ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

Our business faces many risks. Any of the risks discussed below, or elsewhere in this report or in our other SEC filings, could have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Related To Our Business

We depend heavily on a limited number of customers, and if we lose any of them or they reduce their business with us, we would lose a substantial portion of our revenues.

In 2016, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and St. Jude Medical collectively accounted for approximately 56% of our revenues. Our supply agreements with these customers may not be renewed. Furthermore, many of our supply agreements do not contain minimum purchase level requirements and therefore there is no guaranteed source of revenue that we can depend upon under these agreements. The loss of any large customer, a reduction of business with that customer, or a delay or failure by that customer to make payments due to us, would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we do not respond to changes in technology, our products may become obsolete and we may experience a loss of customers and lower revenues.

We sell our products to customers in several industries that experience rapid technological changes, new product introductions and evolving industry standards. Without the timely introduction of new products and enhancements, our products and services will likely become technologically obsolete over time and we may lose or see a reduction on business from a significant number of our customers. We dedicate a significant amount of resources to the development of our products and technologies. Our product development efforts may be affected by a number of factors, including our ability to anticipate customer needs, develop new products, secure intellectual property protection for our products, and manufacture products in a cost effective manner. We would be harmed if we did not meet customer requirements and expectations. Our inability, for technological or other reasons, to successfully develop and introduce new and innovative products and enhancements could result in a loss of customers and lower revenues.

We may face competition that could harm our business and we may be unable to compete successfully against new entrants and established companies with greater resources.

Competition in connection with the manufacturing of our medical products has intensified in recent years and may continue to intensify in the future. One or more of our medical customers may undertake additional vertical integration and/or supplier diversification initiatives and begin to manufacture or dual-source some or all of their components that we currently supply to them, which could cause our operating results to suffer. The market for commercial power sources is competitive, fragmented and subject to rapid technological change. Many other commercial power source suppliers are larger and have greater financial, operational, economies of scale, personnel, sales, technical and marketing resources than us. These and other companies may develop products that are superior, technologically or otherwise, or more cost effective to ours, which could result in lower revenues and operating results.

If we are unable to successfully market our current or future products, our business will be harmed and our revenues and operating results will be adversely affected.

The markets for our products have been changing in recent years. If the markets for our products do not grow as forecasted by industry experts, our revenues could be less than expected. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the rate at which the markets for our products will grow or if new and increased competition will result in market saturation. Slower growth in the cardiac, neuromodulation, advanced surgical, orthopedic, portable medical, cardio and vascular, environmental, military or energy markets in particular would negatively impact our revenues. In addition, we face the risk that our products will lose widespread market acceptance. Our customers may not continue to utilize the products we offer and a market may not develop for our future products.

We may at times determine that it is not technically or economically feasible for us to continue to manufacture certain products and we may not be successful in developing or marketing them. Additionally, new technologies that we develop may not be rapidly accepted because of industry-specific factors, including the need for regulatory clearance, entrenched patterns of clinical practice and uncertainty over third party reimbursement. If this occurs, our business will be harmed and our revenues and operating results will be adversely affected.

We intend to develop new products and expand into new markets, which may not be successful and could harm our operating results.

We intend to expand into new markets and develop new and modified products based on our existing technologies and engineering capabilities, including the development of complete medical device systems. These efforts have required and will continue to require us to make substantial investments, including significant research, development and engineering expenditures and capital expenditures for new, expanded or improved manufacturing facilities. Additionally, many of the new products we are working on and developing take longer and more resources to develop and commercialize, including obtaining regulatory approval.

Specific risks in connection with expanding into new products and markets include: longer product development cycles, the inability to transfer our quality standards and technology into new products, the failure to receive or delay in receipt of regulatory approval for new products or modifications to existing products, and the failure of our customers to accept the new or modified products. Our inability to develop new products or expand into new markets, as currently intended, could hard our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may never realize the full value of our intangible assets, which represent a significant portion of our total assets.

At December 30, 2016 , we had $ 1.9 billion of intangible assets, representing 67% of our total assets. These intangible assets consist primarily of goodwill, trademarks, tradenames, customer lists and patented technology arising from our acquisitions. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are tested annually or upon the occurrence of certain events that indicate that the assets may be impaired. Definite lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives and are tested for impairment upon the occurrence of certain events that indicate that the assets may be impaired. We may not receive the recorded value for our intangible assets if we sell or liquidate our business or assets. In addition, this significant amount of intangible assets increases the risk of a large charge to earnings in the event that the recoverability of these intangible assets is impaired. In the event of such a charge to earnings, the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected. In addition, intangible assets with definite lives, which represent $ 849.8 million of our net intangible assets at December 30, 2016 , will continue to be amortized. We incurred total amortization expenses relating to these intangible assets of $37.9 million in 2016 . These expenses will reduce our future earnings or increase our future losses.

We are subject to pricing pressures from customers, which could harm our operating results.

We have made price concessions to some of our larger customers in recent years and we expect customer pressure for price concessions will continue. Price concessions or reductions may cause our operating results to suffer.

We rely on third party suppliers for raw materials, key products and subcomponents, and if we are unable to obtain these materials, products and/or subcomponents on a timely basis or on terms acceptable to us, our ability to manufacture products will suffer.

Our business depends on a continuous supply of raw materials. The principal raw materials used in our business include lithium, iodine, gold, CFx, palladium, stainless steel, aluminum, cobalt chrome, tantalum, platinum, ruthenium, gallium trichloride, vanadium oxide, iridium, titanium and plastics. The supply and price of these raw materials are susceptible to fluctuations due to transportation issues, government regulations, price controls, foreign civil unrest, tariffs, worldwide economic conditions or other unforeseen circumstances. Increasing global demand for these raw materials has caused prices of these materials to increase. In addition, there are a limited number of worldwide suppliers of several raw materials needed to manufacture our products. For reasons of quality, cost effectiveness or availability, we obtain some raw materials from a single supplier. Although we work closely with our suppliers to ensure continuity of supply, we may not be able to continue to procure raw materials critical to our business at all or to procure them at acceptable price levels.

In addition, we rely on third party manufacturers to supply many of the products and subcomponents that are incorporated into our own products and components. Manufacturing problems may occur with these and other outside sources, as a supplier may fail to develop and supply products and subcomponents to us on a timely basis, or may supply us with products and subcomponents that do not meet our quality, quantity and cost requirements. If any of these problems occur, we may be unable to obtain substitute sources for these products and subcomponents on a timely basis or on terms acceptable to us, which could harm our ability to manufacture our own products and components profitably or on time. In addition, to the extent the processes our suppliers use to manufacture products and subcomponents are proprietary, we may be unable to obtain comparable products and subcomponents from alternative suppliers.

Quality problems with our products could harm our reputation and erode our competitive advantage.

Quality is important to us and our customers, and our products, given their intended uses, are held to high quality and performance standards. In the event our products fail to meet these standards, our reputation could be harmed, which could erode our competitive advantage over competitors, causing us to lose or see a reduction in business from customers and resulting in lower revenues.

Quality problems with our products could result in warranty claims and additional costs.

We generally allow customers to return defective or damaged products for credit, replacement or repair. We generally warrant that our products will meet customer specifications and will be free from defects in materials and workmanship. Additionally, we carry a safety stock of inventory for our customers that may be impacted by warranty claims. We reserve for our exposure to warranty claims based upon recent historical experience and other specific information as it becomes available. However, these reserves may not be adequate to cover future warranty claims. If these reserves are inadequate, additional warranty costs or inventory write-offs may need to be incurred in the future, which could harm our operating results.

Regulatory issues resulting from product complaints, or recalls, or regulatory audits could harm our ability to produce and supply products or bring new products to market.

Our products are designed, manufactured and distributed globally in compliance with applicable regulations and standards. However, a product complaint, recall or negative regulatory audit may cause our products to be removed from the market and harm our operating results or financial condition. In addition, during the period in which corrective action is being taken by us to remedy a complaint, recall or negative audit, regulators may not allow our new products to be cleared for marketing and sale.

If we become subject to product liability claims, our operating results and financial condition could suffer.

Our business exposes us to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the design, manufacture and sales of our products. Product failures, including those that arise from the failure to meet product specifications, misuse or malfunction, or design flaws, or the use of our products with components or systems not manufactured or sold by us could result in product liability claims or a recall. Many of our products are components and function in interaction with our customers’ medical devices. For example, our batteries are produced to meet electrical performance, longevity and other specifications, but the actual performance of those products is dependent on how they are utilized as part of our customers’ devices over the lifetime of their products. Product performance and device interaction from time to time have been, and may in the future be, different than expected for a number of reasons. Consequently, it is possible that customers may experience problems with their medical devices that could require device recall or other corrective action, where our batteries met the specification at delivery, and for reasons that are not related primarily or at all to any failure by our product to perform in accordance with specifications. It is possible that our customers (or end-users) may in the future assert that our products caused or contributed to device failure. Even if these assertions do not lead to product liability or contract claims, they could harm our reputation and our customer relationships.

Provisions contained in our agreements with key customers attempting to limit our damages, including provisions to limit damages to liability for negligence, may not be enforceable in all instances or may otherwise fail to adequately protect us from liability for damages. Product liability claims or product recalls, regardless of their ultimate outcome, could require us to spend significant time and money in litigation and require us to pay significant damages. The occurrence of product liability claims or product recalls could affect our operating results and financial condition.

We carry product liability insurance with coverage that is limited in scope and amount. We may not be able to maintain this insurance at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, or at all. This insurance may not be adequate to protect us against a product liability claim that arises in the future.

Our operating results may fluctuate, which may make it difficult to forecast our future performance and may result in volatility in our stock price.

Our operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter, making forecasting future performance difficult and resulting in volatility in our stock price. These fluctuations are due to a variety of factors, including the following:

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights, our business could be harmed.

We rely on a combination of patents, licenses, trade secrets and know-how to establish and protect our rights to our technologies and products. As of December 30, 2016 , we have 1,019 active patents filed. However, the steps we have taken and will take in the future to protect the intellectual property rights to our technologies and products may not be adequate to deter misappropriation of our intellectual property. In addition to seeking formal patent protection whenever possible, we attempt to protect our proprietary rights and trade secrets by entering into confidentiality and non-compete agreements with employees, consultants and third parties with which we do business. However, these agreements may be breached and, if breached, there may be no adequate remedy available to us and we may be unable to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge, practices and/or procedures. If our trade secrets become known, we may lose our competitive advantages. Additionally, as patents and other intellectual property protection expire, we may lose our competitive advantage.

If third parties infringe or misappropriate our patents or other proprietary rights, our business could be seriously harmed. We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor our intellectual property rights, or we may not be able to detect infringement of these rights and may lose our competitive advantages associated with our intellectual property rights before we do so. In addition, competitors may design around our technology or develop competing technologies that do not infringe our proprietary rights.

We may be subject to intellectual property claims, which could be costly and time consuming and could divert our management from our business operations.

In producing our products, third parties may claim that we are infringing on their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to have infringed on those intellectual property rights. We may be unaware of intellectual property rights of others that may be used in our technology and products. In addition, third parties may claim that our patents have been improperly granted and may seek to invalidate our existing or future patents. If any claim for invalidation prevailed, third parties may manufacture and sell products that compete with our products and our revenues from any related license agreements would decrease accordingly. We also typically do not receive significant indemnification from parties that license technology to us against third party claims of intellectual property infringement.

Any litigation or other challenges regarding our patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time consuming and could divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. The complexity of the technology involved in producing our products, and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation increases these risks. Claims of intellectual property infringement may also require us to enter into costly royalty or license agreements. However, we may not be able to obtain royalty or license agreements on terms acceptable to us, or at all. We also may be made subject to significant damages or injunctions against development and sale of our products.

Our failure to obtain licenses from third parties for new technologies or the loss of these licenses could impair our ability to design and manufacture new products and reduce our revenues.

We occasionally license technologies from third parties rather than depending exclusively on our own proprietary technology and developments. Our ability to license new technologies from third parties is and will continue to be critical to our ability to offer new and improved products. We may not be able to continue to identify new technologies developed by others and even if we are able to identify new technologies, we may not be able to negotiate licenses on favorable terms, or at all. Additionally, we could lose rights granted under licenses for reasons beyond our control.

We may not be able to attract, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees to maintain and grow our business.

We monitor the markets in which we compete and assess opportunities to better align expenses with revenues, while preserving our ability to make needed investments in research and development projects, capital and our people that we believe are critical to our long-term success. Our success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate highly skilled employees. There is currently aggressive competition for employees who have experience in technology and engineering. We compete intensely with other companies to recruit and hire from this limited pool. The industries in which we compete for employees are characterized by high levels of employee attrition. Although we believe we offer competitive salaries and benefits, we may have to increase spending in order to attract, train and retain qualified personnel.

We are dependent upon our senior management team and key technical personnel and the loss of any of them could significantly harm us.

Our future performance depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of our senior management team and key technical personnel. In general, only highly qualified and trained scientists have the necessary skills to develop our products, which are often highly technical in nature. The loss or unavailability to us of any member of our senior management team or a key technical employee could significantly harm us. We face intense competition for these professionals from our competitors, customers and companies operating in our industry. To the extent that the services of members of our senior management team and key technical personnel would be unavailable to us for any reason, we would be required to hire other personnel to manage and operate our Company and to develop our products and technology, which could negatively impact our business. We may not be able to locate or employ these qualified personnel on acceptable terms or may need to increase spending in order to attract these qualified personnel.

We may not realize the expected benefits from our cost savings and consolidation initiatives or those initiatives may have unintended consequences, which may harm our business.

We have incurred significant charges related to various cost savings and consolidation initiatives. These initiatives were undertaken to improve our operational effectiveness, efficiencies and profitability. Information regarding some of these initiatives is discussed in Note 13 “Other Operating Expenses, Net” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8 of this report. Cost reduction efforts under these initiatives include various cost and efficiency improvement measures, such as headcount reductions, the relocation of resources and administrative and functional activities, the closure of facilities, the transfer of production lines, the sale of non-strategic assets and other efforts to streamline our business, among other actions. These measures could yield unintended consequences, such as distraction of our management and employees, business disruption, disputes with customers, attrition beyond our planned reduction in workforce and reduced employee productivity. If any of these unintended consequences were to occur, they could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, headcount reductions and customer disputes may subject us to the risk of litigation, which could result in substantial cost. Moreover, our cost reduction efforts result in charges and expenses that impact our operating results. Our cost savings and consolidation initiatives, or other expense reduction measures we take in the future, may not result in the expected cost savings.

We have significant indebtedness that could affect our operations and financial condition, and our failure to meet certain financial covenants required by our debt agreements may materially and adversely affect our assets, financial position and cash flows.

At December 30, 2016, our total indebtedness was $1.7 billion. We incurred substantial additional indebtedness in connection with the Lake Region Medical acquisition. We funded the cash portion of the Lake Region Medical acquisition consideration, the pay-off of certain outstanding indebtedness of ours and of Lake Region Medical and the payment of transaction-related expenses through a combination of available cash-on-hand and proceeds from debt financings, which financings consisted of the issuance of $360 million of 9.125% senior notes due 2023 and borrowings of $1.4 billion under our Senior Secured Credit Facility. As of December 30, 2016, our debt service obligations, comprised of principal and interest, during the following 12 months are estimated to be approximately $133 million. The outstanding indebtedness and the terms and covenants of the agreements under which this debt was incurred, could, among other things:

We incurred substantial expenses related to the acquisition of Lake Region Medical and expect to continue to incur substantial expenses related to its integration.

We have incurred substantial expenses in connection with the acquisition of Lake Region Medical and expect to continue to incur substantial expenses in connection with its integration. As of December 30, 2016, we have incurred approximately $61 million in acquisition and integration costs related to the Lake Region Medical acquisition. Since our acquisition of Lake Region Medical, we achieved approximately $34 million in cumulative annual run-rate synergies, which exceeded our $25 million target. These net synergies are expected to increase to $60 million by 2018. We expect the investment necessary to achieve these synergies to consist of $20 million to $25 million in capital expenditures and $40 million to $50 million of operating expenses. However, many of the expenses that will be incurred are, by their nature, difficult to estimate accurately. These expenses could, particularly in the near term, exceed the savings that we expect to achieve from elimination of duplicative expenses and the realization of economies of scale and cost savings. Although we expect that the realization of efficiencies related to the integration of Lake Region Medical’s business will offset incremental transaction, acquisition-related and restructuring costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

Successful integration of Lake Region Medical and anticipated benefits of the Lake Region Medical acquisition cannot be assured and integration matters could divert attention of management away from operations. The Lake Region Medical acquisition could have an adverse effect on our business relationships.

There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to maintain and grow its Lake Region Medical business and operations. In addition, the market segments in which Lake Region Medical operates may experience declines in customer demand and/or the entrance of new competitors. Customers, suppliers and other third parties with business relationships with us may decide not to renew or may decide to seek to terminate, change or renegotiate their relationships with us as a result of the Lake Region Medical acquisition, whether pursuant to the terms of their existing agreements with us or otherwise.

Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Lake Region Medical acquisition will depend, to a large extent, on our ability to integrate the legacy businesses. Integrating and coordinating aspects of the operations and personnel of Lake Region Medical with legacy businesses involves complex operational, technological and personnel-related challenges. This process is time-consuming and expensive, disrupts the businesses of both companies and may not result in the full benefits expected by us, including cost synergies expected to arise from supply chain efficiencies and overlapping general and administrative functions.

The potential difficulties, and resulting costs and delays, include:

Additionally, the integration of our legacy businesses and Lake Region Medical’s operations, products and personnel may place a significant burden on management and other internal resources. The attention of our management may be directed towards integration considerations and may be diverted from our day-to-day business operations, and matters related to the integration may require commitments of time and resources that could otherwise have been devoted to other opportunities that might have been beneficial to us and our business. The diversion of management’s attention, and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process, could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

Even if our businesses are successfully integrated, we may not realize the full benefits of the Lake Region Medical acquisition, including anticipated synergies, cost savings or growth opportunities, within the expected timeframe or at all. In addition, we expect to incur significant integration and restructuring expenses to realize synergies. However, many of the expenses that will be incurred are, by their nature, difficult to estimate accurately. These expenses could, particularly in the near term, exceed the savings that we expect to achieve from elimination of duplicative expenses and the realization of economies of scale and cost savings. Although we expect that the realization of efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses may offset incremental transaction, acquisition-related and restructuring costs over time, we cannot give any assurance that this net benefit will be achieved in the near term, or at all.

Any of the matters described above could adversely affect our business or harm our financial condition, results of operations or business prospects.

We may experience significant variability in our quarterly and annual effective tax rate and may not be able to use our net operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards which would affect our reported net income.

We have a complex tax profile due to the global nature of our operations, which encompass multiple taxing jurisdictions. Variability in the mix and profitability of domestic and international activities, identification and resolution of various tax uncertainties, changes in tax laws and rates, and the extent to which we are able to realize net operating loss and other carryforwards included in deferred tax assets and avoid potential adverse outcomes included in deferred tax liabilities, among other matters, may significantly affect our effective income tax rate in the future.

Changes in U.S. or international tax laws could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. The U.S. is actively considering changes to existing tax laws including lower corporate tax rates and changes to the taxability of imports and exports. In addition, many countries in the European Union, as well as a number of other countries and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, are actively considering changes to existing tax laws. If tax laws and related regulations change, our financial results could be materially impacted. Given the unpredictability of these possible changes and their potential interdependency, it is possible such changes could adversely impact our financial results.

Our effective income tax rate is the result of the income tax rates in the various countries in which we do business. Our mix of income and losses in these jurisdictions affects our effective tax rate. For example, relatively more income in higher tax rate jurisdictions would increase our effective tax rate and thus lower our net income. Similarly, if we generate losses in tax jurisdictions for which no benefits are available, our effective income tax rate will increase. Our effective income tax rate may also be impacted by the recognition of discrete income tax items, such as required adjustments to our liabilities for uncertain tax positions or our deferred tax asset valuation allowance. A significant increase in our effective income tax rate could have a material adverse impact on our earnings.

We have recorded deferred tax assets based on our assessment that we will be able to realize the benefits of our net operating losses and other favorable tax attributes. Realization of deferred tax assets involve significant judgments and estimates which are subject to change and ultimately depends on generating sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character during the appropriate periods. Changes in circumstances may affect the likelihood of such realization, which in turn may trigger a write-down of our deferred tax assets, the amount of which would depend on a number of factors. A write-down would reduce our reported net income, which may adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations or cash flows.  In addition, we are potentially subject to ongoing and periodic tax examinations and audits in various jurisdictions, including with respect to the amount of our net operating losses and any limitation thereon. An adjustment to such net operating loss carryforwards, including an adjustment from a taxing authority, could result in higher tax costs, penalties and interest, thereby adversely impacting our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

If we are not successful in making acquisitions to expand and develop our business, our operating results may suffer.

One facet of our growth strategy is to make acquisitions that complement our core competencies in technology and manufacturing to enable us to manufacture and sell additional products to our existing customers and to expand our business into related markets. Our continued growth may depend on our ability to identify and acquire companies that complement or enhance our business on acceptable terms. We may not be able to identify or complete future acquisitions. In addition, even if we are able to identify future acquisitions, we may not be able to effect such acquisitions under the terms of the Indenture governing our 9.125% senior notes due 2023 or our Senior Secured Credit Facility. Some of the risks that we may encounter include expenses associated with and difficulties in identifying potential targets, the costs associated with unsuccessful acquisitions, and higher prices for acquired companies because of competition for attractive acquisition targets.

Interruptions of our manufacturing operations could delay production and affect our operations.

Our products are designed and manufactured in facilities located around the world. In most cases, the manufacturing of specific product lines is concentrated in one or a few locations. Our business involves complex manufacturing processes and hazardous materials that can be dangerous to our employees. Although we employ safety procedures in the design and operation of our facilities, there is a risk that an accident or death could occur. Any accident, such as a chemical spill or fire, could result in significant manufacturing delays or claims for damages resulting from injuries, which would harm our operations and financial condition. The potential liability resulting from any such accident or death, to the extent not covered by insurance, could harm our financial condition or operating results. Any disruption of operations at any of our facilities, and in particular our larger facilities, could result in production delays, which could affect our operations and harm our business.

Our international sales and operations are subject to a variety of market and financial risks and costs that could affect our profitability and operating results.

Our sales outside the U.S., which accounted for 42% of sales for 2016 , and our operations in Europe, Asia, and Central and South America are and will continue to be subject to a number of risks and potential costs, including:

Moreover, there have been recent public announcements by members of the U.S. Congress and President Trump and his administration regarding their plans to make substantial changes in the taxation of U.S. companies and their foreign operations, including the possible implementation of a border tax, tariff or increase in custom duties on products manufactured outside of, and imported into, the U.S., as well as the renegotiation of U.S. trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement. As some of our manufacturing facilities are located in Mexico, Ireland and Malaysia, the importation of a border tax, tariff or higher customs duties on our products imported into the U.S., or any potential corresponding actions by other countries in which we do business, could negatively impact our business or results of operations.

We earn revenue and incur expenses related to our foreign sales and operations that are denominated in a foreign currency. Additionally, to the extent that monetary assets and liabilities, including short-term and long-term intercompany loans, are recorded in a currency other than the functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries, these amounts are remeasured each period, with the resulting gain or loss being recorded in Other Income, Net. We may buy hedges in certain currencies to reduce or offset our exposure to currency exchange fluctuations; however, these transactions may not be adequate or effective to protect us from the exposure for which they are purchased. Historically, foreign currency fluctuations have not had a material effect on our net financial results. However, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have a significant impact, positive or negative, on our financial results in the future.

Economic and credit market uncertainty could interrupt our access to capital markets, borrowings, or financial transactions to hedge certain risks, which could adversely affect our financial condition.

To date, we have been able to access debt and equity financing that has allowed us to complete acquisitions, make investments in growth opportunities and fund working capital requirements. In addition, we enter into financial transactions to hedge certain risks, including foreign exchange and interest rate risk. Our continued access to capital markets, the stability of our lenders under our Senior Secured Credit Facility and their willingness to support our needs, and the stability of the parties to our financial transactions that hedge risks are essential for us to meet our current and long-term obligations, fund operations, and fund our strategic initiatives. An interruption in our access to external financing or financial transactions to hedge risk could affect our business prospects and financial condition.

The failure of our information technology systems to perform as anticipated could disrupt our business and affect our financial condition.

The efficient operation of our business is dependent on our information technology (“IT”) systems. Accordingly, we rely upon the capacity, reliability and security of our IT hardware and software infrastructure and our ability to expand and update this infrastructure in response to our changing needs. Despite our implementation of security measures, our systems are vulnerable to damages from computer viruses, natural disasters, incursions by intruders or hackers, failures in hardware or software, power fluctuations, cyber terrorists and other similar disruptions. The failure of our IT systems to perform as anticipated for any reason or any significant breach of security could disrupt our business and result in numerous consequences, including reduced effectiveness and efficiency of operations, inappropriate disclosure of confidential information, increased overhead costs and loss of important information, which could have a material effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, we may be required to incur significant costs to protect against damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches in the future.

Risks Related To Our Industries

The healthcare industry is highly regulated and subject to various political, economic and regulatory changes that could increase our compliance costs and force us to modify how we develop and price our products.

The healthcare industry is highly regulated and is influenced by changing political, economic and regulatory factors. Several of our product lines are subject to international, federal, state and local health and safety, packaging and product content regulations. In addition, medical devices are subject to regulation by the FDA and similar governmental agencies. These regulations cover a wide variety of product activities from design and development to labeling, manufacturing, promotion, sales and distribution. Compliance with these regulations may be time consuming, burdensome and expensive and could negatively affect our ability to sell products. This may result in higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated revenues.

Furthermore, healthcare industry regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. Federal and state legislatures have periodically considered and implemented programs to reform or amend the U.S. healthcare system at both the federal and state levels. In addition, these regulations may contain proposals to increase governmental involvement in healthcare, lower reimbursement rates or otherwise change the environment in which healthcare industry participants operate. We may be required to incur significant expenses to comply with these regulations or remedy past violations of these regulations. Our failure to comply with applicable government regulations could also result in cessation of portions or all of our operations, impositions of fines and restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations. In addition, because many of our products are sold into regulated industries, we must comply with additional regulations in marketing our products.

In response to perceived increases in healthcare costs in recent years, there have been and continue to be proposals by the Presidential administrations, members of Congress, state governments, regulators and third-party payors to control these costs and, more generally, to reform the U.S. healthcare system, including by repealing or replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Health Care Reform imposed significant new taxes on medical device manufacturers through the end of 2015. Although this medical device excise tax was suspended beginning on January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2017, if this suspension is not continued or made permanent thereafter, the medical device excise tax will be automatically reinstated starting on January 1, 2018 and would result in a significant increase in the tax burden on our industry, which could have a material negative impact on our financial condition, results of operations and our cash flows. Other elements of Health Care Reform such as comparative effectiveness research, an independent payment advisory board, payment system reforms including shared savings pilots and other provisions could meaningfully change the way healthcare is developed and delivered, and may materially adversely impact numerous aspects of our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many significant parts of Health Care Reform will be phased in over time and require further guidance and clarification in the form of regulations. As a result, many of the impacts of Health Care Reform and any future legislative changes to Health Care Reform will not be known until those regulations are enacted, which we expect to occur over the next several years.

Our business is subject to environmental regulations that could be costly to comply with.

Federal, state and local regulations impose various environmental controls on the manufacturing, transportation, storage, use and disposal of batteries and hazardous chemicals and other materials used in, and hazardous waste produced by the manufacturing of our products. Conditions relating to our historical operations may require expenditures for clean-up in the future and changes in environmental laws and regulations may impose costly compliance requirements on us or otherwise subject us to future liabilities. Additional or modified regulations relating to the manufacture, transportation, storage, use and disposal of materials used to manufacture our products or restricting disposal or transportation of batteries may be imposed that may result in higher costs or lower operating results. In addition, we cannot predict the effect that additional or modified environmental regulations may have on us or our customers.

Our international operations expose us to legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material effect on our business.

Our profitability and international operations are, and will continue to be, subject to risks relating to changes in foreign legal and regulatory requirements. In addition, our international operations are governed by various U.S. laws and regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and other similar laws that prohibit us and our business partners from making improper payments or offers of payment to foreign governments and their officials and political parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Any alleged or actual violations of these regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, severe criminal or civil sanctions and other liabilities and could negatively affect our business, reputation, operating results, and financial condition.

Consolidation in the healthcare industry could result in greater competition and reduce our revenues and harm our business.

Many healthcare industry companies are consolidating to create new companies with greater market power. As the healthcare industry consolidates, competition to provide products and services to industry participants will become more intense. These industry participants may try to use their market power to negotiate price concessions or reductions for our products. If we are forced to reduce our prices, our revenues would decrease and our operating results would suffer.

Our business is indirectly subject to healthcare industry cost containment measures that could result in reduced sales of our products.

Several of our customers rely on third party payors, such as government programs and private health insurance plans, to reimburse some or all of the cost of the procedures in which our products are used. The continuing efforts of governments, insurance companies and other payors of healthcare costs to contain or reduce those costs could lead to patients being unable to obtain approval for payment from these third party payors for procedures in which our products are used. If that occurred, sales of medical devices may decline significantly and our customers may reduce or eliminate purchases of our products. The cost containment measures that healthcare payors are instituting, both in the U.S. and internationally, could reduce our revenues and harm our operating results.

Our energy market revenues are dependent on conditions in the oil and natural gas industry, which historically have been volatile.

Sales of our products into the energy market depends upon the condition of the oil and gas industry. Currently, oil and natural gas prices have been subject to significant fluctuation and the oil and gas exploration and production industry has historically been cyclical, and it is likely that oil and natural gas prices will continue to fluctuate in the future. The current and anticipated prices of oil and natural gas influence the oil and gas exploration and production business and are affected by a variety of political and economic factors, including worldwide demand for oil and natural gas, worldwide and domestic supplies of oil and natural gas, the ability of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) to set and maintain production levels and pricing, the level of production of non-OPEC countries, the price and availability of alternative fuels, political stability in oil producing regions and the policies of the various governments regarding exploration and development of their oil and natural gas reserves. A change in the oil and gas exploration and production industry or a reduction in the exploration and production expenditures of oil and gas companies, such as has occurred over the last few years, could cause our energy market revenues to decline.