Certain statements contained in or incorporated by reference into this presentation constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management’s expectations that involve 2023, business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They use words such as "will," “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales. items, include statements relating to future actions; prospective changes in raw material costs, product pricing or product demand; future performance; estimated capital expenditures; results of current and anticipated market conditions and market strategies; sales efforts; expenses; the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings and environmental liabilities; and financial results.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
- Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future;
- The effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks;
- Disruptions or inefficiencies in our supply chain, logistics, or operations;
- Changes in laws and regulations in jurisdictions where we conduct business, including with respect to plastics and climate change;
- Fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply, and in energy prices and supply;
- Demand for our products and services;
- Production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs;
- Unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters;
- Our ability to pay regular quarterly cash dividends and the amounts and timing of any future dividends;
- Information systems failures and cyberattacks;
- Amounts for cash and non-cash charges related to restructuring plans that may differ from original estimates, including because of timing changes associated with the underlying actions;
- Our ability to achieve strategic objectives and successfully integrate acquisitions, including the implementation of a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, S/4HANA;
- Other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates, changes in the rate of inflation, geopolitical conflicts and any recessionary conditions; and
- Other factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, under Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
This presentation includes the use of both GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures include: Adjusted Earnings Per Share, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margins and Adjusted free cash flow. Avient’s chief operating decision maker uses these financial measures to monitor and evaluate the ongoing performance of Avient and each business segment and to allocate resources.
A reconciliation of each historical non-GAAP financial measure with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is attached to this presentation which is posted on our website at www.avient.com.
Avient does not provide reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, such as outlook for Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Earnings Per Share, to the most comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because Avient is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items, and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of certain items, such as, but not limited to, restructuring costs, environmental remediation costs, acquisition-related costs, and other non-routine costs. Each of such adjustments has not yet occurred, are out of Avient’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, Avient is unable to address the probable significance