Rayovac 2004 Annual Report Download - page 23

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Seasonality
Sales of our products are seasonal. Sales during the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year are generally
higher than the second and third quarters due to the impact of the December holiday season. For a more detailed
discussion of the seasonality of our product sales, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations—Seasonal Product Sales.”
Governmental Regulations and Environmental Matters
Due to the nature of our operations, our facilities are subject to a broad range of federal, state, local and
foreign legal and regulatory provisions relating to the environment, including those regulating the discharge of
materials into the environment, the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous substances and wastes, and the
remediation of contamination associated with the releases of hazardous substances at our facilities. We believe
that compliance with the federal, state, local and foreign regulations to which we are subject will not have a
material effect upon our capital expenditures, financial position, earnings and competitive position.
From time to time, we have been required to address the effect of historic activities on the environmental
condition of our properties, including without limitation, the effect of the generation and disposal of wastes,
which are or may be considered hazardous. We have not conducted invasive testing to identify all potential
environmental liability risks. Given the age of our facilities and the nature of our operations, there can be no
assurance that material liabilities will not arise in the future in connection with our current or former facilities. If
previously unknown contamination of property underlying or in the vicinity of our manufacturing facilities is
discovered, we could be required to incur material unforeseen expenses. If this occurs, it may have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we are currently engaged
in investigative or remedial projects at a few of our facilities, we do not expect that such projects will cause us to
incur material expenditures, however, there can be no assurance that our liability will not be material.
We have been, and in the future may be, subject to proceedings related to our disposal of industrial and
hazardous material at off-site disposal locations. These proceedings are under the Federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”) or similar state laws that hold
persons who “arranged for” the disposal or treatment of such substances strictly liable for costs incurred in
responding to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances from such sites, regardless of fault or the
lawfulness of the original disposal. Liability under CERCLA is typically joint and several, meaning that a liable
party may be responsible for all costs incurred in investigating and remediating contamination at a site. As a
practical matter, liability at CERCLA sites is shared by all of the viable responsible parties. While we currently
have no pending CERCLA or similar state matters, we may be named as a potentially responsible party at sites in
the future and the costs and liabilities associated with these sites may be material.
It is difficult to quantify with certainty the potential financial impact of actions regarding expenditures for
environmental matters, particularly remediation, and future capital expenditures for environmental control
equipment. Nevertheless, based upon the information currently available, we believe that our ultimate liability
arising from such environmental matters, taking into account established accruals of $5.3 million for estimated
liabilities at September 30, 2004, should not be material to our business or financial condition.
Employees
We had approximately 6,500 full-time employees worldwide as of September 30, 2004.
Available Information
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and
amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange Act”) are made available free of charge on or through our website at www.rayovac.com
as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange
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