American Woodmark (AMWD) Risk Factors

We recorded significant goodwill as a result of the acquisition of RSI Home Products, Inc. (the "RSI Acquisition" or "RSI") in fiscal 2018. Goodwill represents a substantial portion of our assets. We also have long-lived assets consisting of property and equipment and other identifiable intangible assets which we review both on an annual basis as well as when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If a determination is made that a significant impairment in value of goodwill or long-lived assets has occurred, such determination could require us to impair a substantial portion of our assets. Asset impairments could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We operate within a highly competitive U.S. cabinetry industry, which is characterized by competition from a number of other manufacturers. Competition is further intensified during economic downturns. We compete with numerous large national and regional home products companies for, among other things, customers, orders from Home Depot and Lowe's, raw materials, skilled management, and labor resources. Purchase volumes from our main home center customers have fluctuated substantially from time to time in the past, and we expect such fluctuations to occur from time to time in the future. Some of our competitors may have greater financial, marketing, and other resources than we do and, therefore, may be able to adapt to changes in customer preferences more quickly, devote more resources to the marketing and sale of their products, generate greater national brand recognition, or adopt more aggressive pricing policies than we can. In addition, some of our competitors may resort to price competition to sustain or gain market share and manufacturing capacity utilization, and we may have to adjust the prices on some of our products to stay competitive, which could reduce our revenues. We also face competition with respect to some of our products from competitors in countries with lower regulatory, safety, environmental, and other costs, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. These competitors may also benefit from certain local government subsidies or other incentives that are not available to us. We may not ultimately succeed in competing with other manufacturers and distributors in our market, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

The U.S. cabinetry industry is subject to changing consumer trends, demands, and preferences. The uncertainties associated with developing and introducing new products, such as gauging changing consumer preferences and successfully developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling new products, could lead to, among other things, rejection of a new product line, reduced demand and price reductions for our products. If our products do not keep up with consumer trends, demands, and preference, we could lose market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Changes to consumer shopping habits and potential trends toward "online" purchases could also impact our ability to compete. Further, the volatile and challenging economic environment of recent years has caused shifts in consumer trends, demands, preferences and purchasing practices, and changes in the business models and strategies of our customers. Shifts in consumer preferences, which may or may not be long-term, have altered the quantity, type, and prices of products demanded by the end-consumer and our customers. If we do not timely and effectively identify and respond to these changing consumer preferences and purchasing practices, our relationships with our customers could be harmed, the demand for our products could be reduced, and our market share could be negatively affected.

Our industry historically has been cyclical in nature and has fluctuated with economic cycles. During economic downturns, our industry could experience longer periods of recession and greater declines than the general economy. We believe that our industry is significantly influenced by economic conditions generally and particularly by housing activity, consumer confidence, the level of personal discretionary spending, demographics, and credit availability. These factors may affect not only the ultimate consumer of our products, but also may impact home centers, builders, and our other primary customers. As a result, a worsening of economic conditions could adversely affect our sales and earnings as well as our cash flow and liquidity.

We manufacture our products in the United States and Mexico and sell our products in the United States and Canada. Accordingly, we are subject to risks associated with potential disruption caused by changes in political, monetary, economic, and social environments, including civil and political unrest, terrorism, possible expropriation, local labor conditions, changes in laws, regulations, and policies of foreign governments and trade disputes with the United States (including tariffs), and compliance with U.S. laws affecting activities of U.S. companies abroad, including tax laws, economic sanctions, and enforcement of contract and intellectual property rights. We are also subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery laws. While we have implemented safeguards and policies to discourage these practices by our employees and agents, our existing safeguards and policies to assure compliance and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective and our employees or agents may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. If employees violate our policies, we may be subject to regulatory sanctions. Violations of these laws or regulations could result in sanctions including fines, debarment from export privileges, and penalties and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. We may continue to hedge certain foreign currency transactions in the future; however, a change in the value of the currencies may impact our financial statements when translated into U.S. dollars. In addition, fluctuations in currency can adversely impact the cost position in local currency of our products, making it more difficult for us to compete. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage our business through the impact of these potential changes. In addition, we source raw materials and components from Asia where we have recently experienced higher manufacturing costs and longer lead times due to currency fluctuations, higher wage rates, labor shortages, and higher raw material costs, and we have also experienced higher shipping costs and shipping delays. Our international operations and sourcing of materials (including from Asia and Mexico) could be harmed by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: - increases in transportation costs or transportation delays;- work stoppages and labor strikes;- introduction of non-native invasive organisms into new environments;- recessionary trends in international markets;- legal and regulatory changes and the burdens and costs of our compliance with a variety of laws, including export controls, import and customs trade restrictions, tariffs and other regulations;- fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies; and - political unrest, terrorism, and economic instability. If any of these or other factors were to render the conduct of our business in a particular country undesirable or impractical, our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Many of our facilities are located in regions that are vulnerable to natural disasters and other risks, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, tropical storms, hurricanes, and snow and ice, which at times have disrupted the local economy and posed physical risks to our property. In addition, the continued threat of terrorism and heightened security and military action in response to this threat, or any future acts of terrorism, may cause further disruptions to the economies of the United States and other countries. Our redundant, multiple site capacity may not be sufficient in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist act or other catastrophic event. Such disruptions could, among other things, disrupt our manufacturing or distribution facilities and result in delays or cancellations of customer orders for our products, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, if a natural disaster occurs in a region from which we derive a significant portion of our revenue, end-user customers in that region may delay or forego purchases of our products, which may materially and adversely impact our operating results for a particular period.

Government regulations pertaining to health and safety and environmental concerns continue to emerge, domestically as well as internationally. These regulations include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other worker safety regulations for the protection of employees, as well as regulations for the protection of consumers. It is necessary for us to comply with current requirements (including requirements that do not become effective until a future date), and even more stringent requirements could be imposed on our products or processes. Compliance with these regulations may require us to alter our manufacturing and installation processes and our sourcing. Such actions could increase our capital expenditures and adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our inability to effectively and timely meet such regulations could adversely impact our competitive position.

Our facilities are subject to numerous environmental laws, regulations and permits, including those governing emissions to air, discharges to water, storage, treatment and disposal of waste, remediation of contaminated sites, and protection of worker health and safety. We may not be in complete compliance with these laws, regulations, or permits at all times. Our efforts to comply with environmental requirements do not remove the risk that we may incur material liabilities, fines or penalties for, among other things, releases of regulated materials occurring on or emanating from current or formerly owned or operated properties or any associated offsite disposal location, or for contamination discovered at any of our properties from activities conducted by previous occupants. Liability for environmental contamination or a release of hazardous materials may be joint and several, so that we may be held responsible for more than our share of the contamination or other damages, or even for the entire share. Changes in environmental laws and regulations or the discovery of previously unknown contamination or other liabilities relating to our properties and operations could result in significant environmental liabilities that could impact our business, financial condition, or results of operation. In addition, we may incur capital and other costs to comply with increasingly stringent environmental laws and enforcement policies. These laws, including, for example, the regulations relating to formaldehyde emissions promulgated by the California Air Resources Board, require us to rely on compliance by our suppliers of raw materials. Should a supplier fail to comply with such regulations, notify us of non-compliance, or provide us with a product that does not comply, we could be subject to disruption in our business and incur substantial liabilities.