Glatfelter Corp - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

required significant capital expenditures. Compliance with the Clean Air Act resulted in significant process modifications to the boilers at two of our facilities.

We anticipate that environmental regulation of our operations will continue to become more burdensome and that capital and operating expenditures necessary to comply with environmental regulations will continue, and perhaps increase, in the future. Because environmental regulations are not consistent worldwide, our ability to compete globally may be adversely affected by capital and operating expenditures required for environmental compliance. In addition, we may incur obligations to remove or mitigate any adverse effects on the environment, such as air and water quality, resulting from mills we operate or have operated. Potential obligations include compensation for the restoration of natural resources, personal injury and property damages. See Item 1 – Environmental Matters for an additional discussion of expected costs to comply with environmental regulations.

We have exposure to potential liability for remediation and other costs related to the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the lower Fox River on which our former Neenah, Wisconsin mill was located. As more fully discussed in Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 21, in 2016 and 2015, we increased our reserve for potential liabilities by $40.0 million and $10 million, respectively. The increase recorded in 2016 was based on our current evaluation of recent developments, particularly a proposed consent decree between two other defendants and the government agencies. We have financial reserves for this matter but we cannot be certain that those reserves will be adequate to provide for future obligations related to this matter, that our share of costs and/or damages will not exceed our available resources, or that such obligations will not have a long-term, material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

Our environmental issues are complex and should be reviewed in the context set forth in more detail in Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 21.

The Advanced Airlaid Materials business unit generates a substantial portion of its revenue from one customer serving the hygiene products market, the loss of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

The majority of Advanced Airlaid Materials’ sales of hygiene products are to one customer. In addition, sales to the feminine hygiene market accounted for 71% of Advanced Airlaid Materials’ net sales in 2016 and sales are concentrated within a small group of large customers. The loss of the large customer or a decline in sales of hygiene products could have a material adverse effect on this business’s operating results. Our ability to effectively

compete could be affected by technological production alternatives which could provide substitute products into this market segment. Customers in the airlaid nonwoven fabric material market, including the hygiene market, may also switch to less expensive products, change preferences or otherwise reduce demand for Advanced Airlaid Material’s products, thus reducing the size of the markets in which it currently sells its products. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our financial performance and business prospects.

Our operations may be impaired and we may be exposed to potential losses and liability as a result of natural disasters, acts of terrorism or sabotage or similar events.

If we have a catastrophic loss or unforeseen operational problem at any of our facilities, we could suffer significant lost production which could impair our ability to satisfy customer demands.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, flooding or fire, and acts of terrorism or sabotage affecting our operating activities and major facilities could materially and adversely affect our operations, operating results and financial condition.

In addition, we own and maintain two dams in York County, Pennsylvania, that were built to ensure a steady supply of water for the operation of our facility in Spring Grove which is a primary manufacturing location for our envelope papers and engineered products. Each of these dams is classified as “high hazard” by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because they are located in close proximity to inhabited areas. Any sudden failure of a dam, including as a result of natural disaster or act of terrorism or sabotage, would endanger occupants and residential, commercial and industrial structures, for which we could be liable. The failure of a dam could also be extremely disruptive and result in damage to, or the shutdown of, our Spring Grove mill. Any losses or liabilities incurred due to the failure of one of our dams may not be fully covered by or may substantially exceed the limits of our insurance policies and could materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

In addition, many of our papermaking operations require a reliable and abundant supply of water. Such mills rely on a local water body or water source for their water needs and, therefore, are particularly sensitive to drought conditions or other natural or manmade interruptions to water supplies. At various times and for differing periods, each of our mills has had to modify operations due to water shortages, water clarity, or low flow conditions in its principal water supplies. Any interruption or curtailment of operations at any of our production facilities due to drought or low flow conditions at the principal water source or another cause could materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our pulp mill in Lanao del Norte on the Island of Mindanao in the Republic of the Philippines is located along the Pacific Rim, one of the world’s hazard belts. By virtue of its geographic location, this mill is subject to similar types of natural disasters discussed above, cyclones, typhoons, and volcanic activity. Moreover, the area of Lanao del Norte has been a target of suspected terrorist activities. Our pulp mill in Mindanao is located in a rural portion of the island and is susceptible to attacks and/or power interruptions. The Mindanao mill supplies the abaca pulp used by our Composite Fibers business unit to manufacture paper for single serve coffee and tea products and certain technical specialties products. Any interruption, loss or extended curtailment of operations at our Mindanao mill could affect our ability to meet customer demands for our products and materially affect our operating results and financial condition.

We have operations in a potentially politically and economically unstable location.

Our pulp mill in the Philippines is located in a region that is unstable and subject to political unrest. As discussed above, our Philippine pulp mill produces abaca pulp, a significant raw material used by our Composite Fibers business unit, and is currently our main provider of abaca pulp. There are limited suitable alternative sources of readily available abaca pulp in the world. In the event of a disruption in supply from our Philippine mill, there is no guarantee that we could obtain adequate amounts of abaca pulp, if at all, from alternative sources at a reasonable price. Further, there is no assurance the performance of such alternative materials will satisfy customer performance requirements. As a consequence, any civil disturbance, unrest, political instability or other event that causes a disruption in supply could limit the availability of abaca pulp and would increase our cost of obtaining abaca pulp. Such occurrences could adversely impact our sales volumes, revenues and operating results.

Our international operations pose certain risks that may adversely impact sales and earnings.

We have significant operations and assets located in Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines. Our international sales and operations are subject to a number of unique risks, in addition to the risks in our domestic sales and operations, including differing protections of intellectual property, trade barriers, labor unrest, exchange controls, regional economic uncertainty, differing (and possibly more stringent) labor regulation, risk of governmental expropriation, domestic and foreign customs and tariffs, differing regulatory environments, difficulty in managing widespread operations and political instability. These factors may adversely affect our future profits. Also, in some foreign jurisdictions, we may be subject to laws limiting the right and ability of entities organized or operating therein to pay dividends or remit earnings to

affiliated companies unless specified conditions are met. Any such limitations would restrict our flexibility in using funds generated in those jurisdictions.

We are subject to cyber-security risks related to unauthorized or malicious access to sensitive customer, vendor, company or employee information as well as to the technology that supports our operations and other business processes.

Our business operations rely upon secure systems for mill operations, and data capture, processing, storage and reporting. Although we maintain appropriate data security and controls, our information technology systems, and those of our third party providers, could become subject to cyber attacks. Systems such as ours are inherently exposed to cyber-security risks and potential attacks. The result of such attacks could result in a breach of data security and controls. Such a breach of our network, systems, applications or data could result in operational disruptions or damage or information misappropriation including, but not limited to, interruption to systems availability, denial of access to and misuse of applications required by our customers to conduct business with us, denial of access to the applications we use to plan our operations, procure materials, manufacture and ship products and account for orders, theft of intellectual knowhow and trade secrets, and inappropriate disclosure of confidential company, employee, customer or vendor information, could stem from such incidents.

Any of these operational disruptions and/or misappropriation of information could adversely affect our results of operations, create negative publicity and could have a material effect on our business.

We operate in and are subject to taxation from numerous U.S. and foreign jurisdictions.

The multinational nature of our business subjects us to taxation in the U.S and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change. Our effective tax rates could be affected by changes in tax laws or their interpretation or changes in the mix of earnings in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities. For example, the European Commission has opened formal investigations to examine whether decisions by the tax authorities in certain European countries comply with European Union rules on state aid. The outcome of the European Commission’s investigations could require changes to existing tax rulings that, in turn, could have an impact on our income taxes and results of operations.

In the event any of the above risk factors impact our business in a material way or in combination during the same period, we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to simultaneously fund our operations, finance capital expenditures, satisfy obligations and make dividend payments on our common stock.

In addition to debt service obligations, our business is capital intensive and requires significant expenditures to support growth strategies, research and development initiatives, environmental compliance, and for normal upgrades or replacements. We expect to meet all of our near and long-term cash needs from a combination of operating cash flow, cash and cash equivalents, availability under our existing credit facility or other long-term debt. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from these sources, we could be unable to fund our operations, finance capital expenditures, satisfy our near and long-term cash needs or make dividend payments.

None.

We own substantially all of the land and buildings comprising our manufacturing facilities located in Arkansas; Pennsylvania; Ohio; Canada; the United Kingdom; Germany; France; and the Philippines; as well as substantially all of the equipment used in our manufacturing and related operations. Certain of our operations are under lease arrangements including our metallized paper production facility located in Caerphilly, Wales, office and warehouse space in Moscow, Russia, Souzou, China and our corporate offices in York, Pennsylvania. All of our properties, other than those that are leased, are free from any material liens or encumbrances. We consider all of our buildings to be in good structural condition and well maintained and our properties to be suitable and adequate for present operations.

We are involved in various lawsuits that we consider to be ordinary and incidental to our business. The ultimate outcome of these lawsuits cannot be predicted with certainty; however, except with respect to the Fox River matter referred to below, we do not expect such lawsuits, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

We are one of several defendants in a significant environmental matter relating to contamination in the Fox River and Bay of Green Bay in Wisconsin. For a discussion this matter, see Item 8 – Financial Statements and Supplementary Data – Note 23.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our executive officers and senior management as of February 24, 2017

Officers are elected to serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. Except in the case of officers elected to fill a new position or a vacancy occurring at some other date, officers are generally elected at the organizational meeting of the Board of Directors held immediately after the annual meeting of shareholders.

Dante C. Parrini became Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2011 and Chairman of the Board in May 2011. Prior to this, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he held since February 2005. Mr. Parrini joined us in 1997 and previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, a position he held beginning in January 2003 and prior to that as Vice President responsible for Sales and Marketing.

John P. Jacunski was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2014. From April 2016 through January 2017, Mr. Jacunski also served as President of the Specialty Papers business unit. He joined us in October 2003 and served as Vice President and Corporate Controller. In July 2006 he was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Jacunski was previously Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at WCI Steel, Inc. from June 1999 to October 2003. Prior to joining WCI, Mr. Jacunski was with KPMG, an international accounting and consulting firm, where he served in various capacities.

Christopher W. Astley was named Senior Vice President & Business Unit President, Advanced Airlaid Materials in January 2015. He joined us in August 2010 as Vice President, Corporate Strategy and was promoted to Senior Vice President in February 2014. Prior to joining us, he was an entrepreneur leading a privately held business from 2004 until 2010. Prior to that Mr. Astley held positions with Accenture, a global management consulting firm, and The Coca-Cola Company.

Timothy R. Hess was named Senior Vice President & Business Unit President, Specialty Papers in January 2017. Prior to this, Tim served as Vice President Sales & Marketing, Specialty Papers since 2014, and he was the General Manager – Engineered & Converting Products Division from 2008 - 2014. Since joining our company in 1994, Mr. Hess has held various technical, manufacturing, sales and business development positions within Glatfelter.

Martin Rapp serves as Senior Vice President & Business Unit President, Composite Fibers. Mr. Rapp joined us in August 2006 and has led the Composite Fibers business unit since that time. Prior to this, he was Vice President and General Manager of Avery Dennison’s Roll Materials Business in Central and Eastern Europe since August 2002.

William T. Yanavitch II was promoted to Senior Vice President Human Resources and Administration in February 2014. Since joining us in July 2000, he has served as Vice President, Human Resources. Prior to working for us he was with Dentsply International and Gould Pumps Inc. in various leadership capacities. Mr. Yanavitch will be retiring from Glatfelter effective March 31, 2017.

David C. Elder was named Vice President, Finance in December 2011 and serves as our chief accounting officer. Prior to his promotion, he was our Vice President, Corporate Controller, a position held since joining Glatfelter in January 2006. Mr. Elder was previously Corporate Controller for YORK International Corporation.

Samuel L. Hillard joined us in March 2016 as Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy. Prior to joining us, Mr. Hillard was Vice President – Business Development for Dover Corporation from July 2014 until 2016 where he was responsible for strategy and mergers & acquisitions within the Fluids Business Segment. From February 2011 to 2014, he served as Vice President – Business Development for SPX Corporation where he was responsible for all M&A related strategy activity within the Flow Technology Segment. Additionally, he previously worked for Blackstone in their M&A group.

Kent K. Matsumoto was appointed Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in October 2013. Mr. Matsumoto joined us in June 2012 as Assistant General Counsel and also served as interim General Counsel from March 2013 to October 2013. From July 2008 until February 2012, he was Associate General Counsel for Wolters Kluwer.

Not Applicable

PART II

Common Stock Prices and Dividends Declared Information

The following table shows the high and low prices of our common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GLT” and the dividend declared per share for each quarter during the past two years:

As of February 24, 2017, we had 1,024 shareholders of record.

STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following graph compares the cumulative 5-year total return of our common stock with the cumulative total returns of both a peer group and a broad market index. We compare our stock performance to the S&P Small Cap 600 Paper Products index comprised of us, Clearwater Paper Corp., Kapstone Paper & Packaging Corp., Neenah Paper Inc., and Schweitzer-Mauduit International. In addition, the chart includes a comparison to the Russell 2000, which we believe is an appropriate benchmark index for stocks such as ours. The following graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock, in each index, and in the peer group (including reinvestment of dividends) was $100 on December 31, 2011 and charts it through December 31, 2016.

Forward-Looking Statements    This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding industry prospects and future consolidated financial position or results of operations, made in this Report on Form 10-K are forward looking. We use words such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “expects”, “future”, “intends” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Our actual results may differ significantly from such expectations. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements regarding expectations of, among others, non-cash pension expense, environmental costs, capital expenditures and liquidity, all of which are inherently difficult to predict. Although we make such statements based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from our expectations. Accordingly, we identify the following important factors, among others, which could cause our results to differ from any results that might be projected, forecasted or estimated in any such forward-looking statements:

Introduction  We manufacture a wide array of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials. We manage our company along three business units:

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

2016 versus 2015

Overview Net income for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $21.6 million, or $0.49 per diluted share compared with $64.6 million, or $1.47 per diluted share in 2015. The GAAP-based results reflect the impact of significant unusual and non-recurring items including, among others, a $40.0 million charge to earnings to increase our reserve in the Fox River environmental matter, a pension settlement charge, and costs related to our environmental compliance initiative and a capacity expansion project. Excluding these items from reported results, adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure, was $60.7 million, or $1.38 per diluted share for 2016, compared with $58.9 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, a year ago.

We generated $116.1 million of cash flow from operations in 2016 compared with $133.7 million in 2015. During 2016, capital expenditures totaled $160.9 million primarily related to the environmental compliance project for Specialty Papers and a capacity expansion project for Advanced Airlaid Materials. We also returned additional cash to our shareholders in the form of a 4% increase in the quarterly dividend beginning with the 2016 first quarter dividend payment. This was the fourth consecutive year in which the dividend was increased.

The following table sets forth summarized consolidated results of operations:

Operating income from our business units increased $6.3 million in the year-over-year comparison. The Advanced Airlaid Materials and Specialty Papers businesses reported higher operating income in the comparison, driven by improved operations and lower input costs, partially offset by lower selling prices. However, Composite Fibers’ results were affected by excess capacity in the market, lower selling prices and changes in foreign exchange. Our continuous improvement initiatives and cost control actions during 2016 resulted in approximately $22.7 million of benefits on a consolidated basis.

In addition to the results reported in accordance with GAAP, we evaluate our performance using adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per diluted share. We disclose this information to allow investors to evaluate our performance exclusive of certain items that impact the comparability of results from period to period and we believe it is helpful in understanding underlying operating trends and cash flow generation. Adjusted earnings consists of net income determined in accordance with GAAP adjusted to exclude the impact of the following:

Fox River environmental matter. This adjustment reflects charges incurred to increase our reserve for estimated costs related to government oversight, remediation activity and long term monitoring and maintenance at the Fox River site. These costs are irregular in timing and as such may not be indicative of our past or future performance.

Pension settlement charge. This adjustment reflects the one-time charge incurred during 2016 in connection with the settlement of certain pension liabilities as part of a voluntary offer to vested terminated participants. Our qualified pension plan is overfunded and this action did not require us to contribute any cash.

Specialty Papers environmental compliance. These adjustments reflect non-capitalized, one-time costs incurred by the business unit directly related to the compliance with the U.S. EPA Best Available Retrofit Technology rule and the Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule.  This adjustment includes costs incurred during the transition period in which the newly installed equipment was brought on-line.

Airlaid capacity expansion costs. These adjustments reflect non-capitalized, one-time costs incurred related to the start-up of a new airlaid production facility in Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

Cost optimization actions. This adjustment reflects charges incurred in connection with initiatives to optimize the cost structure of certain business units in response to changes in business conditions. The costs are primarily related to headcount reduction efforts, asset write-offs and certain contract termination costs.

Asset impairment charges. This adjustment represents a non-cash charge required to adjust to its estimated fair value the carrying value of a trade name intangible asset. Charges of this nature are irregular in timing and as such may not be indicative of our past and future performance.

Timberland sales and related costs. These adjustments exclude gains from the sales of timberlands as these items are not considered to be part of our core business, ongoing results of operations or cash flows. These adjustments are irregular in timing and amount and may significantly impact our operating performance. As such, these items may not be indicative of past and future performance of the Company and therefore are excluded for comparability purposes.

Acquisition and integration related costs. These adjustments include costs directly related to the consummation of the acquisition process and those related to integrating businesses previously acquired. These costs are irregular in timing and as such may not be indicative of our past and future performance.

Adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per diluted share are considered measures not calculated in accordance with GAAP, and therefore are non-GAAP measures. The non-GAAP financial information should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for,

measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following table sets forth the

reconciliation of net income to adjusted earnings for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015:

Business Units Results of individual business units are presented based on our management accounting practices and management structure. There is no comprehensive, authoritative body of guidance for management accounting equivalent to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; therefore, the financial results of individual business units are not necessarily comparable with similar information for any other company. The management accounting process uses assumptions and allocations to measure performance of the business units. Methodologies are refined from time to time as management accounting practices are enhanced and businesses change. The costs incurred by support areas not directly aligned with the business unit are allocated primarily based on an estimated utilization of support area services or are included in “Other and Unallocated” in the Business Unit Performance table.  

Management evaluates results of operations of the business units before pension expense, certain corporate level costs, and the effects of certain gains or losses not considered to be related to the core business operations. Management believes that this is a more meaningful representation of the operating performance of its core businesses, the profitability of business units and the extent of cash flow generated from these core operations. Such amounts are presented under the caption “Other and Unallocated.” In the evaluation of business unit results, management does not use any measures of total assets. This presentation is aligned with the management and operating structure of our company. It is also on this basis that the Company’s performance is evaluated internally and by the Company’s Board of Directors.

Sales and Costs of Products Sold

The following table sets forth the contribution to consolidated net sales by each business unit:

Net sales on a consolidated basis totaled $1,604.8 million and $1,661.1 million in 2016 and 2015, respectively. The $56.3 million decrease was primarily driven by $30.8 million of lower selling prices and $11.5 million of unfavorable currency translation. Shipping volumes decreased 0.6%.

Composite Fibers’ net sales decreased $24.5 million, or 4.5%, primarily due to $7.2 million of lower selling prices and $11.1 million of unfavorable currency translation. Shipping volumes in this business unit decreased 1.3%.

Composite Fibers’ operating income for the year ended December 31, 2016 decreased $7.1 million to $54.3 million compared to the year-ago period. The primary drivers are summarized in the following chart (in millions):

Advanced Airlaid Materials’ net sales decreased $0.3 million in the year-over-year comparison as the impact from higher shipping volumes was substantially offset by $8.5 million of lower selling prices, from the contractual pass through of lower raw material costs. Shipping volumes increased 3.1% primarily due to higher shipments of hygiene, wipes and other consumer application products.

Advanced Airlaid Materials’ operating income totaled $26.4 million, an increase of $5.1 million, or 23.9% compared to the same period a year ago. The primary drivers are summarized in the following chart (in millions):

Specialty Papers’ net sales decreased $31.4 million, or 3.6% due to a $15.1 million impact from lower selling prices. Shipping volumes decreased 1.0%. The business unit again outperformed the broader uncoated freesheet market which declined 1.9%.

Operating income totaled $41.2 million, an increase of $8.3 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The primary drivers are summarized in the following chart (in millions):

The following table summarizes Energy and related sales activity for 2016 and 2015:

We sell excess power generated by the Spring Grove, PA facility. Renewable energy credits (“RECs”) represent sales of certified credits earned related to burning renewable sources of energy such as black liquor and wood waste. We sell RECs into an illiquid market. The extent and value of future revenues from REC sales is dependent on many factors outside of management’s control. Therefore, we may not be able to generate consistent additional sales of RECs in future periods.

Other and Unallocated The amount of net operating expenses not allocated to a business unit and reported as “Other and Unallocated” in our table of Business Unit Performance, totaled $94.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared with $19.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2015. The amounts reported as “Other and Unallocated” include charges of $40.0 million and $10.0 million recorded in 2016 and 2015, respectively, to increase our reserve for potential costs related to the Fox River environmental matter. These charges are not allocated to a business unit and are recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of income under the caption “Selling, general and administrative expenses.” This matter is more fully discussed in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 21. In addition, the comparison reflects $21.1 million of lower gains in 2016 than 2015 from sales of timberlands. The remaining increase in Other and unallocated costs is due to the environmental compliance and capacity expansion projects, a pension settlement charge discussed below and a charge for cost optimization actions.

Pension Expense    During 2016, pension expense totaled $12.8 million inclusive of a one-time pension settlement charge of $7.3 million related to the settlement of $24.2 million of benefits in connection with a voluntary program offered to deferred vested terminated participants. The following table summarizes the amounts of normal pension expense recognized, excluding the pension settlement charge, for the periods indicated:

The amount of pension expense recognized each year is dependent on various actuarial assumptions and certain other factors, including discount rates and the fair value of our pension assets. Pension expense for the full year of 2017 is expected to be approximately $5.3 million compared with $5.5 million, excluding the settlement charge in 2016.

Gain on Sales of Plant, Equipment and Timberlands, net    During each of the past three years, we completed the following sales of assets:

Income taxes For the year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded a $10.7 million benefit from income taxes on pretax income of $10.8 million. The comparable amounts in 2015 were a provision of $14.0 million and pretax income of $78.6 million. Tax expense in 2016 includes a benefit of $14.9 million on the increase in our reserve for the Fox River matter and benefits of $4.1 million primarily due to investment tax credits, release of reserves related to the completion of tax audits and statute closures and due to changes in statutory tax rates. The effective tax rate in each period reflects a greater proportion of earnings generated in lower tax foreign jurisdictions relative to the U.S. As a result of an expected U.S. pretax loss in 2017 primarily due to one-time start-up related costs and depreciation of the significant investment for environmental compliance, we will likely record a valuation allowance against a portion of our deferred tax assets generated in the U.S. in 2017, thereby adversely impacting our effective tax rate.

Foreign Currency We own and operate facilities in Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Philippines. The functional currency of our Canadian operations is the U.S. dollar. However, in Germany and France it is the Euro, in the UK, it is the British Pound Sterling, and in the Philippines the functional currency is the Peso. On an annual basis, our euro denominated revenue exceeds euro expenses by an estimated €130 million. For 2016 compared to 2015 the average currency exchange rate of the euro to U.S. dollar was essentially unchanged in the year over year comparison, although the British pound sterling to the dollar declined approximately 17%. With respect to the British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, and Philippine peso, we have differing amounts of inflows and outflows of these currencies, although to a lesser degree than the euro. As a result, we are exposed to changes in currency exchange rates and such changes could be significant. The translation of the results from international operations into U.S. dollars is subject to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

The table below summarizes the translation impact on reported results that changes in currency exchange rates had on our non-U.S. based operations from the conversion of these operation’s results for the year ended December 31, 2016.