World Fuel Services 2005 Annual Report Download - page 19

• increases in interest rates;
• our ability to retain and attract senior management and other key employees;
• our ability to manage growth;
• our ability to integrate acquired businesses;
• changes in United States or foreign tax laws;
• increased levels of competition;
• changes in credit terms extended to us from our suppliers;
• our ability to successfully implement our enterprise integration project;
• compliance or lack of compliance with various environmental and other applicable laws and regulations;
• our ability to remediate our material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; and
• other risks, including those described in “Item 1A—Risk Factors” and those described from time to time
in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It
is not possible for us to predict all of those risks, nor can we assess the impact of all of those risks on our
business or the extent to which any factor may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statement. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, you
should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations.
Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and unless required by law, we
expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update publicly any of them in light of new information or
future events.
For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
We extend unsecured credit to most of our customers, and our business, financial condition and results of
operations will be adversely affected if we are unable to collect accounts receivable.
We extend unsecured credit to most of our customers. Our success in attracting customers has been due, in
part, to our willingness to extend credit on an unsecured basis to customers that would otherwise be required to
prepay or post letters of credit with their suppliers of fuel and related services. Diversification of credit risk is
limited because we sell primarily within the marine and aviation industries.
Credit losses may be influenced by factors other than the financial condition of our customers, including
deteriorating conditions in the world economy or in the shipping or aviation industries, political instability,
terrorist activities, military action and natural disasters in our market areas. Any credit losses, if significant,
would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Economic, political and other risks associated with international sales and operations could adversely
affect our business and future operating results.
Because we resell fuel worldwide, our business is subject to risks associated with doing business
internationally. Our business and future operating results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:
• trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements, which could increase our costs
of doing business internationally;
5