Estee Lauder 2011 Annual Report Download - page 117

THE EST{E LAUDER COMPANIES INC. 115
We believe, however, that any such loss incurred would
be offset by the effects of market rate movements on the
respective underlying transactions for which the deriva-
tive financial instrument was intended.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We do not maintain any off-balance sheet arrangements,
transactions, obligations or other relationships with
unconsolidated entities that would be expected to have a
material current or future effect upon our financial condi-
tion or results of operations.
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Refer to “Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting
Policies” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
for discussion regarding the impact of accounting
standards that were recently issued but not yet effective,
on our consolidated financial statements.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
We and our representatives from time to time make
written or oral forward-looking statements, including
statements contained in this and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, in our press
releases and in our reports to stockholders. The words
and phrases “will likely result,” “expect,” “believe,”
“planned,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “forecast” or similar
expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include,
without limitation, our expectations regarding sales, earn-
ings or other future financial performance and liquidity,
product introductions, entry into new geographic regions,
information systems initiatives, new methods of sale, our
long-term strategy, restructuring and other charges and
future operations or operating results. Although we
believe that our expectations are based on reasonable
assumptions within the bounds of our knowledge of
our business and operations, actual results may differ
materially from our expectations. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ from expectations include,
without limitation:
(1) increased competitive activity from companies in the
skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care businesses,
some of which have greater resources than we do;
(2) our ability to develop, produce and market new prod-
ucts on which future operating results may depend and to
successfully address challenges in our business;
(3) consolidations, restructurings, bankruptcies and
reorganizations in the retail industry causing a decrease
in the number of stores that sell our products, an increase in
the ownership concentration within the retail industry,
ownership of retailers by our competitors or ownership of
competitors by our customers that are retailers and our
inability to collect receivables;
(4) destocking and tighter working capital management
by retailers;
(5) the success, or changes in timing or scope, of
new product launches and the success, or changes in the
timing or the scope, of advertising, sampling and
merchandising programs;
(6) shifts in the preferences of consumers as to where and
how they shop for the types of products and services
we sell;
(7) social, political and economic risks to our foreign or
domestic manufacturing, distribution and retail opera-
tions, including changes in foreign investment and trade
policies and regulations of the host countries and of the
United States;
(8) changes in the laws, regulations and policies (includ-
ing the interpretations and enforcement thereof) that
affect, or will affect, our business, including those relating
to our products, changes in accounting standards, tax laws
and regulations, environmental or climate change laws,
regulations or accords, trade rules and customs regula-
tions, and the outcome and expense of legal or regulatory
proceedings, and any action we may take as a result;
(9) foreign currency fluctuations affecting our results of
operations and the value of our foreign assets, the relative
prices at which we and our foreign competitors sell
products in the same markets and our operating and
manufacturing costs outside of the United States;
(10) changes in global or local conditions, including those
due to the volatility in the global credit and equity
markets, natural or man-made disasters, real or perceived
epidemics, or energy costs, that could affect consumer
purchasing, the willingness or ability of consumers to
travel and/or purchase our products while traveling, the
financial strength of our customers, suppliers or other
contract counterparties, our operations, the cost and
availability of capital which we may need for new equip-
ment, facilities or acquisitions, the returns that we are able
to generate on our pension assets and the resulting
impact on funding obligations, the cost and availability of
raw materials and the assumptions underlying our critical
accounting estimates;