INTERFACE INC - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_______________

Form 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended January 3, 2016

Commission File No.: 001-33994

      Interface, Inc.      

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:           (770) 437-6800          

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:              None             

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☑ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ NO ☑

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 ☑ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Date 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 ☑ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

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 a “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO ☑

Aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of July 2, 2015: $1,585,000,222 (64,040,413 shares valued at the closing sale price of $24.75 on July 2, 2015). See Item 12.

Number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of Common Stock, as of February 19, 2016:

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Introduction and General

References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “Interface,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” “ours” and “us” refer to Interface, Inc. and its subsidiaries or any of them, unless the context requires otherwise.

We are a worldwide leader in design, production and sales of modular carpet, also known as carpet tile. For the past several years, modular carpet sales growth in the floorcovering industry has significantly outpaced the growth of the overall industry, as architects, designers and end users increasingly recognized the unique and superior attributes of modular carpet, including its dynamic design capabilities, greater economic value (which includes lower costs as a result of reduced waste in both installation and replacement), and installation ease and speed.

As a global company with a reputation for high quality, reliability and premium positioning, we market modular carpet in over 110 countries under the established brand names Interface® and FLOR®. Our principal geographic markets are the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, where the percentages of our total net sales were approximately 59%, 26% and 15%, respectively, for fiscal year 2015.

Capitalizing on our leadership in modular carpet for the corporate office segment, we are executing a market diversification strategy to increase our presence and market share for modular carpet in non-corporate office market segments, such as government, education, healthcare, hospitality and retail space, which combined are more than twice the size of the approximately $1 billion U.S. corporate office market segment. Our diversification strategy also targets the approximately $9 billion U.S. residential market segment for carpet. As a result of our efforts, our mix of corporate office versus non-corporate office modular carpet sales in the Americas was 44% and 56%, respectively, for 2015. Company-wide, our mix of corporate office versus non-corporate office sales was 59% and 41%, respectively, in 2015. We believe the appeal and utilization of modular carpet is growing in non-corporate office market segments, and we are using our considerable skills and experience with designing, producing and marketing modular products that make us the market leader in the corporate office segment to support and facilitate our penetration into these segments around the world.

In July 2012, a fire occurred at our manufacturing facility in Picton, Australia, causing extensive damage and rendering the facility inoperable. In January 2014, we commenced operations at a new manufacturing facility in Minto, Australia. For additional information, please see Items 6-8 of this Annual Report.

In August 2012, we sold our Bentley Prince Street business segment, which designed, manufactured and marketed high-end, designer-oriented broadloom and modular carpet. For additional information, please see Items 6-7 of this Annual Report.

Our Strengths

Our principal competitive strengths include:

Market Leader in Attractive Modular Carpet Segment. We are the world’s leading manufacturer of carpet tile. Modular carpet has become more prevalent across all commercial interiors markets as designers, architects and end users have become more familiar with its unique attributes. We continue to drive this trend with our product innovations and designs discussed below. According to the annual Floor Focus interiors industry survey of the top 250 designers in the United States, carpet tile was ranked as the number one “hot product” for each of the years 2002 through 2012, and was ranked number two for each of the years 2013 through 2015. We believe that we are well positioned to lead and capitalize upon the continued shift to modular carpet, both domestically and around the world.

Established Brands and Reputation for Quality, Reliability and Leadership.  Our products are known in the industry for their high quality, reliability and premium positioning in the marketplace, and our established brand names are leaders in the industry. The 2015 Floor Focus survey ranked our Interface brand first in the survey categories of service, quality, design and performance. In the North American residential market segment, our FLOR brand is known for its high style carpet design squares that consumers assemble to create custom rugs, runners or wall-to-wall designs in the home. On the international front, Interface is a well-recognized brand name in carpet tiles for commercial and institutional use. More generally, we believe that as the appeal and utilization of modular carpet continues to expand into market segments such as government, healthcare, education, hospitality, and retail and residential space, our reputation as the pioneer of modular carpet — as well as our established brands and leading market position for modular carpet in the corporate office segment — will enhance our competitive advantage in marketing to the customers in these new markets.

Innovative Product Design and Development Capabilities.  Our product design and development capabilities have long given us a significant competitive advantage, and we believe they continue to do so as modular carpet’s appeal and utilization expand across virtually every market segment and around the globe. One of our recent design innovations is the introduction of long and narrow rectangular carpet tiles in the shape of planks, and even more narrow versions known as Skinny Planks™. The use of planks and Skinny Planks increases the design versatility of our carpet tile, as these products can create aesthetics (such as a herringbone pattern) that are different from, or enhance, that of our traditional square carpet tiles.

The award-winning design firm David Oakey Designs has had a pivotal role in developing our plank and Skinny Plank products, as well as many of our other innovative product designs, and our long-standing exclusive relationship with David Oakey Designs remains vibrant and augments our internal research, development and design staff. As another example, David Oakey Designs has developed products that are manufactured using state-of-the-art tufting technology which allows us to pinpoint tufts of different colored yarns in virtually any arrangement within a carpet tile. These unique designs are best exemplified by our Urban Retreat®, Net Effect® and Human Nature® collections, which are sold throughout our international operations.

Historically, one of our best design innovations is our i2™ modular product line, which includes our popular Entropy® product for which we received a patent in 2005 on the key elements of its design. The i2 line introduced and features mergeable dye lots, and includes a number of carpet tile products that are designed to be installed randomly without reference to the orientation of neighboring tiles. The i2 line offers cost-efficient installation and maintenance, interactive flexibility, and recycled and recyclable materials. Another more recent innovation is our TacTiles® carpet tile installation system, which uses small squares of adhesive plastic film to connect intersecting carpet tiles, thus eliminating the need for traditional carpet adhesive and resulting in a reduction in installation time and waste materials.

Made-to-Order and Global Manufacturing Capabilities. We have a distinct competitive advantage in meeting two principal requirements of the specified products markets we primarily target — that is, providing custom samples quickly and on-time delivery of customized final products. We also can generate realistic digital samples that allow us to create a virtually unlimited number of new design concepts and distribute them instantly for customer review, while at the same time reducing sampling waste. Approximately 60% to 65% of our modular carpet products in the United States and Asia-Pacific markets are now made-to-order, and we are increasing our made-to-order production in Europe as well. Our made-to-order capabilities not only enhance our marketing and sales, they significantly improve our inventory turns. Our global manufacturing capabilities in modular carpet production are an important component of this strength, and give us an advantage in serving the needs of multinational corporate customers that require products and services at various locations around the world. Our manufacturing locations across four continents enable us to compete effectively with local producers in our international markets, while giving international customers more favorable delivery times and freight costs.

Recognized Global Leadership in Ecological Sustainability. Our long-standing goal and commitment to be ecologically “sustainable” — that is, the point at which we are no longer a net “taker” from the earth and do no harm to the biosphere — have emerged as a competitive strength for our business and remain a strategic initiative. It includes Mission Zero®, our global branding initiative, which represents our mission to eliminate any negative impact our companies may have on the environment by the year 2020. Our acknowledged leadership position and expertise in this area resonate deeply with many of our customers and prospects around the globe, and provide us with a differentiating advantage in competing for business among architects, designers and end users of our products, who often make purchase decisions based on “green” factors. The 2015 Floor Focus survey named our Interface business the top among “Green Leaders,” and gave us the top “Green Kudos” honors for our Net Effect product and its Net-Works® recycled fishing net partnership as well as our FLOR residential carpet tile.

Experienced and Motivated Management and Sales Force.  An important component of our competitive position is the quality of our management team and its commitment to developing and maintaining an engaged and accountable workforce. Our team is highly skilled and dedicated to guiding our overall growth and expansion into our targeted market segments, while maintaining our leadership in traditional markets and our high contribution margins. We utilize an internal marketing and predominantly commissioned sales force of more than 650 experienced personnel, stationed at over 70 locations in over 30 countries, to market our products and services in person to our customers. Our incentive compensation and our sales and marketing training programs are tailored to promote performance and facilitate leadership by our executives both in strategic areas as well as the Company as a whole.

Our Business Strategy and Principal Initiatives

Our business strategy is to continue to use our leading position in modular carpet and our product design and global made-to-order capabilities as a platform from which to drive acceptance of modular carpet products across several industry segments, while maintaining our leadership position in the corporate office market segment. We will seek to increase revenues and profitability by capitalizing on the above strengths and pursuing the following key strategic initiatives:

Continue to Penetrate Non-Corporate Office Market Segments. We will continue our strategic focus on product design and marketing and sales efforts for non-corporate office market segments such as government, education, healthcare, hospitality, retail and residential space. We began this initiative as part of our market diversification strategy in 2001 (when our initial objective was reducing our exposure to the more severe economic cyclicality of the corporate office segment), and it has become a principal strategy generally for growing our business and enhancing profitability. To implement this strategy, we:

As part of this strategy, our FLOR line of products focuses on the U.S. residential carpet and rugs market segment. These products were specifically created to bring high style modular carpet and rugs to the North American residential market. We offer FLOR in three primary sales channels – catalogs, the Internet, and in our FLOR retail stores. We currently have 20 FLOR stores (19 in the U.S. and one in Canada), where customers have the opportunity to experience the modular carpet concept and bring their carpet design ideas to life. The services offered by our FLOR stores also include in-store design appointments, in-home design consultations and installation services. Through these sales channels, FLOR sales have grown more than 200% from 2005 to 2015.

Penetrate Expanding Geographic Markets for Modular Products. The popularity of modular carpet continues to increase compared with other floorcovering products across most markets, internationally as well as in the United States. While maintaining our leadership in the corporate office segment, we will continue to build upon our position as the worldwide leader for modular carpet in order to promote sales in all market segments globally. A principal part of our international focus – which utilizes our global marketing capabilities and sales infrastructure – is the significant opportunities in several emerging geographic markets for modular carpet. These emerging markets, such as China, India and Eastern Europe, represent large and growing economies that are essentially new markets for modular carpet products. Other expanding geographic markets, such as Germany and Italy, are established markets that are transitioning to the use of modular carpet from historically low levels of penetration. Each of these geographic markets represents a significant growth opportunity for our modular carpet business.

Continue to Minimize Expenses and Invest Strategically. We have steadily trimmed costs from our operations for several years through multiple initiatives, which have made us leaner today and for the future. Our supply chain and other cost containment initiatives have improved our cost structure and yielded operating efficiencies. While we still seek to minimize our expenses in order to increase profitability, we will also take advantage of strategic opportunities to invest in systems, processes and personnel that can help us grow our business and increase profitability and value.

Sustain Leadership in Product Design and Development. As discussed above, our leadership position for product design and development is a competitive advantage and key strength. Our plank, Skinny Plank, and i2 products and TacTiles installation system have confirmed our position as an innovation leader in modular carpet. We will continue initiatives to sustain, augment and capitalize upon that strength to continue to increase our market share in targeted market segments. Our Mission Zero global branding initiative, which draws upon and promotes our ecological sustainability commitment, is part of those initiatives and includes placing our Mission Zero logo on many of our marketing and merchandising materials distributed throughout the world.

Use Strong Free Cash Flow Generation to De-leverage Our Balance Sheet. Our principal business has been structured – including through our rationalization and repositioning initiatives – to yield high contribution margins and generate strong free cash flow (by which we mean cash available to apply towards debt service and potential stock repurchases, strategic acquisitions and the like). Our historical investments in global manufacturing capabilities and mass customization techniques and facilities, which we have maintained, also contribute to our ability to generate substantial levels of free cash flow. We expect to use our strong free cash flow generation capability to continue to repay debt, potentially repurchase shares, and strengthen our financial position. We will also continue to execute programs to reduce costs further and enhance free cash flow.  In addition, our existing capacity to increase production levels without significant capital expenditures will further enhance our generation of free cash flow as demand for our products rises.

Challenges

In order to capitalize on our strengths and to implement successfully our business strategy and the principal initiatives discussed above, we will have to handle successfully several challenges that confront us or that affect our industry in general. As discussed in the Risk Factors in Item 1A of this Report, several factors could make it difficult for us, including:

We believe our business model is strong enough, and our strategic initiatives are properly calibrated, for us to handle these and other challenges we will encounter in our business.

Seasonality

Our first quarter has typically been our slowest quarter while our fourth quarter has typically been our best quarter, with sales generally increasing throughout the course of the fiscal year.  However, in some recent years, as our sales efforts and results in the education market segment (which has a heavy buying season in the summer months) have increased and currency fluctuations have impacted us, our second or third quarter sales have occasionally been the highest. 

Our Products and Services

Modular Carpet

Interface is the world’s largest manufacturer and marketer of modular carpet. Our modular carpet system, which is marketed under the established global brands Interface and FLOR, utilizes carpet tiles cut in precise, dimensionally stable squares (usually 50 cm x 50 cm) or rectangles (such as planks and Skinny Planks) to produce a floorcovering that combines the appearance and texture of traditional soft floorcovering with the advantages of a modular carpet system. Our GlasBac® technology employs a fiberglass-reinforced polymeric composite backing that provides dimensional stability and reduces the need for adhesives or fasteners. We also make carpet tiles with a backing containing post-industrial and/or post-consumer recycled materials, which we market under the GlasBacRE brand. In addition, we make carpet tile with yarn containing varying degrees of post-consumer nylon, depending on the style and color.

Our carpet tile has become popular for a number of reasons. Carpet tile incorporating our reinforced backing may be easily removed and replaced, permitting rearrangement of furniture without the inconvenience and expense associated with removing, replacing or repairing other soft surface flooring products, including broadloom carpeting. Because a relatively small portion of a carpet installation often receives the bulk of traffic and wear, the ability to rotate carpet tiles between high traffic and low traffic areas and to selectively replace worn tiles can significantly increase the average life and cost efficiency of the floorcovering. In addition, carpet tile facilitates access to sub-floor air delivery systems and telephone, electrical, computer and other wiring by lessening disruption of operations. It also eliminates the cumulative damage and unsightly appearance commonly associated with frequent cutting of conventional carpet as utility connections and disconnections are made. We believe that, within the overall floorcovering market, the worldwide demand for modular carpet is increasing as more customers recognize these advantages.

We use a number of conventional and technologically advanced methods of carpet construction to produce carpet tiles in a wide variety of colors, patterns, textures, pile heights and densities. These varieties are designed to meet both the practical and aesthetic needs of a broad spectrum of commercial interiors – particularly offices, healthcare facilities, airports, educational and other institutions, hospitality spaces, and retail facilities – and residential interiors. Our carpet tile systems permit distinctive styling and patterning that can be used to complement interior designs, to set off areas for particular purposes and to convey graphic information. While we continue to manufacture and sell a substantial portion of our carpet tile in standard styles, an increasing percentage of our modular carpet sales is custom or made-to-order product designed to meet customer specifications.

In addition to general uses of our carpet tile, we produce and sell a specially adapted version of our carpet tile for the healthcare facilities market. Our carpet tile possesses characteristics — such as the use of the Intersept® antimicrobial, static-controlling nylon yarns, and thermally pigmented, colorfast yarns — which make it suitable for use in these facilities in place of hard surface flooring. Moreover, we launched our FLOR line of products to specifically target modular carpet sales to the residential market segment. Through our relationship with David Oakey Designs, we also have created modular carpet products (some of which are part of our i2 product line) specifically designed for each of the education, hospitality and retail market segments.

We also manufacture and sell two-meter roll goods that are structure-backed and offer many of the advantages of both carpet tile and broadloom carpet. These roll goods are often used in conjunction with carpet tiles to create special design effects. Our current principal customers for these products are in the education, healthcare and government market segments.

Broadloom Carpet

In August 2012, we sold our Bentley Prince Street business segment to a third party. This business designed, manufactured and marketed high-end, designer-oriented broadloom and modular carpet for commercial and residential markets. As a result of this sale, we no longer have a presence in the broadloom carpet market.

Other Products and Services

We sell a proprietary antimicrobial chemical compound under the registered trademark Intersept that we incorporate in all of our modular carpet products and have licensed to another company for use in air filters. We also sell our TacTiles carpet tile installation system, along with a variety of traditional adhesives and products for carpet installation and maintenance that are manufactured by a third party. In addition, we continue to manufacture and sell our Intercell® brand raised/access flooring product in Europe. We also continue to provide “turnkey” project management services for national accounts and other large customers through our InterfaceSERVICES™ business.

Marketing and Sales

We have traditionally focused our carpet marketing strategy on major accounts, seeking to build lasting relationships with national and multinational end-users, and on architects, engineers, interior designers, contracting firms, and other specifiers who often make or significantly influence purchasing decisions. While most of our sales are in the corporate office segment, both new construction and renovation, we also emphasize sales in other segments, including retail space, government institutions, schools, healthcare facilities, tenant improvement space, hospitality centers, residences and home office space. Our marketing efforts are enhanced by the established and well-known brand names of our carpet products, including Interface and FLOR. Our exclusive consulting agreement with the award-winning, premier design firm David Oakey Designs enabled us to introduce more than 25 new carpet designs in the United States in 2015 alone.

An important part of our marketing and sales efforts involves the preparation of custom-made samples of requested carpet designs, in conjunction with the development of innovative product designs and styles to meet the customer’s particular needs. Our mass customization initiative simplified our carpet manufacturing operations, which significantly improved our ability to respond quickly and efficiently to requests for samples. In most cases, we can produce samples to customer specifications in less than five days, which significantly enhances our marketing and sales efforts and has increased our volume of higher margin custom or made-to-order sales. In addition, through our websites, we have made it easy to view and request samples of our products. We also use technology which allows us to provide digital, simulated samples of our products, which helps reduce raw material and energy consumption associated with our samples.

We primarily use our internal marketing and sales force to market our carpet products. In order to implement our global marketing efforts, we have product showrooms or design studios in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Australia, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China and elsewhere. We expect to open offices in other locations around the world as necessary to capitalize on emerging marketing opportunities.

We distribute our products through two primary channels: (1) direct sales to end users; and (2) indirect sales through independent contractors or distributors. In each case, we may also call upon architects, engineers, interior designers, contracting firms and other specifiers who often make or substantially influence purchasing decisions.

Manufacturing

We manufacture carpet at two locations in the United States and at facilities in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Thailand, China and Australia.

Having foreign manufacturing operations enables us to supply our customers with carpet from the location offering the most advantageous delivery times, duties and tariffs, exchange rates, and freight expense, and enhances our ability to develop a strong local presence in foreign markets. We believe that the ability to offer consistent products and services on a worldwide basis at attractive prices is an important competitive advantage in servicing multinational customers seeking global supply relationships. We will consider additional locations for manufacturing operations in other parts of the world as necessary to meet the demands of customers in international markets.

Our raw materials are generally available from multiple sources – both regionally and globally – with the exception of synthetic fiber (nylon yarn).  For yarn, we principally rely upon two major global suppliers, but we also have significant relationships with at least two other suppliers.  Although our number of principal yarn suppliers is limited, we do have the capability to manufacture carpet using face fiber produced from two separate polymer feedstocks – nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 – which provides additional flexibility with respect to yarn supply inputs, if needed.  Our global sourcing strategy, including with respect to our principal yarn suppliers and dual polymer manufacturing capability, allows us to help guard against any potential shortages of raw materials or raw material suppliers in a specific polymer supply chain.

We have a flexible-inputs carpet backing line, which we call “Cool Blue™”, at our modular carpet manufacturing facility in LaGrange, Georgia. Using next generation thermoplastic technology, the custom-designed backing line dramatically improves our ability to keep reclaimed and waste carpet in the production “technical loop,” and further permits us to explore other plastics and polymers as inputs. We also have technology that more cleanly separates the face fiber and backing of reclaimed and waste carpet, thus making it easier to recycle some of its components and providing a purer supply of inputs for the Cool Blue process. This technology, which is part of our ReEntry^®2.0 carpet reclamation program, allows us to send some of the reclaimed face fiber back to our fiber supplier to be blended with virgin or other post-industrial materials and extruded into new fiber.

The environmental management systems of our floorcovering manufacturing facilities in LaGrange, Georgia, West Point, Georgia, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand, China and Australia are certified under International Standards Organization (ISO) Standard No. 14001.

Our significant international operations are subject to various political, economic and other uncertainties, including risks of restrictive taxation policies, foreign exchange restrictions, changing political conditions and governmental regulations. We also receive a substantial portion of our revenues in currencies other than U.S. dollars, which makes us subject to the risks inherent in currency translations. Although our ability to manufacture and ship products from facilities in several foreign countries reduces the risks of foreign currency fluctuations we might otherwise experience, we also engage from time to time in hedging programs intended to further reduce those risks.

Competition

We compete, on a global basis, in the sale of our modular carpet products with other carpet manufacturers and manufacturers of vinyl and other types of floorcoverings, including broadloom carpet. Although the industry has experienced significant consolidation, a large number of manufacturers remain in the industry. We believe we are the largest manufacturer of modular carpet in the world. However, a number of domestic and foreign competitors manufacture modular carpet as one segment of their business, and some of these competitors have financial resources greater than ours. In addition, some of the competing carpet manufacturers have the ability to extrude at least some of their requirements for fiber used in carpet products, which decreases their dependence on third party suppliers of fiber.

We believe the principal competitive factors in our primary floorcovering markets are brand recognition, quality, design, service, broad product lines, product performance, marketing strategy and pricing. In the corporate office market segment, modular carpet competes with various floorcoverings, of which broadloom carpet is the most common. We believe the quality, service, design, better and longer average product performance, flexibility (design options, selective rotation or replacement, use in combination with roll goods) and convenience of our modular carpet are our principal competitive advantages.

We believe we have competitive advantages in several other areas as well. First, our exclusive relationship with David Oakey Designs allows us to introduce numerous innovative and attractive carpet tile products to our customers. Additionally, we believe that our global manufacturing capabilities are an important competitive advantage in serving the needs of multinational corporate customers. We believe that the incorporation of the Intersept antimicrobial chemical agent into the backing of our modular carpet enhances our ability to compete successfully across all of our market segments generally, and specifically with resilient tile in the healthcare market.

In addition, we believe that our goal and commitment to be ecologically “sustainable” by 2020 is a brand-enhancing, competitive strength as well as a strategic initiative. Our customers are concerned about the environmental and broader ecological implications of their operations and the products they use in them. Our leadership, knowledge and expertise in the area, especially in the “green building” movement and the related LEED certification program, resonate deeply with many of our customers and prospects around the globe. Our modular carpet products historically have had inherent installation and maintenance advantages that translated into greater efficiency and waste reduction. We are using raw materials and production technologies, such as our Cool Blue backing line and our ReEntry 2.0 reclaimed carpet separation process, that directly reduce the adverse impact of those operations on the environment and limit our dependence on petrochemicals.

Product Design, Research and Development

We maintain an active research, development and design staff of approximately 80 people and also draw on the research and development efforts of our suppliers, particularly in the areas of fibers, yarns and modular carpet backing materials. Our research and development costs were $14.5 million, $13.9 million and $12.6 million in 2015, 2014, and 2013, respectively.

Our research and development team provides technical support and advanced materials research and development for us. The team assisted in the development of our NexStep® backing, which employs moisture-impervious polycarbite precoating technology with a chlorine-free urethane foam secondary backing, and also helped develop a post-consumer recycled content, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, extruded sheet process that has been incorporated into our GlasBacRE modular carpet backing. Our post-consumer recycled content PVC extruded sheet exemplifies our commitment to “closing-the-loop” in recycling. More recently, this team developed our TacTiles carpet tile installation system, which uses small squares of adhesive plastic film to connect intersecting carpet tiles. The team also helped implement our Cool Blue flexible inputs backing line and our ReEntry 2.0 reclaimed carpet separation technology and post-consumer recycling technology for nylon face fibers. With a goal of supporting sustainable product designs in floorcoverings applications, we continue to evaluate renewable polymers for use in our products.

Our research and development team also is the coordinator of our QUEST and EcoSense initiatives (discussed below under “Environmental Initiatives”) and supports the dissemination, consultancies and technical communication of our global sustainability endeavors. This team also provides all biochemical and technical support to Intersept antimicrobial chemical product initiatives.

Innovation and increased customization in product design and styling are the principal focus of our product development efforts, and this focus has led to several design breakthroughs such as our plank and Skinny Plank products, as well as our i2 product line. Our carpet design and development team is recognized as an industry leader in carpet design and product engineering for the commercial and institutional markets.

David Oakey Designs provides carpet design and consulting services to us pursuant to a consulting agreement. David Oakey Designs’ services under the agreement include creating commercial carpet designs for use by our modular carpet businesses throughout the world, and overseeing product development, design and coloration functions for our modular carpet business in North America. The current agreement runs through August 2017. While the agreement is in effect, David Oakey Designs cannot provide similar services to any other carpet company. Through our relationship with David Oakey Designs, we introduced more than 25 new carpet designs in 2015 alone, and have enjoyed considerable success in winning U.S. carpet industry awards.

David Oakey Designs also contributed to our ability to efficiently produce many products from a single yarn system. Our mass customization production approach evolved, in major part, from this concept. In addition to increasing the number and variety of product designs, which enables us to increase high margin custom sales, the mass customization approach increases inventory turns and reduces inventory levels (for both raw materials and standard products) and their related costs because of our more rapid and flexible production capabilities.

Environmental Initiatives

In the latter part of 1994, we commenced a new industrial ecological sustainability initiative called EcoSense, inspired in part by the interest of customers concerned about the environmental implications of how they and their suppliers do business. EcoSense, which includes our QUEST waste reduction initiative, is directed towards the elimination of energy and raw materials waste in our businesses, and, on a broader and more long-term scale, the practical reclamation — and ultimate restoration — of shared environmental resources. The initiative involves a commitment by us:

We have engaged some of the world’s leading authorities on global ecology as environmental advisors. The list of advisors includes: Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability and The Next Economy, and co-author of Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution; Amory Lovins, energy consultant and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute; John Picard, President of E2 Environmental Enterprises; Bill Browning, fellow and former director of the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Development Services; Janine M. Benyus, author of Biomimicry; and Bob Fox, renowned architect.

As more customers in our target markets share our view that sustainability is good business and not just good deeds, our acknowledged leadership position should strengthen our brands and provide a differentiated advantage in competing for business. To further raise awareness of our goal of becoming sustainable, we launched our Mission Zero global branding initiative, which represents our mission to eliminate any negative impact our companies may have on the environment by the year 2020. As part of this initiative, our Mission Zero logo appears on many of our marketing and merchandising materials distributed throughout the world.

A high point in our pursuit of Mission Zero is our partnership with the Zoological Society of London on a program called Net-Works®. Together we are working with communities in the Philippines to collect discarded fishing nets that are damaging a large coral reef, and diverting them to our yarn supplier where they are recycled into new carpet fiber. Net-Works provides a source of income for members of these communities in the Philippines, while also cleaning up the beaches and waters where they live and work. Our Net Effect Collection of carpet tile products, among others, contains yarn that is partly made from the recycled fishing nets collected through the Net-Works program. This program is a big step in redesigning our supply chain from a linear take-make-waste process toward a closed loop system, and it advances our ultimate goal of becoming a restorative enterprise.

Backlog

Our backlog of unshipped orders was approximately $111.4 million at February 14, 2016, compared with approximately $124.3 million at February 15, 2015. Historically, backlog is subject to significant fluctuations due to the timing of orders for individual large projects and currency fluctuations. All of the backlog orders at February 14, 2016 are expected to be shipped during the succeeding six to nine months.

Patents and Trademarks

We own numerous patents in the United States and abroad on floorcovering products and on manufacturing processes. The duration of United States patents is between 14 and 20 years from the date of filing of a patent application or issuance of the patent; the duration of patents issued in other countries varies from country to country. We maintain an active patent and trade secret program in order to protect our proprietary technology, know-how and trade secrets. Although we consider our patents to be very valuable assets, we consider our know-how and technology even more important to our current business than patents, and, accordingly, believe that expiration of existing patents or nonissuance of patents under pending applications would not have a material adverse effect on our operations.

We also own many trademarks in the United States and abroad. In addition to the United States, the primary jursidictions in which we have registered our trademarks are the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and various countries in Central America, South America and Asia. Some of our more prominent registered trademarks include: Interface, FLOR, Intersept, GlasBac, Mission Zero, and Net-Works. Trademark registrations in the United States are valid for a period of 10 years and are renewable for additional 10-year periods as long as the mark remains in actual use. The duration of trademarks registered in other jurisdictions varies.

Financial Information by Operating Segments and Geographic Areas

The Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in Item 8 of this Report set forth information concerning our sales and long-lived assets by geographic areas, which are also our operating segments. Following the sale of Bentley Prince Street, we have only one reporting segment. Current and prior periods have been reclassified to include the results of operations and related disposal costs, gains and losses for the Bentley Prince Street business as discontinued operations. In addition, assets and liabilities of the Bentley Prince Street business have been reported in assets and liabilities held for sale for all reported periods.

Employees

At January 3, 2016, we employed a total of 3,346 employees worldwide. Of such employees, 1,856 were clerical, staff, sales, supervisory and management personnel and 1,490 were manufacturing personnel. We also utilized the services of 204 temporary personnel as of January 3, 2016.

Some of our production employees in Australia and the United Kingdom are represented by unions. In the Netherlands, a Works Council, the members of which are Interface employees, is required to be consulted by management with respect to certain matters relating to our operations in that country, such as a change in control of Interface Europe B.V. (our modular carpet subsidiary based in the Netherlands), and the approval of the Council is required for some of our actions, including changes in compensation scales or employee benefits. Our management believes that its relations with the Works Council, the unions and all of our employees are good.

Environmental Matters

Our operations are subject to laws and regulations relating to the generation, storage, handling, emission, transportation and discharge of materials into the environment. The costs of complying with environmental protection laws and regulations have not had a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations in the past and are not expected to have a material adverse impact in the future. The environmental management systems of our floorcovering manufacturing facilities in LaGrange, Georgia, West Point, Georgia, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand, China and Australia are certified under ISO Standard No. 14001.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

Our executive officers, their ages as of January 3, 2016, and their principal positions with us are set forth below. Executive officers serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Hendrix joined us in 1983 after having worked previously for a national accounting firm. He was promoted to Treasurer in 1984, Chief Financial Officer in 1985, Vice President-Finance in 1986, Senior Vice President in October 1995, Executive Vice President in October 2000, and President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2001. He was elected to the Board in October 1996 and has served on the Executive Committee of the Board since July 2001. In October 2011, Mr. Hendrix was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Gould joined us as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2015, and was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2016. From 2012 to January 2015, Mr. Gould was the Chief Executive Officer of American Standard Brands, a kitchen and bath products company. Prior to his employment with American Standard Brands, Mr. Gould held senior executive roles at Newell Rubbermaid Inc., a global marketer of consumer and commercial products, serving as President of its Home & Family business group from 2008 to 2012 and President of its Parenting Essentials business group from 2006 to 2008. He also previously held executive level positions at The Campbell Soup Company (2002-2006) and The Coca-Cola Company (1995-2002).

Mr. Boogaard joined us in 2011 as Senior Vice President of Sales for our European floorcovering division. Prior to joining Interface, Mr. Boogaard spent 18 years in the office furniture industry in the U.S. and Europe, followed by three years as Director of Global Strategy, Marketing and Commercial Services for a manufacturer of membrane filtration technology used in high end applications such as water purification. Mr. Boogaard was named Interim President of our Europe division in July 2013, and was appointed Senior Vice President of Interface and President of the Europe division in February 2015.

Mr. Coombs originally worked for us from 1988 to 1993 as a marketing manager for our Heuga carpet tile operations in the United Kingdom and later for all of our European floorcovering operations. In 1996, Mr. Coombs returned to us as Managing Director of our Australian operations. He was promoted in 1998 to Vice President-Sales and Marketing, Asia-Pacific, with responsibility for Australian operations and sales and marketing in Asia, which was followed by a promotion to Senior Vice President, Asia-Pacific. He was promoted to Senior Vice President, European Sales, in May 1999 and Senior Vice President, European Sales and Marketing, in April 2000. In February 2001, he was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of Interface Overseas Holdings, Inc. with responsibility for all of our floorcoverings operations in both Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and he became a Vice President of Interface. In September 2002, Mr. Coombs relocated back to Australia, retaining responsibility for our floorcovering operations in the Asia-Pacific region while another executive assumed responsibility for floorcovering operations in Europe. Mr. Coombs was promoted to Senior Vice President of Interface in July 2008.

Mr. Lynch joined us in 1996 after having previously worked for a national accounting firm. He became Assistant Corporate Controller in 1998 and Assistant Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2000. Mr. Lynch was promoted to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2001. Mr. Lynch was promoted to Senior Vice President in March 2007.

Mr. Wells joined us in February 1994 as Vice President-Sales of Interface Flooring Systems, Inc. (now InterfaceFLOR, LLC), our principal U.S. modular carpet subsidiary. Mr. Wells was promoted to Senior Vice President-Sales & Marketing of Interface Flooring Systems in October 1994. He was promoted to Vice President of Interface and President of Interface Flooring Systems in July 1995. In March 1998, Mr. Wells was also named President of both Prince Street Technologies, Ltd. and Bentley Mills, Inc. (our former U.S. broadloom operations), making him President of all three of our U.S. carpet mills at that time. In November 1999, Mr. Wells was named Senior Vice President of Interface, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Interface Americas Holdings, LLC (formerly Interface Americas, Inc.), thereby assuming operations responsibility for all of our floorcovering businesses in the Americas.

Mr. Willoch, who previously practiced with an Atlanta law firm, joined us in June 1990 as Corporate Counsel. He was promoted to Assistant Secretary in 1991, Assistant Vice President in 1993, Vice President in January 1996, Secretary and General Counsel in August 1996, and Senior Vice President in February 1998. In July 2001, he was named Senior Vice President-Administration and assumed corporate responsibility for various staff functions.

Ms. Herold joined us in July 2013 as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, charged with harmonizing the Interface brand around the world and across multiple platforms. She oversees marketing and communications for the corporate brand, while also leading the senior marketing team, which is comprised of the Company’s marketing and communications teams globally. Ms. Herold has more than 25 years of marketing experience. Prior to joining Interface, she was Vice President of Brand Communications and Public Relations at Arby’s Restaurant Group, and previously spent 16 years at HoneyBaked Ham, where she served as Vice President of Marketing and then Chief Marketing Officer. She also has owned her own marketing firm.

Mr. Lall joined us in May 2012 and serves as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. In this role, Mr. Lall is responsible for the overall technology direction of Interface and for harmonizing and enhancing our information technology resources globally. Prior to Interface, he served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at SimplexGrinnell, a $2 billion business unit of Tyco Corporation, a leader in fire and safety products and monitoring services highly dependent on technology. There he was responsible for activities across the enterprise related to technical infrastructure, architecture and application management. Before that, he served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at STERIS Corporation, a global medical device manufacturer and marketer for infection prevention, contamination control and surgical and critical care products, and previously he was Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Suntory Water Group, the second largest U.S. manufacturer, marketer and distributor of bottled water.

Mr. Miller joined us in June 2015 and serves as Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. He is responsible for strategic planning across all business units, and came to Interface from American Standard Brands, where he was Senior Vice President of Innovation and Strategy from April 2013 to May 2015. Mr. Miller also was an independent consultant to American Standard Brands from February 2012 to April 2013. Previously, he served as Global Vice President-Finance of the Juvenile Products Segment of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. from 2008 to 2011, and as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development for Newell Rubbermaid from 2006-2008. He also has worked with a number of other global organizations, including Kraft Foods and Zyman Group.

Ms. Owen joined us in June 2015 as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Owen is responsible for the development and oversight of human resources strategies and initiatives for talent management, organization development, learning, compensation, culture and diversity for Interface associates, globally. She came to Interface from Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, a $2.5 billion publicly traded North American real estate developer and home builder, where she served as Vice President of Human Resources from June 2005 to December 2014. Prior to that, she held several human resources positions with experience across the U.S. and Europe with companies including McKesson Technology Solutions, Check-Free Corporation and Lanier Worldwide.

Mr. Stansfield is our Vice President and Chief Innovations Officer, with global responsibility for developing and implementing Interface’s strategy to have a more open and collaborative approach to innovation. Mr. Stansfield was the Operations Manager for Firth Carpets (our former European broadloom operations) at the time it was acquired by us in 1997. For two years following that acquisition, Mr. Stansfield served as Manufacturing Systems Manager, part of a global project team that designed and implemented MRP manufacturing software systems at seven of our manufacturing plants. In 1999, he returned to Firth Carpets as Operations Director. In 2002, he became a member of our European research and development team focusing on our sustainability initiatives, and in 2004, he became Product and Innovations Director for all of our European Operations. In 2010, he joined our European management team as Senior Vice President of Product, Design and Innovation, before taking his current role in March 2012.

Available Information

We make available free of charge on or through our Internet website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Our Internet address is http://www.interface.com. The SEC maintains a website that contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information that issuers (including the Company) file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s website is http://www.sec.gov.

Interface, Inc. was incorporated in 1973 as a Georgia corporation.

Forward-Looking Statements

This report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of our management team, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the commercial interiors industry as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed below in Item 1A, “Risk Factors”.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS 

You should carefully consider the following factors, in addition to the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other documents incorporated herein by reference, before deciding whether to purchase or sell our common stock. Any or all of the following risk factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Sales of our principal products have been and may continue to be affected by adverse economic cycles in the renovation and construction of commercial and institutional buildings.

Sales of our principal products are related to the renovation and construction of commercial and institutional buildings. This activity is cyclical and has been affected by the strength of a country’s or region’s general economy, prevailing interest rates and other factors that lead to cost control measures by businesses and other users of commercial or institutional space. The effects of cyclicality upon the corporate office segment tend to be more pronounced than the effects upon the institutional segment. Historically, we have generated more sales in the corporate office segment than in any other market. The effects of cyclicality upon the new construction segment of the market also tend to be more pronounced than the effects upon the renovation segment. These effects may recur and could be more pronounced if global economic conditions do not improve or are further weakened.

We compete with a large number of manufacturers in the highly competitive floorcovering products market, and some of these competitors have greater financial resources than we do.

The floorcovering industry is highly competitive. Globally, we compete for sales of floorcovering products with other carpet manufacturers and manufacturers of other types of floorcovering. Although the industry has experienced significant consolidation, a large number of manufacturers remain in the industry. Some of our competitors, including a number of large diversified domestic and foreign companies who manufacture modular carpet as one segment of their business, have greater financial resources than we do. Competing effectively may require us to make additional investments in our product development efforts, manufacturing facilities, distribution network and sales and marketing activities. Competitive forces may also result in pricing pressures, decreased demand for our products and the loss of market share.

Our success depends significantly upon the efforts, abilities and continued service of our senior management executives and our principal design consultant, and our loss of any of them could affect us adversely.

We believe that our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management executives. In addition, we rely significantly on the leadership that David Oakey of David Oakey Designs provides to our internal design staff. Specifically, David Oakey Designs provides product design/production engineering services to us under an exclusive consulting contract that contains non-competition covenants. Our current agreement with David Oakey Designs extends to August 2017. The loss of any of these key persons could have an adverse impact on our business because each has a great deal of knowledge, training and experience in the carpet industry – particularly in the areas of sales, marketing, operations, product design and management – and could not easily or quickly be replaced.

Our substantial international operations are subject to various political, economic and other uncertainties that could adversely affect our business results, including by restrictive taxation or other government regulation and by foreign currency fluctuations.

We have substantial international operations. In 2015, approximately half of our net sales and a significant portion of our production were outside the United States, primarily in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Our corporate strategy includes the expansion and growth of our international business on a worldwide basis. As a result, our operations are subject to various political, economic and other uncertainties, including risks of restrictive taxation policies, changing political conditions and governmental regulations. We also make a substantial portion of our net sales in currencies other than U.S. dollars (approximately half of 2015 net sales), which subjects us to the risks inherent in currency translations. The scope and volume of our global operations make it impossible to eliminate completely all foreign currency translation risks as an influence on our financial results.

Concerns regarding the European sovereign debt crisis and market perceptions about the instability of the euro, the potential re-introduction of individual currencies within the Eurozone, the potential dissolution of the euro entirely, or the possibility of the U.K. exiting the European Union, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Following the European sovereign debt crisis that began in 2011, concerns still persist regarding the debt burden of certain countries using the euro as their currency (the “Eurozone”) and their ability to meet future financial obligations, the overall stability of the euro and the suitability of the euro as a single currency given the diverse economic and political circumstances in individual Eurozone countries. Despite remedial efforts undertaken by the European Commission and others, these concerns have caused instability in the euro and could lead to the re-introduction of individual currencies in one or more Eurozone countries, or, in more extreme circumstances, the possible dissolution of the euro currency entirely. Should the euro dissolve entirely, the legal and contractual consequences for holders of euro-denominated obligations would be determined by laws in effect at such time. These potential developments, or market perceptions concerning these and related issues, could adversely affect the value of our euro-denominated assets and obligations or increase the risks of foreign currency fluctuations or cause the failure of hedging programs intended to reduce those risks. In addition, concerns over the effect of this financial crisis on financial institutions in Europe and globally could have an adverse impact on the capital markets generally, and more specifically on our ability and the ability of our customers, suppliers and lenders to finance our and their respective businesses, to access liquidity at acceptable financing costs, if at all, on the availability of supplies and materials, and on the demand for our products.

In addition, in June 2016, a referendum will take place in the U.K. as to whether or not the U.K. should remain a member of the European Union. In the event of a decision by the U.K. to exit the European Union, there could be a detrimental effect on the value of either or both of the Euro and the British Pound Sterling, which could negatively impact our business (principally from the translation of sales and earnings in those foreign currencies into our reporting currency of U.S. dollars). Such a development could have other unpredictable adverse effects, including a material adverse effect on demand for office space and our carpet products in Europe if a U.K. exit leads to economic difficulties in Europe. 

Large increases in the cost of petroleum-based raw materials could adversely affect us if we are unable to pass these cost increases through to our customers.

Petroleum-based products comprise the predominant portion of the cost of raw materials that we use in manufacturing. While we attempt to match cost increases with corresponding price increases, continued volatility in the cost of petroleum-based raw materials could adversely affect our financial results if we are unable to pass through such price increases to our customers.

Unanticipated termination or interruption of any of our arrangements with our primary third party suppliers of synthetic fiber could have a material adverse effect on us.

The unanticipated termination or interruption of any of our supply arrangements with our current suppliers of synthetic fiber (nylon) could have a material adverse effect on us because we do not have the capability to manufacture our own fiber for use in our carpet products.  If any of our supply arrangements with our primary suppliers of synthetic fiber is terminated or interrupted, we likely would incur increased manufacturing costs and experience delays in our manufacturing process (thus resulting in decreased sales and profitability) associated with shifting more of our synthetic fiber purchasing to another synthetic fiber supplier.

The worldwide financial and credit crisis could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The worldwide financial and credit crisis, which began in 2008 and continued in varying degrees for several years thereafter, has reduced the availability of liquidity and credit to fund the continuation and expansion of many business operations worldwide.  This shortage of liquidity and credit, combined with substantial losses in worldwide equity markets, could lead to a worldwide economic recession and result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.  Specifically, the limited availability of credit and liquidity adversely affects the ability of customers and suppliers to obtain financing for significant purchases and operations.  Consequently, customers may defer, delay or cancel renovation and construction projects where our carpet is used, resulting in decreased orders and sales for us, and they also may not be able to pay us for those products and services we already have provided to them.  For the same reasons, suppliers may not be able to produce and deliver raw materials and other goods and services that we have ordered from them, thus disrupting our own manufacturing operations.  In addition, our ability to obtain funding from capital markets may be severely restricted at a time when we would like, or need, to access those markets.  This inability to obtain that funding could prevent us from pursuing important strategic growth plans, from reacting to changing economic and business conditions, and from refinancing existing debt (which in turn could lead to a default on our debt).  The financial and credit crisis also could have an impact on the lenders under our credit facilities, causing them to fail to meet their obligations to provide us with loans and letters of credit, which are important sources of liquidity for us.

Our Syndicated Credit Facility matures in October 2019.  We cannot assure you that we will be able to renegotiate or refinance this debt on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, especially given the effects of the worldwide financial and credit crisis.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness, which could have important negative consequences to us.

Our significant indebtedness could have important negative consequences to us, including:

As a consequence of our level of indebtedness, a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations must be dedicated to debt service requirements. In addition, borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility have variable interest rates, and therefore our interest expenses will increase if the underlying market rates (upon which the variable interest rates are based) increase. The terms of our Syndicated Credit Facility also limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends or make certain other restricted payments or investments in certain situations, consummate certain asset sales, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, create liens, merge or consolidate with any other person, or sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. They also require us to comply with certain other reporting, affirmative and negative covenants and meet certain financial tests. If we fail to satisfy these tests or comply with these covenants, a default may occur, in which case the lenders could accelerate the debt as well as any other debt to which cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions apply. We cannot assure you that we would be able to renegotiate, refinance or otherwise obtain the necessary funds to satisfy these obligations.

The market price of our common stock has been volatile and the value of your investment may decline.

The market price of our common stock has been volatile in the past and may continue to be volatile going forward. Such volatility may cause precipitous drops in the price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and may cause your investment in our common stock to lose significant value. As a general matter, market price volatility has had a significant effect on the market values of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to their operating performance. We thus cannot predict the market price for our common stock going forward.

Our earnings in a future period could be adversely affected by non-cash adjustments to goodwill, if a future test of goodwill assets indicates a material impairment of those assets.

As prescribed by accounting standards governing goodwill and other intangible assets, we undertake an annual review of the goodwill asset balance reflected in our financial statements. Our review is conducted during the fourth quarter of the year, unless there has been a triggering event prescribed by applicable accounting rules that warrants an earlier interim testing for possible goodwill impairment. In the past, we have had non-cash adjustments for goodwill impairment as a result of such testings ($61.2 million in 2008 and $44.5 million in 2007). A future goodwill impairment test may result in a future non-cash adjustment, which could adversely affect our earnings for any such future period.

Our business operations could suffer significant losses from natural disasters, catastrophes, fire or other unexpected events.

While we manufacture our products in several facilities and maintain insurance covering our facilities, including business interruption insurance, our manufacturing facilities could be materially damaged by natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, or by fire or other unexpected events such as adverse weather conditions or other disruptions to our facilities, supply chain or our customers’ facilities. For example, in July 2012, a fire occurred at our manufacturing facility in Picton, Australia, causing extensive damage and rendering the facility inoperable. In January 2014, we commenced operations at a new manufacturing facility in Minto, Australia. We could incur uninsured losses and liabilities arising from such events, including damage to our reputation, and/or suffer material losses in operational capacity, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Rights Agreement could discourage tender offers or other transactions for our stock that could result in shareholders receiving a premium over the market price for our stock.

Our Board of Directors has adopted a Rights Agreement pursuant to which holders of our common stock will be entitled to purchase from us a fraction of a share of our Series B Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock if a third party acquires beneficial ownership of 15% or more of our common stock without our consent. In addition, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to purchase the stock of an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement) at a discount upon the occurrence of triggering events. These provisions of the Rights Agreement could have the effect of discouraging tender offers or other transactions that could result in shareholders receiving a premium over the market price for our common stock.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We maintain our corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia in approximately 20,000 square feet of leased space. The following table lists our principal manufacturing facilities and other material physical locations (some locations are comprised of multiple buildings), all of which we own except as otherwise noted:

__________

We maintain marketing offices in over 70 locations in over 30 countries and distribution facilities in approximately 40 locations in six countries. Most of our marketing locations and many of our distribution facilities are leased.

We believe that our manufacturing and distribution facilities and our marketing offices are sufficient for our present operations. We will continue, however, to consider the desirability of establishing additional facilities and offices in other locations around the world as part of our business strategy to meet expanding global market demands. Substantially all of our owned properties in the United States are subject to mortgages, which secure borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are subject to various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, none of which we believe are required to be disclosed under this Item 3.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Prior to March 5, 2012, the Company had two classes of common stock – Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. On March 5, 2012, the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock constituted less than 10% of the aggregate number of issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as the cumulative result of varied transactions that caused the conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock into shares of Class A Common Stock. Accordingly, the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are now, irrevocably from March 5, 2012, a single class of Common Stock in all respects.

Our Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol TILE. As of February 19, 2016, we had 629 holders of record of our Common Stock. We estimate that there are in excess of 10,000 beneficial holders of our Common Stock. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sale prices of the Company’s Common Stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as well as dividends paid during such periods.

On February 24, 2016, our Board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share, payable March 25, 2016 to shareholders of record as of March 11, 2016. Future declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of our Board, and depends upon, among other things, our investment policy and opportunities, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors that may be considered relevant by our Board at the time of its determination. Such other factors include limitations contained in the agreement for our Syndicated Credit Facility, which specifies conditions as to when any dividend payments may be made. As such, we may discontinue our dividend payments in the future if our Board determines that a cessation of dividend payments is proper in light of the factors indicated above.

Stock Performance

The following graph and table compare, for the five-year period ended January 3, 2016, the Company’s total returns to shareholders (stock price plus dividends, divided by beginning stock price) with that of (i) all companies listed on the Nasdaq Composite Index, and (ii) a self-determined peer group comprised primarily of companies in the commercial interiors industry, assuming an initial investment of $100 in each on January 2, 2011 (the last day of the fiscal year 2010).

Notes to Performance Graph

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table contains information with respect to purchases made by or on behalf of the Company, or any “affiliated purchaser” (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), of our common stock during our fourth quarter ended January 3, 2016:

⁽¹⁾ The monthly periods identified above correspond to the Company’s fiscal fourth quarter of 2015, which commenced October 5, 2015 and ended January 3, 2016.

⁽²⁾ On October 7, 2014, the Company announced a program to repurchase up to 500,000 shares of common stock per fiscal year, commencing with the 2014 fiscal year. In November 2015, the Board of Directors amended the program to provide that the 500,000 shares of common stock previously approved for repurchases for the 2016 fiscal year may be repurchased by the Company, in management’s discretion, during the period commencing November 19, 2015 and ending at the conclusion of fiscal year 2016.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

We derived the summary consolidated financial data presented below from our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto for the years indicated. You should read the summary financial data presented below together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included within this document. Amounts for all periods presented have been adjusted for discontinued operations.

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General

Our revenues are derived from sales of floorcovering products, primarily modular carpet (we sold our broadloom carpet operations in August 2012). Our business, as well as the commercial interiors industry in general, is cyclical in nature and is impacted by economic conditions and trends that affect the markets for commercial and institutional business space. The commercial interiors industry, including the market for floorcovering products, is largely driven by reinvestment by corporations into their existing businesses in the form of new fixtures and furnishings for their workplaces. In significant part, the timing and amount of such reinvestments are impacted by the profitability of those corporations. As a result, macroeconomic factors such as employment rates, office vacancy rates, capital spending, productivity and efficiency gains that impact corporate profitability in general, also affect our business.

During the past several years, we have successfully focused more of our marketing and sales efforts on non-corporate office segments to reduce somewhat our exposure to economic cycles that affect the corporate office market segment more adversely, as well as to capture additional market share. Our mix of corporate office versus non-corporate office modular carpet sales in the Americas has shifted over the past several years to 44% and 56%, respectively, for 2015 compared with 64% and 36%, respectively, in 2001. Company-wide, our mix of corporate office versus non-corporate office sales was 59% and 41%, respectively, in 2015. We expect a further shift in the future as we continue to implement our market diversification strategy.

During 2015, we had net sales of $1.0 billion, essentially flat as compared to $1.0 billion in 2014. Operating income for 2015 was $113.6 million as compared to $70.3 million for 2014. Net income for 2015 was $72.4 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared with $24.8 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in 2014.

Included in our results for 2014 are $12.4 million of restructuring and asset impairment charges, as discussed below. Also included in our results for 2014 are $9.2 million of expenses for the premiums paid to redeem our 7.625% Senior Notes as well as $2.8 million of expenses related to the unamortized debt costs for the retired notes at redemption. Included in our results for 2013 is a $7.0 million gain related to the settlement of our insurance claim related to the fire at our Australian manufacturing facility, as discussed below. Also included in our 2013 results are a one-time tax dispute resolution benefit of $1.9 million related to the execution of bilateral pricing agreements, and $1.7 million of expenses for the retirement of debt.

Fire at Australia Facility

In July 2012, a fire destroyed our manufacturing facility in Picton, Australia, which served customers throughout Australia and New Zealand. As a result, there were business disruptions and delays in shipments that affected sales in the region following the fire. While it is difficult to quantify the financial impacts of the fire, we believe it negatively affected net sales by approximately $13-18 million during the balance of 2012, and by approximately $18-23 million during 2013. We completed the build-out of a new manufacturing facility in Minto, Australia, which commenced operations in January 2014. For additional information on the fire, please see the Note entitled “Fire at Australian Manufacturing Facility” in Item 8 of this Report.

2014 Restructuring Plan

In the third quarter of 2014, we committed to a new restructuring plan in our continuing efforts to reduce costs across our worldwide operations. In connection with this restructuring plan, we incurred a pre-tax restructuring and asset impairment charge in the third quarter of 2014 in an amount of $12.4 million. The charge was comprised of severance expenses of $9.7 million for a reduction of 100 employees, other related exit costs of $0.1 million, and a charge for impairment of assets of $2.6 million. Approximately $10 million of the charge has resulted in cash expenditures, primarily severance expense.

7.625% Senior Notes

In 2010, we completed a private offering of $275 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% Senior Notes due 2018. Interest on the 7.625% Senior Notes was payable semi-annually on June 1 and December 1 (the first payment was on June 1, 2011). In November 2013, we redeemed $27.5 million aggregate principal amount of the 7.625% Senior Notes at a price equal to 103% of the principal amount of the notes redeemed, plus accrued interest to the redemption date. In November 2014, we redeemed $27.5 million aggregate principal amount of these notes at a price equal to 103% of the principal amount of notes redeemed, plus accrued interest to the redemption date. In December 2014, we redeemed the remaining $220 million of these notes at a price equal to 103.813% of their principal amount, plus accrued interest to the redemption date.

11.375% Senior Secured Notes

In 2009, we completed a private offering of $150 million aggregate principal amount of 11.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2013.

Following the sale of our 7.625% Senior Notes and the repurchase of $141.9 million aggregate principal amount of our 11.375% Senior Secured Notes with the proceeds, $8.1 million aggregate principal amount of our 11.375% Senior Secured Notes remained outstanding. These remaining 11.375% Senior Secured Notes were repaid at maturity in November 2013.

Analysis of Results of Operations 

The following discussion and analyses reflect the factors and trends discussed in the preceding sections.

Our net sales that were denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar were approximately 48% in 2015, 51% in 2014, and 52% in 2013. Because we have such substantial international operations, we are impacted, from time to time, by international developments that affect foreign currency transactions. In 2015, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar led to a significant impact on our consolidated operations. In particular, the Euro, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar were translated at lower rates compared to prior years. The following table presents the amount (in U.S. dollars) by which the exchange rates for converting Euros, Australian dollars and Canadian dollars into U.S. dollars have affected our net sales and operating income during the past three years:

The following table presents, as a percentage of net sales, certain items included in our Consolidated Statements of Operations during the past three years:

Net Sales

Below we provide information regarding our net sales and analyze those results for each of the last three fiscal years. Fiscal year 2015 was a 53 week period. Fiscal years 2014 and 2013 were 52-week periods. (As a result of the sale of our Bentley Prince Street Segment in 2012, we currently have only one segment for segment reporting purposes.)

Net Sales for 2015 compared with 2014

For 2015, our net sales were essentially flat as compared to 2014. As discussed above, the largest global driver of this result was the significant devaluation of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar. The approximate negative impact on sales from the decline of foreign currencies was $79.5 million, meaning that if currency levels had remained consistent year over year, our 2015 sales would have been higher by this amount. On a geographic basis, we experienced a sales increase in the Americas of 3.4%, and decreases in Europe of 5.1% and Asia-Pacific of 4.9%. The declines in Europe and Asia-Pacific are largely a result of the currency impacts discussed above.

In the Americas, our weighted average selling price per square yard increased approximately 3.5% for the year, reflecting that the sales growth in the region was largely due to increased selling prices as overall sales volume remained relatively constant versus 2014. In the Americas, the sales increase in dollars occurred almost equally in the corporate office (up 4%) and hospitality (up 36%) market segments. The increase in hospitality is due to the continued sales efforts in this segment, as the Company has continued to invest resources in building our sales force in this market. The adoption rate for modular carpet in hospitality spaces has increased due to these efforts, and our sales continue to improve. The increase in the corporate office segment is due to the steady improvement in the U.S. economy as well as our conversion of customers from other flooring surfaces (such as broadloom carpet) to modular carpet. These increases were partially offset by small declines in the government (down 3%) and retail (down 1%) market segments, with sales in our other non-office market segments essentially flat.

In Europe, the sales increase in local currency was 13.6%, but this was offset entirely by the impacts of a weaker Euro and, as translated into U.S. dollars, the decline was 5.1%. In local currency, the weighted average selling price per square yard for the region increased approximately 5%. In local currency, the corporate office segment was up 16%, which was largely due to the recovery in the European economy during the year which led to carpet purchases for new and refurbished office environments. In Europe, the majority of sales for the region occur in the corporate office market. In addition, we had sales increases in the retail (up 26%) and education (up 33%) market segments in Europe. The increase in education sales is due to a targeted focus on higher education customers across the region, particularly in the United Kingdom and France. The increase in the retail segment sales is due to the successes of our segmentation strategy in the region and was experienced across Europe.

In Asia-Pacific, the sales decline of 4.9% as reported in U.S. dollars is reflective of the impact of the devaluation of the Australian dollar during the year. In local currency, the sales increase Asia-Pacific was approximately 5%. The weighted average selling price per square yard for the region declined approximately 7%. This percentage decline was also largely driven by the decline in the Australian dollar, as in local currency in Australia the weighted average selling price per square yard increased approximately 3% and the average selling price per square yard in Asia was down less than 1%. The sales increase in local currency in the region was driven by the corporate office segment, which is the bulk of the region’s sales. In U.S. dollars, the corporate office segment was up approximately 1%, and the hospitality segment was up nearly 12%, as the efforts to penetrate this growing market in the region continue. All other market segments in the region experienced declines for the year as compared to 2014.

Net Sales for 2014 Compared with 2013

For 2014, net sales increased $43.9 million (4.6%) versus 2013. This increase primarily occurred in our Americas and Europe businesses, due largely to the continued economic recoveries in those regions. On a geographic basis, we experienced sales increases in each of our major operating regions, with the Americas up 5%, Europe up 5% (6% in local currency) and Asia-Pacific up 1% (5% in local currency). On a consolidated basis, fluctuations in currency had a small (approximately 1%) negative impact on net sales, primarily in Australia, which is within our Asia-Pacific region.

In the Americas, the increase was due largely to the continued strength and recovery of the corporate office market segment, where our sales grew 4%. We also had sales growth in all non-office market segments with the exception of healthcare, which was down less than 1%. The most significant of the non-office segment increases were in the hospitality (up 55%) and residential (up 15%) segments. The sales increase in the hospitality segment is due to our continued focus on penetrating this segment through large hotel chains, with most success occurring in the U.S. The increase in the residential segment primarily occurred in the multi-family residential channel, as our FLOR consumer business experienced essentially even sales compared with 2013. The weighted average selling price per square yard in the Americas was up approximately 1% in 2014 versus 2013.

In Europe, the sales increase was due primarily to growth in the corporate office market (up 9% in U.S. dollars, 11% in local currency), mostly in Western Europe and particularly in the United Kingdom and Germany. The government segment (down 10% in U.S. dollars, 8% in local currency) experienced the most significant decrease in the region, mostly due to the continued austerity measures that were in place during the year. The weighted average selling price per square yard in Europe increased approximately 4% during 2014, a result of the continued economic recovery in the region as well as the premium positioning of our products. Notably, the euro experienced a significant decline versus the U.S. dollar during the fourth quarter of 2014, and as a result our sales in Europe for that quarterly period experienced an increase of 6% in local currency but a 2% decrease as reported in U.S. dollars.

In Asia-Pacific, the sales increase occurred mostly in the corporate office (up 3%), healthcare (up over 100%) and education (up 15%) market segments. However, these increases were almost entirely offset by declines in the government (down 42%) and retail (down 20%) segments. On a consolidated basis, the translation of Australian dollars into U.S. dollars had a negative impact on this region’s 2014 sales performance – in local currency, Australia sales were up more than 9%, but up only 2% as reported in U.S. dollars. This currency impact was particularly acute in the fourth quarter of 2014, when the increase in Australia dollars was approximately 20% but was approximately 11% as reported in U.S. dollars. Outside of Australia, sales in the remainder of the Asia-Pacific region were essentially flat in 2014 versus 2013. The weighted average selling price per square yard in Asia-Pacific in 2014 decreased approximately 1%, largely due to the impact of the decline of the Australian dollar versus the U.S. dollar.

Cost and Expenses

The following table presents our overall cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses during the past three years:

For 2015, our cost of sales decreased $44.9 million (6.8%) compared with 2014. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates had an approximately $30 million favorable impact on our cost of sales – absent the foreign currency devaluations, our cost of sales would have declined approximately $15 million versus 2014. As a percentage of sales, our cost of sales declined to 61.8% in 2015, versus 66.1% in 2014. The primary reasons for this decline were (1) lower raw materials costs related to lower oil and related feedstock costs (raw material costs were down approximately 6-8% versus 2014), (2) higher absorption of fixed manufacturing costs associated with higher production volumes, particularly in the Americas (up 5%) and Europe (up nearly 10%), (3) continued stabilization of the supply chain and manufacturing footprint in the Asia-Pacific region with the normalization of the new carpet tile production facility in Australia during 2015 compared with 2014, (4) the resolution in 2015 of yarn supply issues that hampered the Company on a global basis in 2014, particularly during the second half of the year, and (5) a full year impact from our significant restructuring actions in the third quarter of 2014, particularly in Europe.

For 2014, our cost of sales increased $45.0 million (7.3%) versus 2013. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates had a slight negative impact (1%) year over year. On a per-unit basis, we did not experience any significant difference in the cost of our raw materials in 2014 versus 2013. Most of the $45.0 million year over year increase in cost of sales was directly attributable to additional raw materials costs (approximately $30 million) and labor costs (approximately $4 million) associated with higher production volumes in 2014, particularly in the second half of the year. Of the remainder of the year over year increase, the majority is related to both the increased fixed costs as well as the inefficiencies associated with the start-up of our new and larger manufacturing facility in Australia which opened in January of 2014. These inefficiencies occurred primarily in the first six months of 2014. As a result of these items, as a percentage of sales, cost of sales increased to 66.1% in 2014, compared with 64.5% in 2013.

For 2015, our selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased $12.0 million (4.6%) versus 2014. Currency exchange rates had a favorable impact on SG&A expenses; if currency rates had remained the same for 2015 versus that of 2014, our SG&A expenses would have been approximately $28 million higher than the 2014 levels. The largest factor driving the increase in SG&A expense increase year-over-year is additional administrative expense attributed to higher incentive-based compensation (approximately $12 million) and performance-based stock compensation (approximately $10 million), as performance targets were met in 2015 to a higher degree than in 2014. The majority of these expenses were at the corporate level and in the Americas region, and as a result they were not as impacted by foreign currency devaluations as other components of SG&A expense. These increases were offset by declines in marketing expense (down $4.1 million) and selling expense (down $2.8 million). While fluctuations in currency exchange rates were the driving factors in these declines, as a percentage of sales, selling and marketing expenses were lower in 2015, a direct result of our restructuring actions which took place in the third quarter of 2014. As a percentage of sales, our consolidated SG&A expenses increased to 26.9% in 2015 versus 25.6% in 2014. This percentage increase was entirely attributable to the performance-based stock compensation and incentive-based compensation discussed above, as absent these amounts SG&A expenses would have been lower as a percentage of sales in 2015 than in 2014.

For 2014, our SG&A expenses increased $4.9 million (1.9%) versus 2013. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates did not have a significant impact on the comparison. The largest driver of the increase was $5.6 million of higher selling expenses commensurate with the sales growth in each of our three operating regions. We also had increased marketing expenses of approximately $1.2 million, split evenly between our European modular carpet business and our FLOR consumer business. The increased marketing expense in Europe related to campaigns designed to further engage the architect and design community, while the increase in our FLOR business related to web-based marketing efforts. These increases were offset by a decline in administrative expenses of approximately $1.9 million, mostly due to lower incentive compensation in 2014 versus 2013, as well as the impacts of our restructuring actions in the third quarter of 2014. The benefits of the restructuring actions were particularly evident in the fourth quarter of 2014, when our SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, declined to 23.8% versus 26.6% for the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full year 2014, our SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, declined to 25.6%, versus 26.3% in 2013.

Interest Expense

For 2015, our interest expense decreased $14.4 million to $6.4 million, versus $20.8 million in 2014. This substantial decrease in interest is due to the debt refinancing activities we undertook in the fourth quarter of 2014, in which we redeemed all of our $247.5 million of outstanding 7.625% Senior Notes and replaced them with borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility. This facility, which is comprised of a term loan as well as a multi-currency revolving debt facility, incurs interest at a significantly lower rate (currently approximately 2.0%) than the interest rate on the notes that were refinanced. In addition to the lower borrowing rates, we also reduced our borrowings under the facility by over $45 million during 2015, which contributed to our lower interest expense.

For 2014, interest expense decreased $3.0 million to $20.8 million, versus $23.8 million in 2013. The primary reasons for the decrease were the redemption of $27.5 million of our 7.625% Senior Notes and the repayment at maturity of the remaining $8.1 million of our 11.375% Senior Secured Notes, each in the fourth quarter of 2013. In addition, as described above, we redeemed all of the remaining 7.625% Senior Notes in the fourth quarter of 2014, which also contributed to the interest expense decline. Although we incurred borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility to refinance the notes that were repaid and redeemed during 2013 and 2014, the borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility were at a significantly lower interest rate (less than 2.5% annually) than the interest rates on the notes that were refinanced.

Tax

Our effective tax rate in 2015 was 31.5%, compared with an effective tax rate of 30.6% in 2014. This increase in effective tax rate was primarily attributable to having a larger proportion of U.S. earnings in 2015, which are taxed at higher federal and state rates than our foreign earnings. The increase in effective rate was partially offset by a decrease in valuation allowances related to state net operating loss carryforwards utilized in 2015. For additional information on taxes and a reconciliation of effective tax rates to statutory tax rates, see the Note entitled “Taxes on Income” in Item 8 of this Report.

Our effective tax rate in 2014 was 30.6%, compared with an effective tax rate of 30.1% in 2013. This relative consistency in effective tax rate was primarily attributable to favorable tax effects related to foreign operations realized in both years. In addition, there was less of an increase due to valuation allowances related to state net operating loss carryforwards in 2014, which offset the decrease we realized in 2013 related to the favorable settlement of our Canada-U.S. bilateral advanced pricing agreement. For additional information on taxes and a reconciliation of effective tax rates to statutory tax rates, see the Note entitled “Taxes on Income” in Item 8 of this Report.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

General

In our business, we require cash and other liquid assets primarily to purchase raw materials and to pay other manufacturing costs, in addition to funding normal course SG&A expenses, anticipated capital expenditures, interest expense and potential special projects. We generate our cash and other liquidity requirements primarily from our operations and from borrowings or letters of credit under our Syndicated Credit Facility discussed below. We believe that we will be able to continue to enhance the generation of free cash flow through the following initiatives:

Historically, we use more cash in the first half of the fiscal year, as we fund insurance premiums, tax payments, incentive compensation and inventory build-up in preparation for the holiday/vacation season of our international operations.

In addition, we have a high contribution margin business with low capital expenditure requirements. Contribution margin represents variable gross profit margin less the variable component of SG&A expenses, and for us is an indicator of profit on incremental sales after the fixed components of cost of sales and SG&A expenses have been recovered. While contribution margin should not be construed as a substitute for gross margin, which is determined in accordance with GAAP, it is included herein to provide additional information with respect to our potential for profitability. In addition, we believe that investors find contribution margin to be a useful tool for measuring our profitability on an operating basis.

As of January 3, 2016, we had $213.5 million of borrowings and $3.1 million in letters of credit outstanding under our Syndicated Credit Facility. Of those borrowings outstanding, $197.5 million were Term Loan A borrowings and $16.0 million were revolving loan borrowings. As of January 3, 2016, we could have incurred $230.9 million of additional revolving loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility. In addition, we could have incurred the equivalent of $14.6 million of borrowings under our other credit facilities in place at other non-U.S. subsidiaries.

We have approximately $52.7 million in contractual cash obligations due by the end of fiscal year 2016, which includes, among other things, pension cash contributions, interest payments on our debt and lease commitments. Based on current interest rate and debt levels, we expect our aggregate interest expense for 2016 to be between $6 million and $8 million. We estimate aggregate capital expenditures in 2016 to be between $40 million and $50 million, although we are not committed to these amounts.

In 2010, we completed a private offering of $275 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% Senior Notes. Interest on the 7.625% Senior Notes was payable semi-annually on June 1 and December 1 (the first payment was made on June 1, 2011). In the fourth quarter of 2013, we redeemed $27.5 million aggregate principal amount of the 7.625% Senior Notes at a price equal to 103% of the principal amount of the notes redeemed, plus accrued interest to the redemption date. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we redeemed $27.5 million aggregate principal amount of the 7.625% Senior Notes at a price equal to 103% of their principal amount, plus accrued interest, and redeemed the remaining $220 million aggregate principal amount of these notes at a price equal to 103.813% of their principal amount, plus accrued interest. The redemption transactions in the fourth quarter of 2014 required an aggregate of $266.1 million (including principal payments, premiums and accrued interest), which was funded through a combination of term loan and revolving loan borrowings under the Syndicated Credit Facility and cash on hand.

It is important for you to consider that we have a significant amount of indebtedness. Our Syndicated Credit Facility matures in October 2019. We cannot assure you that we will be able to renegotiate or refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are unable to refinance our debt or obtain new financing, we would have to consider other options, such as selling assets to meet our debt service obligations and other liquidity needs, or using cash, if available, that would have been used for other business purposes.

Syndicated Credit Facility 

We have a syndicated credit facility (the “Facility”) pursuant to which the lenders provide to us and certain of our subsidiaries a multicurrency revolving credit facility and provide to us a term loan. The key features of the Facility are as follows:

Interest Rates and Fees. Interest on base rate loans is charged at varying rates computed by applying a margin ranging from 0.25% to 1.50% over the applicable base interest rate (which is defined as the greatest of the prime rate, a specified federal funds rate plus 0.50%, or a specified LIBOR rate), depending on our consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recently completed fiscal quarter. Interest on LIBOR-based loans and fees for letters of credit are charged at varying rates computed by applying a margin ranging from 1.25% to 2.50% over the applicable LIBOR rate, depending on our consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recently completed fiscal quarter. In addition, we pay a commitment fee ranging from 0.20% to 0.35% per annum (depending on our consolidated net leverage ratio as of the most recently completed fiscal quarter) on the unused portion of the Facility.

Amortization Prepayments. We are required to make amortization payments of the Term Loan A borrowing. The amortization payments are due on the last day of the calendar quarter, commencing with an initial amortization payment of $2.5 million that was made on December 31, 2015. The quarterly amortization payment amount increases to $3.75 million on December 31, 2016.

Covenants. The Facility contains standard and customary covenants for agreements of this type, including various reporting, affirmative and negative covenants. Among other things, these covenants limit our ability to:

The Facility also requires us to remain in compliance with the following financial covenants as of the end of each fiscal quarter, based on our consolidated results for the year then ended:

Events of Default. If we breach or fail to perform any of the affirmative or negative covenants under the Facility, or if other specified events occur (such as a bankruptcy or similar event or a change of control of Interface, Inc. or certain subsidiaries, or if we breach or fail to perform any covenant or agreement contained in any instrument relating to any of our other indebtedness exceeding $20 million), after giving effect to any applicable notice and right to cure provisions, an event of default will exist. If an event of default exists and is continuing, the lenders’ Administrative Agent may, and upon the written request of a specified percentage of the lender group shall:

Collateral. Pursuant to a Security and Pledge Agreement executed on the same date, the Facility is secured by substantially all of the assets of Interface, Inc. and our domestic subsidiaries (subject to exceptions for certain immaterial subsidiaries), including all of the stock of our domestic subsidiaries and up to 65% of the stock of our first-tier material foreign subsidiaries. If an event of default occurs under the Facility, the lenders’ Administrative Agent may, upon the request of a specified percentage of lenders, exercise remedies with respect to the collateral, including, in some instances, foreclosing mortgages on real estate assets, taking possession of or selling personal property assets, collecting accounts receivables, or exercising proxies to take control of the pledged stock of domestic and first-tier material foreign subsidiaries.

As of January 3, 2016, we had $197.5 million of Term Loan A borrowings and $16.0 million of revolving loan borrowings outstanding under the Facility, and had $3.1 million in letters of credit outstanding under the Facility.

We are presently in compliance with all covenants under the Syndicated Credit Facility and anticipate that we will remain in compliance with the covenants for the foreseeable future.

Senior Notes

As described above, all of our remaining 7.625% Senior Notes were redeemed in full in the fourth quarter of 2014, and our remaining 11.375% Senior Secured Notes were repaid at maturity in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Analysis of Cash Flows

We exited 2015 with $75.7 million in cash, an increase of $20.8 million during the year. The increase in cash was primarily due to improved cash flow from operating activities of $125.4 million in 2015, compared with $46.4 million in 2014. The factors driving the increase in cash flow from operating activities were (1) higher net income in 2015 due to improved operational performance, (2) a $16.2 million reduction in cash paid for interest, as a result of our 2014 debt refinancing discussed above, (3) an $18.7 million reduction in accounts receivable, and (4) a $14.5 million increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses. The increase in cash from operating activities was partially offset by an increase in inventories of $26.5 million and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $8.3 million. Our other primary uses of cash during 2015 were (1) $45.3 million of repayments of revolving loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility, (2) $27.2 million of capital expenditures, primary related to our manufacturing locations, (3) $13.3 million used to repurchase and retire 650,000 shares of our outstanding common stock, pursuant to our established share repurchase plan, (4) $11.9 million for the payment of dividends, and (5) $2.5 million for repayment of term loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility as required by the applicable amortization schedule.

Our primary sources of cash during 2014 were: (1) $200 million of Term Loan A borrowings and $48.9 million of revolving loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility; (2) $15.4 million due to an increase in accounts payable and accruals; and (3) $2.8 million due to a decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets. Our primary uses of cash during 2014 were: (1) $256.8 million used to redeem our formerly outstanding 7.625% Senior Notes (comprised of $247.5 million for principal payments, and $9.3 million for premium payments); (2) $29.3 million due to an increase in accounts receivable; (3) $9.9 million used to repay a portion of our outstanding revolving loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility; (4) $9.3 million used to pay dividends on our common stock; and (5) $7.7 million used to repurchase 500,000 shares of our common stock.

Our primary sources of cash during 2013 were: (1) $56.0 million of proceeds received from our insurance company on our claim related to the fire at our Australia manufacturing facility in 2012; (2) $26.3 million of borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility; and (3) $3.5 million due to a reduction in accounts receivable. Our primary uses of cash in 2013 were: (1) $91.9 million of capital expenditures, which included expenditures for the purchase and build-out of our new manufacturing facility in Minto, Australia; (2) $35.6 million of cash used to retire the remainder ($8.1 million aggregate principal amount) of our 11.375% Senior Secured Notes and a portion ($27.5 million aggregate principal amount) of our 7.625% Senior Notes; and (3) $17.3 million due to a decrease in accounts payable and accruals.

We believe that our liquidity position will provide sufficient funds to meet our current commitments and other cash requirements for the foreseeable future.

Funding Obligations

We have various contractual obligations that we must fund as part of our normal operations. The following table discloses aggregate information about our contractual obligations and the periods in which payments are due. The amounts and time periods are measured from January 3, 2016.

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Critical Accounting Policies

The policies discussed below are considered by management to be critical to an understanding of our consolidated financial statements because their application places the most significant demands on management’s judgment, with financial reporting results relying on estimations about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Specific risks for these critical accounting policies are described in the following paragraphs. For all of these policies, management cautions that future events may not develop as forecasted, and the best estimates routinely require adjustment.

Revenue Recognition. The vast majority of our revenue is recognized at the date of shipment when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of an agreement exists, price to the buyer is fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Delivery is not considered to have occurred until the customer takes title and assumes the risks and rewards of ownership, which is generally on the date of shipment. Provisions for discounts, sales returns and allowances are estimated using historical experience, current economic trends, and the Company’s quality performance. The related provision is recorded as a reduction of sales and cost of sales in the same period that the revenue is recognized. Accordingly, our estimates and assumptions regarding revenue recognition primarily relate to sales returns and allowances, which historically have been in the range of 2.5-3.0% of gross sales. Over the last several years, we have not experienced any significant fluctuation in sales returns and allowances, our estimates and assumptions related thereto have not changed significantly, and we believe our estimates and assumptions to be reasonably accurate. Management also believes this past experience can be relied upon for such estimates and assumptions in future periods, as our business model and customer mix have not changed significantly.

A small percentage (approximately 5%) of our revenue relates to flooring installation projects, which generally involve short time periods (typically less than two weeks) and therefore present little risk of material difference due to changes in experience.

Shipping and handling fees billed to customers are classified in net sales in the consolidated statements of operations. Shipping and handling costs incurred are classified in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment at the asset group level whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment is indicated. A loss is then recognized for the difference, if any, between the fair value of the asset (as estimated by management using its best judgment) and the carrying value of the asset. If actual market value is less favorable than that estimated by management, additional write-downs may be required.

Deferred Income Tax Assets and Liabilities. The carrying values of deferred income tax assets and liabilities reflect the application of our income tax accounting policies in accordance with applicable accounting standards, and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates regarding future operating results and levels of taxable income, as well as management’s judgment regarding the interpretation of the provisions of applicable accounting standards. The carrying values of liabilities for income taxes currently payable are based on management’s interpretations of applicable tax laws, and incorporate management’s assumptions and judgments regarding the use of tax planning strategies in various taxing jurisdictions. The use of different estimates, assumptions and judgments in connection with accounting for income taxes may result in materially different carrying values of income tax assets and liabilities and results of operations.

We evaluate the recoverability of these deferred tax assets by assessing the adequacy of future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversal of taxable temporary differences, forecasted operating earnings and available tax planning strategies. These sources of income inherently rely heavily on estimates. We use our historical experience and our short and long-term business forecasts to provide insight. Further, our global business portfolio gives us the opportunity to employ various prudent and feasible tax planning strategies to facilitate the recoverability of future deductions. To the extent we do not consider it more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will be recovered, a valuation allowance is established. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, we had approximately $26.2 million and $100.1 million of U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards, respectively. In addition, as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, we had state net operating loss carryforwards of $139.3 million and $209.0 million, respectively. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, we had approximately $3.7 million and $4.0 million of foreign net operating loss carryforwards, respectively. Certain of these carryforwards are reserved with a valuation allowance because, based on the available evidence, we believe it is more likely than not that we would not be able to utilize those deferred tax assets in the future. The remaining year-end 2015 amounts are expected to be fully recoverable within the applicable statutory expiration periods. If the actual amounts of taxable income differ from our estimates, the amount of our valuation allowance could be materially impacted.

Goodwill. Pursuant to applicable accounting standards, we test goodwill for impairment at least annually using a two step approach. In the first step of this approach, we prepare valuations of reporting units, using both a market comparable approach and an income approach, and those valuations are compared with the respective book values of the reporting units to determine whether any goodwill impairment exists. In preparing the valuations, past, present and expected future performance is considered. If impairment is indicated in this first step of the test, a step two valuation approach is performed. The step two valuation approach compares the implied fair value of goodwill to the book value of goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by allocating the estimated fair value of the reporting unit to the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, including both recognized and unrecognized intangible assets, in the same manner as goodwill is determined in a business combination under applicable accounting standards. After completion of this step two test, a loss is recognized for the difference, if any, between the fair value of the goodwill associated with the reporting unit and the book value of that goodwill. If the actual fair value of the goodwill is determined to be less than that estimated, an additional write-down may be required.

During the fourth quarters of 2015, 2014 and 2013, we performed the annual goodwill impairment test. We perform this test at the reporting unit level. For our reporting units which carried a goodwill balance as of January 3, 2016, no impairment of goodwill was indicated. As of January 3, 2016, if our estimates of the fair value of our reporting units were 10% lower, we believe no additional goodwill impairment would have existed.

Inventories. We determine the value of inventories using the lower of cost or market. We write down inventories for the difference between the carrying value of the inventories and their net realizable value. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional write-downs may be required.

We estimate our reserves for inventory obsolescence by continuously examining our inventories to determine if there are indicators that carrying values exceed net realizable values. Experience has shown that significant indicators that could require the need for additional inventory write-downs are the age of the inventory, the length of its product life cycles, anticipated demand for our products and current economic conditions. While we believe that adequate write-downs for inventory obsolescence have been made in the consolidated financial statements, consumer tastes and preferences will continue to change and we could experience additional inventory write-downs in the future. Our inventory reserve on January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, was $15.5 million and $14.8 million, respectively. To the extent that actual obsolescence of our inventory differs from our estimate by 10%, our 2015 net income would be higher or lower by approximately $1.0 million, on an after-tax basis.

Pension Benefits. Net pension expense recorded is based on, among other things, assumptions about the discount rate, estimated return on plan assets and salary increases. While management believes these assumptions are reasonable, changes in these and other factors and differences between actual and assumed changes in the present value of liabilities or assets of our plans above certain thresholds could cause net annual expense to increase or decrease materially from year to year. The actuarial assumptions used in our salary continuation plan and our foreign defined benefit plans reporting are reviewed periodically and compared with external benchmarks to ensure that they appropriately account for our future pension benefit obligation. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption is based on weighted average expected returns for each asset class. Expected returns reflect a combination of historical performance analysis and the forward-looking views of the financial markets, and include input from actuaries, investment service firms and investment managers. The table below represents the changes to the projected benefit obligation as a result of changes in discount rate assumptions:

Environmental Remediation. We provide for environmental remediation costs and penalties when the responsibility to remediate is probable and the amount of associated costs is reasonably determinable. Remediation liabilities are accrued based on estimates of known environmental exposures and are discounted in certain instances. We regularly monitor the progress of environmental remediation. Should studies indicate that the cost of remediation is to be more than previously estimated, an additional accrual would be recorded in the period in which such determination is made. As of January 3, 2016, no significant amounts were provided for remediation liabilities.

Allowances for Doubtful Accounts. We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of customers to make required payments. Estimating this amount requires us to analyze the financial strengths of our customers. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. By its nature, such an estimate is highly subjective, and it is possible that the amount of accounts receivable that we are unable to collect may be different than the amount initially estimated. Our allowance for doubtful accounts on January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, was $4.5 million and $5.9 million, respectively. To the extent the actual collectability of our accounts receivable differs from our estimates by 10%, our 2015 net income would be higher or lower by approximately $0.3 million, on an after-tax basis, depending on whether the actual collectability was better or worse, respectively, than the estimated allowance.

Product Warranties. We typically provide limited warranties with respect to certain attributes of our carpet products (for example, warranties regarding excessive surface wear, edge ravel and static electricity) for periods ranging from ten to twenty years, depending on the particular carpet product and the environment in which the product is to be installed. We typically warrant that any services performed will be free from defects in workmanship for a period of one year following completion. In the event of a breach of warranty, the remedy typically is limited to repair of the problem or replacement of the affected product. We record a provision related to warranty costs based on historical experience and periodically adjust these provisions to reflect changes in actual experience. Our warranty and sales allowance reserve on January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, was $4.8 million and $4.0 million, respectively. Actual warranty expense incurred could vary significantly from amounts that we estimate. To the extent the actual warranty expense differs from our estimates by 10%, our 2015 net income would be higher or lower by approximately $0.3 million, on an after-tax basis, depending on whether the actual expense is lower or higher, respectively, than the estimated provision.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We are not a party to any material off-balance sheet arrangements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an accounting standard regarding recognition of revenue from contracts with customers. In summary, the core principle of this standard is that an entity recognizes revenue from the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance for this standard was initially effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. However, in August of 2015, the FASB delayed the effective date of the standard for one full year. While we are currently reviewing this new standard, we do not believe that the adoption of this standard will have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

In January 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard which eliminates the concept of extraordinary items from generally accepted accounting principles. The standard does not affect disclosure guidance for events or transactions that are unusual in nature or infrequent in their occurrence. The standard is effective for interim and annual periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015. The standard allows prospective or retrospective application. Early adoption is permitted if applied from the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. We do not believe the adoption of this standard will have any significant effect on our ongoing financial reporting. 

In February 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard which changes the way reporting enterprises evaluate whether (a) they should consolidate limited partnerships and similar entities, (b) fees paid to a decision maker or service provider are variable interests in a variable interest entity (“VIE”), and (c) variable interests in a VIE held by related parties of the reporting enterprise require the reporting enterprise to consolidate the VIE. The new accounting standard is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015. We are currently evaluating the impact, if any, this standard will have on our ongoing financial reporting, but we do not believe the adoption of this standard will have any significant effect on our ongoing financial reporting.

In April 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard to simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs. This accounting standard requires debt issuance costs to be presented on the balance sheet as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability. In August 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard update that allows the presentation of debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements as an asset on the balance sheet under the simplified guidance, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the related arrangements. The guidance in these accounting standards is to be applied retrospectively and is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015. As these standards relate to presentation only, we do not believe the adoption of these accounting standards will have a material impact on our financial statements.

In July 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard to simplify the accounting for inventory. This standard requires all inventories to be measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value, except for inventory that is accounted for using the LIFO or the retail inventory method, which will be measured under existing accounting standards. The new guidance must be applied on a prospective basis and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this new standard and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In November 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standard which requires deferred tax assets and liabilities, as well as any related valuation allowance, be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet. As a result, each jurisdiction will only have one net noncurrent deferred tax asset or liability. This standard does not change the existing requirement that only permits offsetting within a jurisdiction. The amendments in the standard may be applied either prospectively or retrospectively to all prior periods presented. The new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods, with early adoption permitted. As this standard impacts only presentation, we do not expect it to have any significant effect on our consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market Risk

As a result of the scope of our global operations, we are exposed to an element of market risk from changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. Our results of operations and financial condition could be impacted by this risk. We manage our exposure to market risk through our regular operating and financial activities and, to the extent we deem appropriate, through the use of derivative financial instruments.

We employ derivative financial instruments as risk management tools and not for speculative or trading purposes. We monitor the use of derivative financial instruments through objective measurable systems, well-defined market and credit risk limits, and timely reports to senior management according to prescribed guidelines. We have established strict counter-party credit guidelines and enter into transactions only with financial institutions with a rating of investment grade or better. As a result, we consider the risk of counter-party default to be minimal.

Interest Rate Market Risk Exposure

Changes in interest rates affect the interest paid on certain of our debt. To mitigate the impact of fluctuations in interest rates, our management monitors interest rates and has developed and implemented a policy to maintain the percentage of fixed and variable rate debt within certain parameters, subject to approval by our Board of Directors. In the past, we have maintained a fixed/variable rate mix within these parameters either by borrowing on a fixed rate basis or entering into interest rate swap transactions. In the interest rate swaps, we agreed to exchange, at specified levels, the difference between fixed and variable interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional principal linked to LIBOR. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, no such interest rate swaps were in place.

Foreign Currency Exchange Market Risk Exposure

A significant portion of our operations consists of manufacturing and sales activities in foreign jurisdictions. We manufacture our products in the United States, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, China, Thailand and Australia, and sell our products in more than 100 countries. As a result, our financial results have been, and could be, significantly affected by factors such as changes in foreign currency exchange rates or weak economic conditions in the foreign markets in which we distribute our products. Our operating results are exposed to changes in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and many other currencies, including the euro, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Thai baht and Japanese yen. When the U.S. dollar strengthens against a foreign currency, the value of anticipated sales in those currencies decreases, and vice versa. Additionally, to the extent our foreign operations with functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar transact business in countries other than the United States, exchange rate changes between two foreign currencies could ultimately impact us. Finally, because we report in U.S. dollars on a consolidated basis, foreign currency exchange fluctuations could have a translation impact on our financial position.

At January 3, 2016, we recognized a $32.6 million decrease in our foreign currency translation adjustment account compared with December 28, 2014, because of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against certain foreign currencies during 2015, particularly the euro and the Australia dollar.

Sensitivity Analysis

For purposes of specific risk analysis, we use sensitivity analysis to measure the impact that market risk may have on the fair values of our market-sensitive instruments.

To perform sensitivity analysis, we assess the risk of loss in fair values associated with the impact of hypothetical changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates on market-sensitive instruments. The market value of instruments affected by interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate risk is computed based on the present value of future cash flows as impacted by the changes in the rates attributable to the market risk being measured. The discount rates used for the present value computations were selected based on market interest and foreign currency exchange rates in effect at January 3, 2016. The values that result from these computations are then compared with the market values of the financial instruments. The differences are the hypothetical gains or losses associated with each type of risk.

Interest Rate Risk

Our weighted average interest rate for our outstanding borrowings in 2015 and 2014 was 2.0% and 7.4%, respectively.

As discussed above, in the fourth quarter of 2014, we refinanced our outstanding 7.625% Senior Notes with a combination of term loan and revolving loan borrowings under our Syndicated Credit Facility, plus cash on hand. The following table summarizes our market risks associated with our debt obligations as of January 3, 2016. For debt obligations, the table presents principal cash flows and related weighted average interest rates by year of maturity. Variable interest rates presented for variable-rate debt represent the weighted average interest rate on our Syndicated Credit Facility borrowings as of January 3, 2016.

An increase in our effective interest rate of 1% would increase annual interest expense by approximately $2.1 million. We will continue to review our exposure to interest rate fluctuations and evaluate whether we should manage such exposures through interest rate swap transactions.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

As of January 3, 2016, a 10% decrease or increase in the levels of foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar, with all other variables held constant, would result in a decrease in the fair value of our short-term financial instruments (primarily cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable) of $9.9 million or an increase in the fair value of our financial instruments of $12.1 million, respectively. As the impact of offsetting changes in the fair market value of our net foreign investments is not included in the sensitivity model, these results are not indicative of our actual exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.

ITEM 8.      FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

INTERFACE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

INTERFACE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

INTERFACE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

INTERFACE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

INTERFACE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Nature of Operations

The Company is a recognized leader in the worldwide commercial interiors market, offering modular carpet. The Company manufactures modular carpet focusing on the high quality, designer-oriented sector of the market, and provides specialized carpet replacement, installation and maintenance services. Additionally, the Company offers Intersept, a proprietary antimicrobial used in a number of interior finishes.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All of our subsidiaries are wholly-owned, and we are not a party to any joint venture, partnership or other variable interest entity that would potentially qualify for consolidation. All material intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated. Investments in which the Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence are carried at fair value. The Company monitors investments for other than temporary declines in value and makes reductions in carrying values when appropriate. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, the Company did not hold significant investments of this nature.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Examples include provisions for returns, bad debts, product claims reserves, rebates, inventory obsolescence and the length of product life cycles, accruals associated with restructuring activities, income tax exposures and valuation allowances, environmental liabilities, and the carrying value of goodwill and property and equipment. Actual results could vary from these estimates.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of an agreement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, price to the buyer is fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Delivery is not considered to have occurred until the customer takes title and assumes the risks and rewards of ownership, which is generally on the date of shipment. Provisions for discounts, sales returns and allowances are estimated using historical experience, current economic trends, and the Company’s quality performance. The related provision is recorded as a reduction of sales and cost of sales in the same period that the revenue is recognized. Material differences may result in the amount and timing of net sales for any period if management makes different judgments or uses different estimates.

Shipping and handling fees billed to customers are classified in net sales in the consolidated statements of operations. Shipping and handling costs incurred are classified in cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations.

Research and Development

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and are included in the selling, general and administrative expense caption in the consolidated statements of operations. Research and development expense was $14.5 million, $13.9 million and $12.6 million for the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Highly liquid investments with insignificant interest rate risk and with original maturities of three months or less are classified as cash and cash equivalents. Investments with maturities greater than three months and less than one year are classified as short-term investments. The Company did not hold any significant amounts of short-term investments at January 3, 2016 or December 28, 2014.

Cash payments for interest amounted to approximately $4.8 million, $21.0 million and $22.9 million for the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Income tax payments amounted to approximately $7.2 million, $7.5 million and $8.7 million for the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. During the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company received income tax refunds of $3.1 million, $5.0 million and $1.4 million, respectively.

Inventories

Inventories are carried at the lower of cost (standards approximating the first-in, first-out method) or market. Costs included in inventories are based on invoiced costs and/or production costs, as applicable. Included in production costs are material, direct labor and allocated overhead. The Company writes down inventories for the difference between the carrying value of the inventories and their estimated net realizable value. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional write-downs may be required.

Management estimates its reserves for inventory obsolescence by continuously examining its inventories to determine if there are indicators that carrying values exceed net realizable values. Experience has shown that significant indicators that could require the need for additional inventory write-downs are the age of the inventory, the length of its product life cycles, anticipated demand for the Company’s products, and current economic conditions. While management believes that adequate write-downs for inventory obsolescence have been made in the consolidated financial statements, consumer tastes and preferences will continue to change and the Company could experience additional inventory write-downs in the future.

Rebates

The Company has agreements to receive cash consideration from certain of its vendors, including rebates and cooperative marketing reimbursements. The amounts received from its vendors are generally presumed to be a reduction of the prices the Company pays for their products and, therefore, such amounts are reflected as either a reduction of cost of sales in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations, or, if the product inventory is still on hand at the reporting date, it is reflected as a reduction of “Inventories” on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Vendor rebates are typically dependent upon reaching minimum purchase thresholds. The Company evaluates the likelihood of reaching purchase thresholds using past experience and current year forecasts. When rebates can be reasonably estimated and receipt becomes probable, the Company records a portion of the rebate as the Company makes progress towards the purchase threshold.

When the Company receives direct reimbursements for costs incurred in marketing the vendor’s product or service, the amount received is recorded as an offset to selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Assets and Liabilities of Businesses Held for Sale

The Company considers businesses to be held for sale when the Board or management, having the relevant authority to do so, approves and commits to a formal plan to actively market a business for sale and the sale is considered probable. Upon designation as held for sale, the carrying value of the assets of the business are recorded at the lower of their carrying value or their estimated fair value, less costs to sell. The Company ceases to record depreciation expense at that time.

Property and Equipment and Long-Lived Assets

Property and equipment are carried at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: buildings and improvements – ten to forty years; and furniture and equipment – three to twelve years. Interest costs for the construction/development of certain long-term assets are capitalized and amortized over the related assets’ estimated useful lives. The Company capitalized net interest costs on qualifying expenditures of approximately $0.3 million, $0.8 million and $0.8 million for the fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Depreciation expense amounted to approximately $30.4 million, $30.3 million and $24.4 million for the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the asset, a loss is recognized for the difference between the fair value and carrying value of the asset. Repair and maintenance costs are charged to operating expense as incurred.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill is the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations accounted for as acquisitions. Accumulated amortization amounted to approximately $77.3 million at both January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, and cumulative impairment losses recognized were $212.6 million as of both January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014.

As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, the net carrying amount of goodwill was $63.9 million and $70.5 million, respectively. Other intangible assets were $4.8 million and $4.7 million as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively. The Company capitalizes patent defense costs when it determines that a successful defense is probable. Any patent defense costs are amortized over the remaining useful life of the patent. Amortization expense related to intangible assets during the years 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $0.3 million, $0.3 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

During the fourth quarters of 2015, 2014 and 2013, as of the last day of the third quarter of each year, the Company performed the annual goodwill impairment test required by applicable accounting standards. The Company performs this test at the reporting unit level, which is one level below the segment level for the Modular Carpet segment. In effecting the impairment testing, the Company prepared valuations of reporting units on both a market comparable methodology and an income methodology in accordance with the applicable standards, and those valuations were compared with the respective book values of the reporting units to determine whether any goodwill impairment existed. In preparing the valuations, past, present and future expectations of performance were considered. The annual testing indicated no potential of goodwill impairment in any of the years presented.

Each of the Company’s reporting units maintained fair values in excess of their respective carrying values as of the measurement date, and therefore no impairment was indicated during the impairment testing. As of January 3, 2016, if the Company’s estimates of the fair values of its reporting units which carry a goodwill balance were 10% lower, the Company still believes no goodwill impairment would have existed.

The changes in the carrying amounts of goodwill for the year ended January 3, 2016 are as follows:

Product Warranties

The Company typically provides limited warranties with respect to certain attributes of its carpet products (for example, warranties regarding excessive surface wear, edge ravel and static electricity) for periods ranging from ten to twenty years, depending on the particular carpet product and the environment in which it is to be installed. The Company typically warrants that services performed will be free from defects in workmanship for a period of one year following completion. In the event of a breach of warranty, the remedy typically is limited to repair of the problem or replacement of the affected product.

The Company records a provision related to warranty costs based on historical experience and periodically adjusts these provisions to reflect changes in actual experience. Warranty and sales allowance reserves amounted to $4.8 million and $4.0 million as of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, respectively, and are included in “Accrued Expenses” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Taxes on Income

The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns. In estimating future tax consequences, the Company generally considers all expected future events other than enactments of changes in tax laws or rates. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates will be recognized as income or expense in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will expire before realization of the benefit or that future deductibility is not probable. The ultimate realization of the deferred tax assets depends on the ability to generate sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character in the future. This requires us to use estimates and make assumptions regarding significant future events such as the taxability of entities operating in the various taxing jurisdictions. 

The Company does not record taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities on a gross basis.

For uncertain tax positions, the Company applies the provisions of relevant authoritative guidance, which requires application of a “more likely than not” threshold to the recognition and derecognition of tax positions. The Company’s ongoing assessments of the more likely than not outcomes of tax authority examinations and related tax positions require significant judgment and can increase or decrease the Company’s effective tax rate as well as impact operating results. For further information, see the Note entitled “Taxes on Income.”

Fair Values of Financial Instruments

Fair values of cash and cash equivalents and short-term debt approximate cost due to the short period of time to maturity. Fair values of debt are based on quoted market prices or pricing models using current market rates.

Translation of Foreign Currencies

The financial position and results of operations of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are measured generally using local currencies as the functional currency. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate in effect at each year-end. Income and expense items are translated at average exchange rates for the year. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded in the foreign currency translation adjustment account. In the event of a divestiture of a foreign subsidiary, the related foreign currency translation results are reversed from equity to income. Foreign currency exchange gains and losses are included in net income (loss). Foreign exchange translation gains (losses) were ($32.6) million, ($28.4) million and ($5.2) million for the years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Income (Loss) Per Share

Basic income (loss) per share is computed based on the average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted income (loss) per share reflects the increase in average common shares outstanding that would result from the assumed exercise of outstanding stock options, calculated using the treasury stock method.

Stock-Based Compensation

As of fiscal year 2015, the Company has stock-based employee compensation plans, which are described more fully in the “Shareholders’ Equity” Note below.

The fair value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. However, there were no stock options granted in 2015, 2014 or 2013.

The Company recognizes expense related to its restricted stock grants based on the grant date fair value of the stock issued, as determined by its market price at date of grant.

Derivative Financial Instruments

Accounting standards require a company to recognize all derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. Derivatives that do not meet the criteria of an accounting hedge must be adjusted to fair value through income. If the derivative is a fair value hedge, changes in the fair value of the hedged assets, liabilities or firm commitments are recognized through earnings. If the derivative is a cash flow hedge, the effective portion of changes in the fair value of the derivative are recognized in other comprehensive income until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The ineffective portion of a derivative’s change in fair value is immediately recognized in earnings. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, the Company was not party to any significant derivative instruments.

Pension Benefits

Net pension expense recorded is based on, among other things, assumptions about the discount rate, estimated return on plan assets and salary increases. While the Company believes these assumptions are reasonable, changes in these and other factors and differences between actual and assumed changes in the present value of liabilities or assets of the Company’s plans above certain thresholds could cause net annual expense to increase or decrease materially from year to year. The actuarial assumptions used in the Company’s salary continuation plan and foreign defined benefit plans reporting are reviewed periodically and compared with external benchmarks to ensure that they appropriately account for our future pension benefit obligation. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets assumption is based on weighted average expected returns for each asset class. Expected returns reflect a combination of historical performance analysis and the forward-looking views of the financial markets, and include input from actuaries, investment service firms and investment managers.

Environmental Remediation

The Company provides for remediation costs and penalties when the responsibility to remediate is probable and the amount of associated costs is reasonably determinable. Remediation liabilities are accrued based on estimates of known environmental exposures and are discounted in certain instances. The Company regularly monitors the progress of environmental remediation. Should studies indicate that the cost of remediation is to be more than previously estimated, an additional accrual would be recorded in the period in which such determination is made. As of January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, no significant amounts were provided for remediation liabilities.

Allowances for Doubtful Accounts

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of customers to make required payments. Estimating this amount requires the Company to analyze the financial strengths of its customers. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. By its nature, such an estimate is highly subjective, and it is possible that the amount of accounts receivable that the Company is unable to collect may be different than the amount initially estimated. The Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts on January 3, 2016 and December 28, 2014, was $4.5 million and $5.9 million, respectively.

Reclassifications

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year financial statement presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on reported income, comprehensive income, cash flows, total assets or shareholders’ equity as previously reported.

Fiscal Year

The Company’s fiscal year is the 52 or 53 week period ending on the Sunday nearest December 31. All references herein to “2015,” “2014,” and “2013,” mean the fiscal years ended January 3, 2016, December 28, 2014, and December 29, 2013, respectively. Fiscal year 2015 was comprised of 53 weeks, while fiscal years 2014 and 2013 were each comprised of 52 weeks.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS