MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

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for the transition period from                to                     .

Commission File Number 0-18592

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MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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 1600 West Merit Parkway, South Jordan, Utah 84095

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (801) 253-1600

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 229.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

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

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant on June 28, 2019, based upon the closing price of the common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market on such date, was approximately $3.2 billion. As of February 27, 2020, the registrant had 55,216,906 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the following document are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Report: the registrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

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PART I

Unless otherwise indicated in this report, “Merit,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and similar terms refer to Merit Medical Systems, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries.

DISCLOSURE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements in this report, other than statements of historical fact, are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of these provisions, including any projections of earnings, revenues or other financial items, any statements of the plans and objectives of our management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new products or services, any statements regarding the integration, development or commercialization of the business or any assets acquired from other parties, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. All forward-looking statements included in this report are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to us as of such date. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “seeks,” “believes,” “estimates,” “potential,” “forecasts,” “continue,” or other forms of these words or similar words or expressions, or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations or any of the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and actual results will likely differ, and could differ materially, from those projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on any such forward-looking statements.

Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including the following:

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All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Our actual results will likely differ, and may differ materially, from anticipated results. Financial estimates are subject to change and are not intended to be relied upon as predictions of future operating results, and we assume no obligation to update or disclose revisions to those estimates. If we do update or correct one or more forward-looking statements, investors and others should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections. Additional factors that may have a direct bearing on our operating results are described under Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

DISCLOSURE REGARDING TRADEMARKS

This report includes trademarks, tradenames and service marks that are our property or the property of other third parties. Solely for convenience, such trademarks and tradenames sometimes appear without any “™” or “®” symbol. However, failure to include such symbols is not intended to suggest, in any way, that we will not assert our rights or the rights of any applicable licensor, to these trademarks and tradenames.

Item 1.Business.

Our Company

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care and endoscopy. We strive to be the most customer-focused company in healthcare. Each day we are determined to make a difference by understanding our customers’ needs and innovating and delivering a diverse range of products that improve the lives of people and communities throughout the world. We believe that long-term value is created for our customers, employees, shareholders, and communities when we focus outward and are determined to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. was founded in 1987 by Fred P. Lampropoulos, Kent W. Stanger, Darla Gill and William Padilla. Initially we focused our operations on injection and insert molding of plastics. Our first product was a specialized control syringe used to inject contrast solution into a patient’s arteries for a diagnostic cardiac procedure called an angiogram. Since that time, our sales, products and product lines have expanded substantially, both through internal research and development projects and through strategic acquisitions.

Business Strategy

Our business strategy focuses on five target areas as follows:

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We conduct our operations through a number of domestic and foreign subsidiaries and representative offices. Our principal offices are located at 1600 West Merit Parkway, South Jordan, Utah, 84095, and our telephone number is (801) 253-1600. See Item 2. “Properties.” We maintain an Internet website at www.merit.com.

Products

We design, develop, market and manufacture, through our own operations and contract manufacturers, medical products that offer a high level of quality, value and safety to our customers, as well as the patients they serve. Our products are used in the following clinical areas: diagnostic and interventional cardiology; interventional radiology; neurointerventional radiology; vascular, general and thoracic surgery; electrophysiology; cardiac rhythm management; interventional pulmonology; interventional nephrology; orthopaedic spine surgery; interventional oncology; pain management; outpatient access centers; intensive care; computed tomography; ultrasound; and interventional gastroenterology. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, net sales generated by our top ten selling products accounted for approximately 32%, 33% and 37%, respectively. Sales of our inflation devices (including our Big60® device sold within our endoscopy segment and kits and packs which include inflation devices, but also include other products) accounted for approximately 9.4%, 10.8% and 11.4% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The success of our products is enhanced by the extensive experience of our management team in the healthcare industry, our experienced direct sales force and distributors, our ability to provide custom procedural solutions such as kits, trays and procedural packs at the request of our customers and our dedication to offering facility-unique solutions in the markets we serve worldwide.

Our products are offered for sale in six core product groups: peripheral intervention, cardiac intervention, cardiovascular and critical care, interventional oncology and spine, breast cancer localization and guidance, and endoscopy. A number of our products are marketed within multiple product groups; accordingly, we do not maintain separate measures of profitability by product group. Based on industry data and our internal market information, we estimate that the addressable market opportunities (in terms of annual net sales), that we are targeting with our current or newly released product portfolios, for each of our core product groups are as follows:

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We conduct our business through two financial reporting segments: Cardiovascular (which includes our Peripheral Intervention, Cardiac Intervention, Cardiovascular and Critical Care, Interventional Oncology and Spine and Breast Cancer Localization and Guidance product groups) and Endoscopy. For information relating to our business segments, see Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

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The following section describes our principal product offerings by product group.

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Peripheral Intervention

Our Peripheral Intervention products support the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of diseases in peripheral vessels and organs throughout the body, excluding the heart. Our peripheral intervention products are organized into product portfolios as follows: Access, Angiography, Intervention, Biopsy, Drainage and Solutions.

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We offer a broad line of medical devices used to gain and maintain vascular access. These products include our micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, our family of Prelude® sheath introducers and a wide range of guide wires and safety products. Additionally, we offer hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis catheters and grafts which provide dialysis access options across a continuum of disease states. The principal Access Portfolio offerings in our Peripheral Intervention product group include our:

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The products in our Angiography Portfolio are used to identify blockages and other disease states in the blood vessel. The principal Angiography Portfolio offerings in our Peripheral Intervention product group include our:

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The products in our Intervention Portfolio are chiefly used to remove blood clots, retrieve foreign bodies in blood vessels and assist with placing balloons and stents to treat arterial disease. The principal Intervention Portfolio offerings in our Peripheral Intervention product group include our:

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We offer an extensive line of soft tissue biopsy products, bone biopsy products and accessories to complement these products. The principal Biopsy Portfolio offerings in our Peripheral Intervention product group include our:

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We offer a broad line of drainage products. The principal Drainage Portfolio offerings in our Peripheral Intervention product group include our:

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Our Solutions Portfolio is comprised of standard and custom kit and pack solutions that include items needed for peripheral procedures, safety and waste management products, and hemostasis accessories. Our kit and pack solutions can optimize efficiency, and reduce cost and waste.

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Cardiac Intervention

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We manufacture and sell a variety of products designed to treat various heart conditions. Our Cardiac Intervention products are organized into product portfolios including: Access, Angiography, Hemostasis, Intervention, Interventional Fluid Management, Pressure Monitoring, Thermodilution & Pulmonary Artery Catheters and Electrophysiology and Cardiac Rhythm Management.

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The principal Access Portfolio offerings in our Cardiac Intervention product group include our:

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Angiography products identify blocked or narrowed coronary arteries and overlap with our peripheral intervention angiography products. The principal Angiography Portfolio offerings in our Cardiac Intervention product group include our:

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Our hemostasis products assist clinicians in obtaining and maintaining hemostasis or stopping the flow of blood following arterial catheterization. The principal Hemostasis Portfolio offerings in our Cardiac Intervention product group include our:

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The principal Intervention Portfolio offerings in our Cardiac Intervention product group include our:

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Electrophysiology is the study of diagnosing and treating abnormal electrical activities of the heart. Cardiac rhythm management (“CRM”) is the field of cardiac disease therapy that relates to the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias or the improper beating of the heart. The principal Electrophysiology and CRM Portfolio offerings in our Cardiac Intervention product group include our:

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Cardiovascular and Critical Care

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The products in our Cardiovascular and Critical Care product group treat patients with life-threatening disease, protect healthcare providers and patients from exposure to bloodborne pathogens and are designed for efficiency and effectiveness, improving a patient’s and clinician’s experience, while simplifying the challenges of care. The products in our Cardiovascular and Critical Care product group are organized under Interventional Fluid Management and Pressure Monitoring.

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The principal Interventional Fluid Management portfolio offerings in our Cardiovascular and Critical Care product group include our:

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The principal Pressure Monitoring Portfolio offerings in our Cardiovascular and Critical Care product group include our:

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Interventional Oncology and Spine

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The products in our Interventional Oncology and Spine product group treat vertebral compression fractures, metastatic spinal tumors, liver cancer, uterine fibroids, symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia, arteriovenous malformations and hemostatic embolization. Our interventional oncology and spine product line is organized into product portfolios as follows: Delivery Systems, Embolotherapy, Spine Ablation, Angiography and Vertebral Compression Fracture.

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The principal Delivery Systems Portfolio offerings in our Interventional Oncology and Spine product category include our:

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Our embolotherapy products treat disease by blocking or slowing the flow of blood into the arteries or delivering chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer. The principal Embolotherapy Portfolio offerings for Interventional Oncology and Spine include our:

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The principal Spine Ablation Portfolio offerings for Interventional Oncology and Spine are used to treat painful vertebral compression fractures caused by osteoporosis or cancer by injecting bone cement through a small hole in the skin into a fractured vertebra and include our:

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Breast Cancer Localization and Guidance

The products in our Breast Cancer Localization and Guidance product group are dedicated to the innovative treatment of early-stage breast cancer. Our primary products in this product group include our:

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In 2019 we launched several new oncology products including:

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Endoscopy

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The products in our Endoscopy Division, Merit Endotek™, are directed to gastrointestinal, pulmonary and thoracic surgery departments.

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We offer a variety of non-vascular stents to treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary disease including our:

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We offer dilation balloons to endoscopically dilate strictures. Our balloon dilator portfolio includes our:

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We offer NvisionVLE® Imaging System with Real-time Targeting™, an advanced imaging system, to identify abnormalities in the esophagus and bile duct for tissue biopsy or resection. The NvisionVLE® is sold under our worldwide distribution agreement with NinePoint Medical, Inc. (“NinePoint”).

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We also offer a variety of kits and accessories for endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures.

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Specialty Procedure Products

In 2019 we acquired Fibrovein®, a pharmaceutical product and detergent-based sclerosant licensed for the treatment of varicose veins. Fibrovein is a sterile aqueous injection of Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate, an anionic detergent, and has been used in the treatment of varicose veins since 1946.

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We provide coating services for medical tubes and wires under original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) brands in addition to many of the products identified above. We offer coated tubes and wires to customers on a spool or as further manufactured components including guide wire components, coated mandrels/stylets and coated needles.

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We also manufacture and sell microelectromechanical systems sensor components consisting of piezoresistive pressure sensors in various forms, including bare silicon die, die mounted on ceramic substrates, and fully calibrated components for numerous applications both inside and outside the healthcare industry.

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Acquisitions

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On June 14, 2019, we acquired Brightwater Medical Inc., (“Brightwater”). Brightwater’s primary product, the ConvertX® Nephroureteral Stent System is a single use device that replaces a series of devices and procedures used to treat severe obstructions of the ureter. The system is designed to be implanted once and converted from a nephroureteral catheter to a nephroureteral stent without requiring sedation or local anesthesia. Brightwater recently received FDA clearance for the ConvertX® Biliary Stent System.

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On August 1, 2019, we entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire Fibrovein Holdings Limited, the owner of 100% of the capital stock of STD Pharmaceutical Products Limited, a private company located in the UK (“STD Pharmaceutical”). Its primary product is Fibrovein, a pharmaceutical product and detergent-based sclerosant.

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Marketing and Sales

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Target Market/Industry. Our principal target markets are peripheral intervention, cardiac intervention, interventional oncology, critical care and endoscopy. Within these markets our products are used in the following clinical areas: diagnostic and interventional cardiology; interventional radiology; neurointerventional radiology; vascular, general and thoracic surgery; electrophysiology; cardiac rhythm management; interventional pulmonology; interventional nephrology; orthopedic spine surgery; interventional oncology; pain management; breast cancer surgery, outpatient access centers; intensive care; computed tomography; ultrasound and interventional gastroenterology.

According to U.S. government statistics, cardiovascular disease continues to be a leading cause of death and a significant health problem in the U.S. Treatment options range from dietary changes to surgery, depending on the nature of the specific disease or disorder. Endovascular techniques, including angioplasty, stenting and endoluminal stent grafts, continue to represent important therapeutic options for the treatment of vascular disease. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. We derive a large percentage of our revenues from sales of products used during percutaneous diagnostic and interventional procedures such as angiography, angioplasty and stent placement, and we intend to pursue additional sales growth by building on our existing market position in both core technology and accessory products.

Marketing Strategy. As part of our product sales and marketing efforts, we attend major medical conventions throughout the world pertaining to our target markets and invest in market development including physician training, peer-to-peer education, and patient outreach. We work closely with major healthcare facilities and physicians involving our primary target markets in the areas of training, therapy awareness programs, clinical studies and ongoing research.

In general, our target markets are characterized by rapid change resulting from technological advances and scientific discoveries. We plan to continue to develop and launch innovative products to support clinical trends and to address the increasing demands of these markets.

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Product Development Strategy. Our product development is focused on identifying and introducing a regular flow of profitable products that meet customer needs. To stay abreast of customer needs, we frequently seek suggestions from health care professionals working in the fields of medicine in which we offer, or are developing, products. Suggestions for new products and product improvements may also come from engineers, marketing and sales personnel, physicians and technicians who perform clinical procedures.

When we believe that a product suggestion demonstrates a sustainable competitive advantage, meets customer needs, fits strategically and technologically with our business and has a good potential financial return, we generally assemble a “project team” comprised of individuals from our sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, legal and quality assurance departments. This team works to identify the customer requirements, integrate the design, compile necessary documentation and testing, and prepare the product for market introduction. We believe that one of our competitive strengths is our capacity to conceive, design, develop and introduce new products.

U.S. and International Sales. Sales of our products in the U.S. accounted for approximately 58%, 56% and 58% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. In the U.S., we have a dedicated, direct sales organization primarily focused on selling to end-user physicians, hospitals and clinics, major buying groups and integrated healthcare networks.

Internationally, we employ sales representatives and contract with independent dealer organizations and custom procedure tray manufacturers to distribute our products worldwide, including territories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central and South America, Mexico and Canada. In 2019, our international sales grew approximately 8.5% over our 2018 international sales and accounted for approximately 42% of our net sales. China represents our most significant international sales market, with net sales of approximately $113.3 million, $92.7 million, and $73.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. With the recent and planned additions to our product lines, investments in resources, and movement to a “modified direct” sales approach, where our salespeople are involved with promoting the advantages of our products to clinicians and other customers, while the distributors handle sales transactions and address issues related to fulfillment and inventory management, we believe our international sales will continue to increase.

Our largest non-U.S. market is China, which represented approximately 11.4% of our net sales in 2019. We maintain a distribution center and administrative office in Beijing. We also have small sales offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. We sell our products through more than 500 distributors in mainland China, who are responsible for reselling the products, primarily to hospitals. We utilize the “modified direct” sales approach in China, employing sales personnel throughout China who work with our distributors to promote the clinical advantages of our products to clinicians and other decision makers at hospitals.

The recent emergence of a novel strain of coronavirus, specifically identified as “COVID-19,” in the city of Wuhan and the Hubei province of China has resulted in certain emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus, including extension of the Lunar New Year holidays, implementation of travel bans and closure of factories and businesses in China. While the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is unknown at this time, a significant reduction in medical procedures in China could have a material impact on our operations and operating results in China and other areas of the world, as well as our overall financial condition,  For further discussion of risks and uncertainties associated with COVID-19, refer to disclosure under the heading “The outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively impacted our business and operations in China, as well as other countries around the world, and may materially and adversely impact our business, operations and financial results” set forth in Item 1A “Risk Factors”.

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, we have both direct and modified direct sales operations. Our corporate sales operations are active throughout the region, including the largest markets of Germany, France, the UK and Russia.

Our direct sales personnel are principally engaged in each of our divisions. Marketing teams responsible for each division operate clinical education programs, often directed by leading subject matter personnel, who provide technical instruction on techniques and therapies to physicians, nurses and technologists. We are currently conducting education programs specific to radial access, spinal intervention, surgical grafts and electrophysiology.

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We require our international dealers to store products and sell directly to customers within defined sales territories. Each of our products must be approved for sale under the laws of the country in which it is sold. International dealers are responsible for compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as all applicable laws and regulations in their respective countries.

We consider training to be a critical factor in the success of our sales force. Members of our sales force are trained by our clinical marketers, our staff professionals, consulting physicians, and senior field trainers in their respective territories.

OEM Sales. Our global OEM Division sells components and finished devices, including molded components, sub-assembled goods, custom kits and bulk non-sterile goods, to medical device manufacturers. These products may be combined with other components and products from other companies and sold under a Merit or customer label. Products sold by our OEM Division can be customized and enhanced to customer specifications, including packaging, labeling and a variety of physical modifications. Our OEM Division serves customers with a staff of regional sales representatives based in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and a dedicated OEM Engineering and Customer Service Group.

Customers

We provide products to hospitals and clinic-based physicians, technicians and nurses. Hospitals and acute care facilities in the U.S. purchase our products through our direct sales force, distributors, OEM partners, or custom procedure tray manufacturers who assemble and combine our products in custom kits and packs. Outside the U.S., hospitals and acute care facilities generally purchase our products through our direct sales force, or, in the absence of a sales force, through independent distributors or OEM partners.

In 2019, 40% of our net sales were to U.S. hospitals and clinics through our direct sales force and approximately 9% of our net sales were through other channels, such as U.S. custom procedure tray manufacturers and distributors. We also sell products to other medical device companies through our U.S. OEM sales force, which accounted for approximately 9% of our 2019 net sales. The remaining 42% of our 2019 net sales was attributable to sales made to international markets by our direct sales force, international distributors, and our OEM sales force. Sales to our largest customer accounted for approximately 2%, 2% and 2% of net sales during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Research and Development

Our research and development operations have been central to our historical growth, and we believe they will be critical to our continued growth. In 2019, our commitment to innovation led to the introduction of several new products, improvements to our existing products and expansion of our product lines, as well as enhancements and new equipment in our research and development facilities.

We continue to develop new products and make improvements to our existing products utilizing many different sources. Our Chief Executive Officer and our Executive Vice President of Global Research & Development work closely with our sales and marketing teams to incorporate feedback from physicians and clinicians in the field, which can lead to innovative new products and improvements to our existing products.

Currently, we have research and development facilities in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Ireland, France, and Singapore.

Manufacturing

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We manufacture many of our products utilizing our proprietary technology and our expertise in plastic injection and insert molding. We generally contract with third parties for the tooling of our molds, but we design and own most of our molds. We utilize our experience in injection and insert molding technologies in the manufacture of most of the custom components used in our products. We have received International Standards Organization (“ISO”) 13485:2016 certification for our facilities in California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Utah, Ireland, France, Mexico, The Netherlands

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and Singapore. We have also received ISO 9001:2015 certification for our coatings facility in Venlo, The Netherlands and our Merit Sensor Systems, Inc. (“Merit Sensors”) facility in South Jordan, Utah. Merit Sensors develops and markets silicon pressure sensors and presently supplies the sensors we utilize in our digital inflation devices and blood pressure sensors.

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Given the specialization of our manufacturing personnel and processes in our Utah and Ireland facilities, we possess the capability to strategically shift the manufacture of more technologically advanced products to those facilities and utilize the manufacturing capacity of our other facilities for more commoditized products. The actual determination of manufacturing location will be based upon multiple factors, including technological capabilities, market demand, acquisition and integration activities and economic and competitive conditions.

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We currently produce and package all of our embolic products. Manufacturing of our embolic products includes the synthesis and processing of raw materials and third-party manufactured compounds.

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We have packaging and manufacturing facilities located in Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Utah, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Australia, and Singapore. See Item 2. “Properties.”

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We have distribution centers located in Virginia, Utah, Canada, Brazil, The Netherlands, UK, South Africa, Russia, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Japan, China and Australia.

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Competition

The medical products industry is highly competitive. Many of our competitors are much larger than us and have access to greater resources. We also compete with smaller companies that sell single or limited numbers of products in specific product lines or geographies. We compete globally in several market areas, including diagnostic and interventional cardiology; interventional radiology; neurointerventional radiology; vascular, general and thoracic surgery; electrophysiology; cardiac rhythm management; interventional pulmonology; interventional nephrology; orthopedic spine surgery; interventional oncology; pain management; outpatient access centers; intensive care; computed tomography; ultrasound; and interventional gastroenterology.

The principal competitive factors in the markets in which our products are sold are quality, price, value, device features, customer service, breadth of line, and customer relationships. We believe our products have achieved market acceptance primarily due to the quality of materials and workmanship of our products, clinical outcomes, their innovative design, our willingness to customize our products to fit customer needs, and our prompt attention to customer requests. Some of our primary competitive strengths are our relative stability in the marketplace; a comprehensive, broad line of ancillary products; and our history of introducing a variety of new products and product line extensions to the market on a regular basis.

Our primary competitors in our Peripheral Intervention market are Teleflex Incorporated (“Teleflex”), Cook Medical Incorporated (“Cook Medical”), Medtronic plc (“Medtronic”), Boston Scientific Corporation (“Boston Scientific”), and Becton, Dickinson and Company (“BD”). Our primary competitors in our Cardiac Intervention market are Teleflex, Medtronic, Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, and Terumo Corporation. Our primary competitors in our Cardiovascular and Critical Care market are Teleflex, BD, Argon Medical Devices, Inc. (“Argon”), Abbott Laboratories, Cook Medical, and Boston Scientific. Our primary competitors in our Interventional Oncology and Spine market are Medtronic, Stryker, and Johnson & Johnson. Our primary competitors in our Breast Cancer Localization and Guidance market are BD, Hologic, Argon and Cook Medical. Our primary competitors in our Endoscopy market are Getinge AB, Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, and Olympus Corporation.

Based on available industry data, with respect to the number of procedures performed, we believe we are a leading provider of digital inflation technology in the world. In addition, we believe we are one of the market leaders in the U.S. for analog inflation devices. We believe we are a market leader in the U.S. for control syringes, waste-disposal systems, tubing and manifolds. Although we believe our recent and planned additions to these product lines will help us compete even more effectively in both the U.S. and international markets, we cannot give any assurance that we will be able to maintain our existing competitive advantages or compete successfully in the future.

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Sources and Availability of Raw Materials

Raw materials essential to our business are generally purchased worldwide and are normally available in quantities adequate to meet the needs of our business. Where there are exceptions, the temporary unavailability of those raw materials would not likely have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Proprietary Rights and Litigation

We rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights and confidentiality agreements to protect our intellectual property. We have a number of U.S. and foreign-issued patents and pending patent applications, including rights to patents and patent applications acquired through strategic transactions, which relate to various aspects of our products and technology. The duration of our patents is determined by the laws of the country of issuance and, for the U.S., is typically 20 years from the date of filing of the patent application. As of December 31, 2019, we owned approximately 1,600 U.S. and international patents and patent applications. Additionally, we hold exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to a variety of third-party technologies covered by patents and patent applications. In the aggregate, our intellectual property assets are critical to our business, but no single patent, trademark or other intellectual property asset is of material importance to our business.

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The Merit® name and logo are trademarks in the U.S. and other countries. In addition to the Merit name and logo, we have used, registered or applied for registration of other specific trademarks and service marks to help distinguish our products, technologies and services from those of our competitors in the U.S. and foreign countries. See “Products” above. The duration of our trademark registrations varies from country to country; in the U.S. we can generally maintain our trademark rights and renew any trademark registrations for as long as the trademarks are in use. As of December 31, 2019, we owned approximately 500 U.S. and foreign trademark registrations and trademark applications.

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There is substantial litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights in the medical device industry. At any given time, we may be involved as either a plaintiff or a defendant, as well as a counter-claimant or counter-defendant, in patent, trademark, and other intellectual property infringement actions. If a court rules against us in any intellectual property litigation we could be subject to significant liabilities, be forced to seek licenses from third parties, or be prevented from marketing certain products. In addition, intellectual property litigation is costly and may consume significant time of employees and management.

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Regulation

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Regulatory Approvals. Our products and operations are global and are subject to regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and various other federal and state agencies, as well as by foreign governmental agencies. These agencies enforce laws and regulations that control the design, development, testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, labeling, storage advertising, marketing and distribution, and market surveillance of our medical products.

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The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and other foreign governmental agencies can be lengthy and the requirements may differ. In particular, marketing of medical devices in the European Union (“EU”) is subject to compliance with Council Devices Directive 93/92/EEC (“MDD”). In May 2017, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (“MDR”), which will repeal and replace the MDD with effect from May 26, 2020. Under transitional provisions, medical devices with notified body certificates issued under the MDD prior to May 26, 2020 may continue to be placed on the market for the remaining validity of the certificate, until May 27, 2024 at the latest. After the expiry of any applicable transitional period, only devices that have been CE marked under the MDR may be placed on the market in the EU. The MDR includes increasingly stringent requirements in multiple areas, such as pre-market clinical evidence (some of which are now in effect), review of high-risk devices, labeling and post-market surveillance. Under the MDR, pre-market clinical data will now be required to obtain CE Mark approval for high-risk, new and modified medical devices.

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U.S. and global counter-part regulatory approval processes for medical devices are expensive, uncertain and lengthy. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain necessary regulatory approvals for any product on a timely basis or at all. Delays in receipt of or failure to receive such approvals, the loss of previously received approvals,

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or the failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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In November 2019, we were granted a Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA for the Merit Wrapsody™ Endovascular Stent Graft System and we are pursuing regulatory approval in the EU and elsewhere. Human clinical trials of a medical device are often required for regulatory clearance or approval for devices and are expensive, time-consuming and uncertain.

Quality System Requirements. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) and its counterpart non-U.S. laws require us to comply with quality system regulations (“QSR”) pertaining to all aspects of our product design and manufacturing processes, including requirements for packaging, labeling, record keeping, personnel training, supplier controls, design controls, complaint handling, corrective and preventive actions and internal quality system auditing. The FDA and foreign regulators enforce these requirements through periodic inspections of medical device manufacturers. These requirements are complex, technical and require substantial resources to remain compliant. Our failure or the failure of our suppliers to maintain compliance with these requirements could result in the shutdown of our manufacturing operations or the recall of our products, or could restrict our ability to obtain new product approvals or certificates from the FDA that are necessary for export of our products to foreign countries.  Any of these results which would have a material adverse effect on our business. If one of our suppliers fails to maintain compliance with our quality requirements, we may have to qualify a new supplier and could experience manufacturing delays as a result. We also could be subject to injunctions, product seizures, or civil or criminal penalties.

Labeling and Promotion. Our labeling and promotional activities are also subject to scrutiny by the FDA and foreign regulators. Labeling includes not only the label on a device, but also includes any descriptive or informational literature that accompanies or is used to promote the device. Among other things, labeling violates the law if it is false or misleading in any respect or it fails to contain adequate directions for use. Moreover, product claims that are outside the approved or cleared labeling violate the FDCA and other applicable laws. If the FDA determines that our promotional materials constitute promotion of an uncleared or unapproved use, or otherwise violate the FDCA, it could request that we modify our promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance of an untitled letter, a notice of violation, a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fines or criminal penalties. Allegations of off-label promotion can also result in enforcement action by federal, state, or foreign enforcement authorities and trigger significant civil or criminal penalties, including exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs and liability under the False Claims Act, discussed further below.

Our product promotion is also subject to regulation by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), which has primary oversight of the advertising of unrestricted devices, including FDA cleared devices. The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, as well as unfair or deceptive practices such as the dissemination of any false or misleading advertisement pertaining to medical devices. FTC enforcement can result in orders requiring, among other things, limits on advertising, corrective advertising, consumer redress, rescission of contracts and such other relief as the FTC may deem necessary.

In addition, under the federal Lanham Act and similar state laws, competitors and others can initiate litigation relating to advertising claims.

In October 2016, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on certain of our marketing and promotional practices. We have responded to the subpoena, as well as additional related requests. The investigation is ongoing and at this stage we are unable to predict its scope, duration or outcome. Investigations such as this may result in the imposition of, among other things, significant damages, injunctions, fines or civil or criminal claims or penalties against our company or individuals.

Import Requirements. To import a medical device into the U.S., the importer must file an entry notice and bond with the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). All devices are subject to FDA examination before release from the CBP. Any article that appears to be in violation of the FDCA may be refused admission and a notice of detention and hearing may be issued. If the FDA ultimately refuses admission, the CBP may issue a notice for redelivery and assess liquidated damages for up to three times the value of the lot. Additionally, the laws of the U.S. require imported

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articles to have their labels accurately marked with the appropriate country of origin, the violation of which may result in confiscation, fines and penalties.

Export Requirements. Products for export are subject to foreign countries’ import requirements and the exporting requirements of the exporting countries’ regulating bodies, as applicable. International sales of medical devices manufactured in the U.S. that are not approved or cleared by the FDA for use in the U.S., or are banned or deviate from lawful performance standards, are subject to FDA export requirements and we may not be able to export such products.

Foreign countries often require, among other things, an FDA certificate for products for export, also called a Certificate to Foreign Government. To obtain this certificate from the FDA, the device manufacturer must apply to the FDA. The FDA certifies that the product has been granted clearance or approval in the U.S. and that the manufacturing facilities were in compliance with the QSR at the time of the last FDA inspection.

Additionally, the export of our products is subject to restrictions due to trade and economic sanctions imposed by the U.S., the EU and other governments and organizations. The U.S. Departments of Justice, Commerce, State and Treasury and other federal agencies and authorities have a broad range of civil and criminal penalties they may seek to impose against corporations and individuals for violations of economic sanctions laws, export control laws, and other federal statutes and regulations, including those established by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Under these laws and regulations, as well as other export control laws, customs laws, sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations, various government agencies may require export licenses and may seek to impose modifications to business practices, including cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries or with sanctioned persons or entities.

Additional Post-Market Requirements. Medical device manufacturers are also subject to other post-market requirements in multiple jurisdictions, including product listing, establishment registration, Unique Device Identification (“UDI”), reports of corrections and removals and other requirements. Medical Device Reporting required by the FDA, medical device vigilance reporting requirements under the European Medical Devices Directive and similar regulations in other foreign markets, require manufacturers to report to the FDA or an equivalent foreign regulatory body any incident in which their device may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or has malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if the malfunction of the device or a similar device were to recur. Our obligation to report a complaint is triggered on the date on which we become aware of an adverse event and the nature of the event. If we fail to comply with our reporting obligations or other  post-market requirements, the FDA could issue warning letters or untitled letters, take administrative actions, commence criminal prosecution, impose civil monetary penalties, revoke our device approvals or clearances, seize our products, or delay the approval or clearance of our future products. Other regulatory authorities could take similar actions within their jurisdictions.

The FDA regularly inspects companies to determine compliance with the QSRs and other post-market requirements. Failure to comply with statutory requirements and the FDA’s regulations can result in an FDA Form 483 (which is issued by the FDA at the conclusion of an inspection when an investigator has observed any conditions that may constitute violations), public warning letters, monetary penalties against a company or its officers and employees, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, operating restrictions, total or partial suspension of production, injunctions, product recalls, product detentions, import refusals, refusal to provide export certificates, seizure of products and/or criminal prosecution. Other regulatory authorities, including EU Notified Bodies, regularly audit companies to determine compliance with ISO 13485 and their respective regulations. They may take similar actions as the FDA within their jurisdictions.

Reimbursement. Our products are generally used in medical procedures that are covered and reimbursed by governmental payers, such as Medicare, and/or private health plans. In general, these third-party payers cover a medical device and/or related procedure only when the payer determines that healthcare outcomes are supported by medical evidence and the device or procedure is medically necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of the patient’s illness or injury. Even if a device has received clearance or approval for marketing by the FDA or a similar foreign regulatory agency, there is no certainty that third-party payers will cover and reimburse for the cost of the device and related procedures. Because of increasing cost-containment pressures, some private payers in the U.S. and government payers in foreign countries may also condition payment on the cost-effectiveness of the device or procedure. Even if coverage is available, third-party payers may place restrictions on the circumstances in which they provide coverage or may offer reimbursement that is not

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sufficient to cover the cost of our products. If healthcare providers such as hospitals and physicians cannot obtain adequate coverage and reimbursement for our products or the procedures in which they are used, this may affect demand for our products and our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could suffer a material adverse impact.

Anti-Corruption Laws. Anti-corruption laws are in place in the U.S. and in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the U.S., the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) prohibits offering, paying, or promising to pay anything of value to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining an improper business advantage. The FCPA also requires that we maintain fair and accurate books and records and devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls. Among other requirements to implement compliance, we are required to train our U.S. and international employees, and to train and monitor foreign third parties with whom we contract, e.g., distributors, to ensure compliance with these anti-corruption laws. Failing to comply with the FCPA or any other anti-corruption law could result in fines, penalties or other adverse consequences.

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As we expand our operations in China and other jurisdictions internationally, we will need to increase the scope of our compliance programs to address the risks relating to the potential for violations of the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws. Our compliance programs will need to include policies addressing not only the FCPA, but also the provisions of a variety of anti-corruption laws in multiple foreign jurisdictions, including China, provisions relating to books and records that apply to us as a public company, and include effective training for our personnel and relevant third parties.

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Anti-Kickback Statutes. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons and entities from, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce the purchase, order, lease, or recommendation of a good or service for which payment may be made in whole or part under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare or Medicaid, unless the arrangement fits within one of several statutory exemptions or regulatory “safe harbors.” The definition of remuneration has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including, for example, gifts, discounts, the furnishing of supplies or equipment, credit arrangements, payments of cash and waivers of payments. Violations can result in significant penalties, imprisonment and exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. Exclusion of a manufacturer would preclude any federal healthcare program from paying for the manufacturer’s products. Under the Affordable Care Act, a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is deemed to be a violation of the False Claims Act. which is discussed in more detail below. A party’s failure to fully satisfy the obligations of a regulatory “safe harbor” provision may result in increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities.

Government officials continue their vigorous enforcement efforts on the sales and marketing activities of pharmaceutical, medical device and other healthcare companies, including the pursuit of cases against individuals or entities that allegedly offered unlawful inducements to potential or existing customers to procure their business. Settlements of these government cases have involved significant fines and penalties and, in some instances, criminal pleas.

In addition to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, many states have their own anti-kickback laws. Often, these laws closely follow the language of the federal law, although they do not always have the same exceptions or safe harbors. In some states, these anti-kickback laws apply with respect to all payers, including commercial health insurance companies.

False Claims Laws. The False Claims Act prohibits any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to get a false claim paid. Manufacturers can be held liable under false claims laws, even if they do not submit claims to the government, if they are found to have caused submission of false claims. The False Claims Act also includes whistleblower provisions that allow private citizens to bring suit against an entity or individual on behalf of the U.S. and to recover a portion of any monetary recovery. Many of the recent, highly publicized settlements in the healthcare industry relating to sales and marketing practices have been cases brought under the False Claims Act. Most states also have adopted statutes or regulations similar to the federal laws, which apply to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs. Sanctions under the Federal Claims Act and state laws may include civil monetary penalties, exclusion of a manufacturer’s products from reimbursement under government programs, criminal fines and imprisonment.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”) has changed the way healthcare in the U.S. is financed by both governmental and private insurers and has

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significantly affected the medical device industry. This law contains a number of provisions, including provisions governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes, the increased funding of comparative effectiveness research for use in healthcare decision-making, and enhancements to fraud and abuse requirements and enforcement, that we believe affect existing government healthcare programs and result in the development of new programs. Additionally, the long-term viability of the Affordable Care Act, and its impact on our business and results of operations, remains uncertain. For instance, in December 2017, the U.S. enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which, among other things, eliminated the tax penalty for not obtaining health coverage (beginning in 2019). Additionally, members of the U.S. Congress have suggested other changes that may impact individual insurance marketplaces. These and other legislative and executive initiatives may significantly change the scope and impact of the Affordable Care Act and, in turn, the medical device industry. See Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report for further information on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The U.S. Physician Payment Sunshine Act, and similar state laws, also include annual reporting and disclosure requirements for device manufacturers aimed at increasing the transparency of the interactions between device manufacturers and healthcare providers. Reports submitted under these new requirements are placed in a public database. Several other jurisdictions, including China, outside the U.S. have also adopted or begun adopting similar transparency laws. In addition to the burden of establishing processes for compliance, if we fail to provide these reports, or if the reports we provide are not accurate, we could be subject to significant penalties.

Labor Standards Laws. We are also subject to corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) laws and regulations which require us to monitor the labor standards in our supply chain, including the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, the UK Modern Slavery Act, and U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulations regarding Combating Trafficking in Persons. These CSR laws and regulations may impose additional processes and supplier management systems and have led certain key customers to impose additional requirements on medical device companies, including audits, as a prerequisite to selling products to such customers, which could result in increased costs for our products, the termination or suspension of certain suppliers, and reductions in our margins and profitability.

Privacy and Security. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the “HITECH Act”), and accompanying rules, require certain entities, referred to as “covered entities” (including most healthcare providers and health plans), to comply with established standards, including standards regarding the privacy and security of protected health information (“PHI”). HIPAA further requires that covered entities enter into agreements meeting certain regulatory requirements with their “Business Associates,” as such term is defined by HIPAA, which, among other things, obligate the Business Associates to safeguard the covered entity’s PHI against improper use and disclosure. In addition, a Business Associate may face significant statutory and contractual liability if the Business Associate breaches the agreement or causes the covered entity to fail to comply with HIPAA. Many state laws also regulate the use and disclosure of health information and require notification in the event of breach of such information.

Although we do not believe we are a “covered entity” under HIPAA and do not meet the definition of Business Associate, we are committed to maintaining the security and privacy of patients’ health information and believe that we meet the expectations of the HIPAA rules in all material respects. However, to the extent we become subject to HIPAA, whether through a change in our business model or an enforcement action brought by the U.S. government, we would be directly subject to a broader range of requirements under HIPAA, HITECH Act, the rules issued thereunder and their respective civil and criminal penalties.

The EU has adopted a single EU privacy regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which went into effect May 25, 2018. The GDPR extends the scope of the EU data protection law to all companies processing personal data in the context of the activities of an establishment of a controller or a processor in the EU, regardless of whether the processing takes place in the EU or not. In addition, it applies to the processing of personal data of data subjects who are in the EU by a controller or processor not established in the EU, where the processing activities are related to: (a) the offering of goods or services, irrespective of whether a payment of the data subject is required, to such data subjects in the EU; or (b) the monitoring of their behavior as far as their behavior takes place within the EU. The GDPR provides for a harmonization of the data protection regulations throughout the EU. It imposes a strict data protection compliance regime with severe penalties of up to the greater of 4% of worldwide sales or €20 million and includes new rights such as

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the “portability” of personal data. Although the GDPR will apply across the EU without a need for local implementing legislation, it contains a number of opener clauses enabling the EU member states to provide for additional legislation. In addition, local data protection authorities will still have the ability to interpret the GDPR, which has the potential to create inconsistencies on a country-by-country basis. We have implemented changes to our business practices to comply with the GDPR.

We post on our websites our privacy policies and practices regarding the collection, use and disclosure of user data. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any applicable regulatory requirements or orders, or privacy, data protection, information security or consumer protection-related privacy laws and regulations in one or more jurisdictions, could result in proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, including class action privacy litigation in certain jurisdictions, subject us to significant fines, penalties, judgments and negative publicity, require us to change our business practices, increase the costs and complexity of compliance, and adversely affect our business. Data protection, privacy and information security have become the subject of increasing public, media and legislative concern. For example, California’s Consumer Protection Act went into effect on January 1, 2020, giving consumers the right to demand certain information and actions from companies who collect personal information. This enhanced scrutiny and legal requirements could results in costly compliance efforts and potentially result in fines, harm to reputation, or other consequences. If our customers were to reduce their use of our products and services as a result of these concerns, our business could be materially harmed. As noted above, we are also subject to the possibility of security and privacy breaches, which themselves may result in a violation of these privacy laws.

Seasonality

Our worldwide sales have not historically reflected a significant degree of seasonality; however, customer purchases have historically been lower during the third quarter of the year, as compared to other quarters. This reflects, among other factors, lower demand during summer months in countries in the northern hemisphere.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Practices

The majority of our products are disposable medical devices and are generally disposed of after a single use due primarily to the risks of exposing patients to bloodborne pathogens capable of transmitting disease or other potentially infectious materials. Additionally, sterilization conditions differ and repeated sterilization may adversely affect the quality of the plastic used in many of our products and this may result in the failure of our product to function properly if used in multiple medical procedures. Consequently, many of our used products will likely end up in a medical waste disposal facility at the end of their usefulness. Despite this obstacle, we continue to look for ways to deliver sustainable long-term growth. Our sustainability practices are an integral component of our business strategy and our sustainability activities are reviewed and approved by senior management and our Board of Directors.

We have a number of programs designed to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and protect the environment including our:

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In 2019 we provided in-kind donations of our medical devices to support nine medical or humanitarian missions and we worked closely with non-profit organizations in the United States to provide our medical devices for use in medical procedures primarily in Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. We plan on continuing this practice in 2020.  

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Employees

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As of December 31, 2019, we employed 6,355 people. None of our U.S. employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements; however, certain of our European employees are subject to such agreements. We believe our employee relations are generally good. Although our European employees will likely continue to be subject to collective organizing and bargaining activities, we do not expect such activities to materially affect our future operations.

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Recent Developments

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None.

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Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s Internet website is www.sec.gov.

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Our Internet address is www.merit.com. On our Investor Relations website, www.merit.com/investors, we make available, free of charge, a variety of information for investors. Our goal is to maintain the Investor Relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about us, including:

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Additionally, we provide electronic and paper copies of such filings free of charge upon request.

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The information on www.merit.com is not, and will not be deemed, a part of this Report or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC.

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Financial Information About Foreign and Domestic Sales

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For financial information relating to our foreign and domestic sales see Note 2 and Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

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Item 1A.Risk Factors.

Our business, operations and financial condition are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results will vary, and may vary materially, from those anticipated, estimated, projected or expected. Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on our business, operations or financial condition are the factors identified below:

We may be unable to successfully manage growth, particularly if accomplished through acquisitions, and the integration of acquired businesses may present significant challenges that could harm our operations.

Successful implementation of our business strategy will require that we effectively manage our growth. To manage growth effectively, our management will need to continue to implement changes in certain aspects of our business, improve our information systems, infrastructure and operations to respond to increased demand, attract and retain qualified personnel, and develop, train, and manage an increasing number of employees. Growth has placed, and will likely continue to place, an increasing strain on our management, sales and other personnel, and on our financial, product design, marketing, distribution, technology and other resources.  Given the pace of our recent growth, we have experienced operational challenges, and we could experience additional challenges in the future. Any failure to manage growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

Over the past several years, we have completed a series of significant acquisitions and, in the future we may consider other potential acquisitions and strategic transactions, certain of which may also be significant. As we grow through acquisitions, we face the additional challenges of integrating the operations, culture, information management systems and other characteristics of the acquired entity with our own, including sales models related to capital equipment. Our efforts to integrate acquisitions may be hampered by delays, the loss of certain employees, suppliers or customers, proceedings resulting from employment terminations, culture clashes, unbudgeted costs, and other issues, which may occur at levels that are more severe or prolonged than anticipated. For example, our December 2018 acquisition of Vascular Insights, LLC and VI Management, Inc. (combined “Vascular Insights”) presented a number of challenges, as demand for the acquired ClariVein® products was lower than we initially anticipated, partially as a result of excess inventory held by a number of distributors and customers at the time of our acquisition. Although sales of the ClariVein products have increased in each of the quarters since the acquisition, we could face other challenges associated with completed or prospective acquisitions, which we may not currently anticipate.

Additionally, past and future acquisitions may increase the risks of competition we face by, among other things, extending our operations into industry segments and product lines where we have few existing customers or qualified sales personnel and limited expertise. For example, although we acquired certain tunneled home drainage catheter and soft tissue core needle biopsy products from BD in February 2018, BD retained other products that directly compete with the products we acquired. As BD is a larger company with a more well-established market presence in such product lines, we may be unable to realize expected benefits from the acquisition in the timeframe anticipated or at all. Further, as a result of several of our completed acquisition and other strategic transactions, we are selling capital equipment, in addition to our historical sales of disposable medical devices. The sale of capital equipment may create additional risks and potential liability, which may negatively affect our business, operations or financial condition.

We have incurred, and will likely continue to incur, significant expenses in connection with negotiating and consummating various acquisition and other strategic transactions, and we may inherit significant liabilities in connection with prospective acquisitions or other strategic transactions, including regulatory, infringement, product liability, discrimination or other legal claims or issues. In addition, we may not realize competitive advantages, synergies or other benefits anticipated in connection with any such acquisition or other transaction. If we do not adequately identify and value targets for, or manage issues related to, acquisitions and strategic transactions, such transactions may not produce the anticipated benefits and have an adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

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We may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property, which could harm our business and financial condition.

Our ability to remain competitive is dependent, in part, upon our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and prevent other companies from using our intellectual property to produce competing products. We seek to protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of confidentiality and license agreements, and through registrations under patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws. However, these measures afford only limited protection and may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by third parties. Additionally, these measures may not prevent competitors from duplicating our products or gaining access to our proprietary information and technology. Third parties may copy all or portions of our products or otherwise use our intellectual property without authorization, and we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our intellectual property by consultants, vendors, former employees and current employees. Despite our efforts to restrict such unauthorized disclosure or use through nondisclosure agreements and other contractual restrictions, we may not be able to enforce these contractual provisions or we may incur substantial costs enforcing our legal rights.

Third parties may also develop similar or superior technology independently or by designing around our patents. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not offer the same level of protection for our intellectual property as the laws of the U.S. Further, no assurances can be given that any patent application we have filed or will file will result in a patent being issued, or that any existing or future patents will afford adequate or meaningful protection against competitors or against similar technologies. All of our patents will eventually expire and some of our patents, including patents protecting significant elements of our technology, will expire within the next several years.

Filing, prosecuting and defending our intellectual property in countries throughout the world may be impractical and prohibitively expensive. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any such lawsuits that we might initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from our business. Litigation also puts our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Additionally, we may provoke third parties to assert claims against us. Moreover, the legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the aggressive enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protections, which makes it difficult to stop infringement. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially valuable.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively impacted our business and operations in China, as well as other countries around the world, and may materially and adversely impact our business, operations and financial results.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 in China has negatively impacted our business and operations within the affected regions.  Although the information we have received is preliminary and the situation is dynamic, we currently expect the adverse impact of COVID-19 on our net worldwide sales during the first quarter of 2020 to be in the range of $14 million to $19 million. Notwithstanding that preliminary estimate, if COVID-19 continues to spread and/or the precautionary measures being taken continue for a prolonged period of time, our business in China, as well as other regions around the world could be materially impacted, having a material adverse effect on our business,  operations and financial results. The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak impacts our results will depend on future developments that are uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the severity of the virus and the actions to contain its impact.

Third parties claiming that we infringe their intellectual property rights could cause us to incur significant legal or licensing expenses and prevent us from selling our products.

Our commercial success will depend in part on not infringing or violating the intellectual property rights of others. From time to time, third parties may claim that we have infringed their intellectual property rights, including claims regarding patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. We may not be aware of whether our products do or will infringe existing or future patents or the intellectual property rights of others. Because of constant technological change in the medical device industry in which we compete, the extensive patent coverage of existing technologies, and the rapid rate of issuance of new patents, it is possible that the number of these claims may grow. In addition, former employers of

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our former, current, or future employees may assert claims that such employees have improperly disclosed to us the confidential or proprietary information of such former employers. Any such claim, with or without merit, could result in costly litigation, distract management from day-to-day operations and harm our brand or reputation, which in turn could harm our business or results of operations. If we are not successful in defending such claims, we could be required to stop selling, delay shipments of, or redesign, our products, discontinue the use of related trademarks, technologies or designs, pay monetary amounts as damages, enter into royalty or licensing arrangements and satisfy indemnification obligations that we have with some of our customers. Royalty or licensing arrangements that we may seek in such circumstances may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all and we may not be able to redesign applicable products in a way to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others. We have made and expect to continue making significant expenditures to investigate, defend and settle claims related to the use of technology and intellectual property rights as part of our strategy to manage this risk.

Changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions, U.S. trade policies and other factors beyond our control may adversely impact our business and operating results.

Our operations and performance depend significantly on global, regional and U.S. economic and geopolitical conditions. In recent years, there has been discussion and dialogue regarding potential significant changes to U.S. trade policies, legislation, treaties and tariffs, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”). In January 2020, after passing the House and Senate, President Trump signed the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). Mexico had already ratified the USMCA, but before it can take effect, Canada must also ratify the USMCA. At this time, it is unknown whether Canada will ratify the USMCA, new legislation will be passed into law, pending or new regulatory proposals will be adopted, other international trade agreements will be negotiated, or the effect that any such action would have, either positively or negatively, on our industry or our Company. If the USMCA is fully ratified, any new legislation and/or regulations are implemented, or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated, it may be inefficient and expensive for us to alter our business operations in order to adapt to or comply with such changes. Such operational changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Recently, the outbreak of the COVID-19 in China has impacted certain business operations within the affected regions.  Throughout the year ended December 31, 2019, our sales in China increased, and in the absence of this outbreak, we expected such growth in China to continue into the future. We currently expect the adverse impact on our net sales during the first quarter of 2020 to be in the range of $14 million to $19 million. Moreover, if the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread for a prolonged period of time, our business in China could continue to be adversely impacted, having a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

In addition to changes in U.S. trade policy and the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of other economic and geopolitical factors both in the U.S. and abroad could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which could ultimately result in:

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In addition, any changes in U.S. trade policy could trigger retaliatory actions by affected countries, such as China, resulting in a “trade war.” A trade war could result in increased costs for raw materials we use in our manufacturing and could result in foreign governments imposing tariffs on products that we export outside the U.S. or otherwise limiting our ability to sell our products abroad. These events could result in increased costs, lower margins and lower demand than we have assumed in our projected financial results, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

International and national economic and industry conditions constantly change, and could harm our business and results of operations.

Our business and our results of operation are affected by many changing economic, industry and other conditions beyond our control, including, for instance, potential changes to the economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, China, and other countries in which we operate as a result of the current U.S. administration, and other changes and developments that we cannot anticipate, each of which could harm our business and results of operations. Actual or potential changes in international, national, regional and local economic, business and financial conditions, including recession, inflation and trade protection measures, may negatively affect consumer preferences, perceptions, spending patterns or demographic trends, any of which could harm our business or results of operations. Because of these conditions, our customers may experience financial difficulties or be unable to borrow money to fund their operations, which may harm their ability or decision to purchase or pay for our products. Disruptions in the credit markets have previously resulted, and could again result, in volatility, decreased liquidity, widening of credit spreads, and reduced availability of financing. There can be no assurance that future financing will be available to our customers on acceptable terms, if at all. An inability of our customers to obtain financing necessary to purchase our products could harm our business and results of operations.

The FDA regulatory clearance process is expensive, time-consuming and uncertain, and the failure to obtain and maintain required regulatory clearances and approvals could prevent us from commercializing our products.

Before we can introduce a new device or a new use of or a claim for a cleared device in the U.S., we must generally obtain clearance from the FDA, unless an exemption from premarket review or an alternative procedure, such as a de novo risk-based classification or a humanitarian device exemption, applies. The FDA clearance and approval processes for medical devices are expensive, uncertain and time-consuming.

We may make changes to our cleared products without seeking additional clearances or approvals if we determine such clearances or approvals are not necessary and document the basis for that conclusion. However, the FDA may disagree with our determination or may require additional information, including clinical data, to be submitted before a determination is made, in which case we may be required to delay the introduction and marketing of our modified products, redesign our products, conduct clinical trials to support any modifications and pay significant regulatory fines or penalties. In addition, the FDA may not approve or clear our products for the indications that are necessary or desirable for successful commercialization.

There is no assurance that we will be able to obtain the necessary regulatory clearances or approvals for any product on a timely basis or at all. Further, the FDA may change its clearance and approval policies, adopt additional regulations or revise existing regulations, or take other actions which may prevent or delay approval or clearance of our products under development or impact our ability to modify our currently cleared products on a timely basis. Delays in receipt of, or failure to obtain, regulatory clearances for any product enhancements or new products we develop would result in delayed or no realization of revenue from such product enhancements or new products and in substantial additional costs, which could decrease our profitability.

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In addition, we are required to continue to comply with applicable FDA and other regulatory requirements once we have obtained clearance or approval for a product. We cannot provide assurance that we will successfully maintain the clearances or approvals we have received or may receive in the future. The loss of previously received clearances or approvals, or the failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements, could also have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our products are generally subject to regulatory requirements in foreign countries in which we sell those products. We will be required to expend significant resources to obtain regulatory approvals or clearances of our products, and there may be delays and uncertainty in obtaining those approvals or clearances.

In order to sell our products in foreign countries, generally we must obtain regulatory approvals and comply with the regulations of those countries. These regulations, including the requirements for approvals or clearances and the time required for regulatory review, vary from country-to-country.

The EU requires that manufacturers of medical devices obtain the right to affix the CE mark, for compliance with the Council Directive (93/42/EEC) (“MDD”), as amended, to medical devices before selling them in member countries of the EU. The CE mark is an international symbol of adherence to quality assurance standards and compliance with applicable European medical device directives. In order to obtain the authorization to affix the CE mark to products, a manufacturer must obtain certification that its processes and products meet certain European quality standards.

In May 2017, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (“MDR”), which will repeal and replace the MDD with effect from May 26, 2020. Under transitional provisions, medical devices with notified body certificates issued under the MDD prior to May 26, 2020 may continue to be placed on the market for the remaining validity of the certificate, until May 27, 2024 at the latest. After the expiry of any applicable transitional period, only devices that have been CE marked under the MDR may be placed on the market in the EU. The MDR includes increasingly stringent requirements in multiple areas, such as pre-market clinical evidence (some of which are now in effect), review of high-risk devices, labeling and post-market surveillance. Under the MDR, pre-market clinical data will now be required to obtain CE Mark approval for high-risk, new and modified medical devices. We believe these new requirements have the potential to be expensive and time-consuming to implement and maintain.

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Complying with and obtaining regulatory approval in foreign countries, including compliance with the MDR, have caused and will likely continue to cause us to experience more uncertainty, risk, expense and delay in commercializing products in certain foreign jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse impact our net sales, market share and operating profits from our international operations.

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The medical device industry is subject to extensive scrutiny and regulation by governmental authorities. Moreover, in October 2016, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on our marketing and promotional practices. If governmental authorities determine that we have violated laws or regulations, including in respect of our marketing or promotional practices, our company or our employees may be subject to various penalties, including civil or criminal penalties.

Our medical devices and business activities are subject to rigorous regulation by the FDA and other federal, state and foreign governmental authorities. These authorities and domestic and foreign legislators continue to scrutinize the medical device industry. In recent years, the U.S. Congress, Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, as well as foreign counterparts, have issued subpoenas and other requests for information to medical device manufacturers, primarily related to financial arrangements with healthcare providers, regulatory compliance and product promotional practices. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we may be subjected to a wide variety of sanctions and enforcement actions, including warning letters that require corrective action, injunctions, product seizures or recalls, suspension of product manufacturing, revocation of approvals, import or export prohibitions, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, civil fines and/or criminal penalties.

In October 2016, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on certain of our marketing and promotional practices.  We have responded to the subpoena, as well as additional related requests.  The

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investigation is ongoing and at this stage we are unable to predict its scope, duration or outcome. Investigations such as this may result in the imposition of, among other things, significant damages, injunctions, fines or civil or criminal claims or penalties against our company or individuals. Even if we are successful in resolving the pending matter without such consequences, we have incurred, and anticipate that we will continue to incur, substantial costs in connection with the matter. The pending matter, or other governmental proceedings, could significantly impact our reputation and divert management’s attention and resources from growing our business, which in turn could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms or at all.

We anticipate that government authorities will continue to scrutinize our industry closely, and that additional regulation by government authorities may increase compliance costs, exposure to litigation and other adverse effects on our operations.

Use of our products in unapproved circumstances could expose us to liabilities.

The marketing clearances and approvals from the FDA and other regulators of certain of our products are, or are expected to be, limited to specific uses. We are prohibited from marketing or promoting any uncleared or unapproved use of our product. However, physicians may use these products in ways or circumstances other than those strictly within the scope of the regulatory approval or clearance. The use of our products for unauthorized purposes could arise from our sales personnel or distributors violating our policies by providing information or recommendations about such unauthorized uses. Consequently, claims may be asserted by the FDA or other enforcement agencies that we are not in compliance with applicable laws or regulations or have improperly promoted our products for uncleared or unapproved uses. The FDA or such other agencies could require a recall of products or allege that our promotional activities misbrand or adulterate our products or violate other legal requirements, which could result in investigations, prosecutions, fines or other civil or criminal actions.

Consolidation in the healthcare industry, group purchasing organizations or public procurement policies could lead to demands for price concessions, which may harm our ability to sell our products at prices necessary to support our current business strategies.

Healthcare costs have risen significantly over the past decade, which has resulted in or led to numerous cost reform initiatives by legislators, regulators and third-party payers. Cost reform has triggered a consolidation trend in the healthcare industry to aggregate purchasing power, which has created more requests for pricing concessions and is expected to continue in the future. Additionally, many of our customers belong to group purchasing organizations or integrated delivery networks that use their market power to consolidate purchasing decisions for these hospitals and healthcare service providers. These customers are often able to obtain lower prices and more favorable terms because of the potential sales volume they represent, which can lead to lower revenues and require us to take on additional liability. We expect that market demand, government regulation, third-party coverage and reimbursement policies and societal pressures will continue to change the healthcare industry worldwide, resulting in further business consolidations and alliances among our customers, which may exert further downward pressure on the prices of our products.

We rely on the proper function, availability and security of information technology systems to operate our business, and a material disruption of critical information systems or a material breach in the security of our systems may adversely affect our business and customer relationships.

We rely on information technology systems (including technology from third-party providers) to process, transmit, and store electronic information in our day-to-day operations, including sensitive personal information and proprietary or confidential information. We also rely on our technology infrastructure, among other functions, to interact with customers and suppliers, fulfill orders and bill, collect and make payments, ship products, provide support to customers, fulfill contractual obligations and otherwise conduct business. Our internal information technology systems, as well as those systems maintained by third-party providers, may be subjected to computer viruses or other malicious code, unauthorized access attempts, and cyber-attacks, any of which could result in data leaks or otherwise compromise our confidential or proprietary information and disrupt our operations. Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent, and there can be no assurance that our protective measures have prevented or will prevent security breaches, any

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of which could have a significant impact on our business, reputation and financial condition, particularly attacks that result in our intellectual property and other confidential information being accessed or stolen.

We rely on third-party vendors to supply and support certain aspects of our information technology systems. These third-party systems could also become vulnerable to cyber-attacks, malicious intrusions, breakdowns, interference or other significant disruptions, and may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could result in system disruption or compromise the information security of our own systems. In addition, we continue to grow in part through business and product acquisitions and, as a result, may face risks associated with defects and vulnerabilities in the systems operated by the other parties to those transactions, or difficulties or other breakdowns or disruptions in connection with the integration of the acquired businesses and products into our information technology systems.

Cyber-attacks could also result in unauthorized access to our systems and products, including personal information of individuals, which could trigger notification requirements, encourage actions by regulatory bodies, result in adverse publicity, prompt us to offer credit support products or services to affected individuals and lead to class action or other civil litigation. If we fail to monitor, maintain or protect our information technology systems and data integrity effectively or fail to anticipate, plan for or manage significant disruptions to these systems, we could, lose customers, be subject to fraud, breach our agreements with or duties toward customers, physicians, other health care professionals and employees, be subject to regulatory sanctions or penalties, incur expenses or lose revenues, sustain damage to our reputation or suffer other adverse consequences. Unauthorized tampering, adulteration or interference with our products may also create issues with product functionality that could result in a loss of data, risk to patient safety, and product recalls or field actions. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

A significant adverse change in, or failure to comply with, governing regulations could adversely affect our business, operations or financial condition.

We have extensive global operations, which necessitate that we seek various regulatory approvals for our products in the jurisdictions where our products are sold. Different regulatory requirements for product approvals and our need to comply with different regulatory regimes could impact our business.

Substantially all of our products are “devices,” as defined in the FDCA, and the manufacture, distribution, record keeping, labeling and advertisement of substantially all of our products are subject to regulation by the FDA in the U.S. and equivalent regulatory agencies in various foreign countries in which our products are manufactured, distributed, labeled, offered or sold. Further, we are subject to regular review and periodic inspections at our facilities with respect to compliance with the FDCA, QSR, ISO standards and similar requirements of foreign countries, which may cover, among others, the procedures and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, sterilization, storage and shipment of medical devices. Costs to comply with regulations, including, for instance, the MDR, and costs associated with remediation can be significant. Additionally, failure to comply with such requirements, or later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products or our third-party manufacturers’ manufacturing processes, including any failure to take satisfactory corrective action in response to an adverse QSR inspection, could result in total or partial suspension of production or distribution, a regulatory agency’s refusal to grant pending or future clearances or approvals for our products, withdrawal or suspension of clearances, approvals, clinical holds, warning letters or untitled letters or refusal to permit the import or export of our products.

The agreements and instruments governing our debt contain restrictions and limitations that could significantly affect our ability to operate our business, as well as significantly affect our liquidity.

On July 31, 2019 we entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (“Third Amended Credit Agreement”), with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and a lender, and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, BOFA Securities, Inc., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, and U.S. Bank National Association as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Bank of America, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, National Association and U.S. Bank National Association as co-syndication agents. In addition, Bank of America, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, U.S. Bank, National Association, BMO Harris Bank, N.A., and MUFG Union Bank, Ltd. are parties to the Third Amended Credit Agreement as lenders. The Third Amended Credit Agreement amends and restates in its entirety

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our previously outstanding Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and all amendments thereto (the “Second Amended Credit Agreement”). The Third Amended Credit Agreement contains a number of significant covenants that could adversely affect our ability to operate our business, our liquidity or our results of operations. These covenants restrict, among other things, our incurrence of indebtedness, creation of liens or pledges on our assets, mergers or similar combinations or liquidations, asset dispositions, repurchases or redemptions of equity interests or debt, issuances of equity, payment of dividends and certain distributions and entry into related party transactions.

We have pledged substantially all of our assets as collateral for the Third Amended Credit Agreement. Our breach of any covenant in the Third Amended Credit Agreement, not otherwise cured, waived or amended, could result in a default under that agreement and could trigger acceleration of the underlying obligations. Any default under the Third Amended Credit Agreement could adversely affect our ability to service our debt and to fund our planned capital expenditures and ongoing operations. The administrative agent, joint lead arrangers, joint bookrunners and lenders under the Third Amended Credit Agreement have available to them the remedies typically available to lenders and secured parties, including the ability to foreclose on the collateral we have pledged. It could lead to an acceleration of indebtedness and foreclosure on our assets.

As currently amended, the Third Amended Credit Agreement provides for potential borrowings of up to $750 million. Such increased borrowing limits may make it more difficult for us to comply with leverage ratios and other restrictive covenants in the Third Amended Credit Agreement. We may also have less cash available for operations and investments in our business, as we will be required to use additional cash to satisfy the minimum payment obligations associated with this increased indebtedness.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively impact our financial results.

As our operations have grown outside the U.S., we have also become increasingly subject to market risk relating to foreign currency. Those fluctuations could have a negative impact on our margins and financial results. During 2019, 2018 and 2017, the exchange rate between all applicable foreign currencies and the U.S. Dollar resulted in a decrease in net sales of approximately $13.5 million, an increase of approximately $5.2 million and an increase of approximately $0.6 million, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, approximately $320.8 million, or 32.2%, of our net sales were denominated in foreign currencies, with our CNY- and Euro-denominated sales representing our largest currency risks. If the rate of exchange between foreign currencies declines against the U.S. Dollar, we may not be able to increase the prices we charge our customers for products whose prices are denominated in those respective foreign currencies. Furthermore, we may be unable or elect not to enter into hedging transactions which could mitigate the effect of declining exchange rates. As a result, if the rate of exchange between foreign currencies declines against the U.S. Dollar, our financial results may be negatively impacted.

We will be required to expend significant resources for research, development, testing and regulatory approval or clearance of our products under development, and these products may not be developed successfully or approved for commercial use.

Most of our products under development will require significant additional research, development, engineering and, in some cases, preclinical and clinical testing, as well as regulatory approval or clearance and a commitment of significant additional resources prior to their commercialization. It is possible that our products may not:

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We are currently conducting one clinical trial in an effort to obtain approval from the FDA that would enable us to expand our efforts to commercialize the QuadraSphere Microspheres. EU regulations do not currently require such applications for these classes of medical device. In order for us to obtain FDA approval to promote the use of QuadraSphere Microspheres for the purposes indicated in our clinical trial, we will need to complete the trial and submit positive clinical data to the FDA. If we cannot enroll study subjects in sufficient numbers to complete the necessary study, if there is a disruption in the supply of materials for the trial or if any other factors preclude us from completing the trial in a timely manner, we will likely not be able to complete the trial. Even if we complete the clinical trial, the FDA may require us to undertake additional testing, or the trial results may not be sufficient to obtain FDA approval for other reasons, including inconclusive or negative results of our trials or those conducted by our competitors or other third parties. Any clinical trials we undertake in the future will likely be subject to these and similar risks. If we do not obtain FDA approval or clearance of the product use studied in a clinical trial, we will not be able to promote the subject product for the indicated treatment of the specific disease or condition in the U.S.

We are subject to laws targeting fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry, the violation of which could adversely affect our business or financial results.

Our operations are subject to various state and federal laws targeting fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and other anti-kickback laws, which prohibit any person from knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing or arranging for an item or service, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Violations of these fraud and abuse-related laws are punishable by criminal or civil sanctions, including substantial fines, imprisonment and exclusion from participation in healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, any of which could harm our business or financial results.

We are also subject to the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act, and similar anti-corruption laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions. These laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from illegally offering things of value to any individual for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. As we continue to expand our business activities internationally, compliance with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws presents greater challenges to our operations. If our employees or agents violate the provisions of the FCPA or other anti-corruption laws, we may incur fines or penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition.

We are dependent upon key personnel.

Our success is dependent on key management personnel, including Fred P. Lampropoulos, our Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lampropoulos is not subject to any agreement prohibiting his departure, and we do not maintain key man life insurance on his life. The loss of Mr. Lampropoulos, or of certain other key management personnel, could have a materially adverse effect on our business and operations. Our success also depends on, among other factors, the successful recruitment and retention of key operating, manufacturing, sales and other personnel.

Termination or interruption of, or a failure to monitor, our supply relationships and increases in the price of our component parts, finished products, third-party services or raw materials, particularly petroleum-based products, could have an adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

We rely on raw materials, component parts, finished products and third-party services in connection with our business. For example, substantially all of our products are sterilized by only a few different entities. Additionally, many of our products have components that are manufactured using resins, plastics and other petroleum-based materials which are available from a limited number of suppliers. We are experiencing a growing trend among suppliers of polymer resins to refuse to supply resin to the medical device manufacturers or to require such manufacturers to assume additional risks due to the potential for product liability claims. Additionally, there is no assurance that crude oil supplies will be

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uninterrupted or that petroleum-based manufacturing materials will be available for purchase in the future. Any interruption to the supply of polymers or petroleum-based resins could have an adverse effect on our ability to produce, or on the cost to produce, our products.

The availability and price of these materials, parts, products and services are affected by a variety of factors beyond our control, including the willingness of suppliers to sell into the medical device industry, changes in supply and demand, general economic conditions, labor costs, fuel-related transportation costs, liability concerns, competition, import duties, tariffs, currency exchange rates and political uncertainty around the world. Our suppliers may pass some of their cost increases on to us, and if such increased costs are sustained or increase further, our suppliers may pass further cost increases on to us. In addition to the effect on resin prices, transportation costs generally increase based on the effect of higher crude oil prices, and these increased transportation costs may be passed on to us.

We are also subject to corporate social responsibility, or CSR, laws and regulations which require us to monitor the labor standards in our supply chain, including the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, the UK Modern Slavery Act, and U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulations regarding Combating Trafficking in Persons. These CSR labor laws and regulations may impose additional processes and supplier management systems and have led certain key customers to impose additional requirements on medical device companies, including audits, as a prerequisite to selling products to such customers, which could result in increased costs for our products, the termination or suspension of certain suppliers, and reductions in our margins and profitability.

Our ability to recover such increased costs may depend upon our ability to raise prices on our products. Due to the highly competitive nature of the healthcare industry and the cost-containment efforts of our customers and third-party payers, we may be unable to pass along cost increases through higher prices. If we are unable to fully recover these costs through price increases or offset these increases through cost reductions, or we experience terminations or interruption of our relationships with our suppliers, we could experience lower margins and profitability, and our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be materially harmed.

Limits on reimbursement imposed by governmental and other programs may adversely affect our business and results of operation.

We sell our products to hospitals and other healthcare providers around the world that typically receive reimbursement for the services provided to patients from third-party payers such as government programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid in the U.S.) and private insurance programs. The ability of our customers to obtain appropriate reimbursement for the cost of our products from governmental and private third-party payers is critical to our business. Limits on reimbursement imposed by such programs may adversely affect the ability of hospitals and others to purchase our products, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Third-party payers, whether foreign or domestic, or governmental or commercial, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. In general, a third-party payer covers a medical procedure only when the plan administrator is satisfied that the product or procedure is reasonable and necessary to the patient’s treatment; however, the cost-effectiveness of the treatment may also be a condition. In addition, in the U.S., no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for procedures using our products exists among third-party payers. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for procedures using our products can differ significantly from payer to payer. In addition, payers continually review new and existing technologies for possible coverage and can, without notice, deny or reverse coverage or alter pre-authorization requirements for new or existing products and procedures. We cannot provide assurance that we will be successful in any efforts we may potentially undertake to reverse such non-coverage decisions. If we are not successful in reversing non-coverage policies, or if third-party payers that currently cover or reimburse certain procedures reverse or limit their coverage of such procedures in the future, or if other third-party payers issue similar policies, our business could be adversely impacted.

Further, we believe that future coverage and reimbursement may be subject to increased restrictions, such as additional preauthorization requirements, both in the U.S. and in international markets. Third-party coverage and reimbursement for procedures using our products or any of our products in development for which we may receive

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regulatory approval may not be available or adequate in either the U.S. or international markets, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

Our products may be subject to product liability claims and warranty claims.

Our products are used in connection with invasive procedures and in other medical contexts that entail an inherent risk of product liability claims. If medical personnel or their patients suffer injury or death in connection with the use of our products, whether as a result of a failure of our products to function as designed, an inappropriate design, inadequate disclosure of product-related risks or information, improper use, or for any other reason, we could be subject to lawsuits seeking significant compensatory and punitive damages. Product liability claims may be brought by individuals or by groups seeking to represent a class. We have previously faced claims by patients claiming injuries from our products. To date, these claims have not resulted in material harm to our operations or financial condition. The outcome of this type of personal injury litigation is difficult to assess or quantify. We maintain product liability insurance; however, there is no assurance that this coverage will be sufficient to satisfy any claim made against us. Moreover, any product liability claim brought against us could result in significant costs, divert our management’s attention from other business matters or operations, increase our product liability insurance rates, or prevent us from securing insurance coverage in the future. As a result, any lawsuit seeking significant monetary damages may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

We generally offer a limited warranty for the return of product due to defects in quality and workmanship. We attempt to estimate our potential liability for future product returns and establish reserves on our financial statements in amounts that we believe will be sufficient to address our warranty obligations; however, our actual liability for product returns may significantly exceed the amount of our reserves. If we underestimate our potential liability for future product returns, or if unanticipated events result in returns that exceed our historical experience, our financial condition and operating results could be materially harmed.

In addition, the occurrence of such an event or claim could result in a recall of products from the market or a safety alert relating to such products. Such a recall could result in significant costs, reduce our revenue, divert management’s attention from our business, and harm our reputation.

Our products may cause or contribute to adverse medical events that we are required to report to the FDA or other governmental authorities, and if we fail to do so, we may be subject to sanctions that may materially harm our business.

Our products are subject to medical device reporting regulations, which require us to report to the FDA information that reasonably suggests one of our products may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or one of our products malfunctioned and, if the malfunction were to recur, this device or a similar device that we market would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury. Our obligation to report under the medical device reporting regulations is triggered on the date on which we become aware of information that reasonably suggests a reportable adverse event occurred. We may fail to report adverse events of which we become aware within the prescribed timeframe. We may also fail to recognize that we have become aware of a reportable adverse event, especially if it is not reported to us as an adverse event or if it is an adverse event that is unexpected or if the product characteristic that caused the adverse event is removed in time from our products. If we fail to comply with our medical device reporting obligations, the FDA could issue warning letters or untitled letters, take administrative actions, commence criminal prosecution, impose civil monetary penalties, demand or initiate a product recall, seize our products, or delay the clearance of our future products.

We lack direct sales and marketing capabilities in many countries and are dependent on our distributors for the commercialization of our products in these countries. If we are unable to maintain or establish sales capabilities on our own or through third parties, we may not be able to commercialize any of our products in those countries.

We have no or limited direct sales or marketing capabilities in some of the regions and countries in which our products are sold, including, among others, China, Japan, Russia and India. We have entered into distribution agreements with third parties to market and sell our products in those countries in which we do not have a direct sales force and in those countries in which we utilize a “modified direct” sales approach. If we are unable to maintain or enter into such

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distribution arrangements on acceptable terms, or at all, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our products in certain countries. Moreover, to the extent that we enter into distribution arrangements with other companies, our revenues, if any, will depend on the terms of any such arrangements and the efforts of others. These efforts may turn out not to be sufficient and our third-party distributors may not effectively sell our products. In addition, although our contract terms require our distributors to comply with all applicable laws regarding the sale of our products, including anti-competition, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, we may not be able to ensure proper compliance. If our distributors fail to effectively market and sell our products in full compliance with applicable laws, our results of operations and business could be impacted.

Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, manufacturers and distributors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, manufacturers and distributors may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates healthcare laws and regulations of the FDA and other federal, state and international authorities, manufacturing standards, and laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, and a global anti-corruption policy, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties.

We may be a party to litigation in the course of our business or otherwise, which could affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We may become party to or otherwise involved in legal proceedings, claims or other legal matters, arising in the course of our business.  In particular, our company, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have been named in a complaint filed in the Central District of California, which alleges violations of certain federal securities laws.  Legal proceedings can be complex and take many months, or even years, to reach resolution, with the final outcome depending on a number of variables, some of which are not within our control. Litigation is subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive to our operations. Although it is our intention to vigorously defend ourselves in such legal proceedings, their ultimate resolution and potential financial and other impacts on us are uncertain. If a legal proceeding is resolved against us, it could result in significant compensatory damages or injunctive relief that could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may be unable to compete in our markets, particularly if there is a significant change in relevant practices or technology.

The markets in which our products compete are highly competitive. We face competition from many companies which are larger, better established, have greater financial, technical and other resources and possess a greater market presence than we do. Such resources and market presence may enable our competitors to more effectively market competing products or to market competing products at reduced prices in order to gain market share.

In addition, our ability to compete successfully is dependent, in part, upon our response to changes in technology and upon our efforts to develop and market new products which achieve significant market acceptance. Competing companies with substantially greater resources than us are actively engaged in research and development of new methods, treatments, drugs, and procedures to treat or prevent cardiovascular disease that could limit the market for our products and eventually make some of our products obsolete. A reduction in the demand for a significant number of our products, or a few key products, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

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We depend on generating sufficient cash flow to fund our debt obligations, capital expenditures, and ongoing operations.

We are dependent on our cash on hand and free cash flow to fund our debt obligations, capital expenditures and ongoing operations. Our ability to service our debt and to fund our planned capital expenditures and ongoing operations will depend on our ability to continue to generate cash flow. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or we are unable to access additional liquidity sources, we may not be able to service or repay our debt, operate our business, respond to competitive challenges, or fund our other liquidity and capital needs.

The exit of the UK from the European Union, and current uncertainty about whether such exit could harm our business and results of operations in Europe and elsewhere.

On June 23, 2016, the UK held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” On January 31, 2020 Article 50 of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty process by which a member state leaves the European Union expired and the UK has now entered a transition process ending on December 31, 2020 (the “Transitional Period”) with an option to request an extension of the deadline to be made by June, 2020. During the Transitional Period, the government will engage in negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the European Union. There is therefore a substantial risk that at the end of the Transitional Period, there could be a Brexit without agreement between the UK and the EU. As a result of the disruption in the relationship between the UK and other EU countries, it is possible that there will be greater restrictions and additional costs on the movement of goods and people between the UK and the EU countries and increased regulatory complexities, which could affect our ability to sell products in certain EU countries and in the UK. Currently, all of our European production is in EU countries outside of the UK. However, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, approximately 1.9% of our world-wide revenues arose from sales into the UK. Disruptions arising from the exit of the UK from the EU, or from stalled or failed negotiations between the UK and the EU, could result in various trade barriers limiting or prohibiting our ability to export or sell our products into the UK.

In the fiscal year ended in December 31, 2019, approximately 11.9% of our world-wide revenue arose from sales into EU countries, other than the UK. Brexit could adversely affect the economy of EU countries, which could adversely affect our sales into those countries. In addition, Brexit could also harm worldwide economic and market conditions and could further contribute to instability in global financial and foreign exchange markets, including volatility in the value of the British pound and the Euro, to which we have significant exposure. In addition, other European countries may seek to conduct referenda with respect to continuing membership with the EU. The uncertainties surrounding Brexit, and the possibility that Brexit could result in restrictions on trade and related tariffs between the UK and the rest of the EU, could result in additional costs, reduced demand, adverse currency fluctuations and otherwise harm our business and operations.

In late 2018 we opened a warehouse and distribution facility in Reading, England, principally to address the potential impact of Brexit on our ability to market, sell and distribute our products in the UK. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, substantial expenses in connection with the leasing, improvement and commencement of operations associated with the new Reading facility. In part due to the continued uncertainty regarding the timing and consequences of Brexit, there can be no assurance regarding the effect our Reading facility will have on our business, operations or financial condition.

Uncertainty relating to the LIBOR calculation method and potential phasing out of LIBOR after 2021 may adversely affect the interest rates under our Third Amended Credit Agreement.

Certain of the interest rates applicable to our Third Amended Credit Agreement, and applicable to hedging instruments we have purchased to offset interest rate risk under our Third Amended Credit Agreement, are LIBOR-based. On July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) announced that it will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR rates after 2021. Actions by the FCA, other regulators or law enforcement agencies may result in changes to the method by which LIBOR is calculated. At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect of any such changes or any other reforms to LIBOR that may be enacted in the UK or elsewhere. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential changes may adversely affect the trading market for LIBOR-based securities, including the floating rates applicable to our Third Amended Credit Agreement and related hedges. It is possible that the

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changes in how LIBOR is calculated, changes in the trading market for LIBOR-based securities or actions of the FCA and other government entities may cause unexpected increases in LIBOR rates or a breakdown in the LIBOR systems. If these issues arise, we could experience increased interest rates or uncertainty with respect to the calculation of interest on our Third Amended Credit Agreement and other instruments, which could harm our operations.

We may be unable to accurately forecast customer demand for our products and manage our inventory.

To ensure adequate supply, we must forecast our inventory needs and place orders with our suppliers based on estimates of future demand for particular products. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products could be negatively affected by many factors, including our failure to accurately manage our expansion strategy and customer acceptance of new products, product introductions by our competitors, an increase or decrease in customer demand for our products or for products of our competitors, unanticipated changes in general market conditions or regulatory matters and weakening of economic conditions or consumer confidence in future economic conditions. Inventory levels in excess of customer demand may result in inventory write-downs or write-offs, which would impact our gross margin. Conversely, if we underestimate customer demand for our products, our manufacturing facilities may not be able to deliver products to meet our order requirements, which could damage our reputation and customer relationships.

Our forecasts of customer demand and related decisions that we make about production levels may take into account potential opportunities created by regulatory issues, supply disruptions or other challenges experienced by our competitors. We generally do not know the extent and cannot predict the duration of these challenges experienced by our competitors. As a result, our estimates about related increased demand for our products are inherently uncertain and subject to change. If our estimates incorrectly forecast the extent or duration of this increased demand, or the product types to which it relates, our revenues, margins and earnings could be adversely affected.

The size of the market for our product groups has not been established with precision and may be smaller than we estimate.

Our estimates of the annual total addressable market for our cardiac intervention, peripheral intervention, interventional oncology and spine, and cardiovascular and critical care and endoscopy product groups are based on a number of internal and third-party estimates, including published industry data. While we believe these factors have historically provided and may continue to provide us with effective tools in estimating the total market for our products, these estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our estimates may change at any time, thereby reducing the predictive accuracy of the underlying factors we consider in our analysis. As a result, our estimates of the annual total addressable market for our products may prove to be incorrect. If the actual number of patients who would benefit from our products and the annual total addressable market for our products is smaller than we have estimated, our sales growth may be impaired and our business adversely impacted. Even if the markets are as large as projected, there is no assurance that our market share or aggregate sales will increase as a result of the size of addressable markets.

We are subject to export control laws, customs laws, sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations in the U.S. and other countries. If we fail to comply with these laws, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, other remedial measures and legal expenses, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our global operations expose us to trade and economic sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the U.S., the EU and other governments and organizations. The U.S. Departments of Justice, Commerce, State and Treasury and other federal agencies and authorities have a broad range of civil and criminal penalties they may seek to impose against corporations and individuals for violations of economic sanctions laws, export control laws, and other federal statutes and regulations, including those established by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Under these laws and regulations, as well as other export control laws, customs laws, sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations, various government agencies may require export licenses, may seek to impose modifications to business practices, including cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries or with sanctioned persons or entities and modifications to compliance programs, which may increase compliance costs, and may subject us to fines, penalties and other sanctions. A violation of these laws or regulations could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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We are subject to work stoppage, transportation, severe weather, natural disasters, outbreak of disease and related risks.

We manufacture products at various locations in the U.S. and foreign countries and sell our products worldwide. We depend on third-party transportation companies to deliver supplies necessary to manufacture our products from vendors to our various facilities and to move our products to customers, operating divisions, and other subsidiaries located worldwide. Our manufacturing operations, and the operations of the transportation companies on which we depend, may be harmed by natural disasters or significant human events, such as a war, civil unrest, terrorist attack, riot, strike, slowdown, or similar events. Any disruption in our manufacturing or transportation could materially harm our ability to meet customer demands or our operations.

Additionally, outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as the COVID-19 outbreak, and related quarantines may cause significantly reduced demand for our products in those regions, disrupt manufacturing and other business activities or could prevent our products from being delivered to the affected areas or to other locations indirectly impacted by such an outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Furthermore, our manufacturing operations could be affected by many other factors beyond our control, including severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes. These conditions could cause substantial damage to our facilities, interrupt our production and disrupt our ability to deliver products to our customers.

Fluctuations in our effective tax rate may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operation.

We are subject to taxation in numerous countries, states and other jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of applicable tax rates in the various countries, states and other jurisdictions in which we operate. In preparing our financial statements, we estimate the amount of tax that will become payable in each of these jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate may, however, differ from the estimated amount due to numerous factors, including a change in the mix of our profitability from country to country and changes in tax laws. Relevant authorities may also disagree with tax positions we have taken and assess further taxes. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive federal tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or TCJA. The TCJA makes changes to the corporate tax rate, business-related deductions and taxation of foreign earnings, among others, that will generally be effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. U.S. federal and state regulatory and standard-setting bodies continue to issue guidance and regulations related to the TCJA that could have a material financial statement impact on our effective tax rate in future periods. The implementation by us of new practices and processes designed to comply with, and benefit from, the TCJA and its rules and regulations could require us to make substantial changes to our business practices, allocate additional resources, and increase our costs, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, further changes in the tax laws of foreign jurisdictions could arise, including as a result of recommendations issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD, which could, if implemented, result in substantial changes to numerous long-standing tax positions and principles. These contemplated changes, to the extent adopted by OECD members or other countries, could increase tax uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes. Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different from previous periods or our current expectations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation.

A significant portion of our revenues is derived from a few products and medical procedures.

A significant portion of our revenues is attributable to sales of our inflation devices. During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, sales of our inflation devices (including our Big60® device sold within our endoscopy segment and kits and packs which include inflation devices, but also include other products) accounted for approximately 9.4% and 10.8% of our net sales, respectively. Any material decline in market demand, or change in OEM supplier preference, for our inflation devices could have an adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

In addition, the products that have accounted for a majority of our historical revenues are designed for use in connection with a few related medical procedures, including angioplasty, stent placement procedures, and spinal procedures. If subsequent developments in medical technology or drug therapy make such procedures obsolete, or alter

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the methodology of such procedures so as to eliminate the usefulness of our products, we may experience a material decrease in demand for our products and experience deteriorating financial performance.

Actions of activist shareholders, including a proxy contest, could be disruptive and potentially costly and the possibility that activist shareholders may contest, or seek changes that conflict with, our strategic direction could cause uncertainty about the strategic direction of our business.

On January 27, 2020, we received notice from Starboard Value and Opportunity Master Fund Ltd (“Starboard”) that it intends to nominate up to seven individuals to stand for election as directors at our 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Members of our Board of Directors and our management team have had initial discussions with representatives of Starboard regarding their interest in the Company.  Other than the director nominations, Starboard has not informed us of any particular changes they wish for us to make or specific plans they want us to adopt. While our Board of Directors and management team strive to maintain constructive, ongoing communications with all of our shareholders, including Starboard, and we welcome constructive input from all shareholders toward the shared goal of enhancing stakeholder value, activist campaigns that contest, or seek to change, our strategic direction could have an adverse effect on us because: (i) responding to actions by activist shareholders could disrupt our operations, be costly and time consuming, and divert the attention of our Board of Directors and senior management from the pursuit of business strategies, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition; (ii) perceived uncertainties as to our future direction may lead to the perception of a change in the direction of the business, instability or lack of continuity which may be exploited by our competitors, cause concern to our current or potential customers, may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners; and (iii) these types of actions could cause significant fluctuations in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.

Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S., state and international laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation and could result in claims, changes to our business practices, penalties, increased cost of operations, or declines in user growth or engagement, or otherwise harm our business.

The U.S. and many other countries in which we conduct our operations have adopted laws and regulations protecting certain data, including medical and personal data, and requiring data holders and controllers to implement administrative, logical and technical controls and procedures in order to protect the privacy of such data. Individual states have also begun to enact data privacy laws. For example, California’s Consumer Protection Act went into effect on January 1, 2020, giving consumers the right to demand certain information and actions from companies who collect personal information.  Internationally, some countries have also passed laws and regulations that require individually identifiable data on their citizens to be maintained on local servers and that may restrict transfer or processing of that data. In addition, regulatory authorities around the world are considering a number of additional proposals concerning data protection. These laws and regulations have been, and may continue to be, inconsistent with each other, requiring different approaches in different jurisdictions. In addition, the interpretation and application of medical and personal data protection laws and regulations in the U.S., Europe, China and elsewhere are often uncertain and in flux. Further, we have incurred, and will likely continue to incur, significant expense in connection with our efforts to comply with those laws and regulations. It is possible that these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our data practices, possibly resulting in fines or orders requiring that we change our data practices, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Complying with these various laws could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business.

Legal developments in Europe have created compliance uncertainty regarding certain transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. and other non-EU jurisdictions. For example, the GDPR, which came into application in the EU on May 25, 2018, applies to our activities conducted from an establishment in the EU or related to products and services that we offer to EU users. The GDPR created a range of new compliance obligations, which could cause us to change our business practices, and significantly increases financial penalties for noncompliance (including possible fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover for the preceding financial year or €20 million (whichever is higher) for the most serious infringements).

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Our failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could affect our business, operations or financial condition.

We manufacture and assemble certain products that require the use of hazardous materials that are subject to various national, federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment, health and safety. While the cost of compliance with such laws and regulations has not had a material adverse effect on our results of operations historically, compliance with future regulations may require additional capital investments. Additionally, because we use a limited amount of hazardous and other regulated materials in our manufacturing processes, we are subject to certain risks of future liabilities, lawsuits and claims resulting from any substances we manufacture, dispose of or release. Certain environmental laws and regulations may impose “strict liability” for the conduct of, or conditions caused by, others, or for acts that were in non-compliance with all applicable laws at the time the acts were performed, rendering us liable without regard to our negligence or fault. Because of these laws, any accidental release may have an adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

Our operations are also subject to various laws and regulations relating to occupational health and safety. We maintain safety, training and maintenance programs as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Compliance with applicable health and safety laws and regulations has required and continues to require expenditures.

We cannot predict what additional environmental, health and safety legislation or regulations will be enacted or become effective in the future or how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted with respect to our operations, capital expenditures, results of operations or competitive position. Compliance with more stringent laws or regulations or adverse changes in the interpretation of existing laws or regulations by government agencies could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition, and could require substantial expenditures.

The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile.

The market price of our common stock has recently been, and may in the future be, volatile for various reasons, including those discussed in these risk factors. Other events that could cause volatility in our stock, include without limitation, variances in our financial results; analysts’ and other projections or recommendations regarding our common stock specifically or medical technology stocks generally; any restatement of our financial statements or any investigation of us by the SEC, the FDA, or another regulatory authority; or a decline, or rise, of stock prices in capital markets generally.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Our world headquarters is located in South Jordan, Utah, with our principal office for European operations located in Galway, Ireland and our principal office for Asian distribution located in Beijing, China. We also support our European operations from a distribution and customer service facility located in Maastricht, The Netherlands. In addition, we lease commercial space in India, Hong Kong, Italy, Dubai, Australia, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Great Britain, Vietnam, Taiwan, New Zealand, Indonesia, and France, as well as in Massachusetts and Texas. Our principal manufacturing and packaging facilities are located in Virginia, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Ireland, Brazil, Australia, France, Singapore, Mexico, and The Netherlands. Our research and development activities are conducted principally at facilities located in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, Ireland, France, and Singapore.

Our total manufacturing, commercial, distribution, and research space is approximately 2.0 million square feet, of which approximately 1.0 million square feet is owned, and 1.0 million square feet is leased.

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The following is a summary of the approximate square footage of our key facilities as of December 31, 2019:

​

Operations associated with our cardiology segments utilize all of our facilities, while operations associated with our endoscopy segment are conducted primarily from our facilities located in Utah and Texas.

In February 2020, we completed construction of a manufacturing and research and development facility, which we own, near our South Jordan, Utah, headquarters, totaling approximately 90,000 square feet.

We believe our existing and proposed facilities will generally be adequate for our present and future anticipated levels of operations.

Item 3.Legal Proceedings.

In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various claims and litigation matters. These claims and litigation matters may include actions involving product liability, intellectual property, contract disputes, and employment or other matters that are significant to our business. For example, in December 2019 our company, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer were named in a complaint filed in the Central District of California, which alleges violations of certain federal securities laws. Based upon our review of currently available information, we do not believe that any such actions are likely to be, individually or in the aggregate, materially adverse to our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

In addition to the foregoing matters, in October 2016, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on certain of our marketing and promotional practices. We have responded to the subpoena, as well as additional related requests. We have incurred, and anticipate that we will continue to incur, substantial costs in connection with the matter. The investigation is ongoing and at this stage we are unable to predict its scope, duration or outcome. Investigations such as this may result in the imposition of, among other things, significant damages, injunctions, fines or civil or criminal claims or penalties against our company or individuals.

It is possible that the ultimate resolution of any of the foregoing matters, or other matters, if resolved in a manner unfavorable to us, may be materially adverse to our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Legal costs for these matters, such as outside counsel fees and expenses, are charged to expense in the period incurred.

Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures.

The disclosure required by this item is not applicable.

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PART II

Market Price for the Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “MMSI.” As of February 27, 2020, the number of shares of our common stock outstanding was 55,216,906 held by approximately 104 shareholders of record, not including shareholders whose shares are held in securities position listings.

Performance

The following graph compares the performance of our common stock with the performance of the NASDAQ Stock Market (U.S. Companies) and NASDAQ Stocks (SIC 3840-3849 U.S. Companies - Surgical, Medical and Dental Instruments and Supplies) for a five-year period by measuring the changes in common stock prices from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2019.

The stock performance graph assumes for comparison that the value of our common stock and of each index was $100 on December 31, 2014 and that all dividends were reinvested. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results.

NOTE:      Performance graph data is complete through last fiscal year. Performance graph with peer group uses peer group only performance (excludes only Merit). Peer group indices use beginning of period market capitalization weighting. Index Data: Calculated (or Derived) based from CRSP NASDAQ Stock Market (US Companies), Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP®), Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago. Copyright 2020. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table contains information regarding our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2019 (in thousands, except weighted-average price):

Item 6.Selected Financial Data (in thousands, except per share amounts).

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Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes thereto set forth in Item 8 of this report.

Overview

We design, develop, manufacture and market medical products for interventional and diagnostic procedures. For financial reporting purposes, we report our operations in two operating segments: cardiovascular and endoscopy. Our cardiovascular segment consists of cardiology and radiology devices, which assist in diagnosing and treating coronary arterial disease, peripheral vascular disease and other non-vascular diseases and includes embolotherapeutic, cardiac rhythm management, electrophysiology, critical care, breast cancer localization and guidance, biopsy, interventional oncology and spine devices. Our endoscopy segment consists of gastroenterology and pulmonology devices which assist in the palliative treatment of expanding esophageal, tracheobronchial and biliary strictures caused by malignant tumors. Within those two operating segments, we offer products focused in six core product groups: peripheral intervention, cardiac intervention, interventional oncology and spine, cardiovascular and critical care, breast cancer localization and guidance and endoscopy.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, we reported sales of approximately $994.9 million, up approximately $112.1 million or 12.7%, over 2018 sales of approximately $882.8 million.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 43.5% for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to 44.7% for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was approximately $5.5 million, or $0.10 per share, as compared to $42.0 million, or $0.78 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2018.

We continue to focus our efforts on expanding our presence in foreign markets, particularly Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), China, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and Brazil, in an effort to expand our market opportunities. These efforts have increased our selling, general and administrative expenses and lengthened our average collection period as certain geographic markets have customary payment terms which are, on average, longer than payment terms in the United States; however, we believe over time this expansion will help improve our profitability. Our international sales growth was strong for the year ended December 31, 2019. In 2019, international sales were approximately $419.1 million, or 42.1% of our net sales, up 8.5% from international sales of $386.3 million in 2018.

We believe our forecasted growth will be facilitated by recently obtained regulatory approvals, such as:

We continue to consolidate facilities, strategically reduce operating expenses and incentivize our sales force to focus on products that will improve our financial performance. We currently plan to move production of 14 products to our facilities in Mexico or Texas, and anticipate consolidating four facilities from 2020-2021. We presently estimate these consolidations to result in cost savings of approximately $6 million to $10 million annually.

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As we have significant sales and distribution in China and Southeast Asia, we recognize the potential impact the coronavirus epidemic may have on our business. We currently expect the adverse impact on our net sales during the first quarter of 2020 to be in the range of $14 million to $19 million.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain operational data as a percentage of sales for the years indicated:

​

Listed below are the sales by product category within each operating segment for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

​

Cardiovascular Sales. Our cardiovascular sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 were approximately $961.0 million, up 13.1%, when compared to the corresponding period for 2018 of approximately $849.5 million. Sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 were favorably affected by increased sales of (a) our stand-alone devices (particularly our Map™ Merit Angioplasty Packs, Merit Laureate® Hydrophilic Guide Wire products, Dual Cap® Disinfection & Protection System, as well as sales from our acquisitions of the BD product lines and the assets of Vascular Insights, among others) of approximately $39.9 million, up 11.0%; (b) full year sales of Cianna Medical products of $49.5 million; and (c) catheters (particularly our Prelude® Radial Introducer Sheath product line, our Merit Maestro® Microcatheters and our new Prelude IDeal™) of approximately $22.4 million, up 14.4%.

Our cardiovascular sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $849.5 million, up 21.2%, when compared to the corresponding period for 2017 of approximately $700.6 million. Sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 were favorably affected by increased sales of (a) our stand-alone devices (particularly our Map™ Merit Angioplasty Packs, PreludeSYNC™, guide wires, and Merit Laureate® Hydrophilic Guide Wire products, as well as sales from our acquisitions of BD and the Argon critical care division product lines, among others) of approximately $86.2 million, up 31.3%; (b) catheters (particularly our Prelude® Radial Introducer Sheath product line, our Merit

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Maestro® Microcatheters and our new Prelude IDeal™) of approximately $27.8 million, up 21.7%; and (c) our inflation devices (particularly our basixTOUCH™ and BasixCompak™ product lines and inflation kits sold through our OEM relationships) of approximately $12.5 million, up 15.7%.

Sales by our international direct sales forces are subject to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations between the natural currency of a foreign country and the U.S. Dollar. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations decreased sales 1.3% for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to sales calculated using the applicable average foreign exchange rates for 2018 and increased sales 0.6% for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to sales calculated using the applicable foreign exchange rates for 2017.

Endoscopy Sales. Our endoscopy sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 were approximately $33.9 million, up 1.8%, when compared to sales in 2018 of approximately $33.3 million. Sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 were favorably affected by increased sales of our EndoMAXX™ fully covered esophageal stent, our Elation® balloon dilator, and our AEROmini® fully covered esophageal stent, partially offset by decreased sales of other stents. Our endoscopy sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $33.3 million, up 22.2%, when compared to sales in 2017 of approximately $27.2 million. This increase was primarily related to new sales from our distribution agreement with NinePoint and our acquisition of BD, as well as an increase in sales of our EndoMAXX™ fully covered esophageal stent and our Elation® balloon dilator.

International Sales. International sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 were approximately $419.1 million, or 42.1% of net sales, up 8.5% from 2018. International sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $386.3 million, or 43.8% of net sales, up 25.8% from 2017. The increase in our international sales during 2019 was primarily related to a year-over-year sales increase in China of approximately $20.6 million, or 22.2%, in Southeast Asia of approximately $4.1 million, or 24.9%, and in Russia of approximately $2.6 million, or 30.0%. The increase in our international sales during 2018 was primarily related to a year-over-year sales increase in China of approximately $19.4 million, or 26%, in Japan of approximately $12.8 million, or 38%, and in Australia of approximately $9.3 million, or 190% (primarily due to the acquisition of ITL).

Gross Profit. Our gross profit as a percentage of sales was 43.5%, 44.7%, and 44.8% for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The decrease in gross profit as a percentage of sales for 2019, as compared to 2018, was primarily related to increased amortization expense associated with current and prior year acquisitions ($49.7 million in 2019 compared to $31.8 million in 2018), increased costs associated with new distribution sites, and adverse impacts from tariffs and foreign currency fluctuations, which were partially offset by improvements associated with changes in product mix. The decrease in gross profit as a percentage of sales for 2018, as compared to 2017, was primarily related to increased amortization expense and mark-up of acquired inventory associated with acquisitions and unfavorable manufacturing variances associated with our operations in Australia, which was partially offset by improvements associated with changes in product mix.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Our selling, general and administrative expenses increased approximately $51.3 million, or 18.6%, for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to 2018 and $46.9 million, or 20.5%, for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 2017. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales were 32.9%, 31.3% and 31.5% for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily related to higher compensation expenses associated with an increase in headcount to support recent acquisitions and the growth in operations, higher commission expense associated with increased sales, higher severance costs ($5.0 million compared to $0.9 million in 2018) related to restructuring, and legal costs associated with the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice ($6.5 million in 2019 compared to $5.6 million in 2018), partially offset by decreased acquisition and integration-related costs ($3.5 million in 2019 compared to $7.6 million in 2018).

The increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily related to $7.6 million of acquisition and integration-related costs (compared to $6.6 million in 2017), increased headcount, increased amortization of intangible assets and foreign market

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expansion, partially offset by decreased legal costs associated with responding to the pending subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice ($5.6 million in 2018 compared to $12.6 million in 2017).

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development (“R&D”) expenses increased by $6.1 million or 10.2% to approximately $65.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to approximately $59.5 million in 2018. The increase in R&D expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 was largely due to hiring additional research and development personnel to support various new core and acquired product developments, as well as higher clinical and regulatory costs. Research and development expenses increased by approximately $8.1 million or 15.8% to approximately $59.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to approximately $51.4 million in 2017. The increase in R&D expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 was largely due to hiring additional research and development personnel to support various new core and acquired product developments. Our research and development expenses as a percentage of sales were 6.6%, 6.7% and 7.1% for 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. We have a pipeline of new products, and we believe that we have an effective level of capabilities and expertise to continue the flow of new, internally developed products into the foreseeable future.

Impairment and Other Charges. For the year ended December 31, 2019 we recorded impairment charges of $23.8 million, primarily due to our write-off of our NinePoint note receivable and purchase option of $20.5 million due to our assessment of the collectability of the note receivable and management’s decision not to exercise our option to purchase the business. We also recorded impairment of certain intangible assets of $3.3 million, $0.7 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, based on changes in revenue expectations associated with these product lines and restructuring.

Contingent Consideration (Benefit). In fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, we recorded ($0.2) million, ($0.7) million and ($0.3) million, respectively, of net contingent consideration (benefit) from changes in the estimated fair value of our contingent consideration obligations stemming from our previously disclosed business acquisitions. Expense (benefit) in each fiscal year relates to changes in the probability and timing of achieving certain revenue and operational milestones, as well as expense for the passage of time.

Acquired In-process Research and Development. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, we incurred in-process research and development charges of approximately $0.5 million, $0.6 million and $12.1 million, respectively. Higher in-process research and development charges in the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily driven by the acquisition of IntelliMedical and its intellectual property rights associated with a steerable guidewire system in 2017, as discussed in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

Our operating profits by business segment for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 were as follows (in thousands):

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Cardiovascular Operating Income. Our cardiovascular operating income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was approximately $25.8 million, compared to cardiovascular operating income of approximately $49.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. This decrease in cardiovascular operating income was primarily related to decreased gross margin percentage, higher compensation expenses, higher severance costs ($5.0 million compared to $0.9 million in 2018), and legal costs associated with the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice ($6.5 million in 2019 compared to $5.6 million in 2018), partially offset by decreased acquisition and integration-related costs ($3.5 million in 2019 compared to $7.6 million in 2018) and increased sales. Our cardiovascular operating income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately $49.3 million, compared to operating income of approximately $24.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. This increase in cardiovascular operating income was primarily related to increased sales, lower R&D costs as a percentage of sales, the $11.9 million acquired in-process R&D charge from IntelliMedical in 2017 which did not repeat in 2018, lower legal expenses incurred in responding to the pending subpoena from the U.S.

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Department of Justice ($5.6 million in 2018 compared to $12.6 million in 2017), partially offset by costs related to increased headcount, increased amortization of intangible assets, and costs associated with foreign market expansion.

Endoscopy Operating Income (Loss). Our endoscopy operating income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was a loss of approximately ($10.3) million, compared to operating income of approximately $9.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. This decrease was primarily the result of the impairment of a note receivable and a purchase option for NinePoint of approximately $20.5 million. Our endoscopy operating income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately $9.3 million, compared to approximately $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. This increase was primarily the result of higher sales (due to the distribution agreement with NinePoint and the acquisition of BD).

Effective Tax Rate. Our effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was (148.6%), 15.2%, and 23.3%, respectively. The decrease in the effective income tax rate for 2019 compared to 2018 was primarily the result of book to tax differences related to stock options and deferred compensation as well as uncertain tax positions lapsing that generated a greater benefit due to lower pre-tax book income. The decrease in the effective income tax rate for 2018 compared to 2017 was primarily the result of the reduced U.S. corporate tax rate and the favorable impact of the revision and completion of the transition tax calculation, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of the estimated withholding tax on unremitted foreign earnings.

Other Income (Expense). Our other income (expense) for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was approximately ($13.2) million, ($9.1) million, and $2.8 million, respectively. The change in other income (expense) for 2019 over 2018 was principally the result of increased interest expense due to higher average debt balances during 2019, the write-off of $1.6 million of accrued interest related to the NinePoint note receivable, and increased expense related to foreign currency remeasurement. The change in other income (expense) for 2018 over 2017 was principally the result of increased interest expense due to higher average debt balances during 2018 and the gain on bargain purchase related to the 2017 acquisition of the Argon critical care division of approximately $11.0 million.

Net Income. Our net income for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was approximately $5.5 million, $42.0 million, and $27.5 million, respectively. The decrease in net income for 2019, when compared to 2018, was primarily due to total charges of $22.1 million related to NinePoint (including the entire carrying value of the purchase option and note receivable, along with $1.6 million of accrued interest), increased selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales, lower gross profit as a percentage of sales, and increased interest expense compared to 2018.

The increase in net income for the year ended December 31, 2018, when compared to 2017, was primarily due to increased sales (both from acquisitions and organic growth), decreased R&D expenses as a percentage of sales, lower legal expenses incurred in responding to the pending subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice ($5.6 million in 2018 compared to $12.6 million in 2017) and a lower effective tax rate in 2018 (in large part due to tax reform), partially offset by slightly lower gross margins and increased interest expense due to higher average debt balances in 2018.

Total Assets. Total assets utilized in our cardiovascular segment were approximately $1.7 billion as of December 31, 2019, compared to approximately $1.6 billion as of December 31, 2018 and approximately $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2017. Total assets utilized in our endoscopy segment were approximately $12.3 million as of December 31, 2019, compared to approximately $31.0 million as of December 31, 2018 and approximately $8.0 million as of December 31, 2017. The decrease in endoscopy segment total assets from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2019 was primarily related to the impairment of the purchase option and note receivable with NinePoint.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. We have committed to provide loans of up to an additional €2 million at the discretion of Selio Medical Limited at a rate of 5% per annum. The current note receivable balance from Selio is $250,000. If exercised these loans would be securitized by all the present and future assets and property of the borrower. Aside from this arrangement, we do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have had, or are reasonably likely in the future to have, an effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Capital Commitments and Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our capital commitments and contractual obligations as of December 31, 2019, as well as the future periods in which such payments are currently anticipated to become due:

As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $76.7 million of contingent consideration liabilities, $2.2 million of unrecognized tax positions, and $14.9 million of deferred compensation payable that have been recognized as liabilities that have not been included in the contractual obligations table due to uncertainty as to when such amounts may be settled.

Additional information regarding our capital commitments and contractual obligations, including royalty payments and operating leases, is contained in Notes 8, 10, and 18 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

Cash Flows

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $44.3 million and $67.4 million respectively, of which approximately $31.7 million and $57.3 million, respectively, were held by foreign subsidiaries. Future repatriation of cash and other property held by our foreign subsidiaries will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. As a result, after evaluation of the permanent reinvestment assertion, we are no longer permanently reinvested with respect to our historic unremitted foreign earnings as of December 31, 2018. Cash held by our subsidiary in China is subject to local laws and regulations that require government approval for the transfer of such funds to entities located outside of China. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $11.3 million and $18.6 million, respectively, held by our subsidiary in China.

Cash flows provided by operating activities. We generated cash from operating activities of approximately $77.8 million, $86.5 million and $62.7 million during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Net cash provided by operating activities decreased $8.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. Significant changes in operating assets and liabilities affecting cash flows during these years included:

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The $23.8 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 was driven by an increase in net income of approximately $14.5 million and an increase of approximately $21.1 million in non-cash items, partially offset by a decrease in the net change from operating assets and liabilities of approximately $11.7 million. Significant changes in operating assets and liabilities affecting cash flows during these years included:

Cash flows used in investing activities. We used cash in investing activities of approximately $134.5 million, $378.8 million, and $146.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. We invested in capital expenditures for property and equipment of approximately $78.2 million, $63.3 million, and $38.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Capital expenditures in each fiscal year were primarily related to investment in buildings, property and equipment to support development and production of new and expanded product lines and to facilitate growth in our distribution markets. These investments include construction of a new manufacturing and research and development facility in South Jordan, Utah completed in early 2020 and expansion of our manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico to incorporate production of our biopsy and drainage products acquired from BD and other products. Historically, we have incurred significant expenses in connection with facility construction, production automation, product development and the introduction of new products. We anticipate that we will spend approximately $50 to $55 million in 2020 for buildings, property and equipment.

Cash outflows invested in acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2019 were approximately $53.9 million and were primarily related to our acquisition of Brightwater and STD Pharmaceutical. Cash outflows for acquisitions in 2018 were approximately $301.8 million and primarily related to our acquisition of BD product lines and Cianna Medical. Cash outflows for acquisitions in 2017 were $105.6 million and primarily related to our acquisition of the assets of Laurane Medical, the assets of Osseon LLC, Vascular Access Technologies, the critical care division of Argon and a custom procedure pack business from ITL Healthcare Pty Ltd. (“ITL”). Each year also included additional less significant acquisitions; for further discussion, refer to Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

Cash flows provided by financing activities. Cash provided by financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was approximately $33.5 million, $328.3 million and $96.5 million, respectively. In 2019 we increased our net borrowings by approximately $44.5 million to partially finance our current period acquisitions and pay contingent consideration of $15.7 million, which is classified as a financing activity, principally related to our Cianna Medical acquisition. In 2018, our primary financing activities included a public equity offering of 4,025,000 shares of common stock (from which we received net proceeds of approximately $205.0 million, which is net of approximately $12.0 million in underwriting discounts and commissions incurred and paid by us in connection with this equity offering) and additional net borrowings under our credit agreement of approximately $116.5 million to fund our acquisition activity. This was partially offset by approximately $2.6 million used to purchase common stock to pay employee taxes resulting from the exercise of stock options. Our primary financing activities in 2017 included a public equity offering of 5,175,000 shares of common stock from which we received proceeds of approximately $136.6 million, which is net of approximately $8.8 million in underwriting discounts. This was partially offset by net paydowns on our outstanding debt of approximately $46.0 million.

As of December 31, 2019, we had outstanding borrowings of $440 million under the Third Amended Credit Agreement, with available borrowings of approximately $133.8 million, based on the leverage ratio required pursuant to

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the Third Amended Credit Agreement. Our interest rate as of December 31, 2019 was a fixed rate of 2.62% on $175 million as a result of an interest rate swap (see Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report) and a variable floating rate of 3.30% on $265 million. Our interest rate as of December 31, 2018 was a fixed rate of 2.12% on $175 million as a result of an interest rate swap and a variable floating rate of 3.52% on $213.5 million. As of December 31, 2018 we also had a variable rate of 3.39% on $7 million related to our collateralized debt facility with HSBC in China. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report for additional details regarding the Third Amended Credit Agreement and our long-term debt.

We currently believe that our existing cash balances, anticipated future cash flows from operations and borrowings under the Third Amended Credit Agreement will be adequate to fund our current and currently planned future operations for the next twelve months and the foreseeable future. In the event we pursue and complete significant transactions or acquisitions in the future, additional funds will likely be required to meet our strategic needs, which may require us to raise additional funds in the debt or equity markets.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The SEC has requested that all registrants address their most critical accounting policies. The SEC has indicated that a “critical accounting policy” is one which is both important to the representation of the registrant’s financial condition and results and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. We base our estimates on past experience and on various other assumptions our management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results will differ and may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Additionally, changes in accounting estimates could occur in the future from period to period. The following paragraphs identify our most critical accounting policies:

Valuation of Goodwill and Intangible Assets. We allocate any excess purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination to goodwill. We base the fair value of identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination on valuations that use information and assumptions that a market participant would use, including assumptions for estimated revenue projections, growth rates, cash flows, discount rates, useful life, and other relevant assumptions.

We test our goodwill balances for impairment as of July 1 of each year, or whenever impairment indicators arise. We utilize several reporting units in evaluating goodwill for impairment using a quantitative assessment, which uses a combination of a guideline public company market-based approach and a discounted cash flow income-based approach. The quantitative assessment considers whether the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, in which case an impairment charge is recorded to the extent the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. This analysis requires significant judgment, including estimation of future cash flows and the length of time they will occur, which is based on internal forecasts, and a determination of a discount rate based on our weighted average cost of capital. During our annual test of goodwill balances in 2019, which was completed during the third quarter of 2019, we determined that the fair value of each reporting unit with goodwill exceeded the carrying amount by a significant amount.

We evaluate the recoverability of intangible assets subject to amortization whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an asset’s carrying amount may not be recoverable. This analysis requires similar significant judgments as those discussed above regarding goodwill, except that undiscounted cash flows are compared to the carrying amount of intangible assets to determine if impairment exists. In-process technology intangible assets, which are not subject to amortization until projects reach commercialization, are assessed for impairment at least annually and more frequently if events occur that would indicate a potential reduction in the fair value of the assets below their carrying value.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we compared the carrying value of the amortizing intangible assets acquired in our July 2015 acquisition of certain assets from Distal Access, LLC (“Distal Access”), our June 2017 acquisition of certain assets from Lazarus Medical Technologies, LLC (“Lazarus”), and our July 2017 acquisition of certain assets from Pleuratech APS (“Pleuratech”), all of which pertained to our cardiovascular segment, to the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the asset groups and determined that the carrying amounts were not

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recoverable. We then determined the fair value of the amortizing assets related to the Distal Access, Lazarus, and Pleuratech acquisitions based on estimated future cash flows discounted back to their present value using discount rates that reflect the risk profiles of the underlying activities. Some of the factors that influenced our estimated cash flows were slower than anticipated sales growth in the acquired products and uncertainty about future product development and commercialization associated with the acquired technologies. The excess of the carrying values compared to the fair values was recognized as an intangible asset impairment charge. We recorded impairment charges relating to intangible assets acquired from Distal Access, Lazarus, and Pleuratech of approximately $869,000, $548,000 and $1.8 million, respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we compared the carrying value of the amortizing intangible assets acquired in our July 2015 acquisition of certain assets from Quellent, LLC, all of which pertained to our cardiovascular segment, to the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the asset group and determined that the carrying amount was not recoverable. We then determined the fair value of the amortizing assets related to the Quellent acquisition based on estimated future cash flows discounted back to their present value using a discount rate that reflects the risk profiles of the underlying activities. Some of the factors that influenced our estimated cash flows were slower than anticipated sales growth in the products acquired from our Quellent acquisition and uncertainty about future sales growth. The excess of the carrying value compared to the fair value was recognized as an intangible asset impairment charge. We recorded an impairment charge for Quellent of approximately $657,000.

Contingent Consideration. Contingent consideration is an obligation by the buyer to transfer additional assets or equity interests to the former owner upon reaching certain performance targets. Certain of our business combinations involve the potential for the payment of future contingent consideration, generally based on a percentage of future product sales or upon attaining specified future revenue or operational milestones. In connection with a business combination, any contingent consideration is recorded at fair value on the acquisition date based upon the consideration expected to be transferred in the future. We base the fair value of contingent consideration obligations acquired in a business combination on valuations that use information and assumptions that a market participant would use, including assumptions for estimated revenue growth rates, discount rates, probabilities of achieving regulatory, performance, or revenue-based milestones and other relevant factors.

We re-measure the estimated liability each quarter and record changes in the estimated fair value through operating expense in our consolidated statements of income. Significant increases or decreases in our estimates could result in changes to the estimated fair value of our contingent consideration liability, as the result of changes in the timing and amount of revenue estimates, as well as changes in the discount rate or periods.

Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Our principal market risk relates to changes in the value of the following currencies related to the U.S. Dollar (USD):

We also have a limited market risk relating to the following currencies (among others):

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Our consolidated financial statements are denominated in, and our principal currency is, the U.S. Dollar. For the year ended December 31, 2019, a portion of our net sales (approximately $320.8 million, representing approximately 32.2% of our aggregate net sales), was attributable to sales that were denominated in foreign currencies. All other international sales were denominated in U.S. Dollars.

Our CNY- and Euro-denominated revenues represent our largest currency risks. As we continue to expand our operations in China, we have been increasingly exposed to currency risk related to our CNY-denominated revenue. In general, a strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against CNY has a negative effect on our operating income. Our Euro-denominated expenses associated with our European operations (manufacturing sites, a distribution facility and sales representatives) provide a natural hedge for Euro-denominated revenues. Accordingly, changes in the Euro, and in particular a strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against the Euro, generally have a positive effect on our operating income. The following table presents the USD impact to reported operating income related to a hypothetical positive and negative 10% exchange rate fluctuation in the value of the U.S. Dollar relative to both the CNY and EUR, before the effect of any hedging activities:

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During the year ended December 31, 2019, exchange rate fluctuations of foreign currencies against the U.S. Dollar had the following impact on sales, cost of sales and gross profit (in thousands, except percentages):

The impact to sales for the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily a result of unfavorable impacts due to sales denominated in EUR, CNY, BRL and GBP. The impact to cost of sales was primarily a result of favorable impacts from EUR fluctuations related to manufacturing costs from our facilities in Europe denominated in EUR and MXN fluctuations on our manufacturing costs from our facility in Tijuana, Mexico denominated in MXN.

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We forecast our net exposure related to sales and expenses denominated in foreign currencies. As of December 31, 2019, we had entered into foreign currency forward contracts, which qualified as cash flow hedges, with the following notional amounts (in thousands and in local currencies):

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We also forecast our net exposure in various receivables and payables to fluctuations in the value of various currencies, and we enter into foreign currency forward contracts to mitigate that exposure. As of December 31, 2019, we had entered into the following foreign currency forward contracts (which were not designated as hedging instruments) related to those balance sheet accounts (amounts in thousands and in local currencies):

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See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report for a discussion of our foreign currency forward contracts.

As discussed in Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements set forth in Item 8 of this report, as of December 31, 2019, we had outstanding borrowings of approximately $440 million under the Third Amended Credit Agreement. Accordingly, our earnings and after-tax cash flow are affected by changes in interest rates. On August 5, 2016, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap with Wells Fargo, which as of December 31, 2019 had a notional amount of $175 million, to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 1.12%. The interest rate swap is scheduled to expire on July 6, 2021. On December 23, 2019, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap with Wells Fargo, with a notional amount of $75 million, to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 1.71% for the period from July 6, 2021 to July 31, 2024. These instruments are intended to reduce our exposure to interest rate fluctuations and were not entered into for

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speculative purposes. Excluding the amount that is subject to a fixed rate under the interest rate swaps and assuming the current level of borrowings remained the same, it is estimated that our interest expense and income before income taxes would change by approximately $2.7 million annually for each one percentage point change in the average interest rate under these borrowings.

In the event of an adverse change in interest rates, our management would likely take actions to mitigate our exposure. However, due to the uncertainty of the actions that would be taken and their possible effects, additional analysis is not possible at this time. Further, such analysis would not consider the effects of the change in the level of overall economic activity that could exist in such an environment.

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Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Merit Medical Systems, Inc.:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Item 15 (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 2, 2020, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted FASB ASC Topic 842, Leases, using the modified retrospective approach.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

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Acquisitions –Brightwater Medical Acquisition – Refer to Note 3 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

On June 14, 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of Brightwater Medical, Inc. (“Brightwater”). The Company accounted for this acquisition under the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations. Accordingly, the purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values, including developed technology intangible assets of $32.0 million. The determination of the fair value of the developed technology intangible assets required management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to future cash flows and the discount rate.

We identified the valuation of the acquired developed technology intangible assets from Brightwater as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management made to determine the fair value of these assets. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the involvement of our fair value specialists, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s forecasts of future cash flows and the discount rate.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the forecasts of future cash flows and discount rate for the acquired Brightwater developed technology intangible assets included the following, among others:

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MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

DECEMBER 31, 2019 AND 2018

(In thousands)

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