We have expanded our sales
business to meet the increased demand from our customers. Historically, we have
sold new units to customers who prefer to own rather than lease. Although the
education sector has been and will continue to be a consistent source of our
sales revenue, we believe there are significant opportunities for the sale of
modular space units to other sectors such as healthcare, commercial and industrial,
and government. For example, the reorganization efforts by the U.S. military in
recent years has continued to create significant demand for our products.
Grow
Portable Storage Business. We believe
that the portable storage business is highly complementary to our modular space
business and represents a significant growth opportunity. From 1997 to 2006,
our storage product fleet has grown at a CAGR of 16.0% as a result of fleet
purchases and acquisitions. Portable storage units are characterized by quick
return of capital, long useful lives, a history of substantial value retention
and the ability to generate recurring revenues and high operating margins. We
expect to leverage our existing branch network, sales force, customer base and
management information systems to deliver storage units to our current and
potential customers. We intend to continue adding to our fleet of portable
storage units and have expanded our sales force to include personnel who are
dedicated exclusively to storage products.
European Expansion
Opportunities. We recently entered the European
market and believe it is an attractive geographic expansion opportunity. In August 2006,
we completed our acquisition of Wiron. With our acquisition in July 2004
of an 8.5% minority interest for approximately $4.7 million, we now own 100% of the share capital of Wiron.
Wiron is headquartered in Parla, Spain and is one of the largest modular space
providers in Spain with 14 branch locations. We believe that the modular space
industry is
established in
Europe, yet is significantly earlier in its lifecycle as compared to the U.S.
market. In particular, we believe the European modular space industry has not
experienced the expansion of applications and end markets to the same extent as
in the United States because modular space applications have historically been
more focused on the construction industry. Given our historical experience in
expanding modular space applications and securing new customers through our
sales efforts in the United States, we believe that we are well positioned to
transfer our expertise to the European market.
Products
Our products can be used to meet a variety of customer
needs. Sample applications of modular space units include classrooms,
construction site offices, temporary office space, sales offices and special
events headquarters. Our modular space fleet ranges from single-unit facilities
to section modular structures, which combine two or more units into one
structure for applications that require more space. Units typically range in
size from 8 to 14 feet in width and 16 to 70 feet in length and are wood or
aluminum framed mounted on a steel chassis. In North America, the units are
generally fitted with axles and hitches and are towed to various locations. In
Spain, units are carried to locations in component pieces and assembled on
site. Most units contain materials used in conventional buildings and are
equipped with air conditioning and heating, electrical outlets and, where
necessary, plumbing facilities. Modular space units are extremely durable and
generally have an estimated economic useful life of 20 years. Products
have varying lease terms, with average contractual terms of 16 months.
However, most customers retain the product for a longer period as evidenced by
an average existing lease duration of approximately 28 months at December 31,
2006.
Our specific product offerings are described below:
Single-Wide
Modular Space Units. Single-wide
modular space units which include mobile offices are the most functional and
versatile units in our lease fleet. Units typically have open interiors which
can be modified using movable partitions. Single-wide modular space units
include tile floors, air conditioning/heating units, partitions and, if
requested, toilet facilities.
Section Modulars. Section modulars
are two or more units combined into one structure. Interiors are customized to
match the customer needs. Examples of section modular units include hospital
diagnostic annexes, special events headquarters, golf pro shops and larger
general commercial offices.
Classrooms. Classroom units are generally
standard double-wide units adapted specifically for use by school systems or
universities. Classroom units usually feature chalkboards and teaching aids,
air conditioning/heating units, windows along side-walls and, if requested,
toilet facilities.
Sales
Offices. Sales
offices are marketed to businesses that require site located space for sales
presentations. Exteriors are typically wood-sided with some models offering
recessed front entries. Our Executive Line sales offices are larger, more
expensive versions of the standard sales office with more amenities.
Storage
Products. Storage
products are windowless and are typically used for secure storage space. Our
storage units are primarily ground-level entry storage containers with swing
doors. These units are made of heavy exterior metals for security and water
tightness.
Branch Network
As a key element to our market leadership strategy, we
maintain a network of 88 branch offices throughout the United States, Canada,
and Mexico. This network enables us to increase our product availability and
customer service within our regional and local markets. Customers benefit
because they are provided with improved service availability, reduced time to
occupancy, better access to sales representatives, the ability to inspect units
prior to rental and lower freight costs which are typically paid by the
customer. We benefit because we are able to spread regional overhead and
marketing costs over a larger lease base, redeploy units within our branch
network to optimize utilization, discourage potential competitors by providing
ample local supply and offer profitable short-term leases which would not be
profitable without a local market presence. Related to our Wiron acquisition,
we maintain a network of 14 branches throughout Spain. This large network
provides for the same level of customer benefit as that in North America.
Management believes geographic diversification of our
branch network balances our economic and operating risk. In 2006, the
northeast, mid-atlantic, southeast, central southwest, central northwest,
Canadian, Mexican and Spanish regions accounted for 14%, 9%, 20%, 26%, 17%,
11%, 1%, and 2% of our revenues, respectively. For the year ended December 31,
2006, 87% of our consolidated revenues were generated from U.S. operations.
Our branches are generally
headed by a dedicated branch manager. Our branch operations are led by an
executive vice president and nine vice presidents who collectively average
21 years of industry experience and 11 years with our company.
Management believes it is important to encourage employees to achieve specified
revenue and profit levels and to provide a high level of service to our
customers. Our regional and branch managers compensation is based upon the
financial performance of their branches and overall corporate performance which
approximates 36% of their total compensation. Sales representatives
compensation is commission driven and based on the gross profits of business
written.
Operations
Leasing. Leasing
revenue is a function of average monthly rental rate, fleet size and
utilization. We monitor fleet utilization at each branch. For 2006, average
fleet utilization of our North America fleet was approximately 82%. While we
adjust our pricing to respond to local competition in our markets, we believe
that we generally achieve a rental rate equal to or above that of our
competitors because of the quality of our products and our high level of
customer service.
As part of our leasing operations, we sell used
modular space units from our lease fleet either at fair market value or, to a
much lesser extent, pursuant to pre-established lease purchase options included
in the terms of our lease agreements. Due in part to an active fleet
maintenance program, our units maintain a substantial portion of their initial
value which includes the cost of the units as well as costs of significant
improvements made to the units.
New
Unit Sales. New unit sales include sales of
newly-manufactured modular space units. We do not generally purchase new units
for resale until we have obtained firm purchase orders (which are generally
non-cancelable) for such units. New modular space units are generally purchased
more heavily in the late spring and summer months due to seasonal classroom and
construction market requirements.
Delivery
and Installation. We provide delivery, site-work,
installation and other services to our customers as part of our leasing and
sales operations. Revenues from delivery, site-work and installation result
from the transportation of units to a customers location, site-work required
prior to installation and installation of the units which have been leased or
sold. Typically units are placed on temporary foundations constructed by our
service technicians, and service personnel will also generally install our
ancillary products. We also derive revenues from tearing down and removing
units once a lease expires.
Other. We also derive
revenue from other products and services, including rental of steps, furniture
and ramps; sales of parts, supplies and security systems; and charges for
granting insurance waivers (i.e., charging a fee to customers who do not
provide their own insurance certificate).
Capital
Expenditures
We closely monitor fleet capital expenditures, which
include fleet purchases and capitalizable costs of improvements to existing
units. Generally, fleet purchases are controlled by field and corporate executives,
and must pass our fleet purchasing policy guidelines (which include ensuring
that utilization rates and unrentable units levels are reviewed for
acceptability, that redeployment, refurbishment and conversion options have
been considered, and that specific return on investment criteria have been
evaluated). We purchase our units through approximately 70 third-party
suppliers (most suppliers have only one factory, which generally serves a
market within 300 to 400 miles), with no significant dependence on any
supplier. The top three suppliers of units for 2006 represented approximately
36% of all fleet purchases, and the top ten suppliers represented approximately
73% of all fleet purchases. We believe that we have an excellent working
relationship with our suppliers. In Spain, we manufacture our own units.
We believe that our fleet purchases are flexible and
can be adjusted to match business needs and prevailing economic conditions. We
are generally not locked in to long-term purchase contracts with manufacturers
and can modify our capital spending activities to meet customer demand. For
example, our gross fleet capital expenditures prior to proceeds from sales of
used units were approximately $79.9 million in 2004, $139.8 million
in 2005, and $164.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2006.
We supplement our fleet
spending with acquisitions. Although the timing and amount of acquisitions are
difficult to predict, management considers its acquisition strategy to be
opportunistic and will adjust its fleet spending patterns as acquisition
opportunities become available.
Marketing
In addition to opening new branches, we use a number
of marketing tools to generate new business and customers. By maintaining a
detailed and updated customer and prospect tracking system, marketing and sales
personnel generally can identify when a particular customer or prospect
typically utilizes our products and may contact such customer or prospect
regarding their future needs.
Through our marketing and sales efforts we have successfully
expanded the uses for our products. For example, since 1993, the number of
industries (as measured by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code)
that lease or purchase our products is more than 400, and we expect to continue
to increase our penetration of other industries that would benefit from the
usage of our products. See Customer Base.
Developing new customers is an integral part of the
sales process and is monitored through the use of quarterly goals for each
employee with sales responsibility. In addition to our prospect tracking
databases, we conduct direct mail campaigns and are a heavy user of print
advertising, including the yellow pages and customer trade publications.
We have developed a toll-free telephone number network so that our customers
can call and speak to a sales representative in the branch location nearest the
site where the call was placed. In addition, we participate in numerous
regional and national trade shows, and our sales personnel participate in local
trade groups and associations. We also design marketing campaigns targeted at
specific market niches.
We also have a North
American national accounts program which currently includes approximately 300
national accounts and we continue to pursue other national account
relationships. The relationships are coordinated by a national account manager
and serviced by the branch network. Due to our broad geographic capabilities,
this program allows us to further differentiate ourselves from many of our mom-and-pop
competitors by providing consistent service on a national basis.
Customer Base
We continually seek to
expand our customer base and the applications for our products. Our customer
base is comprised of over 30,000 companies, which operate in multiple industries.
We believe that the construction, education, commercial/industrial and other,
and government industries accounted for approximately 34%, 26%, 20%, and 8%,
respectively, of total revenues in 2006, and that no other industry accounted
for more than 2% of total revenues in 2006. During 2006, no single customer
accounted for more than 3% of our total revenues and our top ten customers
accounted for approximately 11% of total revenues.
Our key customer industries as categorized by SIC Code
are as follows:
Construction. We provide office and storage space
to a broad array of contractors associated with both residential and
nonresidential buildings, commercial offices and warehouses; highway, street,
bridge and tunnel contractors; water, sewer, communication and power line
contractors; and special construction trades, including glass, glazing and
demolition. We believe our construction customer base is characterized by a
wide variety of contractors, who are associated with original construction as
well as capital improvements in the commercial, institutional, residential and
municipal arenas.
Education. Rapid and unpredictable shifts in
populations within states often necessitate quick expansion of education
facilities particularly in elementary and secondary schools. State and local
governmental budgetary pressures, as well as classroom size reduction legislation,
and refurbishment of existing facilities, have made modular space units,
especially multi-sectional units, a convenient and cost-effective way to expand
classroom, laboratory and library capacity. Our quality products are well
suited for educational institutions, which demand a high level of maintenance
and service support.
Commercial/Industrial
and Other. This
category includes a variety of industries and product uses which help diversify
our revenue stream. Common examples include: entertainment, recreation,
transportation terminals, recycling, retail and fast food establishments, metal
processing and refining and disaster relief. Although there are a number of
different industries in this category, we believe that no single industry
included in this category was material to us in 2006.
Government. Governmental users consist of
federal, state and local public sector organizations and state highway
administrations. We have enjoyed particular success in focused niches such as
prisons and jails, courthouses, military installations, national security
buildings and NASA facilities. We have a strategy of concentrated regional
focus in order to gain business from local governmental customers.
Professional
Services. Customers
in this category include professionals from a broad array of industry sectors
including engineering, architectural, accounting, legal, insurance and sales.
Healthcare. Healthcare customers are frequent
users of multi-sectional facilities as administrative offices, waiting rooms,
MRI and other diagnostic annexes adjacent to existing hospitals.
Utilities. Modular space units have
traditionally been leased to utilities involved in electrical service, natural
gas distribution and production, and other energy-related services. Units are
used as meeting rooms, reception and visitor centers, security offices and,
during periods of utility plant reconstruction, as facilities to house the
operations staff.
Oil
and Gas. Customers
involved in oil and gas exploration and production, primarily in western
Canada, require temporary structures to house, feed and support their workforce
during periods of the year in which exploration is possible given the harsh
weather conditions for the area under exploration. We provide temporary
workforce housing camp units and other multi-sectional facilities and storage
product to customers involved in these oil and gas operations.
Chemical and
Pharmaceutical. Chemical
and pharmaceutical companies have been long-time users of temporary office
space. Modular space units are particularly well suited for laboratory usage
where space is needed for the duration of a specific project or for an off-site
or isolated laboratory.
Fleet Management
Information Systems
Our propriety management
information systems are instrumental to our lease fleet management and targeted
marketing efforts and allow management to monitor operations at our branches on
a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Lease fleet information is updated daily at
the branch level and verified through a monthly physical inventory by branch
personnel. This provides management with on-line access to utilization, lease
fleet unit levels and rental revenues by branch or geographic region. In
addition, an electronic file for each unit showing its lease history and
current location/status is maintained in the information system. Branch sales
people utilize the system to obtain information regarding unit condition and availability.
The database tracks individual units by serial number and provides
comprehensive information including cost, condition and other financial and
unit specific information.
Regulatory Matters
We must comply with various federal, state and local environmental,
transportation, health and safety laws and regulations in connection with our
operations. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with these laws
and regulations. In addition to compliance costs, we may incur costs related to
alleged environmental damage associated with past or current properties owned
or leased by us. We believe that our liability, if any, for any environmental
remediation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
However, we cannot be certain that the discovery of currently unknown matters
or conditions, new laws and regulations, or stricter interpretations of
existing environmental laws will not have a material adverse effect on our
business or operations in the future.
A portion of our units are subject to regulation in
certain states under motor vehicle and similar registrations and certificate of
title statutes. We believe that we have complied in all material respects with
all motor vehicle registration and similar certificate of title statutes in
states where such statutes clearly apply to modular space units. However, in
certain states, the applicability of such statutes to our modular space units
is not clear beyond doubt. If additional registration and related requirements
are deemed to be necessary in such states or if the laws in such states or
other states were to change to require us to comply with such requirements, we
could be subject to additional costs, fees and taxes as well as administrative
burdens in order to comply with such statutes and requirements. We do not
believe the effect of such compliance will be material to our business, results
of operations or financial condition.
Trademarks
We own a number of trademarks important to our
business, including Williams Scotsman® and Williams Scotsman [and design]®.
Our material trademarks are registered or pending
applications for registrations in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and
various foreign jurisdictions. Registrations for such trademarks in the United
States will last indefinitely as long as we continue to use and police the
trademarks and renew filings with the applicable governmental offices. There
are no claims pending against us challenging our right to use any of our
material trademarks in the United States or any other country.
Competition
Although our competition
varies significantly by market, the modular space industry, in general, is
highly competitive. We compete primarily in terms of product availability,
customer service and price. We believe that our reputation for customer service
and our ability to offer a wide selection of units suitable for various uses at
competitive prices allows us to compete effectively. However, our primary North
American competitor, GE Modular Space, is less leveraged, has greater market
share or product availability in some markets and has greater financial
resources and pricing flexibility than us. The portable storage industry is
also highly fragmented and Mobile Mini, Inc. and Mobile Storage Group, Inc.
are the largest providers in the industry.
Employees
As of December 31,
2006, we had 1,947 employees. None of our employees are covered by a collective
bargaining agreement. Management believes its relationship with our employees
is good. We have never experienced any material labor disruption and are
unaware of any efforts or plans to organize our employees.
Available
Information
Our Internet website
address is: www.willscot.com. We make available free of charge through our
website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or
furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act
as soon as reasonably practicable after such documents are electronically filed
with, or furnished to, the SEC. Our website also includes our Corporate
Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct of Ethics, and charters of its Audit
Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating & Corporate
Governance Committee. These documents are also available in print to any
shareholder upon request.
Item 1A. Risk
Factors
Risks Related to
Our Business
General or localized economic downturns or weakness
may adversely affect our customers, in particular those in the nonresidential
construction industry and the education sector, which may cause the demand for
our products and services to decline and therefore harm our revenues and
profitability.
Our revenues are derived from customers who are in
industries and businesses that are cyclical in nature and subject to changes in
general economic conditions, such as the nonresidential construction industry.
In addition, because we conduct our operations in a variety of markets, we are
subject to economic conditions in each of these markets. During 2005, we
experienced improvement in the marketplace; however, prior to 2005, our
business was adversely impacted by overall soft economic conditions, which
affected our construction customers primarily, and state budget issues in
certain parts of the country that affected our education customers. As a result
of the economic downturn, we incurred a net loss of approximately
$3.4 million in 2004.
Although our product,
customer, industry and geographic diversity limits our exposure to economic
downturns, general economic downturns or localized downturns in markets where
we have operations, including any downturns in the construction industry, which
constituted approximately 34% of our revenues in 2006, could reduce demand for
our products and negatively impact our revenues and profitability. In addition,
at the present time we are unable to predict what long-term effect, if any,
recent political events, including those relating to, or arising out of, the
growing threat of terrorism, and their attendant consequences will have on our
business. Any of the foregoing economic or political events could
negatively
affect our industry or industries in which our customers operate, which may
cause the demand for our products and services to decline and therefore harm
our revenues and profitability.
We face significant competition in the modular and
portable space industry, especially from our primary national competitor, which
has greater financial resources and pricing flexibility than we do. If we are
unable to compete successfully, we could lose customers and our revenues and
profitability could decline.
Although our competition
varies significantly by market, the modular space industry, in general, is
highly competitive. We compete primarily in terms of product availability,
customer service and price. We believe that our reputation for customer service
and our ability to offer a wide selection of units suitable for various uses at
competitive prices allows us to compete effectively. However, our primary
national competitor, GE Modular Space, is less leveraged, has greater market
share or product availability in some markets, and has greater financial
resources and pricing flexibility than we do. If we are unable to compete
successfully, we could lose customers which could reduce our revenues and
profitability.
We may not be able to remarket our units effectively
should a significant number of our lease units be returned during any short
period of time, which could adversely affect our financial performance and our
ability to continue expanding our fleet.
Our typical lease terms,
which include contractual provisions requiring customers to retain units on
lease for, on average, 16 months, actually have an average lease duration
of approximately 28 months. Because our customers generally rent our units
for periods longer than the contractual lease terms, 59% of our leases are on a
month-to-month basis as of December 31, 2006. In addition, 22% of our
leases have contractual lease terms expiring within six months as of December 31,
2006. These aspects of our leasing business have remained generally consistent
over the last several years. Should a significant number of our leased units be
returned during any short period of time, a large supply of units would need to
be remarketed. Our failure to effectively remarket a large influx of units
returning from leases could have a material adverse effect on our financial
performance and our ability to continue expanding our fleet.
A significant reduction of funding to public schools
or contraction of class size reduction programs could cause the demand for our
modular classroom units to decline, which, as a result, may reduce our revenues
and profitability.
We generated 26% of our
revenues in 2006 from our education customers, which include public school
facilities. Funding for public school facilities is derived from a variety of
sources including, among other things, various taxes levied to support school
operating budgets. Any material interruption of these sources or a lack of
fiscal funding could result in a significant reduction of funding to public
schools, which may negatively impact the budget of public schools and cause the
demand for our modular classroom units to decline. In addition, any contraction
or elimination of class size reduction programs could cause the demand for our
modular classrooms to decline. Any decline in demand for our modular classrooms
may reduce our revenue and profitability.
Certain related parties of The Cypress Group L.L.C.
and Keystone Group, L.P. exercise significant influence over us.
Our large shareholders,
which include related parties of The Cypress Group L.L.C. and Keystone Group,
L.P. beneficially own in the aggregate approximately 28% of our outstanding
common stock as of February 28, 2007. Accordingly, these parties exercise
significant influence over all matters requiring a stockholders vote,
including the composition of our board of directors, the adoption of amendments
to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the approval of
mergers or sales of substantially all of our assets. This concentration of
ownership also may delay, defer or even prevent a change in control
of our
company and may make some transactions more difficult or impossible without the
support of these stockholders.
Any failure of our management information systems could
disrupt our business and result in decreased rental or sale revenues and
increased overhead costs, which could negatively impact our profitability.
We depend on our
management information systems to actively manage our lease fleet, control new
unit capital spending and provide fleet information, including leasing history,
condition, and availability of our units. These functions enhance our ability
to optimize fleet utilization, rentability and redeployment. The failure of our
management information systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our
business and could result in, among other things, decreased rental or sales and
increased overhead costs, which could negatively impact our profitability.
Federal and state regulations could impose substantial
costs and/or restrictions on our operations that could harm our results of
operations. If we are unable to pass these increased costs on to our customers,
our profitability and operating cash flows could be negatively impacted.
We are subject to various
federal, state and local environmental, transportation, health and safety laws
and regulations in connection with our operations. Any failure to comply with
these laws or regulations could result in capital or operating expenditures or
the imposition of severe penalties or restrictions on our operations. In
addition, these laws and regulations could change in a manner that materially
and adversely affects our ability to conduct our business. More burdensome
regulatory requirements in these or other areas may increase our general and
administrative costs. If we are unable to pass these increased costs on to our
customers, our profitability and operating cash flows could be negatively
impacted. See Item 1. BusinessRegulatory Matters.
Our sale transactions constitute a significant portion
of our revenues. The completion of these sale transactions are subject to a
number of factors beyond our control. Failure to close our sale transactions as
projected could cause our actual revenues or cash flow for a particular quarter
or longer period to differ from forecasted estimates.
Sales of new modular space
and portable storage units and rental equipment to customers in 2006, excluding
delivery, site work and other ancillary sales revenue, approximated 28% of our
total revenue. The completion of sale transactions is subject to certain
factors that are beyond our control, including permit requirements and weather
conditions. Accordingly, the actual timing of the completion of these
transactions may be different from their forecasted schedules. As a result, our
actual revenues and cash flow in a particular quarter or over a longer period
of time may not consistently correlate to our forecasted estimates. In
addition, if we do not accurately forecast our activity, we may improperly plan
or budget, which could cause us to violate our debt covenants and harm our
liquidity. As a result, we may not be able to take advantage of business and
growth opportunities otherwise available to us.
We may not be able to facilitate our growth strategy
by identifying or completing transactions with attractive acquisition
candidates, which could impair our growth and profitability of our business.
An important element of
our growth strategy is to continue to seek additional businesses to acquire in
order to add new customers within our existing markets and expand into new
markets. Any future growth through acquisitions will be partially dependent
upon the continued availability of suitable acquisition candidates at favorable
prices, upon advantageous terms and conditions and upon successful integration
of the acquired businesses. However, future acquisitions may not be available
at advantageous prices or upon favorable terms and conditions. In addition,
acquisitions involve risks that the businesses acquired will not perform in
accordance with expectations, that business judgments concerning the value,
strengths and weaknesses of businesses acquired will prove incorrect, that the
acquired businesses may not be integrated
successfully
and that international acquisitions may strain our management resources. Future
acquisitions and any necessary related financings also may involve significant
transaction-related expenses. If we are unable to complete attractive
acquisitions or integrate acquired businesses, the growth and profitability of
our business would be adversely impacted.
European expansion may divert our resources from other
aspects of our business, cause us to incur additional debt and require us to
comply with different regulations. Failure to manage these economic and
regulatory risks may adversely affect our growth in Europe and lead to
increased costs.
In 2006, we acquired
Wiron, our subsidiary located in Spain. Continued expansion into the European
market may require us to make substantial investments, which would divert
resources from other aspects of our business. We may also be required to raise
additional debt or equity capital to fund our expansion in Europe. In addition,
we may incur difficulties in staffing and managing our European operations, and
face fluctuations in currency exchange rates, exposure to additional regulatory
requirements, including certain trade barriers, changes in political and
economic conditions, and exposure to additional and potentially adverse tax regimes.
Our success in Europe will depend, in part, on our ability to anticipate and
effectively manage these and other risks. Our failure to manage these risks may
adversely affect our growth in Europe and lead to increased administrative
costs.
Fluctuations in currency
exchange rates may adversely affect our international sales.
Our revenue from international operations can be
denominated in or significantly influenced by the currency and general economic
climate of the country in which we make sales. A decrease in the value of such
foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar could result in losses from
currency exchange rate fluctuations. As we continue to expand our international
operations, exposure to gains and losses on foreign currency transactions may
increase.
We may continue our use of
hedging instruments in the future to reduce our exposure to exchange rate
fluctuations from transactions denominated in foreign currencies, and we may
not be able to do this successfully. Accordingly, we may experience economic
loss and a negative impact on our results of operations and equity as a result
of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.
We are a holding company whose only material asset is
the capital stock of Scotsman and to a lesser extent, our European and Mexican
subsidiaries. We may not have sufficient cash to meet our obligations if
Scotsman, our only material source of cash, is not able to generate sufficient
earnings or cash flow to pay dividends to us or if Scotsman is prohibited by
its debt agreements from paying dividends to us.
We are a holding company
with no material business operations. Our most significant asset is the capital
stock of Scotsman and to a lesser extent our European and Mexican subsidiaries.
We conduct virtually all of our business operations through Scotsman and its
European and Mexican subsidiaries. Accordingly, our only material sources of
cash are dividends or other distributions or payments that are derived from
earnings and cash flow generated by these entities. These entities may not
generate sufficient earnings and cash flow to pay dividends or distributions or
make payments in the future. In addition, the terms of the Amended and Restated
Credit Facility and the indenture governing the 8.5% Notes due 2015 (the 8.5% Notes)
limit such payments to us. As a result, we may not have sufficient cash to meet
our obligations, which could harm our business.
Failure to retain key personnel could impede our
ability to execute our business plan and growth strategy and lead to a loss of
customers.
Our continued success will
depend largely on the efforts and abilities of our executive officers and
certain other key employees. Many of our key executives, including our
President and Chief Executive
Officer,
Mr. Gerard Holthaus, and the executive vice president and nine vice
presidents who lead our branch operations, have over 10 years of
experience with our company. These officers have knowledge and an understanding
of our company and industry that cannot be readily duplicated. There are
employment agreements with Gerard Holthaus, Robert Singer, Joseph Donegan,
William LeBuhn and John Ross. The loss of any member of our senior management
team could impair our ability to execute our business plan and growth strategy,
cause us to lose customers and reduce our revenues, or lead to employee morale
problems.
We may be unable to realize the benefits of our net
operating loss carryforwards and, as a result, lose our future tax savings,
which could have a negative impact on our liquidity.
Net operating losses (NOLs)
may be carried forward to offset U.S. federal, U.S. state, and foreign taxable
income in future years and eliminate income taxes otherwise payable on such
taxable income, subject to certain adjustments. As of December 31, 2006,
we had NOLs of approximately $221 million. Based on current corporate
income tax rates, our NOLs could provide a benefit to us, if fully utilized,
of significant future tax savings. However, if we do not have sufficient
taxable income in future years to use the tax benefits before they expire, we
will lose the benefit of these NOL carryforwards permanently. In addition, the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities could challenge our
calculation of the amount of our NOLs or any deductions or losses included in
such calculation, which could reduce our tax benefit. Provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code may also limit our ability to carry forward our U.S. NOLs
to offset taxable income in future years.
A write-off of all or a part of our goodwill would
hurt our operating results and reduce our net worth.
We have significant
intangible assets related to goodwill, which represents the excess of the total
purchase price of our acquisitions over the fair value of the net assets
acquired. As of December 31, 2006, we had $182.8 million of goodwill
on our balance sheet, which represented 11.5% of our total assets. We are not
permitted to amortize goodwill under the U.S. accounting standards and instead
are required to review goodwill at least annually for impairment. In the event
impairment is identified, a charge to earnings would be recorded. We determined
that goodwill was not impaired for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2006. Although it does not affect our cash flow, a write-off in future periods
of all or a part of our goodwill would hurt our operating results and net
worth. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of OperationsCritical Accounting Policies and EstimatesGoodwill
Impairment.
Significant increases in raw material costs could
increase our operating costs significantly and harm our profitability.
We purchase raw materials,
including lumber, siding and roofing and other products to perform periodic
refurbishments to maintain physical conditions of our units. We also maintain a
truck fleet to deliver units to and return units from our customers. During
periods of rising prices for raw materials or oil, and in particular, when the
prices increase rapidly or to levels significantly higher than normal, we may
incur significant increases in our operating costs and may not be able to pass
price increases through to our customers in a timely manner, which could reduce
our profitability.
Failure by third parties to manufacture our products
timely or properly may harm our reputation and financial condition.
We are dependent on third
parties to manufacture our products even though we are able to purchase
products from a variety of third-party suppliers. Generally, we do not have any
long term purchase contracts with any third-party supplier. If these third
parties do not timely complete our orders, or do not
properly
manufacture our products, our reputation and financial condition could be
harmed. In addition, we may not be able to negotiate arrangements with these
third parties on acceptable terms, if at all.
Risks Related to
our Substantial Indebtedness
Our substantial debt could harm our financial health
and may otherwise restrict our activities.
We have a substantial amount of debt. As of December 31,
2006, we had approximately $916.4 million of indebtedness. See Note 6 of
the Notes to Audited Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our substantial
debt could have important consequences. For example, it:
· makes our company more
vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
· limits our ability to
obtain additional financing for future working capital, capital expenditures,
strategic acquisitions and other general corporate requirements;
· requires us to dedicate a
substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our debt,
thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow for operations and other
purposes;
· limits our flexibility in
planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business; and
· places us at a competitive
disadvantage compared to any competitors that have less debt.
We and our subsidiaries
may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The
terms of the indenture governing our 8.5% Notes and the terms of our Amended
and Restated Credit Facility permit us to incur a substantial amount of
additional debt. As of December 31, 2006, we would be permitted to borrow
an additional $205.5 million of indebtedness under our Amended and
Restated Credit Facility. Accordingly, this additional indebtedness could
further exacerbate all the risks described above.
A substantial portion of our indebtedness is subject
to variable interest rates, which makes us vulnerable to increases in interest
rates.
Our substantial indebtedness exposes us to interest
rate increases because a substantial portion of our indebtedness is at variable
rates. The interest rates under the Amended and Restated Credit Facility will
be reset at varying periods. These periodic adjustments could expose our
operating results and cash flows to periodic fluctuations. Our annual debt
service obligations will increase by $4.6 million per year for each 1
percentage point increase in the average interest rate we pay, based on the
balance of variable rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2006.
We may use interest rate hedging arrangements and swap
agreements to limit our exposure to interest rate volatility based upon
managements judgment. If we enter into these arrangements, we will incur
certain risks, including that our hedging or swap transactions might not
achieve the desired effect in eliminating the impact of interest rate
fluctuations, or that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under
these arrangements. As a result, these arrangements may not be effective in
reducing our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. This could reduce our net
income and require us to modify our hedging strategy.
The indenture governing the 8.5% Notes and the terms
of our Amended and Restated Credit Facility contain various covenants which
limit the discretion of our management in operating our business and could
prevent us from engaging in some beneficial activities.
The indenture
governing the 8.5% Notes and the terms of the Amended and Restated Credit
Facility contain various restrictive covenants that limit our managements
discretion in operating our business. In particular, these agreements include
covenants relating to limitations on:
· dividends on, and
redemptions and repurchases of, capital stock,
· liens and sale-leaseback
transactions,
· loans and investments,
· debt and hedging
arrangements,
· mergers, acquisitions and
asset sales,
· transactions with affiliates,
and
· changes in business
activities conducted by us and our subsidiaries.
In addition, our Amended and Restated Credit Facility
requires us, under certain circumstances, to maintain certain financial ratios.
It also limits our ability to make capital expenditures. See Note 6 of the
Notes to Audited Consolidated Financial Statements.
If we fail to comply with
the restrictions of the indenture governing the 8.5% Notes or the terms of our
Amended and Restated Credit Facility or any other subsequent financing
agreements, a default may allow the creditors, if the agreements so provide, to
accelerate the related debt as well as any other debt to which a
cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In addition, the lenders
may be able to terminate any commitments they had made to supply us with
further funds. Accordingly, we may not be able to fully repay our debt
obligations, if some or all of our debt obligations are accelerated upon an
event of default.
Our debt service requires a significant amount of
cash. We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to meet both our debt
obligations and other requirements or obligations. This could lead us to take
actions, such as reducing capital expenditures or other investments or asset
sales. These actions may limit our flexibility to grow our business and to take
advantage of business opportunities.
To service our
debt, we require a significant amount of cash. Our debt service requirements
for the year ending December 31, 2007 are approximately $95.7 million,
based on the outstanding debt balance and effective interest rates as of December 31,
2006. Our ability to generate cash, make scheduled payments or to refinance our
obligations depends on our successful financial and operating performance. Our
operating performance, cash flow and capital resources may not be sufficient
for payment of our debt in the future. Our financial and operating performance,
cash flow and capital resources depend upon prevailing economic conditions, and
certain financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our
control. These factors include, among others:
· economic and competitive
conditions affecting the modular and portable space industry;
· operating difficulties,
increased operating costs or pricing pressures we may experience; and
· a decline in the resale
value of our units.
At December 31, 2006,
the aggregate amount of indebtedness of our company approximated
$916.4 million. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to
fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital
investments, sell material assets or operations, obtain
additional
capital or restructure our debt. In the event that we are required to dispose
of material assets or operations or restructure our debt to meet our debt
service and other obligations, the terms of such transaction may not be
satisfactory and such transaction may not be completed in a timely manner. In
addition, these actions may limit our flexibility to grow our business and to
take advantage of business opportunities. See Managements Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital
Resources.
Item 1B. Unresolved
Staff Comments
None.
Williams Scotsman (WLSC) - Description of business
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Summary
Research Report
Description
Level 2 quotes
Charts
News
Profile
Balance Sheet
Income Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Insiders
SEC Filings
Analyst Recommendation
Earnings Report
Historical Prices
Recent Material Events
Key executives
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Research Report
Description
Level 2 quotes
Charts
News
Profile
Balance Sheet
Income Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Insiders
SEC Filings
Analyst Recommendation
Earnings Report
Historical Prices
Recent Material Events
Key executives
Comments


