NORDSON CORP - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2018

OR

For the transition period from            to           

Commission file number   0-7977

NORDSON CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(440) 892-1580

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including area code)

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

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

None

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months, 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 pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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:

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 Common Shares, no par value per share, held by nonaffiliates (based on the closing sale price on the Nasdaq Stock Market) as of April 30, 2018 was approximately $7,441,507.

There were 57,927,038 Common Shares outstanding as of November 30, 2018.

Documents incorporated by reference:  Portions of the Proxy Statement for the 2019 Annual Meeting - Part III of the Form 10-K

Table of Contents

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PART I

NOTE REGARDING AMOUNTS AND FISCAL YEAR REFERENCES

In this annual report, all amounts related to United States dollars and foreign currency and to the number of Nordson Corporation’s common shares, except for per share earnings and dividend amounts, are expressed in thousands. Unless the context otherwise indicates, all references to “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” mean Nordson Corporation.

Unless otherwise noted, all references to years relate to our fiscal year ending October 31.

Item 1.  Business

General Description of Business

Nordson engineers, manufactures and markets differentiated products and systems used to dispense, apply and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids, to test and inspect for quality, and to treat and cure surfaces. These products are supported with extensive application expertise and direct global sales and service. We serve a wide variety of consumer non-durable, consumer durable and technology end markets including packaging, nonwovens, electronics, medical, appliances, energy, transportation, building and construction, and general product assembly and finishing.

Our strategy for long-term growth is based on solving customers’ needs globally. We were incorporated in the State of Ohio in 1954 and are headquartered in Westlake, Ohio. Our products are marketed through a network of direct operations in more than 35 countries. Consistent with this global strategy, approximately 68 percent of our revenues were generated outside the United States in 2018.

We have 7,536 employees worldwide. Principal manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Corporate Purpose and Goals

We strive to be a vital, self-renewing, worldwide organization that, within the framework of ethical behavior and enlightened citizenship, grows and produces wealth for our customers, employees, shareholders, and communities.

We operate for the purpose of creating balanced, long-term benefits for all of our constituencies.

Although every quarter may not produce increased sales, net income, or earnings per share, or exceed the comparative prior year's quarter, we expect to produce long-term gains. When short-term swings occur, we do not intend to alter our basic objectives in efforts to mitigate the impact of these temporary occurrences.

We drive organic growth by continually introducing new products and technology, providing high levels of customer service and support, capturing rapidly expanding opportunities in emerging geographies, and by leveraging existing technology into new applications. Additional growth comes through the acquisition of companies that serve international growth markets, share our business model characteristics and can leverage our global infrastructure. The primary goals of our acquisition strategy are to complement our current capabilities, diversify our business into new industry sectors and with new customers and expand the scope of the solutions we can offer to our customers.

We create benefits for our customers through a Package of Values®, which includes carefully engineered, durable products; strong service support; the backing of a well-established, worldwide company with financial and technical strengths; and a corporate commitment to deliver what was promised.

We strive to provide genuine customer satisfaction – it is the foundation upon which we continue to build our business.

Complementing our business strategy is the objective to provide opportunities for employee self-fulfillment, growth, security, recognition and equitable compensation. This goal is met through the Human Resources department’s facilitation of employee training, leadership training and the creation of on-the-job growth opportunities. The result is a highly qualified and professional global team capable of meeting corporate objectives.

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We recognize the value of employee participation in the planning process. Strategic and operating plans are developed by all business units, resulting in a sense of ownership and commitment on the part of employees in accomplishing our objectives.

We drive continuous improvement in all areas of the company through the Nordson Business System (NBS), our collected set of tools and best practices.  Rooted in Lean Six Sigma methodologies, the NBS is applied throughout all business units and corporate functions.   Closely tied to the NBS are a set of key performance indicators that help define and measure progress toward corporate goals.  The NBS is underpinned by our timeless corporate values of customer passion, energy, excellence, integrity and respect for people.  

We are an equal opportunity employer.

We are committed to contributing approximately five percent of domestic pretax earnings to human welfare services, education and other charitable activities, particularly in communities where we have significant operations.

Principal Products and Uses

We engineer, manufacture and market differentiated products and systems used to dispense, apply and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, medical components, and other fluids, to test and inspect for quality, and to treat and cure surfaces. Our technology-based systems can be found in manufacturing facilities around the world producing a wide range of goods for consumer durable, consumer non-durable and technology end markets. Equipment ranges from single-use components to manual, stand-alone units for low-volume operations to microprocessor-based automated systems for high-speed, high-volume production lines.

We market our products globally, primarily through a direct sales force, and also through qualified distributors and sales representatives. We have built a worldwide reputation for creativity and expertise in the design and engineering of high-technology application equipment that meets the specific needs of our customers. We create value for our customers by developing solutions that increase uptime, enable faster line speeds and reduce consumption of materials.

The following is a summary of the product lines and markets served by our operating segments:

This segment delivers our proprietary precision dispensing and processing technology to diverse markets for applications that commonly reduce material consumption, increase line efficiency and enhance product strength, durability, brand and appearance.

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This segment integrates our proprietary product technologies found in progressive stages of a customer’s production process, such as surface treatment, precisely controlled automated, semi-automated or manual dispensing of material, and post-dispense bond testing, optical inspection and x-ray inspection to ensure quality. Related single-use plastic molded syringes, cartridges, tips, tubing and fluid connection components are used to dispense or control fluids in production processes or within customers’ end products. This segment primarily serves the specific needs of electronics, medical and related high-tech industries.

This segment provides both standard and highly-customized equipment used primarily for applying coatings, paint, finishes, sealants and other materials, and for curing and drying of dispensed material. This segment primarily serves the industrial capital equipment and consumer durables markets.

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Manufacturing and Raw Materials

Our production operations include machining, molding and assembly. We manufacture specially designed parts and assemble components into finished equipment. Many components are made in standard modules that can be used in more than one product or in combination with other components for a variety of models. We have principal manufacturing operations and sources of supply in the United States in Ohio, Georgia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin; as well as in the People’s Republic of China, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Principal materials used to make our products are metals and plastics, typically in sheets, bar stock, castings, forgings, tubing and pellets. We also purchase many electrical and electronic components, fabricated metal parts, high-pressure fluid hoses, packings, seals and other items integral to our products. Suppliers are competitively selected based on cost, quality and service. All significant raw materials that we use are available through multiple sources. We purchase most raw materials and other components on the open market and rely on third parties to provide certain finished goods. While these items are generally available from multiple sources, the cost of products sold may be affected by changes in the market price of raw materials and tariffs on certain raw materials, particularly imports from China, as well as disruptions in availability of raw materials, components, and sourced finished goods.

We monitor and investigate alternative suppliers and materials based on numerous attributes including quality, service, and price. We currently source raw materials and components from a number of suppliers, but our ongoing efforts to improve the cost effectiveness of our products and services may result in a reduction in the number of our suppliers.

Senior operating management supervise an extensive quality control program for our equipment, machinery and systems, and manufacturing processes.

Natural gas and other fuels are our primary energy sources. However, standby capacity for alternative sources is available if needed.

Intellectual Property

We maintain procedures to protect our intellectual property (including patents, trademarks and copyrights) both domestically and internationally. Risk factors associated with our intellectual property are discussed in Item 1A, Risk Factors.

Our intellectual property portfolios include valuable patents, trade secrets, know-how, domain names, trademarks and trade names. As of October 31, 2018, we held 545 United States patents and 1,405 foreign patents and had 193 United States patent applications pending and 856 foreign patent applications pending, but there is no assurance that any patent application will be issued. We continue to apply for and obtain patent protection for new products on an ongoing basis.

Patents covering individual products extend for varying periods according to the date of filing or grant and the legal term of patents in various countries where a patent is obtained. Our patent portfolio as of October 31, 2018 had expiration dates ranging from November 2018 to April 2038. The actual protection a patent provides, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, and the availability of legal remedies in each country. We believe, however, that the duration of our patents generally exceeds the life cycles of the technologies disclosed and claimed in the patents.

We believe our trademarks are important assets and we aggressively manage our brands. We also own a number of trademarks in the United States and foreign countries, including registered trademarks for Nordson, Asymtek, Avalon, Dage, EFD, Value Plastics and Xaloy and various common law trademarks which are important to our business, inasmuch as they identify Nordson and our products to our customers. As of October 31, 2018, we had a total of 884 trademark registrations in the United States and in various foreign countries.

We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary rights and also enter into confidentiality and intellectual property agreements with our employees that require them to disclose any inventions created during employment, convey all rights to inventions to us, and restrict the distribution of proprietary information.

We protect and promote our intellectual property portfolio and take those actions we deem appropriate to enforce our intellectual property rights and to defend our right to sell our products. Although in aggregate our intellectual property is important to our operations, we do not believe that the loss of any one patent, trademark, or group of related patents or trademarks would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial position of our overall business.

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Seasonal Variation in Business

Generally, the highest volume of sales occurs in the second half of the year due in large part to the timing of customers’ capital spending programs. Accordingly, first quarter sales volume is typically the lowest of the year due to timing of customers’ capital spending programs and customer holiday shutdowns.

Working Capital Practices

No special or unusual practices affect our working capital. We generally require advance payments as deposits on customized equipment and systems and, in certain cases, require progress payments during the manufacturing of these products. We continue to initiate new processes focused on reduction of manufacturing lead times, resulting in lower investment in inventory while maintaining the capability to respond promptly to customer needs.

Customers

We serve a broad customer base, both in terms of industries and geographic regions. In 2018, no single customer accounted for ten percent or more of sales.

Backlog

Our backlog of open orders were relatively consistent at approximately $394,000 at October 31, 2018 and approximately $397,000 at October 31, 2017, inclusive of approximately three percent decline in organic growth, offset by two percent growth due to acquisitions. The amounts for both years were calculated based upon exchange rates in effect at October 31, 2018. All orders in the 2018 year-end backlog are expected to be shipped to customers in 2019.

Government Contracts

Our business neither includes nor depends upon a significant amount of governmental contracts or subcontracts. Therefore, no material part of our business is subject to renegotiation or termination at the option of the government.

Competitive Conditions

Our equipment is sold in competition with a wide variety of alternative bonding, sealing, finishing, coating, processing, testing, inspecting, and fluid control techniques. Potential uses for our equipment include any production processes that require preparation, modification or curing of surfaces; dispensing, application, processing or control of fluids and materials; or testing and inspecting for quality.

Many factors influence our competitive position, including pricing, product quality and service. We maintain a leadership position in our business segments by delivering high-quality, innovative products and technologies, as well as service and technical support. Working with customers to understand their processes and developing the application solutions that help them meet their production requirements also contributes to our leadership position. Our worldwide network of direct sales and technical resources also is a competitive advantage.

Environmental Compliance

We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign environmental, safety and health laws and regulations concerning, among other things, emissions to the air, discharges to land and water and the generation, handling, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste and other materials. Under certain of these laws, we can be held strictly liable for hazardous substance contamination of any real property we have ever owned, operated or used as a disposal site or for natural resource damages associated with such contamination. We are also required to maintain various related permits and licenses, many of which require periodic modification and renewal. The operation of manufacturing plants unavoidably entails environmental, safety and health risks, and we could incur material unanticipated costs or liabilities in the future if any of these risks were realized in ways or to an extent that we did not anticipate.

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We believe that we operate in compliance, in all material respects, with applicable environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations requires continuing management effort and expenditures. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, costs and capital expenditures to comply with these laws and regulations and to obtain and maintain the necessary permits and licenses. We believe that the cost of complying with environmental laws and regulations will not have a material effect on our earnings, liquidity or competitive position but cannot assure that material compliance-related costs and expenses may not arise in the future. For example, future adoption of new or amended environmental laws, regulations or requirements or newly discovered contamination or other circumstances could require us to incur costs and expenses that may have a material effect, but cannot be presently anticipated.

We believe that policies, practices and procedures have been properly designed to prevent unreasonable risk of material environmental damage arising from our operations. We accrue for estimated environmental liabilities with charges to expense and believe our environmental accrual is adequate to provide for our portion of the costs of all such known environmental liabilities. Compliance with federal, state, local and foreign environmental protection laws during 2018 had no material effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. Based upon consideration of currently available information, we believe liabilities for environmental matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, operating results or liquidity, but we cannot assure that material environmental liabilities may not arise in the future.

Employees

As of October 31, 2018, we had 7,536 full-time and part-time employees, including 134 at our Amherst, Ohio, facility who are represented by a collective bargaining agreement that expires on October 31, 2019.

Available Information

Our proxy statement, annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (Form 10-K), quarterly reports (Form 10-Q) and current reports (Form 8-K) and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge at http://www.nordson.com/investors as soon as reasonably practical after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Copies of these reports may also be obtained free of charge by sending written requests to Corporate Communications, Nordson Corporation, 28601 Clemens Road, Westlake, Ohio 44145. The contents of our Internet website are not incorporated by reference herein and are not deemed to be a part of this report.

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Item 1A.  Risk Factors

In an enterprise as diverse as ours, a wide range of factors could affect future performance. We discuss in this section some of the risk factors that, if they actually occurred, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, value and results of operations. You should consider these risk factors in connection with evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K because these factors could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements.

The significant risk factors affecting our operations include the following:

Changes in United States or international economic conditions, including declines in the industries we serve, could adversely affect the profitability of any of our operations.

In 2018, approximately 32 percent of our revenue was generated in the United States, while approximately 68 percent was generated outside the United States. Our largest markets include appliance, automotive, construction, container, electronics assembly, food and beverage, furniture, medical, metal finishing, nonwovens, packaging, paper and paperboard converting, plastics processing and semiconductor. A slowdown in any of these specific end markets could directly affect our revenue stream and profitability.

A portion of our product sales is attributable to industries and markets, such as the semiconductor, mobile electronics, polymer processing and metal finishing industries, which historically have been cyclical and sensitive to relative changes in supply and demand and general economic conditions. The demand for our products depends, in part, on the general economic conditions of the industries or national economies of our customers. Downward economic cycles in our customers’ industries or countries may reduce sales of some of our products. It is not possible to predict accurately the factors that will affect demand for our products in the future.

Any significant downturn in the health of the general economy, globally, regionally or in the markets in which we sell products, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and financial performance, resulting in impairment of assets.

If we fail to develop new products, or our customers do not accept the new products we develop, our revenue and profitability could be adversely impacted.

Innovation is critical to our success. We believe that we must continue to enhance our existing products and to develop and manufacture new products with improved capabilities in order to continue to be a leading provider of precision technology solutions for the industrial equipment market. We also believe that we must continue to make improvements in our productivity in order to maintain our competitive position. Difficulties or delays in research, development or production of new products or failure to gain market acceptance of new products and technologies may reduce future sales and adversely affect our competitive position. We continue to invest in the development and marketing of new products. There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient resources to make such investments, that we will be able to make the technological advances necessary to maintain competitive advantages or that we can recover major research and development expenses. If we fail to make innovations, launch products with quality problems or the market does not accept our new products, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity could be adversely affected. In addition, as new or enhanced products are introduced, we must successfully manage the transition from older products to minimize disruption in customers’ ordering patterns, avoid excessive levels of older product inventories and ensure that we can deliver sufficient supplies of new products to meet customers’ demands.

Increased IT security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime could pose a risk to our systems, networks, products, solutions and services.

We have experienced and expect to continue to experience cyber-attacks to our systems and networks. To date, we have not experienced any material breaches or material losses related to cyber-attacks. To conduct our business, we rely extensively on information technology systems, networks and services, some of which are managed, hosted and provided by third-party service providers. Increased global IT security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and those of our third-party service providers and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data.  Depending on their nature and scope, such threats could potentially lead to the compromising of confidential information, including but not limited to confidential information relating to customer or employee data, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.  A cyber-attack or other disruption may also result in financial loss, including potential fines for failure to safeguard data. Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover all the costs arising from such events.

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We have taken steps and incurred costs to further strengthen the security of our computer systems and continue to assess, maintain and enhance the ongoing effectiveness of our information security systems.  While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee training, comprehensive monitoring of our networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks, products, solutions and services remain potentially vulnerable to advanced persistent threats.  The techniques used by criminals to obtain unauthorized access to sensitive data change frequently and often are not recognizable until launched against a target. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. It is therefore possible that in the future we may suffer a criminal attack, unauthorized parties may gain access to personal information in our possession and we may not be able to identify any such incident in a timely manner.

The interpretation and application of data protection laws, including federal, state and international laws, relating to the collection, use, retention, disclosure, security and transfer of personally identifiable data in the U.S., Europe (including but not limited to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation), and elsewhere, are uncertain and evolving. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our data practices. In addition, as a result of existing or new data protection requirements, we incur and expect to continue to incur significant ongoing operating costs as part of our significant efforts to protect and safeguard our sensitive data and personal information. These efforts also may divert management and employee attention from other business and growth initiatives. A breach in information privacy could result in legal or reputational risks and could have a negative impact on our revenues and results of operations.

Our results could be impacted by changes in tariffs, trade agreements or other trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. or other governments.

Our ability to conduct business can be significantly impacted by changes in tariffs, changes or repeals of trade agreements, including withdrawal from or material modifications to North American Free Trade Agreement, the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or certain other international trade agreements, or other trade restrictions or retaliatory actions imposed by various governments. Other effects of these changes, including impacts on the price of raw materials, responsive actions from governments and the opportunity for competitors to establish a presence in markets where we participate, could also have significant impacts on our results.

Our growth strategy includes acquisitions, and we may not be able to execute on our acquisition strategy or integrate acquisitions successfully.

Our recent historical growth has depended, and our future growth is likely to continue to depend, in part on our acquisition strategy and the successful integration of acquired businesses into our existing operations. We intend to continue to seek additional acquisition opportunities both to expand into new markets and to enhance our position in existing markets throughout the world. We cannot assure we will be able to successfully identify suitable acquisition opportunities, prevail against competing potential acquirers, negotiate appropriate acquisition terms, obtain financing that may be needed to consummate such acquisitions, complete proposed acquisitions, successfully integrate acquired businesses into our existing operations or expand into new markets. In addition, we cannot assure that any acquisition, once successfully integrated, will perform as planned, be accretive to earnings, or prove to be beneficial to our operations and cash flow.

The success of our acquisition strategy is subject to other risks and uncertainties, including:

In addition, an acquisition could adversely impact our operating performance as a result of the incurrence of acquisition-related debt, pre-acquisition potential tax liabilities, acquisition expenses, the amortization of acquisition-acquired assets, or possible future impairments of goodwill or intangible assets associated with the acquisition.

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We may also face liability with respect to acquired businesses for violations of environmental laws occurring prior to the date of our acquisition, and some or all of these liabilities may not be covered by environmental insurance secured to mitigate the risk or by indemnification from the sellers from which we acquired these businesses. We could also incur significant costs, including, but not limited to, remediation costs, natural resources damages, civil or criminal fines and sanctions and third-party claims, as a result of past or future violations of, or liabilities, associated with environmental laws.

Significant movements in foreign currency exchange rates or change in monetary policy may harm our financial results.

We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly with respect to the euro, the yen, the pound sterling and the Chinese yuan. Any significant change in the value of the currencies of the countries in which we do business against the United States dollar could affect our ability to sell products competitively and control our cost structure, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For additional detail related to this risk, see Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.

The majority of our consolidated revenues in 2018 were generated in currencies other than the United States dollar, which is our reporting currency. We recognize foreign currency transaction gains and losses arising from our operations in the period incurred. As a result, currency fluctuations between the United States dollar and the currencies in which we do business have caused and will continue to cause foreign currency transaction and translation gains and losses, which historically have been material and could continue to be material. We cannot predict the effects of exchange rate fluctuations upon our future operating results because of the number of currencies involved, the variability of currency exposures and the potential volatility of currency exchange rates. We take actions to manage our foreign currency exposure, such as entering into hedging transactions, where available, but we cannot assure that our strategies will adequately protect our consolidated operating results from the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. For example, the announcement of Brexit and subsequent steps taken by Britain to begin withdrawal from the European Union caused volatility in global currency exchange rate fluctuations that resulted in the strengthening of the United States dollar against foreign currencies in which we conduct business.  Future adverse consequences arising from Brexit may include continued volatility in exchange rates.  Any significant fluctuation in exchange rates may be harmful to our financial condition and results of operations. We also face risks arising from the imposition of exchange controls and currency devaluations. Exchange controls may limit our ability to convert foreign currencies into United States dollars or to remit dividends and other payments by our foreign subsidiaries or customers located in or conducting business in a country imposing controls. Currency devaluations diminish the United States dollar value of the currency of the country instituting the devaluation and, if they occur or continue for significant periods, could adversely affect our earnings or cash flow.

Any impairment in the value of our intangible assets, including goodwill, would negatively affect our operating results and total capitalization.

Our total assets reflect substantial intangible assets, primarily goodwill. The goodwill results from our acquisitions and represents the excess of cost over the fair value of the identifiable net assets we acquired. We assess at least annually whether there has been any impairment in the value of our intangible assets. If future operating performance at one or more of our business units were to fall significantly below current levels, if competing or alternative technologies emerge, if market conditions for acquired businesses decline, if significant and prolonged negative industry or economic trends exist, if our stock price and market capitalization declines, or if future cash flow estimates decline, we could incur, under current applicable accounting rules, a non-cash charge to operating earnings for goodwill impairment. Any determination requiring the write-off of a significant portion of unamortized intangible assets would negatively affect our results of operations and equity book value, the effect of which could be material.

Changes in United States and international tax law may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Changes in applicable domestic or foreign tax laws and regulations, or their interpretation and application, including the possibility of retroactive effect, could affect our business, financial condition and profitability by increasing our tax liabilities. Our future results of operations could be adversely affected by changes in our effective tax rate as a result of a change in the mix of earnings in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, changes in our overall profitability, changes in tax legislation and rates, changes in generally accepted accounting principles and changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities. The U.S. federal government may adopt changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, taxes and other government rules and regulations.  While we cannot predict what changes will actually occur with respect to any of these items, such changes could affect our business and results of operations.

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If our intellectual property protection is inadequate, others may be able to use our technologies and tradenames and thereby reduce our ability to compete, which could have a material adverse effect on us, our financial condition and results of operations.

We regard much of the technology underlying our products and the trademarks under which we market our products as proprietary. The steps we take to protect our proprietary technology may be inadequate to prevent misappropriation of our technology, or third parties may independently develop similar technology. We rely on a combination of patents, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, employee and third-party non-disclosure agreements and other contracts to establish and protect our technology and other intellectual property rights. The agreements may be breached or terminated, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach, and existing trade secrets, patent and copyright law afford us limited protection. Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult. A third party could copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology without authorization. Litigation may be necessary for us to defend against claims of infringement or to protect our intellectual property rights and could result in substantial cost to us and diversion of our efforts. Further, we might not prevail in such litigation, which could harm our business.

Our products could infringe on the intellectual property of others, which may cause us to engage in costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and prohibit us from selling our products.

Third parties may assert infringement or other intellectual property claims against us based on their patents or other intellectual property claims, and we may have to pay substantial damages, possibly including treble damages, if it is ultimately determined our products infringe. We may have to obtain a license to sell our products if it is determined that our products infringe upon another party’s intellectual property. We might be prohibited from selling our products before we obtain a license, which, if available at all, may require us to pay substantial royalties. Even if infringement claims against us are without merit, defending these types of lawsuits takes significant time, may be expensive and may divert management attention from other business concerns.

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to compliance with various laws and regulations, including the FCPA and similar worldwide anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, which generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from engaging in bribery or making other improper payments to private or public parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or gaining an unfair business advantage. The FCPA also requires proper record keeping and characterization of such payments in our reports filed with the SEC. Our employees are trained and required to comply with these laws, and we are committed to legal compliance and corporate ethics. Violations of these laws could result in severe criminal or civil sanctions and financial penalties and other consequences that may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations. 

Our inability to comply with our existing credit facilities’ restrictive covenants or to access additional sources of capital could impede growth or the repayment or refinancing of existing indebtedness.

The limits imposed on us by the restrictive covenants contained in our credit facilities could prevent us from making acquisitions or cause us to lose access to these facilities.

Our existing credit facilities contain restrictive covenants that limit our ability to, among other things:

In addition, our credit facilities require us to meet financial ratios, including a “Leverage Ratio” and an “Interest Coverage Ratio,” both as defined in the credit facilities.

These restrictions could limit our ability to plan for or react to market conditions or meet extraordinary capital needs and could otherwise restrict our financing activities.

Our ability to comply with the covenants and other terms of our credit facilities will depend on our future operating performance. If we fail to comply with such covenants and terms, we may be in default and the maturity of the related debt could be accelerated and become immediately due and payable. We may be required to obtain waivers from our lenders in order to maintain compliance under our credit facilities, including waivers with respect to our compliance with certain financial covenants. If we are unable to obtain necessary waivers and the debt under our credit facilities is accelerated, we would be required to obtain replacement financing at prevailing market rates.

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We may need new or additional financing in the future to expand our business or refinance existing indebtedness. If we are unable to access capital on satisfactory terms and conditions, we may not be able to expand our business or meet our payment requirements under our existing credit facilities. Our ability to obtain new or additional financing will depend on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. We may not be able to obtain new or additional financing because we have substantial debt or because we may not have sufficient cash flow to service or repay our existing or future debt. In addition, depending on market conditions and our financial performance, neither debt nor equity financing may be available on satisfactory terms or at all. Finally, as a consequence of worsening financial market conditions, our credit facility providers may not provide the agreed credit if they become undercapitalized.

Changes in interest rates could adversely affect us.

Any period of interest rate increases may also adversely affect our profitability. At October 31, 2018, we had $1,314,091 of total debt and notes payable outstanding, of which 51 percent was priced at interest rates that float with the market. A one percentage point increase in the interest rate on the floating rate debt in 2018 would have resulted in approximately $10,672 of additional interest expense. A higher level of floating rate debt would increase the exposure to changes in interest rates. For additional detail related to this risk, see Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.

Failure to retain our existing senior management team or the inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could hurt our business and inhibit our ability to operate and grow successfully.

Our success will continue to depend to a significant extent on the continued service of our executive management team and the ability to recruit, hire and retain other key management personnel to support our growth and operational initiatives and replace executives who retire or resign. Failure to retain our leadership team and attract and retain other important management and technical personnel could place a constraint on our global growth and operational initiatives, possibly resulting in inefficient and ineffective management and operations, which would likely harm our revenues, operations and product development efforts and eventually result in a decrease in profitability.

The level of returns on pension plan assets and changes in the actuarial assumptions used could adversely affect us.

Our operating results may be positively or negatively impacted by the amount of expense we record for our defined benefit pension plans. U.S. GAAP requires that we calculate pension expense using actuarial valuations, which are dependent upon our various assumptions including estimates of expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, discount rates for future payment obligations, and the expected rate of increase in future compensation levels. Our pension expense and funding requirements may also be affected by our actual return on plan assets and by legislation and other government regulatory actions. Changes in assumptions, laws or regulations could lead to variability in operating results and could have a material adverse impact on liquidity.

Political conditions in the U.S. and foreign countries in which we operate could adversely affect us.

We conduct our manufacturing, sales and distribution operations on a worldwide basis and are subject to risks associated with doing business outside the United States. In 2018, approximately 68 percent of our total sales were generated outside the United States. We expect that international operations and United States export sales will continue to be important to our business for the foreseeable future. Both sales from international operations and export sales are subject in varying degrees to risks inherent in doing business outside the United States. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Any of these events could reduce the demand for our products, limit the prices at which we can sell our products, interrupt our supply chain, or otherwise have an adverse effect on our operating performance.

Our international operations also depend upon favorable trade relations between the U.S. and those foreign countries in which our customers, subcontractors and materials suppliers have operations. A protectionist trade environment in either the U.S. or those foreign countries in which we do business, such as a change in the current tariff structures, export compliance or other trade policies, may materially and adversely affect our ability to sell our products in foreign markets. The current U.S. presidential administration has criticized existing trade agreements, and while it is currently unclear what actions the administration may take with respect to existing and proposed trade agreements, or restrictions on trade generally, more stringent export and import controls may be ultimately imposed in the future.

Our business and operating results may be adversely affected by natural disasters or other catastrophic events beyond our control.

While we have taken precautions to prevent production and service interruptions at our global facilities, severe weather conditions such as hurricanes or tornadoes, as well as major earthquakes, wildfires and other natural disasters, as well as cyberterrorism, in areas in which we have manufacturing facilities or from which we obtain products may cause physical damage to our properties, closure of one or more of our manufacturing or distribution facilities, lack of an adequate work force in a market, temporary disruption in the supply of inventory, disruption in the transport of products and utilities, and delays in the delivery of products to our customers. Any of these factors may disrupt our operations and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The insurance that we maintain may not fully cover all potential exposures.

We maintain property, business interruption and casualty insurance but such insurance may not cover all risks associated with the hazards of our business and is subject to limitations, including deductibles and maximum liabilities covered. We are potentially at risk if one or more of our insurance carriers fail. Additionally, severe disruptions in the domestic and global financial markets could adversely impact the ratings and survival of some insurers. In the future, we may not be able to obtain coverage at current levels, and our premiums may increase significantly on coverage that we maintain.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2.  Properties

The following table summarizes our principal properties as of October 31, 2018:

Business Segment - Property Identification Legend

1 - Adhesive Dispensing Systems

2 - Advanced Technology Systems

3 - Industrial Coating Systems

The facilities listed have adequate, suitable and sufficient capacity (production and nonproduction) to meet present and foreseeable demand for our products.

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Other properties at international subsidiary locations and at branch locations within the United States are leased. Lease terms do not exceed 25 years and generally contain a provision for cancellation with some penalty at an earlier date. Information about leases is reported in Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements that can be found in Part II, Item 8 of this document.

Item 3.  Legal Proceedings

We are involved in pending or potential litigation regarding environmental, product liability, patent, contract, employee and other matters arising from the normal course of business. Including the environmental matter discussed below, after consultation with legal counsel, we believe that the probability is remote that losses in excess of the amounts we have accrued would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, quarterly or annual operating results or cash flows.

Environmental – We have voluntarily agreed with the City of New Richmond, Wisconsin and other Potentially Responsible Parties to share costs associated with the remediation of the City of New Richmond municipal landfill (the “Site”) and constructing a potable water delivery system serving the impacted area down gradient of the Site. At October 31, 2018 and 2017, our accrual for the ongoing operation, maintenance and monitoring obligation at the Site was $439 and $472, respectively.

The liability for environmental remediation represents management’s best estimate of the probable and reasonably estimable undiscounted costs related to known remediation obligations. The accuracy of our estimate of environmental liability is affected by several uncertainties such as additional requirements that may be identified in connection with remedial activities, the complexity and evolution of environmental laws and regulations, and the identification of presently unknown remediation requirements. Consequently, our liability could be different than our current estimate. However, we do not expect that the costs associated with remediation will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

None.

Executive Officers of the Company

Our executive officers as of October 31, 2018, were as follows:

Effective January 1, 2018, Ms. Beredo was appointed Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.  Ms. Beredo served as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary since joining the Company in 2013.  Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Beredo served as Chief Litigation Counsel and Director of Compliance & Ethics at American Greetings Corporation, formerly traded on the NYSE.  Prior to joining American Greetings, Ms. Beredo was an associate at BakerHostetler LLP.

On November 28, 2016, Mr. Lovass was elected as Corporate Vice President.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lovass served as President for one of the global sensors and controls businesses for Danaher Corporation, a publicly-traded, international Fortune 200, diversified science and technology company from 2012 to 2016.  Prior to joining Danaher, Mr. Lovass served as a Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer for Gerber Scientific.

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PART II

Item 5.  Market for the Company’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information and Dividends

(a) Our common shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NDSN. As of November 30, 2018, there were 1,406 record shareholders.

While we have historically paid dividends to shareholders of our common stock on a quarterly basis, the declaration and payment of future dividends will depend on many factors, including but not limited to, our earnings, financial condition, business development needs and regulatory considerations, and are at the discretion of our board of directors.

Performance Graph

The following is a graph that compares the 10-year cumulative return, calculated on a dividend-reinvested basis, from investing $100 on November 1, 2008 in Nordson common shares, the S&P 500 Index, the S&P MidCap 400 Index, the S&P 500 Industrial Machinery Index, the S&P MidCap 400 Industrial Machinery Index and our Proxy Peer Group, which includes: AIN, AME, ATU, B, DCI, ENTG, ESL, FLIR, GGG, GTLS, IEX, ITT, KEYS, LECO, ROP, TER, WTS, and WWD.

Source: Zack’s Investment Research

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data

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

NOTE REGARDING AMOUNTS AND FISCAL YEAR REFERENCES

In this annual report, all amounts related to United States dollars and foreign currency and to the number of Nordson Corporation’s common shares, except for per share earnings and dividend amounts, are expressed in thousands. Unless the context otherwise indicates, all references to “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” mean Nordson Corporation.

Unless otherwise noted, all references to years relate to our fiscal year ending October 31.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate the accounting policies and estimates that are used to prepare financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and assumptions believed to be reasonable under current facts and circumstances. Actual amounts and results could differ from these estimates used by management.

Certain accounting policies that require significant management estimates and are deemed critical to our results of operations or financial position are discussed below. On a regular basis, critical accounting policies are reviewed with the Audit Committee of the board of directors.

Revenue recognition – Most of our revenues are recognized upon shipment, provided that persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is fixed or determinable, collectibility is reasonably assured, and title and risk of loss have passed to the customer. Certain arrangements may include installation, installation supervision, training, and spare parts, which tend to be completed in a short period of time, at an insignificant cost, and utilizing skills not unique to us, and, therefore, are typically regarded as inconsequential or perfunctory. Revenue for undelivered items is deferred and included within accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Revenues deferred in 2018, 2017 and 2016 were not material.

Business combinations – The acquisitions of our businesses are accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. The amounts assigned to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in connection with acquisitions are based on estimated fair values as of the date of the acquisition, with the remainder, if any, recorded as goodwill. The fair values are determined by management, taking into consideration information supplied by the management of the acquired entities, and other relevant information. Such information typically includes valuations obtained from independent appraisal experts, which management reviews and considers in its estimates of fair values. The valuations are generally based upon future cash flow projections for the acquired assets, discounted to present value. The determination of fair values requires significant judgment by management, particularly with respect to the value of identifiable intangible assets. This judgment could result in either a higher or lower value assigned to amortizable or depreciable assets. The impact could result in either higher or lower amortization and/or depreciation expense.

Goodwill – Goodwill is the excess of purchase price over the fair value of tangible and identifiable intangible net assets acquired in various business combinations. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment annually at the reporting unit level, or more often if indications of impairment exist. Our reporting units are the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment, the Industrial Coating Systems segment and one level below the Advanced Technology Systems segment. 

We test goodwill in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 350. Goodwill impairment charge is recorded for the amount by which the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, as calculated in the quantitative analysis described below. We did not record any goodwill impairment charges in 2018. We use an independent valuation specialist to assist with refining our assumptions and methods used to determine fair values using these methods. To test for goodwill impairment, we estimate the fair value of each of our reporting units using a combination of the Income Approach and the Market Approach.

The discounted cash flow method (Income Approach) uses assumptions for revenue growth, operating margin, and working capital turnover that are based on management’s strategic plans tempered by performance trends and reasonable expectations about those trends. Terminal value calculations employ a published formula known as the Gordon Growth Model Method that essentially captures the present value of perpetual cash flows beyond the last projected period assuming a constant Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) methodology and growth rate. For each reporting unit, a sensitivity analysis is performed to vary the discount and terminal growth rates in order to provide a range of reasonableness for detecting impairment. Discount rates are developed using a WACC methodology. The WACC represents the blended average required rate of return for equity and debt capital based on observed market return data and company specific risk factors. For 2018, the discount rates used ranged from 9.5 percent to 12 percent depending upon the reporting unit's size, end market volatility, and projection risk.

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In the application of the guideline public company method (Market Approach), fair value is determined using transactional evidence for similar publicly traded equity. The comparable company guideline group is determined based on relative similarities to each reporting unit since exact correlations are not available. An indication of fair value for each reporting unit is based on the placement of each reporting unit within a range of multiples determined for its comparable guideline company group. Valuation multiples are derived by dividing latest twelve-month performance for revenues and EBITDA into total invested capital, which is the sum of traded equity plus interest bearing debt less cash. These multiples are applied against the revenue and EBITDA of each reporting unit. While the implied indications of fair value using the guideline public company method yield meaningful results, the discounted cash flow method of the income approach includes management’s thoughtful projections and insights as to what the reporting units will accomplish in the near future. Accordingly, the reasonable, implied fair value of each reporting unit is a blend based on the consideration of both the Income and Market approaches.

In 2018, 2017, and 2016, the results of our annual impairment tests indicated no impairment.

The excess of fair value (FV) over carrying value (CV) was compared to the carrying value for each reporting unit. Based on the results shown in the table below and based on our measurement date of August 1, 2018, our conclusion is that no goodwill was impaired in 2018. Potential events or circumstances, such as a sustained downturn in global economies, could have a negative effect on estimated fair values.

Pension plans and postretirement medical plans - The measurement of liabilities related to our pension plans and postretirement medical plans is based on management’s assumptions related to future factors, including interest rates, return on pension plan assets, compensation increases, mortality and turnover assumptions, and health care cost trend rates.

The weighted-average discount rate used to determine the present value of our domestic pension plan obligations was 4.53 percent at October 31, 2018 and 3.80 percent at October 31, 2017. The weighted-average discount rate used to determine the present value of our various international pension plan obligations was 2.14 percent at October 31, 2018, compared to 2.07 percent at October 31, 2017. The discount rates used for all plans were determined by using quality fixed income investments with a duration period approximately equal to the period over which pension obligations are expected to be settled.

In determining the expected return on plan assets, we consider both historical performance and an estimate of future long-term rates of return on assets similar to those in our plans. We consult with and consider the opinions of financial and actuarial experts in developing appropriate return assumptions. The expected rate of return (long-term investment rate) on domestic pension assets used to determine net benefit costs was 6.00 percent in 2018 and 6.25 percent in 2017. The average expected rate of return on international pension assets used to determine net benefit costs was 3.91 percent in 2018 and 3.51 percent in 2017.

The assumed rate of compensation increases used to determine the present value of our domestic pension plan obligations was 3.90 percent at October 31, 2018, compared to 3.61 percent at October 31, 2017. The assumed rate of compensation increases used to determine the present value of our international pension plan obligations was 3.12 percent at October 31, 2018, compared to 3.13 percent at October 31, 2017.

Annual expense amounts are determined based on the discount rate used at the end of the prior year. Differences between actual and assumed investment returns on pension plan assets result in actuarial gains or losses that are amortized into expense over a period of years.

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Economic assumptions have a significant effect on the amounts reported. The effect of a one percent change in the discount rate, expected return on assets and compensation increase is shown in the table below. Bracketed numbers represent decreases in expense and obligation amounts.

With respect to the domestic postretirement medical plan, the discount rate used to value the benefit plan was 4.56 percent at October 31, 2018 and 3.86 percent at October 31, 2017. The annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered benefits (the health care cost trend rate) is assumed to be 3.75 percent in 2019, decreasing gradually to 3.27 percent in 2026.

For the international postretirement plan, the discount rate used to value the benefit obligation was 3.88 percent at October 31, 2018 and 3.52 percent at October 31, 2017. The annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered benefits (the health care cost trend rate) is assumed to be 6.35 percent in 2019, decreasing gradually to 3.50 percent in 2037.

The discount rate and the health care cost trend rate assumptions have a significant effect on the amounts reported. For example, a one-percentage point change in the discount rate and the assumed health care cost trend rate would have the following effects. Bracketed numbers represent decreases in expense and obligation amounts.

Employees hired after January 1, 2002, are not eligible to participate in the domestic postretirement medical plan.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, we adopted a change in the method to be used to estimate the service and interest cost components of net periodic benefit cost for defined benefit pension plans.  Historically, for the vast majority of our plans, the service and interest cost components were estimated using a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period.  Beginning in 2017, we used a spot rate approach by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve to the relevant projected cash flows in the estimation of the service and interest components of benefit cost, resulting in a more precise measurement.  This change did not affect the measurement of total benefit obligations.  The change was accounted for as a change in estimate that is inseparable from a change in accounting principle and, accordingly, was accounted for prospectively starting in 2017. The reductions in service and interest costs for 2017 associated with this change were $1,200 and $3,100, respectively.

Pension and postretirement expenses in 2019 are expected to be approximately $990 lower than 2018.

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Income taxes – Income taxes are estimated based on income for financial reporting purposes. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes and certain changes in valuation allowances. We provide valuation allowances against deferred tax assets if, based on available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Management believes the valuation allowances are adequate after considering future taxable income, allowable carryforward periods and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In the event we were to determine that we would be able to realize the deferred tax assets in the future in excess of the net recorded amount (including the valuation allowance), an adjustment to the valuation allowance would increase income in the period such determination was made. Conversely, should we determine that we would not be able to realize all or part of the net deferred tax asset in the future, an adjustment to the valuation allowance would be expensed in the period such determination was made.

Further, at each interim reporting period, we estimate an effective income tax rate that is expected to be applicable for the full year. Judgment is involved regarding the application of global income tax laws and regulations and when projecting the jurisdictional mix of income. Additionally, interpretation of tax laws, court decisions or other guidance provided by taxing authorities influences our estimate of the effective income tax rates. As a result, our actual effective income tax rates and related income tax liabilities may differ materially from our estimated effective tax rates and related income tax liabilities. Any resulting differences are recorded in the period they become known.

2018 compared to 2017

Sales – Worldwide sales for 2018 were $2,254,668, an increase of 9.1 percent from 2017 sales of $2,066,982. Sales volume increased 7.1 percent and favorable currency translation effects increased sales by 2.0 percent. The volume increase consisted of 2.5 percent from organic growth and 4.6 percent from acquisitions. We had two acquisitions during 2018, Sonoscan, Inc. (“Sonoscan”), and Cladach Nua Teoranta (“Clada”), which are both included within the Advanced Technology Systems segment. We had four acquisitions during 2017, ACE Production Technologies, Inc. (“ACE”), Plas-Pak Industries, Inc. (“Plas-Pak), InterSelect GmbH (“InterSelect”), and Vention Medical’s Advanced Technologies business (“Vention”), which are also included within the Advanced Technology Systems segment. As used throughout this Form 10-K, geographic regions include the Americas (Canada, Mexico and Central and South America), Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Sales of the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment were $955,192 in 2018, an increase of $39,173, or 4.3 percent, from 2017 sales of $916,019. The increase was the result of a sales volume increase of 1.5 percent and favorable currency effects that increased sales by 2.8 percent. Within this segment, sales volume increased in all geographic regions with the exception of the United States. Growth in packaging and product assembly product lines was offset by softness in product lines serving polymer processing end markets.

Sales of the Advanced Technology Systems segment were $1,039,366 in 2018, an increase of $141,743 or 15.8 percent, from 2017 sales of $897,623. The increase was the result of a sales volume increase of 14.5 percent and favorable currency effects that increased sales by 1.3 percent. The sales volume increase consisted of 3.8 percent from organic volume and 10.7 percent from the first-year effect of acquisitions. Within this segment, sales volume, inclusive of acquisitions, increased in all geographic regions with the exception of the Asia Pacific region. Organic volume was driven by demand in our fluid management product lines serving industrial and medical end markets.

Sales of the Industrial Coating Systems segment were $260,110 in 2018, an increase of $6,770, or 2.7 percent, from 2017 sales of $253,340. The increase was the result of a sales volume increase of 1.1 percent and favorable currency effects that increased sales by 1.6 percent. Within this segment, sales volume increased in Europe, Japan and the Asia Pacific regions. Growth in powder, liquid and container product lines serving industrial end markets was offset by softness in cold materials product lines serving automotive end markets.

Sales outside the United States accounted for 68.0 percent of our sales in 2018, as compared to 68.7 percent in 2017. On a geographic basis, sales in the United States were $720,832, an increase of 11.3 percent from 2017. The increase in sales volume consisted of 1.9 percent from organic volume and 9.4 percent from acquisitions. In the Americas region, sales were $158,837, an increase of 8.0 percent from 2017, with volume increasing 8.8 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects of 0.8 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 3.5 percent from organic volume and 5.3 percent from acquisitions. Sales in Europe were $622,108, an increase of 17.2 percent from 2017, with volume increasing 11.4 percent and favorable currency effects of 5.8 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 9.2 percent from organic volume and 2.2 percent from acquisitions. Sales in Japan were $161,771, an increase of 9.9 percent from 2017, with volume increasing 8.6 percent and favorable currency effects of 1.3 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 7.0 percent from organic volume and 1.6 percent from acquisitions. Sales in the Asia Pacific region were $591,120, a decrease of 0.5 percent from 2017, with volume decreasing 2.2 percent partially offset by favorable currency effects of 1.7 percent. The decrease in sales volume consisted of lower organic volume of 4.4 percent, offset by 2.2 percent growth from acquisitions.

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It is estimated that the effect of pricing on 2018 total sales was not material relative to 2017.

Operating profit – Cost of sales were $1,018,703 in 2018, up 9.8 percent from $927,981 in 2017. Gross profit, expressed as a percentage of sales, decreased to 54.8 percent in 2018 from 55.1 percent in 2017. Of the 0.3 percentage point decrease in gross margin, unfavorable product mix contributed 0.7 percentage points offset by 0.4 percentage points due to favorable currency translation effects.

Selling and administrative expenses were $734,856 in 2018, compared to $678,861 in 2017. The 8.2 percent increase includes 8.7 percent primarily in support of higher sales growth and 1.7 percent due to unfavorable currency translation effects, offset by 2.2 percent due to lower acquisition transaction costs in the current year.

Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales decreased to 32.6 percent in 2018 from 32.8 percent in 2017. Of the 0.2 percentage point improvement, 0.7 percentage points is due to lower acquisition transaction costs, offset by 0.5 percentage points due to higher base business costs.

Severance and restructuring costs of $6,552 were recorded in 2018. Within the Adhesives Dispensing Systems segment, a restructuring initiative to consolidate certain polymer processing product line facilities in the U.S. resulted in severance and restructuring costs of $5,631. Within the Advanced Technology Systems segment, severance costs of $401 were recorded in Europe. Severance costs of $520 were recorded in the U.S. due to a Corporate restructuring initiative. No costs related to severance and restructuring were recorded in the Industrial Coating Systems segment in 2018. Additional costs related to these initiatives are not expected to be material in future periods. All severance and restructuring costs are included in selling and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Operating capacity for each of our segments can support fluctuations in order activity without significant changes in operating costs. Also, currency translation affects reported operating margins. Operating margins for each segment were favorably impacted by a weaker dollar primarily against the Euro during 2018 as compared to 2017.

Operating profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 21.9 percent in 2018 compared to 22.1 percent in 2017. Of the 0.2 percentage point decline in operating margin, unfavorable leverage of our selling and administrative expenses contributed 0.9 percentage points, higher severance and restructuring expenses contributed 0.2 percentage points, and unfavorable product mix contributed 0.7 percentage points. This decline was offset by 0.3 percentage points due to the first year effect of acquisitions, 0.7 percentage points due to lower acquisition transaction costs, and 0.6 percentage points due to favorable foreign currency translation effects.

For the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 27.2 percent in 2018 compared to 27.7 percent in 2017. Of the 0.5 percentage point decline in operating margin, dilution in gross margin of 0.8 percentage points was due to the consolidation of certain facilities in the U.S., and higher severance and restructuring expenses contributed 0.3 percentage points, offset by favorable foreign currency translation effects of 0.6 percentage points.

For the Advanced Technology Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 23.4 percent in 2018 compared to 25.4 percent in 2017. Of the 2.0 percentage point decline in operating margin, unfavorable product mix contributed 1.2 percentage points, incremental amortization expense contributed 1.1 percentage points, and higher severance and restructuring expenses contributed 0.1 percentage points. This decline was partially offset by 0.4 percentage points due to favorable foreign currency translation effects.

For the Industrial Coating Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales increased to 19.5 percent in 2018 compared to 17.4 percent in 2017. Of the 2.1 percentage point improvement in operating margin, 1.9 percentage points related to favorable product mix and 0.4 percentage points related to favorable foreign currency translation effects.  This improvement was partially offset by 0.2 percentage points due to unfavorable leverage of our selling and administrative expenses.    

Interest and other income (expense) - Interest expense in 2018 was $49,576, an increase of $12,975, or 35.4 percent, from 2017. The increase was due to higher average borrowing levels between periods. Other income in 2018 was $2,154 compared to other expense of $1,934 in 2017. Included in the current year’s other income are foreign currency gains of $1,133 and a non-recurring gain of $2,512. Included in the prior year’s other expense were foreign currency losses of $686.

Income taxes –

Income tax expense in 2018 was $71,144, or 15.9 percent of pre-tax income, as compared to $124,489, or 29.6 percent of pre-tax income in 2017.

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On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("the Act") was enacted.  It reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.  We have an October 31 fiscal year-end, therefore the lower corporate income tax rate will be phased in, resulting in a U.S. statutory federal rate of 23.34 percent for our fiscal year ended October 31, 2018, and 21 percent for subsequent fiscal years.  The statutory tax rate of 23.34 percent was applied to earnings in the current year.  

The Act requires us to revalue our existing U.S. deferred tax balance to reflect the lower statutory tax rate and pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously deferred from U.S. taxes.  As a result, during 2018, we recorded a provisional tax benefit of $49,082 to reflect the revaluation of our tax assets and liabilities at the reduced corporate tax rate. We also recorded a provisional tax expense of $27,618 to reflect the transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings.  The net tax effect of these discrete items resulted in a decrease of $21,464 in income tax expense for 2018.  We intend to pay the transition tax in installments over the eight-year period allowable under the Act. The transition tax is primarily included in other long-term liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at October 31, 2018.  Incremental adjustments have been made to these estimates during the three months ended October 31, 2018 based on availability of additional information.  The amounts recorded are considered a provisional estimate under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118. The provisional calculations may change after various components of the computation are finalized. Furthermore, we are still analyzing certain aspects of the Act and related interpretive guidance and refining our calculations, which could potentially affect the measurement of these balances or give rise to new or additional deferred tax amounts. Certain provisions of the Act will impact the Company starting in 2019. These provisions include, but are not limited to, the creation of the base erosion anti-abuse tax, a general limitation of U.S. federal income taxes on dividends from foreign subsidiaries, a new provision designed to tax global intangible low-taxed income and the repeal of the domestic production activities deduction. We continue to evaluate the future impacts of these provisions and, as of October 31, 2018, have not recorded any impact of any of these future provisions.

In March 2016, the FASB issued a new standard which simplifies the accounting for share-based payment transactions, which we adopted in the first quarter of 2018. This guidance requires that excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the Consolidated Statements of Income rather than as additional paid-in capital.  Our income tax provision for 2018 also includes a favorable adjustment to unrecognized tax benefits of $1,120 related to the lapse of the statute of limitations.

Our income tax provision for 2017 includes a discrete tax expense of $1,070 related to nondeductible acquisition costs.

Net income – Net income was $377,375, or $6.40 per diluted share, in 2018, compared to net income of $295,802, or $5.08 per diluted share, in 2017. This represents a 27.6 percent increase in net income and a 26.0 percent increase in diluted earnings per share.

2017 compared to 2016

Sales – Worldwide sales for 2017 were $2,066,982, an increase of 14.3 percent from 2016 sales of $1,808,994. Sales volume increased 14.8 percent and unfavorable currency translation effects reduced sales by 0.5 percent. The volume increase consisted of 7.9 percent from organic growth and 6.9 percent from acquisitions. We had four acquisitions during 2017, ACE Production Technologies, Inc. (“ACE”), Plas-Pak Industries, Inc. (“Plas-Pak), InterSelect GmbH (“InterSelect”), and Vention Medical’s Advanced Technologies business (“Vention”), which are all included within the Advanced Technology Systems segment. We had one acquisition during 2016, LinkTech, which is also included within the Advanced Technology Systems segment. As used throughout this Form 10-K, geographic regions include the Americas (Canada, Mexico and Central and South America), Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Sales of the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment were $916,019 in 2017, an increase of $36,446, or 4.1 percent, from 2016 sales of $879,573. The increase was the net result of a sales volume increase of 4.3 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects that reduced sales by 0.2 percent. Within this segment, sales volume increased in all geographic regions with the exception of Europe. Growth in product lines serving rigid packaging, consumer non-durable, disposable hygiene and general product assembly end markets, was offset by softness in product lines serving polymer processing end markets.

Sales of the Advanced Technology Systems segment were $897,623 in 2017, an increase of $221,294 or 32.7 percent, from 2016 sales of $676,329. The increase was the result of a sales volume increase of 33.4 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects that reduced sales by 0.7 percent. The sales volume increase consisted of 15.1 percent from organic volume and 18.3 percent from the first-year effect of acquisitions. Within the segment, sales volume, inclusive of acquisitions, increased in all geographic regions. Organic volume increased in most product lines, and was driven by demand in electronics and medical end markets.

Sales of the Industrial Coating Systems segment were $253,340 in 2017, an increase of $248, or 0.1 percent, from 2016 sales of $253,092. The increase was the result of a sales volume increase of 0.8 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects that reduced sales by 0.7 percent. Within this segment, sales volume increased in Europe, Japan and the Americas regions. Sales volume increased in most product lines, and was driven by demand for liquid and UV curing, powder coating and container product lines serving industrial end markets.

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Sales outside the United States accounted for 68.7 percent of our sales in 2017, as compared to 70.6 percent in 2016. On a geographic basis, sales in the United States were $647,657, an increase of 21.9 percent from 2016. The increase in sales volume consisted of 5.3 percent from organic volume and 16.6 percent from acquisitions. In the Americas region, sales were $147,026, an increase of 17.9 percent from 2016, with volume increasing 18.0 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects of 0.1 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 7.7 percent from organic volume and 10.3 percent from acquisitions. Sales in Europe were $530,812, an increase of 5.3 percent from 2016, with volume increasing 5.5 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects of 0.2 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 2.2 percent from organic volume and 3.3 percent from acquisitions. Sales in Japan were $147,189, an increase of 20.6 percent from 2016, with volume increasing 24.5 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects of 3.9 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 23.1 percent from organic volume and 1.4 percent from acquisitions. Sales in the Asia Pacific region were $594,298, an increase of 12.7 percent from the prior year, with volume increasing 13.2 percent partially offset by unfavorable currency effects of 0.5 percent. The increase in sales volume consisted of 12.3 percent from organic growth and 0.9 percent from acquisitions.

It is estimated that the effect of pricing on 2017 total sales was not material relative to 2016.

Operating profit – Cost of sales were $927,981 in 2017, up 13.8 percent from $815,495 in 2016. Gross profit, expressed as a percentage of sales, increased to 55.1 percent in 2017 from 54.9 percent in 2016. Of the 0.2 percentage point improvement in gross margin, favorable product mix added 0.3 percentage points primarily related to higher sales growth in our Adhesive Dispensing Systems and Advanced Technology Systems segments, which have higher margins than the Industrial Coating Systems segment.  The 0.1 percentage point offset is primarily due to unfavorable currency translation effects.

Selling and administrative expenses were $678,861 in 2017, compared to $594,293 in 2016. The 14.2 percentage point increase includes 6.1 percent primarily in support of higher sales growth, 6.1 percent related to the first year effect of acquisitions and 2.5 percent of corporate charges related to acquisition transaction costs, offset by 0.5 percentage points due to currency translation effects.

Selling and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales decreased to 32.8 percent in 2017 from 32.9 percent in 2016. Of the 0.1 percentage point improvement, 2.5 percentage points is due to leveraging higher sales growth in our Adhesive Dispensing Systems and Advanced Technology Systems segments. This improvement was partially offset by 1.7 percentage points due to the first year effect of acquisitions and 0.7 percentage points due to corporate charges related to acquisition transaction costs.

Severance and restructuring costs of $2,438 were recorded in 2017. Within the Adhesives Dispensing Systems segment, restructuring initiatives to optimize operations in the U.S. and Belgium and consolidate certain polymer processing product line facilities in the U.S. resulted in severance and restructuring costs of $2,618. Within the Advanced Technology Systems segment, costs of $180 were reversed during 2017 related to a 2015 restructuring initiative. No costs related to severance and restructuring were recorded in the Industrial Coating Systems segment in 2017. Additional costs related to these initiatives are not expected to be material in future periods. All severance and restructuring costs are included in selling and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Operating capacity for each of our segments can support fluctuations in order activity without significant changes in operating costs. Also, currency translation affects reported operating margins. Operating margins for each segment were unfavorably impacted by a stronger dollar primarily against the Euro during 2017 as compared to 2016.

Operating profit as a percentage of sales increased to 22.1 percent in 2017 compared to 21.5 percent in 2016. Of the 0.6 percentage point improvement in operating margin, favorable leverage of our selling and administrative expenses contributed 2.4 percentage points, lower severance and restructuring expenses added 0.5 percentage points, and favorable product mix added 0.2 percentage points primarily related to higher sales growth in our Adhesives Dispensing Systems and Advanced Technology Systems segments. This improvement was offset by 1.7 percentage points due to the first year effect of acquisitions, 0.7 percentage points due to corporate charges related to acquisition transaction costs, and 0.1 percentage points due to short term purchase price accounting charges for acquired inventory.

For the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales increased to 27.7 percent in 2017 compared to 26.1 percent in 2016. Of the 1.6 percentage point improvement in operating margin, favorable product mix added 0.7 percentage points due to increased sales to consumer non-durable, disposable hygiene and rigid packaging end markets, lower severance and restructuring expenses added 0.6 percentage points, favorable foreign currency translation effects added 0.2 percentage points and favorable leverage of selling and administrative expenses added 0.1 percentage points.

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For the Advanced Technology Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales increased to 25.4 percent in 2017 compared to 23.6 percent in 2016. Of the 1.8 percentage point improvement in operating margin, favorable leverage of our selling and administrative expenses due to higher sales contributed 5.6 percentage points, favorable product mix added 0.4 percentage points, and lower severance and restructuring expenses contributed 0.2 percentage points. These increases were partially offset by 4.0 percentage points due to the first year effect of acquisitions, 0.3 percentage points due to unfavorable currency translation effects, and 0.1 percentage points due to short term purchase price accounting charges for acquired inventory.

For the Industrial Coating Systems segment, operating profit as a percentage of sales increased to 17.4 percent in 2017 compared to 17.2 percent in 2016. Of the 0.2 percentage point improvement in operating margin, lower severance and restructuring expenses added 0.8 percentage points and favorable leverage of our selling and administrative expenses added 0.4 percentage points.  These increases were offset by 0.7 percentage points related to unfavorable product mix and 0.3 percentage points related to unfavorable foreign currency translation effects.

Interest and other income (expense) - Interest expense in 2017 was $36,601, an increase of $15,279, or 71.7 percent, from 2016. The increase was due to higher average borrowing levels between periods. Other expense in 2017 was $1,934 compared to other income of $657 in 2016. Included in the current year’s other expense are foreign currency losses of $686. Included in the prior year’s other income were a litigation settlement of $800 and foreign currency gains of $2,004. These gains were partially offset by $1,530 of net unfavorable adjustments primarily related to the reversal of an indemnification asset resulting from the effective settlement of a tax exam.

Income taxes – Income tax expense in 2017 was $124,489, or 29.6 percent of pre-tax income, as compared to $96,651, or 26.2 percent of pre-tax income in 2016.

Our income tax provision for 2017 includes a discrete tax expense of $1,070 related to nondeductible acquisition costs.

On December 18, 2015, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 was enacted which retroactively reinstated the Federal Research and Development Tax Credit (Federal R&D Tax Credit) as of January 1, 2015, and made it permanent. As a result, our income tax provision for 2016 includes a discrete tax benefit of $2,200 related to 2015.  The tax rate for 2016 also includes a discrete tax benefit of $6,154 related to dividends paid from previously taxed foreign earnings generated prior to 2015, and a benefit of $2,682 related to the effective settlement of a tax exam.

Net income – Net income was $295,802, or $5.08 per diluted share, in 2017, compared to net income of $271,843, or $4.73 per diluted share, in 2016. This represents an 8.8 percent increase in net income and a 7.4 percent increase in diluted earnings per share.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash and cash equivalents increased $5,295 in 2018. Cash provided by operating activities was $504,638 in 2018, compared to $356,752 in 2017. The primary sources were net income adjusted for non-cash income and expenses (consisting of depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock compensation, provision for losses on receivables, deferred income taxes, other non-cash expense, and loss on sale of property, plant and equipment) which was $476,757 in 2018, compared to $413,341 in 2017. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to higher net income. Also, changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $27,881 of cash in 2018, compared to $56,589 used in 2017.

Cash used in investing activities was $139,918 in 2018, compared to $877,694 in 2017. In the current year, cash of $50,586 was used for the Clada and Sonoscan acquisitions, partially offset by cash received of $458 which was primarily due to the sale of a building in the U.S. Capital expenditures were $89,790 in 2018 compared to $71,558 in 2017. The increase in capital expenditures was primarily due to the purchase of a new production and development manufacturing facility in China for product lines within our Adhesives Dispensing Systems segment.

Cash used in financing activities was $353,690 in 2018, compared to cash of $540,750 provided in 2017. Net repayment of long-term debt and short-term borrowings used $268,887 of cash in 2018, compared to net short and long-term proceeds of debt of $602,221 in 2017. Issuance of common shares related to employee benefit plans generated $18,811 of cash in 2018, up from $14,086 in 2017. This increase was the result of higher stock option exercises. In 2018, cash of $24,012 was used for the purchase of treasury shares, up from $3,216 in 2017. Dividend payments were $72,443 in 2018, up from $63,840 in 2017 due to an increase in the annual dividend to $1.25 per share from $1.11 per share.

The following is a summary of significant changes by balance sheet caption from October 31, 2017 to October 31, 2018. Net property, plant and equipment increased $40,255 due to capital expenditures of $89,790, offset by depreciation expense. Goodwill increased $18,808 due primarily to acquisitions completed during 2018. Net intangible assets decreased $47,439, primarily due to amortization expense, offset by acquisitions completed during 2018. Current maturities of long-term debt decreased $297,853 as a result of repayments and a reclassification to long-term debt in 2018.

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In December 2014, the board of directors authorized a $300,000 common share repurchase program.  In August 2015, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $200,000 of the Company’s common shares. In August 2018, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500,000 of the Company’s common shares. Approximately $600,032 of the total $1,000,000 authorized remained available for share repurchases at October 31, 2018. Uses for repurchased shares include the funding of benefit programs including stock options, restricted stock and 401(k) matching. Shares purchased are treated as treasury shares until used for such purposes. The repurchase program is being funded using cash from operations and proceeds from borrowings under our credit facilities.

As of October 31, 2018, approximately 91 percent of our consolidated cash and cash equivalents were held at various foreign subsidiaries. Deferred income taxes are not provided on undistributed earnings of international subsidiaries that are intended to be permanently invested in those operations. These undistributed earnings represent the post-income tax earnings under U.S. GAAP not adjusted for previously taxed income which aggregated approximately $1,088,183 and $1,026,793 at October 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Should these earnings be distributed, applicable foreign tax credits, distributions of previously taxed income, and utilization of other attributes would substantially offset taxes due upon the distribution. It is not practical to estimate the amount of additional taxes that might be payable on such undistributed earnings.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes contractual obligations as of October 31, 2018:

In June 2018, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with a group of insurance companies under which we sold $350,000 of Senior Notes to the insurance companies and their affiliates. The notes start to mature in June 2023 and mature through June 2030 and bear interest at fixed rates between 3.71 percent and 4.17 percent. We used the proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay approximately $315,000 of the outstanding balance under our existing syndicated revolving credit facility at that time, and the remainder for general corporate purposes. We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018.

In March 2017, we entered into a $705,000 term loan facility with a group of banks. The Term Loan Agreement provides for the following term loans in three tranches: $200,000 due in October 2018, $200,000 due in March 2020, and $305,000 due in March 2022.  In May 2018, we entered into a Second Amendment to our $705,000 term loan facility to extend the maturity due date of the first $200,000 tranche from October 2018 to October 2021. In October 2018, we paid down $100,000 of the portion due in March 2020. The weighted average interest rate for borrowings under this agreement was 3.23 percent at October 31, 2018. Borrowings under this agreement were used for the single purpose of acquiring Vention during the second quarter of 2017. We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018.

In February 2015, we increased, amended and extended our existing syndicated revolving credit agreement that was scheduled to expire in December 2016. We entered into a $600,000 unsecured, multicurrency credit facility with a group of banks. This facility has a five-year term and includes a $50,000 subfacility for swing-line loans and was increased to $850,000 in June 2018. It expires in February 2020. Balances outstanding under the prior facility were transferred to the new facility. At October 31, 2018, $52,200 was outstanding under this facility, compared to $249,138 outstanding at October 31, 2017. . The weighted average interest rate for borrowings under this agreement was 3.10 percent at October 31, 2018. We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018, and the amount we could borrow under the facility would not have been limited by any debt covenants.

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We entered into a $150,000 three-year Note Purchase and Private Shelf agreement with New York Life Investment Management LLC in 2011.  In 2015, the amount of the facility was increased to $180,000, and in 2016 it was increased to $200,000. Notes issued under the agreement may have a maturity of up to 12 years, with an average life of up to 10 years, and are unsecured.  The interest rate on each note can be fixed or floating and is based upon the market rate at the borrowing date.  At October 31, 2018, there was $36,111 outstanding under this facility, compared to $146,666 at October 31, 2017. We paid down $100,000 of the outstanding balance during October 2018. Existing notes mature between January 2020 and September 2020.  The interest rate on each borrowing is fixed based upon the market rate at the borrowing date or is variable based upon the LIBOR rate. At October 31, 2018, the amount outstanding under this facility was at fixed rates of 2.21 percent and 2.56 percent. This agreement contains customary events of default and covenants related to limitations on indebtedness and the maintenance of certain financial ratios.  We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018, and the amount we could borrow would not have been limited by any debt covenants. 

In 2012, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with a group of insurance companies under which we sold $200,000 of Senior Notes. At October 31, 2018, $156,700 was outstanding under this agreement. Existing notes mature between July 2019 and July 2025 and bear interest at fixed rates between 2.62 percent and 3.13 percent. We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018.

In April 2015, we entered into a $200,000 term loan facility with a group of banks, of which we paid down $100,000 in April 2018 and $100,000 in August 2018.

In July 2015, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement under which $100,000 of Senior Unsecured Notes were purchased primarily by a group of insurance companies. The notes mature in July 2019 and July 2027 and bear interest at fixed rates of 2.89 percent and 3.19 percent. We were in compliance with all covenants at October 31, 2018.

See Note 9 for additional information.

We believe that the combination of present capital resources, cash from operations and unused financing sources are more than adequate to meet cash requirements for 2019. There are no significant restrictions limiting the transfer of funds from international subsidiaries to the parent company.

Outlook

Our operating performance, balance sheet position, and financial ratios for 2018 remained strong relative to recent years, although uncertainties persisted in global financial markets and the general economic environment.  Going forward, we are well-positioned to manage our liquidity needs that arise from working capital requirements, capital expenditures, contributions related to pension and postretirement obligations, and principal and interest payments on indebtedness.  Primary sources of capital to meet these needs as well as other opportunistic investments are cash provided by operations and borrowings under our loan agreements.  In 2018, cash from operations was 22.4 percent of revenue.  With respect to borrowings under existing loan agreements, as of October 31, 2018, we had $797,800 available capacity under our five-year term, $850,000 unsecured, multicurrency credit facility.  This credit facility expires in February 2020.  

Respective to all of these loans are two primary covenants, the leverage ratio that restricts indebtedness (net of cash) to a maximum 3.50 times consolidated four-quarter trailing EBITDA and the interest coverage ratio that requires four-quarter trailing EBITDA to be at minimum 2.5 times consolidated trailing four-quarter interest expense.  (Debt, EBITDA, and interest expense are as defined in respective credit agreements.)

Regarding expectations for 2019, we are optimistic about longer term growth opportunities in the diverse consumer durable, non-durable, medical, electronics and industrial end markets we serve. For 2019, organic sales are expected to increase 3 percent to 5 percent compared to the prior year, offset by an unfavorable currency effect of 2 percent based on the current exchange rate environment as compared to the prior year. We move forward with caution given continued slower growth in emerging markets than previous years, expectations for global GDP indicating a low-growth macroeconomic environment, tax reform and trade agreement implications, and marketplace effects of political instability in certain areas of the world.  Though the pace of improvement in the global economy remains unclear, our growth potential has been demonstrated over time from our capacity to build and enhance our core businesses by entering emerging markets, pursuing market adjacencies and driving growth initiatives.  We drive value for our

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customers through our application expertise, differentiated technology, and direct sales and service support.  Our priorities also are focused on operational efficiencies by employing continuous improvement methodologies in our business processes.  We expect our efforts will continue to provide more than sufficient cash from operations for meeting our liquidity needs and paying dividends to common shareholders, as well as enabling us to invest in the development of new applications and markets for our technologies.  Cash from operations have been 16 to 22 percent of revenues over the past five years, which, when combined with, our available borrowing capacity and ready access to capital markets, is more than adequate to fund our liquidity needs over the next year.

With respect to contractual spending, the table above presents our financial obligations as $1,633,914, of which $170,751 is payable in 2019.  In December 2014, the board of directors authorized a $300,000 common share repurchase program.  In August 2015, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $200,000 of the Company’s common shares. In August 2018, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500,000 of the Company’s common shares. Approximately $600,032 of the total $1,000,000 authorized remained available for share repurchases at October 31, 2018. The repurchase program is funded using cash from operations and proceeds from borrowings under our credit facilities.  Timing and actual number of shares subject to repurchase are contingent on a number of factors including levels of cash generation from operations, cash requirements for acquisitions, repayment of debt and our share price.  We intend to focus on capital expenditures for 2019 on continued investments in our information systems and projects that improve both capacity and efficiency of manufacturing and distribution operations.

Effects of Foreign Currency

The impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on sales and operating results cannot be precisely measured due to fluctuating selling prices, sales volume, product mix and cost structures in each country where we operate. As a general rule, a weakening of the United States dollar relative to foreign currencies has a favorable effect on sales and net income, while a strengthening of the dollar has a detrimental effect.

In 2018, as compared with 2017, the United States dollar was generally weaker against foreign currencies. If 2017 exchange rates had been in effect during 2018, sales would have been approximately $41,800 lower and third-party costs would have been approximately $21,708 higher. In 2017, as compared with 2016, the United States dollar was generally stronger against foreign currencies. If 2016 exchange rates had been in effect during 2017, sales would have been approximately $8,210 higher and third-party costs would have been approximately $5,791 higher. These effects on reported sales do not include the impact of local price adjustments made in response to changes in currency exchange rates.

Inflation

Inflation affects profit margins as the ability to pass cost increases on to customers is restricted by the need for competitive pricing. Although inflation has been modest in recent years and has had no material effect on the years covered by the financial statements included in this report, we continue to seek ways to minimize the impact of inflation through focused efforts to increase productivity.

Trends

The Five-Year Summary in Item 6 documents our historical financial trends. Over this period, the world’s economic conditions fluctuated significantly. Our solid performance is attributed to our participation in diverse geographic and industrial markets and our long-term commitment to develop and provide quality products and worldwide service to meet our customers’ changing needs.

Safe Harbor Statements Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This Form 10-K, particularly “Management’s Discussion and Analysis,” contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to, among other things, income, earnings, cash flows, changes in operations, operating improvements, businesses in which we operate and the United States and global economies. Statements in this 10-K that are not historical are hereby identified as “forward-looking statements” and may be indicated by words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “supports,” “plans,” “projects,” “expects,” “believes,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “hope,” “forecast,” “management is of the opinion,” use of the future tense and similar words or phrases.

In light of these risks and uncertainties, actual events and results may vary significantly from those included in or contemplated or implied by such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expected results are discussed in Item 1A, Risk Factors.

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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We operate internationally and enter into intercompany transactions denominated in foreign currencies. Consequently, we are subject to market risk arising from exchange rate movements between the dates foreign currencies are recorded and the dates they are settled. We regularly use foreign exchange contracts to reduce our risks related to most of these transactions. These contracts, primarily associated with the euro, yen and pound sterling, typically have maturities of 90 days or less, and generally require the exchange of foreign currencies for United States dollars at rates stated in the contracts. Gains and losses from changes in the market value of these contracts offset foreign exchange losses and gains, respectively, on the underlying transactions. Other transactions denominated in foreign currencies are designated as hedges of our net investments in foreign subsidiaries or are intercompany transactions of a long-term investment nature. As a result of the use of foreign exchange contracts on a routine basis to reduce the risks related to most of our transactions denominated in foreign currencies, as of October 31, 2018, we did not have material foreign currency exposure.

Note 12 to the financial statements contains additional information about our foreign currency transactions and the methods and assumptions used to record these transactions.

A portion of our operations is financed with short-term and long-term borrowings and is subject to market risk arising from changes in interest rates.

The tables that follow present principal repayments and weighted-average interest rates on outstanding borrowings of fixed-rate debt.

We also have variable-rate notes payable and long-term debt. The weighted average interest rate of this debt was 3.2 percent at October 31, 2018 and 2.3 percent at October 31, 2017. A one percent increase in interest rates would have resulted in additional interest expense of approximately $10,672 on the variable rate notes payable and long-term debt in 2018.

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Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Consolidated Statements of Income

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

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Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

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Consolidated Balance Sheets