Key Tronic (KTCC) Risk Analysis

Our future success depends in large part on the continued service of our key technical, marketing and management personnel and on our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified production employees. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel, particularly in our manufacturing locales that may be experiencing high demand for similar key personnel. The loss of key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, we must successfully manage transition issues that may result from the departure or retirement of members of our leadership team. For example, our Chief Executive Officer retired at the end of fiscal year 2024 and is succeeded by our former Chief Financial Officer. Any significant leadership change or senior management transition involves inherent risks and any failure to ensure a smooth transition could hinder our strategic planning, business execution, and future performance. We cannot provide assurances that any changes of management personnel will not cause disruption to operations or customer relationships or a decline in our operating results.

We are dependent on many suppliers, including sole source suppliers, to provide key components and raw materials used in manufacturing customers' products. We have seen supply shortages in certain electronic components. In addition, our suppliers' facilities may also experience closures or limited production due to natural disasters or other reasons, which may cause a shortage of components. This can result in longer lead times and the inability to meet our customers' requests for flexible production and extended shipment dates. If demand for components outpaces supply, capacity delays could affect future operations. Delays in deliveries from suppliers or the inability to obtain sufficient quantities of components and raw materials have and may continue to cause delays or reductions in shipment of products to our customers which could adversely affect our operating results and damage customer relationships.

We are subject to a variety of domestic and foreign environmental regulations relating to the use, storage, and disposal of materials used in our manufacturing processes. In addition, increasing governmental focus on climate change may result in new environmental regulations that may negatively affect us, our vendors or our customers. As a result, we may incur additional costs or obligations in complying with any new environmental and reporting requirements, as well as increased indirect costs resulting from our vendors or suppliers that get passed on to us. If we fail to comply with any present or future regulations, we could be subject to future liabilities or the suspension of current manufacturing operations. In addition, such regulations could restrict our ability to expand our operations or could require us to acquire costly equipment, substitute materials, or incur other significant expenses to comply with government regulations.

We are increasingly dependent on digital technologies and services to conduct our operations. We use these technologies for internal purposes, including data storage, processing and transmissions, as well as in our interactions with vendors and customers. Digital technologies and services are subject to the risk of cybersecurity incidents and some incidents can remain undetected for a period of time. We routinely monitor our systems for cyber threats and believe we have sufficient processes in place to detect and remediate vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, we have experienced attempted security breaches, such as phishing emails and other targeted attacks. For example, as previously disclosed in our Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 10, 2024, as amended, we became aware of unauthorized access to our IT systems that resulted in a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations during the fourth quarter ending June 29, 2024 (the "Previously Disclosed Cyber Incident"). We expect that our operations will continue to be subject to cyber threats, and any future cybersecurity incident could significantly disrupt our operations. The threat actor in the Previously Disclosed Cyber Incident exfiltrated certain personally identifiable information, and future cybersecurity incidents could also result in the misappropriation of proprietary or confidential information of the Company or that of its customers, employees, vendors or suppliers. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur costs to mitigate against the Previously Disclosed Cyber Incident and other cybersecurity incidents as threats are expected to continue to become more persistent and sophisticated. If our systems for protecting against cybersecurity incidents, including the Previously Disclosed Cyber Incident, prove not to be sufficient, we could be adversely affected by, among other things, loss of or damage to intellectual property, proprietary or confidential information, or employee, vendor or customer data; interruption of our business operations; and increased costs to prevent, respond to or mitigate cybersecurity incidents. In addition, our investigation of the Previously Disclosed Cyber Incident is ongoing, and we may discover other impacts or new events related to this incident that could affect the Company, including our business, financial condition or results of operations. Any of these risks could harm our reputation and our relationships with employees, vendors and customers and may result in claims or enforcement actions and investigations against us.

Competitors may offer customers lower prices on certain high volume programs. This could result in price reductions, reduced margins and loss of market share, all of which would materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. If we were unable to provide comparable or better manufacturing services at a lower cost than our competitors, it could cause sales to decline. In addition, competitors can copy our non-proprietary designs and processes after we have invested in development of products for customers, thereby enabling such competitors to offer lower prices on such products due to savings in development costs.

At present, our customer base is concentrated and could become more or less concentrated. There can be no assurance that our principal customers will continue to purchase products from us at current levels. Moreover, we typically do not enter into long-term volume purchase contracts with our customers, and our customers have certain rights to extend or delay the shipment of their orders. We, however, typically require that our customers contractually agree to buy back inventory purchased within specified lead times to build their products if not used. The loss of one or more of our principal customers, or the reduction, delay or cancellation of orders from such customers, due to economic conditions or other forces, could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. The contraction in demand from certain industries could impact our customer orders and have a negative impact on our operations over the foreseeable future.

Adverse economic conditions and uncertainty in the global economy such as unstable global financial and credit markets, inflation, and recession can negatively impact our business. Unfavorable economic conditions could affect the demand for our customers' products by triggering a reduction in orders as well as a decline in forecasts which could adversely affect our sales in future periods. Additionally, the financial strength of our customers and suppliers and their ability to obtain and rely on credit financing may affect their ability to fulfill their obligations to us and have an adverse effect on our financial results. Adverse macroeconomic conditions, such as those that were a result of COVID-19 have and may continue to affect our business. The conditions affect the Company's ability to predict and plan for future supply chain disruptions, fluctuations in customer demand and costs, and the ability to operate as there is uncertainty over future temporary closures. Inflation has also risen globally to historically high levels. As the inflation rate continues to increase, the costs of labor and other expenses have and may continue to increase. We may not be able to increase our product prices enough to offset these increased costs. In addition, any increase in our product prices may reduce our future customer orders and profitability. Inflation may further exacerbate other risk factors discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including disruptions to international operations.

We have manufacturing operations located in Mexico and China. A significant portion of our operations are denominated in the Mexican Peso and the Chinese currency, the renminbi ("RMB"). Currency exchange rates fluctuate daily as a result of a number of factors, including changes in a country's political and economic policies. Volatility in the currencies of our entities and the United States dollar, as well as inflationary costs, could seriously harm our business, operating results and financial condition. The primary impact of currency exchange fluctuations is on the cash, receivables, payables and expenses of our operating entities. As part of our hedging strategy, we currently use Mexican Peso forward contracts to hedge future foreign currency fluctuations for a portion of our Mexican Peso denominated expenses. We currently do not hedge expenses denominated in RMB and have occasionally also been unable to hedge expenses denominated in Mexican Peso. Losses have occurred from increases in the value of these currencies relative to the United States dollar and further losses could occur, which could be material to our business, financial results or operations. Global economic and political events or significant currency exchange fluctuations, can occur, and cause further unexpected losses. Future temporary closures of production facilities in Mexico could also cause significant changes in our ability to qualify for hedge accounting treatment of our forward contracts to hedge foreign currency fluctuations.