this method extended under the provisions of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 110.

Stock option activity is as follows:

Restricted Stock Units

The fair value of performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) is equal to the market value of a share of Common stock on the date of grant, and the related compensation expense is recognized ratably over the requisite service period and, for PRSUs, when it is expected that any of the performance criterion will be achieved.

The activity in the Company’s PRSUs and RSUs is as follows:

11. Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets consisted of the following:

Warranty Liability

Estimated expenses related to product warranties are accrued at the time products are sold to customers and included in Cost of sales in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Estimates are established using historical information as to the nature, frequency, and average costs of warranty claims.

The activity in the Company’s warranty liability consisted of the following:

Accrued Restructuring Liability

The Company initiated a series of restructuring actions at its fluid-handling operations beginning in 2009 in response to then current and expected future economic conditions. During the three months ended April 1, 2011, the Company relocated its Richmond, Virginia corporate headquarters to Fulton, Maryland in order to provide improved access to international travel and to its key advisors and eliminated an executive position in its German operations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company also communicated initiatives to improve productivity and reduce structural costs by rationalizing and leveraging its existing assets and back office functions. These initiatives include the consolidation of the Company’s commercial marine end-market operations, reduction in the back office personnel at several distribution centers in Europe, the closure of a small facility that previously produced units sold to certain customers located in the Middle East that the Company ceased supplying to during the year ended December 31, 2010, and the closure of a Portland, Maine production facility and consolidation of the operations with a Warren, Massachusetts facility.

As a result of the Charter Acquisition, the Company’s restructuring programs expanded to include ongoing initiatives at the Company’s fabrication technology operations and efforts to reduce the structural costs and rationalize the corporate overhead of the combined businesses. Initiatives at the Company’s fabrication technology operations include the transfer of European capacity, a reduction in fixed overhead in Europe, the replacement of an old factory in the U.S. with a modern, lower cost and higher capacity facility, and the reduction of product range complexity to drive margin and working capital improvement.

During the three months ended March 30, 2012 and April 1, 2011, restructuring and other related charges of $8.6 million and $2.0 million were recognized in Restructuring and other related charges in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

A summary of the activity in the Company’s restructuring liability included in Accrued liabilities and Other liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets is as follows:

The Company expects to incur Restructuring and other related charges of approximately $22.0 million during the remainder of 2012 related to these restructuring activities.

12. Net Periodic Benefit Cost–Defined Benefit Plans

In conjunction with the Charter Acquisition, the Company acquired a net pension and other post-retirement benefit liability of $206.0 million as of January 13, 2012 and increased its pension and other post-retirement benefit plans by 44 plans. Of the total plans acquired, 40 were underfunded by a total amount of $256.8 million and three were overfunded by a total amount of $50.8 million. Employer contributions to pension and other post-retirement employee benefit plans during the three months ended March 30, 2012 were $28.2 million, and the Company expects to make additional contributions ranging from $25 million to $35 million during the remainder of the year ended December 31, 2012. Contributions during the three months ended March 30, 2012 included $18.9 million of supplemental contributions to pension plans in the United Kingdom as a result of financing the Charter Acquisition. See Note 3, “Acquisition” for additional information regarding the Charter Acquisition.

The following table sets forth the components of net periodic benefit cost of the defined benefit pension plans and the Company’s other post-retirement employee benefit plans:

13. Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

The carrying values of financial instruments, including Trade receivables, Accounts payable and Accrued liabilities approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities. The estimated fair value of the Company’s debt of $1.7 billion and $110.9 million as of March 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, was based on current interest rates for similar types of borrowings and is in Level Two of the fair value hierarchy. The estimated fair values may not represent actual values of the financial instruments that could be realized as of the balance sheet date or that will be realized in the future.

A summary of the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis for each fair value hierarchy level for the periods presented follows:

There were no transfers in or out of Level One, Two or Three during the three months ended March 30, 2012.

Cash Equivalents

The Company’s cash equivalents consist of investments in interest-bearing deposit accounts and money market mutual funds which are valued based on quoted market prices. The fair value of these investments approximates cost due to their short-term maturities and the high credit quality of the issuers of the underlying securities.

Derivatives

The Company periodically enters into foreign currency, interest rate swap, and commodity derivative contracts. The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage exposure to interest rate fluctuations. Foreign currency contracts are used to manage exchange rate fluctuations. Commodity futures contracts are used to manage costs of raw materials used in the Company’s production processes.

The Company enters into such contracts with financial institutions of good standing, and the total credit exposure related to non-performance by those institutions is not material to the operations of the Company. The Company does not enter into derivative contracts for trading purposes.

Interest rate swaps are valued based on forward curves observable in the market. Foreign currency contracts are measured using broker quotations or observable market transactions in either listed or over-the-counter markets. There were no changes during the periods presented in the Company’s valuation techniques used to measure asset and liability fair values on a recurring basis. For transactions in which the instrument has been designated as a cash flow hedge, changes in the fair value of the derivative are reported in Accumulated other comprehensive loss to the extent they are effective at offsetting changes in the hedged item. For transactions in which the instrument has been designated as a fair value hedge, changes in the fair value of the derivative are reported in either Trade receivables or Accounts payable to the extent they are effective at offsetting changes in the hedged item. Changes in the fair value of certain derivatives not designated as hedges, related to the Charter Acquisition, are recognized in Charter acquisition-related expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, while changes in the fair value of all other derivatives not designated as hedges are recognized as a component of Selling, general and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Interest Rate Swap. The notional value of the Company’s interest rate swap was $25 million as of December 31, 2011 at which time it exchanged its LIBOR-based variable-rate interest for a fixed rate of 4.1375%. On January 11, 2012, the Company terminated its interest rate swap in conjunction with the repayment of the Bank of America Credit Agreement and reclassified $0.5 million of net losses from Accumulated other comprehensive loss to Interest expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Foreign Currency Contracts. As of March 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company had foreign currency contracts with the following notional values:

The Company recognized the following in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements related to its derivative instruments:

Liability for Contingent Payments

The Company’s liability for contingent payments represents the fair value of estimated additional cash payments related to its acquisition of COT-Puritech in December of 2011, which are subject to the achievement of certain performance goals, and is included in Other liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The fair value of the liability for contingent payments represents the present value of probability weighted expected cash flows based upon the Company’s internal model and projections and is included in Level Three of the fair value hierarchy. During the three months ended March 30, 2012, an insignificant amount of accretion was recognized in Interest expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations related to the Company’s liability for contingent payments. Realized or unrealized gains or losses in future periods will be recognized in Selling, general and administrative expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

14. Commitments and Contingencies

For further description of the Company’s litigation and contingencies, reference is made to Note 17, “Commitments and Contingencies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Asbestos and Other Product Liability Contingencies

Claims activity since December 31 related to asbestos claims of our fluid-handling subsidiaries is as follows⁽¹⁾:

The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets included the following amounts related to asbestos-related litigation:

In addition to the asbestos litigation of our fluid-handling subsidiaries, certain subsidiaries acquired in conjunction with the Charter Acquisition have been named as defendants in asbestos related actions in the U.S. These lawsuits have alleged that the defendants were liable for acts of a former affiliate. The defendants have contested these actions and, in most cases, have obtained dismissals. The Company expects to continue to defend successfully the actions brought against them.

Additionally, another subsidiary acquired in conjunction with the Charter Acquisition has been named as a defendant in a number of lawsuits in state and federal courts in the U.S. alleging personal injures from exposure to manganese in the fumes of welding consumables. This subsidiary, along with other co-defendants, entered into an agreement with plaintiffs’ counsel that provides for the dismissal with prejudice of substantially all of the pending manganese claims provided certain conditions precedent are satisfied.

Management’s analyses are based on currently known facts and a number of assumptions. However, projecting future events, such as new claims to be filed each year, the average cost of resolving each claim, coverage issues among layers of insurers, the method in which losses will be allocated to the various insurance policies, interpretation of the effect on coverage of various policy terms and limits and their interrelationships, the continuing solvency of various insurance companies, the amount of remaining insurance available, as well as the numerous uncertainties inherent in asbestos litigation could cause the actual liabilities and insurance recoveries to be higher or lower than those projected or recorded which could materially affect the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.

The Company is also involved in various other pending legal proceedings arising out of the ordinary course of the Company’s business. None of these legal proceedings are expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations or cash flow of the Company. With respect to these proceedings and the litigation and claims described in the preceding paragraphs, management of the Company believes that it will either prevail, has adequate insurance coverage or has established appropriate reserves to cover potential liabilities. Any costs that management estimates may be paid related to these proceedings or claims are accrued when the liability is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. There can be no assurance, however, as to the ultimate outcome of any of these matters, and if all or substantially all of these legal proceedings were to be determined adverse to the Company, there could be a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations or cash flow of the Company.

15. Segment Information

Upon the closing of the Charter Acquisition, the Company changed the composition of its reportable segments to reflect the changes in its internal organization resulting from the integration of the acquired businesses. The Company now conducts its operations through the following business segments:

Certain amounts not allocated to the two reportable segments and intersegment eliminations are reported under the heading “Corporate and other.” The Company’s management evaluates the operating results of each of its reportable segments based upon Net sales and segment operating income (loss), which represents Operating (loss) income before Restructuring and other related charges.

The Company’s segment results were as follows:

The detail of the Company’s operations by geography and product type are as follows:

16. Subsequent Events

On April 13, 2012, the Company completed a $29.4 million acquisition of shares of a publicly traded, less than wholly owned subsidiary in which the Company has a controlling interest. This resulted in an increase in the Company’s ownership of the subsidiary from 56% to 74%.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of the financial condition and results of operations of Colfax Corporation (“Colfax,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us”) should be read in conjunction with the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related footnotes included in Part I. Item 1.“Financial Statements” of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 30, 2012 (this “Form 10-Q”) and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related footnotes included Part II. Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (the “2011 Form 10-K”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 23, 2012.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the statements contained in this Form 10-Q that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date this Form 10-Q is filed with the SEC. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including statements regarding: projections of revenue, profit margins, expenses, tax provisions and tax rates, earnings or losses from operations, impact of foreign exchange rates, cash flows, pension and benefit obligations and funding requirements, synergies or other financial items; plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations including statements relating to potential acquisitions, compensation plans or purchase commitments; developments, performance or industry or market rankings relating to products or services; future economic conditions or performance; the outcome of outstanding claims or legal proceedings including asbestos-related liabilities and insurance coverage litigation; potential gains and recoveries of costs; assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and any other statements that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future. Further, the forward-looking statements contained herein include statements about the expected effects of the integration of Charter International plc (“Charter”) by Colfax (the “Charter Integration”), the expected benefits from integrating Charter and other benefits associated with the Charter Integration, strategic options and all other statements contained herein regarding the Charter Integration other than historical facts. Forward-looking statements may be characterized by terminology such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “should,” “would,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “positioned,” “strategy,” “targets,” “aims,” “seeks,” “sees,” and similar expressions. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe to be appropriate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following:

Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ materially from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date this Form 10-Q is filed with the SEC. We do not assume any obligation and do not intend to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law. See Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our 2011 Form 10-K for a further discussion regarding some of the reasons that actual results may be materially different from those that we anticipate.

Overview

During the first quarter of 2012, Colfax completed the acquisition of Charter (the “Charter Acquisition”) which has transformed Colfax from a fluid-handling organization into a multi-platform enterprise with a strong global footprint. Following the Charter Acquisition, Colfax conducts business in the following operating segments:

Colfax has a global geographic footprint, with production facilities in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Through our operating segments, we serve a global customer base across multiple markets through a combination of direct sales and third-party distribution channels. Our customer base is highly diversified and includes commercial, industrial and government customers.

We employ a comprehensive set of tools that we refer to as the Colfax Business System (“CBS”). CBS is a disciplined strategic planning and execution methodology designed to achieve excellence and world-class financial performance in all aspects of our business by focusing on the Voice of the Customer and continuously improving quality, delivery and cost.  Modeled on the Danaher Business System, CBS focuses on conducting root-cause analysis, developing process improvements and implementing sustainable systems. Our approach addresses the entire business, not just manufacturing operations.

Outlook

We believe that we are well positioned to grow our businesses organically over the long term by enhancing our product offerings and expanding our customer base. Subsequent to the Charter Acquisition in the first quarter of 2012, our business mix is expected to be well balanced between long- and short-cycle businesses, sales in emerging markets and developed nations and fore- and aftermarket products and services. Given this balance, management no longer uses indices other than general economic trends to predict the overall outlook for the Company. Instead, the individual businesses monitor key competitors and customers, including to the extent possible their sales, to gauge relative performance and outlook for the future.

As a result of the Charter Acquisition, we face a number of challenges and opportunities, including the successful integration, application and expansion of our CBS tools to improve margins and working capital management, rationalization of assets and back office functions, and consolidation of manufacturing facilities.

We expect to continue to grow as a result of strategic acquisitions. We believe that the extensive experience of our leadership team in acquiring and effectively integrating acquisition targets should enable us to capitalize on opportunities in the future.

Results of Operations

Upon the closing of the Charter Acquisition, we changed the composition of our reportable segments to reflect the changes in our internal organization resulting from the integration of the acquired businesses. The Company now conducts its operations through two business segments: gas and fluid handling and fabrication technology. Certain amounts not allocated to the two reportable segments and intersegment eliminations are reported under the heading “Corporate and other.” The Company’s management evaluates the operating results of each of its reportable segments based upon Net sales and segment operating income (loss), which represents Operating (loss) income before Restructuring and other related charges.

Items Affecting Comparability of Reported Results

In addition to the impact of the Charter Acquisition and the change in composition of our reportable segments, the comparability of our operating results for the first quarters of 2012 and 2011 is affected by the following additional significant items:

Strategic Acquisitions

We complement our organic growth with strategic acquisitions. Acquisitions can significantly affect our reported results and can complicate period to period comparisons of results. As a consequence, we report the change in our Net sales between periods both from existing and acquired businesses. Orders and order backlog are presented only for the gas- and fluid-handling segment, where this information is relevant. The discussion of Net sales, order and order backlog in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 is a proforma comparison that includes the operations acquired in the Charter Acquisition for the comparable period of the prior year, which excludes the first 12 days of 2011. The change in Net sales due to acquisitions represents the change in sales due to the following acquisitions by both Colfax and Charter:

On December 6, 2011, Colfax completed the acquisition of COT-Puritech, Inc. for a total purchase price, net of cash acquired, of $39.4 million which includes the fair value of estimated additional contingent cash payments of $4.3 million. The additional contingent cash payments will be paid over two years subject to the achievement of certain performance goals. COT-Puritech, Inc. is a national supplier of oil flushing and remediation services to power generation plants, refinery and petrochemical operations and other manufacturing sites, with its primary operations based in Canton, Ohio.

On March 28, 2011, Howden completed the acquisition of Thomassen Compression Systems BV (“Thomassen”), a leading supplier of high-powered engineered compressors to the oil, gas and petrochemical end market, for approximately €100 million.

On March 3, 2011, ESAB completed the acquisition of LLC Sychevsky Electrodny Zavod (“Sychevsky”), a leading Russian electrode manufacturer based in the Smolensk region for $19.2 million.

On February 14, 2011, Colfax completed the acquisition of Rosscor for $22.3 million, net of cash acquired and subject to final adjustments under the purchase agreement. Rosscor is a supplier of multiphase pumping technology and certain other highly engineered fluid-handling systems, with its primary operations based in Hengelo, The Netherlands.

Foreign Currency Fluctuations

A significant portion of our Net sales, approximately 80% for the first quarter of 2012, is derived from operations outside the U.S., with the majority of those sales denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Because much of our manufacturing and employee costs are outside the U.S., a significant portion of our costs are also denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Changes in foreign exchange rates can impact our results of operations and are quantified when significant to our discussion.

Seasonality

The results of operations for the first quarter of 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved for the full year. Quarterly results are affected by seasonal variations in the Company’s gas- and fluid-handling business. As the Company’s customers seek to fully utilize capital spending budgets before the end of the year, historically shipments have peaked during the fourth quarter. General economic conditions as well as backlog levels may, however, impact future seasonal variations.

Sales, Orders and Backlog

Our consolidated Net sales increased from proforma net sales of $796.5 million in the first quarter of 2011 to $886.4 million in the first quarter of 2012 (which excludes operations acquired in the Charter Acquisition for the first 12 days of each reporting period presented). The following tables present components of our proforma consolidated Net sales and, for our gas- and fluid-handling segment, proforma order and backlog growth, which, as discussed above, represents the first quarter of 2011 excluding the first 12 days:

The proforma increase in Net sales from existing businesses was attributable to increases of $56.3 million and $25.6 million in our gas- and fluid-handling and fabrication technology segments, respectively. Orders, net of cancellations, from existing businesses for our gas- and fluid-handling segment decreased during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 due to declines in the oil, gas and petrochemical, general industrial and other and marine end markets, partially offset by increased demand in the mining and power generation end markets.

Business Segments

As discussed further above, we changed the composition of our reportable segments during the first quarter of 2012. The Company now reports results in two business segments: gas and fluid handling and fabrication technology. The following table summarizes Net sales by business segment for each of the following periods:

The sales comparisons discussed above are on a proforma basis. Cost information for Charter, ESAB and Howden is not available under the presentation required by the Exchange Act and, as such, proforma discussions are limited to sales.

Gas and Fluid Handling

We design, manufacture, install and maintain gas- and fluid-handling products for use in a wide range of markets, including power generation, oil, gas and petrochemical, mining, marine (including defense) and general industrial and other. Our gas-handling products are principally marketed under the Howden brand name. Howden’s primary products are heavy-duty fans, rotary heat exchangers and compressors. The fans and heat exchangers are used in coal-fired and other types of power stations, both in combustion and emissions control applications, underground mines, steel sintering plants and other industrial facilities that require movement of large volumes of air in harsh applications. Howden’s compressors are mainly used in the oil, gas and petrochemical end market. Our fluid-handling products are marketed by Colfax Fluid Handling under a portfolio of brands including Allweiler, Baric, Fairmount Automation, Houttuin, Imo, LSC, COT-Puritech, Portland Valve, Tushaco, Warren and Zenith. Colfax Fluid Handling is a supplier of a broad range of fluid-handling products, including pumps, fluid-handling systems and controls, and specialty valves.

The following table summarizes the selected financial data for our gas- and fluid-handling segment:

Year over year fluctuations for the selected financial data are primarily due to the addition of the Howden operations. The $56.3 million sales growth due to existing businesses, as discussed and defined under “Sales, Orders and Backlog” above, during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 was primarily due to growth in the power generation, oil, gas and petrochemical and mining end markets. Additionally, $4.5 million and $12.3 million of acquisition-related amortization expense is reflected in Gross profit and Selling, general and administrative expense, respectively, for the first quarter of 2012, and recurring intangible amortization expense included in Selling, general and administrative expense increased by $3.5 million in comparison to the first quarter of 2011.

Fabrication Technology

We formulate, develop, manufacture and supply consumable products and equipment for use in the cutting and joining of steels, aluminum and other metals and metal alloys. Our fabrication technology products are principally marketed under the ESAB brand name, which we believe is a leading international welding company with roots dating back to the invention of the welding electrode. ESAB’s comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires and fluxes. ESAB’s fabrication technology equipment ranges from portable units to large custom systems. Products are sold into a wide range of end markets, including wind power, shipbuilding, pipelines, mobile/off-highway equipment and mining.

The following table summarizes the selected financial data for our fabrication technology segment:

The $25.6 million sales growth due to existing businesses, as discussed and defined under “Sales, Orders and Backlog” above, during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 was primarily due to increased consumable and equipment sales in North America and the Middle East. Year over year comparison of the other selected financial data above is not practical, as further discussed above. Additionally, Gross profit and gross profit margin for the first quarter of 2012 were impacted by acquisition-related amortization expense of $16.9 million.

Gross Profit

The $202.1 million increase in Gross profit during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 was attributable to increases of $78.6 million in our gas- and fluid-handling segment, $3.9 million of which was from existing businesses, and $123.5 million in our fabrication technology segment. Additionally, changes in foreign exchange rates had a $9.7 million negative impact on Gross profit in comparison to the first quarter of 2011. Gross profit margin for the first quarter of 2012 decreased compared to the first quarter of 2011 primarily due to the lower gross profit margin associated with sales in our fabrication technology segment during the period. Additionally, Gross profit and gross profit margin for the first quarter of 2012 were impacted by acquisition-related amortization expense of $21.4 million.

Operating Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expense increased $187.8 million during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 primarily due to the Charter Acquisition. The increase in Selling, general and administrative expense as a percentage of Net sales in comparison to the comparable prior year period resulted primarily from higher intangible amortization expense of $17.1 million. During the first quarter of 2012, we incurred $42.9 million of advisory, legal, audit, valuation and other professional service fees and realized losses on acquisition-related foreign exchange derivatives in connection with the Charter Acquisition. Restructuring and other related charges increased significantly in 2012 primarily as a result of the substantial cost reduction programs under way in the fabrication technology segment. Asbestos coverage litigation expense was also higher as the first quarter of 2012 reflects the cost of preparing our appeals submissions related to the case decided by the trial court during 2011 and depositions and preparation for the trial related to the other subsidiary’s coverage scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Interest Expense

The increase in Interest expense during the first quarter of 2012 in comparison to the first quarter of 2011 was attributable to interest on the financing related to the Charter Acquisition. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Borrowing Arrangements” below for additional discussion.

Provision for Income Taxes

During the first quarter of 2012, Loss before income taxes was $43.1 million and the Provision for income taxes was $57.3 million. The provision was impacted by two significant items. Upon completion of the Charter Acquisition, certain deferred tax assets existing at that date were reassessed in light of the impact of the acquired businesses on expected future income or loss by country and future tax planning, including the impact of the post-acquisition capital structure. This assessment resulted in an increase in our valuation allowance to provide full valuation allowances against U.S. deferred tax assets. The increased valuation allowances resulted in a non-cash increase to the income tax provision for the three months ended March 30, 2012 of $50.3 million. In addition, $42.9 million of Charter acquisition-related expense reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations are either non-deductible or were incurred in jurisdictions where no tax benefit can be recognized. These two items are the principal cause of tax provision rather than the tax benefit which would result from the application of the U.S. federal statutory rate to the reported net loss.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Historically, we have financed our capital and working capital requirements through a combination of cash flows from operating activities and borrowings under our bank credit facilities (discussed below). Additionally, during the first quarter of 2012, we were successful in our efforts to raise additional funds in the form of debt and equity, as further discussed below. We expect that our primary ongoing requirements for cash will be for working capital, funding of acquisitions, capital expenditures, asbestos-related cash outflows and funding of our pension plans. If additional funds are needed for strategic acquisitions or other corporate purposes, we believe we could raise additional funds in the form of debt or equity.

Equity Capital

In connection with the financing of the Charter Acquisition, on January 24, 2012, we sold to the BDT Investor (i) 14,756,945 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock and (ii) 13,877,552 shares of newly created Series A perpetual convertible preferred stock, referred to as the Series A Preferred Stock, for an aggregate of $680 million (representing $24.50 per share of Series A Preferred Stock and $23.04 per share of Common stock) pursuant to a securities purchase agreement (the “BDT Purchase Agreement”) with the BDT Investor as well as BDT Capital Partners Fund I-A, L.P., and Mitchell P. Rales, Chairman of our Board of Directors, and his brother, Steven M. Rales (for the limited purpose of tag-along sales rights provided to the BDT Investor in the event of a sale or transfer of shares of our Common stock by either or both of Mitchell P. Rales and Steven M. Rales). Pursuant to the BDT Purchase Agreement, under the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, holders are entitled to receive cumulative cash dividends, payable quarterly, at a per annum rate of 6% of the liquidation preference (defined as $24.50, subject to customary antidilution adjustments), provided that the dividend rate shall be increased to a per annum rate of 8% if Colfax fails to pay the full amount of any dividend required to be paid on such shares until the date that full payment is made.

The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, in whole or in part, at the option of the holders at any time after the date the shares were issued into shares of Colfax Common stock at a conversion rate determined by dividing the liquidation preference by a number equal to 114% of the liquidation preference, subject to certain adjustments. The Series A Preferred Stock is also convertible, in whole or in part, at our option on or after the third anniversary of the issuance of the shares at the same conversion rate if, among other things: (i) for the preceding thirty trading days, the closing price of Colfax Common stock on the New York Stock Exchange exceeds 133% of the applicable conversion price and (ii) Colfax has declared and paid or set apart for payment all accrued but unpaid dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

On January 24, 2012, we sold 2,170,139 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to each of Mitchell P. Rales and Steven M. Rales and 1,085,070 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock to Markel Corporation (“Markel”) at $23.04 per share, for an aggregate of $125 million pursuant to separate securities purchase agreements with Mitchell P. Rales, Chairman of Colfax’s Board of Directors, and his brother Steven M. Rales, each of whom were beneficial owners of 20.9% of Colfax’s Common stock, and Markel. Thomas S. Gayner, a member of Colfax’s Board of Directors, is President and Chief Investment Officer of Markel.

Consideration paid to Charter shareholders included 0.1241 shares of newly issued Colfax Common stock in exchange for each share of Charter’s ordinary share, which results in the issuance of 20,735,493 shares of Common stock on January 24, 2012.

In conjunction with the issuance of the Common and Preferred stock discussed above, the Company recognized $14.5 million in equity issuance costs which were recorded as a reduction to Additional paid-in capital during the first quarter of 2012.

On March 5, 2012, we sold 8,000,000 shares of newly issued Common stock to the underwriters for public resale pursuant to a shelf registration statement for an aggregate purchase price of $272 million. Further, on March 9, 2012, the underwriters of the March 5, 2012 equity offering exercised their over-allotment option and we sold an additional 1,000,000 shares of newly issued Common stock to the underwriters for public resale pursuant to a shelf registration statement for an aggregate purchase price of $34 million. In conjunction with these issuances, we recognized $12.6 million in equity issuance costs which were recorded as a reduction to Additional paid-in capital during the first quarter of 2012.

Borrowing Arrangements

We entered into the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement on September 12, 2011. In connection with the closing of the Charter Acquisition, the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement was amended on January 13, 2012 and we terminated our Bank of America Credit Agreement (defined and further discussed below) as well as Charter’s outstanding indebtedness. The Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement has four tranches of term loans: (i) a $200 million term A-1 facility, (ii) a $500 million term A-2 facility, (iii) a €157.6 million term A-3 facility and (iv) a $900 million term B facility. In addition, the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement has two revolving credit facilities which total $300 million in commitments (the “Revolver”). The Revolver includes a $200 million letter of credit sub-facility and a $50 million swingline loan sub-facility. The term A-1, term A-2, term A-3 and the Revolver variable-rate borrowings are subject to interest payments of LIBOR or EURIBOR plus a margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25%, determined by our leverage ratio. Borrowings under the term B facility are also variable rate and are subject to interest payments of LIBOR plus a margin of 3.5%. The Revolver is subject to a commitment fee ranging from 37.5 and 50 basis points, determined by our leverage ratio. Additionally, as of March 30, 2012, there was an original issue discount of $65.6 million and deferred financing fees of $5.7 million, which will be accreted to Interest expense primarily using the effective interest method. As of March 30, 2012, the weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement was 3.95% and there was $291.9 million available on the Revolver, including $191.9 million available on the letter of credit sub-facility.

As of December 31, 2011, we were party to a credit agreement (the “Bank of America Credit Agreement”), led and administered by Bank of America, which included a senior secured revolving credit facility and a term credit facility. Upon the early termination of the Bank of America Credit Agreement, we incurred a total pre-tax charge of $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2012, which includes the write-off of $1.0 million of deferred financing fees and $0.5 million of losses reclassified from Accumulated other comprehensive loss for the related interest rate swap.

In connection with the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement, we have pledged substantially all of our domestic subsidiaries’ assets and 65% of the shares of certain first tier international subsidiaries as collateral against borrowings to our U.S. companies. In addition, subsidiaries in certain foreign jurisdictions have guaranteed our obligations on borrowings of one of our European subsidiaries, as well as pledged substantially all of their assets for such borrowings of this European subsidiary under the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement. The Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains customary covenants limiting our ability to, among other things, pay dividends, incur debt or liens, redeem or repurchase equity, enter into transactions with affiliates, make investments, merge or consolidate with others or dispose of assets. In addition, the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains financial covenants requiring us to maintain a total leverage ratio, as defined therein, of not more than 4.95 to 1.0 and a minimum interest coverage ratio, as defined therein, of 2.0 to 1.0, measured at the end of each quarter, through 2012. The minimum interest coverage ratio increases by 25 basis points each year beginning in 2013 until it reaches 3.0 to 1.0 for 2016. The maximum total leverage ratio decreases to 4.75 to 1.0 for 2014 and decreases by 25 basis points for the two subsequent fiscal years until it reaches 4.25 to 1.0 for 2016. The Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement contains various events of default, including failure to comply with such financial covenants, and upon an event of default the lenders may, subject to various customary cure rights, require the immediate payment of all amounts outstanding under the term loans and Revolver and foreclose on the collateral. The Company is in compliance with all such covenants as of March 30, 2012. We believe that our sources of liquidity, including the Deutsche Bank Credit Agreement, are adequate to fund our operations for the next twelve months.